’’عَنْ جُبَیْرِبْنِ مُطْعِمٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اﷲِ ’’لَیْسَ مِنَّامَنْ دَعَا اِلیٰ عَصَبِیَۃٍ وَ لَیْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ قَاتَلَ عَصَبِیَّۃً وَ لَیْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ مَاتَ عَلیٰ عَصَبِیَّۃٍ‘‘(ابوداؤد(
“Hazrat Juber bin Mutim ؓ narrates that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “He is not among us who calls people towards prejudice. He is not among us who fights with the spirit of prejudice and he is not among us who died involved in prejudice.”
Explanation:
In Arabic language, the word ‘عصبیت’ or ‘تعصب’ literally means to pack, fold or to mingle two things with each other. Similarly, there is also another word as ‘حمیت’ meaning to defy, protect or support someone. Generally, this word is used in the meaning of unnecessary prejudice or illegal partiality, which is a great moral evil and sin. Only if the jealousy is in the limits of Islamic Shariah, it is commendable, on the contrary if is practiced as during the days of ignorance, it will be also called ‘عصبیت’. It plays a great role in deviating someone from the right path, doing injustice and rejecting Truth even after realizing it a Truth.
The beloved uncle of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, who cared him just like a father and opposed all other tribes of Quraish in supporting and favouring him and also accompanied him just like a shadowed tree, on the top of it, he turned all his children to be the servants of Islam, but it was due the same prejudice of ignorance that he could not profess his faith in Allah, the Almighty and His beloved Messgenr ﷺ and took his last breath saying علی ملّۃ عبدالمطلب meaning on the religion followed by Abdul Muttalib.
In reality, prejudice appears in different forms like racial and tribal prejudice of ignorance. Sometimes it causes a man involved in the lingual prejudice while sometimes it divides men based on geographical prejudice. Sometimes it causes a man to be influenced under the prejudice based on sects, groups and different schools of thoughts while sometimes it appears in the form of safeguarding the limitations of caste, colour and creed. These days, the professional and sexual prejudice is also rampant.
The way Islam has declared fulfilling one’s right and protection of one’s belongings, in the same way, it declared maintaining ties of relationship as one’s self-identity while disregarding it as a heinous sin. Allah, the Almighty has endowed every man with the spirit of caring and behaving well with his relatives, but when the same spirit appears in the form of illegal partiality and prejudice of ignorance, it is subject to be an open disobedience of Allah, the Almighty
The likeness of one who supports his family or tribe in illegal and false affairs is the likeness of the camel tending to fall in the well while a man is pulling it back holding its tail, but, as a result, both of them fall in it. (Abu Dawood)
As a matter of fact, prejudice is an antonym of the basic teachings of Islam, the unity of God and Adam. Says Allah, the Almighty in the Holy Qura’n:
يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اِنَّا خَلَقْنٰكُمْ مِّنْ ذَكَرٍ وَّاُنْثٰى وَجَعَلْنٰكُمْ شُعُوْبًا وَّقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوْا اِنَّ اَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ اَ تْقٰكُمْ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيْمٌ خَبِيْرٌ (13)
Quran Ayah Data not found….for Surah:49, Ayah:13 and Translation:24
Quran Surah:49 Ayah:13
“O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into races and tribes, so that you may identify one another. Surely the noblest of you, in Allah’s sight, is the one who is most pious of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
Indeed, all the human races have been divided with different names with view to make the process of recognizing each other easier. Neither of them is superior to each other. Only one is better in the sight of Allah, the Almighty who has fear of Him while as a human-being all of them are equal. Hence, Islam exhorts its followers to develop sincerity in obedience to Allah and professing his belief in Him as it says in the following words:
’’وَمَا اُمِرُوْ اِلاَّ لِیْعَبُد وااﷲَ مُخْلِصِیْنَ لَہٗ الدِّیْنَ حُنَفَائَ‘‘ (سورہ بینہ:۵(
“While they were not ordered but to worship Allah, making their submission exclusive for him with no deviation.”
