ISLAMS COMMITMENT TO NATIONBUILDING
Islam As It Is
OUR country India has been the land of opportunities in every
way. Opportunities for education, businesses, ownership of
properties, employment and every other facility has been
available to all to make use of and to progress in life. Places of worship,
religious organizations, schools and colleges run exclusively by
particular communities for their own communities are thriving all over
the country. One cannot ignore this reality by citing few stray negative
incidents.
Islam’s teaching with regard to unpleasant incidents should be seen
in the backdrop of the entire creation plan of God. According to the
creation plan of God, the present world is only a small part of our
eternal life. It is meant as a ground for our personality development,
so that we can make ourselves deserving inhabitants for the eternal
world of Paradise. It is a personality development workshop for those
who freely and willingly want to develop themselves to be worthy of
God’s Paradise.
Negative experiences or problems in life are actually challenges and
opportunities for development. If every situation were to be smooth
and easy, and every experience positive, one’s personality would not
flourish. For instance, unless one undergoes
suffering, one will not be able to cultivate the
virtue of patience. Similarly, if there were no
rivers to cross, people would not have to build
any bridges.
This world is
a personality
development
workshop for those
who freely and
willingly want to
develop themselves
to be worthy of
God’s Paradise.
God has given man freedom of action as part
of His creation plan. God does not desire
us to live as mechanical beings; He wants
us to be thinking and conscientious beings.
Freedom has been bestowed on man so that
he can utilize his talents towards developing
creativity and achieving progress. God wants
us to turn towards Him of our own free will.
However, where there is freedom, there is also the chance of misuse
of freedom. Each time a person misuses his freedom it results in a
negative situation for others who may be associated with him. Many
challenges thus arise due to the misuse of freedom.
Negative incidents should not be looked at as a personal attack on
oneself. The true believer is expected to give a positive response to
negative situations by way of wise management. Here, managing a
situation means avoiding reaction and taking the right actions after
due consideration. It refers to looking at the situation objectively
without prejudice. This is possible only for a person who is free of all
complexes.
We can easily understand this point if we observe that people of the
same community also have problems with each other. It is not that
problems exist only between people of two different communities.
Two brothers can also become enemies to each other. Problems and
challenges can thus arise from anywhere and anyone, and are a part of
our life in this world.
Taking life with a positive mindset, we can find guidance in Islam
for nation-building. According to the Quran, every prophet of God
addressed people of the entire nation, not only members of his own
community. The Quran specifically mentions several prophets, all of
whom addressed their respective nations as, ‘O my people’, and not
specifically as, ‘O my community’. The religion of these prophets’ was
based on monotheism, while the religious beliefs of the people they
addressed were different. Despite this fact,
the prophet’s vision of their addressees was
not determined by their religion. It was based
on their common homeland. All prophets
addressed them as, ‘My people’.
Negative experiences
or problems in
life are actually
challenges and
opportunities for our
development. If every
situation were to be
smooth and easy,
and every experience
positive, one’s
personality would
not flourish.
The Quran says, Lakum deenukum waliyadeen
which means, ‘to each, his own religion’.
( 109: 6 ). This is the fundamental principle
of secularism of our nation. The Prophet
Muhammad too had set an example of
this principle in Madinah when he issued a
charter called Sahifatul Madinah (Madinah
Declaration). According to this charter every
citizen of Madinah had the freedom to follow
his own religion.
Love of one’s nation comes naturally to a human being. No one needs
any instruction in this. What we must avoid is conditioning ourselves
with wrong ideas, which may lead to negativity for our nation. We need
to keep our natural feelings alive for the development of a national
character.
What is national character? It is the capacity and the will to hold the
interests of the nation supreme in every sphere. Whenever a nation
has made any progress, it has been due to this spirit of nationalism.
Without such a spirit, no nation can progress internally or externally. No
personal gain of any kind and magnitude will ever make such a person
disloyal to his country. Activities like spying,
giving away secrets of the country, helping the
enemies of the country to perpetrate violent
acts against the country are the most heinous
crimes according to Islam. A true believer
will know and strongly believe that such acts
are going to make him deserving of God’s
punishment and deprive him of Paradise.
