According to the Qur’an, mankind, in itsnatural state of being (fitrah), affirm the existence, oneness and transcendence of its Creator.
As this affirmation consists originally in the Primordial Covenant agreed and promised by each human soul to Allah (called al-mithaq), its understanding is based on revealed scripture interpreted by Prophetic tradition.
Qur’anic verses and traditions of the Prophet point to fitrah as pertaining to the event when Allah brought forth Adam’s offspring from their loins, and called upon them to testify concerning themselves: “Am I not your Lord?”, to which they answer: “Yea, indeed, we do bear witness thereto!” (al-A‘raf, 7: 172).
The Covenant consists of mankind’s testimony concerning itself byexpressing absolute affirmation of the existence of Allah as the Real, the Truth, the Absolute Being, and as their Lord, i.e., as their Sovereign and Master.
For that matter, it is also an affirmation of their servanthood (‘ubudiyyah) towards Him.
Mankind’s very affirmation of Allah’s Sovereignty—that He is their Lord—should also mean a denial of any partner of His divinity; this can be so inferred because mankind made such an affirmation in an absolute manner excluding the possibility of the existence of any partner in His divinity.
Hence, it is clarified that all mankind was once ‘a single community’ as, primordially, each and every one of them concurrently affirmed the existence of Allah (the Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2: 213).
It is also termed the Solemn Covenant as it is not pledged by coercion; it is the Pure Submission.
Mankind’s religious disposition as the khalq Allah (what Allah has created as human nature) is explained in this Qur’anic verse: “And so, set thy face steadfastly towards the one ever-true religion, inclining towards a right state or tendency, in accordance with the predisposition which Allah has instilled into man: no change shall there be in what Allah has created as human nature—this is the purpose of the one ever-true religion; but most people know it not” (the Qur’an, al-Rum, 30: 30).
Indeed, Muslim scholars always quote and point out the saying of the Prophet Muhammad that “Every infant is born in the state of fitrah”.
This inborn fitrah makes man originally pure (tahir) in his absolute servanthood of the Lord Most Exalted, excluding other than He.
Among the spiritual states of natural religious disposition that He has instilled into mankind are that it must not serve any except Allah, that it must continue in that disposition on the oneness of Him, and must not associate with Him the other named Allah.
It also means that Allah creates thehuman soul in the states of being perfect, mature, intelligent, conscious, believing in the oneness of Allah, and affirming His Lordship.
Hence Allah does not command except those who understand His command. This ability to understand religious truths is the real essence of mankind.
Nonetheless, this theistic affirmation must be understood in the context of mankind’s primordial existence, and not their ordinary existence in which mankind is subject to the limitations of humanity and the material universe.
In the words of a metaphysician, Ibn al-‘Arabi (d. 638 AH/1240 CE), Allah takes the Covenant from the children of Adam before He gives each their individual body. When man is issued in the confines of nature with this body—which is the locus of forgetfulness—he becomes ignorant, and forgets the state of being upon which he was once with his Lord.
This is why the unbelievers shall be told in the Hereafter: ‘Did you disbelieve after having faith? Taste, then, this suffering for having disbelieved!’ (Ali ‘Imran, 3: 106); Ibn al-‘Arabi clarifies that they are not preceded by a faith except the belief of the offspring (al-iman al-dharr) of Adam at the time as recorded in al-A‘raf, 7: 172. And they forget this Covenant after it has been passed.
Then, in life, man needs to reflect upon the proof of the oneness of his Creator—that is to say, if he does reach the condition of life that granted him the ability of reflecting.
If he does not, then his judgment with respect to Allah will follow that of his parents’: if they are faithful believers he will definitely learn the oneness of Allah from them through emulation; if they are not, then he will find himself in whatever religion they hold.
Be that as it may, by their affirmation, mankind’s servanthood towards Allah is established, and its duty must be fulfilled by every one of them; and among the duties is to be compassionate and kind to the poor, the needy, and people in general.
A beautiful analogy is here given by Ibn al-‘Arabi.
He says that in the classical world, when a man buys a slave from another man, one of the conditions is that the slave must affirm the masterhood of his buyer. A mere claim by anybody that he is the master of another person will not be heeded—if at all be heard—by others. In other words, no argument can be established upon the person by a statement of his supposed master unless the former has acknowledged the latter’s masterhood. This is due to the fact that his original status is freedom from slavery (al-hurriyyah), and the continuity of this status should be presumed. After the acknowledgment of masterhood, however, the slavery of this person will in turn become the original status. Then, the continuity of this status is to be presumed until freedom, should it be claimed, being established.
Since this servanthood, in essence, requires mankind’s obedience to Allah, He charges them with religious responsibility to observe His commands and prohibitions in order to test their truthfulness in what they have claimed to be.
Ibn al-‘Arabi further notes that, as the genesis of trials is a claim, those who have no claim will not have to contend with any trial (as, for instance, other creatures of Allah which dared not assent to the Covenant when offered).
Hence, Allah does not hold us responsible until we have made our claim of servanthood to Him.
But what if one says that he does not know of this divine calling upon him as a witness, testifying for his servanthood to His Lordship—i.e., the Covenant mentioned in the Qur’an and Prophetic Traditions?
Ibn al-‘Arabi answers that this knowledge is part of true Faith, not of unaided Reason, nor is this a self-evident subject for human intellect.
On the question of how could the non-believer compos mentis be included under this religious trial, Ibn al-‘Arabi replies that, by his intellect, the compos makes it incumbent upon himself to glorify his Creator in terms of His praises, greatness and perfection.
Readers may want to compare the abovementioned interpretation with the recent theory that religion gives rise to culture and civilization and not the other way around (see “The Birth of Religion,” National Geographic, June 2011).