From Nation of Islam to Imam Waris Deen Muhammad

From Nation of Islam to Imam Warith Deen Muhammad

By Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Opening: The Non-Negotiable Foundation of Faith

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. I want to tell you about something concerning the Nation of Islam, some of which you know and some you don't know. But I want to do something more important than that.

I want to tie it together with Allah and His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ because if it's not tied to Allah and His Messenger, then what are we doing? We as Muslims can negotiate about a lot of things, but there's one thing that's non-negotiable and that is the oneness of God. You want to argue about what we should do as Muslim youth and all of that? You want to argue about hip-hop and all of that? We can argue about that. But the one thing that's non-negotiable is the oneness of God.

The Universal Practice of Fasting and Prayer

Indeed, Allah mentioned in the Quran:

"O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those who came before you."

Muslims fast in the month of Ramadan. Jews fast. They don't fast when we fast. Christians fast. They don't fast when we fast, but they fast. So we can negotiate about that. But the one non-negotiable is the oneness of Allah.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us that when Allah revealed to Muhammad in the heavens about prayer, God gave him the commandment to pray fifty prayers a day, and remarkably the Prophet said, "And I returned with those fifty prayers until I ran into Prophet Moses, and Moses said, 'What did your Lord command?' He said, 'He commanded us to pray fifty prayers a day,' and Moses said, 'Go back to your Lord. Your nation would not be able to pray fifty prayers a day.'" Remarkably, Prophet Muhammad goes back and forth and he negotiates with Allah until Allah finally orders five prayers a day.

Muslims pray. Christians pray. Jews pray. We don't pray the same way because Prophet Muhammad says, "Pray as you see me pray," so we can negotiate how you pray. Don't worry about that. Don't worry about that. People pray. Allah will judge in the end, but there's one thing that's non-negotiable and that is God is one.

The Greatest Commandment: The Oneness of God

I remember reading the Bible. I'm not a scholar of the Bible at all, having once been a Christian and having read the Bible, I remember certain passages. I remember someone asked Jesus, "Master, what is the first and greatest commandment?" He said, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our Lord is one. We should love Him with all our heart and

all our soul and all our mind and all our strength, and the second commandment is like unto the first, that thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is one."

Many things we can negotiate about, but there's one non-negotiable and that is the oneness of Allah. I would argue that nobody knows anything about God, Allah, except for what He reveals about Himself. You want to know about Him? You have to find it through the scriptures.

Learning God's Will Through His Prophets

What did Jesus say? What did Moses say? What did Abraham say? What did Noah say? What did Adam say? What did David say? What did Solomon say? We learn about the will of God through His prophets and in the end, the last Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him. What did he say? And I would argue tonight that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, as the last messenger of Allah, knows more than anyone the will of Allah, and therefore the things that he says and things that he does is based upon the commandment of Allah.

"Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred. Nor does he speak from his own inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed."

Now a prophet doesn't speak out of his own desire, but it is revelation revealed like all the other prophets. One non-negotiable is the oneness of Allah.

The History of Islam in America: The Nation of Islam Era

What about the history of Islam in America? 1930 began a movement called the Nation of Islam. From 1930 to 1975, a man by the name of Elijah Muhammad headed that movement for forty-five years. In 1969, before you were born, I was a college student at New York University and I joined that movement, the Nation of Islam.

Many of you have heard about it. Any student of Islam would read any of the literature of the Nation of Islam, read the book "Elijah Muhammad's Message to the Black Man," "The Our Savior Has Arrived," and "The Fall of America," or "How to Eat to Live." If anybody would read those books, they would say, "What is this? This has nothing to do with Islam. This is not Islam."

How could you call a man named Fard Muhammad God? How could you call Elijah Muhammad the messenger of God? How could you fast in the month of December rather than the month of Ramadan? Why don't you make pilgrimage to Mecca? If you would say all of that, you would be correct. You would say, "Well, this is not Islam."

The Common Thread: Notable Figures from the Nation of Islam

But I'd like to ask you a question. What do Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and Imam Siraj Wahhaj have in common? All of us had our origin in the Nation of Islam.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm Little, Malcolm X, Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz, Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali, Jeffrey Kearse, Siraj Wahhaj. And you know what? These are those that you know. That we know Imam Siraj. We know, we heard about Malcolm. We heard about Muhammad Ali. We love them.

