As a citizen, everyone should support and defend the Constitution
VEHARI: Pakistan came into existence on August 14th 1947, as a democratic country. Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” But democracy does not mean to abuse the government, rulers and politicians. Our country gives us identity and freedom. But in return we give nothing to it except denigration, allegation and humiliation.
Nowadays, the people of Pakistan are either throwing shoes on their rulers and politicians or throwing grime on politicians’ faces. Does our religion allow us to commit such foolish things? No.
A Hadith in this regard reads, “Allah’s messenger (PBUH) said, “He who sees from his ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient with him, for he who splits away from the jamaa’ah by a hand span and then dies, dies a death of Jahiliyyah.” (Hadith of al Bukhari)
We as a nation are not truly following Islam. We must learn from the Hadith that informs us about proper channels to advise the authorities instead of humiliating them. As a citizen, everyone should support and defend the Constitution, stay informed of the issues affecting our communities and participate in the democratic process.
Nazakat Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2018.
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