Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

we should not stand for national Anthem because it's 'Shirk'. But can you Explain me that is respecting the country 'Shirk'. Because standing for national anthem is Countries Respect. Please Explain it.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Stand for National Anthem

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Statement: we should not stand for national Anthem because it's 'Shirk'

In light of the clear guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, ‘Shirk’ or associating another in God-head with Allah Subhanah, has three main parts:

1.      Shirk in Allah’s Self

2.      Shirk in Allah’s Attributes

3.      Shirk in Allah’s Rights

Shirk in Allah’s Self:

This would be if one were to claim that Allah has a son, or has a mother, father, brothers, sisters, family, children; or to claim that someone or something originated Allah! This would be committing ‘shirk’ in Allah’s Self.

Shirk in Allah’s Attributes:

Allah has declared 99 of His Attributes in the Glorious Quran, and Allah Alone knows how many more there are. If one were to share Allah’s Exclusive Attributed with anyone or anything in creation, it would be a case of ‘shirk’!

For example, Allah is the ‘Al Aleem’ (The All Knowing). He Alone is the All Knowing, of the seen and the unseen! If one believes anybody else in His creation knows everything, or even has the power to know everything, then one would have wrongfully elevated someone to the position of Allah Subhanah, and this is a clear form of shirk.

Similarly, Allah is the ‘As Samee’ (The All Hearing). He Alone is the All Hearing… If one believes that anybody else of His creation hears everything, or even has the power to hear everything, then one would have wrongfully elevated someone to the position of Allah Subhanah, and that would be a manifestation of clear shirk.

Shirk in Allah’s Rights:

The biggest Right of Allah is that being our Creator and our Sustainer, He Alone deserves our invocation and our worship. This is absolutely the biggest Right of Allah. No one deserves that we bow down to him and pray to him or call on him to answer our prayers … This is the Sole Right of Allah Alone. If anyone goes to anybody, any person, any idol, any grave, any shrine, anything… and asks them to fulfill our prayers, or even to tell them to take our Message to Allah, this is an absolute form of Shirk! Allah Alone deserves that we pray to Him, call on Him, serve Him, sacrifice for Him, fear Him, obey His laws, follow His appointed Messengers, and obey and follow the commandments of His Revealed Book! If one were to do any of the above for anybody else other than Allah Subhanah, then it would indeed be a manifestation of Shirk.

One cannot say that standing for the ‘national anthem’ of one’s nation is a case of ‘shirk’!! One can definitely argue whether or not standing when the ‘national anthem’ of one’s land is being read or chanted is with or against Islamic etiquette; but under no circumstances can one say that it constitutes a manifestation of the abomination of ‘shirk’!

Your Statement: But can you Explain me that is respecting the country 'Shirk'. Because standing for national anthem is Countries Respect.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.706 Narrated by Abu Humaid

We returned in the company of the Prophet from the Ghazwa of Tabuk, and when we looked upon Medina, the Prophet (saws) said, "This is Taba (i.e. Medina), and this is Uhud, a mountain that loves us and is loved by us."

There is absolutely no harm in loving, caring, respecting and honoring the land where one is born on in where one resides! In the days of the Prophet (saws) and for hundreds of years after his death nations did not even have ‘national anthems’… but that in no way means or implies that those people did not love and respect their lands and their nations! There is definitely more than one way to love and respect a land than to simply stand at its national anthem….One would have to agree that to be a good, law-abiding, righteous, honorable, faithful citizen of a land or a nation is more a manifestation of love and respect for one’s nation than the protocol that is unfortunately established today where the corrupt politicians, kings, and leaders promptly salute their flags and stand upright at the chanting of their national anthems!

The concept of having nations based on race, languages, color, etc., and each nation inventing its own song or a ‘national anthem’ is not an Islamic concept but an import of the disbelieving people which has been copied and imitated by even the so-called ‘muslim’ nations of today!

The anthem of every believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day is his testification of ‘Laa ilaaha illallah…Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah’ and Allah is our witness, that anthem is embedded in the soul of every true believer, regardless of where he is born or where he resides on Allah’s earth!

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan