Islam and, 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, judgement 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. 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. | 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:
ISLAM OR FARRAKAHNISM, for a copy send $3.00 to the address given in this brochure.
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.
The foundation of Islam consists of TAWHEED, RISALAH, and AAKHIRAH. And "five pillars" of Islam are SHAHADAH, SALAH, ZAKAH, SAWM and HAJJ. The rest of the building of Islam consists of SHARI'A which includes HARAM and HALAL, RIGHTS and DUTIES, MORAL CODE, CONVEYING THE MESSAGE, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULE OF ALLAH and EXCELLENCE in everything Muslims do. Any claims of Islam should be judged on the criteria given in this paragraph. If the foundation and pillars of a building are demolished there is no building left. Such is the case with pseudo-Islamic cults including Farrakhanism. For details request the booklet, HOW TO PRESENT ISLAM, A RATIONAL APPROACH by the author of this brochure.
Source: Institute of Islamic Information and Education. |