On the other hand, there had been pointed out to a way of making one’s belief and conviction perfect in the words: One who is pleased being Allah his Lord, Islam being his religion and Muhammad as his Prophet, has really perfected his belief and faith.
At another place it is said:
“By Allah, no one among you can be a perfect believer unless and until I become dearer to him than his son, father and the entire mankind on the face of the earth.”
On the contrary, prejudice penetrates in to the hearts of a man the true love towards one’s homeland, family, tribe and language in preference with Allah, His Messenger and leaving one’s home lands and hearths for seeking Allah’s pleasure and motivates it to sacrifice everything for them.
What Islam teaches is “کلّھُمْ مِنْ آدَمَ وَ آدَمَ مِنْ تُرابٍ”All of you are the offspring of Adam and Adam was created from soil. “اَلْخَلْقُ عَیَال اﷲ” ‘The whole creature is the family of Allah’ while prejudice is just contrary to the unity of Adam, rather it divides the entire mankind into different races and groups and regards its advantage to be the only main objective of a man.
During his Hajjat-ul-Wida, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had clearly announced that that day he had brought each and every prejudice of the days of ignorance to an end. He addressed, “O people! Is not your lord One and Only? No Arab has any superiority to any Ajami nor any Ajami to any Arab, neither any Black to any White nor any White to any Black one except that of the superiority of piety. In fact the most superior among you is one who has more fear of Allah, the Almighty.
Prejudice does not refer only to a sin ore act of disobedience, rather it a combination of a number of sins, they are as follows:
Firstly, the one who practices prejudice and bigotry does not seek Allah’s pleasure, rather that of his community, tribe or any particular sect or group, which is nothing but completely infidelity.
Secondly, he hates everyone except those of his group and wishes ill for them.
Thirdly, his heart is always filled with bigotry and prejudice.
Fourthly, this kind of nature result in deviating one from the righteous path.
Fifthly, he is more inclined to practice injustice and cruelty based on prejudice.
Sixthly, the prejudice makes him blind with the result that he fails to distinguish between right and wrong.
The foundation which Islam has provided to its followers is only one, that is, the unity of Allah, belief and Islam. The same fact has been laid out in the following verse:
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا ارْكَعُوْا وَاسْجُدُوْا وَ اعْبُدُوْا رَبَّكُمْ وَافْعَلُوْا الْخَيْرَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُوْنَ۩ (77) وَجَاهِدُوْا فِى اللّٰهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِه هُوَ اجْتَبٰكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِى الدِّيْنِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ اَبِيْكُمْ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ هُوَ سَمّٰكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِىْ هٰذَا لِيَكُوْنَ الرَّسُوْلُ شَهِيْدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُوْنُوْا شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ ۖ فَاَقِيْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَاٰتُوا الزَّكٰوةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوْا بِاللّٰهِ هُوَ مَوْلٰكُمْ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلٰى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيْرُ (78)
Quran Ayah Data not found….for Surah:22, Ayah:77 and Translation:24
Quran Surah:22 Ayah:77-78
“O you who believe, bow down in Ruku and bow down in Sajdah, and worship your Lord and do good deeds, so that you achieve success. Struggle for (seeking the pleasure of) Allah, a struggle that is owed to Him. He has chosen you and did not impose any hardship on you in the religion, the faith of your father Ibrahim. He (Allah) named you as Muslims earlier and also in this (Qur’an), so that the Messenger becomes a witness to you, and you become witnesses to (other) people. So establish Salah, pay Zakah and hold fast to Allah. He is your patron. So, how excellent He is as a patron, and how excellent as a supporter!”
Even the blessed account of the Holy Prophet ﷺ provides a witness to the fact that he had always established the unity of his community on the foundation of true belief and Islam and whenever anyone wished to disperse this unity, he immediately defended it and never gave any chance to flourish it.
