UNIVERSAL MYTHS MISTAKEN AS UNIVERSAL REALITIES (5th Myth "Human Nature") BY GHULAM AHMED PARWEZ,

Myth 5: Human Nature

Yet another myth from the world of philosophy, accepted universally as reality, is the one about human nature. 'Nature' has been defined as a constant, unchanging characteristic, or a group thereof, which something or someone possesses. In other words, one's nature cannot be altered. For instance, fire bums, fluids keep their level, lions are beastly, sheep are not, and so on. These natural characteristics are intrinsic to things. That is why things do not need messengers (prophets) from God, as humans do, to teach them how to behave. A goat needs no coaching in its food selection, i.e. yes to vegetation, no to meat; a snake poisonously bites (humans, for instance) not out of conscience choice but is driven by Nature. Such, then, is the state of affairs of all things non-human. But the mystery-loving human mind invented the myth that Man, too, has a nature. This view has been accepted as fact throughout history although no one has been able to define 'human nature.'

The Quranic View

The Quran appeared on the scene and dismissed as false the notion of Man having a nature. It says that Man does have a physical life and, like all other life forms, has some biological necds. These may be put into two categories: self-preservation and self-reproduction. These characteristics are animal instincts not human nature. Above the physical life, Man has the human life. He is not intrinsically programmed with human behaviour. He gets that information not from within but without. Thai is Divine Revelation. Man is entirely frec to adopt or reject this guidance. WJ Thus the Quran declared Man to be different from the rest of Creation in having FREEDOM OF CHOICE, an attribute he shares with God albeit with human limitations.

What we (Muslims) did 

Soon after the Quran having declared man to be possessor of FREE WILL, Muslims adopted the old concept of 'human nature' as an article of faith. Furthermore, following the Torah, they formed the view that 'Islam is the religion of Nature and God has created Man in His own image.'

'Religion of Nature'

Despite repeated pronouncements of Islam being the 'religion of Nature', one fails to find an interpretation of the tem1. The concept appears to be nothing more than '(mere) words (names) which you and your ancestors (have) coined: At best, the concept is illustrated by a hypothetical case of a child who, if shielded from all indoctrination and allowed to develop naturally, will surely grow up to be a Muslim. Akber, the great Mughal emperor of India, is reported to have tested the theory by actually having an infant scnt to the wilderness. The child is said to have grown up mto a beast. Apart from this unconfirmed report, some time ago a human child was found in an Indian jungle. The 'animal' child was hospitalized in the Indian state of Utter Pradesh. Despite expe11 endeavors to 'humanize' him, the kid remained and eventually died an
'animal'
The fact of the matter is that Man has no nature. He is free. He has certain potentialities which he, of his own choice, can manifest into reality. God has given Man the guiding principles of life. If man follows that divine guidance to realize his potential, he will achieve individual welfare as well as collective success. Otherwise, life becomes a hellish existence which, incidentally, is amply evident from the current state of affairs of our world.