The term Sharif (nobleman) or Sayyid is used to describe a descendant of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) through his daughter Fatima (RAA). They are descendants of Al Hasan and Al Husein- the two sons of Ali ibn Abi Talib (RAA) and Fatima the daughter of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). The Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) and Ali ibn Abi Talib (RAA) are from the Bani Hashim branch of the tribe of Quraish. They are the noblest of the Arabs. The Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) and Ali ibn Abi Talib (RAA) were first cousins. Ali’s father, Abi Talib, was the brother of the Prophet’s (SAWS) father. Once it has been established that the Bani Hashim were a black-skinned people, there should be no need to prove that the pure Arabs of the past were, in general, a black-skinned people.
In discussing the appearance of the Sharifs, I believe that it is appropriate for me to begin with the father of the Sharifs- Ali ibn Abi Talib (RAA). In his book Tarikh Al-Khulafaa (The History of the Caliphs), Imam Al-Suyuti described Ali ibn Abi Talib as follows:
و كان علي شيخا سمينا أصلع كثير الشعر ربعة إلى القصر عظيم البطن عظيم اللحية جدا قد ملأت ما بين منكبيه بيضاء كأنها قطن آدم شديد الأدمة
Ali was a heavyset, bald, hairy man of average height which leaned toward shortness. He had a large stomach and a large beard which filled all that was between his shoulders. His beard was white as if it was cotton and he was a black-skinned man.
There are certain names that we usually hear when the Sharifs or Sayyids - the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) are mentioned. We have all probably heard of Ali Zein Al-Abidin the son of ِAl-Husein the son of Ali the son of Abu Talib. Though his mother was Persian, he is described as dark-skinned. Where did he get his dark complexion from? From his father's side of the family, of course. This Ali Zein Al-Abidin the son of ِAl-Husein the son of Ali the son of Abu Talib married Fatima the daughter of Al-Hasan the son of Ali the son of Abi Talib.
Mohamed Al-Baqir- another name we hear when there is mention of the Sharifs, the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) - was the eldest son of Ali Zein Al-Abidin and Fatima the daughter of Al-Hasan. He was nicknamed "He Who Resembles" because he looked so much like the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). He was described as dark-skinned, kinky-haired, and of average height. Mohamed Al-Baqir married Umm Farwa, the great granddaughter of Abu Bakr Al-Saddiq and they had Jaafar Al-Saadiq. Jaafar Al-Saadiq is another name frequently heard when speaking of the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). He was described as black-skinned, kinky-haired, and average height.
Jaafar Al-Saadiq had a Berber slave-girl named Humaida and through her he had his son Musa Al-Kadhim - another well-known member of the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) whom many Sharifs claim descent from. Musa Al-Kadhim was described as very black-skinned.
Musa Al-Kadhim's son Ali Al-Rida is another well-known member of the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) whom many Sharifs claim descent from. He, too, was described as black-skinned. He was once standing in a bathhouse when a soldier entered and pushed him to the side and said, "Pour water on my head oh black one!" Ali Al-Rida began to pour water for the soldier and then someone who knew who Ali Al-Rida was entered the bathhouse and when he saw what was happening he shouted, "Oh soldier! Woe to you! Do you dare have the son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) serve you?!" The soldier quickly began to kiss the feet of Ali Al-Rida and said, "Why didn't you disobey me when I ordered you?!"
Ali Al-Rida had a son named Mohamed Al-Jawaad also known as Mohamed Al-Taqi. Mohamed Al-Jawaad was also described as very black-skinned. Mohamed Al-Jawaad or Al-Taqi had a son named Ali Al-Hadi. Ali Al-Hadi, too, was described as dark-skinned.
The chart below was taken from this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayyid. Take a look at the link and the chart to get an even better idea of how the dark-skinned members of the Prophet Mohamed's family that I have just mentioned are the noble ancestors of those called Sharifs or Sayyids today.
You have all probably heard of Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia. He is Mohamed the son of Abdella the Pure-Blooded the son of Al-Hasan the son of Al-Hasan the son of Ali the son of Abi Talib. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia was nicknamed the Pure-Blooded of Quraish because he was so unmixed. His father Abdella was also nicknamed the Pure-Blooded. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia was from the Bani Hashim clan of Quraish from both his mother and his father. Remember that Bani Hashim is the clan of Quraish that the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) and Ali (RAA) are from. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia was described as very black-skinned and huge. He had a son named Hasan. His son Hasan was nicknamed The Father of the Tar because he was so black-skinned. This is the description of the pure-blooded descendants of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia wrote a letter to the Abbasid ruler complaining to him that he had more right to be the ruler because he was so closely related to the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). Amongst the things he said in his letter to the Abbasid ruler was, "We are in the right...Our father Ali was the Imam (leader). How did you inherit the rule which belongs to the children of Ali?! You know that no one who seeks this position (ruler) has a purer genealogy than I do or is more highborn than I am...You know that no one has as close relations or relations to anyone better than he whom I am very closely related to (He means the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS)). I am from the best of Banu Hashim in genealogy and the noblest of them both paternally and maternally. No non-Arab blood runs through my veins and I am not related to the slave-girls." Bear in mind that Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia, who is here talking about how pure his Arab blood is and how closely he is related to the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS), was very black-skinned.
Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia had a brother named Musa Al-Jawn (the Black). Musa Al-Jawn was also very black-skinned. He was nicknamed Al-Jawn (the Black) because of his blackness. The Sharifs called Banu Al-Akhaidar, who are found in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and other places, are descended from Musa Al-Jawn.
Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia and Musa Al-Jawn had another brother named Yahya the Possessor of Daylum. Yahya, too, was described as black-skinned. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia, Musa Al-Jawn and Yahya the Possessor of Daylum were all the brothers of Idriss the 1st, the father of the Idrissi Sharifs and the founder of the city of Fes in Morocco.
Nineth century poet Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Al-Abbas ibn Jurayj, known as Ibn Al-Rumi, wrote a long poem to the Abbasids blaming them for the way that they treated the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). It should be understood that at that time, the Abbasids had become very mixed with the Romans, Greeks, and Persians. Here is part of what Ibn Al-Rumi said in his famous poem called Al-Jeemia:
"You insulted them (the family of the Prophet Mohamed) because of their blackness while there are still pure-blooded black-skinned Arabs. However, you are blue (eyed) - the Romans have embellished your faces with their color."
There you have it. These are the ancestors of the Sharifs or the Sayyids - the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) and as you have seen, they were all dark-skinned people. The question that remains to be answered is this - why aren't the masses aware of this fact?
Our father Adam is not the only prophet whose description is being concealed. People are also concealing the true color of the prophets Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), and the prophet Mohamed (peace be upon them all). If the appearance and color of the prophets wasn’t important, the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) wouldn’t have come from the Seven Heavens describing the color of Musa and Isa (peace be upon them).
There are many hadith that say that when the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) returned from his ascent to the Seven Heavens, he described the color of some of the prophets. If this information wasn’t important, the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) wouldn’t have mentioned it. The prophet Mohamed (pbuh) didn’t speak nonsense or idle speech. The prophet Mohamed (pbuh) described the prophet Musa (Moses) as black-skinned and kinky-haired. Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal related in his Masnad (hadith number 3365) the following description that the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) gave of Musa’s (Moses’) color:
وَرَأَيْتُ مُوسَى أَسْحَمَ آدَمَ
Musa (Moses) was jet-black skinned.
Muslim relates in his Sahih Muslim (hadith numbers 239 and 243) that Ibn Abbas said that the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) described Musa’s (Moses’) appearance as follows:
َأَمَّا مُوسَى فَرَجُلٌ آدَمُ جَعْدٌ
As for Musa (Moses), hewas black-skinned and kinky-haired. (hadith 243)
He (Ibn Abbas) said that the prophet (pbuh) mentioned the time he was ascended to the Heavens and he said that Musa (Moses) was black-skinned and tall as if he was from the tribe of Shanuaa. (hadith 239)
And he drew forth his hand (from his bosom): and lo! it was white for the beholders. [El-Aaraaf- verse 108]
· El-Quortobi says in his tafsir of the verse:
وكان موسى أسمر شديد السمرة
Musa (Moses) was black-skinned.
· The authors of Tafsir El-Jalalain say in their tafsir of the verse:
(ونزع يده) أخرجها من جيبه (فإذا هي بيضاء) ذات شعاع (للناظرين) خلاف ما كانت عليه من الأدمة
‘He took out his hand’ means that he took his hand out of his pocket. ‘And it was white for the beholders’ means that it was radiant and was no longer black like it was originally.
· El-Tabari says in his tafsir of the verse:
وكان موسى، فيما ذكر لنا، آدم، فجعل الله تحول يده بيضاء من غير برص، له آية
According to what we were told, Musa (Moses) was black-skinned and Allah made Musa’s hand turning white, without being affected by leprosy, a sign for him.
· El-Baidawi says in his tafsir of the verse:
روي : أنه عليه السلام كان آدم شديد الأدمة ، فأدخل يده في جيبه أو تحت إبطه ثم نزعها فإذا هي بيضاء نورانية غلب شعاعها شعاع الشمس
Itis related that Musa (pbuh) was jet-black-skinned. He put his hand in his pocket or under his armpit and took it out and it was white.
· El-Baghawi says in his tafsir of the verse:
وكان موسى آدم ، ثم أدخلها جيبه فصارت كما كانت
Musa (Moses) was black-skinned. Then (after withdrawing his hand from his pocket white) he put his hand back in his pocket and it turned back to the color that it was.
There are many other hadith that say the same thing about Musa’s (Moses’) appearance. Why are Muslims silent about this? Why aren’t Muslims striving to make this common knowledge? Why aren’t Muslims spreading these words of the prophet (pbuh)? Because these words of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) are not common knowledge, the Muslims have lost Palestine, the land where the third holiest mosque is found. If it were common knowledge that Musa (Moses) was black-skinned with kinky hair, the European descendants of Japheth who have taken over Palestine would never have claimed that they were Hebrews and claimed that Palestine was theirs. Do you see the result of concealing the words of Allah and His prophet? Everyone on Earth today is descended from Sam, Ham, or Japheth, the three sons of Nuh (Noah). The Arabs and the Hebrews are descendants of Sam. That’s why they are called Semites. Europeans, Turks, Ashkenazi, and Persians, for example, are descendants of Japheth. Many people in the area called Africa are descendants of Ham. The people who occupied Palestine and claimed it as theirs are, in reality Ashkenazi descendants of Japheth. Ibn Abbas said that Allah made the descendants of Sam and the descendants of Ham black-skinned and He made the descendants of Japheth white-skinned. By not making this and what the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) said about the appearance of Musa (Moses) common knowledge, the Muslims have, in effect, helped the Ashkenazi Japhetic Jews take the land of Palestine from the Muslims. Like I said, if it were common knowledge that Musa (Moses) and the Hebrews were black-skinned, Palestine and the land of the third holiest mosque would be in the hands of the Muslims. The mere fact that the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) came from the Heavens describing the appearance of Musa (Moses) should show us that he felt that this was important information.
