In Surah al-Rum (The Byzantines), it is revealed:
Set thy face to religion as a hanif, in the primordial nature from God upon which He originated mankind--there is no altering the creation of God; that is the upright religion, but most of mankind know not (surah 31)."
Interesting in this translation is that the authors kept the word hanif in it's Arabic transliteration instead of finding its English equivalent. They explain that hanif is a person who is inclined toward God and toward recognizing the oneness of Allah (tawhid). This ayah discusses the nature of God which is in the creation of mankind, known as fitra-the primordial nature of man which is pure. Interestingly is the directive to set ones self toward religion as it is the nature of man to do so. This tells us that our nature is already directed toward tawhid and toward God. This notion differs from many other religions as it assumes all humans to be born with the nature of God. At that point, one could insinuate, we start being accountable for our actions which either keep us as hanifs ( turned toward God) or turn us away from God.
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