Part 11

Basically, what this means is that each person is born in a pure state in which tawhid is central. This then inclines the person to submit fully to the will of Allah and to search for ways to become closer to Him. Islam itself is called deen al-fitrah (the religion of human nature) because it is the religion that will guide a person to true faith in Allah and complete fulfilment of this potential. The prophets were sent to remind humans of this nature and to teach them Islamic law as a comprehensive guidance for living in submission to Allah. The prophets themselves, as blessings from Allah, practiced these guidelines and were steadfast and exemplary models for humankind.

Covenant of monotheism inscribed on every soul

At the time when souls were created, each person made a covenant with Allah. Allah (3) mentions the covenant in the following verse:

yh lh a ot FE Ohas WB aus v ep

rem [It will be said:] This is what you were promised — for every returner [to Allah] and keeper [of His covenant], who feared the Most Merciful unseen and came with a heart returning [in repentance].}

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In another verse, He (4) describes this covenant,

{And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam — from their loins — their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them]: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes, we have testified. [This] lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, Indeed, we were of this unaware.) — (Quran 7: 172)

Thus, one of the ways that we know about Allah is that it is within our very own souls; it is within our nature. The belief in tawhid (oneness of Allah) is inscribed in our beings. It is our covenant with Allah. Every child is born with a natural inclination to believe in and worship Allah, to be righteous and virtuous, and to have a true understanding of his or her own position in the universe. S/he who submits will naturally be a Muslim, since all humans are born as Muslims. If no changes are made in the direction that the child faces, s/he will naturally incline toward Allah and will follow His will. When s/he reaches the age of discretion, s/he will readily choose the religion of Islam over any other belief system. This is the connection with the Creator that will guide the child to an understanding of good and evil, and truth and falsehood throughout his or her lifetime.

The influence of parents

You may ask yourself, “Why then have so many people gone

“away from their true nature? Why have so many people chosen a religion other than Islam? Why is there so much cortuption and

oppression on earth?” This can be explained by the following hadith

80 Fitrah: The innate nature of children

As mentioned in the hadith, parents are the main environmental factor in leading a person away from his or her fitrah. It is the parents that raise the child as a Jew, a Christian, a Magian, or an adherent of any other faith, oftentimes passing on to their child the same religion that was taught to them by their own parents. Parents share their beliefs, values, morals, and ideals with their children. This is accomplished through modelling, interactions, teaching, and so forth. Research, in fact, has shown that as young people enter adulthood, they carry the same or similar values and morals that were taught to them by their parents. The effect is generally compelling and persistent. It is important to note that while parents are the key factor in divergence from the fitrah, other environmental influences may also play a role. Schools, teachers, friends, extended family members, and the media all exert an effect on the thoughts and behaviours of a child.

The influence of Satan

Satan also plays a role in attempting to disturb the fitrah. The pressure and force of Satan and his patrons in the lives of humans are obvious. Satan will attempt to deceive us in any way that he can, and he begins to work on children the minute that they are born. We are

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warmed in the Qur’an,

[Satan] said: Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them [human beings] on Your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to

The tools that Allah has given to the believers are designed to protect the fitrah from the schemes and traps of Satan.

The responsibility of parents in relation to Fitrah

This knowledge explicitly highlights the critical role of parents in the upbringing of their children. It is the responsibility of the parents to nurture the inborn tendency of the fitrah and to protect it from corruption. This is accomplished by teaching the child about Allah and Islam from the moment of birth. The first words that a baby hears should be “Alldhu akbar, Alladhu akbar’ (‘Allah is the greatest’), part of the call to prayer, which is said in the child’s ear at birth. The life of the child should be imbued with the remembrance of Allah from that moment onward. S/he should see his or her parents pray and read the Qur’an on a daily basis and hear them say bismillah (in the name of Allah), alhamdulillah (all praise to Allah), and other forms of praise of Allah. All forms of corruption should be avoided to the extent possible. If these things are achieved, the child will develop eeman and taqwa and will strive to please Allah. The development of

-Islamic thought and behaviour in the child will then become an easy, almost effortless task.

The seed of fitrah is in need of the sunshine and water that parents can provide. This will allow the eeman to grow into a strong

82 Fitrah: The innate nature of children

and beautiful plant. It is the responsibility of parents to be the gardeners and maintainers of this fitrah. Parents are obligated to keep their child’s face in the direction of the religion of Islam. They cannot * allow environmental influences to harm this growing plant. Allah has created us in a certain fashion and He has given us the tools to complete the task. As a nurtured plant grows almost effortlessly, so too will your child’s faith. With the foundation of fitrah, nurturing of eeman is a purely natural human experience.

CONNECTING CHILDREN TO THE PILLARS OF EEMAN

Gonnecting children to the pillars of eeman is a process that begins at birth and continues throughout life. It is something that does not require an established program or course. Connecting is done on a daily basis during routine parent-child interactions. This, in fact, is where the core of parenting takes place. The following section provides some suggestions on how to connect your children to the pillars of eeman: belief in Allah, the angels, the prophets and messengers, the books and revelation, the Day of Resurrection and the hereafter, and divine will and predestination.

Chapter 6 Allah, the Exalted, the Almighty

He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.} (Quran 59; 22-24)

Belief in Allah is the most fundamental principle of faith and action; the most essential principle of eeman. It is the focal point of Islam and the essence of the Qur’an. All other Islamic beliefs revolve around and connect to belief in Allah. For a person’s eeman to be firm, there must be correct and complete belief in Allah and the associated tenets of faith. If this is not present, then all of faith and practice may be impaired and valueless.

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The importance of belief in Allah is evident in the Qur’an. In fact, the whole of the Qur’an speaks about belief in Allah. Allah is mentioned by His names and attributes in the Qur’an 10,062 times. On every page of the Qur’an, He is mentioned approximately 20 times. The Qur’an speaks directly about Allah and His essence, names, attributes, and actions. It calls on people to worship Him alone, with no partner. It commands us to obey Him and forbids us to disobey Him. It relates stories and characteristics of the people of faith, the honour given to them in this world, and their rewards in the hereafter. There is similar information about the disbelievers and how Allah humiliates them in this world and of the punishment that awaits them in the next.

At the centre of belief in Allah is tawhid, or belief that Allah is One, and the realization and maintenance of Allah’s unity. tawhid is the basis of Islam and the essence of the testimony of faith, Ld ilaha illallah, there is no god but Allah. To every nation or people, a messenger was sent with the message of tawhid. It is the first thing that the messengers of Allah invited the people to believe in.

tawhid can be summarized in the following manner: Allah is One without partner in His dominion and His actions (tawhid arruboobiyah); One without rival in His divinity and worship (tawhid al-uloohiyah); and One without similitude in His essence and attributes (tawhid al-asmd’ was-sifat). Allah is the Lord, Master, and Owner of all things. He controls the affairs of all of His creation. It is He who provides, restricts, permits, and prohibits. He gives life and causes death. Thus, He alone is worthy of all worship.