“O people, keep your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind), and spread from these two many men and women.
And keep your duty to Allah, by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (to) the ties of relationship. Surely Allah is ever a Watcher over you.”
—Holy Qur’an, Surah 4, Ayat 1
ATLANTA—Salat-ul-Jumu’ah, the weekly Friday congregational prayer is a special time for Muslims as the ummah (community) gathers for spiritual upliftment and to fellowship with one another. This year’s jumu’ah held during the Holy Day of Atonement weekend, commemorating the 31st anniversary of the historic 1995 Million Man March, was poignant and reflective.
Members of the Nation of Islam from around the country convened at the American Hotel in downtown Atlanta on Oct. 9 to pray shoulder to shoulder with one another and to listen to the khutbah (sermon) delivered by Student National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, who served as the khatib (one who delivers the sermon).
“We as Muslim followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad could never thank Allah (God) enough for His Divine intervention in our affairs in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad,” Student Imam Sultan began as shouts of “Allah-u-Akbar” were heard from those gathered in the prayer hall.
As Muslim followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad we should be thankful to Allah for this intervention, that raised in our midst, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, he shared.
“We thank Allah for His guiding us from a condition of spiritual darkness into the light of guidance that Allah, Most High, established for all of His creation. For He never leaves a people alone without guidance.
Therefore, Allah, Most High, His arm is not short. He has the reach to touch every one of us throughout time— specifically, individually and as a people,” Student Imam Sultan continued.
Allah’s Divine intervention raised the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad to be a perfect example, “and in that example that is a reflection of the establishment of the Nation of Islam…. Yet it is our divine reality—Islam, that we have been turned to,” he continued.
“We can never thank Allah enough for returning us to ‘self.’” During his message, Student Imam Sultan referenced Surah 4, Ayat 1 of the Holy Qur’an, the Islamic book of scripture to explain the importance of individually and collectively making and understanding our journey toward Allah, but also the journey toward self.
The Arabic word “Rabb” one of the Attributes of Allah, is mentioned in this Surah. Student Imam Sultan explained that “Rabb” has several meanings, including, “Lord,” “Nourisher,” “Cherisher” and “Sustainer” and “Evolver.”
Of these meanings, he emphasized “Evolver,” noting that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan deepens our insight into this Attribute (Rabb) of The Creator, pointing us to the Divine Single Essence of The Evolver, from which Allah (God) is Guiding us to reconcile our differences and return to our origin of self as one human family.
Coming from the womb of our mother we have been “fed” by Allah from this attribute even as He presents us with difficulties once we are born. “The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said that with everything of value there is a difficulty factor,”
And in the Holy Qur’an it states that man was created in struggle, Student Imam Sultan continued. However, the purpose of difficulties we may face is not to run away from them but to face it.
We all have a duty to ourselves and to each other as a community and “duty demands action,” he continued. “Duty demands the ability for us to do what is to be done to keep our ties together.”
The ties of our relationships with one another is key, Student Imam Sultan explained. “If we think we can come up short from our demands that are established through our relationships, Allah says He is ever a watcher over us.”
“So, in the precincts of our home, in the quiet of our own bedroom, in the recesses of our mind, Allah, Most High is ever watching over you,” he explained.
Student Imam Sultan also shared how jumu’ah, means “the gathering” and that the next jumu’ah (Friday, October 16) will mark the date of the Million Man March where Black men came together, at the call of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan “in one of the greatest, largest gatherings in human history.”
“That was a miracle, nothing less!” he said. “Thirty-one years since nearly two million Black men stood shoulder to shoulder on the Mall (in Washington, D.C.).”
It was a peaceful gathering where Black men took a pledge before the world but “more importantly, before Allah,” said Student Imam Sultan. That day was a Holy Day not just for Black Muslims in America, but it was “for all who seek to return to their God.”
The blessing to attend jumu’ah during the weekend commemoration of the Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement was not lost on Sister Leticia Muhammad, who traveled from Detroit where she is a student in the ministry class of Mosque No. 1.
“Whenever our people have the opportunity to gather for spiritual renewal, it is significant. To be in congregation and to be in communication and prayer with Allah, those two things together are an incredible force.
It’s not just that we’re relating to each other, but we are relating to each other and The God and that is essential for our relationship with Allah and our good relationships with each other,” she said.
—Starla Muhammad, Interim Editor
