Biradari, Caste and Kafa’a

Question

(1) Zayd insists that biradari (kinship community) has no standing in the Shari‘a, since all Muslims are brothers to one another; what, then, is the meaning of singling out Shaykh, Sayyid, Mughal, Pathan and Ansari? What we wish to know is: did anyone — the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions ﵃, the Successors (tabi‘un) or the Successors of the Successors — observe this distinction? (2) Did these noble figures command that marriage ties not be formed with other biradaris?

Answer

(1 and 2) This singling out of caste and biradari is not the basis of salvation, nor is it permitted on its account to make distinctions in matters of faith (iman): [ar]إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ[/ar] “The believers are but brothers…” (Surah al-Hujurat, 49:10). Therefore no one has the right to forbid anyone from standing in the same row in prayer.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.