In Vol. 19, No. 6, of this illustrious newspaper, I wrote: "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad would often use a situation, or something you, or another might say or do�whether brilliant or otherwise�to tell you something about yourself (of good, out of which was to come some duty or service to others) that you might not come to understand for years."

This was correct. However, the next paragraph read:

"One day the Honorable Elijah Muhammad advised or corrected Min. Farrakhan on an aspect of the design of his uniform. At the collar Min. Farrakhan had placed stars around a crescent. His teacher told him to remove the other stars and have one star there as he was a star without equal."

This was not 100 percent correct. I hope all of the readers of this column will accept my apology for not being 100 percent correct in the above, as I now provide the correction, plus added facts.

In the early 1970s, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan decided to design some uniforms for the men of Islam, under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He wanted a uniform for the Brothers, which would distinguish them in the public, as the Sisters were already so distinguished by means of the uniform they publicly wore.

Among the features he designed in the suits, were what is called the Nehru collar. The Flag of Islam appeared on each side of the collar, right at the jugular veins. The jacket had seven buttons down the front. And there were other features in his design�all of which had great meanings, as it was all based on the wisdom of his teacher, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

He brought all of this up to his teacher. That was the occasion when the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to him to take the crescent out of the flag that he had on the collar of his (Min. Farrakhan�s) uniform�s collar. He said that "The crescent [moon] represents equality and, Brother, You have no equal. So, have the star coming out of the sun."

We have in these words great value, which we must study, analyze and we must extract the principles and the wisdom these precious words contain and imply.

Now suppose we were there�especially you�when this was said to Min. Farrakhan. How would we (you) have internally reacted?

Would jealousy have arisen? Or would it have been envy? If either would have arose, why would it have come up in you? Or would the emotion or state of mind have been happiness? Why would that have arisen in you? Or would you have been happy over this assessment of your Brother, while at the same time wanting to understand the scientific reasoning in the thinking of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad of Min. Farrakhan�s make-up?

Have any of us�you in particular�ever been in a situation wherein another was being praised, or profoundly complimented, by an authority figure, about this other? How did we (you) react? Have any of us ever learned that another had just come into the possession of something which we had desired, but don�t have yet? He or she has it. We don�t. How have we reacted? Why?

What are all of the various ways that people have and do, in fact, react in such situations and why? At what point, in the relationship between people, does jealousy and envy take place? Why is anger, ill will, or at least a grudging attitude towards the other, always a part of the experience of jealousy or envy, which one feels towards another? Why does it become emotionally directed towards the other? What is the process by which it becomes destructive of others if not checked in time?

Is there a definite relationship between jealousy and envy to slander; libel; backbiting; all forms of mockery; mimicry to corrupt misperceptions, and the like? Slander, mockery and the like, can and do come from factors other than jealousy and envy. We can discuss that at another time. However, jealousy and envy will always produce slander if these are not checked in time. Furthermore, the longer one is jealous or envious towards another the greater the desire to hurt the other becomes.

Look at the envy that Joseph experienced; that Jesus experienced; that Paul experienced; that Min. Farrakhan has experienced and yet suffers.

To what extent does the quality of our evil emotions (or our evil emotional state) distort or warp not only our observations of others, ourselves and situations, but even hurt and stunt our power to make accurate observations?

Min. Farrakhan�s study guides will help us overcome and uproot jealousy and envy from within ourselves, if we will but use them as he instructed.

It�s clear that Min. Farrakhan is teaching that the process of the mental resurrection of the dead, into ever-greater levels of awareness, and mental power, is also the process of purification of our emotional state-without which we are stunted. The purification of our intellectual and our emotional life�which are really two aspects of the same thing�will result in our oneness with Allah.

His Study Guides are full of the wisdom of Allah. They are put in a form that is attractive to those who want to become better. His writings can help one become one of the purified ones that the Holy Qur�an describes whom Satan will not turn against Allah with ungratefulness.

We cannot grow up or become divinely mature as long as our hearts are caked or saturated with jealousy and envy.

Now, I am not saying that warped views began with the work of the father of this world. However, Yakub did set up a condition in which immaturity was bred into the very nature of his people, whose descendants ruled us and bred us into becoming fools.

There is a profound relationship between immaturity, at a certain stage, and evil.

His rule was to marry his people at the ages of 15 and 16. He was rushing the development of his people. He was making them hasty by nature. How mature are teenagers? How mature were they for the experience of marriage and parenting babies?

Space considerations won�t allow a fuller commentary on this subject. So I�ll try to squeeze much into two sentences. If they, Yakub�s people, were made by nature hasty; if their power to make correct observations were compromised by evil teachings; if every evil was bred into the very matrix of their hearts, how could they escape having warped minds, out of which jealousy and envy springs?

On Patmos was planted the highest mixture of immaturity and evil, which has now attained its fullest expression�with Black people as the greatest victim of this process.

What they have made of us is that kind of people which only supreme wisdom and supreme love can cure and civilize.

In "Self-Improvement: The Basis of Community Development," in 1986, Min. Farrakhan stated:

"Look at a child. What makes a child want to be the center of attention? Have you seen your children? You have been one, probably you still are. How many of us want to be the center of attention?

"If the child does not get attention, he resorts to destructive means to get it. God is a Lifegiver, but God also Destroys. The same Power is within us; we can give life, but we can also destroy. So, if we don�t get attention, we break the party up. �If the organization won�t recognize my tremendous skill and ability, I�ll break the organization up.� Look at you. �If the church won�t recognize that I can sing better than anybody in the choir and give me a solo, then the hell with the choir; I�ll break it up.� What kind of mind is that? What kind of power is that that you have misused?

"The child must learn to accept its place with others. You are the center of nothing. And you are deluding yourself if you think you are. There is always a True Center and you are not it; neither am I.

"Again, I am quoting from the Qur�an; the Qur�an says the �Jinn� was created before Man. Some scholars say that �Jinn� means a being of fiery nature and temperament. Have you ever watched an infant when you don�t give it its desire? The infant will cry so hard. Watch it now; it cries so hard until you see fire come right up in its face; it may be Black, but it turns red with the fire of anger, because �You didn�t give me what I wanted! I am hungry! I want to be changed; not tomorrow, right now! And if you don�t change me, I�ll raise so much hell, nobody in this house will sleep!� The infant is a creature of emotion.

"If the Jinn comes before the Man, you must come through the fire of emotion before you can become a developed human being. You have to learn to control these forces within your own being that come from God Himself, before you can become a human being."

What kind of emotion is he speaking of here? Let�s think hard! He was covering much history in those words.

In Study Guide, number seven, Min. Farrakhan stated this from "The Will of God Part One": "Allah (God) says in the Holy Qur�an, when He desires a thing, He only says, �Be!� and it is."

Here we have the highest form of intellectual activity moved by the purest emotion. As we�ll see, if thoughts were not things, the universe would be invisible. This bears directly on the next point Min. Farrakhan made.

He continued: "Is it His Will that we be perfect? Yes. He has already arranged forces to bring this about. His Power is actively at work to perfect His Will that we be perfect human beings. And what does a perfect human being look like? A perfect human being looks like God."