“In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, and the ships that run in the sea with that which profits men, and the water that Allah sends down from the sky, then gives life therewith to the earth after its death and spreads in it all (kinds of) animals, and the changing of the winds and the clouds made subservient between heaven and earth, there are surely signs for a people who understand.”–Holy Qur’an, Surah 2, Verse 164.
On February 2nd, I was joined by Sister Qadeera Muhammad of Oakland, California, special assistant on the staff of Cultural Links, to participate in an astounding musical celebration of the Chinese Lunar Calendar Year of the Ram.
Lunar Calendars have been adopted for millennium by many of the Indigenous Cultures and Societies throughout the world as timekeepers along with records of their other observations of the stars and the heavenly bodies. In quoting the above verse from the longest chapter of the Holy Qur’an entitled “The Cow,” we are pinpointing the Constellation of the Bull in the timing frequency of our Milky Way Galaxy of Stars. What do these animal signs represent in the Zodiacal Circle of God’s Wisdom in the expression of the Gospel of the Stars?
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that our histories are written in the Stars, but he cautioned us against the study of Astrology because this science, though it may contain some truth, has been mixed and tampered with and is lacking the pure science of our Cosmic Origins in our vast Universe. A more comprehensive understanding lies in the study of Astronomy.
The Fruit of the Labor of Islam as taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is to plant the seed of pure and unadulterated truth in every new convert or student. This is exemplified in one of our Lesson Assignments which states that the emblems in our Flag of Islam symbolizes the Light and the Fire of our Universe which exists in the nature of us and in the nature of all created things. “The Universe is everything–Sun, Moon and the Stars. They are Planets. Planets are something grown or made from the beginning. And Holy is something that has not been diluted, mixed or tampered with in any form.”
The meaning of the Ram by dictionary definition states that the Ram is a male sheep. A second definition describes that this animal appears in the initial constellation in the sign of Aries. A third definition describes the Ram as a device used as a weapon to drive, batter or crush by forceful impact. Its root meaning as derived from Sanskrit describes a dark colored entity or black. I am reminded here of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s description of Christ’s coming and appearance in the last days to Crush the evil dominion of Satan’s world with his coming appearance being under a disguise awakening Universal Consciousness.
Sound is the motor vibration or humming frequency of the Universe creating the harmonics of music and sound in the nature of every created thing, thus making Music and Mathematics the Universal Language of the Divine Creation. Everything in nature has a signature sound and vibration which reveals the resonance of Universal Order. This was beautifully demonstrated by virtuoso Artist and Performer, Jeibing Chen, on the two stringed Erhu, Chinese Violin. She played in concert with the San Francisco Symphonic Orchestra in a debut performance of Rachmaninoff’s having known Jeibing Chen for the last three years and having heard her perform in several concert performances, which includes her renditions on this incredibly beautiful instrument as an accompaniment to the great jazz percussionist, Max Roach, I am greatly inspired over her many musical accomplishments.
In her interview published in the Second Edition of Cultural Links News Journal, she stated that it was one of her greatest aspirations to make the Erhu as well known in concert circles as the Classical Violin. It appears that she is well on her way in this endeavor. In closing, it is interesting to note that the letters when capitalized in the name and characterization of the Ram is carried into musical concordance. The same letters that make up the word Ram when spelled and abbreviated with caps, R.A.M., stand for the Royal Academy of Music. We wish the very best to Jeibing Chen in a great and adventurous musical career in this time of the Year of the Ram and in every year hereafter!
“And the parable of those who disbelieve is as the parable of one who calls out to that which hears no more than a call and a cry. Deaf, dumb, blind, so they have no sense. O you who believe, eat of the good things that We have provided you with, and give thanks to Allah if He it is Whom you serve.”–Holy Qur’an Surah 2, Verses 171-172.
To be continued.
