The Ohio Players, that great band from Dayton, produced a song that aptly describes the spirit and atmosphere of our recent Saviours’ Day Convention in Detroit: “Heaven Must Be Like This.”
In fact, the very words uttered to friend or stranger as attendees passed in the hallways were literally a trifecta of greetings that means peace. As-Salaam Alaikum, Ramadan Mubarak and Happy Saviours’ Day! were the salutations often spoken.
As-Salaam Alaikum is the most common greeting heard in the Arabic language. It means peace be unto you. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan reminds us that these words are sacred and are not to be spoken casually as we do when greeting one another in English—hello, how ya’ doin’, what’s up, and so on.
Those words of greeting do not express the depth of love and care that should be expressed to a loved one or even a community member you may not know. If we wish to make our communities better and safer, we must first truly care for one another. As the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches, “We must first be brothers.”
When we greet with As-Salaam Alaikum, we are literally telling that person, may the peace of Allah (God) go or be with you. The greeting should not be said in haste or with a tone that does not reflect care for the recipient of the greeting, Minister Farrakhan teaches. And when that person responds, “Wa Alaikum Salaam,” he or she is returning the same desire for Allah’s peace and blessings to be with you.
If we practice this greeting, how can we not create decent and safe communities in which to live?
An added blessing to this year’s celebration was that it occurred during the Holy Month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, prayer, self-reflection, reading of the entire Holy Quran, and abstaining from intimacy with our mates from dusk to dawn.
The greeting during Ramadan reflects peace: Ramadan Mubarak, meaning “Blessed Ramadan,” to which one of the responses is Ramadan Karriem, returning a hope for a generous/peaceful Ramadan upon the greeter.
It is a month to strengthen one’s discipline by throwing off old habits and creating new, good practices. It is a time to establish peace within oneself, a closer relationship to Allah (God) and to express a blessing of peace and charity to others. It is a month where special attention is given to being charitable to others, especially the poor.
Ramadan, when practiced, brings laser focus on our thoughts and actions as we move throughout our day and allows us to strengthen ourselves where we are weak. If we practice the principles of Ramadan, how can we not create decent and safe communities in which to live?
While all the greetings offered during the Saviours’ Day celebration were expressed with deep love and happiness, the greeting that was delivered with the most exuberance was “Happy Saviours’ Day.”
The annual three-day event had been the only time this greeting was most often uttered. But some Muslim followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan are developing the habit of extending that greeting all the time, and rightly so.
We have referred to Saviours’ Day as the “Crowning Event” of Black History Month, not because it comes at the end of the month, but because it marks the most significant event for the Black man and woman since our ancestors were brought to these shores.
The weekend is held to celebrate the Birth Anniversary of Allah (God), Who Came in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, Teacher of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. This Divine human being would be the vessel through whom the prophecy of Genesis 15:13 would be fulfilled.
In that prophecy, Allah (God) reveals to Prophet Abraham that He (Allah) will come to a people who have suffered in a strange land under a wicked slave master for 400 years. He (Allah) will also judge, or punish, that nation that enslaved His people, the real Children of Israel, the Black man and woman of America.
When that Saviour comes, He will raise a man like Moses who will tell that wicked ruler to let the Children of Israel go. That man who will be like Moses will have a chief helper like Aaron, who helped Moses.
That man like Moses (the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad) and his helper Aaron (the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan) would be attacked by the rulers of their day who will feel threatened by the message that new Moses brings. As they should be. That message is a warning to the rulers that their kingdom is facing demise.
And no matter how hard the modern rulers try to destroy or disparage the name, reputation and even life of these men and their message, their efforts will be unsuccessful. God’s Hedge around them is impenetrable.
To paraphrase the lyrics of the song: Heaven is “A place to find happiness; A place close to Allah’s loveliness; Somewhere to rest my aching mind; Where there’s no time, the Saviours’ love is divine.”
As Salaam Alaikum. Ramadan Mubarak. HAPPY SAVIOURS’ DAY!!!
James G. Muhammad is a former editor-in-chief of The Final Call and is currently a contributing editor.
Student Protocol Directors at Saviours’ Day
DETROIT—Thousands gathered in Detroit, Feb. 19-22 for Saviours’ Day, The Crowning event of Black History Month, held at the Huntington Place convention center in Detroit, Michigan. F.O.I. and M.G.T. and G.C.C. from various departments and ministries, including the Protocol Department, worked cheerfully and hard over the weekend to ensure the success of this year’s convention. —Daleel Jabir Muhammad