The teachings of Islam are emphatic on a point that modern societies are still trying to grapple with. This is the essential equality of all humans. All humans are creatures of Allah and each and everyone of them has the ability to soar to the greatest heights of being a human by worshipping and submitting to Allah. As such, there is no distinction between any of them as humans—it is only the choices that humans make that will distinguish them in the sight of Allah, the Law and other members of the community. However, race, color or nationality have no role to play in this whatsoever.

 Allah says, “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has piety. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, AllAware” (49:13).

 The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon  him) made that Quranic teaching most explicit when he stated in front of one of the largest gatherings he had ever assembled, “O people, verily your Lord is One and your [original] father is one.
 Certainly, there is no virtue in an Arab over a non-Arab or a nonArab over an Arab. Similarly, there is no virtue in a light-skinned person over a dark-skinned person or a dark-skinned person over a light-skinned person. Only by piety [does one become more virtuous over another]. Have I indeed conveyed to you the message?”  Such discrimination and racism that one still finds in modern times existed before the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he eradicated their traces.

One time he stated, “Allah has removed from you the blemishes of the days of Ignorance and the boasting about one’s lineage. In fact, there is no one but a pious believing person or a wretched evildoer. All humans are descended from Adam and Adam was created from clay.” Adam was created from clay and everyone is descended from that one creature. The silliness of all the racism that exists can be seen in the fact that the differences in the colors of humankind can be attributed to Adam’s origin. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated, “Allah created Adam from a handful which He gathered from throughout the earth. Thus, the descendants of Adam vary as the earth varies: some are red, some are white, some are black, and some are of colors in between, some are easy-going, some are difficult, some are evil and some are good.” Instead of being causes of division among humankind, the variations in people are meant to be signs of the greatness of the Creator.

 Allah says, “And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge” (30:22).

 Thus, the door to be a true worshipper of Allah is open to everyone, regardless of race, nationality and so forth. In fact, it is only via such worship of Allah that one becomes deserving of honor and dignity and one becomes full of virtues. This is a tenet of Islam that has been practiced throughout its history.
 On this point, the famed historian Arnold Toynbee wrote, “The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue…”
 This essential equality of humans covers both males and females—regardless of what propaganda one may hear about Islam.4 As a spiritual being and one worthy of worshipping Allah, there is no difference between a man and a woman.1 Both of them are equal before God.

 Allah says, “Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer verily, to him (or her) We will give a good life, and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do [i.e., Paradise in the Hereafter]” (16:97).

Allah also says, “The believers, men and women, are supporters of one another, they enjoin what is good, and forbid evil; they establish the prayers, and give the alms, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise” (9:71).

As a final example, God states, “Verily, those who submit to Allah men and women, the believers men and women, the men and the women who are obedient (to Allah), the men and women who are truthful, the men and the women who are patient, the men and the women who are humble, the men and the women who give charity, the men and the women who observe fasts, the men and the women who guard their chastity and the men and the women who remember Allah much with their hearts and tongues Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise)” (33:35).
 It is well-known that Islam gave women many rights that women did not achieve in the West until recently, such as the right to own property and handle their own business affairs. However, there are actually much more important issues. Every ideology, religion or culture values some matters above and beyond others. As is clear from this section, the most important quality in Islam is piety and dutifulness to Allah. Perhaps the second most valued quality in Islam is knowledge of the religion. On both of these issues, women are completely equal to men. Throughout the history of Islam, women have been known and respected for their piety and their knowledge.
 On the other hand, Islam does not say that a person’s value is measured by how beautiful one’s face is, how sexy one’s body can be, how fast one can run in sports, how well one can sing, dance or act.
 These are ludicrous criteria of a person’s worth from the Islamic perspective—although it seems to be much of what “modern civilization” cares about. In sum, according to the things that have the greatest value in this life—piety and religious knowledge— women are exactly equal to men and this i s a most important statement of equality given the Islamic criteria.