Firstly: The words in question were mentioned in a hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Abza (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) woke up in the morning, he would say: ‘We have started the day upon the fitrah of Islam, the word of sincerity, the religion of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the way of our father Ibrahim – a true, monotheistic Muslim – and he was not one of the polytheists.'” This hadith was narrated by Imam al-Nasa’i in his Sunan al-Kubra, Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf, al-Tabarani, al-Bayhaqi, and others.
Secondly: The fitrah of Islam refers to the pure monotheistic belief in Allah, which was established according to the first covenant that Allah took from mankind. Allah says in the Quran: “And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord took from the children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes, we have testified.’ ” (Al-A’raf, 7:172). The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said in a hadith narrated by Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): “Every child is born in a state of fitrah, then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian or a Magian, just as an animal is born whole. Do you see any part of its body amputated?” Then Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) recited the verse: “So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.” (Ar-Rum, 30:30). Therefore, fitrah is the basis for attaining monotheism and Islam.
Therefore, if a person dies before reaching the age of responsibility and discernment, then they are considered to have died upon the natural disposition (fitrah). Some scholars have said that the meaning of fitrah is the innate predisposition to accept the truth and distinguish between right and wrong. This is in line with the teachings of the Mu’tazilah regarding intellectual refinement and ugliness. Fitrah indicates that murder and oppression are ugly, while truthfulness is good. The religions come to remind people of this. Thus, the fitrah of Islam is the innate predisposition to distinguish between right and wrong.
As for the word “ikhlās” (sincerity), it means “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote a book entitled “The Word of Sincerity and its Meaning.” The word is named after Surah Al-Ikhlas because it contains the meaning of absolute monotheism.
The difference between fitrah and ikhlās is that fitrah is an innate predisposition and makeup that a person is born with, while ikhlās is a belief and expression that a person adopts. Fitrah is the foundation, while ikhlās is the path and goal. Fitrah is in the heart, and its translation is in actions, while ikhlās is in the tongue and its origin is in the mind. Whoever believes inwardly but does not speak it aloud is a deferred, and whoever speaks it aloud but does not believe it inwardly is a hypocrite. Therefore, we pray for both: believing inwardly and speaking outwardly, and performing the obligatory actions.
As for the difference between religion and sect, I say:
Firstly, the word “deen” (religion) in the Quran has various meanings, including:
• Tawheed (monotheism): Allah says, “So worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion” (Az-Zumar, 39:2), meaning monotheism.
• Reckoning: Allah says, “And they will say, “Oh, woe to us! This is the Day of Recompense” (As-Saffat, 37:20), meaning the day of reckoning.
• Ruling and legislation: Allah says, “I would not have taken him as a companion for the king except that he might teach him the interpretation of events. And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know” (Yusuf, 12:76), meaning in his ruling and legislation.
• Sect: Allah says, “And this is the straight religion” (Al-Bayyinah, 98:5), meaning the straight sect, indicated by the use of the feminine form.
• What people worship: Allah says, “It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth” (At-Tawbah, 9:33).
Religion, in its original sense, refers to the customs and beliefs that people follow in their worship and practices. It is a broad term that applies to both truth and falsehood. Allah says, “For you is your religion, and for me is my religion” (Al-Kafirun, 109:6), and refers to their worship as their religion. It also includes the principles and branches of Islamic law, such as Tawheed, prayer, good manners, and so on.
Secondly, the term “millah” (sect) has multiple definitions, including:
• The origin of monotheism and sanctification that all religions agree upon.
• What Allah has legislated.
• The sect is the special law of the Prophet.
• The sect is what the angel inspires to the Prophet.
From this, it becomes clear that there is a general and specific relationship between sect and religion. If the sect is considered to be beliefs, then it is part of religion since religion encompasses beliefs, law, and practice.
Both words, “millah” and “deen”, are mentioned in the Quran, but we notice a specificity in the word “millah”. The term “deen” is attributed to Allah, the Prophet, and the people, while “millah” is attributed only to the Prophet and the people. We do not say “the millah of Allah” but rather “the deen of Allah. The term “deen” is attributed to Allah in the verse “And the religion, all of it, belongs to Allah” (Al-Anfal, 9:39), to the Prophet in the verse ” and to me is my religion,’’ to the people in “To you is your religion.” The term “millah” is attributed to the Prophet in the verse “The millah of your father, Ibrahim” (Al-Hajj, 22:78) and to the people in the verse “or you must return to our millah” (Al-Araf, 7:88).
There is also a verse in Surah Al-Bayyinah that indicates that “millah” and “deen” have a general and specific relationship. Allah says, “And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion” (Al-Bayyinah, 98:5), the “correct religion” is the “millah” as its indicated by the feminine form. While worship, sincerity, prayer, and zakah are the “deen al-hanif” (upright religion).
Therefore, we can say that the meaning of the forementioned hadith is that the Muslim acknowledges that he has become a follower of the Prophet’s detailed and specific law for the people of Islam, which is referred to as “the religion –deen- of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)”. He also acknowledges that he adheres to the fundamental principles of all religions, which are monotheism and sound belief, as taught by the Prophet Ibrahim, and this is referred to as “millah”. There are other meanings in the Hadith that we have not discussed in order to avoid prolonging the discussion.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr