Get Rid of Racism
| Khatib : | Sadullah Khan |
| Khutbah No: | 135 |
| Khutbah Date: | 02/04/05 |
Lesson of the Farewell Sermon
As many in America commemorate Black History month, over 2 million Muslims from all over the world have just concluded the performance of Hajj - that ultimate expression of Islamic brotherhood and sisterhood and an exemplary manifestation of human equality in the midst of diversity. At the conclusion of his Hajj the Prophet delivered a Farewell Sermon in which he called for the eradication of racial prejudice and emphasized the equality of human beings. Among the pertinent themes in that sermon were ...
- Acknowledgement of the supremacy of the Creator [Q 1:1-4]
- Mission of Prophets - conveying the message [Q 33:45]
- Fulfillment of trusts and importance of individual accountability [Q 4:58]
- Sanctity of human life, human integrity and human property [Q 5:32]
- Fulfillment of obligations [Q 2:283]
- Avoiding of improper financial dealings [Q 2:267- 278]
- Marital harmony [Q 30:21] ; [Q 2:236] ; [Q 4:19]
- Shunning all forms of evil [Q 35:6]
- Fraternity of the Ummah (global community of Faith [Q 49:10]
- Eradication of racial prejudice and equality of humanity [Q 49:13]
- Imperative of obeying Allah and His messenger and those who perpetuate that mission [Q 4:159]; [Q 3:132]
- Keeping up the pillars of Islam [Q 2:43] [Q 2:185] [Q 3:97]
- Rights of workers [Q 28:77] ; [Q 16:71]
- Finality of prophethood [Q 33:40]
- Duty of conveying the message [Q 5:67] ; [Q 16:125]
In this famous farewell sermon / khutbat-al-wida’ at 'Arafat on his final pilgrimage, just before his passing; Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) summed up the essence of the anti-racist social message of Islam when he proclaimed: "All human beings are descendent from( the prototype of human beings) Adam, and Adam has been created from the earth. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab. Neither is there superiority for a white person over a black person, nor for a black person over a white person, except the superiority gained through God-consciousness / taqwa. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one with the most righteous conduct / taqwa." This famous prophetic tradition/hadith is further reinforced by a verse in the Glorious Qur’an in Surah al-Rum, Chapter 30, Verse 22 in which differences in languages and pigmentations of skin among human beings are described as signs of the existence of God, which need to be celebrated.
Significant African Role in Islamic History
In the performance of Hajj we re-enact some of the fundamentals aspects of our history, among which is the example of Hajirah; a black slave woman, the wife of Prophet Abraham, the mother of Prophet Ishmael (forefather of Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon them). Amongst the earliest companions of the Prophet was Bilal the muezzin/caller to prayer; Umm Ayman , whom the Prophet referred to as "my mother after my mother". When Muslims were persecuted in Makkah, the first place to offer them refuge was Abyssinia in Africa, where Muslims found shelter under the just, Christian, African king Negus (may Allah reward him). The Prophet too had an African wife, Maria Qibtiyya. The first Muslims arrived in America from West Africa long before Columbus. Among the slaves brought to America were many Muslims and even now the majority of Muslims in USA are "Afro-American".
Social Judgement
We need to be cautious how we condition ourselves into a culture of bad judgments and false perceptions; among which racism is very common.The three axes along which people make social judgments are all dependent upon what they learn from childhood.
These include judging between
- right and wrong
- good and bad
- beautiful and ugly
all based upon social and community values. These are not acquired through our genes but are learned from those who influence us.
This all-embracing approach of Islam is an integral part of the deeply embedded ideals of Islam which still bring people to this way of life; not because of Muslims, but in spite of us. This abolition of prejudice by the Prophet convinced noted historian, Professor Arnold J.Toynbee (in 1948) to say; "The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue."
Racism is not really about Color
No person of color actually suffers discrimination because of the color of their skin. The problem is not skin color, but value systems that perpetrate and perpetuate the evil of prejudice against others and then justify that evil by focusing on outward differences. These outward differences, such as color, gender, language ... are just that; differences. In and of themselves they contain no positive or negative value; there are merely biological realities or cultural necessities.
This is evidenced by Prophetic Tradition, that "Allah does not judge anyone by their physicality nor appearances, but by the sincerity of intention and quality of action." Thus, there is nothing wrong with the color black, brown or yellow. It is not skin color that forms the basis for discrimination, but the negative meaning and value given to the color of skin; a meaning not inherent in the color nor the skin but in the mental culture that discriminates. We need to realize that color is neutral; it is the mind that gives it meaning; it is not color that is the problem, rather it is prejudicial attitude that is the problem.
Beware ...
- Racism is evil, whether perpetrated against Muslims or by Muslims
- Prejudice is not only perpetrated by others, it has become a very sad reality amongst many, many Muslims as well.