The Life of Malcolm X - Part 01

The Life of Malcolm X - Part 13 - Question & Answer Session

By Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Understanding Divine Will and Human Responsibility

During lesson one, you had drew a parallel when you gave the ayat of the Quran, when the Shaytan asked for a postponement, a punishment, and then you said that Allah will let you do your thing, and then I was hoping you would expound on that, to kind of expound on that parallel, that was a good parallel.

Yeah, that's the point I want to say, and I know it was maybe a little bit deep, but if you look around, any kind of movement you can think of, right, we've got Hindus, we've got Buddhists, we've got Christians, we've got some Christians believing that Jesus is God. I'm listening to a preacher yesterday on the radio, and my God, he said, no, Jesus is the everlasting God. I'm saying, are you crazy?

So all these people doing that, all of you have atheists, you have, right, and it seems to me that Allah is allowing them to do it. After all, Shaytan will say, I just called you, I invited you, and you came. So that made me understand this, I'm not sitting here waiting, thinking that Allah is going to do for us what we're supposed to do.

See, Allah is going to do whatever he's going to do. I think that if we don't do the job, he will get rid of us and do something, and bring someone to our place. That's the Sunnah. And when I look at United States of America, right, when I said they are a better example of what a Khalifa is than anyone, meaning, because Allah is already saying in the Quran, the angels are saying it, they're going to shed blood. So in other words, their ability to do what they want to do on the world. They'll go any country they want to go.

America's Power and the Balance of Nations

They drop, listen man, they drop bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, kill 75,000 people in one shot. And 45,000 people in one shot. They go in a country, that's our country, United States of America. They got all this power, they got all this money, no one can touch them.

And this is why if you study the Quran very carefully, Allah talks about Allah putting one nation in check by another nation. You see, when Soviet Union, see people, they became overjoyed when the Soviet Union lost their power. I wasn't so overjoyed. Because the one thing you can say about the Soviet Union is that they kept each other in check. United States kept them in check, they kept the United States in check. Why? Because you have two equal powers.

But with the removal of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the only so-called superpower able to do what it wants to do on the world anywhere. Do you know right now the United States have the power to

bring justice to the Palestinians? It does. Absolutely. If the United States goes and bombs Iraq and responsible for 100,000 innocent people die, who's going to do anything about it?

If you look at what this country is able to do, the good and the bad, powerful. But we are the Muslims that can equal that power in any way. Military power, scientific, whatever the case may be. So what I'm saying is that obviously Allah is letting it happen. That's my point. And it's not going to not happen because you don't want it to happen. It's going to stop happening when you make it stop happening.

The Example of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed

Imam Muhammad did it. He looked at the nation of Islam and said these people are backwards. These people are misguided. I've got to change them around. He didn't have to do it. He could have went about his business and said, you know what, I'm going to practice Islam later for them guys. I'm praying toward the Qibla. I'm praying toward Mecca. I'm making my salah.

He could have done that, but he came back into the nation just to bring these people, to teach these people, and dismantled it totally. Totally dismantled the nation of Islam. Why? Because he recognized that Allah put in our hand the ability to do it. Now do your job.

Prayer and Action: Working Together

Now we can do this. We can continue to ask Allah to feed the poor. One billion people on this earth live on less than one dollar a day. Now what are we going to do about it? Make dua. To me, making dua is number one.

Brother said to me, Siraj, you have to pray as if everything depends on Allah and it does, but you must work as if everything depends on you and it doesn't. That's my point. You see what I'm saying? And I don't like that. I don't like us sitting here. What are you waiting for? What are we waiting for right now? What are we waiting for all these people to come to Islam? What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for right now? When are they going to come? They're going to come and Allah is going to bring these people. Allah is going to do that. Sounds the same thing to me. You two go fight. That's what it sounds like to me.

The Prophet's Military Campaigns and Our Responsibility

But when I studied the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Sahaba, they asked the question, how many Ghazwah did the Prophet fight in? How many Ghazwah did the Prophet fight in? Very, very few. 19, man. 19. 19. Well, what does that mean? It's a message of Allah. They had to fight.

He didn't say, you know, this is the beloved of Allah. Allah couldn't send an angel, okay, Prophet, you know, you did a good job. You sit back, man. Go watch the show. It ain't about watching the show. It's about what we're going to do. That's my point.

