The Nature of Human Nature
Coordinating Modern Thought with an Islamic Perspective of Fitrah
(Part 2 of 2)
Mohammed Siraj Uddin
God's Command is the Universal Rule:
The universality of God's Command regarding the nature of the creation can be best understood by referring to the natural phenomena around us:
In the universe, there is perpetual peace and tranquility, justice and order, and global harmony among countless units of creation. There is also a regularity and punctuality in their functions. It is evident in the revolving of the earth on its axis to give us day and night for work and rest, as in the orderly rotations of the sun and the moon, to give us light and energy during day and coolness and comfort at night. They just follow the rule without exception. So, the natural functioning of our inborn Operating System (our Fitrah), the 'nature of our [divinely decreed] Nature,' is to submit to the Will of Allah and to follow His intended Rule:
So, He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command... Such is the Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge. [Surah Fuṣṣilat, 41: 12]
Similarly, it is natural for the mother to protect her child, for birds to fly, for dogs to safeguard their masters, and for cats to hunt. These instinctive behaviors are part and parcel of that particular creation. These are preordained and recorded in DNA.
Human Nature - Adam
Allah (subḥanahu wa ta'ala) created Adam, the father of mankind, according to His preplanned Design, a design that was not known even to the angels (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:30). Adam was created in the best of spiritual and physical molds, befitting the role of Allah's khalifah. He was given knowledge about creation, and instructed on his 'Permissions and Prohibitions,' warned of his enemy Iblis, forgiven his previous mistake, and sent to earth to complete his mission. He was also instructed to have a family [to procreate] and to follow his monotheistic nature (fitrah) as stated explicitly:
So set your face steadily on the Religion [of Monotheism]: Allah's Pattern [fitrah] on which He has created mankind: No change [let there be] in Allah's Khalq (what He has created). That is the [standard] Religion [authorized by Allah]: but most among mankind understand not. [Surah Al-Rûm, 30:30]
These Divine Instructions formed the 'blueprint' of Adam's nature and became ingrained in his DNA to form the template for transferring this information and instructions to the next generations.
Human Nature - Adam's Descendants
The children of Adam inherited the traits of Adam's nature [fitrah] and carried those traits, including their monotheistic disposition, in their DNA, which holds the 'blueprint' of that Intelligent Design.
Human nature exhibits both physical and spiritual characteristics. In his physical aspects, he exhibits the qualities of rational thinking, emotional response and distinct physical traits. He also exhibits characteristics of the human species with certain individual variations to make us humans similar and yet different in detail from one another.
The sum total of all dissimilarities among mankind (Homo Sapien) is accounted for by a mere 0.1% variation in our genomic mass. This is part of the Design, generated by a process called mononucleotide polymorphism (MNP), achieved by a pre-decreed substitution of a single nucleotide in an identical locus on the corresponding allelle of chromosome. It is the purpose of the Designer to make us look and think slightly differently so that we can learn to interrelate in acceptance and appreciation to one another with all our varying characteristics in our worldly life together:
O Mankind! We have created you from a male and female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another... [Surah Al-Hujurât, 49:13]
Human nature differs widely from the nature of other species. Chimpanzees (Genus Pan) are closest to us in terms of genomic constitution; the difference between our genomic mass and that of chimpanzees is about 4%. The high percentage of similarities account for the common fundamental elements designated to support life, and the small difference accounts for all the dissimilarities in our physical and behavioral attributes that make us distinct.
The spiritual characteristics of human nature come from ruḥ (=spirit), which is implanted directly from Allah (subḥana-hu wa ta'ala). In the case of Adam, Allah (subḥana-hu wa ta'ala) directly blew into Adam the spirit created for him. This gift of ruḥ conferred on Adam infused in him the spiritual qualities that made lofty his status as Allah's Khalifah, and earned him the respect of angels [and even of Iblis]:
So, when I have fashioned him and breathed into him [his] ruḥ (=spirit), created by Me, then you fall down prostrate to him. [Surah Ṣâd, 38:72]
In the case of Adam's descendants, the angels bring the 'ruḥ' from Allah (subḥana-hu wa ta'ala) and blow it into the fetus at the end of the third forty-day period of intrauterine gestation. Thus, the individual human becomes distinct both physically and spiritually from all other creations. In Qur'anic language man is called "Khalqan Akhar":
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a lump (=morula [i] ); then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature, [Khalqan Akhar]. So blessed be Allah, the best to create! [Surah Mu'minûn, 23:14]
The spiritual condition of the human being is also influenced by his nafs' (=soul). The nafs has been created in a pure state, endowed with the ability to distinguish between right from wrong:
By the soul and the proportion and order given it. And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right. [Surah Al-Shams, 91:7-8]
But when exposed to the earthly environment, the nafs acquires earthly qualities that allure us to the charms of this life. The nafs is the driving force behind our everyday life, and prepares the mind to act in response to our physical, mental and emotional needs. It is an integral part of our spirituality because it testifies to the "Lordship" of Allah (subḥana-hu wa ta'ala):
When your Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam —from their loins—their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, [saying]: "Am I not your Lord [who cherishes and sustains you]?"- They said: "Yes! We do [so] testify!"… [Surah Al-A'râf, 7:172]
The inborn spiritual characteristic of the human being is monotheistic in its orientation. He is created on the blueprint of tawḥid [monotheism]. Even the staunchest non-believer and polytheist turn directly to the Creator for help in times of adversity, forgetting any created object they wrongly worship.
