The End of Racism

The End of Racism - Shaykh Omar Suleiman

Opening

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. We begin by bearing witness that Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala alone is worthy of worship and unconditional obedience.

And we testify that Muhammadsallallahu alayhi wa sallam is his final messenger, our guide, our beloved sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, his family, his companions and those that follow until the day of judgment. We ask Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala to make us amongst them.

Allahumma ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, it's no secret that if we look at the world today, it is full of ghulm, it's full of oppression, it's full of transgression. And if you look at any individual cause, then those who are the victims of that cause will say, well, we are the only ones that are being struck with this, or we feel that way, we certainly feel like we're the only ones being struck with this.

But at the same time, there will be another group of people that are also suffering ghulm, that would say, well, why are you just focusing on them? Why are you just focusing on us? We have more people that have been killed. We have more people that are under oppression. You look at Syria and you say, oh, subhanAllah, what kind of oppression is this? The blessing of us being able to come to the masjid today and the people of Syria cannot even go to the masjid without fearing that one of the troops of Bashar may Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala do away with him who will come and stab them in the back, literally, while they are coming to pray.

Have no safety for their families and children. But what about Afghanistan, where you have 16 civilians that were murdered brutally? What about Somalia, where you have thousands upon thousands in Kenya and Ethiopia that were murdered by the neglect of mankind, without weapons, by utter neglect. Ghulm upon ghulm upon ghulm.

What about Palestine? Is it just because it's been all of these years, we've now forgotten and we'll wait for another Ghazza to happen? Ghazza is still happening. What about Pakistan? What about Shishan and the Muslims in Russia? What about the Muslims in China? Everywhere you look around the world, there's ghulm. There's oppression.

There's transgression. And the first thing we do is we ask Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala to lift the aggression from our brothers and sisters who are suffering under oppression no matter where they are. And secondly, we thank Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala for the opportunity to come and to pray in this masjid, to pray Salat and Jum'ah without fear.

We thank Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala for allowing our sisters to wear hijab without having a police officer come and yank it off of them, even though they're in a Muslim country. We thank Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala for the right of our children to live in safety, not having to worry about a member of the army coming and breaking down our door and humiliating us and raping our wives and killing our children. But with that thanks, there's iman.

The Struggle for Civil Rights

And we look to the society that we live in today, and the privileges that we enjoyed didn't come for free. There were people who suffered. We whine about TSA singling us out.

We whine about the derogatory terms that are thrown at us in the media. We whine about sometimes being put through extra security checks. But there was a woman by the name of Rosa Parks that wasn't even allowed to sit on a certain seat on a bus and refused to tolerate that.

And because of the struggle of women like Rosa Parks, because of the struggle like Barbie and Malcolm X subhanahu wa ta'ala and Martin Luther King, one minority took the brunt of most of the oppression of this country. And because of that, here we are mashallah. Here we are able to live this way.

Here we are being able to take people to court if they defame us. And yes, the legal system is not perfect. And we're seeing the results of that right now. Racism is not out of this country. It hasn't been taken out of this country. It still exists.

And if you haven't seen the bumper sticker, there are bumper stickers outside on some people's car that say 2012. Don't re-name it. And that's acceptable. And even if you don't agree with President Obama's policies, and I certainly don't. I take offense to that. And there's the killing of Trayvon Martin, which has dominated the media.

A young man who was wearing a hoodie, who had a pack of Skittles and an iced tea in his hand, and was killed because he was in a neighborhood that one man didn't feel like he was entitled to be in. And some people would say, Well, maybe he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. If you're like Geraldo from Mox News, I'm sure we have many people in our Muslim community that feel this way.

He said he should have left his hoodie at home. He looks suspicious. But dear brothers and sisters, before we can talk about how messed up the world is, how messed up the community outside of the Muslim community is, I want to ask you a question.

Examining Our Own Community

If Trayvon was Muslim and he walked into the masjid dressed the way he was, how would you feel about him? If he walked into the masjid and there happened to be two dollars that were stolen or that went missing, who would be the first person that would be suspected of stealing? If he walked up to you, and

he was a Muslim, and he said, I would like to propose to your daughter, what would we say to him? And I want us to look deeply at our community for a moment here, with a critical eye. And let's be honest, everyone claims that they're... or most people would claim that they're not a racist.

And I hope that all of us would make that claim.

All of us would have the decency to at least admit racism is wrong. But in our everyday lives, in the way we treat our Muslim brothers and sisters, in the way we stereotype, can we truly make that claim? I'm not a racist, but I still find it okay to say words like (عَبْدُ الْقُلُوبِ - 'abd al-qulub). And I don't think there's anything wrong with that, because everyone's a slave of Allah.

So it's okay to say the word slave. But if there's a brother, an African-American brother, who actually understands what I'm saying, I'll be too shy to say it in front of him. But there's still nothing wrong with that, because you know what? Everyone is a slave of Allah.

