Race in Islam

Discussion in 'General Topics' started by Inwardreflection, Apr 20, 2017.

Draft saved Draft deleted
  1. also a white has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over a white except by piety and good action (from the Last Sermon of the Messenger of Allah SalAllahu Alaihi wa Sallim).

    Whatever contradicts these words is rejected.

    Finally, I would add that the legendary Mystic and Saint the great Dhun Nun Misri was Nubian. He is counted among the highest ranking of the Friends of Allah by every major Scholar and Friend of Allah.
     
    Ghulam Ali likes this.
  2. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    this is nonsensical too. and an overreaction by some people who would want to rid language of 'racism'.

    the connotation of 'black' with evil, sin, devilishness and damnation has NOTHING to do with black skin colour.

    there are a number of idioms that we use - but they do not come from skin colour. 'white with fear' 'yellow-bellied' 'brown-nosing'

    ---
    darkness is a reality. people are afraid of darkness. darkness can be scary and evil could be hidden. when certain things rot or get spoiled, they turn black. when food is burnt it becomes black. when one is bruised, they are 'black and blue'. dark clouds pour rain.

    from these real-world experiences, black has negative connotations. THIS however, has no relation to the colour of skin of humans.

    similarly, white is a pleasing and relaxing colour. the morning is 'bright' and sunshine is 'white'. but this has nothing to do with skin colour of some humans.

    ---
    beauty is in the eye of the beholder. if white people appear beautiful, there is nothing racist about acknowledging it. it is also true that black people are also beautiful. some cultures regard thin lips as beautiful, and some others prefer full lips. we should not impose our own ideas of beauty or try to establish a universal standard of beauty. i say this because someone wondered whether they were racist because they found white people as beautiful. regardless, one should know that beauty is skin deep. beautiful people have committed the most horrific and inhuman crimes. the white man's burden has been a major cause of suffering in many parts of the world.

    racism is when you judge humans according to how they look - and treat them as superior/inferior only on the basis of skin colour or looks.
    whereas the fact is that being black or white has nothing to do with other attributes such as kindness, intelligence, goodness, capability etc.

    Allah ta'ala knows best.
     
  3. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    was a persian btw. dunno what he might have said, but we don't consider him an authority anyway.

    ----
    of course, there might have been an odd racist here and there among muslims - but racism was explicitly rejected by the lawgiver sallALlahu alayhi wa sallam in his farewell sermon which can be summarised as: "no white man has precedence/superiority over a black man, and no black man has superiority over a white man, except for piety and righteousness."

    -----
    the practice of certain muslim societies does not mean islam sanctions racism.

    even to this day, in the gulf, people with white skin - whether european or lebanese-syrian arabs - are given preferential treatment (by some arabs) in comparison to brown indian/pakistani people - even though the gulf arabs are themselves non-white. this is utterly unislamic and roundly denounced by everyone.

    if some muslims drink alcohol, it does not mean islam sanctions it.

    nas'alu Allaha al-aafiyah.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2017
    Ghulam Ali, Aqdas and N-Sunni like this.
  4. zoha02

    zoha02 New Member

    Islam is a very non-racist religion.

    How and where do these ideas come from:

    [In Arab culture, there is] the emotional content attached to the concepts of blackness and whiteness—the idea that black is connected with sin, evil, deviltry and damnation, while white has the opposite associations
     
  5. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

  6. zoha02

    zoha02 New Member

    Are black Muslims inferior to non-black Muslims regardless of their good deeds?

    I was taught this from someone.

    This is what they presented:

    In Arab societies, the accusations commonly brought against “the dark-skinned peoples—and especially the Zanj, the blacks of East Africa” [included] “weakness of mind, lack of discernment, and ignorance of consequences”, “boundless stupidity”, “dimness”, “obtuseness”, “crude perceptions”, and “evil dispositions”

    “In the eyes of the Arab rulers of Sudan they [black slaves] were simply animals given by Allah to make the life of the Arab comfortable”
    The black (person) is frivolous and lighthearted . . . musical, and with a strong feeling of rhythm. Thus Ibn Butlan remarks that “If a Zanj were to fall from heaven to earth he would beat time as he goes down”

    Sa ‘id al-Andalusi (1029-1070) a qadi of Toledo:

    “They lack self-control and steadiness of mind and are overcome by fickleness, foolishness and ignorance, Such are the blacks, who live at the extremity of the land of Ethiopia, the Nubians, the Zanj and the like . . .” . . .11:00 AM
    ur not black black
    ur still asian
    The 13th century Persian writer Nasir al-Din Tusi remarks that the Zanj differ from animals only in that “their two hands are lifted above the ground,” and continues “Many have observed that the ape is more teachable and more intelligent than the Zanj.”

    Among the ancient Arabs there was an elaborate system of social gradations. . . .The term commonly used by the ancient Arabs for the offspring of mixed unions was hajin, a word which, like the English “mongrel” and “half-breed,” was used of both animals and of human beings… [W]hen applied to human beings, [it denotes] a person whose father was Arab and free and whose mother was a foreign slave. . . . Full Arabs—those born of two free Arab parents—ranked above half-Arabs, the children of Arab fathers and non-Arab mothers. . . . Half-Arabs, in turn, ranked above non-Arabs, who were, so to speak, outside the system. According to ‘Abduh Badawi, “there was a consensus that the most unfortunate of the hajins and the lowest in social status were those to whom blackness had passed from their mothers.. . . The son of an Arab father and a Persian or Syrian mother would not look very different from the son of two Arab parents. . . The son of an African mother, however, was usually recognizable at sight and therefore more exposed to abuse and discrimination. “Son of a black woman” was a not infrequent insult addressed to such persons, and “son of a white woman” was accordingly used in praise or boasting11:10 AM
    Another black poet Da’ud ibn Salm (d, ca.750), known as Da’ud the Black (a-Adlam) was famous for his ugliness. It is said that on one occasion he was, together with an Arab called Zayd ibn Ja’far, arrested and brought before a judge in Mecca, on a charge of flaunting luxurious clothes. The two accused received very different treatment. The handsome Arab was released; the ugly black was flogged.
     

Share This Page