Surah Ar-Room (30) — Ayah 30

(Ayah 30) ➊ In {فَاَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّيْنِ حَنِيْفًا : ’’ لِلدِّيْنِ ‘‘}, “Alif Lam” is for specification, meaning this is the religion in which only Allah Almighty is accepted as the Creator, Owner, and the only true deity, in which there is no room for associating anyone in His essence, attributes, or actions. The literal meaning of {’’ حَنِيْفًا ‘‘ ’’حَنَفَ‘‘} (with ḥā) is to incline, and it is mostly used in the sense of leaving all other paths and coming to one straight path, whereas {’’جَنَفَ‘‘} (with jīm) means to deviate from the straight path to one side or the other. In {’’ فَاَقِمْ ‘‘}, the “fa” (so/then) means that when it has been proven by so many arguments that the Creator and Owner of this universe and the only one worthy of worship and obedience is none other than Allah Almighty, then it is necessary that you keep your face straight towards this religion, do not look even slightly to the sides, and do not deviate from this one straight path at all.

➋ The meaning of { فِطْرَتَ اللّٰهِ الَّتِيْ فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا: ’’ فِطْرَتَ ‘‘} is creation; by “the nature of Allah,” it is meant the state upon which Allah has created the creation, and that is the oneness of Allah and the religion of Islam, which is placed in the heart of every person at birth, that your Creator and Owner is Allah and you are His servant and slave, therefore it is necessary for you to remain firm upon this. If a person is left in his natural state and his heart and mind are protected from external influences, he will adopt the oneness of Allah and the religion of nature. Allah Almighty has taken a covenant from every individual of the children of Adam with {’’ اَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ‘‘} regarding His Lordship, and there will be questioning about this covenant. For details, see the commentary of Surah Al-A’raf (172, 173). Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَا مِنْ مَوْلُوْدٍ إِلاَّ يُوْلَدُ عَلَی الْفِطْرَةِ ، فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ أَوْ يُنَصِّرَانِهِ أَوْ يُمَجِّسَانِهِ ، كَمَا تُنْتَجُ الْبَهِيْمَةُ بَهِيْمَةً جَمْعَاءَ، هَلْ تُحِسُّوْنَ فِيْهَا مِنْ جَدْعَاءَ؟ ثُمَّ يَقُوْلُ : «{ فِطْرَتَ اللّٰهِ الَّتِيْ فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيْلَ لِخَلْقِ اللّٰهِ ذٰلِكَ الدِّيْنُ الْقَيِّمُ }» ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب : « لا تبدیل لخلق اللہ » : ۴۷۷۵ ] “There is no child who is born except upon the fitrah (natural disposition). Then his parents make him a Jew, or a Christian, or a Magian, just as an animal gives birth to a complete animal. Do you see any among them born mutilated (with cut ears or nose)?” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: «{ فِطْرَتَ اللّٰهِ الَّتِيْ فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيْلَ لِخَلْقِ اللّٰهِ ذٰلِكَ الدِّيْنُ الْقَيِّمُ }» [ الروم : ۳۰ ].” Aswad bin Sari’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: [ أَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَعَثَ سَرِيَّةً يَوْمَ خَيْبَرَ فَقَاتَلُوا الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ، فَأَمْضٰی بِهِمُ الْقَتْلُ إِلَی الذُّرِّيَّةِ، فَلَمَّا جَاؤُوْا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا حَمَلَكُمْ عَلٰی قَتْلِ الذُّرِّيَّةِ؟ فَقَالُوْا يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! إِنَّمَا كَانُوْا أَوْلاَدَ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ، قَالَ وَهَلْ خِيَارُكُمْ إِلاَّ أَوْلاَدُ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ، وَالَّذِيْ نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ! مَا مِنْ نَسَمَةٍ تُوْلَدُ إِلاَّ عَلَی الْفِطْرَةِ، حَتّٰی يُعْرِبَ عَنْهَا لِسَانُهَا ] [مستدرک حاکم : 123/2، ح ۲۵۶۶، وصححہ الحاکم و وافقہ الذھبي و صححہ الألباني في سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ : ۴۰۲ ] “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a detachment on the day of Khaybar, and they fought against the polytheists, killing them until they reached the children. When they returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: ‘What made you kill the children?’ They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! They were the children of polytheists.’ He said: ‘The best among you are the children of polytheists. By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), no soul is born except upon the fitrah, until its tongue expresses what is in it.’” For the ruling on the deceased children of polytheists, see the commentary of Surah Al-Isra (15) and Al-A’raf (172, 173). ‘Iyad bin Himar Al-Mujashi’i (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a sermon: [ أَلَا إِنَّ رَبِّيْ أَمَرَنِيْ أَنْ أُعَلِّمَكُمْ مَا جَهِلْتُمْ مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِيْ يَوْمِيْ هٰذَا كُلُّ مَالٍ نَحَلْتُهُ عَبْدًا حَلَالٌ وَإِنِّيْ خَلَقْتُ عِبَادِيْ حُنَفَاءَ كُلَّهُمْ وَ إِنَّهُمْ أَتَتْهُمُ الشَّيَاطِيْنُ فَاجْتَالَتْهُمْ عَنْ دِيْنِهِمْ وَحَرَّمَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا أَحْلَلْتُ لَهُمْ وَ أَمَرَتْهُمْ أَنْ يُّشْرِكُوْا بِيْ مَا لَمْ أُنْزِلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا ] [ مسلم، الجنۃ و صفۃ نعمیہا، باب الصفات التي یعرف بھا… : ۲۸۶۵ ] “Listen! My Lord has commanded me to teach you some of what He has taught me today, of which you are unaware. (He says:) Every wealth that I have bestowed upon a servant is lawful, and I have created all My servants as Hunafa’ (inclined to one Allah), but the devils came to them and turned them away from their religion, and made unlawful for them what I had made lawful for them, and commanded them to associate with Me that for which I have sent down no authority.”

