Of Abu Dharr or Jundab ibn junabah “a tall dark- brown toned man with white hair and beard” of Zayd bin haritha who was “like a son to Mohammed “a short, flat nosed man of very dark brown skin” . Abu Dharr al Ghifari he says was described by Ibn Sa’d (of Baghdad) a man “a tall dark brown toned man”. He was of the Ghifar tribe.
Al Miqdad one of the 4 companions known as Al Miqdad bin al Aswad al Kindi (the Kindite) was according to by Al Tabari described by his daughter to Ibn Sa’d of Baghdad as “tall, brown and big-bellied”. Al Aswad his adopted father was Al Aswad bin Yaghuth of the clan of Zuhra and a maternal cousin to the Prophet.
These historical documentations just show what the arabians of Mohammed’s time looked like. They were dark brown or dark complexioned peole probably referred to themselves as “red” long before other Northern peoples got involved in their genealogical reckonings.
Other tribes like the Murad, Ishban, Qaran of Yemen, Kenaniyya, and Sulaym whose subtribes included Dibab, Maimouna, Khuzam and Khuzaima and dozens of others in al Harra (which included Medina) are described by Ibn Athir the 11th century Kurd and Wah ibn Munabihh (who lived in Yemen but was descended from Iranian mercenaries) and other Non-Arabian originated muslims as “black”.

Of Abu Dharr or Jundab ibn junabah “a tall dark- brown toned man with white hair and beard” of Zayd bin haritha who was “like a son to Mohammed “a short, flat nosed man of very dark brown skin” . Abu Dharr al Ghifari he says was described by Ibn Sa’d (of Baghdad) a man “a tall dark brown toned man”. He was of the Ghifar tribe.
Al Miqdad one of the 4 companions known as Al Miqdad bin al Aswad al Kindi (the Kindite) was according to by Al Tabari described by his daughter to Ibn Sa’d of Baghdad as “tall, brown and big-bellied”. Al Aswad his adopted father was Al Aswad bin Yaghuth of the clan of Zuhra and a maternal cousin to the Prophet.
These historical documentations just show what the arabians of Mohammed’s time looked like. They were dark brown or dark complexioned peole probably referred to themselves as “red” long before other Northern peoples got involved in their genealogical reckonings.
Other tribes like the Murad, Ishban, Qaran of Yemen, Kenaniyya, and Sulaym whose subtribes included Dibab, Maimouna, Khuzam and Khuzaima and dozens of others in al Harra (which included Medina) are described by Ibn Athir the 11th century Kurd and Wah ibn Munabihh (who lived in Yemen but was descended from Iranian mercenaries) and other Non-Arabian originated muslims as “black”.

Most Muslim historians have long offered the idea that Persia, on the verge of the Arab invasion, was a society in decline and decay and thus it embraced the invading Arab armies with open arms. This view is not widely accepted however. Some authors have for example used mostly Arab sources to illustrate that “contrary to the claims , Iranians in fact fought long and hard against the invading Arabs.”[1] This view further more holds that once politically conquered, the Persians began engaging in a culture war of resistance and succeeded in forcing their own ways on the victorious Arabs.[2][3]

As Bernard Lewis has quoted[4]

“These events have been variously seen in Iran: by some as a blessing, the advent of the true faith, the end of the age of ignorance and heathenism; by others as a humiliating national defeat, the conquest and subjugation of the country by foreign invaders. Both perceptions are of course valid, depending on one’s angle of vision.”

[edit] Rise of the Islamic Empire
By the time of Muhammad’s death in 632, most of what is now considered Arabia was united under the new religion of Islam. However, as Fred Donner argues in his 1981 book, The Early Islamic Conquests, Arabic-speaking nomads or villagers roamed over or settled on the edge of the Syrian steppe as well. Any regime that aimed to unite all Arabs would have to conquer the Syrian steppe. Under Muhammad’s successor Abu Bakr, the first caliph to Sunni Muslims, (The Shia interpretation of Islam states that Ali was the first caliph) the Muslims first re-established their control over Arabia (the Ridda Wars) and then launched campaigns against the remaining Arabs of Syria and Palestine.

