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COMPARISON BETWEEN ISLAM AND FARRAKHANISM
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.
Islam and the 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. |
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: |