WATCH:: Full Video of Minister Farrakhan’s Nov. 8th press conference hosted at the Press TV headquarters in Tehran was last modified: November 12th, 2018 by BJ Blog Staff
Source: Hurt2Healing Magazine
Ebony S. Muhammad (EM): I want to thank you for sharing the testimony regarding faith that you gave towards the end of your message the other week entitled, “Who has the courage to follow Farrakhan?”
Wesley Muhammad (WM): All praise is due to Allah. Thank you.
EM: You are not the only one that has had those type of questions relating to faith. You opened up about what you described as a tear in your spiritual garment, regarding where Allah, Master Fard Muhammad, intervenes in our affairs on an individual basis, aside from His anointed Servants. You said, “I didn’t see myself as being on the radar of the Lord of the Worlds.”
What was it that caused you to feel that way and draw that conclusion?
WM: Well, again, partly my path and partly the way my mind actually works. By path I mean I was an atheist before Islam. I was anti-religion as an intellectual. When I did come to Islam, it was through the Five Percenters, and the Five Percent Nation is anti-religion. We think differently about religious matters. We tend to need more demonstration of a point of a religious matter than most religious people. So I already had that predisposition to need greater demonstration of faith matters. That’s what it is. Faith matters. Matters that have no empirical proof, but we have to have faith in their regard.
After 28 years of critically engaging this teaching, I’m pursuing religion with a totally academic perspective. I bear witness that there are still matters that are a matter of faith. We just cannot prove them, and those are very valuable matters of faith. But in my earlier stages, those matters of pure faith, I needed a more robust demonstration of them. And one of those matters was, “Is the God, Whom I acknowledge as Master Fard Muhammad, interested in the affairs of the little believer?” Life’s challenges makes all of us ask the question, “Where is God in our life?” And for me I needed mathematical or critical demonstration of it. We would bring such questions to our pastors or ministers, “Where was God in our life when this happened?” We bring those to our pastors and we get the pastoral answers. We get the “foot prints in the sand” poem type of answers, but for me as an atheist and Five Percenter, that just was never persuasive to me. They weren’t real helpful to me. Those pastoralisms weren’t helpful to me. I needed something more concrete to make my religion make mathematical sense on a personal level. On a global level it made all the sense in the world. Master Fard Muhammad, He is Master of all of these planets and life forms that are on all of these planets. He’s the Master of them, so He’s very pre-occupied, in other words.
So I did not, I could not telescope the God into my personal life, not intellectually. Not in a way that was intellectually satisfying to me. So that was my blind spot. I needed demonstration of His intervention in my affairs, and on a critical thinking level I did not feel that I was able to point to convincing proof to me. Even though, of course, they were there all the time, but where I was in my thinking I could not point to demonstrable proof that He was intervening in my affairs all while He is protecting His Messiah against the most power government in the world, and marshalling the forces of the other civilizations of the planets to come against the enemy. He has big ticket responsibility. I was looking for and I needed more convincing evidence in the midst of all of that He even had time to consider my affairs.
EM: You answered that so beautifully, and you answered the second question regarding what evidence you were in need of that you weren’t receiving. Thank you for going right into that.
This next question is regarding your research and your doctoral dissertation revolving around the reality of God in Him being a man. We know that…well I’ll speak for myself, because I have your books; I know that there’s no deficit in your knowledge, but how and when did you realize…
WM: Well we all have deficits in our knowledge. We all work with a margin of error. The only one who does not work with a margin of error is the Messenger of God. Anything short of revelation, has a margin of error.
EM: Yes sir, thank you for your correction. Allow me to say it like this in the context of this question: How did you and when did you realize that there was a deficit in your faith compared to your level of knowledge?
WM: That was always a nagging question for me. It followed me and it nagged me. I’ll tell you this if I can share it.
EM: Yes sir, go ahead!
