MINSTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN
NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
AND
THE NATION OF ISLAM
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE
BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.
I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO
GOD BUT ALLAH AND I BEAR
WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS
SERVANT.
March 29, 1991
As-Salaam Alaikum
Dear Students:
I have prepared this Study Guide
for you, “Rising Above Emotion
Into The Thinking of God”, for a
specific reason. I wish to share
that reason with you to increase
your chances of success in
handling this subject matter
properly and passing the test
that the Nation of Islam failed
in the past.
The devastating effect of the,
Domestic Life of the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad is at the root
of the fall of His family and
the fall of the Nation of Islam.
In a situation like this, it was
natural for His family and
followers to focus on the pain
of Sister Clara Muhammad and
ourselves. However, we allowed
ourselves to succumb to the pain
of the moment --- a pain so
overwhelming that it would not
permit us to ask the question,
“Why did Allah (God) order His
Servant to enter this aspect
(wives) of his Domestic Life”?
If we had succeeded in moving
beyond Emotion, we would have
been able to get up into the
mind of Allah (God), where we
would see the Domestic Life of
Muhammad as Allah (God) sees it
and ultimately judge it as Allah
(God) judges it, then we could
move on to higher ground.
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Our focus on pain and the
resulting failure to question
Allah (God) caused us to
question the Servant; it caused
us to forget all the good the
Servant brought into our lives.
Thus, we threw the Servant away
as unworthy and cast aside the
Body of Knowledge revealed to
Him as the means of our
Salvation.
No wonder the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad asked the question,
'How strong is the Foundation?
Can we survive?" The Foundation
is the forty-four (44) years of
the Work of the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad, the Nation of Islam
and its successes.
If only we were mature enough to
put our emotions in check, our
focus would not have been on our
pain and the pain of Sister
Clara Muhammad and the Muhammad
family; our focus would have
been on asking Allah (God) why
He ordered His Servant to have
what others did not have
(wives); then we would have
grown into the Wise Thinking of
the God and been more prepared
for this reality in our own
lives when or if it became
necessary.
The improper handling of Emotion
does not allow us to grow beyond
Self. It makes our reasoning
subjective and clouds our
judgment of individuals,
circumstances and events. It
makes us judge individuals,
circumstances and events by how
we are affected personally, thus
we never see the bigger picture.
Improper handling of Emotion
makes us judge selfishly.
Our great test today will be
whether we can rise above
Emotion to begin to think and
act more like Allah (God). We
are in His classroom. What kind
of test has He devised to see if
we are ready to think and act on
a higher level?
It is written in the Holy
Qur’an:
“See they not that they are
tried once or twice in every
year? ... Yet they repent not,
nor do they mind.” 9:126
In this Study Guide, we will
take under critical analysis,
the subject of Emotion, which is
“intense feeling”. As you study
and analyze every word of this
Study Guide, I want you to step
into the many shoes of the many
different people whose names and
circumstances bf their lives
will be mentioned, with
particular focus on Sister Clara
Muhammad, that you may know
something of her sorrow, grief
and pain over this aspect of her
husband’s life.
Most of all, I want you to step
into the shoes of the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad, whom we are
attempting to follow, who loved
his wife, Sister Clara Muhammad,
who was with him when he was
considered nothing and aided him
in his growth from nothing; yet
he had to carry the tremendous
weight of his Mission even while
he was in anguish over the
knowledge of his Domestic Life
which was tearing his family
apart.
If we are to survive our test,
we must see beyond the view of
the onlooker who sees with
limited knowledge, understanding
and a lack of faith. We must be
careful, lest
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we become one
whose emotions cause us to judge
this situation as a grievous one
and end up sentenced to death by
virtue of our own judgment.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
was not the cause, he was the
agent of that which Allah (God)
ordered and which he obeyed. The
Best Knower set this in motion
and it would benefit us greatly
to grow into seeing through His
eyes.
It is written in the Holy
Qur'an:
“We take Allah's colour, and who
is better than Allah at
colouring, and we are His
worshippers.” 2:138
Best wishes for your successful
growth through the study of this
subject matter, I am, Your
Brother and Servant,
LOUIS FARRAKHAN
Minister Louis Farrakhan
Servant to the Lost Found Nation
of Islam in the West
LFM/am
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RISING ABOVE
EMOTION INTO THE THINKING OF GOD
- INTRODUCTION TO STUDY GUIDE
#18
“I AM THE LORD: THAT IS MY NAME;
AND MY GLORY WILL I NOT GIVE TO
ANOTHER, NEITHER MY PRAISE TO
CARVED IMAGES ... I HAVE FOR A
LONG TIME HELD MY PEACE; I HAVE
BEEN STILL, AND RESTRAINED
MYSELF. NOW WILL I CRY LIKE A
TRAVAILING WOMAN; I WILL DESTROY
AND DEVOUR AT ONCE.”
Isaiah 42:8,14
Allah (God) experiences Emotion.
According to the Scriptures, He
Loves, He Hates, He Grieves, He
Sorrows. He is referred to by
some writers as a Jealous God.
However, He rises above all
emotions in the decisions He
makes. His decisions are based
upon how the temporal affects
generations eons into the
future.
The Domestic Life of the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave
rise to such great emotion that
it clouded our vision of a man
of God. We were taught to live
according to the Restrictive
Laws of Islam. The Honorable
Elijah Muhammad gave us that Law
and He Himself was the example
of perfect obedience' to it.
When He grew, through obedience,
to master the law, He was given
a superior law to function from;
one that was unknown to us at
our level of development.
When we learned of His Reality,
many of us became corrupted in
our reality and laid the blame
for our corruption at his
doorstep. Rather than accept and
master our own reality until
guided otherwise, we desired to
be in His Reality and then
imposed upon His Reality our
shame and filth; we encroached
on a Reality that we were not
ready spiritually, morally or
economically, to embrace.
Proof of this encroachment can
be seen in the way in which
Malcolm X handled the knowledge
of the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad's Domestic Life.
Although Malcolm knew the proper
language with which to describe
the Domestic Life of Muhammad,
he chose to call the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad's relationship
to his wives, having sex with
his teen-aged secretaries.' This
was to conjure up emotion and
cause us to paint the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad in the light of
a dirty old man, blinding us to
the practical reality of God's
Judgment with regard to His
Nation, as well as His Servant.
In this emotional state, some
called the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad immoral, even though
many were well able to defend
the fact that Prophet Muhammad
(Peace Be Upon Him) was allowed
by Allah (God) nine (9) wives.
At one point, the Prophet had
eleven (11) wives, then Allah
caused him to reduce that number
to nine (9). It is written in
some accounts that he possessed
concubines as well. His youngest
wife, Aishah, was eleven (l1)
years old when given to him,
although he did not have
conjugal relations with her
until she reached the age of
fourteen (14).
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Being
overwhelmed by Emotion sent us
failing backwards, causing the
destruction of all that we had
sacrificed to build., making it
necessary, out of Allah's
(God's) Mercy, for me, with His
Help and Guidance, to bring us
up again. Now we face a test of
a similar nature to determine if
we are mature enough,
spiritually, emotionally and
morally, to get over the hurdle
that the Nation stumbled over
yesterday, without its
corrupting our own reality,
leading us to encroach upon a
reality not ours at this time.
There is a saying among the
Native Americans, “You cannot
judge a man until you have
walked in his moccasins
(shoes).” The object of this
Study is to try on the shoes of
the persons whose lives are used
as examples of proper or
improper handling of Emotion and
analyze how we might act in that
situation.
Every actor, when reading a
script, must determine if he or
she is able to "feel" the part
of the character to be played.
We are not actors---the Bible
and the Holy Qur'an are giving
us characteristics of persons
that we are going to fulfill in
this time; righteous or wicked,
believer or disbeliever, helper
or opposer. We will find
ourselves in one category or the
other.
As we step into the shoes of
each character, both those who
were successful and those who
failed, we want to try and
“feel” what that person must
have felt when Allah (God) tried
them with certain commands. In
order to be successful in such
an effort, we must summon up the
same emotional reaction to the
command that was theirs and then
see by what means we can
overcome the emotional reaction
to God's command.
From my vantage point, Sister
Clara Muhammad was a wonderful,
faithful wife and follower of
Master Fard Muhammad and her
husband, the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad. She was a person of
stern bearing, sharp of tongue,
truthful in expression and
faithful to the Teachings she
received directly from the mouth
of Mater Fard Muhammad and her
husband.
