Qur'an 30:30
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | 30 |
| Sura | Sura al-Rum |
| Juz' | 21 |
| Page | 407 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Mecca |
| Topic | Belief |
| About | Human's tendency to the religion |
Al-Fiṭra Verse (Arabic: آیة الفطرة ), or the Verse of Innateness, is the verse thirty of Qur'an 30 in which the human tendency to the religion is deemed "fitri" or "innate". The verse commands people to wholeheartedly turn to the religion. According to Quranic exegetes, the verse implies that Islam was legislated in harmony with the human innate nature. In Majma' al-bayan, the word, "hanif" in the verse is interpreted as being steadfast in religion, but Allama Tabataba'i interprets it as being moderate in religion.
In many hadiths, monotheism is counted as an instance of human innate tendency or fitra. Other instances, cited in hadiths, include knowledge of God, Islam, and wilaya. Allama Tabataba'i and Jawadi Amuli appeal to al-Fitra Verse to show that all human beings only have one path to guidance.
Text and Translation
| “ | فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا ۚ فِطْرَتَ اللَّـهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا ۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّـهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
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” |
| “ | So set your heart as a person of pure faith on this religion, the original nature endowed by Allah according to which He originated mankind (There is no altering Allah’s creation; that is the upright religion, but most people do not know.)
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” |
Full Direction at God's Religion
According to Allama Tabataba'i, al-Fitra Verse states a conclusion that is implied by its preceding verses. He writes, "since in the preceding verses, it is shown that there will be a resurrection and God will evaluate people in the afterlife, this verse comes to the conclusion that one should not turn away from God and should only be committed to the religion brought by God. For it is this religion that is in harmony with the divine creation."[1]
Interpretation of "Hanif"
In Majma' al-bayan, al-Tabrisi interprets "hanif" as steadfast, interpreting the verse as referring to being steadfast in the religion, that is, not to turn away from the religion and tend to another religion.[2] However, according to Allama Tabataba'i, the word refers to how religion is practiced, and based on its literal meaning, it implies that we should be moderate in our religiosity.[3]
Interpretation of "Fitra"
According to Majma' al-bayan, "fitra" refers to monotheism and Islam with a tendency to which human beings are born and to which they innately resort. Al-Tabrisi cites a hadith from the Prophet of Islam (s) according to which, every person is born with the "fitra" until his parents make him a Jew or a Christian or a Zoroastrian.[4]
In the majority of Shiite hadiths, "fitra" is interpreted as referring to monotheism.[5] However, in some hadiths, other instances of fitra are also enumerated, such as knowledge of God, Islam, and wilaya.[6]
Zurara has transmitted a hadith from Imam al-Baqir (a) according to which the "the original nature endowed by God according to which He originated mankind" means that human beings are created with knowledge of God. Otherwise, people did not know who their Lord and Livelihood-Provider is.[7] In Ibn Shahrashub's al-Manaqib, there is a hadith in which Imam al-Rida (a) quotes Imam al-Sadiq (a) as saying that "fitra" refers to monotheism, the prophethood of Muhammad (s), and the wilaya of Imam Ali (a).[8]
The Path to Guidance is One
Allama Tabataba'i and Jawadi Amuli have inferred from the phrase "the original nature endowed by God according to which He originated mankind" that there is only one path to human happiness.[9] In their view, the phrase implies that human beings enjoy a certain fitra, that is, a certain sort of existence that guides them to a specific path to the purpose of their creation, just as other beings are guided to the purpose for which they are created,[10] in accordance with Quranic verse "He said, ‘Our Lord is He who gave everything its creation and then guided it.’"[11].[12]
Moreover, since all human beings are of one type and have the same general characteristics, there is only one path to their happiness.[13]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 177.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 474.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 178.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 474.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 341-346.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 341-345.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 330.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 3, p. 101.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 179; Jawādī Āmulī, Fiṭrat, p. 151.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 178; Jawādī Āmulī, Fiṭrat, p. 151.
- ↑ Qur'an 20:50
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 178.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 179; Jawādī Āmulī, Fiṭrat, p. 152.
References
- Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān al-. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 1st edition. Tehran: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1416 AH.
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. 1st edition. Qom: ʿAllāma, 1379 AH.
- Jawādī Āmulī, ʿAbd Allāh. Tafsīr-i mawḍū'īe-yi Qurʾān-i karīm: fiṭrat dar Qurʾān. 7th edition. Qom: Isrāʾ, 1392 Sh.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Tawḥīd. Edited by Hāshim Ḥusaynī. 1st edition. Qom: jāmiʿa Mudarrisīn, 1398 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāyī, Mūhammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Fifth edition. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1374 Sh.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 3rd edition. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusruw, 1372 Sh.