May 03, 2009
Islam's Contributions to Race Relations
God mentioned in His Final Revelation, the Quran, "And from His signs is the creation of Heavens and Earth and the differences in your tongues and your colors". When Quran was revealed upon Prophet Muhammad over 1400 years ago, it took a very interesting and a very innovative way at the issue of race and color. As we see from the verse quoted above, the Quran regards the existence of many languages and races as a sign of God Greatness and Ability. So having many races is a source of celebration in Islam, not a source of contention and animosity. Islam, from day one, worked on the extinction of race consciousness and was very successful in doing so. In a different verse, the Quran says, "Oh people, We have created you from male and female and We have made you into races and tribes so you may know each other". Here the Quran mentions yet another wisdom for the existence of different races. That's to learn about each other and to befriend each other. In fact, it's in our nature that we have a curiosity to know what's different from us. It's only prejudice that can inhibit such natural disposition and make us hostile towards people who may look different than us or who may speak different than us. The Prophet implanted these principles in his companions continuously. Prophet Muhammad in fact deconstructed the argument for racism in a very logical way. One time he said, "All of you are from Adam and Adam is from dirt". As simple as it may sound, this is one of the best arguments against racism and the very idea of a superior race. In those brief statements, the Prophet asserted two facts. First, we all share one father so we all must be brothers. Second, we all come from dirt, so there is no reason for one race to feel superior over another once we think of our origins. The Prophet not only preached such ideas but implemented them on a daily basis. This was manifested for example in the fact that Bilal the African, used to stand next to Salman the Persian, Suhaib the Roman, and all the other Arabs in one line to pray to God. One time a man called another, "Oh son of a black woman". The Prophet commented on such a statement by saying, "You are a man of ignorance". So the Prophet equated racism to ignorance. In other words, racism cannot possibly come from someone who is educated or someone who truly knows God's Revelations.