Race and Tribe in Islam

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.

God had chosen [istafa; lit. "taken 'the best' from"^[1]] Adam and Noah and the families of Abraham and 'Imran in preference to others. They were descendants of one another; and God hears all and knows everything.

The Arabs of the desert [al-a'araab^[2]; the Bedouins] are the worst in Unbelief and hypocrisy, and most fitted to be in ignorance of the command which Allah hath sent down to His Messenger: But Allah is All-knowing, All-Wise.

The desert Arabs [al-a'raab^[3]; the Bedouins] say, "We believe." Say, "Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,' For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Remember, O children of Israel, the favours I bestowed on you, and made you exalted among the nations of the world.

And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."

Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from Allah? those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!"

We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of messengers; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you a messenger with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay! They say, "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve Allah's Word: we need no more)." Nay, Allah's curse is on them for their blasphemy [kufrihim; lit. "their unbelief"]: Little is it they believe. And when there comes to them a Book from Allah, confirming what is with them,- although from of old they had prayed for victory against those without Faith,- when there comes to them that which they (should) have recognised, they refuse to believe in it but the curse of Allah is on those without Faith. Miserable is the price for which they have sold their souls, in that they deny (the revelation) which Allah has sent down, in insolent envy that Allah of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases: Thus have they drawn on themselves Wrath upon Wrath. And humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith. When it is said to them, "Believe in what Allah Hath sent down, "they say, "We believe in what was sent down to us:" yet they reject all besides, even if it be Truth confirming what is with them. Say: "Why then have ye slain the prophets of Allah in times gone by, if ye did indeed believe?"

When they dishonoured their pledge We condemned them, and hardened their hearts. So they distort the words of the Scripture out of context, and have forgotten some of what they were warned against. You will always hear of treachery on their part except that of a few. But forbear and forgive them, for God loves those who do good.

O Messenger! let not those grieve thee, who race each other into unbelief: (whether it be) among those who say "We believe" with their lips but whose hearts have no faith; or it be among the Jews,- men who will listen to any lie,- will listen even to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their (right) times and places: they say, "If ye are given this, take it, but if not, beware!" If any one's trial is intended by Allah, thou hast no authority in the least for him against Allah. For such - it is not Allah's will to purify their hearts. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter a heavy punishment. (They are fond of) listening to falsehood, of devouring anything forbidden [trans. Ahmad Ali: "Eavesdropping for telling lies, earning through unlawful means!"]. If they do come to thee, either judge between them, or decline to interfere. If thou decline, they cannot hurt thee in the least. If thou judge, judge in equity between them. For Allah loveth those who judge in equity.

The Jews say: "Allah's hand is tied up." Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy) they utter. Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched: He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty) as He pleaseth. But the revelation that cometh to thee from Allah increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. Amongst them we have placed enmity and hatred till the Day of Judgment. Every time they kindle the fire of war, Allah doth extinguish it; but they (ever) strive to do mischief on earth. And Allah loveth not those who do mischief.

We announced to the children of Israel in the Book: "You will surely create disorder twice in the land, and become exceedingly arrogant."

Say: "O you Jews, if you claim that you are the favourites of God apart from all men, then wish for death, if you speak the truth.

Abu Nadrah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said in the final days of the pilgimrage: "O people, your Lord is one and your father Adam is one. There is no favor of an Arab over a foreigner, nor a foreigner over an Arab, and neither white skin over black skin, nor black skin over white skin, except by righteousness. Have I not delivered the message?"

Narrated Abu Hurairah: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Leadership is among the Quraish, and reasoning and judgment is among the Ansar, and the Adhan is among the Ethiopians, and the trust is among the Al-Azd." meaning Yemen.

Narrated Wathilah bin Al-Asqa': that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Indeed Allah has chosen [istafa; lit. "taken 'the best' from"^[4]] Isma'il from the children of Ibrahim, and He chose Banu Kinanah from the children of Isma'il, and He chose the Quraish from Banu Kinanah, and He chose Banu Hashim from Quraish, and He chose me from Banu Hashim."

The Jurists have stated that among Arabs, a non-Quraishi male is not a match (Kuf) for a Quraishi woman, nor can any person of non-Arab descent be a match for a woman of Arab descent. For example, the Sayyids, whether Siddique or Farooque, Uthmaani or Alawi, or belonging to some other branch can never be matched by any person not sharing their lineage, no matter his profession and family status. The Sayyids are suitable matches for one another, since they share descent from the Quraishi tribe. Thus, marriages between themselves are correct and permitted without any condition as appearing in Durrul Mukhtar:

“And Kafaah in lineage. Thus the Quraysh are suitable matches for one another as are the (other) Arabs suitable matches for one another.”

