by Minister Louis
Farrakhan
In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The
Merciful.
[Editor�s note: The following text is
excerpted from three previous articles by The Honorable Minister
Louis Farrakhan on the Value of Women and Mothers. The original
articles appeared in the following issues: Heaven Lies at the Foot
of Mother, Vol. 19 No. 44, Sept. 5, 2000; The Value of Mother, Vol.
20 No. 40, July 17, 2001; The Sacredness of the Female originally
appeared in Vol. 14 No. 19, July 19, 1995.]
In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.
"Heaven Lies at the Foot of Mother." This quotation was
spoken by Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (Peace Be Upon Him) 1,400
years ago in his great work of reform and civilizing of the Arab
people in the days of their ignorance. This quotation is applicable
to us as well today. Heaven represents a state of peace where the
citizens of heaven live in accordance with the laws, rules, statues,
or commandments of Allah (God). This is also called in scripture,
the Kingdom of God. Again, it is called the Hereafter. The Honorable
Elijah Muhammad taught us that the Hereafter means here on the earth
after the works of Satan are destroyed. Some Islamic scholars say
that the Hereafter is a continuation of this life. Only, it is lived
on a higher plane.
In the Qur�an there is a chapter referred to as "The Elevated
Places." In the Bible, Allah (God) says, "My thoughts are not
your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. I am from above while you
are from beneath."
It is our disconnection from the thoughts and ways of Allah (God)
that cause us to live the hellish life and existence that the people
of our planet presently experience. If we believe that heaven lies
at the foot of mother, what kind of mother is it that heaven lies at
her feet? It is a mother whose heart, mind and soul are fixed on
Allah (God), His Thoughts and His Ways that are found in the Words
of Allah (God) in the scriptures of the Bible and Qur�an. In order
for heaven to be at the woman�s foot or mother�s foot, mother has to
be in complete submission or surrender of her life to the Will of
Almighty Allah (God). This becomes exceedingly difficult if the
woman is not in the charge of or in the company of a righteous man.
Mary was blessed to be this kind of virtuous woman because she was
prepared from the womb, but, she was also under the authority of a
righteous male figure.
The value of a virtuous woman is more than the value of the
wealth of the earth, but, the female and the value of her as a
virtuous woman has been devalued by the societies of the earth. To
devalue the currency of any nation weakens that nation financially.
When the price of gold as a standard of value goes down, then we
cannot purchase what we could at the rate when gold had a higher
value. The devaluation of the female and the devaluation of virtue
in the society has caused us to live on a plane that is far beneath
that which we are capable of.
This is why every religion and every society must reevaluate how
we look at the females in our society. To think of her as only being
valuable for procreation and pleasure is devaluing her. To think of
her as not being talented or gifted, that she may be an equal sharer
in the development of the society, nation or civilization, is to
devalue her. To make her a sex symbol is to devalue her. To show her
off before the world in an indecent manner is to devalue her. Rubies
have no consciousness and do not know of their value. Neither do
diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds. It is we who place a value on
these stones. In this world, the man has not given or placed a
proper value on the female, and thus, has caused the female to
devalue herself. The behavior of our women and our girls
demonstrates the thinking of a devalued human, for women to accept
to be displayed or kept in an inferior status is to accept the
devaluation of herself by the men of this world. Heaven Lies at
the Foot of Mother.
Let us look at the attributes of Allah (God) that are found in
Surah Al-Fatihah. It starts with "Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim,"
translated, "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful."
Did you know that every woman is a mercy from Allah (God) to us
as men and to the world? Not only is every woman a mercy from Allah
(God), but, every woman is a sign of His Beneficence. In her nature
is ar-Rahman, Beneficence, and ar-Rahim, Mercy. The next attribute
found in the first verse of the Qur�an is, "Al-hamdu lil-lahi
Rab-bil �aalameen," meaning, "Praise Belongs to Allah (God),
the Nurturer of each of us, making us to evolve stage after stage
until we reach our eventual perfection."
In the womb we start as sperm mixed with ovum, then a clot, an
embryo, then a fetus. Who is nurturing ? The mother is. She is Rabb,
the nurturer; she is a little Rabb from the Big Rabb (Allah). Her
nurturing does not stop when the child comes to birth. She nurtures
it from her breast. She nurtures it from her lips. She nurtures it
from the warmth of her body. She does not sleep unconscious of the
new life. She is not only its nurturer, but, she is its natural
protector from the force of death that would kill the new life. She
is the first nurse. She is the first teacher. She is Rabb. Rabb
means Lord. Rabb means Nurturer. Rabb means Cherisher. Rabb means
Evolver. She is all of that.
