Spiritual Experience
\r\n Al-Araf (The Heights) - Chapter 7: Verse 172
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And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."
An important concept relating to the concept of human nature from an Islamic perspective is 'Fitra'. It\r\n refers to the primordial state of man; his natural condition and disposition. The optimistic view of human nature \r\n is rooted in this concept. Islam posits the natural state of man is a \r\n positive and 'good' state; one in submission to Allah. This is related to the idea that all souls made a pledge \r\n with Allah before earthly existence, acknowledging Him as their Lord. Even before we were \r\n born, or were conceived, our souls met with Allah. The spiritual aspect of every human has therefore already \r\n experienced the 'Divine'. The defining experience of man in the Islamic perspective then is not his \r\n physical aspect, but his spiritual aspect. This spiritual aspect of man is what the Quran, along with all spiritual \r\n traditions, appeals to. Charles C. Morris (1979) comments that if early childhood experiences are considered to \r\n impact strongly on an individual's life (even if only unconsciously) as suggested by Freud, the impact of such an \r\n experience going back to a time even earlier, of course would be fundamental. According to an Islamic point of \r\n view this explains the instinct in all individuals for right and wrong, although in some it may be buried more \r\n deeply than others.
\r\nSpiritual or religious experience is therefore more a form of recognition than discovery. The religious emphasis is thus more on the \r\n inner experience than an externally imposed experience as part of us already knows the truth. Due to the initial \r\n experience of union with Allah, a part of the individual seeks that union again. This quest is often begun with a \r\n search for the meaning of life. According to the Quran, the eternal aspect of each individual, the soul, is on a \r\n journey and passes through various stages in life. The end point of this journey though, as was the beginning, \r\n is Allah.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Quran to Contemporary Psychologists.\" - Abdolbaghy Rezaeitalarposhti