, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he was asked:

“Which people are best?” He replied, “The most righteous among them.” They said, “That is not what we are asking you about.” He replied, “Joseph, the prophet of Allah, son of Jacob, the prophet of Allah, son of Isaac, the prophet of Allah, son of Abraham, the close friend of Allah.” They said, “That is not what we are asking you about.” He replied, “Are you asking me about the ancestral stocks of the Arabs? People are like mines of gold and silver: the best of them in pre-Islamic times are the best of them in Islam, provided they gain understanding of the religion.”

Thus, the Quran and Sunnah establish that the most noble people in Allah’s sight are the most righteous. In the Sunan, it is reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“No Arab is superior to a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab to an Arab; no black person is superior to a white person, nor a white person to a black person, except through righteousness. You all descend from Adam, and Adam was created from dust.”

It is also reported that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah Most High has removed from you the arrogance of pre-Islamic ignorance and its pride in ancestry. People are of two kinds: a righteous believer and a wicked, wretched person.”

Whoever among these groups is most mindful of Allah is most noble in His sight. If two people are equal in righteousness, they are equal in rank. The term “poverty” in the revealed texts may refer to a lack of wealth or to a creature’s need for its Creator, as Allah Most High says:

“Alms are only for the poor and the needy.”