Posted by Abu Iyaad
Thursday, Feb 20 2025
Filed under Miscellaneous
Summary
FROM THE PRINCIPLES of Ahl al-Sunnah is that the Arabs—as a genus—have excellence over others, and that is because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Companions (رضي الله عنهم) were chosen for their traits that were conducive to Islām and its conveyance, and these are traits of the Arabs who remained upon the fiṭrah and virtuous character, unlike other nations outside the Arabian peninsula. Their virtue and excellence is from this angle, that they carried Islām, conveyed it and aided it. It is an innovation (bidʿah) to deny this excellence, as mentioned by Ibn Taymiyyah, citing from Ḥarb al-Kirmānī.
The Shūʿūbiyyah were a group who appeared after the demise of the Umayyads, and they had contempt for the Arabs, considering themselves equal to or superior, and wishing for their own domination (over the Arabs), resentful that the Arabs gained ascendance due to their carrying of Islām. From this perspective, there is shuʿūbiyyah which is kufr (disbelief) and nifāq (hypocrisy), such as what is found with the Persian, Magian, Ṣafawī Rāfiḍah, and historically, the Shuʿūbiyyah were prone to the doctrines of the Bāṭiniyyah and other falsehoods. And there is that which is less than this, which is denial of this virtue, from the angle mentioned, for the Arabs in their genus.
As explained by Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله), the virtue belongs to those who accepted Islām, carried and spread it, taught it and made jihād in Allāh’s path for it, and they are the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Companions (رضي الله عنهم), and because they are from the Arabs, the Arabs as a genus, have virtue. It is because of this, because of carrying Islām, and this virtue extends also to the non-Arabs, who did the same deeds, and it is not a virtue based on skin and blood, otherwise the disbelieving Arabs would have had the same virtue. Rather, the virtue is that of traits and qualities in addition to carrying, conveying and aiding Islām.
Sayings of the Scholars
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said:[1]
That which Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah are upon is the belief that the genus of Arabs is better than the genus of non-Arabs.
Aḥmad bin Jaʿfar al-Iṣṭikhrī related from Imām Aḥmad:[2]
The Shuʿūbiyyah are people of innovation and misguidance. They say: “The Arabs and the Mawālī, in our view, are one (and the same).” They do not hold that the Arabs have a right, and nor an excellence (over others). They do not love them, rather they hate them, and conceal rancour, envy and hatred in their hearts. This is a repugant saying, innovated by a man in Iraq.
In al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq, ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī said, mentioning the sects affected by the doctrine of the Bāṭiniyyah:[3]
And those affected by the doctrine of the Bāṭiniyyah are of types... The second group is the Shūʿbiyyah (the Populists) are those who consider the non-Arabs to be superior to the Arabs, and they wish for the dominion (of rule) to return to the non-Arabs.
The Bāṭiniyyah are the ones who believe in the eternity of the world, reject messengership and Divine legislation.
Shaykh Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm Āl al-Shaykh (رحمه الله) said;[4]
Non-Arab populations do not have (preserved) lineages, and some people consider them superior to the Arabs, this is the doctrine of the Shūʿūbiyyah, and it is erroneous. The Arabs are superior [i.e. in their genus], save that that true superiority lies in piety (taqwā).
Brief History[5]
The Shuʿūbiyyah started as a literary movement in the early second century hijrah, competing with Arabs, out of envy, leading them to belittle the Arabs, and eventually it led to dislike of religion. The movement emerged after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty in 132H, which was Arab, and the rise of the Abbasid empire, which had many supporters from Khurasān.
Many of them, due to their racial pride, were led to doubt Islām, because of the hatred they developed for the Arabs, due to enmities on political grounds. They hated Arabs, then they hated the Arabic language, then they hated the Arabian peninsula, and allied with whoever hated the Arabian peninsula, and in a stepwise manner, their hatreds got the better of them and they let go of Islām. They were also prone to doctrines such as that of the Bāṭiniyyah, which is why they are mentioned in connection to them.
Most of the Shuʿūbiyyah were Persians. Very rarely, there were Arabs who were Shuʿūbi, such as Ḍirār bin ʿAmr al-Muʿtazilī.
Ibn Taymiyyah on the Excellence of the Genus of the Arabs
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said:[6]
It is established from him (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that he said: “Verily, Allāh chose Kinānah from Banī Ismāʿīl, and He chose Quraysh from Kinānah, and He chose Banī Hāshim from Quraysh, and He chose me from Banī Hāshim. So I am the best of you in person and the best of you in lineage.”[7] And the majority of the scholars are [of the view] that the genus of the Arabs are better than others, just as the genus of the Quraysh are better than others [from the Arabs], and the genus of Banī Hāshim are better than others.