WM: There’s this experience. There was this Summer between one of my semesters. I was a poor, very poor student. So eating and finding the next meal was a task. One time I went up to a brother’s house, who was a F.O.I., and he happened to have a fish fry. And he happened to have enough for myself and my brother who I came with and who was my Five Percenter teacher. I hadn’t or didn’t want to join the mosque yet. There was the discussion about praying over the food. Obviously, the Muslims were praying. I was inclining towards the Muslims, but I was there with my teacher who was a Five Percent who gave his reason why not to. So I conceded to his reasoning, and as fate would have it, as they all were enjoying and as he was enjoying his fish sandwich, mine fell on the floor before I could take a bite of it. I was so mad and so hungry. (laughs)
The question of whether I, as a little believer, am on the radar of the Lord of the Worlds that He would even receive it (prayer over food) was what the argument was. Why would He receive it if it’s ritualism? Why would He receive this praying over fish? So that issue nagged me throughout my whole journey. There were some nagging issues. So it wasn’t a moment in which I discovered the tear. It nagged me from the beginning until I got to Chicago and demonstrable proof, demonstrable evidence, was given to me. But it nagged me the whole time.
EM: Yes sir, thank you.
In January of this year, the Study Group webcast that was shown from the Final Call Administration Building in Chicago with Sister Ava Muhammad and a few others, featured clips of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaching about faith and knowledge. He said, “Faith is greater than knowledge. Faith is in the absence of knowledge.”
WM: Yes…
EM: And he went on to say, “We are not the Best Knower, we have to have faith in Him, Allah.”
WM: That’s right…
EM: He said, “Big belief can accomplish what those in this world with knowledge cannot.”
WM: That’s powerful.
EM: Yes sir. How and at what point did you begin to tip the scale of what you know toward faith? What was that first thing that you had to do, or what was that first step you had to take?
WM: Beautiful question. The faith versus knowledge dynamic was also the dynamic that was in my consciousness from the very beginning. It became acute for me, because Allah happened to bless me to know. This is to emphasize the tear in my spiritual garment, because Allah blessed me, Sister Ebony, to factually know the reality of this Teaching of Islam. My introduction to the Teachings was totally intellectual. My approach to it was academic. I studied every aspect. The truth of this Teaching, the body of wisdom is not a matter of belief or faith to me. It is a verifiable body of knowledge that I can demonstrate by Allah’s grace across the world.
Allah blessed me to become a knower of the truth of His Islam, not a mere believer in its truth. However, therein lies my challenge and my trial. All while I’m sure and self assured that Allah has blessed me to be a knower of the truth of my religion, while I’m seeing people all around me — and I’m the main antagonist in many of these situations– people having their faith ripped out from under their feet, because knowledge will come to them or something would challenge their faith, and oftentimes it’s me ripping their rug of faith out from under their feet. True story. So while I’m self-assured in the truth, I’m still conscious of the fact the Quran is very clear that, “Blessed are the believers…”. It’s the believers, not the knowers. So I’m conscious of that this whole time, but not knowing really what that means except that I know that I had my deficit.
by Fudia Muhammad
The definition for a medical circumcision is – “Surgery that removes the foreskin (the loose tissue) covering the glans of the penis.”According to the Scriptures, the history of circumcisions predate Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses. ‘To circumcise’ was a directive from God to Abraham – a physical sacrifice that was to be made, in order to secure a covenant with God for Abraham and all generations after him.
Genesis 17: 9-10 reads, “And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant” (KJV).
The three predominate monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – all claim Abraham as the Father of their faith traditions. So it is no coincidence that the practice of circumcising has continued by those who consider themselves to be true followers. However, today it is practiced considerably less by those who consider themselves Christians; but still very prevalent among Jews; and most Muslims are overwhelming strict in obedience to this rite for all males. The latter is notable since there is no mention of circumcision in the Holy Qur’an. However, the Qur’an does clearly command Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to “Follow the faith of Abraham, the upright one.” Hence, it is reported that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that circumcision was a “law for men.” According to many sections from the Hadith (a collection of the reported words and actions of The Prophet), Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) practiced and suggested male circumcisions. However, Islamic scholars continue to debate as to whether it is obligatory for Muslims to continue the practice today.
The Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) or Torah, is one of the Jewish Holy Books. Here is where we find the Book of Genesis and those clear directives from God to Abraham; so in Judaism, there is not much debate at all about the observance of this rite. In the Jewish tradition, circumcisions arefar more ritualistic and rigid; involving many rules and customs that are simply not performed in either Christianity or Islam.
It is true that in accordance with Mosaic Law, Jesus was in-fact circumcised (Luke 2:21). However; present-day Christians have veered from the practice principally because of the words of Paul in the New Testament. He states, “Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker”(Romans 2: 25-27, NIV). In other words, it’s going to take a lot more than being circumcised to claim righteousness – our deeds far outweigh our physical appearance.
