Excerpted from
Why I Left the Nation of Islam
6.18 The Prophet of Islam Adopted a Black Son
Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah shattered the myth of black inferiority when he freed a black slave named Zayd ibn Haritha and adopted him as his very own son. The Prophet of Islam was so overjoyed over this adoption that he went to the Holy
Ka’aba and announced to the onlookers:
“Bear witness that Zayd is my son!”
[1]
The Prophet’s disciples would refer to Zayd as
Hibbu Rasoolillah (the Beloved of the Messenger of God).
). Zayd married a black woman, and gave birth to a black baby boy, who was affectionately referred to as the Prophet’s own son, as well as Hibbu Hibbi Rasoolillah (the Beloved of the Beloved of the Messenger of God).
Zayd is the only one of the Prophet’s disciples who is mentioned
by name in the Quran, a truly distinct honor.
6.19 The Commander of the Armed Forces was Black
For over two hundred years, the United States of America refused to enlist black officers or to promote them to high ranking positions in the military. After decades of civil rights struggle and “progressive enlightenment”, Colin Powell
finally became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and “the most-senior African American military officer in U.S. history” in the year 1989.
[2]
Contrast this to the Islamic state as founded by the Prophet of Islam over fourteen hundred years ago. In the early days of Islam, the command of the Muslim army was given to Zayd ibn Haritha, the Prophet’s adopted son. Thus did Zayd, a freed black slave, become the supreme commander of the armed forces, a position he held until he was martyred and replaced by Khalid bin Waleed.
Zayd, the gallant black commander, led the Muslim forces in
al-Qarada, in the
Najd, to
Bani Sulaym at
al-Jamum, to
al'Iys, to
at-Taraf, to
Wadi al-Qura, to
Hisma, and finally in the Battle of
Mutah. The last of these campaigns would forever be memorialized in Islamic history as the epic battle in which the fledgling Muslim army of 3,000 would face off with a mighty Roman army of more than 200,000 soldiers. It was on this day—in a battle between the forces of good and evil—that the standard was held in the hand of a black man. Zayd descended on the infidel army and died the glorious death of a martyr, enshrined with innumerable wounds on his body.
The Muslim battalion would do their martyred commander proud as they vanquished the mighty army. This victory was so important to Islam that God revealed the following verse in the Quran:
Verily! We have given you a manifest victory! (Quran, 48:1)
[1] Ibn Hisham,
As-Sirah an-Nabawiyya, 1:213; Ibn Athir,
Usd al-Ghaba fi Ma'rifa as-Sahaba, 2:282
Colin Powell was the first black Secretary of State..Islam beat this by 1400 years...
