Attachment to a Group is irrelevant for Success

Allah Almighty says in Quran:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَى وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحاً وَعَمِلَ صَالِحاً فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ۔

Rest assured that Believers (Muslims), Jews, Christians and Sabians – whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and performs good deeds – will be rewarded by their Lord; they will have nothing to fear or to regret. (Al Baqarah 2:62)

Although belonging to a nation is a natural thing but extreme nationalism is the root of bias. When a person belongs to a nation or a group, (s)he develops a strong favoritism for that group. For example, Muslims of present day think that the paradise of God is only reserved for them and all other nations will be placed in the hellfire. Other nations also have the similar views.

The Holy Quran presents a different point of view. Allah does not assess a person based on his/her relationship with a particular nation or group. The criterion for salvation is different. The Almighty will not bless someone with the eternal life of paradise that (s)he belongs to a group called Muslims or Jews or Christians or Hindus or Buddhists etc. The salvation depends on having faith in God and being prepared to face His accountability in hereafter. The people who will win their place in paradise, will do so because they have spent their worldly life as a God-oriented person.

Some people derive an erroneous philosophy from this verse. They think that since the Almighty has not mentioned here the faith in Prophethood, so it is not essential. It is a misconception. Having faith in Allzah’s prophets is a part of having faith in God. How it is possible that the Almighty would leave humanity without His Divine Guidance.

A person, who believes in God and the ideology of hereafter but intentionally kills another person, will be punished in hereafter. Similarly the person who believes in God and hereafter but intentionally rejects the call of a Prophet sent by the God, will also be punished for his/her crime. Rejecting the call of a single Prophet of God is an unforgivable crime.

Prophets of Allah used to deliver the message of God to humanity. People accepting their message used to develop their personalities without any bias based on their teachings of pure faith and good deeds. After a few generations, these people used to convert into a ‘group’. Quran declares that the true faith and doing good deeds is the only criteria for salvation. Belonging to a particular group or nation carries no value to the Almighty.

What is this salvation? In this world, a person having all types of enjoyment cannot get rid of two things: sadness of the troubles (s)he faced in past and the risk of future. Allah describes in this verse that in hereafter, every person will get rid of these two things. Vow! What an achievement! The person from whom all regrets and fears are removed, (s)he is definitely an achiever. The person who will not get rid of these two things in “The Real Life” will be the real loser.

(Author: Mubashir Nazir, Review: Muhammed Umar Khan)

Think about it!

• Why people consider attachment to their group as a mean of success?
• Suggest a remedy to purify our personality from the prejudice.

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