But the origin, where did they come from? And what you don't know, there are some Imams around this country. Brilliant. That I wish that ICNA and ISNA and CAIR would bring to their conferences.

Imam Yahya Abdullah out of Dallas area. Brilliant. Imam Qasim Ahmed in Tampa, Florida. Imam Wazir Ali out of Houston, Texas. And all over the country you have brilliant Muslims that you don't even know about because of where they came from. They came from like Imam Siraj, like Muhammad Ali, like Malcolm. They came from the Nation of Islam.

Understanding Allah's Mercy and Ease in Religion

But I want to take a few moments to let us understand something about our Creator. Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, said: (إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ - 'inna ad-deena yusr) "The religion is easy." (Sahih Bukhari 39)

Allah revealed in the Quran :

"Allah desires for you ease. He doesn't desire for you difficulty."

Prophet Aisha رضي الله عنها the wife of the Prophet, said that whenever the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, was given two choices, he always chose that which was easiest, assuming that it was not a sin, and if it was a sin, he would be the furthest one away from the sin.

I want you to put things in perspective. I'm not going to give an apology of the Nation of Islam. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to give you a rationale of the Nation of Islam. I'm going to do something more important than that.

The Historic Transformation: Imam Warith Deen Muhammad's Leadership

So Elijah Muhammad died in 1975, and how befitting that his son, Imam Warith Deen Muhammad, at that time Wallace Muhammad, would become the leader.

I was there. Elijah Muhammad died, I think, on the 25th of February. The next day, the 26th, was a national holiday for the Nation of Islam. I was there and the nation was there, and we chose Imam Warith Deen Muhammad to be the new leader, the son of Elijah Muhammad.

This man, you have got to appreciate what that man did. I'm sitting there, Elijah Muhammad just died. I'm sitting there on what you call front row security. I was on security that day. The leader just died. The man who led the Nation of Islam for forty-five years, he just died. And there is his son, at that time Wallace Muhammad. He stands in front of us in what is called the FOI, Fruit of Islam, a suit. And he began to teach the community.

Following the Prophetic Method: Teaching the Oneness of Allah First

In that first year, he did what Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, told Mu'adh to do. He sent Mu'adh to Yemen. He said, "Let the first thing that you do, the first thing is you invite the people to the oneness of Allah." (Sahih Bukhari 1395, Sahih Muslim 19)

Why? Because the one non-negotiable is absolutely the oneness of Allah. So therefore, let the first thing you do is teach them the oneness of Allah. And then the Prophet told Mu'adh, "And when they understand that, then inform them that God has made incumbent upon them to make five prayers a day. And when they pray, then tell them that God has made incumbent upon them to give zakat, to give charity," teaching how to do it.

Imam Muhammad in the first year told his community that Fard Muhammad is not God. Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, He's the only one and He is the One that we worship. The first year, right after that, he began to teach his community how to pray to Mecca like the rest of the Muslims. First year, he taught his followers to fast in the month of Ramadan, took a delegation of his followers to Mecca for Hajj pilgrimage.

The Greatest Mass Conversion in American History

All of these things he did and he did it right away. So what you have seen is one of the greatest mass conversions ever in the history of this country. One man, and you don't understand it, that this man, Imam Muhammad, I'm telling you, O Sheikh Omar Suleiman, I love you man, I love you too much. I would, I would, if I had the guts, I would come there and kiss you. I ain't got that kind of courage though.

But I think Sheikh Omar, if me, or you, or Yasir, or Hamza Yusuf, Zaid Shakir, Abdullah Hakim Quick, any of us, in 1975, when the nation, Elijah Muhammad died, and put any one of us there to lead that community, I don't think that we could have done it. Allahu A'lam. I don't think we could have done it. Wallahi, I don't think we could have done it.

Why? Because Imam Muhammad was accepted because he's the son of Elijah Muhammad. So he came and already we accepted him because in the theology, we learned that his son Wallace would help him. So he gradually, but in the first year, changed the theology of the whole Nation of Islam, and then this group became Sunni Muslim.

