"The Synthesis btwn Intellectualism & Action" by Maulud Sadiq Allah

The Synthesis btwn Intellectualism & Action This is actually a topic within a topic - via a large analogy. Perhaps, 72 news cycle hours ago, most of us were exposed to the Weight of the Nation Docu. If so, one episode focused on the Brute Force that most farmers were confronted with in the form of the corn & soy lobby. The numbers were alarming. Perhaps the one that stood out to me the most was the one that stated that only three percent (3%) of US farms were dedicated to fruits and vegetables. And, in that episode a Farm Collective explained the many reasons why that number was reality; issues ranging from inability to compete price was with imported crops to an inability to focus enough acreage to said crops. It seems a hopeless reality. Yet the farmers keep farming. And while they farm, they come together, meet to discuss ways to make their produce more readily available. They could easily yield to the Corporate Farm System, sell their land, make that lump sum profit, and turn their backs to the burden that's inherent in farming...but they continue on. Imagine this: these same farm collectives gathered together, discussed the problems in details, marched and protested, wrote books about the situation, started College Departments dedicated to the Reclaiming of American Farms. Soon rivalries popped up between Reclaiming groups - apple farmers don't agree with orange farmers - nevermind the fact that, well, it's comparing apples and oranges - their needs, while fitting into the major struggle mentioned above, differ in every way imaginable. Forums began popping up all over America for the cause of Fruits and Vegetables; Leaders emerged. The above mentioned rivals boil to the point where violence seems eminent. All of those things...but those Farmers never harvested a single crop. Between the writing and protesting and warring and organizing, they never had time to farm. Well, that sounds ridiculous, right? How can one consider themselves a farmer and they've never farmed? Of course these non-farming farmers would point to the generations that came before them - hardworking farmers - farmers who had little use for words, simply hard work - they would point to them and say, "I'm from a long line of Farmers - it's in my blood." All of that. And these non-farming farmers would say all of this with no sense of shame or irony. Meanwhile outside of their farms, lie hundred of acres of dead, arid fields. What would happen? You guessed it. Corporate Farmers, seeing all this USEFUL LAND, would swoop down on the divided farm protestors and one farm by one would buy acres upon acres of land, often at a profit. Seeing this, instead of UNITING, the Fruit & Vegetable Farmers would up their campaign against their rivals. Shouts of "Sell Out" or "Uncle Tom Farmers" would be the chants of the day...and still, they would not farm. Now - doesn't that sound crazy? Enjoy the article: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE83Q0ED20120427?irpc=932 Peace.

"Islam is Mathematics and Mathematics is Islam" by Maulud Sadiq Allah

"Islam is Mathematics and Mathematics is Islam" This is what we've been taught. And, while often we go with the simple definition that it means that a thing can be proven, weighed & calculated logically...and that's Islam. That's true. But what makes this statement so profound is that if one were to interview a cross-section of Black people - from drug dealer to diplomat, most would profess (almost proudly, in many instances) that they don't know or aren't good at Math. "My uncle cannot talk his own language." Having introduced Math to the world, isn't it quite fascinating that even now in all of our "free-ness," so few of us take on Math as a main subject of study? I was blessed to have had the opportunity to attend Clark Atlanta University when one of the preeminent Mathematicians in the world - a man responsible for 80% of all Black Mathematicians - held a chair postion there. His name is Dr. Abdulalim Abdullah Shabazz - formerly Dr. Lonnie Shabazz, Minister of Mosque #4 prior to 1975. I often went in His often (he had an open door policy) and asked Him random questions about Math - all centered around the same theme: What can you use this math for? He told me that (and I'm paraphrasing) we have been reduced to a people who see a problem and can't figure out which tool to use to fix it. Math, he would say, provides that solution. It would go over my head but I enjoyed talking with him and he enjoyed answering questions - a true teacher. In retropect, Math provides solutions to all problems - resonates with me. Of course, in the literal sense, all modern life is essentially run, as I often state, by algorithms - with the "best" algorithm giving google the advantage it has over all search engines. But if Mathematics is Islam, then the formula should tell us that Islam is the answer to all of our problems...should. "Did I hear you say that some of the seventeen million do not know they are muslims?" I would argue (and a list of questions would verify) - most of us (self included) are unable to solve, step by step, Math problems beyond the most basic of Algebra. I would also argue that many of us don't care to learn any more than that, as we function day to day without ever having to do more than mere subraction and addition...if that. (I'm sure studies would find that most people in modern society can go months without ever using any math)... Yet there are people who dedicate their lives to solving problems as complex as Hilbert's Problems - a group of 23 "unsolved" problems. Most have been, but Mathematicians still work day and night to find NEW ways to solve these 112 year old problems. Why? "Then what happened?" Despite being told that said above quote for nearly 82 years now, how many of us can say we are truly proficient in either Math or Islam? If Herbert Berg were to pull one of us aside and attempt to have a conversation about how the Honorable Elijah Muhammad practiced the Sunnah, how would that conversation go? Do we know what the Sunnah is? Who Herbert Berg is? Is Arabic - what we are taught is our Original Language - even a priority? "Well, They wanted to go to their own country but they could not swim 9,000 miles." Wherein I could use any of the thousands of statements given by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad stating that Master Fard Muhammad came to make us the Best and that we would be a Model for the world. Surely in our present state - with a fear of math and so-called "orthodox" Islam, we can never rise to that state. How are we going to go to our "own country" and all we speak is English, know little Islam, and can't use Mathematics to solve the problems of infrastucture (and corruption) that plague most of the post-colonial world? These are just questions - but All Praise is Due to Allah there are simple answers to them provided by Our Lord. Peace.

The 2.Wisdom of 7.God by Maulud Sadiq Allah:

Growing up in the ghetto, one's interpretation of what it means for your woman to be "down with you" is extremely distorted. She will do up to and including any of the following:

Hold guns, drugs, contraband for you.

Post your bail.

Keep your commisary fat.

Not living a criminal life style - the so-called "down" woman (especially nowadays) takes on more of a mother role. These women take care of their man as if they carried him for 9 months, leaving him with little to no responsibility aside from keeping the bed warm.

But check this example:

Her husband had to leave her and her children because people were threatening his life. Not knowing who he could trust, she became like the Capt, Lt, and Secretary, handling all aspects of the organization.

This came in handy when her husband was locked up on federal charges. She handled everything.

While some men need their wives to smuggle them drugs or other contraband, this woman's husband needed something else.

The authorities, either saw the affect that her husband had on the other inmates or they were given instructions, but whatever the case, the prison denied him the Holy Qur'an.

As the account is told - his wife didn't try to smuggle the book in to him. No. Instead SHE WROTE IT OUT, page by page, and that's.....what she smuggled in.

How "down" is that?

"Defending Farrakhan" by Dr. Wesley Muhammad

Defending Farrakhan.
By Wesley Muhammad, PhD

This is a collection of individual essays I have written over the last two years in defense of my Teacher and Guide, the Honorable Brother Minister Farrakhan, whom I sincerely believe is the Apostle of God in our midst today. I must say: I am proud to be hated for his name-sake.

A point of clarification: I, Wesley Muhammad, do not believe what I believe about Farrakhan because I am with Farrakhan. No. I am with Farrakhan because of what I, being of sound and sober mind, have come to believe wholeheartedly about Farrakhan.

1.] Farrakhan Puts Everything in its Proper Place

This is an excerpt from The Honorable Elijah Muhammad's Table Talk in December 1973 with Brother Minister Farrakhan, Dr. Salaam and a number of other attendees. The full transcript is avaialble in the recent publication by Bro Sultan Muhammad and the Table Talks Project, Table Talks of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (2012). This discussion appears on pages 130-134.

The Hon Elijah Muhammad (THEM): “Well, my Brother Minister [Farrakhan], you’ve got-a lot-of-things lined up in the right and the most best way.”

Minister Louis Farrakhan (MLF): “Thank you, Dear Apostle.”

THEM: “I love to see you wise because that gives me pleasure because I’m your teacher…and I made such wise ministers.”

Group of Ministers: “Yes, Sir!”

Dr. Salaam (DS): “Yes, you gave birth to all of us.”

THEM: “So when I see you acting and speaking wise I have rejoice in my heart. I say this is the ONE (i.e. MLF) the world can’t bother. I want to prove to Satan that my minister is a greater light to the world of man than you and your world’s man---the whole of them.”

MLF: “Yes sir. Bless you Dear Apostle.”

THEM: “It’s wonderful”

******


THEM: “Well, that’s what I’m saying I can sit here and listen to you (MLF) and then I can step back and smile. I just need you to be Paul, you know. Go ahead on and put it out just like you are doing. You’ll put it out, sometimes I sit here—we all sit here and get a chance to listen at you, I listen at you brother, preaching Brother, and you’ll be surprised just to take a peak at the room through your spiritual eye and look at us. We enjoy it!”

MLF: “All praises due to Allah.”

THEM: “You [MLF] put everything in such proper place wherein it belongs. It’s beautiful! So we all is very happy over you, from Allah—that Allah made a helper.”

So the most fundamental question for all followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is: Do we believe The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and trust his judgment, or not?


2.] Farrakhan and The Godhood of Man

(Excerpts from ‘Islam Democratizes Divinity’ by Dr. Wesley Muhammad, Saviours' Day 2012 Workshop address)

"The Father is our own kind. He wants to make you and me, not just believers, but Gods. Everyone of you, according to what He (Master Fard Muhammad) has taught me, will be Gods…There is no doubt that we are really Gods, but we lost our power and knowledge as shown in the parable of the Jesus.” The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, “Theology of Time.”