َThere are also many hadith that describe Isa (Jesus) as black-skinned. Bukhari relates that Ibn Umar said, “No! I swear by Allah that the prophet (pbuh) didn’t say that Jesus was light-skinned, but he said ‘While I was asleep, I was walking around the Kaaba when I saw a black-skinned man with non-kinky hair between two men. I asked who the man was and I was told that he was Isa (Jesus) the son of Meryem.’…”
There are many other hadith related by Bukhari, Muslim, Imam Ahmed, and others that describe Isa (Jesus) as black-skinned. I ask those who claim that it is not necessary to talk about the physical description of the prophets why it is that Ibn Umar found it important enough for him to swear by Allah that the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) said that Isa (Jesus) was black-skinned. Why are we avoiding this subject instead of striving to make it common knowledge? Why are we hiding the truth about the appearance of the prophets? Why are we diminishing the importance of that which Allah spoke about and gave importance to? Why are we diminishing the importance of that which the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) and his companions spoke about and gave importance to? Avoiding this topic is innovation in Islam. Allah mentioned the topic. The prophet Mohamed (pbuh) and his companions mentioned the topic. If they had felt that there was good in avoiding the topic, they would have avoided it. Is there anyone today who feels that he/she knows what is good for Islam and mankind better than Allah? Is there a Muslim today who feels that he/she knows what is good for Islam and mankind better than the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) and his companions?
It is related that the prophet Hud, who was from the ancient Arab tribe of Aad, was also described as jet-black skinned? The prophet Hud was from the tribe of Aad the son of Aus the son of Iram the son of Sam. Iram, Arfakshadh, Ashudh, and Lodh were the brothers of Elam the son of Sam. It is a known fact that the Elamites were a black-skinned people.
It is related that ibn Al-Kalbi, the famous genealogist/transmitter of hadith/linguist/Arab historian who died in 763 A.D., said:
وروى ابن الكَلبي عن رجاله، عن الأصْبْغَ بن نباتة، قال: كنّا عند علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه وفي خلافة عمر، فسأَلَ رجلاً عن حَضْرَ مَوْت، فقال أعَالِمٌ أنتَ بحضر موت؟ قال: إذا جهلتُها فما أعلمُ غيرها. قال: أتعرف مَوضِع الأحقاف؟ قال: كأنَّك تسأل عن قَبْرهُود. قال: نعم. قال: خرجتُ وأنا غُلاَمٌ في أُغيْلمةٍ من الحيّ، نريد أن نَأْتي قَبْرهَ، لبُعْدِ صيته، فسِرْنا في وادي الأحقاف أيّاماً، وفينا من قد عَرَف الموضع: حتى انْتَهَيْنَا إلى كثيبٍ أَحْمَر، فيه كهوف، فانْتَهَى بنا ذلك الرجل إلى كَهفٍ منها، فدَخَلْناه، فأَمْعَنَّا فيه، فانْتَهَيْنَا إلى حَجَرَيْنِ قد أُطْبِقَ أَحدُهما فوق الآخر، وفيه خَلَلٌ يدْخُل منه (الرجل) النحيفُ متجانفاً فرَأيْتُ رجلاً على سرير، شديدَ الأُدْمة، كَثَّ اللحية، قد يَبِسَ على سريره، وإذا لمستُ شيئاً من جسده وَجَدْتُه صُلْباً، وعند رأسه كتابٌ بالعربيّةّ:
أنا هُودٌ (النبيّ) الذي آمنتُ بالله، وأَسِفْتُ على عاد لكُفْرُها، وما كان لأمْر الله من مَرَد
قال علي: كذا سمعتُه من أبي القاسم، صلى الله عليه وسلم
Ibn Al-Kalbi related from his sources that El-Asbagh ibn Nabaata said, “We were with Ali ibn Abi Talib (RAA) during the caliphate of Umar and he (Ali) asked a man about Hadramout. He (Ali) asked, ‘Do you know about Hadramout?’ The man said, ‘If I don’t know about Hadramout, I don’t know anything.’ Ali said, ‘Do you know where El-Ahqaaf is?’ The man said, ‘It seems that you are asking about the grave of Hud.’ Ali said, ‘Yes, that’s right.’ The man said, ‘I and some boys from the neighborhood went out in search of his grave because we heard so much about him. We traveled for days through the valley of El-Ahqaaf. There was a person with us who knew the exact location of the grave. We then reached a red sand dune where there were caves. The man who knew the exact location of the grave took us to one of the caves and we entered it and looked around in it. We then came across two stones, one on top of the other, and there was an opening that a thin person could fit through from an inclined position. I saw (in the opening) a jet-black skinned man with a thick beard lying stiffly on a bed. I touched a part of his body and it was stiff. Near his head was Arabic writing which said:
I am Hud, who believed in Allah and felt sorry for Aad because of their disbelief. Allah’s decree cannot be averted.
Ali then said, ‘I heard it the same way from Abu El-Qasim (the prophet Mohamed pbuh)’”
Scholars of hadith do not consider Ibn Al-Kalbi and Asbagh ibn Nabata reliable sources for hadith. However, I‘ve mentioned what Ibn Al-Kalbi and Asbagh ibn Nabata said about Hud’s appearance because though the hadith may be unsound, the meaning is true. Also, it shows that the Arabs of the past were a black-skinned people because Asbagh wouldn’t have described Hud ibn Abdella ibn Rabah ibn Jaloud ibn Aad ibn Aus ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Nuh as jet-black-skinned if the Arabs weren’t black-skinned.
