There are certain fundamental principles in the faith of Islam that I’m finding are absolutely essential in the development of our relationship with ALLAH (God). The first fundamental Principle in Islam is the Belief in One God and His Messenger, which involves all of His Prophets, yet principally the One Messenger or Servant of ALLAH that is in YOUR midst in the time of YOUR life. Emphasis is put on ‘your’ life and the time that is present because our Book of Guidance, The Holy Qur’an, says: “And certainly We raised in every nation a messenger, saying: Serve Allah and shun the devil...” (Surah 16 Verse 36). We must identify the Messenger of God that is in our midst and so that my language is not construed as simply propagating since I am a Muslim, I am attempting to reason with non-believers in the Teachings of the Holy Qur’an, as represented and taught to us by The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, in a manner where the Truth is easy to discern regardless of one’s personal beliefs as evidenced in the time and circumstances where you live.
In my early ministry, in my mind, I was focused on ‘converting’ people to my beliefs and faith in Islam. I believe I have outgrown the need to convert people’s beliefs because this word ‘convert’ has suggestive elements that I identify as arrogating importance to my way as opposed to The Way which exclusively praises Almighty God ALLAH. Let’s examine the word ‘convert’: (Verb) “Cause to change in form, character, or function.”; “Change or be able to change from one form to another.”; “Change one's religious faith or other beliefs.”; “Persuade (someone) to change one's religious faith or other beliefs.” (lexico dot com powered by Oxford).
The problem many of us have when sharing our faith can be summed up in the lack of a very critical word that would greatly help our appeal to whomever we are sharing our beliefs with. That word and characteristic is HUMILITY. We must keep in mind that the religion of Islam as a practice of life requires and demands no compulsion to its thinking (Holy Qur’an Surah 2 Verse 256). Some years ago, while in a conversation with my teacher, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, we examined the word ‘convert’ and the Minister said to me that I should share my faith with others as I would respect others sharing their faith with me.
Even in our daily interpersonal relationships with others, we should apply this principle of no compulsion to our will or way, especially to those persons who are not under your direct authority as in a minor who is a dependent under your roof (smile). For us as men who are husbands, fathers, teachers and/or bosses of a particular labor force, what would be the quality of our authority if we eliminated the element of compulsory obedience to our will? What we would experience is nothing short of Freedom, Justice and Equality which is a Divine Characteristic that is innate in the human being called “free will”, which will earn for us PEACE. When this human attribute is respected, it forces us, if not compels us, to reason for agreement.
So, who are your true friends? Are they the ones that always agree with you? Are they the ones you have on occasion found a degree of refuge in? Or are they the ones who bought from you a degree of trust, faith, and some benefit that compels you to acknowledge them as your friend? We know that, as we commonly say, “nobody’s perfect” including ourselves. Well if we know we’re flawed in our characters, then are there any relationships that we do not forget or make mistakes in? In truth, no. For this reason, a very critical prayer that we the Muslims pray starts with the words: “Our Lord, punish us not if we forget or make a mistake...” (Holy Qur’an Surah 2 Verse 286).
I will conclude for now with guidance from the Holy Qur’an written in Surah 5 Verse 55 until we post again: “Only Allah is your Friend and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayer and pay the poor rate, and they bow down.” 😇