TRIBUTE:Nancy Wilson, Historic Interview Inside Muhammad Speaks

RADHIALLAHU ‘ANHU (May Allah Be Pleased)

In Islam, we are taught that we should not speak of those who die in the path of Allah(God) by referring to them as dead, for they are alive even though we may not understand how.  Allah (God) gives life and he is the ultimate cause of death.  And when man and woman devote the life that Allah (God) has given to them toward the cultivation of their gifts, skills and talents that they might not only secure benefit for themselves, but to also serve the betterment of humanity, such a man or woman is in the path of evolution, development, perfection and fulfillment.  Such a man or woman is in the path of Allah(God) and in this way, they reflect Him in one of His chief attributes or names, that of Rabb-specifically “Rabb-l al-Amin”.  Allah (God) in His attribute of Rabb appears about 960 times throughout the text of the Holy Qur’an (the book of scripture of the Muslims).  It is second in frequency of appearance in the Quranic text only to the proper name Allah.  Allah as “Raab-l al-Amin” is the “Lord of all the worlds” or as some scholars render it, “Lord of all systems of knowledge.”

The name Rabb means ‘evolver, nourisher and sustainer of creation through the various stages of its growth until it reaches its eventual perfection or completion.’

Talented men and women emerge onto the scene and are noticeable by the public when the brightness of light which is created through their respective manifestations of their gifts and talents can no longer be hidden.  They are brought forth from obscurity and ignominy by the process of their evolution,  that results from their continous and persistant work, development and struggle to overcome internal and external impediments.  It requires a process to produce a star in the universe of stars that we behold in the night sky.  And It takes a process to produce a man or woman-those whom we call stars because they have become luminaries in their field of work and endeavor.  And it is Allah as Rabb or “Rabb-l al-Amin” who controls and guides that process.

So we thank Allah(God) , “Rabb-l al-Amin” for our dear sister who has now just departed from us and returned to the essence of her creation, Allah (God).  And we pray that He is pleased with her life and how she devoted herself to the development of what He deposited within her from the time she was born from the blessed womb of her mother; to ultimately exist as a blessing to millions of human beings, sharing her gift of song and the amelioration and upliftment  of the human soul that is the frequent effect of good music-soul music.

ResearchMinister.Com wanted to tribute Sister Nancy Wilson by sharing an interview conducted by the legendary Howard Bingham for the Pan African Press and which was published in the historic national organ of the Nation of Islam –the Muhammad Speaks Newspaper.

Enjoy Part 1 and Part 2 of an interview devoted to displaying our sister as more than just a magnificent singer of songs, but one who was also a  sincere and conscientious Black woman, who was cut from the same cloth that many of our great entertainers of the past was cut from; those who functioned in the lives of their beloved Black community in the dual role as both entertainer and educator; athlete and activist; scholar and warrior.

PART 1 June 7, 1968

Part 2 June 14, 1968