• Nationalism: Muslim fighting for his non-Muslim country
Does Islam believe in nationalism? If a Muslim serves in the army of his non-Muslim country, and a war breaks out between his country and a Muslim state, will he be considered a martyr if he fights and dies for his country?
A Muslim only believes in Islam and owes all his allegiance to the community which implements Islam as a faith and a code of living. This does not mean that a Muslim who belongs to a minority in a country where the majority are non-Muslims may act in a way which is detrimental to his country. If his minority Muslim community enjoys the freedom to practice its faith and the protection of the law against persecution, then he has no reason to act against the authority in his country. All that Islam requires of non-Muslims generally is the right to address people in a free atmosphere. A Muslim minority in an overwhelmingly non-Muslim country should always try to maintain a peaceful relationship with the majority population, as indeed is the case with a Muslim majority in a country which includes non-Muslim minorities.
A Muslim may not fight another Muslim except in one case. If two Muslim groups or communities fight against each other, we are required to try to establish peace between them. If one of them launches aggression against the other, we all must try to help the victim of aggression against the aggressors until the aggression stops when all Muslims are required to re-establish peace between them. In a case where we are fighting an aggressor, those who die may be considered by Allah as martyrs. If a war breaks out, like many of the wars we have seen in this century, both combatants may be in the wrong. In such a war, it is more appropriate for Muslim soldiers to refrain from fighting. Generally speaking, it is not we who describe those who die in battle as martyrs. It is Allah who considers them martyrs and rewards them accordingly. He judges them according to His knowledge of them. All we know is that a Muslim must only fight to serve Allah's cause. It is only a person who is killed fighting for Allah's cause that is a martyr.
• Natural disasters — are they punishment or ghazab ?
Can we say that frequent occurrences of natural disasters such as floods and cyclones are manifestations of Allah's anger with some people and He punishes them with these disasters? As it is understood from the Qur'an, when Allah chooses to inflict a collective punishment on some people, there is a definite purpose to be served by that punishment. Can we determine such a purpose in what happens these days? If not, can we still consider such disasters as the working of Allah's wrath, or "ghazab" ?
Allah mentions in the Qur'an that He has caused a Pharaoh and his people to suffer a number of natural disasters, including floods and attacks by waves of locusts and other insects. He described those events as clear and detailed signs of His power, but the Pharaoh and his people continued to be arrogant and maintained their criminal practices. It is noteworthy that these events are described in the Qur'an as "clear and detailed signs." A sign is sent to a people in order to remind them of Allah's existence and power so that they may come to believe in Him. We cannot equate such a sign with what you have termed "ghazab" or collective punishment visited on some people. A sign is sent in order to make people respond positively. Therefore, the positive response is the one sought for. A collective punishment is bound to defeat that purpose, particularly if it leaves a community in total ruin.
It is also mentioned in the Qur'an that Allah had destroyed complete nations with natural disasters or some other form of punishment because they arrogantly refused to follow the prophets and the messengers sent to them. The people of Noah, for example, were destroyed with the flood, while the people of Aad were destroyed by winds, and the people of Thamud by an earthquake accompanied by a heart piercing sound. The fact that Allah mentions these punishments to us serves as a reminder that He is able to inflict similar punishments on us if we defy His orders and continue to do so unrepentantly. We should always be in fear of Allah and try our best to please Him. Exerting such effort is certain to spare us the collective punishment.
Having said that, I should explain that volcanoes, cyclones, floods and other forms of natural disasters take place as a result of natural laws which Allah has set in operation. They may be caused when the fine balance Allah has set in the universe as a whole is upset. However, when a cyclone hits certain areas, we cannot say that the people of that area have earned such a punishment by Allah. How can we tell? After all, cyclones regularly hit parts of Bangladesh when the people there are certainly better than those who live in other parts of the world. Allah is the most just of judges. If He punishes some people, His punishment is just. It does not follow that those were the only people who deserved punishment. Allah may choose to delay the punishment of others until the Day of Judgment. No one who disobeys Allah may escape punishment, unless He chooses to forgive him or her. Therefore, we should always be in fear of incurring Allah's anger, lest His punishment takes us unawares. The Prophet used to appeal to Allah for protection against natural disasters. For example, when the Prophet heard thunder or a thunderbolt, he used to say: "My Lord, do not kill us with Your wrath and do not send us to perdition by inflicting suffering on us. Spare us all that, our Lord."
In short, we should always maintain a balance between realization that Allah controls all natural laws and He can easily inflict on us any type of punishment He may choose. His punishment is always just.
On the other hand, we do not feel happy to see any community smitten by a natural disaster, even though it is an unbelieving community. As Muslims, we would much better have that community respond to Allah's call than to see it smitten by His anger. What we should guard against is to appoint ourselves as judges of others, claiming that a particular community deserves punishment by Allah while another community has not reached that stage. Allah alone judges people in accordance with what He knows of their situation and their intentions.
• Necklace with Arabic writing
I have just come back from Malaysia where some ladies informed me on seeing my necklace which bears my name in Arabic, that they were told not to wear theirs because Arabic is the language of the Qur'an. Wearing such a necklace with Arabic writing and then going about to attend a normal routine counts as an insult to Islam. I promised to write to you for advice and communicate your answer to them.
Arabic writing and Arabic characters are the same as those of any other language. The fact that Allah has chosen to reveal His messages to mankind in Arabic does not impart any sanctity to the language itself or the way it is written. You may be aware that there have been over the centuries some people who advocated beliefs and ideologies which are totally un-Islamic. There have been and still are people who call for discarding Islam altogether from the life of the Arabs. They express all this in Arabic and they have published books in Arabic which violates every aspect of the Islamic faith. If the Arabic language had the sanctity some people suggest, Allah would have made it impossible for those people to express their blasphemous views in this language. While the idea that Arabic writing is sacred continues to be held by well meaning people, it is unfortunate that some of us tend to give too much importance to forms and appearances, while forgetting about substance.
From another point of view, an action is considered to be an insult if it is meant to belittle or degrade the person or the idea to which it is addressed. When a lady wears a necklace bearing her name she is simply wearing a piece of jewelry which has a shape she likes. The thought of insulting anyone or anything does not even occur to her. Hence, it is perfectly permissible for a woman to wear such a necklace and go about her business in the normal way.
However, if the inscription on the necklace includes Allah's name, then the lady should not wear that necklace when she goes to the bathroom. She either takes it off, or, if she cannot, she keeps it under her clothes.