The Effects of Islamic Religion on Maintaining the Territorial Integrity
(Part 60)
The continuation of the Matter:
The Connection Between Faith and Patriotism
The Messenger of Allah’s Patriotism (Peace Be Upon Him)
This blessed hadith advises all fighters in the path of Allah to stand firm and be patient in defending their homeland and not to flee, because fleeing on this day is an unforgivable sin.
The Holy Quran describes the patriotism of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) in this verse: “And when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, make this a secure city and provide its people with livelihood and fruits.
«وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَذَا بَلَدًا آمِنًا وَارْزُقْ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ…» (Al-Baqarah: 126).
Translation: When Abraham said, “My Lord, make this a secure city and provide its people with fruits.”
From the above verses and hadiths, the religious commandments regarding patriotism is clearly understood, and all believers are obligated to love and protect their homeland from foreign aggression and to prevent it from disintegration. According to those verses and hadiths, those who do not have passion for their homeland do not have the right and complete faith or either are suffering from mental illnesses.
The Prophet (PBUH) Companions’ Love for Their Homeland(Makkah)
Just as the migration from Mecca to Medina was a difficult and exhausting task for the Prophet (peace be upon him), it was even more difficult for his companions. If there had not been divine command to migrate, except for a few deprived members of society, the rest would have been patient and endured the same calamities and torments that befell them and would not have left their city. Because Mecca was their homeland where they were born and raised, and they had emotional attachments to that land, and they were very close to its culture and environment also they were very proud of it. The Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) abandoned their love for their homeland in accordance with the command of the Holy Prophet of Islam and their beloved religion, and preferred religious interests to their individual benefits.
The relentless persecution of the Muslims by polytheists in defense of their inherited and false religion had brought limitation for the newly shaped Islamic community in Mecca to its knees; but Makkah Believers loved their land and did not want to leave it; While they were well aware of the defects of the rotten and inhumane culture of the pre-Islamic Arabs (Jahelyeh), they wholeheartedly accepted the alternative that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had introduced to them.