I remember one day she came to
me, saying, “Brother Farrakhan,
I notice that every time you
look at me your eyes settle full
of water and I asked my husband
why you do this. He said, 'why
don't you ask him', so, I am
asking you.” I said to her,
“Every time I look -at you, I
think of the sacrifice you have
made of your husband so that
thousands like me might have a
Leader, Teacher, Guide and
Father. Every time I see you, I
think of your sacrifice and my
eyes fill up with tears.” She
said, 'Thank you very much" and
turned and walked away.
Sister Clara Muhammad told me
there was one part of the Holy
Qur'an she hated, and that was
the part that allowed a man more
than one wife. This is not
hearsay, this is what she told
me directly from her mouth. She
also told me that in the 40
years that she followed Master
Fard Muhammad, she knew of
nothing she had done that would
make her ashamed to stand before
Allah.
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Master Fard
Muhammad warned Sister Muhammad,
according to her words to me,
not to let Him catch her
weighing other than herself, in
regards to living the life and
weighing properly (1 20 pounds).
Even though she gave her husband
8 children, she kept her weight
at 120 pounds and worried when
it went above that. Whenever it
did, she told me she fasted to
keep her weight constant. Sister
Clara Muhammad passed from this
Earth in her 70's with the
youthful figure she had as a
very young girl. What an example
for every member of the Muslim
Girls Training and General
Civilization Class.
When Sister Muhammad was on her
deathbed at Mercy Hospital, she
sent for me. She lamented, on at
least 2 occasions, over her sons
not being a help to their
Father. She began to weep and I
took a tissue and wiped her
eyes. She looked at me and said,
several times, whelp my husband.
Help my husband. Help my
husband. He is getting old now,
and he cannot do as he used to
do. Help my husband. He won't
let you help him; but, you help
him anyway, because that's
nothing but jealousy. You help
him anyway." I promised her that
I would help her husband.
I never saw her alive again
after that day, and I am proud
to say that I am keeping the
promise that I made to her. I am
helping her husband, my
Spiritual Father, the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad.
I love Sister Muhammad with a
deep, indescribable love and I
have been made by Allah (God) to
understand her pain. If Sister
Clara Muhammad hated what Allah
(God) had ordered for her
husband for the development of
our future and our Nation, then
that intense dislike for an
aspect of her husband's life,
which painfully affected hers,
would ultimately lead to a
dimming of the light of her
faith, both in Master Fard
Muhammad and in her husband.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
asked her, “Do you mean to say
that you hate what Allah has
written in this book Holy
Qur’an)?” According to what I
heard, the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad gave his wife time out
of the Temple for making that
statement. This has not been
corroborated to me by close
family members, but I believe it
to be true.
In her hating what Allah (God)
ordained, there is an underlying
sense of being betrayed. There
is the thought, 'I have been
faithful to God and to my
husband and His Mission;
but-Master Fard Muhammad and my
husband have rewarded me with
pain. What a way to be rewarded
for my faithfulness."
Would that Sister Clara Muhammad
had grappled at that moment with
her emotions. I believe,
however, with all my heart, that
in the end, she did. But she had
suffered so much torment, pain
and mental anguish over this
aspect of her husband's life,
that it brought on a sickness
she had conquered in the
beginning of her Husband's
Mission that ultimately led to
her demise.
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Whether we are
male or female, we must try and
step into the shoes of Sister
Clara Muhammad. If you were she,
how might you have handled your
emotions in this situation?
It is easy to handle a situation
intellectually as long as the
situation is dealing with some
one other than ourselves in some
other period in time. But in our
own lives, would our emotional
reaction to what Allah (God)
ordained uproot our intellect
and impair our judgment? Let
everyone who earnestly desires
to rise above emotion and
achieve understanding of how
Allah (God) thinks, begin by
trying on the shoes o Sister
Clara Muhammad.
I believe that f have tried to
be a faithful witness to Allah
(God) in the Person of Master
Fard Muhammad and the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad. I have suffered
much as a result of my witness.
In 1975, when it appeared to me
that the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad was dead and the Nation
of Islam had turned in a
completely opposite direction
and all seemed lost and my faith
was broken; 1, like Sister Clara
Muhammad, wondered, “What was MY
faith for?” Why had I worked so
hard and sacrificed so much ---
my family, my music, my career?
What for? To be an outcast,
rejected and despised? To have
the very people for whom I
worked, seeking my death?
In my pain and frustration, I
became bitter, and in my
bitterness, I became livid with
anger. I resented religion. I
resented, indirectly, the God
Who brought the religion and I
looked narrowly on the Messenger
of God who taught the religion.
It was at this low point in my
life that I had to wrestle with
my emotions by questioning Allah
(God). Emotion had caused me to
view events, circumstances and
persons subjectively and
improperly. It was questioning
Allah (God), asking Him, in the
right spirit, “Why?”, that saved
me. Only after I was able, with
the Help of Allah (God) and
others, to rise above my pain
and anguish to see the bigger
picture, was I able to get a
grip on my life and come back
from the pain of death.
I know something of the pain of
Sister Clara Muhammad. I know
something of the pain of the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as
well as some of the pain of the
women who were involved in his
life. These women did not come
into the Nation of Islam to be a
part of that aspect of his life,
for they knew nothing of it; but
time and destiny called them to
be a part of his life in a way
that brought pain to them, as
well as Sister Clara Muhammad
and her children, and,
ultimately, the Nation of Islam.
That pain still lingers.
There are many broken men and
women who have not yet gotten
over this aspect of the Life of
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
Blinded by pain, bitterness and
emotional reaction to God's
Will, they cannot and do not see
Him, His God, events
circumstances or the persons
involved in His Domestic Life
properly, nor do they see the
children who were born as a
result of His Domestic Life,
properly.
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Brothers and
Sisters, when we do not learn
the Lessons of History, we then
have to repeat it. It is clear
that we failed the first part of
the First Term Examination of
Mr. Elijah Muhammad, and in
failing, we lost ourselves and
what came from ourselves as a
result of our Faith: virtue,
righteousness, schools,
businesses, farms, banks ...
Shall we lose again?
I repeat, if we can rise above
Emotion to see the bigger
picture, which is Allah’s
(God's) Will, Aim and Purpose,
we shall never have to repeat
this History again. We can close
the book on this aspect of our
History and move on to higher
ground: “the Elevated Places.
“And as for those who believe
and do good - We impose not on
any soul a duty beyond its scope
-- they are the owners of the
Garden; therein they abide.”
Holy Qur’an, 7:42, “The Elevated
Places”. And We shall remove
whatever of ill-feeling is in
their hearts - rivers flow
beneath them. And they say: All
praise is due to Allah, Who
guided us to this! And we would
not have found the way if Allah
had not guided us.” Holy Qur’an,
7:43, “The Elevated Places”.
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EMOTION: AN
INTENSIFIED FEELING
The dictionary defines “Emotion”
as “an affective state of
consciousness in which joy,
sorrow, fear, hate, or the like
is experienced, as distinguished
from cognitive and volitional
states of consciousness. Any
strong agitation of the feelings
actuated by experiencing love,
hate, etc, and usually
accompanied by certain
physiological changes, as
increased heartbeat,
respiration, or the like and
often overt manifestation, such
as Trying or shaking.”
Emotion is intensified feeling.
It can become so strong and
overpowering that it masters the
mind or judgment.
Though “love”is generally
defined as an emotion, I would
say that Love is not an emotion;
Love is the Mother of Emotion.
Love is the Creative Force out
of which all things come. Love
can be broken down into 4
principles: Freedom, Justice,
Equality and Obedience to the
Will of Allah (God). We call our
intense feeling of like or
dislike “Love” and “Hate”. But
Love is not just an intense
feeling. That is a limitation
that this world has placed on
it, making it our emotional
reaction to something.
The Creative Force is separate
from the intense feeling that we
have toward the created thing.
Allah (God) created the jackass,
yet He states in the Holy Qur'an
that the most hateful sound to
Him is the braying of the
jackass He created. He created
the hog, yet He has an intense
dislike for it. The Devil is
made out of the Creative Force,
and He certainly has an intense
dislike for the Devil.
