Princes From Among Slaves

8/3/2019 Princes From Among Slaves

1/35

Princes From Amongthe Slaves

By Imam Na eem Abdullah


2/35

Published by

Nur uz-Zamaan InstituteP.O. Box 32370

Philadelphia, PA [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic

or otherwise without permission from the publisher.

ISBN:

Imam Na eem Abdullah My Personal Book of Supplications

By: Imam Na eem Abdullah

Book Cover Design by: Umm Sa eed

Please direct all comments, questions and corrections to the Publisher.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/35

Princes from Among the Slaves

By Imam Na'eem Abdullah

All praises are due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Peaceand blessings be upon our master Muhammad and upon hisfamily and companions be peace. As to what follows: This is apaper that I have named Princes from Among the Slaves. I wasasked by our beloved brother Qasim Rashad of the UnitedMuslim Masjid (UMM) to write an article which would benefit

the believers during this month of February known andcelebrated as 'black history month ' in the United States.

During this month, the media bombards the masses withtidbits of information which highlight the contribution of African-Americans to the society. I personally believe theinformation to be beneficial - but shallow. With this in mind, Iwanted to contribute something with a little more depth. I alsowanted this contribution to be informative and motivational for

all of those who may read it.Some have been misled into believing that it is not

permissible for a Muslim to be concerned with ones culture andhistory especially when it concerns African-AmericanMuslims. This line of thinking doesn't have a basis in theShari'ah (Islamic Law). In fact, when the Qur'an and theexample of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, are examined in their proper context one not only finds

proof of its permissibility but of its obligation! Allah Says,

O mankind! We have created you from amale and a female and made you into


4/35

2

nations and tribes, so that you may know.Verily, the most honorable of you with

Allah is the one with the most Taqwa. 1 Verily, Allah is All Knowing, All Aware. 2

This word ta aarafuu is a 6 th form reflexive verb which, in thisayah, has no object. Therefore, all of the commentators(mufassirun ) of the Qur an say that Allah is telling us that wemust [1] know ourselves and [2] then other peoples. This ayah is

proof that knowledge of yourself is not asabiyyah (racism ortribalism) but, to the contrary, this knowledge is mandatory. Inhis tafseer , Ibn Kathir quotes the following hadith in hiscommentary of this verse. It was related by Abu Hurayrah, mayAllah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, who said ,

((

)) Learn from your own ancestry and

heritage so that you may be connectedwith your own blood relations. 3

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, used the word ' ta'allamuu ' which is a fi l amr (an

imperative verb or a command) indicating that it is a religiousobligation to learn ones ancestry.

Many Muslims have been tricked into thinking that Islamis colorblind and that any concentration or discussion of raceor ethnicity is divisive, anti-productive and is tantamount to al-asabeeyah (racism & tribalism). To those Muslims I submit thefollowing two statements the first one from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:


5/35

3

Ubaadah ibn Katheer reported from awoman from among them called Faseelahwho said: I heard my father say: I asked the Messenger of Allah, OMessenger of Allah, is it al- Asabeeya h(racism & tribalism) that a man love hisown people? He said` No! But al-asabeeyah is that a man helps his people

in zulm (oppression and wrong- doing).4

As far as the second statement, Shaykh Muhammad Shareef narrated to us on many occasions a powerful quote from Waziri Junayd of Sokoto, may Allah be merciful to him, who said that,Knowledge is universal and eternal but it has a social and cultural stamp. It also has a purpose and a commitment to aparticular world- view. It therefore cannot be neutral.

What you have before you is actually an excerpt from abook that I've written several years ago. It is being re-releasedunder the title "The Unbroken Chain: Africa's Connection toIslam from the Prophet up to the Present." I've decided to callthis section of the book " Princes from among the Slaves "because it mentions Amir or Prince Abdur Rahman whose life isthe subject of a well-known book and subsequent documentarynamed " Prince Among Slaves ." This essay not only discusses

Amir Abdur-Rahman but also Bilali Muhammad who was


6/35

4

enslaved on Sapelo Island, Georgia and Umar ibn Sa eed whowas enslaved in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The reader should know that nothing in this essay isoriginal. There are several intellectuals and scholars who havebeen specializing in this important information for years. Thefirst shaykh who I would like to mention is Dr. Abdullah HakimQuick. He played a critical role in my early education of Islam.Through his video-taped classes and lectures I was able toeffectively combine the study of the various Islamic scienceswith the knowledge of history which I believe many peoplelack today. For instance, how can one claim to have a thoroughknowledge of the sunnah and know nothing about the

seerah ? What makes his research unique is the fact that he haspersonally visited most (if not all) of the places that he speaksand writes about. He has authored a book called Deeper Rootswhich is a must read. He also has numerous other publicationsand multimedia presentations which we recommend. It is ourbelief at Nur uz Zamaan Institute , that the Islamic community inthe west took a loss when he relocated to South Africa.

