Cell Mate

By Abu Naim

Cell Mate is a discover-self project. Many incarcerated individuals have buried within themselves talents begging to be released. Suppressed by an environment orchestrated to enslave their minds and make them servants to other than right-use-ness (righteousness), they are fed a diet of you cant do this and you will never be able to do that. All lies. Our Creator has given everyone the intelligence and physical tools to accomplish what they will. He wants to remove that mask, go inside the self, and tell you Yes, I can. Yes, I will. I know you can because you have demonstrated with your communication skills a mental power superior to many people I have seen holding government titles. Free your mind and become the productive creature God has said you can become.

Inshallah, a book entitled Pasitu Enterprise will be published, containing many articles you have written during the past fifteen years. You are the best of creation. Manifest the gifts God had given you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543429138

Abu Naim

I am Harold Karriem Abdullah, born and raise in America. I served in the U. S. Army from 1949 until 1972, and retired as a Bandmaster. Was introduced to the Islamic faith while stationed in Viet Nam around 1969. In 1975, under the leadership of Imam Dr. W. D. Mohammed, a son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I became employed by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). At that time it was named MSA of USA and Canada. I served in various administrative departments. During my last assignment as Maintenance Facilitator/Security man, I left ISNA and continued voluntary service at various correctional facilities. During my past 40 years I have been a DoD Police Officer, a Reserve Police Officer in St. Louis, Mo., and a Volunteer of America with an organization called "Aide For Victims Of Crime.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Abu Naim.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2017909268

ISBN:                   Hardcover                   978-1-5434-2912-1

                          Softcover                     978-1-5434-2911-4

                          eBook                         978-1-5434-2913-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 06/16/2017

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Contents

Foreword And Review

Introduction

About The Author

A Fool Is Happy That Knows No More

Damn!

Changes

This Is Al-Islam

Definitions

Chapter One

Strong Foundation

Subliminal Seduction

Chapter Two

Oh, You Can Change

Inevitable Conclusion

Chapter Three

Understanding How We Can Change

Istikhara

Creatures Of Habit

Chapter Four

Jonah, (Zu’n Nun), (Unis) He Of The Fish

Chapter Five

Marriage

A Good Mate?

Addendum

Chapter Six

Character Of A Believer

Character Building

Chapter Seven

The Destination

Eternal Life

Planes Of Existence

Chapter Eight

Pasitu Enterprise

Beauty, Balance, Al-Islam

Unity

Featured Article

Thanks For Giving What?

Think

Poem (2002)

Anger

Guard The Middle Prayer

Thanking Allah

Veiling Of A Muslim Woman

Worship Of The Heart

Blinding Lies

No Compulsion In Religion

The Season Of Growth

Ambitions As A Believer

Remaining Steadfast In A Morally Bankrupt Society

Chapter Nine

Selected Khutbahs Deliver To The Incarcerated

Chapter Ten

Thinking 101

Karriem: Walking On A High Wire

Leadership

What Is This?

All Science Begins With Investigation

Take The Best That Flows To You

Receive What You Strive For

Tape Recorder

Thinking

Lies Producing Chaos

Positive And Negative

Scattered Thoughts

—This Is About Science—

All graphics were produced:

FOREWORD

AND REVIEW

I TESTIFY THAT there is no G’d (God) other than Allah (highly praised is He [swt]), and that Muhammad ibn Abdullah (pbuh) is the seal, or, final Messenger of Allah.

The late Doctor Imam Warith D. Mohammed, the seventh child of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his wife Clara, was the major influence guiding me toward traditional Islam as articulated in al-Qur’an. In 1975, when he was selected by the leadership body of the Nation of Islam, established by his father, he initiated a gradual transition from our near paganistic understanding of Islam to Al-Islam as taught by Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah of Arabia over 1450 years ago.

Within less than three years, Imam W. D. Mohammed guided thousands of individuals into the light of pure Islam and encouraged the development of Islamic scholars throughout the United States of America. And during his 33 years of revivalist teachings, a new African mentality was born In the Wilderness of North America.

I was born an American citizen (Negro, Black, Asiatic, Colored, whatever identification that may please your fancy), raised a believer in G’d and my country with all its racism and bigotry, served honorably within the US military for twenty-three years, and retired as a Warrant Officer Bandmaster; now I’m a patriotic Muslim American with a love for enhancing human dignity to the best of my ability, thanks to the example place before me within the human form of Imam W. D. Mohammed. I am among the best brought out of humanity enjoining that which is right and forbidding that which is wrong. Yes! I am full of imperfections, but that is exactly what being human is all about: failing your way to the top.