There's nothing wrong with what you said. But Abu Dharr said to Bilal, may Allah be pleased with them both (يَا ابْنَ السَّوْدَاءِ - ya abnas-sawdaa') O son of a black woman. He didn't say anything wrong.

Bilal r.a. was black, and he was the son of a black woman. But Rasulullah s.a.w. said to Abu Dharr, you have in you some traits of Jahiliyyah, some of the leftovers of the pre-Islamic era. Not that you're ignorant, that there's some leftover from pre-Islam in you.

But at least Abu Dharr r.a. was man enough to admit it, and that's why he's a great sahabi, and take account for his actions, and go to Bilal r.a. and put his face in the dirt, and say, step on my face, put me back in my place. But we would say, there's nothing wrong with that. People have loved Islam, because they came into the masjid, and they heard those words being used, and they knew what it meant.

There was a student at the University of Medina, who loved Islam, because he heard the sheikh using those words. But it's okay, we're not saying anything wrong. It's not about what you said, it's about the perception.

The Many Forms of Racism in Our Community

You hurt your brother, and all the categories that that just fell into.

Let not a single one of you mock, make a mockery of another, السخرية because they might be better than you. Backbiting, because you hurt a brother.

But you would never say that to his face, if you knew what it meant. You would never walk up to a brother, to an African-American brother, and say, hey slave, what's going on? He's a slave of Allah, just as you are. You would never do that.

So it's backbiting too. I'm not a racist, but you know what? Everyone from Pakistan is like this, and everyone from Palestine is like this, and everyone from this country is like this. No, if you meet a Bangladeshi brother, if you meet an Egyptian brother, if you meet this person, they're like this.

They have this trait inside of them. Now you've dealt with it to aqeedah. You just accused Allah of being unjust.

Because if everyone was different, and if people were born with negative traits and characteristics, then Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala would not be just, when He says (يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ - ya ayyuhan-nas), O people, He would have to say, (يَا أَيُّهَا الْعَرَبُ، يَا أَيُّهَا الْعَجَمُ، يَا أَيُّهَا الزُّنُوجُ - ya ayyuhal-'arab, ya ayyuhal-'ajam, ya ayyuhaz-zunuj) He would have to specify racism. If they were all different, it wouldn't be fair anymore. You just accused Allah of injustice.

That's not from us. You just accused the Prophetsallallahu alayhi wa sallam of just trying to have good PR, public relations, when he said, there is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or a non-Arab over an Arab. You just accused him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

But in fact, as we know, as Ibn Khaldun said, it's the circumstances, everything from the weather, to where that person was born, to all of the impacts of society upon that person that shaped him, his financial circumstances. But Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala did not create me better than you because my parents are Palestinian, or did not create you better than me because you're from India. We're all the same.

That's what Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala says. I'm not a racist. But if someone comes asking for my daughter, I don't care what kind of deen and khuluq he has.

Rasulullahsallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Tirmidhi)

Because that's what we do. If someone comes to you with pleasing religion and pleasing character, you better marry your daughter to him. You have no right to say no.

Then you say, no, no, no. They're Desi. They're Arab. I'm not going to let my daughter marry a Pakistani. I can't let that happen. No, he's an American. I don't care if he's a graduate from the Islamic University of Medina. He's an African-American. He'll probably turn away.

He probably wants something out of this. No, I'm sorry. You have to marry someone from our qabeela, from our tribe.

And you know what ends up happening here, brothers and sisters? The realization of the hadith of the Messengersallallahu alayhi wa sallam that there would be much fitna and fasad, corruption and trial and tribulation. Because then your daughter ends up marrying someone with no deen and no khuluq and still not from the race that you wanted. But who started that fitna? I'm not a racist, but you know, if someone walks in and he's from this country, I don't want him to be the imam.

I don't want him to lead the salah. I don't trust his knowledge. He doesn't have fitna. He was raised in an environment that says this and this and this and that. He doesn't understand Islam properly because he's not one of us. When Bilal r.a. got on the Kaaba, and yes, you know what? Bilal'stajweed wasn't perfect either r.a. What did they say? A black slave who stands on the roof of the Kaaba. The same thing. But I'm not a racist. And it's ironic because in the practical aspects of our lives, all of a sudden we separate ourselves and we say, you know what? I'm not a racist.

The Quranic Perspective on Race

But in the same ayah where Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala says that verse that you have on every single wedding invitation:

Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala that He created for you spouses, for yourself, so that you may dwell in tranquility with one another and place between you mercy and compassion. And that is a sign for those who think, you know the pretty ayah, that even the most secular wedding will have recited at the beginning and have on the invitation. What was the ayah before and what was the ayah after?

From the signs of Allah is that He created you from dirt.

You, me, the African-American brother, the Pakistani brother, the Indian brother, the Turkish brother, the Palestinian brother, the Egyptian brother, you were created from dirt and I was created from dirt. And that's not enough. The ayah that comes after:

From the signs of Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the difference in your language and in your skin color.

