Loyalty to one’s country and Islamic teaching

“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).

But it is very unfortunate that most of the Muslims are unable to show this loyalty because they follow their religious scholars blindly. These scholars are religiously extremist and ignorant. If they only follow this one verse of Quran, they should show loyalty to the country of their residence.

Let us hope and pray that Muslims all over the world ponder on Quranic verses instead of following the fanatic leaders.