The Legacy Of Muhammad Ali

The Legacy of Muhammad Ali

Which means that we should be conscious of Him. We should be aware of Him. And we should protect ourselves from His punishment and His wrath. And we shouldn't allow ourselves to die except in a state of La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

I begin my khutbah by asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first and foremost to send blessings and prayers to our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi ta'ala wa barakatuh.

One of the beauties of our religion is the fact that spreading this Islam is the responsibility of every single one of us. Spreading our deen is not limited to the scholars and the mashayikh. It is not limited to a special or small group of people. We all share that responsibility of spreading our deen.

And subhanAllah, in today's khutbah, I'm going to be talking about someone who is the most famous and respected Muslim in the United States. The most famous and respected Muslim who says La ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasulullah in this land, in this country. And this man is Muhammad Ali.

And Muhammad Ali has a unique story since his childhood. In today's khutbah inshAllah ta'ala, I'm going to give you an overview about his life, and then lessons that we can glean from his life and time.

His Early Life and the Road to Boxing

He was born in Louisiana, in the south — the deep south — as an African American. And if you were thinking about the 1900s, at that time it was so hard to be Black. It was very hard to be Black at that time.

Muhammad Ali, one time, was riding his bike and got robbed. Someone robbed his bike. So he picked up the phone and called the police to report this incident. And the answer he got was, "Don't fight next time." So Muhammad Ali at that time realized that he lives in a world where he has to step up for himself. He has to watch for himself. He has to build up himself. And so he got into boxing.

At the age of 18, Muhammad Ali won his first Olympic gold medal. That was earth-shattering for so many people. He's an African American Muslim who's winning that medal, and that's something very unique.

Stripped of Everything — and the Return

Years after that, fast forward a little bit, Muhammad Ali got in big trouble, where he was stripped of everything he had. The medal, he was banned from boxing. And I want you to just imagine this — a young man, 19 or 20, who finally made it, and then all of a sudden, he has to go back to where he was. No money, no fame, no success. Now he's struggling with a huge financial crisis. Everything is taken away from him.

Years after, he was 32. At that time, he decided to go back to boxing. And everyone was telling him, "You know what? It's too late. You're getting older now. You'll be slower, and you'll be weaker." But Muhammad Ali was insistent to go back.

So he actually went for a final match for the world championship in boxing — against a big boxer at that time by the name of Fraser. Every single one was telling him, "You cannot make it. You will be defeated." And he started this match, and he actually lost.

So I want you to just think about — put yourself in Muhammad Ali's shoes. All of this injustice committed against me. And now I wanted to start my career at a very old age, and I get this first hit. So everyone is telling me, "This is the time for you to retire. There's no way you can make it. That's it. You're 33 now." And in boxing language, 33 is old age. Usually at the early 20s, that's your peak. But at 33, you're getting off that track of being a solid boxer.

His Greater Purpose — Beyond Boxing

But Muhammad Ali did not give up. And I want your attention here. Muhammad Ali did not give up because he loved boxing so much and he wanted that career. Boxing was not his ultimate purpose. He had a greater purpose than boxing. Boxing for Muhammad Ali was the vehicle through which he wanted to reach some point — Islam to be spread all over this country. That was his purpose.

And so he started these matches, and he won a couple of matches. He started to get stronger and stronger. And one time, before a fight, in a press conference, the opponent refused to call him Muhammad Ali. He kept calling him Cassius Clay. And he told him, "This is not my name. Don't call me Cassius Clay. My name is Muhammad Ali." And the opponent insisted to call him Cassius Clay one more time.

And Muhammad Ali had so much pride — he took so much pride and honor in his faith. So he told him, "You know what? I will make you say my name in the ring." And in that fight, as he was knocking him down, he told him, "What's my name? Say my name."

I want you to watch that. Someone who is so proud of his identity as a Muslim — he wouldn't shy away from saying his name in public. He wouldn't shy away from praying in public. He wouldn't be embarrassed to say, "My name is Muhammad." My name is not abbreviated. I wouldn't be embarrassed to say my full name. I would say my full name. I'm a Muslim and I'm proud of being Muslim.

