Color of Prophet Muhammad and the Arabs at the emergence of Islam
Some people claim that Prophet Muhammad was black, but it's contrary to the following writings:

Muhammad described as a white man (Sahih Bukhari)
Muhammad described as white (Sahih Bukhari)
Muhammad described as white (Sahih Muslim)
White cheek of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Muslim)
White Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Muslim)
Muhammad was not brown (Sahih Muslim)
White thigh of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari)
White abdomen of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari)
White armpits of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari)
White legs of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Muslim)
White arms of Prophet Muhammad (Sunan Abu Dawud)
Rosy complexion of Muhammad
Why some people claim that Prophet Muhammad was black skinned?
Ibn Manzur about the word "abyad" in Lisan al-arab
Asmar is a color that leans to hidden blackness
Muhammad was the same color as Persians?
al-Jahiz used "bidan" (a form of "abyad") for "white people"
Indians described as "asmar" and "adam" : darker than Arabs
(Extra) Muhammad sold 2 black slaves for 1 slave (Sahih Muslim)
(Extra) Author Habeeb Akande, Al-Azhar University student, on abyad

Muhammad described as a "white man" (Sahih Bukhari : hadith 63)
Narrated Anas bin Malik: While we were sitting with the Prophet in the mosque, a man came riding on a camel. He made his camel kneel down in the mosque, tied its foreleg and then said : "Who amongst you is Muhammad?" At that time the Prophet was sitting amongst us (his Companions) leaning on his arm. We replied, "This white man reclining on his arm."
The Translation of the Meanings of Sahîh Al-Bukhâri, Arabic-English, Volume 1 (page 92)
Translated by: Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Formerly Director, University Hospital
Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
DARUSSALAM Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, Printed in July, 1997
ISBN: 9960-717-31-3 (set) / 9960-717-31-1 (v.1)

"This white man (rajul al-abyad) reclining on his arm."

Muhammad described as "white" (Sahih Bukhari : hadith 3544)
Narrated Isma`il bin Abi Khalid:
I heard Abii Juhaifa saying, "I saw the Prophet, and Al-Hasan bin `Ali resembled him." I said to Abu- Juhaifa, "Describe him for me." He said, "He was white and his beard was black with some white hair. He promised to give us 13 young she-camels, but he expired before we could get them."
The Translation of the Meanings of Sahîh Al-Bukhâri, Arabic-English, Volume 4 (page 457)
Translated by: Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Formerly Director, University Hospital
Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
DARUSSALAM Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, Printed in July, 1997
ISBN: 9960-717-31-3 (set) / 9960-717-35-6 (v.4)

kana abyada

Muhammad described as "white" (Sahih Muslim : hadith 6072)
Abû At-Tufail reported:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah and there is no one else (left) on the face of the earth who saw him apart from me." He (the narrator) said to him: 'How did you see him?' He said: 'He was white and elegant, of average height and build.'"
English Translation of Sahîh Muslim, Volume 6 (page 186)
Ahâdith edited and referenced by: Hâfiz Abu Tâhir Zubair 'Ali Za'i
Translated by: Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), Edited by: Huda Khattab (Canada)
Final review by: Abu Khaliyl (USA), Supervised by: Abdul Malik Mujahid
Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Riyadh, 2007 - ISBN: 9960-9919-0-3 (set) / 9960-9927-3-X (Vol. 6)

kana abyada

White cheek of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Muslim : hadith 1315)
It was narrated from 'Amir bin Sa'd that his father said: "I used to see the Messenger of Allah saying the Salâm to his right and his left, until I could see the whiteness of his cheek."
English Translation of Sahîh Muslim, Volume 2 (pages 80-81)
Ahâdith edited and referenced by: Hâfiz Abu Tâhir Zubair 'Ali Za'i
Translated by: Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), Edited by: Huda Khattab (Canada)
Final review by: Abu Khaliyl (USA), Supervised by: Abdul Malik Mujahid
Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Riyadh, 2007 - ISBN: 9960-9919-0-3 (set) / 9960-9919-9-7 (Vol.-2)

