“He indeed is successful who purifies himself, And remembers the name of his Lord, then prays.”—Holy Qu’ran 87:14-15

 ‘Id Mubarak! This Holy Month of Ramadan, we pray that we as Believers have gained valuable lessons that strengthen our desire to carry out the spirit of this Holy Month throughout our life. The Believer who is intent upon the renewal of self has found this Holy Month to be a gift from Allah (God).

As Allah intervenes in our affairs, we must understand the status of our heart. For Allah (God) has stated that He is closer to us than our very own life, jugular vein. Have we seen the reflections of ourselves throughout this past Holy Month? Have we been acquainted with self-restraint?

Will those chains still lock up those demons, devils of self throughout the rest of the year? These questions we must ask ourselves, dear Believers, to gauge if we are denying the favors that Allah has bestowed upon us. Hopefully, we have come out of this Holy Month of Ramadan completely renewed.

We must strive to keep the spirit of this the Holy Month throughout the year and our lives. We have not had a true impact on “self” if we are not yearning for that which we have gained during this Holy Month.

If we are not on guard and thankful to Allah for His favors, trials, and blessing during this past month, we would have gone throughout Ramadan without attaining its true lesson.

Aspects of the fast, which deepen our expression of the noble human values such as empathy for the underprivileged, promotion of charity, heightened acts of devotion, strengthening of our steadfastness and patience—and the building of our willpower—should all be benefits that sharpen our regard for the things we often times take for granted.

Our gratitude and thanks to Allah and all that He has granted to us bring about happiness and life should be more deeply regarded as a result of the fast of the believing men and women.

After celebrating the completion of the Holy Month of Ramadan, a full month of Fasting and devotion, we are grateful to have commemorated one of the great ‘Id festivals that sealed our fast with congregational prayer service and the feeding of the impoverished–or Sadaqat ul-Fitr.

This major celebration of the Breaking of Fast, which is known as ‘Id al-Fitr—The Festival of the Renewal—or Breaking of the Fast, signifies our Return to our Original Nature.

This victory is our return to our inborn, or innate, disposition at birth and the Origin of Creation itself. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes on pg. 138 of “Message to the Blackman in America,” daily prayer “… is a help to the establishment of healthy social relations.”

In the daily service these relations are limited to a narrow circle, i.e., to members of the same neighborhood. But the circle becomes wider in the weekly Friday service which gathers all Muslim members of a particular locality and becomes still wider in the two great “Id” gatherings.

Thus, prayer promotes social relations between the different sections of the Muslim community. Far more important than this, however, is the leveling of social differences brought about by means of congregational prayer.

Muslims throughout the world celebrate this joyous occasion over a minimum of three days through the exchange of gifts, engagement in festive activities, and service to the neediest in society.

It is a rejuvenation of the faith and the practice of our religion that creates a stronger bond between the Muslim, his Lord and the believing family. On this day Muslims show their real joy for the health, strength and the opportunities of life, which Allah has given to us to fulfill the ultimate establishment of a New Reality for Self and Society.

“Nay, those who are unjust follow their low desires without any knowledge; so who can guide him whom Allah leaves in error? And they shall have no helpers. So set thy face for religion, being upright, the nature made by Allah in which He has created men.

There is no altering Allah’s creation. That is the right religion—but most people know not—Turning to Him; and keep your duty to Him, and keep up prayer and be not of the polytheists.”—Holy Qur’an 30:29-31

“Spiritually, He says that your own self (referring to you) is a righteous Muslim.”—The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Allah (God) says in the Holy Qur’an that man is created in the best of molds in a nature of excellence and submission to His Will, as the crown of creation. Allah states in fact, that man and all of creation is created in the nature of Islam, which is the universally innate “color” of Allah’s (God’s) Reality.

“(We take) Allah’s colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers.”—Holy Quran 2:138

Therefore, one “colored” by ugly behavior, wrongdoing, and wickedness is far from the original state of the self—other than self. What we devote ourselves to or worship we begin to reflect or assume the Character of! The Arabic word “Abd” means to receive the impression of that which you serve—or to worship.

It is through the natural guidance instilled within our original disposition—the fiber of our existence that is termed in the Holy Qur’an as fitra, the Natural desire to do good or be innocent; a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

Who is the Original Man? What is his own self? His own self is a righteous Muslim. “Islam is actually our religion by nature. Allah is the proper name for God … you should remember that you have a great offer made to you in the words, ‘Accept your own.’ 

To accept your own means yourself and your kind, your God, Who is of you and you are of Him,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes in “Message to the Blackman.”

To accept your own is to reclaim your original or natural self as created by Allah (God) and is accomplished by the surrender or submission of self by embracing the reality of our origin and nature. Every Divine trait or character is part of the original nature of humanity.

Let us consider reflection, meditation and study on the Divine Attributes or Names of Allah as a method by which we may engage in self-reflection and practice self-correction by purifying ourselves of ugly immoral behavior for the natural character traits we have been Blessed to assume in our process of spiritual development and growth.

In Islam we commonly name our children or assume the Names of Allah (ta’alaa) as our own. Kareem, Sultan, Malik, Ali, Azeez and so on. It is through this connection to the Originator of the Heavens and the earth that we must seek our return (submission) to Him by His Attributes.

The basic form of the self-concept remains the same for all people, however the specific content changes. The mental framework centering around the self which helps us to organize information gathered through our experiences and interactions is more complex then the question of “Who am I?”

Everything a person remembers, knows, and can imagine about themselves is also part of this complex mental framework. This mental framework or state of mind also helps guide our personal behavior.

“And be not like those who forget Allah, so He makes them forget their own souls.”—Holy Quran 59:19

If one understands identity to mean a comprehensive set of beliefs and practices that guide our lives and provides a stable sense of self, it becomes quickly obvious that the most critical element in this is the belief system. 

In Islam beliefs direct practices. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches, “A Muslim is what a Muslim does.”  The choices we make and the actions that we undertake illustrate the true nature of who we are.

The stronger the Presence of Allah (God) is in our lives through the contemplation and remembrance of Him, the stronger our character will become adorned by right action in the Spirit or Character of Allah (God). We must study Self. … Fasting makes us more acquainted with what drives or rules our being—if we forget Allah (God), we lose our sense of self. 

The matter of identity is straightforward—it forces us to look into ourselves and ask ourselves who we are and seek The Truth of self. Our personal identity or sense of self as part of a community or group is the most fundamental influence in our actions or inactions, aspirations, visions, goals and also our success or failures. “He who knows himself, knows his Lord,” Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) stated.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated, “Abraham is always mentioned in our prayers and the Qur’an says he was neither a Christian nor a Jew.  He was an upright man and not one of the polytheists.

So if during the month of Ramadan we want to be more like the man or the Prophet who is considered the friend of Allah, then uprightness in word, in deed, in spirit, is demanded of us and sitting down any worship of anything that is other than Allah—that is what the training is about.

“My life is for Allah, my prayers, my sacrifice, my life, my death is all for Allah. He is the exclusive object of my worship. So, if I could do it in these thirty days I could do it in 365 and ¼ days. I am setting my mind for whatever I am going to face in terms of my seeking of justice or else.

My mind is not on frivolity, my mind is on spending my life if necessary to stop tyranny and oppression.” Set your face for religion being upright the nature made by Allah in which He has created.

We see ourselves in many ways vainly fighting the tyranny of our own low desires but not having the strength to fight the tyranny of the enemy externally thereby becoming ritualistic as a Muslim family.

The Fast becomes ritual and loses its real meaning or value when we do it because we think we are supposed to do it. The prayer and the actions of belief become ritualistic, and the ritual is only getting us into the practice of something much deeper than a ritual.

It is related that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.

Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. And he who passes Lailat al-Qadr in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven (Bukhari, Muslim).

“Surely Allah changes not the condition of a people, until they change their own condition.” —Holy Quran 13:11

As we strive for renewal, let us in this hour, celebrate the achievement, insha’Allah, a completed 30 days of fasting.  We are now elevated, experiencing the heights of paradise and the victory over the evils of self! The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us to “Set ourselves in heaven at once”. Which of the favors of Allah would you deny?