The jackass, the hog, the Devil,
all serve as a means to
facilitate the Creative Act of
Love, Beneficence, Mercy. Allah
(God) does not desire disease on
His planet. So He makes a
detestable thing, the Hog, which
is used to extract a medicine to
remedy some of the effects of a
diseased thing that He has
allowed to run wild and loose on
the Earth; its presence
facilitates a Divine Purpose.
We must not narrow Love to an
emotional reaction. But when we
say, “God is Love”, the word
“is” is represented by the
symbol, then Love has to be
complete, because God is not an
emotion. All of His Attributes
are embodied in the Creative
Force we call Love; an intense
like for something is only one
of its manifestations.
WHERE EMOTION COMES FROM
The Brain is not only an organ
of intellect and logic; it is
also the source of Emotion.
Emotions are brought to life in
what is known as the “limbic
system”. The limbic system is a
collection of parts that
constitute approximately 20% of
the brain's area. The forces of
pride, fear, joy, grief, anger,
lust, hatred, envy, jealousy,
arise from this region of the
brain.
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The limbic
system is found surrounding the
most primitive part of the brain
and is found in almost the same
form in all mammals. It is that
part of man that is hardly
distinguishable from beast.
God says, in the Bible, “For My
thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways My ways.
For 83 the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are My ways
higher than your ways and My
thoughts- than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:7
The limbic system works with
both the cerebrum above and the
brainstem below. Its connections
with the brainstem help maintain
a state of emotional balance and
alertness. Its connections with
the cerebrum allows a person to
temper emotion with reason. The
goal is for the two processes to
work in harmony, but the balance
can be easily upset. The limbic
system can become so highly
activated that it overwhelms
rational thought, making a
person speechless with anger or
joy. On the other hand, through
conscious effort, a person can
resist the natural urge to eat
or drink, can fight back tears,
or suppress sexual desire.
There are nerve pathways
interwoven throughout the limbic
system which send a continuous
flow of electrochemical impulses
that direct human drives and
emotions. The “hippocampus”
converts information from
short-term to long-term memory.
It constantly checks information
relayed to the brain by the
senses and compares it to
experience. The “thalamus”
serves as a major relay station,
passing information from sensory
and motor nerves to the brain.
Nestled between the thalamus
above and the brainstem below,
there is a small cluster of
nerve cells called the
“hypothalamus”. It has one of
the richest blood supplies in
the entire body, though it is
only the size of a thumb tip.
From the “hypothalamus” arise
intense feelings, or emotions.
Pleasure and pain, sexual
arousal, aggression, rage, as
well as hunger and thirst, all
emanate from this point.
The hypothalamus is also a
complex thermostat system that
reacts to messages from skin
receptors and heat-sensitive
nerve cells, as it maintains the
body's internal balance, holding
the temperature at approximately
98.6 degrees. For this reason,
our emotional reactions cause a
change in temperature. The
phrase "heat of passion" refers
to the climb in temperature.
Hunger and thirst- centers in
the hypothalamus track glucose
levels in the blood. When
supplies of glucose (energy
food) are too low, the brain,
not the stomach, generates
hunger pangs. The sensation of
thirst does not originate in the
throat, but here in the brain,
when receptors indicate the salt
level in the blood is too high.
Above the hypothalamus is the
“amygdala”, a mass of nerve
cells that is specifically
related to feelings of outrage
and aggression. The “septum”,
linked to the hypothalamus at
the front of the limbic ring,
contains a pleasure center.
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They
hypothalamus has connections to
the pituitary gland so it has an
effect on growth and sexual
behavior. It actually orders the
pituitary to organize the
endocrine glands' release of
hormones into the blood.
Our response to fear in times of
emergency is also controlled by
the hypothalamus. If a gun is
pointed in someone's face, the
emotional stress is of such
magnitude that his body
undergoes immediate changes.
First to react is the
hypothalamus, which organizes a
chain reaction of defenses with
a single purpose: to place the
body in maximum condition to
survive the impending threat.
The chain of command is as
follows:
1) Hypothalamic chemicals signal
the pituitary gland of danger,
possibly fatal.
2) Pituitary signals one of its
endocrine gates to bolster
defenses. It does this by
flashing a message, secreting a
stress hormone which finds its
way through the bloodstream to
important stations.
3) The stress hormone, ACTH
(adrenocorticotropic), first
travels to the fighting adrenal
glands on the kidneys. Another
adrenal chemical begins
converting fats and proteins
into sugar.
4) The adrenals spew out
adrenalin and noradrenalin,
causing the heart to pump
faster, blood pressure to rise
and the pupils of the eyes to
dilate wildly for improved
vision.
b) The combined surge of
hormones relaxes the bronchial
tubes for deeper breathing;
increases the blood sugar to
supply maximum energy; slows
down the digestive process to
conserve muscular energy; shifts
blood supplies so they are able
to clot more easily on an open
wound.
In a matter of seconds, a
threatened body becomes a tight
coil of altered substances,
prepared to meet the challenge.
In this state it can perform
feats of strength and endurance
far beyond normal capacity.
It is important to note that
what triggers this chain of
reactions is the brain's
interpretation of external
forces as life-threatening. It
is not a question of whether we
are actually threatened, but
whether we think we are
threatened.
According to Western scientists,
individual neuronal circuits are
just as unique as fingerprints.
This means that the same
situation may activate different
clusters of nerve cells in
different people.
Every biological act of the
physical body is directed to one
predominate goal: to stay alive.
To do this, every organism must
preserve itself in the face of
external forces which threaten
its existence; and when it
ceases to work energetically on
its own
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behalf,
something finally will destroy
it. There are many forms of
disaster: poisons in the
environment, temperatures beyond
limit, food supplies fail,
competing organisms move in and
take over its living space.
As part of the defense against
external forces, the organism
walls itself off from alien
elements. The skin is such a
wall, forming a natural barrier
between the individual and the
environment. But no barrier is
completely effective, and the
human body, which is a large
community of cells, is
vulnerable to attack like any
other community. Foreign
substances sneak in and attack
the internal systems,
endangering the body.
There is a second line of
defense which stands ready to
repel any invaders which breach
the protective barriers. Manning
this line is a certain type of
white blood cell called the
lymphoid. These defenders swim
through the blood ready for
action when trouble occurs. They
respond aggressively to
invaders, producing a different
weapon or countermeasure for
each type of intruder.
When antigens get into the
bloodstream the body is alerted
to the presence of invaders.
Each antigen stimulates the
lymphoid cells to manufacture
proteins on a large scale and
dump them into the bloodstream.
It is these proteins that lead
the defense against invaders.
During the period of war, there
is activity inside the lymphoid
cells. Some of these cells
manufacture molecules which form
a match with the contours of
germ antigens. These substances,
called antibodies, pour into the
bloodstream, attach themselves
to the germs and cause a
chemical change in the germs
making them vulnerable to the
next step. The next step is
carried out by a crew of
wandering scavenger cells called
phagocytes. They attack specific
types of germs which have been
tagged by the antigen-antibody
interaction and eliminate the
invaders by swallowing them
whole. The combined offensive by
the antibodies and phagocytes
continues until the disease or
illness subsides, or, until the
body's defenses prove inadequate
and death results.
In the same context, there is a
defense mechanism which serves
to protect the peace of the
community of our beliefs. Our
beliefs support us in our
actions and overall approach to
life. Any principle or fact,
whether real or imagined, that
we encounter in life, either
supports our beliefs or
threatens them.
Once something is perceived as a
threat to our accepted beliefs,
there is a reaction in the brain
similar to the body's
antigen-antibody reaction, and
instead of lymph cells, it is
our emotions which rush to the
defense of our threatened
belief.
Thus, the emotional reactions to
persons, events and
circumstances are a defense
mechanism which quickly
surrounds the accepted belief to
protect it from succumbing to a
new one. We may react with one
of many different emotions,
depending upon the nature of the
threat -- fear, anger, pride,
etc. - but in any case, the
emotion rises with great speed
to ward off that which disturbs
the community of beliefs. This
is what is
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meant by the
phrase, “rush of emotion”. It
requires great and concentrated
effort to take control over our
emotions.
APPROACH TO SUBJECT MATTER
In the study of Emotion and its
impact on our responses to the
expressed Will of Allah (God),
let us begin with the following
verse from Surah (Chapter) 3,
Verse 6, of the Holy Qur’an:
“He it is Who has revealed the
Book to thee; some of its verses
are decisive -- they are the
basis of the Book -- and others
are allegorical. Then those in
whose hearts is perversity
follow the part of it which is
allegorical, seeking to mislead,
and seeking to give it (their
own) interpretation. And none
knows its interpretation save
Allah and those firmly rooted in
knowledge. They say: we believe
in it, it is all from our Lord.