bayada khadahi

White Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Muslim : hadith 6081)
It was narrated that Abü Juhaifah said: "I saw the Messenger of Allah with a white complexion and some white hair. Al-Hasan bin 'Ali resembled him."
English Translation of Sahîh Muslim, Volume 6 (pages 189)
Ahâdith edited and referenced by: Hâfiz Abu Tâhir Zubair 'Ali Za'i
Translated by: Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), Edited by: Huda Khattab (Canada)
Final review by: Abu Khaliyl (USA), Supervised by: Abdul Malik Mujahid
Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Riyadh, 2007 - ISBN: 9960-9919-0-3 (set) / 9960-9927-3-X (Vol. 6)

abyada

Muhammad was not brown (Sahih Muslim : hadith 6089)
It was narrated that Anas bin Mâlik said:
"The Messenger of Allah was neither very tall nor short, and he was neither glaringly white nor brown, and his hair was neither very curly nor straight. Allah appointed him (as His Messenger) when he reached the age of forty, and he stayed in Makkah for ten years, and in Al-Madinah for ten years. Allah caused him to die when he was sixty years old, and there were no more than twenty white hairs in his hair and beard."
English Translation of Sahîh Muslim, Volume 6 (page 192)
Ahâdith edited and referenced by: Hâfiz Abu Tâhir Zubair 'Ali Za'i
Translated by: Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), Edited by: Huda Khattab (Canada)
Final review by: Abu Khaliyl (USA), Supervised by: Abdul Malik Mujahid
Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Riyadh, 2007 - ISBN: 9960-9919-0-3 (set) / 9960-9927-3-X (Vol. 6)

layssa bilabyadi alamhaqi wa la biladami

White thigh of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari : 371)
Narrated 'Abdul 'Aziz: Anas said, "When Allah's Messenger invaded Khaibar, we offered the Fajr prayer there (early in the morning) when it was still dark. Allah's Prophet rode and Abu Talha rode, too, and I was riding behind Abu Talha. AlIah's Prophet passed through the lane of Khaibar quickly and my knee was touching the thigh of Allah's Prophet. Then his thigh was uncovered by the shift of his Izar (waist-sheet), and I saw the whiteness of the thigh of Allah's Prophet.
The Translation of the Meanings of Sahîh Al-Bukhâri, Arabic-English, Volume 1 (page 249)
Translated by: Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Formerly Director, University Hospital
Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
DARUSSALAM Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, Printed in July, 1997
ISBN: 9960-717-31-3 (set) / 9960-717-32-1 (v.1)

bayadi fakhidhi nabiyi allahi

White abdomen of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari : hadith 7236)
Narrated Al-Bara' bin 'Azib: The Prophet was carrying earth with us on the Day (of the battle)
of Al-Ahzab (the Confederates) and I saw that the dust was covering the whiteness of his abdomen
The Translation of the Meanings of Sahîh Al-Bukhâri, Arabic-English, Volume 9 (page 214)
Translated by: Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Formerly Director, University Hospital
Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
DARUSSALAM Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, Printed in July, 1997
ISBN: 9960-717-31-3 (set) / 9960-717-40-2 (V.9)

bayada batdhihi

White armpits of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari : hadith 1031)
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet never raised his hands for any invocation except for that of Istisqa'; and he used to raise them so much that the whiteness of his armpits became visible.
The Translation of the Meanings of Sahîh Al-Bukhâri, Arabic-English, Volume 2 (pages 95-96)
Translated by: Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Formerly Director, University Hospital
Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
DARUSSALAM Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, Printed in July, 1997
ISBN: 9960-717-31-3 (set)

