Dr. Zia H Shah, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

Additional suggested reading by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times, about why all Muslims are brothers and sisters as the Prophet Muhammad said so:

When any of the 1.6 billion Muslims think of Muhammad Ali, they like and love what they see.  We seldom think that he belonged to Nation of Islam and unlike Malcolm Max did not convert to main stream Islam, for a long time.

We never think of his sect. We simply celebrate him.  But, we do not give such concessions to others with lesser achievements.  Many if not all of us live in two modes of thinking, mostly we live in the paradigm of our specific sect and occasionally we talk about universal brotherhood among the Muslims or all of humanity.  We usually do not let our mind see these two spheres of existence, lest all Muslims become brothers and sisters.

According to the holy Quran, we need to discriminate only against those, who are trying to kill us or make us homeless and no one else: Surah Mumtahinah – She Who is Examined: Overcoming Sectarianism and Religious Divide.

Below, after linking many of our posts about non-Sectarian and compassionate living, I have reproduced Muhammad Ali’s religious life from Wikipedia as well.

Non-Sectarian Islam: The Proportionate Faith

Hajj and Universal Brotherhood and Sisterhood

Two Hundred Verses about Compassionate Living in the Quran

Forty Hadiths or Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad about Compassionate Living

We Will be Judged by Our Compassion and Deeds and Not Our Dogma

We Will be Judged by Our Compassion and Deeds and Not Our Dogma

Hajj and Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Hajj: Inside Mecca Documentary by National Geographic

Hajj: The Best Symbol for Our Universal Brotherhood!

Collection of Ideas to Overcome Sectarian Divide Among the Muslims

Who Speaks for the Flesh and Blood 1.6 Billion Breathing Muslim Souls?

The Muslim Times Finally Has the Recipe to Unite All Muslims

Video: Religion is Supposed to Unite Us by Hamza Yusuf

Kripkean Dogmatism: The Best Metaphor to Understand Religious and Political Debates

Ted Talk: How Can We See Past Our Own Biases?

Affiliation with the Nation of Islam

Ali said that he first heard of the Nation of Islam when he was fighting in the Golden Gloves tournament in Chicago in 1959, and attended his first Nation of Islam meeting in 1961. He continued to attend meetings, although keeping his involvement hidden from the public. In 1962, Clay met Malcolm X, who soon became his spiritual and political mentor.^[184] By the time of the first Liston fight, Nation of Islam members, including Malcolm X, were visible in his entourage. This led to a story in The Miami Herald just before the fight disclosing that Clay had joined the Nation of Islam, which nearly caused the bout to be canceled. The article quoted Cassius Clay Sr. as saying that his son had joined the Black Muslims when he was 18.^[185]

Ali (seen in background) at an address by Elijah Muhammad in 1964

In fact, Clay was initially refused entry to the Nation of Islam (often called the Black Muslims at the time) due to his boxing career. However, after he won the championship from Liston in 1964, the Nation of Islam was more receptive and agreed to publicize his membership.^[184] Shortly afterwards on March 6, Elijah Muhammad gave a radio address that Clay would be renamed Muhammad (one who is worthy of praise) Ali (most high).^[186] Around that time Ali moved to the south side of Chicago and lived in a series of houses, always near the Nation of Islam’s Mosque Maryam or Elijah Muhammad’s residence. He stayed in Chicago for about 12 years.^[187]

Only a few journalists, most notably Howard Cosell, accepted the new name at that time. Ali stated that his earlier name was a “slave name,” and a “white man’s name” and added that “I didn’t choose it and I don’t want it”.^[188] The person he was named after was a white man and emancipationist who released slaves.^[189] Ali explained in his autobiography after studying his works, “While Clay may have gotten rid of his slaves, he “held on to white supremacy.” In truth, Cassius Clay’s attachment to slavery went farther than Ali knew. In spite of his abolitionist fervor, Clay owned more slaves in 1865, when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution finally forbade its practice, than he had inherited from his father 37 years earlier.^[190]

Not afraid to antagonize the white establishment, Ali stated, “I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”^[191] Ali’s friendship with Malcolm X ended as Malcolm split with the Nation of Islam a couple of weeks after Ali joined, and Ali remained with the Nation of Islam.^[192] Ali later said that turning his back on Malcolm was one of the mistakes he regretted most in his life.^[193]

Aligning himself with the Nation of Islam, its leader Elijah Muhammad, and a narrative that labeled the white race as the perpetrator of genocide against African Americans made Ali a target of public condemnation. The Nation of Islam was widely viewed by whites and some African Americans as a black separatist “hate religion” with a propensity toward violence; Ali had few qualms about using his influential voice to speak Nation of Islam doctrine.^[194] In a press conference articulating his opposition to the Vietnam War, Ali stated, “My enemy is the white people, not Vietcong or Chinese or Japanese.”^[70] In relation to integration, he said: “We who follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad don’t want to be forced to integrate. Integration is wrong. We don’t want to live with the white man; that’s all.”^[195][196]

Writer Jerry Izenberg once noted that, “the Nation became Ali’s family and Elijah Muhammad became his father. But there is an irony to the fact that while the Nation branded white people as devils, Ali had more white colleagues than most African American people did at that time in America, and continued to have them throughout his career.”^[45]

Conversion to Sunni/Sufi Islam

In Hauser’s biography Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, Ali says that although he’s not a Christian as he thinks the idea of God having a son sounds wrong and doesn’t make sense to him as he believes “God don’t beget; man begets” he still believes that even good Christians or good Jews can receive God’s blessing and enter heaven as he believes “God created all people, no matter what their religion”. He also said “If you’re against someone because he’s a Muslim that’s wrong. If you’re against someone because he’s a Christian or a Jew, that’s wrong”.^[197]

In a 2004 autobiography, Ali attributed his conversion to mainstream Sunni Islam to Warith Deen Muhammad, who assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam upon the death of his father Elijah Muhammad, and persuaded the Nation’s followers to become adherents of Sunni Islam. He said some people didn’t like the change and stuck to Elijah’s teachings, but he liked it and so left Elijah’s teachings and started to follow Sunni Islam.^[198]

Ali had gone on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 1972, which inspired him in a similar manner to Malcolm X, meeting people of different colors from all over the world giving him a different outlook and greater spiritual awareness.^[199] In 1977, he said that, after he retired, he would dedicate the rest of his life to getting “ready to meet God” by helping people, charitable causes, uniting people and helping to make peace.^[200] He went on another Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 1988.^[201]

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, he stated that “Islam is a religion of peace” and “does not promote terrorism or killing people”, and that he was “angry that the world sees a certain group of Islam followers who caused this destruction, but they are not real Muslims. They are racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims.” In December 2015, he stated that “True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion”, that “We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda”, and that “political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam, and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is.”^[202]

In later life after retiring from boxing, Ali became a student of the Quran and a devout Muslim. He also developed an interest in Sufism, which he referenced in his autobiography, The Soul of a Butterfly.^{[193][203][204][205][206]} According to Ali’s daughter, Hana Yasmeen Ali, who co-authored The Soul of a Butterfly with him, Ali was attracted to Sufism after reading the books of Inayat Khan, which contain Sufi teachings.^[207][208]

Muhammad Ali received guidance from Islamic scholars such as Grand Mufti of Syria Almarhum Asy-Syaikh Ahmed Kuftaro, Hisham Kabbani, Imam Zaid Shakir, Hamza Yusuf, and Timothy J. Gianotti, who was at Ali’s bedside during his last days and ensured that although his funeral was interfaith, it was still in accordance with Islamic rites and rituals.^[209][210]

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