“Once when Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, in a fit of anger, called Bilal, ‘You son of a black woman,’ the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) turned angrily to him and said, ‘You are a man who still has Jahilliya in him.’ Abu Dharr immediately put his head on the ground at Bilal’s feet in a gesture of humility and refused to lift his head until Bilal had stepped over it.” [Bukhari] Jahilliya refers to the period of ignorance that preceded Islam. In this ignorance people buried their daughters alive; ten men with one woman was a type of marriage; people killed others for generations just to maintain the superiority of their tribe… In other words, bereft of Allah’s guidance, they lived disgusting lives, not acknowledging Allah’s rights over them nor knowing how to live decently with other people. One of the hallmarks of this period was the condescension with which people viewed each other, each culture, ethnicity, tribe, and nation, held itself in higher esteem than others. One of the criteria of distinction was to be fair skinned as opposed to coloured or black. This incident that took place between Abu Dharr Ghifari (radi Allahu anhu) and Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) cautions me to look inside and check myself for the remnants of Jahilliya. I should ask myself: Do I consider myself superior to others because I look better or speak better? Do I hold myself in higher esteem than others because I enjoy a certain wordly status? Do I genuinely honour each person who is more fearful of Allah than myself, regardless of their appearance and possessions? Is Allah’s opinion of me the only thing that matters to me? Do I have the Jahilliya (ignorance) of nationalism or ethnicism or racism in me? Can I behave like the great Sahabah, who when they sinned, immediately repented, cleansed themselves of their errors, and begged for forgiveness?
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 22:34:06 +0000