Having the opportunity to work and live among emigrant Muslims for over thirty years gave me the opportunity to experience multicultures. As a receptionist, mail clerk, membership department manager, and maintenance facilitator, I was employed by the Islamic Society of North America for many years. I worked there so long that residence on property was given to me. I became a twenty-four-hour security guard. During this entire time, my affiliation with the Nation of Islam and the community of W. D. Mohammed was well known and accepted. I never lost my Afro-centric sensitivities.

From 1975 through 2008, this new environmental experience with personalities such as Dr. Igbal Unus, Sheikh Tijani Abu-Gidary, Dr. Isan Baghby, Sheik Jafa Idris, Dr. Monzer Khaf, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Dr. Jamal Badawi, Dr. Mahmoud Rasdan, Sheik Ibrahim El-Desougi, Sheik Muhammad Nur Abdullah, and many others, gave me a broader Islamic understanding. These different cultural backgrounds enhanced my self-appreciation.

I was living and working with others who were considered second class citizens, by our predominantly Caucasian neighbors. Most of these immigrants were better educated, more intelligent, possessed higher moral character, and were much more financially stable than most within the community but were viewed as despicable because they were emigrants. Some of them (my new family) were struggling to be like their Caucasian neighbors while I was very comfortable within my own skin. I believe my past military experience had prepared me for a very comfortable life among any people. I was not intimidated by the presence of blond hair, blue eyed, Caucasian devils.

In preparing this small book, many thanks for encouragement and assistance must be given to so many people that I can’t name them all.

One of my elder sons, Kenneth L. Madison (now deceased), would always encourage me to write the book and then tease me about … hmmm a mate in his cell? Another son, Michael L. Madison, encouraged me to use graphics in order to hold the attention of those that may get bored with just reading. And my many surrogate incarcerated sons wanted alternative reading material with an Islamic flavor that they could easily identify with. I thank them all for feeding me material and saying, Do it.

Last but not least, I thank Mr. Michael (Muhammad) Troutman for assisting me in finally completing this experience in unexplored territory.

Cellmate Review

All praise belongs to our Creator. We pray that He blesses this humble effort to reach out to humanity.

Cellmate is a user-friendly guide to dealing with various vicissitudes of life. Cellmate can be applied to life’s toughest moments, as well as life’s sweetest moments. The author has drawn from his rich well of experience. However, he did not stop with his well, but drew from many wells.

As the reader will discern much of the materials used in cellmate was drawn from a very marginalized segment of society—the incarcerated. Fail your way to the top is a recurring theme that runs throughout Cellmate. The incarcerated segment of society is deemed failures. Cellmate provides a sort of redemption for the incarcerated. The only people that should not read Cellmate are those who have never failed at anything in life and do not believe in the redeeming quality of human beings. Everyone else, Muslim and non-Muslim, should read Cellmate.

I firmly believe that Cellmate will be appreciated by readers who wish to improve in all aspects of their daily lives because the author has blended history, economics, marriage, morality, spirituality, God-consciousness, and a host of other human developmental topics in a will arranged order.

The chapters are concise, precise, yet comprehensive for all genres of readers. One of the amazing things that struck me as I read and re-read Cellmate is that the central insights of Cellmate so resonates with commonsense that is easy to overlook just how remarkable of a book it is—a must read for people who value common sense.

Cellmate illustrates its points with anecdotes, Quranic passages, conversations, and familiar examples in a clear, easy-to-browse format. Cellmate repeatedly emphasizes moral and spiritual awareness and accountability. No matter how competent or clever we are, or imagine we are, we all confront situations in life that cause anxiety and frustrations. This book can help.

Cellmate will help you to spot ways your self-image affects the environment and environ-men, decipher the underlying causes of dysfunction, interpret the significance of what is said—and what is not said. Cellmate will help you to identify the erroneous but deeply ingrained assumptions that keep you—and society—stuck! Cellmate will also help you to manage strong emotions—yours and others’. I am deeply humbled and honored to have been a very small part of Cellmate.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the author—H. K. Abdullah, as we have benefited from his ability of transformative power of telling one’s story and speaking to the heart of the matter—feel me.

We also owe a debt of gratitude to those who submitted materials to PASTIU Enterprise over the years that were subsequently included in Cellmate. The stories and conversations shared throughout the book come from our own lives and from our works.

Cellmate leaves me feeling optimistic that the redeeming quality and value of humanity is still alive.