It is established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from him (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that he said: “People are minerals like gold and silver. The best of them in the days of pre-Islāmic ignorance are the best of them in Islām, if they gain comprehension (of it).”[8] However, maintaining the excellence of a group (as a whole) over another group (as a whole) does not necessitate that every individual (in that group) is superior to every other individual.
For among the non-Arabs are great numbers who are better than most of the Arabs, and in other than Quraysh, from the Muḥājirīn and Anṣār, are those who are better than most of the Quraysh, and among those other than Banī Ḥāshim from the Quraysh, and other than the Quraysh, are those who are better than most of Banī Ḥāshim.
Examples of other types of superiority in genus (not individual instances) are that Allāh favoured Banī Isrāʾīl over the nations during their time, likewise, Allāh has favoured the man over the woman with certain qualities, even though a particular woman may be more virtuous and excellent than many men in terms of piety and righteousness.
However, in relation to the individual, an Arab has no excellence over the non-Arab and vice versa, except through piety and righteousness. And hence, boasting of one’s lineage and race is from the traits of Jāhiliyyah, the one who boasts of his lineage and race, and sees himself superior to others and looks down upon others, because of skin and blood, then this is prohibited. Excellence and superiority is not determined by blood or complexion, but by what is in the heart of piety.
Shaykh Ibn Bāz on the Nature of the Excellence of the Arabs, in their Genus
Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله) said:[9]
The Arabs have an excellence from the angle that they are the party of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and because Allāh sent him among them, and sent him with their language, so they have an excellence from this perspective, that they carried Islām and they are the party of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), that they are the first to carry Islām and spread it to people. They have this excellence, and they have a right [of acknowledgement] from this perspective.
Hence, it is proper, that their status [in this regard] and their excellence is acknowledged. I mean the Arabs who entered Islām and carried it to people, who taught it to people and became leaders in goodness, such as the Companions (رضي الله عنهم وأرضاهم) from the Arabs, and those who carried Islām with them from the non-Arabs. So [all of them], they have excellence and virtue, those from the Arabs and non-Arabs.
Hence, al-Ṣiddīq, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī and the rest of the ten (promised Paradise), and others from the Anṣār and Muḥājirīn, they have great excellence, and similarly, those who followed them upon goodness in carrying knowledge, and making jihād in Allāh’s path, until they spread Allāh’s religion and taught it to the people, regardless of whether they are Arabs or non-Arabs.
They have a great right upon the later Muslims in supplicating for them, asking for Allāḥ’s pleasure for them, thanking them for what they did, and loving them for that.
As for Arab disbelievers, then no. There is no right for them in this, and likewise the non-Arab disbelievers, they have no right in this. This is only for the Arabs who carried Islām, spread it to people, taught the people and made jihād in Allāh’s path, until people entered Allāh’s religion in droves.
They have the excellence, and they have a right upon those who came after them, to acknowledge their excellence (in this regard), to thank them for their good work, to ask for Allāḥ’s pleasure for them, to supplicate for them, just as he also supplicates for others from the non-Arabs who shared with them in goodness, who called to Allāh, carried knowledge, taught it to the people, authored useful and beneficial books. So all of this is shared between the Arab and non-Arabs.
Note: In explaining what defines an Arab, Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said:[10]
And what we have said regarding the ruling of the Arabic language, and the manners of the Arabs, then that is affirmed for whoever is like that (i.e. speaks Arabic and has the manners of the Arabs), even if his origin is Persian. And it is negated from the one who is not like that, even if his origin is Hāshimī.
A Topic in Which There Are Desires
From the wisdom and insight of Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله) is that in his presentation of this issue, he addressed the potential of there being boasting and pride as a means of looking down upon others, and harming the brotherhoood that exists between the Believers in general, irrespective of their race, ethnicity or complexion. Thus, he pointed out the real basis of the virtue, which was found in the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Companions (رضي الله عنهم), who, because of their qualities, carried, conveyed and aided Islām, and he placed emphasis on this aspect in particular, and explained that this is also for the non-Arabs who had a share in that.
Further, that this is a subject in which desire can enter into was something observed and addressed by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله). He alluded to this, when he said, in the context of this very issue:[11]
Although speech regarding these issues is hardly free from personal desires, (there being) a share of Shayṭān on both sides—with this being forbidden in all issues—Allāh has commanded the Believers to hold fast to the rope of Allāh all together, and has forbidden them from division and differing, and has commanded reconciliation between people.
