An Erroneous Concept
most of this century, the Muslim world continues to hobble along
a treacherous path that has been constructed for them by others.
The destination for this course is one that they have led us to
believe is beneficial and worthy of striving for. The fuel for this
journey is extracted from the false concepts that Imperialist implanted
in the Muslim World.
Origins of Nationalism
One of these poisonous
concepts that stigmatises the Prophet's (saws) Ummah is Nationalism.
It is a dangerous concept that has become the emotional basis for
the state of the Ummah today and one, which visibly fortifies the
division among those who profess to believe in the same ideology.
Furthermore, the Muslims identify themselves as Turkish, Arab, African
and Pakistani. If this is not enough, Muslims are further sub-divided
within each country or continent. For example, in Pakistan people
are classed as Punjabis, Sindhis, Balauchis and Pathans. This fragmentation
continues to gain momentum amongst the Muslims.
The Muslim Ummah
was never confronted with such a dilemma in the past during Islamic
rule. They never suffered from disunity, widespread oppression,
stagnation in science and technology and certainly not from the
internal conflicts that we have witnessed this century like the
Iran-Iraq war. So what has gone wrong with the Muslims this century?
Why are there so many feuds between them and why are they seen to
be fighting each other? What has caused their weakness and how will
they ever recover from the present stagnation?
There are many factors
that contributed to the present state of affairs, but some of the
main ones are the abandonment of the Arabic language as the language
of understanding Islam correctly and performing Ijtihad, the absorption
of foreign cultures and thus the abandonment of Islamic beliefs,
the gradual loss of central authority over some of the provinces,
and the rise of Nationalism since the 19th Century.
Nationalism did not
arise in the Muslim world naturally, nor did it come about in response
to any hardships faced by the people, nor due to the frustration
they felt when Europe started to dominate the world after the industrial
revolution. Rather, nationalism was implanted in the minds of the
Muslims through a well thought out scheme by the European powers,
after their failure to destroy the Islamic State by force.
The concept of nationalism
is very large and cannot be understood without studying the way
humans identify and relate to each other in society. This study
will enable a differentiation to be made between various forms of
grouping and nationalism. Human beings can identify or group together
on the basis of:
- Love of a particular
land or a country - patriotism
- Tribe, lineage
or race - nationalism
- Religion - mere
- Faith or Aqeedah
when people come together due to the love of a country. It is a
form of unity that comes about when that particular country is under
external threat e.g. military conflicts with other nations. The
effect of this bond results in people of different backgrounds setting
their differences aside to form a common front in support of the
government. The concept of patriotism is often confused with nationalism.
The inherent weakness of patriotism, as a basis of uniting people,
is that it unites people temporarily and only then if an external
threat is looming in the horizon. Hence, patriotism has no role
to play during peacetime, and it cannot, therefore, be a basis of
a permanent unity.
Nationalism is a
bond between people that is based upon family, clan or tribal ties.
Nationalism arises among people when the predominant thought they
carry is that of achieving domination. It starts from the family,
where one member asserts his authority to achieve leadership in
the affair of the family. Once this is achieved, the individual
extends his leadership to the wider family. In this way, the families
would also try to achieve leadership in the community they reside
in. The next stage is that of tribes competing with each other,
all trying to dominate others in order to enjoy the privileges and
the prestige that comes with this authority. This breeds arrogance
and ignorance along with extreme pride.
unite the people because it is based on quest for leadership. This
quest for leadership creates a power struggle between the people
and this leads to conflicts among various strata of society. Another
drawback of nationalism is that it gives a rise to racism. This
is expected if people are allowed to compete with each other on
the basis of their race. Some whites, for example, may see themselves
as superior to the blacks, or vice-versa, leading to polarisation
of the races and a divided society.
The spiritual bond
among non-Muslims is a grouping of people based on their 'religious
belief' which is not a comprehensive belief covering every aspect
of life. An example of a spiritual bond is when people identify
with each other on the basis of being a Christian, a Hindu or a
Jew. Islam is not classed among these as it is a Deen rather than
a religion. The term Deen comprehensively takes on the meaning as
"A complete way of life". This spiritual bond does not
unite people on issues other than matters of belief and worships,
hence it is limited and cannot be the basis of any complete unity.
The Complete Lasting
In Islam, love and
hate is only for the sake of Allah (swt). Our Emaan (faith) and
Taqwa form this basis. Allah says:
believers, men and women, are Awliya' (helpers, supporters, friends,
protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) good, and
forbid evil, they perform Prayers and give the Zakat, and obey Allah
and His Messenger. Allah will have his Mercy on them. Surely Allah
is All-Mighty, All-Wise". [Qur'an 9:71]
From this verse we
can note that Islam is not merely a ritual belief but rather one
also encompassing the actions and deeds reflected upon by faith.
