I am sad. I am very sad when I heard a Malay saying that he is disappointed to be born as a Malay.
His disappointment was because he was not born only as a Muslim.
There is no one on earth who has no race origin. There may be those who are stateless but they too have a race origin, although this may not be acknowledged by their own nation. If the person is from a migratory race, then they will be acknowledged as a migrant race.
If a person is born into the native aboriginal community, he too will not be able to escape from being a member of a particular tribe.
The race of a people is known via the place of its abode, place or country of its origin and its culture. Religion is not always associated with race.
There are Arabs who are Christians although a majority of them are Muslim. Likewise, there are Chinese who are Muslims although a majority of them are Buddhist.
Thus a human person always belong to a fixed particular race although his religion may not be fixed at the time of birth. On the other hand, a person who is born into a Muslim family need not be from only a particular race. The majority of them are from different races.
Even so, in this world there are 2 races of peoples whose race are defined by their Islamic faith. These 2 races are the Maldivians and the Malays. A person born into a Malay family is definitely of the Muslim faith because they will not be Malays if they are not Muslim.
Therefore it follows that a person who is born into a Malay family should rejoice because he will be a Muslim. If he is born into an Arab, Indonesian or even a Pakistani family, he may not be a Muslim.
That is the reason why a Malay must be thankful to be born a Malay. When a Malay is disappointed that he is a Malay, this means that he does not appreciate his good fortune of being born a Muslim. If not for being born a Malay, he may not even be a Muslim.
Why do different races exist? The Holy Quran says that humankind consists of many different races. If the existence of different races is against Islamic teaching, God of course will not be creating different races of humans.
The best of humankind is not because of his race but because of his obedience to Allah s.w.t. The best and the worst among the Malays is not because of his race but because of his obedience in following the teachings of Islam or not practicing Islam. It is not mentioned that the best are Muslims of no particular race.
Therefore whatever the race, Arab or Ajam, does not nullify his Islamicity. That which nullifies his Islamicity are deeds that are against the teachings of Islam.
It is this that has to be questioned by a Muslim without nullifying his race of origin. Moreover if he is a Muslim, his goodness is not guaranteed. There are many Muslims who are against the Islamic teachings and commit sins. On the other hand, the Malays who are Muslims, there are many who follow the teachings of Islam and avoid committing sins.
Obedience and loyalty to the Malay race, that is a race who is only Malay if they practice Islam, does not mean rejecting Islam. On the other hand, the obedience and loyalty of the Malays to the Islamic faith is more guaranteed. Although there is hearsay of Malays leaving the Islamic faith, there is no concrete evidence about the existence of such people. Furthermore, if he leaves the Islamic faith, he is no longer a Malay.
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