Racism is haram, says ex-mufti

UPDATED @ 03:10:24 PM 11-05-2013 May 11, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 Islam is borderless and Muslims who incite racism are going against the creeds teachings, popular Islamic scholar Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said today, on the heels of Utusan Malaysias attempt to shape Election 2013 results as a Chinese-vs-Malay vote. Without naming anybody, the former Perlis mufti warned that harping on racial issues was damaging to society and nationhood, especially in a multiethnic country like Malaysia.

Haram for a Muslim to fire up racism that oppresses an innocent party only because of skin colour or ancestry, Mohd Asri (picture) said in a statement, adding that Islam is colour-blind. Pointing to Islamic texts, the vocal scholar said the religions most famous prophet, Muhammad, had strongly opposed fanatical racism, what he termed asabiyyah, which judged a person based on the colour of his skin instead of the principles of truth and justice. Islam is a religion that transcends all racial and geographical borders. Islamic justice broadly crosses the differences in thinking and religion, he said. He pointed out that nobody could determine his ancestry before birth and a person should be assessed purely on his actions and morals, saying that the burden of one races wrongdoings should never be borne by his descendents.

The scholar, popularly known by his acronym Dr MAZA, cautioned further that if inflammatory statements were not reined in, racism would spread and, as an example, he pointed to the discrimination against African-Americans in the United States. Mohd Asri reminded Muslims that their god had created people of different tribes and races so they could get to know each other, and to add variety instead of quarrel. His message is seen as a bid to calm the outrage over the Umno-owned Malay dailys incendiary headline on May 7 questioning Apa lagi Cina mahu? [What more do the Chinese want?], where it was seen to blame the Chinese for betraying the Barisan Nasionals (BN) trust in the community for the ruling coalitions poorer performance in the recent general election. BN chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had also attributed the Chinese tsunami as being responsible for his coalitions failure to recoup its two-thirds majority in Parliament and significant vote losses in the cities despite analysts calling it an urban-rural split. BN had defeated the Pakatan Rakyat pact to win 133 seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat, ceding seven more federal seats to the opposition. While BN managed to wrest back the padi-farming state of Kedah, it failed to claw back Penang and Selangor, the two richest and most developed states nationwide that are crucial to financing Putrajayas ambitious economic transformation plan.

Haram apikan perkauman

1. Tindakan sesetengah pihak mengapi-apikan isu perkauman kebelakangan ini adalah perbuatan jahiliyyah yang diharamkan syarak. Ia 2

