A Proud, Patriotic, Sharia Practicing American - Corrected Khutba

A Proud, Patriotic, Sharia Practicing American

By Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

Opening

As-salāmu alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi wa-s-salātu wa-s-salāmu alá Rasūli Llāh wa-alá ālihi wa-şahbihi wa-manu walāh. Amma baʻd.

Introduction

Every year that I've been coming to ICNA, Wallāhi, it gets better and better and sweeter and sweeter. And I want to say that the fact that you see us here on stage, you see a group such as myself and Ustadh Nu'man, along with Imam Siraj and Shaykh Abdul Rahman and Dr. Bukhari. I want to be very frank and clear here.

Do not ever assume that we're all at the same level. No, no, no, no, not at all. Because you see, it was people like Imam Siraj Wahaj, whom I grew up listening to as a kid in Houston, Texas.

It was people like Imam Siraj Wahaj who inspired me, who became my role model. It was people like him. I was just like you, coming to the lectures, excited, all bubbled up.

It was people like Imam Siraj Wahaj who inspired me to be a better Muslim. And now that I'm here on stage next to him, Wallāhi, I'm ashamed that someone like myself could be sitting next to this star and this imam and this shaykh and this da'i. And this is the fact of the matter.

Imam Siraj is a living legend. And I say this as somebody who has been influenced by him. Imam Siraj is a guide for someone like me.

And now that I'm sitting next to him, I have to point out, it's not fair, it's not right, it's not appropriate. I shouldn't deserve to sit next to this legend. But subhanAllah, subhanAllah, what can we say at the same time, the fact that we are traversing.

And this is something that's not just coming from me. I asked Ustadh Nu'man as well, if he would allow me to mention his name. And he said, of course, Imam Siraj.

Of course, the both of us, we grew up taking him as our leader and role model. So like he began his lecture, I too began my lecture, that put everybody in the place that they deserve.

The Topic and Its Challenges

Now, the topic that has been assigned to me is a topic that I've already been stopped and questioned about, quizzed. At least four or five people have stopped me here in the hallways. And they pointed out the title of the lecture. And they raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

Is this the talk that you're gonna give, Shaykh? Is this what they assigned you? A proud, patriotic, sharia practicing American. I said, yes, that's my topic. And they just stopped because they couldn't believe I'd be talking.

The title is problematic, no matter which phrase you look at. Proud? I thought being proud was haram. You're not allowed to be proud.

Whoever has an atom's weight of pride will not enter Jannah. Patriotic? Isn't that like kufr or shirk or bid'ah, to be patriotic? Sharia practicing, alhamdulillah, would raise no eyebrows in this audience. However, amongst the right wing, we all know what would happen when we say we're sharia practicing.

And then even the phrase American. It is true that there's still this stigma. There's still among some of us this hesitancy, this reluctance to mention the word American Muslim or you're a Muslim American.

And yet I stand by each and every word. Let me explain. Apart from the sharia practicing, alhamdulillah, the previous speakers have done a great job of doing that.

And I don't need to talk about the sharia in an audience such as this one. Let me explain.

Understanding Pride in Islam

First and foremost, the word proud. Pride. Many of us don't understand what it means to be proud. And that some types of pride, far from being prohibited, are in fact obligatory.

And other types of pride are perfectly natural and legitimate. Because you see, our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) defined the type of pride that is haram. He was asked, what does it mean to be proud? And he said, pride... Memorize this.

This is the definition that our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gave. Pride is number one, reject the truth. Number two, to look down at people.

(Al-kibru batr al-haqq wa ghamtu an-nās)

This is the definition of pride that is haram in Islam. To reject the truth when it's presented to you and to look down at people. Feelings beyond these two emotions don't come under the prohibition.

So for example, a father can be proud of his son. It's completely halal and permissible. In fact, a good father is proud of a good son.

For example, a person can be proud of his own lineage as long as that pride is kept in a halal frame in mind. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was proud of being the grandson of Abdul Muttalib. And he said in a hadith:

(Source Name)

(Ana ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, ana an-nabiyyu lā kadhib)

I am the son of Abdul Muttalib. I am the Prophet of Truth. He is taking pride in his ancestry which is a halal manner of taking pride. You can be proud of your culture as long as you don't use it to trump other cultures.

Yes, I am proud to be of Pakistani heritage. Yes, I am. And that is why I like to dress in these clothes. I like spicy biryani. Yes, I am proud of my heritage. It's a halal pride.

Nothing wrong with it. And sometimes, being proud is obligatory. Sometimes you need to be proud.

