Beliefs of Farrakhanism or the Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam was founded by Wallace D Fard who
appeared suddenly in Detroit in 1930 CE, calling black people to his
beliefs. He disappeared mysteriously in June 1934 CE. 

He was succeeded by Elijah Poole or Elijah Muhammad
(1898-1975 CE). The movement passed through distinct ideological stages, one
of which was the Farrakhan stage, as we shall see below. 

In al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Muyassarah fi’l-Madhaahib wa’l-Adyaan
al-Mu‘aasirah (1/360), it says: 

It should be noted that the ideas of this movement developed
gradually, under the influence of the leader who ran its affairs. Hence the
development of the movement may be divided into three periods:

1.
The era of Wallace D Fard:

From the beginning the movement was known as the Nation of
Islam, and was also known by another name, the Lost and Found Nation of
Islam. Its most important aims were as follows: 

·
Calling for freedom, equality, and justice, and striving
to elevate and develop the group.

·
Focusing on the superiority of the black race, which they
claimed was the original race; they emphasised their African roots, and
showed hostility towards whites, whom they described as devils.

·
Striving to divert their followers from the Torah and
Gospel (the Bible) to the Qur’an, whilst continuing to take some ideas from
the Bible.

2.
The era of Elijah Muhammad

·
Elijah Muhammad declared that God is not something
unseen; rather He must be embodied in an individual, and that individual is
Wallace D Fard in whom God is incarnated, and he is worthy of supplication
and worship. Thus esoteric concepts entered the thought of the group.

·
He claimed to be a Prophet, and gave himself the title of
Messenger of Allah.

·
He forbade to his followers gambling, drinking alcohol,
smoking, overeating, and adultery. He banned mixing of women with men to
whom they are not related, and he encouraged his followers to only marry
people within the movement. He banned them from frequenting places of
entertainment and cafes.

·
He persisted in the belief that the black race was
superior, and regarded it as the source of all that is good, and continued
to demean the white race and describe it as base and inferior. Undoubtedly
only Blacks were allowed to join the movement; whites were definitely not
allowed to join at all.

·
Elijah Muhammad only believed in that which is tangible. 
Therefore he did not believe in the angels or in the physical resurrection.
In his view the resurrection was no more than the intellectual revival of
black Americans.

·
He did not believe that Prophethood ended with the
Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and he declared
that he was the final messenger, because no messenger came but he spoke the
language of his people, and he – namely Elijah Muhammad – had come as a
Prophet to whom revelation came from Wallace D Fard in the language of his
people, the blacks.

·
He believed in the divinely revealed Books, but he
believed that a special book would be revealed to his people, the blacks,
and this would be the final Book to be divinely revealed to mankind.

·
Prayer at his time consisted of reciting al-Faatihah or
some other verses or supplications whilst facing towards Makkah and keeping
in mind the image of Wallace D Fard. This was done five times a day.

·
They fasted the month of December every year, instead of
fasting Ramadan.

·
Each member had to give one tenth of his income to the
movement.

3.
The era of Warith Deen Muhammad

On November 24, 1975 CE, Warith Deen chose a new name for the
organisation, which was the Bilalians, after Bilaal al-Habashi, the
mu’adhdhin of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him). 

On June 19, 1975 CE Warith Deen repealed the rule banning
whites from joining the movement, and on February 25, 1976 CE, a number of
whites who had joined them appeared side-by-side with blacks in the
convention hall. 

On August 29, 1975 CE, he issued a statement that it was
required to fast Ramadan and celebrate Eid al-Fitr. 

On November 14, 1975 CE, the name of the newspaper was
changed from Muhammad Speaks to The Bilalian News, then it
became The Muslim Journal. 

He announced that his title would be Chief Imam instead of
Supreme Minister, and he changed the title “minister of the temples” to
“imam”. He focused his attention on religious matters, and delegated other
matters to the leaders of the movement. 

He prepared the temples to become suited to holding regular
prayers (salaah). 

On October 3, 1975 CE, he issued instructions that prayer
should be offered in the correct manner as known to Muslims, five times
daily.

He addressed the Islamic concepts that had been wrongly
embraced by the movement since the days of Wallace D Fard and Elijah
Muhammad, and tried to correct them. 

The things that we have mentioned above do not indicate that
the movement has taken a completely correct Islamic direction, but they do
indicate that there has been an improvement in the thinking of the movement
compared to how it was under previous leaders. It still needs corrections in
ideological and practical terms in order to be Islamically sound. End
quote. 