“When we say ‘Allah,’ that name means ‘God’ and covers all Muslims. All Muslims are Allahs, but we call the Supreme Allah the Supreme Being.” The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Our Saviour Has Arrived.

The Secret of the Reality of God is not just that God is A man (singular), but that Man (plural) and Woman (plural) are God.


Farrakhan is a God. We, too, are gods, but Farrakhan’s God-hood is manifest, is obvious and is compelling…[All of us who have been fortunate enough to sit and walk with the Minister in person and up close, know well that we are in the presence of a manifest God.] But, Allah Most High did not make Farrakhan a God in order to invite us to worship him [or] in order for the Nation of Islam to become a bona fide personality cult. No. Farrakhan’s Godhood is not for Farrakhan’s sake but for our sake, just as according to Colossians 2:9 the Father allowed “the fullness of God’s Godhood to dwell in the human body of Christ,” not as an invitation to worship Christ but as proof of the divine nature of all of humanity and as the road map to humanity’s final self-realization of our own divinity. The Honorable Brother Minister Farrakhan [is not THE Christ, but he is a Christ - Crusher - among us.] He has said that he is proof that this life of Islam that Master Fard Muhammad gave to us through the Honorable Elijah Muhammad can be successfully lived, and this life was/is designed to make us Gods. Farrakhan is proof not only of the real possibility of living this life, but also proof of the reward that comes from having successfully lived the life, that reward being the realization of our own divinity. The Hon Min Farrakhan, as a bona fide God, is NOT a legitimate object of worship, but he is our roadmap to achieving our own Godhood.

[Just as it requires a practicing doctor to really show a resident how to PRACTICE medicine in the real world, it takes a practicing God to show us how to unlock and practice Godhood. Farrakhan is the only known practicing God in our midst right now. His example and tutelage is absolutely essential to all aspiring Gods.]

If we, as Followers of Farrakhan, succeed in being the most eloquent representatives and defenders of the Minister, but fail to achieve, like him, our own personal Godhood, then we have failed the point our Islam.”


3.] Ride or Die For Farrakhan?

Bro Antoine Mason says:

“With all due respect sir, I have seen your comments about being 'ride or die' with and for Farrakhan. It reminds me of when I was a member and a sister told me she just wanted to touch him as he walked down the isle. You are a scholar, you are very studious, you know what you are talking about. Again, with all due respect I admire your work (which includes writings and speeches). There is no way I can compare that to Farrakhan and some of the 'promises' he has made. You are doing the work. You are walking the walk and talking the talk. To me Farrakhan is talking the talk. Sir, please do not put all your eggs in one basic. I respect Farrakhan to an extent, but some of his teachings as well as Elijah Muhammad's teachings not only need scholarship (which you are providing), but a complete makeover. We need to use our own minds as you have demonstrated. See that is where I wonder about you to some degree: how can you be against Dogma when you are dogmatic? The statement about riding or dying for and with Farrakhan is the peak of dogma. If you can disprove that please do. Love to see some scholarship or a book on 'Proof that following Minister Louis Farrakhan 100% is not Dogmatic'.”


With equal respect Bro Antoine, while it appears that you intended to compliment me to some degree, I accept no compliments that come as a package-deal with an insult to my teacher, the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan. I can offer no thanks for claims or subtle insinuations that I – the student – am in some way ‘greater than’ my teacher. This is not to say that students cannot grow to excel teachers in a particular area or skill, but that NEVER means that the student is greater than his teacher. The student owes his excellence to the teacher who unselfishly guided the student in such a way that brought the excellence out of the student. One should not say “how great the student is”. One should always say “Alhumdulillah” but also acknowledge “What a great teacher he/she had.”

You say Bro Antoine: “You are walking the walk and talking the talk. To me Farrakhan is talking the talk.”

Wow. I am walking the walk, but the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan is only talking the talk? That man has half of a century of walking the walk that I am only trying to walk today. I am a proud member of the Nation of Islam – which I deeply love – ONLY because the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan did the arduous, dangerous labor of rebuilding the Nation of Islam after its demise. There would be no NOI for me to try to ‘walk’ within had he not done the WORK of overcoming all opposition to resurrect a movement and a nation which this government thought it killed. ALL of my scholarship – I repeat, ALL – ultimately was/is inspired by my love for the Teachings of the Most Hon Elijah Muhammad. But the only reason I was able to encounter this Teaching on that auspicious day in 1990 – when I encountered a Muslim and a Muslim God dialoguing over the Teaching – is because Louis Farrakhan snatched this Teaching back out of the trash-heap of intellectual history which this world had tossed it in after the fall of the Nation. Be clear, and I can’t say this enough: There would be NO True Islam or Dr. Wesley Muhammad if there were no Louis Farrakhan! There would have only been a Wesley Williams and whatever else Wesley Williams would have grown into. And be further clear: I am a product of the Work – the Walk – of Louis Farrakhan, not just the Talk (though that is equally potent and pregnant with success).

You say the Teachings of the Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad need not only scholarship, but a “complete make-over”. You say further:

“The sheer fact that W. D. Fard is seen as God, Elijah Muhammad is seen as the Last Messenger and Exalted Christ, and Farrakhan is seen as the Apostle in our midst today is error. Furthermore neither of those beliefs are factual. They are dogmatic in there adherence. Elijah Muhammad has a grave site and had a funeral so he cannot be an Exalted anything. W. D. Fard was born in 1877 so he cannot be an anything either. Farrakhan being an Apostle is possible, but if he believes in Elijah's teachings without question then he is not a Messenger or Apostle. Also if Elijah was the last Messenger, him being an Apostle is contradictory as well as redundant. This alone makes no sense. Also, no one can prove scientifically that all white people are devils. That is a ridiculous nonsensical belief. It is racist and prejudice. Has nothing to do with science of mathematics.”

This is only your personal view masquerading as established fact Beloved. The question of the religious (rather than historical) identity of Master Fard Muhammad, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and the Honorable Bro. Min. Farrakhan is a theological issue that is to be resolved (for now) theologically. I have laid out some of the theological reasons undergirding my belief in the religious identity of these men in my books, “The Book of God” and “Master Fard Muhammad: Who is He? Who is He Not?” Have you consulted my theo-historical reasoning laid out in those works? If so, you would know that I don’t hold such beliefs simply because Farrakhan believes such. There is no dogmatism in my religious belief about these men. There is a significant measure of ‘faith’, and there may very well be some (or total) error, but no dogmatism. To suggest that about me means two things: you are unfamiliar with my thinking and you miss understand what ‘dogmatism’ is.


Dogmatism:

1.The tendency to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others.
2.Arrogant, stubborn assertion of opinion or belief.
3.the use of a system of ideas based upon insufficiently examined premises.

I do not believe that I have been dogmatic about any of my publically defended or even privately held beliefs. I certainly have not ‘waxed dogmatic’ about the religious identity of these men. I sincerely believe in their religious identity. Some of this belief I have publicly defended, others I have only proclaimed as a personal belief of mine, without insisting that others necessarily agree with me. How is that dogmatic? All of these beliefs, however, are based on an examination of evidence and consideration of alternative explanations of that evidence. As a very rational being with critical skills, I am personally satisfied with my interpretation of the evidence and thus feel very justified in my beliefs about these men. However, I NEVER insist that other people MUST believe the same about these men because “it is Truth”. That’s dogmatism. I don’t do dogmatism.

But you say you wonder about me in this regard, Bro Antoine. You say:


“how can you be against Dogma when you are dogmatic? The statement about riding or dying for and with Farrakhan is the peak of dogma.”


You have here confused and conflated dogmatism with loyalty dear Brother. Dogmatism is a theological excess; loyalty is a divine and human virtue. I am not dogmatic about my teacher and spiritual father, the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan. Sis Alisha has corrected pointed you to my Note on this subject (“Has the Nation of Islam Become a Personality Cult?”), where I publically affirm:


“I, Bro Wesley Muhammad, being of sound mind and body, bare witness that the Hon. Bro. Minister Farrakhan (THMF) is the Apostle of God, God’s man is our midst. I believe he, like the prophets and apostles before him, is the recipient of divine guidance from Allah though he is not free of the ability to err and has, by his own admission, erred in the past. Such human errors in no way argue against the fact of the guidance he has and continues to receive from Allah in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad (MFM) and His Christ, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (THEM)… while THMF is the criterion of Truth and Falsehood (Furqan) in our midst, he is not the criterion of fact and non-fact. I don’t believe he would make such a claim.”

(See also my Note, “Ending Hustle Scholarship and Black Muslim Dogmatism: An Imperative”)

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150321697002397

I personally believe that I have a very healthy and appropriate view of Farrakhan as Apostle of God (God’s man in our midst) that is free of dogmatism. See, I know that apostles of God can make mistakes and still be the Apostles of God. I thus entertain no illusion that my teacher is incapable of erring, nor does the possibility that he may have erred here or there at some point in his semi-century work cause me any discomfort or question as to who he is in my mind. A good example of this dynamic is the Holy Prophet Muhammad. There is an important hadith in Sahih Muslim (Book 030, Number 5830).

“Musa b. Talha reported: I and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) happened to pass by people near the date-palm trees. He (the holy prophet) said: “What are these people doing?” They said: “They are grafting, i. e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit.” Thereupon Allah's messenger (may peace be upon him) said: “I do not find it to be of any use.” The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) (was later) on informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he said: “If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion; but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.”