People are also not giving a correct description of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) in particular and the Arabs in general. If people had a better idea of what the Arabs looked like, it would be easier for them to understand the descriptions of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh). Remember that Ibn Abbas said that Allah made the descendants of Sam and the descendants of Ham black-skinned and He made the descendants of Japheth white-skinned. The Arabs are descendants of Sam. The Arabs of the past used the term “red” to describe a complexion that we call white today. Lisan El-Arab (an old Arabic dictionary) mentions Shamar’s explanation of the hadiths that say that the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) said that he was sent to the blacks and the reds. Shamar explains the hadiths as follows:
قال شمر: يعنـي العرب والعجم والغالب علـى أَلوان العرب السُّمرة والأُدْمَة وعلـى أَلوان العجمالبـياض والـحمرة،
“He means (by the blacks and the reds) the Arabs and the non-Arabs and the complexion of most Arabs is brown and jet-black and the complexion of most non-Arabs is white and red.”
Shams El-Din Mohamed ibn Ahmed ibn Othman El-Dhahabi (died 1374 A.D.) explains the hadith that mentions that a man was “red-skinned as if he was one of the slaves” as follows:
يريد ألقائل أنه في لون ألموالي ألذين سبوا من نصارى ألشام وألروم و ألعجم
“The speaker means that the man was the color of the slaves who were captured from the Christians of Syria and from the Romans and the Persians.”
It was common for the Arabs of the past to describe a light-skinned person as having the color of the slaves. This is a known fact.
Ibn Mandhor (1232-1311 A.D.) says in his book Lisan El-Arab:
سبوطة الشعر هي الغالبة علـى شعور العجم من الروم والفرس. و جُعودة الشعر هي الغالبة علـى شعور العرب
“Non-kinky hair is the kind of hair that most non-Arabs like the Romans and Persians have while kinky hair is the kind of hair that most Arabs have.”
The Arabs of the past also used the word green to mean black. El-Fadl ibn El-Abbas ibn ‘Utba El-Lahabi said:
وأَنا الأَخْضَرُ، من يَعْرِفُنـي؟
أَخْضَرُ الـجِلْدَةِ فـي بـيتِ العَرَبْ
I am the green one. Who knows me?
My skin is green. I am from the family of the Arabs.
Ibn Mandhor, the author of Lisan El-Arab says this about the verse:
يقول: أَنا خالص لأَن أَلوان العرب السمرة
“He says that he is a pure Arab because the color of the Arabs is brown (dark).”
In Lisan El-Arab, Ibn Mandhor also quotes the author of El-Tahdhib, Saad El-Din Masud ibn Umar El-Taftaazaani (1312-1389 A.D.) as saying the following about the verse:
فـي هذا البـيت قولان: أَحدهما أَنه أَراد أَسود الـجلدة؛ قال: قاله أَبو طالب النـحوي، وقـيل: أَراد أَنه من خالص العرب وصميمهم لأَن الغالب علـى أَلوان العرب الأُدْمَةُ،
“There are two sayings about this verse. One is that he meant that he had black skin. This is what Abu Talib El-Nahwi said. It is also said that he meant that he is a pure unmixed Arab because most Arabs are black-skinned.”
Abdella ibn Berry (1106-1187 A.D.), the “King of the Grammarians” as he was called, said the following about the verse:
قال ابن بري: نسب الـجوهري هذا البـيت للهبـي، وهو الفضل بن العباس بن عُتْبَةَ بن أَبـي لَهَبٍ، وأَراد بالـخضرة سمرة لونه، وإِنما يريد بذلك خـلوص نسبه وأَنه عربـي مـحض، لأَن العرب تصف أَلوانها بالسواد وتصف أَلوان العجم بالـحمرة. وفـي الـحديث: بُعثت إِلـى الأَحمر والأَسود؛ وهذا الـمعنى بعينه هو الذي أَراده مسكين الدارمي فـي قوله
أَنا مسكِينٌ لـمن يَعْرِفُنـي،
لَوْنِـي السُّمْرَةُ أَلوانُ العَرَبْ
“El-Jawhari attributed this verse to El-Lahabi and he is El-Fadl ibn El-Abbas ibn ‘Utba ibn Abi Lahab and he meant by green the brownness (darkness) of his complexion and he meant by that the purity of his genealogy and that he was an unmixed Arab because the Arabs describe their color as black and they describe the color of the non-Arabs as red. Like the hadith says, ‘I was sent to the red and the black. And this is exactly what Miskeen El-Darimi meant when he said:
‘I am Miskeen, for those who know me.
My color is brown (dark), the color of the Arabs’”.
Miskeen said this verse to a woman who refused to marry him because of his blackness and his poorness. Miskeen was a pure Arab from the tribe of Darim and he was black-skinned.
As you can see, the true appearance of the Arabs of the past is entirely different from the appearance most people today think that the Arabs had. As a result, most people today have an inaccurate conception of what the prophet Mohamed’s (pbuh) color was. The reason for this misconception is because some people either don’t have a correct understanding of the Arabic words that were used to describe the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) and others in the past or they know and they don’t want to say the reality. I explain many misunderstood Arabic terms in detail in my book The Unknown Arabs.
Read again the description above that the Arabs of the past gave of the appearance of a pure Arab and then look at the picture that today’s Arab producers give of what a pure Arab looks like.
