Why Islam, not Christianity, is the white man’s religion
Christianity, they say, is the white man’s religion but in the Bible we do not see any mention of how Jesus Christ looked physically. There is no mention of His physical appearance or skin tone. The closest description we get of Him is that He is a man.
Again, in the crucifixion of Christ, we see the involvement of Simon of Cyrene who was compelled to carry Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21). Cyrene was a region in North Africa, what is today the North of Libya. We can thus see a positive African involvement in the story of Christ’s passion which is the very bedrock of the Christian faith.
In Islam however, what do we find? We find that its most trusted sources are absolutely obsessed with telling us how white the prophet Muhammad was.
Muhammad’s legs were white
“…Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) came out. As if I were now looking at the whiteness of his leg. Bilal fixed the stick and the Prophet (ﷺ) offered a two-rak`at Zuhr prayer and a two-rak`at `Asr prayer, while women and donkeys were passing in front of the Prophet (beyond the stick).”
(Sahih Bukhari, Book 61 Hadith 76)
“Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that…The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then mounted and so did Abu Talha ride, and I was seating myself behind Abu Talha. Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) moved in the narrow street of Khaibar (and we rode so close to each other in the street) that my knee touched the leg of Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ). (A part of the) lower garment of Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) slipped from his leg and I could see the whiteness of the leg of Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ)…”
(Sahih Muslim, Book 16 Hadith 99)
Muhammad’s thighs were white,
“Narrated `Abdul `Aziz:
Anas said, ‘When Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) invaded Khaibar, we offered the Fajr prayer there (early in the morning) when it was still dark. The Prophet (ﷺ) rode and Abu Talha rode too and I was riding behind Abu Talha. The Prophet (ﷺ) passed through the lane of Khaibar quickly and my knee was touching the thigh of the Prophet (ﷺ). He uncovered his thigh and I saw the whiteness of the thigh of the Prophet…”
(Sahih Bukhari, Book 8 Hadith 23)
Muhammad’s armpits were white,
“Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Malik:
Ibn Buhaina, “When the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed, he used to separate his arms from his body so widely that the whiteness of his armpits was visible.”
(Sahih Bukhari, Book 8 Hadith 42)
Muhammad’s cheeks were white
“mir b. Sa’d reported:
I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be open him) pronouncing taslim on his right and on his left till I saw the whiteness of his cheek.”
(Sahih Muslim, Book 5 Hadith 153)
Muhammad’s face was white,
“Jurairi reported:
I said to Abu Tufail: Did you see Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)? He said: Yes, he had a white handsome face…”
(Sahih Muslim Book 43 Hadith 129)
And Muhammad was generally, a very white person,
“Narrated Anas bin Malik:
While we were sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) in the mosque, a man came riding on a camel. He made his camel kneel down in the mosque, tied its foreleg and then said: “Who amongst you is Muhammad?” At that time the Prophet (ﷺ) was sitting amongst us (his companions) leaning on his arm. We replied, “This white man reclining on his arm.”…”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 3 Hadith 5)
“Narrated Isma`il bin Abi Khalid:
I heard Abii Juhaifa saying, “I saw the Prophet, and Al-Hasan bin `Ali resembled him.” I said to Abu- Juhaifa, “Describe him for me.” He said, “He was white and his beard was black with some white hair.”
(Sahih Bukhari, Book 61 Hadith 53)
And believe it or not, these are only a handful of the hadith analysing Prophet Muhammad’s whiteness. Now, is his being a white a bad thing? Absolutely not. The only problem here is that in the mid to late 20th century, several Afro-Americans, including Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X were tricked into converting into Islam under the guise that Christianity is the white man’s religion but Islam is for black people. It is difficult to imagine how a religion obsessed with telling you how white the prophet is could ever have been followed by black people who wanted nothing to do with a white man’s religion.
Another issue is that according to one of the earliest Shariah Manuals, calling Muhammad black warranted the death penalty.
“Ahmad ibn Abi Sulayman, the companion of Sahnun, said, “Anyone who says that the Prophet was black should be killed. The prophet was not black””
(Muhammad Messenger of Allah (Ash-Shifa of Qadi ‘Iyad), Qadi ‘Iyad Musa al-Yahsubi, translated by Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley [Madinah Press, Inverness, Scotland, U.K. 1991; third reprint, paperback], p. 375).
Why is black seen as this terrible thing in Islam? We refer to the Quran’s statement on what happens on judgment day
“On the Day [some] faces will turn white and [some] faces will turn black. As for those whose faces turn black, [to them it will be said], “Did you disbelieve [i.e., reject faith] after your belief? Then taste the punishment for what you used to reject.”
But as for those whose faces turn white, [they will be] within the mercy of Allāh. They will abide therein eternally.”