Muhammad Abdullah Troutman, 02.25.17

INTRODUCTION

W E FIRST UNDERSTAND that there is only one Creator for all systems of knowledge, and all knowledge is extracted from creation, except divine knowledge, which is known as revelation.

Secondly, everything created is evolving toward its predestined destination and guidance for that destination has been placed within its form.

Humanity and Jinn have been given, by Creator, free will/ability to choose a path that carries personal accountability to ultimate destination. Within whatever you choose, there is a predetermined destination alterable only by The Controller of all systems of knowledge.

Thirdly, guidance as stated in the second statement has been given to humanity in the form of a human being to demonstrate the correct method for achieving the best end results. I call this the final blueprint for developing human character if you desire the Paradise. The name of this blueprint is Muhammad ibn Abdullah born in Arabia over fourteen hundred years ago; peace and blessings be upon him (pbuh).

Finally, this little book is only meant to be food for thought with a pleasing taste, not comprehensive guidance. Allah permitting, I will produce a second book titled PASITU, which will, in-sha Allah, contain material previously used in newsletters submitted to me from an assortment of individuals that were once incarcerated within the caves [prisons] of America.

PASITU is my acronym for Pass It To You, which is really meant to imply Dawah.

There are many paths to a chosen destination, but the most direct path is a straight line. There are obstacles, challenges, or tests, on every road that we must overcome while travelling, but a straight line has the shortest distance. As one submitting to obey the guidance given by Creator, it is called the plain, uncomplicated, peaceful path. This path makes possible a multiplicity of expressions, but we are advised to always use the easy one if it doesn’t disobey the Creator’s directives.

Generally, we discover that a right way is a beautiful way, and beauty can be seen within balance. The creation of our well-balanced universe is beautiful. It only appears unbeautiful after men or Jinn disrupt the balance and Creator sets in motion conditions to reestablish balance. However, this book is not about aesthetics, my focus is intelligence.

Observation and serious thought about creation will uncover guidance for humanity. The statement, All science starts with observation, is very appropriate. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scriptures, we are given the story of Abraham and his observation of creation. His conclusion, after much contemplation, was, There is only one Creator. From this he is deemed the father of monotheistic religions. His decision was an intellectual one based upon a sincere desire to uncover truth, so I understand him to be the first major scientist within our current religious orientations.

There is no conflict between science and religion. Our way of life should beautifully decorate creation. We should take care of our temporary home, not desecrate it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My birth certificate now reads Harold Karriem Abdullah: originally it was Harold Melvin Madison.

Making the grand exit from your mother’s womb, with full realization of entrance into the world, is an awesome awakening; some people may become seriously neurotic. A chicken would be baffled, frightened, and petrified to the point of not being able to cackle without having its posterior spanked upon entering a world of fantasy, illusions, and deceptions, especially when upon entry it was fully aware of these confrontations. Well, that shell around my life began to crack two months before departing Vietnam.

One year before retiring from the United States Military, after twenty-three years of honorable service, I began to have a mental transformation. After returning from a tour in Vietnam, I was stationed in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Like many Vietnam returnees, I began to make new synapses. My exposure to life in Vietnam and returning to the land of round door knobs was revealing. I didn’t know it, but I had become dehypnotized from my former Houdini (European culture) and had to be reprogrammed. (The military call this deprogramming.)

I entered a college extension course and selected English composition and math. About math, I’ll mention only one thing. While walking along a railroad track, behind my residence in Ft. Knox, Kentucky, I found a piece of paper that had written on it: T + E × E² × E³ = R. Immediately I understood that to imply (Thought plus Energy, times Energy to the second power, times Energy to the third power, equals Results). With my electrical currents still connected to Vietnam pastime activities I almost blew a fuse. I thought, wow! This is how one achieves success within this environment. I was thinking G’d must be a mathematician.

Now that’s no earth-shaking formula for progressive thinking people, but for me, the "hear and obey type, I got excited thinking about this is a simple formula for achievement. I was taught that you always had to do what the boss man said do, and then learn how to get around him to get promoted. But, that formula was telling me to think for myself and work hard on manifesting my thoughts. Doing this I could accomplish what I will. The missing part of that formula was belief in self. When your self-belief system has been totally destroyed, you really need to believe in G’d. To know that your Creator is always near and hears everyone’s plea, that’s powerful medicine when consumed with hard work. But, what I really want to pass on to you at this time are some transitional life papers, written for my English composition class, that caused some long-life sharing relatives to say, Dat boy done gone crazy." They were written in 1971.

One English college teacher told us to read a book by Richard Gary Brautigan. She told