boleh mengundang kemusnahan masyarakat dan negara terutama negara multi-racial seperti Malaysia ini. Ia akan menimbulkan pelbagai sangkaan dan penilaian yang mungkin tidak berasaskan fakta yang benar. Lantas, akan menimbulkan ketegangan dan pergaduhan yang tidak berasaskan prinsip kebenaran, sebaliknya atas prejudice perkauman. 2. Antara perkara yang ditentang oleh Nabi Muhammad s.a.w ialah sikap fanatik perkauman ataupun asabiyyah yang menilai kebaikan dan keburukan berdasarkan kaum bukan prinsip kebenaran dan keadilan. Islam adalah agama rentas kaum dan sempadan geografi. Keadilan Islam itu melebar merentasi perbezaan pemikiran dan agama. 3. Tiada siapa yang mampu menentukan bangsanya sebelum dia lahir samada untuk dia menjadi arab, atau melayu, atau cina atau india atau selain itu. Ia adalah ketentuan Allah, bukan atas usaha atau kejayaan seseorang. Maka hakikat ini mestilah difahami supaya kita tidak menyalahkan atau menghina seseorang atas sebab bangsa atau keturunannya kerana itu bukan pilihan atau kesalahannya. Sebaliknya kita menilai seseorang berdasarkan perbuatan dan akhlaknya. Inilah sikap yang adil. Dosa keturunan tidak ditanggung oleh anak cucu. Dosa seseorang tidak boleh dibebankan atas orang lain yang sebangsa dengannya yang tidak terlibat dengan kesalahan itu. Allah menjelaskan prinsip ini dalam al-Quran: (maksudnya) dan seseorang yang boleh memikul, tidak akan memikul dosa perbuatan orang lain. dan tiadalah Kami (Allah) mengazabkan sesiapapun sebelum Kami mengutuskan seorang rasul (untuk menerangkan yang benar dan yang salah). (Surah al-Isra, ayat 15). 4. Maka, perjuangan apapun yang mahu ditegakkan, hendaklah menilai setiap insan berdasarkan kepada akhlaknya, bukan titik keturunannya. Keadilan dalam Islam buta warna bangsa dan agama sekalipun. Keadilan untuk semua. Sabda Nabi s.a.w: Wahai manusia! Sesungguhnya tuhan kamu sama, bapa kamu sama (Adam). Ketahuilah! Tiada kelebihan orang arab ke atas ajam (yang bukan arab), atau ajam ke atas arab, atau yang berkulit merah ke atas yang berkulit hitam, atau yang berkulit hitam ke atas yang berkulit merah melainkan ketakwaan (Riwayat Ahmad dan al-Baihaqi, dinilai hasan oleh al-Albani). Jika hal ini tidak diteliti, perkauman atau racism akan berlaku. Akan ada pihak yang teraniaya hanya kerana keturunannya walaupun mungkin dia tidak bersalah. Diskriminasi seperti ini pernah berlaku di Amerika, sehingga Martin Luther King dalam pidatonya yang terkenal I have a dream menyebut: I have a dream that my four little children one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. 5. Tujuan Allah menciptakan berpuak dan berbangsa agar saling kenal mengenali antara

satu sama lain. Firman Allah: (maksudnya): Wahai manusia! Sesungguhnya Kami telah menciptakan kamu dari lelaki dan perempuan, dan Kami telah menjadikan kamu berbagai bangsa dan bersuku puak, supaya kamu berkenal-kenalan. Sesungguhnya semulia-mulia kamu di sisi Allah ialah orang yang paling bertaqwa di antara kamu. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui, lagi Maha mendalam pengetahuanNya. (Surah al-Hujurat: 13). Lihat dalam ayat ini, Allah memanggil Wahai manusia!. Panggilan yang sangat adil merangkumi setiap bangsa dan puak. Bukan panggil perkauman atau fanatik keturunan. Kata Sayyid Qutb dalam menafisrkan ayat ini: Penciptaan manusia berbagai bangsa dan suku puak bukan untuk berperang dan bergaduh, tetapi untuk berkenalan dan bermuwafakat. Perbezaan bahasa, warna kulit, tabiat, perangai, kelebihan dan kemampuan adalah kepelbagaian yang bukan bertujuan untuk perbalahan dan perkelahian. Sebaliknya, untuk bantu membantu dalam menunai tanggungjawab dan keperluan. Tiada bagi warna kulit, jenis bangsa, bahasa, negara segalanya itu nilai dalam timbangan Allah. Sebaliknya, di sana hanya satu timbangan yang menentukan nilai dan kelebihan manusia, iaitu Sesungguhnya semulia-mulia kamu di sisi Allah ialah orang yang paling bertaqwa di antara kamu. (Fi Zilal al-Quran 6/3348. Cairo: Dar al-Syuruq). 6. Maka, haram bagi seorang muslim meniupkan api perkauman yang menzalimi pihak yang tidak bersalah hanya kerana warna kulit ataupun keturunannya. Wajib kita mempamirkan keindahan kesejagatan Islam (the universality of Islam) kepada semua pihak supaya keindahan Islam dapat diterima oleh manusia.

