In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful...the Best Knower.
Salaam (Peace) to all.
After skimming over a post discussing whether or not the Hon. Elijah Muhammad taught "true" Islam, I thought it might also be a good idea to go after the Root of the Question:
"What IS true Islam?"
We know that the word Islam means, in short, "entire submission to do the will of Allah."
Key words: "do", "will", "Allah"...and "true"
do
1. to perform (an act, duty, role, etc.): Do nothing until you hear the bell.
2. to execute (a piece or amount of work): to do a hauling job.
3. to accomplish; finish; complete: He has already done his homework.
4. to put forth; exert: Do your best.
5. to be the cause of (good, harm, credit, etc.); bring about; effect.
will
1. the faculty of conscious and especially of deliberate action; the power of control the mind has over its own actions: the freedom of the will.
2. power of choosing one's own actions: to have a strong or a weak will.
3. the act or process of using or asserting one's choice; volition: My hands are obedient to my will.
4. wish or desire: to submit against one's will.
5. purpose or determination, often hearty or stubborn determination; willfulness: to have the will to succeed.
6. the wish or purpose as carried out, or to be carried out: to work one's will.
Allah
The Supreme Being, the One True God Who is the Author of, and is solely Responsible for, all existence.
true
1. being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false: a true story.
2. real; genuine; authentic: true gold; true feelings.
3. sincere; not deceitful: a true interest in someone's welfare.
4. firm in allegiance; loyal; faithful; steadfast: a true friend.
5. being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something: the true meaning of his statement.
6. conforming to or consistent with a standard, pattern, or the like: a true copy.
7. exact; precise; accurate; correct: a true balance.
8. of the right kind; such as it should be; proper: to arrange things in their true order.
9. properly so called; rightly answering to a description: true statesmanship.
10. legitimate or rightful: the true heir.
11. reliable, unfailing, or sure: a true sign.
12. exactly or accurately shaped, formed, fitted, or placed, as a surface, instrument, or part of a mechanism.
13. honest; honorable; upright
Now...
IF, to be "true" one has to be (among other things) "in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact",
THEN, we must ask the question, "That which was the actual state or condition of the Arabs, 1400 years ago; is it the same as the actual state or condition of the Black Man and Woman of America today?"
Of course, the answer is "no". This is obvious. So then, Allah's will for the Arabs of 1400 years ago cannot be exactly the same as His Will for the Black People of America, since "the actual state or conditions" present today are not the same as those of 1400 years ago.
Now, we do understand that the ETERNAL will of Allah is the SAME ALWAYS, like the Theme of a Book with many chapters. The Book has ONE Theme, but is composed of chapters which each have a theme of their own, contributing to the Overall Theme of the Book.
So, as the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has stated, and scripture bears him witness, there is a "temporal" aspect to Allah's Will, and an Eternal Aspect to His Will.
Each time Allah raised a Prophet or Messenger, He gave that one a Message designed to address a particular "state or condition" that existed at that time; but that Message was Rooted in Allah's Eternal Will for Humanity...the eventual growth of Man into his completed or perfected state.
Therefore, when asking whether or not the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught "true" Islam, one must first determine "What is the Will of Allah for the Black Man and Woman in America, in the particular state or condition they are in today?"
What method would be most effective in bringing the Black Man and Woman in line with Allah's Eternal Will for Humanity? What ills among us must first be addressed? What obstacles and enemies must be overcome? What conditions must be changed? And who has been more effective in demonstrating answers to these questions among us than the Hon. Elijah Muhammad?
If the critics of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad are not willing to sincerely consider and examine questions like these, then they are not looking deep enough to properly evaluate the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and His Mighty Work among us...continued today in the person of the Hon. Louis Farrakhan.
So, "did the Hon. Elijah Muhammad teach Black People entire submission to carry out, or execute, the Will of Allah, in a manner that effectively addresses the actual state or condition of Black People in America at the time?"
The answer is, unequivically, YES!
To try to use methods tailor-made for the Arabs of 1400 years ago in their particular "state or condition", to address the needs and condition of the Black Man and Woman of America TODAY, would not be "true" to the reality of our condition...it would not be "True" Islam.
n order for me to answer the question, “did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (HEM) teach TRUE Islam?” I must use the definition of “Islam” I think is most accurate. In Arabic the root letters for the word “Islam” are س ل م(Siin-Lam-Miim [read in Arabic from right to left]). All Arabic words that are derived from this root have meanings suggesting submission/compliance/conformance/surrender. Salaam and Muslim are also derived from this root. So Islam simply means “submission”. The word “Islam” existed prior to the Quran without being associated with Allah (God), In the Qur’an its says,
ReplyDelete[13.37] “And thus have We revealed it, a true judgment in Arabic...”
Meaning, the Qur’an is using the already existent Arabic language, not that the Qur’an is reforming the Arabic language. So I am not in agreement with Islam being defined as "submission to do the will of Allah (God)".
In my understanding of Islam, a Muslim/Muslimah is one who allows his/her ego to surrender to his/her higher consciousness or true self. The true self is a microcosm of the Divine Universal Consciousness. Once the ego has surrendered, one’s spirit is capable of reconnecting with Divine Universal Consciousness, which religion calls God. So to me the question is, did HEM teach submission of one's ego to one’s higher consciousness? My answer is “yes”.
The teaching of the submission of one’s ego to one’s higher consciousness for spiritual enlightenment began in ancient Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Kemet (Egypt) and is at the core of every major spiritual system that came after those civilizations. HEM’s teacher Master Fard Muhammad (MFM) was apparently well versed in these spiritual systems, as so much of the Nation of Islam’s (NOI) teachings are consistent with them. For example, in the Chakra system, which began in Kemet but is now most commonly associated with Hinduism and Buddhism, a balanced first Chakra is conducive to self sufficiency. A balanced second Chakra is conducive to balanced living. A balanced third Chakra is conducive to community identity and leadership. A balanced forth Chakra is conducive to unconditional love. A balanced fifth Chakra is conducive to self expression. A balanced sixth Chakra is conducive to the attainment of knowledge. A balanced seventh Chakra is conducive to gaining correct understanding of the Devine. When all seven Chakras are balanced at once, you have an individual who has attained Enlightenment and you have the type of man/woman that the teachings of HEM and WFM were trying to mold. Both results require the ego’s submission to higher consciousness.
There numerous other examples of an NOI-Kemet connection, such as:
• HEM taught Black people to strive for freedom, justice, and equality,
which is basically a summation of the laws and principles of the neteru
Ma’at from Kemet, who promotes virtue and order.
• HEM taught about the resurrection of the Black man who descended from an ancient tribe called Shabazz. “Shahbâz” is a Persian word meaning ‘royal falcon’. In Kemet (which means “land of blackness”)the neteru Heru, who was the Price of Kemet, represents spiritual resurrection and enlightenment. He was symbolized by a man’s body having the head of a falcon.
• HEM taught that the white race is a race of devils. In Kemet, the god Set is equivalent to the devil and his traits include strength, violent force, greed, anger, hatred, dishonesty, selfishness, etc. (From a Black man’s perspective, that is an accurate metaphor).
• HEM taught about a council of Black godlike scientists who control future world events. One of these scientists, named Yaqoob, is taught to have created the white race for the purpose of their ruling the Black race. In Kemet, the cosmic forces/nature are represented by numerous gods and goddesses (neteru). According to modern science, cosmic forces/nature (i.e. cold dark climate) caused the skin of Europeans to become white so they could survive, and they now rule the Black race.
Not only did HEM and MFM teach TRUE Islam, he taught the mysteries of Kemet.
Peace