THE NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MOST HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
AND
THE NATION OF ISLAM
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.
I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH
AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER.
As–Salaam Alaikum.
Dear Believers and Students:
May this letter find you in the best of health and spirit, going as deeply as you can into the study
of characteristic or quality of Humility.
It was brought to my attention by Sister Ava Muhammad that there was a degree of controversy
in last week’s discussion centering around the question: “Is Humility one of the Divine
Attributes of Allah (God)?” Sister Ava informed me that opposing views and opinions were
expressed, including the comment that Allah (God), “at a point in His development had to
recognize His own defects” and reference was made to the fact that Master Fard Muhammad was
“born of a woman just as the rest of us.” She also informed me that one of the students referred
her to pages 24 and 25 of Message to the Black Man as proof that Humility is an Attribute of
Allah (God). My response to this very serious question is as follows:
Humility is a characteristic of the righteous. Allah (God) is the Light of Law and Allah obeys
His own Law. He does what He pleases, but what He pleases is ever consistent with His Nature.
All attributes are His and He is the Perfect Expression of all Attributes.
Master Fard Muhammad, to Whom all Praises are due forever, came to North America to raise us
up to Life from a condition of death. He submitted Himself to conditions He could have easily
overcome to teach Humility and Submission to His Servant, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
Words are not adequate to express Humility to a people who had to feign humility in order to
survive. That feigned humility was not a virtue, but a device. Therefore, Master Fard
Muhammad had to give His Servant a perfect demonstration of this quality in order that His
Servant, a descendant of slaves, would learn the true nature and quality of Humility. So He,
Master Fard Muhammad, permitted Himself to be arrested and “submitted himself with all
humbleness to his persecutors.” (Message To The Blackman pages 24-25)
Master Fard Muhammad was ordered out of Detroit. Although he had Power over the minds of
those who had ordered him out, He allowed it and submitted, not because He had to, but to
demonstrate to His Servant the True quality and characteristic of Humility that would save His
(Honorable Elijah Muhammad ) life and the life of His followers. He was teaching Him respect
for authority and the price of Redemption.
The Bible speaks of Him in this way: “And His brightness was like the light; He had horns
coming out of His hand; and there was the hiding of His power.” Habakkuk 3:4
Paul wrote in Philippians, “He made himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a
servant...”
Brothers and Sisters, please remember this: Do not speak of Allah (God) ignorantly or foolishly
and put Him on our cheap level, uttering words from our lips that are disrespectful to Him after
knowledge of Him has come to us, lest you fall under His Chastisement.
I am trying to be the best example in your midst of the quality and characteristic of Humility.
You find me walking among you, making myself of no reputation, being obedient and respectful
to those in authority over me, whether they are of my faith or not.
When Allah (God) creates Creation, He creates it to depend upon Him. So it, Creation, has to
have the quality of submission in order to be in harmony with the fact that it is dependent upon
Him. Since there is no Power higher than Allah, the quality of Humility is not listed as one of
the 99 Divine Attributes because He has no one to submit to.
Allah (God) invites us to willingly submit and if we do not, He has the Power to force us to
submit. Therefore, He has the Attribute of “Al–khafiz,” which the scholars translate as “The
Humbler,” “The Humiliator,” “The Abaser.”
The Holy Qur’an asks the question, “Can you find any crookedness in Allah’s creation? This
tells us that even if there is, we cannot find it. Only He Who is Wise enough to have created it
know all there is to know about it. And if he wants to perfect it, only He can. If He wishes to
destroy it and bring in a new creation, only He can do it.
Again, as I wrote in the Study Guide, Humility is that quality or characteristic of the heart that
causes one to see oneself in true perspective. It is one of the qualities that we must gain in order
to bring about a better world and become redeemers of self and others.
May Allah (God) bless you to be diligent in your studies and the practical application of that
which you are studying.