So Muhammad Ali had that mentality — in every single conversation, Muhammad Ali had to bring Islam into the conversation. We're talking about the 1900s, brothers and sisters. No one even knew what Islam was in America. That was something not really popular. People didn't know what this man was talking about. And he did not shy away from that.

The Fight in Zaire — "The Rumble in the Jungle"

Fast forward a little bit — that was the peak towards the end of his career. Muhammad Ali understood the words of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم when he said:

The best among people are those who are most beneficial to others. (Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, al-Tabarani, Hadith 5787; also referenced in Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Sahihah, al-Albani, Hadith 426)

So he said, "I will go one more time. Because I lost to Fraser. This is my last opportunity. I'll go for a final match." His age now was 33. And he was going to fight against who? Against George Foreman.

For those who have knowledge about boxing, you know what I'm talking about. George Foreman is a fighter. He's solid. He won 40 games before that match. And in every single game, he won with a knockout in the second round. And he had actually beaten Fraser — the one who had beaten Muhammad Ali.

And George Foreman, before that match, said, "I'm going to kill Muhammad Ali. I want everybody to be scared to face me and fight me." And Muhammad Ali did something very unique. He actually decided to have that match in Africa — in Zaire, one of the poorest countries of Africa. And everybody was like, "Why is he insisting to have that match in Africa?" He said, "This is my only condition. If you guys want me to go and fight for that match, it has to be in Africa."

And he was very smart. Because he went to Africa, to Zaire. And in the pre-fight build-up, while everyone was, you know, usually the fighters speak against each other and all that — he wasn't concerned about any of this. He was actually talking about the struggle of the Africans and the struggle of the people of Zaire. In the media, he was talking about that. Remember — boxing was not his purpose. Was not his ultimate goal. He wanted to help and spread La ilaha illallah and help people. That was his passion.

So he started speaking about the struggle of the people of Zaire. And the people of Zaire loved him so much. As he was training, thousands of people were following him. Thousands of people wanted to say salam to him. They wanted to take a picture with him. Thousands of people loved him so much.

George Foreman, after this match, said, "I was not scared of Muhammad Ali the boxer. I was scared of Muhammad Ali the person. The power he has inside — not the physicality. I was afraid of him. I was afraid of who he is. The principles he stands for. It's just unique."

So Muhammad Ali started — it was a big match. I wanted to go and look at the documentary of Muhammad Ali. It's beautiful. In Zaire, they didn't have proper rings for that kind of match. So they decided to have this match in the soccer stadium. Around 60,000 people came to watch this match. And some statistics say that almost a quarter of the population of the world got to watch this match on TV. I want you to imagine this.

And he started this fight. And again, Muhammad Ali put all of his power, his passion — he was just, in that match, going for something far greater than just a match. The match started. And George Foreman was well-known for his left punch. And when he got that first left punch in, Muhammad Ali looked at him and said, "Is that all you got?" And then eventually, Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman in that match.

After the Victory — Words and Actions of a Believer

After the match, listen to Muhammad Ali's words. He said, "With the power of Allah, we can achieve everything. With the power of Allah, we can win anything." And then he said, "I'm here to say that the people in Zaire are struggling. I'm here to say that I'm actually going to sell my gloves." And he actually sold his gloves for $100,000. And he gave all of that money to the people of Zaire.

Muhammad Ali made even insincere people see his sincerity. He made the most racist people in the world mention the name of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم with respect. This is what Muhammad Ali did. This is what Muhammad Ali achieved. He made people see the pride of Islam in this land.

His Legacy and Passing

SubhanAllah — towards his final days and when he passed away, the world leaders attended his funeral. I remember even Bill Clinton at that time attended his funeral, speaking about his legacy, calling him "the greatest." The title of "the greatest" in the 1900s being given to an African American Muslim brother — that is his achievement.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless his soul. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us among those who follow that legacy. Ameen.

Al-Fatihah.