ISLAM’S COMMITMENT TO NATION-BUILDING

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. 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. 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.