The next shaykh who must be mentioned is Dr SulaymanNyang who is a professor at Howard University. There are veryfew discussions about the early Muslims presence in Americawhere he is not consulted

Shaykh Muhammad Shareef is an encyclopedia of, notonly African-American Muslim History but also African IslamicHistory. He was blessed by Allah to be able to digitizenumerous Arabic manuscripts authored by African scholars. Asignificant number of these manuscripts are authored by thescholars and leaders of the Sokoto Caliphate. This is the Emirateestablished by Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio and the scholarsaround him. He has translated many of these works himself. Hewas also blessed to join the community of Shaykh Uthman DanFodio through Sultan al-Hajj Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad at-Tahiru. The collaboration between Shaykh Muhammad and theSultan led to the formation of the Sankore Institute of Islamic -African Studies (SIIAS). Through the SIIAS, many of theseseminal works were introduced to an English-speaking


7/35

5

audience. For many, it was their first exposure to Islamic-African scholarship; who many thought was non-existent.

We also consulted several books, two of which deservespecial mention. The first text is Allen D. Austin's AfricanMuslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories andSpiritual Struggles. The first sentence of his preface states "Thisbook is a radical condensation of my African Muslims in

Antebellum America: A Sourcebook (New York: Garland,1984), an illustrated collection of the majority of then-availabledocuments accompanied by introductions extensive notes." Werecommend reading both books. There are few, if any, booksthat I've read on the subject that don't mention these books. Allof the illustrations used here were taken from this book. Thesecond book is, Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved inthe Americas by Sylviane A. Diouf. This book is extremelyrelevant because as Manning Marable states on the back cover

"Servants of Allah documents the significance of Islam in thedevelopment of black societies in the Americas. The connectionbetween West Africa and the Americas was grounded in areligious and cultural continuity that many scholars havepreviously ignored. Servants of Allah makes an importantcontribution to a critically important dimension of black scholarship."

It is our hope and prayer that whoever reads this willconsult the primary sources - especially the scholars and textswhich we mentioned above - and benefit by them. Success iswith Allah!

Dr. Y. N. Kly reiterates a question posed to El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) that is relevant to establish a point.

Does anyone know where the enslavedAfricans came from in Africa?Yes. The African states as defined todayare not the same as they were during thepre-colonial era. There were pre-colonialempires, not nation states. Thus bothGerman and French anthropologists have


8/35

6

determined that the vast majority of Africans sent to the U.S. came from areasthat were once included in the Ghana,Mali and Son ghay empires of Africa. 5

It is well-known by historians that these three empires have beenMuslim polities since the 11 th century (Christian era). What hasnot been acknowledged as of yet, by the mainstream, is the factthat African-American Muslims are part of a continuous andunbroken chain of Islam; beginning with Prophet Muhammad's,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, contact with theAfricans. The link between the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, the African Muslims of the past and theAfrican-American Muslims of today are the Muslim slaves whowere kidnapped and brought to this land. We will mention onlythree biographies to illustrate the point.

Abdur Rahmaan was born around 1762 in the famousscholarly city of Timbo. His father Ibrahima Yoro Pate Sori of the Jallo clan, was made king of Teembo (Timbo) in Futa Jallon(present day Guinea) when Abdur Rahmaan was about 5 or 6years old. It was from that time until his capture that heremained in that region. His father was constantly at war. By1776 -1778, "Sori managed to consolidate his then victoriousarmies and power and to create not only the strongest nation of its time in that area but a safe haven for some of the mostinfluential Islamic scholars in West Africa. With a basis in tradeand agriculture, including capturing, utilizing, and sellingslaves, this political and economic empire was closely related tothe Atlantic trade in Africans." 6

Abdur Rahmaan was put at the head of an army of moreor less recent converts and they were immediately successful. Inthis particular battle they could not capture the enemy s soldiers,however, they retired after inflicting what punishment theycould. On the way home the prince and his cavalry troop werecaptured by the regrouped enem y called by Abdur Rahmaan,the Houbous or Hebos, probably non-Muslims or lukewarmMuslims but not yet identified beyond question. The captives


9/35

7

were taken to the very distant Gambia River, where Abdur Rahmaan was not able to find fellow Muslims to ransom him aswas often done. 7

They were aware that he was a king or prince by his dress.He was kept there one week. When his father got word of hiscapture, he raised an army and came after him. When the armycame they moved Abdur Rahmaan into the wilderness. After hisfather Sori came and burnt the country they moved him to theMandingo country, on the Gambia. He was then sold along with50 others to a waiting British ship. He rode the Gambia Riverfor a week; suffered the 3,000-mile, 6-week sail across theAtlantic to Dominica in the Caribbean; and then had to undergoanother 2,200 miles and 6 more weeks passage across theCaribbean to the Mississippi River. There he remained ship-bound for another week before landing in Spanish New Orleans.After a month s s tay there, he was finally carried 200 milesupriver, and in another thirty days he had arrived at what was tobe his home away from home, Natchez, Mississippi.

