ISLAM OUR GUIDING LIGHT : AND A CORDIAL INVITATION TO ISLAM

“What happens to a dream Deferred?” Langston Hughes asked in one of his most moving and insightful poems. “Does it dry up like a raisin in thesun?...Or does it explode?”I asked myself the same question about my own life. Literally born in a land of pain and discrimination and forced to face a violent world. Whathappens to a dream deferred? Does it snake and slither towards hopelessness, drunkenness, addiction, and poverty? Or does it explode in rage?A dream deferred. My parents always said, “Follow your heart, but take your brain with you!” So, I payed attention to what my soul was conveyingto me and I also understood the importance of becoming my own personal activist and advocate, not in grief and despair, but in firm faith and hopein Allah. I knew that if I was unable to transform my personal experiences of contempt and negativity into positive ones, I could easily become anAmerican nightmare.By definition, an alchemist is a person who transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process which is basically how my lifeevolved. By no means has it been an easy journey, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and plenty of bad decisions, but for His own purpose, Allah’s amazinggrace and mercy salvaged me. Alhamdulillah!As the accomplished author of previous literary work, my passion for writing has enabled me to complete this sacred project Titled: Islam OurGuiding Light.By the grace and mercy of Allah, time has grown and matured me into an elder, though a native son and product of the Bedford Stuyvesantsection of Brooklyn, N.Y. where I was born, cut my teeth, and was reared in the midst of the harshness of the early 1950’s. I lived in the trenches ofthis inner-city village with parents and siblings during my childhood and regularly ventured off a walking distance to my second home, Grandmother’shouse. My Grandmother was the family matriarch, the “premier of ladies”, and an expert teacher in morals, manners and dignity. Her method ofteaching and guidance, though firm and non-negotiable, was really simplistic and entailed the virtuous example she indubitably lived by. She taughtme that in order to truly know God, you had to live right and act right, otherwise the Devil would snatch and consume your soul. She admonished meto believe in God wholeheartedly and dare-not divide and portion off His worship to others. Grandmother instructed me to worship the Most Highupon principal and specifically on purpose. She assured me of the Absoluteness and Oneness of God, His independence, but creations dependenceupon Him. Grandmother told me to live and act as if I actually see God, especially since He always see’s me.Despite the socio/economic challenges, hurdles and obstacles in my path, at an early and tender age, with eyes wide open, though a contemptible,agitated and restless young man, I was able to navigate my way through life’s journey and entered this incredible evening of my calcified life withminimal casualty and my soul still in tact. Instinctively, I knew how to fly under the radar, so my youth years weren’t out of control and enabled me tokinda strive according to the so-called “American Tradition.” I completed formal education, worked in private industry and government. I’ve foughtagainst the odds during some of the darkest days of racial unrest, from the rise of the Ku Klux Klan to the newer label of “White Supremacy”, and thestruggles of the civil rights movement. I witnessed and participated in the civil rights revolution transforming a frontier into the pinnacle of Americanhistory, freeing African Americans from centuries of disenfranchisement. Though, several decades later, I’m sadly witnessing how the progress andachievements of those struggles have caused tragic side-effects as racism recedes as a serious obstacle to Black advancement. Unfortunately, thehorrific particulars of that era remain a terrifying reality in its echoes in this present day.Thereby, Islam has always been my Guiding Light and source of oxygen even during my clouded thoughts and darkest moments. Its edifyingprinciples and teaching constantly reminded me that my duty was to stand firm and unwavering, obey Allah’s commands, be courageous in my questfor truth and persevere the righteous journey with Allah’s Word (Qur’an) and His Prophet’s (Muhammad PBUH) example.