Today’s Arab producers show the pure Arabs as white-skinned and anyone who actually looks like a pure Arab, is not shown as an Arab but as a non-Arab slave. Where did Arab producers get this false idea? This is another reason people today have a false idea about what a pure Arab looks like. Are today’s Arab producers purposely misinforming the masses or are they innocently ignorant of the appearance of the Arabs of the past? Ali ibn Abi Talib (RAA), the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) and the ancestor of all people who are called sharifs (noble descendants of the prophet Mohamed pbuh), was described as jet-black skinned and so were his descendants (see The Unknown Arabs pages 60-63). Look at how today’s Arab producers portrayed Ali’s father Abi Talib (the brother of the prophet Mohamed’s (pbuh) father) in the film The Messenger.
Most hadith describe the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) as not very black-skinned and not light-skinned, with hair that was not extremely kinky and not non-kinky. Another hadith describes the prophet’s (pbuh) color as brown, which, as I explain in The Unknown Arabs, means a color darker than the color that the term is used for today. The hadith that describes the prophet’s (pbuh) color as brown is related by Tirmidhi (hadith number 1676). Some hadith describe the prophet’s (pbuh) color as “white”. However, the meaning that the Arabs intended for the term “white”, when used to describe people, was completely different from the usual meaning of white.
It’s important that people understand that when the Arabs of the past described someone’s color as “white”, they meant a color much different from the color that the term is usually used to describe. The Arabs had a special meaning for the term white when describing each other. The Arabs usually described the non-Arab descendants of Japheth as red. When they described the non-Arab descendants of Japheth as white, it had the meaning that it has today. However, when the Arabs described each other’s complexion as white, they meant the complexion that I will explain to you now.
“When the Arabs said that a man or a woman was ‘white’, they meant that the person was honorable. They weren’t talking about his/her complexion. When they (the Arabs) said that a man or a woman was ‘red’, they meant that his/her complexion was white.
The famous, old Arabic dictionary Lisan El Arab also quotes the author of El-Tahdhib, Saad El-Din Masud ibn Umar El-Taftaazaani (1312-1389 A.D.) as saying:
التهذيب: إِذا قالت العرب فلان أَبْـيَضُ وفلانة بَـيْضاء فالـمعنى نَقاء العِرْض من الدنَس والعيوب... لا يريدون به بَـياضَ اللون ولكنهم يريدون الـمدح بالكرم ونَقاءِ العِرْض من العيوب، وإِذا قالوا: فلان أَبْـيَض الوجه وفلانة بَـيْضاءُ الوجه أَرادوا نقاءَ اللون من الكَلَفِ والسوادِ الشائن
“When the Arabs said that a man or a woman was white, they meant that the person had a faultless honor…they didn’t mean white skin. What they meant by this was to praise the person for his/her generosity and faultless honor. When they said that a man or woman had a white face, they meant that the person had a complexion free of blemishes and free of an unattractive blackness.”
Shams El-Din Mohamed ibn Ahmed ibn Othman El-Dhahabi (died 1374 A.D.) said:
العرب إذا قالتّ: فلان أبيض فإنهم يريدون الحنطي أللون بحلية سوداء
“When the Arabs said that a person was white, they meant that he/she had a black complexion with a wheat-colored undertone.”
So, as you can see, when the Arabs described each other’s complexion as “white”, they actually meant a dark complexion; a nice, dark, even complexion with a wheat-colored undertone.
This description that the Arabs of the past gave of a pure Arab should help give people today a better understanding of the meanings of the terms used to describe the prophet Mohamed (pbuh). It’s time for people to stop hiding the truth about the appearance of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh), his family, and his people. As I said, Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) was described as jet-black skinned. Ali’s father was the prophet’s uncle (his father’s brother). In my book, The Unknown Arabs, I mention many other noble, pure-blooded Arabs who were described as jet-black skinned. Many of the noble, pure-blooded, jet-black-skinned Arabs that I mention were from the prophet Mohamed’s (pbuh) tribe.
There are some who try to avoid this topic by saying Allah’s words
O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made `you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware. (Hujaraat-verse 13)
I ask all who try to use this verse as an excuse for concealing Allah’s words and the prophet Mohamed’s (pbuh) words what this verse has to do with what I am talking about here. How could giving a correct description of the prophets and certain peoples possibly be construed as being racist? Allah described the color of the mud that Adam was created from. The prophet Mohamed (pbuh) described the color of Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus). The companions of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) described the color of people. When did it become a forbidden or taboo subject? Who made this subject taboo in Islam? Does one really believe that this verse means that we are supposed to conceal truths that Allah made clear in His book? Does this verse mean that we are supposed to conceal the fact that Allah said that He created our father Adam from black mud? Does this verse mean that we are supposed to conceal the fact that the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) said that Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) were black-skinned? One should be careful of using Allah’s verses to justify one’s sins. In fact, by avoiding this topic, one is going against what the verse says that we are supposed to do. Allah says that He created us nations and tribes لِتَعَارَفُوا “that ye may know one another”. If we don’t know what our father Adam looked like, what the Arabs looked like, what the Hebrews looked like, who is a descendant of Japheth, who is a Hebrew, who is a European, we are not doing what Allah says that we are supposed to do. Allah says that He made us nations and tribes لِتَعَارَفُوا “that ye may know one another”. The scholars say that this means so that we can know who is the son of whom and who is from whom. Am I asking any more than this?