The Nation of Islam's Dawah Method

And that's the strength of the nation of Islam. They went, man, door to door, knocking on doors, bringing the, you know what I used to do, man, on Sundays, right, they called it fishing. I tried all my best to get my best friends to come to the temple. I would pay cab fare to get them to take them to the temple. I take the bus. But if they said they want to come to the temple, I'd go get them. I did it every week because in our mind, you can't come to the temple unless you bring your fish. They call them fish. Where's your fish?

But you know what we do? We go to Masjid. We don't care about these people, brother. We walk over these same people, one block from the Masjid. Come to Masjid al-Taqwa. I want you to go one block south. One block south of Masjid al-Taqwa, southwest hand corner. There's a huge armory. You know what's in that armory? Homeless men. A thousand homeless African American Hispanic men. And guess who else was in there? Muslims in there.

Our Neglect of Those Around Us

And you know what we do? We go by them every day. And sometimes you're like, your car gets caught right at the light, right on the corner there, right? You're on the Bedford Avenue and I think Rogers, right? Rogers and, is it Rogers? But Atlantic and, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right, right? Atlantic and Bedford, right? And you're sitting there. And you know who come by? They come there. Or they come to squeegee guys. You know the squeegee guys? Let me wipe off your windshield, can I get a dime?

And what do we think about these people? What do we think about these people, man? And see, see the nation with all of the criticism, wrong, they probably go to hell, yeah, they probably all go to Allah, right? But for all of that, they cared about the people. One thing I tell you about the nation of Islam that was good, they made you love your black people. They made you love black people.

You say, well, that doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense when you understand that black people hated themselves. You don't get it. What do you don't get it?

The Psychology of Self-Hatred in Black America

Where is that picture, man? See, you're getting me mad now. Who got my book? Hmm? Not this one. Who is this? Who that guy there? Huh? Yeah, Jackie Robinson. Who's that? It's your boy, Malcolm Little, right? Look at this. Don't you know at that time, man, that's what black people did? Men burned their hair, brother. You saw the movie? Huh? You saw the movie? Remember the guy, he said, well, burning? It really burned, brother. Lie. You know what lie is? Lie. Yeah. Burning, man. Why'd they do that? Because they want to look like white men.

God, that contributed to a lot of things. Black people hated themselves. You don't understand that, man. Hated the nose, man. Hated the lips and the black color and the kinky. You don't understand what that means. Because

why? This nation made us think that black was ugly. Black Friday. Devil's cake was black. I mean, everything, huh? Everything black. I'm telling you, you don't understand the psychological. Everything bad was black.

The Impact of White Imagery in Religion

And when they had the beauty contests, they had the beauty contests. There's always a white woman with white features. And black women were ugly. Always portrayed as ugly. That's the way it was in this society. You understand? So now, yeah, I'm saying everything. Cartoons, books, everything. Institutionalized racism, teaching people, A, to hate yourself and love the white man.

And the biggest thing, you think it's nothing, right? You get an image of a white Jesus. This is Jesus. This is the son of God. It's a white man. And you don't think that have an effect on black people? If you look in the Bible and see all the prophets white, you don't think that have an effect on black people? All the angels are white. You don't think that have an effect on black people? Sure it did. That's what I'm trying to tell you.

Guidance from the Nation to Orthodox Islam

That's when this nation came out. I believe, I could be wrong. I believe that all the people who were sincere, Allah guided them from the nation of Islam to Orthodox Islam. I believe that. And I make dua for them. Allah guide them. So brother and sister, may Allah bless us, bless you, learn some lessons from Malcolm and Haji Malik Shabazz.

Personal Journey: From Art to Islam

Yes, ma'am. Good question. Can anybody guess what I studied at NYU? Read my bio. Math education. Right. I was a major in math education. I was going to be a math teacher. Let me tell you, who can guess what high school I went to? I went to the high school of music and art, which is across the street from City College. And I was an art student. My thing was portraits. You couldn't come to my house unless I painted your portrait. Oil color, watercolor, charcoal, every kind of medium.

And so when I went to college, my first semester I majored in art and minored in math. And then I switched it and majored in math and minored in art. When I became a Muslim, I found out that I couldn't make portraits. And Allah is my witness, I had portfolios of work and I just threw them away one day. Just threw them away. Because the Prophet said that we can't do it. I did it. I threw it away. That was my, inshallah, ask Allah to bless me for that, for him.