Since, the prejudice of ignorance had filled in the hearts of Arab abundantly, it is for this reason that all the other tribes of Quraish turned to be the hostile and enemy of Banu Hashim due to raising up a Prophet ﷺ among Banu Hashim to such extent that all of them agreeably boycotted Banu Hashim and it was due to the tribal prejudice that Banu Hashim supported the Holy Prophet ﷺ while they had not even accepted Islam. Even the Jews and Christians were waiting for the appearance of a Last Prophet as also given gladtidings about it in their scriptures. But, when the same prophet was born in Banu Ismail, they rejected him only due to prejudice and bigotry. Eevn the Jews and hypocrites of Madinah did their best to provoke Aus and Khazraj having narrated to them the old events of enmity and therefore, once they unleashed their swords to have a war, but an effective discourse of the Holy Prophet ﷺ calmed it down.
It was the same spirit of prejudice and bigotry which demoralized the Ansar against Muhajireen, but it was by dint of making them understand by the Holy Prophet ﷺ that they realized this guilt.
Even the same prejudice took place after the sad demise of the Holy Prophet ﷺ when the Ansar gathered together in Thaqifah bin Saidah with intention to select someone as a successor to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, but, due to making them understand by Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique ؓ , they came to their senes.
At several occasions, the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself came forward and uprooted the same spirit of prejudice and bigotry and presented such a model which would continue guiding the entire mankind upto the Day of Judgment. The Holy Prophet ﷺ married Hazrat Zaid bin Harithah ؓ to his cousin sister (from father’s side), Hazrat Zainab ؓ who came from a noble family of Banu Hashim. Zaid was frees slave. The Holy Prophet ﷺ appointed Zaid’s son, Usama, even in the presence of other eminent and great companions as a leader of army, but all of them fought this battle under his leadership. Even the companions trained by him possessed the same spirit. Hazrat Umar Faruque ؓ would address Hazrat Bilal ؓ calling ‘Our Master’. Prior to his martyrdom, while he was in injured condition, he ordered Hazrat Suhaib Roomi ؓ to lead Salah in Masjid-e-Nabwi. Hazrat Umar ؓ, during his last time, would say that he wished the slave of Abu Huzaifah ؓ was alive so that he could appoint him as a caliph.
It was Ansar who supported Muhajireen just like uterine brothers when they migrated to Madeenah having left their property, family and homelands in a helpless condition. They kept them with them and provided them with houses, made them their partners in their business, gave them lands and did not let them even notice homelessness and helplessness. In fact, the very brotherhood established on the foundation of true faith and Islam, each and every individual of it is connected with the strong cable of Allah, the Almighty. All their support, sacrifice and selflessness aims at seeking Allah’ pleasure. When they are fully coloured with the colour of Allah, all the temporary defects are washed away and one of them is the prejudice, the worst defect.
The irreligious and ungoldly people always give rise to prejudice and bigotry. Even these days, the western people have brought into existence different types of prejudice like geographical, racial, lingual, tribal and based on caste, colour and creed in the whole world. Based on the same prejudices, the people are engaged in fighting with each other. Even our country, India, has turned to be a phenomenon of state vise, lingual and religious contempt. The vote politics are also adding fuel to it. Now, this contempt has reached its peak, as a result, different parties are inclined towards bringing each other to an end. Many a parties like Nexelwadi, Bodoforce, Babar Khalisah, Bajrang Dal, Shivsena and so on are nothing but a result of prejudice and bigotry. Hence, today we extremely need to acquaint them with Islamic teachings.
Someone has rightly said in Urdu Language:
ذات اور برادری کی تفریق کو مٹا کر
آدم کی ذریت کو بھائی بہن بنانا
مسلک کی حیثیت سے پہچان نامناسب
ہر رنگ کو مٹا کر اللہ کا رنگ چڑھانا
رنگ و نسل کی نفرت ہے رسم جاہلانہ
ہر جاہلی عداوت جڑ سے سدا مٹانا
فرقہ گروہ بندی یہ دیش کا تعصب
شیطاں کا مکرو فتنہ اللہ ہمیں بچانا