Despite gaining the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the United States of America has witnessed racist attacks and incidents time and again, the latest incident being an attack on two Asian women in San Francisco.
In such a time, it is important for us to understand how Islam tackles racism and how can it be implemented to counter racism in any shape or form.
1. All races are equal
“A white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has a superiority over a white, except by good actions and piety.”
– Prophet Mohammad ﷺ
[Musnad Ahmad, Hadith #19774]
In his last sermon, also known as The Farewell Sermon, the Prophet ﷺ made it crystal clear that no one can claim superiority over others on the basis of their skin color. Therefore, an act of racism is an anti-Islamic act.
2. Diversity is a sign from God
“And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge.”
– Qur’an 30:22
All the races on earth have been described as one of the signs of The Lord in the Holy Qur’an. Therefore, as Muslims, people must honor and respect people of all races and languages, since both of these are signs from The Lord.
3. Learning from others
“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you races and tribes, so that you may know one another.”
– Qur’an 49:13
Similar to the preceding one, this verse tells us that God has created us into different races and tribes (i.e. ethnicity, nationality, etc.) so that we may get to know one another and learn from, and about, each other.
Hence, it is essential in today’s world to utilize platforms like social media to meet people from different nationality, ethnicity, races, etc. to get to know them, their cultures, their various other practices and implement whatever good practices we learn from them, into our own lives.
5. The first racist in Islam
Satan said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.”
– Qur’an 7:12
As various scholars like Dr. Yasir Qadhi, Dr. Omar Sulaiman and Mufti Menk put their views on racism, Satan can be identified as the first racist in Islam.
When asked to prostrate, Iblis (Satan) was the only one who refused to obey God’s order. When God asked him what made him not do so, he replied that he is better than him (Adam), and states the reason that he is created from fire, and therefore, superior to clay, from which Adam was created. Many scholars classify this as an act of racism as well, thus making Satan the first racist in Islam.
In conclusion, we can say that Islam is an anti-racist religion. Not being a racist is not enough where racism is present in any shape or form, we need to be anti-racist and fight against it with equal, if not greater, force. Hence we must take lesson from The Holy Qur’an and Sunnah to back our stand against racist activities.
Revisiting Islam 