Burying in God is a sign for those who have knowledge (لِّلْعَالِمِينَ - lil'aalimeen) those who are in ignorance. Those who are in ignorance. These are the two ayahs that come next to the marriage one.

And you know what? The one in Surah Al-Hujurat:

O people, we have created you, male and female, nations and tribes, to know one another. We all talked about how beautiful that ayah is. Why don't you go to ayahs before where Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala forbids you from mocking your brother or from mocking a group of people.

Allahazza wa jalla did not create anyone less because of his race. Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala did not make you superior because of your race. And had Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala put in you traits because of your race, then that is an accusation against Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala that Allah is unjust.

But Allahazza wa jalla is not unjust with his servants. It is us who are unjust with one another. We ask Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala to forgive us for our shortcomings, to guide us to this great path, to eliminate the things, the traces of jahiliyyah that we find in ourselves and our communities.

The Example of the Sahaba

And we ask Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala to make us acceptable in His sights and beloved to Him (الْكَثِيرُ تَسْلِيمُ وَسَلَّمَ وَصَحْبِهِ آلِهِ وَعَلَى وَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْهِ اللهُ صَلَّى مُحَمَّدٍ وَرَسُولُكَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallama tasliman kathira)subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Brothers and sisters, I ask you again What if Trayvon was Muslim and he walked in the masjid? What would be your attitude towards him? And how would we treat him? And how would we look at him? And I want you to really think about this If someone wants to say to me There is nothing wrong with saying (عَبْدٌ مُحَمَّدٍ - 'abd muhammad) I'm telling you it's haram to say so Because it hurts your brother If someone comes to me and says to me That you know what, Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala These people have been given so many opportunities Minority rights, they can do so much Why don't they do anything? Then why don't you try saving them Instead of us, the Muslims, being in those neighborhoods And selling the drugs that keep those people subdued The people that we're supposed to save The people that we're not supposed to judge The people that we are supposed to be in It's not Muslims as a whole Dua'at, not AllahDua'at, calling them to Islam Not judges And we degrade them And we say that they were born like that And we say they have this characteristic And this characteristic And this characteristic And we wonder why as a Muslim community We get no respect Because we don't respect one another So we can't cry about others stereotyping us And others being racist towards us So long as we are racist towards one another It's not going to change Because Allahazza wa jal says:

Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala will not change the condition of the people Until they change that which is within themselves Unless we respect each other Unless we treat everyone else like dignified human beings And do not accuse Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala of being unjust And do not think of ourselves to be better than others And respect the knowledge of whoever the person is Regardless of his race And accept the person in our families You know, it's one thing to talk, Oh Bilalradiallahu anhu We can name our children after him But look what Ahmad al-Khattab radiallahu anhu calls him Our master Not only did he not call him a act Our master Our Mawla Who was freed by our master Abu Bakr as-Siddiqradiallahu ta'ala anhu Not only did they say, Oh Bilalradiallahu anhu has a lofty position in Islam Look, he does that from the Kaaba That's good PR Black people say Islam is not a racist religion Abdul Rahman ibn A'udhradiallahu ta'ala anhu One of the most dignified people in society And the richest man in his society

Pursued Bilalradiallahu anhu to marry him to his family The sahaba lived it They didn't just talk it So when the Arab, Pakistani, Indian, Turkish, Black, White ends In sha Allahta'ala The terrorists will end And that will stop too But let's not teach that barbarism to our children Let's not teach our barbarism to our children And allow that to continue And allow our children to use those same words And to act in the same manner that we acted as And if you didn't know before dear brothers and sisters I only ask you to stop now Watch yourself Watch yourself in your comments Because you really might hurt somebody You might run someone away from Islam.

Closing Du'a

We ask Allahsubhana wa ta'ala to forgive us in sha Allah We ask Allahsubhana wa ta'ala to forgive us for the sins that we commit knowingly and unknowingly The small ones and the large ones We ask Allahsubhana wa ta'ala to establish justice in this society And make us bearers of mercy We ask Allahsubhana wa ta'ala to establish justice all around the world We ask Allah to free our brothers and sisters In Syria, in Palestine, in Afghanistan And all over the world from the oppression that they face We ask Allahsubhana wa ta'ala to alleviate the poverty From our brothers and sisters in Somalia and Pakistan And wherever they are in the world And we ask Allahsubhana wa ta'ala not to leave us a people Who have come out of their role But to make us slaves and servants of Allahsubhana wa ta'ala altogether Who recognize that we have been created as human beings And as forgetful people And the only way we attain success is to be reminded and draw closer to Allahazza wa jalla Allahumma ansur al-mustad'afeena fi al-shaam Allahumma ansurhum fi afghanistan Allahumma ansurhum fi kulli makan Allahumma ahlik al-zalimeen wa al-zalimeen Wa akhlijna min baylihi salimeen.

Al Fatiha