Celebrating Our Differences

"O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.." (Quran)

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Praise be to Allah, who is the protector and sustainer of the heavens and the earth.

Their preservation tires Him not, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.

For Him be praise that does not end.
And praise blessed, pure and abundant.
And praise in the first and the last.
And praise for Him, and greetings, and prayers and good words.

O Allah, send prayers upon Muhammad, and the family of Muhammad, as you sent prayers upon Ibrahim, and the family of Ibrahim, indeed you are the praiseworthy, and the Glorious.

O Allah, bless Muhammad, and the family of Muhammad, as you blessed Ibrahim, and the family of Ibrahim, truly You are the praiseworthy, the Glorious.

Today's post is about Celebrating Diversity/Differences.

Allah the Exalted says:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا
{O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.}

And He says:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ
{And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors.}

Humanity is diverse - from the fundamental diversity of male and female, to the diversity in nations, tribes, and the variation in languages and colours, to differences in actions and aims, for example.

Being inclusive, respectful, equitable and appreciative of this diversity leads to value, elevation and respect. Racism, bigotry, and arrogance on the other hand leads to division, hatred and enmity. Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰ أَن يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ
O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them;

And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in a hadith:

النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ بَنُو آدَمَ وَآدَمُ خُلِقَ مِنْ تُرَابٍ
All of the people are the children of Adam, and Adam was created from dust.” (Tirmizi, 3955)

Diversity delivers value, as different points of view, expertise and creativity can leverage to provide better solutions inshaAllah. Different people bring different strengths and heterogenous teams can lead to group wisdom, which is collective wisdom from different individuals.

For an organization, their display of diversity shows its credibility, it gives an imprint of values behind its brand and brings it respect.

It is time we celebrated and embraced our diversity, and Allah is the source of all success.