Belief in God

Is Man Created with inherent belief in God?

Is the existence of Allah (swt) self-evident? Is the state of disbelief parallel to human nature? If man were left alone, without external influences, would he reach Islam? Is the creed of Islam based on human nature?. In a famous Hadeeth our beloved messenger Muhammad(saws) said:

''Every child is born upon the pure fitra, it is only his parents that later turn him into a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian''

(narrated by Sahih Muslim)

Man is created with certain self-inherent attributes such as sight, and hearing, which is known as Fitra in Arabic; it is the creation of man in a certain fashion to aid him perform certain actions. So the question that arises:

"Is man born into this world with a belief in Allah (swt) as he is born to see and hear, or must he use these inherently created attributes correctly to reach to a belief in Allah (swt)?"

At first glance if we look at the ahadeeth (plural of Hadeeth) and verses related to this topic; we can be lead to belief in an inherent belief in Allah (swt) within man…But if we gather many evidences together and closely study the evidences dealing with this subject we will be lead to say that belief in Allah (swt) is not self inherent, nor is it the nature of man upon which he is created like sight and hearing. Rather Allah (swt) created man and created within him the ability to reach Imaan ((Belief) through thinking and learning.

The linguistic definition of Fitra is what is meant in the ahadith and verses dealing with the issue at hand. So Allah (swt) created man and placed in him the potential and ability to reach the truth if he used the power and ability, which Allah (swt) created in him. From this we understand the statement of Imaam As-Fahani when he states that the Fitra of Allah (swt) is the power and ability to reach Imaan(Belief).

If we use the Hadith quoted above and placed it in its correct context and gathered with it other evidences; then it will lead us to the position that the belief in Allah (swt) is reached via Fitra. Furthermore those who push the view of a self-inherent created belief in Allah (swt) seem to ignore the ending of the Hadeeth which states ''if they were Muslims (parents) then the child is a Muslim'' this addition to the Hadith which is ignored by many, shows that just as the child is influenced by his Christian, Jewish or Magian parents similarly is the case with a child of Muslim parents. In other words the child is not is not inherently called a disbeliever or Muslim, rather the ruling on the child is attached to his parents and not inherent, where the state of his/her parents apply on him/her. Otherwise how can a child be made a Muslim in accordance to his parents if he was born already on the state of Islam? Based on this: The belief of the child, whether Islam or Kufr, is not an original state but follows the state of his or her parents.

Imaam An-Nawawi in his exegesis of this Hadith as narrated in Saheeh Muslims states:

''and what is more correct is that it means that every new born is born prepared to accept Islam, so whoever parents are Muslims or one of them continues upon Islam in the rulings of the world and hereafter, and if his parents were disbelievers then its rulings its rulings are implemented upon him in this world…''

On another note Imaam As-Shafi' says in his commentary of the Hadith as narrated by Abu-Abdur-Rahman Al-Baghdadi that Fitra in this Hadith means the Fitra or inherent creation which Allah (swt) created His creation, that the child, if he does not clarify his belief on his own account, will have no ruling for himself, but as explained previously their ruling will be in accordance to their parents, if Muslim then the child will follow in that ruling and if disbelief the child will hold the ruling of a disbeliever in this world.