“Anyone who says that the Prophet is black should be killed”: The ...
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<strong>“Anyone</strong> <strong>who</strong> <strong>says</strong> <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong> <strong>should</strong> <strong>be</strong> <strong>killed”</strong>:<br />
<strong>The</strong> De-Arabization of Islam and <strong>the</strong> Transfiguration of MuÈammad in Islamic Tradition ∗<br />
By Wesley Williams, PhD<br />
Michigan State University<br />
(Work In Progress)<br />
Abstract<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> paper argues <strong>that</strong> a convergence of evidences – lingu<strong>is</strong>tic, ethnographic, and literary<br />
– suggests <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> earliest documented Arabs were likely a Kushite or dark-skinned group,<br />
probably derivative from a group of African ‘Proto-Semitic’ speakers <strong>that</strong> possibly entered <strong>the</strong><br />
Levant from Africa several millennia <strong>be</strong>fore <strong>the</strong> Common Era. <strong>The</strong> Classical Arabic/Islamic<br />
literary sources confirm <strong>the</strong> same, <strong>that</strong> a noble Arab was a <strong>black</strong>-skinned Arab. Th<strong>is</strong> makes it<br />
most unlikely <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Islamic prophet MuÈammad, reputedly a most noble Arab, was fairskinned<br />
as in <strong>the</strong> popular imagination and in official and un-official representations, literary as<br />
well as v<strong>is</strong>ual. We have every reason to <strong>be</strong>lieve <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Islamic prophet was a <strong>black</strong>-skinned<br />
Arab, including explicit testimony in <strong>the</strong> literary sources. While testimony to a fair-skinned<br />
MuÈammad <strong>is</strong> found <strong>the</strong>re as well, th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> no doubt a secondary development <strong>that</strong> was impacted<br />
by a profound shift in <strong>the</strong> demographic balance of power in <strong>the</strong> Muslim world <strong>that</strong> followed <strong>the</strong><br />
#Abb§sid Revolution of 132/750. An ethnically Arab MuÈammad was no longer palatable to <strong>the</strong><br />
tastes of a now ethnically diverse umma, and <strong>the</strong> changed status of Arabs and non-Arabs within<br />
<strong>the</strong> kingdom <strong>is</strong> reflected in <strong>the</strong> new representation of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>. Th<strong>is</strong> study suggests <strong>the</strong> need<br />
for a closer look at <strong>the</strong> development of <strong>the</strong> racial ethic in Islam and <strong>the</strong> impact th<strong>is</strong> development<br />
had on <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong> emerging Islamic tradition.<br />
I. Introduction<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 14th century illuminated manuscript <strong>the</strong> Luttrell Psalter <strong>the</strong>re <strong>is</strong> a ra<strong>the</strong>r fascinating<br />
image of a joust <strong>be</strong>tween <strong>the</strong> Crusader Richard <strong>the</strong> Lionheart and <strong>the</strong> Muslim Sultan, Salah ad-<br />
Din, <strong>the</strong> Saladin of legend. 1 Saladin himself <strong>is</strong> depicted dark blue with a grotesque physiognomy.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> conforms to Chr<strong>is</strong>tian polemical convention of <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages: <strong>the</strong> Saracens or Muslim<br />
Arabs (and Turks) were depicted dark and th<strong>is</strong> darkness associated <strong>the</strong>m with <strong>the</strong> demonic<br />
world. 2 In representations <strong>the</strong>ir physiognomical features are also routinely d<strong>is</strong>torted to imply such<br />
an association.<br />
Particularly arresting about th<strong>is</strong> ‘Saracen’ depiction <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> shield carried by Saladin:<br />
engraved on it <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> image of <strong>the</strong> head of a <strong>black</strong> man with what could <strong>be</strong> taken as curly hair.<br />
H<strong>is</strong> features are likew<strong>is</strong>e d<strong>is</strong>torted, yet h<strong>is</strong> real<strong>is</strong>tic African (Ethiopian?) features are conspicuous<br />
(e.g. while Saladin’s complexion <strong>is</strong> an unreal<strong>is</strong>tic blue <strong>the</strong> head on <strong>the</strong> shield <strong>is</strong> a real<strong>is</strong>tic dark<br />
brown). Who <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> man on Saladin’s shield supposed to <strong>be</strong>? Debra Higgs Strickland, <strong>who</strong><br />
∗<br />
I would like to thank Dana Marniche and Tariq Berry for <strong>the</strong>ir invaluable feedback and material contributions to<br />
th<strong>is</strong> paper.<br />
1 On <strong>the</strong> Luttrell Psalter see Michael Camille, Mirror in Parchment: <strong>The</strong> Luttrell Psalter and <strong>the</strong> Making of<br />
Medieval England (London: Reaktion, 1998).<br />
2 See especially Debra Higgs Strickland, Saracens, demons, & Jews: making monsters in medieval art<br />
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003) Chapter 2, 168, 173, 179-180. For images of <strong>black</strong> Turks (Tartars) see<br />
Michael Camille, <strong>The</strong> Gothic Idol: Ideology and Image-Making in Medieval Art (Cambridge: Cambridge<br />
University Press, 1991) 154-155.<br />
1
has studied <strong>the</strong> depiction of Muslims in th<strong>is</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tian literature and iconography, suggests <strong>that</strong> it<br />
<strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> image of <strong>the</strong> Islamic prophet MuÈammad. 3 It <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> case <strong>that</strong>, at least in Chr<strong>is</strong>tian literary<br />
depictions of <strong>the</strong> Muslims, it was <strong>the</strong> latter’s practice to carry images of MuÈammad on <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
shield. 4 But <strong>the</strong>se are pro-Crusader polemics <strong>that</strong> went out of <strong>the</strong>ir way to m<strong>is</strong>represent <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
Muslim enemy. Thus, even if Strickland <strong>is</strong> right in her identification, we cannot take <strong>the</strong>se<br />
representations as necessarily reflecting any h<strong>is</strong>torical reality. 5 It <strong>is</strong> not impossible, however, <strong>that</strong><br />
some Chr<strong>is</strong>tians encountered such images of <strong>the</strong> prophet of Islam among some Muslims. <strong>The</strong><br />
presence of Muslim proscriptions against such iconography <strong>is</strong> no real argument against th<strong>is</strong><br />
possibility: images of MuÈammad ex<strong>is</strong>t today and have ex<strong>is</strong>ted in <strong>the</strong> Muslim world, since at least<br />
<strong>the</strong> 13th century and may<strong>be</strong> earlier, in spite of th<strong>is</strong> proscription. 6 In any case, it seems <strong>that</strong>,<br />
whatever <strong>the</strong> source of <strong>the</strong>ir information, some European Chr<strong>is</strong>tians imagined <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> prophet<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir dark-skinned Muslim enemies was himself dark-skinned. 7<br />
That <strong>the</strong> prophet MuÈammad was a white-skinned Arab of noble genealogy <strong>is</strong> a Muslim<br />
and Western academic orthodoxy. Islamic<strong>is</strong>t Frederick Ma<strong>the</strong>wson Denny, in h<strong>is</strong> widely used<br />
textbook, An Introduction to Islam, descri<strong>be</strong>s <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> as “redd<strong>is</strong>h-white, he had <strong>black</strong><br />
eyes and long eyelashes”. 8 Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> no doubt based on a long pre-modern Islamic literary and<br />
iconographic tradition, 9 a tradition so detailed some scholars are convinced <strong>that</strong> an accurate<br />
3 Strickland, Saracens, demons, & Jews, 179, 189.<br />
4 Paul Bancourt, Les Musulmans dans les chansons geste du cycle du roi, 2 vols. (Aix-en-Provence:<br />
Publications Diffusion, 1982) II: 914-915; Meredith Jones, “<strong>The</strong> Conventional Saracen of <strong>the</strong> Songs of Geste,”<br />
Speculum 17 (1942): 214. Especially illuminating in th<strong>is</strong> regard <strong>is</strong> no doubt <strong>the</strong> Itinerarium Peregrinorum (Itinerary of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Pilgrims), a Latin prose narrative of King Richard I of England which chronicles England’s participation in <strong>the</strong><br />
Third Crusade in 1189-1192. Saladin was <strong>the</strong> Muslim ruler of Egypt and Syria (and thus of Jerusalem) during <strong>the</strong><br />
Third Crusade, making <strong>the</strong> claims of <strong>the</strong> Itinerarium Peregrinorum relevant to our famous Luttrell Psalter image. <strong>The</strong><br />
anonymous Engl<strong>is</strong>h (?) author <strong>says</strong> regarding <strong>the</strong> Muslim ‘enemy’: “Among [<strong>the</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tians’] opponents was a<br />
fiend<strong>is</strong>h race, forceful and relentless, deformed by nature and unlike o<strong>the</strong>r living <strong>be</strong>ings, <strong>black</strong> in color, of enormous<br />
stature and inhuman savageness. Instead of helmets <strong>the</strong>y wore red coverings (i.e. turbans) on <strong>the</strong>ir heads,<br />
brand<strong>is</strong>hing in <strong>the</strong>ir hands clubs br<strong>is</strong>tling with iron teeth, <strong>who</strong>se shattering blows nei<strong>the</strong>r helmets nor mailshirts<br />
could res<strong>is</strong>t. As a standard <strong>the</strong>y carried a carved effigy of Muhammad.” Quoted from Strickland, Saracens,<br />
demons, & Jews, 169.<br />
5 Jones, “Conventional Saracen,” passim.<br />
6 See Wijdan Ali, “From <strong>the</strong> Literal to <strong>the</strong> Spiritual: <strong>The</strong> Development of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> Muhammad’s Portrayal from<br />
13th Century Ilkhanid Miniatures to 17th Century Ottoman Art,” EJOS 4 (2001) (=M. Kiel, N. Landman and H.<br />
<strong>The</strong>un<strong>is</strong>sen [edd.], Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> 11th International Congress of Turk<strong>is</strong>h Art, Utrecht – <strong>The</strong><br />
Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands, August 23-28, 1999, No. 7: 1-24); Pr<strong>is</strong>cilla P. Soucek, “<strong>The</strong> Life of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>: Illustrated<br />
Versions,” in Pr<strong>is</strong>cilla P. Soucek (ed.), Content and Context of V<strong>is</strong>ual Arts in <strong>the</strong> Islamic World (University<br />
Park and London: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988) 193-217. Sir Thomas W. Arnold, Painting in<br />
Islam: A Study of <strong>the</strong> Place of Pictorial Art in Muslim Culture (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1965)<br />
91-100.<br />
7<br />
Strickland notes <strong>that</strong> in th<strong>is</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tian literature and iconography “dark skin <strong>is</strong> an indentifying attribute of Saracens<br />
(1973).” See fur<strong>the</strong>r John V. Tolan, Saracens: Islam in <strong>the</strong> Medieval European Imagination (New York:<br />
Columbia University Press, 2002) 106 and Diane Speed, “<strong>The</strong> Saracens of King Horn,” Speculum 65 (1990): 580-<br />
582.<br />
8 Frederick Ma<strong>the</strong>wson Denny, An Introduction to Islam, Third Edition (Upper Saddle River, NJ:<br />
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006) 69. See also Tarif Khalidi Images of Muhammad: Narratives of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> in<br />
Islam Across <strong>the</strong> Centuries (New York: Doubleday, 2009) 42, 97.<br />
9 E.g. Ibn Sa#d, Kib§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, edd. Eugen Mittwoch and Eduard Sachau, Ibn Saad: Biographien<br />
(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1917) I/ii,120-127 (=idem, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, trans. S. Moinul Haq and H.K.<br />
Ghazanfar [Karachi: Pak<strong>is</strong>tan H<strong>is</strong>torical Society, 1986] I/ii, 484-499); ‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, b§b ßifat al-nabÊ, nos. 744,<br />
747 (=<strong>The</strong> Translation of <strong>the</strong> Meanings of ‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, Arabic-Engl<strong>is</strong>h, trans. Dr. MuÈammad<br />
MuÈsin Kh§n [Medina: Islamic University, 1985] IV: 485-488); Muslim, ‘aÈÊÈ Muslim, b§b: k§na al-nabÊ (s)<br />
2
likeness of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> could easily <strong>be</strong> drawn by an art<strong>is</strong>t. 10 In Muslim iconography, even when<br />
<strong>the</strong> proscription against depicting <strong>the</strong> v<strong>is</strong>age of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>is</strong> honored, often an exposed limb<br />
(e.g. a hand) leaves no doubt as to <strong>the</strong> white complexion of God’s Last Messenger. 11<br />
<strong>The</strong> real question <strong>is</strong> thus not ‘How could Muslims have depicted MuÈammad’ but ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
‘How could Muslims have possibly depicted MuÈammad as <strong>black</strong>”! No less of an authority than<br />
Q§∙Ê #Iy§∙ (d. 544/1149), in h<strong>is</strong> famous al-Shif§, could report: “AÈmad b. AbÊ Sulaym§n, <strong>the</strong><br />
companion of SaÈnån, said, ‘Anyone <strong>who</strong> <strong>says</strong> <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was <strong>black</strong> (aswad) <strong>should</strong> <strong>be</strong><br />
killed. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was not <strong>black</strong>’.” 12 Th<strong>is</strong> declaration of course ra<strong>is</strong>es its own set of questions,<br />
like: Why would such a fatwa even <strong>be</strong> necessary except <strong>the</strong>re was in circulation <strong>the</strong> claim <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong> was <strong>black</strong>. On what was such a claim based? And why would describing MuÈammad as<br />
<strong>black</strong>, whatever its h<strong>is</strong>torical merits, <strong>be</strong> so offensive as to warrant death? 13 We might <strong>be</strong> tempted<br />
to d<strong>is</strong>m<strong>is</strong>s <strong>the</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tian depiction of dark-skinned Muslims as imbued with polemical symbol<strong>is</strong>m,<br />
which it certainly possesses. But it <strong>is</strong> equally true <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Muslims’ own depictions are imbued<br />
with apologetic symbol<strong>is</strong>m. 14 In addition, while <strong>black</strong>ness in particular in th<strong>is</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tian literary<br />
and iconographic tradition has symbolic, moral significance, 15 we no doubt have to do here with<br />
a “convergence entre la réalité et le symbol<strong>is</strong>m” 16;<br />
<strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> conquering Muslims from Arabia<br />
abya∙, malÊÈ al-wajh, apud al-NawawÊ, Minhaj sharÈ ‘aÈÊÈ Muslim, 18 vols., ed. KhalÊl Ma"mån ShÊh§ (Beirut:<br />
D§r al-Ma#rifa, 1994) XV: 92-97 nos. 6025, 6026, 6033-6035 (=Muslim, ‘aÈÊÈ Muslim, 4 vols. Trans. ‘Abdul<br />
\amÊd ‘iddÊqÊ [New Delhi: Kit§b Bhavan, 1994 (1977)] IV: 1250-1251 nos. 5777-5778, 5785-5786); Abå D§wåd<br />
al-Sij<strong>is</strong>t§nÊ, Sunan Abu Dawud (<strong>The</strong> Third correct Tradition of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>ic Sunna), Engl<strong>is</strong>h-Arabic, 5<br />
vols. trans. Mohammad Mahdi al-Sharif (Beirut: Dar al-Kotob Al-ilmiyah, 2008) V/xxxv, no. 4864; Al-TirmidhÊ,<br />
Sunan al-TirmidhÊ (Hims: Maktabat D§r al-Da#wah, 1965-) VI:69 no. 1754; Al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-<br />
NabÊ, edd. M§hir Y§sin Fahl and Bashsh§r #Aww§d Ma#råf (Beirut: D§r al-Gharb al-Isl§mÊ, 2000) nos. 6, 12, 14;<br />
al-BayhaqÊ, Dal§"il al-nubuwwah wa ma#rifat aÈw§l ߧÈib al-sharÊ#ah, ed. #Abd al-Mu#tÊ Qal#ajÊ (Beirut:<br />
D§r al-Kutub al-#IlmÊya, 1985) I:201-209; Ibn KathÊr, al-Bid§yah wa-"l-nih§yah (Beirut: Maktabat al-Ma#§rif,<br />
1966) VI:13-15. In terms of <strong>the</strong> iconographic tradition see e.g. Arnold, Painting, Plates XIX-XXIII; Ali, “From <strong>the</strong><br />
Literal,” Figs. 1-11.<br />
10 Khalidi Images, 96; Clinton Bennett, In Search of Muhammad (London and New York: Cassell, 1998) 36.<br />
11 See e.g. Ali, “From <strong>the</strong> Literal,” Figs. 9, 11; Jonathon E. Brockopp (ed.), <strong>The</strong> Cambridge Companion to<br />
MuÈammad (Cambridge: University Press, 2010) 49 fig. 3.<br />
12 Al-Q§∙Ê ‘Iy§∙ b. Mås§ al-YaÈßubÊ, al-Shif§ bi-ta#rÊf Èuqåq al-Mußãaf§ (al-JÊzah: D§r al-F§råq lil-<br />
Istithm§r§t al-Thaq§fiyah, 2009) 558, 540 (=Muhammad: Messenger of Allah. Ash-Shifa of Qadi ‘Iyad,<br />
trans. A<strong>is</strong>ha Abdarrahman Bewley [Scotland: Madinah Press Inverness, 2004] 387, 375)<br />
13 <strong>The</strong> Iranian shaykhs Maulana Muhammad Zakaria and Ahmed E. Bemat, in <strong>the</strong>ir commentary on al-TirmidhÊ’s<br />
al-Sham§"il al-MuÈammadÊyah, claim: “<strong>the</strong> Holy <strong>Prophet</strong>’s (s) white complexion had a touch of redness and<br />
<strong>the</strong>re was a luster in it…Hence <strong>the</strong> Imams have stated <strong>that</strong> ‘if someone <strong>says</strong> <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Holy <strong>Prophet</strong>’s (s) complexion<br />
was <strong>black</strong>, we will <strong>is</strong>sue a fatwa of infidelity (kufr) for him <strong>be</strong>cause he insulted and d<strong>is</strong>paraged <strong>the</strong> Holy <strong>Prophet</strong> (s) and<br />
<strong>the</strong> insulting and d<strong>is</strong>paraging of a prophet amounts to infidelity…” Shaikh a-Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakaria<br />
and Shaikh al-Hadith Mufti Ahmed E. Bemat, in Shamail-e-Tirmizi, trans. Prof. Murtaza Hussain F. Qurashi<br />
(New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 2006) 11. Th<strong>is</strong> ra<strong>is</strong>es an important question itself, to <strong>be</strong> explored fur<strong>the</strong>r <strong>be</strong>low: what <strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> social, political, ideological and/or demographic context in which <strong>the</strong> simple attribution of a <strong>black</strong> complexion to<br />
a prophet <strong>is</strong> tantamount to insulting <strong>that</strong> prophet?<br />
14 As Khalidi, Images, 42 points out regarding such descriptions of MuÈammad as ‘white’, etc.: “<strong>the</strong>se physical<br />
character<strong>is</strong>tics are clearly symbolic in character...One might argue <strong>that</strong> most of <strong>the</strong>se physical attributes appear to<br />
point to h<strong>is</strong> immaculateness and h<strong>is</strong> freedom from physical blem<strong>is</strong>h. Many are allusions to <strong>the</strong> descriptions of<br />
<strong>be</strong>autiful women in pre-Islamic poetry…<strong>the</strong> age of <strong>the</strong> Hadith…was far more sensitive to physiognomy than we are:<br />
to <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong> physical exterior of a human <strong>be</strong>ing was intimately linked to h<strong>is</strong> or her moral character.”<br />
15 Bancourt, Les Musulmans, I:69.<br />
16 Bancourt, Les Musulmans, I:58. Bancourt acknowledged th<strong>is</strong> convergence only with regard to depictions of<br />
blond Saracens, and argued instead <strong>that</strong> “Beaucoup de Sarrasins sont noirs non parce que cette representation a un<br />
support objectif et h<strong>is</strong>torique, ma<strong>is</strong> parce qu’ils sont méchants et maudits.” Ibid. 71. We will argue differently <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
3
were dark-skinned <strong>is</strong> attested in a num<strong>be</strong>r of sources. 17 It will <strong>be</strong> argued here <strong>that</strong> a convergence<br />
of evidences – lingu<strong>is</strong>tic, ethnographic, and literary – suggests <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tian depiction of a<br />
dark-skinned MuÈammad <strong>is</strong> likely a more faithful h<strong>is</strong>torical representation – mutat<strong>is</strong> mutand<strong>is</strong> its<br />
polemical d<strong>is</strong>tortions – of Islam’s prophet. It will <strong>be</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r suggested <strong>that</strong>, among o<strong>the</strong>r things, a<br />
“cataclysmic shift in <strong>the</strong> demographic balance of power” in <strong>the</strong> Muslim world <strong>that</strong> followed <strong>the</strong><br />
#Abb§sid Revolution of 132/750 impacted <strong>the</strong> representation of MuÈammad in Muslim<br />
literature. 18<br />
II. Ancient Semites: MuÈammad’s African Ancestors?<br />
<strong>The</strong> famed Muslim h<strong>is</strong>torian and Qur"§nic exegete al-•abarÊ (d. 310/923) recorded in<br />
h<strong>is</strong> Ta"rÊkh al-rusul wa"l-mulåk <strong>the</strong> following tradition on <strong>the</strong> authority of #Abd Allāh b.<br />
#Abbās (d. 68/687), <strong>the</strong> cousin of <strong>the</strong> prophet MuÈammad:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Children of Sam (Shem) settled al-Majdal, <strong>the</strong> center of <strong>the</strong> Earth, which <strong>is</strong> <strong>be</strong>tween<br />
Satidim§ and <strong>the</strong> sea and <strong>be</strong>tween Yemen and Syria. Allah made <strong>the</strong> prophets from <strong>the</strong>m,<br />
revealed <strong>the</strong> Books to <strong>the</strong>m, made <strong>the</strong>m <strong>be</strong>autiful, gave <strong>the</strong>m a dark complexion, luminous<br />
and free of blem<strong>is</strong>h (al-udma wa l-bay§∙). <strong>The</strong> children of Ham settled in <strong>the</strong> south, along<br />
<strong>the</strong> course of <strong>the</strong> south and west wind-th<strong>is</strong> region <strong>is</strong> called al-D§råm. Allah gave <strong>the</strong>m a<br />
dark complexion, a few of <strong>who</strong>m were also luminous and free of blem<strong>is</strong>h…<strong>The</strong> children of<br />
Japheth settled in al-‘afån, along <strong>the</strong> course of <strong>the</strong> north and east wind. <strong>The</strong>y are ruddycomplexioned<br />
and very fair-skinned (al-Èumra wa l-shaqra). 19<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> tradition of dark-skinned Semites and Hamites in contrast to fair-skinned Japhites of<br />
<strong>the</strong> north <strong>is</strong> found in Rabbinic Hebrew literature as well. 20 Al-•abarÊ’s report makes two<br />
curious claims. First, while both Semites and Hamites are dark-skinned, <strong>the</strong>re <strong>is</strong> a d<strong>is</strong>tinction<br />
<strong>be</strong>tween <strong>the</strong> two complexions: <strong>the</strong> former’s dark complexion <strong>is</strong> characterized by <strong>be</strong>ing bay§∙, i.e.<br />
free of blem<strong>is</strong>h and imbued with a sheen or luminosity. 21 On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong> darkcomplexion<br />
of most (but not all) Hamites (i.e. Africans) lack th<strong>is</strong> character<strong>is</strong>tic. Th<strong>is</strong> d<strong>is</strong>tinction<br />
will take on greater significance for us later. Secondly, prophecy <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> inheritance of a particular<br />
ethnic group: dark-skinned Semites. It would <strong>the</strong>n follow <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> prophets were all dark-skinned<br />
17 See <strong>be</strong>low. We are using ‘<strong>black</strong>’ here chromatically, not ethnically.<br />
18 <strong>The</strong> language “cataclysmic shift in <strong>the</strong> demographic balance of power” to descri<strong>be</strong> <strong>the</strong> consequence of <strong>the</strong><br />
#Abb§sid Revolution <strong>is</strong> <strong>that</strong> of Saleh Said Agha, <strong>The</strong> Revolution Which Toppled <strong>the</strong> Umayads: Nei<strong>the</strong>r Arab<br />
nor ‘Abbāsid (Leiden: Brill, 2003) 3.<br />
19 Al-•abarÊ, Ta"rÊkh al-rusul wa"l-mulåk, edd. Michael Jan de Goeje and Lawrence Conrad, Annals of <strong>the</strong><br />
Apostles and Kings. A Critical Edition Including ‘Arib’s Supplement (Gorgias Press, 2005) vol. I, 220-<br />
221; <strong>The</strong> H<strong>is</strong>tory of al-•abarÊ Volume II: <strong>Prophet</strong>s and Patriarchs, translated and annotated by William<br />
M. Brinner (Alban, NY: State University of New York Press, 1985) 19.<br />
20 For example <strong>the</strong> 8 th century Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 23 [28a] (Friedlander edition): “Noah brought h<strong>is</strong> sons<br />
and h<strong>is</strong> grandsons, and he blessed <strong>the</strong>m with <strong>the</strong>ir (several) settlements, and he gave <strong>the</strong>m as an inheritance all <strong>the</strong><br />
earth. He especially blessed Shem and h<strong>is</strong> sons, <strong>black</strong> but comely, and he gave <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> inhabitable earth. He<br />
blessed Ham and h<strong>is</strong> sons, <strong>black</strong> like a raven, and he gave <strong>the</strong>m as an inheritance <strong>the</strong> coast of <strong>the</strong> sea. He blessed<br />
Japheth and h<strong>is</strong> sons, <strong>the</strong>y entirely white, and he gave <strong>the</strong>m for an inheritance <strong>the</strong> desert and its fields; <strong>the</strong>se (are <strong>the</strong><br />
inheritances with) which he endowed <strong>the</strong>m.”<br />
21 On al-bay§∙ as ‘luminous’ and free of blem<strong>is</strong>h raher than as ‘white-skinned’ see <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
4
Semites, probably all genealogically related. 22 We know Mås§ (Moses) was <strong>black</strong>-skinned and, 23<br />
while th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> controversial, according to a num<strong>be</strong>r of reports Is§ (Jesus) was as well. 24 From th<strong>is</strong><br />
perspective one might expect Islam’s last prophet to <strong>be</strong> a dark-skinned Semite too.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> religio-literary tradition of dark-skinned Semites <strong>is</strong> cons<strong>is</strong>tent with <strong>the</strong> lingu<strong>is</strong>tic<br />
evidence. “Semitic” <strong>is</strong> properly a lingu<strong>is</strong>tic designation, not racial, and descri<strong>be</strong>s several living<br />
and dead languages and <strong>the</strong>ir native speakers. <strong>The</strong> Semitic family of languages, <strong>the</strong> most<br />
widespread of which <strong>is</strong> Arabic, <strong>is</strong> a branch of a larger language phylum, called by some scholars<br />
Afroasiatic (hereafter AA), which cons<strong>is</strong>ts of <strong>the</strong> Semitic, Ancient Egyptian, Ber<strong>be</strong>r, Cushitic,<br />
Omotic and Chadic families. 25 While a few scholars maintain <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> AA family originated in<br />
Asia, 26 most now seem to argue <strong>that</strong> it originated in Africa where five of <strong>the</strong> six generally<br />
recognized branches still reside. 27 <strong>The</strong> Proto-Semites likely originated from <strong>the</strong>se African AA<br />
speakers, ei<strong>the</strong>r in Africa itself or may<strong>be</strong>, after migrating northward, in <strong>the</strong> Levant. 28<br />
22 <strong>The</strong> Qur"§n suggests <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> prophets were all of <strong>the</strong> same family, <strong>the</strong> progeny (dhurriya) of Adam through<br />