No Racism In Islam
September 29, 2011 in Islam with 1 Comment Racism is one of the worst forms of discrimination in our world today, and should not condoned. Sadly, it is still very common and continues to be a problem. In Islam, racism is not allowed. Everyone is equal in the sight of Allah (Swt) and the Quran signifies this. The Quran states: O mankind, We have created you all from a single (pair of a) male and female and made you nations and tribes so that you get to know one another; verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most mindful of Him. God is All-Knowing, AllAware. Quran: 49:13 This passage shows us that everyone, regardless of skin color, ethnicity and creed are equal. We are all judged upon our faithfulness. During the lifetime of Muhammad (PBUH), the Arabs practiced racism very much, under the name of tribalism that was very common. Islam however, came to eradicate this. In Khutbatul Wada (also known as The Last Sermon of Muhammad), Muhammad (PBUH) said: O mankind, there is no superiority for an Arab man/woman over a non-Arab man/woman, or for a non-Arab man/woman over an Arab man/woman, or for white man/woman over a black man/woman, or for a black man/woman over a white man/woman. All of you are descended from Adam and Adam has been created from dust of the ground. When one looks at Muslim pilgrims in the Holy City of Makkah as an example, one can see the unity of people of all Faiths and backgrounds standing shoulder to shoulder, praying alongside each other despite the differences. In Islam and in the presence of the Almighty, our looks and our gender do not matter, but what is inside us that counts.

ISLAM AGAINST RACISM AND PREJUDICE

Islam's manifesto of Universal brotherhood of human beings by Abdul Malik Mujahid From the Quran "O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you" (Quran 49:13). Explanation: There are several principles, which this verse presents: 1. This message is not just for Muslims only because God is addressing all of humanity. While Muslims are one brotherhood, this is part of a larger brotherhood of humanity. 2. God is telling us that He has created us. Therefore He knows the best about us. 3. He says that He created us from one man and one woman meaning then that we are all the same. 4. It also means that all human beings are created through the same process, not in a manner in which some are created with a better mechanism than others. 5. God is the One who made human beings into different groups and people. 6. These differences are not wrong, rather a sign from God ("And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. Verily, in that are indeed signs for those who know" [Quran 30:22]). 7. Note that no word equivalent to race is used in this ayah or any other verse of the Quran. 8. Islam, however, limits the purpose of these distinctions to differentiation and knowing each other. This is not meant to be a source of beating each other down with an attitude of my group is better than your group' or false pride as is the case with tribalism, nationalism, colonialism, and racism. 9. The only source of preference or greatness among human beings is not on a national or group level, but it is at the individual level. 10. One individual who is (higher in Taqwa), more conscious of his Creator and is staying away from the bad and doing the good is better, no matter what nation, country or caste he is part of. Individual piety is the only thing that makes a person better and greater than the other one. 11. However, the only criterion of preference, Taqwa, is not measurable by human beings. Indeed God is the One Who knows and is aware of everything so we should leave even this criterion to God to decide instead of human beings judging each other. These are the deeply embedded ideals of Islam which still bring people to this way of life even though Muslims are not on the best level of Iman today. This is what changed the

heart of a racist Malcolm X when he performed Hajj in Makkah. This is the power that brought Muhammad Ali to Islam. This is what still attracts the Untouchables of India towards Islam. This is the theory which convinced noted historian Professor A.J. Toynbee in 1948 to say that: "The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue." Let's ask ourselves if the Muslim Ummah today, in its individual and collective behavior is striving to adopt and promote these Islamic ideals? From the Sunnah 1. Prophet's response to racist comments: A man once visited the Prophet's mosque in Madinah. There he saw a group of people sitting and discussing their faith together. Among them were Salman (who came from Persia), Suhayb who grew up in the Eastern Roman empire and was regarded as a Greek, and Bilal who was an African. The man then said: "If the (Madinan) tribes of Aws and Khazraj support Muhammad, they are his people (that is, Arabs like him). But what are these people doing here?" The Prophet became very angry when this was reported to him. Straightaway, he went to the mosque and summoned people to a Salat. He then addressed them saying: "O people, know that the Lord and Sustainer is One. Your ancestor is one, your faith is one. The Arabism of anyone of you is not from your mother or father. It is no more than a tongue (language). Whoever speaks Arabic is an Arab." (As quoted in Islam The Natural Way by Abdul Wahid Hamid p. 125) 2. Statement of the universal brotherhood in the last Sermon: O people, Remember that your Lord is One. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a black has no superiority over white, nor a white has any superiority over black, except by piety and good action (Taqwa). Indeed the best among you is the one with the best character (Taqwa). Listen to me. Did I convey this to you properly? People responded, Yes. O messenger of God, The Prophet then said, then each one of you who is there must convey this to everyone not present. (Excerpt from the Prophet's Last Sermon as in Baihiqi) 3. Don't take pride in ancestry: The Prophet said: Let people stop boasting about their ancestors. One is only a pious believer or a miserable sinner. All men are sons of Adam, and Adam came from dust (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi).

