Short answer
Yes. Using racial slurs, including the n-word, is haram. Allah forbids insulting people and calling them offensive names, and the Prophet ﷺ rebuked a Companion for taunting a man about his mother, saying he still had ignorance in him. This includes using it as a joke, in lyrics you sing along to, or as slang between friends.
Insulting a person by race, colour or lineage is haram, and it is among the faults of jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance). Using such words to insult a Muslim is fisq and calls for ta'zir.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Allah says: do not ridicule one another, do not insult one another, and do not call each other by offensive names. He also says that He made us nations and tribes so that we may know one another, and that the most noble of us in His sight is the most righteous. Race is a sign of Allah's creation, not a rank.
Abu Dharr, one of the great Companions, once insulted a man by taunting him about his mother; reports outside Sahih al-Bukhari say he called him 'son of a Black woman'. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: you are a man with jahiliyyah in you. Abu Dharr took this to heart for the rest of his life. Bilal, an Abyssinian freed slave, was chosen to give the adhan, and his footsteps were heard in Paradise.
The n-word carries centuries of slavery, violence and contempt. Using it is a clear case of what these verses forbid. Common questions:
- As a joke or between friends: still haram. Jokes do not make insults lawful, and many who hear it are hurt.
- In songs: singing it along with a track is saying it.
- Black Muslims using it among themselves: scholars advise against it too, since Muslims are taught to leave words of ignorance and use the best of speech.
- Quoting it to explain or report racism: mentioning it for a valid purpose, without using it to insult, is a different matter. Avoid it where you can.
The same applies to slurs against South Asians, Arabs, Jews, white people or anyone else. If you have used such words, repent and, where possible, apologise. The Prophet ﷺ said it is evil enough for a person to look down on his Muslim brother. The four schools agree on this ruling. See also is it haram to cuss.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Hujuraat 49:11
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌۭ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَآءٌۭ مِّن نِّسَآءٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُنَّ ۖ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا۟ بِٱلْأَلْقَٰبِ ۖ بِئْسَ ٱلِٱسْمُ ٱلْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ ٱلْإِيمَٰنِ ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ ﴿١١﴾
O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.
Insulting people and using offensive names is forbidden.
Quran, Surah Al-Hujuraat 49:13
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۭ ﴿١٣﴾
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 Acquainted.
Race and lineage are not a measure of worth; righteousness is.
Sahih al-Bukhari 30
Sahih... إنك امرؤ فيك جاهلية ...
"You are a man with jahiliyyah in you."
Insulting someone for his mother's race is a trait of pre-Islamic ignorance.
Sahih Muslim 2564
Sahih... بحسب امرئ من الشر أن يحقر أخاه المسلم ...
"It is evil enough for a person to look down on his Muslim brother."
Contempt for others is itself a sin.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hudud, chapter on the punishment for false accusation, section on ta'zir. Insulting a Muslim with demeaning words earns a discretionary punishment.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.