Maintaining the Characteristics of the Fitrah
Since Almighty God made all human beings swear to His Unique Divinity
and Lordship when He created Adam (see Holy Qur'an 7:172), this
oath is printed on the human soul even before it enters the mother's
fetus. So when a child is born, it has with it a natural belief in God.
This natural belief is called in Arabic the "fitrah". If a child
were left alone, it would grow up aware of Almighty God in His Unity,
but all children are affected by the pressures of their environment. The
Prophet Muhammad - the Final Messenger of God, may God bless him and
give him peace, reported that God the Exalted said:
"I created My servants in the right religion, but the devils made them
go astray."
(Reported in Sahih Muslim.) The Messenger of God, may God
bless him and give him peace, also said:
"Each child is born in a state of fitrah, but his parents make him a Jew
or a Christian."
(Reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).
It is obligatory for all Muslims to bind ourselves to the teachings of
the Book of God (i.e. the Qur'an) and the authentic sayings of
His Messenger Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him.
By the light of these teachings we should live and their guidance we
should adopt in all of our affairs. In regards to this, Almighty God the
Most High and Exalted, says in the Qur'an:
"It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been
decided by God and His Messenger to have any option about their
decision: if anyone disobeys God and His Messenger he is indeed on a
clearly wrong Path."
(Holy Qur'an, Chapter 33, Verse 36)
And additionally, God, the Most High and Exalted, has said:
"And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatsoever
he forbids you, abstain (from it)! and fear God. Verily, God is severe
in punishment." (Holy Qur'an Chapter 59, Verse 7)
The fitrah is the natural inclination to worship God alone, and
it includes compliance with what God and His Messenger explained to be
from the characteristics of fitrah. The acts of fitrah are
specific features which God has created in man and found within his
natural tendency to like as well as to dislike what contradicts these
acts. The great Islamic scholar al-Sayyuti said: "The best
explanation of fitrah is that it is the Sunnah (way) of all of the
Prophets which is in agreement with (all of) the revealed Laws,
indicating that it is a response to naturally created inclinations.
In the Holy Quran, Almighty God, the Most High and Exalted, has
identified the pure fitrah with which He created mankind:
"So set your purpose for religion as a man upright (hanifan) by nature (fitrah)
- the nature (fitrah) framed by God, in which He created mankind. There
is no altering (the Laws of ) the creation of God."
(Holy Qur'an Chapter 30, Verse 30)
In this verse, God Most High also identifies the fitrah with the
way of the hanifa, which means the way of Pure Monotheism as
practiced by Abraham, peace be upon him. The religion of Abraham and all
of the prophets, peace be upon them all, was one of the true fitrah,
in which they worshipped Almight God alone without intermediaries or an
incarnate "Savior".
Since it is obligatory on Muslims to following the commands of the
Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace, as the
previously mentioned verses from Qur'an clearly state, all Muslims
should make every effort to comply with and maintain the characteristics
of fitrah as described by God's Messenger, may God bless him and give
him peace, when he said:
"Five practices are characteristics of the fitrah: circumcision, shaving
the pubic hairs, cutting the mustaches short, clipping the nails and
plucking the hair of the armpits."
(Reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.)
This same saying of God's Messenger is further elaborated upon in
Sahih Muslim, where 'Aisha, may God be pleased with her, reports
that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and give him peace, said:
"Ten are the practices of fitrah: clipping the mustache, letting the
beard grow, using the tooth-stick (siwaak), snuffing water up the nose,
cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under
the armpits, shaving the pubic hairs and cleaning one's private parts
with water." The narrator said: 'I have forgotten the tenth, but it may
have been rinsing the mouth.'
In regards to the circumcision, it is desirable that it be done on the
seventh day after the birth of the child. It is reported that the
Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and give him peace, circumcised
Hasan and Hussain, the two sons of Fatimah and 'Ali, may God be pleased
with all of them, on the seventh day after their birth. However, there
is no harm in delaying the circumcision until later. It is reported in
Sahih al-Bukhari that Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him,
performed his own circumcision at the age of eighty. In regards to
Abraham, Almighty God the Most High says in the Holy Qur'an:
"And (remember) when his Lord tried Abraham with (His) commands, and he
fulfilled them . . . "
(Holy Qur'an Chapter 2, Verse 124)
"And who forsakes the religion of Abraham save him who fools
himself? Verily We chose him in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he
is among the righteous. (Holy Qur'an Chapter 2, Verse 130)
The trimming of the mustache means that it should be trimmed so that
none of it hangs over the lip. Additionally, the beard must be left
alone so that it grows thickly on the face. The Prophet Muhammad, may
God bless him and give him peace, whom we are ordered to follow, made it
clear that the Muslim male must let his beard grow. Ibn 'Umar, may God
be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of God, may God bless him
and give him peace, ordered us to trim closely the mustache and leave
the beard as it is." (Reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and
Sahih Muslim.) Abu Huraira, may God be pleased with him,
reported that the Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God
be upon him, said:
"Trim closely the mustache and grow the beards, and oppose the Magians
(fire-worshippers)."
(Reported in Sahih Muslim)
According to the Sunnah of God's Messenger, Muslims should pluck
the hair in their armpits and shave their pubic hairs. If they feel that
they cannot pluck the hairs of the armpits, they can shave them or
remove them in another fashion. The nails of the hands and the feet
should also be trimmed. It is best to start with the right hand and then
continue with the left, and then move to the right foot and finish with
the left foot. It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad, the grace and
peace of God be upon him, liked to do it in this manner. Muslims who do
these acts with the sole intention of following the Sunnah of
God's Messenger, may God bless him and give him peace, will be rewarded
by God Most High. It is reported in both Sahih al-Bukhari
and Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of God, may God bless
him and give him peace, said:
"Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me."
Source: University of Essex Islamic Society ; Islam World Online