Racism in Shi’ism

 

Shia Hadith

When the Prophet sent ambassadors to Persia and called them to accept Islam, the Persians responded with haughtiness. They rebuffed the “lowly” Arab ambassador and categorically declared that the “great” Persian race could never submit to the “lowly” Arabs. Indeed, racism in Zoroastrian Persia was rampant; the fire-worshipping Persians had the notion that they were racially superior to all other races.

The faith of Shi’ism found many supporters in Persia, and slowly the fire-worshipping ideologies of the Persians was fused into the Shia faith. The racism of the Persians eventually seeped into the Shia canon. The following are some Shia Hadith that blatantly teach racism, all recorded in Al-Kafi, the most reliable of the four Shia books of Hadith. They are also available on Al-Shia.com, a very authoratative website of the Shia.

These Hadith (shown below) are Sahih according to the Shia, as they are narrated by Ali bin Ibrahim who is considered to be of the utmost reliability according to the Shia. He was one of the most prominent sources in Al-Kafi, the most reliable of the Shia books of Hadith.

We see that the Shia religion is very much against black people, and these Hadith use the term “Zunj” which is a common Arabic word used to refer to all black people. The Arabic of the Hadith can be found on the Al-Shia.com website:

Al-Shia.com says

باب من كره مناكحته من الاكراد والسودان وغيرهم

)1 - علي بن إبراهيم، عن هارون بن مسلم، عن مسعدة بن زياد، عن أبي عبدالله (ع) قال: قال أمير المؤمنين (ع): إياكم ونكاح الزنج فإنه خلق مشوه.(1 - 9562
- علي بن إبراهيم، عن أسماعيل بن محمدالمكي، عن علي بن الحسين، عن عمروبن عثمان، عن الحسين بن خالد، عمن ذكره، عن أبي الربيع الشامي قال: قال لي أبوعبدالله (ع): لاتشتر من 2 - 9563 ) ” أما إنهم سيذكرون ذلك الحظ وسيخرج مع القائم3) فإنهم من الذين قال الله عزوجل: ” ومن الذين قالوا إنا نصارى أخذنا ميثاقهم فنسوا حظا مما ذكروابه(2السودان أحدا فإن كان لابد فمن النوبة( ع) مناعصابة منهم ولاتنكحوا من الاكراد أحدا فإنهم جنس من الجن كشف عنهم الغطاء.(
- عدة من أصحابنا، عن سهل بن زياد، عن موسى بن جعفر، عن عمرو بن سعيد، عن محمد بن عبدالله الهاشمي، عن أحمد بن يوسف، عن علي بن داود الحداد، عن أبي عبدالله (ع) قال: 3 - 9564 ) فإن لهم أرحاما تدل على غيرالوفاء قال: والهند والسند والقندليس فيهم نجيب يعني القندهار.4لاتناكحوا الزنج والخزر(

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) الشوه: قبح الخلقة وهو مصدر من باب تعب ورجل اشوه قبيح المنظر وامرأة شوهاء و الجمع شوه مثل أحمر وحمراء وحمر. وشاهت الوجوه تشوه: قبحت وشوهتها قبحتها. (المصباح)(1
) النوبة - بالضم -: رهط من بلاد الحبش. (القاموس)(2
.14) المائدة: (3
) الزنج بالفتح -: صنف من السودان واحدهم زنجى. والخزر هو ضيق العين وصغرها كانه ينظر بمؤخرها والخزر جيل من الناس. (الصحاح) وفى بعض النسخ [الخوذ]. وهو - بالضم -: صنف من الناس. (*)(4

source: http://www.al-shia.com

Translation:

1. (Narrated) Ali bin Ibrahim, from Haroon bin Muslim, from Mas’adah bin Ziyad, from Abu Abdullah [as] said: Amirul-Mu’mineen Ali [as] said:

