Question
As-salamalekum wa rahamatullah wa hidayatullah wa Barakatu; There are Muslims who use the Concept of 'fitrat' in order to defend their unIslamic acts.They say that if they are flirting then it is their fitrat and they cannot help themselves avoid it.They say it is in them from Allah or as in Blood.(May Allah teach them a good lesson).Please tell me what is Fitrat in Islam and how is it relevant in the life of the Muslims especially when it involves a Stiff reconing?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The term Fitrah in Islam has many meanings, among which is Tawheed [belief in the Oneness of Allah] and the natural disposition upon which Allah created mankind. It might be that the second meaning is the one that is meant in the question. Men inclining towards women is a natural matter [a Fitrah], however, it is not permissible to provide this as an evidence for contradicting the teachings of the Sharee’ah [Islamic Law].
It is the same One who put this Fitrah in a human being who has prohibited him from doing certain acts as a way of testing him and trying him. Allah Says (what means): {He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed — and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving.} [Quran 67:2]
It is possible for a person to avoid such matters, and they are not among the matters that are impossible to abandon or avoid. In addition to this, Allah has legislated ways of satisfying one’s desires in a lawful manner.
If it is possible to say that someone may achieve his desires with whatever he wishes, then this may lead to saying something like it is permissible to satisfy one’s desires through incest and the like, and no person who is of sound mind would say this.
On the other hand, we do not understand exactly what you mean by how the Fitrah is relevant in the life of Muslims. In any case, this Fitrah should be protected by facilitating what fulfils these desires by what Allah has made permissible, like facilitating marriage for instance, and the like.
Allah Knows best.
Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb