– Maaz Ahmed Javed (M.Tech. AMU)
Different nations and groups have risen and fallen throughout history. Some of these nations and people rose on the basis of pure ideas or religion, while others recognized the people living in a particular region of land as a group or a nation and pushed hard to prove the superiority of a particular civilization. This human division based on region and race gave birth to bloody ideologies such as ‘nationalism’. As a result, two great bloody wars of history, World Wars I and II, took place. In these two wars alone, 80 million human lives were lost. Criticizing the same brutality of the ideology of nationalism, Iqbal said:
اقوام جہاں میں ہے رقابت تو اسی سے
تسخیر ہے مقصود تجارت تو اسی سے
خالی ہے صداقت سے سیاست تو اسی سے
کمزور کا گھر ہوتا ہے غارت تو اسی سے
Some politicians of our country are reviving this concept and trapping the unaware and innocent people in their trap. They say that the ancestors of Hindus and Muslims of India are the same and therefore their DNA is one and no distinction based on religion is appropriate. Moreover, all the people living in India, despite differences in the way of worship, are culturally Hindu. Let us understand what an abomination this seemingly simple sentence holds and how it can harm our cultural identity if it is not understood in time.
Allah Almighty sent the first human being, Adam[A.S], to this world and continued the human race through him. In this way, all human beings became the descendants of Adam [A.S]. But our Creator was well aware that in the nature of the man who is descended from the same parents, there is a chance of rebellion and apostasy which can easily tamper the purity of thoughts. So when he sent the man to the world, He warned him :
“We said, “Go down from it, all of you. And when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.” [Al-Baqarah:38].
That is, success depends on following the guidance sent by Allah instead of following ancestors. Human history bears witness to the fact that all the Prophets from Nuh [A.S] to Ibrahim [A.S], were opposed by their natives and as a result, they became misguided. They did not benefit from being a father, son, or a wife of the Prophet. Even when the Prophet (ﷺ) himself raised the call towards truth, people ridiculed him for violating the religion of their forefathers, and all his relatives, including his uncle Abu Lahab, took an active part in opposing him. Some of the people who gathered in Makkah around this invitation had to bear the wrath of their parents, some of them had to bear the wrath of their sons, but still, their perseverance was not shaken. Because these self-determined companions were well aware that these relationships and kinship are only for a few days in this world, while the invitation to the truth leads to success in both the worlds. Our stand should also be that we must consider the mistakes of our forefathers as a ‘mistake’ and refrain from their blind imitation.
The debate that has emerged in recent times raises the question of whether we should take into account all the good and bad things attributed to being born in a particular region of the earth. Even an ordinary person can understand that this is an unnatural thought that is being imposed on us.
Humans have settled in different parts of the world by the will of Allah and they adopted different living conditions, languages, and expressions. In a particular region, food and clothing are chosen based on the conditions, weather, and regional requirements. People living in different regions of the world have different lifestyles. Similarly, circumstances and environment also affect a person’s mood and psyche. People in areas where necessities of life are not readily available are tougher and hard working. The specific temperament, psychology, food, and clothing of each area are its basic introduction. That is why there are different strengths and weaknesses in each area. We need to be able to distinguish between the strengths and weaknesses of our region. The same is true of different families and tribes living in the same area. It is natural to love certain things of one’s area and family, but it is not appropriate to consider others inferior on this basis.
That is, we can adapt every civilization and tradition found in our region, provided it is not against Allah. Only those of our forefathers who lived with the fear of Allah are our ideal. Our civilization is derived from Islam and it is up to us to live with our Islamic identity in this country.
