the necessary attributes of life. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in an authentic hadith:

“The truest names are Hārith and Hammām.”

Every human being is a Hārith—that is, someone who works and earns—and a Hammām—that is, someone who forms intentions and wills. Thus, he moves by his own will. It is also stated in a hadith:

“The heart is like a feather lying in an open wilderness, and the heart churns more vigorously than a pot at a rolling boil.”

Since will and action are inherent in the soul, when Allah guides it, He teaches it what benefits it and what harms it. It then desires what benefits it and abandons what harms it.

Section

Allah, glorified is He, has bestowed upon the children of Adam two things that form the foundation of happiness.

The first is that every child is born with the natural disposition, as reported in the two Sahīh collections from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

“Every child is born with the natural disposition. Then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Zoroastrian, just as an animal gives birth to offspring with its body intact. Do you see any mutilation in it?”

Abū Hurayrah would then say: “Recite, if you wish: ‘The natural disposition Allah has instilled in mankind.’”

Allah Most High says:

“So turn your face toward the religion in pure devotion to Allah—the natural disposition Allah has instilled in mankind. There is no changing Allah’s creation. That is the upright religion.”