– Alamgeer Hossain (President, Islamic Youth Federation)
Love for one’s birthplace is a natural and instinctive feeling. Wherever a person is born, it is natural for them to feel an attachment to that land. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), while migrating from Makkah to Madinah, looked back toward Makkah and, with a heart full of emotion, said:
“By Allah! You are the most beloved land to Allah, and you are also the most beloved land to me. Had your people not driven me out, I would never have left you.” (Tirmidhi)
One notable point here is that love for one’s birthplace was also present in the heart of the Messenger (PBUH), and such love is natural. That is why a person usually has a special attachment to the village or city where they were born. But extending this love to a nation or a specific boundary is unreasonable.
The most important point to note here is that despite having love for his birthplace, the Prophet (PBUH) left his homeland for the sake of the Deen (religion) and to attain the pleasure of Allah. So, it becomes clear from this that love or hatred, or acceptance or rejection of anything, should be solely for the sake of pleasing Allah. But when the criteria for love or hatred, acceptance or rejection, friendship or enmity becomes tied to region, language, borders, nation, lineage, party, organization, or government, it turns into ‘Asabiyyah—that is, tribalism or nationalism. The Prophet’s love for Makkah was never above the pleasure of Allah, nor did it become a standard for friendship or enmities.
Before promoting nationalism or tribalism using fabricated Hadiths like “Patriotism is a part of faith” it is crucial to study the following authentic Hadiths and the life of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH): Abu Huraira (R.A.) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “Whoever fights under the banner of blind partisanship (Asabiyyah), becomes angry for tribalism or nationalism, calls towards it, or supports it and dies in that state, has died a death of ignorance (Jahiliyyah).” (Muslim)
Once, there was a dispute between an Ansar and a Muhajir. One called out, “O Ansar!” and the other said, “O Muhajir!” When this reached the ears of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), he said, “Abandon this call (Asabiyyah), for it is a filthy thing.” (Bukhari)
Nationalism leads to ignorance and bias
Today, the Muslim Ummah is divided into fragments under the shade of colorful flags due to the foul stench of the fitnah of Asabiyyah (tribalism/nationalism). When Muslims of one country begin to see Muslims of another country as enemies, using flags and borders as their standard, that is not love for one’s homeland — rather, that is Asabiyyah.
Islam Rejects Tribalism and Nationalism for Several Reasons: Firstly, nationalism clearly violates one of the core principles of Islam—Al-Wala wal-Bara. The essence of Al-Wala wal-Bara is to love for the sake of Allah and to hate for the sake of Allah. A Muslim must love another Muslim solely for the sake of Allah. Similarly, there must be hatred in the heart towards disbelievers who show enmity to Islam, also solely for the sake of Allah—not for any worldly interest. However, nationalism erects a wall within this bond, making it difficult to regard Muslims from other nations as one’s own. On the other hand, it leads to sympathy toward disbelievers of one’s own country who oppose Allah and His Messenger. Secondly, nationalism teaches people to consider their own nation as superior to others. Islam strongly condemns pride in one’s own ethnicity or lineage. Such behavior is denounced as an act of the Jahiliyyah (ignorance). In reality, the criterion of honor and superiority in Islam is Taqwa (God-consciousness). In this regard, skin color, lineage, ethnicity, language, and territory hold no value. Thirdly, nationalism teaches people to reject the truth. When one’s own community is entrenched in falsehood and the truth comes from another community, a person inflamed by nationalist sentiment finds it difficult to accept the truth. Fourthly, nationalism destroys the sense of justice. The demand of nationalism is to support one’s own kind even if they are unjust, and to withhold support from others even if they are innocent. In contrast, Islam teaches that the wrongdoer must be punished, and the oppressor must be resisted—even if he belongs to one’s own nation or community.
In the recent incident in Pahalgam, Muslims displayed a serious weakness—accepting the media narrative without verification. Without confirming whether the accused group was truly responsible, many Muslims immediately believed what the media claimed. Yet the Qur’an clearly states:
“O you who believe! If a wicked person brings you any news, investigate thoroughly, lest you harm people in ignorance and later regret what you have done.” (Surah Hujurat: 6)
For Muslims, the Pahalgam incident became a hallmark of defensiveness and proving their innocence
In this incident, some Muslim leaders, seemingly in an effort to prove their patriotism, rushed to give statements as if this was the perfect time to show loyalty to the country. Alongside this incident, a form of “Muslim Asabiyyah” was also observed among some Muslims. For example, when the media reported that the victims in Pahalgam were killed after being asked about their religion and that all of them were non-Muslims, some Muslims attempted to counter this narrative by spreading false information, claiming that most of the victims were actually Muslims. Even though Muslim leaders and individuals were quick to present themselves as patriots, this did not reduce the aggression of the Hindu extremists. On the contrary, attacks on ordinary Muslims increased multifold. Incidents such as: assaults on Kashmiri Muslim students in educational institutions, announcements by extremist Hindu doctors to not treat Muslim patients, mass detentions and interrogations of Bengali Muslims on suspicion of being “Bangladeshis”, demolition of homes on the pretext of “anti-terror” operations, mob lynchings after inquiring about religious identity all of this proves that no matter how much Muslims try to prove their patriotism or appease these groups, those who harbor hatred against Islam and its followers will never truly accept or trust Muslims. Regarding them, Allah the Almighty says:
“And they will continue to fight you until they turn you back from your religion, if they are able to.” (Surah Baqarah: 217)
In such times, we must revive the spirit of Prophet Ibrahim (A.S.). Beyond performing the ritual of sacrificing animals, we must awaken his ideals within us. He was uncompromising with falsehood. Today, we need that same uncompromising spirit. We must never compromise on the principles of Islam out of fear that falsehood may turn against us if we speak or remain silent about an incident. We must be like the ‘Father of the Nation’ Ibrahim (A.S.), who, even after being thrown into the fire, did not compromise with falsehood in matters of faith. Similarly, in the most difficult of times, we too must remain steadfast in our faith.
We must become like Ibrahim (A.S.) in obedience to Allah (SWT). When he was commanded to leave his newborn son and beloved wife in the barren desert of Makkah, he did not hesitate for a moment. When ordered to sacrifice his beloved son Ismail (A.S.), he was immediately ready to obey.
Like Prophet Ibrahim (AS.), we must submit fully to Allah, just as mentioned in the Qur’an:
“Say, indeed my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.” (Surah Al-An’am: 162 & 163)
This means that all our worship, life, and death should be solely for Allah—not for any fenced land or to satisfy any government. Ultimately, we must develop the spirit of sacrificing our time, talent, wealth, and even our lives for the victory of Allah’s Deen.
May Allah protect us from all forms of fitnah (trials) and grant us the ability to sacrifice our most precious possessions for the victory of His Deen. Ameen, Ya Rabbal Alameen.
