Your Child’s Fitrah is Yours to Follow

What is Fitrah?

Fitrah فطرة, is an Arabic word meaning disposition, nature, constitution, or instinct.

Abu Hurairah (ra) related that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Five are the acts of Fitrah: circumcision, shaving pubic hair, clipping the moustache, cutting the nails and plucking the hair under the armpits" as recorded by Muslim, Al-Bukhaari and Ahmad.

Why Is Fitrah Important?

Fitrah reveals the natural potential in man that brings us to the question of why we are here. What are we doing? Where are we heading to? By knowing this set of answers we are positioning our role and directing our whole life to a clear prospect. In other words when we know our purpose in life and heading towards it we are essentially fulfilling the need of fitrah in ourselves.

As much as the literal discussion on ‘what is the meaning of the fitrah’ is concerned, we understood that fitrah as to physical body is much related to the very essence of its physicality; the hair, nails, finger joints, moustache, mouth and others. It relates to how the hygiene of these essential elements needs to be taken care of. If fitrah to the physical body is referring to the management of its essential parts, then how is fitrah related to the other three elements of mankind; the intelligence, the emotion and the spirit?

Fitrah is important in the sense that it directs our focus to tackle the most important aspects in our lives. Of course we do have a lot of important things to engage in, but the ability to prioritize and work smoothly make us follow the actual script of a true human. Let us take for instance a broken down car - to ensure that this car works well surely we will send the car to a workshop for a thorough inspection and not simply hop in to a car accessories’ store and end up with unnecessary changes and replacements.

What we are discussing here is not of any material arrangement. We are dealing with our own life and as Muslims, we should honestly believe that our life spent in this world is the only chance we have to ensure our salvation in the hereafter, otherwise our souls will definitely be amongst the lost and damned!

Allah, our Great Creator says: in Surah al Asr 1-3 By Al-'Asr (the time) Verily! Man is in a loss, except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth and recommend one another to patience. The fitrah of our intelligence senses its need to manage and interpret knowledge.

To the emotion, fitrah is formed by the urgency of care, love and respect, while in the element of spirit fitrah is governing the total submission and belief in Allah SWT. Understanding your own fitrah may lead you to be the best of mankind with all the qualities of true human who can interact with his own society, environment and the world at large within the capacity that has been entrusted to mankind by Allah SWT.

The relationship between a child’s fitrah and our own?

As parents we are responsible for our children, and personally we also want the best for them. To fulfill the role and to define the meaning of the best, it must come from the absolute authority that is without doubt from Allah and His Messenger. Prophet SAW said: “Each child is born in a state of Fitrah, but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian.” It is like the way an animal gives birth to a normal offspring. Have you noticed any (young animal) born mutilated before you mutilate them?” (Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim)

Up to this point, Imam Bilal Philips said, “When a child is born, it has with it a natural belief in God. This natural belief is called in Arabic the “Fitrah”. If the child were left alone, it would grow up aware of God in His oneness, but all children are affected by the pressures of their environment whether directly or indirectly.”

The Prophet SAW reported that Allah SWT said, “I created My servants in the right religion but the devils made them go astray.” (Saheeh Muslim). By following the child’s fitrah, how does this relate to our own fitrah? The answer is it very much depends on how we perceive and appreciate these little humans in our world. By perceiving them as a trust from Allah and appreciating them according to Allah’s directions, we may discover our own fitrah.

Learning independence through practical day-to-day skills

It is fair enough to firmly declare that it is our duty to follow Prophet Muhammad SAW as well as the way of all prophets since it is the only way which is unmistakably in agreement with nature (fitrah).

Allah says “We advise man to be good to his parents, but if they try to make you do in My name what you know to be false, do not obey them.” (Quran 29:8) and in another part of Al-Quran also says “If they are told to follow what God has revealed, they say: ‘No, we will continue to follow what we found our foreparents doing!” Even though their foreparents did not comprehend anything nor were they rightly guided.” (Quran 2:170)

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