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

© 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue V Version I 8 Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 ( ) A A Quranic Concept with Universal Appeal: The Innate Monotheistic Disposition ( Fitra ) The allusion to "what they didn't know" is precisely what distinguishes man's abilities from those of the bashar . While both can behave violently, their ability to change and improve is very unequal. Men thus accepted the responsibility entrusted to them, despite the faults and the weaknesses of their character, which soon began to play nasty tricks on them, as evidenced by the fact that they began to turn away from the innate monotheism of the first generations of antediluvians to behave like polytheists. In this respect, the Qur'an contradicts the opinion of those who claimed that polytheism came first and that humanity then slowly progressed towards monotheism. In fact, from the very beginning and throughout its history, humankind could live on the straight path of monotheism, from which it has strayed both through negligence and indulgence of its passions and because of their erroneous dogmas and their false representations of the sacred. For this reason God, in his latest revelation, reminds us of the existence of the fitra , from which humans should never have strayed. The fitra, characteristic of insân, invalidates Euhemerus’ theory and abolishes the notion of original sin, The Qur'an's concept of the anthropos as characterized by fitra goes hand in hand with a view that Euhemerus' theory, which was the subject of much polemic, particularly in Christian circles of late antiquity, cannot be considered relevant. Indeed, insofar as the tendency to monotheism is innate in man, the cult that corresponds to it must necessarily have preceded any form of polytheism. Without explicitly mentioning euhemerism, the Qur’an, in keeping with its often allusive approach, clearly demonstrates its obsolescence. To do so, it draws a clear distinction between the "Fathers", close relatives and ancestors who directly transmit cults of a polytheistic nature to their descendants, and the "first Fathers" or "most ancient Fathers", distant ancestors close to the first two antediluvian generations, characterized by their monotheism. On this point, it is particularly enlightening to parallel its reasoning with that of the Divine Institutes : Divine Institutes V, XIX, 3: "If they are asked the reason for this belief (in false gods), they can offer none, but have recourse to the authority of the ancestors (maiorum), saying that they were wise men whom they had approved, that they knew what was best; and they themselves strip themselves of their own ideas and renounce the use of their reason in order to believe in the errors of others. Thus, trapped in total ignorance, they know neither themselves nor their gods". II, VI, 7: "These are the religions handed down to them by their ancestors, which they insist on protecting and defending with the utmost fervor; and they do not examine what they are, but consider them to be true and proven, since they were handed down by the ancients. II, VI, 10: "What will you do? Will you rather follow the ancients or reason, which was not introduced into you by a stranger but which you yourself found and discovered, when you tore down all religions from top to bottom? (11) If filial piety tells you to follow the ancients, then confess that they were stupid to have put themselves at the service of religions established against reason." II, VI, 15: This is what these fathers (patres) are, men dressed in skins, men with rustic hearts, to whose decisions learned and competent people scrupulously submit. Qur’ an (5, 104): "When it is said to them: - Come to what God has revealed to the Messenger, they reply: - The example we find in our fathers is enough for us. What if their fathers ( abâ' ) knew nothing, if they were not guided? O you who believe, you are responsible for yourselves. Whoever goes astray will not harm you if you are well guided". (7, 27): "When they commit an abominable act (giving partners to God), they say: 'We found that our fathers did the same; God ordered us to do it'". (7, 69) : "Have you come to us so that we may worship God, the only One, and abandon what our fathers worshipped?" (43, 22): They say: "We found our fathers all following the same path. We follow in their footsteps. (39, 9) "Are those who know and the ignorant equal? The only ones who think are those who have intelligence of heart". (2, 170) : "When they are told, 'Follow what God has revealed', they reply, 'No! They answer: No! We follow the custom of our fathers. What if their fathers understood nothing and they were not on the right path? The unbelievers are like cattle that are shouted at and only hear a cry and a call: deaf, dumb, blind, they understand nothing." The warning against mindlessly relying on patriarchal tradition was a well-known theme among Christian and Judeo-Christian apologists of late antiquity. Numerous texts insist on the need for a reason to overcome an aberrant custom, even if it is supported by the ethic of respect and attachment to one's parents. In the same way, the hanîfiyya of Abraham consists, according to the Qur’an, of resolutely turning away from the habits of the fathers in matters of false religion: (Q 43, 26): "Abraham said to his father and his people: 'I disavow what you worship'. In addition to this motif, the two corpora share the theme of the animalization of ancestors adhering to improper beliefs, a situation into which they can drag their descendants if the latter do not decide to put an end to the transmission of misguidance imposed on