Race and Tribe in Islam: Difference between revisions

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I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Verily '''Allah granted eminence to Kinana from amongst the descendants of Isma'il, and he granted eminence to the Quraish amongst Kinana, and he granted eminence to Banu Hashim amonsgst the Quraish''', and he granted me eminence from the tribe of Banu Hashim.}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3605}}|Narrated Wathilah bin Al-Asqa': that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Indeed '''Allah has chosen [''istafa''; lit. "taken 'the best' from"<ref>[http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h619,ll=1750,ls=h5,la=h2468,sg=h604,ha=h412,br=h554,pr=h93,aan=h337,mgf=h517,vi=h225,kz=h1360,mr=h364,mn=h783,uqw=h934,umr=h614,ums=h516,umj=h459,ulq=h1085,uqa=h249,uqq=h195,bdw=h524,amr=h371,asb=h550,auh=h897,dhq=h318,mht=h517,msb=h138,tla=h65,amj=h450,ens=h893,mis=h1231 Lane's Lexicon اصطفاه]</ref>] 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." <br> Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3927}}|Narrated Salman: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: 'O Salman! Do not detest me and thereby leave your religion.' I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! How could I detest you while Allah guided us by you.' He said: ''''You will detest the Arabs and thereby detest me.''''" <br> Grade: Da'if (Darussalam)}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3928}}|Narrated 'Uthman bin 'Affan:
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Verily '''Allah granted eminence to Kinana from amongst the descendants of Isma'il, and he granted eminence to the Quraish amongst Kinana, and he granted eminence to Banu Hashim amonsgst the Quraish''', and he granted me eminence from the tribe of Banu Hashim.}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3605}}|Narrated Wathilah bin Al-Asqa': that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Indeed '''Allah has chosen [''istafa''; lit. "taken 'the best' from"<ref>[http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h619,ll=1750,ls=h5,la=h2468,sg=h604,ha=h412,br=h554,pr=h93,aan=h337,mgf=h517,vi=h225,kz=h1360,mr=h364,mn=h783,uqw=h934,umr=h614,ums=h516,umj=h459,ulq=h1085,uqa=h249,uqq=h195,bdw=h524,amr=h371,asb=h550,auh=h897,dhq=h318,mht=h517,msb=h138,tla=h65,amj=h450,ens=h893,mis=h1231 Lane's Lexicon اصطفاه]</ref>] 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." <br> Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3927}}|Narrated Salman: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: 'O Salman! Do not detest me and thereby leave your religion.' I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! How could I detest you while Allah guided us by you.' He said: ''''You will detest the Arabs and thereby detest me.''''" <br> Grade: Da'if (Darussalam)}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3928}}|Narrated 'Uthman bin 'Affan:


that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: '''"Whoever cheats the Arabs, he will not be included in my intercession, and my love shall not reach him."'''  <br>Grade: Da'if (Darussalam)}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3905}}|Narrated Sa'd: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: '''"Whoever wishes to humiliate the Quraish then Allah will humiliate him."''' <br>Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)}}{{Quote|{{Muwatta|45||17}}|Yahya related to me from Malik from Ismail ibn Abi Hakim that he heard Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz say, "One of the last things that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said was, ''''May Allah fight the jews and the christians.''' They took the graves of their Prophets as places of prostration. '''Two deens shall not co-exist in the land of the Arabs.''''"}}
that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: '''"Whoever cheats the Arabs, he will not be included in my intercession, and my love shall not reach him."'''  <br>Grade: Da'if (Darussalam)}}{{Quote|{{Muwatta|45||17}}|Yahya related to me from Malik from Ismail ibn Abi Hakim that he heard Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz say, "One of the last things that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said was, ''''May Allah fight the jews and the christians.''' They took the graves of their Prophets as places of prostration. '''Two deens shall not co-exist in the land of the Arabs.''''"}}{{Quote|{{Tabari|9|p. 69}}|'''Arabs are the most noble people in lineage, the most prominent, and the best in deeds.''' We were the first to respond to the call of the Prophet. We are Allah’s helpers and the viziers of His Messenger. We fight people until they believe in Allah. He who believes in Allah and His Messenger has protected his life and possessions from us. As for one who disbelieves, we will fight him forever in Allah’s Cause. Killing him is a small matter to us.}}{{Quote|Ibn Sa'd, Vol. 1, p. 12| Ali Ibn Abi Talib, said: Verily the Prophet said: God divided the earth in two halves and placed (me) in the better of the two, then He divided the half in three parts, and I was in the best of them, then '''He chose the Arabs from among the people''', then He chose the Quraysh from among the Arabs, then He chose the children of ‘Abd al-Muttalib from among the Banu Hashim, then he chose me from among the children of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and from them he chose me.<ref>Ibn Sa'd, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad. Kitab al-Tabaqat, vol i. Translated in English by S. Moinul Haq, Kitab Bhavan, 1784, Kalan Mahal, Daraya Ganj, New Delhi, India, 1972, p12.</ref>}}{{Quote|Ibn Taymiyya, Vol. 31, pp. 376-377|"A man married a maid-slave who bore him a child. Would that child be free or would he be an owned slave?" "Her child whom she bore from him would be the property of her master according to all the Imams (heads of the four Islamic schools of law) because the child follows the (status) of his mother in freedom or slavery. If the child is not of the race of Arabs, then he is definitely an owned slave according to the scholars, but the scholars disputed (his status) among themselves if he was from the Arabs - whether he must be enslaved or not because '''when A'isha (Muhammad's wife) had a maid-slave who was an Arab, Muhammad said to A'isha, `Set this maid free because she is from the children of Ishmael.''''"}}
 
