We are Converts; Never Reverts

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

There is no such hadits stating that we are all born Muslims.  That is either a misunderstanding or a deliberate mistranslation of the hadits that is muttafaqun ‘alayh, from the Shaykhayn. 

On the authority of Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi (r.a.), the Prophet (s.a.w.) said that we are born upon fithrah, and it is our parents who turn us into Jews, Christians or Zoroastrians.  The full text of the entire hadits is here: 

فَإِنَّ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ  كَانَ يُحَدِّثُ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ إِلَّا يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ أَوْ يُنَصِّرَانِهِ أَوْ يُمَجِّسَانِهِ كَمَا تُنْتَجُ الْبَهِيمَةُ بَهِيمَةً جَمْعَاءَ هَلْ تُحِسُّونَ فِيهَا مِنْ جَدْعَاءَ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا 

The matn does not have the word “Muslim”.  To be born upon fithrah means that we are born with the natural disposition of knowing that there is a God, of possessing a conscience and instinctively knowing right and wrong.  And that is why the Prophet (s.a.w.) also said to Sayyidina Wabiswah ibn Ma’bad (r.a.), “Istafti qalbak”, “Consult your heart,” when asked about differentiating righteousness from error. 

The hadits master, Imam Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Murtadha al-Husayni az-Zabidi (r.a.) said, in his commentary on Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali’s (r.a.) Ihya’ ‘Ulum ad-Din, entitled Ithaf as-Sadat al-Muttaqin bi Sharh Ihya’ ‘Ulum ad-Din, “The Gift of the God-Fearing Masters, Commentary on Reviving the Sciences of the Religion,” “Born with a natural disposition: the definite case indicates that it is commonly known, and it consists in Allah’s Disposition with which He Endows all people, that is, the innate character with which He Creates them and which predisposes them to accept religion and to differentiate between the wrong and the right.” 

As such, there is no basis for using this hadits to claim that since we are all magically Muslim, we “revert” to Islam.  We never revert to Islam.  We convert, as in there is spiritual growth and metamorphosis.  We did not “revert” to any prior, lesser state.  This term, “revert”, in terms of coming to Islam, is an innovation based on a false understanding.  I personally consider it as an insult, since it dismisses who we are before we became Muslim, as if our culture, our family, our knowledge and our life experience suddenly do not matter.  It is a form of cultural genocide that Muslim impose upon converts.  Who we are prior to our conversion does matter. 

Sayyidina Hakim ibn Hizam (r.a.) a relative of Sayyidatina Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (r.a.), was renowned for his compassion and generosity.  Before Islam, he used to buy the daughters of those families who wanted to bury them alive and took care of them.  He asked the Prophet (s.a.w.) about these good deeds done prior to his declaration of faith in Islam, on whether he would be Rewarded.  The Prophet (s.a.w.) replied, “These good deeds are but the reasons that brought you the honour of being Blessed with Islam.” 

We are converts; never reverts.  Whatever we were matters, and it is the reason we arrived at Islam.