Reflection on Juz’ 17 by Hakeem Muhammad

Preparing For The Inevitable Victory 

The African-American Muslim tradition has always worked to call people to truth. Our people, African-American Muslims, have stood at the forefront in raising the most devastating and powerful critiques of white supremacy, not just through the powerful rhetoric and oratory that our people are known for, but through organizing our own school systems, our own businesses, our own community institutions, and our own centers of worship and learning.  From Muhammad Universities of Islam to Sister Clara Muhammad 

Allah reminds us that, “There did not come to them any messenger except that they used to ridicule them.” In this ayaat, Allah is reporting a sunnah for how truth is received in this world by reminding us that messengers that he sent to guide humanity were ridiculed.

 

 When Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight champion of the world, gave up his title, his livelihood, and his freedom to stand on principle, he was mocked by the white establishment. When Muhammad Ali appeared on a British television program in 1968, he was told “I find nothing amusing or interesting or tolerable about this man. He’s a disgrace to his country, his race, and what he laughingly describes as his profession. He is a convicted felon in the United States. He has been found guilty. He is out on bail. He will inevitably go to prison, as well he should. He is a simplistic fool and a pawn.”

 

Similarly, for Malcolm X, the disgraceful New York Times published an op-ed calling him an “embittered racist” and an “irresponsible demagogue.” Mockery and ridicule is the first weapon of a white supremacist power structure that cannot engage the truth on its on merit.  It is about protecting a social and political order that depended on Black people not knowing their worth, not organizing, and not building.

 “But you wonder while they mock. And when they are reminded, they do not remember. And when they see a sign, they ridicule. “ Surah As-Saffat 37:12-18

However, Allah reminds us in Surah As-Saffat that, “And Our Soldiers Shall Be the Victors.” Surah Saffat reminds us that in the end, it is His soldiers who will be victorious.  This ayat should motivate us because it is a promise from Allah, and Allah does not break His promise. Though the system of white supremacy is very much alive today, we should look forward to the inevitable victory against it. We should also look forward and cherish the smaller victories such as when David Susskind was part of a media establishment that mocked and insulted Muhammad Ali, who stood up for the truth that stripped him of his heavyweight title for refusing to fight in a white man’s war. At the time, Muhammad Ali was in financial difficulty and in debt because he was unable to generate revenue after being stripped of his boxing title. Today, who knows David Susskind?  Nobody builds on his legacy or names their children after him. He was the simple pawn on the wrong side of history, yet too arrogant to know it.

 

His legacy is his error. His name survives only as a footnote in the story of the man he tried to diminish. Yet, in his arrogance, he could never see it coming because the promise Muhammad Ali carried was invisible to someone who put his faith in the institution of this world, as opposed to the one who runs it. 

As for the New York Times referring to Malcolm X as an “embittered racist” and an “irresponsible demagogue,” The Autobiography of Malcolm X became one of the most read books in the history of American literature, and Malcolm X remains respected by oppressed people around the world as an icon. No one remembers or continues the legacy of the New York Times journalist who wrote these words.     

 “But you wonder while they mock. And when they are reminded, they do not remember. And when they see a sign, they ridicule. “ Surah As-Saffat 37:12-18 

Allah reminds us that laughter will never last. Those who mocked the prophets are not remembered as wise men but as fools. When they are remembered, they are remembered as people not to emulate, whether it be Pharaoh, who mocked Musa or Abu Jahl and the Quraysh chieftains, who are only known for being on the wrong side of history. 

Hakeem Muhammad is a Chicago-based public interest law scholar who specializes in African American legal studies and African American legal history. He has worked in the areas of police misconduct litigation, criminal defense for indigent clients, and prisoners’ rights.  Muhammad served as a fellow for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is passionate about increasing the quality of representation of African-American men, who are disproportionately unjustly treated in the criminal justice system. Prior to law school, Muhammad taught seminars on African-American political thought and critical race theory at Harvard, U.C Berkeley, and Michigan State.