4. Looking down upon other people will stop you from entering the Jannah: The Prophet said: Whoever has pride in his heart equal to the weight of an atom shall not enter Paradise. A man inquired about a person who likes to wear beautiful clothes and fine shoes, and he answered: God is beautiful and likes beauty. Then he explained pride means rejecting the truth because of self-esteem and looking down on other people (Muslim). 5. The Prophet condemnation of Arab racial pride: There are many hadith, which repeatedly strike on the Arab pride of jahiliyyah. Arabs before Islam used to look down upon others specially blacks. The Prophet repeatedly contrasted the believing Africans versus non-believing Arab nobles. The Prophet said: You should listen to and obey your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian slave whose head looked like a raisin (Bukhari).

How does Islam view Racism?

The following verse forbids racism: O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). (Surah Al-Hujuraat, 13) In the same surah, the following is stated: The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers. As it is understood from the verses above, God regards only believers as brothers not people of other nations. According to Islam, a person who is not a believer cannot be the heir of his believing father. When there is no belief, worldly, organic and racial relations lose their importance. The apostle of God (PBUH), who said, No man is a true believer unless he wants for his brother that which he wants for himself, guides us about how this verse has a reflection on our realm of deed and emotion. What should be done when hatred and enmity occur between believers though they are supposed to love each other? The continuation of the verse orders the following: make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers. Let their hostility turn into friendship, love and brotherhood.

Yes, according to the decree of the Quran, all believers are brothers of one another. They are a family. On one line. The people who cause separation between them are considered to have worked for enemies knowingly or unknowingly. A divine lesson from the surah of Hud: In the event of Noahs flood, when Noah said, O God! My son is also from my family. (my breed) O Noah, he is not from your family (breed). So a persons unbeliever and rebellious son is not considered from his breed. Then, an unbeliever from his race cannot be his friend or brother. Here is a related verse from God where there is no room for intentional misinterpretation: O ye who believe! Take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love infidelity above faith: if any of you do so they do wrong. (Surah at-Taubah, 23) This verse is another explanation of the verse, The Believers are but a single Brotherhood in which there is a fine and deep consciousness. Your father or brother who does not believe is not your friend. Those who befriend them are considered to have disobeyed the truth and oppressed. He is considered to have used his sense of love, which is given to him by God as a gift, in the wrong place and oppressed He/she caused himself/herself to be put into Hell with his/her wrong decision. He/she has suppressed his/her soul. By doing so, the unbeliever has a better place than a believer in his/her heart and he/she has become an oppressor with his/her great injustice. Allah who is Malik Yawm ad-Deen (The Owner of the Day of ad-Deen) states the following: The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail. But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart.. (Surah ash-Shuara, 88-89) Is the relation between the son and father not the first step and the most advanced level of racial closeness? This verse informs us that this closeness will have no value at all on the Day of Judgment. So what value does racism have at this point? On that day, no property or the number of sons of any person will have any value at all. On that day, the only valid thing will be the Submitted Soul. The pure heart of a person which is submitted to and become the slave of his Creators orders. A soul who does not tied his affection to anything but Him. This soul is precious no matter who owns it. And Paradise is the place where the reward is given to the submitted souls. Every believer will be given a position according to his/her ihklas (sincerity), deeds, morals and ambition there. All positions exist there according to these values. There are no separate positions for races in that place.