➌ { لَا تَبْدِيْلَ لِخَلْقِ اللّٰهِ :} means that it is not permissible to change the religion of Allah (Islam) upon which He has created people, to commit shirk instead of tawhid, or to alter His commands regarding what is lawful and unlawful. The generality of the words also includes that it is not permissible to change the form in which Allah has created someone, or to cut off his ears or nose, etc. For details, see the commentary of Surah An-Nisa, verse (119).

➍ { ذٰلِكَ الدِّيْنُ الْقَيِّمُ :} means that holding firmly to the Shari’ah of Islam and the sound nature is the absolutely straight and firm religion, but most people do not know; rather, following the customs of their forefathers and the devil, they adopt disbelief and shirk against their nature.

30-1 That is, remain steadfast on the oneness of Allah and His worship, and do not pay any attention to false religions.

30-2 The original meaning of فطرت is creation or birth. Here, it refers to the religion of Islam. The meaning is that everyone is born, without distinction between Muslim and disbeliever, upon Islam and oneness of Allah; therefore, monotheism is included in their nature, i.e., their innate disposition, as is clear from the covenant of Alast. Later, many are prevented by environment or other factors from responding to this voice of nature, due to which they remain upon disbelief. As the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ states: Every child is born upon فطرت, but then his parents make him a Jew, Christian, Magian, etc.

30-3 That is, do not alter the creation of Allah, rather, nurture it through proper upbringing so that faith and monotheism become firmly rooted in the hearts and minds of children. This statement is in the sense of command, i.e., it carries the meaning of prohibition.

30-4 That is, the religion towards which you are commanded to turn with devotion and attention, or which is demanded by nature, is this upright religion.

30-5 That is why they remain unfamiliar with Islam and monotheism.

So set your face steadfastly towards the religion, as a pure devotee. This is the natural disposition [30] created by Allah [31] upon which He has made mankind. There is no change in Allah’s creation [32]. That is the upright religion [33], but most people do not know.

[30] That is, when it has become clear that the polytheists do not accept such a division for themselves, then if they still associate Allah’s creation as His partners, there can be no greater injustice than this. Therefore, you should never pay attention to the absurdities of these polytheists, and turning your attention away from all other religions, focus solely on the religion of Islam or the pure worship of Allah alone.
[31]
Every Child is Born Upon the Original Nature (Islam):

That is, it has been placed in the nature of every human being that his Creator and Master is Allah Almighty, and he is His servant and slave. Therefore, he should worship only Allah alone. Thus, Hazrat Abu Hurairah ؓ narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said that every newborn child is born upon the fitrah (Islam). Then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]
And in another narration, it is mentioned that in a certain battle, the Companions ؓ killed the children of the polytheists as well. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked them, “Why did you kill the children?” They replied, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! They were the children of the polytheists.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Now, are not the best Muslims among you the children of polytheists?”

The Capacity to Accept the Truth Exists in Every Human, and This is the nature ordained by Allah:

From these hadiths, it is understood that the environment and parents have a deep effect on the original nature of a human, and in a corrupt environment, the original nature becomes suppressed. To remove the pressure of the environment from this suppressed nature, Allah Almighty sends prophets and reveals books. In other words, the capacity to accept the truth has been placed in the nature of every human, and for this reason, he has also been made responsible for accepting the truth. For example, if Pharaoh or Abu Jahl did not have this capacity and ability in their nature, then inviting them to the truth would be meaningless.
[32] This sentence has two meanings. One is that the nature upon which Allah has created man cannot be changed. Only Allah Almighty is worthy of worship; others cannot be made deities alongside Him. And man is a servant and slave; in no way does it befit him to become disobedient and rebellious to Allah or to make himself a deity. The second meaning is that whatever state Allah has created a living being in, it should be left in that state. For example, the offspring of animals are born healthy and in proper form, but the polytheists would dedicate certain animals in the name of idols and would slit their ears. In addition, keeping a tuft of hair on a child’s head in someone’s name, shaving the beard, tattooing or marking the body for beauty, giving it a blue mark, or artificially creating gaps in the teeth—all these fall under this category.
[33]
What is This Straight Religion?

A few broad and simple matters which followers of all religions equally accept, and they are as follows: Allah alone is the Creator, Owner, and Ruler of all. He is unique in His essence; He has no equal. His authority prevails over all; no one has authority over Him. Therefore, only He should be glorified or remembered. Similarly, harming someone’s life or property, attacking someone’s honor or slandering, deceiving or cheating others—all are considered bad by everyone. And speaking the truth, having compassion for the poor, giving the rightful person his full due—everyone considers these good and encourages them. This is the true religion which has been instilled in the nature of every human being. And it is these natural matters that the prophets have continued to remind people of.