bayadu ibtayhi

White legs of Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Muslim : hadith 1119)
'Awn bin Abi Juhaifah narrated that his father said: I came to the Prophet in Makkah while he was in Al-Abtah, in a tent of red leather. Bilâl came out with his (left over) Wudu water, and those who got some wiped themselves with it. Then the Prophet came out, wearing a red Hullah (dress). It is as if I can see the whiteness of his shins.
English Translation of Sahîh Muslim, Volume 1 (page 609)
Ahâdith edited and referenced by: Hâfiz Abu Tâhir Zubair 'Ali Za'i
Translated by: Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), Edited by: Huda Khattab (Canada)
Final review by: Abu Khaliyl (USA), Supervised by: Abdul Malik Mujahid
Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Riyadh, 2007 - ISBN: 9960-9919-0-3 (set) / 9960-9919-8-9 (Vol.1)

bayadi saqayhi

White arms of Prophet Muhammad (Sunan Abu Dawud : hadith 3206)
It was reported from Kathir bin Zaid Al-Madani, from Al-Muttalib who said: "When 'Uthman bin Ma'zun died, his Janazah was brought out and he was buried. Then the Messenger of Allah told a man to bring him a rock but he could not carry it, so the Messenger of Allah stood up and rolled up his sleeves" - Kathir said: "Al-Muttalib said: 'The one who informed me of that from the Messenger of Allah said: It is as if I can see the whiteness of the forearms of the Messenger of Allah when he rolled up (his sleeves)
English Translation of Sunan Abu Dawud, Volume 3 (pages 610-611)
Compiled by: lmâm Hâfiz Abu Dawud, Sulaiman bin Ash'ath
Ahâdîth edited & referenced by: Hâfiz Abu Tâhir Zubair 'Alî Za'î
Translated by: Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), Edited by: Huda Khattab (Canada)
Final review by: Abû Khaliyl (USA) - ISBN: 978-9960-500-11-9 (set) / 978-9960-500-14-0 (Vol.3)

bayadi dhiraayi

Rosy complexion of Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari : hadith 3547)
Narrated Rabi'a bin Abi 'Abdur-Rahman: I heard Anas bin Malik describing the Prophet saying, "He was of medium height amongst the people, neither tall nor short; he had a rosy complexion, neither absolutely white nor deep brown; his hair was neither completely curly nor quite lank.
The Translation of the Meanings of Sahîh Al-Bukhâri, Arabic-English, Volume 4 (page 458)
Translated by: Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Formerly Director, University Hospital
Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
DARUSSALAM Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, Printed in July, 1997
ISBN: 9960-717-31-3 (set) / 9960-717-35-6 (v.4)

azhar al-lawn

Note that the english word "rosy" is a translation of the word "azhar" (in red, it spells "azhara") and we are given the following definition for "azhar al-lawn" by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in his work entitled "Fath al-Bari" :

“azhar al-lawn, that is: white imbued with redness” (abyad musharrab bi-humrah)
(Fath al-Bari 6/569 Dar al-Ma’rifah, Beirut 1379 A.H. - vol.6 p.569)

Why some people claim that Prophet Muhammad was black skinned?
Mainly for two reasons:
1) They are practicing “Linguistic Acrobatics” with the word “abyad”, which is the main word in Arabic for “white”, by claiming that it actually means “black” and “noble”. For that matter, they are using a quote from Ibn Manzur’s Arabic Lexicon called Lisan al-Arab.
2) They are using a hadith from Sunan al-Tirmidhi, where Anas bin Malik described Muhammad with the word “asmar” (which means “brown”).

Here is why they claim that “abyad” means “black” and “noble”:
In the Book “God’s Black Prophet” p.74, Dr. Wesley Muhammad wrote:

Syrian scholar Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi (d. 1348) affirms:
When Arabs say, ‘so-and-so is white (abyad),’ they mean a golden brown complexion with a black
embellishment (al-hinti al-lawn bi-hilya suda). Like the complexion of the people of India, brown and black (asmar wa adam), i.e. a clear, refined blackness (sawad al-takrur).”

