Referring to the Country
as ‘Motherland’

A person once emailed to ask whether calling India the Motherland (Madar-e-Watan) is permissible or not. The answer is that discussing this in terms of permissible and impermissible unnecessarily turns it into a religious-legal issue. This approach reflects a kind of extremism—the tendency to treat every issue as a matter of Islamic law. In Islamic teachings, this attitude is called ghulu (excess), which is clearly discouraged in the Quran and Sunnah.

Once, a Companion, Wabisah al-Asadi, came to the Prophet Muhammad with many questions. The Prophet did not answer them directly but instead said: “Seek a fatwa from your heart.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 18006)

This means not every issue should be turned into a legal ruling. At times, one should rely on their natural moral sense—what their heart and conscience tell them.

Those who refer to India as Motherland are not claiming, literally, that they were born from its womb. This is clearly a metaphorical use of language. In essence, Motherland refers to the same concept as birthplace, native land, or homeland. If, hypothetically, someone were to interpret Motherland literally—as if people were physically born from the soil—then that would be their personal view, not yours. You are free to use the word Motherland with the meaning you understand. Others may interpret it differently, and that is their concern, not yours.

This too is part of the wisdom of life: not every idea needs to be pushed to its logical extreme. Often, it is better to understand things in terms of their widely accepted, conventional meanings.

The term Motherland (Bharat Mata) began to be used in the late 19th century by leaders of the Indian independence movement for political purposes. It has no religious basis or origin. (Al-Risala, September 2016)