It is wajib to be proud and honored that Allah has guided you to Islam. It is obligatory that you feel a sense of honor, a sense of izzah, a sense of karama, a sense of pride. Alhamdulillah, Allah tells us in the Qur'an:

And they will say, "Praise to Allah, who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us."

Allah who has guided us to this. And were it not for Allah, we would not be guided to this. We are humbled. We are proud.

We feel a sense of joy when we are of the ummah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So this is a type of pride that is not only permissible, it is obligatory. Allah says in the Qur'an:

All honor belongs to Allah and to His Messenger and to the believers.

So there is a sense of pride that is wajib and obligatory.

So there's nothing wrong with being proud where Allah has allowed you to be proud.

American Identity and Attachment

As for the second phrase, and that is, let's get to the issue of Americanness. This one is also very touchy.

And the fact of the matter is there is still some bit of stigma attached to this phrase. Especially amongst our elders who have left their lands and have come to America. And there is no doubt that somebody who has been raised in a particular land will have a type of attachment to that land.

And it's not easy to let go of that attachment. My own parents, they immigrated to America in 1963, my father came here. And there is no question that he still identifies more with Pakistan than he does with America.

It's natural. But people need to understand that I am not my father. And I didn't have the upbringing of my father.

I remember, I gave a lecture a few years ago where I talked about this American Islamic identity. And there was an uncle in the audience who knew me since I was a kid. And so after the lecture, he comes up to me and he basically confronts me in a very polite manner, joking manner.

But still, he blocks my way of going out of the masjid. And he looks at me that disapproving look that only uncles are allowed to give. You know which ones I'm talking about, the younger people here.

Only uncles have this disapproving look. And he's known me since I was a kid. And he tells me:

("You really think you're all this hot shot American.")

And then he says, I'm warning you that don't go down this path. Don't consider yourself to be an American.

("You think you're really this American.")

If the government wanted to, they could strip away your citizenship any second. They could take away your citizenship and you wouldn't be American anymore. If the Patriot Act of this and that, and then all of this (پریشانی worry) that uncles have for the second generation is coming out.

Now, firstly, I was born here. So the government can't really take my citizenship away per se. That would be quite unconstitutional.

But secondly, more importantly, this uncle made the standard mistake of confusing a passport with an affiliation. Of confusing a piece of paper with a frame of mind and a culture. Because you see, the matter is that I and everybody of the second and third generation and fourth generation of immigrant Muslims, we were born here.

And this is our land. I have been raised in this culture. I have been by this environment. The thought process, the language, the education. When you tell me to go home, I think of Houston, Texas. That's my home.

I don't think of Karachi, Pakistan. Because my home is where I was born. And there's no question that I have a cultural attachment to this homeland.

There's no question that I have a sense of, yes, pride for being a part of this land, for learning what I've learned, for having grown up here. Being an American doesn't mean that I support every single vice

found in this land. It doesn't mean that I have to go dating or go to the prom.

It doesn't mean that I have to support the government in every legislation. It doesn't mean I have to support foreign policies. Subhanallah.

If disagreeing with the government were a sign of being un-American, then the single most un-American movement in this country would be the Tea Party. Because for the Tea Party, the government can do no good. Everything the government done is evil.

So if disagreeing with the government were to be un-American, well then, the very people who are accusing us of being un-American, they would be the most un-American because they're always criticizing the government.

Islamic Perspective on Nationhood

And we need to realize that the Sharia has allowed us to have affiliations. Now you see the concept of a country, the concept of a nation state, this is relatively new in the history of humanity.

It's only around 200 years old since the time of the French Revolution. Before this time, people were loyal to their tribes or to the ruling families, not to geographic lands. So when Allah revealed the Quran, there were no nation states.

There were tribes. And what does Allah say about tribes? You all know the verse. Allah says:

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.

We have created you to be tribes and to be sub-tribes so that you may have differences, you can recognize one another.

There's a little bit of variety. Variety is the spice of life. Now we don't have tribes anymore by and large in the world. But we do have something to replace tribes. And that is the nation state. And so it is as if Allah is saying, that we have created you into different nations so that there's some variety, there's some difference so that you can recognize one another, so that you can have something compatible, something different.

Because if everybody was exactly the same, life would be difficult. If all cuisine was exactly the same, life would be pretty boring. If everybody looked the same, subhanallah, how could you recognize anybody? Allah created some diversity, and that diversity is healthy.

So in our times, the nation state, i.e. America, takes the place of that tribe that Allah (جل وعز) is talking about. And therefore, when we see that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) always prided himself in being a