When the Prophet (PBUH) was instructed to go out and deliver the message, he was told that one of the main characteristics of this message of Islam is that it establishes equality between all people, regardless of their colors, backgrounds, languages, or socio-economic status in the society.
That was actually one of the challenges that faced the Prophet since the early days of Islam. The polytheists of Arabia refused to be associated with their slaves, who, at that time, were very much downgraded and ill-treated in society.
The very concept that they and their slaves stand on equal footing in terms of treatment and religious liability was very annoying to these arrogant Arab idolaters. That was probably one of the main reasons that led them to reject the emerging call of Islam and see it as a threat to their false sense of “dignity” and discriminatory policies.
In the Muslim community, there was no shame at all for some great Companions who were, just some time before this, in leading positions in Makkah to sit with a black slave like
Bilal ibn Rabah and learn from him.
Bilal was even called “our master” by the Prophet’s companions, referring to his great status which he gained by merit of his knowledge, dedication, and sincerity.
Any incident, gesture, or hint that could annoy this brotherhood was taken seriously by the Prophet. When The Prophet’s Companion Abu Dhar Al-Ghifari unintentionally annoyed his brother Bilal by calling him the “son of a black woman”, the Prophet took it very seriously and was alarmed at that instance that such a phrase was a threat to the well-established brotherhood.
Therefore, he did not let it pass. Rather, he turned to Abu Dhar and said: “Are you calling him by the color of his mother? You are a man who still has traces of pre-Islamic ignorance.”
That instance was so alarming to Abu Dhar who, realizing his mistake, rushed to seek forgiveness from his brother Bilal and placed his head on the ground asking Bilal to step by his shoes on his face as a way of making him feel, to some extent, the offence he has directed to him.
Yet Bilal, who realized that Abu Dhar had understood the lesson, and that the insult was completely unintentional, took his hand and hugged him in a brotherly gesture.
1Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 11:
Volume 1, Book 11, Number 662:
Narrated Anas:
The Prophet said, “
Listen and obey (your chief) even if an Ethiopian whose head is like a raisin were made your chief.”
Here in this hadith he is focusing on the issue of obeying your chief/leader whoever he is. Infact he is
advising all whites to obey the chief even he is black, thus trying to force home the point to some of the Arabs who may have been prejudicial that all men are equal regardless of colour. By pointing out the outward appearance or external features of an individual, one does not commit a crime. Especially at that time where the Arabs felt they were superior to the Ethiopians, what the prophet said was groundbreaking. If you had to describe someone of similar appearance with one word, what would you use? Are you going to criticize the prophet because he did not share your vocabulary?
By bringing up this issue the anti islamists have in fact shown that the
prophet was a man who saw no boundaries based upon race, but was someone who tried to bring equality amongst all coloursIf he was a racist and wanted to call them raisin heads, he would’ve called them raisin heads without saying Ethiopian. He was referring to the shape of a raisin, as we all know there are
golden, purple, red, BLACK raisins, so to assume the use of the word raisin is racist is entirely wrong.
Lets not forget what the prophet said in his last sermon:
2 خرج ومعه أصحابه فثقل عليهم متاعهم، فقال: “ابسط كساءك”. فبسطته، فجعل فيه متاعهم ثم حمله عليَّ فقال: “احمل ما أنت إلا سفينة”. فقال: لو حملت يومئذ وقر بعير أو بعيرين أو خمسة أو ستة ما ثقل عليَّ
Narrated by Mahran: The apostle of God (ﷺ) and his companions went on a trip. (When) their belongings became too heavy for them to carry, Muhammad (ﷺ) told me, `Spread your garment.’ They filled it with their belongings, then they put it on me. The apostle of God (ﷺ) told me, `Carry (it), for you are a Safinah/ship.’
Even if I was carrying the load of six or seven donkeys while we were on a journey, anyone who felt weak would put his clothes or his shield or his sword on me so I would carry that, a heavy load. The prophet (ﷺ) told me, `Carry, for you are a ship”‘.
Here, it is alleged that the Prophet (ﷺ) made his black slave work overload and was unfair to him. The ending of the narration appears to have been cut deliberately. Mahran ends his statement saying [ما ثقل عليَّ] i.e. without any weight/without any heaviness/burden; so his complete statement would read as: I carried the load of six or seven donkeys without even feeling it. He does not narrate this incident to complain of injustice being done to him but to state the miracle that he experienced where he carried the load of six or seven donkeys alone without even feeling it.
Arabs had a custom of giving nicknames and they did so very frequently so much so that a single person would have numerous nicknames and at times, one or two would become more popular and stay with the person as if they were his real names. Some of the beloved people of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had nicknames which would translate as ‘father of dirt’ or ‘father of cats’ and to a lay non-Arab, these may seem strange and perhaps even offensive; however, there is nothing strange or offensive about it. Furthermore, these names would come forth at the moment and likewise, the nickname of Mahran came out as ‘ship’ at the moment due to the event that took place.
Another point to note here is that the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions were coming back from somewhere, most probably a battle as the companions who got tired and felt weak would put their shields, swords and belongings for Mahran to carry because of the miracle that took place at that time. Furthermore, dividing duties amongst the people is an efficient way of managing tasks. Slaves and freed slaves are exempt from fighting in wars and battles and hence, Mahran was most likely very fresh and active due to which he was allocated the duty to carry the load and at the same time, helped by Allah to carry it easily without feeling any burden.
http://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/prophet-muhammad-racist/http://islamicresponse.blogspot.com/2008/07/allegation-that-muhammad-was-racist.htmlhttps://qurananswers.me/2016/03/05/black-slaves-of-the-white-prophet/
