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Name
Umais
-
Profession
Question
Is it haraam for a parent to stop their child from marrying someone solely because of the persons ethnicity? Also is there any truth to the claim that muslims should marry from within their own "Kuff" - nationality/tribe?
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
There is no doubt at all that a person can marry someone outside one’s ethnicity. Therefore a Muslim parent has no right to prohibit a marriage on the basis of the different ethnicity of the bride or bridegroom.
Indeed, in the case of some of the marriages of the Prophet, peace be on him, one of the objectives was apparently to seek to cancel ethnic or tribal rivalry. And there are numerous instances in Islamic history and in the present day Muslim world, of this kind of inter-racial marriage.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Khaled
-
Profession
Question
Al-Salam alykum dear scholar,
I was wondering about a feeling that I get sometimes when I consider people from other religions and ideologies:
At points of strong faith, I feel that I have the truth and really understand it while those others don't own half of it.
I look at them and might explain it by either their:
1) hedonistic nature (where they'd deserve it)
2) Ignorance
3) or poor knowledge (that's where I feel petty for them)
I'm confused about this kind of a feeling whether it falls under either:
A- the trap of a religious supermacy, which is a kind of Racism.
B- or out of strong faith...
I know that only Allah, the all wise, knows the whole truth and wisdom, but thought someone else would have an answer...
Jazakum Allah Kair and May Allah bless you and the crew of Islam online...
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
I think that your feeling about others of different religions or ideologies, that they are wrong, while you are right, cannot be called racism. Because racism is basically a feeling of superiority you feel towards others who are of different ethnicity, of different skin color, physical features etc., which have nothing to do with what one believes about God or the prophets or the other world. For instance, you would have the same attitude towards a person who belongs to your own tribe or even your own family, if that person is hedonistic, ignorant etc, as you would feel towards another of a different tribe or clan or color.
In fact this kind of a sense of ‘superiority’ is there in the teachers for instance over students, in the leaders over their followers etc. We cannot call this racism. But you may reach a point where your attitude towards others is influenced by their country of origin, skin color or language. If you take care in being free from such a lapse, you are not a racist.
And Allah knows best.
Name
John
- Alaska
Profession
Question
What does Islam have to say about racism?
Answer
Peace be with you.
The dictionary defines racism as “discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race” or “the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races”.
We can see that most of the destruction and war in history had a great deal to do with racism. For instance, the Nazi racism, which brought about World War II.
Now how does Islam view racism? The Holy Qur’an cuts the very roots of racism in these words: 'O mankind! We have created you from a single male and female and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know each other. The most honorable of you in the sight of Allah are surely the righteous." (Al-Hujurat: 13)
And again:
"O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” (An-Nisa’: 1)
Thus Islam stresses the absolute unity in variety of the human race. The Prophet (peace be upon him) declared: "O people! You are all from Adam and Adam was made of dust. No Arab is to be preferred over a non-Arab except by virtue of his piety." He also said: "Allah does not look at your shapes or your colors but He looks at your hearts (intentions) and your deeds. Creatures are the dependants of Allah and the closest among them to Allah are indeed the most useful to His dependants."
Thus we can see that Islam is the very antidote to racism; and where Islam flourishes there cannot be any place for racism.
And God knows best.
Name
Atul
-
Profession
Researcher
Question
If racism is about thinking your color, race, religion or culture is better than everyone else, well, Muslims think that Islam is better than any other religion - so isn't that being racist?
Answer
Dear Atul,
{Please see my answer to John from Alaska.}
Racism is defined as “discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race” or “the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races”. Now, religion is entirely different. You can be a black man from Zambia or a white man from Britan or a yellow man from China and be a Muslim.
To think Islam is better than other religions is like saying that Democracy is better than Monarchy. If you say that, you are not a racist for that reason. If you are a racist, you discriminate humans on the basis of their coutry of birth, or skin colour or language, etc.
Hope I have answered your question.
Name
Umm Ahmad
- United States
Profession
mother
Question
Asalam walakum warahmatullah wabarakatu.