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad is a member of the Shura Executive Council and serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Visit NOI.org/ramadan, follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post Eid: Accept Your Own appeared first on Final Call News.

“So set thy face for religion, being upright, the nature made by Allah in which He has created men. There is no altering Allah’s creation. That is the right religion—but most people know not—” —Holy Quran, 30:30

This natural Guidance, which is the fiber of our existence, is referred to in Chapter 30, verse 30 of the Holy Qur’an in the Arabic word Fitrah. Allah (God) says in the Holy Qur’an that man is created in the best of molds in a nature of submission to His Will, as the crown of creation. 

Allah (God), in fact, Teaches that man and all of creation are created in the nature of Islam, an Arabic word meaning peace that makes one secure. What is that nature? It is through this natural guidance instilled within our original disposition, the very fiber of our existence, that is referred to in Quranic terms as Fitrah.

As we now are quickly approaching the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, a full month of fasting, self-correction and devotion, we will celebrate one of the Great Eid feasts and the Night of Power or Majesty.

Muslims throughout the world have a joyous celebration through the exchange of gifts, festive activities, and service to the impoverished, and those in need of society.

Upon the sighting of the new crescent moon, ‘Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the fast of the month of Ramadan. It is a time of communal rejuvenation and spirit of our Faith, and it creates a stronger bond between the Muslim and his Lord.

Through the communal aspects of the fast and celebrations, we express many of the basic values of our Faith such as, empathy for the underprivileged, charity, worship, steadfastness, patience, and strengthened willpower and discipline—it is a true day of gratitude for believing men, women and children.

We seal our fast with a congregational prayer service, feeding of the most destitute or impoverished of our communities through what is known as Zakat-Sadaqat ul-Fitr, or the charity of the renewal of one’s nature. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have stated, “Hunger is the lord of all action.”

On this day Muslims are joyous for their health, family and the opportunities of life, which Allah has given to us to fulfill our obligation to fast and perform good deeds during the blessed month of Ramadan to seek the Favor of Allah.

Our worship of Allah (God) through devotion in the form of the self-denial of our natural urges of thirst, hunger and passion are designed to return us to the innocence of the naturally instilled Guidance of our Original disposition by taming these natural hungers. 

“Islam is actually our religion by nature,” writes the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in “Message to the Blackman in America,” page 58. This major celebration of the Breaking of Fast.

Which is known as ‘Eid ul-Fitr—The Festival or Reoccurring Joy or Happiness—of the Renewal or Return to our Original Nature. Return to our Nature signifies a victory toward self-correction in our Acceptance of Self, our return to our innocent, inborn disposition from Allah (God) Himself.

On page 138 of “Message to the Blackman in America,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes, “… Gathering of all people living in the same vicinity five times daily in the Mosque, is a help to the establishment of healthy social relations.

In the daily service these relations are limited to a narrow circle, i.e., to members of the same neighborhood. But the circle becomes wider in the weekly Friday service which gathers together all Muslim members of a particular locality and becomes still wider, in the two great ‘Eid’ gatherings.”

“Thus, prayer promotes social relations between the different sections of the Muslim community.  Far more important than this, however, is the leveling of social differences brought about by means of congregational prayer. Once within the doors of the Mosque, every Muslim feels himself in an atmosphere of equality and love.”

Once we endure and overcome these internal forces that exploit our natural desires and inclinations with patience, prayer and service, Allah (God) aids us with increased guidance to expand our ability to overcome the call of our low desires and the external Satanic influences of the world.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan writes, “You are, by nature, a Righteous person. I don’t care what you’re doing; whatever you’re doing of evil is what you’ve learned by living in an evil world, but your nature is not evil, your nature is righteousness.” —The Restrictive Law of Islam is our Success,” page 10. 

You do not love someone when they have done you wrong, because our nature is right and righteous judgment naturally rises. We may fall into the enemy’s tricks and lies and become sinful, but this is a learned behavior.

If we only find ourselves vainly fighting the tyranny of our own low desires but not having the strength to fight the tyranny of the enemy externally, we have become ritualistic and the Fast becomes ritual and loses its real meaning or value.

We do it because we are supposed to do it. So, the prayer becomes ritualistic and the good deeds only practiced on occasions, when the ritual is what should be getting us into the practice of something much deeper.

It is related that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.

And he who passes Lailat al-Qadr in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.” The reward for the one that struggles in the way of God against the passions—jihad al-akbar—is freedom from the fire of sin!

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also said: “It (Ramadan) is the month, whose beginning is mercy, its middle, forgiveness and its end, freedom from the fire (of sin).”

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad is a member of the Shura Executive Council and serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Visit NOI.org/ramadan, follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post The Nature Made by Allah appeared first on Final Call News.

The Honorable Minister Farrakhan teaches us in “Self-Improvement: Basis for Community Development,” Study Guides: “Whenever the human being lacks discipline, the society reflects that lack of discipline in the manifestation of excesses:

Excessive eating, excessive drinking, excessive sex, the lust for material things, the greed for power, the overpowering of our intelligence by anger and envy. All of these excesses break the spirit of brotherhood and destroy human society.” 

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches in “How to Eat to Live” Book 2, page 55, fasting “is prescribed for us in the Law of the Religion of Islam, (in) the Holy Qur’an, all Muslims who respect fasting should take the fast of Ramadan.”

The Month of Ramadan is a means by which we can reach the goal of a selfless, God-centered regard for everything we engage in rather than self-centered, selfish tendencies that succumb to vain urges that heedlessly feed our hungers.

We are not fasting to lose weight. We are fasting to lose our egos and sinful characteristics. Ramadan is an Arabic word, in its root meaning it is to scorch, blaze, roast, or burn, suggesting it is a means by which one burns away the impurities of “self.”

If we fast with the right mindset, we are putting aside the basic hungers of life, which allow us to purify ourselves from the Enemy of ‘self’ so that we cannot be controlled through our hungers and desires.

As we shield ourselves through self-denial to remove the impurities of “self” we replace the old habits and characteristics of wrong-doing with the adornment of the qualities of righteousness. What beautiful advice we have from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the Believer in these words: “cultivate within yourself the Attributes of Allah (God).” 

Allah (God) Reveals, “(We take) Allah’s colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers.” Holy Qur’an, 2:138.

In our worship and service of Allah (God) through that which He has enjoined on us in the way of faith, we must never become imbalanced in our focus in the concept of ritual as worship. The concept of worship or devotion in Islam is called “Ebaada,” meaning:

Obedience; worship; devotion; to submit to the acceptance of the impress of Divine Attributes so as to drink in and reflect them on one’s own person; to be complete and utmost in our humility and submissiveness to the Will of Allah.

“We should open the door of our ears, the door of our heart, the door of our mind, to let Almighty God, Allah come in. For there He wishes to dwell: in the Infinity of the Brain of Man! The Will is the Real Power of Allah (God) in Man.

However, the Will must be buttressed, or supported, by Faith and by Knowledge,” teaches the Honorable Minister Farrakhan, in “The Will Of God – Pt. 1.” Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said, Allah has stated, “Neither My Heavens nor My Earth contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me.” 

Service, the idea of “Ebaada” in the Qur’an lies not in the mere declaration of the glory of Allah (God) by lips and performance of certain rituals of service, e.g., prayer, fasting, charity, etc., but it is, in fact, to take on or be consumed by Divine morals to receive the impression of God’s Attributes, thereby taking on His Ways in complete obedience to His Will.

Muslims are permitted for this reason to be named after the Attributes of Allah (God). The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan tweeted, “When you have an attribute of God, you should strive for degrees of excellence in that attribute.”

As we heighten our devotional observation of the principles of faith through acts of prayer, fasting, charity, and the establishment of Truth through struggle (Jihad), we are reminded in the Month of Ramadan the “Great Struggle”— Jihad Al-Akbar— is the struggle of “self.”

During the fast, we grow in ability to abstain and the power to grow into the Will of Allah (God), Most High. This opportunity for development in the Presence of God, Himself, is granted to every one of His servants.