Abraham (57:26; 29:27; 4:163; 19:58). MuÈammad referred to <strong>the</strong> prophets as paternal bro<strong>the</strong>rs (awl§d #al§t):<br />
‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, kit§b aȧdith al-anbiy§", # 651, 652. See fur<strong>the</strong>r David S. Powers, MuÈammad Is Not <strong>the</strong><br />
Fa<strong>the</strong>r of Any of Your Men: <strong>The</strong> Making of <strong>the</strong> Last <strong>Prophet</strong> (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,<br />
2009) 51; Willem A Bijlefeld, “A <strong>Prophet</strong> and More than a <strong>Prophet</strong>?” Muslim World 59 (1969): 17-18.<br />
23 Moses was reportedly tall, thin, curly (ja#d) or straight (sabiã) haired and <strong>black</strong>-skinned (§dam): ‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ,<br />
kit§b aȧdith al-anbiy§", # 574, 607, 608, 647, 648.<br />
24 According to an oft-quoted hadith: “Ibn Umar narrated: <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> (s) said: “[During my Ascension to Heaven] I<br />
saw Moses, Jesus, and Abraham. Jesus was white-skinned (aÈmar), curly haired with a broad chest; Moses was <strong>black</strong>skinned<br />
(§dam), straight-haired and tall as if he was from <strong>the</strong> people of al-£uãã”: ‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, kit§b aȧdith<br />
al-anbiy§", # 648; Ibn Sa#d, Kib§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/ii,125 (=Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, I/ii, 492). On<br />
th<strong>is</strong> account it <strong>is</strong> popularly accepted <strong>that</strong>, while Moses was <strong>black</strong>-skinned, Jesus was white-skinned. However,<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r report ins<strong>is</strong>ts <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> erroneous: “S§lim narrated from h<strong>is</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r: ‘No, By Allah, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> (s) did not<br />
say <strong>that</strong> Jesus was white-skinned but said: “While I was asleep circumambulating <strong>the</strong> Ka’ba (in my dream), suddenly<br />
I saw a <strong>black</strong>-skinned man (rajul §dam) with straight hair walking <strong>be</strong>tween two men, and water dripping from h<strong>is</strong><br />
head. I asked <strong>who</strong> he was, and <strong>the</strong> men said he <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> Son of Mary (Jesus). <strong>The</strong>n I looked <strong>be</strong>hind and saw a whiteskinned<br />
man (rajul aÈmar), fat, curly-haired and blind in <strong>the</strong> right eye which looked like a bulging grape. I asked<br />
<strong>who</strong>m he was and <strong>the</strong>y said, ‘Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> al-Dajj§l’.”’”: ‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, kit§b aȧdith al-anbiy§", # 650, 649. In o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
words, <strong>the</strong> white-skinned man seen in MuÈammad’s v<strong>is</strong>ion was not Jesus, <strong>who</strong> was seen as a <strong>black</strong>-skinned man, but<br />
al- Dajj§l. #AlÊ Q§wÊ al-HarawÊ (d. 1014/1605) in h<strong>is</strong> commentary on al-TirmidhÊ’s famous al-Sham§"il al-<br />
MuÈammadÊyah mentions a variant hadith according to which MuÈammad said regarding Jesus: “I saw a <strong>black</strong>skinned<br />
man (rajul §dam), <strong>the</strong> <strong>be</strong>st one can see among <strong>black</strong>-skinned men.” Q§wÊ al-HarawÊ, Kit§b jam# alwas§"il<br />
fÊ sharÈ al-sham§"il (Istanbul: Maãba’at Shaykh YaÈy§, 1874) 58.<br />
25 See John Huehnergard, “Afro-Asiatic,” in Roger D. Woodard (ed.), <strong>The</strong> Ancient Languages of Syria-<br />
Palestine and Arabia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 225-246.<br />
26 Jared Diamond and Peter Bellwood, “Farmers and <strong>The</strong>ir Languages: <strong>The</strong> First Expansions,” Science 300 (2003):<br />
597-603; idem, “Response,” Science 306 (2004) 1681; Alexander Militariev, “Home for Afrasian: African or<br />
Asian,” in Cushitic and Omotic Languages: Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> Third International Symposium,<br />
Berlin, March 17-19, 1994 (Berlin, 1994) 13-32; “Evidence of Proto-Afrasian Cultural Lexicon (1. Cultivation of<br />
Land. II. Crops. III. Dwelling and Settlement),” in Hans G. Mukarovsky (ed.), Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> Fifth<br />
International Hamito-Semitic Congress (Wien, 1990) I: 73-85; Werner Vycichl, “<strong>The</strong> Origin of <strong>the</strong> Hamito-<br />
Semitic Languages,” in Herrmann Jungraithmayr and Walter W. Müller (edd.), Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> Fourth<br />
Internation Hamito-Semitic Congress, Marburg, 20-22 Septem<strong>be</strong>r, 1983 (Amsterdam and Philadelphia:<br />
John Benjaminus Publ<strong>is</strong>hing Company, 1987) 109-121.<br />
27 Huehnergard, “Afro-Asiatic,” 225; Chr<strong>is</strong>topher Ehret, S.O.Y Keita and Paul Newman, “<strong>The</strong> Origins of<br />
Afroasiatic,” Science 306 (2004) 1680-1681; Carleton T. Hodge, “Afroasiatic: <strong>The</strong> Horizon and Beyond,” in Scott<br />
Noegel and Alan S. Kaye (edd.), Afroasiatic Lingu<strong>is</strong>tics, Semitics, and Egyptology: Selected Writings of<br />
Carleton T. Hodge (Be<strong>the</strong>sda, Maryland: CDL Press, 2004) 64; Chr<strong>is</strong>topher Ehret, Reconstructing Proto-<br />
Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian): vowels, tone, consonants, and vocabulary (Berkeley: University of<br />
California Press, 1995) 487; Nicholas Faraclas, “<strong>The</strong>y Came Before <strong>the</strong> Egyptians: Lingu<strong>is</strong>tic Evidence for <strong>the</strong><br />
5
An African origin of <strong>the</strong> Proto-Semites would make <strong>the</strong> evidence of an African<br />
background to <strong>the</strong> early Arabs comprehensible. George Mendenhall <strong>be</strong>lieves he has identified<br />
<strong>the</strong> “earliest identifiable Arabic-speaking social group,” viz. <strong>the</strong> Midianites, an important political<br />
entity <strong>that</strong> came into ex<strong>is</strong>tence suddenly in <strong>the</strong> 13th century BCE in northwest Arabia.<br />
Mendenhall argues <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong> highly soph<strong>is</strong>ticated culture spoke a language which <strong>is</strong> an archaic<br />
ancestor of modern Arabic. 29 Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> significant, if true, <strong>be</strong>cause as David Golden<strong>be</strong>rg<br />
documents, “Kush <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> ancient name of Midian” and “<strong>the</strong> people of Northwest Arabia (Midian)<br />
were called Kushites.” 30 Th<strong>is</strong> would make <strong>the</strong> earliest identifiable group of Arabic-speakers<br />
Kushites. If, as Jan Restö suggests as well, <strong>the</strong> Priestly author(s) of <strong>the</strong> Hebrew Bible offers us <strong>the</strong><br />
earliest attempt at a systematic description of peoples living on <strong>the</strong> Arabian peninsula around <strong>the</strong><br />
7th century BCE, 31 <strong>the</strong>se peoples in general are <strong>the</strong>re identified as Kushites (Gen 10:7) too. 32 <strong>The</strong><br />
Classical authors called <strong>the</strong> <strong>who</strong>le region from India to Egypt, both counties inclusive, by <strong>the</strong><br />
name Ethiopia. 33 Kushites were <strong>the</strong> dominant ethnic group in Syro-Palestine in late 8th and 7th African Roots of Semitic Languages,” in Silvia Federici (ed.), Enduring Western Civilization: <strong>The</strong><br />
Construction of <strong>the</strong> Concept of Western Civilization and Its “O<strong>the</strong>rs” (Westport, Connecticut and<br />
London: Praeger, 1995) 175-96; Joseph H. Green<strong>be</strong>rg, "African lingu<strong>is</strong>tic classification," in Joseph Ki-Zerbo (ed.),<br />
General H<strong>is</strong>tory of Africa, Volume 1: Methodology and African Preh<strong>is</strong>tory (Berkeley and Los Angeles:<br />
University of California Press. 1981) 292–308. On <strong>the</strong> Africa vs. Asia AA Origin d<strong>is</strong>pute see Daniel P. Mc Call,<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Afroasiatic Language Phylum: African in Origin, or Asian?” Current Anthropology 39 (1998): 139-143.<br />
28 A num<strong>be</strong>r of scholars postulate an African origin of <strong>the</strong> Semitic lingu<strong>is</strong>tic family and its speakers: See e.g. Gregorio<br />
del Olmo Lete, Questions of Semitic Lingu<strong>is</strong>tics. Root and Lexeme: <strong>The</strong> H<strong>is</strong>tory of Research (Be<strong>the</strong>sda,<br />
Maryland: CDL Press, 2008) 115; Edward Lipiński, Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative<br />
Grammar (Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters and Departement Oosterse Studies, 1997) 42-43; Faraclas, “<strong>The</strong>y Came<br />
Before <strong>the</strong> Egyptians” 190; A. Murtonen, Early Semitic (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1967), 74; George Aaron Barton,<br />
Semitic and Hamitic Origins: Social and Religious (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1934) 8;<br />
idem, “<strong>The</strong> Origins of Civilization in Africa and Mesopotamia, <strong>The</strong>ir Relative Antiquity and Interplay,”<br />
Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> American Philosophical Society 68 (1929) 303-312. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, some scholars<br />
postulate a Levantine origin of Proto-Semitic. That <strong>is</strong> to say, a group of African AA speakers migrated nor<strong>the</strong>ast into<br />
<strong>the</strong> Levant and <strong>the</strong>re evolved <strong>the</strong> Proto-Semitic language, may<strong>be</strong> as early as <strong>the</strong> 8 th millennium BCE. See Peter<br />
Bellwood, First Farmers: <strong>The</strong> Origin of Agricultural Societies (Oxford: Blackwell Publ<strong>is</strong>hing, 2005) 209; Igor<br />
M. Diankonoff, “<strong>The</strong> Earliest Semitic Society,” Journal of Semitic Studies 43 (1998): 209-219; idem, “Earliest<br />
Semites in Asia,” Altoriental<strong>is</strong>che Forschungen 8 (1981)23-70 (<strong>the</strong> former article by Diankonoff [1998] <strong>is</strong> a<br />
modification of h<strong>is</strong> views expressed in th<strong>is</strong> latter article [1981]).<br />
29 George E. Mendenhall, “Arabic in Semitic Lingu<strong>is</strong>tic H<strong>is</strong>tory,” JAOS 126 (2006): 17-26; <strong>The</strong> Anchor Bible<br />
Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman et al, 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 4:815 s.v. Midian by George E.<br />
Mendenhall; idem, “<strong>The</strong> Syro-Palestinian Origins of <strong>the</strong> Pre-Islamic Arabic,” in Studies in <strong>the</strong> H<strong>is</strong>tory and<br />
Archaeology of Palestine, vol. III (Aleppo University Press, 1988) 215-223.<br />
30 David M. Golden<strong>be</strong>rg, <strong>The</strong> Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Juda<strong>is</strong>m, Chr<strong>is</strong>tianity, and<br />
Islam (Jews, Chr<strong>is</strong>tians, and Muslims from <strong>the</strong> Ancient to <strong>the</strong> Modern World) (Princeton: Princeton<br />
University Press, 2005) 28, 54. See also Jan Retsö, <strong>The</strong> Arabs in Antiquity: <strong>The</strong>ir H<strong>is</strong>tory from <strong>the</strong><br />
Assyrians to <strong>the</strong> Umayyads (London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003) 139.<br />
31 Retsö, Arabs in Antiquity, 212. Fred V. Winnett similarly saw <strong>the</strong> genealogies of Gen. 10:7 as Arabian<br />
genealogies which “contain information of considerable value for <strong>the</strong> reconstruction of early Arabian h<strong>is</strong>tory.” He<br />
assumes <strong>the</strong>se genealogies reflect <strong>the</strong> political and tribal situation in 6 th cent BCE Arabia. Fred V. Winnett, “<strong>The</strong><br />
Arabian Genealogies in <strong>the</strong> Book of Genes<strong>is</strong>,” in Harry Thomas Frank and William L. Reed (edd.), Translating<br />
and Understanding <strong>the</strong> Old Testament. Es<strong>says</strong> in Honor of Her<strong>be</strong>rt Gordon May (Nashville and New<br />
York: Abingdon Press, 1970) 173.<br />
32 Regarding <strong>the</strong> genealogies of Gen. 10:7 Claus Westermann, Genes<strong>is</strong> 1-11: A Commentary (Minneapol<strong>is</strong>:<br />
Augsburg Publ<strong>is</strong>hing House, 1984) 511 notes: “It <strong>is</strong> certain <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> majority of <strong>the</strong> names descri<strong>be</strong>s peoples in<br />
Arabia,” not Africa.<br />
33 E.g. Strabo, Geography, Book I, Chapter 2, §§ 24-40; E. A. Wall<strong>is</strong> Budge, A H<strong>is</strong>tory of Ethiopia, Nubia and<br />
Abyssinia (According to <strong>the</strong> Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of Egypt and Nubia and <strong>the</strong> Ethiopian<br />
6
centuries BCE, 34 though <strong>the</strong> Africoid presence <strong>the</strong>re probably went back as far as <strong>the</strong> Natufian<br />
culture of <strong>the</strong> 10 th millennium BCE. 35 <strong>The</strong>se were no doubt <strong>black</strong> or dark-skinned (though not<br />
necessarily Negroid) Syro-Palestinians. 36 Being <strong>that</strong> peoples designated as Arabs first appear in<br />
sources connected with events in Syria in <strong>the</strong> first centuries of <strong>the</strong> first millennium BCE, 37 it <strong>is</strong><br />
not unlikely <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> h<strong>is</strong>torical Arabs emerged out of <strong>the</strong>se various groups of Arabian Kushites. 38<br />
Chronicles) 2 vols. (London, 1928: Methuen; republ<strong>is</strong>hed in Oosterhout, <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands, in 1966 in one volume<br />
by Anthropological Publications) I: 2. See also J.W. Gardner, “Blameless Ethiopians and O<strong>the</strong>rs,” Greece and<br />
Rome 24 (1977): 185-193. In th<strong>is</strong> connection it <strong>is</strong> appropriate to note <strong>that</strong> many of <strong>the</strong> early twentieth century<br />
European observes and ethnographers assumed <strong>the</strong> original Arabians to have <strong>be</strong>en <strong>black</strong>-skinned Hamites, part of a<br />
supposed ‘<strong>black</strong> <strong>be</strong>lt of mankind’ stretching from Africa to Melanesia. See e.g. C.G. Seligman, “<strong>The</strong> Physical<br />
Characters of <strong>the</strong> Arabs,” Journal of <strong>the</strong> Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 47<br />
(1917): 214-237; Henry Field, “Ancient and Modern Inhabitants of Arabia,” <strong>The</strong> Open Court 46 (1932): 847-869;<br />
Bertram Thomas, “Racial Origin of <strong>the</strong> Arabs,” in idem, <strong>The</strong> Arabs: <strong>The</strong> life-story of a People <strong>who</strong> have left<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir deep impress on <strong>the</strong> world (London: Thorton Butterworth Ltd., 1937) 353-359.<br />
34 On <strong>the</strong> Kushite presence in <strong>the</strong> Syro-Palestine region see Roger W. Anderson, Jr. “Zephaniah <strong>be</strong>n Cushi and <strong>the</strong><br />
Cush of Benjamin: Traces of Cushite Presence in Syria-Palestine,” in Steven W. Holloway and Lowell K. Handy<br />
(edd.), <strong>The</strong> Picture <strong>is</strong> Broken: Memorial Es<strong>says</strong> for Gösta W. Ahlström (JSOTSupp 190; Sheffield:<br />
Sheffield Academic Press, 1995) 45-70. William Foxwell Albright documented a d<strong>is</strong>trict or tri<strong>be</strong> called Kush in<br />
sou<strong>the</strong>rn Transjordan in <strong>the</strong> 19 th century BCE and a Kûàân-rÙm, “high Kushan” in Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Syria in 13 th -12 th cent<br />
BCE. Williams Foxwell Albright, Archaeology and <strong>the</strong> Religion of Israel (Baltimore: <strong>The</strong> John Hopkins Press,<br />
1956) 205 n. 49. On <strong>the</strong> Kushite presence in North Arabia see also Golden<strong>be</strong>rg, Curse of Ham, 20: “<strong>The</strong> ex<strong>is</strong>tence<br />
of a Kushite people in <strong>the</strong> general area and references to it in <strong>the</strong> Bible have <strong>be</strong>come well accepted in biblical<br />
scholarship.” Even Arabic tradition records an Arabian Kush. Ibn al-Muj§wir in h<strong>is</strong> T§rÊkh al-mustabßir records a<br />
tradition according to which <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Tih§ma was called Kush. G. Rex Smith, A Traveller in Thirteenth-<br />
Century Arabia: Ibn al-Mujāwir’s Tārīkh al-mustabßir [London: Ashgate, 2008] 83 [Eng. 109]<br />
35 On <strong>the</strong> Natufians of Palestine see C. Loring Brace et al, “<strong>The</strong> questionable contribution of <strong>the</strong> Neolithic and <strong>the</strong><br />
Bronze Age to European craniofacial form,” Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> National Academy of Sciences, USA 103<br />
(2006): 242-247; Margherita Mussi, “<strong>The</strong> Natufian of Palestine: <strong>The</strong> Biginnings of Agriculture in a<br />
Palaeoethnological Perspective,” Origini 10 (1976) 89-107; F.J. Los, “<strong>The</strong> Preh<strong>is</strong>toric Ethnology of Palestine,”<br />
Mankind Quarterly 7 (1966): 53-59; Sir Arthur Keith, “<strong>The</strong> Late Palaeolithi Inhabitants of Palestine,”<br />
Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> First International Congress of Preh<strong>is</strong>toric and Protoh<strong>is</strong>toric Sciences, London<br />
August 1-6 1932 (London: Oxford University Press, 1934) 46-47; idem, New D<strong>is</strong>coveries Relating to <strong>the</strong><br />
Antiquity of Man (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1931) 210-211.<br />
36 As Roger W. Anderson, Jr. notes: “<strong>The</strong> Cushites were probably dark-skinned or burnt-faced people, ones <strong>who</strong>m<br />
we would classify today as <strong>black</strong>.” Anderson, “Zephaniah <strong>be</strong>n Cushi,” 68. But Anderson wants to connect <strong>the</strong>se<br />
Syrian Kushites with <strong>the</strong> Nubian rulers of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty <strong>who</strong> had some influence in <strong>the</strong> area. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
hand Ro<strong>be</strong>rt D. Haak has shown <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong> association <strong>is</strong> untenable. “ ‘Cush’ in Zephaniah,” in Holloway and<br />
Handy, Picture <strong>is</strong> Broken, 238-251. On Kushites in <strong>the</strong> area see also Israel Eph’al, <strong>The</strong> Ancient Arabs:<br />
Nomads on <strong>the</strong> Borders of <strong>the</strong> Fertile Crescent 9th – 5th Centuries B.C. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1982) 78-79.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ancient Egyptians also depicted Syro-Palestinians as having “dark hair, brown complexions and Semitic<br />
features”: Frank J. Yurco, “Were <strong>the</strong> Ancient Egyptians Black or White,” BAR 15 (Sept/Oct 1989): 26. In sum, in<br />
Near Eastern, Greco-Roman, Biblical and post-biblical Jew<strong>is</strong>h literatures, Kushites are noted for <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>black</strong> skin.<br />
Golden<strong>be</strong>rg, Curse of Ham, 113-114.<br />
37 Retsö, Arabs in Antiquity, 119.<br />
38 Arabian populations in fact have a much deeper relationship to African populations. <strong>The</strong> peninsula <strong>is</strong>, in terms of<br />
geology and ecology, more appropriately seen as a part of Africa ra<strong>the</strong>r than Asia [Maurizio Tosi, “<strong>The</strong> Emerging<br />
Picture of Preh<strong>is</strong>toric Arabia,” Annual Review of Anthropology 15 (1986): 461-490; D.T. Potts, <strong>The</strong> Arabian<br />
Gulf in Antiquity, Vol. I: From Preh<strong>is</strong>toric to <strong>the</strong> Fall of <strong>the</strong> Achaemenid Empire (Oxford: Oxford<br />
University Press, 1990) 9; Ali A. Mazrui, Euro-Jews and Afro-Arabs: <strong>The</strong> Great Semitic Divergence in<br />
World H<strong>is</strong>tory (Lanham: University Press of America, 2008) Chapter Seven]. <strong>The</strong> first hominines of <strong>the</strong> peninsula<br />
were likely African migrants, Arabia <strong>be</strong>ing one of <strong>the</strong> first territories reached as <strong>the</strong>y expanded out of Africa [Jeffrey<br />
I. Rose and Michael D. Petraglia, “Tracking <strong>the</strong> Origin and Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia,” in<br />
Petraglia and Rose, Evolution of Human Populations, 1; Michael D. Petraglia, “<strong>The</strong> Lower Paleolithic of <strong>the</strong><br />
7
Some Rabbinic literature suggests <strong>that</strong> on <strong>the</strong> eve of MuÈammad’s preaching in Mecca <strong>the</strong><br />
Arabs were still identified as Kushites.<br />
<strong>The</strong> King of <strong>the</strong> Arabs put th<strong>is</strong> question to R. Akiba: “I am <strong>black</strong> (kûšī) and my wife <strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>black</strong> (kûšīt), yet she gave birth to a white son. Shall I kill her for having played <strong>the</strong> harlot<br />
while lying with me? (Num. R. IX.34) 39<br />
While th<strong>is</strong> midrash <strong>is</strong> probably completely legendary, it does give us a hint of Arabian<br />
ethnography, or what <strong>the</strong> views of <strong>the</strong> 5th /6th century CE redactors of th<strong>is</strong> text were regarding<br />
Arabian ethnography at <strong>the</strong> time. 40 See also <strong>the</strong> Targum Shir ha-Shirim commenting on Song of<br />
Songs 1:5 (“I am <strong>black</strong> but comely, O Daughters of Jerusalem, [<strong>black</strong>] as <strong>the</strong> tents of Qedar”):<br />
When <strong>the</strong> people of <strong>the</strong> House of Israel made <strong>the</strong> Calf, <strong>the</strong>ir faces <strong>be</strong>came <strong>black</strong> like <strong>the</strong><br />
sons of Kush <strong>who</strong> dwell in <strong>the</strong> tents of Qedar. 41<br />
<strong>The</strong> Qedar were a powerful Arab tri<strong>be</strong> of Syria and North Arabia in <strong>the</strong> 7th century<br />
BCE. 42 Here <strong>the</strong>y are identified with Kush. <strong>The</strong>y were not active at <strong>the</strong> time of Rabbi Akiba’s<br />
5th /6th century CE redactors, but apparently <strong>the</strong>ir memory was still alive and was transferred to<br />
<strong>the</strong> contemporary <strong>black</strong> Arabs of <strong>the</strong> time. “<strong>The</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness of <strong>the</strong> Arabian king,” Restö observes,<br />
“<strong>is</strong> due to h<strong>is</strong> dwelling in <strong>the</strong> land of <strong>the</strong> Qedar <strong>who</strong>se inhabitants are <strong>black</strong>, according to <strong>the</strong><br />
Song of Songs.” 43<br />
Today <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn portion of <strong>the</strong> peninsula <strong>is</strong> home to th<strong>is</strong> dark-skinned Arab, like <strong>the</strong><br />
Mahra, Qara, and Shahra tri<strong>be</strong>s of Oman and Hadramawt, 44 which show some affinity to <strong>the</strong><br />
Arabian Peninsula: Occupations, Adaptations, and D<strong>is</strong>persals,” Journal of World H<strong>is</strong>tory 17 (June 2003): 173;<br />
Norman M. Whalen and David E. Peace, “Early Mankind in Arabia,” ARAMCO World 43:4 (1992): 20, 23].<br />
Arabian archaeology shows links with African materials [Jakub Rídl, Chr<strong>is</strong>topher M. Edens, and Viktor 1erny,<br />
“Mitochondrial DNA Structure of Yemeni Population: Regional Differences and <strong>the</strong> Implications for Different<br />
Migratory Contributions,” in Michael D. Petraglia and Jeffrey I. Rose (edd.), <strong>The</strong> Evolution of Human<br />
Populations in Arabia: Paleoenvironments, Preh<strong>is</strong>tory and Genetics (London and New York: Springer,<br />
2009) 71; Whalen and Peace, “Early Mankind in Arabia,” 20, 23]. For fur<strong>the</strong>r links <strong>be</strong>tween sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabia and<br />
Africa see <strong>be</strong>low n. 45. Craniofacial measurements in nearly 2000 recent and preh<strong>is</strong>toric crania from major<br />
geographical areas of <strong>the</strong> Old World indicated <strong>that</strong> ancient West Asians and Africans resembled each o<strong>the</strong>r. See<br />
Tsunehiko Hanihara, “Compar<strong>is</strong>on of Craniofacial Features of Major Human Groups,” American Journal of<br />
Physical Anthropology 99 (1996): 389-412. On <strong>the</strong> colonization of Western Asia from Africa see Ofer Bar-Yosef,<br />
“Early colonizations and cultural continuities in <strong>the</strong> Lower Palaeolithic of western Asia,” in Michael D. Petraglia and<br />
Ravi Kor<strong>is</strong>ettar (edd.), Early Human Behaviour in Global Context: <strong>The</strong> R<strong>is</strong>e and Diversity of <strong>the</strong> Lower<br />
Palaeolithic Record (London: Routledge, 1998): 221-279.<br />
39 Num. R. IX.34 on Num<strong>be</strong>rs 5:19 (Soncino translation).<br />
40 Retsö, Arabs in Antiquity, 530. On <strong>the</strong> rabbinic view of <strong>the</strong> Arab as dark-skinned see fur<strong>the</strong>r Golden<strong>be</strong>rg,<br />
Curse of Ham, 122-24.<br />
41 <strong>The</strong> Targums of Canticles (<strong>The</strong> Aramaic Bible 17A), Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and<br />
Notes by Philip S. Alexander (Collegeville, Minnesota: <strong>The</strong> Liturgical Press, 1986) 81.<br />
42 On Qedar see Jaroslav Stetkevych, MuÈammad and <strong>the</strong> Golden Bough: Reconstructing Arabian Myth<br />
(Bloomington and Indianapol<strong>is</strong>: Indiana University Press, 1996) 68-77.<br />
43 Restö, Arabs in Antiquity, 530.<br />
44 On <strong>the</strong>se tri<strong>be</strong>s see J. E. Peterson, “Oman’s diverse society: Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Oman,” <strong>The</strong> Middle East Journal 58<br />
(Spring 2004): 254ff; Encyclopedia of Islam [Second Edition; hereafter EI2 ] 6:81-84 s.v. Mahra by W.W. Müller;<br />
Bertram Thomas, “Among Some Unknown Tri<strong>be</strong>s of South Arabia,” Journal of <strong>the</strong> Royal Anthropological<br />
Institute 59 (1929): 97-111; For photos of <strong>the</strong>se <strong>black</strong>-skinned South Arabians see fur<strong>the</strong>r Richard F. Nyrop (ed.),<br />
<strong>The</strong> Yemens Country Studies (Washington D.C.: <strong>The</strong> American University, 1985): 5-7; D. Van der Meulen,<br />
8
Veddoid-Dravidoid racial type of India and <strong>the</strong> Ethiopian type of East Africa. 45 However, as late<br />
as <strong>the</strong> 19th century dark-skinned Arabs were still noticeable in <strong>the</strong> Hejaz as well. Muhammad<br />
Sadiq Bey, <strong>who</strong> traveled to Medina in 1861, noted <strong>that</strong> while <strong>the</strong>re were some light-skinned,<br />
almost white Medinese, <strong>the</strong> people were still basically of “a dark, almost <strong>black</strong> complexion.” 46 If<br />
<strong>the</strong> Proto-Semites in general and <strong>the</strong> early Arabs in particular were a Kushite or dark-skinned<br />
people, on th<strong>is</strong> bas<strong>is</strong> we would, again, expect <strong>the</strong> Arab prophet of noble genealogy to <strong>be</strong> a darkskinned<br />
Arab. Evidence from <strong>the</strong> Classical Islamic literary tradition suggests <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> alternative –<br />
a white-skinned Arab prophet – <strong>is</strong> not only unlikely but even quite absurd.<br />
III. <strong>The</strong> Black Arabs in Islamic Literary Tradition<br />
<strong>The</strong> idea <strong>that</strong> true Arabs were <strong>black</strong>-skinned and <strong>that</strong> a fair complexion characterized<br />
non-Arabs – Persians, Byzantines, Turks, ect. – <strong>is</strong> frequently met with in Classical Arabic/Islamic<br />