He was purchased by Thomas Foster who named himPrince because of his still proud ways and a ttempt to tell of his African position through a Mandingo translator. Heattempted to escape, at least once, but was unsuccessful.

He later married Isabella, an American-born, and dark-skinned, Baptist in 1794 or 1795.

By 1807, Abdur Rahmaan was relieve d of some of hisfield duties. One day he was selling vegetables his family hadgrown in Natchez town when he was seen by and reintroducedto the only white man ever to have resided in Timbo before orduring his father s rule there in the early 1780s. John CoatesCox had wandered away from a ship on the coast of Africa, hadgrown terribly ill, and had eventually ended up in Timbo. Afterbeing restored to health and given a guarded escort to theGambia River by Abdur Rahmaan s father, he came to Americaand eventually immigrated to the Mississippi territory. Cox andAbdur Rahmaan recognized each other. Thereafter, Coxattempted to purchase the freedom of Abdur Rahmaan but his

attempts were unsuccessful. However, these attempts did give


10/35

8

some needed publicity to his situation. On February 22, 1826, hewas freed by Foster, his master, on the condition that he wouldbe sent out of the country. He was also successful in raising the$200 needed to purchase his wife s freedom. 8

What made his task more difficult, even after securing hiswife s freedom, was the fact the he now was the father of 5 sonsand 4 daughters. And he did not want to leave them in bondage.In his travels to raise the needed money to secure the freedom of his children and grandchildren he met and influenced manypeople including David Walker, who would soon fire the 1 st meaningful shot in the war against American slavery with his

bold AppealTo the Colored Citizens of the World. It must be understood that at this stage Abdur Rahmaan

enlisted a lot of help in his effort to free himself and his family.He had the help of a local newspaper editor, the Secretary of State Henry Clay (a colonizationist and slaveholder) and theAmerican Colonization Society. It was understood that thesepeople would work for his freedom on the condition that hewould go back to Africa and spread Christianity among hispeople and the rest of the continent. To this end he was askedmany times to attest to his Christianity. Thus, he was asked towrite the Lord s Prayer in Arabic. When the Arabic is actuallyread one realizes that this is not the Lord s Prayer but the 1 st chapter of the Qur an entitled The Faatihah or TheOpening .


11/35

9

Finally, on February 7, 1829, after having raised $3,500Abdur Rahmaan and Isabe lla left on the 1 st boat available tothem, The Harriet, which carried 152 other emigrants

including Joseph J. Roberts, the future 1st

president of Liberia.After about 37 days he was back in Africa. He died that sameyear on July 6 th. Eight of his descendants arrived in Liberia inDecember 1830. 9

Another slave worth mentioning is Bilali Muhammad, alsofrom Timbo, Futa Jallon and may have been a relative of PrinceAbdur Rahmaan. He was captured, enslaved and later sold to aman named Thomas Spalding sometime around 1802. When

Spalding purchased him in the Bahamas Bilali brought with hima then unknown number of sons and 7 daughters.There were over 450 slaves and over 80 of them were

Muslims on Georgia s Sapelo Island. He was in charge of all of the slaves and the Amir of the Muslims on the Island. It is wellknown that he was a practicing Muslim. He regularly wore a fezand a long coat, he prayed facing the East on his carefullypreserved prayer rug, he always observed Muslim fasts andfeast-day celebrations and he had at least 2 wives. 10


12/35


13/35

When he died, he was buried with his prayer rug andQur an.

One of Fredrick Douglass s biographers, - WilliamMcFeely puts forth the possibility that he may have been adescendant of Bilali Muhammad. His great-great- grandfather sname was Baly, and Douglass s own name at birth was Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey after his mother, the slaveHarriet Bailey. Bailey is a corruption of the name Bilali. Therewas no slave master named Bailey. 12 The implications behindthis theory are far reaching the idea that such a monumentalfigure in American History could be the offspring of Muslims.

The last slave that we will mention is Umar ibn Sa eedborn in Futa Toro, which is presently known as Senegal, in oraround the year 1770. Most of what we know of Umar ibnSa eed is obtained from his own writings. Fourteen of Umar sArabic manuscripts have been preserved. One of thesemanuscripts is an autobiography the only extant autobiography

by an American slave in Arabic.