The cultivation of the will to break out of the darkness of “self” that has kept us not only isolated as individuals, but as a people and as humanity, in the darkness; the absence of creative thought; the absence of self-cultivation.

These are aspects of the “self” that we must eradicate by changing the negative habits of egoism that we all have suffered from to become a “zero.” The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches in “The Theology of Time,” June 18, 1972, “When He puts Himself with us, He increased us ten-fold.

God has increased us ten-fold by adding His Number-One-Self. He’s the Great Number One God, putting himself beside nothing, zero. He made nothing ‘0’ come forth. He made something out of nothing by coming and standing beside nothing ‘0’ which was no more than a zero. It made the zero something we could count from. This is you and me.”

Allah (God) has Revealed in the Holy Qur’an, Chapter 59:19, for those that have forgotten Allah (God), He causes them to forget themselves: “And be not like those who forget Allah, so He makes them forget their own souls.”

This should remind us that our very ‘self’ identity is intrinsically connected to The Person of God. What is The Personality of Allah (God)? Allah (God), Most High, The Supreme Being, is described in more than 99 Attributes, which represents His Infinite and Exalted Names. 

With His infinite Attributes, we are given the capacity, by His Permission, to overcome any obstacle whatsoever. Allah (God)  has also stated in the Holy Qur’an, Dhikru-Allah-u-Akbar, “the remembrance of Allah (God) is the greatest force,” Holy Qur’an, 29:45.

It is this Force and Power of Allah (God), the Will of Allah (God) that is granted to the one that submits their individual will to the Will of Allah (God), the Believer: one that righteously submits one’s will, their entire self and being, over to that Power and Force of The Supreme Being, so that one’s actions are no longer our own actions;

One’s way is not ones own way, but our way and actions become The Way and Actions of Allah (God), Most High, by seeking His Thinking and Guidance. “When a person gets righteous, God accepts him as His FRIEND. Then the will of each other is with each other. What one wills, the other wills. It is the will of both,” writes the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in “Our Saviour Has Arrived” on page 145.

Muhammad, the Prophet, (PBUH) in an authentic Hadith Qudsi, beautifully narrates Allah’s (God’s) words, saying, “Allah (God) Almighty said: ‘My servant draws near to Me with nothing more loved by Me than the acts of worship that I have enjoined upon him.

My servant continues to try to draw near to Me with more devotion, until I love him. When I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, his feet on which he walks.

When he asks Me for something, I will respond,  and when he takes refuge in Me, I will grant it to him. I do not hesitate in doing anything I intend to do as much as I hesitate in seizing the soul of My faithful servant; he hates death, and I hate hurting him.’” 

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Visit NOI.org/ramadan, follow @ImamSultanM on Twitter, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post The Month of Ramadan: A Time for Self-Cultivation appeared first on Final Call News.

“The servants of the Beneficent are they who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, Peace!” ~ Holy Qur’an, 25:63

The Holy Month of Ramadan is a month of reflection and restraint from the natural hungers of food, water and appetites. While for many, to restrain oneself from physical urges may be a challenge, to still one’s emotions from argument or obscenity may be a much more difficult task. Many of us experience stress and oppression in life that cause us to be very quick to anger.

It is in fasting that Allah has given us a way to discipline the fires of anger.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad in How to Eat to Live, Book 1 writes, During this month, let there be no quarreling or disputing in our homes or abroad.”  It is more difficult for most to control our attitudes and emotions than it is to control our stomachs.

This is a principle exercise among the prescribed actions of self-imposed discipline that Allah (God) has ordained for humanity to gain control and mastery of “self” to rise above our emotions into the Thinking of Allah (God).

Once we have completed the initial days of our daily practice of the abstention during the Month of Ramadan we begin to get into the rhythm of our devotion.  Our spiritual, mental and physical awareness become sharper. As we advance in the lesson of the Month’s Fast, we should see gains in our ability to control our carnal passions, hungers, and the deepening of righteous character. 

Our energies become more focused on the objective of the Fast and our minds and hearts are more rooted in the remembrance of Allah.

If we are able to maintain the state of mind to deny ourselves for the pleasure of Allah (God), sawm (abstain, to still oneself, or fast), we will have achieved part of the major benefits of the wisdom behind the Fast of the Month of Ramadan.

“He who does not desist (or stop) from obscene language and acting obscenely during the period of fasting, Allah has no need that he did not eat or drink,” stated Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He also said that “Allah has no interest in any person’s abstention from eating and drinking, if that person does not give up lying and dishonest actions.” 

Therefore, fasting is a revealing test of our faith and ability to build our will power for the betterment of self and society, while beautifying our character and purifying our hearts to adorn ourselves with the character of Allah (God).  The Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes: “FASTING takes away evil desires. Fasting takes from us filthy desires.”

Fasting takes from us the desire to do evil against self and our brothers and sisters. We are created of the material of goodness. Therefore, good belongs to us … and it should not be hard for us to turn to our own selves in which we were created … good.”—How To Eat To Live, page 49

The Holy Month of Ramadan is the time of year in which we have an opportunity to change and re-tune ourselves to creation itself, for we are of the earth, yet we must be reacquainted with our Original nature and the Reality of Time.

Through fasting, we become more in tune with the rising and setting of the sun, in addition to the natural calculations of the lunar calendar and the seasonal realities of the Earth orbiting the sun, as the month of Ramadan moves throughout the year and falls in different months of the fixed Gregorian calendar. We are moving around the sun yet we have lost the reality of time even though we have a watch or a clock. 

We ask ourselves at the end of the day, “where did the day go? What was I doing? What have I been doing with my life?” Our lives are but a moment. What are we doing with our lives? Are we abiding by the time? Allah Most High says in the Holy Quran:

“By the time—surely man is in loss, except those who have faith and do righteous deeds and encourage each other to truth and encourage each other to patience.” As the Prophet (PBUH) once also stated, “fasting is patience.” Fasting, therefore, does one no good if his character is not improved by its observance of restraint from negative character traits and behaviors.

“Spiritually, He says that your own self (referring to you) is a righteous Muslim,” stated the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Allah (God) Revealed in the Holy Qur’an, He has created man in the best make or most excellent of molds (95:4) in a natural submission to His Will, as the crown of creation in origin instilled with the innate “color” of Allah’s (God’s) Reality.

“(We take) Allah’s colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers.”  (2:138) Therefore one “colored” by the ways of the Enemy of self, wrongdoing and wickedness, is far from the original state or natural disposition that is the fiber of our existence referred to in Quranic terms as fitra. (30:30) Natural disposition or constitution with which a child is created. The faculty of knowing God and the capability of accepting the religion of truth. 

As worshippers of Allah (God) we seek Knowledge of God and Self that transforms our being to be His servants.  As, we seek to beautify our character as His servants we become vessels of His Mercy and Favor to one another.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said, “Cultivate within yourself the Attributes of Allah.” The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan writes in A Torchlight For America, “Knowledge satisfies our natural thirst for gaining that which will make us one with our Maker.

So true education cultivates the person—mind, body and spirit—by bringing us closer to fulfilling our purpose for being, which is to reflect Allah (God). …”  

If we believe, we become aware of self, enough to analyze our belief and study how our actions are reflective of our belief or not.  In Islam, which means to submit oneself wholly to the Will of Allah (God), we must become students of Self and learn to Desire what He loves.

We then only grow to the extent of our personal willingness to correct, shape, and develop the essence of who we are through the practice of submission to Allah’s Will through what He has prescribed to Teach us how to have proper regard for what He loves. 

This is how we as worshippers of Allah (God) are Guided to adorn ourselves—not only with the activities of fasting, but what foods to eat, when to eat and how to act on the principles of righteousness. 

We become or reflect what we love or worship.  If we understand worship properly, we see that the spiritual force behind all acts of worship is Love. It is this love that makes us mindful of how we treat our relationship with Allah (God), self and others. 

The Holy Qur’an describes worship in the Arabic term ‘Ibaada,’ meaning at its root—to worship, adore, venerate, obey, submit, or devote; to be the Servant of God; or One Who accepts the impressions of God’s Attributes.  

