Equality

Dr. Asma Afsaruddin is a professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, in the United States, who specializes in Quran and hadith, Islamic intellectual history, and gender.
When Prophet Muhammadﷺ first brought Islam to the Arabian city of Mecca (Makkah) over fourteen centuries ago, he came with a powerful message that instructed equality for all - transcending status, ethnicity, gender or background. This was a revolutionary concept in a society that kept the privileged in power over the marginalized and one that was steeped in tribal divisions. Yet one man, guided by a divine mission, was about to challenge everything.
A revolutionary equality
Before he became a prophet, Muhammadﷺ grew up witnessing the injustices that were deeply entrenched in the pagan society around him. The poor, the weak, women, orphans, and those who came from less influential tribes had little value. There were backward notions that Arabs were superior over non-Arabs, that men were superior over women and that the wealthy could trample upon the vulnerable. These primitive norms had continued for centuries.
The Prophetﷺ introduced these transformative ideas, eventually overturning the status quo and establishing a new way of thinking and living.
This was all set to change with the coming of Islam, which erased the stifling hierarchy and replaced it with an egalitarian message. Those who had previously been sidelined were finally seen as valuable members of society. Through God’s (Allāh’s) instructions, the Prophetﷺ preached that all human beings were fundamentally equal, differing only in their belief in One Creator.
The only quality that could raise people higher in God’s eyes was the Islamic concept of taqwa, meaning God-consciousness or piety – not status, not ethnicity, not gender and not wealth. This groundbreaking concept challenged notions of racial, social and gender superiority. A significant verse in the Quran (Qurʾān) states that, “We have created you as nations and tribes, so that you might recognize one another. The most noble among you is the most righteous”. The Prophetﷺ introduced these transformative ideas, eventually overturning the status quo and establishing a new way of thinking and living.
Through Islam and the Prophet’sﷺ encouragement, Bilal, a former slave, rose to become Islam’s first muezzin - a caller to the daily prayer.
Bilal, the black slave
The message of equality was most dramatically exemplified in the life of an enslaved Ethiopian named Bilal (Bilāl), who belonged to a wealthy Meccan merchant. Bilal was inspired by the Prophet’sﷺ mission of monotheism and words of equality that transcended class, skin color, and tribe, and he became one of the first to embrace Islam. This enraged his master who resorted to torturing Bilal, trying to force him to give up his faith. But Bilal remained steadfast and kept repeating the words, “The One, the One, the One” pointing to the belief in One God and rejecting the multiple idols that the pagan Meccans worshiped.
The Prophetﷺ sent his closest friend, Abu Bakr (Abū Bakr), to negotiate Bilal’s freedom. Once a free man, Bilal’s fortunes changed dramatically. Not only was he seen as an equal in the new Muslim community, but he was also appointed to the noble position of a muezzin, meaning a caller to prayer, as he was known for his beautiful, melodious voice. This was deeply significant. The fact that a former black slave could rise to new heights under Islam because of his personal attributes and piety was unheard of.
The Prophetﷺ had defied the pagan hierarchy by giving Bilal agency and authority. By establishing him as a leader and an equal, Bilal became a powerful manifestation of the Islamic message of equality.
The farewell sermon
Among the final words that the Prophetﷺ left with his people, were ones that resounded with the call for equality.
Among the final words that the Prophetﷺ left with his people, were ones that resounded with the call for equality. Towards the end of his life, the Prophetﷺ stood on a hill and delivered a speech that would impact generations to come. He began by addressing all of humanity, reminding them that they were all descended from Adam (Ādam) and Eve (Ḥawwāʾ). He declared that an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, that a white person has no superiority over a black person or vice versa. And that all human beings were created as fundamentally equal. The only difference among them was based on personal goodness.
Ingrained within the Prophet’sﷺ divine mission of equality, was the emphasis on the equality between men and women. Women had previously been treated as second class citizens in pre-Islamic society, and the Prophetﷺ sought to reverse this attitude entirely, reminding the Muslims gathered before him that women should be treated with dignity and compassion and that they were essential members of the community.
Through such a powerful and poignant farewell sermon, the Prophetﷺ left a legacy of justice and equality that would benefit all of humanity.
A delegation of Christians from Najran were invited to pray inside the Prophet’sﷺ mosque after an interfaith dialogue.
The Prophet’sﷺ mosque
After facing persecution for their monotheistic beliefs while in Mecca, the Muslims migrated to find refuge in the city of Medina (Madīnah), where they built their very first place of communal worship.
The Prophetﷺ created a welcoming, inclusive space for everybody in his new mosque. It was here that Muslims who had formerly been divided by tribe, status, and gender, were all housed under one roof as equals. The mosque was a physical example of this new bond of equality, solidarity and belief in One God.
Women and men, young and old, every person no matter what their class or background, were part of this space where they could pray together and attend public events.
Under Islam, women were directed to pursue knowledge and became students as well as scholars and educators.
Education for all
Further to establishing political and spiritual equality between men and women, the Prophetﷺ as instructed by God, promoted intellectual equality. The Quran states that education isn’t merely a right, but a duty on everybody, both men and women. In a society where women were not given the same status as men, this was pioneering.
A number of prominent women in the early Muslim community, notably the wives of the Prophetﷺ taught both men and women. Aisha (ʿĀʾishah) in particular transmitted a large number of wisdoms and actions of the Prophetﷺ which are a vital documented source on his life. The Prophet’sﷺ stipulation of education for all enabled women to be educators long after his death into the early centuries of Islam, as a legacy of female scholars emerged.
Through his divinely guided message of equality, Prophet Muhammadﷺ channeled a profoundly holistic transformation in both attitude and practice that steered a new course of living - morally, socially and intellectually.