14/35

2

He was born to a father who had six sons and fivedaughters. At five, when his father was killed in a war, he wastaken by an uncle to be raised and was educated by an olderbrother. In his own words he says (translated into English):

O Shaykh Hunter, I am unable to write(about) my life. I have forgotten most of my language as well as the language of Arabic. My brothers, do not blame me.All praises are due to Allah with muchpraises. He provides from blessings tothose who increase in good.

In the name of Allah, theBeneficent, the Merciful. All praises aredue to Allah the Possessor of good,generosity, bounty, adoration andmunificence from before endless time.All praises are due to Allah who createdcreation for his worship, even theprovision of the actions and words.

It is from Umar to Shaykh Hunter.You asked me to write down my life.Truly I am unable to write (about) mylife. For I have forgotten much of mylanguage as well as the language of Arabic. I have studied only a littlegrammar as well as a little linguistics.Therefore, O brothers, I ask you by Allah,do not blame me. My eyes are weak aswell as my body.

My name is Umar ibn Sa eed. Theplace of my birth was Futa Toro (whichlay) between the two rivers. I soughtknowledge in Bundo and Futa with myShaykh , whose name was MuhammadSa eed, my brother, Shaykh SulaymanKabah, and Shaykh Jibril Abdaal. I was


15/35

3

entrenched in seeking knowledge for 25years. I came back to my region and aftersix years a large army came to our land.They killed many people and seized mebringing me to the great ocean. Therethey sold me and I was sold into thehands of the Christians. They brought mein the enormous ship on the great ocean.We sailed on the great ocean for a monthand a half. We came to a place namedCharleston (i.e. Charleston, SouthCarolina) in the language of theChristians. There I was sold and broughtby a diminutive, weak and wicked mannamed Johnson, a serious disbeliever whohad no fear of Allah.

I am a small man and unable to dostrenuous work, so I fled from the handsof Johnson. Until (when) the montharrived I came to a place called Fayadil(Fayetteville, North Carolina) 13

He was then captured, jailed and released to his new master JimOwen. He stayed with him until his death. He died in 1864 atthe age of 94. He was buried on the Owen Hill plantation in thefamily burial ground.

Some people claim that he left Islam and became aChristian. These people make this claim because he wrote the Lord s Prayer in Arabic on a few occasions. However, Umar was practicing dissimilation ( taqiyya ) out of fear for his lifeunder the Christians. This option is legally acceptable for anyMuslim who is under the jurisdiction of the disbelievers and canfind no way to establish his religion nor can he find a meanswith which to make the hijrah from under their control. This isthe legal ruling for a free Muslim who finds himself in acircumstance where he fears establishing the religion. Umar was not free. Thus, taqiyya was perhaps the only logical option


16/35

4

he had. Also, it is through understanding the early education of Umar ibn Sa eed that insight can be had into the real reasonsbehind his citing of the Lord s Prayer . As Umar claimed, hestudied the Islamic sciences intensely for about 25 years. Thesystem of education that permeated western bilad us-sudan comprised of a deep understanding of the science of thetraditions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace. This included mastery of the Sihaah (Sound) collections,the Masaaneed (plural of musnad ) collections (those collectionsorganized on the basis of the last transmitter before the Prophet)and the Sunan collections. In the Sunan of Abu Dawuud, there isa hadith in the chapter of Tibb or Prophetic Medicine that goesas follows:

It is related on the authority of AbuDardaa , who said I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, say, When one of you issuffering or when his brother is suffering,he should say, Our Lord is Allah, Who isin the heaven. Holy be Your Name. Your

command reigns supreme in the heavenand the earth. As Your mercy is in


17/35

5

heaven, make Your mercy in the earth.Forgive us of our sins and errors. You arethe Lord of the righteous. Send downmercy from Your mercy and a remedyfrom Your remedies upon this pain sothat it is healed up .

Further, a part of the fundamentals of education in the bilad us-sudan was a basic understanding of the traditional Islamicmedicine called Tibb An-Nabiyy (The Medicine of theProphet). This entailed the student mastering the basic remediestransmitted by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace. The bottom line is that the above tradition related by theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to hiscommunity as a cure is an virtually an exact rendering of the Lord s Prayer . This means that given Umar ibn Sa eed s levelof education, he had to be familiar with the tradition whichwould entail him not seeing any harm in citing the Lord s

Prayer since it too was related by Prophet Muhammad as achanted formula for its curative qualities. This means thatUmar s citing of the Lord s Prayer as a sign of conversion isdefinitely inconclusive. 14

Another of his very important Arabic manuscripts writtenaround 1857 is the Lord s Prayer given to the daughter of a

prominent minister by James Owen in 1857. This Lord sPrayer is actually the 110 th chapter of the Qur an Surah Nasr .