This Holy Month of Ramadan let us be found in humility among the servants of the Loving—Merciful—Ar-Rahman; the All-Giving, The Beneficent—Redeemer—Ar-Rahim, Allah (God) seeking His Attributes and strive in love to one another as we too seek His Mercy and Love. 

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad serves as Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post Ramadan: A Month of Love, Patience and Mercy appeared first on Final Call News.

[Editor’s note: During the Nation of Islam’s 2026 Saviours’ Day convention and as we and the Muslim world observe the Holy Month of Ramadan, The Final Call presents this important article that was originally published in 2020, in Vol. 39 No. 31.]

Blessed Holy Month of Ramadan—Ramadan Mubarak to all! May we have a blessed Holy Month of devotion that will serve to heal us spiritually, mentally and physically. We pray that Allah ease the pain of our struggles and strengthen our Will to be renewed during this time of trial.

Allah (God) Reveals in Chapter 2 Verse 185 of the Holy Qur’an: “The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the Criterion. So whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein.”

The Holy Qur’an was revealed in 609 A.D. to Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH) beginning at the age of 40 over a 23-year period in Mecca, Arabia, among a people entrenched in social decadence, oppression of women and the poor under the tyranny of the rich and powerful.

The Holy Qur’an was revealed on the Night of Power, Majesty, or Decree (Qadr). “Surely We revealed it on the Night of Majesty (Layla-tul-Qadr). And what will make thee comprehend what the Night of Majesty is? The Night of Majesty is better than a thousand months.

The angels and the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord—for every affair—Peace! It is till the rising of the morning.”— Chapter 97, Al-Qadr (The Majesty), Verses 1-5.

Fasting during the Holy Month of Ramadan is a celebratory act in commemoration of the Revelation of the Holy Qur’an. It is during the month of Ramadan on the Night of Power the Holy Qur’an was revealed upon the heart of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the Angel Gabriel (Jabril), beginning with the first five verses of Chapter 96, Al-Alaq (The Clot): 

“Read in the name of thy Lord Who creates—creates man from a clot, Read and thy Lord is most Generous, Who taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not”.

These first verses were revealed in the cave of Hira, at the Mountain of Light (Jabal-al-Noor), where the Prophet (PBUH) would regularly retreat in prayer to reflect in seclusion upon problems of the society in which he lived.

At various times, passages and verses were revealed in the context of circumstances the Prophet confronted over the remainder of his life, with earlier portions revealed during his life in Mecca and later portions in Madinah.

“Beneficent God! By the Book that makes manifest! We revealed it on a blessed night—truly We are ever warning. Therein is made clear every affair full of wisdom—A command from Us—truly We are ever sending messengers.”—Holy Qur’an, Chapter 44, Verses 1-5.

The word “Qur’an” is an Arabic word which means the “Recitation” or “that which is recited.” Muhammad (PBUH) did not write the Holy Qur’an and it is not read like a chapter or textbook.

The recitations of the Qur’an are poetic in nature, mathematical in language, scientifically revelatory, prophetic in narrative, and deeply profound in its impact upon the reader or listener.

It is the revealed Word of Allah (Kalaamul-Allah) through a stream of Arabic prose that expresses the Thinking of God which addresses the ills and injustices of humanity during a time of ignorance in Arabia.

The Qur’an also warns of a Time of Judgement and the establishment of Allah (God’s) Promise under His rule of Freedom, Justice, and Equality in a Universal Government established upon Peace.

“We are not an organization; we are a world. I use the same Holy Qur’an that all Muslims use; the book that is universally recognized as being 100 percent true,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes in “Message to the Blackman,” pg. 322.

The Holy Qur’an is organized by sections and parts according to recommended methods of completion of its reading over a desired period. Parts and sections are correlated with daily readings of sections that allow the reader to complete the voluntary reading of the entire Holy Qur’an by the conclusion of the month of Ramadan.

Why did Allah (God) reveal the Qur’an in Arabic? The English language, according to linguistic science, does not have the vocabulary necessary to uphold the nuance of meanings expressed in the Arabic Qur’an. Allah (God) states in the Holy Qur’an Chapter 12 Verse 2, “Surely We have revealed it—an Arabic Qur’an—that you may understand.” 

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad informs us in “Message to the Blackman” pg. 93, “The Holy Qur’an’s readings are not the kind that will lull one to sleep, but to get a real Qur’an one should know the Arabic language in which it is written.”

The sound, spirit, rhyme, and rhythm of the audible recitation of the Holy Qur’an displays an aspect of its revelation that cannot be interpreted or translated from the context in which it was revealed among a culture of master linguists and influential poets. Muhammad, (PBUH), said,

“Arabic is by the tongue,” meaning the language in which Allah (God) revealed His Message is for all people and is not the language of the Arab people by way of their ethnicity but is the language of Islam—the language of the Original Man.

“The Qur’an teaches that they must have the Qur’an in their own language and they must not have a foreigner but someone from among themselves who could speak their language. He could not be one who could speak Arabic until Allah taught him Arabic.

Therefore the Messenger is not an Arab or an Arabic speaker in the resurrection of the dead, not the people who must be resurrected, according to the Qur’an. But later Allah taught him Arabic,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches in “Message to the Blackman”, pg. 189.

The Qur’an is an estimated 600 pages, revealed in the Arabic language, consists of 114 chapters, contains 6,236 verses, 99,464 words that are made up of 330,113 letters. It is memorized cover-to-cover in Arabic by millions, whether they know Arabic or not.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) once stated: “The best of those amongst you is the one who learns the Qur’an and then teaches it to others.” Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also said: “The superiority of the Qur’an over the rest of words, is like the superiority of Allah over His creations.”

Reading the Holy Qur’an during Ramadan is an essential voluntary part of the devotional process, for as we fast from food and water, through reading the Holy Qur’an, we feed our spirit, mind, and heart with the Word of God. Therefore, our reading of the Holy Qur’an becomes our food.

Our reading of the Holy Qur’an during this Month becomes a means by which we nourish the mind with Allah’s Thought to cultivate His Will within us.

Allah has revealed His very Thinking and given the reader through repetition of central themes as reminders to humanity to be mindful of the spiritual Truths of cause and effect, the Reality of Allah (God), the knowledge of self and insight into the nature of being.

We impose self-discipline and beautify our character with righteous virtues taught by Allah in His scripture to seek nearness to Him in our journey of self-improvement and self-renewal. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated in The Time and What Must be Done Lecture Series Part 28:

“Prophet Muhammad, and this great Book, The Holy Qur’an, which brings clarity to the Torah and the Injil. This Book, Qur’an, is a ‘womb.’ So when you’re born out of ‘the water’ of this revelation, The Holy Qur’an, I submit to you: You will be made anew.

I submit to you that the deeper Wisdom of this Qur’an has not yet been revealed. … But this Book is called Al-Shifa, ‘The Healing’—but who will be ‘the doctor’ to prescribe the medicine, and apply it?

By Prophet Muhammad’s Example, you too can escape The Wrath of God—but The Holy Qur’an is your means to escape it! It is in this Book, following the Example, the Sunnah, of Prophet Muhammad, that everyone who has been afflicted by ‘Satan’—a Black ‘devil,’ Brown, Red, Yellow, White ‘devil’—all devils can be healed in The Womb of this Book.

With The Medicine of this Book, and with The Sunnah of The Prophet through whom this Book came! This Book, Qur’an, is called ‘The Medicine.’ This Book is called ‘The Cure.’ It is The Medicine for a sin-sick soul.”

We have been given a Holy Book with Guidance that Teaches us a Path of return to our original nature, purpose and true success. We must be of humble spirit that we may seek the forgiveness of Allah (God) for all that we have done to offend Him and ourselves.

We know that Allah (God) has established rights between brother and sister, man and woman, nation and nation, and over ‘self’ by which we demand mutual dignity between one another. If our actions are in offense of the rights of our brother or sister we have offended Allah (God).

Let us not be self-righteous Muslims, practicing a religion that is dead, but let us bring into life the principles that Allah has given us in the activity of fasting and reading the Holy Qur’an so that we may deepen our relationships and love among one another to produce a healthy and just society.

