Sh. Muhammad Jaaber: The Martyrdom, Funeral, and Burial of Malcolm X | Yaqeen Presents
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his family and companions. Assalamualaikum and thank you for being with me today. Waalaikumussalam wa rahmatullah. It's a pleasure being here today. Alhamdulillah. So to begin, before we actually get into this historic event, let us learn a little bit about the man Hisham Jabbar, who ended up being the one to perform the janazah for Malcolm X, Hajj Malik Shabazz, when he was assassinated. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Well, Hisham Jabbar, my father, you know, he has a very, very embellished history. He was born in the Carolinas, North Carolina, during the Jim Crow era. He comes from a very disciplinary background. His father, my grandfather, was a Baptist minister, so he had a very organized structure. He also had aspirations for assisting his father in his ministry as he matured in life. He was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and that's where he left the ministry, joined the military, the army in particular, and traveled throughout the world. And he had an opportunity to visit two Muslim countries, Algeria and Morocco.
And I can remember him telling us a story about that experience, seeing the culture, the Islamic culture, even though he was in a U.S. military uniform. And here in the Adhan, he had lost his hopes of becoming a Baptist minister after looking in depth into the Christian theology. He felt that it wasn't appropriate for him. So he came back. Once he finished his term in the military, he came back, not to the Carolinas. He came back to New Jersey, and it was there that he encountered the Adin Olahi Universal Arabic Association members, Abu Bakr, Wahab Abu Bakr, who was at that particular time one of the seniors of the organization, Rahim Al-Alai. And from that he was introduced to Muhammad al-Zadin, and he joined that particular organization. And from that point on, he began to develop his Islamic personality until he aspired to leadership. And from that point on, he became one of the foremost Islamic activists at that particular time. So what time frame are we talking about? He encountered the Adin Olahi Universal Arabic Association in 1955. I was born the following year. Yes, I was born the following year. And at that particular time, my father was not unaware of the social revolution for justice and equality that was actually facing people of color because of the fact of his travels, and also the Marcus Garvey movement was still reaching its momentum. So he was very well aware of what he was getting involved with.
However, Islam gave him a second spiritual platform. It gave him a discipline, and it gave him some type of organized thoughts, some type of organized process of proceeding into acquiring or achieving social justice and equality. So how does it come to the point where he is put in the position or selected to be the officiator of the janazah for Malcolm, who was in New York and perhaps more connected to the Muslim community there? Now, upon Malcolm's assassination, my father, once he got the news, he actually began to call the communities in New York. He called the Islamic Center of New York, wherein the actual imam had actually traveled back to his country, so there was no contact with him. He called the American Muslim Mission, and he spoke to Sheikh Dawud Faisal, who himself at that time had not embraced Malcolm. He didn't feel that Malcolm was actually a Muslim. But later on, he recognized it as he began to look at Malcolm's life upon the conversion. But my father recognized it from the very inception, and after he was unsuccessful in motivating the Muslims in New York to take upon the responsibility of claiming the body of Malcolm, he himself began to organize within his own ranks, within his own community, the Deen-ul-Ahay University Arabic Association, and that's how he was given the authority to go ahead and carry out that particular mission. I would imagine that it wasn't an easy feat, considering that, number one, Haj Malik Malcolm was assassinated,
and there was a lot of controversy surrounding him as a personality from literally all angles, from the orthodox Islamic community, from the Nation of Islam, from political figures and the media and so forth. With all of that going on, I would imagine that it could get a little bit thick, standing up to take on the rights of our fallen brother. Yes, being a Muslim, being anything different than the regular narrative at that particular time, was very intense and very dangerous. What happened is that my father, like I mentioned earlier, he had already recognized that Al-Haj Malik Shabazz was a Muslim, and upon him taking the shahadah and making the pilgrimage, they had fostered a better relationship. And there's something unique about the term Haj at that particular time, because Sheikh Dawood Faisal was haji, and they carried the name of Haj as a prefix on their names to authenticate the fact that they were of the orthodox teachings of Islam. It was almost like a second shahadah, because you could not enter into the holy princes of Mecca unless you were a Muslim. You could not perform the Haj. And he came back with that honorary title of Al-Haj Malik Shabazz, and I think that's the inspiration that it gave to my father, because he had always had hopes that a person of that dynamics, with that type of delivery and charisma, would actually cross over and join the International Brotherhood of Muslims. And so my father recognized that on his return, that he was actually of the Sunni Muslim community.