So the final way
in which people can group together is on the basis of Aqeedah or
faith. It is Islam that provides the set of rules, regulations,
and instructions according to which man lives and which he refers
to in order to solve his problems. This bond only takes into account
the Aqeedah and nothing but that belief. Colour, race and gender
are irrelevant. This is the type of bond found within Islam.
through the Aqeedah and Emaan is a permanent bond because it arises
from a conviction pertaining to the meaning of life. The creed is
never influenced by colour, race, language, love of a land or local
issues. Hence, it is the true basis for permanent unity. Islam calls
for this type of unity.
Islam came and eradicated
nationalism. The nationalistic structure of the pagan Arabian society,
which existed for centuries, was diminished by its arrival. Islam
invited people to believe in one God, Allah (swt), and to follow
His commands. For Allah (swt) says,
"And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship
Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to
establish regular prayer and to practise Zakat; and this is the
deen right and straight." [Qur'an 98: 5]
It asked for loyalty
to the deen of Allah (swt) rather than to the tribes. Ties between
the Muslims were therefore based upon the Aqeedah of Islam. All
Muslims were treated exactly the same, irrespective of their family
background, and anyone who declared the Shahada "La ilaha illa
Allah Muhammad Rasul Allah" became part of the Muslim Ummah.
Nationalism is a
concept alien to Islam because it calls for unity based on family
and tribalistic ties, whereas Islam binds people together on the
Aqeedah and Emaan. That is, belief in Allah (swt) and His Messenger
together on tribalistic lines is clearly forbidden. It is narrated
by Abu Dawud that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "He
is not one of us who calls for 'asabiyyah, (nationalism) or who
fights for 'asabiyyah or who dies for 'asabiyyah." And
in another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (saws) referring to nationalism,
racism, and patriotism said "Leave it, it is rotten".
[Muslim and Bukhari]
There are many examples
in the Seerah where the Me
The messenger of
Allah (saws) had rebuked those who upheld nationalism. On one occasion
a party of Jews conspired to bring about disunity in the ranks of
the Muslims after seeing the Aus and Khazraj within Islam. A youth
from amongst them was sent to incite remembrance of the battle of
Bu'ath where the Aus had been victorious over the Khazraj, and he
recited poetry to bring about division between them. As a result
there was a call to arms. When the news reached the Messenger of
Allah (saws), He (saws) said, "O Muslims, remember Allah,
remember Allah. Will you act as pagans while I am present with you
after Allah has guided you to Islam, and honoured you thereby and
made a clean break with paganism; delivered you thereby from disbelief;
made you friends thereby?" When they heard this they wept,
and embraced each other. This incident clearly highlights how the
messenger of Allah (saws) rebuked any forms of tribalism and nationalism.
Allah (swt) then revealed the verses,
you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except
in a state of Islam. And hold fast together all of you to the rope
of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with
gratitude Allah's favours on you; for you were enemies and He joined
your hearts in love, so that by His Grace you became brothers; and
you were on the brink of the pit of fire, and He saved you from
it. Thus Allah makes His signs clear to you that you may be guided."
[Qur'an 3: 102-103]
The incidents above
demonstrate that tribal ties have no place in Islam. Muslims are
commanded to stick together and not to disassociate themselves from
each other just because they comes from different tribes or backgrounds.
The Messenger of
Allah (saws) also said, "The Muslims are like a body, if
one part of the body hurts, rest of the body will also suffer"
[Muslim] meaning that the Muslims, whether they are of Chinese,
African, or Arabian or European origin, are one Ummah and they cannot
be separated from each other. Furthermore, Allah (swt) says: "The
faithful are but brothers..." [Qur'an 49: 10] . No nationalistic
ties should ever break their unity. That is the beauty of Islam.
Now the speech of
Allah (swt) addressed to the Messenger (saws) is also a speech to
his Ummah, unless specific evidence comes to restrict this. In this
case, there is no such restriction, so it becomes obligatory for
the Muslims to rule according to Islamic teachings. And ruling according
to Islam leaves no room for nationalistic constitutions whatsoever
because what is applied (and what forms the criteria for judgement)
is the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of the Messenger (saws).
Allah (swt) says,
"It is not for a believer (male or female) that when Allah
and His Messenger have decided a matter that they should have any
choice in the matter." [Qur'an 33: 36]
Hence since Islam
has prohibited nationalism, it becomes a duty of every Muslim, in
the present situation, to work towards tearing down the nationalistic
boundaries that are artificially created in Muslim lands, and to
remove any obstacles which allow its propagation. And those who
still uphold nationalism, remember what Allah (swt) says, "
who oppose Allah's order have to be warned that a calamity may strike
them or a painful doom may fall upon them." [Qur'an 24: 63]
ask Allah (swt) to guide us all and make our hearts pure..