The value of any deeds in the Holy Month of Ramadan is greater in value than the same deed on a day outside of this month as an encouragement to build righteous habits that will be instilled in our character. Let us in this month of Ramadan instill the habit of reading the Holy Qur’an in order to feed from Allah’s Word revealed in this Holy Month.

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post Ramadan:The Month in which the Qur’an was Revealed, a Guidance to Humanity appeared first on Final Call News.

“The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the Criterion. So whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein. …” ~ Holy Qur’an, Chapter 2, the Cow, Verse 185

Muslims around the world welcome the annual Fast as a time of heightened devotion, self-analysis and self-correction. Fasting during the Holy Month of Ramadan is an act of individual restraint and collective advancement of good will in commemoration of the Revelation of the Holy Qur’an.

Yet, we remind ourselves this Holy Month of Ramadan of the Universal Mission of Muhammad and the Universal Message of the Holy Qur’an are “a guidance to men” Revealed to humanity and that we are obliged to share the spirit of our devotion through the Fast of the Month of Ramadan with all of society to remake the world.

The devotional force of this great Fast extends beyond the walls of our mosques, perceived borders of our communities, and nations to seek the renewal of the whole of humanity. 

Islam did not begin with the revelation of the Holy Qur’an but is rooted in the Nature of Allah (God) and the Reality of human identity in relationship to Him. Therefore, there are shared human values among the faithful through the Truth of His Revealed Word and among His Signs in creation itself throughout time (Holy Qur’an, 30:30, 59:19).

The principles that undergird fasting as a component power in spiritual and mental resurrection as a means to advance nearness to the Creator is shared among the righteous and all faith communities of the human family.

Allah (God) Reminds the Believer in the Holy Qur’an, Chapter 2 Verse 183, “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you.” 

Allah (God) beautifully states in the Holy Qur’an, Chapter 5 Verse 69, “Surely those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians—whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good—they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve.” 

Allah (God) Teaches us in His description of these communities as, “The Family or People of the Book” (Ahl-ul-Kitab) that we share common bonds of faith and devotion.

Allah (God) gives Light to fasting as a prescription continuing in Chapter 2, the Cow, Verse 183 with clear direction to the purpose of this shared principle of fasting or restraining one’s self (sawm) among the righteous.

Allah (God) Reveals this prescription is given “so that you may guard against evil.”  “O mankind, surely We have created you from a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other.

Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the most dutiful of you (in guarding against evil). Surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.” (Holy Qur’an, 49:13)

“We have indeed sent down to you clothing to cover your shame, and (clothing) for beauty; and clothing that guards against evil—that is the best. This is of the messages of Allah that they may be mindful.” (Holy Qur’an, 7:26). The best garment is the garment of Truth and righteousness, which guards against evil.

In his message titled “Set Your Mind And Set Your Will For The Great Fast Of Ramadan,” the Honorable Minister Farrakhan teaches: “Fasting, one of the main pillars of Islam, is a principle that must be practiced by every believing Muslim.

In fact, fasting has been enjoined in every age, by every prophet that has come to reform the conduct of man.” Minister Farrakhan teaches, “That is a challenge.”

We drink no water during the daylight hours, we eat no food during the daylight hours, nor do we go into our wives during the daylight hours, nor do we argue, nor do we fight, nor do we do anything that will disturb our quest for closeness to Allah, and to do what this fast is designed by God to do, gives us the power to guard against evil. Now, this is a great trial, especially for the new Believers.” 

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches, Taqwa or waqaya, “The root of the Arabic word ‘muttaqi,’ which is often translated as ‘God-fearing,’ signifies the guarding of a thing from that which harms or injures it.”

The Holy Qur’an is a guide to those who guard themselves against evil” referring to the Qur’anic Arabic. Allah (God) Reveals in the following verse: “This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who keep their duty (guard against evil) ….” (Holy Qur’an, 2:2)

The complementary concept of this teaching appears in the Bible in Ephesians 6:11-12: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” 

Taqwa in its fullness means: to be mindful, to protect, save, preserve, ward off, guard against evil and calamity, be secure, observe duty through observation of Divine ordinances in every walk of life; to abstain; to take as a shield and be regardful of one’s duty towards humanity and God.

The companions of the Prophet (PBUH) have described Taqwa as, “when you walk on a narrow and steep path lined with thorny bushes one treads very carefully from the fear of thorns that may prick you so that your clothes do not get entangled in thorns and you do not get injured.”

 Taqwa is being as a sentinel on guard: “walking your post in a perfect manner, keeping always on the alert.” What are you on guard for?—every aspect of your garment of righteousness. The garment that Allah has created us in that is represented in our character rooted in God-consciousness. 

From its Qur’anic Arabic root meaning, ramida—to scorch or burn—the Month of Ramadan is uniquely designed to burn away the impediments of ego, excess, and evils of self-destructive hungers that hinder individual and human growth.

The practice of self-restraint or stillness through the act of fasting (sawm) is a principle action of Muslims practiced throughout the year to rid “self” of the impurities of mind, spirit and body.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gives beautiful guidance in these words in His book “How to Eat to Live: Book 1,” page 46: “In this month of fasting we shall keep our minds and hearts clean,” and in “Message to the Blackman in America,” page 84, He advises, Islam “heals both physical and spiritual ills by teaching what to eat, when to eat, what to think, and how to act.”

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has instructed, “many get nothing out of the fast except hunger and thirst,” suggesting that there is no true reward or benefit in the fast for the one that is engaged in gossip, slander, idle talk, and other activities that are of sport and play.

Muhammad (PBUH) in this same spirit instructs, “Fasting is a shield. During the fast do not use obscenity, nor yell at others, nor act ignorantly towards them. However, if anyone abuses you verbally or attempts to draw you to fight with him, say ‘I am fasting.’”

Ramadan is a means for the Believer to deepen one’s discipline in restraint against evil to purify our character. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches us in these words in “Self-Improvement:

The Basis for Community Development Study Guides,” “Since fasting is given to us as a prescription—and a prescription is given to us by a doctor, telling us to take a certain medicine at and for a specified time, to effect a cure for a certain illness—in this case, Almighty God Allah is The Doctor prescribing for all of humanity.

And now we are speaking specifically to the Black people of America, that fasting is to be used as a cure for a sick spiritual, moral, social and physical condition.”

On page 57 and 58 of “How to Eat to Live: Book 2,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes, if you take the prescribed fast of Ramadan, “you are doing the right thing, until this evil world has vanished.”

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post The Month of Ramadan:Fasting is a Shield appeared first on Final Call News.

“And everyone has a goal to which he turns (himself), so vie with one another in good works. Wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together. Surely Allah is Possessor of power over all things. And from whatsoever place thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque. And surely it is the truth from thy Lord. And Allah is not heedless of what you do.” —Holy Qur’an 2:148-149

What is our goal in life and where do we seek the ability to fulfill our life’s purpose? If we reflect over the ancient rites presented in the actions of the Muslim Pilgrimage (Hajj), we are given Signs of Guidance that help us in the pilgrimage of self, family, and nation. In a singular devotional event, Hajj demonstrates creation, history, and a show of unity, unlike any other gathering in the world. 

Hajj is an Arabic word that means to undertake, contend, to intend to a target, aim at, and go on a pilgrimage. Hajj is a Pilgrimage to the Holy City Mecca, and one of five obligatory Islamic principles of action among Muslims to be performed at least once in one’s lifetime, if financially and physically able.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated in “Message to the Blackman in America,” that “The main principles of action in Islam: (are) keeping up prayer, spending in the cause of truth, fasting especially during the month of Ramadan, (and) pilgrimage to Mecca. … ”

The rites of Hajj are a reenactment of some of the trials commanded by Allah (God) of Abraham, his wife Hagar (or Hajjar), and son Ishmael (Peace be upon them) and carries the name of the matriarch, Lady Hagar. According to Islamic scholars, Lady Hagar is buried at the northwestern wall of the Ka’aba near its third column which is marked by a semi-circle. 

