Innate God Seeking in Man; A Study and Comparison of Contemporary Islamic Scholars' Views

"Fitra" or innate nature is an existential issue and a part of man's nature which is related to man's incorporeal or spiritual dimension. There is no disagreement among Islamic thinkers over the existence of the divine Fitra which is a ground for innate desire for seeking and knowing God. It seems that the difference lies in ways and methods to prove Fitra, the characteristics of innate affairs and its relation to religion. Hence, there are diverse and somewhat different views in their works. Using a descriptive-analytical method and studying the views of contemporary Islamic scholars which are derived from the Qur'an and the divine tradition, this paper seeks to prove the existence of "Fitra" and its position. The research findings show that Islamic scholars have proposed rational and mystical intuition, historical and experimental evidences, and rational and narrative arguments to prove the existence of "Fitra" in human beings. The most important evidence in this regard is rational reasoning, and the other arguments are regarded as supporting evidence.