Historical Evolution of the Theory of Fitrah in Philosophy and Islamic Mysticism

The theory of Fitrah (inborn disposition), as a philosophical or theological issue, has not been mentioned in the works of Kendi, Farabi, Ibn Sina and Sheikh Al-eshragh. It is in Ikhvan Al-safa’s works that for the first time in Islamic philosophy the issue of the innate knowledge of god has been mentioned in a philosophical work. This can be justified by the multiplicity of their sources in compilation of their treaties. Ibn Arabi can be considered a turning point in the evolutionary process of this theory because he was the first to study the concept of Fitrah as an independent issue. It was in Shah Abadi’s works that this theory made great strides.