The Mahdi Times May 2014 Issue | Page 27

Mohamed ibn Ahmed Al-Azhari said: "Most Arabs are Adam complexioned. ‫قال محمد بن أحمد األزھري )صاحب التھذيب(: "الغالب‬ "‫على ألوان العرب األدمة‬ Adam =very dark skinned (this was the most popular complexion amongst the ancient Arabs) Asmar =dark skinned Abiyud (white) =slightly lighter than asmar but bear in mind that ‘white’ to the ancient Arabs was what we today would call a light skinned black person Tha'alab, the Arabic language scholar of the 9th century AD said: "The Arabs don't say that a man is abyad (white) because of a abyad (white) complexion. Abyad (White) to the Arabs means that a person is pure, without any faults.” ‫العرب ال تقول : رجل أبيض من بياض اللو f