(A) The Concept
Islam came with a universal conceptof brotherhood. Its foundationis
basedontawhīd,the belief inOne God. Andits socialprogram is also
based on unity of the believers.
Justasintawhīd,onefirsthastorejectthefalsegodsandthendeclare
faithin theOneandOnlyGod,similarly, Islamrejectsallartificial and
man-mademarksof distinction.Noone canclaimanysuperiorityover
the other based on race, colour, language or wealth.
Allah clearly declares in the Qur'ān:Oyoumankind!Wehavecreatedyouofamaleandafemale,andthen
Wemade you intoracesand tribessothat you mayknow eachother.
SurelythemosthonourableofyouinAllah'ssightistheonewhoisthe
most pious among you; surely Allah is All-Knowing and Aware. (49:13)
Accordingtothisverse,allhumanscantracetheirorigintoAdamand
Eve.Allahhasdividedthemintodifferenttribesandracessothatitmay
beeasytorecogniseeachother.Thusthedifferenceinrace,tribe,colour
andlanguagearetofacilitatetherecognitionofeachother.Thesephysic-
alandmaterialdifferencescannotbeastandardforpreferenceorsuperi-
orityofone overothers.Besidesknowledgeandjihād,theonlymarkof
distinction recognized in Islam istaqwa, i.e., pietyand Godfearing. As
Allahhassaid,“SurelythemosthonourableofyouinAllah'ssightisthe
one who is most pious among you.”
Islampreachedandpromotedracialequalityandharmonyamongthe
believers.Itdoesnotsaythatone shouldnotfeelfraternitytowardsthe
believerswhobelongtohistribeorculture.However,aMuslimcrosses
the acceptable limits of ethnic fraternity whenhe starts preferring the
evilpersonofhisowntribeoverthegoodMuslimsofanothertribe.Such
racial prejudice is not allowed in Islam at all.