Ibn Manzur affirmed the same:
The Arabs don’t say a man is white [or: “white man,” rajul abyad] due to a white complexion.
Rather, whiteness [al-abyad] with them means an external appearance that is free from blemish [al-zahir al-naqi min al-uqub]; when they mean a white complexion they say ‘red’ (ahmar)… when the Arabs say, ‘so-and-so is white (abyad - bayda), they [only] mean a noble character (al-karam fi l-akhlaq), not skin color. It is when they say 'so-and-so is red' (ahmar - hamra) that they mean white skin. And the Arabs attribute white skin to the slaves.

 

But "abyad" clearly means "white", and a brief demonstration will bear witness to that fact.
In the Book “God’s Black Prophet” p.71, Dr. Wesley Muhammad wrote:

Al-Tirmidhi ralso eports (sic) from Anas b. Malik:
The Messenger of Allah (s) was neither tall, such that he would stand out, nor was he short.
He was not albino white (al-abyad al-amhaq),

Here, the word for "albino" is "al-amhaq". Since it says that Prophet Muhammad is not "albino white",
it obviously shows, without a doubt, that "abyad" means "white". It is not possible that "al-abyad al-amhaq" mean "albino black", not even "albino brown", let alone "albino noble". Everybody knows that "albino" is something very white. And unfortunately for the adepts of "Linguistic Gymnastics", the description of Prophet Muhammad not being "albino white" is found in many hadiths. For instance in Sahih Muslim hadith 6089 (volume 6, page 192):

Here are other examples demonstrating that "abyad" clearly means "white":
God’s Black Prophet p.71 :

"Ibn Manzur reports that “al-sumra [is] a degree between white (al-bayad) and black (al-aswad) and it is that in the human complexions, camels, etc."

"According to Ibn Athir, al-sumra's 'blackness' predominates over its 'whiteness' (al-sumra alladhi yaghlibu sawaduhu 'ala bayadihi).

God’s Black Prophet p.75-76 :

"Further, as David Goldenberg notes, white in pre-modern Arabic was about “luminosity, not chromaticity.”Arab usage distinguished between whiteness related to redness or white-skinnedness (al-bayad al-mushrab bi-humra) and whiteness related to yellowness or luminance (al-bayad al-mushrab bi-sufra).

God’s Black Prophet p.77 :

“The Messenger of Allah was luminous of complexion (azhar al-lawn).” His face shone with resplendence like that of a full moon and his azhar and abyad complexion had a luster (nur) resembling that of a statue made of clear silver.

Here is the use of Sunan al-Tirmidhi, by those who claim that Muhammad was black skinned:
In the Book “God’s Black Prophet” p.68, Dr. Wesley Muhammad wrote:

When we examine the Classical Arabic literature, our expectations of a black-skinned
Muhammad are not disappointed. Imam Abu Isa Muhammad b. Isa al-Tirmidhi (d. 892) was a black Arab from the famously 'black and beautiful' Banu Sulaym. He is the author of the Jami al-Tirmidhi (also called Sunan al-Tirmidhi), one of the six orthodox collections of Sunni hadith. He is also the author of the famous al-Shama’il al-Muhammadiyah (“The Noble Qualities of Muhammad”), a collection of hadith describing the Prophet. Al-Tirmidhi reports in both collections a report on the authority of the famous Companion of the prophet, Anas b. Malik:

The Messenger of Allah was of medium stature, neither tall nor short, [with] a beautiful, dark brown-complexioned body (hasan al-jism asmar al-lawn). His hair was neither curly nor completely straight and when he walked he leant forward.

Note: the word "dark" is nowhere to be seen, "hasan" means beautiful, "al-jism" means body, "asmar" means brown and "al-lawn" means complexion.
Dr. Wesley Muhammad himself, in his Book “God’s Black Prophet” p.70, wrote: "asmar means brown".

First, this hadith, is qualified as "Gharib" by Imam al-Tirmidhi himself, right undearneath it says :
He said: There are narrations on this topic from 'Aishah, Al-Bara', Abu Hurairah, Ibn 'Abbas, Abu Sa'eed, Jabir, Wa'il bin Hujr, and Umm Hani'.
[Abu 'Eisa said:] The Hadith of Anas is a Hasan Sahih Gharib Hadith from this route, as a narration of Humaid.