literature. Ibn Maníår (d. 711/1311) in h<strong>is</strong> Arabic lexicon, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, notes <strong>the</strong> opinion<br />
<strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> phrase aswad al-jilda, ‘<strong>black</strong>-skinned,’ idiomatically meant kh§liß al-#arab, “<strong>the</strong> pure<br />
Arabs,” “<strong>be</strong>cause <strong>the</strong> color of most of <strong>the</strong> Arabs <strong>is</strong> dark (al-udma).” 47 In o<strong>the</strong>r words, <strong>black</strong>ness of<br />
skin among <strong>the</strong> Arabs indicated purity of Arab ethnicity. Likew<strong>is</strong>e did <strong>the</strong> famous grammarian<br />
from <strong>the</strong> century prior, Muhammad b. BarrÊ al-‘AdawÊ (d. 589/1193) note <strong>that</strong> an akh∙ar or<br />
<strong>black</strong>-skinned Arab was “a pure Arab (#arabÊ maÈ∙)” with a pure genealogy, “<strong>be</strong>cause Arabs<br />
descri<strong>be</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir color as <strong>black</strong> (al-aswad).” 48 Al-JaÈií (d. 255/869), in h<strong>is</strong> Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ lbidan,<br />
thus declared: “<strong>The</strong> Arabs pride <strong>the</strong>mselves in (<strong>the</strong>ir) <strong>black</strong> color (al-#arab tafkhar bi-saw§d<br />
al-lawn).” 49<br />
“Into Burning Hadhramaut” <strong>The</strong> National Geographic Magazine 62 (1932): 393-421; Sir Arthur Keith and Dr.<br />
Wilton Marion Krogan, “<strong>The</strong> Racial Character<strong>is</strong>tic of <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabs,” in Bertram Thomas, Arabia Felix,<br />
Across <strong>the</strong> ‘Empty Quarter’ of Arabia (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1932) 327 facing, 330 facing 333.<br />
45 Speaking of <strong>the</strong> Qara Peterson (“Oman’s Diverse Society,” 261) notes: “European observers have made much of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir physical resemblance to Somal<strong>is</strong> or Ethiopians”. Vitaly V. Naumkin, Island of <strong>the</strong> Phoenix, an<br />
Ethnological Study of <strong>the</strong> People of Socotra (Ithaca Press Reading, 1993) 67 notes also: “Socotra, and possibly<br />
all of Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabia, may after all <strong>be</strong> <strong>the</strong> m<strong>is</strong>sing intermediate link in <strong>the</strong> race-genetic ‘west-east’ gradient for<br />
which anthropolog<strong>is</strong>ts search in order to fill <strong>the</strong> gap <strong>be</strong>tween <strong>the</strong> African Negroids and <strong>the</strong> Australo-Veddo-<br />
Melanesian types in <strong>the</strong> equatorial area.”. <strong>The</strong> Encyclopedia Britanica [9th Edition; 1:245-46 s.v. Arabia] l<strong>is</strong>ts<br />
ten literary, lingu<strong>is</strong>tic, cultural, and ethnological evidences suggesting some relation <strong>be</strong>tween South Arabians and<br />
Africa. See also EI 1 VIII: 1156 s.v. al-Yaman by Adolf Grohmann; Carleton Stevens Coon, <strong>The</strong> Races of Europe<br />
(New York: <strong>The</strong> Macmillan Company, 1939) 402-3; Sir Arthur Keith and Dr. Wilton Marion Krogman, “<strong>The</strong><br />
Racial Characters of <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabs,” in Bertram Thomas, Arabia Felix, Across <strong>the</strong> ‘Empty Quarter’ of<br />
Arabia (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1932) 301-333; Bertram Thomas, “Anthropological Observatins in<br />
South Arabia,” Journal of <strong>the</strong> Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 62 (1932) 83-<br />
103. For a d<strong>is</strong>cussion of <strong>the</strong> recent genetic data suggesting ancient and more recent gene-flow from Africa to Yemen<br />
see Rídl, Edens, and 1erny, “Mitochondrial DNA Structure of Yemeni Population,” 69-78. On <strong>the</strong> cultural links<br />
<strong>be</strong>tween Bronze Age Yemen and <strong>the</strong> Horn of Africa see Chr<strong>is</strong>topher Edens and T.J. Wilkinson, “Southwest Arabia<br />
During <strong>the</strong> Holocene: Recent Archaeological Developments,” Journal of World H<strong>is</strong>tory 12 (1998): 55-119.<br />
46 John De St. Jorre, “Pioneer Photographer of <strong>the</strong> Holy Cities,” Saudi Aramco World (Jan-Feb 1999) 45.<br />
47 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab (Beirut: D§r al-‘§dir - D§r al-Bayråt, 1955-1956) s.v. ﺮﻀﺧﺍ IV:245f; See also<br />
Edward William Lane, Arabic-Engl<strong>is</strong>h Lexicon (London: Williams & Norgate 1863) I: 756 s.v. ﺮﻀﺧ .<br />
48 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻀﺧﺍ IV:245. On akh∙ar (lit. green) as <strong>black</strong> (aswad) see fur<strong>the</strong>r al-MawardÊ, al-<br />
AÈk§m al-sulã§niyya w"al-wil§y§t al-dÊniyya, trans. Wafaa H. Wahba, Al-MawardÊ: <strong>The</strong> Ordinances of<br />
Government (Reading: Garnet Publ<strong>is</strong>hing, Ltd, 1996) 190; K. Vollers, “Ü<strong>be</strong>r Rassenfar<strong>be</strong>n in der arab<strong>is</strong>chen<br />
Literatur,” Centenario della nascita di Michele Amari 1 (1910) 3.<br />
49 Al-JaÈií, Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ al-bidan, in R<strong>is</strong>§"il Al-JaÈií, 4 vols. (Cairo, 1964) I:207. See also <strong>the</strong> Engl<strong>is</strong>h<br />
translation by T. Khalidi, “<strong>The</strong> Boast of <strong>the</strong> Blacks Over <strong>the</strong> Whites,” Islamic Quarterly 25 (1981): 3-26 (17).<br />
9
A particularly instructive case <strong>is</strong> <strong>that</strong> of <strong>the</strong> Arab poet RabÊ# b. #$mir of <strong>the</strong> early<br />
Umayyad period, <strong>be</strong>tter known as M<strong>is</strong>kÊn al-D§rimÊ (d. 90/708). M<strong>is</strong>kÊn was a d<strong>is</strong>tingu<strong>is</strong>hed<br />
mem<strong>be</strong>r of noble ancestry from <strong>the</strong> Banå D§rim from TamÊm of Iraq. 50 A pure Arab born to a<br />
wealthy family, he was known for <strong>be</strong>ing “very dark, handsome, courageous, and eloquent”. 51<br />
M<strong>is</strong>kÊn was famously <strong>black</strong>-skinned (al-aswad; al-sumra) and a pureblooded Arab. 52 At a certain<br />
point in h<strong>is</strong> life M<strong>is</strong>kÊn <strong>be</strong>came a very religious ascetic. He gave up h<strong>is</strong> wealth with its finery and<br />
h<strong>is</strong> poetry, and all but locked himself in a mosque in Medina. According to a well-known<br />
anecdote, M<strong>is</strong>kÊn proposed to a woman of h<strong>is</strong> tri<strong>be</strong> <strong>who</strong> rejected him <strong>be</strong>cause of both h<strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>black</strong>ness and (now) poverty. She instead married a wealthy, fairer-skinned man <strong>who</strong> was not a<br />
pure Arab. One day M<strong>is</strong>kÊn passed <strong>the</strong> two on <strong>the</strong> street and recited some verses to <strong>the</strong>m,<br />
boasting of h<strong>is</strong> noble heritage and denigrating her spousal choice for h<strong>is</strong> lack of <strong>the</strong> same. He said<br />
<strong>be</strong>fore <strong>the</strong>m:<br />
I am M<strong>is</strong>kÊn to those <strong>who</strong> know me.<br />
My complexion <strong>is</strong> dark brown (al-sumra),<br />
<strong>the</strong> complexion of <strong>the</strong> Arabs. 53<br />
Regarding her husband M<strong>is</strong>kÊn said: “<strong>the</strong> wealth of h<strong>is</strong> house (samÊn al-bayt) <strong>is</strong> poverty with<br />
respect to genealogy (mahjål al-nasab),” 54 i.e. h<strong>is</strong> material wealth cannot equal M<strong>is</strong>kÊn’s pure Arab<br />
genealogy, which her choice lacks. Th<strong>is</strong> anecdote articulates an important h<strong>is</strong>torical truth: pure<br />
Arabs were <strong>black</strong>-skinned Arabs. 55 Secondly, and related to th<strong>is</strong> point, fair-skinned Arabs were<br />
considered of ignoble birth. 56<br />
That a fair complexion was a d<strong>is</strong>tinctly non-Arab trait <strong>is</strong> equally well documented in <strong>the</strong><br />
Classical Arabic sources. Ibn Maníår affirms:<br />
Red (al-Èamr§#) refers to non-Arabs due to <strong>the</strong>ir fair complexion which predominates<br />
among <strong>the</strong>m. And <strong>the</strong> Arabs used to say about <strong>the</strong> non-Arabs with <strong>who</strong>m white skin was<br />
character<strong>is</strong>tic, such as <strong>the</strong> Romans, Persians, and <strong>the</strong>ir neighbors: ‘<strong>The</strong>y are red-skinned<br />
(al-Èamr§#)…” al-Èamr§# means <strong>the</strong> Persians and Romans…And <strong>the</strong> Arabs attribute<br />
white skin to <strong>the</strong> slaves. 57<br />
Ibn Maníår goes on to quote important commentary on MuÈammad’s famous claim, “I was<br />
sent to <strong>the</strong> Whites (al-aÈmar) and <strong>the</strong> Blacks (al-aswad)’: “i.e., <strong>the</strong> Arabs and <strong>the</strong> non-Arabs, for <strong>the</strong><br />
predominant complexion of <strong>the</strong> Arabs <strong>is</strong> dark brown [al-sumra wa l-udma] and <strong>that</strong> of <strong>the</strong> non-<br />
50 On him see AbÊ al-Faraj al-Ißfah§nÊ, Kit§b al-agh§nÊ (Beirut: D§r al-Thaq§h, 1955) 20: 167-178; EI 2 7:145<br />
s.v. M<strong>is</strong>kÊn al-D§rimÊ by Ch. Pellat.<br />
51 EI 2 7:145 s.v. M<strong>is</strong>kÊn al-D§rimÊ by Ch. Pellat.<br />
52 Al-Ißfah§nÊ, Kit§b al-agh§nÊ, 174.<br />
53 Al-Ißfah§nÊ, Kit§b al-agh§nÊ, 174. On sumra see <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
54 Al-Ißfah§nÊ, Kit§b al-agh§nÊ, 175.<br />
55 Vollers, “Rassenfarden,” 86, 88.<br />
56 For ano<strong>the</strong>r anecdote making <strong>the</strong> same point see Ibn AbÊ al-\adÊd, SharÈ nahj al-bal§ghah, ed. MuÈammad<br />
AbÊ al-Fa∙l Ibr§hÊm (Cairo: #^s§ al-B§bÊ al-\alabÊ, 1959) V:55.<br />
57 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻤﺣ IV: 210.<br />
10
Arabs <strong>is</strong> white [al-baya∙ wa l-Èumra].” 58 <strong>The</strong> same point was made by several o<strong>the</strong>r authors. <strong>The</strong><br />
Syrian scholar and h<strong>is</strong>torian al-Dhahabī (d. 748/1348) observed:<br />
Red (al-Èamr§#), in <strong>the</strong> speech of <strong>the</strong> people of <strong>the</strong> Hejaz, means white-complexioned (albay∙§#<br />
bi-shuqra), and th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> rare among <strong>the</strong>m. Thus <strong>the</strong> meaning of <strong>the</strong> hadith ‘a red man as if<br />
one of <strong>the</strong> slaves.’ <strong>The</strong> speaker <strong>is</strong> saying <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> complexion of <strong>the</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tian slaves<br />
captured from Syria, Rome, and Persia (emphas<strong>is</strong> mine). 59<br />
White skin in Arab society signaled slave-status. <strong>The</strong> seventh century Arab from <strong>the</strong> tri<strong>be</strong><br />
of Nakhāʾī, Shurayk b. #Abd All§h al-Qā∙ī, could claim <strong>that</strong>, <strong>be</strong>cause it was such a rare<br />
occurrence “a fair-skinned Arab (#arabÊ asqar) <strong>is</strong> something inconceivable (al-muȧl).” 60 Al-JaÈií<br />
even noted <strong>that</strong> it was common knowledge <strong>that</strong> Arabs were <strong>black</strong> and not white-skinned:<br />
[<strong>The</strong> Blacks say]: ‘<strong>The</strong> Arabs are from us (wa minn§ al-#arab), not from <strong>the</strong> whites,<br />
<strong>be</strong>cause <strong>the</strong>ir color <strong>is</strong> closer to ours. <strong>The</strong> Hind<strong>is</strong> complexion <strong>is</strong> more conspicuous than <strong>the</strong><br />
Arabs, <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>black</strong> (wa hum min al-sud§n). Since <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> (s) said, ‘I was sent to <strong>the</strong><br />
Whites (al-aÈmar) and <strong>the</strong> Blacks (al-aswad),’ it <strong>is</strong> common knowledge <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Arabs are not<br />
white-skinned (al-#arab laysat bi-Èumra). 61<br />
Because white-skin was <strong>the</strong> mark of <strong>the</strong> Persian and Byzantine slaves, it was looked down<br />
upon by <strong>the</strong> dark-skinned Arabs. Al-Mubarrad (d. 285/898), <strong>the</strong> leading figure in <strong>the</strong> Basran<br />
grammatical tradition, claimed:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Arabs used to take pride in <strong>the</strong>ir brown and <strong>black</strong> complexion (al-sumra wa al-saw§d)<br />
and <strong>the</strong>y had a d<strong>is</strong>taste for a white and fair complexion (al-Èumra wa al-shaqra), and <strong>the</strong>y<br />
used to say <strong>that</strong> such was <strong>the</strong> complexion of <strong>the</strong> non-Arabs. 62<br />
IV. MuÈammad’s Black Kinsfolk<br />
True Arabs were dark-brown-/<strong>black</strong>-skinned, and fair skin characterized non-Arab slaves<br />
in Arabian society: how could it <strong>be</strong> <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> noble Arab prophet MuÈammad – <strong>who</strong> was accused<br />
by h<strong>is</strong> Meccan detractors of much, but never of <strong>be</strong>ing a non-Arab – could have <strong>be</strong>en faircomplexioned?<br />
If Arabs were character<strong>is</strong>tically dark-skinned, <strong>the</strong> reputedly most noble of Arab<br />
58 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻤﺣ IV: 209; ibid. s.v. ﺮﻀﺧ IV: 245. See also Ibn AbÊ al-\adÊd, SharÈ nahj<br />
al-bal§ghah, V: 54 <strong>who</strong> notes regarding th<strong>is</strong> prophetic statement: “He alludes to Arabs by ‘<strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>s’ and <strong>the</strong> non-<br />
Arabs by ‘<strong>the</strong> reds’, for <strong>the</strong> Arabs call non-Arabs ‘red’ due to <strong>the</strong> fair-complexion <strong>that</strong> predominates among <strong>the</strong>m.”<br />
59 Al-DhahabÊ, Siyar a#l§m al-nubal§", edd. Shu#ayb al-Arna "åã and Husayn al-Asad (Beirut: Mu"assasat al-<br />
R<strong>is</strong>§lah, 1981) II:168.<br />
60 Ibn #Abd Rabbih, al-#Iqd al-farīd (Cairo: Maãba#at al-Istiq§mah, 1940-) VIII:147.<br />
61 Al-JaÈií, Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ al-bidan, 216 (Ar.); 22 (Eng.). Vollers (“Rassenfar<strong>be</strong>n,” 87) notes also regarding<br />
th<strong>is</strong> claim of MuÈammad: “Hier muss al-aÈmar die Perser und al-aswad die Ara<strong>be</strong>r <strong>be</strong>zeichnen”. See fur<strong>the</strong>r Ignaz<br />
Goldziher, Muslim Studies (Muhammedan<strong>is</strong>che Studien) 2 vols. (London, Allen & Unwin, 1967-), 1:268 <strong>who</strong><br />
notes <strong>that</strong>, in contrast to <strong>the</strong> Persians <strong>who</strong> are descri<strong>be</strong>d as red or light-skinned (aÈmar) <strong>the</strong> Arabs call <strong>the</strong>mselves<br />
<strong>black</strong>.<br />
62 Apud Ibn AbÊ al-\adÊd, SharÈ nahj al-bal§ghah, V:56.<br />
11
tri<strong>be</strong>s - MuÈammad’s own Quraysh tri<strong>be</strong>, and h<strong>is</strong> H§shim clan in particular – were famous for<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir <strong>black</strong> complexion and, thus, pure genealogy. 63<br />
<strong>The</strong> Quraysh cons<strong>is</strong>ted of several sub-clans. One important Qurayshī sub-clan <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Banå ’l-Mughīra of <strong>the</strong> larger Qurayshī sub-clan of <strong>the</strong> Banå Makhzåm. According to al-JaÈií:<br />
“<strong>The</strong> clan of Mughīra <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> Khu∙r of <strong>the</strong> tri<strong>be</strong> of Makhzåm.” 64 By “<strong>the</strong> Khu∙r” al-JaÈií means<br />
<strong>the</strong> exceptionally dark or <strong>black</strong>-skinned (akh∙ar). 65 Thus, <strong>the</strong> second caliph ‘Umar’s mo<strong>the</strong>r,<br />
Khaythama bt. H§shim b. al-Mughīra <strong>is</strong> descri<strong>be</strong>d as <strong>black</strong> (såd§"). 66 Ano<strong>the</strong>r significant subclan<br />
<strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> Banå Zuhra, <strong>the</strong> tri<strong>be</strong> from which <strong>the</strong> prophet’s mo<strong>the</strong>r, Amīa bt. Wahb, hailed. Its<br />
mem<strong>be</strong>rs were likew<strong>is</strong>e noted for <strong>the</strong>ir dark-complexion. See for example <strong>the</strong> famous Sa#d b. Abī<br />
Waqqās (d. 54/646), cousin of Amīa and uncle of MuÈammad. He <strong>is</strong> descri<strong>be</strong>d as <strong>black</strong>-skinned<br />
(§dam), 67 flat-nosed (afãas) and tall. 68 MuÈammad, it <strong>should</strong> <strong>be</strong> noted, was quite proud of h<strong>is</strong><br />
uncle Sa#d. We are told <strong>that</strong> once MuÈammad was sitting with some of h<strong>is</strong> companions and Sa#d<br />
walked by. <strong>The</strong> prophet stopped and taunted: “That’s my uncle. Let any man show me h<strong>is</strong><br />
uncle.” 69<br />
<strong>The</strong> Qurayshī sub-clan Banå H§shim <strong>is</strong> MuÈammad’s own family (usra), h<strong>is</strong> clan (rahã),<br />
kinsfolk (§l), and relatives (dhawu l-qurb§). As <strong>the</strong> ahl al-bayt (family) of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>the</strong> Banå<br />
H§shim enjoyed special status, both during h<strong>is</strong> life time and in <strong>the</strong> early post-prophetic<br />
community.70F70 Th<strong>is</strong> special status accorded <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim was related to <strong>the</strong>ir noted purity.71F71<br />
Henry Lammens remarks <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong>y are “généralement qualifies de ﻢﺪﺁ = couleur foncée,” but he<br />
attributes th<strong>is</strong> to <strong>the</strong> supposed fact <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim were “famille où dominait le sang<br />
nègre”.72F72 Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> unnecessary. <strong>The</strong> convergence of H§shimÊ <strong>black</strong>ness and genealogical nobility<br />
<strong>is</strong> well represented by <strong>the</strong> lineage of #Abd al-Muããalib (d. 578), <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s paternal<br />
grandfa<strong>the</strong>r. According to al-J§Èií:<br />
<strong>The</strong> ten lordly sons of #Abd al-Muããalib were deep <strong>black</strong> (dalham) in color and big<br />
(∙ukhm).73F73 When Amir b. al-•ufayl saw <strong>the</strong>m circumambulating (<strong>the</strong> Ka#ba) like dark<br />
camels, he said, “With such men as <strong>the</strong>se <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> custody of <strong>the</strong> Ka#ba preserved.” #Abd<br />
All§h b. #Abb§s was very <strong>black</strong> and tall. Those of Abå •§lib’s family, <strong>who</strong> are <strong>the</strong> most<br />
noble of men, are <strong>black</strong> and tall (såd wa ādam wa dulm).”74F74<br />
63 As Ro<strong>be</strong>rt F. Spencer remarks: “It <strong>is</strong> said <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Quraysh explained <strong>the</strong>ir short stature and dark skin by <strong>the</strong> fact<br />
<strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong>y always carefully adhered to endogamy.” Ro<strong>be</strong>rt F. Spencer, “<strong>The</strong> Arabian Matriarchate: An Old<br />
Controversy,” Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 8 (Winter, 1952) 488.<br />
64 Al-JāÈií, Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ al-bidan, 208 (Ar.); 18 (Eng.).<br />
65 Al-JaÈií, Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ al-bidan, 207, 208 (Ar.); 17, 18 (Eng.): “Blacks according to <strong>the</strong> Arabs are alkhu∙r<br />
<strong>be</strong>cause al-akh∙ar <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong> (li-anna al-akh∙ar aswad).”<br />
66 Al-Mas’ådÊ, Muråj al-dhahab wa-ma#§din al-jawhar, ed. C. Barbier de Meynard, Les Prairies d’Or 9<br />
vols. (Par<strong>is</strong>: Imprimerie impériale, 1861-[1930]), IV: 192; EI 2 6:139 s.v. Makhzåm, Banå by M. Hinds.<br />
67 On §dam see <strong>be</strong>low n. 122.<br />
68 Al-DhahabÊ, Siyar, I:97.<br />
69 #Abd al-RaÈmān Rāfat al-Bāshā, ‘uwar min Èayāt al-‘aÈābah (Karachi: al-Maktabah al-GhafårÊya al-<br />
#$ßimÊyah, 1996 ) 287.<br />
70 See W.F. Madelung, “<strong>The</strong> ‘H§shimiyy§t’ of al-Kumayt and H§shmÊ Shi#<strong>is</strong>m,” Studia Islamica 70 (1989) 5-26.<br />
71 Madelung, “<strong>The</strong> ‘H§shimiyy§t’,” 24.<br />
72 Études sur le siècle des Omayyades (Beirut: Imprimerie Calholique, 1930) 44.<br />
73 Dalham <strong>is</strong> an intense <strong>black</strong>ness, aswad mudlahimm. See L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, XII: 206 s.v. ﻢﻬﻟﺩ;Lane, Arabic-Engl<strong>is</strong>h<br />
Lexicon, I: 908 s.v. ﻢﻬﻟﺩ.<br />
74 Al-JaÈií, Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ al-bidan, I:209.<br />
12
One of <strong>the</strong>se ‘deep <strong>black</strong> and tall’ sons of #Abd al-Muããalib was #Abd All§h b. #Abd al-<br />
Muããalib, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s fa<strong>the</strong>r. Ano<strong>the</strong>r <strong>is</strong> al-#Abb§s, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s uncle <strong>who</strong>se descendants<br />
founded <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid Dynasty in 132/750 CE. Th<strong>is</strong> was evidently a line of dark-skinned Arabs. 75<br />
#Abd All§h b. #Abb§s <strong>who</strong>m al-J§Èií descri<strong>be</strong>d as “very <strong>black</strong> and tall,” was MuÈammad’s first<br />
cousin and h<strong>is</strong> son, #Alī b. #Abd All§h, was also <strong>black</strong>-skinned (§dam). 76 Of particular<br />
importance for us are #Abd al-#Uzz§ (Abå Lahab), uncle and infamous enemy of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong><br />
and Abå •§lib, supportive uncle and fa<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> progenitor of <strong>the</strong> Shiite line of Imams. Abå<br />
Lahab’s importance for us here ra<strong>the</strong>r lies with h<strong>is</strong> great grandson, <strong>the</strong> seventh century CE<br />
Qurayshī poet, al-Fa∙l b. al-#Abb§s. Al-Fa∙l was a cousin of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>. Called al-Akh∙ar al-<br />
LahabÊ “<strong>The</strong> Flaming Black,” he was well-known for h<strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong> complexion, handsome face and<br />
h<strong>is</strong> genealogical purity, and reportedly recited <strong>the</strong>se famous words:<br />
I am <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>-skinned one (al-Akh∙ar). I am well-known.<br />
My complexion <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong>. I am from <strong>the</strong> noble house of <strong>the</strong> Arabs.<br />
Al-Fa∙l’s <strong>black</strong>-complexion (akh∙ar) was thus <strong>the</strong> v<strong>is</strong>ual mark of h<strong>is</strong> pure, Qurayshī<br />
background. 78<br />
Al-J§Èií noted <strong>that</strong> Abå •§lib’s family was “<strong>the</strong> most noble of men” and “more or less<br />
<strong>black</strong> (såd).” Th<strong>is</strong> fact <strong>is</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r affirmed for Abå •§lib’s famous son, #Alī b. AbÊ •§lib (d.<br />
40/661), <strong>the</strong> first cousin and son-in-law of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>. #Alī b. AbÊ •§lib was a very <strong>black</strong>skinned<br />
Arab, descri<strong>be</strong>d by h<strong>is</strong> son Abå Ja#far MuÈammad as “an intensely <strong>black</strong> man (rajul<br />
§dam shadīd al-udma) with big, heavy eyes, pot-<strong>be</strong>llied, bald, and kind of short.” 79 Many of #Alī’s<br />
descendents, <strong>the</strong> sharÊfs/sayyids, were similarly descri<strong>be</strong>d as <strong>black</strong>-skinned. 80 Th<strong>is</strong> ‘family<br />
<strong>black</strong>ness’ of Abå •§lib <strong>is</strong> very significant for our d<strong>is</strong>cussion of <strong>the</strong> appearance of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong><br />
<strong>be</strong>cause Abå •§lib’s son Ja#far, known as al-H§shimÊ, “<strong>The</strong> H§shimite,” <strong>who</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> elder<br />
bro<strong>the</strong>r of #Alī, <strong>is</strong> “one of MuÈammad’s kinsmen <strong>who</strong> most closely resembled him.” 81 Indeed,<br />
MuÈammad himself <strong>is</strong> reported to have said to h<strong>is</strong> presumably <strong>black</strong>-skinned cousin: “You<br />
resemble me both in appearance and character (ashbahta khalqÊ wa khuluqÊ).” 82<br />
<strong>The</strong> representative of <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim <strong>who</strong> <strong>is</strong> most instructive in th<strong>is</strong> regard <strong>is</strong><br />
MuÈammad b. #Abd Allāh (d. 145/762), known also as al-Nafs al-Zakiyya (“<strong>The</strong> Pure Soul”).<br />
75 In 659/1261 a <strong>black</strong>-skinned man claiming to <strong>be</strong> a surviving mem<strong>be</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> Banå "l-#Abb§s after <strong>the</strong> destruction<br />
of Baghdad by <strong>the</strong> Mongols in 656/1258 was brought by a group of Iraq<strong>is</strong> to Cairo. He was given a ceremonious<br />
welcome by <strong>the</strong> Seljuk sultan, al-£§hir Baybars, <strong>who</strong> had <strong>the</strong> chief judge make an official inquiry into h<strong>is</strong> genealogy.<br />
Once confirmed, Abå "l-Q§sim AÈmad b. al-£§hir MuÈammad was inaugurated as <strong>the</strong> first #Abb§sid ‘shadow’<br />
caliph in Cairo, taking <strong>the</strong> throne-name “al-Mustanßir”. See AÈmad al-DardÊr, al-SharÈ al-kabÊr, 4 vols. (Beirut:<br />
D§r al-Fikr, n.d.) IV:409 (on <strong>the</strong> margin of MuÈammad al-DasåqÊ, \§shÊyat al-dasåqÊ #al§ al-sharÈ al-kabÊr,<br />
4 vols. [Beirut: D§r al-Fikr, n.d.]); EI 2 VII:729 s.v. al-Mustanßir (II) by P.M. Holt.<br />
76 Al-Dhahabī, Siyar,V:253.<br />
77 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻀﺧﺍ IV:245f; al-MawardÊ, Ordinances, 190; Edward William Lane, Arabic-<br />
Engl<strong>is</strong>h Lexicon (London: Williams & Norgate 1863) I: 756 s.v. ﺮﻀﺧ .<br />
78 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻀﺧﺍ IV:245; Ibn AbÊ al-\adÊd, SharÈ nahj al-bal§ghah, V: 56.<br />
79 Ibn Sa#d, al-•abaqāt al-kubrā III/i,17; Al-Suyåãī, Tārikh al-khulafā, ed. Jam§l MaÈmåd Mußãaf§<br />
(Cairo: D§r al-Fajr lil-Tur§th, 1999) 134.<br />
80 Ibn al-‘abb§gh, Al-Fusål al-muhimmah fÊ ma#rifat aÈw§ l-a"ummah (Najaf: D§r al-Kutub al-<br />
Tij§rÊyah, 1950) e.g. 183 (Zayn al-#$bidÊn, asmar), 193 (MuÈammad al-B§qir, asmar mu#tadil), 205 (Ja#far al-‘§diq,<br />
§dam§), 214 (Mås§ al-K§íim, asmar #amÊq).<br />
81 EI 2 II: 372 s.v. Dja#far b. AbÊ •§lib by L. Veccia Vaglieri.<br />
82 ‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, b§b fa∙§"il aßȧb al-nabÊ, no. 47 (=Translation, V:47).<br />
13<br />
77
He was a pure descendent of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> himself through <strong>the</strong> latter’s daughter F§ãimah, wife of<br />
#AlÊ b. AbÊ •§lib, a fact in which he took great pride. 83 Th<strong>is</strong> point <strong>is</strong> clearly evident in a letter he<br />
sent to <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid caliph Abå Ja#far al-Manßår (r. 136-158/754 – 775), against <strong>who</strong>m he<br />
re<strong>be</strong>lled in 145/762. Al-Nafs al-Zakiyya felt Abå Ja#far al-Manßår’s mixed lineage (h<strong>is</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r<br />
was a Ber<strong>be</strong>r), among o<strong>the</strong>r things, d<strong>is</strong>qualified him for leadership over <strong>the</strong> community. He<br />
wrote to <strong>the</strong> caliph:<br />
You well know <strong>that</strong> no one has laid claim to th<strong>is</strong> office <strong>who</strong> has a lineage, nobility, and<br />
status like ours. By <strong>the</strong> nobility of our fa<strong>the</strong>rs, we are not <strong>the</strong> sons of <strong>the</strong> accursed, <strong>the</strong><br />
outcasts, or freedmen…I am at <strong>the</strong> very center of <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim’s lines. My paternity <strong>is</strong><br />
