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The Quran refers to human nature as Fitrah. According to Islam, the natural disposition of man is created by Allah in such a way that accepting and following the truth should come naturally. However, what we witness today is the exact opposite-rejection of the truth appears almost inevitable. Why is that so?
From birth to adulthood, we undergo a process shaped by modern lifestyles. During this journey, we are exposed to countless influences and signals through:
By the time a person reaches their 30s or 40s, they have become a product of this distortion. At that stage, only one thing can truly restore connection with the truth: Allah's intervention-in the form of Hidayah (guidance) and Tawfiq (divine enablement)-or the heartfelt prayer or gaze (nazar) of a saint. Nothing else can peel away the countless layers of contamination This is why people often feel disconnected from Islam, its personalities, and its literature, but deeply moved or instantly connected when watching a movie by Shahrukh Khan. The difference lies in how deeply their Fitrah has been buried.
Since very, very few people are blessed with Hidayah, Tawfiq, or the prayer of a saint, it creates the illusion that this worldly, corrupted mindset is actual human nature-because everyone seems to think and feel the same way. But to conclude that corrupted human behavior is equal to natural human nature is a superficial and shallow interpretation-born from a lack of deep reflection.
Sufism takes this concept to another level altogether. It offers a deeply philosophical understanding of what it means to be a true seeker-a Sufi.
As human beings, we surround ourselves with multiple false identities that make us feel secure, strong, and successful. We take pride in being engineers, doctors, authors, poets, musicians, professors, businessmen, and so on. Yet, according to the Quran, all of these are mere illusions. The only real identity of a human being is that he is nothing but a slave ('abd) of Allah. These false identities nourish, pamper, and reinforce the ego-which itself is an illusion.
In truth, human beings are nothing, and they deserve no credit for anything. But the ego craves fulfillment and seeks validation through social comparison, always trying to prove that we are not inferior to others. As a seeker of Allah begins the spiritual journey, he is gradually stripped of these false identities-one by one-through a long and sometimes painful process of self-purification. Eventually, a moment arrives when he realizes that he is neither this nor that-he is only a slave of Allah, and all credit belongs solely to Allah and no one else.
This process is not easy. But when a person discovers his true self-what Iqbal famously described as Khudi-he experiences an inner peace and bliss that no billionaire or worldly celebrity could ever fathom. At this point, the person becomes a Sufi in the truest sense, and only then can he begin to truly understand what the Holy Prophet (SAW) said, did, felt, and thought.
Needless to say, this is far easier said than done. The concept may be grasped intellectually in a few minutes, but to embody it is like climbing a mountain. Still, the reward of this surrender is infinite-and absolutely worth the climb. And yet, if Allah wills, that mountain can be scaled with ease and swiftness. In some rare cases, people are transformed into Sufis without facing any hardship at all. In the end, it is purely a gift from Allah. He is not bound by any rules or procedures. It is entirely His discretion-beyond logic, beyond explanation.
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