Family's Response to Islam

So when I joined the Nation of Islam, my parents, my mother and my stepfather, by the way I had a very great stepfather. My stepfather I loved as much as my father. A man named Lloyd Sage. Beautiful, really beautiful man. My mother was very supportive of me. Because we weren't bad. I was never a bad kid. I was never a bad kid. And if I did smoke, I didn't inhale it.

And because I wasn't a bad child, me and my brother were fairly intelligent, so when I joined the Nation as a freshman at New York University, she was kind of supportive. And it never gave me any hard time. And the only time I had conflict once with my stepfather, my stepfather was a big guy. He used to be a boxer by the way. Big guy man. And I never had any conflict with him ever except for this one day I remember.

And I was telling him, it was a Sunday, and something about pork. You're still eating that devil's food like the pork, right? And he said something about you, all your life you ate pork. I said, well, I'm not eating pork anymore. And then he gave me kind of look, right? And I looked back at him, like defiant. What? And he looked at me. He said, yeah? I said, well, what? You know what I'm saying? What? So we did that for a while, and that was it. That was the worst we ever had, but they were very good.

The Power of a Child's Innocence

And one year, my son, Mohamed, he was five years old. He's now 21. My mother invited us over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. I said, okay, but let me bring the meat. And we cleaned the pots, and my mother said she wanted me to bless the table. I did. And my son, Mohamed, five years old, I'll never forget this. He says, Granny, he calls my mother Granny, and my stepfather called him Pow Pow. I said, Granny, when are you and Pow Pow going to become Muslim?

My five-year-old son said, because you know how children are, right? They don't care. Yeah, straight up. When are you going to become Muslim anyway? So my mom said, well, we might as well do it now. So both my mother and my stepfather took shahada as a result of my son saying that. And I'm saying that alhamdulillah, my stepfather since died, and at least they have that. They said that. They believe Allah is one.

Now we're struggling trying to bring her to the masjid more and get her to practice more. So make dua for her, inshallah.

The Challenge of Family Acceptance

Yes. Well, you can imagine, in many cases, as an imam, people come to me, they say, you know, imam, I became Muslim, but A, I can't tell my parents. They're afraid to tell their parents. And number two, their parents fight them. I know Muslims who've been fought as a result of them becoming Muslim. So it's a trial for a lot of people. Yes.

Malcolm X's Journey to Hajj

Bismillah. One question I had, you didn't mention like in detail, it was like Malcolm X is part of the Nation of Islam, and they didn't, did they believe in going to Hajj? And then that's part A of the question, number one. And part B of that question is like, what exactly influenced them to go to Hajj? I didn't understand that.

No, they didn't. They didn't make Hajj. I mentioned it last week that Elijah Muhammad did not encourage his people to make Hajj. You got to remember this, that we were totally isolated from the Muslim world. And that's

one thing that Elijah Muhammad did is we didn't read books by Orthodox Muslims. We didn't have their presence.

And that's why I say, in a sense, the growth of the Nation of Islam is an indictment of the Muslim ummah, in my opinion. Because we hadn't, there's no one, there weren't that many Sunni Muslims that came to us. And really, there was a few that challenged us. But I think had they done more of that, you know, you would have seen more people join Orthodox Muslims as opposed to join the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam had a better Dawah program than the Muslims did. That's, I mean, that's straight up.

The Circumstances Leading to Malcolm's Hajj

So, so was like him going to Hajj a personal decision, like he went on his own without anybody influencing him? That last year, had Elijah Muhammad brought him back, he would have gone back. That's what he said himself. So, and that's this reality. So Allah blessed him, Alhamdulillah. As a result of being put out, sometimes things happen in history that really you capture the moment and you take advantage of it.

And what happened as a result of it, I think people started talking to Malcolm. A brother from Sudan named Hussein, Sheikh Hussein and some others. And they invited Malcolm for pilgrimage. They invited him? Yeah, they invited him. In fact, as I mentioned last week, maybe you didn't get it. But I said that his wife, Dr. Betty Shabazz, she performed pilgrimage the next year. I'm sorry, the same year that Malcolm was assassinated. And then subsequent to that, she made one more pilgrimage. And his daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, made Hajj last year.

