African American Muslim Experience

Honoring Black History Month

February marks Black History Month in the United States, a time dedicated to honoring the African Americans who fought tirelessly for their dream of equality. To celebrate, we highlight Black Muslims who contributed greatly to the history of Islam.

Bilal ibn Rabah

Bilal was the son of an Arab man, Rabah, and a Black princess, Hamamah — important members of their community before being taken as slaves to Makkah. Bilal grew up a slave and was tortured by Umayyah bin Khalaf, a staunch enemy of Islam, before being freed by Abu Bakr (RA). Upon his freedom, the Muslims called him sayyiduna, 'our master' — showing the honor and immediate acceptance given to a fellow believer even moments after he had been mistreated in the most horrible ways.

Bilal holds the status of being the first person to make the adhan, appointed by the Prophet (PBUH) himself, first in Madinah and then atop the Ka'bah in Makkah after the Muslims reentered the land. About him, the Prophet (PBUH) said: "I heard the sound of the steps of your shoes in front of me in Jannah" (Bukhari).

Islam Is Race-Neutral from the Beginning

There are many other examples of people of color in early Islamic history. Umm Ayman (RA) was Abyssinian and a servant of the Prophet's father, 'Abdullah; when Aminah, the Prophet's mother, died, Umm Ayman took over as his primary caregiver. Usamah bin Zayd, son of Zayd bin Haritha, was one of the most beloved companions of the Prophet and was appointed general of the Muslim army in his teenage years.

Other companions include Sa'ad Al-Aswad As-Sulami (an Ansari), Julaybib (another Ansari), 'Ammar bin Yasir (one of the earliest Muslims to accept Islam, regularly tortured with his family), Mihja' bin Salih, Abu Dhar al-Ghaffari, and Ayman bin 'Ubayd.

The Earliest Muslims in America

The date of the first Muslim arrival in what is now the United States is not certain — there are claims of arrivals from West Africa as early as the 14th century, and Columbus is said to have carried a book by Portuguese Muslims who had traveled to the New World in the 12th century.

What we know for certain is that the first real wave of Muslims to the United States were African slaves, an estimated 20 percent of whom were Muslim. Keeping the faith was extremely difficult, and many were forced to convert to Christianity, practicing what they could only in secret. Yet some brave souls maintained their faith into the early twentieth century, when the Nation of Islam arose.

Tribute to African American Islam

African American Muslims are the cornerstone of Islam in America. Their drive, desire, commitment, and selflessness built the foundation for generations to come. Behind every famous face — Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali — there are countless unknown people who sacrificed for the sake of Allah, such as Sherman Jackson and Usama Canon. Some of these people were brought to this country in subhuman conditions as slaves.

The Nation of Islam, however misguided in some respects, re-invigorated Islam in America when it had almost disappeared from this land. We owe it to our African American brothers who paved the way for Islam to flourish in America. Just as young people should be thankful to the immigrant generation, immigrants should be thankful to the African American Muslims.

Imam Zaid Shakir has written: "At this critical time in the history of our country, it is important for Muslims, whose legitimate existence in this country is being challenged in some quarters, to connect to our American Muslim roots. As Muslims, our story in this country did not begin with the coming of Syrians, Lebanese, Albanians, or Yemenis at the turn of the 20th Century and later. It began with the lives of those courageous African Muslim slaves whose blood, sweat, and tears were instrumental in building this country. Their struggle is our struggle, and our struggle should be viewed as a continuation of theirs."

Prejudices Among Muslims

It is true that, in today's day and age, Black Muslims face deep prejudices within our own Muslim communities. Documented examples from the experiences of Black Muslims include: being made to feel less Muslim for not being Asian or Arab; being rejected for marriage due to skin color; and one young Black woman, while performing Hajj, being pushed by another woman during salah after she would not move aside quickly enough.

The Prophet's Last Sermon

"Oh mankind, you are the children of Adam and Adam is from the soil. There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab or a non-Arab over an Arab, or a white over a black or a black over a white person except through righteousness and piety."

We need to internalize this message and make it practical. Most Muslims are happy in their own ethnic communities and rarely venture out to seek others. Islam has a rich tradition of racial diversity — embrace it and enjoy it. Get out of your comfort zone; it is essential for our survival. Make a practice of visiting masajid run by other communities — African American, Indonesian, Turkish, Nigerian, Burmese — attend their events, and encourage them, showing our beautiful brotherhood.

Unity in Diversity

We need to celebrate our diversity — no group in America is more diverse than Muslims. We need to embrace and mingle with other groups.

'Their intention is to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths, but Allah will complete His Light, even though the disbelievers may detest it' (As-Saff 61:8). 'And so they devised an evil scheme, but We devised a subtle scheme of Our own, and they perceived it not' (An-Naml 27:50).

یَا أَیُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللهَّ ِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللهَّ َ عَلِیمٌ خَبِیرٌ

“O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other, not that you may despise each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”

Al-Hujurat 49:13

Be United

Muslims are well aware of our history. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) united the tribes of Arabia, whom the Romans and Persians considered too wild and backward to be worth conquering, and moulded them into a nation of superior character. When Muslims served Allah and tamed their egos, they became masters of the world, sweeping over North Africa, Spain, southern France, and eastward to China. Then greed and selfishness set in, love of wealth and power grew, and when we forgot Allah, Allah abandoned us — our numbers increased even as our influence on world affairs declined.

وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللهَّ ِ جَمِیعًا وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَةَ اللهَّ ِ عَلَیْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاء فَأَلَّفَ بَیْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَ انًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىَ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا

“And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah stretches out for you, and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you, for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace you became brethren, and you were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it.”

Al-Imran 3:103

We Have a Choice

Today we are divided into dozens of nation-states, further divided into mutually hostile and exclusive groups — Sufis and Salafis, Deobandis and Barelvis, Sunni and Shia — a fragmented and disunited Ummah that often seems at odds with itself.

In America, we have a chance to reverse this — to show this nation and the world how Muslims can be diverse yet united.

"Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves with their own souls" (Ar-Ra'd 13:11). "Verily, this brotherhood of yours is a single brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve Me" (Al-Anbiya 21:92, echoed in Al-Mu'minun 23:52).

The Pillars of Muslim Unity

• One Ideology
• One Book
• One Prophet
• One Qibla
• One Goal