There are many terms that describe complexions in the Arabic language that have different meanings from the same term today or that are no longer used. This is why many people who read descriptions using these terms don't understand the true meaning of the descriptions.
White أبيض
One of these misunderstood terms is the term "white" ابيض . Most people think that when the Arabs of the past described a person's complexion as "white", they meant the same light complexion that is meant today. This isn't true at all. When the Arabs described a person as "white", they actually meant a dark complexion. Ibn Mandour, the well-known Arab linguist who was born in the 13th century AD and the author of the famous book on the Arabic language Lisan Al Arab, quotes from another famous book on the Arabic language called Al Tahdheeb the following:
"When the Arabs say that a person is white, they mean that he has a pure, clean, faultless integrity...They don't mean that he has white skin, but they mean to speak well of his honor and the purity of his integrity. When they say that a person has a white face, they mean that his complexion is free from blotches and a blackness that is unattractive".
The author of Al Tahdheeb is Mas'ud ibn Umar Sa'ad Al Deen Al Taftaazaani, the well-known Arab linguist who lived during the same time as Ibn Mandour.
Shams Al Deen Mohamed ibn Ahmed ibn Othman Al Dhahabi, a well-known historian also of the 13th century, says in his famous book Siyar A'alaam Al Nubalaa, "When the Arabs say that a person is white, they mean that he has a black appearance with a light-brownish undertone". The Arabic definition of white complexion is "al lown al hinti bi hilya sawdaa" اللون الحنطي بحلية سوداء . "Al lown" means complexion, "al hinti" means light brown, and "bi hilya sawdaa" means with a black appearance. It's a black appearance with a light-brownish undertone. The "hilya" of a person is what's apparent in his/her color or appearance. So a person with a "hilya" (appearance) "sawdaa" (black) has a black appearance. So a person called "white" ابيض by the Arabs of the past had a blackish appearance with a light-brown undertone.
So anyone who reads someone being described as "white" in an Arabic book of the past should understand that "white" means a dark complexion. It's very important that people bear this in mind.
Red أحمر
Since in the past the term "white" was used for a person whose complexion was like a "black" person today, one must wonder what it is that the Arabs of the past called people who were "white" in the sense that the word is used today. In the past, those who had complexions like those who are considered "white" today were called red. Tha'alab, the Arabic language scholar of the 9th century AD says, "The Arabs don't say that a man is white because of a white complexion. 'White' to the Arabs means that a person is pure, without any faults. If they meant that his complexion was 'white', they said 'red'".
Ibn Mandour says that the expression The Red People applies to the non-Arabs because of their whiteness and because of the fact that most of them are fair-skinned. He says that the Arabs used to call the non-Arabs such as the Romans and the Persians and their neighbors, The Red People. He also says that when the Arabs say that someone is white, they mean that he has a noble character--they don't mean that he is white. He says that the Arabs call the slaves The Red People. This is because most of the slaves of the Arabs were white (red). Click below for original in Arabic.
Al Dhahabi says "Red, in the speech of the people from the Hijaz, means fair-complexioned and this color is rare amongst the Arabs. This is the meaning of the saying '...(He was) a red man as if he is one of the slaves'. The speaker meant that his color is like that of the slaves who were captured from the Christians of Syria, Rome, and Persia". So it must be understood that what people call "white" today was called "red" by the Arabs of the past. Click below for original in Arabic.
Black أسود
Another
misunderstood term used by the Arabs of the past to described a
person's complexion is the term "black". It must be understood that when
the Arabs of the past used the term "black" to describe a complexion,
they meant that the person's complexion was actually black--much darker
than the complexion of people who are called "black" today. The Arabs
used the term "black" أسود or they used the term "shadeed al udma (very adam)" شديد الأدمة .
The two terms were used interchangeably to describe a very, very dark
complexion. Most people who are called "black" today are actually not
black. Many people mistakenly believe that an
Arab that the Arabs described as "black" was from a different race or
origin from the other Arabs. This isn't the case at all. When the Arabs
described another Arab as black-skinned, they were only expressing the
fact that the person was so dark-skinned that he/she was black, a color
much darker than the color of most so-called African Americans and also a
color much darker than the color of most so-called Africans. They
didn't mean that he/she wasn't an Arab. The term "black" is used today
for people who are not black at all. There are some peoples and tribes
in Arabia and in so-called Africa who are black-skinned, but
black-skinned is a specific complexion-- a very, very dark complexion.