Here, the Prophet’s ijtihad or personal opinion about a mundane matter (in this case botany) was wrong and had negative consequences for those believers – a poor crop yield. Nevertheless, this does not mean that Muhammad was not the messenger of Allah. As he states: his own personal opinions are his own personal opinions, but his instructions in matters of the din (religion) are by divine inspiration and are to be obeyed. Now, even though I recognized that my teacher, the Hon. Bro. Minister Farrakhan, is a human Man of God and capable of making human mistakes, this does not mean that I don’t value his ijtihad. I absolutely do. It guides me. I don’t, however, presume that his ijtihad is incapable of error.

While not dogmatic in regards to the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan, I am most definitely loyal to him. My statement, which apparently inspired your comments Bro Antoine, was this:

“You know, I don't care what you people think or say. I love the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan. I continue to ride with and ride for him. In my 20 years as a Registered Muslim, I can't say that I have understood every move he has made at the moment he's made them. But a comprehensive, non-porous understanding is no sine qua non for loyalty to a mission and to a man that embodies and has himself faithfully served that mission. Beyond the religious titles, I know him to be a man of deep spiritual insight, moral fortitude and, most importantly (for me), profound integrity. I am happy with the man that I am today, but I would NOT be that man (intellectually, spiritually, morally, paternally) if not for the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan. There would be no "Book of God" etc., if there were no 'Who is God?' Christ Universal Temple, 1991. So I'll be damned if I turn away from my benefactor simply because I don't understand his every move at every time, or because people who were my comrades are now his enemies and, thus, my enemies. I'm not fair-weather. I'm ride or die.”

This is no declaration of dogmatism toward a religious figure, but an affirmation of loyalty to a personal benefactor. You don’t see the difference? I, my children, my ex-wife, my mother, etc., are all great beneficiaries of the life and work of Louis Farrakhan. My loyalty goes beyond the admittedly debatable theological question (ALL theological questions are debatable). It is because of Farrakhan that my children have the Daddy that they have. It is because of Farrakhan that I married their mother, making her a Wife rather than a Baby Momma. When I first encountered this Teaching, I was a bitter and arrogant atheist who mocked and cursed the idea of God. It was the words of Farrakhan that brought me back to the Lord of All the Worlds and taught me how to understand His Reality. Everyone who knows me knows that the love for Islam runs through my veins rather than blood. It is Farrakhan that has inspired and guided this love in me for this Teaching. My twenty years as a Follower of Farrakhan has shaped me as a father, husband, son, intellectual, Believer, and man. I am not at all being hyperbolic when I say that there would be no True Islam/Dr. Wesley Muhammad if not for the word and the work of Louis Farrakhan. He has benefited me in ways mentioned and many more ways unmentioned. And he has asked NOTHING of me except, quote: “Be true to your God, your family, and YOURSELF”. He did not even ask of me to be true to him! I hope he knew he simply didn’t have to ask that. What type of person could turn their back on such a benefactor in a critical hour? There are names for that type of person.

All relationships of every type are challenged by and with difficulties. Marriages are challenged; friendships; work relationships; parent-child relationships; organizational relationships; etc. etc. One reason marriages in the US (including Black Muslim marriages) have such a high failure rate is because too many of us are fair-weather partners. Too many of us bolt when our marriage or other relationships encounter serious difficulty. We are so NOT ride or die. I was not fair-weather in my marriage (though it did ultimately dissolve) nor will I be fair-weather in my relation with/to Islam and the man that has taught me the principles of my Islam. My statement above was made after reading much chatter, some of which was made by Muslims who used to be with Farrakhan but now, due to one controversial issue or another (e.g. Dianetics) they are no longer with him and, more than that, publically speak ill of the man who just three months ago they hailed as Jesus and as personal savior. I have had personal friends and comrades who were personally saved by Farrakhan – he got them off alcohol and made them principled, productive men – yet when things got hot because the Minister made a decision that they simply didn’t understand, they publically slandered their life benefactor. What I am saying is that neither misunderstanding a move by Farrakhan or even a possible mistake by Farrakhan (for the doubters sake) justifies turning your back on a man like that who has so benefitted not only you and your family but the Black Nation. The irony is, these people swore they were soldiers down to ride ‘regardless.’ ‘Ride or Die’ is simply cliché today. Most people are NOT ride or die in any of our relationships. Most of us are fair-weather.

My twenty years as a student of the Hon. Bro. Min. Farrakhan and member of the NOI has been no walk in the park. Anyone who has been in this for that long will have many ‘life’ war stories and battle scars. The Minister has shown me great love and he has spanked the hell out of me. He has given me great clarity and he has confused me. In other words, the Ma’atic Balance has been real in my life in Islam, which is exactly what we should expect. Who goes into a relationship expecting all sunny and cloudless days? And who leaves a relationship or violates a relationship – organizational or otherwise – because dark clouds and pouring rain spoiled your silly hope for a totally sunny relationship?

So this, Bro Antoine, is the context of my above statement. It is not about dogmatic adherence to a theological understanding of the religious identity of Farrakhan; it’s about love for and loyalty to a man who has shown his love for and loyalty to us as a people (Black) and as a community (NOI) for over 50 years. It is a declaration of my belief that NOTHING he has said or done justifies turning our individual or collective back on this man from whom we have all benefitted. While so many in the Muslim community and so-called conscious community are speaking ill of this man because of some recent move – Obama, Dianetics, Khalid, etc – I wanted the world to know that I continue to stand with and ride for my personal and our collective benefactor. I’m not fair-weather. I’m ride or die.


4.] Has the Nation of Islam Become a Personality Cult?

In our Allah Team Study Group a wonderful Believer asked a question and raised an important issue. I wanted to share his concern and my response, hoping to stimulate further reflection. I have removed my brother’s name, only because I have not reached out to him yet to get clearance to do so.

Question:

“We can't even give honor to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan without somebody claiming that we are personality worshippers. Could it be that you just refuse to recognize the fact that he has YOUR key and can lock YOU out of Heaven if he so chooses? If you understand that, then you understand his Connection and Value to Allah, Master Fard Muhammad and the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. That don't mean that we see you as a insignificant creature. You a god too. But you're not him, sorry. He is the Son of Elijah! And like the Scriptures say, "Submit to God's royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities--for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!" Psalm 2:12 New Living Translation.”

My Response:

ASA Brother…. Thank you for this post. You have opened up what I consider to be a very important and long overdue – not to mention very difficult – discussion. I, Bro Wesley Muhammad, being of sound mind and body, bare witness that the Hon. Bro. Minister Farrakhan (THMF) is the Apostle of God, God’s man is our midst. I believe he, like the prophets and apostles before him, is the recipient of divine guidance from Allah though he is not free of the ability to err and has, by his own admission, erred in the past. Such human errors in no way argue against the fact of the guidance he has and continues to receive from Allah in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad (MFM) and His Christ, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (THEM).


With that being said, I have to say that the Nation of Islam today is absolutely a cult of personality, and this, in my humble opinion, is part of the cause of our communal dysfunctionality. You are right Brother…: it is not only proper but incumbent upon us as Believers to not only give THMF the proper honor due an apostle of God, but we also must defend such a man, his character, integrity and mission. We should follow the guidance that comes from such a man. None of this constitutes personality worship.

But too many of us in the Nation of Islam go well beyond this very legitimate display of recognition and honor of who he is. Some examples of our cultic behavior:


1.] The all too often heard insistence that the only legitimate source of knowledge and information is that which we get from THMF on a DVD, webcast, or live lecture. With this frequently is joined the claim that all knowledge derived from sources other than him (or THEM) is suspect. This attitude that “If Farrakhan didn’t say it, it is untrue or irrelevant, so leave it alone” is personality cultism, in my opinion. Now, many in the Nation of Gods and Earths too are personality cultists. To even ask the question, “Where did the Father say that at?” and then assume that, if no such citation can be offered then the statement holds no value, is equally personality cultism. Whether the Father said it or not is not the ultimate criterion by which fact and non-fact is determined. And, let truth be told, while THMF is the criterion of Truth and Falsehood (Furqan) in our midst, he is not the criterion of fact and non-fact. I don’t believe he would make such a claim. The fact of the matter is, THMF not only encourages us to read and study, he has on several occasions publically lamented the fact that we supposed ‘Students Enrolled’ actually don’t study. Making him our ONLY source of knowledge and truth is not the path to Godhood, in my opinion. Following his example is. And He, while grounded in the revealed lessons of THEM, yet has studied widely and this wide study has deepened his understanding of the revealed Teachings and made him an effective – indeed the MOST effective – teacher and defender of these divine Teachings. This is what is open to all of us as well, if we would but avail ourselves to it by following his lead. But by fearing and or refusing for pious reasons to intellectually venture beyond his words, does not grow us as human/divine intellectual beings: it stifles us.


2.] The fact that we are a cult of personality was also in evidence, in my opinion, during too many of the Wednesday and Sunday lectures by the local ministers. Too many ministers have become Farrakhan cheerleaders rather than teachers of Islam under the guidance of THMF. I do not believe that Wednesday and Sunday lectures, mainly to believers (because we don’t get too many lost founds anymore) should consist mainly of extolling the greatness of THMF. We the Believers are already convinced of this. Where is the actual teaching of Islam? Where is the practical teaching that can improve Black daily life, economically, physically, intellectually, and spiritually? Now, THMF has a number of very powerful and powerfully effective ministers that do just that. But, by his admission, there are too many that don’t. We must understand that Islam is much wider than the greatness of THMF, so our teaching of Islam must go beyond how great THMF is. Those who cannot understand that Islam is broader than the greatness of our beloved Minister are, in my opinion, participants in a cult of personality. Too much focus on who he is has made us lose sight of who WE are.