====Quraysh====
====Quraysh====
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|704}}|Narrated Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut`im: That while he was with a delegation from Quraish to Muawiya, the latter heard the news that `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As said that there would be a king from the tribe of Qahtan. On that Muawiya became angry, got up and then praised Allah as He deserved, and said, "Now then, I have heard that some men amongst you narrate things which are neither in the Holy Book, nor have been told by Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Those men are the ignorant amongst you. Beware of such hopes as make the people go astray, for I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, ''''Authority of ruling will remain with Quraish, and whoever bears hostility to them, Allah will destroy him''' as long as they abide by the laws of the religion.' "}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|705}}; see also {{muslim|20|4476}}|Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, '''"Authority of ruling will remain with Quraish, even if only two of them remained."'''}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4473}}|It has been narrarted on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:  
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|704}}|Narrated Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut`im: That while he was with a delegation from Quraish to Muawiya, the latter heard the news that `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As said that there would be a king from the tribe of Qahtan. On that Muawiya became angry, got up and then praised Allah as He deserved, and said, "Now then, I have heard that some men amongst you narrate things which are neither in the Holy Book, nor have been told by Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Those men are the ignorant amongst you. Beware of such hopes as make the people go astray, for I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, ''''Authority of ruling will remain with Quraish, and whoever bears hostility to them, Allah will destroy him''' as long as they abide by the laws of the religion.' "}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|705}}; see also {{muslim|20|4476}}|Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, '''"Authority of ruling will remain with Quraish, even if only two of them remained."'''}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4473}}|It has been narrarted on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:  
'''People are subservient to the Quraish''': the Muslims among them being subservient to the Muslims among them, and the disbelievers among the people being subservient to the disbelievers among them.}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4475}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:  
'''People are subservient to the Quraish''': the Muslims among them being subservient to the Muslims among them, and the disbelievers among the people being subservient to the disbelievers among them.}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4475}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:  
'''People are the followers of Quraish in good as well as evil'''}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4477}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura who said: I joined the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) with my father and I heard him say: '''This Caliphate will not end until there have been twelve Caliphs among them'''. The narrator said: Then he (the Holy Prophet) said something that I could not follow. I said to my father: What did he say? He said: He has said: '''All of them will be from the Quraish.'''}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4480}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: '''Islam will continue to be triumphant until there have been twelve Caliphs.''' Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said something which I could not understand. I asked my father: What did he say? He said: He has said that '''all of them (twelve Caliphs) will be from the Quraish'''.}}{{Quote|{{bukhari|4|56|801}}|Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "'''This branch from Quraish''' will ruin the people." The companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) asked, "What do you order us to do (then)?" He said, '''"I would suggest that the people keep away from them.'''''}}
'''People are the followers of Quraish in good as well as evil'''}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4477}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura who said: I joined the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) with my father and I heard him say: '''This Caliphate will not end until there have been twelve Caliphs among them'''. The narrator said: Then he (the Holy Prophet) said something that I could not follow. I said to my father: What did he say? He said: He has said: '''All of them will be from the Quraish.'''}}{{Quote|{{muslim|20|4480}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Samura who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: '''Islam will continue to be triumphant until there have been twelve Caliphs.''' Then the Prophet (ﷺ) said something which I could not understand. I asked my father: What did he say? He said: He has said that '''all of them (twelve Caliphs) will be from the Quraish'''.}}{{Quote|{{bukhari|4|56|801}}|Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "'''This branch from Quraish''' will ruin the people." The companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) asked, "What do you order us to do (then)?" He said, '''"I would suggest that the people keep away from them.'''''}}{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||6|46|3905}}|Narrated Sa'd: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: '''"Whoever wishes to humiliate the Quraish then Allah will humiliate him."''' <br>Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)}}
 
