“Everywhere you see him look at him.” —Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” —Matthew 5:8
At the very beginning of the scriptures belonging to the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—are passages of divine wisdom indicating that man and woman have been created in the image and likeness of God. And although the scriptures discuss the fall of man from the original position and condition of his creation, they are also replete with special and important occasions when the Spirit of God found a firm resting place to dwell within a particular man.
Why is it so important for the Black people of America to have the ability to see God working inside the person of one of our own kind?
Just pause to reflect upon how, for years, the idea of White supremacy has insisted that it is only the devil and his evil that uniquely resides within the person of the Black human being. White supremacy and its companion philosophy of Black inferiority have infected every institution within American society. To ponder that the Divine Spirit of Allah (God) can be found manifesting itself in the person of a modern-day Black man as he is used by The Almighty as an instrument to work through, in the unfolding of the divine destiny of the Black people of America, might sound to some as a blasphemous idea.
Photo: Stephen A. White
However, the “secret” ingredient responsible for the now famous miraculous Muslim transformation that has become a phenomenon throughout Black America, where heretofore spiritually broken Black men and women join the Nation of Islam and become renewed, restored and polished servants of the community, is found not in the stinging rebuke of White supremacy that the Nation of Islam is known for.
On the contrary, the “secret” ingredient producing that transformation is the truth of Allah’s (God’s) Divine and personal visitation to the Black people of America in the Person of The Great Mahdi, Master W. Fard Muhammad, who raised and taught the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. In other words, the amazing transformation seen among the Nation of Islam’s membership is brought about by the realization of men and women’s capacity and potential to be divine.
In God’s Image and Likeness
Despite the challenge that such a notion of divinity in man presents, that is exactly what the facts of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s life suggest.
The facts of Minister Farrakhan’s life show that the intention of Allah (God) for the Black people of America is becoming a reality. According to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Allah’s intention is to resurrect the Black people of America, both mentally and spiritually, so that we would all be reflections of Allah (God).
He stated: “This is what He wants to make out of you and me, not just Believers but gods. Every one of you, according to what He has taught me, will be gods.”—October 8, 1972, Theology of Time Lecture Series
The life of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and his achievements prove Allah (God) and the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad are making the intention to make us all gods a reality. I argue that who Minister Farrakhan is, with his high level of spiritual advancement, is a bold demonstration of God’s intention for us all.
When we think about the beautiful way that Allah (God) has been working through Minister Farrakhan, we should never forget that he began his journey of spiritual ascendancy by sacrificing his extraordinary musical talent. According to the Bible, it states:
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” —Matthew 16:24
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was asked by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad to give up his music and focus solely on teaching the Word of Allah (God). Minister Farrakhan’s great faith and love for the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and the truth that Allah (God) revealed to Him, led Minister Farrakhan to willingly sacrifice the only means of earning a living he had at that time. And from that point forward, Allah began to strengthen Minister Farrakhan, rewarding him for his sacrifice by making him the greatest helper and Minister the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad ever produced.
According to the Bible, there is quite possibly no better example of God working in a man than the Gospel narratives about Jesus. It is helpful to see and appreciate the 93-year journey of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan by examining how his life serves as an example. His life parallels the life and sacrifices of Jesus as discussed in the Gospel narratives. Below are just a few examples of those parallels.
Feeding the multitudes
When the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave the Minister the name “Farrakhan,” He told Him that it was one of the modern up-to-date Names of God. The circumstances of the Minister’s life bear witness that he is worthy of such a name. In Matthew 14:19-21, it was said of Jesus that he fed the multitudes.
The legendary and historic 1995 Million Man March, where nearly two million Black men came at the call of Minister Farrakhan, has been widely considered a miracle. Despite media discouragement of Black men from attending, and despite some pastors discouraging men from attending, nearly two million Black men attended. In the Bible in John 10:4-5, Jesus said, “my sheep know my voice, a stranger they will not follow.” The Million Man March was a display of Allah (God) operating through Minister Farrakhan to feed the multitudes of Black men assembled on the National Mall on October 16, 1995, with wisdom and truth sufficient enough to produce a dramatic reduction in crime throughout America and inspire Black men to register to vote, adopt needy Black children and join organizations to uplift the community.
Water to wine
Legendary hip hop journalist Kevin Powell exclaimed, “God knows, when I heard Farrakhan, I had never heard a Black man talk like that. It blew my mind, absolutely blew my mind, it was intoxicating … .” Mr. Powell’s candid reaction to Minister Farrakhan’s message as being intoxicating calls to mind the New Testament gospels describing how God worked through Jesus to turn water into wine. Synonyms of intoxicating include “exciting,” “exhilarating,” “stimulating,” or “producing great elation.”
Religious leaders threatened his supporters
According to the Bible, in the Gospel of St. John 7:13, it states, “But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.”
Compare this scripture verse to what has become known in the modern day and time as the Farrakhan Litmus Test. It might be best exemplified by the case of A-List celebrity actor Bruce Willis who in 1998 was quoted in George magazine stating: “Farrakhan is a hero of mine; if I were Black, I would be with Farrakhan too.”
After Mr. Willis made this statement, the modern-day Pharisees, in the form of the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and its then-leader, Abraham Foxman, threatened Mr. Willis and forced him to recant so he could continue working in Hollywood.