3.] The fact that so many of us want to look like him and sound like him, but not struggle to have his character, integrity and commitment to intellectual courage, is also evidence that we have become a cult of personality.


I recall hearing THMF himself stating that we have become a personality cult. He has said more than once that, due to the condition of the NOI, he does not believe THEM will accept us when he THMF) goes to his father (THEM). He is not the only one who sees our degraded condition. The larger black community sees our condition and this why we are not taken seriously any more – as scholars, soldiers, or saviors. We used to be. I believe that part of the problem is that we too often and too easily cross the line between the healthy and obligatory honor and obedience due to the man of God, and plain old personality worship. There is a profound difference between the two.”


5.] Dianetics: Apostasy to the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad?

Peace Family.


Below is part of an exchange I had with some members of the Nation of God and Earths (hereafter NGE) regarding the Hon Minister Farrakhan's (hereafter THMF) decision to set the Nation of Islam (NOI) on a course of study of the psycho-therapy technology called Dianetics, innovated by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology (COS).

Dianetics, Apostacy to the Teachings of The Hon. Elijah Muhammad?

Bro Critique and Bro Ralik I personally appreciate the respectful way you are trying to critically engage us Followers of THMF on this very sensitive issue of Dianetics. It appears to me (though of course I could be wrong) that you are seeking to understand rather than criticize or condemn. I don’t know if I can help make any progress in that regard, but I would like to try.

I would like to start by recalling that in the late 80’s THMF spoke to the Association of Black Psychologists and noted that, because of Black people’s psycho-social condition, every Black Leader should have a trained psychologist at his/her side. He along with others not in the NOI was way back then sensitive to the psychological damage that the American Holocaust of Enslavement did to us. And let Us Muslims and Muslimas, Gods and Goddess/Earths resist romanticizing about our Islam or I.S.L.A.M.: the fact of the matter is that with 80 years of Islam and (for the sake of argument) @50 years of I.S.L.A.M. among Black people, in 2010 the Black community as a whole – NOI and NGE included – is arguably in a worst behavioral and psycho-somatic condition than we were eighty years ago. Our collective psychoses do not show signs of progressive alleviation in 2010 – they show clear signs of progressive deterioration. What is the solution? Well, some would say we need to cling back to the Teachings which too many of us have forsaken. I would agree that this is a necessary part of the solution. However, I know individuals – such as myself! – who could probably make a very strong case of being true Believers in this Teaching and trying to effectuate them in our lives, yet still unquestionably suffer from some of the general effects of the slavery-induced pathologies and psychoses. So, as much as we hate to admit this, we DO need more than the literature and tapes of THEM or the 120, Supreme Math and Supreme Alphabet. God Critique I believe you when you say:

“No one wants to LEAD, no one want to BELITTLE Farakhan or take away from the many GREAT feats he accomplished, I humbly respect his work. Yet and still I respect what H.E.M. and Master Fard taught me in 120 because I lived it, I breath 120, I bear witness to how devil was made. I walked 2,200 hundred miles myself and then REALIZED that I had to WALK BACK to the best part- MECCA, the mind to return to civilization MYSELF.”

You say further:

“No matter HOW you make it to be, it comes off as HELP from something NOT original, simple and plain. You say some people NEED it. We do not need nothing outside of Self.”

I feel you Lord, but you would forgive me if I say that sounds like the type of rhetoric that I hear from many a Mosque podium on Sundays and (formerly) Wednesdays. It sounds good, but that is not a practical answer to the question of the solution to the many real pathologies and psychoses that afflict our people. It is also patently false that in our day-to-day lives we need nothing outside of self (unless I misunderstand what you mean by self). Muslims, let us remember that with all of the Islam that THMF unquestionably has, when he fell ill he had to turn to medical treatment authored by whites and administered in a ‘white’ system. Are we suggesting that he was an apostate to the Teachings for doing so? Hell, THEM himself went to the white man’s hospital to get care. Was he an apostate to his own Teachings? Am I or any other Muslim or NGE parent an apostate because we/they take our children to the white man’s emergency room to get the white man’s emergency care? Well, THMF sees our current condition as an emergency situation – a real mental-health crisis. He is willing to employ whatever aid he fills can effectively treat some of our condition. How can one be critical of that decision? Will it ultimately work? We don’t yet know, but we should not condemn him for thinking outside the ‘Black Muslim Box’ to acquire much needed, supplemental aid to his people (note: I am not at all saying the Gods Critique or Ralik are doing this. Im speaking in general).

Does it matter that this potential help-aid, Dianetics, is the brainchild of a ‘racist’ white man who founded a religion other than Islam? Please speak up all of you who, the last time you received emergency care at a hospital, stopped the nurse or doctor before receiving care to verify they were of the right religion. I live in Michigan where, between late November to as far as April, it is very cold. And I hate the cold. Therefore, I personally thank Allah for that white man, Warren S. Johnson, who invented the electric thermostat! I don’t know his religion; I don’t know his views on Black folk; and as I sit back right now on my couch in my home that is a comfortable 76 degrees while it is a freezing 30 degrees outside, I don’t care one bit about his religion or racial views. And if one of you wise scientists and powerful researchers post information on him tonight that he was the chief priest of the ‘Kill All Niggas Church,’ you think I’m going to turn my thermostat off? Sh****t. Call me an apostate all you want. “Message to the Black Man” won’t warm my house.

The God Ralik raised a very legitimate concern:

“I think that the issue that most have with the move to study Dianetics is it's relationship to the Church Of Scientology and the System which they have in place within that organization. What that organization deals with and what it has produced. Reading a book is different from joining and/OR participating in a system…It is the idea that this system which they have developed is in some way more fit to transform the Black Family than what has already been given in the form of 120 Lessons and the teachings of THEM. .. It is the SYSTEM utilized by the Church Of Scientology and the dangers associated with said system that the rest of the Family is concerned about.”


I respect that concern. I would, though, suggest that it is a non-issue in as much as the THMF and those firmly rooted in this teaching are no more at risk of falling victim to the ‘System’ of Scientology as they are of falling victim to the ‘system’ of the Shriners because they might take their children to Children’s Hospital. By participating in the study of Dianetics, we in the NOI are NOT participating in the Church of Scientology. That is a fact per the arrangements made between THMF and the COS. Whatever your personal experience was Critique, the NOI’s use of this psycho-therapy called Dianetics is according to official arrangements made. Will some individual Muslims get crazy and get caught up? No doubt. But that has less to do with Dianetics or the COS per se, and more to do with the state of that individual’s Islam. Is THMF saying that the ‘system’ of Scientology is more fit to transform Black life than the Islam of MFM and THEM? Emphatically NO! What he is saying is exactly what THEM said: “I will even use the Devil himself to build up the NOI”. By using the ‘Devil’ to build up the NOI, THEM was certainly not saying that the Devil’s system is more fit to transform Black life.


@Brother Jamal Shabazz-Allah:

I appreciate you sharing with me and us how you and those who think like you cee this issue. Understand that it will always take me some time to respond to posts directed at me, in as much as my schedule does not allow me the luxury of 24 hr Facebook engagement.

You say on behalf of yourself and you’re A-Alikes (presumably fellow members of the NGE):

“Now, for the record, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the members of the Nation of Islam studying the principles of Dianetics. Hell, it might even help them in many ways - its a possibility.”

Thank you for conceding the point. THMF believes in that possibility, and this is the ONLY reason we are having this discussion today. He believes he found something out there that can potentially help better the real life condition of his Followers in particular and Black people in general, and he is mature enough, non-dogmatic enough, and practical enough to not be concerned with the racial or religious views of the author of this thing that could potentially (as you admit) help his people. This principle should offend no one from the NGE, in as much as a cardinal point of your religion is: “We are not pro-black or anti-white”. If you are not anti-white, why does it matter who L. Ron Hubbard is after conceding the real possibility that something he brought forth can potentially help some black people? Now, admittedly this last point may not impress you, being that you are not pro-black either. However, THMF and I myself is/am very pro-Black, so whatever can benefit the Black Man and Woman in any way, we are there.

Following your reasonable concession here Bro Jamal, you make a most unfortunate factual error. You claim:

“However, as I previously discussed with Wakeel, the measure lies in the functionality of it. In reality, Farrakhan didn't say, ‘You guys should go and study Dianetics, since I feel it will be useful to you...’ Emphatically no! He said, 'I want to see ALL your names on this paper, signing up for this study. And, if I don't see your names on this paper, you'll be punished with a severe punishment (not in those exact words, of course).’ The Muslims were instructed, as a mandate, to sign up for Dianetics, and that's where the issue takes an immediate turn.”

When I came up in the 5% Nation of Islam, a non-negotiable principle was: “knowledge before you wisdom,” i.e. get the full knowledge of a situation before you speak on that situation . I guess this principle was one of the casualties in the transition from 5% Nation of Islam to Nation of God and Earths. I was at the Laborers Meeting when THMF first introduced Dianetcs. The mandate was NOT to all Believers. The mandate was ONLY for those who seek to be over the Believers in a position of authority, i.e. Laborers! As a private citizen the study was encouraged but not mandated. Nor is there any, as you claimed, ‘severe punishment’ for those who refuse. Those Student-Laborers who break protocol by refusing to take advantage of a psycho-therapy that could (as you concede) potentially make them better people in positions of authority over suffering Believers will, and well should, be denied the opportunity to serve in such capacity. That is all.

