Human Nature and the Divine Operating System
We begin, with God's permission, by establishing the foundation from which we will proceed; what indicates the existence of God to us? It is natural disposition (fitrah) and reason. We will first discuss the natural evidence.
What is Fitrah?
We often hear this word, but what does it mean? And how does it indicate the existence of God the Almighty?
Fitrah is the innate forces and drives within a human being that manifest during their growth and interaction with their environment; starting with their instinct to suckle their mother's breast, then their attraction to truth and sound morals.
One can compare fitrah to a human's "operating system" for the computer; for this operating system has components that cooperate and integrate to produce a balanced human being. Note God's statement: {Indeed, We have created man in the best of molds}, for the best mold includes the innate components necessary to achieve the purpose of human creation.
Components of the Innate Package
This fitrah is what makes a human feel the need for the Creator and to turn to Him in times of hardship. God has guided him with the fitrah that instilled in him "cognitive assumptions" with which he understands the speech of the Creator and His commands, and guided him to question the purpose of his existence and his fate after death, representing the driving force to seek out his Creator and act upon it.
Fitrah also includes:
- Moral inclination: An innate love for good and justice, and hatred for evil and injustice, in harmony with the legal commands of the Creator.
- Free will: The feeling that one is in control of their actions, as in God's statement: {And We have shown him the two ways}.
- Basic instincts: Necessary for his sustenance, such as the instinct of motherhood and the will to survive.
This expanded definition of fitrah is found close to the words of Imam Ibn Ashur in "Al-Tahrir wa Al-Tanwir." It is therefore an "innate package" that cooperates in an amazing way to produce a balanced human being working towards a purpose.
The Atheists' Dilemma with Human "Software"
Fitrah may be obscured during a person's life, and a person may overpower it and close their ears to its call; because fitrah, to atheists, is an external intervention from an omniscient, transcendent force, above random biochemical interactions.
The atheists' predicament is like that of a person who said to you: "This computer came about by mere chance, its parts were assembled and coordinated without a maker, but rather a violent storm gathered it." If we open the computer and find within it a complete, coordinated operating system and programs each with a purpose, how do you explain the existence of these programs, O atheist?
If we swallow your laughable lie about the "hardware" (the body), how do you explain the existence of this "software" (the soul and fitrah) on the device? The mere biological and chemical interactions, random mutations, and natural selection - even if we argue that they created a human - where do they get the ability to instill in his mind and soul this coordinated, directed package? And how do you explain the repetition of this package in every new soul that is born?
The Disturbance of Atheistic Thought
Some atheists have acknowledged this dilemma, among them the British philosopher "Thomas Nagel" in his famous book (Mind and Cosmos), where he spoke about consciousness, perception, and values, and yet remained an atheist.
As for the general atheists, they have vacillated between two choices:
- Denying the innate nature of these components: And considering them mere effects of upbringing and social environment.
- Attempting to find material explanations for them: And both sides have fallen into wonders of confusion, contradiction, and the illogical.
Conclusion
This was a statement defining fitrah and the general problem of atheists with it. In the upcoming episodes, we will see the wretched predicaments of atheists with each component of the mentioned fitrah, so that you may say afterwards with full conviction: {Praise be to Allah, Who has guided us to this. And never could we have been guided, if not that Allah had guided us.}
It is worth mentioning that in these episodes, I have greatly benefited from the book "Shamou' Al-Nahar" by the engineer Abdullah Al-Ajiri, may God preserve him. Our next episode, God willing, will be about the "inclination towards religion," so stay with us.