Love for One’s Country—
A Natural Disposition

Umar ibn al-Khattab, the 2nd Caliph of Islam, once said:  “God has populated the lands through love of the homeland” (ammarallahu al-buldana bi-hubb al-awtan)—Al-Tidhkira by  Ibn al-Hamdun, Narration No. 407.

This saying highlights a fundamental truth: love for one’s homeland is part of human nature. It is through this affection that towns and cities prosper and thrive.

If we consider that this very nature is a creation of God, then love for one’s country may also be viewed as a virtue rooted in faith, for faith itself reflects the pure, divine-endowed nature of human beings.

The well-known saying, “Love for one’s homeland is part of faith” (hubb al-watan min al-iman)—although not an authenticated Prophetic hadith—expresses a sentiment that, in my view, remains essentially true. (Diary, 29 February 1996)