Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Race and Tribe: Difference between revisions
[checked revision] | [checked revision] |
Line 124: | Line 124: | ||
[[W:Ibn Qutaybah|Ibn Qutaybah]] (828-889), was a renowned Islamic scholar from Kufa, Iraq | [[W:Ibn Qutaybah|Ibn Qutaybah]] (828-889), was a renowned Islamic scholar from Kufa, Iraq | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=43-50|chapter=Ventures in Ethnology}}|They [the Zanj, that is, blacks] are ugly and misshapen, because they live in a hot country. The heat overcrooks them in the womb, and curls their hair.}} | ||
[[w:Nasir al-Din al-Tusi|Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]] (1201-1274), was a Shia Muslim Scholar and Grand Ayatollah | [[w:Nasir al-Din al-Tusi|Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]] (1201-1274), was a Shia Muslim Scholar and Grand Ayatollah | ||
Line 147: | Line 147: | ||
| isbn = }}</ref> | | isbn = }}</ref> | ||
{{Quote|Al-Masudi, Muruj al-dhahab|"Galen says that merriment dominates the black man because of his defective brain, whence also the weakness of his intelligence."<ref name="Islamic Racism"></ref>}} | {{Quote|Al-Masudi, Muruj al-dhahab|"Galen says that merriment dominates the black man because of his defective brain, whence also the weakness of his intelligence."<ref name="Islamic Racism"></ref>}}{{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=85-92|chapter=Equality and Marriage}}|“[quoting another source in agreement:] Do not intermarry with the sons of Ham [blacks] for they are the distorted among God’s creatures . . .”}}{{Quote|{{citation|author=Alexandre Popovic|title=The Revolt of African Slaves in Iraq in the 3rd/9th Century|location=Princeton, NJ|publisher=Markus Wiener|year=1999|page=16}}|[The Zanj have:] black complexion, kinky hair, flat nose[s], thick lips, slender hands and feet, fetid odor, limited intelligence, extreme exuberance, [and] cannibalistic customs.}} | ||
[[W:Ibn al-Faqih|Ibn al-Faqih]] was a Muslim historian and geographer | [[W:Ibn al-Faqih|Ibn al-Faqih]] was a Muslim historian and geographer | ||
Line 188: | Line 188: | ||
{{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=54-62|chapter=In Black and White}}|In a philosophical work, he dismisses "the Turks, Zanj, Berbers, and their like" as "by their nature" without interest in the pursuit of intellectual knowledge and without desire to understand religious truth.}} | {{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=54-62|chapter=In Black and White}}|In a philosophical work, he dismisses "the Turks, Zanj, Berbers, and their like" as "by their nature" without interest in the pursuit of intellectual knowledge and without desire to understand religious truth.}} | ||
al-Mutannabi | al-Mutannabi | ||
{{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=54-62|chapter=In Black and White}}|The slave is no brother to the godly freeman. / even though he be born in the clothes of the free. // Do not buy a slave without buying a stick with him, / for slaves are filthy and scant of good. // I never thought I should live to see the day when a / dog would do me evil and be praised in the bargain, // nor did I imagin that true men would have ceased to exist, / and that the like of the father of bounty, / would still be here, // and that that negro with his pierced camel’s lip / would be obeyed by those cowardly hirelings . . . // . . . Who ever taught the eunuch negro nobility? His / “white” people, or his royal ancestors? // or his ear bleeding in the hand of the slave-broker? / or his worth, seeing that for two farthings / he would be rejected? // wretched Kafur is the most deserving of the base / to be excused in regard to every baseness – / and sometimes excusing is a reproach – / and that is because white stallions are incapable / of gentility, so how about black eunuchs?}}{{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=54-62|chapter=In Black and White}}|More stupid than a slave or his mate is he who makes / the slave his master . . . // . . . One who holds you by his word is unlike one who holds / you in his jail – // The morality of the [black] slave is bounded by his / stinking pudenda and his teeth. // He does not keep his engagements of today, nor remember / what he said yesterday . . . // . . . Hope for no good from a man over whose head the / slaver’s hand has passed, // And, if you are in doubt about his person or / condition, look to his race. // One who is vile in his coat, was usually vile / in his caul. // He who makes his way beyond his merits, still cannot / get away from his root.}} | {{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=54-62|chapter=In Black and White}}|The slave is no brother to the godly freeman. / even though he be born in the clothes of the free. // Do not buy a slave without buying a stick with him, / for slaves are filthy and scant of good. // I never thought I should live to see the day when a / dog would do me evil and be praised in the bargain, // nor did I imagin that true men would have ceased to exist, / and that the like of the father of bounty, / would still be here, // and that that negro with his pierced camel’s lip / would be obeyed by those cowardly hirelings . . . // . . . Who ever taught the eunuch negro nobility? His / “white” people, or his royal ancestors? // or his ear bleeding in the hand of the slave-broker? / or his worth, seeing that for two farthings / he would be rejected? // wretched Kafur is the most deserving of the base / to be excused in regard to every baseness – / and sometimes excusing is a reproach – / and that is because white stallions are incapable / of gentility, so how about black eunuchs?