(Surah 3:106–107)
So those whose faces are made black would be the disbelievers and the white ones would be the righteous.
Now at this point, I could be accused of stretching this Quranic metaphor or not applying a charitable understanding to these verses. So let us explore this concept of white and black in Islam a bit more.
Another chapter of the Quran talking about judgment day says,
“And when the word [i.e., decree] befalls them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain [in faith].”
(Surah 27:82)
In Ibn Kathir’s commentary on the above verse, he explains what this creature will do citing hadiths from Abi Dawud and Ibn Majah,
“It will bring out with it the staff of Musa and the ring of Sulayman. There will be no believer left without it making a white spot on his face, which will spread until all his face is shining white as a result; and there will be no disbeliever left without it making a black spot on his face, which will spread until all his face is black as a result, then when the people trade with one another in the marketplace, they will say, `How much is this, O believer’ `How much is this, O disbeliever’ And when the members of one household sit down together to eat, they will know who is a believer and who is a disbeliever. Then the beast will say: `O so-and-so, enjoy yourself, for you are among the people of Paradise.’ And it will say: `O so-and-so, you are among the people of Hell,’…”
Still think I am stretching this metaphor? Maybe, but consider another hadith from Muhammad,
“Abud Darda’ reported God’s messenger as saying, “God created Adam when He created him and struck his right shoulder and brought forth his offspring white like small ants. And he struck his left shoulder and brought forth his offspring black as though they were charcoal. Then He said to the party on his right side, ‘To paradise, and I do not care’ and He said to the party in his left shoulder, ‘To hell, and I do not care’.”
(Mishkat al-Masabih Book 1 Hadith 112)
Again, maybe this is a metaphysical matter, something deep and metaphorical. Surely, it could not be about race or actual blackness?
Think again! Ever heard of the black stone? You know, the one Muslims touch and kiss in order to have their sins forgiven as it is written in the hadith,
“Ibn Ubaid bin Umair narrated from his father:
“Ibn Umar was clinging on the two corners (in a manner that I had not seen any of the Companions of the Prophet doing) so I said: ‘O Abu Abdur-Rahman! You are clinging on the two corners in a manner that I have not seen any of the Companions of the Prophet clining.’ So he said: ‘I do it because I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “Touching them atones for sins.”
(Jami at-Tirmidhi Vol 2 Book 4, Hadith 959)
The history of that stone is given to us in the same book of hadith,
“Ibn Abbas narrated that:
The Messenger of Allah said: “The Black Stone descended from the Paradise, and it was more white than milk, then it was blackened by the sins of the children of Adam.”
(Jami at-Tirmidhi Vol 2, Book 4 , Hadith 877)
So once again, white was its pure state as it descended from paradise and it only became black because of sins. That, unfortunately, is not all. What does the prophet of Islam associate with Satan?
“It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Samit from Abu Dharr, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“The prayer is severed by a woman, a donkey, and a black dog, if there is not something like the handle of a saddle in front of a man.” I (‘Abdullah) said: “What is wrong with a black dog and not a red one?” He (Abu Dharr) said: ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) the same question, and he said: “The black dog is a Shaitan (satan).”
(Sunan Ibn Majah Vol 1, Book 5, Hadith 952)
Now, again, all of this proves nothing? If you still think so, kindly consider the premium the prophet put on his black slaves,
“It was narrated that jabir said:
“A slave came and pledged to the Prophet to emigrate, and the Prophet did not realize that he was a slave. Then his master came looking for him. The Prophet said: ‘Sell him to me,’ and he bought him for two black slaves.”
(Sunan An-Nasa’i Book 39 Hadith 36)
The prophet traded two black slaves for the price of one non-black slave.
Now let us wrap all of this together in a nice tidy bow.
Allah promises that on the day of judgment, unbelievers’ faces would be black while believer’s faces would be white. This will be done by the mysterious beast with the ring of Solomon and the staff of Moses. The black offspring of Adam were created from the left shoulder and were created to go to hell while Allah does not care. The black stone was initially white but was blackened because of sin, the black dog is Satan and two black slaves were exchanged for a non-black one.
Now it makes sense why calling Muhammad black warrants the death penalty. Black in Islam is associated with sin, impurity, unbelief and Allah’s eternal doom. White is associated with belief and purity. Are there not better “metaphors” an all knowing and all wise Allah could use to make his point? Surely, an Allah who brags about being clear over and over again in his Quran could have been more nuanced in his descriptions and not made these things out to be literally black and white!
In conclusion, Islam is based on a white prophet, a deity who makes everyone in paradise white (contrast this with Revelation 7:9 where the differences between nations, tribes, peopled and tongues is still discernible by the Apostle John), equates goodness and purity with white and sees “black” as something negative.
Islam is thus in multiple ways and literally, “the religion of the white man”.
