Prophet Muhammad's Model for Combatting Racism

 The deteriorating state of relations between various ethnic and religious groups is a cause for concern, with Muslims being pitted against non-Muslims, and racial divisions evident between black and brown individuals versus white ones. Remarkably, around 1,400 years prior to the Civil Rights movement in the United States and the anti-apartheid campaign in South Africa, Prophet Muhammad confronted issues of xenophobia and prejudice within the Arabian context. In this brief piece, I aim to underscore how the Prophet actively combated the practice of judging individuals and communities solely based on their skin color and lineage.

Prophet Muhammad's stance against racism is exemplified by his close friendship with Bilal ibn Rabah, a black slave who ascended to a prominent position within the 7th-century Muslim community in Arabia. An illustrative incident portrays Muhammad's defense of Bilal when Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari, one of the Prophet's companions, made a derogatory remark by referring to Bilal as "the son of a black woman." Perturbed by this emphasis on identifying people by their skin color, Muhammad rebuked Abu Dharr, admonishing him for retaining traces of ignorance.

The Prophet's reference to Abu Dharr's ignorance alludes to the "pre-Islamic" era of jahiliyyah, signifying a state of ignorance devoid of Divine guidance. This period in Arabian history before Muhammad's mission was characterized by lawlessness and savagery, as delineated in the Quran. The anti-racist mindset of the Prophet played a pivotal role in leading the Arabs out of this darkness and guiding them towards justice and equality.

Bilal, who was respectfully referred to as "master" by fellow Muslims due to his wisdom and dignity, was appointed as the muezzin, responsible for calling Muslims to their daily prayers. By selecting Bilal for this honorable duty, Muhammad unequivocally demonstrated that social exclusion and subjugation based on skin color had no place in an Islamic society.

Before the advent of Muhammad's message, Arabs took immense pride in their tribal and ethnic identities, to the extent that tribes and ethnic groups became the defining criteria in society. The teachings of the Prophet upended these conventions, emphasizing piety as the true measure of respect. In his confrontation with Abu Dharr, Muhammad underscored his readiness to reprimand even close companions who denigrated others based on ethnicity. The Prophet regarded this form of "tribalism" or al-asabiyyah in Arabic as a malignant force, as it compelled individuals to prioritize ethnic loyalties even if it meant supporting oppression and injustice.

Arguably, the most notable manifestation of the Prophet's anti-racism can be found in his Last Sermon at Mount Arafat in 632 AD.