Avoid like the Plague

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “And he who fights under such a flag whose purpose is not clear, or who gets angry due to nationalistic (ethnic, patriotic) partisanship, or calls people towards nationalism or helps people on nationalistic criteria and gets killed, then he dies a death of the days of Ignorance (Jahiliyya).” [Sahih Muslim]

From this hadith we learn that we must avoid the following:

1. Fighting in a war whose purpose is not clear; a battle in which it is not obvious why and for what one is fighting.
2. Anger that arises out of partisanship; e.g. pride in one’s nationality, patriotic feelings, disliking other Muslims because of their having a different culture, linguistic pride, pride in one’s ancestry, etc.
3. Inciting these feelings in others, calling people to share in nationalistic pride or forming any group based on these types of partisanships.
4. Helping anybody for any of these reasons.

These must be avoided like the plague, because if a Muslim dies while doing any of these, then he/she dies in a state of rejecting Allah (subhana wa ta’ala).