Human Being’s Divine Nature (Fitrah)

 Fitrah refers to the distinctive spiritual capacity embedded by God in human creation that sets human beings apart from other animals and inclines them to seek perfection and virtue. All human beings possess this common human element, and so they are all predisposed to strive for perfection and truth. It is due to this inherent spiritual capacity that human beings sense intuitively a gravitation toward the true human perfections, for these human perfections are consistent with the needs and tendencies of the fitrah. Furthermore, as a result of this inherent spiritual component. the human being is predisposed to seek perfection. As God is Absolute Perfection and since through the fitrah the human being is subconsciously aware of the existence of Absolute Perfection, he is perpetually seeking the highest manifestation of perfection and the loftiest degree of existence. That is, prior to consciously apprehending and articulating arguments to prove God, the human being inherently intuits God's existence by virtue of his innate fitrah and is thus always seeking to find a way toward Him, to draw closer to Him.

In a very fundamental way, all depression and anxiety is rooted in estrangement from Absolute Perfection. Human being's divine nature (fitrah) longs for absolute perfection and shuns deprivation and imperfection. Although human beings are innately inclined to seek perfection, we err in determining the objects that truly exemplify perfection. One may, for instance, fall in love with something or perfection, we err in determining the objects that truly exemplify perfection. One may, for instance, fall in love with something or somebody, and this love provides a transitory illusion of satisfaction, but this satisfaction fades in time and that same sense of deprivation and depression returns, if one fails to make the connection with Absolute Perfection. In the inner depths of our existence, we long for the Absolute, we seek God, and the surrogate objects of love and satisfaction that we cherish can never provide a permanent replacement for the true object of our souls. But if we answer to the inner calling of our soul and strive toward the True Beloved, who possesses all perfections and goods, our hearts shall be filled with hope, happiness, and serenity, and this is because the true inclinations of our souls are truly satisfied only in this way.