Ahl al-Fatrah
Encyclopedia
In Islam
ic theology, the term Ahl al-Fatrah refers to everyone whom the da‘wah
(message of Islam) has not reached in an uncorrupted manner: the people who live in ignorance of the teachings of Islam, either in geographical isolation, or in times predating Muhammad
. The intended meaning is that people living at a time of an interval between two prophet
s so that they are never exposed to divine revelation.
There is disagreement among Muslim scholars regarding those who had no access to the call of any prophet during their lifetime. Some Muslim scholars maintain that this group of people should have pondered over God's Creation till they perceive the truth. If they managed to reach the truth by their deep thinking, then they will be spared God's Punishment, but not otherwise.
Other Muslim scholars state that people are to adhere to religious ordinances and to proclaim faith only if God sends them a divine legislation through a prophet. This group backs their view by citing the following verse:
Qur'anic verse,
is cited to the effect that a messenger was, indeed, sent to every people. But by the Islamic concept of corruption of divine revelation over time (tahrif
), there may still be "people of the interval" who have access only to such corrupted revelations.
Non-Islamic:
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic theology, the term Ahl al-Fatrah refers to everyone whom the da‘wah
Dawah
Da‘wah or Dawah usually denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite"...
(message of Islam) has not reached in an uncorrupted manner: the people who live in ignorance of the teachings of Islam, either in geographical isolation, or in times predating Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. The intended meaning is that people living at a time of an interval between two prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s so that they are never exposed to divine revelation.
There is disagreement among Muslim scholars regarding those who had no access to the call of any prophet during their lifetime. Some Muslim scholars maintain that this group of people should have pondered over God's Creation till they perceive the truth. If they managed to reach the truth by their deep thinking, then they will be spared God's Punishment, but not otherwise.
Other Muslim scholars state that people are to adhere to religious ordinances and to proclaim faith only if God sends them a divine legislation through a prophet. This group backs their view by citing the following verse:
- We never punish until We have sent a messenger. (Al-IsraAl-IsraSura Al-Isra , also called Sura Bani Isra'il , is the 17th chapter of the Qur'an, with 111 verses.-Content:...
15)
Qur'anic verse,
- there is not a nation but a warner hath passed among them. (FatirFatirSurat Al-Mala'ikah "The Angels", also known as Fatir "Originator" is the 35th Sura of the Qur'an with 45 ayat....
24)
is cited to the effect that a messenger was, indeed, sent to every people. But by the Islamic concept of corruption of divine revelation over time (tahrif
Tahrif
Taḥrīf is an Arabic term used by Muslims with regard to irreparable alterations Islamic tradition claims Jews and Christians have made to Biblical manuscripts, specifically those that make up the Tawrat , Zabur and Injil .Traditional Muslim scholars, based on Qur'anic and other traditions, maintain...
), there may still be "people of the interval" who have access only to such corrupted revelations.
See also
- Shirk (Islam)
- Mu'minMu'minMūʾmin is an Arabic Islamic term frequently referenced in the Qur'an, literally meaning "believer", and denoting a person that has complete submission to the Will of Allah, and has faith firmly established in his heart, i.e...
- MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
- FasiqFasiqFasiq is an Arabic term referring to someone who violates Islamic law. However, it is usually reserved to describe someone guilty of openly and flagrantly violating Islamic law and/or someone whose moral character is corrupt.... - MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
- MunafiqMunafiqMunāfiq is an Islamic Arabic term used to describe a religious hypocrite, who outwardly practices Islam, while inwardly concealing his disbelief , perhaps even unknowingly....
- KafirKafirKafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
- People of the bookPeople of the BookPeople of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab . The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an mentions as people of the book are the Jews, Sabians and Christians.In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the...
Non-Islamic:
- Righteous Gentiles
- GoyGoyis a Hebrew biblical term for "nation". By Roman times it had also acquired the meaning of "non-Jew". The latter is also its meaning in Yiddish.-In Biblical Hebrew:...