Read on Twitter
On this blessed day of Eid al-Adha, as we honor the sacrifices & devotion of the prophet Abraham and Mother Hajar, let us also remember the life and legacy of Sister Betty Shabazz, who made her pilgrimage to Mecca a month after her husband's assassination, pregnant with twins.
Sister Betty loved the story of Hajar; it is said that just the mention of the story brought tears to her eyes. As Russell Rickford writes in the opening pages of his marvelous biography of her, "Surviving Malcolm X":
"In the Muslim Tradition, brown-skinned Hajar symbolizes the virtue of perseverance and faith amid suffering. But for Betty there was something more personal and poignant; a sisterhood with this woman who had been stranded with a child, bereft but for her trust in God.
"When Betty made her Hajj, or pilgrimage, in the spring of 1965, she reenacted Hajar's quest, running seven times between Safa and Marwa, as do all Muslim pilgrims. Already the mother of four girls, Betty performed the ritual while pregnant with twins.
"Only weeks earlier she had become a young and destitute widow, and her life had seemed unsalvageable...Her pilgrimage to Mecca, however, was 'the Amen to a very long prayer.' She returned to New York, retreated to the suburbs, and began toiling toward the future.
"She raised 6 girls alone, earned a master's degree & a doctorate, & rose to a top administrative post at Brooklyn's Medgar Evers College. Ultimately, she emerged as an educator, heroine...custodian of Malcolm's legacy...healer, grandmother, counselor...(and) mediator."
I would add that for me & countless others, she also emerged as a pioneer & shining light of Islam in America, of U.S. Muslim women, and of how Black women are at the heart of this history. Sister Betty's labors & legacy blazed a trail--and light a path forward--for us all.
May Allah shower blessings on her soul. And may we all learn and be guided by Sister Betty's example.
Eid Mubarak, everyone.
Eid Mubarak, everyone.