He (رحمه الله) also said:[12]
If the man is from the virtuous faction, such as making mention of Banū Hāshim, or Quraysh, or the Arabs, or Persians, or some of them, then his share (of this) is not to perceive his own virtue, and to look at that (as his excellence over others), for he would be erroneous in that. This is because the virtue of the genus (of the race) does not necessitate the virtue of the individual, as we have mentioned before. For perhaps there is an Abyssinian (slave) who is better in the sight of Allāh than the majority of the Quraysh, and this view (of that person seeing his own excellence) necessitates his own deficiency, and his departure from (his perceived self-virtue), let alone his arrogance and overbearing attitude towards a slave.
And if a man is from another faction, such as the Persians, or other than the Quraysh or Banū Hāshim (among the Arabs), then let him know that his belief in Allāḥ’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم), in what he informed, his obedience to him in what he commanded, and his love for those whom he loved, his imitation of those whom Allāh has favoured, and his adherence to the true religion with which Allāh sent His Slave and Messenger, Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) necessitates that he is better than the majority of the favoured group, and this is the true virtue (excellence).
Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله) mentioned the basis of the excellence—which necessitates those rights, the right of love, the right of supplication, the right of asking for Allāh’s pleasure for them—and that is carrying, conveying and aiding Islām, and possession of the traits that were conducive to that, exemplified in the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Companions (رضي الله عنهم), and there were non-Arabs who had a share in that, so they have a share in that excellence and in the rights that it necessitates as Shaykh Ibn Bāz stated.
And Ibn Taymiyyah, very insightfully, pointed out that this is a subject matter in which desires are operative along with Shayṭān having a share (in these desires in people). Thus, an Arab may use this issue to boast and arrogate himself over others. And a non-Arab may deny the excellence affirmed for the genus of the Arabs, due to some reason or another emanating from desire.
Summary
01 The Shuʿūbiyyah were a manifestation of hypocrisy (nifāq), they hated the Arabs who were given victory and domination by Allāh (over the Persians and others) for their carrying of Islām, and they are the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Companions (رضي الله عنهم). Thus Shuʿūbiyyah is either hypocrisy and disbelief, or a route towards that, and many were led by their hatred of the Arabs and the Arabic language, to let go of their religion.
02 The virtue of the Arabs whom Allāh chose to carry and convey Islām, is that they were closest to the fiṭrah and had traits and qualities most closely aligned with the truth of Islām, and the capacity to accept, carry and convey it. Thus, there is an excellence, and it relates to the genus of the Arabs, and not every Arab, on account what was done by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and His Companions (رضي الله عنهم), and their traits and qualities, as Arabs who retained the purity of fiṭrah and virtuous qualities. To acknowledge this, is from the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah, and to reject this virtue, is an innovation.
03 Acknowledging this excellence (as part of belief) does not preclude the establishing of brotherhood and equality between individuals, without their being pride, boasting and arrogance on behalf of one party, and feelings of inferiority from the other party, since, as it relates to individuals, true excellence lies only in piety and righteousness. Thus, there is a difference between the genus and the individual, and the excellence is only as regards the genus, not the individual, as has preceded.
Clearing a Doubt
Some years ago (in May 2021), I casually mentioned in a private voice note to an individual that the Arabs were catapulted into modern life through vast oil riches, and had left their simple desert life, (which had previously, conferred them good health). Within this rapid development, there was reliance upon foreign expertise, inclusive of food and medicine industries, which brought Western diets, and naturally, Western allopathic medicine, and that any critiques of this Western allopathic medicine would not be met with acceptance that easily because of the great trust that is placed in it, and the huge investments that have been made to meet commercial demand for pharmaceuticals. And that because of this relative newness, the Gulf Arabs do not have long-standing, established institutions of research that have objectively and thoroughly investigated and scrutinised the theoretical foundations and theories of Western allopathic medicine, but have adopted them more from the commercial aspect, to meet consumer demand, because the broad changes in diet and lifestyle, necessitate that.
This was taken to mean a revilement and belittlement of the Arabs, and this is not correct, and is explained by what follows:
01 The virtue and excellence of the Arabs (as a genus), which we must believe in, is from the angle that they were chosen for their closeness to the fiṭrah and noble qualities to carry, convey and aid Islām, and they, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Companions (رضي الله عنهم) did that, so they have a virtue from these two affairs combined.
This virtue is not with respect to industry, science and medicine. I do not know of any person from the era of the Salaf to this day of ours who believed or said that.
