Fatna lives in London and has always held the love for literature close to her heart. Hoping to give practical Islamic support through writing, Fatna is one of our blog writers here at SolaceUK.
“There are Muslims here of all colors and from every part of this earth. During the past days here in Mecca (Jeddah, Mina, and Mustaliph) while understanding the rituals of the Hajj, I have eaten from the same plate, drank from the same glass and slept on the same bed or rug – with Kings, potentates and other forms of rulers – but also with fellow Muslims whose skin was the whitest of white, whose eyes was the bluest of blue.”1
-Malcolm X
What was restricted to the ambit of imagination for many American civil rights leaders was now a reality, in Mecca, before Malcolm’s very eyes: mass displays of racial intermingling between all shades of people. However, it wasn’t only this array of perfect human amity that felt utopic to Malcolm, but also the fact that this wasn’t a reality achieved through hardships, legal battles and life-threatening demonstrations. It was through Tawheed (belief in ONE God). Tawheed acted as the unbreakable bond and indissoluble glue between all believers, bringing one’s character to the forefront whilst relegating their race to the backdrop of irrelevancy.
“The people here in Arabia believe that God is One…and that all our brothers and sisters is One Human Family.”2
Following his completion of Hajj, Malcolm wrote in words his astonishment at the racial unity he’d discovered there. This letter, although written 60 years ago, is still cited today to highlight the stark contrast between the harsh racism that still existed in post-Jim Crow America at the time and the seamless harmony of all ethnicities undertaking Hajj in Mecca.
It was, in fact, this trip to the Holy City, shining a light on Islam’s unification of all sincere believers irrespective of race, that left an indelible impression on Malcolm’s worldview; engendering his departure from his previous beliefs and the commencement of his new journey.
“In fact all I have seen and experienced on this pilgrimage has forced me to “re-arrange” much of my thought pattern and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions.”3
I wanted to write this blog to emphasise what many don’t know about Islam. The religion that doesn’t only encourage racial equality but demands it. Islam is rarely credited for its unmovable stance against racism as at a time when ignorance and xenophobia were woven into society, Allah (SWT) bestowed upon humanity the Quran and Sunnah. Divine revelation abolished pre-Islamic ideas of racism whilst paving the way for Mankind to be united upon monotheism instead because, as we’ll now explore together, your place before The Almighty is based upon your sincerity and deeds not the colour of your skin.
Read on to unearth Islam’s significance in cleansing our hearts from the dirt of racial prejudices and instilling in their place the purity of Tawheed.
Righteousness over race, always
Righteousness is a cornerstone of a Muslim’s status whilst race remains insignificant. It is as our Prophet (may Allah SWT’s blessings be upon him) declared in his farewell sermon:
“O people, Your Lord is One and your father (Adam A.S) is one. There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, or of a white man over a black man, or of a black man over a white man, except in terms of taqwa (piety, God-consciousness).” (Ahmed)
To further gauge Islam’s stance on racial equality, we now look to the story of Bilal (R.A.), who was one of the first to believe in Allah’s Messenger (may Allah’s SWT blessings be upon him) and one of the most celebrated of his companions. As a Black slave from Ethiopia, the racism and prejudice he would have to face are clear, yet Islam embraced Bilal completely as a sincere believer, regardless of his colour. Not only was he wholeheartedly accepted, but Allah (SWT) bestowed upon him an honour that was bestowed upon no other Muslim at the time: he was chosen to be the first to call the adhan (call for prayer).
Islam goes further to denounce pride derived from your race and tribe by classifying such an attitude as ‘pre-Islamic ignorance’; a mindset to be disowned and avoided at all costs:
“O Mankind! Indeed Allah has done away with the haughtiness of the Days of Ignorance and its vain boasting of one’s ancestry. Mankind is of two types; The pious, upright one, honourable in the sight of Allah and the immoral, sinful one, worthless in the sight of Allah.” (At-Tirmidhi)
Righteousness, by the permission of Allah (SWT), is a believer’s path and key to Jannah as it is through sincerity, not skin colour, that The Almighty’s pleasure can be attained:
“Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another…I will expiate from them their evil deeds and admit them into Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise); a reward from Allah.” (Qur’an 3:195)
Allah (SWT) doesn’t mention their skin colour but rather their “work” (good deeds), as this is how you gain status before your Lord—through your actions, not ancestry.
Islam is rich in further examples addressing the prioritisation of one’s character over one’s race, and this brief blog, by no means, has done it justice. But allow me to leave you with this concise yet powerful hadith that leaves no room for doubt regarding the triviality of one’s colour:
“Verily, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions.” (Muslim)
- Bonhams: Malcolm’s letter from Hajj ↩︎
- Bonhams: Malcolm’s letter from Hajj ↩︎
- Bonhams: Malcolm’s letter from Hajj ↩︎
