A Study of “Moral Innate Knowledge” and “Dependencies of Morality on the Religion” in the View of Motahhari

One foundation of the worldview of any school of thought is knowledge of the human being, which affects the school’s justification and explanation of many issues. Moral fiṭrah, or moral innate knowledge, serves as a main characteristic of Motahhari’s study of the human nature. For him, the human being has moral awareness as well as tendency towards good and aversion of bad things because of his essential and intrinsic structure. The human being has the two components in virtue of his existential structure, without being affected by any social imposition. Because of this innate and non-acquired structure, the human being is independent of the religion and the doctrines of the Revelation, on the one hand, and is closely tied to them, on the other hand. Although Motahhari’s views might be objectionable in certain respects, they are helpful in the justification of many religious issues in their generality.