Ali was a heavyset, bald, hairy man of average height which leaned toward shortness. He had a large stomach and a large beard which filled all that was between his shoulders. His beard was white as if it was cotton and he was a black-skinned man.

There are certain names that we usually hear when the Sharifs or Sayyids – the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) are mentioned. We have all probably heard of Ali Zein Al-Abidin the son of Al-Husein the son of Ali the son of Abu Talib. Though his mother was Persian, he is described as dark-skinned. Where did he get his dark complexion from? From his father’s side of the family, of course. This Ali Zein Al-Abidin the son of Al-Husein the son of Ali the son of Abu Talib married Fatima the daughter of Al-Hasan the son of Ali the son of Abi Talib.

Mohamed Al-Baqir– another name we hear when there is mention of the Sharifs, the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) – was the eldest son of Ali Zein Al-Abidin and Fatima the daughter of Al-Hasan. He was nicknamed “He Who Resembles” because he looked so much like the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). He was described as dark-skinned, kinky-haired, and of average height. Mohamed Al-Baqir married Umm Farwa, the great granddaughter of Abu Bakr Al-Saddiq and they had Jaafar Al-Saadiq. Jaafar Al-Saadiq is another name frequently heard when speaking of the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). He was described as black-skinned, kinky-haired, and average height.

Jaafar Al-Saadiq had a Berber slave-girl named Humaida and through her he had his son Musa Al-Kadhim – another well-known member of the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) whom many Sharifs claim descent from. Musa Al-Kadhim was described as very black-skinned.

Musa Al-Kadhim’s son Ali Al-Rida is another well-known member of the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) whom many Sharifs claim descent from. He, too, was described as black-skinned. He was once standing in a bathhouse when a soldier entered and pushed him to the side and said, “Pour water on my head oh black one!” Ali Al-Rida began to pour water for the soldier and then someone who knew who Ali Al-Rida was entered the bathhouse and when he saw what was happening he shouted, “Oh soldier! Woe to you! Do you dare have the son of the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) serve you?!” The soldier quickly began to kiss the feet of Ali Al-Rida and said, “Why didn’t you disobey me when I ordered you?!”

Ali Al-Rida had a son named Mohamed Al-Jawaad also known as Mohamed Al-Taqi. Mohamed Al-Jawaad was also described as very black-skinned. Mohamed Al-Jawaad or Al-Taqi had a son named Ali Al-Hadi. Ali Al-Hadi, too, was described as dark-skinned.

You have all probably heard of Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia. He is Mohamed the son of Abdella the Pure-Blooded the son of Al-Hasan the son of Al-Hasan the son of Ali the son of Abi Talib. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia was nicknamed the Pure-Blooded of Quraish because he was so unmixed. His father Abdella was also nicknamed the Pure-Blooded. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia was from the Bani Hashim clan of Quraish from both his mother and his father. Remember that Bani Hashim is the clan of Quraish that the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) and Ali (RAA) are from. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia was described as very black-skinned and huge. He had a son named Hasan. His son Hasan was nicknamed The Father of the Tar because he was so black-skinned. This is the description of the pure-blooded descendants of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia wrote a letter to the Abbasid ruler complaining to him that he had more right to be the ruler because he was so closely related to the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). Amongst the things he said in his letter to the Abbasid ruler was, “We are in the right…Our father Ali was the Imam (leader). How did you inherit the rule which belongs to the children of Ali?! You know that no one who seeks this position (ruler) has a purer genealogy than I do or is more highborn than I am…You know that no one has as close relations or relations to anyone better than he whom I am very closely related to (He means the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS)). I am from the best of Banu Hashim in genealogy and the noblest of them both paternally and maternally. No non-Arab blood runs through my veins and I am not related to the slave-girls.” Bear in mind that Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia, who is here talking about how pure his Arab blood is and how closely he is related to the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS), was very black-skinned.

Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia had a brother named Musa Al-Jawn (the Black). Musa Al-Jawn was also very black-skinned. He was nicknamed Al-Jawn (the Black) because of his blackness. The Sharifs called Banu Al-Akhaidar, who are found in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and other places, are descended from Musa Al-Jawn.

Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia and Musa Al-Jawn had another brother named Yahya the Possessor of Daylum. Yahya, too, was described as black-skinned. Mohamed Al-Nafs Al-Zakia, Musa Al-Jawn and Yahya the Possessor of Daylum were all the brothers of Idriss the 1st, the father of the Idrissi Sharifs and the founder of the city of Fes in Morocco.

Nineth century poet Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Al-Abbas ibn Jurayj, known as Ibn Al-Rumi, wrote a long poem to the Abbasids blaming them for the way that they treated the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS). It should be understood that at that time, the Abbasids had become very mixed with the Romans, Greeks, and Persians. Here is part of what Ibn Al-Rumi said in his famous poem called Al-Jeemia:

“You insulted them (the family of the Prophet Mohamed) because of their blackness while there are still pure-blooded black-skinned Arabs. However, you are blue (eyed) – the Romans have embellished your faces with their color.”
There you have it. These are the ancestors of the Sharifs or the Sayyids – the family of the Prophet Mohamed (SAWS) and as you have seen, they were all dark-skinned people. The question that remains to be answered is this – why aren’t the masses aware of this fact?

Posted by Tariq Berry