You (and presumably you’re A-Alikes) make a very fallacious argument based on very twisted logic, Beloved, by claiming:


“To imply that the Nation of Islam in any way **needs** the wisdom of L. Ron Hubbard is to also imply that your own wisdom, as manifested by Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, is not ‘supreme’. Supreme Wisdom doesn't need elevation, especially not from an inferior source…“When you start mixing and tampering with Supreme Wisdom, then you de-holify (is that a word? lol) it, making it less than what it originally was, and/or graft it and make it unalike. .. When you dilute a substance, eventually it becomes weaker to the degree of not having the same effect that it originally produced...Its a total replacement of the Supreme Wisdom teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, for wisdom of a less-credible source, manifested by L. Ron Hubbard...”

In as much as you Bro Jamal purport to stand on the Supreme Wisdom of MFM and THEM, please answer me this: when MFM mandated that THEM study 104 books NOT WRITTEN BY HIMSELF, at least some which (like van Loon’s ‘The Story of Mankind’) were written by whites, was he (i.e. MFM) implying that he ‘needed’ the inferior wisdom of van Loon and the other authors? Was he (MFM) mixing and tampering with his own Supreme Wisdom? Was this a ‘total replacement’ of his own teachings by a less-credible source? And if so, why then do you presume here to even defend the tampered-with ‘Supreme Wisdom’ of MFM and THEM which was early on ‘de-holified,’ as you so eloquently put it?

You say, Bro Jamal:

“Since you relayed your thoughts in terms of taking children to a colored (white) man's hospital, we can use the same line of thinking for your newly-instituted program: If your children were sick with a serious illness, and they needed emergency treatment very badly, would you take them out of a ‘supreme’ hospital, where the service, supplies and output was known to produce ‘supreme’ results; and take them to the 'free clinic', where there is considerably less quality in personnel and medical supplies and activities, and where the patients who emerge from that clinic have more problems than they went in with?”

Who are you talking about here, Beloved, the Father Allah (Clarence 13X)? You mean when he left the ‘supreme’ hospital (Mosque) where the service, supplies and output were known to produce ‘supreme’ results; and when he set-up a 'free clinic', a 'Supreme Wisdom clinic' free of the Restrictive Law (which MFM/THEM explicitly said “IS OUR SUCCESS”), and where there is considerably less quality in personnel and medical supplies and activities (the 5% NOI/NGE NEVER matched what THEM produced) and where the patients who emerge from that clinic (many Gods and Earths) have more problems than they went in with? Oh, you must be alluding to the Father’s exit from the NOI of THEM (‘supreme hospital’) and his setting up of the 5% (free-clinic), which later morphed into (another change!) the NGE. You see, when you ask, “Did the Father change the teachings of Elijah Muhammad?” the answer is, on one level, an EMPHATIC YES! The ‘Teachings’ of THEM were never just the lessons; they always included the Restrictive Laws; the General Orders; and the many prescriptions on how to live a Muslim life. These were part of the Teachings that the Father, for whatever reason, DID NOT incorporate into his ‘free-clinic’ and one of the results is that the life-style and life condition of too many who claim the Father are totally degenerate when compared to the life that MFM and THEM prescribed for us. See, life in the ‘mosque’ was a part of the ‘Teachings’ that MFM gave to THEM. Being in the Mosque, at least for a time, is a necessary part of the ‘God-hood training PROGRAM’ that MFM gave to THEM for our benefit. If you have never ‘did time’ (lol!) in the Mosque, you are NOT following the Teachings of THEM. Let’s keep it real. If you do not try to incorporate the Restrictive Laws, General Orders, or How to Eat to Live into your life, you are NOT following ‘The Teachings’ of MFM and THEM. Yes sir, the Father DID change the teachings. You claim:

“Minister Farrakhan hasn't done what Elijah did, because he hasn't stuck with the Messenger's teachings and programs. That's simple mathematics, God.”


The Father Allah (Clarence 13X) and today his Suns (members of the NGE) haven’t done what THEM did, because he and you have NOT stuck with THEM's Teachings AND PROGRAMS. Now THAT is simple mathematics, God. On a final note: when MFM, with all his Supreme Wisdom, got his stomach pumped at one of ‘cavie’s’ hospitals; when THEM, with all his ‘Supreme Wisdom’, ‘needed’ to get medical treatment for his bronchitis from 'Satan’s' medical establishment, were they replacing the ‘Supreme Wisdom’ with a less-credible wisdom?

Peace

True Islam (Bro Wesley)

"The 5 Percenters and the Nation of Islam" by Bro. Wakeel Alah

Allah(Clarence 13X) didn’t leave Five Percenters to guess about their origin. He taught them the history of the Nation of Islam and their connection to it and its founders. According to Allah’s teachings, Master W. F. Muhammad represented “Knowledge” because he was the foundation upon which he stood. As explained by Universal Shaamgaudd:

Allah taught us that in this 50-year period a mental seed was planted in the mind of W. F. Muhammad. He was chosen for many reasons, one being because he was a Holy Man who was pure in mind and body. Another was because he was a man of Knowledge and Wisdom, a Master of Supreme Knowledge. Also because of the complexion of his skin and the texture of his hair—this allowed him to move and speak relatively free among both types of people, Black and Coloreds—while a man of darker complexion would have been put to death without hesitation for teaching what W.F. Muhammad was teaching. On February 8, 1930, [sic July 4, 1930] he announced the Birth of the Nation of Islam in Detroit, Michigan. The rest is a matter of History...

In succession, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad played an inherent role in Allah’s teachings and represented “Wisdom” because he was the one who received the knowledge from W.F. Muhammad and manifested it to the so-called American Negro. Father Allah recognized Elijah as the “Last Greatest Messenger of Allah.” As detailed in a Five Percent article written circa 1982:

Was Master Fard Muhammad successful in raising the dead, deaf, dumb and blind so-called American Negro? Yes! How did he raise the dead, deaf, dumb, and blind so-called American Negro? By giving them knowledge of self and the devil. Can there be any seen proof of the above? Yes! By looking at god (Allah), the Muslims and their divine Messenger the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Last Messenger of Allah, and that is an actual fact, for God himself said so.

Shaamgaudd cosigns the same:

Now the Nation of Islam (or Black Muslims Nation) was under the Divine Leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him), successor to W. F. Muhammad.

Another Five Percenter article written in 1974 makes the same claim and places a connection between the two movements and its founders:

Is there any chance of the Muslims and Five Percenters uniting together for one common cause? Yes! This unity will come about when the understanding is born about Master Fard Muhammad and his Uncle. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has this understanding and bears witness to the Five Percenters but very few of his followers are ready for this Supreme Understanding. The Five Percenters are not opposed to the Muslims and bear witness to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as being the Messenger of Allah. The Five Percenters are actually advanced Muslims and perform the duty of ministers which is to teach freedom, justice and equality. Islam is the nature of the Blackman and all must return to the ONE who is ALLAH.

Consequently, Allah placed himself within this paradigm by defining his connection to Fard and Elijah. As their offspring, he was looked at as third in succession; therefore serving as the one to bring the “Understanding” or reveal the teachings to the babies. Universal Shaamgaudd:

The Father explained that he was born in Danville, Virginia which represents the Divine Virgin of Allah (the Supreme Alphabets Un-like the Supreme Mathematics are flexible) not Georgia like some plus lessons would have you believe.
He then came North where he was baptized by the Wisdom of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, (similar) to the way Jesus was baptized, by the wisdom of John the Baptist or like the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was baptized by W.F. Muhammad. Now don’t take me wrong. This is not the dipping of one’s body in physical water. It is the purification of one body and mind through divine teachings. It is also called the tilling of the mental soil. This is done so that the Body and Mind of a said person of that ability will be both physically and mentally prepared for the mission which Allah has planned for that individual.

This intricate philosophical relationship between the three (Fard, Elijah and Allah) became a part of Five Percenter theology. Allah taught his Five Percenters that they should respect and revere the two pioneers, as it was the foundation upon which he stood and to deny them would be to deny him. This is evident in an article that appeared in The Five Percenter Newspaper:

Brothers ask was Master Fard Muhammad Allah? If THIS Nation is real, then Allah had to be present in the Union of Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. If Allah wasn’t the maker and owner of that Union, then everything coming from that Union is Non Cipher. To deny the presence of Allah in that Union is to deny the presence of Allah in the Unions which followed that Union (Namely our Union). For if that Union was NOT right and exact, then all which came from it is NOT right and exact.
Allah said, ‘If it wasn’t for Elijah Muhammad...I wouldn’t know who I was.., and if it wasn’t for Master Fard Muhammad, Elijah Muhammad wouldn’t know who he was.’ We are the descendants of the event that took place between Master Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad.
The knowledge had to come back from the understanding seed (Master Fard Muhammad) to the wisdom seed (the Honorable Elijah Muhammad) to the knowledge seed (Allah). If A=B and B=C, then A=C. If their union was fake then so is ours. Allah always has been and always will be. Master Fard Muhammad was taught by the Wise Man of The East, Black Man! To deny Master Fard Muhammad is to deny the Father.

