I came across a Hadith from Imam Ali (as) from Al-Kafi and I have been pondering about this hadith for quite a while. It says that Imam Ali have said the one should not marry black people because they are creatures of deformity. As a muslim I know that racism in Islam is totally forbidden, and treating people differently based on the color of their skin is a major sin. One example of this is the famous hadith from our beloved Prophet saying that a white person has no superiority over a black man and vice versa. I am now questioning this hadith from Imam Ali (as). Is the hadith really true? If it is, could it then have an underlying explanation? I would really like to know how one of Allah best creation could have said something like this, especially as a muslim. Also considering Al-Kafi being one of the shias most authentic and reliable hadith collections. I am attaching the hadith: علي بن إبراهيم، عن هارون بن مسلم، عن مسعدة بن زياد، عن أبي عبد الله (عليه السلام) قال: قال أمير المؤمنين (عليه السلام): إياكم ونكاح الزنج فإنه خلق مشوه

by

1. Not every Hadith in Kafi is authentic and quite a few are weak
2. If we were to accept this, the Imam is referring to a particular tribe at that time and not anyone generally with black complexion as the Imams married fairly darker ladies and had black companions