My first interaction with Minister Jabril Muhammad was years ago at a conference; I believe it was in Atlanta. My brother was selling our children’s books, posters, and some Arabic alphabet flash cards. Brother Jabril asked me if he could see a pack. He asked me if I knew how to speak Arabic.
I told him I do not and that these were flash cards that my brother designed. He then asked me does my brother speak Arabic? I said, “No, he doesn’t.” Minister Jabril then said to me, “We should never promote something we don’t know anything about.”
He then asked to see the poster I had which had a poem about the Million Man March on it. I told him my brother is a writer also. He read the poem and said, “This I can support,” and this angel paid for the poster.
That brief interaction stuck out in my mind for years to come, and I used it as a foundation for my writing. Since I am an educator and like reading and writing about fitness along with working out, I decided to get certified as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor. Why? I wanted to learn not only for my own benefit but also how to help others.
In a lecture entitled, “God’s Healing Power,” the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan talked about how he hired a personal trainer and desired to see sisters train sisters and brothers train brothers. I took on that assignment and said, “I want to become a trainer and help other sisters.” This notion was recently emphasized again during the talk by Minister Farrakhan at the Nation of Islam’s National Training Conference.
He said, “Every sister here is training in martial arts, but it has to be coupled with how to eat to live.” Think about how fit we could become if we trained on a regular basis and followed “How to Eat to Live” by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad! We have to train for the internal war and the external war. Fasting and eating to live gives us the training and discipline of a soldier.
One of the first lectures I heard from Minister Jabril Muhammad was on the topic of obesity. (You can view an excerpt of it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3-p7F0LJB8)
In the video, he recommended eating a bowl of fruit to help you lose weight and remove toxins from your body. The day before a fast, I would eat mostly fruit like a banana, an apple, and sometimes pineapple. This was very energizing and hydrating for my body and made the fast the next day go a lot easier and smoother. I bear witness! His advice works! (I admit eating pizza or burgers and fries the day before or after a fast is not a good idea.)
Minister Jabril gave straight talk, just like his teacher the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Messenger said, “Live right, think right, eat right, and do right. You will not have to die to go to heaven to be like angels; you will be like them while you live.” (“How to Eat to Live,” Book I, p. 44).
We pray Allah fills our hearts with gratitude for that Angel among us, Brother Minister Jabril Muhammad. May Allah bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth, and happiness.
(Dr. Audrey Muhammad is an educator, aerobics instructor, and author of “Get Fit to Live: Be Your Best You!” For more information email [email protected] or visit