Another Five Percenter Scholar, Dr. Wesley Muhammad (True Islam), goes further in explaining Allah’s relationship with Fard and Elijah:

The Lessons are the words of Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. This is what the Father brought for us. And these three men, Master Fard Muhammad, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and the Father Allah, represent the Divine Trinity of Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding. Master Fard Muhammad is the Knowledge, the foundation upon which the Father stood and upon which we stand today. It was He who brought the full Knowledge of God to these shores in 1930 and made it accessible to the Black Man and Woman in the wilderness of North America. This knowledge was made manifest to us through the Wisdom, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Everything that we know of Islam was brought by Master Fard Muhammad and taught to us by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. These two men, the Knowledge and the Wisdom, gave mental birth to the Understanding, the Father Allah. These three exist as a tri-unit. To separate the Father from this unit in order to give him a different teaching from what Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught, is tantamount to separating the Understanding from the Knowledge and Wisdom, or the seed from its parents. The Father, as the Understanding, is indeed for us the Best Part. But Understanding is understood only in the context of the Knowledge and Wisdom which borned it. Zig, Zag, Zig teaches us that Knowledge and Understanding are alike, THUS MASTER FARD MUHAMMAD AND THE FATHER ALLAH ARE ALIKE. To separate them is to violate the Laws of Supreme Mathematics. THERE IS NO INCONSISTENCIES IN ALLAH’S MATHEMATICS. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as the Wisdom, is the bridge between the Knowledge and the Understanding. MASTER FARD MUHAMMAD, THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, AND THE FATHER ALLAH CANNOT BE SEPERATED, FOR KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING CANNOT BE SEPERATED. He who claims that the Father taught something different from what the Knowledge and the Wisdom taught are setting up an inconsistency in Allah’s Mathematics. THAT IS AN EMPHATIC NOW CIPHER.

Other Five Percenter accounts depict that Allah made it clear his coming out of the mosque was not in opposition to Master Fard Muhammad or the Honorable Elijah Muhammad; rather it was to fulfill divine prophecy. As an FOI, he was given the assignment of delivering the word of Allah to “the 17,000,000 Original people in the Wilderness of North America.” He set out to do that by loosening the seals of the Lost-Found Muslim lessons and revealing them to “the babies.” He saw this as his personal assignment in the “resurrection of the mentally dead.” Even though some of his FOI peers still in the mosque didn’t quite understand his reasoning, he emphasized he was not rebelling against the law of Islam but rather upholding the laws of Islam. This he would do by fulfilling his divine mission: “to teach Islam to the Babies.” As told by Prince Allah Cuba:

"But one important fact should be made clear, and he himself made it clear, as have earlier prophets: he did not come to refute or dispute the message of Allah (Master Fard Muhammad) or his prophet Elijah, but to add to, and fulfill, the earlier scriptures (writings) of the Nation of Islam. He performed this service in bringing those Lost-Found Muslim Lessons out of the Temple and putting them out into the streets...Everything that Allah taught was consistent with the scriptures of 120 degrees and the Nation of Islam."

"Problem #7 of the Problem Book by Master Fard Muhammad, My Analysis" by Abdul Allah Muhammad

Problem #7 If one one-hundredth of a cubic inch contains two hundred million Atoms, the total Atmosphere weighs eleven and two-thirds quintillion pounds. One-third of eleven and two-thirds quintillion pounds equal Atoms. Mr. Muhammad cracked one Atom into ten million parts. Then Mr. Sharrieff wants to know how much the one-third of a cracked Atom weighs?


My analysis...First:

The Atoms is "parts" "people" converts.

The two hundred million Atoms was the population of America when God (in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad) found us in 1930.

Second:

In lesson #2, Allah asks "Who is the 5%?" So question what is 5% of 200,000,000? (answer 10,000,000).

The ten million are the converts whom this one ATOM will be cracked into, and The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said he knew when he would have 10,000,000 (10 million) followers.

Then problem #7 says 1/3 of 11 and 2/3 quintillion pounds equal Atoms. The ATOM being cracked is the Hon. Min. Farrakhan. The Lamb of God said to his Minister Abdul Rahman once "I cracked Farrakhan." He (Minister Farrakhan) is the Atom or the original man of a new dispensation time, the first of his kind.

Now 1/3 of 11 and 2/3 represent two men of 2 phases of the same mission.

The 2/3 is the Most Hon. ELIJAH MUHAMMAD and the 1/3 is the Hon. Min. LOUIS FARRAKHAN.

This is why in an interview in the 1960s the Hon. Elijah Muhammad said "2/3 of the Holy Quran was for him, 1/3 was for another fellow, and I will let him worry about his part in his time."

Remember 2/3 of the Quran was revealed in MECCA, and 1/3 was revealed in Madina to Prophet Muhammad off the heels of a death plot. The Messenger said Allah lined him up with about 2/3 of its study (of the the Quran). The 1/3 is the period when Muhammad went back to claim MECCA it is called "The Madina Period."

That period is that in which were in, the period where the Hon. Min. Farrakhan went back to claim the Temple (Nation of Islam) Mosque #2 from the family of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad.

Also the weight of the Atom is how heavy in knowledge the man is (The Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan)

As-Salaam-Alaikum,
Bro. Abdul Allah Muhammad

"Poverty to Progress" by Isma'il Latif Umayya (Understanding GodAllah)

Poverty to Progress ( a limited piece)

The cycle of Poverty to (societal) Status plagues the "Americanized" person of color (mainly so called African-American and so called Latino).

This "arrived" or (societal) accepted status does not necessarily mean or require that one is "wealthy" materially. It's more of a psychological issue. An status of acceptance in places where others on the path of poverty to status desire to be thus it is given credence. It tends to be circular in function and limited in progress (for the people en masse of which the body of participants have arrived out of). It includes both intelligence and ignorance and financial poverty (covered) and (limited compared with mass society's) wealth

This cycle which received "jet-fuel" from it's former ability to damage with the on set of Crack. Ironically predicted by Minister Farrakhan (as attacking with "chemical warfare" as early as 1979/80) four years before Crack made it's meteoric impact.

The cycle of Poverty to (societal) Status plays the role as a supreme distraction for the same groups/people from becoming highly concerned with literacy, education, and the importance of education and being educators.

Being or claiming to be in the Nation of Islam, 5%er, Pan Africanist, Black Panther, Hebrew Israelite or any "conscious" group/nation/club or being "muslim" does not make one exempt.

Being "aware" or saying "we care" is not the same as actually Caring or Doing.

What happens during this cycle is that the "needs" of the people that practice and follow this path still must be supplied by the same people who are the authors of the very situation(s) that the said groups/people are trying to rise out of.

Thus something like… "the white man is the devil" but i rely on a left wing, liberal gay white man who has a burning desire to help people teach in my child's poorly funded/managed neighborhood school (as an analogy).

We don't need to lie to ourselves or blame others. The evidence is overwhelmingly, grotesquely apparent.

The leaning for Social status and it's being "accepted" by people in the group as having "made it" or "accepted" or of "notoriety" sacrifices Civilization in our communities. Once again, that doesn't mean people are or are not aware of the masses of the peoples conditions is. It just means that Social Status is rarely used to change the condition(s) of the masses of this group.

When the focus turns to Civilization. The emphasis then becomes on literacy, education, and a great and overwhelming sense of gratitude and appreciation for the "educators." And of course that Social Status that is so sought after in people that have been "Americanized" from these conditions of poverty does not instantly change, but ultimately in degrees finally rises, but more importantly the individual(s) realize that that no longer matters as now. Dignity is present, and provides a sense of comfort with one's own being or "SELF" that no longer has a greater desire to prove to others who they are, by appearance or material or location. The emphasis is then in desiring to make one's worth known through their works.

The focus on Civilization is an open bearer of witness on itself that it loves education and development.

The cycle of Poverty to (Social) Status presents an ugly Quagmire for the "aware" practitioner of this process. That is…. The person(s) who has reached the (Social) Status and does not or cannot change the condition of the people, and yet is "Accepted" by others in their "status" group and some of the masses has a strange dilemma.

The person(s) in this situation are helpless against the victimizer that created the condition they rose out of (to a degree). And that "Victimizer" (or call "him" whatever title you like) made these flawed conditions out of a mindset that was taught through "mimicry" and of itself had limited insight, eyesight and foresight for humanity and society to grow and have balance. So the person(s) that have achieved or on this path for (Social) Status under this "Victimizer" and then themselves can not affect, change, or better the condition of their own people end up becoming "Mimickers" of the "Victimizer's" short-sighted "mimicry" he learned from the one(s) who civilized him with the intention to have a short-sighted rule in a "short-lived world," if you understand….

So the ultimate flaw takes place when the "children" of the "Teacher" (to whom there was a short separation) begin to mimic the "victimizer" who was taught by their "parents"(the teacher). That makes one something like "un-unoriginal."

So "Blame" and Reaction and name-calling is not going to change nor is it an EFFECTIVE method to change the condition of the people that are victimized.

Articulation of the problem and the Articulators of the problem are not like those who recognize and work to solve.

Allah say in Qur'an that the "educated" is not like the non-educated or the Muslim is not like the "Non-Muslim." If that is true (and it is) then there would have to be evidence in the behaviour/activity of the said "educated" or "with knowledge" or "muslim" that would separate or show a superior difference in them than the victimizer and the victim.

