Question

     Assalamualaikum.

     Respected shaykh, may Allah put barakah in your life and work. We hope that the most important task of giving direction and guidance to the ummah shall continue, by the will of Allah, through your hands. 

     We are from Bangladesh and are confused about something. We want to draw your attention to a public figure who is saying: “We are Bangladeshi first then Muslim” or “We are human first then Muslim.” In a popular newspaper, a criticism was published which said: “They want to be Muslim but not human being.” Then, in a talk show, they said: “We are backward because our primary identity is our religious identity.” Other statements like this have been issued too. To keep the question concise, we will not add more quotes. What we cited are not stand-alone lines, rather, they represent the entire speech. 

     Our question to you regards our prioritization of the Islamic conscience, should one put that before everything else? Did the figure make a mistake? If so, what is the extent of their error? And finally, is it damaging to their īmān?

Answer

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Waʿalaykum al-Salām wa raḥmat Allāh wa Barakātuh.

     We cannot speak regarding the situation that transpired in your country. We do not know all the angles regarding the situation you mentioned so will give a more general response to your inquiry.

     Allah is the absolute and the sole creator of mankind and the universe. He is the sovereign Lord, the Sustainer, and the Nourisher whose raḥmah extends to all beings. He has given man dignity and honor such that no distinction can be made among them on account of their involuntary differences, such as color, race, and language.  

     Islam is a way of life that instils in us how to be humans and citizens of our nations. It also shows us how to be sons, daughters, parents, and friends. It elucidates the rights of our neighbors and even how to interact with the environment and the animals that inhabit earth. It also draws a line between peace and what is to be regarded as hostility and a threat to life.

     It is part of human nature to love the country one was raised in. Such love and inclination to one’s country are appreciated and recognized in Islam as long as they do not conflict with Islamic principles. Islam administers all aspects of its adherents’ lives. The structure of the approach you mentioned, nationality, religion, and then humanism, is harmful and may be misinterpreted. We were provident beings who professed in unison that Allah is our Lord. This happened before we entered the wombs of our mothers. Now, as we live the life of obligation, we choose to be Muslim or non-Muslim. Part of your identity, being born in Bangladesh, was involuntary. It is thus independent of being a human or a Muslim. While a Muslim must abide by the laws of the land, that ultimately has nothing to do with his humanness or Islam.

And Allah Knows Best.]

Rafiq Faiz