posure to a combination of certain pesticides might impair
the bee’s ability to carry out its pollen mission.”1 Basically,
due to certain environmental changes, the guidance of the
bees is clouded and they are negatively affected due to these
changes.
Now, what about human beings? Is our fitra or guidance immune
to undesired effects? In a well-known hadith found in
both Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Hurayra g reported Allah’s
Messenger a as saying: “None are born, except upon the fitra.
However, their parents raise them as a Jew, a Christian or
a Magian.” This teaches us that Allah has given us a natural
disposition to accept Islam and believe in Him. It also indicates
that similar to the bee, if one is negatively influenced
over a period of time, their fitra can become clouded and
lead them down a different path. One will not be able to see
the truth for what it is nor easily accept it.
In this day and age, people have not just become Jews, Christians
or Magians, they have lost their concern with guidance
and religion and many have abandoned the search for truth
altogether. They spend their lives in pursuit of satisfying
their desires and thinking of new ways to derive pleasure
from products and social media. Just the thought of a religion
which will alter their egocentric lifestyle and introduce
restrictions is enough to make people stick their heads in the
sand. They have been bathing in this lifestyle for so long that
a film has developed over their entire bodies which prevents
guidance from entering their hearts. In this compromised
state, the human being lives in a sad “reality” making choices
that reflect their corrupt and vain preferences. They stop
seeking the most important and opt to focus on temporal
and petty attainments.
What about the Muslims? Are we upon the fitra or have we
been infiltrated by the world around us? If we look at how
we spend the majority of our free time, we will find the answer.
We have stepped in many of the same traps that the
non-Muslims have fallen into. Instead of being constantly
connected to Allah and searching for the connection when
it drops, we are only satisfied when our phones are connected
to Wi-Fi. If that connection becomes weak, we are
well-aware. We do whatever we can to get a stronger signal,
whether it be purchasing new equipment or scouting for a
place with a stronger connection. Instead of strengthening
our connection with Allah by reading the Qur’an, making
du‘a or going to the masjid, we find ourselves playing video
games, glued to YouTube and refreshing social media pages
for new feed. Living in this manner is in fact suppressing
the fitra within us. We are slowly but steadily becoming less
Muslim day by day living like this. Some of us are so busy
with worldly pursuits, that we don’t even find the time to
pray our obligatory prayers. The prayers are like a shield
protecting our faith, the optional prayers add layers and
strength and praying in the congregation turns the shield
into a fortress. If we neglect the prayer or leave it out all
together, we are in fact compromising that defense system
that Allah, the All-Wise has set up for us. It cuts out those auto
updates of guidance that Allah has set within our prayers.
The only thing left will be a little voice in our heads reminding
us of the truth. This too, will fade quite quickly and become
overpowered by an uninvited whisper of doubt. This
will progress until one becomes completely indifferent and
apathetic towards Islam.
Sometimes I try to go back in time and figure out what exactly
was the turning point for me. What was it that prevented
me from asking for guidance for so long? How did I end
up in that rented out church which was hosting an all-night
dance party? Why was I prostrating to a musician? I had
fallen into the snare of consumer culture. I had an obsession
with music, and everything connected to it, dancing,
drinking, drugs and partying. Entertainment was the axis
around which my life revolved. Going from one source of it
to the next, I simply did not have guidance in my crosshair.
At concerts and clubs, one finds his/herself standing next to
towering walls of speakers for hours on end, being dazzled
by blinding strobe lights and half-naked people all over the
place. This lifestyle becomes ritualistic for many. How is one
supposed to think clearly when they have made these futile
distractions the basis of their religion? Allah describes this
in the Qur’an: “So, have you seen him who has taken his desires
as his god? Allah has, knowing him as such, let him go
astray and sealed his hearing and his heart and understanding
and put a cover on his sight. Who, then, will guide him
after Allah has withdrawn guidance? Will you then not take
a lesson?” (45:23). I would go from the music at the club to
my headphones on the way home and finally to my computer
playing music for me as I slept. How is the fitra supposed
to do its job when you can’t even hear your own thoughts?
My lifestyle contained many barriers which prevented me
from asking for guidance. After overdosing on drugs and
nearly dying in the hospital, I woke up from that dream. In
that state of clarity, when those barriers were broken, my
heart asked for guidance without my permission. This is
a common human experience. Our life flashes before our
eyes and the insignificant things in life seem to pause. My
heart turned towards the sky and asked the Unseen for guidance
in its own language. It was the fitra in me, seeking its
Creator. Requesting its map and compass. It had been eagerly
waiting to emerge. This is something within all of us.
Based on the lifestyle that we live, we can either foster this
direct connection from our hearts to Allah or allow the fre-
1 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/2/130213-
honeybee-pesticide-insect-behavior-science/
continued on page 30
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