Are there social classes in Islam? Human societies have had all kinds of class systems. In some societies there is a class of princes, a class of warriors, a class of peasants and a class of slaves, and on this basis there is a lot of oppression, abuse and violation of people's rights. But the Sharee'ah or the law of Allah does not recognize such systems at all. Islam gives equal rights to everyone, rich and poor, noble and ignoble. The basic principle on which people are differentiated in Islam is mentioned in the Qur'an, in surah al-Hujuraat (interpretation of the meaning):
“O humanity! We created you from male and female, and made you nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you before Allaah is the one (believer) who has al-taqwa [ie, is one of the muttaqoon or pious]. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Knowing.”
[al-Hujuraat 49:13]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O people! Verily, your Lord is One and your father [Adam] is one. An Arab is no better than a non-Arab, and a non-Arab is no better than an Arab; a red man is no better than a black man and a black man is no better than a red man – except in terms of taqwa (piety)…”
(Narrated by Imaam Ahmad, 22391; al-Silsilat al-Saheeh, 2700).
This is the principle on which society in Islam is based. This is the global human society that tries to reach humanity through its far-fetched ideas, but fails, because they do not follow the one straight path that will lead them there, the way to God, may He be glorified, and because they do not stand under the one banner that could unite them, the banner of God, may He be exalted.
People live on this earth connected by all kinds of relationships, all of which carry some weight or pull in their lives... these include lineage, power, wealth, etc. From this arise other connections, practical, economic, etc., where people have different positions and status levels in relation to each other. So some people have more status than others in worldly terms… Then Islam comes and says:
“the most honorable of you before Allah [God] is he (believer) who has al-taqwa [i.e., is one of the muttaqoon or pious]” so it ignores all the values that carry weight in people's lives, and replaces them all with this new value that is directly derived from Revelation and is the only one recognized in the standards of God. This is piety and consciousness of God, which is manifested in the worship of God alone.
Allah is the All-Seer of His servants.
Translated from >>> Islam