However, when he got the call, and I mentioned earlier that he tried to summon the Muslims in New York and didn't get any positive response, and I think it could have been for various reasons. It could have been a fear factor involved, a risk factor. You could jeopardize what you'd already accomplished by dealing with something of that nature. And my father was aware of the danger that was involved in that as well, and that was one reason why he kept his sons in the south out of harm's way for so many years so that we wouldn't be caught in the crossfire of anything that was uncontrollable by his own circumstances. But he did receive death threats. There was a threat, a consistent threat that anyone who came near Malcolm would get the same consequence, would meet the same consequences that Malcolm met. As I mentioned, Malcolm Pryor was head of a huge, large community. There was over 100,000 members in the Nation of Islam, and they all deemed Malcolm a traitor. He was someone who they felt that was worthy of that type of death, and it appeared in their papers and so forth and so on. And my father stepping in the middle of that was perceived as the next Malcolm because we knew that Malcolm was so large that no one could really stand in his shoes. So with Malcolm being removed, the next person to step up would continue that legacy to bring about Islam to the masses. So what motivated him in the midst of all of that to actually stand up? Why didn't he take the stance of other people who distanced themselves at that particular moment from Malcolm? What was the motivation behind that?
Well, you know, we talked about that, and he said it was two reasons for him stepping up to take that responsibility. Number one is a right that a Muslim holds over another Muslim. A Muslim who passes away has the right to be prayed over by a Muslim, and that's an obligation. That's fard al-kifaya. If no one takes the responsibility, it becomes fard al-ayn. It is a community responsibility, and if no one responds, it becomes a personal responsibility. And he being the national imam of one of the largest Sunni organizations in the country, by default it fell in his lap. And number two, that he did not want to lose Malcolm again, you know, into the black nationalist movement. He wanted his identity as a Muslim to be clear. He wanted that to be understood not by just the Muslim, but by the non-Muslims as well. So he, despite the risk factor and the threats that was levied towards him, he knew that he had to come forward, even if it meant putting his life on the line. Did your father, my grandfather Hesham, did he recount to you, you know, of this particular experience, what it was like to actually prepare himself spiritually, mentally, and so forth, to actually enter into that space? And then once he entered into that space, what did he find, what did he encounter, and how was that experience? Yes, he indicated that was one of the most intense moments of his life. In fact, he had actually surrendered his life, you know, to Allah because he knew that the worst case scenario, he wouldn't come out alive. But, you know, he had the encouragement of our mother, Ummi Latifa. She encouraged him to carry it out, even though she was aware that, you know, he had sons.
If anything happened, they would lose their father, but she put, you know, that duty beyond family. And, you know, he mentioned that, you know, it was very difficult for him to actually even sleep. He had, you know, countless meetings with some of the members of the AAUAA, organizing strategy as how they would carry it out and how to respond if, in fact, they encountered negative responses to that particular episode. He said they organized their travels. They made sure they were in very different cars. And if you notice, when you look at the janaza, the actual prayer for Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz inside the church, you only see my father and one more person standing beside him. And that was a security measure. He had instructed those who came with him to blend in with the audience, you know, with the general congregation and not identify themselves in case they had to respond if the things got out of hand. Can you comment a little bit on that struggle that Hajji Hisham recognized from the very beginning that if he didn't stand up, then perhaps the full evolution of this human being, this dynamic personality would be lost in the history books and his Islam, his full transition and evolution would have been left out of those books. Malcolm was being pulled on by many people, many organizations. I think even today, many people are still confused about, you know, who was Malcolm or Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz. Not only did he found the Muslim Masjid Incorporated, but he also established the AAU, the African-American Organization of Unity, which was his political platform.