People have to stop hiding the truth about the appearance of our father Adam, the appearance of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh), and the appearance of the other prophets that I mentioned in this book. People must also correct the widespread wrong idea about the appearance of the original pure Arabs. It’s not enough to simply say that what I am saying is true and leave it at that. We must take serious steps to correct this misconception. We must start a campaign to correct this misunderstanding by using various means such as the media, the educational systems, books, movies, TV programs, etc. We must not stop this campaign until the true appearance of the prophets that I mentioned in this book, the true appearance of the Arabs, and the true appearance of the Hebrews become common knowledge. It’s time for true lovers of the truth to show their unconditional love for the truth by taking steps to make the truth known and by continuing to take steps until the truth is once again known to the general public. We must fix things and reveal the truth as Allah commanded us to do in verse 160 of surat El-Baqara.
Except such of them as repent and amend and make manifest (the truth). These it is toward whom I relent. I am the Relenting, the Merciful. [Baqara-verse 160].
We must do as the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) commanded us to do and tell the truth even if the truth is bitter and we must not fear the blame of those who blame. This is Islam, the religion of truth. Allah says:
Verily We created man of potter's clay of black mud altered. And the jinn did We create aforetime of essential fire.
And (remember) when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am creating a mortal out of potter's clay of black mud altered. So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him.
So the angels fell prostrate, all of them together. Save Iblis. He refused to be among the prostrate. He said: O Iblis! What aileth thee that thou art not among the prostrate?He said: Why should I prostrate myself unto a mortal whom Thou hast created out of potter's clay of black mud altered?He said: Then go thou forth from hence, for verily thou art outcast.And lo! the curse shall be upon thee till the Day of Judgment.He said: My Lord! Reprieve me till the day when they are raised.He said: Then lo! Thou art of those reprieved; Till an appointed time.He said: My Lord, Because Thou has sent me astray, I verily shall adorn the path of error for them in the earth, and shall mislead them every one. Save such of them as are Thy perfectly devoted slaves. [El Hijr-verses 26-40]
Marmeduke Pickthal translation of the Quran
Allah says that verily He created Adam from clay made of black mud and that before the creation of Adam, He created the jinn from fire of a scorching wind. Allah told the angels that He was going to create man from clay made of black mud.He told the angels that after He fashioned Adam and breathed into him from His spirit that they had to bow down to Adam.All of the angels bowed down to Adam.However, Iblis refused to bow.Allah asked Iblis why he refused to bow.Iblis said that he would not bow down to a man that He (Allah) created from clay made of black mud.Allah then expelled Iblis from Paradise and cursed him.Iblis asked Allah to grant him respite until the Day of Resurrection and Allah granted him respite.Iblis then said that he would lead Adam’s descendants astray; all of them except Allah’s sincere servants.
It is a known fact that the Arabic word for black mud is hama.Also, the scholars say the following about the word hama in their tafsirs (explanation) of the Quran:
·Explaining hama in the verses above, El Quortobi says in his tafsir of the Quran:
“Hama is black mud.”والحمأ: الطين الأسود
·Explaining hama in the verses above, Jalal Eddine Mohamed Ahmed El-Mahalli and Jalal Eddine Abdel Rahman El-Sayouti say in their tafsir of the Quran called Tafsir El-Jalaalain:
“Hama is black mud.” (من حمأ) طين أسود
·Explaining hama in the verses above, El Tabari says in his tafsir of the Quran:
“As for His words ‘from hama masnoun’, hamais the plural of ham_a which is mud that has been altered to the color black.”
وأما قوله "من حمإ مسنون" فإن الحمأ : جمع حمأة ، وهو الطين المتغير إلى السواد
·Explaining hamain the verses above, Mohamed ibn Ali El-Shawkaani says in his tafsir of the Quran called Fath El Qadir:
“Hama is black mud; either black mud that has been altered or black mud that hasn’t been altered.
والحمأ: الطين الأسود المتغير. أو الطين الأسود من غير تقييد بالمتغير
·Explaining hama in the verses above, El-Baidawi says in his tafsir:
“From hama” means from mud whichwas altered and is black.
" من حمإ"طين تغير واسود من طول محاورة الماء
·Explaining hama in the verse above, El-Baghawi says in his tafsir:
“From hama”and hama is black mud.
من حمإ"، والحمأ: الطين الأسود"
El-Baghawi also said:
“There are some hadith that say that Allah fermented the mud that
Adam was created from and let it sit until it became altered and
black and then He created Adam peace be upon him from it (the black, altered mud).”
وفي بعض الآثار: إن الله عز وجل خمر طينة آدم وتركه حتى صار متغيرا أسود، ثم خلق منه آدم عليه السلام
·Ibn al-Qayyim said:
“When the perfection, complete power, all-encompassing knowledge, ever-executed will and utmost wisdom of the Lord decreed that His creation should be of materials of different kinds, and that they should vary in their forms and attributes and natures, His wisdom decreed that He should take a handful of dust from the earth, then mix it with water. So it became like black stinking mud. Then the wind was sent upon it and it dried out, until it became clay like pottery. Then it was given shape and limbs and faculties, and each part of it was given a shape suited to its purpose.”(Tabaayun fi Aqsaam al-Quran, p. 204)
·Expaining hama, which is also found in verse 86 of surat El-Kahf,Ibn Kathir says in his tafsir:
Hamia is a lot of ham_a and ham_a means black mud.
