العرض من الدنس والعيوب
“…They don’t mean an abyad (white) complexion, but they mean to praise
the person for his/her noble nature, clean reputation, and unblemished
honour. And when they said he/she had an abyad (white) face, they meant
that he/she had a clean complexion without blotches and ugly dark spots.”
،ال يريدون به بياض اللون، ولكنھم يريدون المدح بالكرم
،ونقاء العرض من العيوب. وإذا قالوا: فالن أبيض الوجه
وفالنة بيضاء الوجه، أرادوا نقاء اللون من الكلف والسواد
الشائن
Let’s now see what Imam Al-Hafidh Al-Dhahabi said that abyad (white)
means when in reference to skin tone.
Al-Imam Al-Hafidh Al-Dhahabi says in his book Siyar A’laaam Al-Nubalaa :
“When the Arabs say that a person is white-skinned, they mean that he/she
has a wheat/caramel (hinti) complexion with a black appearance (hilya).”
إن العرب إذا قالت فالن أبيض ، فإنھم يريدون الحنطي
اللون بحلية سوداء
Ahmar (Red) =pale/fair skinned (Europeans, present day North Africans,
Turkish, Syrians, Iraqis, Jordanians, Persians) this would also include the
people today who claim an Arab heritage i.e. the Saudis, Lebanese,
Egyptians, Libyans.
The Classical Arabs NEVER described themselves as ‘red skinned’ for to
them a pale complexion was ugly or not pleasing to the eye.