{"_id":"668da03a0b76658b4c233188","title":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"Is it sinful to mock or reject a person based on their skin color?\"}]}","question":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"It's very common in the desi community to reject a girl or boy based on their color and mock them. Also, parents and relatives criticize a child's dark skin tone and compare it to a buffalo or a crow. Is this sinful? And, is there any punishment for this?\\n\"}]}","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"Judging, mocking, or mistreating others based on their skin color is an abhorrent sin on three levels. It's an affront to Allah (swt), others, and your own self.\\n\\nAllah tells us in the Qurʾān:\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"“O Mankind! Most certainly, it is We (God almighty) who have created you all from a single (pair) Of a male and a female, And it is we who have made you into nations and tribes, that you may recognize each other. Verily, the noblest of you In the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most Righteous of you.” [\"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"https://quran.com/en/al-hujurat/13\",\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"49:13\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"] \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\nThis verse was revealed when Thābit bin Qays made a bigoted remark about a man who came to the gathering, could not find a place to sit, and no one made space for him. The Prophet (ﷺ) told Thābit to look at the people’s faces and tell him what he saw. Thābit said, “I see white, black, and red faces.” The prophet (ﷺ) said to him, “\"},{\"attributes\":{\"italic\":true},\"insert\":\"Do not prefer any of them over the others except by their taqwa.\"},{\"insert\":\"” In this verse Allah (swt) tells us that it is He who has made us into different nations and tribes, each with their own physical characteristics. We did not choose which tribe/nation we are born into, it’s Allah’s decree, and as believers, we have to be content with Allah’s decree; we cannot object to it. Also, in this verse Allah (swt) reveals to us that the divine wisdom behind our differences is so that we recognize each other. Imām al-Ṭabarī says in his tafsīr, “So that each one of you knows the other in terms of how close or how far the relationship is between you, as for your nearness to Allah, it is not because of any natural quality in you, it is based on your taqwa.”\\n\\nSo, our diversity is not a basis for superiority, it’s for us to appreciate the beauty of Allah’s creation, as Allah tells us in another verse: \\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"\\\"And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations In your languages And your colors; verily in that are signs for those who know.\\\" [\"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"https://quran.com/en/ar-rum/22\",\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"30:22\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"]\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\nIn this verse Allah tells us that just like the heavens and the earth, our diverse skin colors and languages are among His signs. Allah directs our attention to His signs so that we may contemplate over them and appreciate Allah’s divine power and wisdom, which is how we grow our spiritual relationship with Allah (swt) and edge ever nearer to Him. With this in mind, imagine how egregious it would be on our part to view the skin color of another human being with disgust and disdain when Allah has told us that it’s a sign of His creation. Our physical features are the perfect design of Allah as He tells us: \\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"\\\"It is Allah who made the earth a place of settlement for you and the sky a canopy. He shaped you, perfected your image, and provided you with good things. Such is Allah, your Lord, so glory be to Him, Lord of the universe.\\\" [\"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"https://quran.com/en/ghafir/64\",\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"40:64\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"]\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\nIn the above verse, Allah said that He gave us our image and He perfected it. Allah did not make exceptions here. He did not say, “I perfected the image of light skinned people only.” When we consider light skin to be beautiful and dark skin to be ugly, aren't we saying to Allah, “No, you only perfected the image of light skinned people?” aren't we challenging the truth of Allah’s statement here? Who are we to differ with the Creator and Sustainer?\\n\\nAllah also commands us not to call one another offensive name:\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\" \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"\\\"Believers, let not some men among you ridicule others: it may be that the latter are better than the former: nor should some women laugh at others: it may be that the latter are better than the former: do not defame or be sarcastic to each other, or call each other by [offensive] nicknames. How bad it is to earn an evil reputation after accepting the faith! Those who do not repent are evil-doers.