And none mind except men of
understanding.”
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
said that He would not give two
cents for the combined work of
all of the scholars and what
they have written as their
interpretation of the verses of
the Holy Qur’an. That is a
powerful statement.
In the above-cited verse, Allah
(God) tells those seeking to
give the Book their own
interpretation that none knows
except Him. So even if they
claim to be scholars, Allah
(God) has already overruled
their scholarship, in these
words, “None knows its
interpretation except Allah”.
Those “firmly rooted in
knowledge” are the Believers who
submit to it because it is all
from Allah. What they understand
is that they do not comprehend
Allah's Book in totality. They
await the One Whom Allah will
teach the Interpretation of the
Book to directly. That One is
the Messiah, the Mahdi, the
Christ. That One is the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
“Fear not, Daniel: for from the
first day that thou did set thy
heart to understand and to
humble thyself before thy God,
thy words were heard: and I am
come for thy word"3 sake."
Daniel 10:12
“And lean not upon thine own
understanding; in all thy ways
acknowledge Him, and He will
direct thy paths.” Proverbs
3:5,6
The first step toward growing
into the Mind of God is to
desire to do His Will. Then, we
must learn to obey His Commands.
Allah (God) tests and tries His
Servant to see how well he will
obey Commands that he does not
understand. He gradually brings
the servant into understanding
of what he has obeyed, but only
after obedience. Through the
suffering that accompanies
obeying Allah (God) comes
understanding and the Servant
gradually grows into the
Thinking of Allah (God).
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“Though he were
a son, yet learned he obedience
by the things which he
suffered.” Hebrews 5:8
Allah (God) may try a servant
with a certain command. Since a
servant of God is always
desirous of doing His Will,
giving such a person a command
can only be a trial if that
person believes that the command
is against what he or she has
been taught is right, fair, just
or in keeping with our
understanding of Revelation.
Through the command of the
expressed Will of God, the
servant's level of understanding
up to that point in time causes
an emotional reaction that could
result in disobedience if it is
not put in check. In this
manner, Allah (God) helps us
climb above Emotion, using our
own desire to obey Him for
sustenance during the steep
climb.
“For this cause also, since the
day we heard it, do not cease to
pray for you and to desire that
you might be filled with the
knowledge of His Will in all
wisdom and spiritual
understanding.” Colossians 1:9
In order to obey Allah’s (God's)
command (s), we must overcome
our emotional reaction to His
command (s). At the root of the
emotional reaction is
frustration over something we
personally desire, think, or
believe. He challenges us where
we are most comfortable with a
command calculated to disturb
our comfort. Thus, He says in
the Holy Qur’an, “none comes
between a man and his heart,
except Allah”.
When He says, in Isaiah 55, “My
thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways My ways”,
His ways are higher than our
ways as the "heavens are higher
than the earth", He is speaking
on many levels of mind.
The Original Man is from Allah’s
Thinking, which is above, while
the made man is made from the
testicles, found in the lower
region of the Original Man,
Allah (God) produced Himself,
not from testicles, but from His
own Thinking; then He formed
what we call the “testicle”,
that there might be the physical
reproduction of the form. It is
from the lower portion, or
weaker germ of the Original
Black Man, that the devil was
made manifest.
To get into the Thinking of God,
we must rise above our present
level of thought, which
emanates-from beneath.
There is a gulf between the
thinking of man and God and the
ways of man and God. The process
by which we cross that gulf is
called Resurrection.
The way to think like Allah
(God) is to be exposed to His
Thinking. In our Lessons, we are
given the Actual Facts as a
beginner and as a start in
thinking mathematically rather
than emotionally.
Jesus said, “I and my Father are
One”. How was he able to become
one with the Father? Jesus was
born of a woman and came through
the vicissitudes of life. In
time, through obedience, he
became the interpreter of God's
Will. You cannot serve as the
interpreter of the Will of God
unless you know God and what He
thinks and what gave rise to His
thoughts. And we cannot get up
into the mind of Allah (God)
except by His Permission.
When we are able to see beyond
the effect to the Cause that
produced the effect, then our
decisions are no longer
emotional, they are made with
precision. This does not mean we
will act without intense
feeling, it means that we will
be in such complete control of
our feelings that our decisions
will be completely rational.
In “The Theology of Time”, the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated
that Allah (God) “went to War
with the Darkness”, using
sunlight to manifest all that
the darkness was hiding. It is
evident that He had an intense
dislike for the darkness, and
that intense dislike manifested
in the fact that though we were
once in complete darkness we are
now in a Universe of Light.
In going to war, Allah (God) was
not acting irrationally. He made
a rational judgment based upon
His Idea of what He wanted in
terms of a Universe. That Idea
stimulated an intense dislike
for the darkness because it
stood in the way of His Idea, so
He banished it.
Today, Allah (God) is bringing
about the destruction of the
present world order. His intense
dislike for this contrary world
and the one who made it is the
result of a mathematical
understanding of what He desires
for His creation. His precise
understanding of what he Wills
and what stands in the way of
His Will summons an intense
dislike for the impediment. When
He says, “Away with you”, this
is not an emotional reaction;
though there is intense feeling
in it, it is the result of
reasoning.
We, on the other hand, are just
the opposite in our approach to
a problem. Instead of being
guided by reason, our emotional
reaction clouds our reasoning
and distorts our judgment. We
react to things emotionally
first, and the power of passion
dominates over reason instead of
being called into service by
means of reason.
The propagandist-summons the
passion of the people by giving
them a reason to dislike a
person, a thing, a nation. The
elite, or those in authority,
supply the people with the
reason that summons the passion
against the object of the
authority's disapproval. There
must always be a reason to like
and a reason to dislike. He who
supplies the reason directs the
passion.
If I were to speak against many
in the manner they have spoken
against me, I could summon the
passion of this Community
against any object of my
disapproval. But I have Never
chosen to do so; I have directed
the passion of the people toward
Allah (God). I have given the
people a reason to love Master
Fard Muhammad and the
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Honorable Elijah
Muhammad while the Caucasian has
worked tirelessly in supplying
reasons to dislike them.
Thus, the reason the devil
accuses both myself and my
Father, the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad, of teaching Hate, is
actually because I point out the
wickedness of the devil. By
pointing out his evil, I give
the people a reason to summon
their passion against that evil.
PORTRAITS OF EMOTIONAL REACTION
In the very beginning of the
Bible, in the Book of Genesis,
we get a portrait of emotional
reaction (intense feeling in
response to someone or
something) and the destructive
power of Emotion when it is
unchecked. Whenever Emotion
overpowers Reason, it covers
Reason and replaces it with a
new rationale; the new rationale
then leads us to disobey a
command of God.
“Pride” is an emotion. It is an
intense feeling of
self-importance and superiority;
an inordinate opinion of one's
own merit.
God gave both Adam and Eve clear
instructions not to eat of the
tree in the midst of the garden.
The Serpent (subtle suggestion
in the mind) led them both into
disobedience by appealing to the
feeling of Pride:
“For God knows that when you eat
the fruit, your eyes shall be
opened, and you shall be as
gods, knowing good and evil.”
Satan's suggestion incited
Pride; the feeling that Adam and
Eve were entitled to something
that God was actually attempting
to keep them from having, out of
fear that it would threaten His
position. Adam and Eve did not
envy God, nor did they feel
hatred or jealousy toward Him.
But they had an intense feeling
of pride which overpowered
reason, so that they placed
themselves directly in
opposition to the Will of God.
The consequence was the Fall of
Adam.
“Pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before a
fall.” Proverbs 16:18
Most of us are familiar with the
story of Adam's sons, Cain and
Abel. We know that God accepted
an offering from Abel and
rejected an offering from Cain
and that Cain killed Abel over
God's selection.
How many of us ever asked, “Why
did God accept the offering of
Abel and reject the offering of
Cain?” Have we ever considered
the effect of God's choice on
both men and on the future? Have
we ever stopped to reflect on
whether God cared how they felt?
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Is it possible
that He had a Purpose that was
not perceived by either Cain or
Abel at the time?
The Bible describes Abel as a
“keeper of sheep” and Cain as a
“tiller of the ground”. And, “in
process of time, it came to
pass, that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering
unto the Lord. And Abel, he also
brought of the firstlings of his
flock and of the fat thereof”.