The true believer is
expected to give a
positive response to
negative situations
by way of wise
management.
Managing a situation
means avoiding
reaction and taking
the right actions after
due consideration.
In his teachings, the Prophet of Islam laid the
foundation of a duty conscious society, not
a rights conscious society. The Prophet said,
“A believer should be duty conscious and as
far as his rights are concerned, he should ask
of them from God.” The best society is a duty
conscious society. The duty of one person is
the right of another. If each one of us took
care of our duties, the rights of all would be taken care of. But if each
one of us were to be only demanding and protesting for the fulfillment
of our rights, nothing would be accomplished. Performing one’s duties
instead of demanding rights, is the strongest foundation for building a
prosperous nation.
Islam gives guidance even for situations where a country might have
unjust rulers. In such circumstances the citizens are required not to
rebel against the rulers. They must continue to obey their rulers and
peacefully try to bring about a change in the mindset of the people,
in the hope that once the term of the present ruler is over, capable
people will come into power and rule in a just manner. Rebellion of any
kind only leads to anarchy in society.
Unity is the greatest strength of a nation. Islam gives utmost importance
to unity. It believes that unity must prevail in spite of differences and
diversity. Differences are a part of nature. Nature abhors uniformity. We
must remain united and live harmoniously while tolerating differences.
We must agree to disagree and irrespective of individual beliefs, work
together in harmony for the greater good.
According to Islam, every citizen must abide by the law of the land.
For example, a particular institution might have regulations on
uniform which might go against the religious dress code of a particular
community. Here the person does not have any right to fight against
the regulation. He has to choose between two options. Follow the rules
if one is keen on being a part of the institution or give up the desire
to be a part of it. This is the teaching of Islam. Life is a package deal
of both pleasant and the unpleasant; one cannot create one's own
package. We cannot pick and choose everything we desire in life.
A true believer—one who follows the pristine teachings of Islam—will
be involved in progressive work for the neighbourhood, city, nation and
humanity. It will be an unthinkable contradiction for him to be engaged
in something harmful to society, not only to human society but also
to the environment. The Prophet once remarked, “By God he is not a
believer, he is not a believer, he is not a believer, whose neighbour is
not safe from his evil.”
Clarification of a Few Misconceptions
It would be relevant here to discuss a few
issues regarding the attitudes of the people
of a community which sometimes indicate to
others that wherever they are in a minority
they do not consider themselves as a part
of the nation. What does Islam have to say
about such attitudes?
We can find guidance
in Islam for nationbuilding.
According
to the Quran every
prophet of God
addressed the entire
nation as, ‘O my
people’, not as, ‘O my
community’.
Community Superiority
Is any particular community superior in the
eyes of God? The Quran clearly mentions
that no community is inherently superior to any other. ( 2: 62 ). God does
not have a special relationship with any particular community. He has
regard solely for a person’s thoughts and deeds. In the Hereafter,
people will be judged according to their deeds and character and not
on the basis of the group or community to which they belong.
Numerical Strength
Does being less in numbers mean that one can never progress in
life? According to the Quran, a minority with the right attitude can
contribute even more than the majority. We have examples before us
where small communities have contributed positively to their nation
and are also doing very well as a community. On this Indian soil of great opportunities, their selfless service in the field of education, medical
care, charities and development is exemplary. The Christians are a
good example of this. They have been doing this work from the time
when others had hardly started and in places where others feared to
venture. They have welcomed everyone, irrespective of beliefs. People
from all walks of life benefit from their services.
Religious Unity
Should everyone have the same religious beliefs in a country for it to
progress? A few thinkers were of the opinion that religious unity had
the power to bring about national progress. Religious unity implied that
all religions were essentially one. It was believed that if this concept
could take root in people’s minds, it would produce a sense of unity
all over the country. Historically speaking, of course, this assumption
was proved wrong; there is a long, sorry record of even co-religionists
fighting fiercely among themselves. If the task
of constructing the nation is to be successfully
accomplished, we must rid ourselves of our
obsession with such impracticable concepts
as unity of religion and culture, and should
forge ahead despite our differences.