"Gharib" means "odd", it is mentioned on page 25 (Introduction to Jami' At-Tirmidhi) where Abu Khaliyl (the translator) wrote, in the section "About This Book", the following :
In Jami'Al-Usül, Ibn Al-Athir said: "(It) is the best of the books, having the most benefit, the best organization, with the least repetition. It contains what others do not contain; like mention of the different Madhhabs (views), angles of argument, and clarifying the circumstances of the Hadith being authentic, weak, Gharib (odd), as well as disparaging and endorsing remarks (regarding narrators)."

Here is the edition that I am quoting from:

English Translation of Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Volume 1, Compiled by:
Imam Hafiz Abu 'Eisa Mohammad Ibn 'Eisa At-Tirmidhi
Translated by: Abu Khaliyl (USA)
Ahadith edited and referenced by: Haifiz Abu Tahir Zubair 'Ali Za'i
Final review by: Islamic Research Section Darussalam
© Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2007

Secondly, other hadiths from Jami' At-Tirmidhi describe Prophet Muhammad with whiteness (not brown):
274, 2826, 3623, 3638.

Thirdly, it is reported that Anas gave descriptions of Prophet Muhammad as being white on several occasions in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim :
Sahih Bukhari : 63, 371, 1031.
Sahih Muslim : 3325, 4437.

Ibn Manzur about the word "abyad" in Lisan al-arab
On the 17th of February 2012, Wesley Muhammad published an article entitled "Muhammad: The Black-skinned Prophet of Black Arabia" on his own blog called "Black Arabia" :
http://blackarabia.blogspot.com/2012/02/muhammad-black-skinned-prophet-of-black.html (this link was still valid as of 2021, February 12). Here, Wesley Muhammad wrote :

Ibn Manzur reports in his Lisān al-arab (s.v. سمر IV:376) that

“al-sumra [is] a degree between white (al-bayad) and black (al-aswad), and it is that in the context of human complexions, camels, etc.”

Therefore, we have once again a proof that the word "abyad/bayad" means "white", that is how Wesley Muhammad himself has translated it, and "sumra" cannot be "a degree between black and black", if we were to consider that "abyad" means "black".

Here is a screen capture of Wesley Muhammad's article :

Here is the definition of "asmar" in Ibn Manzur's Lisan al-`Arab
as quoted in the website "The Arabic Lexicon" Hawramani (click here)

degree between whiteness and blackness

smr : al sumratu (1) : munzila (2) bayn (3) al bayad (4) wa (5) al sawad (6)

(1) Almaany.com gives the following definition :
A brown skin colour resulting from exposure to ultraviolet light - brownness; tan
(2) Almaany.com gives the following definition :
class; degree; echelon; grade; level; order
(3) Almaany.com gives the following definition :
between/among
(4) white
(5) and
(6) blackness

Lastly, according to Ibn Manzur in his Lisan al-Arab as quoted in Hawramani, here is how the definition of bayad (white) start's :

al-abyad : dida al-sawad = whiteness : opposite of blackness
This proves that the colour white and black were considered opposite back then just like it is in modern times.

Asmar is a color that leans to hidden blackness
Here is page 376 of Ibn Manzur's Lisan al-ʿArab, volume 4, published by dar Sader,
it shows the definition of "asmar" with the triliteral root "s-m-r" :

You can see that excerpt on line 6 in the Arabic Lexicon website Hawramani.com (click here)
Here is the highlighted part followed by its translation:

it is the color that leans to hidden blackness

Therefore trying to equate a person described with the word asmar as being black, seems to be an invalid attemp.

