Those of you who've read the autobiography of Malcolm X, will appreciate this article that little bit more...
ًWe ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us the loyalty and uprightness like that of Sister Betty, and spouses of the calibre of our Brother Malik El Shabazz.
May Allah accept the best of their deeds and forgive them their misdeeds.
May He instil in our hearts the hatred for interest transactions, and the love for His obedeience in all aspects of our lives.
Aameen.
| Even as we remember Malcolm X forty years later, we ought also toremember and honor his beloved wife, Dr. Betty Shabbazz. I met hertwice. The second time was when she was lying in her coffin besideMalcolm's grave, and her six daughters had honored me by asking me torecite from the Qur'an and to offer a prayer over her body before itwas lowered into her husband's grave. I remember myself shaking like a leaf as I stood beside Malcolm's gravefor the first time, and as I watched his beloved wife rejoining himafter surviving such awesomely difficult trials in life. The dominant characteristic of her life, after Malcolm's death, was herfierce loyalty and unflinching devotion to her husband's memory, and tohis mission in life. And this brings me to my first meeting with herthat is the subject of this essay. It was 22nd September 1996, just eight months before her death, and Iwas escorted to the back of a large hall in midtown Manhattan to beintroduced to her. She did not smile to greet me. There was somethingdistant and lonesome about her, as though she belonged to a far awayplace and another time - not the kind of woman who would put you atease in her presence. But I could almost feel her quiet strength andpower as she waited with infinite patience for the time to come whenshe would go back home to her beloved. She sat at the back of the hall, she quietly explained to me, to bebetter able to assess the four speakers who were scheduled to addressthat night the challenging topic 'Beyond Malcolm X - The Future ofIslamic Leadership in North America.' She had heard of me, of my Trinidad origin, and of my constantreferences in New York and elsewhere to her husband, and she wascurious to listen that night to what I had to say on the topic. Idevoted myself in my address to describing the unflinching faith inAllah that was the very substance of the man. He lived for Allah, andhe died for Allah. And that was the kind of Islamic leadership thatNorth American Muslims needed. But I also took time off to dwell on his matchless integrity. Hispassionate commitment to truth and justice was such that he absolutelyabhorred opportunism and expediency. And so his values in life werelocated at the very heart of Islam. I then went on to observe thatMalcolm, perhaps, did not know about the prohibition of Riba (borrowingor lending money on interest) in Islam. How else could we explain AlexHaley's comment in the 'Autobiography' that Malcolm took an advancefrom him to make a down payment on a house in Elmhurst, New York, afterhis home was firebombed by Nation of Islam enemies? And that was thecomment that got me into trouble. After all four speakers had made their presentations Betty cameforward, ever so slowly and deliberately, to the front podium, toaddress the gathering. She began by quoting my words: "The Imam saidthat my husband lived for Allah. The Imam said that my husband died forAllah. The Imam is right." But then she turned around to face me, andto look at me squarely in the eyes, and to defiantly declare, "ButImam, he did not sign the agreement. He died before he could do that.So he was not in Riba!" Only after she had passionately defended her husband did she calm down.But the way she had looked at me (Don't you dare criticize my husband!)was such that it took me much longer to calm down. Seldom in my lifehave I ever witnessed such passionate devotion to a leader's memory andlegacy. And it is that dazzling example that she has left behind forthe Muslim women of today. She went on to plead for Islamic leaderswho would be men of courage and integrity, men who, like her husband,would defy the oppressors of the world. But she also spoke of faith,and of the quest for knowledge. Later that evening, after I had left the hall to go to anotherengagement, she autographed a copy of the 'Autobiography' for me. Andthis is what she wrote. "You are a leader for men and women of all agesand all times. May the peace and blessings of Allah forever guide you."And she signed Hajjah B. Shabbazz / Mrs. MX. It brought tears to myeyes. May their common grave be wide, cool and spacious for them, and befilled with light. And may they both sleep peacefully together in thatgrave. Ameen! آمين Source: www.imranhosein.org/ |