This area extends from the Ka’aba wall and is known as the “skirt of Hagar,” where she is reported to have lived and reared her son Ishmael. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said, “the ideal pilgrim is the one who behaved like Hagar.” 

The word “hijrah” means migration and has its root in her name, as does the word “muhajir” (immigrant or migrant). Hijrah is what Lady Hagar did with her son, directed by her husband Prophet Abraham’s vision from Allah (God).

In Hagar’s mother language, her name means “the city.” Why does the Hajj—named after a Divinely chosen Black woman that served as a slave in Egypt—point to civilization? We must reflect on the deplorable conditions that our women and families face in America, their critical role and their sacrifice in our journey in the rise of our people. 

“By the dawn; By the ten nights (of Dhul Hijja)!”—Holy Qur’an, Chapter 89 Verses 1-2.

June 19th marked the first of the 10 days of Dhul Hijja, the Holy month of Hajj (in 2023) in which approximately three million Muslims worldwide—including more than 11,000 who make the Pilgrimage from America—to Mecca.

Muslims that do not make the journey observe heightened devotional activities, such as fasting, prayer and charity, to deepen their relationship with Allah (God) in an effort to attain nearness to Him through personal and communal sacrifice. 

Allah (God) gives us as a sign, the rise of the Sun at dawn and the example of the night. From the darkness of the four impediments of self; racism, sexism, nationalism, and materialism, we aim to rise into the Light of His Presence.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “There are no days more loved to Allah for you to worship Him therein than the ten days of Dhul Hijja.

Fasting any day during it is equivalent to fasting one year and to offer salatul tahajjud (Resurrection or late-night wake-up prayer) during one of its nights is like performing the late night prayer on the Night of Power. (i.e., Lailatul Qadr).”

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes in “Message to the Blackman in America,” on page 77, “Prayer is at sunrise, noon, mid-afternoon, sundown and before retiring. On awakening during the night, another prayer is made.

In fact, two prayers should be said during the night, making a total of seven prayers a day. There is no worship of a Sunday or Sabbath in Islam. All the days are worship days.”

Allah, The Most High, has shown our unity can put an end to poverty, immorality, ignorance, and war. Let us embody unity and devotion as the Muslim world joins in worship these 10 days of Dhul Hijja.

As Pilgrims in Mecca engage in sacred rites of Hajj, let us at home engage in the Resurrection of our people observing the Resurrection (salatul tahajjud) prayer, fasting, and struggling to defend against the oppression of the poor and weak by the tyranny of Satan and his systems.

Our Work is not only in the masjid or mosque, church, and synagogue but in the streets among people in need of the life-giving Message of Allah (God).

“Surely Allah changes not the condition of a people, until they change their own condition.”

— Holy Qur’an, 13:11

The Prayer of Abraham states in part: “Surely, I have turned myself to Thee, O Allah, trying to be upright to Him Who originated the heavens and the earth and I am not of the polytheists. Surely my prayer and my sacrifices, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. No associate has He, and this am I commanded and I am of those who submit.”

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, reportedly said, “one of the best jihads is the Hajj.” This tells us that the Hajj is a struggle against the rebellion within ourselves and the evils of Satan’s world. To establish our willingness for self-sacrifice for human excellence and family in the cause of the Perfection of society.

“The very ritual of Hajj is a sign of what the world will be like in totality when The Mahdi establishes the Kingdom of Islam. In that day, there will be no racism to corrupt the Spirit of Islam. There will be no sexism, there will be no materialism and there will be no nationalism. All of the corrupters of the True Spirit of Islam will be completely destroyed.

I have been blessed to make that wonderful pilgrimage. But, when I made that pilgrimage, it was clear to me that the pilgrimage was nothing more than a sign of another journey; the journey of the sperm to its goal, which is not to meet in Mecca, but to meet with that which Mecca represents, that which the Ka’bah represents.  

“When we get to Mecca, we say, ‘Labaika Allah umma labaika,’ ‘Here I am O Allah, in Your august Presence.’ When you are in the Presence of God, when you have met with God, you have performed the real pilgrimage.

And that, each one of us is to perform in our lifetime. Our whole life is a struggle to meet with the Source of our life,” writes Minister Farrakhan in Study Guide 19, “Self-Improvement: The Basis For Community Development.”

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad is a member of the Shura Executive Council and serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Visit NOI.org/ramadan, follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

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“He indeed is successful who purifies himself, And remembers the name of his Lord, then prays.”—Holy Qu’ran 87:14-15

‘Id Mubarak! This Holy Month of Ramadan, we pray that we as Believers have gained valuable lessons that strengthen our desire to carry out the spirit of this Holy Month throughout our life. The Believer who is intent upon the renewal of self has found this Holy Month to be a gift from Allah (God).

As Allah intervenes in our affairs, we must understand the status of our heart. For Allah (God) has stated that He is closer to us than our very own life, jugular vein. Have we seen the reflections of ourselves throughout this past Holy Month? Have we been acquainted with self-restraint?

Will those chains still lock up those demons, devils of self throughout the rest of the year? These questions we must ask ourselves, dear Believers, to gauge if we are denying the favors that Allah has bestowed upon us. Hopefully, we have come out of this Holy Month of Ramadan completely renewed.

We must strive to keep the spirit of this the Holy Month throughout the year and our lives. We have not had a true impact on “self” if we are not yearning for that which we have gained during this Holy Month.

If we are not on guard and thankful to Allah for His favors, trials, and blessing during this past month, we would have gone throughout Ramadan without attaining its true lesson.

Aspects of the fast, which deepen our expression of the noble human values such as empathy for the underprivileged, promotion of charity, heightened acts of devotion, strengthening of our steadfastness and patience—and the building of our willpower—should all be benefits that sharpen our regard for the things we often times take for granted.

Our gratitude and thanks to Allah and all that He has granted to us bring about happiness and life should be more deeply regarded as a result of the fast of the believing men and women.

After celebrating the completion of the Holy Month of Ramadan, a full month of Fasting and devotion, we are grateful to have commemorated one of the great ‘Id festivals that sealed our fast with congregational prayer service and the feeding of the impoverished–or Sadaqat ul-Fitr.

This major celebration of the Breaking of Fast, which is known as ‘Id al-Fitr—The Festival of the Renewal—or Breaking of the Fast, signifies our Return to our Original Nature.

This victory is our return to our inborn, or innate, disposition at birth and the Origin of Creation itself. The Hon. Elijah Muhammad writes on pg. 138 of “Message to the Blackman in America,” daily prayer “… is a help to the establishment of healthy social relations.”

In the daily service these relations are limited to a narrow circle, i.e., to members of the same neighborhood. But the circle becomes wider in the weekly Friday service which gathers all Muslim members of a particular locality and becomes still wider in the two great “Id” gatherings. …

Thus, prayer promotes social relations between the different sections of the Muslim community. Far more important than this, however, is the leveling of social differences brought about by means of congregational prayer.

Muslims throughout the world celebrate this joyous occasion over a minimum of three days through the exchange of gifts, engagement in festive activities, and service to the neediest in society. It is a rejuvenation of the faith and the practice of our religion that creates a stronger bond between the Muslim, his Lord and the believing family.

On this day Muslims show their real joy for the health, strength and the opportunities of life, which Allah has given to us to fulfill the ultimate establishment of a New Reality for Self and Society.

“Nay, those who are unjust follow their low desires without any knowledge; so who can guide him whom Allah leaves in error? And they shall have no helpers. So set thy face for religion, being upright, the nature made by Allah in which He has created men.

There is no altering Allah’s creation. That is the right religion—but most people know not—Turning to Him; and keep your duty to Him, and keep up prayer and be not of the polytheists.”—Holy Qur’an 30:29-31

“Spiritually, He says that your own self (referring to you) is a righteous Muslim.”—The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Allah (God) says in the Holy Qur’an that man is created in the best of molds in a nature of excellence and submission to His Will, as the crown of creation. Allah states in fact, that man and all of creation is created in the nature of Islam, which is the universally innate “color” of Allah’s (God’s) Reality.