The ruling relevant to non-Arabs is as follows: ‘An Ajmi (non-Arab) cannot be a match for a woman of Arab descent, no matter that he be an Aalim (religious scholar) or even a Sultan (ruling authority)‘. (Raddul Muhtar p.209 v.4)

It should be remarked here that all non-Arabs are considered a suitable match to each other (and for Arabs without a known and established lineage to one of the original Arab tribes, which is rare, as mentioned by Ibn Abidin) from a fiqhi ["jurisprudential" or "legal"] aspect. It could be so that a boy/girl from a different background altogether is a suitable match, rather than your cousin brother or sister. Students of sacred knowledge have a lot in common and it would be advisable to marry a fellow student from a different caste rather than your first cousin who doesn’t even have a clue what you are studying.

In the answer to question no. 115934, we noted that Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah are unanimously agreed that the Arabs are superior to others in terms of descent and lineage, and that regarding the Arabs as superior is in general terms, and does not apply at the individual level. So a non-Arab who is pious and righteous is better than an Arab who falls short in his duties to Allah, may He be exalted.

It is from that which is decided from the sunnah of the prophet that Arabism [urubah; ‎lit. “the quality of being ‎Arabian”^[6] is superior over other races. This is because ‎Allah chose Muhammad from the Arabs and made the Quran – which is the eternal ‎message – Arabic. And the Sunnis [lit. “people of the Sunnah”] have agreed upon the ‎superiority of the Arabism over other races and lineages.‎

The superiority of Arabism is a superiority of class [jins] and not individual, for the ‎devout and pious non-Arab is better than the Arab who is negligent about the truth of ‎Allah. Also, the superiority of Arabism is choice from Allah almighty. It is possible that its ‎wisdom is apparent to us, and it is possible that its wisdom is not apparent to us – except ‎that there‏ ‏are in the Arab those attributes and faults that indicate the face of this ‎preference. […]‎

He [Ibn Taymiyyah], Allah have mercy upon him, said: “That which the Sunnis believe is ‎that the Arab race is superior to the non-Arab race: their Hebrews, Syriacs, Romans, ‎Persians, and others.‎

‎“The Quraysh are the most of superior of the Arabs, the Bani Hashim are the most ‎superior of the Quraysh, and the messenger of Allah is the most superior of the Bani ‎Hashim, for he is the most superior creation as an individual and the most superior ‎among them in lineage.‎

‎“Also, the superiority of the Arab, then the Quraysh, and then the Bani Hashim is not ‎merely due to the existence of the prophet among them – even if this is part of their ‎superiority. Rather, they are superior in and of themselves. Thus, the messenger of Allah ‎is proven to be superior in person and lineage, otherwise circularity is necessitated. […]‎

‎“This is why it has come in a hadith: ‘Love of the Arab is faith [iman], and hatred for ‎them is hypocrisy’. […]‎

‎“And know that the hadiths regarding the superiority of the Quraysh and then the ‎superiority of Bani Hashim are many - this is not the place for listing them - and they ‎indicate this matter as well, for the Quraysh are to the Arabs as the Arabs are to ‎humankind. And this is how the Sharia came. […]‎

‎“The reason for this superiority – and Allah knows best – is what they have been favored ‎with in their intellects, tongues, morals, and deeds, and that is because superiority is ‎either by beneficial knowledge or righteous deeds. Also, knowledge has a basis, and that ‎is the strength of the intellect – that is in memorization and understanding; perfection ‎also, and that is in the power of logic – that is in explanation and expression. And the ‎Arabs are better at understanding than others, better preserved, and more capable of ‎explanation and expression. And their tongue is the most perfect of tongues in ‎explanation, at differentiating different and similar meanings, and combines many ‎meanings in a few words.‎

‎“And as for deed, this is based on morals, which are based on natural instincts in the ‎soul. And their instincts are more obedient to the good than those of others, for they are ‎closest to generosity, gentleness, courage, loyalty, and other such praiseworthy moral ‎traits.” End.‎

‎Iqtida Sirat al-Mustaqim p. 148-162‎