A Personal Journey: Leaving and Returning in Understanding

Now, I'm going to say something now that I haven't probably said publicly before. I'm going to say it now because I want you to know it. In 1975, when Elijah Muhammad died, and Imam Muhammad began to preach, I accepted Imam Muhammad. Six years later, in 1981, if you do the math, we opened up Masjid Al-Taqwa in Brooklyn, thirty years ago, I left Imam Warith Deen Muhammad.

Why did I leave him? Because at that time, as I understood Islam, I thought there were some differences. After studying him from a distance, I would read the paper every week, I would see what Imam Muhammad is doing, what is he preaching to his community? And I said, "Oh, okay." And I began to understand.

Allah Deals With Our Conditions and Circumstances

Umar, when we first, as non-Arab speakers, began to learn the Arabic language, one of the first things that they would teach us is to say, "How you doing?" Don't really mean how you doing. It does mean how you doing, but don't really mean how you doing. It means how you doing, but don't really, really mean how you doing.

The word "hal" in Arabic is condition, circumstance, state. So when you say, "How's your condition? What's your state like?" And most people, I can give you, you think I'm going to make this up. I guarantee most people you ask, "How you doing?" We don't really wait for the answer. Try this. Let someone say, "How you doing?" Say, "You know what? I'm homeless today. I just lost my job and I'm sick." They'll say, "Allahu Akbar."

Because we don't listen to each other. It's like a ritual. Right? We expect, "How you doing?" "Right, right."

But you know, the companions of the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, they're serious. Because when he met Abu Bakr, Abu Bakr said, "How you doing? Right? How's everything?" You know what he said? "I become a hypocrite." So Abu Bakr is listening. He don't say, "Allahu Akbar." He said, "Why?" He listened. "Why you say that? SubhanAllah. Why you say that?" And he said, "Why?" And he said, "Come on, let's go to the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him."

So he dealt with the issue. Whatever the issue was, he dealt with the issue. So when you study about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and earth, He is so wonderful. He always deals with our condition, our circumstances. I'll give you, there's about a hundred examples. I'll give you just a handful.

Examples of Allah's Mercy: Concessions in Fasting and Prayer

"So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] - then an equal number of days [are to be made up].

You're supposed to fast in the month of Ramadan, right? Everybody's supposed to fast, right? But what about if you're sick or if you're traveling? Make it up later on. We're supposed to pray standing up, right? What if you can't stand up? You pray sitting down. What if you can't pray sitting down? You pray laying down. If you can't pray laying down, you pray with your eyes. But Allah always has a way because He thinks about everybody.

The Prophet's Special Dispensations

Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, said that "I've been given five things that no other prophet was given." (Sahih Bukhari 335, Sahih Muslim 521) And there's one thing that I want to mention. You know this thing they call war booty? Not that booty. I mean war booty.

Do you know that all the prophets, when you fight a battle and you get the, I like to say booty. You understand what I mean though, right? And don't be fresh. You're not allowed to take from that. But the Prophet, peace and

blessing be upon him, said Allah gave him the permission. Why? In one other narration it said because of the weakness of the community. So Allah made that exception.

Now, I was watching your dress, right? When I say dress, I don't mean like dress. I was watching your dress, right? And I was looking at it and I want to see like what kind of material is made out of. Now, I would say, "Oh, I can have it." I would say it's cotton, right? Am I right? Probably so, probably cotton, right? But I was making sure it wasn't silk. Why was I making sure it wasn't silk? Because silk is not permissible for men, right?

But the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, he gave an exception, permission. He gave a concession to Abdul Rahman and Zubair. Why did he give them, they could wear the silk? Why? Because they had an itch. (Sahih Bukhari 5837, Sahih Muslim 2076)

So if you study Islam, everywhere you find in Islam, whatever the commandment is, I guarantee you there is an exception. Because that's the way Allah is. That's how great Allah is. This is how merciful Allah is. There's an exception. Why?

