6.2.1 THE NATURAL STATE, fitrat

Allah the creator created humans in the state of fitra. This is the best state both biologically, morally, socially, and psychologically. Fitrat can be degraded or distorted by human behavior biologically, morally, and in terms of ‘aqidat. Both nature and nurture play a role in human action and behavior. The relative role of each varies according to what aspects of human biology and behavior are being considered. The basic human fitrat enables humans to know the bad from the good in most cases without the need for revelation, wahy. Revelation and human experience only reinforce what is known innately. There are however a few aspects that humans cannot know without the guidance of revelation. Humans have innate weaknesses in their fitrat.

6.2.2 THE ESSENCE: NAFS, QALB, RUH

The essence of the human is the nafs. The words qalb and ruh are also used to mean nafs. The exact nature of the nafs, ruh, or qalb is in Allah’s knowledge. The nafs has three levels: prone to evil, nafs ammara; self-reproaching, nafs lawamat; and perfect, nafs kaamilat. The nafs kaamilat is satisfied, nafs mutmainnat; pleased, nafs raadhiyat; and pleasing, nafs mardhiyat. There are many signs of Allah in the nafs. The nafs has positive and negative attributes. It can change to the good or the bad. The qalb has been described as associated with iman, emotions, sensation, intellect, responsibility, and guidance. Diseases of the qalb include lahw, ghaflah, ghill, ghaidh, kibr, and nifaq. The qalb can be influenced or changed. The ruh is eternal. It was created before the body. It is the essential difference between a human and an animal. The ruh does not return to earth after death. Those who claim to make contact with souls of the dead are liars. Islam does not accept the concept of transmutation of souls (movement of the ruh from one person to another). It also does not accept reincarnation.

6.2.3 DUALITY

The non-material part of the human is the nafs or the ruh. It is the essence and the most important. It is the source of identity for each individual human. It is permanent existing before and after the end of the physical part of the human. The physical form of the human body is temporary. The uniqueness of the human lies in the duality of matter and ruh. Human behavior is a reflection of the dual nature but the ruh and nafs have overriding control over the body. The physical part of the human through the hormonal and neural drives is also responsible for some types of behavior.

6.2.4 RELATION WITH THE UNSEEN, ‘alaqat al insan bi ‘aalam al ghaib

Muslims believe in the unseen. They have only a one-way contact with the unseen through the verses of the Qur’an. Allah the almighty is watching and knows what the entire human is doing and nothing can be hidden from Him. Angels and jinn are part of the unseen. They intervene in human actions but most ordinary humans cannot initiate any contacts with them. The human lives and functions in the empirical world of the seen. Scientific empirical prediction of the future or reconstructions of the past are not intrusions into the unseen because they are interpretations of empirical data that may not always be perfect.

6.2.5 ATTRIBUTES of the HUMAN, sifaat al insan

It is a unique duality of the human that he has both negative and positive attributes. The human is superior because of ability to do good despite the potential for evil. The positive attributes of humans as: gratitude, desire of both the earth and the heaven, and belief. On the negative side the human is described as proud, unjust, hasty, miserly, ignorant, foolhardy, neglectful, evil-doer, spreader of evil, denier of the truth, kafir & kafuur, polytheist, hypocrite, niggardly, argumentative, perfidious, adversarial, despairing, impatient, fretful, transgressor, self-sufficient, ungrateful, denier of favors, and lover of passions. The most important attribute of humans is intelligence that is highly developed, sophisticated, specialized, and capable of abstract thought and problem solving. Human aggression is a constant characteristic of humans as individuals and societies. It always leads to destruction. Aggression can be against the self, dhulm al nafs, other humans, dhulm al ghair. Aggression is the final pathway for many of human weaknesses and failures. The first recorded act of human aggression was homicide committed by one of Adam’s sons because of jealousy. Since then human history has been characterized by aggression of various types and kinds. Human aggression is so much that even when seeking recreation, they have a tendency towards sports like boxing, wrestling and others that allow expression of the inner tension or aggression.