The Fitrah (God-given nature of man) Theory of Ayatollah Shahabadi

The perfect mystic, his eminence ‘Allamah Mirza Mohammad Ali Shahabadi who is one of the well-known personalities and geniuses of the time, and truly, he should be considered as the solemn interpreter of Qur’anic fitrah. With his theory of fitrah, he established a solid base in explaining the relationship between the genetical [takwīn] book (man) and the compiled book (Qur’an). The fact that the entirety of religion with all of its principles and branches as well as its jurisprudence, morality, and doctrines is rooted in the fitrah of man, is something which can be derived from the fitrah theory of ‘Allamah Shahabadi. In this paper, effort has been made to explain the fitrah theory. Furthermore, this paper has sought to discuss, analyze, and prove the innateness of all the pillars and components of religion (monotheism, belief in Resurrection Day, prophethood, imamate, morality, and the laws) as being based on the fitrah theory of Ayatollah Shahabadi. Moreover, some of the results which have been obtained from this theory have been mentioned, such as making use of this theory to prove that “the earth cannot be empty of the vicegerent of Allah.”