﷽  via Yaqeen Institute “The most complete of believers in faith are those with the best character, and the best of you are the best in behavior to their women.” —Tirmidhi As Black women, we have a great capacity to survive and, one would argue, thrive. Despite all that befell us over the past 500 years, we participated in communities and societies and made great contributions to bettering those communities and societies. We’ve held our families together, providing education and inventions while, at the same time, holding onto and passing down the cultural and spiritual heritages of the Black communities and societies we belong to.
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When Cristóbal Colón (aka Christopher Colombus) a Spanish Jew, left Spain and landed in the islands of the Bahamas, he brought with him the oppression of the very empire that was oppressing his own people. Five centuries later, the ghost of that landing continues to haunt the world. The Haitian uprising, its revolution, and its final phase of emancipation is a blueprint of how freedom is won. A man who wakes up to his own oppression and that of others, who sees that death is inevitable but an honourable life is not necessarily given to you, who becomes fully awake to the reality of his purpose, is a man that must be feared. He--like Boukman, Toussaint Louverture, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines--cements his name in history, carries his nation forward, and is the rallying cry of all oppressed people.  "...[C.L.R James] cast doubt on the assumption that the revolution would take place first in Europe, in the advanced capitalist countries, and that this would act as a model and a catalyst for the later upheavals in the underdeveloped world. Secondly, there were clear indications that the lack of specially-trained leaders, a vanguard, did not hold back the movement of the San Domingo revolution." As this new century marches forward, the old beliefs, ideas and traditional behaviors are again questioned. Societies and communities finding themselves in an existential crisis. The decay that the last century became with its excessive materialism, anti-God, individualistic humanism-- coupled with a loss of religious, social, and political community, and the destruction of familial bonds--has created (especially in Westernized societies) an apathy that is more destructive to the human soul than any other state.
We have to understand this is by design. The state actors involved in the push for apathy do not fear the people. They know that even though people are aware that their livelihood, communities, and societies in general are not quite what they should be, and that every generation is becoming not only spiritually poor but materially poorer than the previous generation, most just shrug this malaise off and lose themselves in the next shiny thing. ﷽ "I think that in order to struggle you have to be creative. In my life, creativity has been something that has sustained me; it awoke my spiritual struggle." A few weeks ago we heard of the death of Assata Shakur, who chose to be called, ‘she who struggles for community and is thankful’. She was a daughter, sister, mother and revolutionary fighter, a woman who saw injustices and wanted to fight against it. She died free in Cuba but in exile from her birth nation of the United States of America. This is the outcome of those that are true, those that stand up against tyranny and oppression. They are mocked and vilified - and if those tactics do not work, then they face imprisonment, torture, exile or death. We have seen the tyrannical techniques played out against people like Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and many other freedom fighters and revolutionaries. If we want to know who is on the right side of history, see who their enemies are. The entire United States government, both left and right, demonized and hunted our sister Assata Shakur, branding her a terrorist - the first American woman to be put on the terrorist watchlist...even though all charges against her were either dropped or acquitted. Yet she remains on the list to this day. This is the price of making true change, of speaking the truth, of actively standing for truth. We honour our sister, her sacrifice, her commitment to her people, and her solidarity with all oppressed people in the world. May Allah have mercy on Assata Olugbala Shakur.  "A woman’s place is in the struggle."
The Hajj solidified his journey towards traditional Islam and embracing a more inclusive and universal practice. It was a transformative experience that fundamentally shifted his worldview. The following excerpts are taken from letters written from abroad. Jedda, Saudi Arabia April 20, 1964 Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and the overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by the people of all colors and races here in this ancient holy land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciouness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.
Last night, April 19, I was blessed to visit the Holy City of Makkah, and complete the "Omra" part of my pilgrimage. Allah willing, I shall leave for Mina tomorrow, April 21, and be back in Mecca to say my prayers from Mt. Arafat on Tuesday, April 22. Mina is about twenty miles from Mecca. Last night I made my seven circuits around the Kaaba, led by a young Mutawif named Muhammad. I drank water from the well of Zam Zam, and then ran back and forth seven times between the hills of Mt. Al-Safa and Al-Marwah. There were tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans, but were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe could never exist between the white and non-white. She is Amina, the daughter of al-Husayn, the son of Ali, the son of Abu Taleb (may Allah be pleased with them all). Her mother is Rabab Bint Umri’ al-Qays, the son of Adiyy, the son of Aws, the master of Banu Kalb. She was born in 47 AH and was named after her grandmother, the Prophet’s ﷺ mother. Her mother, Rabab, nicknamed her Sakina because she was a source peace and comfort to all her family members due to her merriness and liveliness. It was said that her father, Imam Husayn said about her: "By my life, I love the house wherein Sakina and Rabab live. I love her and for her would all my fortune sacrifice, without blame." Lady Sakina’s merriness and elegance did not preclude her from her devotion to Allah which sometimes reached a degree of complete occupation with worship. When al-Hasan al-Muthanna, her paternal cousin, asked for her hand in marriage, her father told him, “I have chosen Fatima for you. She is the most from among my daughters to resemble my mother, Fatima. But Sakina is mostly engrossed in her devotion and worship of Allah.”
Lady Sakina accompanied her paternal aunt, Lady Zaynab, to Egypt. The majority of the narrators and historians unanimously agree that Lady Sakina married three times: first to Mus’ab ibn al-Zubayr, followed by Abdullah ibn Uthman ibn Abdullah, and then Zayd ibn Amr ibn Uthman ibn Affan. If the West may boast about the salonieres of the 18th century, the Arabs would be speechless with wonder at the salons held by Muslim women in al-Andalus which predated the western salons by centuries. The salons of Walada Bint al-Mustakfy in the eleventh century CE were a gathering for scholars, poets, artists, and writers. al-Walada’s salons were not the first in Islam. In the first century after the Prophet’s ﷺ emigration, the women of al-Medina al-Munawarra hosted salons and the first to institute them was Lady Sakina. Later, the women of Quraysh emulated the practice. Lady Sakina’s salons were distinguished with refined literature, profound knowledge, and fine poetry. Many were the poets stood at her door seeking her permission to recite their poetry to her. These included al-Farazdak, Jarir, Jamil, and Katheer who, during the pilgrimage season, agreed together to attend Lady Sakina’s salon so she would judge who the best poet from among them was. Each recited his poem to her from behind a screen. She died in 117 AH. |
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