And that and that particular group, they weren't necessarily Muslim. There was anyone who had an interest in bringing about social justice and social equality. And they, too, were pulling on Malcolm. The black nationalists were pulling on Malcolm. Everyone wanted to identify with Malcolm. And I think that if we would have not responded, I think they would have buried Malcolm the way in which they thought it was appropriate, according to their ideology and philosophy at that particular time. But as Muslim, we weren't permitted to allow that to happen. So not only was the threats coming from the Nation of Islam, but there was opposition from the black nationalists and members of the Afro-American Organization of Unity. They, too, had concerns as to how Malcolm would be buried. But alhamdulillah, you know, in the end, the Muslims prevailed. We were able to claim their body, which was not an easy task. They had to have meetings and discussions of how to proceed in acquiring his body. The records show that Malcolm was assassinated February 21st, 1965. And, you know, as Muslim, we rushed to bury our deceased within 24 to 36 hours. However, Malcolm was held in state for six days because of autopsies and other legal litigations that we had to work through. But at the end, I think that they understood the determination of the Sunni community that if we didn't claim Malcolm's body, then there would be a problem. You know, we're not allowing us to give our brother his rights. What did this actually mean for the Shabazz family, those who Malcolm Haj Malik actually left behind in terms of his wife and his children?
What did this mean to them that grandpa stood up and he performed these final rites for him? I think it gave them a level of confidence when they view the circumstances surrounding their father's death, the death of a martyr, you know, a death of a martyr. As we know that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, He tells us in the Quran, لا تقول لمن يقتلوا في سبيل الله أموات فالأحياء ولكن لا تشعرون. Do not say of those who have been slain in the way of Allah that they are dead, yet they are alive, yet you cannot perceive it. So I think that by my father, you know, giving Al-Haj Malik Shabazz his rights and the Muslim community at large recognizing him as a Muslim and he's been assigned amongst those who are the martyrs, inshallah, that gave them a sense of hope and confidence that there was no loss. And it kind of like kept them navigating along the line, you know. It's very difficult and it was very difficult for Bedi Shabazz to manage that trauma being that she was pregnant with twins and the only way that she was able to accommodate that anxiety and depression was that she performed the Hajj one month after his assassination. And she said that if it was not for the pilgrimage that she would not have been able to bear his death and so forth. So I think that the whole concept of Al-Haj, Martyrdom, and my father being there to preserve and save Malcolm from being buried in the Black History Annuals or the Black Nationalist Annuals was a gift, you know. And they appreciated that, you know.
And my father yearly would go to Boston to meet with Malcolm's sister, Ella Collins, who actually took the lead after his death. So that was a whole other narrative. He would take my brothers there. In fact, my brother Imam Ali Jaber used to sleep in Al-Haj Malik Shabazz's bed. So it fostered a strong bond by him stepping up and it brought about a preservation for their Islamic identity. How about yourself? How have you actually been a part of that? That bond between my father and the Shabazz family lasted and is still ongoing with his sons and grandsons and so forth and so on. One thing I want to mention is that my father, he informed me upon question, why is it that annually you go to speak at Al-Haj Malik Shabazz's affair? And he said, I want to keep his legacy alive, that he was a Muslim and that he did not die as a black nationalist and so forth and so on. And that created a bond. In fact, when his wife Betty Shabazz was burned, you know, when she was in a near death state in the hospital, she requested my father, you know, because of that long lasting bond and relationship. And he would go to the hospital and visit her and he would lead her in the Salat and she would follow him with her finger, you know. And that was something very inspiring to see the relationship between Al-Haj Malik Shabazz transferred all the way over to his wife. And upon her death, my father was also a part of the Janaza team that actually finalized her last rites.
