This description of Bilal is from the book Siyar A'alaam Al-Nubalaa by AlHafidh Al-Dhahabi where he, Bilal, is described as Adam Shadeed ul’udma = very
very dark skinned:
الواقدي حدثنا سعيد بن عبد العزيز عن مكحول قال حدثني من
رأى بالال رجال آدم شديد األدمة نحيفا طواال أجنأ له شعر كثير
وخفيف العارضين به شمط كثير وكان ال يغير
The point is that the Arabs at that time were a dark people (like people today
who are called black people i.e. those on the continent now called Africa,
The Caribbean as well as north and South America ).... and they came in a
variety of dark skinned shades like the so-called blacks of the Diaspora do
today.
The Prophet Mohamed was from those people.
Ali ibn Abu Talib was his first cousin and he was described as shadeed al
udma as well, which means black-skinned.
His uncle Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas was described as dark-skinned (asmar) with
a flat nose (.)أفطس
عن إسماعيل بن محمد بن سعد قال كان سعد جعد الشعر اشعر
الجسد آدم أفطس طويال
It was related that Ismail the son of Mohamed the son of Sa'ad (ibn Abi
Waqqas) said:
"Sa'ad (ibn Abi Waqqas) was kinky-haired, hairy-bodied, adam-complexioned
(very dark-skinned), flat-nosed, and tall."
When people read the descriptions of the Prophet Mohamed, his family and
his companions they should understand this and understand that the word
"white" in Arabic didn't mean what it means today.
They should also know that Anas ibn Malik (one of the companions of the
Prophet) described him (The Prophet Mohamed) as asmar in complexion as
well as white....