However, this put the nascent Islamic empire on a collision course with the Byzantine and Sassanid empires, which had been disputing these territories for centuries. The wars soon became a matter of conquest, rather than mere consolidation of the Arab tribes.

The main military commander of the Muslims, Khalid ibn al-Walid, was able to conquer most of Mesopotamia (Iraq) from the Persians in a span of nine months, from April 633 until January 634, after a series of battles. The following are some of the most significant battles fought between the Muslim Arabs and the Persians in Mesopotamia.

Thus the Quran has come to Muslims in its original and unaltered form for the past fourteen centuries, and so it shall continue…..

On the other hand…..Prophet Muhammad was not interested in preserving the Hadith …… He left only one book the Qur’an—a fact to which the leading traditionist, Bukhari, attests …… Nor were the first four caliphs interested in the Hadith…….

The earliest collection available today is by Imam Malik (d. 179 A.H.); yet even the contents of this collection are subject to doubts……

The Ahadis literature, which is being considered by many if not most Muslims as authentic as the Quran, was collected about 250 years after the death of the Rasool.

These collections of Ahadis even contain material which goes against the teachings of the Quran, so much so that it even reflects badly upon Allah and the Prophet Muhammad……

None of these innovations can be found in the Quran, the only book delivered by Muhammad; they were imported from other cultures and sanctified or they were innovated centuries after the revelation of the Quran. Not only they do not exist in the Quran, they contradict it.

Hadith (hearsay narrations falsely attributed to Muhammad and his companions) and their collections have been the prime tool in distorting the progressive message of Islam.

The reactionary forces, misogynistic ideas and practices, racism, tribalism, superstitions, despotism, and many other vices of the “days of ignorance” were resurrected and sneaked back into the minds and lives of Muslim communities after they were rejected by the early Muslims at great cost.

Soon after Muhammad’s death, thousands of hadiths (words attributed to Muhammad) were fabricated and two centuries later collected, and centuries later compiled and written in the so-called “authentic” hadith books:

* to support the teaching of a particular sect against another (such as, what nullifies ablution; which sea food is prohibited);

* to flatter or justify the authority and practice of a particular king against dissidents (such as, Mahdism and Dajjal);

* to promote the interest of a particular tribe or family (such as, favoring the Quraysh tribe or Muhammad’s family);

* to justify sexual abuse and misogyny (such as, Aisha’s age; barring women from leading Sala prayers);

* to justify violence, oppression and tyranny (such as, torturing members of Urayna and Uqayla tribes; massacring the Jewish population in Medina; assassinating a female poet for her critical poems);

* to exhort more rituals and righteousness (such as, nawafil prayers);

* to validate superstitions (such as, magic; worshiping the black stone near the Kaba);

* to prohibit certain things and actions (such as, prohibiting drawing animal and human figures; playing musical instruments; chess);

* to import Jewish and Christian beliefs and practices (such as, death by stoning; circumcision; head scarf; hermitism; rosary);

* to resurrect pre-Islamic beliefs and practices common among Meccans (such as, intercession; slavery; tribalism; misogyny);

* to please crowds with stories (such as the story of Miraj (ascension to heaven) and bargaining for prayers);

* to idolize Muhammad and claim his superiority to other messengers (such as, numerous miracles, including splitting the moon);

* to defend hadith fabrications against monotheists (such as, condemning those who find the Quran alone sufficient); and even

* to advertise products of a particular farm (such as, the benefits of dates grown in a town called Ajwa).

In addition to the above mentioned reasons, many hadith were fabricated to explain the meaning of the “difficult” Quranic words or phrases, or to distort the meaning of verses that contradicted the fabricated hadith, or to provide trivial information not mentioned in the Quran (such as, Saqar, 2:187; 8:35…).

In terms of discrimination against women:……Verse 49:13 unequivocally rejects sexism and racism, and reminds us that neither man nor female, neither this race nor that race is superior over the other.

The only measure of superiority is righteousness; being a humble, moral and socially conscientious person who strives to help others.

49:13 - O people, We created you from a male and female, and We made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely, the most honorable among you in the sight of God is the most righteous. God is Knowledgeable, Ever-aware.

Thanks and continue blazing the fire of wisdom!

Yours in the struggle

Don Jaide