A Lesson About Judging Too Early

Now, let me conclude with this. I was reading the newspaper yesterday and I was reading a review of a play. And the play is called, I think, "My Children, My Africa." And this woman, she was reviewing a theater review. Her name is Elizabeth Vincentelli. And she said something very interesting.

She said this author of this play wrote another play called "The Road to Mecca" and another one called "Blood Knot." And she said that this South African author, playwright, has a style that in the beginning of the play, it's always boring. It's like slow. And she said she was at the theater and at intermission when the time for the people came back, they said many of the chairs were empty.

And the reason the chairs were empty because they're like, "I don't want to watch this. This is boring." And she said it's a shame because had they stayed in the end, they would have seen it was a great play. And what I did, I left at intermission. What are you talking about?

The Importance of How We End, Not How We Begin

Brothers and sisters, let me tell you something. I leave with the words of our Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him. He said: (إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ - 'innama al-a'malu bil-khawatim) "Your deeds shall be judged by your last deeds." (Sahih Bukhari 6607)

Now, Umar, unlike you, me, Mustafa, we converted to Islam, reverted. How many of you converted to Islam? Raise your hand. Okay. Now, I've heard Muslims, my immigrant brothers and sisters, I love all of you, believe me. I've heard them say, "I'm born Muslim. You're just a convert." That's fair. I'm just a convert. That's true, I'm just a convert.

But the Prophet said: (كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ - kullu mawludin yuladu 'ala al-fitrah) "Every one of you is born a Muslim." (Sahih Bukhari 1385, Sahih Muslim 2658)

It's ain't no big deal to be born that. Allah made you that. But Allah says: (وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ - wa la tamutunna illa wa antum muslimun) "And do not die except as Muslims." (Quran 3:102)

Not how you were born, how you die.

Don't Be the Rabbit: A Practical Analogy

Now, Umar, I don't know about you. Have you ever gone past the speed limit, right? I don't mind, really, you should stay, you should, you know, stay in the legal speed, you should. But every once in a while, you gotta go fast, right? But don't ever be the rabbit. Don't be the rabbit. Don't be the what? Rabbit.

What the rabbit is, rabbit is that guy who goes and he goes in front of everybody. He's going ninety miles per hour. So let him be the rabbit and you go after him. That's how you do it. Don't go ahead and be the rabbit because when the state troopers stop, they're going to stop the rabbit.

The Real Issue: How Do We End?

Now, brothers, sisters, what I'm saying is this. You want to judge the Nation of Islam? Okay. But this is the issue. This is the issue. What have we done? Allah has revealed, Allah has written down.

You know Minister Louis Farrakhan, the head of the Nation of Islam. You know how many times I've spoken to him privately? Many times. I got severely criticized because I did the Jumu'ah prayer for the Nation of Islam in their Saviour's Day. People in my own community said, "Imam Siraj, why you do that, man? Why you do that?"

I'm telling you why I did that. I believe that some of the greatest followers of Islam will come out of the Nation of Islam. I believe that. And I'm saying whatever I can do to help, I'm going to continue to help. That's where I came from. In any way I can help, I'm going to help.

A Warning: People Can Change Course at Any Moment

And I want to warn us as Muslims something that the Prophet said, peace and blessing be upon him. And I'm telling you, brothers, sisters, this is great. This religion is wonderful. I'm glad to be a Muslim, man. This is great. I'm serious, man. I'm just like happy, crazy.

The Prophet said:

وَاللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ غَيْرُهُ إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا

"I swear by Allah, in Whose Hand there is no god but Him, one of you does the work of the people of Paradise until there is only an arm's length between him and it, and then what has been written overtakes him and he begins to do the work of the people of the Hellfire and enters it." (Sahih Bukhari 6594, Sahih Muslim 2643)

That's good. You make prayer. You fast in Ramadan. You make many pilgrimages. That's good. That's wonderful. Until there's only a distance between an arm's length from you and the Hellfire, you begin to do the work of the people of the Hellfire. You lie, you cheat, you steal, you murder. And then you enter through the Hellfire.

And on the other hand, there are some people this close to Hell, but then they begin to do the work, the good people, the work of Jannah. And then they wind up going to Jannah.

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