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I came across verse 107 of surah Ale-emran in which Allah says: "While those whose faces are whitened will live for ever in God's mercy", and it seemed very racial to me. Is the Quran saying that white people are better than others? I also listened to a sheikh preaching Islam and he read a hadith about the people that go to heaven; he said that all who enter heaven will live the best life in it, meaning that if they are old they will turn young, if poor they will become wealthy, if handicap or sick they will be healed and cured, and finally if they are black they will become white! His last statement seemed very racial because it meant that being white is of more value in Islam. Please explain what is meant by these statements.

The verse mentioned above does not say that white people are better than other races, actually it has nothing to do with the abovementioned issue, the words used in the verse may seem to relate to races but they have a meaning other than being black and white.  In Arabic people who reach salvation and prosperity are called "white faced people" and those who do not are called "dark/black faced people", these sorts of expressions and other similar ones such as “a dark heart” or “the night was pitch black” that have nothing to do with races are not only found in Arabic, but in other languages as well.

In respect to the hadith cited above, aside from the fact that some parts of it aren't in conformity with Islamic teachings, and its chain of narrators isn't a decent one, making its authenticity disputable, we must pay attention to the fact that although youth, health and beauty aren’t of  Islam does not deny that white skin is more beautiful and attractive, but it denies the notion that being white is a spiritual advantage and value; therefore it makes complete sense for black people to turn white when entering heaven.  Add to above that this hadith is not considered authentic.

  

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