" حمئة " أي كثيرة الحمأة وهي الطينة السوداء
How many people truly understand these verses of the Holy Quran?How many people, both Islamic scholars and laypeople, reflect on these verses and try to understand and explain what Allah is saying in them?How many people give these verses the importance that they deserve?I always ask myself why these verses aren’t given the importance that they deserve when it is these very verses that show the origin of the battle between evil and good.Allah revealed the Quran to be studied and understood.Allah says,
(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect. (Sad-verse 29)
Why are people ignoring what Allah is saying in these verses about the creation of our father Adam?When Allah says that He created our father Adam from black mud, He says this for mankind to know.There are no words in the Quran that are unimportant or not worth explaining.The Quran is the speech of Allah and the best speech is the speech of Allah.
Those who claim that there are more important things that should be discussed before talking about the color of Adam and the description of the prophets must show where Allah says that some of His words are more important than others.They must also show where Allah says that what He said about the color of the mud that He created our father Adam from is not important.Those who make such a claim must also show where the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) said that the description that he gave of Musa’s (Moses’) and Isa’s (Jesus’) color is not important.If we say that it’s alright to disregard this part of the Quran and the Sunna, what’s to stop people from ignoring and calling insignificant other parts of the Quran and the Sunna?People cannot simply dismiss as unimportant any part of the Quran or the Sunna that they, for whatever reason, do not feel comfortable with.People cannot take it upon themselves to decide what in the religion is important and what isn’t important.Instead we must accept the religion in its entirety and say that it is all from our Lord.How can anyone consider information that might prevent people from imitating Satan and committing blasphemy unimportant?Certainly if a person understands that Allah created our father Adam black-skinned and he/she still looks down on that color and thinks that another color is better, he/she is imitating Satan and is committing blasphemy and all sorts of sins.It is important that people understand this fact.
If people gave more emphasis to these verses and understood what Allah is saying, there would probably be no racial prejudice and discrimination in the world today.There would probably be fewer conflicts in the world today, too.Allah says that He created Adam, the father of all mankind, from black mud.Is it possible for anyone who believes in Allah and understands the sublimity of Allah to dare look down on a physical attribute that Allah put in the father of mankind, whom He created with His own two hands and honored above all of His creation?He (Allah) honored our father Adam so much that He commanded the angels to bow down to Adam.Can a person who truly believes in Allah find fault in the appearance of he whom Allah created with His own two hands?Doing so is blasphemy and a great insult to Allah.
Can a person who truly believes in Allah, loves Him, and exalts Him as He is supposed to be exalted sit back and allow this to happen?
مَّا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّه وَقَارًا ِ
What aileth you that ye hope not toward Allah for dignity?[Nuh-verse 13]
Anyone who looks down on the color that Allah chose for he whom He created with His own two hands is imitating Iblis and is being led astray by him.When Allah ordered Iblis to bow down to Adam, Iblis said:
He said: Why should I prostrate myself unto a mortal whom Thou hast created out of potter's clay of black mud altered? [Hijr-verse 33].
To understand the true root of today’s racial prejudice, it’s important that we take a close look at what took place when our father Adam was created.When Allah wanted to create our father Adam, He ordered the angel to take from Earth different colors of soil; black soil and soil of other colors.Allah then mixed this soil with water and let it sit until it became black mud.He (Allah) then gave shape to our father Adam from this black mud. Allah let the body of our father Adam, which was fashioned from black mud, sit for years.During this time, Iblis would continuously pass by our father Adam’s body, which was created and shaped from black mud, and out of jealousy he (Iblis) would strike our father Adam’s body.Allah then breathed into our father Adam from His spirit and named him Adam, which means black-skinned.Some scholars say that Allah named Adam Adam because of the black complexion that He gave him.Others say that He named him Adam because he was created from adeem (the surface of) the earth.Allah then commanded the angels to bow down to our father Adam.All of the angels bowed down to Adam.However, Iblis, who was a jinn, refused to bow.When Allah asked Iblis why he refused to bow, he said
Why should I prostrate myself unto a mortal whom Thou hast created out of potter's clay of black mud altered? [Hijr-verse 33].
This was the beginning of racial prejudice.It all started when Iblis refused to bow down to our father Adam because he was created from black mud. When trying to belittle our father Adam, Iblis mentioned Adam’s dark color just like today Iblis leads some of Adam’s descendants to that same path by teaching them to look down on the dark complexion of Adam’s descendants.
One would think that man would be very careful to avoid committing this exact same original sin that Iblis committed, but unfortunately Iblis has convinced many of the children of Adam to commit the same sin that he committed.This is Iblis’ mission; to lead as many of the children of Adam to Hell as he can.When Allah cursed him and granted him respite until the Day of Resurrection, Iblis said
“Because Thou has sent me astray, I verily shall adorn the path of error for them in the earth, and shall mislead them every one. Save such of them as are Thy perfectly devoted slaves.”
How many people are aware of the fact that our father Adam was created black-skinned?Why are people silent concerning this subject?Is there some secret plan to keep this information hidden?Is there a conspiracy of silence concerning these verses of the Quran?Allah says,
Those who hide the proofs and the guidance which We revealed, after We had made it clear in the Scripture: such are accursed of Allah and accursed of those who have the power to curse.[Baqara-verse 159]
These verses were revealed because the Jews used to conceal the description of the prophet Mohamed [pbuh] given in the Torah.Allah says that he who does such a thing is cursed.This shows the importance of announcing to people what Allah says in His Book.Allah says that He created our father Adam from black mud, so we are supposed to announce this and explain it to people and describe Adam the way that Allah described him and not conceal this description of him.Otherwise, we will be cursed as Allah said in the above-mentioned verse.We will be cursed unless we repent and fix things and announce what we were concealing.Allah says,
Except such of them as repent and amend and make manifest (the truth). These it is toward whom I relent. I am the Relenting, the Merciful. [Baqara-verse 160].