“Beware of marrying the Negroes (Zunj) for they are an ugly creation.” (al-Kafi, fil Furoo’: Book of Nikah, Chapter: Whom Are Disliked for Marriage, Narration 1)

2. (Narrated) Ali bin Ibrahim, from Ismael bin Muhammad al-Makki, from Ali bin al-Husain, from ‘Amr bin Othman, from al-Husain bin Khalid, from whom he entioned from Abu Ar-Rabi’ al-Shami said: Imam Abu Abdullah [as] said:

“Do not [even] buy anyone who is a Negro…never marry anyone of the Kurdish (people) for they are part of the Jinn (demons)…” (al-Kafi, fil Furoo’: Book of Nikah, Chapter: Whom Are Disliked for Marriage, Narration 2)

3. (Narrated) Several of our fellows from Sahl bin Ziyad, from Musa bin Ja’far, from ‘Amr bin Sa’eed, from Muhammad bin Abdillah al-Hashimi, from Ahmad bin Yousuf, from Ali bin Dawood al-Haddaad said: Imam Abu Abdullah [as] said:

“Marry not from the Negroes (Zanj) nor the Khazar, for they have near relatives whom are unfaithful.” (al-Kafi, fil Furoo’: Book of Nikah, Chapter: Whom Are Disliked for Marriage, Narration 3)

He further said:

“India, Sindh and Qindh–not a single one of them [from there] is intelligent.” (al-Kafi, fil Furoo’: Book of Nikah, Chapter: Whom Are Disliked for Marriage, Narration 3)

India of course refers to India, Sindh to Pakistan, and Qindh refers to Afghanistan. Khazar refers to the northern areas near the Black Sea. And the Negroes are of course from the West of Persia in Africa.

If we notice, Shi’ism is racist towards everyone other than the Persians. People of every region surrounding Persia are considered inferior, including Africans, Kurds, Afghanis, Pakistanis, and Indians.

The racism is also levied against Arabs and Arab culture. It is written in the Shia book “Tareekh-al-Islam” that when Allah becomes happy, then He talks in Persian, and He only speaks Arabic when He becomes annoyed. (Tareekh-al-Islam, p.163)

Another interesting point is that although the Shia believe in the superiority of the Prophet’s descendants, they only trace it (i.e. the Ahlel Bayt) through the progeny of Hussain. They ignore the progeny of his brother, Hasan. It does not take much thought to realize why this is the case. Hussain married a Persian, and thus his progeny was Persian. Therefore, the Shia found it prudent to abandon the non-Persian progeny of Hasan and instead they only trace their Imamah through the descendants of Hussain.

Ahlus Sunnah Rejects Racism

Whereas the Shia Hadith advocate racism, the Hadith of the mainstream Muslims completely rejects racism. Here are some Hadith considered authentic by the Ahlus Sunnah.

The Prophet said:

“An arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor has a non-Arab any superiority over an Arab, nor has a black man any superiority over a white man or a white man over a black man except by the criterion of taqwa (righteous practice). All of you are from Adam, and Adam is from dust.” (As-Sunan)

The Prophet also said:

“Allah does not look at your shapes or your colors but He looks at your hearts (intentions) and your deeds. Creatures are the dependants of Allah and the closest among them to Allah are indeed the most useful to His dependants.”

Assabiyyah (nationalism/tribalism/bigotry) is strictly Haram (forbidden) based on the Hadith of the Ahlus Sunnah.

The Prophet said:

“He is not one us who calls for Assabiyyah or who fights for Assabiyyah or who dies for Assabiyyah.” (Abu Dawood)

The Prophet said about Assabiyyah:

“Leave it. It is rotten.” (Sahih Bukhari & Muslim)

We ask our Shia brothers to look inside their hearts and ask themselves wether they would rather follow an Islam that preaches racism (i.e. Shi’ism) or an Islam that preaches racial equality (i.e. Ahlus Sunnah)?

Article Written By: Ibn al-Hashimi, www.ahlelbayt.com


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