Sunnah Daily سُنَّة

Fitrah: why we believe

Chapter 3 · about 11 min read

In short

  • Every child is born on the fitrah: a pure, natural nature that knows its Maker and leans toward Him.
  • Allah took a promise from all the children of Adam: "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes." The fitrah is the trace of that promise.
  • Allah shows His signs all around us and inside us: in the sky, the earth, our bodies and our hearts.
  • The Quran gives simple, strong arguments, like: were they created by nothing, or did they create themselves?
  • The heart was made for Allah. That is why it only finds real rest in remembering Him.
Take the short lessonsThe key points of this chapter, a few screens at a time, with a quick check at the end.

Why do people believe in God?

All through history, in every land, people have believed in a Maker. They looked at the sky and felt there must be Someone behind it. In hard moments, they called out to Someone greater than themselves.

Islam explains why. Belief in Allah is not something strange that has to be forced into a person. It is already inside you. Allah made every human being with a natural pull toward Him. The Quran calls this the fitrah.

This chapter is not a debate. It is a gentle look at three things: the fitrah inside you, the signs around you, and the rest your heart finds in Allah.

This chapter is the full reference. For a short course with quizzes, see the short lessons.

Born on the fitrah

Fitrah means the original nature that Allah created people with. Nabi ﷺ said:

Every child is born on the fitrah. Then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian or a Magian. Just as an animal gives birth to a perfect young one: do you see any part of it cut off?1

Then Abu Hurayrah, who told this hadith, recited the verse: the fitrah of Allah, on which He created people. There is no changing Allah's creation23.

What does this teach us?

  • Every baby is born pure. No one is born carrying anyone else's sin. A child starts life knowing, deep inside, that it has a Lord.
  • The surroundings shape a person. The hadith names the parents, because they are the first and strongest influence. Friends, schools and media come later.
  • The fitrah can be covered, but not erased. Like a newborn animal is born whole, a person is born whole in his nature. Later things can cover it, but the fitrah is still there underneath.

In another hadith, Allah says: I created My servants all upright (turned toward the truth). Then the devils came to them and turned them away from their religion4. So turning to Allah is the natural state. Turning away is what comes from outside.

Sources for this section
  1. 1(Bukhari 1385)
  2. 2(Quran 30:30)
  3. 3(Bukhari 1359)
  4. 4(Muslim 2865)

The promise before we were born

Allah tells us of a promise He took from all of humanity:

When your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their backs, their descendants, and made them bear witness about themselves: "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes, we bear witness."5

Many scholars explain that this happened before we came into this world. Every soul that would ever live said "yes" to Allah. Other scholars explain it as the fitrah itself: Allah made every person in a way that says "yes" to Him. Both explanations meet in one point: knowing Allah is written into us.

Allah tells us why He mentions this: so you cannot say on the Day of Judgement, "we did not know about this"6. Nor can you say: "our fathers worshipped others before us, and we only followed them"7.

We do not remember that moment. But the fitrah is its trace. It is why a person can feel, without being taught, that he is not here by accident.

Sources for this section
  1. 5(Quran 7:172)
  2. 6(Quran 7:172)
  3. 7(Quran 7:173)

Signs around you and inside you

Allah did not leave the fitrah alone. He filled the world with ayat (signs) that point back to Him. The same word, ayah, is used for a verse of the Quran. The Quran is a book of signs you read. Creation is a book of signs you see.

Allah says: We will show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth8.

On the horizons

In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the change of night and day, are signs for people of understanding. Those who remember Allah standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and think about the creation of the heavens and the earth: "Our Lord, You did not create this for nothing. Glory be to You. Save us from the punishment of the Fire."9

  • Look at the sky. Allah invites us to look and look again: do you see any cracks?10.
  • Look at the animals. Do they not look at the camels, how they were created?11. Think of how a camel is made for the desert, or how a bird knows its way home.
  • Look at the rain. Allah sends water from the sky and brings dead land back to life with it12.