purest among <strong>the</strong>m, undiluted with non-Arab blood, and no concubines d<strong>is</strong>pute over me. 84<br />
What did th<strong>is</strong> pure Arab descendent of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> look like? “MuÈammad (Al-Nafs al-Zakiyya)<br />
<strong>is</strong> descri<strong>be</strong>d as tall and strong with very dark skin”. 85 According to al-•abarÊ:<br />
MuÈammad (Al-Nafs al-Zakiyya) was <strong>black</strong>, exceedingly <strong>black</strong>, jet <strong>black</strong> (§dam shadÊd aludma<br />
adlam) and huge. He was nicknamed “Tar Face” (al-q§rÊ) <strong>be</strong>cause of h<strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong><br />
complexion (udmatihi), such <strong>that</strong> Abå Ja#far used to call him “Charcoal Face” (almuÈammam).<br />
86<br />
MuÈammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, a QurayshÊ Arab <strong>who</strong>se pure lineage on both h<strong>is</strong> paternal and<br />
maternal sides put him “at <strong>the</strong> center” of <strong>the</strong> genealogical lines of <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim, <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong>’s kinsfolk, was so <strong>black</strong> he was called ‘Tar face’ and ‘Charcoal face.’ Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> undoubtedly<br />
of significance for our d<strong>is</strong>cussion of <strong>the</strong> ethnicity and appearance of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> himself. If<br />
MuÈammad too was a pure QurayshÊ Arab of <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim, equally noble on ‘both h<strong>is</strong><br />
fa<strong>the</strong>r’s and h<strong>is</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r’s side,’ 87 how could he have looked much different than al-Nafs al-<br />
Zakiyya, or #AlÊ b. AbÊ •§lib, or h<strong>is</strong> deep <strong>black</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r #Abd All§h b. #Abd al-Muããalib?<br />
Excursus: ‘Black and Bearded’: What Did <strong>the</strong> Arabs of <strong>the</strong> Conquests Look Like?<br />
In 638 <strong>the</strong> Persian ruler Yazdgird III pleaded to <strong>the</strong> T’ang emperor of China, T’ai-tsung,<br />
for ass<strong>is</strong>tance against <strong>the</strong> Arabs <strong>who</strong> had invaded h<strong>is</strong> realm. Th<strong>is</strong> ass<strong>is</strong>tance was refused. In 651<br />
an Arab embassy arrived in China <strong>be</strong>aring gifts. <strong>The</strong>re are two extant notices of th<strong>is</strong> embassy in<br />
Chinese literature: in <strong>the</strong> ninth-century admin<strong>is</strong>trative text, T’ung tien, which was presented to <strong>the</strong><br />
83 Muhammad Qasim Zaman, “<strong>The</strong> Nature of MuÈammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya’s Mahd<strong>is</strong>hip: A Study of Some<br />
Reports in Ißbah§nÊ’s Maq§til,” Hamdard Islamicus 13 (1990): 60-61.<br />
84 Quoted from al-•abarÊ, <strong>The</strong> H<strong>is</strong>tory of al-•abarÊ, Vol. XXVIII: #Abb§sid Authority Affirmed, trans.<br />
annot. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985) 167-68.<br />
85 EI 2 7:389 s.v. MuÈammad b. #Abd Allāh by F. Buhl.<br />
86 Al-•abarÊ, Ta"rÊkh al-rusul wa"l-mulåk, X:203.<br />
87 According to Q§∙Ê #Iy§∙, al-Shif§, 92 (=al-Shifa, 43), MuÈammad “was from <strong>the</strong> <strong>be</strong>st of <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> stock and core of <strong>the</strong> Quraysh. He was from <strong>the</strong> noblest and mightiest of <strong>the</strong> Arabs, both on h<strong>is</strong> paternal and<br />
maternal side.” In fact, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> could even claim to have <strong>be</strong>en “<strong>the</strong> most Arab” of all h<strong>is</strong> companions. Ibn<br />
H<strong>is</strong>h§m, SÊrat Rasål All§h, ed. F. Wüstenfeld (Göttingen, 1858-59) 101, 106 (=<strong>The</strong> Life of Muhammad, trans.<br />
A. Guillaume [London, 1955] 69, 72). See also Ibn KathÊr, al-SÊra al-Nabawiyya, trans. Dr. Trevor LeGassick,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Life of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> MuÈammad 4 vols. (London: Center for Muslim Contributions to Civilization;<br />
Reading, UK: Garnet, 1998) I:130-141.<br />
14
throne in 801 by Tu Yu; and in <strong>the</strong> T’ang H<strong>is</strong>tory, <strong>the</strong> official dynastic h<strong>is</strong>tory of <strong>the</strong> T’ang<br />
completed in 945. In <strong>the</strong>se notices <strong>the</strong> Arabs (called <strong>the</strong>re Ta-shih) encountered during <strong>the</strong> Yunghui<br />
period (650-656) are descri<strong>be</strong>d: “<strong>The</strong> Arab country was originally part of Persia. <strong>The</strong> men<br />
have high noses, are <strong>black</strong> and <strong>be</strong>arded.” 88<br />
Descriptions of <strong>the</strong> Arab conquerors of <strong>the</strong> West are similar. In <strong>the</strong> French epic poem<br />
Song of Roland (wr. ca. 1100), Sir Roland’s Saracen enemies at <strong>the</strong> Battle of Roncevaux (778) are<br />
descri<strong>be</strong>d as “hordes <strong>black</strong>er than <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>est ink – no shred of white on <strong>the</strong>m except <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
teeth.” 89 Roland fur<strong>the</strong>r descri<strong>be</strong>s <strong>the</strong> Saracen commander:<br />
at <strong>the</strong>ir head rides <strong>the</strong> Saracen…no worse criminal rides in <strong>the</strong>ir company, stained with <strong>the</strong><br />
marks of h<strong>is</strong> crimes and great treasons, lacking faith in God, Saint Mary’s son. And he <strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>black</strong>, <strong>black</strong> as melted pitch…90<br />
In a miniature from Charles V’s Grandes chroniques de Franch (ca. 1370s) Roland’s Saracen<br />
enemies are depicted <strong>black</strong>-skinned – though handsome – in contrast to <strong>the</strong> white faces of<br />
Roland and h<strong>is</strong> charging Chr<strong>is</strong>tian knights. 91 While it <strong>is</strong> certainly true <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong>se depictions<br />
employ a symbolic convention <strong>that</strong> seeks to contrast <strong>the</strong> dark (sinful) from <strong>the</strong> (white) virtuous, 92<br />
<strong>the</strong>y no doubt reflect a h<strong>is</strong>torical reality as well. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> confirmed by details relating to <strong>the</strong> Arab<br />
conquest of Egypt.<br />
<strong>The</strong> conquest of Egypt by <strong>the</strong> Arab Muslims in 641 was in <strong>the</strong> main carried out by darkskinned<br />
Arabs. 93 <strong>The</strong> second caliph <strong>who</strong> authorized <strong>the</strong> conquest, #Umar b. al-Khaãã§b (d.<br />
23/644), was a QurayshÊ Arab with African ancestry. Not only was h<strong>is</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r from <strong>the</strong><br />
exceptionally dark Banå "l-MughÊra, but h<strong>is</strong> paternal grandmo<strong>the</strong>r was an enslaved Ethiopian. 94<br />
<strong>The</strong> caliph himself has <strong>be</strong>en descri<strong>be</strong>d as a bald, <strong>black</strong>-skinned man (rajul §dam) as if he were<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Banå Sadås. 95 <strong>The</strong> troops were mainly Yemeni Arabs, <strong>who</strong> are noted for <strong>the</strong>ir dark<br />
88 Ro<strong>be</strong>rt G. Hoyland, Seeing Islam As O<strong>the</strong>rs Saw It: A Survey and Evaluation of Chr<strong>is</strong>tian, Jew<strong>is</strong>h<br />
and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam (Princeton, NJ: <strong>The</strong> Darwin Press, INC., 1997): 245, 250.<br />
89 <strong>The</strong> Song of Roland, trans. Frederick Goldin (New York: W.W. Norton, 1978) 99.<br />
90 Song of Roland, 107.<br />
91 See Rita Lejeune and Jacques Stiennon, <strong>The</strong> Legend of Roland in <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages 2 vols. (New<br />
York: Praeger Publ<strong>is</strong>hers, 1971), I: 288 and plate 41B; Strickland, Saracens, demons, & Jews, 179-180.<br />
92 Strickland, Saracens, demons, & Jews, 169.<br />
93 Th<strong>is</strong> seems also to <strong>be</strong> <strong>the</strong> case with regard to <strong>the</strong> conquest of Syria. <strong>The</strong> famous Khālid b. al-Walīd (d. 21/642),<br />
<strong>who</strong> led <strong>the</strong> Syrian expedition, was from <strong>the</strong> exceptionally <strong>black</strong> Banå l- MughÊra (EI 2 VI:138 s.v. Makhzåm by M.<br />
Hinds). Many leaders at <strong>the</strong> dec<strong>is</strong>ive Battle of Yarmåk (14/636), <strong>be</strong>sides Kh§lid, were <strong>black</strong>-skinned Arabs, like<br />
#Amr b. al-#$ß and Abå l-A#war b. Sufy§n from <strong>the</strong> exceptionally <strong>black</strong> Banå Sulaym. Many SulaymÊs participated.<br />
On Abå l-A#war and <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> Sulaym see Michael Lecker, <strong>The</strong> Banå Sulaym: A Contribution to <strong>the</strong> Study of<br />
Early Islam (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1989) 140, 242-245; EI 2 IX:818 s.v. Sulaym by M. Lecker; al-JaÈií,<br />
Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ al-bidan, 219 (Ar.), 23 (Eng).<br />
94 MuÈammad b. HabÊb, Kit§b al-Muhabbar, ed. E. Lichtenstädler (Hyderabad, 1361/1942) 306.<br />
95 Ibn Sa#d’s entry on th<strong>is</strong> caliph, al-•abaqāt al-kubrā III/i, 234-235, presents d<strong>is</strong>agreement over #Umar’s<br />
appearance. It <strong>is</strong> reported on <strong>the</strong> authority of both Zirr b. \ubaysh and Hil§l b. #Abd All§h <strong>that</strong> he was <strong>black</strong>skinned.<br />
On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, #Abd All§h b. #$mir and, surpr<strong>is</strong>ingly, <strong>the</strong> caliph’s famous son #Abd All§h reportedly<br />
claimed <strong>that</strong> he was extremely white-complexioned (abya∙ amhaq ta#låhu Èumra). But #Abd All§h b. #Umar <strong>is</strong> himself<br />
descri<strong>be</strong>d as <strong>black</strong>-skinned (§dam; al-DhahabÊ, Siyar, III:209). According to h<strong>is</strong> own <strong>black</strong>-skinned son (<strong>the</strong> caliph’s<br />
<strong>black</strong>-skinned grandson) S§lim b. #Abd All§h, Ibn #Umar said regarding th<strong>is</strong> family <strong>black</strong>ness: “We inherited our<br />
<strong>black</strong> complexion (al-udma) from our maternal uncles.” Ibn Sa#d, al-•abaqāt al-kubrā III/i, 235. Ibn #Umar’s<br />
mo<strong>the</strong>r was Zaynab b. Maí#ån from <strong>the</strong> Jumah clan of <strong>the</strong> Quraysh. On <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness of th<strong>is</strong> clan see al-DhahabÊ,<br />
Siyar, I:160.<br />
15
complexions. 96 Leading <strong>the</strong> troops into Egypt was <strong>the</strong> Arab general #Amr b. al-#Aß (d. 45/664)<br />
<strong>who</strong> had previously commanded <strong>the</strong> Muslim forces in sou<strong>the</strong>rn Palestine. He too had an<br />
Ethiopian mo<strong>the</strong>r and QurashÊ fa<strong>the</strong>r. 97 #Amr was sent 4000 reinforcements divided into four<br />
detachments of 1000, each led by one of four commanders: al-Miqd§d b. al-Aswad, <strong>who</strong> was<br />
<strong>black</strong>-skinned (§dam) and tall98 ; <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> (aswad) and tall MuÈammad b. Maslama, an Arab from<br />
<strong>the</strong> Banå Aws99 ; al-Zubayr b. al-Awwan, <strong>the</strong> cousin of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> and nephew of KhadÊjah,<br />
<strong>who</strong> was dark brown-skinned (asmar al-lawn) 100 ; and <strong>the</strong> famously <strong>black</strong> (aswad) #Ub§da b. al-<br />
Ԥmit (d. 34/654). 101<br />
A famous incident involving #Ub§da likely illustrates <strong>the</strong> overall complexion of <strong>the</strong><br />
Muslim conquest of Egypt. When Cyrus, <strong>the</strong> Byzantine governor of Egypt, sought negotiations<br />
with #Amr b. al-#Aß in Octo<strong>be</strong>r 640, <strong>the</strong> latter deputed ten of h<strong>is</strong> officers to negotiate. <strong>The</strong>y were<br />
led by #Ub§da. When <strong>the</strong> tall and <strong>black</strong> Ub§da was ushered into Cyrus’ presence, <strong>the</strong> governor<br />
was terrified and exclaimed: “Take away <strong>that</strong> <strong>black</strong> man: I can have no d<strong>is</strong>cussion with him!”<br />
<strong>The</strong> party ins<strong>is</strong>ted <strong>that</strong> #Ub§da was <strong>the</strong> w<strong>is</strong>est, <strong>be</strong>st, and noblest among <strong>the</strong>m and <strong>the</strong>ir appointed<br />
leader, declaring <strong>that</strong> “though he <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong> he <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> foremost among us in position, in precedence,<br />
in intelligence and in w<strong>is</strong>dom, for <strong>black</strong>ness <strong>is</strong> not desp<strong>is</strong>ed among us.” 102 #Ub§da himself <strong>the</strong>n<br />
replied to Cyrus: “<strong>The</strong>re are a thousand <strong>black</strong>s, as <strong>black</strong> as myself, among our companions. I and<br />
<strong>the</strong>y would <strong>be</strong> ready each to meet and fight a hundred enemies toge<strong>the</strong>r.” 103 Benard Lew<strong>is</strong><br />
makes an important observation here: “#Ub§da <strong>is</strong> not African nor even of African descent but (as<br />
<strong>the</strong> chroniclers are careful to point out) a pure and noble Arab on both sides.” 104 #Ub§da was an<br />
eminent AnߧrÊ from <strong>the</strong> tri<strong>be</strong> Awf b. al-Khazraj, 105 in particular <strong>the</strong> clan Banå Ghanm b.<br />
96 Almut Ne<strong>be</strong>l et al, “Genetic evidence for <strong>the</strong> Expansion of Arabian Tri<strong>be</strong>s into <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Levant and North<br />
Africa,” American Journal of Human Genetics 70 (2002): 1595; Kennedy, Great Arab Conquests, 147. On<br />
<strong>the</strong> dark-complexion of sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabs see above n. 45 and Baron von Maltzan’s description of <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arab,<br />
“Geography of Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabia,” Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> Royal Geographical Society of London 16 [1872]: 121:<br />
“<strong>The</strong>ir complexion <strong>is</strong> almost as <strong>black</strong> as <strong>that</strong> of <strong>the</strong> Abyssinians; <strong>the</strong>ir bodies are very finely formed, and with<br />
slender, yet strong limbs; <strong>the</strong>ir faces are Semitic, noses generally aquiline, eyes full of fire, lips small, and mouths of<br />
very diminutive proportions. <strong>The</strong>y are generally thin, and never fat; <strong>the</strong>y have little or no <strong>be</strong>ard, <strong>the</strong>ir hair <strong>is</strong> long,<br />
but curly, not woolly.”<br />
97 Ibn Habib, Kit§b al-Muhabbar, 306; Bernard Lew<strong>is</strong>, “<strong>The</strong> Crows of <strong>the</strong> Arabs,” Critical Inquiry 12 (1985):<br />
89 [art.=88-97].<br />
98 Al-•abarÊ, Ta"rÊkh al-rusul wa"l-mulåk, XIII, 2312; Y.A. Talib, “<strong>The</strong> African Diaspora in Asia,” in I.<br />
Hr<strong>be</strong>k, General H<strong>is</strong>tory of Africa, III: Africa from <strong>the</strong> Seventh to <strong>the</strong> Eleventh Century (Abridged<br />
Edition) (Par<strong>is</strong>: UNESCO, 1992) 338.<br />
99 Ibn ‘a#d, al-•abaqat al-kubr§, III/ii, 19; al-DhahabÊ, Siyar, II:371.<br />
100 Al-•abarÊ, Ta"rÊkh al-rusul wa"l-mulåk, XIII, 2313. Contra Kennedy, Great Arab Conquests, 151 <strong>who</strong><br />
reports <strong>that</strong> he was pale-skinned. Th<strong>is</strong> latter claim <strong>is</strong> apparently based on <strong>the</strong> notice in Ibn #Abd al-\akam’s FutåÈ<br />
Mißr, where al-Zubayr <strong>is</strong> descri<strong>be</strong>d as abya∙. FutåÈ Mißr wa-l-Maghrib (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaq§fah al-<br />
DÊnåyah, 1995) 86. However, as demonstrated <strong>be</strong>low, abya∙ as used of human complexions in <strong>the</strong> literature of th<strong>is</strong><br />
period does not normally indicate ‘pale-skinned’; Èumra, ‘red’ does.<br />
101 Ibn #Abd al-\akam, FutåÈ Mißr, ed. Charles C. Torrey (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1922) 66;<br />
MuÈammad b. #Abd All§h al-HimyarÊ, al-Raw∙ al-mu#aããar fÊ khabar al-aqã§r (Beirut: Maktabat<br />
Lubn§n, 1975) 553; Hitti, H<strong>is</strong>tory of <strong>the</strong> Arabs, 163.<br />
102 Ibn #Abd al-\akam, FutåÈ Mißr (Torrey) 66; Bernard Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Color in Islam (New York: Harper<br />
& Row, 1979)10; Alfred Butler, <strong>The</strong> Arab Invasion of Egypt and <strong>the</strong> Last Years of Roman Domination<br />
(New York: A&B Publ<strong>is</strong>hers, 1992 [1902]) 257.<br />
103 Ibn #Abd al-\akam, FutåÈ Mißr (Torrey) 66.<br />
104 Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Color, 10; idem, Race and Slavery in <strong>the</strong> Middle East: An H<strong>is</strong>torical Enquiry (New<br />
York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990) 26.<br />
105 Ibn Hibb§n, Mash§hÊr #ulam§" al-amߧr (Beirut: D§r al-Kutub al-#Ilmiyah, 1995) 66.<br />
16
Awf b. al-Khazraj, 106 thus a pure, very <strong>black</strong>-skinned Arab. <strong>The</strong> thousand fellow <strong>black</strong>s, possibly<br />
<strong>the</strong> detachment of which he was commander, were no doubt <strong>black</strong> Arabs like him. 107<br />
Patricia Crone recently ra<strong>is</strong>ed <strong>the</strong> question: What did <strong>the</strong> Bedouin of <strong>the</strong> Arab conquests<br />
look like? “(H)ow <strong>should</strong> we,” she queried, “tell a filmmaker <strong>who</strong> wanted to screen <strong>the</strong> story of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Arab conquests to depict <strong>the</strong> conquerors?” 108 A good question, though her focus was<br />
exclusively on <strong>the</strong> dress of <strong>the</strong> conquerors. However, <strong>the</strong> cumulative evidence suggests <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong>y<br />
did not resemble <strong>the</strong> cast of Moustapha Akkad’s 1976 film, <strong>The</strong> Message. 109 Ra<strong>the</strong>r, in <strong>the</strong> context<br />
of our d<strong>is</strong>cussion, K. Vollers observation in 1910 <strong>is</strong> relevant to Crone’s question:<br />
So werden die Ausdrücke grün (akh∙ar) und Schwarz (aswad) oft ident<strong>is</strong>ch gebraucht. Die<br />
khu∙ra (von akh∙ar) wird ne<strong>be</strong>n der sumra (von asmar) als die herrschende Far<strong>be</strong> der<br />
eigentlichen Beduinen genannt; e<strong>be</strong>nso he<strong>is</strong>sen die Ara<strong>be</strong>r…aswad, Schwarz, im Gegensatz<br />
zu den Persern (aÈmar). 110<br />
Thus, when “<strong>The</strong> chansons de gestes routinely mention <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness of Saracen skin,” 111 th<strong>is</strong> does<br />
indeed have “support objectif et h<strong>is</strong>torique,” and <strong>is</strong> not simply <strong>be</strong>cause <strong>the</strong> Saracens were<br />
considered “méchants et maudits.” 112<br />
V. <strong>The</strong> Myth of <strong>the</strong> Swarthy Whites<br />
According to Arnold Toyn<strong>be</strong>e in h<strong>is</strong> tour d’force A Study of H<strong>is</strong>tory, <strong>the</strong> Arabs of <strong>the</strong><br />
Umayyad period identified <strong>the</strong>mselves as ‘<strong>the</strong> swarthy people’ in contrast to <strong>the</strong>ir Persian and<br />
Turk<strong>is</strong>h subjects <strong>who</strong>m <strong>the</strong>y identified as ‘<strong>the</strong> ruddy people’. But he assures us <strong>that</strong> both are but<br />
“two shades of white,” similar to <strong>the</strong> common blond/brunet d<strong>is</strong>tinction. 113 While somewhat<br />
critical of Toyn<strong>be</strong>e, Bernard Lew<strong>is</strong> shares and develops th<strong>is</strong> idea of <strong>the</strong> Arabs as a group of tawny<br />
Noting <strong>that</strong> Classical Arabic color terminology often carries different significances than<br />
whites. 114<br />
106 KhalÊl b. Aybak ‘afadÊ, Kit§b al-wafÊ bi-"l-wafay§t, ed. Helmut Ritter (Istanbul: Maãba#at al-dawlah, 1931-)<br />
XVI: 618-619; Al-•abarÊ, <strong>The</strong> H<strong>is</strong>tory of Al-•abarÊ, Vol. VI: MuÈammad at Mecca (trans. W.<br />
Montgomery Watt and M.V. McDonald (Albany: SUNY Press, 1988) 126.<br />
107 Contra Daniel Pipes, “Black Soldiers in Early Muslim Armies,” International Journal of African H<strong>is</strong>torical<br />
Studies 13 (1980) 87 <strong>who</strong> had to assume <strong>that</strong>, even though #Ub§da was a <strong>black</strong> Arab, <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs must <strong>be</strong> African<br />
<strong>be</strong>cause he felt it unlikely <strong>that</strong> Black Arabs “would band toge<strong>the</strong>r”. <strong>The</strong>re <strong>is</strong> nothing to commend th<strong>is</strong> argument<br />
which <strong>is</strong>, as Lew<strong>is</strong> remarks (Race and Slavery, 112 n. 14) “not supported by any o<strong>the</strong>r evidence in <strong>the</strong> rich Arabic<br />
h<strong>is</strong>toriography dealing with th<strong>is</strong> period.”<br />
108 Patricia Crone, “’Barefoot and Naked’: What Did <strong>the</strong> Bedouin of <strong>the</strong> Arab Conquests Look Like?” Muqarnas<br />
25 (2008): 1.<br />
109 Freek L. Bakker (<strong>The</strong> Challenge of <strong>the</strong> Silver Screen: An Analys<strong>is</strong> of <strong>the</strong> Cinematic Portraits of Jesus,<br />
Rama, Buddha and Muhammad [Leiden: Boston, 2009] Chapter Five; idem, “<strong>The</strong> Image of Muhammad in<br />
<strong>The</strong> Message, <strong>the</strong> First and Only Feature Film about <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> of Islam,” Islam and Chr<strong>is</strong>tian-Muslim<br />
Relations 17 [2006]: 77-92) noted <strong>the</strong> film’s fidelity to Muslim tradition, but Anthony Quinn’s lead character,<br />
Hamza, <strong>is</strong> in Muslim tradition one of <strong>the</strong> deep <strong>black</strong> (dalham) sons of #Abd al-Muããalib, MuÈammad’s paternal<br />
grandfa<strong>the</strong>r. Similarly, MuÈammad’s adopted son Zayd b. H§ritha, <strong>who</strong> was a short, flat-nosed and very <strong>black</strong>skinned<br />
(§dam shadÊd al-udma) Arab, was well-played by <strong>the</strong> no doubt v<strong>is</strong>ually incongruous Brit<strong>is</strong>h actor Damien<br />
Thomas. On Zayd see <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
110 Vollers, “Rassenfar<strong>be</strong>n,” 86.<br />
111 Strickland, Saracens, demons, & Jews, 168.<br />
112 Contra Bancourt, Les Musulmans, I:58.<br />
113 Arnold J. Toyn<strong>be</strong>e, A Study of H<strong>is</strong>tory, vol. 1 (London: Oxford University Press, 1939) 266.<br />
114 Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 19, 22.<br />
17
our own – <strong>the</strong> former <strong>be</strong>ing more concerned with brightness, intensity, and shade than with hue<br />
– Lew<strong>is</strong> suggests <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Arab self-description as ‘<strong>black</strong>’ <strong>is</strong> only relative and does not mean <strong>black</strong>skinned;<br />
such terms as aswad, sumra, §dam and akh∙ar, all indicating a dark brown or <strong>black</strong> color,<br />
really signifies ‘swarthy’ when used by <strong>the</strong> Arabs of <strong>the</strong>mselves in <strong>the</strong> Classical Arabic literature.<br />
Normal for <strong>the</strong> Arabs of <strong>the</strong> peninsula was a light brown or olive complexion. 115 <strong>The</strong>y were<br />
certainly less dark than Africans. 116 Indeed, <strong>the</strong> conquered natives of Spain, Greece and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
Mediterranean peoples were only “of somewhat lighter skin than <strong>the</strong> Arabs.” 117 <strong>The</strong>se ‘<strong>black</strong>’<br />
Arabs and ‘red’ Persians were in fact so similar in complexion, Lew<strong>is</strong> proposes, <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> son of an<br />
Arab fa<strong>the</strong>r and Persian mo<strong>the</strong>r would not look much different from <strong>the</strong> son of two Arab<br />
parents. 118<br />
A closer look at <strong>the</strong> relevant references in <strong>the</strong> Arabic literature indicates <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> above <strong>is</strong><br />
a m<strong>is</strong>reading. #Ub§da b. al-‘§mit, <strong>who</strong>m Lew<strong>is</strong> descri<strong>be</strong>s as swarthy, was in fact so <strong>black</strong> he<br />
struck terror in <strong>the</strong> heart of h<strong>is</strong> poor Byzantine negotiating partner. 119 <strong>The</strong>re can <strong>be</strong> no question<br />
of #Ub§da’s appearance <strong>be</strong>ing <strong>that</strong> of a nicely tanned white; on <strong>the</strong> contrary, h<strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong>-skin was<br />
(terrifyingly) real. Similarly, #Abd al-Muããalib’s ten sons – including MuÈammad’s fa<strong>the</strong>r #Abd<br />
All§h and h<strong>is</strong> important uncles Abå •§lib, Hamza and al-#Abb§s – were not swarthy, according<br />
to al-JaÈií, but a deep <strong>black</strong>, dalham. #AlÊ b. AbÊ •§lib was intensely <strong>black</strong>, §dam shadÊd aludma,<br />
120 not swarthy. 121 In fact, #AlÊ would have <strong>be</strong>en about <strong>the</strong> same complexion as Bil§l, often<br />
said to <strong>be</strong> <strong>the</strong> first ‘<strong>black</strong> Muslim’; he too was §dam shadÊd al-udma. 122 Lew<strong>is</strong>’s proposition <strong>is</strong> thus<br />
turned on its head: <strong>the</strong> son of two Arabs (i.e. #AlÊ) looks little different from <strong>the</strong> son of an Arab<br />
and an African (i.e. Bil§l), ra<strong>the</strong>r than an Arab and a Persian.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> myth of Arabian swarthy whites has informed some translations of <strong>the</strong> literature,<br />
sometimes with strange results. Notable in th<strong>is</strong> regard <strong>is</strong> Jane Dammen McAuliffe’s translation of<br />
al-•abarÊ’s description of MuÈammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya. While al-•abarÊ descri<strong>be</strong>s <strong>the</strong><br />
Imam as so excessively <strong>black</strong> (§dam shadÊd al-udma adlam) <strong>that</strong> he was called “Tar Face” (al-q§rÊ)<br />
and “Charcoal Face” (al-muÈammam), 123 McAuliffe renders th<strong>is</strong> passage thusly: “MuÈammad was<br />
very swarthy-h<strong>is</strong> complexion almost <strong>black</strong>”. 124 <strong>The</strong> d<strong>is</strong>tance <strong>be</strong>tween al-•abarÊ’s “excessively<br />
<strong>black</strong>” and McAuliffe’s “almost <strong>black</strong>” <strong>is</strong> significant and <strong>should</strong> <strong>be</strong> noted. Puzzling too <strong>is</strong> David<br />
Powers’ description of Zayd b. \§ritha (d. 8/629), <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s adopted son. According to<br />
Powers, “Zayd was short, h<strong>is</strong> nose was flat and wide, and h<strong>is</strong> skin was white or tawny colored.” 125<br />
115 Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 22.<br />
116 Bernard Lew<strong>is</strong>, “<strong>The</strong> Crows of <strong>the</strong> Arabs,” Critical Inquiry 12 (1985) 88.<br />
117 Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 22.<br />
118 Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 40.<br />
119 Ibn #Abd al-\aham, FutåÈ mißr (Torrey), 66; Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 26, 27; Butler, Arab Invasion, 257.<br />
120 Lane, Arabic-Engl<strong>is</strong>h Lexicon, I:37 s.v. ﻡﺩﺍ suggests <strong>that</strong> §dam means primarily ‘tawny’, and secondarily darkcomplexioned.<br />
