TRUTH The Principle Of Organization

By The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan | Last updated: Feb 9, 2016 - 11:30:02 AM

[Editor’s note: The following article was printed from the Special Saviours’ Day edition, February 1984.]

A problem exists within the Black community and among Black people throughout the world, which we must solve if we are going to enjoy the blessings of truth, which are freedom, justice and equality. That problem is disorganization. We all, I am sure, know or believe that in order to make progress in a peaceful world, much less in a hostile environment, we need to be organized.

To be organized presupposes the presence of an organizer and an organizing activity. Black people come together at church or at the temple or mosque or masjid or synagogue, or we come together in meetings of various kinds, and we say we belong to organizations. However, we still find ourselves unorganized.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has made us to see and understand that truth is an organizing force of itself. This is why Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Once you know the truth, then you know the value of organizing with and in accord with the truth. Then freedom becomes a reality. The Holy Qur’an tells us that the heavens and the earth are created in truth. Everything above us, beneath us and around us, even in us, is a product of truth. And if you notice, the heavens are organized, the earth is organized, our bodies are organized. Why? Because inherent in truth is a principle of organization.

How could this be? The throne of God, according to the Holy Qur’an, is seen on water. Water is the source of all life. There would be no universe if there were no water. Yet, out of water has come so much diversity—since all living things are diverse. Still, they come from one source, under one principle. And all of this coming up out of water is organized. How then can we say we know the truth and we are not organized? We have been given the truth but we lack understanding of its principles.

Each one of us is different. Almighty God (Allah), in His Infinite Wisdom, created no two snowflakes exactly alike. No two raindrops are exactly alike. And as long as human beings have been coming forth in this universe, no two human beings have ever been or will ever be exactly alike (except of course through the process of cloning, but we haven’t gotten to that at this point). Each one of us has a different footprint, a different handprint, and a different fingerprint, which shows that each one of us is unique.

If we are all unique but we come from one source, how then do we organize all of this diversity? The Bible teaches us that God gives us many gifts. We have one spirit but many gifts. Each one of us has a gift, which is related to the gift of everybody else. But these gifts mean nothing unless they are organized with a common goal and a common aim and purpose.

The human body is a masterful organization of living tissue. You have many different organs operating in nine different systems. But this body is highly organized and, therefore, highly effective. It can adapt to every condition: extreme heat, extreme cold, high altitude, and below sea level. It will adapt. The human machine is highly organized.

The ant is highly organized also. No wonder Solomon said, “Oh, thou sluggard, study the ways of the ant and become wise.” Every civilization that has recorded its history records the presence of ants. The reason ants are not extinct is because they are highly organized.

In the kind of environment we live in, where we as Black people are constantly under some harassment or affliction from a dominant society that has not matured to accept us fully as human beings, we cannot make progress unless there is the presence of truth. And we cannot make progress even with truth if, with truth, we are not highly organized.

Every great leader that came to Black people from among ourselves brought a degree of truth and also brought a degree of organization. For example, Marcus Garvey brought with him a degree of truth, and therefore, a degree of organization that was in keeping with the degree of truth that he brought. Noble Drew Ali brought truth, and with truth he brought organization. You cannot have truth and have disorganization; they are not compatible. If there is organization, there is some truth present. If there is truth present, there should be some organization present.

If Mr. Muhammad, by the grace of Allah (God), was able to take a disorganized Black people and organize us into the most powerful, disciplined, organized force of Black men and women ever to be seen in the Western Hemisphere or anywhere among Black people on earth, then that should tell you that he had a higher degree of knowledge. We, under the leadership of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, were working with a people that are considered by the scholars and scientists as dead. And anytime you can organize death, you are an organizer.

Bodies together in a room should not be assumed to be an organization. Organization only takes place when there is development of the individual, and as they are developed, they are manifested to an organizer who puts these individuals into a scheme or into a plan. These people start working together for the common good of the whole.

In order to be organized, we do not have to submerge our personality. Our personality is unique, our character is unique. We don’t have to lose our character to belong to an organization. But our character and our personality must develop under the truth so that we will know where we fit as the organization grows from the simple to the complex.

Black folks have been attempting organization ever since our fathers were brought into slavery. We understood that we could do nothing by ourselves. We need others working with us to accomplish any task that is worthwhile. God started alone but He did not remain alone. He created all of this wonder from his singleness. And it speaks to His own Unity; even though it is diverse, the universe has a unity of purpose. All praise is due to Allah.

Since the God created man and did not want man to be alone, He created woman to be different from the man. Therein lies the challenge to both. You are similar yet different but created to harmonize. You are created to make life what it should be for humanity.

We must not get carried away with our individuality and not see the necessity of uniting, linking with people who are different or diverse from our own self.

Is it necessary for everybody to be what you think they ought to be in order for them to be acceptable to you? Or must you grow up to see the diversity in nature and the uniformity of God’s great plan that all of us are not going to be the same? If you and I, recognizing our differences, cannot reach out to organize ourselves beyond our sameness, and to embrace that which is different from ourselves in the scheme of God’s plan for our own salvation, then we are always going to remain simple organizations that can never attain high goals. We will always be a simpleminded people who will be exploited and oppressed by powerful men and women who understand the principle of organization.

If we truly want to be free—not talking about being free—but if we truly want to be free, if we truly want to be the master of our own destiny, if we truly want the human right of self-determination, then organization of a complex nature must be present along with that desire, and the truth must be present in order for us to accomplish what we will.

Think, reflect, then get up and do. This is the FINAL CALL.

The Final Call