Stoned for good works
The scriptures discuss how Jesus was hated for the good works that he performed: “Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?”—John 10:32 KJV
In the life of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, he nobly stood in defense of the late Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson during his 1984 presidential campaign. During the campaign, Time magazine reported that members of the Jewish community attacked Rev. Jackson, stating:
“A group called Jews Against Jackson, an offshoot of the radical Jewish Defense League that has been disavowed by leaders of most Jewish organizations, pledged publicly to disrupt his candidacy. Two of its members were arrested for interrupting his announcement speech on Nov. 3 in Washington, D.C. A window in Jackson’s New Hampshire campaign headquarters in Manchester was smashed, and his campaign offices in Garden Grove, Calif., were firebombed. Jackson’s life has been threatened.”
In the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity with Rev. Jackson in his pursuit of the office of the president, Minister Farrakhan defended Rev. Jackson against a veritable Jewish onslaught. The Minister stated:
“But if you harm this brother, I warn you in the name of Allah, this will be the last one you harm. We are not making any idle threats, we have no weapons, we [don’t] carry so much as a pen knife. But I do tell the world that Almighty God Allah is Backing us up in what we say and what we do, and we warn you in His name—leave this servant of Almighty God alone. Leave him alone. If you want to defeat him, defeat him at the polls. We can stand to lose an election, but we cannot stand to lose our brother.”
Because of Minister Farrakhan’s sterling strong defense of Rev. Jackson, the modern Pharisees in the form of Nathan Perlmutter of the ADL and Nat Hentoff of the Village Voice began the public branding of Minister Farrakhan as a “Black Hitler” and “anti-Semite.”
The poor heard him gladly
One of the most important identifying markers of the spirit of Allah (God) working through Minister Farrakhan has been his unique capability to attract thousands of people to listen to him as he delivers profound messages of truth and enlightenment. This was also an aspect of Jesus’ ministry, as discussed in the Bible. According to the Book of Mark: “And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.”—Mark, 12:37. This scripture prefigures the fulfillment of the prophetic Jesus.
Compare this aspect of Jesus’s ministry with Professor Mattias Gardell’s conclusions about Minister Farrakhan. In his book entitled “In The Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam,” he stated: “Farrakhan is able to attract a larger audience than any other Black Spokesperson … . Farrakhan has a unique capability … able to reach deeply into the souls of Black youths … is able to talk to them in a way that really makes them listen … this rapport enables Farrakhan to criticize and redirect destructive behavioral patterns.”
Minister Farrakhan’s mass appeal, particularly among those members of the community deemed most at risk is now viewed as one of the hallmarks of his ministry and evidence of the Divine Spirit of Allah (God) working in him.
Without letters, but learned
The critics of Jesus in the New Testament are reported to have made a startling observation regarding Jesus’ profound intellectual capacity. The Gospel of St. John states: “The Jews then were astonished, saying, ‘How has this man become learned, having never been educated?’” —John 7:15
This is also an element of the public ministry of Minister Farrakhan. Just as his teacher the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad only went to the third grade of school, Minister Farrakhan went to college for three years, but he never received a college degree. And yet over and over again, Minister Farrakhan has proven to possess an invincible truth when positioned against the best minds the American media has produced. He has been interviewed by Tim Russert, Barbara Walters, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, Ted Koppel, Richard Engel, Mike Wallace, Phil Donahue and more. The educational credentials of these journalists boast impressive achievements. But none of them were able to defeat the Minister’s arguments. This aspect of his has been amplified in the social media viral clip of Minister Farrakhan intelligently and passionately vanquishing CBS’s legendary journalist Mike Wallace. The Minister, as one “without letters, but learned,” was up against Mike Wallace who has the following educational credentials.
“Mike Wallace of CBS’s 60 Minutes also held a B.A. from University of Michigan where an investigative journalism fellowship bears his name. His biography says that he ‘earned 21 Emmy Awards, five DuPont-Columbia journalism awards, five Peabody awards and the Paul White Award, the most prestigious award given by the Radio and Television News Directors Association.’ He also won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award grand prize and television first prize in 1996, and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in June 1991.”
Allah’s pastoral comforter
I could not conclude this tribute article in celebration of my teacher on the occasion of his 93rd birth anniversary on May 11, without acknowledging the profound connection to the 93rd Surah (Chapter) of the Holy Qur’an. This Surah is entitled “Ad-Duha: The Brightness of The Day.” It is very popular within the Islamic community, for it is a “pastoral” Surah, in which Allah (God) reveals a gentle, sincere, and emotionally moving message to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). And every believer who reads the 93rd Surah derives great comfort and solace from Allah’s assurances extended to Muhammad that “God’s delay is not God’s denial.” His blessed assurance to Muhammad that his future will be far greater than his past and that despite his own feelings of insecurity, Allah (God) was not displeased with him, nor had Allah forsaken him. An excerpt of this short Surah reads as follows: “Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased… Did He not find you an orphan and give (you) shelter? And find you groping, so He showed the way? And find you in want, so He enriched you?”—Surah 93: 3, 6-8
Allah (God) working through the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has been for me, a constant comfort. When I have felt forsaken, I could listen to the Minister’s lectures and know that Allah had not forsaken me. When I have struggled to find my way, his words guided me and uplifted me. And when I have been in want or need, I could find solutions to apply in remembering what Minister Farrakhan said to me. I thank Allah (God) for blessing me with such a wonderful example and such an extraordinary teacher. He is a modern-day example of Allah (God) working in a man; a profound demonstration of Allah’s (God’s) love for our people and a blueprint for how each of us can rise above the circumstances of our life to fulfill our tremendous divine potential.
Happy Birth Anniversary to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Blessed be the womb that bore you; blessed be the seed that produced you!
Brother Demetric Muhammad is a Memphis-based author and student minister in the Nation of Islam and a member of the Nation of Islam Research Group. Follow him on X, @BrotherDemetric. Read more at www.researchminister.com.