However, according to Ibn Maníår’s entry, when used of human complexions (ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>that</strong> of<br />
camels, for instance) §dam/udma signifies an excessively dark brown, al-sumra al-shadÊd and it contains a “dose of<br />
<strong>black</strong>ness (shurbatun min saw§d): L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﻡﺩﺍ XII:11. Lingu<strong>is</strong>t al-Tha#labÊ (d. 1036), Fiqh al-lugha<br />
(Beirut and London: D§r al-Kit§b al-ArabÊ, 2006) 82 likew<strong>is</strong>e notes <strong>that</strong> §dam’s <strong>black</strong>ness exceeds <strong>that</strong> of sumra. See<br />
fur<strong>the</strong>r Lammens Études, 44.<br />
121 Philip K. Hitti’s description: H<strong>is</strong>tory of <strong>the</strong> Arabs, 10th edition (London: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1970)<br />
183.<br />
122 Bal§dhurÊ, Ans§b al-ashr§f, ed. MuÈammad \amÊd All§h (Cairo: D§r al-Ma#§rif, 1987) I:193. On Bil§l see<br />
fur<strong>the</strong>r EI2 I:1215 s.v. Bil§l b. Rab§È by W. #Arafat.<br />
123 Al-•abarÊ, Ta"rÊkh al-rusul wa"l-mulåk, X:203.<br />
124 H<strong>is</strong>tory of al-•abarÊ, XXVIII:160.<br />
125 Powers, MuÈammad <strong>is</strong> Not <strong>the</strong> Fa<strong>the</strong>r, 25.<br />
18
Yet, <strong>the</strong> sources Powers cites are unanimous in describing Zayd as intensely <strong>black</strong>-skinned, §dam<br />
shadÊd al-udma: 126 he too would have looked like Bil§l in complexion. Nei<strong>the</strong>r Bil§l nor Zayd were<br />
‘tawny’: <strong>the</strong> Arabic indicates <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong>y were intensely dark. It <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> case <strong>that</strong> one of Powers’<br />
sources, Ibn #As§kir (d. 571/1175), reports an unattributed alternative view according to which<br />
Zayd was intensely white (shadÊd al-bay§∙), while it was h<strong>is</strong> son Us§ma <strong>who</strong> was <strong>black</strong> (aswad),<br />
born as he was to an Ethiopian mo<strong>the</strong>r. 127 But th<strong>is</strong> “alternative view” <strong>is</strong> clearly secondary;<br />
nei<strong>the</strong>r Ibn Sa#d, al-•abarÊ or Bal§dhurÊ report it. Because of h<strong>is</strong> short stature, <strong>black</strong> skin and<br />
flat nose Zayd has occasionally <strong>be</strong>en descri<strong>be</strong>d as “a negro,” 128 but he was a true Arab Bedouin<br />
(a#r§bÊ) from <strong>the</strong> Banå Kalb. 129<br />
Two reports found in <strong>the</strong> Arabic literature clarify <strong>the</strong> Arab self-description. <strong>The</strong> first<br />
concerns <strong>the</strong> Arab lingu<strong>is</strong>t and genealog<strong>is</strong>t al-\asan b. AÈmad (d. 436/1044-45), <strong>be</strong>tter known<br />
as al-Aswad al-Ghandaj§nÊ, “<strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>-skinned man from Ghandaj§n.” He was also known as<br />
al-A#r§bÊ, <strong>the</strong> Arab, and it <strong>is</strong> said <strong>that</strong> he was excessively proud of h<strong>is</strong> Arab heritage, particularly<br />
<strong>the</strong> dark skin (al-sumra) of <strong>the</strong> Arabs. 130 <strong>The</strong> latter was so important to al-\asan, in fact, <strong>that</strong> he<br />
would not only apply tar to h<strong>is</strong> skin and frequently sit in <strong>the</strong> very hot sun of Ghandaj§n to<br />
<strong>black</strong>en h<strong>is</strong> own complexion, but would also throw h<strong>is</strong> son in oil and have him sit in <strong>the</strong> sun so<br />
<strong>that</strong> h<strong>is</strong> complexion would <strong>be</strong> dark brown like <strong>the</strong> Arabs. <strong>The</strong> poor boy died from th<strong>is</strong>. 131 It <strong>is</strong><br />
certainly a stretch to imagine <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> goal of such extreme measures was a soft olive-toned tan!<br />
Secondly, Abå’l-Faraj al-Ißfah§nÊ reports <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> pitch-<strong>black</strong> (adlam) Arab poet<br />
al-Sayyid al-\imyarÊ (d. 173/789). We are told <strong>that</strong> al-Sayyid used to carouse with <strong>the</strong> young<br />
men of <strong>the</strong> camp, one of <strong>who</strong>m was as dark as he. Th<strong>is</strong> one, with h<strong>is</strong> thick nose and lips, had a<br />
general Negroid appearance (muzannaj). Al-Sayyid had foul-smelling armpits and as <strong>the</strong> two<br />
pitch-<strong>black</strong> Arabs were jesting toge<strong>the</strong>r one day, al-Sayyid said: “You are a ZanjÊ in your nose<br />
and lips!” to which <strong>the</strong> youth replied: “And you are a ZanjÊ in your color and armpits!” 132<br />
Notice <strong>that</strong> it <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> youth with <strong>the</strong> Negroid appearance <strong>that</strong> points out <strong>the</strong> Negroid complexion<br />
of al-Sayyid. Th<strong>is</strong> anecdote challenges Lew<strong>is</strong>’s assumption of a chromatic difference <strong>be</strong>tween<br />
‘<strong>black</strong>’ Arabs and <strong>black</strong> Africans. 133 As we shall see, <strong>the</strong> difference <strong>be</strong>tween <strong>the</strong> two highlighted in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Arabic literature <strong>is</strong> frequently one of luminosity, not chromaticity. 134<br />
126 Ibn ‘a#d, al-•abaqat al-kubr§, III/i, 30; Bal§dhurÊ, Ans§b al-ashr§f, I:470; Al-•abarÊ, Ta"rÊkh al-rusul<br />
wa"l-mulåk, XIII: 2301 (=<strong>The</strong> H<strong>is</strong>tory of al-•abarÊ, Volume XXXIX: Biographies of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s<br />
Companions and <strong>The</strong>ir Successors, trans. and annot. Ella Landau-Tasseron [Albany: State University of New<br />
York Press, 1985] 10); Ibn #As§kir, Ta"rÊkh madÊnat Dimashq, ed. #Umar Ghar§mah #AmrawÊ (Beirut: D§r al-<br />
Fikr, 1995) XIV:351. See also Ibn al-Jawzī, Kitāb tanwīr al-ghabash fī fa∙l ‘l-sūdān wa’l-Èabash, ed. and<br />
trns. by Imran Hamza Alawiye, “Ibn al-Jawzī’s Apologia on Behalf of <strong>the</strong> Black People and <strong>the</strong>ir status in Islam: A<br />
Critical Editon and Translation of Kitāb tanwīr al-ghabash fī fa∙l ‘l-sūdān wa’l-Èabash,” (PhD. D<strong>is</strong>sertation, University<br />
of London, 1985) 298 [Ar.]; 132 [Eng.]; Khalid Muhammad Khalid, Men Around <strong>the</strong> Messenger (New Rev<strong>is</strong>ed<br />
Edition; Kuala Lumpur, 2005) 232.<br />
127 Ibn #As§kir, Ta"rÊkh madÊnat Dimashq, XIV:351.<br />
128 E.g. J.A. Rogers, World’s Great Men of Color 2 vols. (New York: Collier Books, 1996 [1973]) II: 539-40;<br />
idem, Sex and Race: Negro-Caucasian Mixing in All Ages and All Lands (St. Petersburg, Fl: Helga M.<br />
Rogers, 1967; 9th edition) 96; Vasudeo B. Mehto, “If Europe had <strong>be</strong>en Muslim<strong>is</strong>ed,” Islamic Review 2 (1932):<br />
220.<br />
129 Ibn #As§kir, Ta"rÊkh madÊnat Dimashq, XIV:349-50.<br />
130 #AlÊ b. Yåsuf al-QifãÊ, Inbah al-ruw§h #al§ anb§h al-nuȧh (Cairo, 1973) 168-169.<br />
131 Al-QifãÊ, Inbah al-ruw§h, 169; Y§qåt b. #Abd All§h al-HamawÊ, Kit§b irsh§d al-arÊb il§ ma#rifat aladÊb,<br />
ed. D.S. Margoliouth (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1910) III/i, 22-23.<br />
132 Abå’l-Faraj al-Ißfah§nÊ, Kit§b al-Agh§nÊ, 20 vols. (Bål§q, 1285/1868-69) VII:20.<br />
133 Lew<strong>is</strong> in fact cites th<strong>is</strong> anecdote in h<strong>is</strong> study of race in Islam: Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 92.<br />
134 See <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
19
VI. MuÈammad <strong>the</strong> Black Arab?<br />
We have every a priori reason to expect MuÈammad, as an Arab, to have <strong>be</strong>en darkcomplexioned.<br />
A fair-skinned MuÈammad in seventh-century Hejaz would have invoked<br />
critic<strong>is</strong>ms and charges of <strong>be</strong>ing a non-Arab. When we examine <strong>the</strong> Classical Arabic literature,<br />
our expectations of a dark-skinned MuÈammad are in fact not d<strong>is</strong>appointed. Al-TirmidhÊ (d.<br />
279/892) in h<strong>is</strong> J§mi# al-‘aÈÊÈ reports on <strong>the</strong> authority of <strong>the</strong> famous Companion of <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong>, An§s b. M§lik:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Messenger of Allah was of medium stature, nei<strong>the</strong>r tall nor short, [with] a <strong>be</strong>autiful,<br />
dark brown-complexioned body (Èasan al-j<strong>is</strong>m asmar al-lawn). H<strong>is</strong> hair was nei<strong>the</strong>r curly nor<br />
completely straight and when he walked he leant forward. 135<br />
Ibn Sa#d (d. 230/845) reports th<strong>is</strong> and a similar description of MuÈammad on <strong>the</strong> authority of<br />
Ibn #Abbās:<br />
YazÊd al-F§r<strong>is</strong>i said: I saw <strong>the</strong> Messenger of God (s) in a dream during <strong>the</strong> time Ibn #Abbās<br />
[was governor] over Basra. I said to Ibn #Abbās: “I saw <strong>the</strong> Messenger of Allah (s) in a<br />
dream.” Ibn #Abbās said: “Verily, <strong>the</strong> Messenger used to say, ‘Satan cannot assume my<br />
form, so he <strong>who</strong> saw me in a dream, surely had a v<strong>is</strong>ion of me.’ Can you descri<strong>be</strong> to me<br />
what you saw?” [YazÊd] said: “Yes, I [will] descri<strong>be</strong> [him]. He was a man <strong>be</strong>tween two<br />
men. H<strong>is</strong> body and flesh were brown and blem<strong>is</strong>h-free with a sheen (asmar il§ al-bay§∙),<br />
smiling, eyes with collyrium, features of h<strong>is</strong> face <strong>be</strong>autiful. H<strong>is</strong> <strong>be</strong>ard was thick from th<strong>is</strong><br />
end to <strong>that</strong>, and (<strong>the</strong> man) pointed to h<strong>is</strong> two temples with h<strong>is</strong> hands. It was so thick <strong>that</strong> it<br />
covered h<strong>is</strong> neck….” <strong>The</strong>reupon Ibn #Abbās said: “Had you seen him while awake, you<br />
could not have descri<strong>be</strong>d him <strong>be</strong>tter than th<strong>is</strong>.” 137<br />
Like <strong>the</strong> report on <strong>the</strong> authority of An§s, MuÈammad <strong>is</strong> here descri<strong>be</strong>d as brown-skinned, asmar.<br />
<strong>The</strong> normal connotation of th<strong>is</strong> term <strong>is</strong> a pretty standard dark brown, 138 as evidenced by o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
formations from <strong>the</strong> same root: samar “darkness, night”; al-g§rra al-samr§ “<strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> continent<br />
(Africa)” 139 . In <strong>the</strong> context of human complexions sumra /asmar has <strong>be</strong>en associated with khu∙ra,<br />
§dam, aswad, i.e. <strong>black</strong>. 140<br />
135 Sunan al-TirmidhÊ (Hims: Maktabat D§r al-Da#wah, 1965-) VI:69 no. 1754; Al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-<br />
NabÊ, no. 2. Th<strong>is</strong> or a related report <strong>is</strong> found as well in Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/i, 123 (Ar.); 488<br />
(Eng); AÈmad b. \anbal, Musnad (Riyad: Bayt al-Afk§r al-DawlÊyah, 1998) III: 969 no. 13854; al-BayhaqÊ,<br />
Dal§"il al-nubuwwah, I:203; Ibn KathÊr, al-Bid§yah wa-"l-Nih§yah, VI: 13.<br />
136 On al-bay§∙ see <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
137 Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/i,125 (Ar.); 492 (Eng).<br />
138 Vollers, “Rassenfar<strong>be</strong>n,” 88.<br />
139 J M. Cowan (ed.), Hans Wehr Arabic-Engl<strong>is</strong>h Dictionary 4 th edition (Ithica: Spoken Language Services,<br />
Inc., 1994) 500 s.v. ﺮﻤﺳ.<br />
140 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻀﺧ IV: 245; s.v. ﺮﻤﺳ IV:376: “al-udma <strong>is</strong> al-sumra, and al-§dam among people<br />
in al-asmar.” See also Ibn AbÊ al-\adÊd, SharÈ nahj al-bal§ghah, V:56. Lane’s note, Lexicon, I: 1425 s.v. ﺮﻤﺳ :<br />
“tawny…like <strong>the</strong> various hues of wheat” does not accurately capture <strong>the</strong> chromatic implications of th<strong>is</strong> term. See<br />
also Hidayet Hosain’s translation of Anas b. M§lik’s report as found in TirmidhÊ’s al-Sham§"il (#2): “h<strong>is</strong><br />
complexion was tawny”: Hidayet Hosain, “Translation of Ash-Shama’il of Tirmizi,” Islamic Culture 7 (1933):<br />
397. Vollers’ “dunkle Bräune” <strong>is</strong> more accurate: “Rassenfar<strong>be</strong>n,” 88.<br />
20<br />
136
shades or degrees of ‘<strong>black</strong>’ in Classical Arabic: Èumma, aswad, akh∙ar, §dam (deep <strong>black</strong>), asÈam,<br />
jawn, f§Èim (coal <strong>black</strong>), ȧlik (pitch <strong>black</strong>), and more. 141 Lingu<strong>is</strong>tic scholar Abå Manßår al-<br />
Tha#labÊ (d. 427/1036), enumerating <strong>the</strong> different “classifications of human <strong>black</strong>ness (fÊ tartÊb<br />
saw§d al-ins§n),” explains:<br />
When h<strong>is</strong> maximum [<strong>black</strong>ness] (al§hu) <strong>is</strong> less than sawad (<strong>black</strong>), <strong>the</strong>n he <strong>is</strong> asmar (brown). If<br />
h<strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness <strong>is</strong> greater with yellow enhancing it <strong>the</strong>n he <strong>is</strong> aßham. If h<strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness exceeds<br />
al-sumra <strong>the</strong>n he <strong>is</strong> §dam. If it exceeds <strong>that</strong>, <strong>the</strong>n it <strong>is</strong> asÈam. If h<strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness <strong>is</strong> intense, <strong>the</strong>n<br />
he <strong>is</strong> adlam. 142<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> suggests a hierarchy of intensifying <strong>black</strong>ness: asmar / sumra → sawad/§dam →<br />
aßham → asÈam → adlam. It also implies <strong>that</strong>, while at <strong>the</strong> bottom of <strong>the</strong> hierarchy, asmar /<br />
sumra still falls within <strong>the</strong> category ‘<strong>black</strong>’. Ibn Maníår reports <strong>that</strong> “al-sumra [<strong>is</strong>] a degree<br />
<strong>be</strong>tween white (al-bay§∙) and <strong>black</strong> (al-aswad), and it <strong>is</strong> <strong>that</strong> in <strong>the</strong> context of human complexions,<br />
camels, etc.” 143 According to Ibn AthÊr, al-sumra’s ‘<strong>black</strong>ness’ predominates over its ‘whiteness’<br />
(al-sumra alladhÊ yaghlibu saw§duhu #al§ bay§∙ihi), 144 and al-Taft§z§nÊ (d. 792/1390) reports in<br />
h<strong>is</strong> al-TahdhÊd: ‘al-sumra…<strong>is</strong> a color inclining to a faint <strong>black</strong>ness (sawadin khafiyin ), as in <strong>the</strong><br />
description of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>: he was brown complexioned (k§na asmar al-lawn)…” 145 Asmar/sumra <strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong>refore a (dark) brown complexion.<br />
Al-TirmidhÊ also reports from An§s b. M§lik:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Messenger of Allah (s) was nei<strong>the</strong>r tall, such <strong>that</strong> he would stand out, nor was he short.<br />
He was not albino-white (al-abya∙ al-amhaq), nor was he deep <strong>black</strong> (§dam). H<strong>is</strong> hair was<br />
nei<strong>the</strong>r very curly nor completely straight. Allah comm<strong>is</strong>sioned him towards <strong>the</strong> end of h<strong>is</strong><br />
fortieth year. He remained in Mecca for ten years and in Medina for ten years. Allah<br />
caused him to pass away at <strong>the</strong> turn of h<strong>is</strong> sixtieth year and <strong>the</strong>re was not found on h<strong>is</strong><br />
head and <strong>be</strong>ard [as much as] twenty white hairs. 146<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> report does not necessarily stand in contradiction to An§s’ report according to which <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong> was brown-skinned, 147 <strong>be</strong>cause asmar <strong>is</strong> not necessarily §dam. 148 According to al-<br />
Tha#labÊ’s classification, §dam <strong>is</strong> a more excessive <strong>black</strong>ness than asmar.<br />
However, ‘<strong>black</strong>’ too has various connotations. <strong>The</strong>re were several<br />
149 What would <strong>be</strong> denied<br />
here <strong>is</strong> <strong>that</strong> MuÈammad was one of <strong>the</strong> excessively <strong>black</strong> Arabs, like <strong>the</strong> Banå Sulaym may<strong>be</strong>. 150<br />
141 For more ‘<strong>black</strong>s’ see al-Tha#labÊ, Fiqh al-lugha, 81.<br />
142 al-Tha#labÊ, Fiqh al-lugha, 82.<br />
143 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻤﺳ IV:376.<br />
144 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻤﺳ IV:376.<br />
145 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻤﺳ IV:376.<br />
146 Sunan al-TirmidhÊ, IX:244 no. 3627; Al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-NabÊ, no. 1; al-Bukh§rÊ, ‘aÈÊÈ, b§b<br />
ßifat al-nabÊ, no. 747, 748; Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/i, 123 (Ar.); 488 (Eng).<br />
147 Q§wÊ al-HarawÊ, Kit§b jam# al-was§"il, 14.<br />
148 Contra M§hir Y§sin Fahl and Bashsh§r #Aww§d Ma#råf, comments in al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-NabÊ, 33 n.<br />
4; #Abd al-Ra#åf b. T§j al-#$rifÊn al-Munawi, al-Raw∙ al-b§sim fÊ Sham§"il al-Mußtaf§ AbÊ al-Q§sim<br />
(Damascus: D§r al-Bash§"ir, 2000) 23, n. 2.<br />
149 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﻡﺩﺍ XII:11: §dam/udma signifies an excessively dark brown, al-sumra al-shadÊd.<br />
150 As pointed out by al-B§jårÊ (d. 1276/1860), Maw§hib al-ladunÊyah #al§ al-Sham§"il al-MuÈammadÊyah,<br />
apud al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-MuÈammadÊyah, ed. MuÈammad #Aww§mah (Medina, 2001) 22 (al-manfÊy<br />
innam§ huwa shiddat al-sumra). However, al-B§jårÊ’s claim <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> intent of <strong>the</strong> affirmed al-sumra <strong>is</strong> really al-aÈmar <strong>is</strong><br />
unlikely. See <strong>be</strong>low. On <strong>the</strong> Sulaym see above n. 94.<br />
21
But An§s <strong>is</strong> also <strong>the</strong> reported source of a more widely known description of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> which, at<br />
first sight, seems to completely contradict all of <strong>the</strong> above.<br />
While we were sitting with <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> in <strong>the</strong> mosque, a man came riding on a camel. He<br />
made h<strong>is</strong> camel kneel down in <strong>the</strong> mosque, tied its foreleg and <strong>the</strong>n said: “Who amongst<br />
you <strong>is</strong> MuÈammad?” At <strong>that</strong> time <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was sitting amongst us (h<strong>is</strong> companions)<br />
leaning on h<strong>is</strong> arm. We replied, “Th<strong>is</strong> white man (hadh§ l-rajul l-abya∙) reclining on h<strong>is</strong><br />
arm.” 151<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> description of MuÈammad as abya∙, white, <strong>is</strong> frequently encountered in <strong>the</strong> Arabic<br />
literature. 152 What are <strong>the</strong> implications of th<strong>is</strong> description and how does it relate, if at all, to<br />
An§s’s o<strong>the</strong>r description of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> as brown-skinned? In h<strong>is</strong> study of Classical Arabic color<br />
terminology Arab<strong>is</strong>t Jeham Allam makes a relevant observation:<br />
color terms often acquire, in certain fixed allocations, a range <strong>that</strong> goes <strong>be</strong>yond what <strong>the</strong>y<br />
normally possess, e.g., “white” in <strong>the</strong> expression “white coffee” refers to a deep shade of<br />
brown…when referring to skin, an Arabic speaker may use [abya∙] (“white”) as a<br />
euphem<strong>is</strong>m for [aswad] (“<strong>black</strong>”). 153<br />
Allam’s point <strong>is</strong> confirmed by <strong>the</strong> appropriate Classical Arabic/Islamic sources. Al-Dhahabī<br />
affirmed:<br />
When Arabs say, ‘so-and-so <strong>is</strong> white (abya∙),’ <strong>the</strong>y mean a golden brown complexion with a<br />
<strong>black</strong> appearance (al-hinãÊ al-lawn bi-Èilya sud§"). Like <strong>the</strong> complexion of <strong>the</strong> people of<br />
India, brown and <strong>black</strong> (asmar wa §dam), i.e. a clear, refined <strong>black</strong>ness (sawad al-takrår).” 154<br />
Abya∙ thus does not suggest a white complexion. Ibn Maníår affirmed <strong>the</strong> same:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Arabs don’t say a man <strong>is</strong> white [or: “white man,” rajul abya∙] due to a white<br />
complexion. Ra<strong>the</strong>r, whiteness [al-abya∙] with <strong>the</strong>m means an external appearance <strong>that</strong> <strong>is</strong><br />
free from blem<strong>is</strong>h [al-í§hir al-naqÊ min al-#uqåb]; when <strong>the</strong>y mean a white complexion<br />
<strong>the</strong>y say ‘red’ (aÈmar)… when <strong>the</strong> Arabs say, ‘so-and-so <strong>is</strong> white (abya∙ - bay∙§#), <strong>the</strong>y [only]<br />
mean a noble character (al-karam fÊ l-akhl§q), not skin color. It <strong>is</strong> when <strong>the</strong>y say ‘so-and-so <strong>is</strong><br />
red’ (aÈmar - Èamr§#) <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong>y mean white skin. And <strong>the</strong> Arabs attribute white skin to <strong>the</strong><br />
slaves. 155<br />
151 al-Bukh§rÊ, ‘aÈÊÈ, kit§b #alim, b§b fa∙l #alim, # 63.<br />
152 See above n. 9.<br />
153 Jehan Allam, “A Sociolingu<strong>is</strong>tic Study on <strong>the</strong> Use of Color Terminology in Egyptian Colloquial and Classical<br />
Arabic,” in Zeinab Ibrahim, Nagwa Kassabgy and Sabiha Aydelott (edd.), Diversity in Language: Contrastive<br />
Studies in Engl<strong>is</strong>h and Arabic <strong>The</strong>oretical and Applied Lingu<strong>is</strong>tics (Cairo and New York: <strong>The</strong> American<br />
University on Cairo Press, 2000) 78; Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 22.<br />
154 Al-DhahabÊ, Siyar, II:168.<br />
155 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻤﺣ IV: 209, 210.<br />
22
To speak of someone as white complexioned, like <strong>the</strong> Romans, Persians, Turks, etc., <strong>the</strong> Arabs<br />
used <strong>the</strong> term aÈmar, red. 156 Abya∙ ‘white’ had a different connotation: it signified a blem<strong>is</strong>h-free<br />
<strong>black</strong> complexion with a sheen (thus <strong>the</strong> ‘golden-brown’ appearance). In o<strong>the</strong>r words, what we<br />
call white today <strong>the</strong> Arabs called red, and what <strong>the</strong>y called white often was what we would today<br />
call <strong>black</strong>.<br />
Fur<strong>the</strong>r, as Golden<strong>be</strong>rg notes, ‘white’ in pre-modern Arabic was about luminosity, not<br />
chromaticity. 157 Arab usage d<strong>is</strong>tingu<strong>is</strong>hed <strong>be</strong>tween whiteness related to redness or whiteskinnedness<br />
(al-baya∙ al-mushrab bi-Èumra) and whiteness related to yellowness or luminance (albaya∙<br />
al-mushrab bi-ßufra). <strong>The</strong> former (bi-Èumra) ar<strong>is</strong>es from <strong>the</strong> blood v<strong>is</strong>ible from within <strong>the</strong><br />
body, and <strong>the</strong> latter (bi-ßufra) ar<strong>is</strong>es from gloss and sheen (ßaq§la wa ßaf§#). 158 According to al-<br />
Tha#labÊ, <strong>the</strong> whiteness <strong>that</strong> <strong>is</strong> pra<strong>is</strong>e-worthy <strong>is</strong> <strong>that</strong> which associates a person’s complexion<br />
“closer to yellowness (ßufra), like <strong>the</strong> color of <strong>the</strong> moon and pearls, <strong>the</strong>n he <strong>is</strong> azhar, luminous.” 159<br />
Not unexpectedly MuÈammad <strong>is</strong> descri<strong>be</strong>d as luminous. “<strong>The</strong> Messenger of Allah was luminous<br />
of complexion (azhar al-lawn).” 160 H<strong>is</strong> face shone with resplendence like <strong>that</strong> of a full moon and<br />
h<strong>is</strong> azhar and abya∙ complexion had a luster (når) resembling <strong>that</strong> of a statue made of clear<br />
silver. 161 Indeed, according to one Companion under h<strong>is</strong> cloths <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was like <strong>the</strong> halfmoon<br />
in luminance. 162 Luminance, ra<strong>the</strong>r than a white complexion, <strong>is</strong> no doubt <strong>the</strong> significance<br />
of <strong>the</strong>se reports describing MuÈammad as abya∙. 163<br />
In Classical Arabic <strong>the</strong>re <strong>is</strong> no incompatibility <strong>be</strong>tween <strong>be</strong>ing <strong>black</strong>-skinned and <strong>be</strong>ing<br />
luminous (azhar/abya∙). <strong>The</strong> verb, ißfarra, which in Modern Standard Arabic means “to <strong>be</strong>come<br />
yellow,” in Classical Arabic also meant “to <strong>be</strong>come <strong>black</strong>.” 164 ‘ufra meant both “yellowness” and<br />
“<strong>black</strong>ness.” 165 <strong>The</strong> same <strong>is</strong> true for human complexions. Ja#far al-‘§diq (d. 148/765), <strong>the</strong> sixth<br />
Shiite Imam, had a <strong>black</strong> complexion (§dam§ l-lawn), 166 but like <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was also descri<strong>be</strong>d as<br />
possessing a luminous face (azhar al-wajh). 167<br />
156 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻤﺣ IV: 209: “al-aÈmar <strong>is</strong> a general white complexion (al-abya∙ muãlaqan).”<br />
See fur<strong>the</strong>r Goldziher, Muslim Studies, 1:268 and <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
157 Golden<strong>be</strong>rg, Curse of Ham, 93.<br />
158 al-B§jårÊ, Maw§hib al-ladunÊyah #al§ al-Sham§"il al-MuÈammadÊyah, apud al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il<br />
al-MuÈammadÊyah, 22.<br />
159 Al-Tha#labÊ, Fiqh al-lugha, 77.<br />
160 Al-TirmidhÊ, Sham§"il al-nabÊ, no. 8; Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/i:121, 123 (Ar.); 484, 488<br />
(Eng.)<br />
161 Al-TirmidhÊ, Sham§"il al-nabÊ, no. 8, 12; Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/ii:121 (Ar.); 484 (Eng.)<br />
162 Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/i:127 (Ar.); 495 (Eng.)<br />
163 Vollers, “Rassenfar<strong>be</strong>n,” 90-91: “Weit mehr fällt ins Gewicht, dass der <strong>Prophet</strong> MuÈammad, der doch auch<br />
körperlich der vollendetste Ara<strong>be</strong>r sein musste, so geschildert wird: von heller Hautfar<strong>be</strong>, zw<strong>is</strong>chen hellwe<strong>is</strong>s und<br />
bräunlich, von schwarzen Haar und sehr dunkeln Augen. E<strong>be</strong>nso im \adÊth, wo der Beduine 4imâm ibn Tha‘laba<br />
den <strong>Prophet</strong>en in einem Kre<strong>is</strong>e sucht und fragt, worauf er die Antwort erhält: ﺾﻴﺑﻷﺍ ﻞﺟﺮﻟﺍ ‘der we<strong>is</strong>se (helle) Mann<br />
da,. Für unsern Zweck <strong>is</strong>t es einerlei, ob diese Scene h<strong>is</strong>tor<strong>is</strong>ch <strong>is</strong>t oder der Legende angehört; in <strong>be</strong>iden Fällen<br />
gewinnen wir das Resultat, dass die Ara<strong>be</strong>r das Bedürfn<strong>is</strong> empfanden, den vollendetsten Mann ihres Volkes als hell<br />
zu schildern.”<br />
164 Allam, “Sociolingu<strong>is</strong>tic Study,” 82.<br />
165 Ibn Maníår, L<strong>is</strong>§n al-#arab, s.v. ﺮﻔﺻ IV:244 “aßfar (“yellow”) <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong>”. See also Allam, “Sociolingu<strong>is</strong>tic Study,”<br />
82.<br />
166 Ibn al-‘abb§gh, Al-Fusål, 205.<br />
167 Ibn Sharhr§shåb, Man§qib $l AbÊ •§lib, 4 vols. (Qum: al-Maãba#ah al-#IlmÊyah [Tamma al-Kit§b], 1959) IV:<br />
281.<br />
23
al-lawn). 168 Yet, he too was azhar, luminous, except, we are told, in <strong>the</strong> high summer. <strong>The</strong> heat in<br />
h<strong>is</strong> region seems to have rob<strong>be</strong>d him of h<strong>is</strong> bodily sheen and luster, leaving him completely <strong>black</strong><br />
(tamÊm akh∙ar) and pitch <strong>black</strong> (ȧlik). 169 Al-JaÈií thus clarified <strong>the</strong> Arab use of such<br />