At this point i will digress. To be continued…

This was inspired out of conversations heard, overheard and sat in and interviews with people from among my people whose personalities are almost never known yet whose Genius many benefit from. And is dedicated to all those unsung that came before us that were crushed, made pariahs and fell victim to this victimizer's society and Genius' was never recognized. Allah knows best.

Peace, under (Isma'il Latif Umayya)

"Farrakhan Puts Everything in its Proper Place" by Dr. Wesley Muhammad

This is an excerpt from The Honoable Elijah Muhamamd's Table Talk in December 1973 with Brother Minister Farrakhan, Dr. Salaam and a number of other attendees. The full transcript is avaialble in the recent publication by Bro Sultan Muhammad and the Table Talks Project, Table Talks of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (2012). This discussion appears on pages 130-134.

*****

The Hon Elijah Muhammad (THEM): “Well, my Brother Minister [Farrakhan], you’ve got-a lot-of-things lined up in the right and the most best way.”



Minister Louis Farrakhan (MLF): “Thank you, Dear Apostle.”



THEM: “I love to see you wise because that gives me pleasure because I’m your teacher…and I made such wise ministers.”



Group of Ministers: “Yes, Sir!”



Dr. Salaam (DS): “Yes, you gave birth to all of us.”



THEM: “So when I see you acting and speaking wise I have rejoice in my heart. I say this is the ONE (i.e. MLF) the world can’t bother. I want to prove to Satan that my minister is a greater light to the world of man than you and your world’s man---the whole of them.”



MLF: “Yes sir. Bless you Dear Apostle.”



THEM: “It’s wonderful”



******



THEM: “Well, that’s what I’m saying I can sit here and listen to you (MLF) and then I can step back and smile. I just need you to be Paul, you know. Go ahead on and put it out just like you are doing. You’ll put it out, sometimes I sit here—we all sit here and get a chance to listen at you, I listen at you brother, preaching Brother, and you’ll be surprised just to take a peak at the room through your spiritual eye and look at us. We enjoy it!”



MLF: “All praises due to Allah.”



THEM: “You [MLF] put everything in such proper place wherein it belongs. It’s beautiful! So we all is very happy over you, from Allah—that Allah made a helper.”



END



So the most fundamemntal question for all followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhamamd is: Do we believe The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and trust his judgement, or not?

NGE member asks: Q. Who or what are the Muslims of the NOI praying to? Answer by Isma'il Latif Umayya (Understanding GodAllah)

God-Allah Cipherdeen:

Q. Who or what are the muslims of the NOI praying to?


Isma'il Latif Umayya (Understanding GodAllah):

Ans. Peace. To God-Allah Cipherdeen. This question is "interesting."

I used to actually document it. You never ever heard or saw it written prior to @ 1994. It's a unique phenomenon to say the least.

Having come up as a 5%er i still remember the Gods had a prayer. It was published in some of the 5% publications.

When you ask "who does the NOI pray to" it's at that point what? It becomes a tool for applied mathematics. Like algebra.

You could ask that question of a Christian or anyone really.

And people could respond with general, specific, and even answers that would be elusive and misguiding from the point.

People can say whatever they want. Now you can read the material and the material is self-defining to answer your question.

That's how you do it if you don't want to "play the dozens" you know.

That's why like Muhammad Speaks/The Final Call have the Muslim Program on the back of the paper because of the level of questions mostly rhetorical that were used to take up or waste time of people. So THEM just put them point blank on the back to end that conversation so there's no reason to be facetious.

I'm not saying you are. But if i wanted to know why my tooth was hurting between the root and gums I'd either go to the manual or the dentist. IE: The source.

Answers are like variables to solve for the unknown of any given problem.

Some people don't pray, some do, some know who they pray to, some don't some know why, some don't.

I remember when the "anti-muslim" or the kind of "Kalimite" influenced younger gods and passive aggressive gods became like this a friend of mine. Omar was shot and killed. His family was Muslim. And thus he had a Janazzah(Muslim burial rites) in the masjid. Ironically he was buried on a Friday after Jumuah. So the people attending his funeral attended the jumua prayer.

When I went in with other Gods & I had at that time my Universal Flag of Islam pin on, there was a brother to my right leaning up against the wall reading Qur'an. He was there for the prayer. He did not know there was a funeral taking place. He was immediately surprised and uncomfortable to see my face as he was a strong anti-muslim advocate for the burgeoning NGE language styled sub-culture or we could say he looked "shook." Needless to say he was with a 2 other brothers that were muslim. He staunchly advocated "why would God pray" and "God does not pray" and "Who are you praying to." And there he was...

After prayer, and the funeral he spoke and was trying to explain himself. And although I wanted to "bomb" him as he was much of an annoyance at that time to me and others. And he had a much more dominant persona than me. I calmed him. And said "Each man have is own path, what's worse is that you are a lie to yourself." See, he was just looking for a place of peace for him. He hadn't exhausted all the knowledge on his path. So he was still what? Searching.

See man, can be anything to another man. But alone, at home, in a cell, on a train. It's just that mind in that head and whatever it thinks on or contemplates over.

"BELIEF" (in the Islamic sense) is very personal. It's in stages and moments in time and space.

I don't say all that to dance around your question, but my point is the human experience has to be honest with itself no matter how it presents itself to others.

I have many stories like the one above, including some of "Gods of notoriety." People are a process.

Now then we have ISLAM and in Islam there is no intercessor between the adherent and His Lord (Rabb). It's a straight line. Not through the Virgin Mary, Jesus, Muhammad or other…

If a man or woman prays to an image, there is two sides to that. One is historical and ancient and shows that Man when he knew His Lord prayed to Him as his Image. And the other side is people make Gods out of those other than god and find themselves in words/actions worshipping that which they (really) know not what.

Then there is the issue of Obedience vs Worship.

So to your question. It's Master Fard Muhammad that said out his own mouth that He came to make us all Gods. So if prayer were a part it would be to the source of life and the creator of all. And whether one sees themselves as this as well then that act would be a form of what? Gratitude. And the output or manifestation of that would be growth.

So people no matter what can advocate who they pray to as much as who they don't pray to and that doesnt mean what's really going on in the head and the heart of a human.

You already have the answer. The question is to yourself "Why did I ask this question?"

Peace. Understanding GodAllah

"Big Fields Await the Wide Awake Man to Work Out" by Isma'il Latif Umayya (Understanding GodAllah)

Consider this:

-If you went to "sleep" and in the morning and alarm went off and you woke up to it. And now you are awake. WIDE AWAKE

So, say your Mother (or man, woman, friend, etc) calls or yells your name and you respond "Yeah I'm Up!"

Let's say some time pass and "they" call you again. And you reply "yeah yeah i'm up I'm wide awake!"

Let's say after some more time, let's say you have a job and your boss calls you, or you have your own business and your employee calls you, or you have children who need to be escorted or a ride to school. And your reply to all of the above said is…"Yeah i'm up i'm awake Wide awake!"

Then there are more calls from the same people. Some yelling and complaining and some asking if you are alright. And your reply is "I'm up I'm Wide Awake!"

Then the calls become so much that you retort with this as your argument to respond:
"Look! I'm Awake. Can't you see that. LOOK AT ALL THESE OTHER PEOPLE OUT HERE SLEEPING, ALMOST LIKE THEY ARE DEAD. Do you see them. I'm not them I'm awake. I'm not asleep!!!!"

-What's the problem here?

-What's the issue here?

-The issue is not you being awake. The issue is not getting up, being in motion, proceeding to the set destination! That's the issue!

-Being Awake is a PART or step in a "PROCESS." A PROCESS that entails knowledge you had before you went to sleep although made very clear once you "WAKE UP."

-No one's doors get open, No one's business gets help, No child(children) get to their destination (if you understand) because you keep saying "I'm awake."

-In fact, after a moment those around you who have far less knowledge will see for themselves that although what you have might be best, what you say might be best. In truth you just not the one. Cause you not doing what the knowledge you have requires.

So at that point the people in need of you will either become bitter and complain about you or move on. Or both. Then they have to move out with 1/2 knowledge because the ONE with the full knowledge is still stuck at "I'm Awake!"

Being conscious isn't enough. Being Aware is not enough!

Acknowledging the car, washing machine, school is broke is not enough. It's already expected of the "conscious" to recognize the problem. The thing is. It's the MUSLIM's JOB to FIX IT!!!!

Islam is a Verb!

#excellenceisthestandard

Peace, under

Wali Mohammed (R.I.P.)

As-Salaam-Alaikum,

Our beloved brother Wali Mohammad (fka Walter 6X Youngblood), long time trainer and companion to Muhammad Ali, as well as one of the pioneers of Harlem's Temple #7 and Newark's Temple #25, has returned to Allah. Services were held today at Harlem's Unity Funeral Home. Bro. Wali Mohammed also worked with boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson, also among jazz greats such as Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and many others, as well as helped convert 5% Nation founders Clarence 13X (Allah) and Justice to Islam. He was once married to Gail Fisher, one of the first Black women to appear on the TV screen who starred on the Television Program "Mannixx" as Peggy.

May Allah Be Pleased With HIm, and may He Rest in Power.

Salaam Alaikum.