In making a comparison of the
actual effort each man put into
his offering, there is much to
reflect upon. Remember, we are
trying to walk in Cain's shoes;
to feel what he felt when his
offering was not accepted. We
must look into Cain's efforts in
order to know something of the
level of his expectation.
The word “till” means “to labor,
as by plowing”. “Labor” means to
“work to the point of
exhaustion”. Cain worked the
field to produce his offering.
His time, sweat and pride were
tied up in his work. In his
mind, the rejection of his
offering was tantamount to a
rejection of him.
Abel sacrificed a sheep. In
reality, Abel had nothing to do
with the creation, development
and growth of the sheep; Allah
(God) was responsible for the
process by which the sheep came
into existence, as well as for
producing the grass the sheep
took its nourishment from. Abel
offered that which grazed on the
grass and his offer was
accepted.
In understanding Cain's
feelings, we must ask ourselves
how we feel about something we
work diligently to produce and
what our reaction is when what
we produce is turned down. His
ego was crushed by the rejection
of his offering and in applying
the rejection to himself, he
then began to sense a feeling of
being lesser; now there is
remorse over this apparent
lowering of self. God is abasing
him, in his mind, in rejecting
his offering.
At this point, what would have
saved Cain from being
overpowered by his emotional
reaction would have been to
question God in the right
spirit: “Did you reject me in
rejecting my offering, and if
so, why?” The emotion of pride
connected to his work and
suffering clouded his ability to
get into the mind of God. The
first mistake that God would
have-been Able to correct was
Cain's misperception that God
was rejecting him. He took it
personally and in doing so, his
emotions clouded his ability to
get into the mind of God. He
made himself and his offering
the center, rather than what God
wanted as the center.
Once his ego was deflated, Cain
began feeling a dislike for God.
Unable to act effectively
against God Himself, he focused
his feeling of dislike on the
person he believed God had
chosen over him.
The nature of the sheep is
humbleness. What God rejected in
Cain was his pride over his work
that gave him the exaggerated
feeling of worth. It is only the
humble at
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heart that will
be able to obey God. God will
ask you to do things against the
pride of' yourself.
“Say: My prayer, my sacrifice,
my life and my death are all for
Allah, the Lord of the worlds.”
Many in the last days would
offer money, substance from the
ground. But Allah does not asks
us to give money alone; our
charity is but a symbol of our
willingness to give Him our
lives. He asks us for the very
essence of our being: the Will.
That is why in the last days,
the only religion that will be
accepted is Islam, the complete
surrender of our will to His
Will.
His acceptance of the sheep was
a symbol of His lost sheep, a
people, among them a lamb, who
would be willing to give his
life for the salvation of the
whole.
We cannot buy our way into the
Kingdom of God. This is not the
sale of indulgences. We cannot
even work our way into the
Kingdom of God, if we are not
willing to offer Him the essence
of our being. Our charity, our
service, our acts of kindness,
could be turned down unless we
surrender our will to His Will.
That is the best of all
sacrifices.
THE EXORCISM OF MAN
There is another, perhaps even
more profound dimension to the
portrait of Cain and his
emotional reaction to God's
expressed Will.
The emotional reaction that
stirred within him was complex:
disappointment, frustration,
anger, envy and eventually, he
grew to hate his brother. From
the depths of his being, the
turbulence of hatred produced
the thought of Murder.
In the Book of Psalms, David
speaks of a sea monster that
dwells in the depths of the
ocean. It is called Leviathan
and it is a frightening thing.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
explained to me that his sea
monster is actually a reference
to the devil's submarines. He
said that we can bring the
submarines up out of the water
by using the force of Wind in a
circular motion. This powerful
motion forces a submarine up on
its end; once forced up, the
waters part and the power of the
Wind causes the water to slam
against it, crushing it to
pieces.
There are monsters in the bottom
of our consciousness. God brings
these things up with Winds
(Trials) that He sends to stir
up the Waters of Emotion. These
monsters rest beneath the
surface of our being, unseen and
undetected in our daily
interactions.
Cain and Abel were from the same
womb. On the surface, they
looked alike. But they were not
the same beneath. The Holy
Qur’an says that Allah brings us
forth from the womb and “one of
you is a Believer, the other a
disbeliever”.
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To force that
which is hidden beneath to come
forth, Allah creates a Test that
will stir the emotions and
dislodge and bring up that
hidden monster.
“Do men think that they will be
left alone on saying, We believe
and will not be tried?...and
indeed We tried some before
them, so Allah will certainly
know those who are true and He
will know the liars. Or do they
who work evil think that they
will escape Us? Evil is it that
they judge! Whoever hopes to
meet with Allah, the term of
Allah is then surely coming. And
He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”
Holy Qur’an 29:2-5
THROUGH QUESTIONING ALLAH (GOD]
IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT, WE MAY BE
SAVED
In the Story of Cain, there is
failure. In the Story of Job,
there is success. Job, in the
midst of extreme duress, still
did not curse his God, rather,
he questioned Him. In
questioning Allah (God), we are
able to rise above the emotional
reaction to our stress to think
as He thinks.
Allah is not obligated to
present trials one at a time,
nor is He required to allow some
minimal time lapse between them
so that we can recover. He may
confront us with many trials
together, or one particularly
long, grievous and painful
trial.
At the peak of our trial, He may
create circumstances that will
cause us to be, or at least
feel, completely deserted or
abandoned. In the experience of
abandonment by friends, family,
even fellow believers, there is
a sense of hopelessness; nothing
to be thankful for. The. Emotion
usually associated with this
condition is Depression.
“Why art thou cast down O My
soul? Why art thou disquieted in
me? ... My tears have been my
meat day and night, while they
continually say unto me, ‘Where
is your God?’ Thou didst hide
Thy face, and I was troubled.”
Psalms 42:11
The situation can become almost
unbearable:
“Fearfulness and trembling are
come upon me, and horror has
overwhelmed me...my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?”
Psalms 22:1
When he speaks the exact words
spoken by Jesus in the New
Testament as Jesus is undergoing
torture and death, David is
describing his own living
experience. Yet, David is
described as having a heart
after God's heart. But he was
not only a prototype of Christ
in God's Love for him, he was
also a prototype in his
suffering. He was a prophet and
a king, yet he suffered.
Perhaps the most oft-repeated
Psalm of David is the 23rd, 'The
Lord is MY Shepherd, I shall not
want".
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The Lord is our
Shepherd, but this does not mean
that for reasons we may not
perceive on our level, He will
withdraw His Presence and
diminish the Help he affords. He
will chastise the Believer and
He will put the Believer through
severe trials.
Walk a moment in the shoes of
Job, who lost everything he had.
When Job, in the midst of his
suffering, called on Allah (God)
for a reason for his
overwhelming losses, the
Scriptures say "Then the Lord
answered Job out of the
whirlwind”. Job 38:1
This -means He responded right
out of the core of Job's
swirling emotions and confusion.
And when He answered Job, it was
not with specific explanation,
it was with Declarations of His
Power and Glory. This increased
Job's humility and dependence
and in the end he was once again
blessed.
THE STORY OF HAGAR
One of the greatest Scriptural
displays of patience and
humility during times of trial
and suffering is in the story of
Hagar, the mother of Ishmael by
Abraham.
“I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills. From whence cometh my
help? My help cometh from the
Lord who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121
“The Safa and the Marwah are
truly among the signs of Allah;
so whoever makes a pilgrimage to
the House or pays a visit to it,
there is no blame on him if he
goes round, them. And whoever
does good spontaneously--surely
Allah is bountiful in rewarding,
Knowing.” Holy Qur’an 2:158
Of the more than one billion
Muslims on Earth, many millions
have made Umrah and/or Hajj in
Mecca. In this ritual, each
pilgrim, male and female, must
follow the path of Hagar and run
between the two hills named in
the above verse.
Why must we, as Muslims, follow
the path of Hagar? What lesson
is in her life that Allah (God)
desires to ingrain into the life
of every Muslim?
Hagar was the handmaiden of
Abraham's wife, Sarah. A
“maiden” is defined as a young,
unmarried female, usually a
virgin". It is a term "relating
to or befitting a girl".
