by Abisayo Muhammad
As women we are oftentimes consumed with the needs of our families, our careers and the mission of uplifting our people, yet our value goes unrecognized by others and even by ourselves.
Wife, mother, entrepreneur, first lady of a mayor are just a few roles I’ve been entrusted with by Allah’s (God’s) grace to currently fulfill. When some ask, “how do you do it?” My response is, “how do I not?” But, as we usher in this new year, I’m reflecting on how we as women continue to juggle our multiple responsibilities without thought or question. Now we are maneuvering through a pestilence and trying to keep ourselves, our loved ones healthy and safe. Yet many times our value still goes unnoticed.
Now more than ever, women must reflect on how we see “our value” in this world. Not only our value in relationship to ourselves or other relationships, but most importantly our value to Allah (God).
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan recently emphasized the importance of the women’s contribution to the building of a righteous nation.
During a virtual address last December to the Nubian Leadership Summit, “Let Us End the Stagnation by Building Our Own Black Nation,” the Minister said, “We aren’t going anywhere without our women and we can’t build anything successfully without them. They have to be in our hearts as we build. Free the woman and let her be what God created us to be. No man should be envious of a talented Black woman. You should see her as an instrument of God,” he said.
An instrument of God. That really resonated with me.
According to the dictionary, an instrument is defined as a tool, especially one for delicate or scientific work. In this time of change that we live in, an old world falling, the establishment of a new world must include learning our value as women. It is necessary in helping to facilitate the incredible work of universal change. Through prayer, study and striving harder to communicate with God, our value and divine solutions to problems will be revealed.
There is a Nation of Islam course of study, “Self-Improvement, The Basis for Community Development,” written by Min. Farrakhan, that invites Muslims and our community to grow in knowledge. The Friday night study course is available online and in-person. In Study Guide 19A, “The Knowledge of (Allah) God,” there is an emphasis on learning and understanding the role of the woman as the Second Self of God. This has definitely helped me to reconsider the tremendous role we play. In the Study Guide, we are learning that it’s the feminine side of Allah (God) that we must be in tune with to discover a secret of God hidden for many years.
As a mother of six girls, and one son, I try to instill the importance of attaining knowledge, developing good character and striving hard to achieve desired goals. As an entrepreneur, my desire is to provide a service to women in a positive environment where we go away better than when we came. After years of work, I can say my children as well as my business continues to grow.
Could those same principles be applied to building better relationships, communities and businesses?
Personal experiences that Allah (God) puts us through can extract the best out of us in order to aid Him in the mission of spiritual and world development. There are women in all walks of life rising and making valuable contributions to the world as we speak.
“What God has put within you must be cultivated, must be developed and must be used for the advancement of a Nation and a world,” said Min. Farrakhan. So let’s make our contribution by using our gifts and talents to make our mark and build a New World.
Abisayo Muhammad, a former Final Call staffer, is an entrepreneur, a mother and first lady of Benton Harbor, Mich. Sister Space is devoted to amplifying the voices of women as well as telling their stories and highlighting their accomplishments. We welcome your ideas and submissions. Please send any material to [email protected].