My question is how can we address the racist attitudes toward marriage and choosing a spouse? Many unmarried people in our community want to marry yet marrying outside of race seems to be out of the question and many have said it is haram! How to change this?
Jazakhallah khair.
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
{Please see my answer to Umais above.}
In fact, we need to address the many misconceptions about Islam prevailing in our own societies, no doubt. One example is the question of choosing a life partner. Here as in other places, we need to obey Allah Almighty and follow the teachings of the Prophet, peace be on him.
May Allah open the eyes of our misguided people!
Name
M
- United States
Profession
IT
Question
My wife is not from the same caste as me, and has been verbally abused by my family since our marriage. How do I convince my parents that this is wrong, without making them curse me? How do I protect my children's rights from my family?
Answer
As-salamu alaikum
{Please see my answers to similar questions above}
You need to tell your people to beware of Allah. Recite to them these ayahs: 'O mankind! We have created you from a single male and female and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know each other. The most honorable of you in the sight of Allah are surely the righteous." (Al-Hujurat: 13)
And again:
"O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.” (An-Nisa’: 1)
And tell them, [or get the help of someone who is respected by them to tell them] that they have to face the judgment of Allah. No one has the right to take away the rights given by Allah.
Read this to them, if you can.
May Allah help you and guide you!
Name
Mohamed Farhan
- Singapore
Profession
Student
Question
As-salamu 'alaykum.
Dear sheikh, how do we settle the problem of racism in Islam? Dr Tariq Ramadan said that some Arabs, upon meeting new converts, tend to tell them that "u should be like us, then u're a Muslim" or something of that sort.
How do we tell our fellow brothers, especially new converts that Islam does not recognise any racial barriers and that Islam unites mankind?
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
When we speak of Islam, we need to quote the Holy Qur'an and the ahadith. We need to give the wise words of the great scholars of Islam.
But all the while, remember that if we ourselves do not practice what we preach, our words may not have much effect on the listeners. So the most important thing is: We must convince others, especially the reverts to Islam, that they are really our brothers. Our actions must speak more than our babbling tongue.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Merry
- South Africa
Profession
Teacher
Question
Why are there a lot of Muslims - especially Arabs - who are racist against blacks?
Answer
Peace be with you.
It is not your Muslim name or your Arab or ‘Muslim nationality’ that makes you a Muslim. A Muslim is a person who accepts Allah’s Guidance in all aspects of his or her life.
The first and foremost principle of Islam is to live by the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah (i.e the practical form of the Qur’an as taught by the Prophet, peace be on him). Because Muslims must whole-heartedly and fully submit to Allah the One and Only God. They have to accept that all humans are equal creations of the One God.
This means that Muslims cannot hold that the Arabs are superior to blacks (as you say), as all are God’s creations. And to my knowledge, there are many Arabs who are black, and so are discriminated against on that score by whites in certain countries. Again, if you keep your eyes and ears open, you will find that today, the Arabs are mostly at the receiving end of much racism, than at the giving end. They are more sinned against, than sinning, as Shakespeare would have put it.
And God knows best.
Name
Wahid
- Bangladesh
Profession
student
Question
Why the slavery is permitted in Islam? Doesn't it mean that we are giving diffrent statuses to master and slave?
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
Islam categorically prohibits slavery. Because, no human can be a slave of anybody except Allah.
It is nothing short of blasphemous to associate slavery with the Religion Allah Almighty revealed to mankind. At the same time, it must be acknowledged that there is a reason for this misconception. And that is: Islam adopted a gradual process to abolish the institution of slavery. This was because of the social conditions prevailing in the Arabia of the Prophet’s time.
Islam adopted the same strategy towards the abolition of the use of intoxicants. Or if some modern country tries to abolish usury (which is also prohibited by Islam), I think they need to adopt a similar policy of gradual abolition today. As Islam is a very practical religion, and not an unrealistic ideology, one can understand this approach. I give below some of the steps taken by Islam for a gradual abolition of slavery:
First, we find in the Qur’an an exhortation to free as many slaves as possible, as a deed of piety. The Prophet directed the Muslims to treat them with equality and generosity. There was a divine command to liberate slaves as expiation of many sins. And part of the public wealth was set apart for the freeing of slaves. The use of names like ‘abd and amah (for slave men and women) were prohibited. And so on and so forth.
