Muslim should ask about what benefits him

22-8-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Salam. I would like to know if there was any black Prophet in Islam; why are all the Prophets which we heard of all white or asian?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

What is better for the Muslim and more befitting for him is to ask about the matters that lead to doing good deeds. Knowledge of what you asked about is of no benefit, and ignorance of it is of no harm. Rather, our need to know about the rulings of our religion and the secrets of our Shariah is stronger and greater. This is what the Muslim should devote his time and effort to and spend his years doing. In fact, early Muslim scholars refused to answer such questions or study such matters. Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadi wrote, "A man asked (Imaam) Malik about something ,and he did not answer him. The man said, 'O Abu ʻAbdullah! Why are you not answering my question?' He replied, 'Had you asked about something that would benefit you – or that you need – in your religion, I would have answered you.'" [Al-Faqeeh wa Al-Mutafaqqih]

Ibn Muflih wrote:

"Chapter: It is disliked to ask about hypothesized matters, things that are of no benefit and do not lead to doing good deeds, and future events that have not taken place yet ... (He cited in this chapter some reports from Imaam Ahmad in this regard, including the following:) Al-Marwzi reported that Imaam Ahmad said, 'A man once asked me about Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj (Gog and Magog) and whether they are Muslim or not. I said to him, ‘Have you acquired all the knowledge you need so that you would ask about this?’'" [Al-Aadaab Ash-Sharʻiyyah]

Allah knows best.