Nay! To Him alone you would call, and if He wills, He would remove that [distress] for which you call upon Him, and you would forget at that time whatever partners you joined [with Him in worship]. [Surah Al-An'âm, 6:41]
Nature vs. Nurture
Nature refers to determination by all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are—from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics—whereas nurture refers to determination by all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture.
In addition, it is natural, in keeping with his inborn tawḥidi fitrah —the human monotheistic predisposition— for the human being to be loving and compassionate, just, fair and trustworthy, and to dislike lewdness and dishonesty:
Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, that ye may receive admonition. [Surah Al-Nahl, 16: 90]
However, as the child grows and is nurtured by the environment, he develops his own pattern of behavior and habit. A behavior is a by-product, different from the pure characteristics of nature. While nature is an abstract quality that cannot be quantified, behavior is plastic and measurable by action. Adaptational changes, secondary to environmental influence, are sometimes necessary for survival and are reversible with a change in the environment.
The impact of environment is nil on the genetic constitution of the subject (one's DNA), and has no retrograde impact on the individual's nature, as highlighted in the following aHadiths and in the scientific understanding of "nature vs. nurture."
No child is born except in a state of Fitrah. Then His parents make him a Jew, or a Christian, or a Zoroastrian [, etc.]. As [when] an animal delivers its offspring —a perfect [replica of its species-specific template], do you find it mutilated? (Fath-Al-Bari 8:372, 11:512 and Muslim 4:2047, 2048)
I created my servants Hunafah [=monotheistic by nature], then the Shayatîn misled them from their religion. (Muslim 4:2197)
The above two aHadiths give the depth and breadth of the "monotheistic" nature of the newborn and the impact of environmental nurturing. In addition, the first Hadith emphasizes that a newborn is delivered in a perfect state of formation in accord with its DNA, without any sign of mutilation, and that it inherits the genetic information of the parents, just like an animal delivers a perfect baby animal of its own kind, according to its own DNA. The second Hadith specifically refers to the invisible influence of Shayatin (or any external, environmental evil) on our beliefs.
In summary, the nature imprinted into any creation is its divine ordainment, and this nature acts as a template to ensure the fulfillment of the purpose of that particular creation. Actions, when performed according the creature's pure, unadulterated nature, are the manifestations of that creature's purpose. The common purpose behind all creations is to recognize the existence of the Creator; in the case of the human being this recognition comes through reasoning, learned through observation and contemplation on the Signs of creation:
This is a Book [=the Qur'an] which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses [Signs], and that men of understanding may remember. [Surah Ṣâd, 38:29]
Each unit of creation serves a specific purpose dictated by its nature, which in turn has been pre-coded in the design of its DNA. Thus, nature is an inborn quality, not amenable to change; and any change of its DNA would change the details of its nature; accordingly, the changed DNA would not serve that creature's original purpose.
Human nature shows slight intra-species genetic variations for individuals to be slightly different from each other, engineered through a divinely pre-determined process called —in genetic terminology— mononucleotide polymorphism (MNP) of an allelle [ii] on only one strand of a chromosome, without any change in the genomic mass. On the other hand, there is a wider variation in nature from species to species, reflecting significant differences in chromosomes and in the bulk of the genome.
Nature —the divinely-created Template, or Blueprint— sets the spiritual foundation (characteristics and limits) of the human being. It is this divinely-formed nature that makes man befitting for the role of Allah's Khalifah. It is this nature that seeks out the truth of creation, in just the same way that the truth of Allah (subḥana-hu wa ta'ala) is seeking him out. The connection between Intelligent Design, human nature and heredity are best explained by the Blueprint and Template models coded in the genome and in the human being's fitrah, in his spiritual DNA.
Human nature is a priceless gift, given to mankind, the adherence to which in its pure form will facilitate our blissful return to our Creator. It is an abstract entity, an inborn characteristic, not amenable to alteration. It is a composite of certain physical, spiritual, mental and emotional characteristics that may show slight intra-species variations, but at the same time shows wider variation from species to species.
The 'Nature of Nature' as manifested in its obedience to the Natural Law, is the best example of the true nature of all created things. In the case of generations of living creations, it is transmitted through heredity and family traits. Habit and behavior are nurtured entities acquired through the influence of the soul, the exercise of free will and the effect of environmental factors on his actions; habit and behavior are plastic and modifiable. Because our behavior can be influenced by the state of the soul and environmental factors, the outcome could be blissful, reinforcing our true nature—or detrimental, moving us away from our true nature.
[i] "Morula" is a biological term. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morula
[ii] Allele is a genetic term. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allele
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