Islamic Perspectives on Human Nature: Ibn Ashur's Fitrah-Based Theory of Maqasid Al-Shari'ah

Abstract

The concept of human nature is central to both Islamic and Western thought, as manifested in the rich legacy of literature on human psychology in both intellectual traditions. A comprehensive account of human nature (or fitrah) from an Islamic perspective, can be gleaned from the Qur'an, Prophetic narrations and works of Muslim scholars like al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and al-Razi. The famous Zaytuna Imam, Tahir Ibn Ashur (d.1973), in his book on the objectives of Islamic Law, Maqasid Shar’ah al-Islamiyyah, provides fitrah-based model for building human civilisation, thereby linking Islamic law to psychology. The present paper is a humble attempt to study the views of Ibn Ashur on human nature and to highlight the relevance of Islamic perspectives on the 'human being' with regards to civilisational development.