Within yourselves

On the earth are signs for those who are sure. And within yourselves. Do you not see?13

  • Your body. Your heart beats around 100,000 times a day without you asking it to. Your eyes, your hands, your ability to speak: none of it was your idea.
  • Your mind. Allah brought you out of your mother's womb knowing nothing, and gave you hearing, sight and a heart, so that you might be thankful14.
  • Your sense of right and wrong. Allah says He inspired the soul to know its wrong and its right15. Every person feels that cruelty is wrong and kindness is good. Where did that come from?
The full story: Nabi ﷺ looks at the night sky

Ibn Abbas, a young cousin of Nabi ﷺ, once stayed the night at the home of his aunt Maymunah, the wife of Nabi ﷺ16.

Nabi ﷺ spoke with his wife for a while, then went to sleep. In the last third of the night, he woke up. He sat up, looked up at the sky, and recited: in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the change of night and day, are signs for people of understanding17.

Then he got up, made wudu, cleaned his teeth with a siwak (tooth stick), and prayed eleven rakat. Then Bilal called the adhan, and he went out to lead Fajr18.

What this teaches us

  • Looking at creation is worship. Nabi ﷺ joined thinking about the sky with prayer.
  • Thinking leads to remembering. The verse he recited goes on to describe people who think about creation and then turn to Allah in dua19.
  • You can do it too. Tonight, step outside for one minute, look up, and recite or remember this verse.
Sources for this section
  1. 8(Quran 41:53)
  2. 9(Quran 3:190-191)
  3. 10(Quran 67:3)
  4. 11(Quran 88:17)
  5. 12(Quran 2:164)
  6. 13(Quran 51:20-21)
  7. 14(Quran 16:78)
  8. 15(Quran 91:8)
  9. 16(Bukhari 4569)
  10. 17(Quran 3:190)
  11. 18(Bukhari 4569)
  12. 19(Quran 3:191)

The Quran's own arguments

The Quran does not only tell us to believe. It also reasons with us, in simple words anyone can follow. One of the strongest is in Surah at-Tur:

Were they created by nothing? Or are they the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? No, they are just not sure.20

Think it through. There are only a few options for how you came to be:

  • From nothing, by nothing? Nothing comes from nothing. Not a chair, not a phone, not a person.
  • You made yourself? You would have to exist before you existed. That makes no sense.
  • You made the heavens and the earth? No one claims that.
  • So there is only one answer left: a Creator who was not created. That is Allah.

These few lines once moved a man so much that iman entered his heart.

The full story: Jubayr hears Surah at-Tur

Jubayr ibn Mut'im was a man of Quraysh, not yet a Muslim. After the battle of Badr, he came to Madinah to speak about the prisoners of war21.

While he was there, he heard Nabi ﷺ leading the Maghrib prayer, reciting Surah at-Tur22.

When Nabi ﷺ reached the verses: were they created by nothing, or are they the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth?, Jubayr said: my heart was about to fly23.

He said later that this was the first time iman settled in my heart24. In time, he became a Muslim.

What this teaches us

  • The Quran speaks to the heart and the mind together. Jubayr was not in a debate. He simply listened.
  • A simple, honest question can open a heart. "Who made you?" is a question every person can answer for himself.
  • Recite well. Your recitation in salah may be the first Quran someone near you has ever really heard.

The Quran uses many arguments like this: the order of the universe25, the way the Quran itself has no contradictions26, and the way people call on Allah alone when they are in danger. When a storm hits a ship, Allah says, they call on Allah, sincere to Him alone27. In that moment, the fitrah speaks.

Do you need to be good at arguments?

No. Scholars of creed have written long proofs for Allah's existence. The Ash'ari and Maturidi scholars used reason-based proofs a great deal. Athari scholars put more weight on the fitrah and the Quran's own simple arguments. But all of Ahl al-Sunnah agree on what matters for you: a person who believes sincerely, from the fitrah and the signs, is a true believer, even if he cannot explain a single philosophical proof. The proofs are there to help, and to answer doubts. Learn more from a teacher you trust if you wish.

