ISLAM’S COMMITMENT TO NATION-BUILDING

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’. 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. 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.