As–Salaam Alaikum,
Minister Louis Farrakhan
Servant to the Lost Found Nation of Islam in the West
Self-Improvement Study Guides - Study Guide 15: The Characteristic of Humility
STUDY GUIDE 15
THE CHARACTERISTIC OF HUMILITY
READING ASSIGNMENT
Holy Qur'an
Surah 16: "The Bee" 16:77-83
Surah 40 "The Believer"40:61-68
Surah 25: "Discrimination" (Section 6)
Bible:
Mark 9:33-37 (Lesson: "Humility, The Secret of Greatness")
Scriptural References:
"And he it is who made the night and the day to follow each other, for him who desires to be mindful or desires to be thankful ... And the servants of the beneficent are they who walk- on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, peace!" 25:63
"Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers and who shun what is vain." 23:1-3
"O you who believe, should any one of you turn back from his religion, then Allah will bring a people, whom he loves and who love him, humble towards believers, mighty against the disbelievers, striving hard in Allah's way and not fearing the censure of any censurer. This is Allah's grace --- he gives it to whom he pleases. And Allah is ample-giving. Knowing." 5:54
"Say: Who is it that delivers you from the calamities of the land and the sea? (When) you call upon him, in humility and in secret: If he deliver us from this, we will certainly be of the grateful ones. Say: Allah delivers you from this and from every distress. Yet you set up others (with him)." 6:65
INTRODUCTION TO STUDY GUIDE #15
Humility is the quality or condition of being humble.
One who is humble is modest, unpretentious, unassuming and submissive.
At the core of his thinking. The humble man does not think grand things of himself that exalt him above others. It is not a feeling that he is undeserving, but it is a quality that a leader must have to lift up the weight of the people. The power of strength is in placing it under the weight. The leader cannot pull the people from above. The leader must get under and lift them up.
The idea of Humility is that it is the opposite of pride. We must all, particularly those who are leaders, become more and more humble.
"Let nothing be done through strife vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others ... Let this mind be in you. Which was also in Christ Jesus. Who ... Made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and, being found in a fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross...Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him..."
Philippians 2:3-9
"Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind. Meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you. So also do ye. And above all these things, put on Love. Which is the bond of perfectness."
Colossians 3:12-14
QUESTIONS
1. How does one get a true perspective on oneself?
2. What harmful effects are the result of the disease of pride?
3. What value is there for the individual self in acquiring the Quality of Humility?
4. What is it that causes@ most of us to dislike the Quality of Humility?
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HUMILITY "Not given to vain discourse; Modest sense of one's own importance submissiveness."
HUMBLE "Not proud or arrogant; having a feeling of insignificance; lowly, courteously respectful; To lower in condition. Importance or dignity; marked by the absence of self-assertion or self -exaltation. To remove the independence, power or will of; unpretending, unpretentious."
HEART "The center of vital functions; the essential part; the seat of life. The seat of One's innermost thoughts and secret feelings: Intent; will; purpose; desire. The feeling or sentiment one has in regard to a thing. The seat of love and affection. The seat of moral conscience and courage."
CHARACTERISTIC (CHARACTER) Characteristics are features and traits. The aggregate of which form the apparent nature of a person. Moral or ethical quality; an account of the habits and behavior of a person; a particular virtue or vice.
QUALITY An attribute that belongs to and distinguishes a person; character with respect to excellence, fineness, superiority; a fundamental or innate characteristic.
EXALTATION Elation of mind or feeling; the state of being exalted; elevated in rank, honor power, character, quality; to praise, extol stimulate intensify, rapturously excited.
ABASED Humiliated; to be reduced or lowered, as in rank office, reputation or estimation. To be brought down.
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DISCUSSION
"And Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers -- You know nothing - and He gave you hearing and sight and hearts that you might give thanks." 16:78
Humility is that quality or characteristic of the heart that causes one to see oneself in true perspective. It is one of the qualities that we MUST gain in order to bring about a better world and become redeemers of self and others.
Conversely, Pride is a disease of the heart that causes one to see oneself totally out of focus.
The only way to gain a true perspective on oneself is through a proper relationship with Allah (God). In that relationship, He is the center and He it is to whom sincere obedience is due. Without that relationship, we will see ourselves out of focus; we will see ourselves bigger than we actually are.
Pride is a disease that causes blindness. When we are blind, we cannot see. Then we make fatal mistakes in dealing with people and things around us and in dealing with our Creator.