Sources for this section
  1. 20(Quran 52:35-36)
  2. 21(Bukhari 4023)
  3. 22(Bukhari 3050)
  4. 23(Bukhari 4854)
  5. 24(Bukhari 4023)
  6. 25(Quran 67:3)
  7. 26(Quran 4:82)
  8. 27(Quran 29:65)

Why the heart finds rest in Allah

Allah says: those who believe, and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Truly, it is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest28.

Why only in Allah? Because the heart was made for Him. Allah says: I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me29. When something is used for what it was made for, it works well. When it is not, something always feels missing.

  • Money, fame and pleasure can make a person happy for a while. But they never fully fill the heart. There is always a wish for more.
  • Allah is near. When My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the call of the one who calls on Me30. The heart feels safe when it knows Someone hears it.
  • A good life. Allah promises: whoever does good, man or woman, while believing, We will give them a good life31. And whoever turns away from His reminder will have a narrow, tight life32, even with plenty of money.

Many new Muslims describe this same feeling. They say becoming Muslim felt less like finding something new, and more like coming home. That is the fitrah, recognizing what it always knew.

Try it: next time you feel restless, sit for two minutes and say subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, Allahu akbar slowly. Notice how your heart feels. Our tasbih counter can help.
Sources for this section
  1. 28(Quran 13:28)
  2. 29(Quran 51:56)
  3. 30(Quran 2:186)
  4. 31(Quran 16:97)
  5. 32(Quran 20:124)

When doubts come

Even with the fitrah, doubts can come. That is human, and it is not a reason to panic.

  • Bad thoughts are not disbelief. Some Companions told Nabi ﷺ they had thoughts they would hate to even say. He said: that is clear iman33. Feeling upset by a bad thought is a sign of faith.
  • Some thoughts are whispers, not questions. Nabi ﷺ said shaytan comes and asks: who created this, who created that, until he asks: who created your Lord? When that happens, seek refuge in Allah and stop34. The Creator is the One who was never created, so the question does not apply to Him.
  • Real questions deserve real answers. If you have an honest question, ask someone with knowledge. Islam does not ask you to hide your questions.

Go back to the signs. Look at the sky, read the Quran with its meaning, pray, and make dua: O Allah, guide my heart.

Sources for this section
  1. 33(Muslim 132)
  2. 34(Bukhari 3276)

Common questions

If every baby is born on the fitrah, why do so many people not believe?
Because the fitrah can be covered by what a person is taught, by the people around him, by distractions, and by shaytan's whispers35. It is covered, not gone. That is why many people find their way back to Allah later in life.
I became Muslim as an adult. Some call it "reverting". Why?
Because of this hadith36. Many new Muslims feel they are returning to the fitrah they were born with. Both words, convert and revert, are fine. What matters is that you are home.
Do I remember saying "yes" to Allah before I was born?
No one remembers it. But the Quran tells us it happened37, and its trace is the fitrah: the feeling deep inside that you have a Lord.
My child asks: "Who made Allah?" How do I answer?
Stay calm and smile. Explain that everything that begins needs a maker, but Allah never began. He was always there, and He made everything else. Then teach them, gently, to say "a'udhu billah" when such thoughts keep coming38.
I do not feel the "rest in the heart" that the Quran talks about. What is wrong with me?
Nothing is wrong with you. Iman goes up and down for everyone. Keep praying, remember Allah often39, spend time with good people, and be patient. The calm often comes slowly, like dawn. See Iman rises and falls.
Should I argue with people who do not believe?
You do not need to win arguments. Allah tells us to invite with wisdom and good advice, and to discuss in the best way40. Often your kindness and honesty speak louder than any proof.
Sources for this section
  1. 35(Muslim 2865)
  2. 36(Bukhari 1385)
  3. 37(Quran 7:172)
  4. 38(Bukhari 3276)
  5. 39(Quran 13:28)
  6. 40(Quran 16:125)
Take the short lessonsThe key points of this chapter, a few screens at a time, with a quick check at the end.

This guide teaches what all of Ahl al-Sunnah agree on and notes where the schools of creed differ. For your own questions, ask a scholar you trust or your local masjid.

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