This is an important point that must be kept in mind.
Adam آدم
Another term that the Arabs used in the past to describe a complexion and that is misunderstood today is the term "adam" آدم. this term was used by the Arabs very often in the past. However, people today, both Arab and non-Arab, have no idea what this word means. Therefore, when they read about someone being described as "adam", they have no idea what is meant. The term "adam" means very dark-skinned.
Ibn Athir, the famous scholar of the 12th century says concerning the term "adam", "When used to describe the complexion of a human, it means very dark-skinned...It is said that the term comes from the expression the 'face' or 'surface of the earth' which means the color of the earth. From this term Adam, the father of mankind, received his name".
Ibn Mandour says, "There is disagreement concerning the origin of the name of Adam, the father of mankind. Some people say that he was named Adam because he was created from the face (udma) of the earth. Other people say that he was named Adam because of the adam (very dark) complexion that Allah created him". Ibn Mandour also says, "The scholars of the Arabic language say that the origin of our father Adam's name is from the fact that he was created from dirt and also the color "adam" resembles the color of dirt". What these scholars say about the origin of our father Adam's name is consistent with what Allah says in the Quran about the creation of Adam. Allah says that He created Adam from black mud. Since Adam was created from black mud, it's only natural for his complexion to be like that of black mud, which is very "adam". Click below for original in Arabic.
It appears that the word adam was also used in Hebrew. The word in Hebrew is admonee. The prophet David was described in the Old Testament as admonee. Esau was also described as admonee. Unfortunately many Jewish "scholars" translate the word incorrectly. They translate it as red. However, it's very clear that the word in Arabic means black-skinned and the Arabic language and Hebrew language are similar. I doubt very seriously that the word could mean black in Arabic and red in Hebrew. Whoever makes such a contention should bring forth proof.
Asmar (Dark-Skinned) أسمر
The term asmar أسمر is often translated to mean "brown", but "dark-skinned" is a better translation because that is how the term was used. Al-Tha'aalabi says in his book Fiqh Al-Lugha:
Chapter 13 - The Degrees of Blackness in Humans
If there is a slight blackness in his/her complexion, he/she is asmar.
If his/her blackness is more intense with some yellow showing, he/she is asham (with Arabic letter saad) أصحم .
If his/her blackness is more intense than asmar, he/she is adam آدم.
If his/her blackness is more intense than that (adam آدم), he/she is asham (with Arabic letter seen) أسحم .
If he/she is is extremely black, he/she is adlam أدلم.
الفصل
الثالث عشر (في تَرْتِيبِ سَوَادِ الإنْسَانِ)
إذا
عَلاَهُ أَدْنَى سَوَادٍ فَهُوَ أسْمَرُ
فإنْ
زَادَ سَوَادُهُ مَعَ صُفْرَةٍ تَعْلُوهُ فَهُوَ أَصْحَمُ
فإنْ
زَادَ سَوَادُهُ عَلَى السُّمْرَةِ فَهُوَ آدَمُ
فإنْ
زَادَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ أَسْحَمُ
فإنِ
اشْتَدَّ سَوَادُهُ فَهُوَ أدْلَمُ.
Ibn Mandhour says in his book Lisaan Al-Arab:
"Asmar in humans is the complexion called al-wurqa."
Ibn Mandhour goes on to describe the complexion called al-wurqa as "blackness with ghubra".
Yellow أصفر
Another misunderstood term used by the Arabs of the past to describe a person's complexion is the term "yellow" أصفر. When people read that a person was described as having a "yellow" complexion, they believe that what is meant is the light complexion that the term is used for today. However, when the Arabs of the past described a person's complexion as yellow, they didn't mean a light complexion at all. In fact, they meant that the person was black-skinned. The terms black and yellow were used interchangeably by the Arabs of the past.
Ibn Mandour says, "Yellow also means black... Al Faraa says concerning the words of Allah in the Quran, 'Like they are yellow camels', 'Yellow (camels) here means black camels'". You will find many Arabs who were known to be black-skinned described as both black-skinned and as yellow. For example in the book Kitab Al Aghani by Abu Al Faraj Al Asbahaani of the 10th century AD, Saeed Ibn Misjah, the well-known Arab singer of the 9th century AD, was described as both black-skinned and yellow in the same chapter. It is a known fact that Saeed Ibn Misjah was black-skinned. Both terms (black and yellow) were used to describe him in Kitab Al Aghani because the terms were used interchangeably by the Arabs of the past.