descriptions:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Arabs boast of (<strong>the</strong>ir) <strong>black</strong> color. If it <strong>is</strong> said, ‘How can th<strong>is</strong> <strong>be</strong> so, seeing <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Arabs speak of someone as luminous (azhar), white (abya∙), and blazing white (agharr)?’ we<br />
would answer: ‘<strong>The</strong>y are not referring in th<strong>is</strong> context to whiteness of skin (bay§∙ al-jilda),<br />
but ra<strong>the</strong>r to nobility and purity of character. 170<br />
<strong>The</strong>se two descriptions of MuÈammad as (dark) brown (asmar) and as white (abya∙), are<br />
<strong>the</strong>refore not in conflict: <strong>the</strong> latter would have <strong>the</strong> sense of sheen (al-ßaf§") and luster (al-lama#§n)<br />
on <strong>the</strong> blem<strong>is</strong>h-free asmar skin under <strong>the</strong> light of <strong>the</strong> sun. 171 An§s b. M§lik thus reportedly<br />
affirmed <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Messenger of God “was luminous (azhar), not albino-white,” 172 and specified<br />
fur<strong>the</strong>r <strong>that</strong> “h<strong>is</strong> (s) whiteness was related to (dark) brown, k§na abya∙ bay§∙ahu il§ al-asmar,” 173<br />
thus not related to aÈmar, white-complexioned. Th<strong>is</strong> means <strong>that</strong>, when not specifically qualified<br />
by <strong>the</strong> phrase mushrab bi-Èumra, descriptions of MuÈammad’s complexion as abya∙ <strong>should</strong><br />
probably <strong>be</strong> read as ‘blem<strong>is</strong>h-free and luminous <strong>black</strong> complexion.’<br />
Excursus: Black Semites vs. Black Hamites<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> tradition of <strong>black</strong>-skinned Arabs with a blem<strong>is</strong>h-free and luminous complexion<br />
throws some light (no pun intended) on a num<strong>be</strong>r of passages within <strong>the</strong> literature relating to<br />
<strong>black</strong> Africans. Above we quoted a report found <strong>The</strong> in same al-•abarÊ’s <strong>is</strong> true of Ta"rÊkh Ja#far’s son, al-rusul Mås§ wa"l-mulåk,<br />
al-K§íim (d.<br />
183/799), according to <strong>the</strong> which seventh God Imam. gave He <strong>the</strong> was Semites deep a brown dark complexion, (asmar #amÊq) luminous or <strong>black</strong>-complexioned and free of blem<strong>is</strong>h (aswad (aludma<br />
wa l-bay§∙), while to <strong>the</strong> Hamites (i.e. Africans) he gave only a dark complexion. For most<br />
Hamites <strong>the</strong>ir dark complexion was not luminous and blem<strong>is</strong>h-free. <strong>The</strong> d<strong>is</strong>tingu<strong>is</strong>hing<br />
character<strong>is</strong>tic <strong>be</strong>tween Arabs and Africans according to th<strong>is</strong> formulation <strong>is</strong> not chromatic but<br />
quality of complexion and absence or presence of a luster. A poet’s satirical reproach against <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>black</strong>-skinned #Ubayd All§h, son of <strong>the</strong> Ethiopian Companion Abå Bakra, could claim regarding<br />
Nubian <strong>black</strong>s: “God put no light in <strong>the</strong>ir complexions!” 174 Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> no doubt <strong>the</strong> context for th<strong>is</strong><br />
much quoted hadith on <strong>the</strong> authority of Ibn Abb§s<br />
An Abyssinian man came to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> (s) [wanting] to ask him [something]. <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong> (s) said to him, ‘Ask whatever you w<strong>is</strong>h.’ So he said: ‘O Apostle of God, you (pl.)<br />
168 Ibn al-‘abb§gh, Al-Fusål, 213; AÈmad b. #AlÊ b. #Inabah, Kit§b #umdat al-ã§lib fÊ ans§b $l AbÊ •§lib<br />
(Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaq§fah al-DÊnÊyah, 2001) 156.<br />
169 Ibn Sharhr§shåb, Man§qib, IV:323.<br />
170 Al-JaÈií, Fakhr al-såd§n #al§ al-bidan, 207 (Ar.); 17 (Eng.)<br />
171 Q§wÊ al-HarawÊ, Kit§b jam# al-was§"il,17.<br />
172 Quoted by al-Tha#labÊ, Fiqh al-lugha, 77.<br />
173 al-BayhaqÊ, Dal§"il al-nubuwwah, I:204; Ibn KathÊr, al-Bid§yah wa-"l-nih§yah, VI: 13; Munawi, al-<br />
Raw∙ al-b§sim, 25. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> also <strong>the</strong> context in which we must understand <strong>the</strong> similar statement found in <strong>the</strong> Ibn<br />
#Abb§s report cited above, <strong>that</strong> MuÈammad was asmar il§ al-bay§∙, “brown related to white,” which I translated<br />
above as “brown and blem<strong>is</strong>h-free with a sheen”. Contra al-B§jårÊ, Maw§hib al-ladunÊyah #al§ al-Sham§"il al-<br />
MuÈammadÊyah, apud al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-MuÈammadÊyah, 22.<br />
174 Bal§dhurÊ, Ans§b, I: 505.<br />
24
surpass us in appearance (al-ßåra) and complexion (al-alwan) and in prophethood. If I were<br />
to <strong>be</strong>lieve just as you <strong>be</strong>lieve, and if I were to do just as you do, would I enter Parad<strong>is</strong>e with<br />
you?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ <strong>The</strong>n <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> (s) said: ‘I swear by <strong>the</strong> One <strong>who</strong> owns my heart,<br />
<strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> radiance of <strong>the</strong> Black person (baya∙ al-aswad) will <strong>be</strong> seen over <strong>the</strong> stretch of a<br />
thousand years.’ 175<br />
Ignaz Goldziher’s translation, “<strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> skin of <strong>the</strong> Ethiopian will spread a brilliance on <strong>the</strong> road<br />
of a thousand years ” 176 certainly captures <strong>the</strong> context <strong>be</strong>tter than Lew<strong>is</strong>’, “<strong>the</strong> whiteness of <strong>the</strong><br />
Ethiopian will <strong>be</strong> seen over a stretch of a thousand years”. 177 <strong>The</strong> latter implies a chromatic<br />
transformation on <strong>the</strong> part of <strong>the</strong> Ethiopian in Parad<strong>is</strong>e, a <strong>the</strong>me <strong>that</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>who</strong>lly absent here. <strong>The</strong><br />
context <strong>is</strong> surely <strong>that</strong> of <strong>the</strong> different endowments <strong>be</strong>tween Semites and Hamites of somatic når<br />
(light). In Parad<strong>is</strong>e, however, Hamites (Ethiopians) will possess <strong>the</strong>ir fair share and, like <strong>the</strong><br />
Semites, <strong>the</strong>ir complexion will <strong>be</strong> both al-udma wa l-bay§∙.<br />
VI.1. ‘H<strong>is</strong> whiteness <strong>is</strong> a fair-skinnedness’: <strong>The</strong> Transfiguration of MuÈammad<br />
It <strong>is</strong> pretty certain <strong>that</strong> as an Arab from <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim of <strong>the</strong> Quraysh tri<strong>be</strong>,<br />
MuÈammad was not fair-skinned. Yet, a num<strong>be</strong>r of reports do ins<strong>is</strong>t <strong>that</strong> “<strong>the</strong> whiteness of<br />
[MuÈammad’s] complexion was a fair-skinnedness (abya∙ al-lawn mushrab Èumra).” 178 We are thus<br />
confronted with what Clinton Bennett has aptly called “<strong>the</strong> problematic of divergent and<br />
contradictory material” in <strong>the</strong> SÊra and hadith literature. 179 However, given <strong>the</strong> popularity and<br />
canonicity <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong> image of a ruddy MuÈammad will eventually acquire, <strong>the</strong>se reports don’t<br />
have <strong>the</strong> d<strong>is</strong>tribution in <strong>the</strong> developing biographical literature <strong>that</strong> we might expect. It does not<br />
have a particularly strong presense amoung <strong>the</strong> founding quartet of what Tarif Khalidi has called<br />
<strong>the</strong> “Sira of primitive devotion,” i.e. a sÊra <strong>that</strong> stands in such awe of its subject <strong>that</strong> it presents all<br />
of <strong>the</strong> reports <strong>that</strong> it ga<strong>the</strong>rs, paying little or no heed to conflict and cons<strong>is</strong>tency. 180 A good<br />
illustration of th<strong>is</strong> primitive devotion <strong>is</strong> surely Ibn Sa#d’s Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr: he cites<br />
three reports explicitly attributing a <strong>black</strong> or dark complexion to MuÈammad; 181 three<br />
describing him as abya∙ and four as azhar; and six attributing a white (aÈmar) complexion. 182 Ibn<br />
Sa#d makes no attempt to reconcile <strong>the</strong>se ‘contrasting images’. 183<br />
On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, Ibn Isȧq (d. 151/767), <strong>the</strong> author of <strong>the</strong> earliest extant biography<br />
(sÊra), does not seem to have reported ei<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong>se contrasting images, 184 nor al-•abarÊ (d.<br />
175 Ibn al-Jawzī, Kitāb tanwīr al-ghabash, 140 [Eng], 307 [Arb].<br />
176 Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I:75.<br />
177 Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 35.<br />
178 Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr, I/i,120, 121,122, 124, 129 (Ar.); Bal§dhurÊ, Ans§b, I: 391 § 836; 394 §<br />
848.<br />
179 Bennett, In Search, 44. On which see also Khalidi, Images, 72-78.<br />
180 Khalidi, Images, 17.<br />
181 Along with <strong>the</strong> two cited above on <strong>the</strong> authority of An§s b. M§lik and #Abd All§h b. #Abb§s, he cites <strong>the</strong><br />
following suggestive report: al-Zubayr reported on <strong>the</strong> authority of Ibr§hÊm: “<strong>The</strong> Messenger of Allah (s) stretched<br />
h<strong>is</strong> left foot, such <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness of its exposed part (í§hiruh§ aswad) was v<strong>is</strong>ible.” Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b alãabaq§t<br />
al-kabÊr, I/i,127 (Ar.); 495 (Eng).<br />
182 See above no. 179.<br />
183 On contrasting images of MuÈammad in <strong>the</strong> sÊra as well as counter-narratives see Khalidi, Images, 73-75.<br />
184 A review of Ibn H<strong>is</strong>h§m, SÊrat Rasål All§h, ed. F. Wüstenfeld (Göttingen, 1858-59) (=<strong>The</strong> Life of<br />
Muhammad, trans. A. Guillaume [London, 1955] 183-84) turns up no such report.<br />
25
310/923). 185 Rounding out th<strong>is</strong> quartet al-Bal§dhurÊ (d. 297/892) reports <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> had a<br />
shinning face (tala"lu") and a luminous complexion (azhar) or a white one (abya∙ al-lawn mushrab<br />
Èumra), but he cites nei<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> reports attributing a dark complexion. 186 In contrast, it <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
fair-complexioned MuÈammad <strong>that</strong> <strong>is</strong> conspicuously absent from <strong>the</strong> two ‘aÈÊÈ hadith<br />
collections: in <strong>the</strong> chapter on <strong>the</strong> ‘Description of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’ <strong>the</strong> famed Persian tradition<strong>is</strong>t al-<br />
Bukh§rÊ (d. 256/870) cites only those reports describing MuÈammad as abya∙ and azhar, 187 as<br />
does Muslim. 188 Without <strong>the</strong> qualifier mushrab bi-Èumra, <strong>the</strong>se descriptions could refer to an Arab<br />
prophet with a blem<strong>is</strong>h-free and radiant <strong>black</strong>-complexion. 189<br />
While no portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> dating to th<strong>is</strong> period have <strong>be</strong>en found, <strong>the</strong> mention of<br />
such portraits in <strong>the</strong> literature <strong>is</strong> relevant. <strong>The</strong>re <strong>is</strong> for example <strong>the</strong> famous story of <strong>the</strong> Meccan<br />
Arabs (from <strong>the</strong> Banå Umayya!) <strong>who</strong> travel to <strong>the</strong> Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610-641) in<br />
an attempt to covert him to Islam. While <strong>the</strong>re, <strong>the</strong> emperor <strong>is</strong> said to have pulled out for h<strong>is</strong><br />
Meccan guests a cu<strong>be</strong>d object with compartments, in each of which was a silk portrait of one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> prophets from Adam to MuÈammad. When Heraclius pulls out a <strong>black</strong> silk cloth on which <strong>is</strong><br />
a white figure, <strong>the</strong> Arabs weep, for <strong>the</strong>y recognize <strong>the</strong> portrait as <strong>that</strong> of MuÈammad, <strong>the</strong><br />
Messenger of God. 190 While <strong>the</strong> setting of th<strong>is</strong> tale <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> Byzantine realm during <strong>the</strong> lifetime of<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>, <strong>the</strong> earliest version <strong>is</strong> found in al-DÊnawarÊ’s al-Akhb§r al-ãiw§l, completed<br />
around 895. 191<br />
185 Al-•abarÊ doesn’t mention any of <strong>the</strong>se reports, e.g., in h<strong>is</strong> <strong>The</strong> H<strong>is</strong>tory of al-•abarÊ, VI: MuÈammad at<br />
Mecca (trans. W. Montgomery Watt and M.V. McDonald: Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988).<br />
186 Al-Bal§dhurÊ, Ans§b, I:386-3396.<br />
187 ‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, b§b ßifat al-nabÊ, nos. 744, 747.<br />
188 ‘aÈÊÈ Muslim, b§b: k§na al-nabÊ (s) abya∙, malÊÈ al-wajh, apud al-NawawÊ, Minhaj sharÈ ‘aÈÊÈ Muslim,<br />
XV: 92-97 nos. 6025, 6026, 6033-6035.<br />
189 <strong>The</strong> absence of <strong>the</strong> ruddy (aÈmar)-complexioned MuÈammad from <strong>the</strong> top three of <strong>the</strong> Six Books <strong>is</strong> worth<br />
emphasizing fur<strong>the</strong>r, an absence <strong>the</strong> most popular translations of <strong>the</strong>se collections conceal. Thus in <strong>the</strong>se <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong><br />
<strong>is</strong> an abya∙ rajul, not a ‘white(-skinned) man’ (‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, III/1, no. 63 (=Translation, I:54); he was luminous<br />
(azhar/abya∙), not ‘rosy’ or ‘white-complexioned’ (‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, LVI/22 nos. 744, 747 (=Translation, IV:486,<br />
487); Muslim, ‘aÈÊÈ Muslim, apud al-NawawÊ, Minhaj XV, nos. 6026, 6035 and translation IV: 1250-1251 nos.<br />
5778, 5786; Abå D§wåd, Sunan, V/xxxv, no. 4864 and translation). <strong>The</strong>se collections report on <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s<br />
exposed bay§∙, not white (aÈmar), leg, forearm, armpits, abdomen, and face (‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, LVI/22, no. 767<br />
(=Translation, IV:493); VIII/12, no. 367 (=Translation, I:224); LXXXVI/15, no. 108 (=Translation, IX:89);<br />
LXXXIX/41, no. 305 (=Translation, IX: 234-235), etc; XC/7, no. 342 (=Translation, IX: 259); LII/34, no. 90<br />
(=Translation, IV:65; Muslim, ‘aÈÊÈ Muslim, apud al-NawawÊ, Minhaj V, no. 84; VI, no. 120 and translation<br />
II/viii, no. 3325; III/xvii no. 4437; Abå D§wåd, Sunan, I/ii, nos. 899, 996; IV/xx, no. 3206 and translation). Th<strong>is</strong><br />
<strong>is</strong> quite remarkable. <strong>The</strong> only deviation from th<strong>is</strong> clear privileging of azhar/abya∙ as <strong>the</strong> only legitimate descriptors of<br />
MuÈammad’s complexion <strong>is</strong> a num<strong>be</strong>r of reports <strong>that</strong> descri<strong>be</strong> <strong>the</strong> #ufra of h<strong>is</strong> armpits (‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ, XLVII/17,<br />
no. 769 [=Translation, III:464]; LXXVIII/3, no. 631 [=Translation, VIII:411-412]; LXXXIX/24, no. 286<br />
[=Translation, IX: 217-218]). Dr. MuÈammad MuÈsin Kh§n translates ‘<strong>the</strong> whiteness of h<strong>is</strong> armpits’. But #ufra<br />
has a different connotation than a white-complexion. <strong>The</strong> verb #afara means ‘to cover with dust’ and #afar/#ufar <strong>is</strong><br />
dust. #ufra <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong>refore dust-colored inclining to a dull white (see Lane, Lexicon, II:2090 s.v. ﺮﻔﻋ), but probably dustcovered<br />
as well. <strong>The</strong> possibility <strong>that</strong> #ufra ibãayhi means here ‘h<strong>is</strong> dusty armpits’ ra<strong>the</strong>r than ‘h<strong>is</strong> white(-complexioned)<br />
armpits’ <strong>is</strong> reinforced by a report on <strong>the</strong> authority of al-Bara’ b. ‘Azib <strong>who</strong>, as <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was carrying earth on <strong>the</strong><br />
day of <strong>the</strong> battle of al-AÈz§b, saw dust (al-turab) covering <strong>the</strong> bay§∙ of MuÈammd’s abdomen ((‘aÈÊÈ BukharÊ,….).<br />
White dust on a white complexion would not have <strong>be</strong>en easily noticeable. However, dull white dust on a bay§∙ or<br />
blem<strong>is</strong>h-free <strong>black</strong> complexion would have <strong>be</strong>en noticible when MuÈammad ra<strong>is</strong>ed h<strong>is</strong> hands high.<br />
190 On th<strong>is</strong> tradition and its appearance in Muslim literature see Oleg Grabar and Mika Naif, “<strong>The</strong> Story of Portraits<br />
of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> Muhammad,” Studia Islamica 96 (2003): 19-38+VI-IX.<br />
191 AÈmad b. D§"åd al-DÊnawarÊ, al-Akhb§r al-ãiw§l, ed. #Abd al-Mu"nim AmÊn (Tehran, 1960) 18-19; Grabar<br />
and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 23-24.<br />
26
genre. 192 It featured prominently in <strong>the</strong> Dal§"il al-nubuwwah, “Proofs of <strong>Prophet</strong>hood,”<br />
literature,<br />
By <strong>the</strong> tenth century th<strong>is</strong> tale circulated among writers of every major literary<br />
193 suggesting a growing popularity for a white-skinned MuÈammad.<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> coincides with what Khalidi descri<strong>be</strong>s as <strong>the</strong> following age of <strong>the</strong> canonical SÊra,<br />
during which <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s biography was subjected to critical assessment and pruned of its<br />
objectionable or heretical materials, in sum reconstructed. <strong>The</strong> divergent material <strong>is</strong> specifically<br />
addressed and <strong>that</strong> material <strong>that</strong> d<strong>is</strong>tracts from <strong>the</strong> grandiose image of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> as <strong>the</strong><br />
community imagined it at <strong>the</strong> time <strong>is</strong> excluded. 194 Th<strong>is</strong> stage, which Khalidi dates to <strong>the</strong><br />
eleventh-twelfth centuries, introduces a reconstituted SÊra with a reconstructed image of<br />
MuÈammad. 195 Representative of th<strong>is</strong> stage of sÊra-writing <strong>is</strong> al-Q§∙Ê ‘Iy§∙ and h<strong>is</strong> canonical al-<br />
Shif§ bi-ta#rÊf Èuqåq al-Mußãaf§, “<strong>The</strong> Remedy Concerning <strong>the</strong> Determination of <strong>the</strong> Just<br />
Merits of <strong>the</strong> Chosen (i.e. MuÈammad).” Al-Q§∙Ê ‘Iy§∙ addresses himself to <strong>the</strong> controversies of<br />
h<strong>is</strong> day regarding <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> and ‘remedies’ <strong>the</strong>m. Along with clarifying <strong>the</strong> perfect qualities –<br />
internal and external – of God’s apostle, <strong>the</strong> Q§∙Ê enumerates <strong>the</strong> judgments against those –<br />
Muslim and non-Muslim – <strong>who</strong> affirm for him imperfections. For example, twice he reports <strong>the</strong><br />
judgment <strong>that</strong> <strong>“Anyone</strong> <strong>who</strong> <strong>says</strong> <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong> (aswad) <strong>should</strong> <strong>be</strong> killed.” <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong>, of course, was not <strong>black</strong>, and saying so d<strong>is</strong>parages him and attributes to him what does<br />
not <strong>be</strong>fit him! 196 Clearly <strong>the</strong>re were Muslims <strong>who</strong> were still claiming such, no doubt based on,<br />
among o<strong>the</strong>r things, <strong>the</strong> description of MuÈammad as asmar, a description <strong>that</strong> does not figure in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Q§∙Ê’s description of h<strong>is</strong> Chosen. <strong>The</strong> Q§∙Ê found such talk d<strong>is</strong>paraging to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>, for<br />
by h<strong>is</strong> time and in h<strong>is</strong> environment ‘<strong>black</strong>ness’ has clearly acquired a negative valuation.<br />
But th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> not <strong>the</strong> only conspicuous absence from <strong>the</strong> Q§∙Ê’s enumeration of <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong>’s perfect physical qualities. If al-Q§∙Ê’s MuÈammad was emphatically not <strong>black</strong>, he yet<br />
was not unambiguously fair-skinned ei<strong>the</strong>r. Al-Q§∙Ê never descri<strong>be</strong>s <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> as aÈmar nor<br />
does he report those traditions <strong>that</strong> do. He doesn’t even use abya∙. Ra<strong>the</strong>r h<strong>is</strong> Chosen of God<br />
had a luminous complexion (azhar al-lawn), was bright (ablaj) with an illuminated body (anwara almajarrad)<br />
and face <strong>that</strong> shinned like <strong>the</strong> sun and moon. 197 Al-Q§∙Ê’s dec<strong>is</strong>ion to exclude abya∙ as<br />
a ‘just merit’ may <strong>be</strong> due to h<strong>is</strong> recognition <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> term, unqualified, indicates a <strong>black</strong><br />
complexion and for whatever reason he chose not to qualify it (or <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>) with aÈmar as will<br />
later <strong>be</strong>come standard. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand it might <strong>be</strong> argued <strong>that</strong>, by th<strong>is</strong> time luminosity and<br />
chromaticity have converged (i.e. azhar = aÈmar), as will certainly <strong>be</strong> <strong>the</strong> case later, and thus <strong>the</strong><br />
Q§∙Ê clearly had a fair-skinned prophet in mind. Be <strong>that</strong> as it may, <strong>the</strong> exclusion of both aÈmar<br />
and abya∙ as legitimate descriptors of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>is</strong> notable.<br />
By <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century commentators were going great exegetical d<strong>is</strong>tances to make<br />
MuÈammad white-skinned. Al-Q§rÊ al-HarawÊ (d. 1605) even claimed <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> description of<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> as brown, asmar, intends to deny to MuÈammad any whiteness <strong>that</strong> does not involve<br />
192 Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 27.<br />
193 Al-BayhaqÊ, Dal§"il al-nubuwwah, I:384-391; Abå Nu#aym al-IsfahanÊ, Dal§"il al-nubuwwah, ed.<br />
MuÈammad al-Qala"anji (Damascus, 1970) 55-64.<br />
194 Khalidi, Images, 17-18, and Chapter VII.<br />
195 Khalidi, Images, 176.<br />
196 Al-Q§∙Ê ‘Iy§∙, al-Shif§, 540, 558 (=Muhammad: Messenger of Allah, 375, 387). See also Q§wÊ al-<br />
HarawÊ, Kit§b jam# al-was§"il, 56.<br />
197 Al-Q§∙Ê ‘Iy§∙, al-Shif§, 77-80, 172, 173. In her popular translation of th<strong>is</strong> text and undoubtedly under <strong>the</strong><br />
influence of <strong>the</strong> popular iconography, Bewley inappropriately renders ablaj (bright, clear) and azhar al-lawn as ‘fair’<br />
and ‘very fair’ skinned, respectively: Muhammad: Messenger of Allah,34,80.<br />
27
a fair-complexion! 198 Ra<strong>the</strong>r, he ins<strong>is</strong>ted <strong>that</strong> MuÈammad’s whiteness was a luminance, yes; but<br />
a white complexion as well (bal k§na baya∙ahu nåran mushraban bi-Èumratan ). 199 Al-Munawi (d. 1621)<br />
ins<strong>is</strong>ted on <strong>the</strong> same:<br />
concerning [MuÈammad’s] whiteness (bay§∙) due to light (al-når), illumination (i∙§"a), and<br />
brilliant gloss (al-i∙§"a al-s§ãi#), th<strong>is</strong> does not deny <strong>that</strong> he was (also) white-skinned (mashrab<br />
bi-Èumra). 200<br />
Considering <strong>that</strong> a ‘fair-skinned Arab’ <strong>is</strong> oxymoronic and a noble H§shimÊ in particular<br />
by definition <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong>-skinned, how do we account for <strong>the</strong> development and, more importantly,<br />
<strong>the</strong> general acceptance in <strong>the</strong> pre-modern and modern Muslim world of th<strong>is</strong> impossible image of a<br />
fair-skinned MuÈammad? Any answer to th<strong>is</strong> question could only <strong>be</strong> speculative. However, we<br />
suggest <strong>that</strong> an appropriate context in which to understand th<strong>is</strong> development <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> Kulturkampf<br />
<strong>that</strong> pitted Persian ethno-cultural sentiments against Arab sentiments, a conflict <strong>the</strong> Arabs all but<br />
lingu<strong>is</strong>tically lost. Th<strong>is</strong> development contributed to a general ‘de-arabizing’ of Islamic tradition,<br />
and eventually a de-arabizing of Islam’s prophet.<br />
VII. De-Arabizing Islam and its <strong>Prophet</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> Egyptian polymath Jal§l al-DÊn al-SuyåãÊ (d. 991/1583), in h<strong>is</strong> T§rÊkh al-Khulaf§",<br />
reports a variant of a very suggestive hadith:<br />
[<strong>The</strong> Messenger of God said:] “I dreamed <strong>that</strong> I drove <strong>be</strong>fore me some <strong>black</strong> sheep, <strong>the</strong>n I<br />
drove after <strong>the</strong>m some white sheep, so <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> could not <strong>be</strong> seen among <strong>the</strong>m.” And<br />
Abå Bakr said: “O apostle of God, as for <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> sheep, <strong>the</strong>y signified <strong>the</strong> Arabs <strong>who</strong><br />
shall embrace <strong>the</strong> faith and increase in num<strong>be</strong>rs, and <strong>the</strong> white sheep are <strong>the</strong> non-Arabs<br />
(#ajam) <strong>who</strong> shall <strong>be</strong> converted until <strong>the</strong> Arabs shall not <strong>be</strong> seen among <strong>the</strong>m by reason of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir num<strong>be</strong>rs.” <strong>The</strong> apostle of God replied, “likew<strong>is</strong>e did <strong>the</strong> angel interpret it th<strong>is</strong><br />
morning.” 201<br />
Th<strong>is</strong> tradition could illustrate <strong>the</strong> prophetic powers of MuÈammad, but such a post eventum<br />
prophecy more likely <strong>is</strong> a response to an h<strong>is</strong>torical development <strong>that</strong> had taken place long after<br />
h<strong>is</strong> death. <strong>The</strong> era of <strong>the</strong> ‘Arab empire’ passed with <strong>the</strong> overthrow of <strong>the</strong> Umayyads in 132/750<br />
and a profoundly different era was ushered in. 202 <strong>The</strong> post-Revolution empire was not only ‘dearabized’<br />
politically, but (eventually) culturally as well. <strong>The</strong> impact of Persian, Hellen<strong>is</strong>tic and<br />
198 Q§wÊ al-HarawÊ, Kit§b jam# al-was§"il,15. Likew<strong>is</strong>e al-B§jårÊ, Maw§hib al-ladunÊyah #al§ al-Sham§"il<br />
al-MuÈammadÊyah, apud al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-MuÈammadÊyah, 22.<br />
199 Q§wÊ al-HarawÊ, Kit§b jam# al-was§"il,14.<br />
200 Al-Munawi, al-Raw∙ al-b§sim, 37.<br />
201 Al-Suyåãī, Tārikh al-khulafā, 86. See also #Al§ al-DÊn b. Hus§m al-DÊn al-MuttaqÊ, Kanz al-#umm§l<br />
(Haydarabad, 1312/1894-98) VI: 215 # 3755; al-Tha#§libÊ, Mukhtaßar§t, ed. Gustav Flügel, Der vertraute<br />
Gefährte des Einsamen in schlagfertigen Gegenreden (Wien, 1829) 270 # 313; Goldziher, Muslim<br />
Studies, 1:112.<br />
202 Asma Afsaruddin, <strong>The</strong> First Muslims: H<strong>is</strong>tory and Memory (Oxford: Oneworld, 2008) 106 notes: “<strong>The</strong><br />
third generation of Muslims, called <strong>the</strong> ‘Successors to <strong>the</strong> Successors’ (atba’ al-tabi’in) inherited a changed world after<br />