Hence, being advanced, or lagging behind, in these affairs of medicine, crafts and industry, is not what determines virtue and excellence. What determines virtue and excellence is staying true to that original disposition and those noble qualities, which in part, are due to the simple, nomadic life, as opposed to cosmopolitan civilisation. This is understood by intelligent and wise people from the Arabs, which is illustrated in the next point. And speech about this affair, in accordance with factual reality, does not entail revilement or belittlement.
02 During the oil crisis in 1973, King Faisal (رحمه الله) is reported to have said to Henry Kissinger, over a meeting and dinner in the dark, cold desert of Arabia:[13]
You must have noticed, nothing in this dinner tonight carries foreign mark. The meat on the table comes from locally hunted camels. The delicacies all made on Arab land, from Arab resources. The lamps that give us light tonight, burn on fuel extracted from camel fat. If you dare come here, we would set our wells on fire and wander into the deserts. We, as you see, would survive. What would you do?
And in another version:
We lived, and our ancestors lived on dates and milk, and we will return to them.
King Faisal (رحمه الله) saw in a return to that rugged, desert life a tremendous strength and weapon against Western civilisation. Sadly, not everyone thinks like such intelligent and wise men, for how few they are.
Though there are many subtleties in these quotes from King Faisal, the point being that as it relates to health and medicine in this particular matter, the Arabs were once from the healthiest of nations. In my treatise “The Prophetic Medicine and Raw Natural, Pure Cow’s Milk” (on healthymuslim.com, 2008) I spoke of the Arabs as being one of the finest races in health, quoting, “The Arabs are said (Encyclopedia Britannica) to be the finest race, physically, in the world. Their diet consists mostly of milk and milk products with fruits and vegetables, and some meat…” (p. 29), and I added a footnote to this saying: “Note, this situation is changing as the Arabs depart from their traditional diet to a Western one, and we are now seeing the fastest rates of obesity, diabetes and heart-disease being witnessed in the Arab lands.”
This is just commentary on a worldly affair related to matters of health, science and medicine, a description of factual realities from Allāh’s decree. There is nothing offensive in that.
03 Shaykh Ḥammād al-Anṣārī (رحمه الله) said:[14]
The Arabs departed from Sharīʿyy knowledge, so Allāh the Exalted placed it in the hands of the ʿAjam (non-Arabs)”, then he recited, “And if you turn away (from aiding His cause), He will replace you with some other people, and they will not be of your likes.” (47:38-). He also said: “The science of ḥadīth, from the second century hijrī to the fifth, was not served except by the ʿAjam (non-Arabs) among the scholars of the Muslims. Ḥāfiḍh Ibn Ḥajar spoke of this occurrence in one of his books.
So if it can be said that Sharʿiyy knowledge had been taken away from the Arabs in the past and placed in the hands of others, this being from the decree of Allāh, and His wisdom and justice, then is this not more worthy of scorn and accusations of Shuʿūbiyyah (hatred of Arabs) than that it should be said that the contemporary Arabs in a particular geographical region do not have grounding in affairs of science and medicine (as other nations) and are therefore mostly reliant upon foreign expertise?
04 In conclusion, we affirm the virtue of the Arabs who carried Islām, and we love them. In their genus (not each individual), they have superiority, from this particular angle, that they were chosen for their sound fiṭrah and noble qualities for carrying Islām, and they are the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Companions (رضي الله عنهم), they carried it, and they have a right over us in that regard, the right of love and supplication for them.
However, the virtue and excellence does not relate to science, medicine, industry and so on, as in this respect there is no inherent virtue, these are worldly affairs, and the people of disbelief, the polytheists, can be much shrewder and smarter in these affairs, and that in itself, does not hold virtue and excellence, it will not avail them of anything without Islām.
Closing Note
The factual observation I alluded to has been twisted to mean that I maligned the Arabs as a whole, from the first of them to the last of them, which is plainly false. The remarks in question (made in private), were in the context of modern history and its specific circumstances, in relation to a particular matter (of medicine).
As Ibn Taymiyyah said, this is a subject in which, by its nature, there is hawā (sensitivity and desire), so it is easy for people to feel offended, may Allāh (عز وجل) protect us and guide us to that which is best in speech and action.
Addendum: The True Excellence and Honour
Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said:[15]
And al-Tirmidhī relates from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), regarding the saying of Allāh, “And if you turn away (from aiding His cause), He will replace you with some other people.” (47:38-), that “They are the sons of Persia.”