The way that we can amend and fix things is by ceasing to conceal Allah’s verses and by making the words of Allah known to all. So we must say what Allah said about the creation of Adam. He said that He created Adam from black mud, so we must say the same. We must start a campaign to spread these words of Allah that have been kept from the masses.What’s preventing us from announcing the words of Allah?Do we like certain parts of the Quran and dislike certain parts?!Do we consider certain parts of the Quran unimportant?!Allah says,
Believe ye in part of the Scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof? And what is the reward of those who do so save ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom. For Allah is not unaware of what ye do. [Baqara-verse 85]
It is especially necessary that we announce what Allah said about our father Adam and not conceal it because most people have the wrong idea about the appearance of Adam and also because many people have a negative opinion about the color that Allah created our father Adam and by having such an opinion, they are committing a grave sin.By believing, whether secretly or openly, that another color is better than the color that Allah created our father Adam, a person is committing a serious sin and is questioning and doubting several of Allah’s attributes.Doubting Allah’s attributes is disbelief.Allah, the best of creators; He who perfects all that He creates, created our father Adam black-skinned.Whoever believes that another color is better than the color that Allah chose for Adam, whom He created in His image with His own two hands, is not a believer.Having such a belief is purely satanic and is only a continuation of the hatred that Iblis felt toward our father Adam when he would continually kick his body after Allah shaped it from black mud.Having such a belief is only a continuation of the false pride that Iblis started when he refused to bow down to our father Adam.
Allah is the best of all creators.He perfects all that He creates.He fashioned man and perfected his form.Allah says,
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَن تَقْوِيم
ٍ
We have indeed created man in the best of moulds. [Tin-verse 4]
Iblis saw the color of our father Adam when he refused to bow down to him as Allah commanded him to do.He compared himself to our father Adam and out of false pride, ignorantly declared to Allah that he was better than Adam.When Allah cursed him and expelled him from Paradise, Iblis swore that he would mislead Adam’s descendants.Do you see how Iblis has misled some of our father Adam’s descendants by convincing them to have distaste for the color that Allah created their father Adam with His own two hands?Do you see how Iblis plays with the descendants of Adam and convinces them to do things that anger Allah and lead them to Hell with him (Iblis)?
We must avoid committing the same sin that Iblis committed when he compared himself to our father Adam after seeing that he (Adam) was created from black mud, and as a result of his false pride he (Iblis) decided that he was better than our father Adam.Iblis judged by comparing and decided that he was better than our father Adam.Iblis was the first to compare and judge.He was the first to discriminate and he has been enticing his followers to practice this discrimination since the time he compared himself to our father Adam and discriminated against him because of his color and origin (from black mud).
Scientists are just discovering that the pigment given to all humans is black.Scientists call this pigment melanin.Anyone who is not black-skinned is lacking some of this melanin.If a person has no melanin, he/she is an albino.Scientists are just learning that Allah gave man this melanin to protect him from the sun.It appears that Allah mentioned, in verse 90 of suratEl-Kahf, this fact about melanin that scientists are just discovering.Allah says:
Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun. [Surat El-Kahf-verse 90]
Said ibn Jubair, the well-known scholar who lived during the time of the companions of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh), says (in his explanation of the verse) that the people whom Allah said He provided no covering protection from the sun were white-skinned.Some of Said ibn Jubair’s teachers were companions of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) such as Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Zubeir.Said ibn Jubair’s explanation of the verse is consistent with what scientists say about melanin.Instead of saying white-skinned, Allah said a people for whom we had provided no covering protection against the sun, which is the same as saying white-skinned because a person that Allah didn’t provide protective covering from the sun (melanin) is white-skinned. Scientists have just discovered that a person who is white-skinned lacks melanin and has no protection from the sun and hence, is more likely to suffer from skin cancer and other health problems as a result of exposure to the sun.Do you see how this one part of a verse of the Quran explains something that it has taken scientists so long to discover? This shows the wealth of knowledge found in the Quran.If only people would read it and contemplate its meanings.Allah’s knowledge and wisdom are infinite.
How can man, who is unable to create even a fly, dare insult Allah by feeling that another color is better than the color Allah chose for he whom He fashioned and created in His image with His own two hands?!
Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from mud. [Sajda-verse 7]
It’s time for us to show our love for Allah and our hatred toward Iblis by putting an end to this blasphemy.We must not let it continue.It is our Islamic duty to put an end to it.We must not help our enemy Iblis by remaining silent concerning this issue.This is what Iblis and his helpers want us to do.
We must stop this avoiding certain verses of the Quran and concealing the descriptions of Allah’s prophets.If Allah didn’t want us to know the color of the mud that He created our father Adam from, He wouldn’t have mentioned it.
There is much debate today about the appearance of our father Adam. Scientists, geneticists, anthropologists, etc are spending much time, money, and other resources to discover the color of our father Adam.Muslims have the clear answer to this question, but unfortunately they are withholding this information.Instead of announcing to scientists, geneticists, anthropologists, etc what Allah said about the creation of Adam, Muslims are remaining silent and concealing Allah’s words.Muslims were commanded to spread Allah’s words, not to withhold them or keep them secret.
By analyzing genetic changes in the Y-chromosome of people in all regions of the world, geneticist Spencer Wells has recently discovered that the ancestor of all humans was a black-skinned man.Why aren’t Muslims announcing to the world that the Quran confirms what Wells and other scientists have recently discovered?
