Racism and Its Origin
The Story of the Creation and the Role of Iblis in Islam
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Assalamu alaikum and welcome!
In my first blog article, I already described my thoughts on the question of how racism could have originated. (If you want to catch up on it, you can click here). However, I have always been interested in when it actually came about. And there is a story in human history that immediately gave me an answer to this question. This story is the story of the creation of man. The creation of the world and of man is known from both a Christian and an Islamic perspective. In this article, I will look at the story of creation from an Islamic perspective.
The first human being ever, Adam (as), was created after the earth was created. According to tradition, he was created from clay. It consisted of various colours and textures. It is described that the angels collected black, brown, white and red clay as well as clay from the mountains, valleys, deserts, fertile areas and everything in between. Thus, the first man, and at the same time the first prophet, was created out of a diversity that cannot be imagined. The entire diversity that was inherent in this one person has been spread across the entire human race over thousands of years. 1 This means that EVERY human being who has ever been born and will ever come into the world has exactly the same origin. And perhaps you are now asking yourself why we have to struggle with racism if our tribal father had this enormous diversity within himself.
To get an answer to the question, we need to have a closer look at the beings that Allah (swt) created alongside us humans. Earlier in this article, I mentioned the angels who gathered the ingredients for Adam (as). In Islam, the angels are pure beings who obey Allah completely and have no freedom of choice.
In addition to the angels, there are djinns. They consist of fire or the smoke of fire and, like angels, are not visible to us humans. The fact that the djinns are made of fire also provides information about their characteristics: they have a "hot" temperament and cannot regulate their emotions as easily as we humans can. (I will explain why I think this information could be relevant in the course of the blog article). One thing that humans and djinn have in common is that they were created for the same reason. In Surah 51, verse 56 of the Qu'ran it is said: "And I have created the djinn and mankind only that they may serve Me." Thus, both creatures will be tested by Allah and their outcome will be influenced.
The djinn and the angels were created before Adam (as). There was one of the djinns who was very God-fearing, had a high rank and had even stayed among the angels because he had served Allah (swt) in a good way: Iblis.
When Allah (swt) announced to the angels that He would create humans to rule over the earth, the angels were worried that the humans would cause much mischief. In Surah 2, verse 30 it is said: 'Verily, I will appoint a successor on the earth', so they said: 'Will you appoint someone on it who will wreak havoc on it and shed blood, when we praise Your praise and extol Your glory?' He said: 'Verily, I know what you do not know'."
When Iblis learned what man was to be created from, he became angry. He could not understand why Allah (swt) would devote himself to a creation whose origin was less valuable in his eyes than his origin. In other words, he looked down on the fact that we humans were created from clay. Envy also played a major role, as humans were chosen as creatures to serve as governors of the earth. It is now clear that Iblis probably reacted accordingly due to his temperament. If we now review the story in our minds, we can see that envy, hatred and arrogance led Iblis to think that he was better. And racism really doesn't seem to be any different. You look down on a person who comes from a certain country or perhaps even a certain continent. You claim to see this person as inferior. At worst, you feel hatred towards these people. And I actually believe that envy often plays a role. After all, why would you hate a person and feel the need to show it to them if you didn't see anything about them that made you envious?
The reason why I am addressing this topic and why it is close to my heart is simply because the negative emotions associated with racism have fatal consequences. People hurt each other mentally and physically and destroy themselves with this attitude.
I experienced racism and exclusion from an early age and was judged before I could speak a word. I had to put in a lot more effort to prove myself in society, only to end up not being valued. And worse than me, there are people out there who are unfortunately even murdered and tortured. And it seems as if there is no end in sight. But there is! Even if it doesn't seem like it. Humanity has made so much progress that our ancestors couldn't have imagined...but which they fought for. And we must continue to do so!
We need to educate each other, provide support, understand each other and stand up for what is good. So that our descendants will also be better off. But it all starts with our minds and hearts. We need to understand and empathize. This natural disposition, also called “fitra” in Islam, is present in each of us. It tells us to treat each other with dignity, respect and decency. That we should be good to ourselves and to each other. I very much hope that we will always be aware of this natural disposition and support each other.
I hope that you have enjoyed this article and that it inspired you. Feel free to let me know in the comments what you think about this topic and what experiences you have had. I would love to hear your input!
Your MindfulMuslima
Sahih ibn Habban, Hadith Nr. 6160