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Fatwa CenterExplaining Ibn Hajar's words about blackness
Question
I read this commentary, that ibn Hajar said: "Allah created Adam in His picture, sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), "Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring." Adam (went and) said, 'As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).' They replied, 'AsSalamu-'Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah's Mercy be on you) So they increased 'Wa Rahmatullah' The Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, added 'So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and picture of Adam. Since then the creation of Adam's offspring (i.e. stature of human beings) is being diminished continuously to the present time." In his book Al-Fat'h, Ibn Hajar said, "His saying ''So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and picture of Adam' (i.e. of his description) is evidence that the qualities of deficiency, such as blackness and others will not be existent when people enter Paradise as has been underlined before in the chapter of 'Description of Paradise.'
I was wondering, can you clarify what he meant by blackness? I feel like some people might get the wrong idea or something, so can you explain this further?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Regarding the words of Ibn Hajar, "The qualities of deficiency, such as blackness and others", there is no problematic aspect in these words as his description of blackness as a deficiency is from the viewpoint of many people, not the viewpoint of the Islamic Shariah. This is proved by the texts of the Quran and Sunnah that indicate that excellence in the sight of Allah is only achieved by piety and good deeds.
Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.} [Quran 49:13]
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said in the famous speech delivered in the Farewell Hajj, "O people! Verily your Lord is One and your father (Adam) is one. An Arab is no better than a non-Arab, and a non-Arab is no better than an Arab; a red man is no better than a black man, and a black man is no better than a red man – except in terms of Taqwa (righteousness and piety)..." [Ahmad]
The different skin colors of mankind are one of the signs of Allah's greatness and omnipotence, which entail worshiping Him alone and obeying Him. Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed, in that are signs for those of knowledge.} [Quran 30:22] Whoever may misunderstand Ibn Hajar's statement to be prejudice against the black skin color should be made aware of these noble Islamic concepts and teachings. For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 289174.
We hope that this topic does not distract you from asking about the matters that lead to doing good deeds, as we noticed that you tend to ask many questions in this regard.
Allah knows best.
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