#8 DDN - The Fitrah Edition
#8, 27 May 2025, The Divine Duty Newsletter - the Blueprint you were born with
Assalamu Alaikum!
Most people spend their entire lives searching for who they're supposed to be.
They chase degrees, careers, relationships, and achievements - desperately hoping to stumble upon their "true self" somewhere along the way.
But what if I told you that you already knew exactly who you were meant to be?
What if the blueprint for your highest potential was already written into your very DNA— before society, school, and suffering rewrote your story?
This month, we're diving deep into the fitrah - your original nature, your divine blueprint, your uncorrupted self. It's the version of you that existed before the world told you who you should become.
And here's the profound truth: returning to your fitrah isn't just self-discovery. It's the key to fulfilling your divine duty.
Before diving in, check out the free scorecard that assesses how aligned your life is with your true purpose. Over 3,000 Muslims have taken it so far! (link)
In today’s fitrah-themed newsletter, we will go over:
Quaint Quotes – Timeless wisdom on returning to your original nature and divine blueprint
Deep in Thought – The Greatest Heist You Never Knew Happened: how your mind was hijacked
Fascinating Frameworks – The Fitrah Recovery Model: practical steps to reclaim your authentic self
Actionable Insights – Your roadmap back to the blueprint you were born with
Recommended Resources – Essential readings and lectures to understand your true nature
Upcoming Livestream – The Fitrah: Your Divine Blueprint with Ustadh Abu Bilaal Yakub
This is our opportunity to break free from the conditioning that has kept us from our true selves. Let's begin, bismillah.
"Every child is born upon the fitrah, but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian or a Magian."
– Prophet Muhammad (saw) (Bukhari)
We don't lose our fitrah—we bury it. Under layers of conditioning, expectations, and fear. The work isn't to find yourself. It's to uncover yourself.
"The ultimate aim of religion is for man to return to the state in which he was before he existed."
– Syed Naquib al-Attas
This isn't about going backwards. It's about going inwards—to the source of who you are before the world told you who you should be.
"By the time we’re old enough to contemplate our own identity, we already have one. By then, the way that we see the world is framed by our prior conditioning. That conditioning informs every choice that we make—even the choice to rebel against that conditioning."
– R. Martinez
Most people live their entire lives as prisoners of programming they never chose. Awareness is the first step to freedom.
"I don't know is half of knowledge."
– Islamic Proverb
Children live in this state of beautiful uncertainty. They don't pretend to know what they haven't experienced. Humility isn't weakness—it's the doorway to infinite learning.
The Greatest Heist You Never Knew Happened
In 1402, a Chinese emperor committed the perfect crime.
He didn't just steal his nephew's throne—he erased all evidence that his nephew ever existed.
For 300 years, nobody knew the rightful ruler had been overthrown.
Your mind has undergone the same takeover.
Right now, as you read this, someone else is making your decisions. Not you.
Think I'm wrong? Then explain why you scroll when you planned to read. Why you choose comfort when you know growth requires discomfort. Why you seek approval from people whose opinions shouldn't matter.
That's not you deciding. That's your programming.
We never ask the most important question: "Who sits on the throne of your mind?"
Your fitrah—your original nature—is the rightful ruler. But a False King has been installed over decades, ruling so silently you never noticed the coup.
The person you think you are is actually your captor.
Your real self is buried beneath years of conditioning, expectations, and programming.
Malcolm X said it perfectly: "Sometimes a fruit falls so far from its roots that it's no longer of the tree... This journey has totally brainwashed them to such a degree that they're no longer of the original tree."
But unlike that Chinese emperor, your fitrah isn't lost forever.
The question isn't whether you can reclaim your throne. The question is whether you're ready to recognise the usurper. Read the complete article here (link)
If there's one thing we can learn from observing children, it's how we're supposed to be as humans. Since they're born on fitrah, they're a perfect example to study if we want to understand how we should act and behave.
What happens to most of us is that life, school, work, and experiences batter and bruise us, programming and shaping us as we get older. We become far from who we were born to be.
Based on my observations from spending focused time with my own children (detailed in my article "Fitrah in Action"), here's a practical framework for returning to your original nature:
🌱 The 5 Dimensions of Fitrah Recovery
1. WONDER (Rediscovering Curiosity)
Child-like trait: Everything amazes them—every puddle, every cat, every new experience
Adult application: Approach life with beginner's mind, question assumptions
Practice: Ask "What if?" instead of "I know," embrace intellectual humility
2. SERVICE (Natural Inclination to Help)
Child-like trait: They want to please and assist, they get joy from making others happy
Adult application: Find meaning through contribution and helping others
Practice: Daily acts of service, prioritize being useful over being impressive
3. LEARNING (Insatiable Appetite for Growth)
Child-like trait: Everything is a learning experience, they absorb and soak up each moment
Adult application: Become a lifelong student again, see failures as data
Practice: Learn something new every day, ask questions like a child
4. NATURE CONNECTION (Affinity with Creation)
Child-like trait: Deep love for animals, fascination with natural world
Adult application: Regular time in natural settings, away from screens
Practice: Daily walks, gardening, or simply sitting outside in contemplation
5. SPIRITUAL RESONANCE (Natural Draw to the Divine)
Child-like trait: Find peace in Quranic recitation, innate love for worship
Adult application: Prioritize connection with Allah above all else
Practice: Daily dhikr, Quran reading, contemplation of creation
Here's how to begin your return to the blueprint you were born with:
📌 1. Question Your Conditioning
Ask yourself: "What beliefs about myself did I inherit from others?" "When did I stop being curious?" "What parts of my personality are learned, not natural?" Remember: you are not your job, your degree, or what others expect you to be.