"The Black Woman is Goddess" by Dr. Wesley Muhammad

The Black Woman is Goddess

"The woman is made after the womb out of which God created Himself, and in the woman is the Secret of God. The reason you are far away from God is because of your attitude towards women. You will never find God and you will never grow to honor God, as long as you are a mistreater and disrespecter of women. The woman is the Secret and she contains the Secret....The riddle has been with God, but the secret of the riddle is in woman, and unless and until we become better acquainted with who she is, you may never see who you are." The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, “WHO IS GOD?” February 24, 1991


The Black Woman herself is Goddess, the Co-Creator with God, the Black Man. I take the Ma'atic - or should I say, Ma'atic Islam - approach. As Carolyn Graves-Brown, Curator of the Egypt Center at Swansea University, points out in her book, Dancing For Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt (London and New York: Continuum, 2010) 2,101, 102.

"in ancient Egypt, it was men who were considered the creators…The woman was important in creation, but...as the arouser of the male and a vessel for his child. The idea of the male creator extended to the world of the gods. There was no concept of mother earth, but rather the earth was personified as the male god, Geb...

“For the Egyptians, both the earth and the annual inundation that fertilized the land were male. The word for ‘to conceive of child’ in ancient Egyptian was the same as the word ‘to receive’ or ‘to take’, showing the role of the woman as simply the vessel for the already created child…all scarab beetles, for example, were believed to be male. It is only in the Graeco-Roman Period that a female is given credit for the forming of a child. While…the male god Khnum, the potter, is credited with creation and birth of children through spinning the wheel, by the Graeco-Roman Period, Hathor is sometimes credited with spinning the wheel."

The same observation is made by Prof Ann Macy Roth, Egyptologist from New York University, in her article “Gender Roles in Ancient Egypt” (in Daniel C. Snell [ed.] A Companion to the Ancient Near East (Blackwell Publishing, 2005) 213.

"The male role in sexual reproduction was seen as the actual creation of new life, which was then implanted in the female. Fundamentally, children were viewed as the extensions of their father’s life force; the mother’s role in determining their nature was decidedly secondary. Instead, women seem to have had a dual role: they aroused the man and stimulated his creative act with their beauty and sexual attractiveness, and then they nourished the life that his creative power produced."

This idea that the man/god is the actual, ultimate source of life, while the woman/goddess is the matrix in which the divine child is created and and nourished, is clearly expressed in the mythic and cosmogonic inscriptions of Kemet. It is captured by the divine and royal title, kᴣ mwt. f (Kamutef), “Bull of his Mother,” which articulates the continual self-generation of the male god through the agency of the female, the mother goddess.

The Creator of the Cosmos and all in it is the ithyphallic Black God.

The Secret of Black God's Self-Creation is recapitulated in the womb of the Black Woman during every pregnancy. By studying that process, we learn the Secret of how God self-evolved.

"The Nephew and the Message" by Isma'il Latif Umayya (Understanding GodAllah)

If a man showed up to your door one day to announce that your "father" who had raised you and taught you that had kidnapped your (biological) family, was a rapist, murderer, abuser, business man etc… HAD "EXPIRED!" (died).

And that man at your door say, said even though you didn't know him that He was in fact your real father's, brother's son. IE NEPHEW.

And he understood that in telling you that your "Father" (that raised you) had passed would leave a void of who you really were and what you should really do and out of His generosity left his "Aide" to teach you now what to do since your "ADOPTIVE FATHER" had EXPIRED it would be math…

Some would be so elated that they would jump and leave and not realize that they didn't know anything else but what their "Father" taught them, thus succumbing to "his" world and "his" "relatives" wisdom which had "died" with the father in "his world."

Some would get it. They'd listen to the nephews "Aide" and say "what?" he dead? His time is up? Say no more… and take the advice and instruction and begin to build…

Then there would be a remnant like the 1st group that would hold on to the same logic they had when their "father" was with them. That they can't do anything because of their (adoptive) "father." Thus using the same excuse the whole family had before they got the "good news." These people may repeat what the "Aide" told them and said, but they never internalized it.

They actually are keeping their (adoptive) "father" alive thus hindering their own relatives who moved out to build a world of their own. Even though they are family and have the same teacher.

So when one looks at the subtleties of the "AIDE" he said things like "mind your own business." This is not just some phrase meaning "stay outta mines." It also means do what fits you (best).

And other subtleties that HE taught knowing the reality of the stigma like: Get a group of "LIKE-MINDED" people together and "POOL YOUR RESOURCES."

Things like this would keep the factions from arguing and fighting over things because all parties really want the same thing.

That's why the "Nephew" left the "Aide."

So the people that only accept the "Aide" as a "Messenger" and refuse to accept and internalize the "Message" and "teaching" that HE set up, will fall into a strange place because it's like a car on ether or fumes.

It can only go so far because the "Gas" had "EXPIRED."

The problem 80 years ago is the same problem today

LACK OF: Identity & Culture. And Self-Imposed ILLITERACY (comprehension)

The ILLITERATE is always WAY TOO SOCIAL. If the ILLITERATE HAS CULTURE then the socializing is used to help gain employment or corner a trade associated with that "group." Like an ethnicity commonly known to be nurses or construction workers etc… The culture will allow them to have "ways" to survive based on diet, and family structure and such.

The ILLITERATE WITH IDENTITY typically will act out aggressively and react violently out of bitterness and anger.

So the AIDE bringing Culture and Identity made sure to teach the history of the adoptive "Father" figure so the relatives would recognize the behaviours not to argue but to avoid and turn away from, so they would not be distracted in building their own "new" world. Made out of their idea of who they are as a people.

He likes the devil because the devil gives him nothing.

This is the mindstate of the person who refuses to believe that the "DEVIL" has "expired."

So he/her is self-imprisoned by following the "ETHER" or "FUMES" of something already burnt out thus falling with the very thing they are following.

So for 80 years all the people in that line from that "NEPHEW" no matter what method they use or curriculum they set in front of the family it's all about getting "THE FAMILY" to recognize and internalize that the (adoptive) "Father" is "EXPIRED."

Thus the Nephew tells the Aide.

"ACCEPT YOUR OWN AND BE YOURSELF!"

What's the Purpose of Education? by Maulud Sadiq Allah

What's the purpose of education?

Not the textbook answer that you could feed to the average adult who, like yourself, has been told the same lie for years. No. What's the answer you give your disinterested child that looks at you and your life and rather trade up for an entertainer that claims to be "Rich Forever." Or an entertainer who, while quickly going broke, still can be found on TV and in magazines.

Surely you don't feed them the college/good job mumbo jumbo.

Do you attempt to walk through the Study Guide about education with them? Are they extremely disinterested? Do you ask yourself why?

Perhaps the biggest problem with the "education" argument is the intended goal; to secure some degree of finance to be better able to buy things.

I know. We're beyond that. We're the Nation of Islam.

But it's quite evident how we view education as well.

If one were to take this board (or their local mosque or study group) and compiled the topics (on this board) or professions (of the mosque or study group), not only would you find a limited variety (of either topic or profession), you would find practically the exact same topics or professions from here (NYC) to there (LA)...and everywhere in between.

How is that proof that education as more than a means of employment hasn't took hold among us? Limited reality or limited interest are a result of limited education.

And it's not due to our Source Material.

If we didn't have Supreme Wisdom and were just to look at the realities brought forth by the Holy Qur-an; advancements in art architecture, astrology, botany, irrigation, medicine, the list is endless - one would have to ask what happened? (no one expected the Spanish Inquisition).

And we have Supreme Wisdom.

While outsiders tend to limit the info therein to merely theology, a Believer knows that issues of health, astronomy, complex math (many of the Problem Books solutions require at the least Calculus for their solution), history, physics, again, the list is endless.

So why is it that on a site dedicated to the teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad the level of discourse seldom rises beyond mere emotionalism and sensationalism?

I'd argue it's all in how we view education.

In a world that's full of wonder and surprises that can be found in something as small and "insignicant" as a threading needle (where does that come from? who realized thar using that would be a good way to bind fabric?) to as large as a 747 (I mean, come on...), we continue to focus on the surface of all things...

It's all in how we view education and it's purpose. As long as we have a limited view of the purpose of it, we continue to live limited lives; subject to those people who dare to imagine and think big...like we taught them to - yes, we'll continue to be subjects to white folks...but that's not the conversation we're having, we'd rather call names...in his language, in his clothes, using his technology to express our anger at him. As long as we continue this behaviour, we show daily who our God is...and it ain't Master Fard Muhammad (He makes all things New)...

"Islam is Practical" by Wakeel Allah

As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace Be Unto You)

Allah teaches in the Quran that "mere belief accounts for nothing unless carried into practice." We often discuss beliefs in our circles, oftimes foregoing our practical beliefs in favor of trivial beliefs. It is much better for us to focus on the practical beliefs (fundamental teachings of Islam), and that way we can and are carrying them into practice and making it PRACTICAL (useful to self and kind, to do for self and kind).

Practical: adj.
1. Of, relating to, governed by, or acquired through practice or action, rather than theory, speculation, or ideals: 'gained practical experience of carpentry as a carpenter.'
2. Manifested in or involving practice: 'practical applications of calculus.'
3. Actually engaged in a specified occupation or a certain kind of work; practicing.
4. Capable of or suitable to being used or put into effect; useful: 'practical knowledge of engineering'.
5. Concerned with the production or operation of something useful: 'Construction is a practical art.'
6. Level-headed, efficient, and unspeculative.
7. Being actually so in almost every respect; virtual: 'a practical masterpiece.'

Purpose of this build: to help continue to raise the level of questions and content in our circles as a people in Islam, and to emphasize the practical application of Islam so that we may become more productive as individuals and collectively as a people.

As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)
Your brother in Islam,
Wakeel Allah