“(We take) Allah’s colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers.”—Holy Quran 2:138

Therefore, one “colored” by ugly behavior, wrongdoing, and wickedness is far from the original state of the self—other than self. What we devote ourselves to or worship we begin to reflect or assume the Character of! The Arabic word “Abd” means to receive the impression of that which you serve—or to worship.

It is through the natural guidance instilled within our original disposition—the fiber of our existence that is termed in the Holy Qur’an as fitra, the Natural desire to do good or be innocent; A quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something.

Who is the Original Man? What is his own self? His own self is a righteous Muslim. “Islam is actually our religion by nature. Allah is the proper name for God … you should remember that you have a great offer made to you in the words, ‘Accept your own.’ 

To accept your own means yourself and your kind, your God, Who is of you and you are of Him,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes in “Message to the Blackman.”

To accept your own is to reclaim your original or natural self as created by Allah (God) and is accomplished by the surrender or submission of self by embracing the reality of our origin and nature. Every Divine trait or character is part of the original nature of humanity.

Let us consider reflection, meditation and study on the Divine Attributes or Names of Allah as a method by which we may engage in self-reflection and practice self-correction by purifying ourselves of ugly immoral behavior for the natural character traits we have been Blessed to assume in our process of spiritual development and growth.

In Islam we commonly name our children or assume the Names of Allah (ta’alaa) as our own. Kareem, Sultan, Malik, Ali, Azeez and so on. It is through this connection to the Originator of the Heavens and the earth that we must seek our return to Him by His Attributes.

The basic form of the self-concept remains the same for all people, however the specific content changes. The mental framework centering around the self which helps us to organize information gathered through our experiences and interactions is more complex then the question of “Who am I?”

Everything a person remembers, knows, and can imagine about themselves is also part of this complex mental framework. This mental framework or state of mind also helps guide our personal behavior.

“Do not act like those who have forgotten about Allah, so that He has caused them to forget themselves.”—Holy Quran 59:19

If one understands identity to mean a comprehensive set of beliefs and practices that guide our lives and provides a stable sense of self, it becomes quickly obvious that the most critical element in this is the belief system. 

In Islam beliefs direct practices. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches, “A Muslim is what a Muslim does.”  The choices we make and the actions that we undertake illustrate the true nature of who we are.

The stronger the Presence of Allah (God) is in our lives through the contemplation and remembrance of Him, the stronger our character will become adorned by right action in the Spirit or Character of Allah (God). We must study Self … Fasting makes us more acquainted with what drives or rules our being—If we forget Allah (God), we lose our sense of self. 

The matter of identity is straightforward—it forces us to look into ourselves and ask ourselves who we are and seek The Truth of self. Our personal identity or sense of self as part of a community or group is the most fundamental influence in our actions or inactions, aspirations, visions, goals and also our success or failures. “He who knows himself, knows his Lord,” Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) stated.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated, “Abraham is always mentioned in our prayers and the Qur’an says he was neither a Christian nor a Jew. 

He was an upright man and not one of the polytheists, so if during the month of Ramadan we want to be more like the man or the Prophet who is considered the friend of Allah, then uprightness in word, in deed, in spirit, is demanded of us and sitting down any worship of anything that is other than Allah—that is what the training is about.

“My life is for Allah, my prayers, my sacrifice, my life, my death is all for Allah. He is the exclusive object of my worship. So, if I could do it in these thirty days I could do it in 365 and ¼ days. I am setting my mind for whatever I am going to face in terms of my seeking of justice or else.

My mind is not on frivolity, my mind is on spending my life if necessary to stop tyranny and oppression.” Set your face for religion being upright the nature made by Allah in which He has created.

We see ourselves in many ways vainly fighting the tyranny of our own low desires but not having the strength to fight the tyranny of the enemy externally thereby becoming ritualistic as a Muslim family.

The Fast becomes ritual and loses its real meaning or value when we do it because we think we are supposed to do it. The prayer and the actions of belief become ritualistic, and the ritual is only getting us into the practice of something much deeper than a ritual.

It is related that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.

Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. And he who passes Lailat al-Qadr in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven (Bukhari, Muslim).

“Surely Allah changes not the condition of a people, until they change their own condition.”

—Holy Quran 13:11

As we strive for renewal, let us in this hour, celebrate the achievement, insha’Allah, a completed 30 days of fasting.  We are now elevated, experiencing the heights of paradise and the victory over the evils of self! The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us to “Set ourselves in heaven at once”. Which of the favors of Allah would you deny?

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad is a member of the Shura Executive Council and serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Visit NOI. org/ramadan, follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post Eid: Accept Your Own appeared first on Final Call News.

“Surely, We revealed it on the Night of Majesty—And what will make thee comprehend what the Night of Majesty is? The Night of Majesty is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord—for every affair—Peace it is till the rising of the morning.” —Holy Qur’an 97:1 – 5

The Month of Ramadan is a month in which Muslims celebrate the Revelation of The Holy Qur’an, through its daily readings, heightened prayer, acts of kindness and charity. Once we have completed the initial days of our daily practice of abstinence, during the Month of Ramadan we begin to get into the rhythm of our devotion.

Muhammad, the Prophet (PBUH), said, “O people a very great month has come upon you, a month containing a night better than a thousand months. Allah (God) has made it an obligation to fast in it, and standing in prayer in its night is a voluntary action.

Whoever seeks nearness to Him with a good deed in it will be like one performing an obligatory action in other months … It is a month the beginning of which is a mercy, the middle Forgiveness, and its end is a granting of freedom from the Fire (of sin) …”

Our spiritual, mental and physical awareness is purified, as we advance in the lesson of the Month’s Fast as we see gains in our ability to control our carnal passions, hungers, and the deepening of righteous character. Before dawn, we begin the fast with plenty of water or juice—or light nourishment to be sure we are well hydrated throughout the day.

This light nourishment, which marks our intention to fast each morning is called suhoor, an Arabic word meaning “of the dawn.” We fast from dark to dark and complete each day of the fast with prayer after sunset (Maghrib) followed by a meal. This time is known as iftar, meaning to break fast.

In our fast during the daylight hours the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us going to war with the spiritual darkness represented in fasting from the appetites of Satan’s world, “until the daybreak of Truth coming in the first of the seven thousand years after the six thousand years of spiritual darkness and evil” is, in fact, a sign. 

“we are living now in the bright spiritual world of Allah,” and “therefore we are not the children of darkness, but the children of light and truth.… But, until we have accomplished our work of perfection of self and separation of us from the spiritual darkness.… we fast to get out of it.…,” (How to Eat to Live, Book 2, page 56 and 57.)

The Month culminates in its last 10 days through observation of the Night of Power or Majesty (Lailatul-Qadr). The Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes in “Message to the Blackman” on page 77, “Prayer is at sunrise, noon, midafternoon, sundown and before retiring.

On awakening during the night, another prayer is made. In fact, two prayers should be said during the night, making a total of seven prayers a day. There is no worship of a Sunday or Sabbath in Islam. All the days are worship days.”

Here, the “two prayers” that “should be said during the night,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is referring to are the voluntary devotional prayers called tahajjud, meaning to “wake up from the depth of one’s sleep” and the witr meaning, that which is odd in number signified by an odd number of steps in the prayer, which points to the indivisibility of Allah (God).

These prayers salat-ul-qiyaam or the Resurrection prayers were taken as an obligation on the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and are considered an observance of the foremost in devotion.

Allah (God) Reveals the great significance of this prayer in the Holy Qur’an, Chapter 17 verse 79 that He will raise us from where we are to a praiseworthy position if we come to manifest the significance of the observance of this special prayer, “And during a part of the night, keep awake by it, beyond what is incumbent on thee; maybe thy Lord will raise thee to a position of great glory.” 

These two oftemphasized night prayers are observed throughout the year generally in solitude in our homes, however, during the Month of Ramadan they are practiced earlier in the night directly following the Isha, the Night prayer, in congregation. This communal observance is called Tarawih, The Rest or Retreat Prayer each night, especially during the last 10 nights of Ramadan.