Here we have the opportunity to
look into the Domestic Life of a
man whom Muslims, Christian and
Jews honor as a great prophet,
whom the Qur'an refers to as a
“model of virtue”. In this
instance, Abraham was a man in
his 80's; an “elderly” man by
today's standards, going into
his wife's handmaiden, Hagar,
who is by definition hardly more
than a child. The act which
produced Ishmael took place at
Sarah's request, she herself an
elderly woman having been unable
to bear children up to that
time.
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When Hagar
became pregnant, with Ishmael,
Sarah caused Abraham to put the
woman and her baby out of the
house. Put yourself in Sarah's
shoes. Was there an emotional
reaction to the fact that while
she had been unable to give a
child to the man she loved and
had been with for so long, this
young girl had succeeded where
she had failed? Did her emotions
overpower her reason to the
point she lost sight of the fact
that the child had been
conceived at her behest?
Banished from the home of her
child's father, Hagar found
herself in the wilderness
without food or shelter.
Although these essentials were
in the house of Abraham, the
baby's father, apparently none
would be forthcoming for Hagar
or the child.
She ran to and fro in quest of
water, between the two hills,
Safa and Marwah, until she was
exhausted. Finally she decided
to give up the effort and die.
She bent to lay the baby down on
the ground when there at his
foot a well suddenly sprang up.
This was the place now known as
Zamzam. Water flows from it
today, 5,000 years later.
What is the lesson in this?
Every servant of Allah (God) has
at some time been expelled from
home, or put out from the
protection of family, clan or
tribe, running from persecution
with no one to rely upon except
-Him. If, in the distress of the
moment, we are overpowered by
our emotions, we may react
improperly and lose a great
reward.
Hagar did not succumb to the
common emotion of bitterness
caused by deprivation; she did
not curse Abraham or Sarah. She
looked to her God; she looked to
the hills, from whence her help
came: the Lord.
Every Muslim is made to walk
after this young woman, Hagar,
who was an outcast for bearing a
child that would become a
Prophet of Allah (God). Some of
the wives of the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad, when they
became pregnant, left the city
and went running into the
wilderness. Some accepted the
death of banishment, disgrace
and evil talk, so that the
Messenger of Allah could be
covered and we, in our infancy,
could be covered, because we had
not the proper foundation to
bear the Truth.
Pain and deprivation are severe
trials. Distress may be so
intense that the sufferer is too
distracted to be able to
concentrate; unable to pray,
except in a very emotional way.
The Holy Qur'an says that when
we are in distress we are
“sincere in prayer” and “lengthy
in supplication”.
If we can keep the presence of
mind and summon up the necessary
strength to seek the solution to
the problem from Allah (God),
then we may be upheld until we
reach understanding.
“When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall
not overflow thee: when thou
walkest through the fire, thou
shalt not be burned; neither
shall the flame kindle upon
thee.” Isaiah 43:2
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To each that
overcomes the Emotion of
bitterness because of pain and
deprivation, there is a great
reward.
FAITH: THE ESSENTIAL QUALITY
“Now Faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen ... But
without Faith it is impossible
to please Him; for he that
cometh to God must believe that
He is and that He is a rewarded
of them that diligently seek
him.”
The Bible & and the Holy Qur’an
tell us that our faith will be
tried and tested. They also tell
us that Allah (God) will not
allow us to be tried beyond our
ability to endure, though it is
difficult to remember this in
the throes of the trial.
“There is no temptation before
you but such as is common to all
men; but God is Faithful and
will not suffer you to be
tempted above what you are able;
but He will, with the
temptation, also make a way that
you may be able to bear it ...”
I Corinthian10: 13
The Holy Qur’an states that no
soul will have imposed on it a
“duty beyond its scope”.
However, Allah (God) may test us
right up to the limit of our
ability to endure.
Faith is necessary to endure the
trial long enough to rise above
our emotional reaction that we
may obtain understanding through
knowing Allah’s (God's) view of
the situation.
The word “suffer” means to
“experience pain in soul or
body”. The word translated
“affliction” in the New
Testament means “pressure”. To
suffer affliction is to suffer
pressure, or to be “pressed
down”. Peter refers to
“heaviness" through many trials.
If we just attempt to obey Allah
(God) we undergo suffering; or
being brought low through the
pressure and weight that is
placed upon us. Jeremiah was
lowered into a pit.
The word “tribulation” means
“straitness or distress”.
Tribulations and afflictions
bring suffering in their wake.
The Holy Qur'an states that we
will “surely” be tried with
deprivation: “Loss of life and
property”.
When a man or woman is
spiritually sensitive and any
Servant of Allah (God) is, then
he or she can experience acute
suffering through temptations,
relationships and attachments to
persons who are not interested
in God's Will; anxiety, debt and
the oppression of men.
Unlike the disbeliever, the
sincere believer does not find
any real relief in worldly
pursuits. Though he or she may
enjoy lawful recreation, these
offer no permanent solutions to
the peculiar problems of the
Believer.
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The Believer
takes pleasure from living
according to the Law of Allah
(God) and fears deviation from
it. So when Allah (God) issues a
command that is contrary to His
own Divine Law according to the
Believer's understanding of it,
there is a trial for the
Believer.
MARY AND JOSEPH
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was in this way: When, as his
mother, Mary, was espoused to
Joseph, before they came
together, -she was found with
child of the Holy Spirit. Then
Joseph, her husband, being a
just man, and not willing to
make her a public example, was
minded to put her away
privately. But while he thought
on these things, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared unto
him in a dream, saying, Joseph,
thou son of David, fear not to
take unto thee Mary, thy wife,
for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 1:18-20
Joseph loved Mary since they
were children, however, her
father would not permit her to
marry him. Out of respect for
the law that prohibits intimate
relations outside of marriage,
Joseph suppressed his love for
Mary and took another for a
wife. He had six (6) children by
the woman he married and it
appeared that he had succeeded
in completely suppressing his
desire for Mary.
But there came a time when Mary
called to him for assistance and
he responded. In the 3 days they
were together, Jesus was
conceived.
In the context of their
understanding of the Law of
Moses which governed the
society, Joseph, Mary and Mary's
father all suffered the Emotion
of Fear and great Distress.
Joseph was absolutely certain,
in his mind, that he had
offended the law and that he and
Mary would suffer a terrible
price.
What Joseph did not know was
that there was a Superior Law
working. That Superior Law
conformed to Allah’s (God's)
plan to make a sign that would
not be fulfilled until 2,000
years later.
Meanwhile, relief from fear came
to Joseph only when an old
prophetess informed him that the
child Mary was carrying was to
be the last prophet to the Jews.
Joseph then informed Mary's
father of what he was told by a
servant functioning from a
higher law.
The religious legalists of the
day were unaware of this and
they functioned according to
their understanding. Thus,
Mary's pregnancy could not be
spoken of publicly. It was a
secret to be kept that
authorities would not kill the
baby and its parents.
“And she brought forth her
first-born son and wrapped him
in swaddling clothes”.
Luke 2:8
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Jesus is
referred to as her firstborn
because Joseph already had
children. Joseph did not have
the mind of an adulterer; he was
not a lustful man. Mary called
him to assist her during a dust
storm (an Act of God). Allah
(God) having ordained the birth
of Jesus, there were no existing
circumstances that could prevent
it, even the fact that the
child's father was married to
another woman.
“She said, How can I have a son
and no mortal has yet touched
me, nor have I been unchaste? He
said: So It will be. Thy Lord
says: It is easy for Me; and
that We may make him a sign to
men and a mercy from Us. And it
is a-matter decreed...Then she
conceived him; and withdrew him
to a remote place.”
She suffered the pain of labor
as any flesh and blood woman
delivering a flesh and blood
child must suffer:
“And the throes of childbirth
drove her to the trunk of a palm
tree. She said: Oh, would that I
had died before this and had
been a thing quite forgotten So
a voice came to her from beneath
her: Grieve not, surely thy Lord
has provided 8 stream beneath
thee. And shake towards thee the
trunk of the palm-tree, it will
drop on thee fresh ripe dates.”
Holy Qur'an 19:23
Like Hagar, Mary depended upon
her Lord for relief.
Consider the series of emotions
that Joseph, Mary and Mary's
father went through over the
conception and birth of Jesus.
Also consider the emotional
reaction of the family, not
seeing beyond their
embarrassment and shame, to ask,
“Why did Allah (God) permit this
to happen this chaste young
girl?”
“Then she came to her people
with him, carrying him. They
said: 0 Mary, thou hast indeed
brought a strange thing! O
sister of Aaron, thy father was
not a wicked man, nor was thy
mother an unchaste woman!”