📌 2. Study Your Childhood Self
What did you love doing before anyone told you what you should love? What came naturally? What gave you joy? Your childhood interests often reveal your divine design before it was corrupted by expectations.
📌 3. Observe Children Closely
Spend intentional time watching children—their wonder, their questions, their fearlessness. Let them remind you of what you've forgotten about being human.
📌 4. Practice "I Don't Know"
Embrace intellectual humility. When someone asks your opinion, occasionally say "I don't know" and mean it. Certainty is the enemy of growth, and the fitrah thrives in the space of not-knowing.
📌 5. Create a "Fitrah Fifteen" Daily
Fifteen minutes each day dedicated to fitrah recovery: nature walks, Quran reflection, creative play, or simply sitting in wonder. Protect this time like you would protect prayer—because it is a form of worship.
Join this month’s livestream called The Fitrah: Your Divine Blueprint (link)
Here are the details:
📅 Saturday 31st May 2025
⏰ 6 PM (BST)
🎙️ Speaker: Ustadh Abu Bilaal Yakub
📍 Live in the KNOW Community→ skool.com/kn-ow [Join community to attend]Join Ustadh Abu Bilaal Yakub, a renowned Islamic scholar and teacher, as he explores the comprehensive understanding of what fitrah really is and how it shapes human psychology and behaviour. From the Quranic foundations to practical application in navigating life's trials, discover how to cultivate your life according to your divine design. This foundational session will transform how you see yourself and your purpose. You won’t want to miss this!
📖 Who Are You, Really? (article), Identity vs. occupation by Faisal Amjad (link)
📖 Fitrah in Action (article), what we can learn from children by Faisal Amjad (link)
📖 Hayy Ibn Yaqzan (book) by Ibn Tufayl – A great classic tale from a 13th century golden age scholar all about how the fitrah develops over one’s life, from a young boy growing up alone on a desert island (link)
🎧 Essential Fitrah Lectures:
The Fitrah 4 part series (course) by Shaykh Dr Umar Faruq Abdallah (link). One of the best scholars for understanding fitrah.
The Primordial State of Human beings (lecture) - a presentation on fitrah from Dr Umar Faruq Abdallah and a conversation with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (link)
A 5 min clip by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad on the objective of life (link)
Is everyone born a Muslim? A brilliant Dr Yasir Qadhi deep dive (link)
🧘 The Divine Duty Diagnostic (resource) – Assess your fitrah alignment (link)
The Feel Fulfilled Forever Formula (resource) - a 95 page interactive guide (link)
Ready to move forward and get closer to your fitrah? Reply "FITRAH" to this email and I'll send you the details on how we can work together.
Want more details about our program? Check this page (link)
Join our FREE community of like-minded action-takers (link)
If you’d like to work with me, you can apply to book a call here (link)
Or if you’d like to work with me 1-2-1 you can join the waitlist (link) (2 slots left)
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You, the people will decide
Remember. You're not broken. You're not lost. You're not confused about your purpose.
You're just temporarily disconnected from the blueprint you were born with.
The way back isn't forward. It's inward.
Your fitrah remembers what your mind has forgotten.
The question isn't whether you have a rightful ruler—it's whether you'll restore them to power.
The choice is yours.
May Allah guide each of us back to our original nature, grant us the strength to reclaim our authentic selves, and make us among those who live according to their divine blueprint, ameen!
Please let me know what you think of these newsletters and give me suggestions for themes for future issues. I promise to read every single email insha’allah!
Until next month,
Faisal
P.S. Here are the previous editions if you'd like to check them out:
#1: The Two Seas of Knowledge | #2: Knowing Yourself | #3: Being an Amazing Action Taker | #4: Balance, Meezan and the Middle Path | #5: Biomimicry and Learning from Nature | #6: The Ramadan Edition | #7 Igniting a Second Golden Age
I love the points you made about intellectual humility and taking beginner's mind approaches. There is so much we don't know about the world and there's a lot we can uncover by going back to the basics and questioning what we know to be true. Often we realize that what we though to be true about ourselves are limiting beliefs and not set in stone realities.