====Bedouins====
====Bedouins====
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|703}}|Narrated Abu Huraira:
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|703}}|Narrated Abu Huraira:
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‎“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.‎
‎“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}}
‎''Iqtida Sirat al-Mustaqim'' p. 148-162‎}}{{Quote|{{cite web quotebox|url= http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=9427&CATE=1|title= Arabs preferred over other nations|publisher= SunniPath|author= Shaykh Amjad Rasheed, Ustadha Shazia Ahmad (trans.)|series=Question ID:9427|date= |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fqa.sunnipath.com%2Fissue_view.asp%3FHD%3D7%26ID%3D9427%26CATE%3D1&date=2014-01-01 |deadurl=no}}|'''The fact that Allah Most High has chosen the Arabs over other nations is affirmed in rigorously authenticated hadiths of the Prophet''', may Allah bless him and give him peace; related by Bukhari and Muslim in their “Sahih” in the beginning of the chapter of merits, # 5897, on the authority of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa` who said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘Verily Allah has chosen Kinanah from the son of Isma`il, and He has chosen Quraysh from among Kinanah and He has chosen Hashim from among Quraysh and He has chosen me from the Bani Hashim.’”
 
So this hadith is a primary text about '''the preference of Arabs over others and the preference of some Arabs over other Arabs'''. And this is what the Imams have chosen from the………of their books, and even in individual books such as the book of Qurb about the merit of Arabs, authored by the great Imam al-Hafiz Zayn al-din al-`Iraqi. And it was summarized by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and others.
 
'''Therefore the preference of Arabs over other nations, and the preference of some Arabs over other Arabs is affirmed in the Sacred Law.''' Allah has even preferred some months over other months and some days and nights of over others, as well as places. So in the same way, Allah Glorious and Exalted is He, has chosen some men over others, such as the prophets over others and even some prophets over other prophets. Muslims should not have any objection to this, because all of this returns to the wisdom of the Most Wise, Glorious is He, who is not asked about what He does, but rather, they are the ones who are asked. So after a Muslim has believed in Allah as his Lord, the Truth, and that there is no God but Him, then he should know that this is from among His matters, Blessed and High is He, and there is nothing but magnificent wisdom in it that we might see or that we might not see. Either way, we are only responsible for submitting to His rule, Glorious is He. And among His rulings is that Arabs are preferred over others and that some Arabs are better than other Arabs, as the above hadith clearly explained. '''So it is not appropriate for anyone to disagree in this when the proof is perfectly valid.'''
 
And there should be no disagreement in what has just preceded nor any disagreement in what appears in the Magnificent Book and in the sunna where we find that the real source of Allah’s preference is God-fearingness (taqwa) which result in the good deeds that people earn and that they are accounted for. So whoever sends forth good for himself, Allah has preferred him over those who have sent forth evil. As for the preference of an Arab over a non-Arab, and the preference of some Arabs over others, this is not a deed that one can earn. Rather, it is a bounty that Allah gives to whom He wills. So he may will something for these people, and there is no objection to your Lord’s rule. This is like the preference of some days over others, because the mind reasons that all days are the same in and of themselves, and there is no distinction that might appear between them. However, the mind can understand why something is better if there is not ……….. So the Sacred law came and affirmed the preference of some over others, and for some of those things there were reasons and wisdoms, such as the preference of the night of Power over others because the Majestic Qur’an was revealed during it. And in some of these things, the wisdom is not apparent to us and so this falls into the chapter of absolute obedience, such as the number of cycles (rak`ahs) in the prayer.
 
'''It is obligatory on a Muslim to believe that Arabs are preferred over other nations because there is a proof for it.''' However, this is not one of the pillars of our religion such that if someone rejected this, they would be considered outside of Islam. But if one does reject this, one has sinned for not believing in it because it is an affirmed matter according to a clear rigorously authenticated hadith. Also, this issue is not something that is commonly known among most Muslims, so for this, one should not hasten to blame one who disagrees with it. It is necessary, rather, to tell him about the issue.
 
And the fact that Arabs are preferred over others does not mean that a non-Arab can not have a higher merit in the religion than an Arab, because a person earns the good deeds that Allah has recommended we compete for. This is the highest merit of God-fearingness and this will be the basis upon which things are decided in the hereafter. However, '''the merit of the Arabs will still remain, in terms of their respect and exaltation being higher than others'''. And from this some hadiths have come to us about the Quraysh being put first for the caliphate before others, such as the hadith in Bukhari (#3500) on the authority of Mu`awiyah, may Allah be well pleased with him who said, ” I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘This matter of government belongs to the Quraysh. Anyone who takes a hostile attitude to them will be thrown on his face, as long as they are true to the faith.” And Bukhari also related (#3501) on the authority of Ibn `Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, that he said, “Government continues to belong to the Quraysh, even if they are (no more than) two.”


So I say that the merit of God-fearingness is what counts, according to the rigorously authenticated hadith, “And he who is slow in doing good deeds, his noble lineage will not quicken him (into entering Paradise).}}
==In the Muslim world today==
==In the Muslim world today==
==See also==
==See also==
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