Al-Hujurat
الحجرات
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
Translation
O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Aware.
Tafsir (Commentary)
This verse is the Qur'an's most direct statement on human equality. It addresses all of humanity ('ya ayyuha al-nas'), not just Muslims, and demolishes racial, tribal, and ethnic hierarchies by establishing that the only criterion of superiority before God is taqwa (God-consciousness/righteousness) — an internal quality invisible to others. The Prophet Muhammad reinforced this in his Farewell Sermon: 'No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab... except by taqwa.'
Context of Revelation
Revealed in Medina. Scholars note this verse was revealed when Bilal ibn Rabah, a freed Abyssinian slave, was mocked for his race — the verse directly repudiated such prejudice.