الحمد لله والصلوة و السلام على رسول الله، وبعد
Surely Allah, the Exalted, created mankind upon a natural disposition, as He said:
فِطْرَتَ اللهِ الَّتِيْ فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا
"This is Allah’s natural disposition upon which He created mankind." [Ar-Rum: 30]
Inherent in human nature is the inclination to love and be inclined towards the truth. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
He further stated:"The heart is a creation that loves the truth, desires it, and seeks it."[Majmu' al-Fatawa 10/88]
Additionally, the love for the truth is embedded within souls because souls are created to recognize the truth. As Allah said about Musa (peace be upon him):﴿رَبُّنَا الَّذِيْ اَعْطٰي كُلَّ شَيْ ءٍ خَلْقَهٗ ثُمَّ هَدٰي﴾"Our Lord is He who gave each thing its form and then guided it." [Taha: 50]"Indeed, the truth is inherently beloved and preferred in nature. It is the most beloved and magnificent, and more agreeable compared to falsehood because falsehood is something that has no reality, hence nature does not favor it."[Majmu' al-Fatawa 16/338]
As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:"Sin is what troubles your heart and you dislike that people become aware of it."[Muslim, Book of Birr (Righteousness) and Sila (Relation), Chapter on Interpretation of Birr and Ithm, Hadith 2553]
He further said:"There is something within the soul that causes it to prefer the truth over falsehood in beliefs and desires, and this is sufficient because it was created upon the natural disposition."[Dar' Ta'arud al-'Aql wa al-Naql 8/463]
Thus, when the truth is present, nature affirms it. When the truth is beneficial, nature recognizes it, loves it, and is content with it. This is the known way, while falsehood, when nonexistent, is denied by nature and nature dislikes and rejects it."Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, created His servants with a natural disposition wherein the truth and its affirmation, the recognition of falsehood and its denial, the recognition of beneficial things and the love for them, and the recognition of harmful things and the aversion to them, are all ingrained."[Dar' Ta'arud al-'Aql wa al-Naql 8/463]
Allah said:﴿يَاْ مُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوْفِ وَيَنْهٰهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ﴾"They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong." [Al-A'raf: 157]
This recognition of the truth, its desire, and love is supported by the Sharia. As Allah said:﴿اَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَليٰ بَيِّنَةٍ مِّنْ رَّبِّهِ وَيَتْلُوْهُ شَاهد‘’ مِّنْهُ﴾"Is he who stands upon a clear proof from his Lord, and a witness from Him follows him?" [Hud: 17]
The clear proof (بينة) refers to the revelation that Allah sent down, while the witness (شاهد) refers to the upright nature and sound intellect.
[Tafsir al-Karim al-Rahman p. 379]
The Light of Truth and Its Recognition
Shaykh Abdulrahman al-Sa'di said:When souls remain upon their natural disposition, they only seek the truth. The truth is clear and manifest without any ambiguity."The religion is the religion of wisdom, which involves knowing the correct thing in every matter and acting upon it, and recognizing the truth and acting upon it."[Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan p. 50]
Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
He also said: This hadith meets the conditions set by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim. Furthermore, Imam Dhahabi agreed with this."Indeed, the truth has light."
[Mustadrak Hakim 4/460]
Confirming the Prophet (peace be upon him)
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam, may Allah be pleased with him, was a Jew before converting to Islam. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) migrated to Madinah and he saw the Prophet (peace be upon him), he immediately recognized that his face was not that of a liar. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam, may Allah be pleased with him, said: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to Madinah, some people stayed away from him, and I was among them. However, when I saw his blessed face, I recognized that his face was not that of a liar. The first thing I heard him say was:In His wisdom, Allah, the Exalted, establishes proof against His creation by sending prophets and revealing the truth. Along with this, He misguides whom He wills and guides whom He wills. It is incumbent upon the servant to adhere to his natural disposition and avoid causes that distract from the truth. When a distraction distances him from the truth, and he then returns to the truth and adheres to it, it is a great blessing and favor from Allah upon His servants that they love, choose, and seek the truth and adhere to it."Spread peace, feed others, maintain family ties, and pray at night while people sleep, and you will enter Paradise in peace."[Musnad Ahmad: 5/451 Hadith 24193, Tirmidhi, Book of Description of the Day of Judgment, Chapter 11, Hadith Number 2484]
Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The necessity of adhering to the truth is that one must recognize the causes that prevent the following of the truth. Therefore, some observations are presented regarding the causes that distance from the truth. They should be recognized and efforts should be made to avoid them. I pray to Allah, the Exalted, to make us among the people of truth and callers to the truth, and to protect us from the causes and paths that lead to misguidance and error."The greatest blessing and favor of Allah upon a servant is that He makes him accustomed to justice and truth, and makes him love and prefer them."[Mudawat al-Nufus p. 31]
It is appropriate to point out that I have not focused on any specific meaning that refers to bad intentions, ignorance, or injustice in describing and gathering these causes. والله اعلم