Page 6 The Islamic Bulletin Volume XXX No. 30 Muslim world that the Ummah (community) is meant to embrace the differences in race, class and culture. Muhammad Ali never considered himself as elite and saw himself as no different to anyone else. His activism was grounded in his Islamic beliefs and he believed that human beings are obliged to do good and charitable things during their short time on earth. As a child growing up in a racially segregated Louisville, it was almost impossible for him to find a place to work out and he would run to the gym or to school in order for him to stay in shape. He returned as an adult and, without ever been asked, helped many charitable causes, and built a Museum for children in order to encourage them to reach for their dreams. His belief, that by giving he was pleasing Allah and that actions were based on intentions, made him known for his generosity. Muhammad Ali is known by his trademark statement “I am the greatest!” This was not a sign of arrogance. He is still the greatest heavy weight champion of all times. He was asked by an interviewer how he balanced his humility as a Muslim with this statement and Ali replied “Allah is the Greatest; I am just the greatest boxer.” He was a pious person and showed utter humility and always gave credit to Allah for his victories. Ali is the only celebrity to have turned down the offer to have his name placed on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. He so revered the Prophet Muhammad (S), that he did not want to have people stepping on his name and thus is the only celebrity to have his star placed on the wall. Watch this video on the Walk of Fame: http://www.islamicbulletin.org/videos/clay/star/ali.mp4 Ali refused to play the role of the “submissive negro” and he attributed all his success and skill as a boxer to the Greatness of God. A Muslim fan once asked him if he was “As good a Muslim as he was a boxer, and he asserted that “No true Muslim will brag or even take a chance of saying he is good, because it is up to Allah to judge. God blesses me to be so great here, because all of the time I’ve been talking about God, pushing God, pushing religion. I’m not talking about me, how great and how much money I’ve got, I’m always giving the praise to God, so that’s why I’m as great as I am in this physical world, because I push Him first.” Muhammad Ali never let an opportunity drop and he would take any question put to him and answer in a way so as to preach about Islam and the Oneness of God. He used his fame and stature to his advantage and would make people contemplate various issues pertaining to their faith, especially about man’s existence, life after death and how to prepare to receive Allah’s Jannah (eternal place of rest). He would take any opportunity to give Dawah( preach) and always encouraged the Muslims to get closer to Allah. He praised Allah and the religion of Islam and advised young Muslims to “Stay strong, read the Quran, pray and praise Allah,” in order to ward off the pressures of secular or anti-Islamic forces. Young people, he believed, should not compromise their beliefs. In many photos of Ali before a fight we see him standing with his hands raised in dua( prayer and supplication) to Allah. Prayer and dua were an essential part of his struggle and he attributed all obstacles, difficulties and all of his successes to Allah. On his retirement, Muhammad Ali was asked how he was going to spend his time. He replied that he was going to prepare himself to meet his Maker, Allah. In interviews he often expressed that if we subtracted all the hours that we needed to sleep, watch television etc, and then he reckoned that he had about sixteen years to prepare for his death. Click here to watch his video interview: http://www.islamicbulletin.org/videos/clay/speech1977.mp4 He would remind people that the soul and spirit never die and that is why we must prepare them for heaven. His intention was to help people learn how to treat each other and he brought about peace and charitable work. He managed to do all this and more. “Islam is a religion of peace,” he would say. Muhammad Ali’s adored his family and his 2 sons and 7 daughters. They speak of what a warm and gentle father he was to them and he always had his large family around him. In an interview two of his daughters revealed that he had over a hundred hours of recordings which he had made of them speaking to him and answering his questions and he played them back to them as they grew older. ”His daughter Hanna recalls how he taught her an important lesson about modesty. She had arrived at his home dressed in a revealing outfit. Instead of admonishing her he took her aside and lovingly said, “Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You’ve got to work hard to get to them.” He told his young daughter, “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.” When Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1979, he did not stop making himself available to charitable causes worldwide and he managed to negotiate the return of American hostages from Lebanon and Iraq.
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