A caste question is a question about inherited rank: whether the family a person is born into settles where that person stands. Two texts bear directly on it. Quran 49:13, in Surah al-Hujurat, names peoples and tribes as part of how humanity was created and then rests nobility in the sight of Allah on righteousness. Sahih Muslim 2564 c records Abu Huraira’s report that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said Allah looks not at faces or wealth but at the heart and deeds.
What Does the Quran Say About Origin and Standing?
Surah al-Hujurat, verse 13, addresses humanity directly on the subject of common origin and mutual standing. In the translation credited to Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran, as displayed on quran.com on 2026-08-30, the verse reads:
“O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
The verse names peoples and tribes as part of how humanity was created, and gives the purpose of that difference as knowing one another. It then names what nobility in the sight of Allah rests on: righteousness.
The half-brackets around ˹get to˺ belong to that translation’s own convention. They are part of the published text, not an editorial insertion.
What Does Hadith Say About Faces and Wealth?
A narration reported by Abu Huraira addresses standing in terms of appearance and wealth. In the English translation carried by sunnah.com on 2026-08-30:
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: “Verily Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth but He looks to your heart and to your deeds.”
The reference is Sahih Muslim 2564 c, with an in-book reference of Book 45, Hadith 42. Faces and wealth are the two things the narration names and sets aside. The heart and deeds are the two it names as the object of Allah’s regard.
“Sahih Muslim 2564” on its own does not identify a single narration. The number carries sub-numbers, at least a, b and c, and they are not the same text: Sahih Muslim 2564 a is a different narration. The letter is therefore part of the citation rather than a stylistic add-on. Sahih Muslim 2564 c, Book 45, Hadith 42, is the reference that opens this narration rather than a neighbouring one carrying the same headline number.
Do These Two Texts Rank People by Birth?
Neither text passes over the categories people are commonly ranked by. Each names one, then ends somewhere else.
Quran 49:13 names peoples and tribes, then closes on righteousness as the measure of nobility in the sight of Allah. Sahih Muslim 2564 c names faces and wealth, then closes on the heart and deeds as the object of Allah’s regard. In both, the category named first is not the one the text finishes on.
Whether caste-like practice exists among Muslim communities in any particular society is a separate question, historical and sociological rather than textual, and these two passages do not settle it. What they settle is narrower: what each text names, and what each names instead.
Related reading: What Is Halal? What the Quran and Hadith Say, and How It Works Today | 12 Important Lessons From the Prophet ﷺ’s Last Sermon | What Is the Role of Islamic Schools in Supporting Minority Education?
Author
