Sub-section Two: the proofs of the Oneness of Allah as presented by the Holy Qur’an:

The first point: the evidence of fitrah:

“Fitrah” linguistically: “Fitrah” originally means “creation”, whether that of man, animal or any other creature. The word is derived from the root “fatara” like “nasara”. The verb “fatara” means “to originate or institute”. So “fitrah” means “innovation” or “invention”.[1] In the Holy Qur’an we read: “Praise is due to Allah, “Fatir” of the heavens and the earth.” Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I had not known the meaning of  ‘Fatir of the heavens and the earth’, till I met two Bedouins quarreling about a well. One of them said: ‘I fatartuha,’ meaning ‘I started digging it.’”[2]

“Fitrah” terminologically: It is the innate potentiality of knowing Allah (SWT) that He provides creatures with on creating them.[3] Allah (SWT) says: “Such is the fitrah Allah has placed into the people. Such creation of Allah will never change.” (XXX: 30) Here “fitrah” means the potentiality of accepting Islam as a religion, i.e. submitting to Allah Alone. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) cites an example to illustrate this, by saying: “just as an animal gives birth to a whole animal. Do you expect it to be mutilated (unless you mutilate it)?”[4] So, he shows that the freedom of the heart from a defect is similar to the freedom of the body from it, and that a defect is usually an accidental casual event.[5]

So, fitrah does not oppose the intellect but it supports it. The universe with all its orderliness, firm structure, beauty, harmony and creativity, is not the only proof of the existence of Allah, the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, but there is another proof, i.e. the feeling implanted in the human soul that Allah (SWT) exists. It is an innate feeling Allah has created people equipped with it. It is the so-called “the religious instinct” that distinguishes man from animals. This feeling may get dull for one reason or another and does not revive except through a stimulus that awakens it, such as pain or mischief that afflicts him.[6] Thus the sound intact fitrah helps the intellect with understanding the signs and proofs clearly, appropriately and truthfully.

Man is innately religious; if the fitrah is left intact and is not exposed to any external influences, it will know its Creator. Allah (SWT) says: “Such is the fitrah Allah has placed into the people. Such creation of Allah will never change.” (XXX: 30). In Tafsir al-Zilal, we read: “So we have a link between the fitrah of the human soul and the nature of this religion, and both of them are the work of Allah, and both of them agree with the laws of the universe, and each of them is in harmony with the other in its nature and direction. Allah, Who has created the human heart, has revealed this religion to control it, direct it, cure its disease and prevent it from deviation, for He knows best what he has created and He is the One that understands the finest mysteries (and) is well-acquainted (with them). The fitrah is constant and so is the religion (Such creation of Allah will never change). If the souls deviate from the fitrah, nothing will bring them back to it except the religion that is in harmony with the fitrah.”[7]