Muhammad was the same color as Persians?
On April 10, 2013, Wesley Muhammad posted the following on his Facebook page:

Our Brother Tariq Berry uncovered two jewels that are worth pondering:
Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn b. Ali al-Namari (d. 996) opens his work, Al-Mulammi, with this observation:
“Verily Allah created five colors - white, black, red, yellow, and green. He made four of these colors in the Children of Adam - white, black, red, and yellow. He gave the ARABS, the Abyssinians, the Zanj, and those who look like them in general – blackness (al-sawad)…And He gave the Persians, the Romans, the Nabateans, and those who look like them in general - whiteness, redness, and yellowness."

Dr. Wesley Muhammad as been claiming that the arabic word "abyad" (meaning "white") actually meant "black" when used by Arabs (in Classical Arabic) to describe their skin complexion. Furthermore, Dr. Wesley Muhammad has been claiming that the Persians were White skinned and usually described with the Arabic word hamra (meaning "red"):

Berry’s point is confirmed by the appropriate Classical Arabic/Islamic sources. Ibn Manzur affirmed that “When the Arabs say that a person is white, they mean that he has a pure, clean, fautless (sic) integrity…They don’t mean that he has white skin…” Similarly, al-Dhahabi informs us that “When the Arabs say a person is white, they mean he is black with a light-brownish undertone.” Particularly important was the observation of the 9th century CE Arabic scholar Thalab, who tells us that : “The Arabs don’t say that a man is white because of a white complexion. White to the Arabs means that a person is pure, without any faults. If they meant his complexion was white, they said ‘red’ (ahmar).” Indeed, as David Goldenberg notes, ‘white’ (abyad) in pre-modern Arabic was about “luminosity, not chromaticity.” That is to say, (abyad) connoted brilliance, not paleness of skin. The latter was described as ‘red’ ahmar, which is how non-Arab whites such as Persians and Byzantines were described. In other words, what we call white today the early Arabs called red, and what they called white often was what we would today call black!
(page 190 of Black Arabia & The African Origin of Islam by Wesley Muhammad, 2009, Atlanta: A-Team Publishing)

 

Now let's deal with Wesley's source, Tariq Berry, who shared his finding in October 2012:

This is from Tariq Berry's message board, of whom he was the Administrator.
He cited the Arabic text on Janary 18, 2013:

Now compare the Arabic word "abyad" (marked in red) used to describe whites (Persians) in Tariq Berry's quote with the one used in Wesley Muhammad's translation:

That same arabic term "abyad" meaning "white" was used to describe Persians, yet both Tariq Berry and Wesley Muhammad claimed that the Arabs were Black, despite being described with that very word like Prophet Muhammad in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abu Dawud. So will they say that the 7th century Persians were Black?
I doubt it, besides Wesley Muhammad wrote:

The Persians, like the Byzantines, were Aryans, not Semites.
The Persian was considered "the whitest and most hook-nosed" of all whies (sic).
(Muhammad, W. (2009), Black Arabia & The African Origin of Islam pp. 196-197)

So to all followers of Wesley Muhammad or Tariq Berry, will you claim the Aryans were Black?

al-Jahiz used "bidan" (a form of "abyad") for "white people"
Way before Ibn Manzur, al-Jahiz used "bidan" (a form of "abyad")
in his Fakhr al-Sudan ala al-Bidan, (“The Boast of the Blacks over the Whites”).

Screen capture from Wikipedia's article (click here)

On page 20 of Black Arabia (2009, Atlanta: A-Team Publishing), Wesley Muhammad wrote:
Al-Jahiz, in his Fakhr al-sudan ala l-bidan, (“The Boast of the Blacks over the Whites”)
Why didn't he translate "bidan" as "blacks" or "pure" or "faultless"?

