The Human Being Founded on Truth
Ontological Affinity and the Innate Nature of Humanity (Fitrat Allah)
Ontologically, the human being is intrinsically truth-oriented and truth-constituted (ḥaqq-nihād), as humanity is a manifestation of the Divine Truth: “So when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall down in prostration to him” (Quran 15:29). The mission of divine prophets is to actualize this innate truth within humanity; had truth not been rooted in human nature, the prophets could never have established meaningful communication with mankind. In the words of Rumi:
In the heart of every nation that has a taste of the Truth,
The face and voice of the prophet are a miracle.
Miracles are not the cause of faith;
The scent of affinity draws like to like.
Every particle in heaven and earth,
Like amber drawing straw, attracts its own kind.
Similarly, religion is derived from the truth-based nature of humanity, which in the terminology of the Holy Quran is called fitrat Allah (the innate nature endowed by God): “So set your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created all people” (Quran 30:30). Here, hanīf (inclining to truth) denotes primordial purity and rectitude. However, upon reflection, it is the attention to the Truth—or that “taste of the Truth” as Rumi articulated—that is defined in this noble verse as the innate human orientation (fitrī) towards religion.
Religious Human Nature and the Foundation of the Human Sciences
The martyred scholar Morteza Motahhari stated: “Human nature is religious, and it must necessarily seek its answers from religion. All the premises of human society—such as justice, equality, freedom, humanity, and compassion—can only be genuinely realized through religion.” When humanity possesses a religious nature, wherein even the direction and “taste” of its desires are defined, it must build its society based on religious components and teachings to realize its own truth and identity. Institutions active across various disciplines of Islamic studies are strongly called upon to implement this principle. We must incorporate Islamic components into the various fields of human sciences, such as management, education, economics, and political science. Islam, as the culmination of religions, possesses all these components, as stated in the Quran: “We have not neglected in the Book anything” (Quran 6:38) and “…a clear explanation of all things” (Quran 16:89). Consequently, Muslim scholars must derive these principles based on societal needs, formulating theories and strategies that provide both the structural and substantive foundation for the human sciences.
Notes:
- This article is Part 2 of the series “Are Religious Propositions Not Empirically Realizable?”, focusing on philosophical anthropology and the concept of ḥaqq-nihād (the human being founded on Truth).
- Fitrat Allah refers to the primordial, God-given innate nature of human beings that naturally inclines toward monotheism, truth, and moral rectitude (hanīf).
- Allameh Morteza Motahhari (1919–1979) extensively developed the theory of Fitrah as the philosophical basis for Islamic social sciences and humanities.