Green أخضر
Most people are unaware of the fact that the Arabs of the past used the term "green" for black. Black and green were used interchangeably. This is why black-skinned Al Fadl Ibn Al Abbas Ibn 'Utba Ibn Abi Lahab said:
I am the green (black) one. I am well-known. My skin is green (black). I am from the noble house of the Arabs. Whoever crosses swords with me, will cross swords with one who is noble and strong.
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Al-Shaikh Mohamed ibn Ahmed ibn Ali ibn Abdel Khaliq Shams
Al-Din Al-Minhaaji Al-Asyouti gives an extremely precise explanation of the
different complexions in humans in his book Jawaahir Al-Uqoud wa Mu’een Al-Qudaa wa Al-Mowqi’een wa Al-Shuhoud. He says:
“Complexions
If a person if very black-skinned, his
complexion is called haalik.
If a person’s blackness is mixed with
red, his complexion is called daghmaan.
If a person’s complexion is lighter than
that, his complexion is called as-hamm.
If a person’s blackness is mixed with
yellow, his complexion is called as-humm.
If there is darkness (kudra) in his
complexion, his complexion is called arbad.
If a person’s complexion is lighter than
that, his complexion is called abyad (white).
If a person’s complexion has less yellow and
inclines more towards black, his complexion is called adam.
If a person is lighter than arbad and
darker than adam, his complexion is called shadeed al-udma.
If a person’s complexion is light adam,
his complexion is called shadeed al-sumra.
If a person’s complexion is lighter than
that, his complexion is called asmar.
If a person’s complexion is even lighter
than that, his complexion is called raqeeq al-sumra.
If a person’s complexion is light and
inclines toward white and red, his complexion is called light sumra mixed
with redness or raqeeq al-sumra with redness.
If a person’s complexion is very light,
his complexion is called light sumra – it is not called white because white is
leprosy.
If a person’s complexion is pure white,
his complexion is called ansah.
If there is a lot of fairness in a
person’s whiteness, his complexion is called ashqar.
If a person is even lighter than that,
his complexion is called ashkal.
If there is with this additional
redness, his complexion is called ashqar.
If this complexion includes freckles,
his complexion is called anmash.
If a person’s complexion is light and
inclines toward yellowness without illness, his complexion is called as-hab.”
قال الشيخ العلامة
محمد
بن أحمد بن علي
بن عبد الخالق، شمس الدين
السيوطي
في كتابه جواهر العقود
ومعين
القضاة
والموقعين والشهود:
"في ذكر الالوان
إذا كان الرجل
شديد
السواد
قيل: حالك.
فإن خالط سواده
حمرة
قيل: دغمان.
فإن صفا لونه
قيل: أسحم.
فإن خالط السواد
صفرا
قيل: أصحم.
فإن كدر لونه
قيل: أربد.
فإن صفا عن ذلك
قيل :
أبيض.
فإن رقت الصفرة،
ومال
إلى
السواد
قيل: آدمي اللون.
فإن كان دون
الاربد
وفوق
الادمة
قيل: شديد الادمة،
فإن
رق من الادمة
قيل: شديد السمرة.
فإن صفا عن ذلك
قيل: أسمر اللون.
فإن صفا عن ذلك
قيل: رقيق السمرة.
فإن صفا ومال
إلى
البياض
والحمرةقيل: صافي
السمرة
تعلوه
حمرة.
ويقال: رقيق السمرة
بحمرة.
فإن صفا لونه
جدا
قيل: صافي السمرة،
ولا
يقال:
أبيض
لان البياض هو البرص.
فإن خلص بياضه
قيل: أنصح.
وإن كان في بياضه شقرة
قيل: أشقر.
فإن زاد على
ذلك
قيل: أشكل.
فإن كان مع ذلك حمرة زائدة
قيل: أشقر.
فإن كان مع ذلك نمش، قيل:
أنمش.
فإن صفا لونه
ومال
إلى
الصفرة
من غير علة
قيل: أسحب اللون".
From:
A White Complexion
According to the Arabs of the Past
Toward a Better Understanding
of the Description of the Prophet Mohamed (saws)
By Tariq Berry
Click here to order.