Indians described as "asmar" and "adam" : darker than Arabs
Here is a screen capture of an article by Waqar Akbar Cheema & Gabriel Keresztes Abdul Rahman Al-Romaani entitled Exposing Wesley Muhammad on Prophet Muhammad's Complexion (click here):

Here is the text of their translation of al-Dhahbi:
“When Arabs say; So and so is ‘abyad’, they mean a wheatish complexion with slight darkness (hintiy al-lawn bi-hilyatin sawda). And if it is the complexion the People of India they say, ‘asmar’ and ‘adam’. And if it is of Toucouleur Negroes (sawad al-Takrur) they say ‘aswad’ and likewise everyone whose complexion is overwhelmingly black; they call, ‘aswad’ or ‘shadid-ul-udmah’.” (Siyar ‘Alam al-Nubula 1/39 & 3/448, Darul Hadith, Cairo 2006)
Imam al-Dhahbi wrote a clear progression of skin tone going from lighter to darker.
It starts with "abyad" then proceeds to Indians labelled "asmar" and "adam" then goes to Africans (see Wikipedia's article about Takrur) described as "aswad" and "shadid-ul-udmah".
Waqar Akbar Cheema & Gabriel Keresztes Abdul Rahman Al-Romaani wrote a very detailed article called "Refuting Wesley and Tariq on Complexion of the Prophet" (click here).

Muhammad sold 2 black slaves for 1 slave (Sahih Muslim : hadith 4113)
It was narrated that Jâbir said: "A slave came and swore allegiance to the Prophet, pledging to emigrate, and he did not realize that he was a slave. Then his master came looking for him.
The Prophet said: 'Sell him to me,' and he bought him for two black slaves. Then after that he did not accept the oath of allegiance of anyone until he had asked: 'Is he a slave?"
English Translation of Sahîh Muslim, Volume 4 (pages 328-329)
Ahâdith edited and referenced by: Hâfiz Abu Tâhir Zubair 'Ali Za'i
Translated by: Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), Edited by: Huda Khattab (Canada)
Final review by: Abu Khaliyl (USA), Supervised by: Abdul Malik Mujahid
Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Riyadh, 2007 - ISBN: 9960-9919-0-3 (set) / 9960-9919-1-3 (vol. 4)

Habeeb Akande "Illuminating The Darkness"
The Arabs’ use of the word ‘white’ was relative and was mainly used for fair-skinned peoples. The Romans (Europeans) and Persians were considered ‘white’ in comparison to the Arabs, whilst the Arabs were ‘white’ in contrast to the black Africans. ‘White’ could also be used metaphorically for dark-skinned peoples. Tariq Berry points out in his book The Unknown Arabs, “The term white can be very confusing to those reading about the description of people of the past because, in the past, when Arabs described someone as white, they meant something entirely different from what is meant today. In the past, when the Arabs described someone as white, they meant either that he had a pure, noble essence or that he had a nice, smooth complexion without any blemishes. They meant he had a black complexion with a light-brownish undertone.”5 Ibn Manzūr, the acclaimed Arab linguist of the thirteenth century says in his Arabic lexicography, Lisān al‘Arab, “When the Arabs say a person is abyad (white), they mean that he has a pure, clean, faultless character, they do not necessarily mean that he has white skin. So when the Arabs say, ‘So-and-so has a white face’, they mean that he is free from blemishes and defects.” The ninth century linguist Ath-Tha‘labī informs us, “The Arabs do not say that a man is white because of a white complexion; ‘white’ to the Arabs means that a person is pure, without any faults.”6 Thus a person described as ‘white’ by the early Arabs may have been pale-skinned or had a brownish complexion. Unfortunately some pseudo-Islamic cults of recent times have put forward the theory that when the Arabs used the word ‘white’ they were actually referring to blacks, thus when the Prophet Muhammad was described as white in authentic prophetic traditions, it means he was actually black! This type of reasoning is absurd and unheard of from traditional scholars of Islam.7 Traditional scholars of Islam are in agreement that the Prophet was most certainly not black or African as pseudo-Islamic groups propagate in modern times.8
8 Pseudo-Islamic black sects of recent times include: the Nation of Islam, the Five Percenters and the Moorish Science Temple of America..

Back cover of Habeeb Akande's "Illuminating the Darkness: Blacks and North Africans in Islam"