Then we say, "O Allah, guide us to the straight path." Who
is your mother? She is your guide. How can she guide if she does not
know? It is in her nature to guide the new life that she has brought
onto the planet, which is the furtherance of you and me as men and
women. You cannot further yourself; it starts with her. Any woman
that will lay down and give you a baby is a mercy from Allah (God)
to you, but, little it is that you give thanks. We are an ungrateful
people and that ingratitude is shown in the way we treat our women
and in the way we treat our mothers.
Sister, you are the guide for your children. Young females that
are not yet mothers, you will one day be a mother. You should be
preparing now by filling your head with the right kind of knowledge
that you can impart to that which you will bring forth onto this
planet.
A foundation is that upon which we build. The Earth is a
foundation out of which we come. Everything that is on the Earth is
built because the Earth is fundamentally sound, except when Allah
(God) shakes it. The woman is the foundation upon which civilization
is built. We do not judge the degree of civilization of the people
by a man. The wise always look at your woman. By looking at your
woman, they can tell how highly civilized you are or how uncivilized
you are because she is the reflection of your degree of
civilization.
To be civilized, according to the teachings of the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad, is one who has knowledge, wisdom, understanding,
culture, refinement, the pursuit of happiness, and, is not savage.
What is a savage? A savage is a person who has lost the knowledge of
themselves and is living the life of a beast or lower animal.
Beloved brothers and sisters, you are in the condition of a savage
because you have lost the knowledge of yourself. You have been
robbed of that knowledge, therefore, you live a life that is not in
accord with your nature and your possibilities. You live a life
similar to the lower animals.
Any society that increases the knowledge, the wisdom and the
understanding of a woman is a society that is on its way up. Any
society that denies knowledge, wisdom and understanding to the
female is a society that is on its way down, because a woman of
knowledge, a woman of wisdom, and a woman of understanding, when you
see her, you will see that she is refined in her manners, in her
morals, in her speech and in her actions. She represents the highest
of culture, and, she will open the door to the pursuit of happiness
if she is granted the pursuit of real happiness.
In many societies when a female child is born there is great
disappointment and the female is looked down upon as someone so much
less than the male, which leads to abuse, the lack of proper care,
education, and cultivation of her gifts and talents, and lack of
appreciation to Almighty Allah (God) for the gift of women.
The Holy Qur�an teaches us that both male and female have the
same essence or come from the essence or being that is Allah, the
All Wise God. He has given both male and female complimentary
natures, which, if acted on properly help each mate to attain to
fulfillment, perfect peace, and full development or perfection.
The disrespect of women is the reason that the earth and the
world is in the condition that it is in. There cannot be a new world
except that there is a new and better understanding of the female,
which will give us (men) a clearer understanding of self and above
all a clearer understanding of Allah (God). In the Bible, Allah
(God) declares, "Behold, I make all things new." The
Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught us that we cannot bring in a
new world except that we accept a new idea that will give us a new
way of thinking and that new way of thinking based on an idea and
word that comes directly from the Supreme Being will give us His
Sight. We need to see life, creation and Allah (God) as He sees
Himself and sees His creation. If we can begin to perceive reality
as Allah (God) perceives it, then, and only then will we treat Allah
(God) and His creatures as they ought to be treated.
It is written in the Holy Qur�an, Surah 2, verse 138, "(We
take) Allah�s (God�s) colour, and who is better than Allah at
colouring, and we are His worshippers." Since it is the light of
the sun which gives all things their color, then, we who follow the
Light (Truth) sent down by Allah (God) begin to see or perceive
reality as Allah (God) perceives it. We take His Colouring, which is
His View.
What is Allah�s (God�s) view of the female? She is the
manifestation of His attribute of mercy to the world. She is
undeserved kindness to us, for, through her we are extended through
the generations. It is only through her that we live again, and
again, and again. It is only through her that we continue to move
toward the true perfection that Allah (God) desires for His
creation. She is the cornerstone of the family and therefore is
critical in the whole process of nation and world building.
Allah (God) speaks to us in the Holy Qur�an saying that, "we
should reverence the womb that bore us." According to Random
House Dictionary, reverence is, "a feeling or attitude of deep
respect tinged with awe, veneration; a gesture indicative of deep
respect; an obeisance, a bow, or curtsy."
I repeat, we must reverence the womb that bore us. Since the womb
of our mother is sacred, then, this teaches us that the womb of
every female is also sacred, for it is from her womb that all the
Scientists, Prophets, Sages, Messengers, Kings, Rulers and Gods have
come and will come.
|