<strong>the</strong> ‘Abbasid revolution…Important ideological, admin<strong>is</strong>trative, cultural, political, and socio-economic developments<br />
and changes were ushered in after <strong>the</strong> overthrow of <strong>the</strong> Umayyads in 750.”<br />
28
Ottoman culture on Islamic tradition <strong>is</strong> conspicuous in <strong>the</strong> ‘reconstituted SÊra’ with its<br />
‘reconstructed’ image of MuÈammad.<br />
VII.1. ‘Tell all <strong>the</strong> sons of H§shim…Retreat to <strong>the</strong> Hejaz and resume eating lizards’<br />
Recent research has demonstrated <strong>that</strong>, while Arabized mawl§ from Kufa and<br />
Persianized Arabs in Khurasan were involved, <strong>the</strong> preponderant element of <strong>the</strong> Revolution <strong>that</strong><br />
toppled <strong>the</strong> Umayyads was <strong>the</strong> Iranian masses <strong>who</strong> were resentful both of <strong>the</strong> Arabs’ putting an<br />
end to eleven-hundred years of Persian civilization and <strong>the</strong> Arab racial arrogance and<br />
d<strong>is</strong>crimination <strong>that</strong> followed. 203 <strong>The</strong> success of <strong>the</strong> Revolution meant a red<strong>is</strong>tribution of <strong>the</strong><br />
ethnic weights. 204 It <strong>is</strong> somewhat of an understatement to say <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Persians <strong>be</strong>nefitted most<br />
under <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid caliphs, 205 most of <strong>who</strong>m were sons of non-Arab mo<strong>the</strong>rs. 206 <strong>The</strong> Persians in<br />
fact were so influential under <strong>the</strong> new caliphs, a num<strong>be</strong>r of Muslim authors have characterized<br />
<strong>the</strong> Umayyad and <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid dynasties as Arab and Khurasanian respectively. 207 #Abb§sid<br />
culture was profoundly shaped by Persian, 208 such <strong>that</strong> it can <strong>be</strong> said <strong>that</strong> Persian civilization<br />
would “rebound…mutat<strong>is</strong> mutand<strong>is</strong> its Islamicization, slowly almost stealthily in less than a<br />
century.” 209 In <strong>the</strong> process ethnic Arabs <strong>be</strong>came less and less observable, 210 not only in<br />
203 Saleh Said Agha, <strong>The</strong> Revolution Which Toppled <strong>the</strong> Umayads: Nei<strong>the</strong>r Arab nor ‘Abbāsid (Leiden:<br />
Brill, 2003) has made a strong and very convincing case in favor of <strong>the</strong> original <strong>the</strong>s<strong>is</strong> of Julius Wellhausen, Das<br />
Arab<strong>is</strong>che Reich und sein Sturz (1902) which fell out of favor largely due to <strong>the</strong> researches of M.A. Shaban (<strong>The</strong><br />
#Abb§sid Revolution [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970]) and Moshe Sharon (Black Banners<br />
From <strong>the</strong> East [Jerusalem and Leiden: <strong>the</strong> Hebrew University, 1983]). Restö, Arabs, 24 notes as well: “<strong>the</strong><br />
Abbasid revolution in 750 was, to a large extent, <strong>the</strong> final revolt of <strong>the</strong> non-‘arab Muslims against <strong>the</strong> ‘arab and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
taking power. Th<strong>is</strong> revolt was dominated by <strong>the</strong> Iranian ‘aÆam (non-Arabs), and <strong>the</strong> outcome was <strong>the</strong> establ<strong>is</strong>hment<br />
of at least formal equality <strong>be</strong>tween <strong>the</strong> two groups.” <strong>The</strong> Arabs in Khurasan were assimilated into Persian society.<br />
Many spoke Persian, married Persian women and observed local Persian customs and holidays. See Ira M. Lapidus,<br />
A H<strong>is</strong>tory of Islamic Societies, 2 nd Edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) 40. On <strong>the</strong> Arab<br />
d<strong>is</strong>crimination against non-Arabs in <strong>the</strong> early empire see Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I, Chapter Three.<br />
204 Agha, Revolution, 324: “Arabs lost supremacy, but Islam and Arabic continued to prosper. <strong>The</strong> Establ<strong>is</strong>hment,<br />
inasmuch as it was an Islamic edifice, was not destroyed, but was taken over and overhauled. It was…de-<br />
Arabianized…<strong>The</strong> ‘Arab’ Muslim kingdom fell, and <strong>the</strong> inter-racial ‘Muslim’ empire rose, with Persian overtones.”<br />
205 Afsaruddin, First Muslims, 107: “<strong>The</strong> group <strong>that</strong> <strong>be</strong>nefitted <strong>the</strong> most from th<strong>is</strong> sea change were <strong>the</strong> Persians, a<br />
significant num<strong>be</strong>r of <strong>who</strong>m assumed important official positions in various ‘Abbasid admin<strong>is</strong>trations and <strong>who</strong><br />
wielded significant political as well as cultural influence…” Goldziher noted <strong>that</strong> “<strong>The</strong> preference for Persians was a<br />
tradition of <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid house.” Muslim Studies, I:139.<br />
206 Only <strong>the</strong> first #Abb§sid caliph al-Saff§È (r. 749-754) was a pure Arab, in contrast to <strong>the</strong> Umayyad caliphs, almost<br />
all of <strong>who</strong>m were pure Arabs. See Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 39; Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I: 118-119.<br />
207 Al-J§Èií, Bay§n wa-al-taly§n, 4 vols. ed. #Abd al-Sal§m MuÈammad H§rån (Egypt: Maktabat al-Kh§njÊ,<br />
1960-61) III:366; al-DhahabÊ, Siyar, VI:58.<br />
208 Dimitri Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: <strong>The</strong> Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in<br />
Baghdad and Early Abbasid Society (London and New York: Routledge, 1986) 34: “<strong>The</strong> transfer of <strong>the</strong> seat of<br />
<strong>the</strong> caliphate to #Ir§q, and eventually to Baghd§d, after <strong>the</strong> accession of <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sids to power, placed #Abb§sid life<br />
in <strong>the</strong> center of a Persian-speaking population. <strong>The</strong> h<strong>is</strong>tory and culture of th<strong>is</strong> population thus inevitably played a<br />
crucial role in defining <strong>the</strong> new #Abb§sid culture <strong>that</strong> was <strong>be</strong>ing formed.”<br />
209 David Levering Lew<strong>is</strong>, God’s Crucible: Islam and <strong>the</strong> Making of Europe, 570-1215 (London and New<br />
York: W.W. Norton, 2008)76. Johathan P. Berkey, <strong>The</strong> Formation of Islam. Religion and Society in <strong>the</strong><br />
Near East, 600-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 117 notes <strong>that</strong>, following <strong>the</strong> Revolution,<br />
Persian was <strong>the</strong> non-Arab cultural tradition <strong>that</strong> “shaped Islam more than any o<strong>the</strong>r.”<br />
210 G.E. von Grunebaum, Classical Islam. A H<strong>is</strong>tory, 600 A.D. to 1258 A.D. (New Brunswick and London:<br />
AldineTransaction, 2005 [1970]) 80: “<strong>The</strong> victory of <strong>the</strong> #Abb§ssids signified <strong>the</strong> pushing back, but not <strong>the</strong><br />
elimination of <strong>the</strong> Arabs…in <strong>the</strong> transition to national states <strong>the</strong> importance of <strong>the</strong> Arabs as a racial and military<br />
29
admin<strong>is</strong>tration but in all fields, including <strong>the</strong> religious sciences. 211 Iranian scholars would <strong>be</strong>come<br />
some of <strong>the</strong> chief fashioners of Islamic tradition, and were instrumental in fact in creating a new<br />
Arab identity. 212<br />
In th<strong>is</strong> new philopersian environment, <strong>the</strong> Arabs <strong>the</strong>mselves would <strong>be</strong>come persona non<br />
grata. 213 A violently anti-Arab sentiment was expressed in <strong>the</strong> Shu#åbiyya literature, most of<br />
<strong>who</strong>se authors were Persian. 214 A common <strong>the</strong>me of th<strong>is</strong> literature <strong>is</strong> Persian cultural superiority<br />
over <strong>the</strong> Arabs. <strong>The</strong> deep anti-Arab sentiment d<strong>is</strong>played in th<strong>is</strong> literature did not spare<br />
MuÈammad’s own clan, <strong>the</strong> Banå H§shim. Said one Shu#åbÊ poet:<br />
I am a noble of <strong>the</strong> tri<strong>be</strong> of Jam-he called in <strong>the</strong> name of <strong>the</strong> nation-and I demand <strong>the</strong><br />
inheritance of <strong>the</strong> Persian kings.<br />
Tell all <strong>the</strong> sons of H§shim: submit yourselves <strong>be</strong>fore <strong>the</strong> hour of regret arrives.<br />
Retreat to <strong>the</strong> Hejaz and resume eating lizards and herd your cattle<br />
While I seat myself on <strong>the</strong> throne of <strong>the</strong> kings supported by <strong>the</strong> sharpness of my blade and<br />
<strong>the</strong> point of my pen. 215<br />
<strong>The</strong> Shu#åbÊ movement, which sought to remodel <strong>the</strong> <strong>who</strong>le spirit of Islamic culture on<br />
<strong>the</strong> model of Sasanian institutions and values, was highly influential at <strong>the</strong> caliphal court. 216<br />
Sasanian strands were “woven into <strong>the</strong> fabric of Muslim thought,” including a pronounced anti<strong>black</strong><br />
ideology which, when combined with <strong>the</strong> anti-Arab sentiment, will have far reaching<br />
consequences for <strong>the</strong> development of post-Umayyad Islamic tradition in general and <strong>the</strong><br />
unity declined v<strong>is</strong>ibly. <strong>The</strong> d<strong>is</strong>semination of Arabic as a cultural medium, <strong>the</strong> adoption of Arabic nomenclature by<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>is</strong>lamized non-Arabs and not least <strong>the</strong> Arab origin of <strong>the</strong> dynasty were all factors tending to conceal <strong>the</strong> gradual<br />
d<strong>is</strong>appearance of Arab preponderance in <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid central admin<strong>is</strong>tration.” While <strong>the</strong>ir political influence was<br />
reduced, <strong>the</strong> social or socio-religious prestige of <strong>the</strong> Arabs remained, Grunebaum notes. It was left to <strong>the</strong> Iranian<br />
shu#åbiyya to break <strong>the</strong> Arabs’ cultural monopoly. Ibid. 87. On <strong>the</strong> shu#åbiyya see <strong>be</strong>low.<br />
211 Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I:104-112, 140, 142.Hugh Kennedy notes <strong>that</strong> “It <strong>is</strong> character<strong>is</strong>tic of th<strong>is</strong><br />
intellectual activity (of <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid period) <strong>that</strong> it was overwhelmingly conducted by non-Arabs”: “Intellectual Life<br />
in <strong>the</strong> First Four Centuries of Islam,” in Farhad Daftary (ed.), Intellectual Traditions in Islam (London and<br />
New York: I.B. Taur<strong>is</strong> Publ<strong>is</strong>hers, 2001) 24.<br />
212 Richard W. Bulliet, Islam: <strong>The</strong> View From <strong>the</strong> Edge (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994) 146, 152-<br />
153: “many practices, <strong>be</strong>liefs, and institutions most character<strong>is</strong>tic of <strong>the</strong> period when Islam invented a uniform<br />
identity for itself are rooted in <strong>the</strong> urban Muslim communities of eleventh-century Iran…<strong>the</strong> impact of <strong>the</strong> Iranian<br />
diaspora (also) went <strong>be</strong>yond institutional changes. It affected <strong>the</strong> content of religious thought and practice as well…”;<br />
Rina Drory, “<strong>The</strong> Abbasid Construction of <strong>the</strong> Jahiliyya: Cultural Authority in <strong>the</strong> Making,” Studia Islamica 83<br />
(1996): 33-49: “<strong>the</strong> non-Arab maw§lÊ were <strong>the</strong> ones <strong>who</strong> actually constructed Arab identity for <strong>the</strong> Arab community<br />
through a colossal effort of collecting and organizing knowledge <strong>be</strong>longing to ‘<strong>the</strong> Arab (and Islamic) sciences’. (42)”<br />
213 See Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I:138; Drory, “Abbasid Construction,” 34: “<strong>the</strong> #Abb§sids were notorious for<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir infatuation with Persian…sedentary, urban culture while condescending to ‘genuine Arabic’ (i.e. nomadic)<br />
culture.”<br />
214 On <strong>the</strong> Shu#åbiyya see EI 2 s.v.al-Shu#åbiyya by S. Endwitz; H.T. Norr<strong>is</strong>, “Shu#åbiyya in Arabic Literature,” in<br />
Julia Ashtiany et al (edd.), #Abbasid Belles-Lettres (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990) 31-47; Roy P.<br />
Mottahedah, “<strong>The</strong> Su#ûbîyah Controversy and <strong>the</strong> Social H<strong>is</strong>tory of Early Islamic Iran,” International Journal<br />
of Middle East Studies 7 (1976): 161-182; H.A.R. Gibb, “<strong>The</strong> Social Significance of <strong>the</strong> Shuubiya,” in Studies<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Civilization of Islam, edd. Stanford J. shaw and William R. Polk (Boston: Beacon Press, 1962): 62-73;<br />
Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I, Chapter Four.<br />
215 al-Tha#§libÊ, Mukhtaßar§t, 272 #314.<br />
216 Gutas, Greek Thought, 29; Drory, “Abbasid Construction,” 43; Lapidus, H<strong>is</strong>tory, 76-77; Norr<strong>is</strong>, “Shu#åbiyya,”<br />
31; Gibb, “Social Significance,” 66; Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I:137-138.<br />
30
epresentation of MuÈammad <strong>the</strong>rein in particular. 217 Indeed, <strong>the</strong> hostility shown towards <strong>black</strong>s<br />
in some Medieval Muslim Iranian writings provides a context in which to understand <strong>the</strong><br />
proclamation <strong>that</strong> anyone <strong>who</strong> claims MuÈammd <strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong> <strong>should</strong> <strong>be</strong> killed. 218<br />
A num<strong>be</strong>r of incidents indicates <strong>the</strong> changed Zeitge<strong>is</strong>t. Under Abå Ja#far al-Manßår (r.<br />
754 – 775), <strong>the</strong> second #Abb§sid caliph, it was a common scene for Arabs to wait vainly for<br />
adm<strong>is</strong>sion at <strong>the</strong> caliphal gates, while Khurasanians freely entered, ridiculing <strong>the</strong> Bedouin Arabs<br />
(a#r§bÊ) on <strong>the</strong>ir way in. 219 It was al-Manßår too <strong>who</strong> mocked <strong>the</strong> intensely <strong>black</strong>-skinned pure<br />
217 Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 95, 96 points out <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> stereotype of a <strong>black</strong> man as a monster or bogeyman<br />
figured prominently in Iranian mythology. See also Ibid., 53-54. Mino Southgate has documented <strong>that</strong> in Iranian<br />
sources of <strong>the</strong> 10 th – 14 th centuries, Muslim and non-Muslim, “no group was <strong>the</strong> butt of such fierce racial attack as<br />
were <strong>black</strong>s…” Mino Southgate, “<strong>The</strong> Negative Images of Blacks in Some Medieval Iranian Writings,” Iranian<br />
Studies 17 (1984): 3-35 (9). Southgate notes fur<strong>the</strong>r: “many medieval Islamic Iranian sources show color<br />
consciousness, depict negative <strong>black</strong> stereotypes, and reveal hostile sentiments toward <strong>black</strong>s. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> not to say <strong>that</strong><br />
negative sentiments are not expressed about o<strong>the</strong>r groups…It <strong>is</strong> fair to say, however, aside from mildly positive<br />
comments about Ethiopians, hardly anything good <strong>is</strong> said about <strong>black</strong>s, and <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> attack against th<strong>is</strong> group…<strong>is</strong><br />
much more fierce than <strong>that</strong> against any o<strong>the</strong>r group…What motivated Muslim Iran to develop <strong>the</strong> grotesque images<br />
and stereotypes…? (26)”.<br />
It seems clear <strong>that</strong> anti-<strong>black</strong> rac<strong>is</strong>m was absent from or minimal in pre- and early Islamic Arabia. Even though<br />
#Abduh BadawÊ’s study of Arabic poetry and <strong>the</strong> image of <strong>black</strong>s <strong>the</strong>rein, Al-Shu#ar§" al-Såd wa Khaߧ"ißuhum<br />
fÊ l-Shi#r al-#ArabÊ (Cairo, 1973) found <strong>that</strong> “<strong>the</strong> Arabs desp<strong>is</strong>ed <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> color as much as <strong>the</strong>y loved <strong>the</strong> white<br />
color,” Bernard Lew<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> surely right when he points out: “<strong>The</strong>re are verses, indeed many verses, attributed to pre-<br />
Islamic and early Islamic poets which would suggest very strongly a feeling of hatred and contempt directed against<br />
persons of African birth or origin. Most, if not all of <strong>the</strong>se, however, almost certainly <strong>be</strong>long to later periods and reflect later<br />
problems, attitudes, and preoccupations…(emphas<strong>is</strong> mine)” Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 22, 24-25, 87; idem, “Crows,” 90.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re <strong>is</strong> good evidence, Lew<strong>is</strong> informs us, <strong>that</strong> in pre-Islamic Arabia Ethiopians were regarded with respect as a<br />
people with a higher civilization than <strong>that</strong> of <strong>the</strong> Arabs. <strong>The</strong>re were African slaves, but <strong>the</strong>se were treated no worse<br />
than white slaves. Lew<strong>is</strong> notes: “pagan and early Islamic Arabia seems to have shared <strong>the</strong> general attitude of <strong>the</strong><br />
ancient world, which attached no stigma to <strong>black</strong>ness (Race and Slavery, 25)”. See fur<strong>the</strong>r St. Clair Drake, Black<br />
Folk Here and <strong>The</strong>re 2 vols. (Los Angeles: Center For Afro-American Studies University of California, 1987)<br />
II:85, 152; John Alembillah Azumah, <strong>The</strong> Legacy of Arab-Islam in Africa: A Quest for Inter-religious<br />
Dialogue (Oxford: Oneworld, 2001) 130-131. It <strong>is</strong> also now clear <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Arabs <strong>the</strong>mselves were a <strong>black</strong>-skinned<br />
people, a fact which forces us to look for o<strong>the</strong>r explanations for any hints of anti-African sentiments we might find<br />
among <strong>the</strong> early Arabs. A good illustration of th<strong>is</strong> point <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> case of Abå Dharr’s insulting Bil§l, <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong>-skinned<br />
Companion of MuÈammad and freed-slave <strong>who</strong>se mo<strong>the</strong>r was an Ethiopian. It <strong>is</strong> reported <strong>that</strong> Abå Dharr, from<br />
<strong>the</strong> Arab tri<strong>be</strong> Ghaf§r, insulted Bil§l by calling him ‘son of a <strong>black</strong> woman’. While th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> frequently cited as an<br />
example of an early Arab anti-<strong>black</strong> sentiment, several factors mitigate against th<strong>is</strong> explanation. (1) Abå Dharr was a<br />
<strong>black</strong>-skinned Arab. According to al-DhahabÊ, it was said <strong>that</strong> Abå Dharr was “<strong>black</strong>-skinned (§dam), huge, with a<br />
thick <strong>be</strong>ard.” He goes on to quote Ibn Burayda <strong>who</strong> claimed: “Abå Dharr was a <strong>black</strong> man (rajul aswad).” Siyar, II:<br />
47, 50, 74.(2) <strong>The</strong> insult <strong>is</strong> social, not racial, expressing <strong>the</strong> contempt of <strong>the</strong> highborn for <strong>the</strong> baseborn. <strong>The</strong> slave<br />
status of Bil§l’s mo<strong>the</strong>r was <strong>the</strong> point of <strong>the</strong> insult, not her dark-complexion. Secondly, <strong>the</strong> insult comments on <strong>the</strong><br />
fact <strong>that</strong> she was a non-Arab, and Bil§l was thus a hajÊn or half-breed (h<strong>is</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r was an Arab). Such persons across<br />
<strong>the</strong> board were looked down upon by purebred Arabs. “Son of a Persian woman (ibn al-f§r<strong>is</strong>iyya)” and “Son of a<br />
Frank<strong>is</strong>h woman (ibn al-ifranjiyya)” were insults hurled around equally. See Lew<strong>is</strong>, “Crows,” 89; Goldziher, Muslim<br />
Studies, I:120.(3) Abå Dharr reportedly later explained <strong>the</strong> insult, and race was not <strong>the</strong> factor: “Once <strong>the</strong>re were<br />
heated words <strong>be</strong>tween a friend (Bil§l) and I. H<strong>is</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r was a non-Arab and I insulted her. <strong>The</strong>n <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> (s)<br />
asked me, ‘Did you insult so-and-so?’ I said yes. He (<strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>) asked, ‘Did you mention h<strong>is</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r?’ I said, when<br />
a person insults ano<strong>the</strong>r he usually mentions h<strong>is</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r or fa<strong>the</strong>r. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>the</strong>n said: ‘Surely you are one with<br />
<strong>the</strong> Days of Ignorance in him.” Al-DhahabÊ, Siyar, II:72-73. From th<strong>is</strong> report it <strong>is</strong> clear <strong>that</strong> <strong>black</strong>ness had nothing<br />
to do with <strong>the</strong> insult, but non-Arabness and slave-status.<br />
218 We find in th<strong>is</strong> literature for example <strong>the</strong> claim <strong>that</strong> <strong>black</strong>s are enemies of God and Islam and <strong>the</strong> killing of each<br />
of <strong>the</strong>m <strong>is</strong> penance for a lifetime of sin, for God wants <strong>the</strong>m destroyed. See Southgate, “Negative Images,” 10.<br />
219 Al-Ißfah§nÊ, Kit§b al-Agh§nÊ (Bål§q), XVIII:148; Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I:138. On al-Manßår as<br />
architect of <strong>the</strong> policy to incorporate Sasanian culture into mainstream #Abb§sid culture see Gutas, Greek<br />
31
Arab, MuÈammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, calling him “Charcoal Face.” Al-Ma#mån (r. 813-833), a<br />
son of a Persian mo<strong>the</strong>r, was well-known for h<strong>is</strong> preference for Persians over Arabs. 220 We might<br />
thus understand h<strong>is</strong> mocking h<strong>is</strong> uncle, <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid prince Ibr§him b. al-MahdÊ (d. 839).<br />
Ibr§him, <strong>the</strong> son of <strong>the</strong> caliph al-MahdÊ (r. 775-85) to a <strong>black</strong> concubine from Daylam in<br />
northwestern Iran, was so exceedingly <strong>black</strong> (shadÊd suw§d al-lawn) he was nicknamed al-TinnÊn,<br />
‘<strong>The</strong> Dragon.’ 221 After an unsuccessful bid for <strong>the</strong> throne, al- Ma#mån pardoned h<strong>is</strong> uncle and<br />
called him <strong>be</strong>fore him, taunting: “Are you <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> <strong>black</strong> caliph?” 222<br />
But th<strong>is</strong> convergence of anti-Arab and anti-<strong>black</strong> sentiments among <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sids <strong>is</strong> <strong>be</strong>st<br />
articulated in <strong>the</strong> poetry of Abå al-\asan AlÊ b. al-#Abb§s b. Jurayj, also known as Ibn al-RåmÊ<br />
(d. 896). Ibn al-RåmÊ was not an Arab. H<strong>is</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r was a Persian and h<strong>is</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r was Byzantine<br />
(some say half-Greek).<br />
223<br />
Yet, he was an advocate of <strong>the</strong> ill-treated <strong>black</strong> Arabs, in particular <strong>the</strong><br />
family of <strong>Prophet</strong> MuÈammad. Ibn al-RåmÊ fulminated in h<strong>is</strong> poetry against <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid abuse<br />
of <strong>the</strong> tombs of <strong>the</strong> Shiite Imams and <strong>the</strong>ir living descendents of h<strong>is</strong> day. He wrote to <strong>the</strong><br />
#Abb§sid caliph:<br />
You insulted (<strong>the</strong> family of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>) <strong>be</strong>cause of <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>black</strong>ness (bi-l-saw§d), while <strong>the</strong>re<br />
are still deep <strong>black</strong>, pure-blooded Arabs (al-#arab al-amȧ∙ akh∙ar ad#aj). However, you<br />
are white224<br />
- <strong>the</strong> Romans (Byzantines) have em<strong>be</strong>ll<strong>is</strong>hed your faces with <strong>the</strong>ir color. <strong>The</strong><br />
color of <strong>the</strong> family of H§shim was not a bodily defect (#§ha). 225<br />
It was inevitable <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong> new anti-Arab and anti-<strong>black</strong> sentiment would impact <strong>the</strong><br />
manner in which <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was imagined and represented. In th<strong>is</strong> context we can understand<br />
<strong>the</strong> proliferation in <strong>the</strong> literature of th<strong>is</strong> period of <strong>the</strong> impossible image of MuÈammad as aÈmar<br />
which, in <strong>the</strong> Umayyad period, characterized non-Arabs. 226<br />
Thought, 29. On <strong>the</strong> impact of Sasanian court-tradition on <strong>the</strong> memory of al- Manßår’s reign see also Joseph<br />
Sadan, “<strong>The</strong> Div<strong>is</strong>ion of <strong>the</strong> Day and Programme of Work of <strong>the</strong> Caliph al- Manßår,” Studia Orientalia.<br />
Memoriae D.H. Baneth Dedicata (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1979) 255-272.<br />
220 Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I:138.<br />
221 Ibn al-JawzÊ, Kit§b tanwÊr al-ghabasg, 317 [Ar.], 150 [Eng.]; Ibn Khallikan, Wafay§t al-a#y§n (Bål§q,<br />
1299 AH) I:10 (= Biographical Dictionary, trans. B. MacGuckin de Slane (New York and London: Johnson<br />
Reprint Corporation, 1842-) I:1; EI 2 3:987-88 s.v. Ibr§him b. al-MahdÊ by D. Sourdel. <strong>The</strong>re <strong>is</strong> some debate as to<br />
how Ibr§him acquired h<strong>is</strong> dark complexion. See Graham W. Irwin, Africans Abroad: A Documentary H<strong>is</strong>tory<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Black Diaspora in Asia, Latin America, and <strong>the</strong> Carib<strong>be</strong>an During <strong>the</strong> Age of Slavery (New<br />
York: Columbia University Press, 1977) 68.Both and Irwin (Ibid.) and Lew<strong>is</strong> (Race, 89) doubt <strong>the</strong> reports which<br />
make Ibr§him’s mo<strong>the</strong>r <strong>black</strong>, but <strong>the</strong>ir arguments are unconvincing. It <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> case, however, <strong>that</strong> h<strong>is</strong> intensely dark<br />
complexion may have derived in part from h<strong>is</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r. Al-Mas#ådÊ descri<strong>be</strong>s <strong>the</strong> caliph al-MahdÊ as “handsome, with<br />
large, dark-brown (asmar) body”: al-TambÊh wa-"l-<strong>is</strong>hr§f (Baghdad: Makhtabat al-Mulhann§, 1967) 296-7.<br />
222 Ibn Khallikan, Wafay§t al-a#y§n, I:10 (= Biographical Dictionary,I:18); Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 89.<br />
223 EI 2 3:907-909 s.v. Ibn al- RåmÊ by S. Boustany; Dr. Ali A. El-Huni, <strong>The</strong> Poetry of Ibnal-Rumi (Critical<br />
Study) (London: D§r al-\ikma, 1996) 13-18; Beatrice Gruendler, Medieval Arabic Pra<strong>is</strong>e Poetry. Ibn al-<br />
RåmÊ and <strong>the</strong> Patron’s Redemption (London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003) 42.<br />