\\\" [\"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"https://quran.com/en/al-hujurat/11\",\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"49:11\"},{\"attributes\":{\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"]\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\nWhen we come to sayings of our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) we find several traditions all reiterating the message in the Qurʾān, for example:\\n“\"},{\"attributes\":{\"italic\":true},\"insert\":\"O People! Certainly your Lord is one, your father is one. An Arab has no virtue over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have virtue over an Arab. A red skinned person is not more virtuous than a dark skinned person nor is a dark skinned person more virtuous than a red skinned person except through Taqwa.\"},{\"insert\":\"” [Aḥmad 23489]\"},{\"attributes\":{\"list\":\"bullet\"},\"insert\":\"\\n\"},{\"insert\":\"“\"},{\"attributes\":{\"italic\":true},\"insert\":\"Verily, You are not better than a red skinned or black skinned person, but rather only by virtue of Taqwa.\"},{\"insert\":\"”\"},{\"attributes\":{\"list\":\"bullet\"},\"insert\":\"\\n\"},{\"insert\":\"“\"},{\"attributes\":{\"italic\":true},\"insert\":\"Verily, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions\"},{\"insert\":\".” [\"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"https://sunnah.com/muslim:2564c\"},\"insert\":\"Muslim\"},{\"insert\":\"]\"},{\"attributes\":{\"list\":\"bullet\"},\"insert\":\"\\n\"},{\"insert\":\"\\nThere is also the famous incident involving Bilāl (RA), as narrated in Bukhārī, when in a gathering of companions he happened to be the only dark-skinned one there and when Abū Dharr said something which Bilāl corrected, Abū Dharr got upset and said, “Even you, O son of a black woman, try to correct me?” Bilāl got up and said that he will report this to the Prophet(ﷺ). After being informed, the Prophet (ﷺ) became very angry. Later when Abū Dharr rushed to greet the Prophet (ﷺ), Abū Dharr said he was not even sure that the Prophet (ﷺ) returned his greeting because of how angry he was. He said to Abū Dharr, “\"},{\"attributes\":{\"italic\":true},\"insert\":\"Have you ridiculed him on account of his mother? Indeed you are a man in whom there remain traits of jahiliyya (pre-islamic ignorance).\"},{\"insert\":\"” Abū Dharr asked the Prophet (ﷺ) to ask Allah to forgive him and left the masjid crying. When he saw Bilāl, he put his head on the ground and said to Bilāl, “I will not move from my position until you put your foot on my head. You are the honorable and I am the disgraced.” Bilāl wept and kissed the cheek of Abū Dharr and said, “A face that has prostrated to Allah is not to be stepped on, rather it’s to be kissed.”\\n\\nGiven the verses and narrations mentioned, it should be clear just how [islamically] backwards, sinful, and harmful to oneself and others to judge based on skin color or any other physical feature. Notice in the Bilāl incident how the Prophet (ﷺ) pointed out to Abu Dharr that the act of judging others based on skin color has no place in Islam. The Prophet (ﷺ)’s rebuke of Abū Dharr was extremely powerful because he essentially told him that he is completely one of us yet since he’s still holding on to pre-islamic values. This incident with Abū Dharr occurred in the first few years after Islam, so what would the Prophet (ﷺ) say to Muslims today who, after 1400 years of Islam, are still holding on to pre-islamic values? If he was that angry and disappointed with Abū Dharr at that time, we can only imagine how upset and disappointed he is with us today.\\n\\nFinally, holding on to these pre-islamic values is also detrimental to our own health, psychologically and emotionally. It affects the way we see ourselves, promotes self-hatred and reverence and admiration of people with light skin and contempt and condemnation of those with dark skin, regardless of their character. It drives us into buying harmful products promising to make our skin lighter and guides the decisions we make in life about whom we interact with, befriend, or marry. All of these actions are foreign to Islam but they have, unfortunately, found their way back into the Muslim psyche as a result of colonization and the consistent exposure to negative messaging and stereotypes. May Allah cleanse our hearts and guide us back to the straight path.\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668d9ff70b76658b4c232a7b","tag":"Worship: Sins","count":100},{"_id":"668d9fdf0b76658b4c2327a6","tag":"Marriage: Pre-Marriage","count":68},{"_id":"668d9fe20b76658b4c23280c","tag":"Relationships: Extended Family","count":47},{"_id":"668da02f0b76658b4c233064","tag":"Racism","count":3}],"createdOn":"2024-07-09T20:40:26.334Z"}