Dr. Basem Hameed Feb

By eliminating any factor of superiority, except one and one single aspect, that's the piety and nearness to Allah. It's not a race, it's not a color, it's not a language, it's not wealth, it's not a last name, it's not a family, it's not a lineage. It's the character and the core of that character manifested by the piety and the closeness to Allah.

Divine Selection Transcends Color

For that matter, and even in the pre-Islamic era, my brothers and sisters, Allah, when He chose His messengers, His prophets and His saints, they were not one color. They were different colors.

Our Prophet Musa عليه الصلاة والسلام على نبيينا أفضل الصلاة والسلام, was brown and was a very, very dark skin. Allah has made one of His miracles that when He pulls His hand out of His pocket, it becomes white, contrasting with His other color. This is an ayah you read all the time, reminding you the different colors that Allah has contrasted Musa himself, turning him from dark into white.

And as we read that story, we always think how great and magnificent are the blessings of Allah and the miracles of Allah. With one swift move, the color of the hand is turned into a bright white. But what Allah has done is telling you that Musa was of a dark color and was one of the top five messengers sent to humanity.

That's أولو العزم. And then when Allah wanted us to hear the words of wisdom that Luqman عليه السلام has advised his son with in a chapter that is named Luqman. In many hadith that the Prophet عليه السلام has recited for us, telling us that this is what Luqman has advised his people and has advised his son.

A name that has gone into history as a wise person as a matter of fact, whenever his name is mentioned, we call him Luqman al-Hakim. Luqman the sage, the wise person. And Allah chose the words of wisdom to be on the tongue of a black person.

That is Luqman. This was pre-Islamic to show you that even Islam when it came, it was not an attempt of the Prophet عليه السلام to gain the iman of the weak and the meek. It was an eternal message from Allah that even before the Prophet عليه السلام was sent.

It started before because that's the truth. When Allah created people:

This is the basic principle and the truth that Allah has created all people from the same soul. And then He divided them into tribes, ethnicities, clans, nations, so they may interact, exchange knowledge and benefit from each other.

And then Allah highlights the principle that indeed the most honorable and noble in the sight of Allah is the one with the most piety. The Prophet ﷺ clarifies this further and says:

(Musnad Ahmad)

There shall be no superiority of an Arab over an un-Arab, of a person with a certain color over a person with a different color, except with the piety and the good deeds.

The Disease of Arrogance

Throughout history, and subhanallah if you read history of people a thousand years ago, how they killed each other, how they waged wars against each other, how they confiscated the properties of each other, you think this is a different world, a world of monsters, a world that is void of humanity and compassion.

But unfortunately, day in and day out, we see the same aspects manifesting in different ways. And even as Muslims, some people they feel better because they belong to certain lineage, to certain family, because simply they have more assets. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala truly crushed that.

That shall not exist in a Muslim heart. For this reason the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 91)

No one shall enter paradise, so long there is even a grain worth of arrogance in his heart. That arrogance is feeling you're superior to others.

Because you're an Arab, or you belong to a certain family, or because you're accomplished in life, because you have the status, all that stuff is illusion. In the sight of Allah, what matters one and one thing what the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2564)

It's the piety and he on purpose pointed to his heart that this is where the piety resides, so no one can claim that they have piety over others. It is something a secret between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And you do not pretend you have it, to use it and claim it for credit and superiority over others. You rectify it between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And whereas lot of people think that it is what they have inherently or they think their status or superiority is an inherent thing.

It goes in their genes and DNA passed on from one generation to another. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala crushed that concept. It is your character.

It is an acquired thing and everyone is able to do it. It is not a color. It is not a DNA. It is the good deeds that you do. It is the piety that you acquire and get you closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Example of Bilal

For this reason my brothers and sisters, Bilal, a slave, a black man, became a brother of Abu Bakr. The best of people. When the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام went in the journey of Isra' wal Mi'raj, and he came down, and he said, "I've heard the footsteps of Bilal in the Jannah."

This is an honor that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has shown the Prophet in one of the most miraculous manifestations. Isra' wal Mi'raj and Bilal's name comes again. It wasn't an elite Arab. It wasn't a person of wealth.

It was a person of faith. It was a person of piety, of love to the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام. For this reason, the honor that he got to declare the ritual of Adhan, no one else got it.

And the most authentic lineage of Adhan, and this is by the Muhaddithin, they say, "I'll teach you the Adhan with the lineage of Bilal." Allahu Akbar. What a more honor can a person get? Yes, it was a black person.

It was a slave who was liberated by what? The values of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that dictates all people are equal. And if you feel in your heart any grain of superiority over others for whatever reason, then you shall be waiting for that to be cleansed from your heart in the Day of Judgment before you enter Paradise.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us among those who listen to the advice and follow the best of it.

Umm Ayman: The Prophet's Caretaker

My dear respected brothers and sisters, one of the other most fascinating aspects of the life of the Prophet ﷺ that shows us how Allah looks at people and how truly Islam is the right way of eliminating the boundaries between people.

People can talk about the human rights, can claim they're supporting civil rights, can claim they want to eliminate the discrepancies in the statuses of people, talk about equality. But the truth of the matter, my dear respected brothers and sisters, it is only the pure faith that can accomplish this. It is the belief that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the creator of everything.

And it is our servitude to Him to believe in that. Your beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, an orphan without a father, a mother who died while he was very young, and in the knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he's going to be the best of his creation. Then he's handed over to his sitter to raise him.

And whom does Allah choose for him? A black woman. Umm Ayman. Imagine that shows you if Allah is choosing that woman to look after his Prophet, to raise him.

That shows you as a Muslim, yes, we grow up learning these stories. We tell our children these stories. It's our deen, it's our belief, it's our conviction. It's not a lip service we utter to gain some political gain. It's deeply rooted in our hearts the love of those people and their heritage and their lineage.

This is what Islam is. And this is the true observation of black history to know what would truly eliminate the inequalities. What would truly appreciate the humans as humans? It is the values of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The values of the Creator who created everyone.

Call to Action and Civic Engagement

For that reason, my brothers and sisters, and for us to be part of that great message of Islam, respecting humanity and be part of that movement that rectifies the values of humanity, we have to be involved. We have to be active. Because we learned that you cannot take things for granted.

And when people stay silent, a lot of humans abuse others. And we have no choice but to look out for each other. To protect ourselves, our rights, and the rights of all humans. Because this is what Allah has trusted us for.

And now, the elections have started. The primaries have started. Be part of it. We're not trying to be political here, but we want to use this as a way to manifest our Ibadah to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Be part of it.

This is part of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. You might get it wrong, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you've shown Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that you care and you're not silent.

And you want to be part of the protection of His values. A guardian to the values that He created you to protect.