If we fail to acquire the Quality of Humility through our own efforts, Allah (God) will force it upon us.
"And your Lord says: Pray to me, I will answer you. Those who disdain my service will surely enter hell, abased." 40:60
"And faces shall be humbled before the Living, the Self subsistent. And He who bears iniquity is indeed undone. And whoever does good works and he is a believer, he has no fear of injustice, nor of the withholding of his due." 20:1 11
"And to Allah makes obeisance every living creature that is in the heavens and that is in the earth. And the angels too and they are not proud. They fear their Lord above them and do what they are commanded." (Prostration). 16:49-50
Acquiring the quality of humility is a sure means of salvation. Without it, we may find ourselves unable to follow instructions that will save our lives.
"He that hath an Ear, let him hear..." Rev. 2:7
The Holy Qur'an teaches that "Only they who listen accept." It is difficult to listen to someone when we think we are better than they are.
An example. Those who were in the class with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad refused to accept the instructions of Master Fard Muhammad to hear him because of the disease of pride. Today, the impediment that hinders those who were students
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and followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad from obeying his command concerning Minister Farrakhan, is pride.
Review Study Guide 14. Allah (God) asked Iblis what hindered him from obeying his command and Iblis responded, "I am better than he." Iblis gave no weight to Who it was that gave the command.
Some may ask, "Why, then, Brother Farrakhan, did you obey Warith Deen Muhammad?" My response is that I respected the authority he took by Allah's permission and respected it even though I disagreed with it. When what I was asked to do so conflicted with what I was taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that I could not obey, I went another way.
Another crucial way in which humility benefits us is that it allows us to patiently endure the difficulties we encounter in the struggle to become a Redeemer of self and others. In fact, without humility, we cannot make it.
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 1 1:29
Master Fard Muhammad commissioned the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in these
words: "TAKE PLENTY."
We cannot be long-suffering to redeem a people, unless we feel in our hearts that the people we serve are greater than ourselves. The arrogant simply cannot take much. The arrogant are swift in bringing out the sword of contention. The arrogant cannot do the work of redemption.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad took much abuse. He knew who he was in relation to Allah (God). But He said that in comparison to his sender, "I felt like a filthy worm."
Study the mountains. If they could speak, they would say, "I have seen many generations." The mountain has greater longevity than we do, yet it submits. The earth we must return to has greater longevity than we do. Yet it submits.
If, by the grace of Allah (God), you are exalted to a position of power, authority and eminence, then know that this is his grace upon you. Give praise to him and walk humbly.
Luqman admonished his son in this way:
"...Keep up prayer and enjoin good and forbid evil and bear patiently that which befalls thee. Surely this is an affair of great resolution. And turn not thy face away from people in contempt, nor go about in the land exultingly. Surely Allah loves not any self-conceited boaster. And pursue the right course in going about and lower thy
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voice. Surely the most hateful of voices in the braying of asses." Holy Qur'an 31:18,19
Our experience as slaves has made us look at humility and meekness as weakness. As a protective measure. We feigned humility in slavery, so that today, when we see actual meekness, we do not like it.
This is the meaning of the scriptures, that "He came unto his own and his own received him not."
Jesus possessed humility and a way that his own people hated. But today, we must have the courage to say, as he said, "I can of myself do nothing."
We must subordinate our mind to the spirit of Allah (God) that we may have infinite endurance. As long as our mind is subordinated to the flesh, our endurance is finite.
Humility raises our level of tolerance so that when we are tried with the ignorance of others, when we are insulted and disrespected by others, we will not give up. When our level of tolerance is reached, we say, "I have to leave. I give up. I am through with this."
Through patience and prayer, we are given a word. A thought that humbles us beyond the pain; we see the objective or goal as bigger than ourselves; we realize that the people who inflict suffering and the people who are ignorant are being used by Allah (God) to prepare us for the work of Redemption.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Let us begin right now to work diligently to acquire humility. The more we surrender to God the more it increases our ability to endure. For our own sake and the sake of our people.
At our next meeting, we will report back on our experience in applying the above principles in actual relationships with others.
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