18/35

6

When it is transliterated it reads as follows:Idha Jaaa a nasru minallahi wal fathqareeb wa bashirul mumineen wa raaytan-naasa yadkhuluuna fee deenillahiafwaaja fasabbih bihamdi rabbikawastaghfirhu innahu kaana tawwaaba

Meaning:


19/35

7

When the help from Allah and the closevictory comes, give glad tidings to thebelievers . And you see that the peopleenter Allah s religion in crowds. Glorifythe Praises of your Lord, and ask for hisforgiveness. Verily, He is the One whoaccepts the repentance and forgives.

He makes a mistake and places a portion of a verse fromChapter 61, verse 13 of the Qur an. His mistake is evenimportant, because the Muslim knows that the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, said,

: (( :

))

It was related by Abdullah who said theProphet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, Why does anyone say Ihave forgotten such and such verses (of the Qur an) ? He in fact, is caused (byAllah) to forget. 15

In other words, it is not you who forgot, Allah has made you

forget the verse. Therefore, this mistake is an insight into the psyche of Umar. The ch apter is supposed to read as follows:

Idha Jaaa a nasrullahi wal fath wa raaytan-naasa yadkhuluuna fee deenillahiafwaaja fasabbih bihamdi rabbikawastaghfirhu innahu kaana tawwaaba

Meaning:


20/35

8

When the help and victory of Allahcomes. And you see that the people enterAllah s religion in crowds. Glorify thePraises of your Lord, and ask for hisforgiveness. Verily, He is the One whoaccepts the repentance and forgives.

The addition from Chapter 61, verse 13 of the Qur an wasrevealed when the Muslims were in trouble during war andfeared that the help of Allah was not near.

This mistake as well as his comment in his autobiography I have forgotten most of my language as well as the languageof Arabic. has to be understood in light of the fact that inNorth and South Carolina laws were passed in 1822 whichdeclared it illegal for slaves to read or write. The penalty fordoing so was capital punishment death. 16

'Umar died in 1864 one year before the slaves were freedHe is the only slave, that we know of, who wrote his ownbiography while still in captivity.

It must be remembered that there are many other slaveswhose history has been documented, like Job Ben Solomon,Salih Bilali, Lamine Kebe, Muhammad Ali Ben Said, YarrowMahmout, Muhammad Baquaqua, and countless others. Theseare our Muslim-African ancestors whose inspirational storieshave been kept out of the collective memory of succeedingMuslim generations, why? These slaves and the traditions fromwhich they were snatched would serve if known as a curefor many of the ills that affect us today. It is as Shaykh Muhammad Shareef said, "This (teaching Islam from Africanscholarship) is actually curing 2 diseases with 1 cure." It curesthe sicknesses that result from being ignorant of Allah's religion.And it provides a cure from what many clinical psychiatrists call"Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome ". In other words, all of thosesocial ills that result from a collective form of low self-esteemand a hatred of the self are treated when the student is learninghis way of life from his scholarly, Muslim ancestors.


21/35

9

In conclusion, the reader should remember the well-knownhadith where the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, informed us of the fact that the prayer of the oppressed ismustajaabah automatically accepted by Allah.

It was reported by Abu Hurayrah, mayAllah be pleased with him, who said thatthe Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, Threesupplications are answered(mustajaabaat ) without any doubttherein: [1] The supplications of theparent ( al-waalidi ), [2] the supplicationsof the traveler ( al-musaafir ), and [3] thesupplications of the oppressed ( al-mathluum ).17

These Muslim slaves were not in a state of heedlessness(ghaflah ). They were fully cognizant of the serious nature of their kidnapping and subsequent enslavement/imprisonment.With that being said, their hearts and tongues were not onlyreplete and moist with the remembrance of Allah ( dhikrullah )but constant in supplication for their offspring and descendants.Not only did these Muslim slaves pray for their personalfreedom; they prayed for the freedom of their offspring anddescendants and that one day, they would be able to freelypractice the religion that was stripped from them. It seems asthough Allah has been answering their prayers! How else can

you explain the fact that largest growing religion in the United


22/35

21

States and the world - is al-Islam and it is the descendants of these slaves who are swelling the ranks of the Muslims? Let'snot disappoint them. And let's not forget to pray for thoseMuslim slaves who were mentioned and the millions who werenot mentioned. It has been related in Sahih Muslim on theauthority of Abu Dardaa', may Allah be pleased with him, thatthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said,

((

, , : ((

The supplication of an individualMuslim for his brother who is absent isanswered. There sits at his head an angel

charged with his needs. Whenever hesupplicates for blessings for his brother,the angel charged with his affairs says,Amen- and the like for you.

May Allah bless them and us!