Circumcision is not compulsory in Islam, but it is strongly recommended. The primary reason for circumcision in Islam is for “tahara,” – purification or cleanliness. Yes, one must be physically clean in order to make salāt (prayers), pilgrimage or even to handle the Holy Qur’an. But going much further than that, cleanliness and exceptional hygiene supports good health. Removing the foreskin allows for the male instrument to be easily cleaned, keeping it free of bacteria buildup. This greatly reduces the risk of a urinary tract infection whereby severe cases can lead to kidney trouble. Circumcised males also have a lower risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and herpes. The risk of penile cancer is considerably lower than for uncircumcised males. It is also less common for the female partner of a circumcised male to have cervical cancer. Other health benefits include: prevention of penile problems like phimosis (inability to retract the foreskin); paraphimosis (inability to return the foreskin to its original location); balanitis (inflammation of the glans); and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin).
There are considerations on the other side as well. Though local anesthesia is used, a circumcision is a painful surgical procedure. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to complete; and a week to heal. But circumcisions are no exception to the reality that all surgical procedures have risks: bleeding and infection could occur; irritation of the glans; the foreskin might be cut too short or long; there is risk of injury; failure to heal; the remaining foreskin may reattach to the end; and there is an increased risk of meatitis (inflammation at the opening). Parents who are considering circumcision must carefully weigh the potential benefits and risks in advance. If a decision is made to proceed; the credentials, experience and success rate of the physician performing the procedure should be thoroughly scrutinized.
While Jews circumcise by the eight day of birth; for Christians and Muslims, the age for a circumcision does not seem to be clearly established. Many do choose to circumcise their newborns, just days after birth; not only for Biblical reasons, but alsobecause healing tends to be faster and an infant cannot disturb the affected region, which could lengthen recovery time. However, others believe, it is barbaric to strap down a newborn and cut them. Ultimately it is a parental choice. If the choice is made to circumcise when the child is older, he should be much older – old enough to know better than to agitate that region of the body while healing. So circumcising toddlers is not recommended.
We conclude with words from The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on this subject. His words bear witness to a universal truth: For every physical law, there is a spiritual counterpart. The Minister said, “–And Paul comes back so beautifully, saying the Jew is not the Jew outwardly by the circumcision of the flesh, the Jew is the Jew inwardly by the circumcision of the heart. Now what is needed to perform the circumcision of the heart? It takes a sharp instrument to cut away the foreskin of the male instrument. Why do you want the male instrument circumcised? Because, as that skin, folds over the head of the penis, it becomes a depository for bacteria. You know I have to stop, you know and give praises to God – [very tearful and pausing] because see when you hear it, you know it’s the truth. The Word starts cutting away the flesh of the heart. Because the heart, the core of your thinking, is where all the issues of man and woman is hidden.” All praise is due to Allah (God)!
NOTE: This article intentionally dealt only with male circumcision. The Nation of Islam does not perform nor do we agree with the practice of female circumcisions or “female genital cutting” (FGC). This practice takes place in many parts of the world. It has nothing to do with religion, spirituality or cleanliness – it is primarily cultural [a subject for another time].
(Sister Fudia Muhammad is a member of Muhammad Mosque No. 64 in Austin, Texas. She is married to Student Minister Robert L. Muhammad and they have been blessed with four children. Sister Fudia holds a Master’s degree in Education – she is a writer, an educator and an advocate for God-centered child-rearing.)
Our World of Islam is in terrible condition—not because you fully understand the Holy Qur’an, even in Mecca. If you understood the Holy Qur’an, why would you put it behind your back and accept guidance from the White House? – Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
I know it’s difficult for us to wrap our minds around wickedness so great that people would plot to get the country into war at the expense of young patriotic men and women, but this is exactly what has happened.
Watch “The War on Islam: 9/11 Revisited, Uncovered & Exposed”http://dld.bz/f7pM3
by Nzinga Muhammad
The never-ending propaganda that demonizes Muslims and our entire faith gets annoying. More than annoying, it gets dangerous. This rhetoric has become a fact to many people, but it is a sinister view of Muslims and our faith that bears no tangible truth. The lies, myths, and straight up foolishness that I see and hear about Muslims needs to be debunked, and completely thrown away from our thinking.
