QUESTION:
I have been listening to the lectures of Sheikh al-Habib for a long time, and while I can say that he presents his case with robust, undeniable evidence, I do not understand why he has to mention that Abu Bakr was black and that he belonged to a weak tribe in Makkah called ‘Taim’. I understand that these are historical facts, but I feel that mentioning such facts will send the wrong message. The world already views the Arabs as having a significant racism problem.
I wonder if this is due to a feeling of superiority. I recall a narration where an Arab person came to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and said something along the lines of how noble, powerful, and superior the Arabs are. The Imam (peace be upon him) criticised him for making such claims and said that Allah created three types of people, ‘’The guides, the guided and the rest are like foam’’.
Many people in our community are subjected to discrimination because they affiliate with a particular ethnicity or come from a certain race looked down on by others. People can easily misunderstand and take your words out of context, so would it not be better not to mention race or ethnicity?
ANSWER:
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
Sheikh al-Habib has made it abundantly clear, on numerous occasions, that Islam does not discriminate based on colour, race or tribal affiliation. He did not, by any means, abase individuals based on their skin colour or for coming from a background of slavery or servitude. His Eminence intends only to refute the false claims presented by the opponents of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) made about their master, Abu Bakr, and their mother, A’isha (may the wrath of Allah be upon them both).
The ‘Sunni’ sect claims that Abu Bakr, and his daughter A’isha, were white-skinned. However, after conducting historical research, Sheikh al-Habib concluded that these claims are false. Thus, it was necessary to present the historical facts about Abu Bakr and A’isha’s skin colour and ethnicity within the context of his Eminence’s research. This was purely the purpose of presenting these facts.
Otherwise, our master Ammar bin Yasser and his parents (may the satisfaction of Allah be upon them) were all slaves and dark-skinned. We show them reverence and admiration, proving that we do not discriminate. These facts help indicate historical bias and prejudice widespread among the opponents of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) who narrated these fabrications, as well as among the scholars who propagated them. It is no wonder that they shy away from mentioning the origins of those they hold most holy or outright fabricate and spread narrations that agree with their own biases.
The Office of Sheikh al-Habib