And it's a unique story about Betty Shabazz as well, because I can remember when my father got the call that she had passed away and he called me to come to his apartment. I went to his apartment and he said that he feels that the same thing is going to happen and the same problems may occur that he had to face with Al-Haj Malik Shabazz, not in a violent context, but the fact that, as we know, Betty Shabazz was a very dynamic person. She was involved in the civil rights movement. She was involved in the movement for social justice and equality, you know. And she was a very distinguished personality and everyone would also pull it off. And so I was very lucky to have known her, you know, and she too was a haji as well. You were directly involved in this particular janazah. Yes, definitely. In fact, I was the one who he sent to New York to talk to the Imam, Imam Agua at the Islamic Center at 93rd Street in New York to explain to him that, you know, our sister Betty was a very dynamic personality in America. She was a very strong advocate of the late Al-Haj Malik Shabazz. She has millions, literally millions of people who's looking at her and so forth and so on. And in order to articulate, you know, her commitment and sacrifices and struggle, someone of indigenous Islamic background should be a part of that whole process so she don't get lost in the political quadmere. And I explained that to the Imam and we had some dialogue. It was undecided as to which way it would go. So when I came back and I conveyed the message to my father, he was very uneasy about it. And he felt that we definitely had to make some preparation to get ahead of what they had planned.
And I think the early morning, the day of her janazah, it was undecided as to how she, who would do the janazah, how she would be buried, so forth and so on. And this is where? This is, we're in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and her body is in New York. So we have to travel. Again, my father organized an entourage. However, he informed me to go early to make sure that everything was in order. I was like, you know, did a reconnaissance, you know, type thing and go make sure everything is OK. I went and talked to the Imam. I talked to the Shabazz family. I gave them condolence and consoled them and tried to give them words of encouragement about their mother, so forth and so on. And he did a press conference in Elizabeth, and then he came to New York and there was a compromise. I wouldn't say a compromise, but an agreement that Imam Agbo, who was the resident imam of the Islamic Center, and he would do the prayer and my father would do the interment, the actual burial. And Alhamdulillah, everything worked out. However, after we finished the prayer, just through a gut feeling, we sensed that there was something else planned. They had planned to have a memorial at a nearby church that evening and they was going to delay the burial. OK, so we organized ourselves and we broke protocol and was able to claim the body, was able to put the body in the hearse and we took it to the cemetery and we did the interment. Alhamdulillah, his daughters really expressed their appreciation for the way in which their mother's janazah were carried out. Alhamdulillah. Wow. I wonder if when Betty was standing next to Grandpa Hesham,
as he's doing the burial for Malcolm at the gravesite and they're putting him in the ground, I wonder if she knew or she ever imagined that the man standing next to her would also be officiating her janazah as well and fending for her rights as well to make sure that she was given the burial that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala divinely ordained for the believers. You know, so there's so much symbolism in this. It's just so profound when you think about the full circle coming around from Malcolm's janazah to Betty's janazah. You know, subhanallah. Yeah, that's definitely something to reflect upon, because, you know, if you look at those pictures where Betty is standing beside my father, you know, she's she's in a she seems that she's in a secured mode, that she's protected, you know. And I think that, you know, after Malcolm's assassination, there was so many threats coming at her as well. And prior to his death, that she was shattered and she needed a sense of security. And I think that that particular episode of her husband being buried as a Muslim brought some serenity to her, you know, by any means, brought some serenity. At least we got that particular job done. And and I think that was the bond that that was forced between my father and her for many years. And to have her to request him on her deathbed really says a lot about their relationship. Definitely. Is there anything else that you want to conclude with as Muslims? You know, we do count Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz as one of our martyrs. And may Allah give him the highest paradise. And I think that what we should understand that Malcolm himself,
you know, he joined the Universal Brotherhood of Muslims and he added to it. And upon his death, you know, many people, you know, came into Islam. And I think that as time unrolled, that people began to go back and examine their their their prior positions as Muslims and came to the conclusion that what Al-Hajj Malik Shabazz embarked upon and what he embraced was actually the Islam that our beloved Messenger Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, brought to us over 1400 years.
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