to obey a Muslim, even if he is a slave, and not to obey a disbeliever. It is established in the Sahīh that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Listen and obey, even if an Abyssinian slave whose head is like a raisin is appointed over you, so long as he upholds among you the Book of Allah and the religion of Islam.”

A person’s superiority lies only in his faith and piety, not in his forefathers—even if they belonged to Banū Hāshim, the household of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Allah created Paradise for whoever obeys Him, even if he is an Abyssinian slave, and created Hell for whoever disobeys Him, even if he is a nobleman of Quraysh. Allah Most High says:

“O mankind, We created you from a male and a female and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”

It is reported in the Sunan collections that he, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab, nor a black person over a white person, nor a white person over a black person, except through piety. People are descended from Adam, and Adam was made from dust.”

It is reported in the two Sahīh collections that he said concerning a tribe closely related to him:

“The family of Abū so-and-so are not my allies. My allies are only Allah and the righteous believers.”

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, thus explained that his allegiance was not based on kinship and lineage, but on faith and piety. If this applies to the relatives of the Messenger, then what of the relatives of Genghis Khan, the disbeliever and polytheist? The Muslims unanimously agree that whoever has greater faith and piety is superior to someone whose faith and piety are lesser, even if the former is a black Abyssinian and the latter a descendant of ‘Alī or al-‘Abbās.