These are the stages through which this group has passed.
Undoubtedly in the second stage – the stage of Elijah Muhammad – it was a
disbelieving group that was outside of the framework of Islam, because of
the beliefs mentioned above. 

Unfortunately Louis Farrakhan has adopted the deviant ideas
of the group as they were at the time of Elijah Muhammad. 

In the source quoted above – al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Muyassarah
(1/368) – it says: Farrakhanism is one of the esoteric groups in the USA
that still follows the way of Elijah Muhammad. 

Foundation and prominent figures: 

Its founder was born Louis Wolcott to a family that worked in
acting and music and had roots in the Caribbean islands. 

In 1956 CE he joined the group of Elijah Muhammad, who
claimed to be a prophet and said that his teacher Wallace D Fard was God
incarnate. When Malcolm X opened Temple Number 11 in Boston, Louis X was
appointed to help him as a preacher and administrator. 

When Elijah Muhammad expelled Malcolm X, he appointed Louis
as the primary spokesman of the group, and gave him the title Farrakhan.
Then he made him a preacher in one of the biggest and most important
temples, Temple Number 7, which had been run by Malcolm X before he was
expelled from the group.

The beliefs of Farrakhanism: 

Farrakhan affirmed all the teachings of Elijah Muhammad,
apart from a few simple changes. On the last page of every copy of the
group’s newspaper, The Final Call, there is a statement under the
twin titles of What Do The Muslims Want? and What Do The Muslims Believe?,
which includes the aims and beliefs of Elijah’s group, exactly as they were
stated in every single copy of the Muhammad Speaks newspaper at the
time of Elijah, and as they are mentioned in every copy of the Statements
of Elijah which are quoted from old copies of Muhammad Speaks. 

Some of the basic beliefs of Elijah’s group that were revived
by Farrakhan include the following: 

·
That Allah created Himself.

·
That all black people are gods and among them a real god
is born every 25,000 years.

·
One of the black gods, who was called Yakub, created the
white man as a result of some genetic experiments.

·
That Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) was sent to the Arabs only, and Allah sent Elijah to the blacks
of America, and he is the last of the messengers.

·
Farrakhan believes that he is the person meant by the
disciple Peter who is known in Christianity, and he believes that he does
not possess the power to give life, but through the voice of Elijah
Muhammad, he will revive the Nation of Islam in its entirety.

·
That the white man is a devil.

·
That the black man is the one who composed all the
divinely revealed books.

·
Most of the teachings of the Qur’an are addressed to the
messenger Elijah Muhammad and the blacks in America.

·
There will be no bodily resurrection after death;
resurrection refers to the spiritual awakening of the blacks who are asleep
in illusory graves, and that awakening can only come about by learning of
Elijah and his god, and believing in them.

·
They say that if the Arabs really believed that Muhammad
was the final Prophet, then we can meet and debate the evidence until we
reach an agreement. But, you Arabs are racists and can never overcome this
aspect of your nature which is similar to the nature of the white man, who
is a devil. You and the Jews and the white men are all devils.

Additions of Farrakhan: 

With regard to the new beliefs of Farrakhan about Elijah, he
regards Elijah as God, just as the Christians regard Jesus as God. In fact
Farrakhan believes that Elijah is Jesus Christ. 

He claims that Elijah did not die; rather He was resurrected
and is alive, even though Elijah emphatically and absolutely denied the
physical resurrection. 

End quote from al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Muyassarah. 

From these beliefs it is clear that these notions constitute
disbelief and have nothing to do with Islam. 

What must be done is to call these people to affirm Allah’s
oneness and believe in Him, and that must be done by scholars and seekers of
knowledge. Not everyone can expose himself to specious arguments and
listening to falsehoods, when he is unable to refute them and highlight
their falseness. Hence in calling these people, you must seek the help of
those who can debate and argue with them, or give them books and material
that explain true Islam, without indulging in argument with them when you
are not skilled in arguing, for your failure to prove your point and refute
their arguments could make them cling more firmly to their ideas and
beliefs.

We are happy to remain in touch with you through this
website, and we hope that you will pay attention to the times when you could
send your questions, so that we will be able to answer them. 

We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to help you and take care of
you, and to bless your efforts. 

And Allah knows best.