224 Literally blue, zurg. One of <strong>the</strong> many contradictory meanings of th<strong>is</strong> term <strong>is</strong> white. See Allam, “Sociolingu<strong>is</strong>tic<br />
Study,” 87 and Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery, 26 observes <strong>that</strong> white peoples in <strong>the</strong> north were called in Arabic ‘pale<br />
blue’ as well as red.<br />
225 Abå al-Faraj al-Ißbah§nÊ, Maq§til al-ãalibÊyyÊn, ed. AÈmad ‘aqr (Cairo: D§r IÈy§" al-Kutub al-ArabÊya,<br />
1949) 759.<br />
226 We already meet th<strong>is</strong> image in <strong>the</strong> early biographical literature of age:; Ibn Sa#d, Kit§b al-ãabaq§t al-kabÊr,<br />
I/ii,120, 121,122, 124, 129 (Ar.).<br />
32
VII.2. Hellenizing <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong><br />
It was not only Persian Sasanian influences <strong>that</strong> impacted Islam and its representation of<br />
MuÈammad. <strong>The</strong> first wave of <strong>the</strong> Islamic conquests (632-641) secured Arab dominion over<br />
Hellenized areas (Syria, Egypt, and <strong>the</strong> western portion of <strong>the</strong> Sasanian empire). 227 Ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />
<strong>be</strong>ing smo<strong>the</strong>red, th<strong>is</strong> Hellen<strong>is</strong>m continued in <strong>the</strong> Arab-ruled territories as a living force of<br />
surpr<strong>is</strong>ing vigor. 228 It seems even <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> ‘Semitic <strong>be</strong>drock’ in pre-Islamic Arabia, out of which<br />
Islam can <strong>be</strong> said to have developed, itself came under Hellen<strong>is</strong>tic influences. 229 Never<strong>the</strong>less, we<br />
can safely speak of real differences <strong>be</strong>tween Semit<strong>is</strong>m and Hellen<strong>is</strong>m, and early Semitic Islam was<br />
no exception. 230 Yet even though one dominant Islamic school of thought openly rejected <strong>the</strong><br />
Classical tradition, 231 eventually Islamic civilization would <strong>be</strong> greatly impacted by it through<br />
converts and translations into Arabic of Hellen<strong>is</strong>tic literature. 232<br />
One such text translated into Arabic which impacted Islamic tradition and likely <strong>the</strong><br />
profile of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>is</strong> Polemo’s (second century) de Physiognomonia. 233 According to Polemo <strong>the</strong><br />
ideal man <strong>who</strong> loves scholarship has a well-proportioned, straight figure, a ruddy-white<br />
complexion, and wavy, redd<strong>is</strong>h brown hair, smooth and not curly or thick. Th<strong>is</strong> Hellen<strong>is</strong>tic<br />
physiognomy tradition influenced popular Islamic physiognomy (fir§sa) traditions. 234 We are thus<br />
not surpr<strong>is</strong>ed to learn <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> caliph al-Ma"mån (r. 813-833), famous for h<strong>is</strong> role in <strong>the</strong><br />
Translation Movement, claimed to have seen Ar<strong>is</strong>totle himself in a dream, ruddy-white with a<br />
high forehead and handsome features. 235 But th<strong>is</strong> Hellen<strong>is</strong>tic physiognomy also impacted<br />
representations of MuÈammad. 236 A contributing factor to <strong>the</strong> popularizing of th<strong>is</strong> ruddy<br />
<strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>is</strong> undoubtedly <strong>the</strong> development and popularity of <strong>the</strong> Èilya tradition, calligraphic<br />
227 Franz Rosenthal, <strong>The</strong> Classical Heritage in Islam (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975), 2.<br />
228 Averil Cameron, “<strong>The</strong> Eastern Provinces in <strong>the</strong> 7th Century A.D. Hellen<strong>is</strong>m and <strong>the</strong> Emergence of Islam,” in<br />
Hellen<strong>is</strong>mos: Quelques jalons pour une h<strong>is</strong>toire de l’identité grecque: actes du Colloque de<br />
Strasbourg, 25-27 octobre 1989, ed. S. Said (Leiden and New York, 1991), 295.<br />
229 G.W. Bowersock, “Hellen<strong>is</strong>m and Islam,” in idem, Hellen<strong>is</strong>m in Late Antiquity (Jerome Lectures 18; Ann<br />
Arbor, 1990), 71-82.<br />
230 Wesley Williams, “A Body Unlike Bodies: Transcendent Anthropomorph<strong>is</strong>m in Ancient Semitic Tradition and<br />
Early Islam,” JAOS 129 (2009): 19-44; Daud Rahbar, “Relation of Muslim <strong>The</strong>ology to <strong>the</strong> Qur"§n,” MW 51<br />
(1961): 44-49.<br />
231 Ignaz Goldziher, “<strong>The</strong> Attitude of Orthodox Islam Toward <strong>the</strong> ‘Ancient Sciences’,” in Merlin L. Swartz (ed.),<br />
Studies on Islam (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981) 185-215.<br />
232 On Hellen<strong>is</strong>m and Islam generally see fur<strong>the</strong>r Gutas, Greek Thought; Lapidus, H<strong>is</strong>tory, 77-80; W.<br />
Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and <strong>The</strong>ology: an Extended Survey, 2 nd edn (Edinburgh, 1985), 37-<br />
49; F. E. Peters, “Hellen<strong>is</strong>m and <strong>the</strong> Near East,” BA (Winter 1983): 33-39; idem, Allah’s Commonwealth. A<br />
H<strong>is</strong>tory of Islam in <strong>the</strong> Near East 600-1200 A.D. (New York, 1973); idem, “<strong>The</strong> Origins of Islamic Platon<strong>is</strong>m:<br />
<strong>The</strong> School Tradition,” in Islamic Philosophical <strong>The</strong>ology, ed. Parviz Morewedge (Albany, 1979), 14-45;<br />
Gustave E. von Grunbaum, “Islam and Hellen<strong>is</strong>m,” in idem, Islam and Medieval Hellen<strong>is</strong>m: Social and<br />
Cultural Perspectives, ed. Dunning S. Wilson (London, 1976), 21-27; W.F. Albright, “Islam and <strong>the</strong> Religions of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Ancient Orient,” JAOS 60 (1940): 283-301.<br />
233 Rosenthal, Classical Heritage, 239, 251-253.<br />
234 EI 2 II: 916-917 s.v. Fir§sa by T. Fahd.<br />
235 Rosenthal, Classical Heritage, 48.<br />
236 Khalidi, Images, 96-97; Pr<strong>is</strong>cilla Soucek, “<strong>The</strong> <strong>The</strong>ory and Practice of Portraiture in <strong>the</strong> Persian Tradition,”<br />
Muqarnas 17 (2000): 106. See e.g. Abå \§tim al-R§zī, A#lam al-nubuwwah, ed. Salah al-Sawy (Tehran:<br />
Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, 1977)85-86.<br />
33
enditions of textual descriptions of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s physical appearance. 237 <strong>The</strong> text of <strong>the</strong> Èilya –<br />
short descriptive lines – derives from <strong>the</strong> hadith and sÊra sources. <strong>The</strong> most popular <strong>is</strong> a<br />
description of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> attributed to #AlÊ b. AbÊ •§lib and found in al-TirmidhÊ’s Sham§"il:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Messenger of God (s) was nei<strong>the</strong>r extremely tall nor extremely short, ra<strong>the</strong>r he was of<br />
medium height. H<strong>is</strong> hair was nei<strong>the</strong>r curly nor completely straight, ra<strong>the</strong>r in <strong>be</strong>tween. He<br />
did not have a very fleshy face, nei<strong>the</strong>r was it completely round, ra<strong>the</strong>r it was only slightly<br />
so. He was ruddy white (abya∙ mushrab bi-Èumra). H<strong>is</strong> eyes were large with jet-<strong>black</strong> pupils<br />
and long eyelashes. H<strong>is</strong> joints were large as was h<strong>is</strong> upper back. He did not have hair all<br />
over h<strong>is</strong> body but had a line of fine hair extending from h<strong>is</strong> chest to h<strong>is</strong> navel…238<br />
For all of <strong>the</strong> reasons cited above it <strong>is</strong> highly unlikely <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> intensely <strong>black</strong>-skinned firstcousin<br />
of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> descri<strong>be</strong>d him as white-complexioned. It <strong>is</strong> more probable <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong><br />
description was influenced by <strong>the</strong> fir§sa tradition. 239 Th<strong>is</strong> image of a ruddy MuÈammad “survives<br />
<strong>the</strong> changes of time,” not <strong>be</strong>cause it “truly [expresses] <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s ephemeral and perpetual<br />
character<strong>is</strong>tics,” which <strong>is</strong> most unlikely, at least as far as <strong>the</strong> ephemeral <strong>is</strong> concerned. 240 Ra<strong>the</strong>r,<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r red<strong>is</strong>tribution of ethnic weights within <strong>the</strong> empire was no doubt a major factor: <strong>the</strong> r<strong>is</strong>e<br />
of dawla turkiyya. 241 Calligraphic renditions of th<strong>is</strong> ‘verbal portrait’ of MuÈammad are said to<br />
have circulated as early as <strong>the</strong> ninth century, 242 but <strong>the</strong>re <strong>is</strong> very little evidence <strong>that</strong> th<strong>is</strong> was<br />
common <strong>be</strong>fore <strong>the</strong> Ottoman period in <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century. 243 <strong>The</strong> ruddy-white <strong>Prophet</strong><br />
resonated with <strong>the</strong> Ottoman Turks, 244 while <strong>the</strong> marginalization of ethnic Arabs, <strong>who</strong> seem to<br />
have <strong>be</strong>en identified with <strong>black</strong>s in Turk<strong>is</strong>h folklore, 245 continued. 246 But it <strong>is</strong> in Iran today where<br />
we meet “<strong>the</strong> ultimate expression” of <strong>the</strong> merging of th<strong>is</strong> v<strong>is</strong>ual and verbal tradition of portraying<br />
MuÈammad. 247 Portraits of MuÈammad, #AlÊ and <strong>the</strong> Imams have <strong>be</strong>en poplar in Iran and<br />
India since <strong>the</strong> time of Nasir al-DÊn Shah (r. 1846-96) and are found on canvas, mirror cases,<br />
237 A good introduction to <strong>the</strong> Èilya tradition <strong>is</strong> still Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad <strong>is</strong> H<strong>is</strong> Messenger:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Veneration of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> in Islamic Piety (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press,<br />
1985) 24-45. See fur<strong>the</strong>r Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 33-35;<br />
238 Al-TirmidhÊ, al-Sham§"il al-MuÈammadÊya, #7.<br />
239<br />
Soucek, “<strong>The</strong>ory and Practice,” 106; Khalidi, Images, 97.<br />
240 Contra Ali, “Literal to <strong>the</strong> Spiritual,” 10. Ali wrongly assumes <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> features attributed to MuÈammad in <strong>the</strong><br />
#AlÊ b. AbÊ •§lib text and in <strong>the</strong> Èilya tradition in general are those of “an Arab archetype”.<br />
241 On which see Lapidus, H<strong>is</strong>tory, 117-120, 248-282. For a h<strong>is</strong>torical tour d’horizon of Arab-Turk<strong>is</strong>h relations and<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir impact on ideology see Ulrich W. Haarmann, “Ideology and H<strong>is</strong>tory, Identity and Alterity: <strong>The</strong> Arab Image of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Turk From <strong>the</strong> #Abbasids to Modern Egypt,” IJMES 20 (1988); idem, “Ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> Injustice of <strong>the</strong> Turks than <strong>the</strong><br />
Righteousness of <strong>the</strong> Arabs – Changing #Ulam§" Attitudes Towards Mamluk Rule in <strong>the</strong> Late Fifteenth Century,”<br />
Studia Islamica 68 (1988): 61-77.<br />
242 Soucek, “<strong>The</strong>ory and Practice,” 106.<br />
243 Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 34.<br />
244 Schimmel, And Muhammad <strong>is</strong> H<strong>is</strong> Messenger, 39; Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 33-<br />
34.<br />
245 Pertev N. Boratav and W. E<strong>be</strong>rhard, “<strong>The</strong> Negro in Turk<strong>is</strong>h Folklore,” Journal of American Folklore 64<br />
(1951): 83-88. On <strong>the</strong> menial image of <strong>black</strong>s in Ottoman literature and art see fur<strong>the</strong>r Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and Slavery,<br />
92-98.<br />
246 On <strong>the</strong> marginalization of <strong>the</strong> Arab in <strong>the</strong> dawla tukiyya see Haarmann, “Ideology and H<strong>is</strong>tory,” and idem, “Ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
<strong>the</strong> Injustice”.<br />
247 Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 35.<br />
34
pen-boxes, necklaces, and posters. 248 Not surpr<strong>is</strong>ingly, in th<strong>is</strong> very popular iconography <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Prophet</strong> <strong>is</strong> “depicted not as an Arab but with d<strong>is</strong>tinctly Persian features.” 249<br />
VII.3. Medieval Portraits of a De-arabized <strong>Prophet</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> earliest extant Muslim pictorial depictions of MuÈammd date to <strong>the</strong> thirteenth and<br />
fourteenth centuries. 250 A num<strong>be</strong>r of manuscripts produced in th<strong>is</strong> period, like <strong>the</strong> J§mi# al-<br />
Taw§rÊkh produced by RashÊd al-DÊn (d. 1318), contain illustrated cycles of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>’s life<br />
drawn from accounts found in <strong>the</strong> standard sÊra sources: W§qidÊ, Ibn Sa#d, Ibn IsÈaq/Ibn<br />
H<strong>is</strong>h§m, •abarÊ. 251 In <strong>the</strong>se v<strong>is</strong>ual depictions <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> and h<strong>is</strong> Companions are fully<br />
depicted; <strong>the</strong> veiling of <strong>the</strong> prophetic v<strong>is</strong>age doesn’t seem to have <strong>be</strong>gun until around <strong>the</strong><br />
sixteenth century. 252 Character<strong>is</strong>tic of all of <strong>the</strong>se depictions <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> fair skin and ra<strong>the</strong>r Asian look<br />
of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> and h<strong>is</strong> Companions. 253 Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> not hard to comprehend.<br />
RashÊd al-DÊn, <strong>who</strong> lived in <strong>the</strong> Persian city of Tabriz, was vizier to two successive<br />
Mongol rulers of <strong>the</strong> Ilkh§nid dynasty which ruled parts of Persia at <strong>the</strong> time. After <strong>the</strong> Mongols<br />
terminated <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid caliphate in 1258, <strong>the</strong> first ruler to convert to Islam was Mahmud<br />
Ghazan Khan in 1295. H<strong>is</strong> great grandfa<strong>the</strong>r Hulagu (r. 1256-65) founded <strong>the</strong> Ilkh§nid dynasty<br />
which encompassed Persia, Iraq, <strong>the</strong> Caucasus and Anatolia. Wanting to establ<strong>is</strong>h <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
legitimacy as successors to great h<strong>is</strong>torical dynasties and as heirs to a religious tradition <strong>that</strong> goes<br />
back to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> and <strong>be</strong>yond him to <strong>the</strong> biblical prophets, <strong>the</strong> Ilkh§nid Khans created<br />
manuscripts <strong>that</strong> were meant to <strong>be</strong>stow legitimacy on <strong>the</strong>m and act as a form of state<br />
propaganda. 254 Mahmud Ghazan Khan comm<strong>is</strong>sioned RashÊd al-DÊn to prepare a work on <strong>the</strong><br />
h<strong>is</strong>tory of <strong>the</strong> Mongol tri<strong>be</strong>s. Th<strong>is</strong> work was expanded to a general world h<strong>is</strong>tory: <strong>the</strong> J§mi# al-<br />
Taw§rÊkh or “A Compendium of Chronicles”. Considering <strong>the</strong> purpose of <strong>the</strong> work, it <strong>is</strong> not at all<br />
surpr<strong>is</strong>ing <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> and h<strong>is</strong> Companions would have a Mongol-look. In th<strong>is</strong> manner <strong>the</strong><br />
dynasty <strong>is</strong> legitimized and its Central Asian former nomads acquire an important place within<br />
<strong>the</strong> Heilsgeschicht of Islam. What <strong>is</strong> important to point out here <strong>is</strong> <strong>that</strong> we have ano<strong>the</strong>r example of<br />
<strong>the</strong> portrait of MuÈammad changing with a major demographic change in <strong>the</strong> umma and its<br />
admin<strong>is</strong>tration.<br />
VIII. Conclusion<br />
<strong>The</strong> earliest documented Arabs were likely a Kushite or dark-skinned group. <strong>The</strong><br />
Classical Arabic/Islamic literary sources confirm <strong>the</strong> same, <strong>that</strong> a noble Arab was a <strong>black</strong>skinned<br />
Arab. Th<strong>is</strong> makes it most unlikely <strong>that</strong> MuÈammad, reputedly a noble Arab, was fairskinned<br />
as in <strong>the</strong> popular imagination and in official and un-official representations, literary as<br />
well as v<strong>is</strong>ual. We have every reason to <strong>be</strong>lieve <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> Arab prophet was a dark-skinned Arab,<br />
248 Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 34; Omid Safi, Ph.D, Memories of Muhammad: Why<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> Matters (New York: HarpersCollins, 2009) 34-37.<br />
249 Safi, Memories of Muhammad, 35 and portrait on 34; Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,”<br />
Pl. VIII.<br />
250 Soucek, “Life of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 193-194; Ali, “Literal to <strong>the</strong> Spiritual,” 3; Arnold, Painting in Islam, 93.<br />
251 Soucek, “Life of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 199.<br />
252 Ali, “Literal to <strong>the</strong> Spiritual,” 10; Arnold, Painting in Islam, 98.<br />
253 See Soucek, “Life of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” figs. 1-9; Ali, “Literal to <strong>the</strong> Spiritual,” figs. 1-8; Arnold, Painting in Islam,<br />
Pls. XIX-XX, XXII-XXIII.<br />
254 Ali, “Literal to <strong>the</strong> Spiritual,” 2, 6.<br />
35
including explicit testimony in <strong>the</strong> literary sources. While testimony to a fair-skinned<br />
MuÈammad <strong>is</strong> found <strong>the</strong>re as well, th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> no doubt a secondary development <strong>that</strong> was impacted<br />
by <strong>the</strong> changed status of Arabs and non-Arabs within <strong>the</strong> kingdom.<br />
<strong>The</strong> biography of <strong>the</strong> prophet MuÈammad as found in <strong>the</strong> standard sÊra texts <strong>is</strong><br />
undoubtedly tendentious. It was shaped not only by sectarian d<strong>is</strong>putes within Islam, but also by<br />
inter-faith dialogue and d<strong>is</strong>pute <strong>be</strong>tween Muslims and <strong>the</strong> non-Muslim subject peoples within <strong>the</strong><br />
kingdom. 255 <strong>The</strong> portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>, literary and v<strong>is</strong>ual, are likew<strong>is</strong>e equally tendentious.<br />
Oleg Grabar and Mika Natif suggest <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong>se prophetic portraits were affected by popular<br />
tastes. 256 It appears <strong>that</strong> with <strong>the</strong> fall of <strong>the</strong> Arab kingdom, <strong>the</strong>re was little popular taste for an<br />
ethnically Arab prophet. 257 At a point in <strong>the</strong> #Abb§sid period, <strong>the</strong> Muslim populace <strong>be</strong>came<br />
preponderantly non-Arab, 258 and Persian culture was more influential than any o<strong>the</strong>r for a while<br />
after <strong>the</strong> Revolution. Tarif Khalidi has suggested <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> biography of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> might <strong>be</strong><br />
seen as a form of synecdoche, in which <strong>the</strong> individual life stands for, symbolizes, and prefigures<br />
<strong>the</strong> larger communal h<strong>is</strong>tory. 259 In th<strong>is</strong> regard, th<strong>is</strong> de-arabization of MuÈammad no doubt<br />
reflects <strong>the</strong> de-arabization of <strong>the</strong> umma MuÈammadiyya and Islamic tradition.<br />
255 EQ 5:29-51 s.v. SÊra and <strong>the</strong> Qur"§n by Wim Raven; Tilman Nagel, Mohammed: Le<strong>be</strong>n and Legend<br />
(Munich: Oldenbourg, 2008); idem, Allahs Liebling: Ursprung und Erscheinungsformen des<br />
Mohammedglau<strong>be</strong>n (Munich: Oldenbourg, 2008); Cottfried Hagen, “<strong>The</strong> Imagined and <strong>the</strong> H<strong>is</strong>torical<br />
MuÈammad,” JAOS 129 (2009): 97-111; Her<strong>be</strong>rt Berg, Method and <strong>The</strong>ory in <strong>the</strong> Study of Islamic Origins<br />
(Leiden: Brill, 2003); H. Motzi (ed.), <strong>The</strong> Biography of MuÈammad. <strong>The</strong> Issue of <strong>the</strong> Sources (Leiden, 2000);<br />
Michael Cook, Muhammad (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996) Chapter 7 (“<strong>The</strong> sources”); M. Schöller,<br />
Exeget<strong>is</strong>ches Denken und <strong>Prophet</strong>enbiographie. Eine quellenkrit<strong>is</strong>che Analyse der SÊra<br />
Ü<strong>be</strong>rlieferung zu MuÈammads Konflikt mit den Juden (Berlin, 1996); Uri Rubin, <strong>The</strong> Eye of <strong>the</strong><br />
Beholder: <strong>The</strong> Life of MuÈammad as Viewed by <strong>the</strong> Early Muslims. A Textual Analys<strong>is</strong> (Princeton,<br />
New Jersey: <strong>The</strong> Darwin Press, 1995); F.E. Peters, “<strong>The</strong> Quest of <strong>the</strong> H<strong>is</strong>torical Muhammad,” IJMES 23 (1991):<br />
291-315; Patricia Crone, Meccan Trade and <strong>the</strong> R<strong>is</strong>e of Islam (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University<br />
Press, 1987) Chapter 9 (“<strong>The</strong> Sources”); Sebastian Gün<strong>the</strong>r, “MuÈammad, <strong>the</strong> Illiterate <strong>Prophet</strong>: An Islamic<br />
Creed in <strong>the</strong> Qur’an and Qur’anic Exeges<strong>is</strong>,” JQS 4 (2002): 1-26; Isaiah Goldfeld, “<strong>The</strong> Illiterate <strong>Prophet</strong> (NabÊ<br />
UmmÊ): An inquiry into <strong>the</strong> development of a dogma in Islamic Tradition” Der Islam 57 (1980): 58-67; Sara<br />
Stroumsa, “<strong>The</strong> Signs of Prophecy: <strong>The</strong> Emergence and Early Development of a <strong>The</strong>me in Arabic <strong>The</strong>ological<br />
Literature,” HTR 78 (1985): 101-14; Sidney H. Griffith, “<strong>The</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> MuÈammad, H<strong>is</strong> Scripture and H<strong>is</strong> Message<br />
According to <strong>the</strong> Chr<strong>is</strong>tian Apologies in Arabic and Syriac From <strong>the</strong> First Abbasid Century,” in La Vie du<br />
prophete Mahomet; colloque de Strasbourg, octobre 1980 (Par<strong>is</strong>: Presses universitaires de France, 1983) 99-<br />
146; idem, “Comparative Religion in <strong>the</strong> Apologetics of <strong>the</strong> First Chr<strong>is</strong>tian Arabic <strong>The</strong>ologians,” in Proceedings<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Patr<strong>is</strong>tic, Mediaeval and Rena<strong>is</strong>sance Conference 4 (1979): 63-87; Richard C. Martin, “<strong>The</strong> Role of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Basrah Mutazilah in Formulating <strong>the</strong> Doctrine of <strong>the</strong> apologetic Miracle,” JNES 39 (1980) 175-89; R. Sellheim,<br />
“<strong>Prophet</strong>, Calif und Geschichte. Die Muhammad-Biographie des Ibn Isȧq,” Oriens 18-19 (1965-66): 33-91;<br />
Harr<strong>is</strong> Birkeland, <strong>The</strong> Lord Guideth. Studies on Primitive Islam (Oslo: I Komm<strong>is</strong>jon Hos H. Aschehoug &<br />
Co. [W. Nygaard], 1956); Geo Widengren, MuÈammad, <strong>the</strong> Apostle of God, and h<strong>is</strong> Ascension<br />
(Uppasala/Wiesbaden, 1955); Joseph Horovitz, “<strong>The</strong> Growth of <strong>the</strong> Mohammed Legend,” MW 10 (1920): 49-58;<br />
Tor Andrae, Die person Muhammeds in lehre und glau<strong>be</strong>n seiner gemeinde (Stockholm: P.A. Vorstedt og<br />
söner, 1918). Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> not to say <strong>that</strong> we can’t mine th<strong>is</strong> mass of late traditional material for imformation related to<br />
early Islam. See especially Andreas Görke and Gregor Schoeler, Die ältesten Berichte ü<strong>be</strong>r das Le<strong>be</strong>n<br />
MuÈammads: Das Korpus #Urwa ibn az-Zubair (Princeton, NJ: <strong>The</strong> Darwin Press, Inc., 2008).<br />
256 Grabar and Naif, “Story of Portraits of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>,” 33.<br />
257 Ali’s observation seems quite germane here: “although <strong>the</strong> description of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> (viz. as ruddy-white, etc.) <strong>is</strong><br />
quite explicit in <strong>the</strong> Arabic annals, <strong>the</strong>re <strong>is</strong> not a single picture painted by an Arab <strong>that</strong> portrays him. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
hand, among <strong>the</strong> Turks, <strong>the</strong> Persians and <strong>the</strong> Indians, <strong>who</strong>se art<strong>is</strong>tic heritage had <strong>be</strong>en rich in pictorial images and<br />
<strong>who</strong>se language <strong>is</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r than Arabic, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> was actually portrayed…” Ali, “Literal to <strong>the</strong> Spiritual,” 10.<br />
258 Berkey, Formation, 118.<br />
259 Khalidi, Images, 3.<br />
36
Th<strong>is</strong> study has a num<strong>be</strong>r of implications for scholarship on Islam. First, it strongly<br />
suggests <strong>that</strong> <strong>the</strong> common scholarly trope of <strong>the</strong> Arabian ‘swarthy whites’ <strong>be</strong> abandoned, as it has<br />
little support in <strong>the</strong> sources and <strong>is</strong> more a figment of scholarly imagination. Secondly, while<br />
Bernard Lew<strong>is</strong>’s study of race and slavery in Islam was ground-breaking, th<strong>is</strong> study suggests <strong>that</strong><br />
a new interpretation of <strong>the</strong> development of <strong>the</strong> racial ethic in early Islam <strong>is</strong> desirable. 260 It seems<br />
<strong>that</strong> we have <strong>the</strong> extraordinary case of <strong>black</strong> anti-white rac<strong>is</strong>m giving way to white anti-<strong>black</strong><br />
rac<strong>is</strong>m, both in <strong>the</strong> context of an articulation of Islam. 261 While <strong>the</strong> latter has <strong>be</strong>en explored, <strong>the</strong><br />
former – <strong>black</strong> rac<strong>is</strong>m in Islam – has not. Such a situation <strong>is</strong> worthy of fur<strong>the</strong>r study.<br />
260 While Lew<strong>is</strong> acknowledges <strong>that</strong> pre-Islamic Arabia was free of an anti-Black, anti-African sentiment, he attributes<br />
<strong>the</strong> development of <strong>the</strong>se sentiments to <strong>the</strong> ‘Bedouin ar<strong>is</strong>tocracy of <strong>the</strong> conquests’. But <strong>the</strong>se Bedouin Arabs, we have<br />
shown, were a proud <strong>black</strong>-skinned group <strong>the</strong>mselves. <strong>The</strong> <strong>be</strong>ginning of anti-<strong>black</strong> rac<strong>is</strong>m must <strong>be</strong> sought elsewhere.<br />
See Lew<strong>is</strong>, Rac<strong>is</strong>m and Slavery, 21-26; idem, “Crows,” 90. For a more recent d<strong>is</strong>cussion see Drake, Black Folk,<br />
II, Chapter Five. Drake, following Lew<strong>is</strong>, also assumes <strong>that</strong> anti-<strong>black</strong> (or anti-Negro) prejudice ex<strong>is</strong>ted among <strong>the</strong><br />
Bedouin conquerors.<br />
261 On Arab rac<strong>is</strong>m against <strong>the</strong> ‘red’ maw§lÊ see Ibn #Abd Rabbihi, al-#Iqd al-farÊd, III: 317-328; Lew<strong>is</strong>, Race and<br />
Slavery, 38; Goldziher, Muslim Studies, Chapter Three.<br />
37