Islam and, so called "Nation of Islam" are two
different religions. The only thing common between them is the jargon, the
language used by the both. "The Nation of Islam" is a misnomer; this
religion should be called Farrakhanism, after the name of its propagator.
The religion of Elijah Muhammad and W.D. Fard died with their death
because their officially and popularly elected successor W.D. Muhammad
integrated the community with the Muslim community at-large, following the
Qur'an and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu 'alaihi
wa sallam. Louis Farrakhan joined W.D. Muhammad and gave
his pledge of allegiance to him after Elijah Mohammed's death; he later
rebelled and broke his oath with impunity or without paying any expiation
and restarted "The Nation of Islam". Examine the following chart. All
words in italics below are direct quotes from the sources of
Farrakhanism.
Practice/ Belief |
Islam
|
Farrakhanism
|
God ? Allah
Alone |
One Unique, never
appeared in any physical form, hence, no physical representation is
possible, He is recognized through his 99 names. |
"... Allah (God) appeared
in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July 1930; the long
awaited 'Messiah' of the Christians and the 'Mahdi' of the
Muslims". |
Prophet / Messenger |
Muhammad (S) is the
last Prophet and the last Messenger. No messenger or prophet will
come after Muhammad (S). |
Elijah Muhammad was a
"Messenger of Allah". Are there any more messengers or
prophets to come? Not clear. |
The Last Day /
The Life Hereafter |
The life on earth as
we know it will come to an end; it will be followed by the life
hereafter which includes physical resurrection of the entire
humankind, judgment and the life of paradise or hell. |
"... BELIEVE in the
resurrection of the dead - not in physical resurrection, but in
mental resurrection". "No already physically dead person will
be in the Hereafter; that is slavery belief, taught to slaves to
keep them under control". "When you are dead, you are
DEAD". |
The
Qur'an |
It was revealed to
Prophet Muhammad (S) between 610 and 632 C.E. It is the last
revelation of Allah to mankind. It was revealed to prophets and
messengers from Moses ('alaihis salam) to Jesus ('A) but was
corrupted. Authenticity of statements in the Bible are judged by the
Qur'an. |
Contradictory
beliefs. On one side, "... BELIEVE in the Holy Qur'an and in the
scriptures of all the Prophets of God", and on the other side,
"We, the original nation of the earth ... are the writers of the
Bible and Qur'an. We make such history once every 25,000 years ...
it is done by twenty four of our scientists". "Both the present
Bible and the Holy Qur'an must soon give way to the Holy Book
..." |
The
Bible |
It was revealed to
prophets and messengers from Moses ('alaihis salam) to Jesus ('A)
but was corrupted. Authenticity of statements in the Bible are
judged by the Qur'an. |
Shahadah |
It means what it says, that is, Allah is Unseen, He
is the Creator, the Sustainer. Mankind is accountable to Him Alone,
and Prophet Muhammad (S) of Arabia is the final and ultimate role
model; no one can substitute for him. |
A cover up to deceive
gullible Muslims. "Allah (God) appeared in the person of Master
W. Fard Muhammad" and Muhammad of Arabia (S) was one of the
prophets not a role model for our times. The real role model and law
giver for our times is Elijah Muhammad. |
Salah |
Five times a day is
required; salah (prayer) includes qiyam (standing),
ruku' (bowing), sajda (prostration), jalsa
(sitting on the floor) and recitations. |
No five times daily
salah (prayer); prayer, when done has no ruku' or
sajda. Friday is a major congregational prayer day, not for
salah but to say du'a and to listen to a
Minister. |
Zakah |
Required on
accumulated wealth after having in possession for one year above the
nisab (certain limits) as defined in shari'a (Islamic
law). |
It is a tax as "poor due" on
income, similar to income tax. Who benefits? |
Sawm |
Fasting is required in
the month of Ramadan, ninth month of Islamic calendar. |
Fasting is required in
December only. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is
optional. |
Hajj |
Required once in a
life time if conditions of finances, health and safety of travel are
met. |
No Hajj requirement.
Farrakhan and his cronies take trips to Saudi Arabia, and by the way
to Makkah for the main purpose of image building and to raise funds
from gullible rich Arabs. |
Lawful
(halal) |
Determined by Allah,
the God Alone, announced in the Qur'an or by the Prophet Muhammad
(S), recorded in the authentic Hadith sources. |
Determined by W.D. Fard and
announced by Elijah Muhammad. The Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad (S)
have no relevance nor authority with regards to lawful and
unlawful. |
Authentic
Hadith |
An indispensable
source of Islamic beliefs and practices, the only source after the
Qur'an. Indispensable for the understanding of the Qur'an
itself. |
Ignored, if not totally
rejected by Farrakhanis. However, the leadership, including
Farrakhan himself, may invoke Hadith if it suits their purpose to
fool gullible Muslims. |
M. Amir Ali, Ph.D. References for
Farrakhanism quotes are given in author's article:
KNOWING THE TRUE ISLAM
There are many groups in America who claim to represent
Islam and call their adherents Muslims. Any serious student of Islam has a
duty to investigate and find the true Islam. The only two authentic
sources which bind every Muslim are, (1) the Qur'an and (2) authentic or
sound Hadith. Sometimes, Fiqh is quoted as a source, however, only that
part of Fiqh is a true source and binding which quotes directly Qur'an and
authentic Hadith, all other parts of Fiqh are opinions of learned
scholars. Since, scholars are not prophets or messengers of Allah they are
fallible people, hence their opinions may be correct or may not be
correct; they do not become binding.
Any teachings under the label of "Islam" which
contradict or are at variance with the direct understanding of fundamental
beliefs and practices of Islam from the Qur'an and authentic Hadith should
be rejected and such a religion should be considered a pseudo-Islamic
cult. In America there are many pseudo-Islamic cults, Farrakhanism
being one of them. An honest attitude on the part of such cults should be
not to call themselves Muslims and their religion Islam, such an example
of honesty is Bahaism which is an off-shoot of Islam but Bahais do not
call themselves Muslims nor their religion, Islam. In fact, Bahaism is not
Islam just as Farrakhanism is not Islam.
The foundation of Islam consists of TAWHEED, RISALAH, and
AAKHIRAH. And "five pillars" of Islam are SHAHADAH, SALAH, ZAKAH, SAWM and
HAJJ. The rest of the building of Islam consists of SHARI'A which includes
HARAM and HALAL, RIGHTS and DUTIES, MORAL CODE, CONVEYING THE MESSAGE,
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULE OF ALLAH and EXCELLENCE in everything Muslims
do. Any claims of Islam should be judged on the criteria given in this
paragraph. If the foundation and pillars of a building are demolished
there is no building left. Such is the case with pseudo-Islamic cults
including Farrakhanism. For details request the booklet, HOW TO PRESENT
ISLAM, A RATIONAL APPROACH by the author of this
brochure. |