}}{{Quote|{{citation|title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Enquiry|author=Bernard Lewis|ISBN=978-0-19-506283-0|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|pages=54-62|chapter=In Black and White}}|More stupid than a slave or his mate is he who makes / the slave his master . . . // . . . One who holds you by his word is unlike one who holds / you in his jail – // The morality of the [black] slave is bounded by his / stinking pudenda and his teeth. // He does not keep his engagements of today, nor remember / what he said yesterday . . . // . . . Hope for no good from a man over whose head the / slaver’s hand has passed, // And, if you are in doubt about his person or / condition, look to his race. // One who is vile in his coat, was usually vile / in his caul. // He who makes his way beyond his merits, still cannot / get away from his root.}}Qadi Iyad | ||
{{Quote|{{citation|title=al-Shifa bi-ta'rif huquq al-Mustafa|author=Qadi Iyad|publisher=al-Maktaba al-Shamila|url=https://app.turath.io/book/1753|volume=2|page=217, 234}}; translated in {{citation|editor=Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley|Publisher=Madinah Press Inverness|location=Scotland|year=2004|title=Ash-Shifa of Qadi 'Iyad|pages=375, 387|url=https://archive.org/details/MuhammadMessengerOfAllahAshShifaOfQadiIyad}}|[Qadi Iyad repeats this twice:] Ahmad b. Abi Sulayman, the companion of Sahnun, said, 'Anyone who says that the Prophet was black (''aswad'') should be killed.}} | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== |
Revision as of 01:39, 14 January 2021
![]() | This article or section is being renovated. Lead = 1 / 4
Structure = 3 / 4
Content = 3 / 4
Language = 3 / 4
References = 4 / 4
|
Many passages of the Qur'an and the hadith call for the equality of all peoples in Islam. Yet at the same time, Islamic scriptures contain agitation against the Jews which would be considered today to be anti-semitism (covered in a separate article), and the Arabs and their language are given a superior place in the eyes of Allah and the tradition. Derogatory descriptions of black people, Ethiopians in particular, may also be found in sahih hadiths. Furthermore, overt racism against black people and Arab supremacism are found in the works of many highly regarded Islamic scholars. All in all the picture of race, ethnicity, and what may be called "race-relations" is a complicated on in the Islamic tradition.
Anti-Racism in Islamic Scriptures
It is important to take note of the verses and hadiths that discourage racism (though as mentioned in the introduction, Islamic anti-semitism is covered in a separate article).
The circumstances of revelation (Asbab Al-Nuzul) by Al-Wahidi for this verse says that it was revealed when a person derided another's lineage, and when another person made a racist complaint that a black man (Bilal) had been appointed by Muhammad to make the call to prayer.
In a hadith graded sahih by al-Albani[1], Muhammad said the following during the farewell pilgrimage (the word translated "righteousness" is taqwa - piety or reliosity):
In a sahih hadith Muhammad criticises boasting and reviling based on ancestry, which could be interpreted to apply to tribe and even ethnicity.
Among my people there are four characteristics belonging to pre-Islamic period which they do not abandon: boasting of high rank, reviling other peoples' genealogies, seeking rain by stars, and walling. And he (further) said: If the wailing woman does not repent before she dies, she will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of pitch and a chemise of mange.
Unfortunately as we shall see in the following sections, such sentiments are somewhat undermined by some other sahih hadiths where we find prejudice against some Arab groups, and black people are used with negative imagery. In addition, some classical Islamic scholars of high repute are guilty of promoting explicitly racist attitudes.
Arabs
Arab Superiority
So this hadith is a primary text about the preference of Arabs over others and the preference of some Arabs over other Arabs. And this is what the Imams have chosen from the………of their books, and even in individual books such as the book of Qurb about the merit of Arabs, authored by the great Imam al-Hafiz Zayn al-din al-`Iraqi. And it was summarized by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and others.
Therefore the preference of Arabs over other nations, and the preference of some Arabs over other Arabs is affirmed in the Sacred Law. Allah has even preferred some months over other months and some days and nights of over others, as well as places. So in the same way, Allah Glorious and Exalted is He, has chosen some men over others, such as the prophets over others and even some prophets over other prophets. Muslims should not have any objection to this, because all of this returns to the wisdom of the Most Wise, Glorious is He, who is not asked about what He does, but rather, they are the ones who are asked. So after a Muslim has believed in Allah as his Lord, the Truth, and that there is no God but Him, then he should know that this is from among His matters, Blessed and High is He, and there is nothing but magnificent wisdom in it that we might see or that we might not see. Either way, we are only responsible for submitting to His rule, Glorious is He. And among His rulings is that Arabs are preferred over others and that some Arabs are better than other Arabs, as the above hadith clearly explained. So it is not appropriate for anyone to disagree in this when the proof is perfectly valid.