The last 10 nights of the Holy Month of Ramadan, in which the most Holy of Nights in Islam is hidden among its odd-numbered nights, it is the practice throughout the Muslim world to retreat to our mosques to engage in nightly communal prayers.

Supplication and reading of the Holy Qur’an with more intensity. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “seek it (the night of Majesty) during the last 10 days of the month, and seek it and every night of it.”

We strive to be present, with our families and the Believing community, in prayer and contemplation, particularly in the odd-numbered nights of the month to gain the reward of a night’s prayers, in which it is better than that of a thousand months of prayer! According to the lunar system, mathematically, these 12 hours are equivalent to a period of approximately 84 years.

“Beneficent God! By the Book that makes manifest! We revealed it on a blessed night—truly We are ever warning. Therein is made clear every affair full of wisdom—A command from Us—truly We are ever sending messengers.” (Holy Qur’an 44:1-5).

This night is known as the Night of Power or the Night of Majesty (Laila-tul-Qadr). Laila is an Arabic word meaning “night,” which refers to the hours of darkness or the absence of light from the sun, approximately 12 hours during the period between sunset and sunrise.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said, “Allah has favored Friday over all other days, Ramadan over all other months, and the Night of Power over all other nights.” This points to the choice of this night by Allah (God) being one of deep significance.

The Quranic Arabic word qadr means power, decree, majesty, ability, control and determination. Qadr also indicates a special social status, or prestige when referring to a person with “qadr,” which shows us in the name given by Allah (God) to this night.

The Night of Power (Laila-tul-Qadr), that Allah (God) writes history in advance, according to His Will, and determines the favor of His devoted ones to be victories over the evils of self in a rebellious world under the darkness of Satan’s rule.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated on the Ummah Reflects podcast, “This is a great month of Ramadan, but this is the time when we, who want to live after the War is over, must change and clean up our lives. And nothing will help you clean up your life better than 30 days of The Fast of Ramadan!” 

The Month of Ramadan should produce a collective spirit among the Muslim community, through the intentional practice of self-restraint and mindfulness of purpose to commit ourselves wholly to the universal cause of the rise of humanity as the War of Armageddon sets the stage for Allah (God) to end the rule of Satan and his influence.

Allah (God) has Revealed in verse 90 of Chapter 16 of the Holy Quran, “Surely Allah enjoins justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion. He admonishes you that you may be mindful.”

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad is a member of the Shura Executive Council and serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Visit NOI.org/ramadan, follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post The Month of Ramadan: A Sign of the Resurrection in a time of Darkness appeared first on Final Call News.

Ramadan Mubarak!

“The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion. So whoever of you is present in the Month, he shall fast therein.”—Holy Qur’an 2:185

The Holy Qur’an states, “The month of Ramadan,” … in it are “clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion.” This clear proof of guidance may be seen as natural guidance from Allah (God) that we call our “Humanity,” if followed, the benefit is the proof for the one that follows it.

“The Criterion” refers to one of the names or titles of the Qur’an, in which emphasis is given to the Qur’an as the standard by which we restrict our desires or ideas of law and justice to obey the Law of Allah (God).

All traditions of religion have some form of fasting which shows man’s natural inclination to the physical and spiritual benefit of fasting. The additional practice of abstinence (sawm), in the Month of Ramadan, beyond the fast from food and water deepens the spiritual reward by breaking the vain desires of the heart.

The Guidance of Allah (God), Most High, is our source of purification from all ills of the spiritual heart and therefore the quality of life that we live is enriched with the Blessings of Allah (God) when that Guidance is followed.

Muslims worship Allah (God) through many practices which demonstrate the tremendous goal of humanity’s rise through obedience to the Guidance and Prescriptions of our Creator and Healer.

Allah (God) describes one stage of His Guidance in the following verses from the Holy Qur’an, stating that it is “He Who gives to everything its creation, then guides (it).” (Surah 20 Verse 50)

Allah (God) brings His creatures into being and then guides every single one of His creatures to its destination. All have a particular path along which Allah (God) guides them. It is our choice to receive the guidance that has been delivered to us and follow it, or not.

It is our ego, pride, and vanity that blind us to the signs of Allah (God) and cause us to deviate. “I shall turn away from My messages those who are unjustly proud in the earth. And if they see every sign, they will not believe in it;

And if they see the way of rectitude, they take it not for a way; and if they see the way of error, they take it for a way. This is because they reject Our messages and are heedless of them.” (Surah 7 Verse 146)

The Holy Qur’an tells us, “And those who follow guidance, He increases them in guidance and grants them their observance of duty,” (Surah 47 Verse 17) and “Whomsoever Allah intends to guide, He expands his breast for Islam.” (Surah 6 Verse 125).

These verses of the Holy Qur’an describe that increase in guidance or expanding as the “observance of duty” or action of Faith that He, Allah (God) has granted in the revealed laws and commandments of His Scripture.

The Principles and Restrictive Laws of Islam are practical instructions for Freedom, Justice, and Equality that directly address the problems of society and “self,” by transforming the way we think and act through the lessons and discipline of prescribed duties that purify the heart and mind of spiritual disease.  

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches us in “The Time And What Must Be Done,” Part 28, that “ ‘All life,’ The Qur’an says, ‘comes up out of water.’ So we are “born” of the water; but, a special kind of water.

The Wisdom of God and its revelation is compared to ‘water,’ and ‘The Spirit’ of that Wisdom is The Creative Force that will allow us to build The Kingdom of God. This Book, Qur’an, is a ‘womb.’ So, when you’re born out of ‘the water’ of this revelation, The Holy Qur’an, I submit to you: You will be made anew.” 

“We have not taught him poetry, nor is it meet for him. He (this) is naught but a Reminder and a plain Qur’an.” (Surah 36 Verse 69). Therefore, Muhammad is the “Qur’an walking.” There is no Guidance of the Qur’an without a demonstration through the character of a human being.

We thank Allah (God) for giving to us “a light giving sun” in His servant, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, one who is demonstrating the greatness of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the renewal of Islam in the Resurrection of the Dead and the Resurrection of the Righteous, as the Representative of his teacher, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, like no other.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes in “Our Saviour has Arrived,” page 75: “The dawn of a new day has arrived to seek our place in that which is new. We must have a guide. Allah (God) has always provided guides for those who seek to walk in His path.

We should hasten ourselves to the light of truth as we hasten to get ourselves into the light of the day (the sun). The light of Allah (God) is even greater than the light of our day (the sun). We must learn to be intelligent enough to distinguish truth from falsehood and seek refuge in the God of truth.”

Humanity has not been forsaken in this hour of darkness without the Light of Guidance. We invite you to learn of these men. But, as with all True Servants of God, we must seek knowledge of them outside of the lens of the enemies of God that attempt to skew the Light of Allah (God).

It is in the example of those that have been raised as the Light of Islam in the West that we see the darkness of an old world to which we once belonged expelled. Al-Mahdi (“The Guide”)—The Great Mahdi Master Fard Muhammad is among us. is among us.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated recently on Ramadan: The Ummah Reflects podcast, “The Guide is here; He is offering us life. He is asking us to submit our life into the hands of The Guide, and your life will be made better and more prosperous and successful as we go through this hour.”

When we are in this Holy Month of Ramadan, we are not only celebrating the reality that we are becoming closer and nearer to Allah (God) through His Guidance toward spiritual life, community life by raising us out of moral darkness, but we are celebrating the reality that the Holy Qur’an itself is the womb in which we, as a Nation (Ummah), can be born again.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan points to the goal of self-renewal that we seek in this month: “I plead with all of the Muslims to do everything in your power to make this fast successful. Follow it all the way through, and at the end of this 30 days, you will find yourself a new person.” Praise be to Allah (God)! 

Brother Sultan Rahman Muhammad is a member of the Shura Executive Council and serves as the Student National Imam of the Nation of Islam and resident Imam of Mosque Maryam National Center, Chicago. Visit NOI.org/ramadan, follow @ImamSultanM on X, or email: nationalimam@noi.org.

The post The Holy Qur’an: A Clear Proof of Guidance and the Criterion for New Life appeared first on Final Call News.