One of the most misunderstood characteristics of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is the nature of his love, out of which comes his way.
By the word “way” I mean: a means, manner or method of doing or achieving something; the state or condition of somebody or something, especially with regard to the issues of life common to us all; a usual, characteristic, or distinctive activity or style of behavior; the customary style or practices of somebody’s life; a particular journey or the route followed or to be followed.”
I’m referring to Minister Farrakhan’s progress on the path through which he lives his life and copes with all manner of experiences, difficulties, and trials, which he–with Allah’s help–continues on despite ignorance, criticism, misunderstandings and all of what he must endure to hold up God’s pure light in a dark and degenerate world.
(Order, via this newspaper, or reread his book, “A Torchlight For America.” As he warns America, in a beautiful way, he is also warning us. When was the last time we’ve read that book?)
In John 14:6, Jesus says that he is the “way.” The meaning in Greek translated into English is simple, yet very profound. It means: “a traveled led way, road.” Strong’s Concordance also states that “metaphorically” this word means: “a course of conduct; a way or manner of thinking, feeling, deciding.”
Let’s revisit his words that appeared in interviews I conducted with him. Let’s look as deeply as we can into the words of a Brother who is both wise and humble; who is aware of his importance, but yet makes of himself no important.
It’s critical to study his way and seek to understand the principles out of which he was created and which he teaches. I intend to continue this point after we look at some of his valuable words. The following are excerpts from Farrakhan: The Traveler Vol. 21; No 18 that I wrote on January 10, 2002.
Brother Jabril: Would you say that, in a limited circumstance, we can make true judgments, but not the truest judgments?
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan: In a limited circumstance, we can make true judgments, but oftimes our egos are so wrapped up in the judgments that we make, we never leave room in our judgment for the possibility of mistake or error. That is the tragedy of judgment.
This is why, in my mind, to be made a judge of the human condition is one of the greatest honors that can be bestowed on a person. But when you are made a judge, you are in the greatest position to come under the judgment of God.
So when I see a person robed in the garment of a judge, I often wonder how bias, how prejudice, how status symbols, how the nobility of a person, or the lack of it, enters into the judge’s decision.
So when God says, “Judge not lest you be in danger of judgment,” we ought to speak less and think more, and desire to know as much as we can about the circumstance, the event, or the person, before we open our mouths to make a judgment.
That, unfortunately, is not always done. And this, unfortunately, will always be the human condition, until we become so humble and righteous in character that we desire to do no man or woman wrong.
So then, we must speak less and we must counsel more, and do it with patience. This is what I find in the Qur’an, that God is consistently counseling us to learn to be patient.
Brother Jabril: Brother Minister, since we will one day have a full-blown judicial system, which will include judges, what are just some of the qualities that immediately come to your mind that should characterize these kinds of persons?
Minister Farrakhan: I think the greatest quality must be first, a love of God; a love of truth and an insatiable desire to know more and more and more about the subject.
One must have the characteristic of humility. No judge should be arrogant, because arrogance over your position makes you ineffective as a judge.
Humility always keeps your heart open for greater knowledge, because you recognize the value, the importance of making a right judgment and you recognize the consequences of making an improper judgment.
It is the consequences of faulty judges and faulty decisions that bring down nations, societies and individuals.
So a judge must not just be one who has completed the course of study in law that is required, but the judge must have the quality of character that would make one a good judge of the affairs of human beings.
Brother Jabril: Brother Minister, yesterday we spoke a little bit about some of the factors involved in the advancement of human life, of society, of nations. You said that there was no advancement without sacrifice and that the advancement of humanity toward the ultimate objective of God requires, on the part of some or many or all, to one degree or another, pain, bloodshed and even the loss of life. Please comment.
Minister Farrakhan: There is no advancement without the sacrifice of life, bloodshed and pain. Those human beings whom God has chosen to advance us, in whatever discipline that is, must first have the quality to endure suffering, to endure insult. Such persons must be able to endure criticism, made by judgmental persons who are comfortable where they are and are challenged by where this human being is trying to lead us.
There is no advancement in any field without tremendous sacrifice and then life lost and bloodshed. Any advancement in any field has caused the one who leads us into that new field of knowledge and advancement suffering or great suffering.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “Blessed is he who forges the way for others.” There is a scripture that talks about the one whom God assigns the task of bringing in a world that is totally new. This would mean he brings in a new knowledge–a knowledge that challenges the scholarship of his day. So the scripture teaches, “No visage was more marred than his.” This is because what he’s doing is like cutting a path through a jungle.
The branches of the trees that you have to cut down hit your face and scar your face, but as you cut that branch down, the ones coming behind you feel little or no pain, because you have felt it for them.
So it says, “By his stripes we are healed.” In the newness of the knowledge that he brings, and in his intense love for the world that he sees in his mind, which is not yet in reality–this in what causes him to endure what he endures of the ignorance of his contemporaries. So, when his truth is established, he may or may not be present, but he will be vindicated by history.
To be continued next issue, Allah willing.
