Jonathan Eig, the author of the biography “Ali,” about boxer Muhammad Ali, holds a letter that Ali wrote to his wife, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, detailing his conversion to Islam, in front of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Allison Shelley for The Washington Post)

Muhammad Ali’s conversion to Islam, in many ways, defined his career and legacy as a fighter with conviction. He went on to become an icon for American Muslims.

Just years following his conversion in 1964, he got in a fight that prompted him to write down some reflections on what drew him to the faith in the first place.

It wasn’t a fight in the boxing ring, but an argument at home with his wife, Belinda.

Ali was out of control, Belinda said. He had lost all traces of humility. He was acting like he was God. You may call yourself the greatest, she told him, but you’ll never be greater than Allah.

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