Fitrah (Nature) in Islam

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  said: "No child is born except on Al-Fitrah (pure nature i.e. to believe in One God) and then his parents make him Jewish, Christian or Magian, as an animal produces a perfect young animal: do you see any part of its body amputated?" He then recited: (Al Quran 30:30)…the Fitrah (natural Way of Allah) which He has instilled in all mankind. Let there be no change in this creation of Allah. That is the Straight Way, but most mankind do not know."[1]

Islam is a Deen (way of life) whose teachings are in conformance to the human nature referred to as Fitrah in Arabic. All rules and regulations in Islam help our Fitrah (pure nature) spiritually and physically grow and sustain in a way so that it continues to recognize Allah ﷻ as our true God and gain proximity to Him. However, our Fitrah also carries the potential to get corrupted as it matures if the external environmental factors that nurture are in opposition to the teachings that Allah ﷻ revealed. The word "parents" in the above prophetic hadith include all the environmental factors which influence us that we are exposed to as we mature, such as parenting during early childhood, environmental culture, social circles, friends, education system, peer pressure, all these factors develop us as we move in to later stages of life. It is these factors that blur our Fitrah that has the ability to recognize our Creator, believe in Him and worship Him alone without associating anyone or anything at all, whether real or imaginary. The result of its blurriness is what makes one adopt a lifestyle of an agnostic, atheist, jew, christian, hindu etc. If it is developed in accordance to Islam, the divine guidance given by Allah ﷻ to all prophets, it will not create its own god(s), and then it will remain a Muslim i.e. one who submits their will to the will of Allah ﷻ. It is in this regards that Allah ﷻ reminds humankind about Islam: (Al Quran 3:19) Certainly, Allah’s only Way is Islam (wholehearted submission to Allah’s will). Those who were given the Scripture did not dispute ˹among themselves˺ out of mutual envy until knowledge came to them.2 Whoever denies Allah’s signs, then surely Allah is swift in reckoning.

Hence, the example of Fitrah is just like the water stream that gushes from the earth and is always pure in the beginning but gradually gathers dust and other impure elements from wherever it passes. Even though this water becomes impure, yet it retains its original properties. Similar to the parable of water our nature continues to carry the recognition of Allah ﷻ as our Creator despite being negatively impacted in many ways but later on in some point in time  when many of us are searching for answers to purpose of life and existence and then hear what Islam has to offer, we are able to relate it to the Fitrah within and everything begins to make perfect sense. This is how many wanderers among non-Muslims, and even Muslims who have not been nurtured in a proper way, find their way to Allah ﷻ and become faithful in the later part of their lives. 

References:
​[1] Sahih al-Bukhari 4775 - Sunnah.com