Islam vs. Cultural Glorification

📖Sunan an-Nasa’i 4115
The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: ‘Whoever fights for a cause that is not clear, advocating tribalism, getting angry for the sake of tribalism, then he has died a death of Jahiliyyah.'”

📖Sunan Abi Dawud 5116
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Leave it (tribalism), it is rotten.”

Islam is strictly against glorifying culture when it contradicts Islamic teachings. Islam acknowledges different cultures and respects diversity, but culture is not sacred, only Qur’an and Sunnah are.

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What Islam does not allow in cultural glorification:

1. Blind following of ancestors:
   Celebrating or defending culture just because it’s from your people or forefathers, even if it’s against Islam.

2. Cultural practices over Shari’ah:
   For example, promoting:

   • Marriage customs that delay or burden Nikah.

   • Festivals rooted in shirk or imitating disbelievers.

   • Gender mixing or music in the name of “tradition.”

3. Nationalism or tribal pride:
   Thinking your ethnicity or background is superior is condemned.

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Quranic Context:

📖Quran 2:170
When it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has revealed,” they say, “Rather, we follow what we found our forefathers upon.” Even though their forefathers understood nothing, nor were they guided?

📖Quran 49:13
O mankind, We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.

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When is culture acceptable?

Culture is allowed as long as it:

• Does not go against Islam.
• Is not treated as more important than Qur’an and Sunnah.
• Does not promote pride, discrimination, or sin.

Islam came to correct culture, not be enslaved by it. Culture is temporary, but Allah’s words are eternal.

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Misunderstanding: “Allah created modern countries”

This is not true. Allah did not create or preordain the modern map of the world. The idea of countries, borders, flags, and governments is man-made and developed through:

1. Wars
2. Colonialism
3. Empires rising and falling
4. Peace treaties
5. Political revolutions

What the Qur’an says:

📖Quran 49:13
“O mankind, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”

Now, let’s break it down:

1. “Nations and Tribes” = Social Groupings, not Countries

   • Nations (أُمَم) in the Qur’an refer to peoples of different times and places, not political states.

   • These include ancient communities like the people of Nuh, ‘Ad, Thamud, Pharaoh, etc.

   • They didn’t have borders, flags, or governments like today.

2. Diversity was Created — Not Modern Politics

   • Allah created diversity in languages, colors, and cultures (Quran 30:22), but not the political systems humans built.

   • Humans misused this diversity to fight, enslave, and occupy others, and from those wars came empires, then nations.

3. Borders are Human Creations

   • Today’s countries are drawn from colonialism, wars, and power struggles.

   • Example: Middle East borders were redrawn by Sykes–Picot Agreement, not divine planning.

4. Countries are built through Oppression too

   • Many countries were built by force, genocide, or occupation.

   • That has nothing to do with divine will, it’s part of the test of human free will.

5. Modern nationalism is against Islamic unity

   • Islam teaches one Ummah, not dividing into Pakistani, Indian, Arab, Black, White, etc.

   • Nationalism leads to pride and division, which Islam condemns.

6. Allah will not judge us by passport but by righteousness

   • The only thing that matters to Allah is righteousness, not nationality or citizenship.

📖Sahih Muslim 155
The Prophet ﷺ said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the son of Mary will soon descend among you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the swine, and abolish the jizyah. Wealth will be so abundant that no one will accept it, and a single prostration will be better than the world and everything in it.”

This hadith Sahih Muslim 155 doesn’t directly mention the end of countries, but it clearly implies the collapse of national and political systems

How This Hadith Implies the End of Countries

1. “As a just ruler”
   ➤ Jesus will not rule with modern laws or constitutions of any current country, he will judge by Qur’an and Sunnah, unifying all people under divine law, not national law.

2. “Break the cross, kill the swine”
   ➤ These are symbols of religious systems and cultures. Jesus will abolish corrupted belief systems and end all other religions, establishing Islam as the only truth.

3. “Abolish the jizyah”
   ➤ Jizyah is a tax taken from non-Muslims under Islamic rule. Abolishing it means there will be no non-Muslims left — all will accept Islam willingly, ending religious divisions, and with that, political divisions too.

4. “Wealth will be so abundant that no one will accept it”
   ➤ Modern systems rely on class, wealth gaps, and economic control. But here, wealth will have no value, meaning no one will need jobs, taxes, salaries, or banks, the entire world system of money and national economy collapses.

5. “A single prostration better than the world”
   ➤ When people see the truth, worldly goals (like nation-building, flags, armies, power) will mean nothing. Only worship will remain valuable. This shows a time beyond nationalism, beyond politics, only faith matters.

Islam does not reject it if two groups agree to build a country through peace. However, if it was done through oppression, then those responsible will be held accountable. The modern world system is acceptable as long as it benefits humanity and does not oppress people. But if a country was established through force and injustice, those who were involved will be accountable on the Day of Judgment.