“Muslims don’t believe in God or Jesus, they believe in Allah”
This is literally one of the most ignorant statements I’ve ever been encountered with. This lie attempts to accuse Islam as being anti-Christian and some radical religion with a grudge against Jesus. Jesus is loved and appreciated in Islam. In the Holy Qur’an, his mother Maryam (Mary) has an entire chapter dedicated to her. Muslims generally don’t worship Jesus as God, but see him as an important Prophet and Servant of Allah, and a good example in his obedience to God.
Do people who say that quote know what “Allah” means in English? It translates to God. If you are a person of any other faith besides Islam, and you speak arabic, then you would also say “Allah”. Jesus being a man who did not speak English, but most likely Arabic, would have said “Allah” too. We don’t have a “Muslim god”. There is but One God.
Muslims like ISIS want to kill everyone *inserts false verse allegedly from the Qur’an*
ISIS doesn’t even pray in the same direction as us, let alone read from the Qur’an! As far as I’m concerned, they are not Muslim. They are far off from Islam and the true teachings of it. Of course, you will have those who use the Qur’an as justification for their own political agenda. Kind of how the Bible was used to justify chattel slavery. Often times, people who claim that Muslims want to kill everyone, bring up verses from the Quran that have either been misinterpreted completely, or aren’t even in the book. If you’re going to quote the book, at least read it. Muslims do not want to kill everyone. And if you have read the Qur’an you would have read that it says killing one person is like killing all of mankind ( Surah 5:32). Don’t believe the hype.
Islam is wrong because all Muslims have an agenda to wage Jihad against America.
True “jihad” is the struggle with self. It truly is about overcoming war with yourself; your own personal challenges, often times, spiritual. Muslims are never to be the aggressors, however if we are attacked first, then fighting back is never a bad thing. In terms of a physical war, as Minister Farrakhan has said before, “No leader of any Muslim nation can call for Jihad or Holy War and cause the Muslim world to obey that call.”
I’ve been Muslims all of my life, and I’ve never been told to hate people of other faiths, or that it’s wrong to love Jesus. Islamophobia gets tiring. It, unfortunately, extends beyond some troll on twitter. This is propaganda that has been repeated post-9/11, and has not stopped since. This shaped the minds of many Americans (and people around the world) to potentially mistreat Muslims. Women have had their hijabs pulled off of their heads, and hate crimes against Muslims have happened many times. Words are powerful and should never be taken lightly, especially when it perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misconceptions about people of an entire faith.
(Nzinga Muhammad is based in Rochester, NY. Follow her on Twitter @QueenNzinga13)
Black Muslims in America have to deal with two struggles: anti-Islam rhetoric and anti-blackness. Inside and outside of the mosque, or masjid, there is racism that shouldn’t be ignored. If you tell a Muslim who isn’t black that there is racism among the ummah, sometimes the response will be “That’s not true! There is no color in Islam!” Colorblindness is never a good thing. There are dangers in a colorblind society. If you claim that you can’t “see color”, you are choosing to ignore racial injustices that people face. You ignore people’s identities and conform them to say that who they are is wrong. Just because Islam is diverse, doesn’t mean you should deny my blackness, or the issues we face while being black. Black Americans in particular have had to deal with white supremacy for centuries. It has not yet disappeared.
By Nzinga Muhammad
Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon him) had to teach the Arab people of his day to not discriminate against the black people who followed him. Sadly, that anti-blackness still lingers in many Muslim communities. You would see sometimes during Jummah, all of the black people all together in a corner, segregated from the rest. You would see disrespectful glares of non-black Muslims towards us, and even hear the repetition of racist speech in Arabic. This is not Islam. But this is an unspoken reality. Actually, its spoken of, but always talked over by the loud recitation of Quranic verses and hadiths discussing diversity. If you can’t identify or listen to Black Muslims, or dismantle any racist behaviors, then your quotes on diversity mean nothing.
One of the reasons why “traditional” or Orthodox Muslims don’t like the Nation of Islam is because of the teachings to empower mainly black people to bring us back from a “dead” state. Black power was manifested in our own grocery stores, newspapers, businesses, schools, etc from the Nation of Islam, who had a very big hand in establishing Islam in America. This has gotten criticism for many years as “un-Islamic.” But understand what black people have gone through and still go through daily in an unholy society. Understand the need for self-love in a community with likened conditions as the Arabs in jahiliyyah, during Prophet Muhammad’s time. No one else would willingly teach black people Islam at first.