1 Taqwa is an Arabic word indicating a state of fearful awareness of God or God consciousness.2 Qur an 49:13 3 Tirmidhi vol. #2 Hadith # 20624 Ibn Maajah Vol. #3 Hadith # 3949.5 Y.N. Kly, The Black Book: The True Political Philosophy Of Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz)(Clarity Press, 1986), 33.6 Allan D. Austin, African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and SpiritualStruggles (Routledge, 1997), 69.7 ibid, 70.8 ibid, 71-72.9 ibid, 77.10 ibid, 85.11

ibid, 87.12 ibid, 89. Sylviane A. Diouf, Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in The Americas (NewYork University Press, 1998), 199.


23/35

2

13 Muhammad Shareef, The Autobiography of Umar ibn Said t -Turuudi: As Anthropological Evidenceof the Rights for Self- Determination for Enslaved African Muslims (Sankore Institute of Islamic-African Studies)14 ibid15 Bukhari Vol. # 6, Hadith #55916 Muhammad Shareef, The Autobiography of Umar ibn Said t -Turuudi: As Anthropological Evidenceof the Rights for Self- Determination for Enslaved African Muslims (Sankore Institute of Islamic -African Studies).17 This hadith was collected by Abu Dawuud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah.


24/35


25/35

23

10 Point Madinah Program

Nur uz-Zamaan Institute is committed to implementing the

following points. In essence it is our intention to establish Islam.We realize that to say it is our goal to establish Islam is verybroad and vague to many of us. Thus, the goal and mission isalluded to in the title Madinah. We intend to establish aMadinah, a city, built upon the methodology of ProphetMuhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. We alsohope to work together with other communities who have thesame goals. This is in obedience to Allah s words Help ye oneanother in righteousness and piety (Surah 5:2). The ten pointsmentioned in this program are well-known to be part of Islam,for the most part. However, these points or aspects of thesepoints have been neglected, forgotten or corrupted. Thisprogram must be seen as a Tajdeed or a revival. The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, TheMercy of Allah is with my Khalifah s (successors). It was said,Who are your Khalifah s (successors)? He said, Those whobring my Sunnah to life and teach it to the people. Whoeverbrings my Sunnah back to life, has given life to me. Whoevergives life to me, will be with me in paradise. Thus we hope byembarking upon this path that we are granted companionshipwith Allah s beloved may Allah bless him and grant himpeace.

[1] Aqeedah (Proper Belief)We intend to revive the obligation of learning and teaching whatis proper regarding the belief of the Muslims ( ahlus-Sunnahwal- Jamaa ah ). We agree that this belief must be consistentlytaught and internalized; and deviation from it must be stronglyrefuted. The belief of the Muslims is contained within bookslike the Usuul ud-deen of Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio, the

Aqeedah of Imam at-Tahawi and countless others.

[2] Arkaan ul-Khamsa (Five Pillars of Islam)(a)


26/35


27/35

25

fast during this blessed month, however, because of theintroduction of many modern, blameworthy innovations, the fasthas become deficient. The major innovation which has infectedmany of our communities is the acceptance and reliance uponastronomical calculations along with the blind acceptance of thepronouncements of the ruling monarchy which is currentlyoccupying the Arabian Peninsula (the Saudi Family). Thus weagree that it is imperative that we return to the Propheticmethodology of having a group from each Jamaa ah in everylocale go out every month and sight the moon; therebydeveloping their own local lunar calendar. It is this localsighting/calendar that the fast of Ramadan will begin and end.This will also apply to Eid ul -Adha as well as Eid ul -Fitr andthe remaining months of the Lunar calendar. We agree that thismust be learned and implemented.

[3] Taalib ul- Ilm (Seeking Knowledge)We intend to revive traditional methods of seeking knowledge.We agree that knowledge is gained continuously and knowledgesought is to be implemented immediately. The ProphetMuhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saidSeeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim. Everypoint that we have mentioned thus far, and every point that wewill mention, by the permission of Allah, is an action whichmust be preceded by knowledge. Every action that is obligatoryupon us to perform is likewise accompanied by the knowledgeof how to properly perform that act. For example, we know thatit is mandatory for the Muslim to pray and naturally it is alsoobligatory upon him or her to learn how to pray. Sh ehu Uthmanibn Fudi, may Allah envelop him in His mercy said, Theobligations which are incumbent upon you from the science of

tawheed is to know as much as is necessary to help youunderstand the foundations of the deen (usuul ud-deen ). Theobligations which are required for you to perform are thusincumbent upon you to know. This is in order that you mayaccomplish them properly. These obligations includepurification ( tahaara ), fasting ( sawm ), and prayer ( salaat ). As


28/35

26

for as pilgrimage ( hajj) , ( zakaat) , and struggle ( jihaad ) areconcerned - these sciences are only incumbent upon you toknow at the time they become obligatory for you to perform.Again, this is in order to accomplish them properly. However,when they are not obligatory upon you to perform, then knowingthem is also not obligatory The knowledge which isobligatory upon you to know from the science of secrets arethose knowledge's which are obligatory ( wajib ) upon the heartand those which are forbidden ( nuhiya ) for it - in order toacquire esteem for Allah, sincerity, sound intention, and thesoundness of action.

