“Anyone who says that the Prophet is black should be killed”: The ...
“Anyone who says that the Prophet is black should be killed”: The ...
“Anyone who says that the Prophet is black should be killed”: The ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
One of <strong>the</strong>se ‘deep <strong>black</strong> and tall’ sons of #Abd al-Muããalib was #Abd All§h b. #Abd al-Muããalib,<br />
<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 founded <strong>the</strong><br />
#Abb§sid Dynasty in 132/750 CE. Th<strong>is</strong> was evidently a line of dark-skinned Arabs. 75 #Abd All§h<br />
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 cousin and<br />
h<strong>is</strong> son, #Alī b. #Abd All§h, was also <strong>black</strong>-skinned (§dam). 76 Of particular importance for us are<br />
#Abd al-#Uzz§ (Abå Lahab), uncle and infamous enemy of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong> and Abå •§lib, supportive<br />
uncle and fa<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> progenitor of <strong>the</strong> Shiite line of Imams. Abå Lahab’s importance for us<br />
here ra<strong>the</strong>r lies with h<strong>is</strong> great grandson, <strong>the</strong> seventh century CE Qurayshī poet, al-Fa∙l b. al-<br />
#Abb§s. Al-Fa∙l was a cousin of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prophet</strong>. Called al-Akh∙ar al-LahabÊ “<strong>The</strong> Flaming Black,” he<br />
was well-known for h<strong>is</strong> <strong>black</strong> complexion, handsome face and h<strong>is</strong> genealogical purity, and<br />
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. 77<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 §dam shadīd<br />
al-udma) with big, heavy eyes, pot-<strong>be</strong>llied, bald, and kind of short.” 79 Many of #Alī’s descendents,<br />
<strong>the</strong> sharÊfs/sayyids, were similarly descri<strong>be</strong>d as <strong>black</strong>-skinned. 80 Th<strong>is</strong> ‘family <strong>black</strong>ness’ of Abå<br />
•§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> <strong>be</strong>cause Abå •§lib’s<br />
son Ja#far, known as al-H§shimÊ, “<strong>The</strong> H§shimite,” <strong>who</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>the</strong> elder bro<strong>the</strong>r of #Alī, <strong>is</strong> “one of<br />
MuÈammad’s kinsmen <strong>who</strong> most closely resembled him.” 81 Indeed, MuÈammad himself <strong>is</strong><br />
reported to have said to h<strong>is</strong> presumably <strong>black</strong>-skinned cousin: “You resemble me both in<br />
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”). He<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 of<br />
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§ (Cairo:<br />
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-Tij§rÊyah,<br />
1950) e.g. 183 (Zayn al-#$bidÊn, asmar), 193 (MuÈammad al-B§qir, asmar mu#tadil), 205 (Ja#far al-‘§diq, §dam§), 214<br />
(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