How did Mary feel, knowing she
was not an unrighteous person
while being treated as though
she was?
There is no record of Joseph and
Mary ever Living together as
husband and wife; the actual
existence of a family unit was
not necessary to effectuate
God's Will, which was to produce
a particular child; to do so, he
needed the seed of David and
Joseph carried that seed. He was
of the lineage of David. Once he
provided the life-germ, he had
performed his service for Allah
(God) insofar as this child was
concerned.
RELATIONSHIPS
When Noah was commanded to build
the ark to save himself and the
believers from destruction,
naturally he desired to save his
own wife and son. In the Holy
Qur'an, we read:
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“At length when
Our command came and water
gushed forth from the valley, We
said: Carry in it two of all
things, a pair, and thine own
family--except those against
whom the Word has already gone
forth-and those who believe. And
there believed not with him but
a few ... And it moved on with
them amid waves like mountains.
And Noah called out to his son,
and he was aloof. O my son,
embark with us and be not with
the disbelievers.”
How would it feel to be told by
Allah (God) that His Word has
already gone forth against one
of our loved ones? Shock,
bewilderment? Certainly your
child has faults, but to be
condemned to destruction by the
God you are working so hard to
serve? How many years did Noah
devote to building the ark? How
long did he endure the scorn and
mockery of the community he was
a part of? At the end of his
suffering for the sake of Allah
(God), could not Allah excuse
his son's aloofness?
“And Noah cried to his Lord and
said: My Lord, surely my son is
of my family, and Thy promise is
true and Thou art the Justest of
the judges. He said: O Noah, he
is not of thy family; he is an
embodiment of unrighteous
conduct. So ask not of Me that
of which thou hast no knowledge.
I admonish thee lest thou be of
the ignorant.”
No parent wants to see their
child destroyed, no matter what
the child has done. We petition
the teacher on behalf of the
child; even after maturity, we
may petition the child's
employer for consideration; when
he or she goes astray, we
petition the judge for leniency.
How painful it must have been
for Noah to be denied his humble
petition on behalf of his son
And yet, he obeyed his Lord.
Lot loved his wife, but “We
ordained her to be of those who
remained behind ... So We
delivered him and his followers,
except his wife --- she was of
those who remained behind.”
Allah (God) ordained something
adverse to the emotional
attachments of the prophet.
The wife of Lot looked back
because what she was leaving
behind in Sodom and
Gomorrah was dearer to her than
what Allah (God) was calling her
to through her husband.
Both Noah and Lot were faithful
servants of Allah (God), but
neither of them was able to save
his family members when the
family member (s) went against
the Message the prophet brought.
“Allah sets forth an example for
those who disbelieve --- the
wife of Noah and the wife of
Lot. They were under two of our
righteous servants, but they
acted treacherously towards
them, so they availed them
naught against Allah (God), and
it was said, Enter the Fire with
those who enter.” Holy Qur’an
66:9
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Just as Noah had
to part with a disbelieving son,
Abraham had to cease his quest
for forgiveness on behalf of a
disbelieving father. Apparently,
Abraham was close to his family,
but had to disassociate himself
from them. This must have been
very painful. However, because
of his faith, he was blessed
with two sons who were prophets.
“Your relationships and your
children would not profit you on
the day of Resurrection--He will
decide between you. And Allah is
the Seer of what you do.
Indeed, there is for you a good
example in Abraham and those
with him when they said to their
people, We are clear of you and
of that which you serve besides
Allah. We disbelieve in you and
there has arisen enmity and
hatred between Us and you
forever until you believe in
Allah alone--except Abraham's
saying to his 3ire: I would ask
forgiveness for thee and I
control naught for thee from
Allah.” 60:3
Yet, after blessing Abraham with
his beautiful son, Ishmael,
Allah (God) commanded him to
give his son's life as a
sacrifice.
What must Abraham have felt upon
receiving this instruction? To
kill any child, but especially
his own, whom he had been
blessed with as an answer to a
prayer; a righteous child -- How
could the same God Who gave him
the son now ask him to
kill it?
“So when they both submitted and
he had thrown him down upon his
forehead, And We called out to
him saying, 0 Abraham, thou hast
indeed fulfilled the vision.
Thus do We reward the doers of
good. Surely this is a manifest
trial.” Holy Qur'an 37:1 00
How was Abraham able to overcome
the emotional reaction to the
command?
“By faith Abraham ...
obeyed.”-Hebrews_11:7
JOSEPH'S FIRMNESS UNDER
TEMPTATION
Joseph, the son of Jacob, was
sold into slavery by his envious
brothers. This act of treachery
set off a series of trials that
he was forced to undergo.
Purchased for “a small price”,
he found himself in the home of
an Egyptian couple. Study the
emotional conflict that took
place in this instance. How
would you have handled your
emotions in that situation?
“And she in whose house he Was,
sought to seduce him, and made
fast the doors and said: Come.
He said: Allah forbid! Surely my
Lord made good my abode. The
wrongdoers never prosper.
“And certainly she desired him,
and he would have desired her,
were it not that he had seen the
manifest evidence of his Lord.
Thus (it was) that We might turn
away
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from him evil
and indecency. Surely he was one
of Our chosen servants.” Holy
Qur’an 12:23,24
It was only through the direct
intervention of Allah (God) that
Joseph was able to resist the
efforts of the seductress to
lead him into evil and
indecency.
The Holy Qur'an states that
after word traveled that the
wife of a dignitary had been so
attracted to Joseph that she was
willing to commit adultery, the
other women in the city were
critical of her actions:
“And women in the city said: The
chief's Wife seeks to seduce her
slave. He has indeed affected
her deeply with his love. Truly
we see her in manifest
error...So when she hear of
their device, she sent for them
and prepared for them a repast,
and gave each of them a knife
and said to Joseph: Come out to
them. So when they saw him, they
deemed him great and cut their
hands in amazement and said:
Holy Allah! This is not a
mortal!, This is but a noble
angel.” 12:31
What was it about this Servant
of Allah (God) that the women
actually cut their hands at the
sight of him? How do you think
you might react in that
situation?
Joseph turned to his Lord: “My
Lord, the prison is dearer to me
than that to which they invite
me ... So his Lord accepted his
prayer and turned away their
device from him. Surely He is
the Hearer, the Knower.”
DOMESTIC LIFE OF MUHAMMAD
The Domestic Life of Prophet
Muhammad was a source of
emotional conflict in the
community of Believers as well
as within his household.
There are principles inherent in
the marriages of Prophet
Muhammad that remain hidden to
this day, covered by emotional
reactions to his Domestic Life.
The question must be answered,
“What did Allah (God) want us to
learn?”
His first marriage was to
Khadijah, whom he was devoted to
for 25 years of marriage until
her death at the age of 65. She
was 1 5 years older than he. She
was to him, as Sister Clara
Muhammad would be to the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad, his
wife, friend, companion and
among the first to accept Islam
when he was called to the
Mission. Her loss caused him
great pain and suffering.
After the loss of his beloved
Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad
married Aishah, the daughter of
Abu Bakr. Aishah was only 11
years old when the marriage
ceremony took place and she
remained in her parents home
another 3 years before the
marriage was consummated.
In all the marriages that
followed, Muhammad's wives were
women who had been previously
married. Only Aishah came to him
a virgin. She was actually
brought up,
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shaped and
fashioned under his care. Thus
she acquired a spiritual
radiance that made her
ultimately stand out in history
as a guide, for not only Muslim
women, but for all of the
Believers.
it was on the return from an
important expedition in the 5th
year of the Hijrah, that Aishah,
who had accompanied the Prophet,
went away from the caravan in
search of a lost necklace. The
bearers of her litter, thinking
she was still inside, marched
off leaving her behind. One of
her husband's soldiers who was
coming in from the rear, came
upon her and brought her safely
to Madinah.
A hypocrite learned of the
incident and in it found a
pretext to slander the Prophet
an his family and erode the love
and admiration of the Believers,
so he started a campaign of
vilification and several
gullible Muslims gave ear to the
slander.
What thoughts had those Muslims
harbored, that they would
respond to slander against a
wife of Allah's Servant with
such enthusiasm? Were there some
hidden feelings toward his
marriage to Aishah that were
brought to surface by this
incident? Why did Allah (God)
Himself attach such importance
to the matter that He would
issue such a Revelation as the
one which follows?
