Loyalty and Love for one’s Nation

According to the teachings of Islam, the definition and true meaning of ‘loyalty’ are the unequivocal fulfilment of one’s pledges and covenants at every level and under all circumstances, regardless of difficulty.

In the Holy Quran, Allah has instructed Muslims that they must fulfil their pledges and covenants as below:

“O ye who believe, obey God and obey the Prophet and obey those in authority from among you” (4:60).

This is one of the examples of Quranic teachings. Islam always teaches its followers to be loyal to the government, regardless of the ruler’s faith. In fact, being loyal to their country is a part of their faith.

On many occasions, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) has also taught Muslims to be loyal and faithful to their country. He said, “Whoso obeys the ruler obeys me, and whoso disobeys the ruler disobeys me” (Muslim).

Therefore, it is essential for a citizen of any country to establish a relationship of genuine loyalty and faithfulness to his or her nation. It does not matter whether he or she is a born citizen or gains citizenship later in life.

Sincere patriotism is a requirement in Islam. Love of one’s country has been made a part of Islam, it is quite clear that a Muslim must strive to reach the highest level of loyalty to his chosen country because that is a means of reaching God and becoming close to Him.

But it is very unfortunate that most Muslims are not showing this loyalty because they follow their religious scholars blindly. These scholars are religiously extremist and ignorant. If Muslims only follow this one verse of the Quran, they should show loyalty to the country of their residence instead of following fanatic leaders.