Is a Human Being Born Believing in Something Higher Than Himself?

They see that natural things have an “intention” or a “goal.”

They assume the existence of a mind or an agent behind phenomena.

The American psychologist Deborah Kelemen from Boston University, who studied children’s thinking, found that children tend toward what she called:

“teleological explanation of the world”

Meaning that they see things as existing for a reason and a purpose.

So a child may say:

Mountains exist so that people can climb them.

The sun exists so that it can warm us.

And despite the simplicity of these explanations, they point to something deeper: a child’s mind leans toward the idea that the world is “intended,” not random.

Why is this important?

Because atheism, at its core, is built on the idea that:

The universe has no intention

Life has no purpose

The human being is the result of blind coincidences

But if the child’s mind itself leans toward belief in intention and meaning, this raises a deep question:

Is belief in God an artificial idea?

Or is it closer to the human being’s original nature?

Fitrah in the Islamic Perspective

Islam presents a very clear idea:

Every human being is born with an initial awareness of God within him.

Not a complex philosophical knowledge, nor a detailed creed, but a simple inner feeling that says: “There is a Creator… there is meaning… and I am not alone in this universe.”

Islam calls this feeling: fitrah.

Fitrah is not a specific religion, and not a particular culture, but the inner readiness to know God.

For this reason, throughout history we find:

Primitive tribes believing in a higher power.

Ancient civilizations worshipping one God.

Peoples who never received a revealed religion, yet they believe in something beyond nature.

Faith appears… even when a sacred book does not arrive.

Why do some people move away from this fitrah?

If fitrah exists, then why are there atheists?

Islam answers simply: fitrah may be covered… but it does not die.

It may be covered by:

Life’s shocks

Injustice

Pain

Materialistic upbringing

A culture that denies the unseen

But in certain moments, fitrah appears again.

In intense fear.

Or the moment of nearing death.

How many people, in a moment of danger, have said: “O Lord…”

Even though they did not believe before.

A moment of inner honesty

Imagine yourself in a real situation:

On a plane shaking violently.

Or in a sudden accident.

Or facing news of a serious illness.

In that moment, before you think,

Before you analyze,

Before you remember philosophy or books…

Who do you call?

Many people, even non-religious ones,

Say one word: “O God…”

This is not philosophy.

This is fitrah.

What does fitrah really say?

Fitrah does not give you the details of creed,

But it tells you something very simple:

You are not alone in this universe.

There is One who hears you.

There is One who created you.

And there is meaning to your existence.

Then religions come to explain:

Who is this Creator?

How do we worship Him?

How do we live a life that pleases Him?

Conclusion

If:

Children lean toward believing in intention and meaning,

And in hardship a person calls upon God spontaneously,

And human history is full of belief in a higher power,

Then belief in God is not a strange idea…

It is the most natural thing in the human being.

The real question is not:

“Is there a God?”

But:

“Why do we sometimes try to run away from the idea we were born with?”