Man: Its Nature and Character
(Fitrah)
The Qur’an deals in many passages
with man’s relationship to Allah Almighty and the concept of life which
naturally follows from that relationship. Its message is epitomised in the
following verse:
Verily Allah Almighty hath bought
of the Believers their lives and their properties for the price that theirs
shall be the Paradise:
“So they fight in the
way of Allah Almighty and slay and are slain. It (i.e. the promise of Paradise)
is a covenant which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Injil and the
Qur’an. And who is more faithful unto his covenant than Allah? Rejoice then in
your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph.
(al-Tawbah 9: 111)
In the above verse the nature of
the relationship which comes into existence between man and Allah because of
Man (the belief, trust and faith in Allah) is called a ‘bargain’. This means
that Man in Allah Almighty is not a mere metaphysical concept; it is in the
nature of a contract by which man barters his life and his possessions in
exchange for the promise of Paradise in the Hereafter. God as it were,
purchases a Believer’s life and property and promises, in return, the reward of
Paradise in the life after death. This concept of a bargain and a covenant has
important implications, and needs to be clearly understood.
Everything in this world belongs to
Allah Almighty. As such, man’s life and wealth, which are part of this world,
also belong to Him, because He has created them and has entrusted them to every
man for his use. Looked at from this angle, the question of ‘selling’ or
‘buying’ may not seem to arise at all; Allah Almighty does not need to buy what
is already His and man cannot sell what is not really his.
But there is one thing which has
been conferred on man, and which now belongs fully to him, and that is free
will which gives him freedom to choose between following or not following the
path of Allah Almighty. This freedom of will and choice does not automatically
make man the real owner of all the power and resources over which he has
command, nor does it give him the right to use them just as he likes. Yet,
because of this free will, he may, if he likes, consider himself free of all
obligations to the Lord and independent of any higher authority. It is here
that the question of bargain arises.
This bargain thus does not mean
that Allah Almighty is purchasing something which belongs to man. Its real
nature is this: all creation belongs to Allah Almighty, but He bestowed certain
things on man to be used by him on trust. Allah Almighty wants man to willingly
and voluntarily acknowledge this. A person who voluntarily renounces his
freedom to reject Allah’s supremacy and instead acknowledges His sovereignty,
and, in so doing, ‘sells’ his ‘autonomy’ (which, too, is a gift from Allah) to
Allah Almighty, will get in return Allah’s promise of eternal bliss in
Paradise. A person who makes such a bargain is a Muk’min (Believer) and Man
(faith) is the Islamic name for this contract; a person who chooses not to
enter into this contract, or who, after making such a contract, does not keep
to it, is a Kafir (Non Believer). The avoidance or abrogation of the contract
is technically known as Kufr.
Such is the nature of the contract.
Now let us briefly study its various aspects and stipulations.
Allah Almighty has set us to
account for ourselves in two areas:
(a) He has left man free, but
nonetheless wishes to see whether he will remain honest and loyal to Him, or
whether he will rebel against his own Creator, whether he will behave nobly or
start ‘playing such fantastic tricks as make the angels weep’.
(b) He wants to see whether man is
prepared to have enough trust in Allah Almighty to offer his life and wealth in
return for a promise about the next world.
It is a principle of Islamic law
that Man consists in adherence to a certain set of doctrines and anyone who
accepts those doctrines becomes a Muk’min. No one has the right to call such a
man a disbeliever or drive him from the fold of Ummah, unless there is clear
proof that faith has been abandoned. This is the legal position. But in the
eyes of the Lord, Man is only valid when it entails complete surrender of one’s
will and freedom of choice to the will of Allah Almighty. It is a state of
thought and action, coming from the heart, wherein man submits himself fully to
Allah, renouncing all claim to his own supremacy.
A man may recite the Kalimah,
accept the contract and even offer Prayers and perform other acts of worship,
but if in his heart he regards himself as the owner and the master of his
physical and mental powers and of his moral and material resources, then,
however much the people may look upon him as a Muk’min, in the eyes of Allah
Almighty he will be a disbeliever. He will not really have entered into the
bargain which the Qur’an says is the essence of Man. If a man does not use his
powers and resources in the way Allah Almighty has prescribed for him, using
them instead in pursuits which Allah Almighty has forbidden, it is clear that
either he has not pledged his life and property to Allah Almighty, or has
nullified that pledge by his conduct.
This aspect of Man makes the
Islamic way of life the very opposite of that of the non-Muslim. A Muslim, who
has real faith in Allah Almighty, makes his entire life one of obedience and
surrender to His will. He never behaves arrogantly or selfishly or as if he
were master of his own destiny, saves in moments of forgetfulness. And as soon
as he becomes conscious of such a lapse, he will submit himself to his Lord and
ask forgiveness for his error.
Similarly, a group of people or a
society which consists of true Muslims can never break away from the Law of
their Lord. Its political order, its social organisations, its culture, its
economic policy, its legal system and its international strategy must all be in
tune with the code of guidance revealed by Allah. Any unwitting contraventions
must be corrected as soon as they are realised.
It is disbelievers who feel free
from Allah’s guidance and behave as if they were their own master. Anyone who
behaves like this, even though he may bear a name similar to that of a Muslim,
is treading the path of the disbelievers.
The will of Allah Almighty, which
it is obligatory for man to follow, is the one which Allah Himself has revealed
for man’s guidance. It cannot be determined by man himself. Allah Almighty has
Himself explained it clearly and there is no ambiguity about it. Therefore, if
a society sticks honestly to its contract with Allah, it must shape its life in
accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW.
It is clear from the foregoing
discussion why the payment of the ‘price’ has been postponed till the life
after death. Paradise is not the reward for the mere profession of the bargain;
it is the reward for the faithful execution of it. Unless the behaviour of the
‘vendor’ complies with the terms of the contract he will not be entitled to the
reward. The final act of the ‘sale’ can only be concluded after the last moment
of the vendor’s earthly life.
There is another significant point
which emerges from the study of the verse quoted above when it is read in its
context in the Qur’an. In the verses preceding it, reference is made to the
people who professed Iman and promised a life of obedience, but who, when the
hour of trial came, proved unequal to the task. Some neglected the call of the
hour and betrayed the cause. Others refused to sacrifice their lives and riches
in the cause of Allah Almighty. The Qur’an, after criticising their
insincerity, makes it clear that Man is a contract, a form of pledge between
man and Allah Almighty. It does not consist in a mere profession of belief in Allah
Almighty. It is an acknowledgement of the fact that Allah Almighty alone is our
Lord, Sovereign and Ruler and that everything that man has, including his own
life, belongs to Him and must be used in accordance with His directives. If a
Muslim adopts a different course, he is insincere in his profession of faith. Only
those who have really sold their lives and all that they possess to Allah
Almighty and who follow His dictates in all spheres of activity can be called
true Believers.
