Why Islam is my choice — Page 98
98 sometimes studied with Elijah Mu ḥ ammad and Noble Drew ‘Al ī as he was their contemporary and both Noble Drew and Elijah Mu ḥ ammad had studied the A ḥ madiyyah literature. Mu ḥ ammad Ṣā diq, from his musical affiliation, knew a host of famous African American musicians. It was always inspiring to hear his stories of his days before he accepted Isl ā m and how he came into the True Isl ā m. They had always impressed me with their steadfastness and the way they manifested the teachings of A ḥ madiyyat, from the time they were young men until the sunset of their lives. It was through them that I really saw the meaning of A ḥ madiyyat, the religion of Isl ā m in its original purity. Both of them treated me as if I were their own son nourishing me spiritually and guiding me along the way. At that time it would have been very easy for an African American to lose his or her way due to the social and political attractions toward the Afrocentric Movements of that time. But my spiritual quest was to be in the right place on the Judgment Day. Bash ī r Afzal and Mu ḥ ammad Ṣā diq were the role models that kept continued to point the way. Mu ḥ ammad Ṣā diq would chide me with a loving smile on his face a little before he passed on by saying, “We rescued you from those Black Jews. ” Now I have been an A ḥ mad ī Muslim for about 29 years. I have witnessed the growth of A ḥ madiyyat in America. The symbol of that growth is Baitur-Ra ḥ m ā n, the Central mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland. Through these 29 years, I have been elected to several offices in the A ḥ madiyyat Movement including local A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at president. However, I do not think that any of these offices was as fulfilling as being a member of Khudd ā mul-A ḥ mmadiyyah (the young men’s association for men between the age of 15 and 40 years). This branch in A ḥ madiyyat was the answer to all the challenges, cultural and political, of that time. The Khudd ā m at that time were bustling with young lions and