Thus it was that Islam gradually but systematically abolished slavery. But if the “Muslim” rulers of a later generation continued to keep slaves, the blame is not on Islam, but on those misguided souls.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Saeed
-
Profession
Question
What does Islam have to offer the West, in the field of racial justice?
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
One of the greatest values Islam seeks to instill into its adherents, is justice. And what we see in most of the western countries is, that in spite of all their pretensions to the contrary, they are grievously unjust to the people of other cultures, other ethnic groups.
The European powers used Christianity to justify their own imperial ambitions. The notorious Spanish Conquistadors used Christianity as a pretext to wipe out the Inca and Aztec civilisations of Central and South America during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Dutch and the British used Christianity to justify their horrendous treatment of Africans. The notorious Trans-Atlantic slave trade saw one of the worst forms of racism ever implemented. As a result, entire cultures were wiped out and replaced with the culture of their racist aggressors. This is why even today, many of the surnames which people in the Caribbean and the blacks in the U.S have, are in fact the names of their white slave masters.
If we study the social history of the United States, we find that the European invaders have not only taken the land of the Native Indians, but systematically massacred them. And later we find how they brought the Africans to become their slaves. And it was one of their pastimes in "the land of the free" to lynch the black people. If you visit a site like this one, you will be shocked: http://www.maafa.org/lynch3.html
Even now, we find terrible atrocities commmitted on the blacks there.
It is against this background that we can offer the great teaching of Islam to them on human brotherhood, only if they will listen. And there is enough evidence now, how more and more people who belong to the deprived ethnic groups are attracted to Islam. So, this is our request to the western countries: Let there be justice; then peace and security will naturally follow.
Let us hope that one day they will learn the valuable lesson, that endless wars will not bring enduring peace.
And God knows best.
Name
servernofAllah
-
Profession
Question
aslaamu alykum my question a companion called bilal the abbysinian "son of a black woman" and the prophet heard this how did he solve this situation. Although i didn't expiriance this people tend to say that the Saudis are racist how come the muslims sholors don't address this issue all over the world especialy the arab world.
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
It is reported by Abdullah ibn Amr that the Prophet, peace be on him, once reprimanded Abu Dharr for insulting Bilal by calling him, 'the son of a black woman. The Prophet, peace be on him, then said: "Look! Surely you are not better than a brown man nor a black man except by fearing Allaah more than them." (Ahmed)
The Prophet, (pbuh) has also said: "Indeed there is no excellence for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab, nor a White person over a Black one, nor a Black person over a White one, except through piety"
The Prophet was not merely speaking these words, but also he was always the first to lead by example, and that is why we find that during his lifetime so many different types of people accepted Islam.
Bilal who had been treated worse than an animal was given a status like no Black slave had been given before. The Prophet gave him the immense honour of being the first Mu'addhin of the Ka'abah, a great honor in the glorious history of Islam. More importantly he was accepted as an equal and a brother by the Prophet and his companions.
Indeed, the Muslims of the present day world are far from perfect; and our scholars are doing their best to admonish them and address the issues involved.
May Allah give them the strength of Iman to do their duty well!
Name
Nazia
-
Profession
Question
It's disheartening to see so many Muslims divided and humiliated around the world. Don't you think we need to overcome our own racism towards each other (i.e. muslims) first before we can ever unify this Ummah? What are your suggestions?
Answer
As-salamu alaikum.
I perfectly agree with you. It is our bounden duty to eliminate all vestiges of racism, tribalism, and blind nationalism among us, before we preach Islam's egalitarianism and brotherhood to others.
Allah Almighty has commanded us in the Holy Qur'an: "And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves.." (Holy Qur'an 3: 103). But most of the Muslims of the world are hopelessly misguided and disunited. And that is the reason why we face so much of humiliation in today's world.
Let us implore the Muslims of the world to heed Allah's words in His Book of Guidance. We must pray to Allah, and do whatever we can towards spreading this message of the Unity of the Muslim Ummah, which is the crying need of the times.