“Surely they who concocted the
lie are a party from among you.
Deem it not an evil to you. Nay,
it is good for you. For every
man of them is what he has
earned of sin; and as for him
among them who took upon himself
the main part thereof, he shall
have a grievous punishment.
“Why did not the believing men
and the believing women, when
you heard it, think well of
their own people, and say: This
is an evident falsehood?...
“And were it not for Allah's
Grace upon you and His Mercy in
this world and the Hereafter, a
grievous chastisement would
certainly have touched you on
account of the talk you indulged
in.
When you received it on your
tongues and spoke with your
mouths that of which you had no
knowledge, and you deemed it a
trifle, while with Allah it was
serious.
And why did you not, when you
heard it, say: It beseems us not
to talk of it. Glory be to Thee!
This is a great calumny.
Allah admonishes you that you
return not to the like of it
ever again, if you are
believers... Those who love that
scandal should circulate
respecting those who believe,
for them is a grievous
chastisement in this world and
the Hereafter. And Allah knows,
while you know not.” Holy Qur’an
24:11-19
One of the Prophet's marriages
was to Zainab, his cousin. Her
parents wanted him to take her
as a wife, but he expressed a
desire that she be given in
marriage to Zaid, his own freed
slave whom he adopted as a son.
The Prophet wanted to abolish
the
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barriers of
class and economic status and
felt that the marriage between a
former slave and a women of high
birth would facilitate bringing
equality within the community.
The marriage was not happy and
eventually ended in divorce.
Once the marriage he had
arranged proved to be a failure,
the Prophet consented to the
wishes of Zainab's parents and
married her himself.
Had he been a man just
interested in having wives for
his personal gratification, it
would seem that he would have
accepted Zainab's hand when it
was offered to him while she was
a virgin. Yet, he took her in
marriage after she became a
divorced woman. Study the status
of women, particularly divorced
women, at the time. What effect
did this action of Allah's
Servant have on the social
standing of divorced females in
the community? What emotional
reactions did it create among
the class-conscious people of
the community?
There was great consternation
among the Prophet's wives when
the Ruler of Egypt sent Mariyah
as a gift to Him. She accepted
Islam and became his wife. This
Black woman bore him Ibrahim,
his only son. The child died in
infancy. What emotional effect
did the birth of a son by one
wife have on the others? How did
Aishah, who enjoyed the position
of being the 'favorite', feel
toward Mariyah? What effect did
the child's death have on the
Prophet himself? What effect did
it have on the child's mother?
One of the Prophet's wives was
Maimunah, a widow, who offered
her hand to him and he accepted.
Historical accounts relate that
some wives did not desire to see
him enter any more marriages
after they themselves were
accepted. What effect did his
marriage to Maimunah have on his
other wives, when there was no
apparent reason for marrying
her, other than the fact that
she offered herself to him?
The giving of wives to Muhammad
was not done merely for sexual
gratification, it was that Allah
(God) might give His Servant
deeper insight into the woman
through women he married, as
well as deeper insight into
himself by virtue of what each
woman brought out of him; to
confer a greater reverence for
the womb.
In the Holy Qur'an, a Servant of
Allah pleads with Him:
“My Lord, expand my breast for
me and ease my affair for me;
and loose the knot from my
tongue, that they may understand
my word.” 20:25-27
The expansion of the breast may
be compared to the enlargement
of the womb when a woman carries
a child. In the womb is the
capacity of the female to
produce children. As her womb
expands and she feels the
growing life within her, her
breast expands also. She grows
to love more than herself and
her husband.
With every child, her breast
expands to love that child. The
test she faces is not to make
distinctions between them, but
to be just and equitable in her
treatment of her children. Allah
(God) has given mothers an
inexhaustible love for their own
children
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as well as the
children of others. They are
sympathetic to other mothers who
have experienced the pain and
suffering of birth.
Allah (God) gave wives to
Muhammad, among whom were women
from tribes that were hostile to
the Quraish. Through the
marriage of the Prophet to one
member of a tribe, the entire
tribe was embraced. This is the
meaning of the expansion of the
breast: Allah (God) expands the
heart of His Servant for the
Salvation of Nations.
IN CONCLUSION
There are many Servants of Allah
(God) in the Bible and the Holy
Qur'an whose names and the
circumstances of their lives
could be mentioned for further
study and analysis. However, if
we just try to walk in the shoes
of the Servants of Allah (God)
presented in this Study Guide,
we will have experienced the
full range of Emotion.
Hopefully, this Study Guide will
have prepared us for the
onslaught of the devil:
“And when the dragon saw that he
was Cast unto the earth, he
persecuted the woman who brought
forth the male child...And the
serpent cast out of his mouth
water like a flood after the
woman that he might cause her to
be carried away by the flood ...
And the earth helped the woman
and the earth opened her mouth
and, swallowed up the flood
which the dragon cast out of his
mouth ... And the dragon was
angry with the woman, and went
to make war with the remnant of
her seed, who keep the
commandments of God...”
Revelations 12:13-17
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
said to us that the flood
represents propaganda. As the
enemy in his attack on Saddam
Hussein went to the air with
such a terrific bombardment that
the ground war ended in less
than a week, the enemy of Allah
(God) and our enemy may take to
the air in a vicious barrage of
propaganda, like a flood. Floods
uproot strong trees; floods
bring snakes Out of their hiding
places. Floods undermine the
foundations of buildings and
railroad tracks.
How strong is your Foundation in
the face of a flood of
propaganda?
The Earth helped the woman by
swallowing the water. With this
study guide, properly digested
and acted upon, we may be able,
with the Help of Allah (God), to
make the enemy's evil slander of
no effect.
Our prayer is that the Nation of
Islam will be seen like Noah's
Ark: “A Mercy floating on before
our eyes”!
May Allah (God) bless each and
every student to master the
Wisdom contained herein.
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WARNING
This Study Guide is in no way
intended to inspire, in any
brother or sister, a movement
toward polygamous relationships.
The Black male must qualify
himself spiritually, morally,
emotionally and certainly
economically, to even approach
this subject matter
intelligently in terms of its
practical reality.
The Black man's view of the
Black woman at this time is so
underdeveloped that it must be
characterized as filthy. Because
of this, the practice of
polygamy today would constitute
the disrespect of the Black
woman through sexual promiscuity
in the Name of Allah (God).
The Holy Qur’an teaches that one
wife for one husband is better
for us, if we but knew. If and
or when', certain aspects of the
Holy Qur'an will be fulfilled by
us, we will be guided into this.
At this time, however, I warn
you: No one is to enter into
this practice, lost we fall
victim to the Restrictive Law
which is the Reality that Master
Fard Muhammad and the Honorable
Elijah have imposed upon the
Believers.
The Aim of the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad is the Reformation of
both the Black man and the Black
woman, with special attention on
the Black woman, because, as He
has said, “Where there are no
decent women, there are no
decent men, for the Black woman
i3 the Mother of Civilization.”
The Reformation of the Black man
must include a reformation of
his view of himself and the
Black woman, who is his second
self. His reformation must
include the removal of any and
all tendencies to abuse the
Black woman and/or to use her as
an instrument of sexual pleasure
without accepting the
responsibilities imposed upon us
by Allah (God) when in our
relationships with the female.
It is out of the Desire and Will
of Allah (God) for the
Reformation of the male and
female that He set up two
independent classes for their
instruction: The Fruit of Islam
and the Muslim Girls Training
and General Civilization Class.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
threatened me and all of His
ministers with expulsion from
the Nation of Islam if any
minister interfered with the MGT
Class. No male member of the
Nation of Islam is qualified to
teach the Black woman what Allah
(God) Desires for her.
Therefore, we are to be by the
MGT Class and the Black woman in
general, as Zacharias was by
Mary, knowing fully well that we
will be judged by Allah (God) by
how we treat any female placed
in our care and under our
charge. Zacharias was a
righteous caretaker of a
righteous young girl who grew up
in the Mosque. Every Minister,
every FOI, Must strive to be a
righteous caretaker of the MGT.
Until there is such
righteousness in his attitude
and actions toward the female,
the Black man is not yet
reformed.
Allah (God) will punish us
severely for violation of these
principles of conduct concerning
the treatment of the woman.
Where there is disrespect for
the woman, there is disrespect
for Allah (God), for in the
secret of the womb is the secret
of His Work that is taking place
within the womb. When this
reverence is displayed, only
then will the Kingdom of God be
Established.
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