And the confirmation of that is what was found among the Tābiʿīn and those after them, of the sons of Persia, the free and the freed-slaves, such as al-Ḥasan, Ibn Sīrīn, ʿIkrimah, the mawlā of Ibn ʿAbbās and others, (continuing) to those who came after that, among them were those who were prominent in faith, religion and knowledge, until such prominent ones became superior to most of the Arabs.
Likewise, among all groups of non-Arabs, such as the Abyssinians, Romans, and Turks, among them are those foremost in faith and religion, their abundance cannot be counted, (and all of this) upon what is known to the scholars, that the true excellence is following what Allāh sent Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with, of faith and knowledge, inward and outward. So everyone in whom these were firmly rooted, then he is superior.
And the true excellence is through the names which are praised in the Book and the Sunnah, such as al-Islām, al-Īmān, al-Birr, al-Taqwā, al-ʿIlm (knowledge), al-ʿAmal al-Ṣāliḥ (righteous action), and al-Iḥsān, and what is like that. Not merely that a person is Arab, or non-Arab, or black or white, or that he is city-dweller or a bedouin.
As for the ḥadīth mentioned by Ibn Taymiyyah, it occurs in Sunan al-Tirmidhī wherein Abu Hurayrah reports that the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) recited this āyah one day: “And if you turn away (from aiding His cause), He will replace you with some other people, and they will not be of your likes” (47:38-), and they (the Companions) said: “Who will He replace us with?” So Allāh’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) struck the shoulder of Salmān [al-Fārisī] and said: “This one and his people.” Refer to Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan al-Tirmidhī of al-Albānī (no. 2598, 2599).
High Civilisation Versus Īmān in Allāh and the Hereafter
Ibn Ḥajar relates[16] that al-Zubayr bin al-Bakkār said that a man said to ʿAmr bin al-ʿĀṣ (رضي الله عنه): What delayed you from accepting Islām while you were of right mind?”
He (رضي الله عنه) said:
We used to be with a people who were ahead of us (in civilisation), and had an age whose wisdoms (intellects, achievements) were as high as the mountains. They did not take any path in which we followed them, except that we found it easy. So when they rejected the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), we too rejected [him], alongside them. We did not really think about our affair, and just imitated them.
Then, when they departed and affair came into our hands, we looked into the affair of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and reflected over it. So the affair was clear (to us), and (desire for) Islām entered my heart.
The Quraysh knew of my delay in hastening to help them in their matter, so they sent a youth to me, and he said: “O Abū ʿAbd Allāh, your people suspect you of being inclined towards Muḥammad.” I said to him: “O my nephew, if you would like to know what (opinion) I have, then your meeting place is in the shade of Hīra.”
So we met there, and I said to him: “I ask you by Allāh, your Lord and the Lord of those before you and after you, are we more guided or the Persians and Romans?” He said: “By Allāh, it is us.” I said: “Are we the ones with the most abundant livelihood and the greatest kingdom, or is it the Persians and Romans?” He said: “Rather, it is Persians and Romans.” I said: “So what does our superiority over them in guidance benefit us if there is nothing but this world, and they are greater than us with respect to it?”
“Thus, it occurred to me that what Muḥammad says about resurrection after death is true, such that the doer of good will be rewarded in the Hereafter for his good and the doer of evil for his evil. This, my nephew, is what occurred to me (in my heart), and there is no good in persisting in falsehood.”
Footnotes
1. See Ibn Taymiyyah, Iqitiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāt al-Mustaqīm (1/374).2. Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābilah (1/33).
3. Al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq (p. 285).
4. Majmūʿ Fatāwā al-Shaykh Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm Āl al-Shaykh (10/123).
5. As mentioned in various works of al-Jāḥiḍh al-Muʿtazilī (al-Bayān wal-Tabyīn, al-Ḥayawān, al-Rasāʾīl).
6. Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (19/29-30).
7. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (no. 2276).
8. Al-Bukhārī (no. 3496) and Muslim (no. 2638)
9. https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/6461/الحكم-على-احاديث-في-فضل-العرب
10. Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāt al-Mustaqīm (1/408).
11. Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāt al-Mustaqīm (1/387).
12. Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāt al-Mustaqīm (1/405).
13. As mentioned by Kissinger in his book, “Years of Upheaval” (1982).
14. Majmuʿ Tarjamah Shaykh Ḥammād al-Anṣarī (2/692, 703).
15. Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāt al-Mustaqīm (1/370).
16. Refer to al-Iṣābah Fī Tamyīz al-Ṣaḥābah (7/410).