And there should be no disagreement in what has just preceded nor any disagreement in what appears in the Magnificent Book and in the sunna where we find that the real source of Allah’s preference is God-fearingness (taqwa) which result in the good deeds that people earn and that they are accounted for. So whoever sends forth good for himself, Allah has preferred him over those who have sent forth evil. As for the preference of an Arab over a non-Arab, and the preference of some Arabs over others, this is not a deed that one can earn. Rather, it is a bounty that Allah gives to whom He wills. So he may will something for these people, and there is no objection to your Lord’s rule. This is like the preference of some days over others, because the mind reasons that all days are the same in and of themselves, and there is no distinction that might appear between them. However, the mind can understand why something is better if there is not ……….. So the Sacred law came and affirmed the preference of some over others, and for some of those things there were reasons and wisdoms, such as the preference of the night of Power over others because the Majestic Qur’an was revealed during it. And in some of these things, the wisdom is not apparent to us and so this falls into the chapter of absolute obedience, such as the number of cycles (rak`ahs) in the prayer.
It is obligatory on a Muslim to believe that Arabs are preferred over other nations because there is a proof for it. However, this is not one of the pillars of our religion such that if someone rejected this, they would be considered outside of Islam. But if one does reject this, one has sinned for not believing in it because it is an affirmed matter according to a clear rigorously authenticated hadith. Also, this issue is not something that is commonly known among most Muslims, so for this, one should not hasten to blame one who disagrees with it. It is necessary, rather, to tell him about the issue.
And the fact that Arabs are preferred over others does not mean that a non-Arab can not have a higher merit in the religion than an Arab, because a person earns the good deeds that Allah has recommended we compete for. This is the highest merit of God-fearingness and this will be the basis upon which things are decided in the hereafter. However, the merit of the Arabs will still remain, in terms of their respect and exaltation being higher than others. And from this some hadiths have come to us about the Quraysh being put first for the caliphate before others, such as the hadith in Bukhari (#3500) on the authority of Mu`awiyah, may Allah be well pleased with him who said, ” I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘This matter of government belongs to the Quraysh. Anyone who takes a hostile attitude to them will be thrown on his face, as long as they are true to the faith.” And Bukhari also related (#3501) on the authority of Ibn `Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, that he said, “Government continues to belong to the Quraysh, even if they are (no more than) two.”
So I say that the merit of God-fearingness is what counts, according to the rigorously authenticated hadith, “And he who is slow in doing good deeds, his noble lineage will not quicken him (into entering Paradise).Shaykh Amjad Rasheed, Ustadha Shazia Ahmad (trans.), SunniPath, Question ID:9427, http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=9427&CATE=1.
Inter-Arab Racism
Superiority of One Tribe Over Another
Testimony of Bedouins is Not Allowed
Black People
Racism Against Black People
Islamic Writers and Scholars on Black People
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) was, among other things, an Islamic jurist, Islamic lawyer, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, and hafiz
Ibn Sina or Avicenna (980-1037), was, among other things, a Hafiz, Islamic psychologist, Islamic scholar, and Islamic theologian
Ibn Qutaybah (828-889), was a renowned Islamic scholar from Kufa, Iraq
Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī (1201-1274), was a Shia Muslim Scholar and Grand Ayatollah
Al-Muqaddasi (945/946-1000) was a medieval Muslim geographer
Al-Masudi (896-956), was a Muslim historian and geographer, known as the "Herodotus of the Arabs."[6]
Ibn al-Faqih was a Muslim historian and geographer
Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (973-1048), was an Islamic scholar and polymath
Hudud al-`Alam is a book dedicated to Abu l-Ḥārith Muḥammad b. Aḥmad, a ruler of the local Farighunid dynasty.
Al Jahiz (781–869), was a famous Muslim scholar
Ibn Abi Zayd (922–996), was a Maliki scholar from Al-Qayrawan in Tunisia.
Al-Abshihi (al-Ibshihi)
Shams al-Dīn Muhammad b. Abī Talib al-Dimashqī
Ibn Battuta
Al-Idrisi
Said al-Andalusi
Ibn Hazm
al-Kirmani
al-Mutannabi
Qadi Iyad
See Also
- Race and Tribe in Islam
- Category:Race
- Muhammad (Primary Sources) - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Muhammad (Primary Sources)
Reference
- ↑ Islamqa.info
- ↑ Ibn Sa'd, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad. Kitab al-Tabaqat, vol i. Translated in English by S. Moinul Haq, Kitab Bhavan, 1784, Kalan Mahal, Daraya Ganj, New Delhi, India, 1972, p12.
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Translated by A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, (Re-issued in Karachi, Pakistan, 1967, 13th impression, 1998) 1955, p. 243.
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 West Asian views on black Africans during the medieval era
- ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 Comparative Digests Racism Arab and European Compared - Nathaniel Turner
- ↑ Ter-Ghevondyan, Aram N.. Արաբական Ամիրայությունները Բագրատունյաց Հայաստանում (The Arab Emirates in Bagratuni Armenia). Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences. p. 15, 1965.
- ↑ The Risala of 'Abdullah ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani/ 43.16 Trading abroad - A Treatise on Maliki Fiqh (Including commentary from ath-Thamr ad-Dani by al-Azhari)(310/922 - 386/996)