Agra. Muhammad Iqbal, the Khateeb of the Nahar Wali Mosque located in the Sikandra area, addressed worshippers during the Friday sermon and spoke in detail about love for the nation. He said that there is a well-known Arabic saying, “Hubbul Watan Minal Iman,” which means that love for one’s country is a part of faith. This saying, he explained, reflects the true nature of human instincts and psychology.
Giving an example, Khateeb Muhammad Iqbal said that there is no explicit Hadith stating that “love for one’s mother is a part of faith,” yet every Muslim firmly believes that loving one’s mother is an obligation. A heart that lacks love for one’s mother, he said, cannot have complete faith. In the same way, love for the country is a natural and faith-based requirement for every Muslim.
He further stated that a person is born in a particular country, breathes its air, forms relationships there, and spends his entire life on that land. Therefore, loving one’s country is a demand of both humanity and faith.
The Khateeb also clarified that if someone, based on personal belief, considers the mother or the nation as “Ma’bood” (an object of worship) and worships them, it is a personal matter. However, he stressed that it is completely wrong to claim that a person who does not worship the mother or the nation does not love them.
Concluding his address, Muhammad Iqbal said,
“We were born on this land, breathed its air, lived our lives here, and after death we will be buried in the soil of this very country. Therefore, loving the nation is a part of our faith.”
He stated unequivocally that a person who does not love his country is not even worthy of being called a human being.