The Quran says,
‘Lakum deenukum
waliyadeen’ which
means, ‘to each, his
own religion’. This
is the fundamental
principle of
secularism of
our nation.
The truth is that the only practicable basis
of nationhood is patriotism. Our prime
target should be the fostering of the spirit of
patriotism amongst the people of our country.
The Quran ( 49: 13 ) says: ‘Mankind! We have
created you from a male and female, and
made you into peoples and tribes, so that you might come to know
each other.’
The term ‘peoples’ in this verse indicates groups that share a common
homeland, while the term ‘tribes’ refers to groups based on racial
commonality. According to the Quran, both types of grouping of
people are simply for the sake of knowing each other, not for indicating
relationships of belief or religion.
According to the Islamic perspective, religious unity is not the path for
a nation’s progress. At the same time, adherence to Islam does not
clash with one’s love for one’s country. However, the behaviour of some
Muslims gives this kind of impression to the world. The reason is that
some Muslim thinkers have interpreted Islam in an extremist manner
that brands all other systems as false. This notion of ‘false systems’ was the product of some extremist minds. It does not have anything to do
with Islam.
Based on the above notion, some Indian Muslim leaders declared
nationalism to be un-Islamic. It is this wrong understanding which has
led to such erroneous beliefs. Similarly some extremist Western thinkers
of the early 20th century had expanded the notion of nationalism so
much that they presented it in the form of a complete religion by itself.
But when this notion had to contend with practical realities, it broke
into smithereens.
From the aforementioned points, it is quite clear that Islam considers
nationalism to be part of human nature.
Methodology as Presented by the Prophet’s Teachings
It is individual temperament which plays the most crucial role in the
making of a nation. It is important for nation-building in the same
manner that individual bricks are important in the construction of a
building.
The growth and development of a nation is a
lengthy affair. There has to be a tremendous
input at both the individual and national
levels before it finally blooms and finds the
position of honour and glory that it merits
in world affairs. The work of nation building
is like nurturing an orchard. If instead of
nurturing the orchard with care and skill,
people come out on to the streets and launch
a protest campaign in the name of trees, or
gather in some open place or march through
the streets shouting slogans about it, they will
never possess even a single tree, far less own
an orchard.
National character
is the capacity and
the will to hold the
interests of the
nation supreme
in every sphere.
Whenever a nation
has made any
progress, it has been
due to this spirit of
nationalism.
A nation cannot fortify itself by working miracles only in the field
of politics. One can make impassioned speeches and attract great
crowds. But real results can be achieved only by long-term planning
and unflagging dedicated effort. Needless to say, the two great virtues
which are indispensable in the struggle are patience and fortitude.
These two virtues are promised the highest rewards by Islam, as can
be seen in the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
Conclusion
One might want to know our specific efforts towards the cause of nation
building. With all humility we would like to say that under the guidance
of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, our mentor who is well versed in both
classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines, we are working
towards promoting and reinforcing the culture of peace through mindbased
spirituality and inter-faith efforts.
Drawing inspiration from the Quran, and
the Sunnah, the sayings and actions of the
Prophet Muhammad, the Centre for peace
and spirituality International, seeks to share
the spiritual principles of Islam with the world
and to reveal its true face, based as it is on
peace, tolerance and co-existence.
The best society is
a duty-conscious
society. The duty of
one person is the
right of another. If
each one of us took
care of our duties,
the rights of all would
be taken care of.
We believe in self-introspection and towards
contributing positively to the nation. We have
dedicated ourselves single-mindedly towards
building a better society. Our magazine Spirit
of Islam is a step in this direction.
May God in His Infinite mercies grant us peace and security and help us
to usher in an era of global brotherhood.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has
congratulated noted Islamic scholar and peace
activist Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, on being
conferred the Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Ibn Ali
Peace Award at a function in Abu Dhabi.
“Congratulations to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan,
on being conferred the Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan
Ibn Ali Peace Award at a function in Abu Dhabi.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’s knowledge and efforts
towards peace make him one of the most respected
scholars, admired all over”, the Prime Minister said.
(30th April 2015)