There are those Orthodox Muslims who claim our great brother Malcolm X, or Malik El Shabazz, yet didn’t care for him until AFTER he got taught by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam cleaned him up. We did that. He learned “As Salaam Alaikum” and all of his prayers from the Nation of Islam, not Orthodox Muslims. No one else taught us until after the fact, and even still, there was discrimination.
With all due respect, there are some so called “Muslims” who sell the forbidden swine in black communities. There are some so called “Muslims” who mistreat black women, and disrespect black people in general. It happens more often than we think, not even limited to American borders, but the issue is always pushed to the back of our minds. There are a lot of black Muslims who have to find an all-black mosque to pray in, because they haven’t been treated as they should in other mosques. It’s a horrible thing when people who claim to follow Prophet Muhammad hate the same people who look just like Bilal.
There is definitely racism in the mosque. You can’t sweep it under the rug and pretend blackness doesn’t exist to make the issue go away. Islam and religion in general needs to be cleansed so that it can be as pure as it’s supposed to be.
(Nzinga Muhammad is based in Rochester, NY. Follow her on Twitter @QueenNzinga13)
We know, or at least should know by now, that American mainstream media demonizes Islam constantly. I hear repeated jargon of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) being a pedophile. I hear that the oppression of women is a religious obligation. Of course, none of these are true, yet they contribute to a justified hatred towards Islam and Muslims altogether. They are believed fairy tales and it’s about time people grow up and realize how silly they are:
“Islam hates women and the Hijab oppresses Muslims.”
Actually, in Islam, women are respected and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) spoke about treating women with kindness. Islam teaches that heaven lies at the feet of our mothers. Islam also gives equal rights to women. Woman are to be treated with the utmost respect and honor.
By Nzinga Muhammad
The hijab, and really any covering we wear, is a choice that Muslim women make. It is to show our devotion to Allah (God), and to reject the unwanted sexualization and objectification of our bodies. The hijab or any other head/body covering does not oppress us. Can non-Muslim, white feminists stop concerning themselves with our choices? I hope that when you say “Ok but women can wear whatever they want!” that you also include the Muslims who voluntarily want to cover our hair/bodies.
Yes, men have tampered with the true teachings of Islam to fit their sexist systems, but that’s not Islamic. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would be very disappointed.
Not to mention, other religions have head coverings for their women, so it’s not just a “Muslim thing”. I don’t know why a Muslim in a niqab, burqa, or hijab is demonized, but a nun is considered a “devoted worshipper”. I don’t know why in all the depictions of the mother of Jesus, Mary, she’s covering her hair, but only those who say “Allahuakbar ” are wrong for wearing a veil.
“Muhammad was a pedophile. Aishah was nine when he raped her, so child brides are ok in Islam.”
Let me first say, rape in Islam is punishable by death. Paedophilia is also haram, therefore forbidden. I find it hard to imagine and believe that someone who was revealed the wisdom of the Holy Qur’an would be that low and vile.
Evidence shows that Aishah was actually older than fourteen (probably nineteen) at the consummation of her marriage, not nine. America has a history of women being nineteen years old, or younger, with a husband.
I don’t think Americans are fit to speak about other countries as though they are holy. The same thing goes on at home. “Child brides” exist in America, but your fake concern for them and the Middle East is only present to demonize Islam. Virginia this month banned child marriages.
No, it’s not as common here as other places, but that still does not make America’s hands clean. That still doesn’t mean child marriages and paedophilia is some Islamic sunnah. It’s not. Usually the people who associate child brides with Islam have never actually read the Holy Qur’an, nor do they really care about girls being married off at young ages.
I’m not saying don’t have a concern for them or don’t speak on what’s happening. I’m saying: don’t think America is clear of paedophilia and child brides, and don’t use those girls as your tools to slander Islam, instead of coming up with solutions for them.
“All terrorists are Muslim”
Actually, only 6% of terrorists are under the label “Muslim”, even though terrorism is completely unislamic. We aren’t to be the aggressors, although fighting with those who fight with us is ordained.
You should be more concerned about white, “Christian”, terrorists who terrorize people in churches, schools, and movie theatres. Or even The KKK who wants to make a comeback. How about the police? Americans are more likely to be killed by a policeman than a “terrorist”, so especially as a black person, my threat isn’t overseas, it’s at the police station.
This propaganda about Islam/Muslims is not based on facts, nor does it come from the mouths of those who have read the Holy Qur’an from cover to cover and understood it. Hands Off Islam.
(Follow Nzinga Muhammad on Twitter @QueenNzinga13)