Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 23 Issue 5

© 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue V Version I 2 Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 ( ) A A Quranic Concept with Universal Appeal: The Innate Monotheistic Disposition ( Fitra ) who have literally "split the w omb". 5 This idea of inaugural appearance is associated with that of purity (already attested in ancient Babylonian, a language in which the root puturu means : to free from disease, to purify), which is also used to designate the non- fermentation of food, as in the case of the azymes consumed at the breaking of the fast ( fitr ), designa te d by the same root in Arabic. 6 The meaning of "to create" is first attested in Gue’ez (classical Ethiopian), in the 5th- century translation of the Gospels. We find the expression fâtrè samâya wa-mdra , creator of the heavens and the earth (in Arabic translation-transcription: fâtir as-samawâti wa-l-ard ) present in six Qur’anic verses (Q 6, 14); (Q 12, 101); (Q 14, 10); (Q 35, 1); (Q 39, 46); (Q 42, 11) ), as well as the word ftrât , equivalent to fitra (Q 30, 30), with the meanings of: creation, beginning, principle, a created thin g, but also nature, for example : the nature of Christ ( Ka'ase ftrât ) . 7 Finally, a passage in the Wisdom translated into this language uses the verb fatara to convey the idea that "God created man for incorruptibility. He made him the image of his own nature." (2, 23). This vocation to immortality is evoked by several Quranic uses of the root F .T.R., in cases where it refers to the creation of humans. 8 Particular mention should be made of the verses (Q 17, 49-51), which provide a decisive argument in this direction by establishing a link between the evocation of the return to life and the verb fatara : "(49): They said: "When we are bones and dust, shall we be resurrected into a new creation? (50) Answer: "Be stone, or iron, or any created thing, that you can conceive..."(51) They will say "Who then will bring us back?" Answer: "He who created you ( fatarakum ) for the first time". In this respect, it should be remembered that, according to the Qur’an, the Resurrection may occur after they emerge from the earth for the Judgment, in the manner of plants, followin g the descent of a celestial water, 9 a metaphorical formulation designating the 5 Exodus, 13-2 . 6 In Hebrew, the word fatîr , borrowed from Aramaic around the 15th century, is used to designate unleavened bread. In Christian Syriac vocabulary, the term fatîra is used to refer to Passover, the day of unleavened bread. Thesaurus de Payne Smith STP, oxinii et typographes clarendoniano, 1879, root F.T.R. 7 Translation of Judith 13, 18: "Blessed be the God who created heaven and earth" See Lexicon linguae Ethiopicae , Lipsiae, T.O. Weigel, 1865. 8 As we showed in detail in our article: ” Fatara et Fitra, quelques acceptions oubliées” , En hommage au père Jacques Jomier, o.p, Le Cerf, Patrimoines, Paris, 2002, pp. 101-120. 9 Numerous mutually complementary passages confirm this comparison by evoking a creation of humans described by fatara in contexts where the theme of the Resurrection dominates, preceded by a revival by water descended from heaven. The verse (Q 36, 22): "Why should I not worship the one who created me ( fataranî ), you will be brought back to him" comes just before the following statement (verse 34): "Here is a sign for them: the dead earth which we revive and from "sound wave" of the cry that will call them back to life. 10 After this first s ta ge, the moment of their entry into eternity, corresponding to the new creation, will depend on how each person reacts at the precise moment of their emergence from the grave, 11 by approving or refusi ng to follow the call that all have heard, God giving man freedom to determine what will happen to him, until the end. 12 Thus, as in the Gospel passages translated into Gue’ez, in the Qur’an the root fatara is used to describe two types of creation: that of all the components of the universe, which is "creation arising", and that specific to human beings, which is at the same time "creation differentiation". From this point of view, the condition of being created takes on a double meaning when it comes to them : 1) The "coming into being" they share with all living creatures. It occurs through birth when they come into the world, and is partially repeated in the revival which we bring forth grain which they eat". The verse (Q 30, 30) "Raise your face for worship as a pure monotheistic believer following God's original nature according to which He created humans ( fitrata-l-Lâhi allati fatara-n-nâsa 'alayhâ ), is preceded by the following descriptions: (verse 24): "He sends down water from heaven by which he gives life to the earth when it is dead" and (verse 27) "It is he who gives a beginning to creation, then he will renew it, that is easy for him". Finally, the verse (Q 11, 51): "O my people! I do not ask you for a wage for this. My wages belong only to him who created me ( fataranî ). Do you not understand?" is directly adjoined to the following passage: (verse 52) "O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then return to Him. He will send you abundant rain from the sky, and He will add strength to your strength", and a little further on we find verse 61: "O My people, worship Allâh! You have no God but Him; it is He who has produced you from the earth and made you dwell therein". 10 The Qur’an devotes several passages to this question, one of the most remarkable being the one in which Abraham asks God how he brings the dead back to life. The answer is given in a parabolical representation: (Q 2, 160): "God said: -Take an aviary (literaly: "a four of birds ") and accustom them to you (to your voice). Then arrange some of them on each mountain ( kulli jabalin = on different mountains) and call them. The fact that this special water represents "a sound wave" is confirmed by the description of the zajra, the cry that will call back the dead - (Q 37, 14-21): " (16) When we are dead and become dust and bones, will we be raised (17) ourselves and our first ancestors too? (18) Say: "Yes, and you will humble yourselves! (19) There will be but one cry (vocal signal which is a reviving wave) ( zajratun wâhidatun ); then they will see (20) and they will say: "Woe to us! This is the Day of Judgement! - which echoes Ezekiel's vision (43, 2) of the "sound of many waters": "And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory". 11 The Qur’an presents the example of those who, too attached to the things of earthy life, will not understand what is happening on the Day of Rising (or of awakening: yawm al-qiyâma ). For this reason, they will exclaim, convinced that there is no life except in this world, "Who then has torn us ( ba‘athanâ ) from our beds (literaly: propelled or sent us out of our beds ( marqadinâ )?" (Q 36, 52). On that day, they will not be heading toward the Resurrection with the chosen ones. 12 (Q 14, 4): "We have never sent a messenger except in the language of his people so that it (the message) may be clear to them. God lets go astray whoever wants to go astray and guides whoever wants to be guided" ( Allâhu yahdî man yashâ' wa-yudillu man yashâ') . He is the Glorious, the Wise" and (Q 18, 29) "whoever wills, let him believe; whoever wills, let him disbelieve".