Along with what was mentioned we must also revive theunderstanding of what a scholar is. Shehu Uthman also said:Whoever has learned a single issue ( mas alah waahidah ) is oneof the learned ones in it ( ahl l- ilm biha ). Thus it is obligatoryupon him to teach it to others, if it is one of the individuallyobligatory duties. Otherwise, he will have a share in the sin.With this in mind we will revive the Prophetic Sunnah of disseminating beneficial knowledge as we acquire it; Contraryto the Christian/Jewish method of creating an elite group of scholars who monopolize the divine knowledge. Because we areliving in an era where the majority of us believe we must imitatethe dominant culture in order to be successful, our current groupof scholars/leaders are in the process of creating a modern-dayIslamic priesthood, which we categorically reject. This is inaccordance with the Prophetic command: Relate from me, evenif it is a single verse ( ayah ). Thus it should be clear thateveryone has a part to play in this revival. We should all bestudents and teachers at the same time.

[4] Shuurah (Mutual Consultation)We intend to revive the idea of conducting all of our affairs bymeans of mutual consultation ( shuurah ). One of the destructivequalities of our people is that once we achieve some type of leadership and/or autonomy we become over opinionated. TheProphet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,was receiving revelation from Allah, the Most high, but yet as


29/35

27

he said, he had two advisors from the heavens (Angels Jibreel and Meekaal) and two from the earth (Abu Bakr and Umar).Furthermore, Allah says in the Qur an, toseek consultation withthem in the affair (Sur ah 3:159). In our efforts to establishIslam we realize that not one person has all of the answers,therefore, we agree to come together in order to benefit fromeveryone's input.

[5] Jamaaah (Community)We intend to revive the obligation of forming and adhering tothe Jamaa ah (community). It is not permissible for any personor group among the Muslims to remain isolated - by themselves.For verily Allah, the Most High says, Hold firmly to the ropeof Allah all together and do not become divided (Surah 3:103).Our people are afflicted with the disease of radicalindividualism. We are individuals, yes, but just like organs of ahuman body we only function properly when we come togetheras a whole. This is also an obligatory Sunnah that has beenabandoned. This point and the next one are of criticalimportance; the reason being is that for the most part they don'texist at the moment. Umar Ibn Khattaab, may Allah be pleasedwith him, said there is no Islam without a ( jamaa ah )community and there is no community without leadership(imaarah ) and there is no leadership without obedience(taa ah ). Therefore, the very existence of our Islam dependsupon us coming together under our respective leaders, and theseerah confirms this.

[6] Imaarah (Leadership)We agree to choose an amir (leader) from among ourselves.Everybody needs a head. Every tribe needs a chief. Employeesneed a manager. Likewise, a Jamaa ah needs an amir . Allahsays in the Qur an O you who believe! Obey Allah and obeyHis Messenger and those charged with authority ( amri ) fromamong you ( minkum ). (Surah 4:59) Any time the Muslimscome together for any purpose regardless of how mundane thatpurpose is, they must appoint a leader from among themselves.


30/35

28

Allah s Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,ordered us to appoint a leader from among ourselves, even if weare traveling together on a journey. A close study of the life of the Prophet will illustrate the fact that the Muslims - whetherthey were away from the Prophet or close to him - always havea leader that was in charge of their affairs.

[7] Hijrah (Migration)We agree to revive the Prophetic tradition of migrating for thesake of Allah. Allah says Surely those whom the angels causeto die, while they are wronging themselves, [to them] the angelswill say, In what circumstances were you? They will say, Wewere weak upon the earth. [The angels will] say, "But was notAllah s earth wide, so that you might have emigrated in it? Asfor such, their refuge shall be hell (Surah 4: 97). There aremany levels of immigration. There is the level of emigratingfrom what Allah has made prohibited; this is based upon thestatement of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, The immigrant is he who migrates from w hatAllah has prohibited. The companions of the Messenger of Allah migrated to Ethiopia to preserve their Islam. They alsomigrated to Medina to establish Islam. This understanding of migration has to be taught and revived in the lives and hearts of the believers. On one level we must make immigration from allmethodologies and foreign influences which do not have thebest interests of that African-American Muslim at heart. We willno longer champion the causes of other Muslims to thedetriment of our causes and interests. We categorically rejectany methodology which has embedded within it a disdain forAfricans in general and African Americans in particular. We donot apologize for this. We understand that many will call usnationalists but we do not care. We know from what theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,has taught us that this is not nationalism in fact it is Islam inpractice - in its purest form. We also realize that we mustmigrate on a physical level. We have to establish places of worship as we described above and then we have to move near