The Influence of Orthodox Muslims

But, you know, and can you imagine, I think that if you think about this, right, part of what influenced Wallace Muhammad and Akbar Muhammad, Elijah Muhammad's two youngest sons, was their being intermingling with the Muslim world. Akbar could speak fluent Arabic at that time. He had gone to Egypt and studied in Egypt. Imam Muhammad spent some time abroad studying.

So because they were influenced by the Muslims, they were able to come and bring that influence back. And that's the key, is that do you have Muslims who have the knowledge, who are strong enough to share the knowledge with the people. That's the issue. Yes.

The Legacy of the Nation of Islam's Social Impact

Assalamu alaikum. Walaikum assalam. One of the things that you mentioned, that the Nation of Islam helped change in the African American community and minorities in general, is that their self-respect, their respect for their family, their dedication to work, and to make something of themselves. Yes.

Do you see this lacking in this society today? Absolutely. It's... If you look at the hip-hop generation, if you look at some of the music that's being produced, and you look at the kinds of things that's being said, the disrespect for family, disrespect for the women, the black woman, that's manifested in its art form. Absolutely.

Some of the figures that we talked about, you weren't here earlier, but we talked about some of the figures that's hurting the black family. We talked about black men in prison, black people being unemployed and underemployed, and all the kind of racism that still exists. And we got some major problems.

Never Forgetting Our Mission

And I think that we have to find a way, with the truth, to do two things. Number one, to always never forget our mission. You see, because you start looking at... See, because Todd, I want to ask you a question. Why do you think Malcolm formulated, after formulating the Muslim Mosque Incorporated, why did he formulate the Organization of African American Unity? What was the purpose of that? Why?

But why did he want to separate it? That's a good question. I guess I'm thinking to bring in more people, to bring in the religious body, and also to bring in those who he had an effect on also. Exactly. He thought that the Nation of Islam... But one thing you say about the Nation of Islam, they were very, very, very strict. The moral code was strict.

The Strict Moral Code of the Nation

I'll give you an example. I'll be honest with you, the first time I went to Mecca, the thing that surprised me more than anything else is the number of Muslims smoking cigarettes. I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. I was on a bus. I was so naive. I was on a bus, right, and people were smoking. I said, what are you doing smoking? This is Mecca. What are you doing, man? I was like, in their face. They said, we're going to call the police. I said, you can call the police if you want to. They stopped the bus, man, and called the police, man. They chilled me out, man, but I was shocked.

In the Nation of Islam, you couldn't smoke cigarettes. If you got caught smoking a cigarette, you'd be put out of the temple. Yeah, worried, man. Serious. They were very, very strict. The Muslims here, we'd be like, man, I'm driving down Jeddah, man, and these guys smoking. I don't know what the heck they're smoking, man. That big old man. I don't know what they're smoking. You like what? You don't know what they're smoking. I'll say it again. You don't know what they're smoking, man.

I know one thing is undeniable. When I look at them eyes, I know what's going on, and I know what time it is.

Minister Farrakhan's Million Man March

So my point is that the same ills of the society that existed then exist now, and we've got to do something. One thing I think was interesting is Minister Farrakhan's Million Man March was an attempt to do that. I just think that, in my own opinion, the effort was squandered because of lack of real follow-up, in my own opinion, but I think that it can be done again, and I will talk to him.

You know, by the way, Minister Farrakhan, I don't know if I told you, last week had a 12-hour operation. Did I tell you that? Yeah, I told you. And he's doing better. I spoke to his top assistant today, and he said he's doing

much better. And my prayer is Allah will guide him, because that man, if he got it, a whole lot of other people are going to get it, inshallah. So yes, to answer your question, I think that some of those sick illnesses still exist.

The Matter of Heart and Courage

Why? Why do you think that? You're probably right. You're probably right, but I will say this. I think the real issue is this. I mentioned it last week. It's one of heart and courage. You see, because if you, I interact with white people all the time, Hispanics, easy. I mean, I put my hand around a white person and say, yo, what's happening? How you doing? I'm serious. I'm talking because I'm regular. We're not regular. We're so far away that I don't think we would even put our arm around.

I do that all the time. Listen, I go to a crowd of African-Americans. I don't know any of them. I put my arm around their neck, man. It's like I do to my young brother here. I'm serious. I put my arm around their neck and say, yo, what's happening? How you doing, brother? You know, and it's a certain kind of confidence. And maybe I got that from the nation. I'm not sure. Maybe. Maybe I did.

