Wahid 1

Abdul Wahid

Anum Fatima

SS 102

2nd October 2020

Family history reflection paper

Throughout the subcontinent and Pakistan, it is believed that familial and national

identities are the true key factors affecting and changing one’s perceptions, ideologies and social

values. In addition to this, ethnicity, national and religious identities are the common aspects on

which one can be identified internationally.

I was born in Arian family that were known warriors of the times back Alexander the

Great. There was a priest named as Arius after the time of Alexander. The Arius of Alexandria

design a distinction between the essence of the Father and the Son, who’s manifested as Jesus

Christ. He was the person who thought beyond Christianity. And in the middle of the fourth

century, these people were known Arians and became Muslims. In 712, six thousand Arians

conquered the Sindh along with Muhammad Bin Qasim. After the dead of the Muhammad Bin

Qasim, they decided to live here in sub-continent and then they changed from warriors to

farmers. From then, they are known for being assiduous, diligent and conscientious in farming.

My family calls themselves as ‘Arain’ due to this remarkable history. They thought that if you

are not associated or connected to your familial identity, you are not going to have self-identity

either.
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Keeping in mind that how history is created, and we are deprived of the facts, I was never

fascinated by national or familial identity. I am in the favor of being identified as Muslim. I grew

up in religious environment and in Islam, we all Muslims of the world are united by this identity.

How Quran deals with these identities as follows,

“O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into races

and tribes, so that you may identify one another. Surely the noblest of you, in Allah’s sight, is the

one who is most pious of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware” (Al-Quran, 49:13).

By considering this verse, all the identities including national, identity of the caste or any

other ethnic identity is to develop the relation or associations among the people of same identity.

Can I represent myself as Arain globally or at the national level? These regional identities are so

specific and limited to a certain area that one cannot relate on a bigger scale. Also, these regional

identities where they bound people to each other, can cause not ending fights, differences due to

social status and racism. If we consider the example of the caste system of the Hindus where they

were limited to their castes. Also, certain facilities were associated with higher classes which

were Barhaman and Khushtri. Why am I not carrying the national identity as my personal?

Pakistan is the country where people live here regardless of the respect of creed, culture and

religion. Although Pakistani as national identity could be carried on as one’s personal identity

because it sums up all the efforts for which all Pakistanis fought but isn’t it broad enough? Or

doesn’t Islam as a religion provide us all the Muslims the broader view and incase of emergency

or situation like world war where all the Muslims were reached there along with the things

Muslim need in Turkey. We can consider the example or the oblige of Haj. Where all the

Muslims are united. They only identified as Muslims there not Pakistanis, Indians or any other

national identity they kept. If people are considering Pakistani as their personal identity because
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their ancestors gave many sacrifices to gain this country assuming that they are Muslim too.

Aren’t they forgetting the sacrifices of the Muslims? That how many sacrifices did Hazrat

Muhammad (PBUH) for Muslims. Aren’t they forgetting the efforts of the Anbiya-e-Karam that

how were difficult for them to propagate Islam and today they are Muslim? The spectrum of

religious identity is so broad that it entitles all the class of people associated with it. When we

study that Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered the Sindh, We also study that a Muslim did this. If

we consider the national or the regional identity of him which is Arab, I as a Muslim cannot

relate him. There are so many examples even in Islam from where it is proved that Muslim

identity for Muslims is far noble and preferred one for them.

In short, the personal identity for me is my religious identity regardless of the fact that the

perceptions or the outlook of being a Muslim is not as much encouraged as it could be. Although

there is a certain group of people who wanted to be identified from their national identity, but

this is to create close relationship among all patriots. And this may be based on these facts that

how they have gained this country, but I cannot relate it due to the fact that the ancestors of my

family were here before the partition of the sub-continent. So, the personal identity I have

constructed for myself is the perfect manifestation of all the considered identities. I will not be

evacuee while presenting myself as Muslim just like a famous boxer Khabib.