31/35

29

those places of worship and establish our communities upon thatfoundation. Moving near our place of worship means that wemust own the property in which we live. We know from ourexperience of establishing Islam in this country that when theMuslims open a masjid and clean up the area the non-Muslimsbuy up the property, the value of all of the property in the areaincreases and the Muslims who are responsible for thereinvigorated neighborhood can no longer afford to live there.With that we understand that this migration takes planning. Eachcommunity has to analyze the earning potential of its membersand then pinpoint an area in which its members can afford topurchase property. We must be able to visualize this! In thesame way that every major city in the United States has areaslike Chinatown and Little Italy, we have to have a Muslimtown or a Madinah which supports the culture andtradition of Islam in all of its personal and communal aspects.This Muslimtown can be one square block or it can be a wholeneighborhood or city. There is no minimum requirement as faras its size. The Madinah of the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace was very small by today s standards.

[8] Tasawwuf (Spiritual Exercise/Character Reformation)We agree to revive the science of tasawwuf, which is a part of Islam and not an addition to it. This is based upon the well-known hadith of the Prophet when he was questioned by angelGabriel. One of the things that the Angel asked him wasWhat s Ihsan ? This was explained by all of our scholars likeShehu Uthman Dan Fodio: I say, and success is with Allah,and may you and I be among the successful; realize that thedeen which Muhammad may Allah bless him and grant himpeace came with has its foundations ( usuul ) and its branches( furuù ). As for its foundations, it is al-imaan and the sciencethat verifies al-imaan is the foundation of the deen (usuul l-deen ). As for its branches, it is divided into two: an outwardbranch and an inward branch. As for its outward branch, it is al-islaam and the science that verifies al-islaam is the science of the law ( ìlm 'l-shariàh ). As for the inward branch, it is al-


32/35

31

ihsaan and the science that verifies al-ihsaan is the science of the reality ( `ilm 'l-haqiqah ). There have been many nobleattempts by communities who have preceded us to establishIslam among our people; however many of them lacked a viablespiritual component and some others were only concern withspirituality. It is as Imam Malik said, "Whoever practicesspiritual purification ( tasawwufa ) but does not seek understanding of the deen (tafaqqahu ) has become a heretic(tazandaqa ). Whoever seeks understanding of the deen (tafaqqahu ) but does not practice spiritual purification(tasawwufa ) has become corrupt ( tafasaqa ). Whoever gathersthe two has attained spiritual realization ( tahaqqaqu )." To leaveoff spirituality is to leave off a part of Islam. Just likeeverything else in this beautiful way of life, there are methodswhich have been laid down to help us bring about this internalchange.

[9] As-Suq (Market Place)We intend to revive and reestablish our own marketplace. WhenProphet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,established the city Medina which is the model city - afterbuilding the masjid , the next thing he did was establish amarketplace in the middle of Medina. At that time there wereother marketplaces on the outskirts of Medina which for themost part were being controlled by the future enemies of Islamand Muslims. Therefore, the Muslims must becomeentrepreneurial in their thinking, moving out of the employeestate of mind and migrating into the employer of state of mind.In other words we have to create jobs, trades and other ways of employing our own. In order for Allah to bless our efforts, ourtrading practices must be sanctioned by Islamic law; whichmeans that we have to move away from riba and all of theother deceptive trading practices. This also means that we mustgradually move away from the use of paper money. We mustbegin bartering and trading using instruments which haveintrinsic value like gold and silver, i.e. the dinar and the dirham.


33/35


34/35

32

consistent with the number of years that the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, developed the firstcommunity - the 1 st Madinah. And Success is with Allah.


35/35

Contact Us

Nur uz-Zamaan InstitutePO BOX 32370

Philadelphia, PA 19146

For the latest updates:www.lightoftheage.com

Email us:[email protected]

Facebook Page:Nuruzzamaan

Nur uz Zamaan Radio:Your online source for Islamic Programming

Call in to listen, ask a question or make a comment949-272-9559

Or listen on your PCwww.blogtalkradio.com/nur-uz-zamaan-radio

orwww.lightoftheage.com

Nur uz-Z amaan Institutes Youtube Channel :http://www.youtube.com/nuruzzamaan
http://www.lightoftheage.com/http://www.lightoftheage.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.blogtalkradio.com/nur-uz-zamaan-radiohttp://www.lightoftheage.com/http://www.lightoftheage.com/http://www.lightoftheage.com/http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nur-uz-zamaan-radiomailto:[email protected]://www.lightoftheage.com/

Date post:	07-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	naeem-abdullah
View:	220 times
Download:	0 times

Princes From Among Slaves

Documents