Being Real and Genuine

And I think that if we would stop being so timid, we would get better results. Okay, maybe we didn't have the same upbringing. Okay. But I don't think that may be part of it. But I don't think that's all of the issue. And they sense from us that we ain't real. We're not real. You know what I'm saying? We're so, I can't put my finger on it, man. We're just so. Soft, yeah. Sleepy, all of that, man. Shy, yeah. Passive, yeah.

But the other thing is, you know what I sense? I sense that we don't really care. That's the key. And, you know, I've seen, let me tell you why I say that. I've seen white missionaries go to the darkest part of Africa and be successful. They do. Why? Because they make effort. They go and they, you know, they have something. They got a message that's burning and they want to share this message.

White Missionaries' Dedication to Their Mission

There was a time, man, they had white folks coming in the neighborhood, man. And it was not uncommon. Groups of white people. Musa, did you know that? Did you ever see that? Groups of white people, Bibles coming into the black community, teaching, you know what I'm saying? Inviting them to their, yeah, inviting them to their way.

So I think, and I don't, see, I don't want to, I don't want to excuse it. Because I think that we can do much better. Well, if they are afraid, they don't show it. But listen, thank you very much. Thanks for coming. Yes, sir. Yes. Give him the mic.

The Challenge of Giving Dawah in Public

I just want to say, like, for example, I was on the train today, right? And, you know, like when we hear lectures

and stuff, we get really motivated and stuff. But then we get on the train, we see all these people, like, you know, whoever they may be, like white, black, whatever. But as long as we see someone not Muslim, we have this, like, we feel as if we're in a strange environment, like, especially with giving Dawa, right? So, I mean...

You have to pick and choose your time and place. Every place is not a place for Dawa. For instance, if I go on a train, I'm not going to do what I see some people do. Ladies and gentlemen, let me get your attention, please. You must accept Islam. I have Al-Quran. That's the key. And I think you're going to be out of place if you try to do it in the wrong place in the wrong time. You know what I'm saying? Stuff.

You know, you see, and for instance, if you talk to your teacher in one of your classes and say, listen, I'd like to talk to the class about this topic. I'd like to take two minutes, three minutes and mention something. Now, that's the right environment. You're there, you've got a classroom there, but you're dealing with a particular topic.

Seizing Natural Opportunities for Dawah

And, you know, Dawa is seizing the opportunity. And I'm convinced that every day, probably, you get two legitimate times to do Dawa. I'll give you an example. And I was on a plane once, right? And I was on my way coming from Washington to New York City, right? And I had my laptop, right? And I was, right? Now, the guy, I was sitting on the aisle seat. It was a two-seater. And the guy to my left, my right, I saw him looking, you know, at my computer while I was typing, right?

Now, I don't like people looking, you know, at me. If I'm reading my book, don't you look, you know, at me, right? I'm like that, right? So, and same thing with my computer, like, what you looking at? I'm like that, man. What you looking at, right? So, I saw him looking. So, that day, I did something different. I turned it toward him and started writing about Islam. Wallahi, it started a conversation. He said, you Muslim? I said, yeah. Yeah, I'm a Muslim. You see, but there was a perfect opportunity.

Natural Dawah in the Workplace

I've been on jobs. Years ago, I used to work in a mental health clinic. And my co-workers used to ask me, how come at certain parts of the year, I wouldn't eat? I experienced what Ramadan was. And they learned a lot. And really, there were times, a lot of my witnesses, there was a place, an office down there where I would make my salat. And I can hear while I'm praying, someone ringing the phone. And my co-worker will say to them, listen to what they said. They said, yes. And I know they asked about me. They said, he's making salat. That means prayer.

So, they learned dawah from me in a very natural way. Very natural. I didn't go, like, you know, sometimes we're overwhelming. Well, let me sit you down. Sit down, Mr. Co-worker. Let me teach you about Islam. Islam is this. And you can see, they're not listening to you, man. They turned off. But if you do it in the right way, you can have a great big impact on them. And neighbors, yeah. Neighbors is perfect, man. Bring neighbors to your house, man.

Closing Remarks

Brothers and sisters, may Allah bless you. You got to go home. May Allah bless you. We did part one. Hopefully, in the very near future, we'll do part two. May Allah bless you. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.