Does the hadith "Arabism exists neither in your father nor in your mother; it is only a name" deny nations?

“O people! Your Lord is the same. Your father and mother are the same too. Arabism exists neither in your father nor in your mother; it is only a name you give for knowing. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab. Superiority is in belief in Allah and obedience. Those who believe in Allah and obey Him are superior. Everybody must know it like that and you must not allow discrimination based on racism among you."

- Is the hadith above true?

- What does the Prophet mean by the phrase "... Arabism exists neither in your father nor in your mother; it is only a name you give..."?

- How is the formation of races and nations explained in our religion?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The true translation of the hadith in question is as follows:

“O people! Your Lord is the same; your father is the same; your mother is the same; your religion is the same. Arabic is neither the father or mother of any of you. It is only a language. Therefore, whoever speaks Arabic is an Arab.” (Ibn Manzur, Mukhtasaru Tarikhi Dimashq li Ibn Asakir, 14/41; from Ibn Asakir, Kanzul-Ummal, h. no: 33936)

This narration reported from Muadh is mursal.

When a munafiq defamed some Companions like Suhayb ar-Rumi, Bilal al-Habashi and Salman al-Farisi, who were not Arabs, Muadh complained to the Prophet about him. Thereupon, the Prophet uttered the hadith above.  

Denial of nations is not in question in the hadith. What is emphasized is that even if the languages of some people in a society are different, they will be regarded among the first-class individuals.

Believing in the same Allah is more important than language. Besides, all people are the children of the same father / Hz. Adam and the same mother / Hz. Hawwa (Eve).

It is necessary to understand from the statement “whoever speaks Arabic is an Arab” the following: “Whether the origin of a person is Arab or not, he is not regarded as a foreigner if he lives in that society." We can state it as follows in accordance with the topic of the hadith: "Those who live in the Arab society but who are not originally Arabs are first-class citizens like all Arabs.”

We should not forget that in the ties between communities, Islam accepts ‘the bonds of religion, class, and country’, in place of racialism and nationalism. (Nursi, Sözler, p. 133) Accordingly, the bonds and connections of societies are the unity of religion, class and country.

“Only when the Preserved Tablet is revealed will the races truly be distinguished from each other. To construct movements and patriotism on the idea of true race is both meaningless and extremely harmful. It is for this reason that one of the nationalist leaders and racialists, who was very neglectful in religion, was compelled to say: “If language and religion are the same, the nation is the same.” Since that is so, relations of language, religion, and country should be considered, not true race. If the three are the same, the nation will certainly be strong. And if one is absent, there will still be nationhood.” (Nursi, Mektubat, p. 326)

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