HUBBUL WATANI
A good book, like a mentor or an idol, can bring about the right changes in your life, make you travel around the world, turn you into anything, relive historical events, all the while sitting in your room sipping your favourite cup of coffee.
And in search of more enlightenment, I headed to a library near my home. And immediately, I was overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of books around me, forcing me to once again shrink into this tiny ignorant insect who always feels secure in his ignorance. As I searched through the library, eager to get my hands on anything before the ones around me, drowned me in my self-consciousnes I happened to come across an article on the newspaper titled ‘Hubbul Watani’. It was written by Mr Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi for the New Age Islam, a liberal Muslim institution based in New Delhi, which encouraged progressive thinking in Muslims around the world by exposing them to news, analyses and opinions. Being myopic like everyone, confined by the hearsay and orthodox beliefs that had shaped my idea of Islam, I thought I should take this as an opportunity to learn something new.
The author writes that the term Hubbul Watani, urdu for patriotism, is central to Islam. But it has been often believed and propagated by radical Islamist groups that the concept of homeland (Watan) is against the Islamic belief system. They view patriotism as a desperate human passion and a sin that should be resisted.
According to them, patriotism as a concept, is a part of ignorance (Jahiliyyat) and ought to be rejected because it goes against the ideology of the Khilafah (Caliphate) and Ummah (global muslim community). They believe any country is nothing but a term given to geographical boundaries created by the conquering powers. They live in the lie that homelands are just places to reside which the people like, but Allah has condemned them and that the Hadith about prophet’s love towards homeland is specific only to Mecca.
But the author clarifies that what needs to be understood is that a homeland consists of the nation, its culture, its civilization, its history, its politics, the intellectual tendencies, the geographical borders and most importantly its citizens. He gives the example of nature, where even an animal loves its homeland and makes all possible efforts to construct and develop peace where it lives. Being away from one’s homeland, according to Muslim scholars is an extremely difficult experience, equal to the pain of losing one’s life. The author further quotes from the book “Mirqatul Mafalih” (commentary of Hadith Book – Mishkahil Masabih), in which Allama Mulla Ali Qari says, “Being away from the homeland is one of the most painful situations”. He cites another example where Hazrat Anas narrates that “whenever the Prophet returned from a journey and observed the walls of Medina, he would make his mount go fast, and if he was on an animal, he would make it gallop because of his love for Medina”.
At the end, the author highlights that patriotism is not a concept antithetical to religion community. A nation where its citizens can enjoy religious rights, security, liberty and freedom is a beloved place for them. For a muslim, a country where they feel free to bow down before the almighty five times in prayer and have the freedom to devote all their time to remember God and his Prophet is indeed their beloved homeland, the safety and security of which is their responsibility. Thus, it is necessary to take steps to refute and defeat extremist thoughts which declare patriotism to be anti-Islamic.
