The Moorish American Prayer represents an acknowledgment of things that exist beyond the realm of physics. The term commonly used to represent this phenomena is “metaphysics.” This word, in connection with the Moorish American Prayer, is a term that is appropriately suited to express the intangibles that lie beyond the elements of nature. Looking at the etymological foundation of the word “physics,” we find that its original meaning is “the science of nature” which encompasses nature in its totality. Hence, the study of the esoteric connection between nature and the “divine,” through a meditation on the Moorish American Prayer, we are then able to divinely see that which lies beyond nature: the knowledge of the Universe and the knowledge of the unlimited-ness that make Allah incomprehensible and indefinable. The five principles of Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom and Justice belong to a knowledge that is attained by virtue of metaphysical intuition (Moorish Meta-Psychic Introspection) which leads to an understanding of the vast identity of the universe and the hidden happenings that are beyond the consciousness of mundane man. In accordance with the metaphysical declaration of Allah’s majesty, one could very easily see how the Moorish American Prayer can be seen as a Moorish American “Kalima” or “Shahadah.” The shahadah is usually understood as the utterance of transcendence and distinction of Allah beyond his created realms and orders as also the affirming of the authenticity of Allah’s vice-regents, prophets, holy scripture, angelic hosts, etc. However, the introduction of the first chapter of the Moorish Holy Koran in connection with the Moorish American Prayer symbolize the crowning achievement of true metaphysics and understanding of the being that extend beyond being. From an esoteric islamic standpoint, the metaphysics of great sufi masters, Noble Drew Ali included, is deeply steeped in eastern tradition that is free from the limitations of western minded metaphysics and religious dogma. Those teachings grounded from ancient wisdom envisages Allah as the Essence (al-ahadiyah) and as the Divinity (al-wahidiyah). Allah, the Absolute or Supreme Reality is infinite and boundless; therefore Allah in its absoluteness is beyond human knowledge because finite minds cannot comprehend those things that are infinite. It is only at this stage of true self-realization that the greater aspects of Allah are witnessed as supreme and incomparable. In this phase of spiritual capture the understanding of Unity (al-ahidiyah) is indivisible and is the object of divine knowledge in its self. However, the linear concept of metaphysics has a constricted view that solely rely on reason which often times have difficulty surpassing the idea of being that extends beyond being. This essential limitation has been mainly responsible for the product counterfeit knowledge.

The Moorish “M.A.P.” represents the indivisible One-and-Only which simultaneously is the One-and-All. This is the predominant theme of the metaphysical teachings of Noble Drew Ali that permeates all of his recorded literature. As understood in the depths of Moorish Science, the galactic heavens is a theophany and acts as a divine mirror; however, it does not confront Allah as Allah, but simply provides a symbolic gateway to reach the reality that lies hidden behind the cosmic manifestation. This reality is a hidden manifestation in the form of cosmic dark matter. With this in mind, the cosmos can be likened to an unpolished mirror whereas man can be understood as a polished mirror wherein are manifested all the aspects of existence. Perfect man is a perfect polished mirror knowing self as the royal resource of the absolute source. This level of psychological development is first nurtured in the esoteric foundation of the “M.A.P.” Within the Moorish American Prayer are tools for proclaiming, declaring and perpetuating, not only your national identity, but your indestructible spiritual identity. This prayer, when understood, places the psyche in a constant state of programming and re-programming the words of purity to create a mental state that perpetuates, through action, a testimony of the grandness of Allah with man.

With this in mind, the adept must view, from an esoteric mind-frame, the beginning of the Moorish American Prayer. The beginning of the prayer acknowledges the Absolute as the essence (al-ahidiyah) and as the divinity (al-wahidiyah) which symbolizes the unity of essence and the unity of many-ness respectively for which Allah is used. Hence, there is nothing outside of the Absolute-ness of Allah. The sufic understanding of tawhid expresses this fundamental truth in the form of shahadah:La Ilaha Illa Lah Muhammadun Rasulu’ Llah which is ordinarily understood as I testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. However, from an esoteric and intellectual viewpoint the shahadah means: There is no divinity (or reality, or absolute) outside the only dvinity (or Reality or Absolute)’ and Muhammad is the gateway or mouthpiece, the manifestation, the symbol of that Divnity. It is important to understand that shahadah reprensts the act of testifying or bearing witness; hence if one were to read the Moorish American Prayer as: I testify that Allah is the Father of the Universe, the Father of Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom and Justice. I testify that Allah is my protector, my guide and my salvation, by night and by day through his holy Prophet: Drew Ali, then it could be understood and seen as shahadah for Moorish Americans with Noble Drew Ali acting as the gateway, mouthpiece and a specific manifestation for a distinguished level of salvation for man to be re-calibrated back with the Divine.

When studied fully, the shahadah demonstrates that Allah, the Absolute, is the Real essence and that all things are relative to the Absolute. Tawhid essentially leads to the doctrine of oneness of being (wahdat ul wujud). “Being” then coincides with the Real and there is nothing other than the Real. Therefore no degree of reality stands autonomous a part from the Absolute-ness of Allah. Thus the essential nature of reality is in its origin and the Shahadah acts as a declaration to return to that which you originate; hence, the “journey of origin and return.” In testifying to the one-ness of Allah, the adept then realizes that there is no distinction between the oneness of being (wahdat ul wujud) and the oneness of perception (wahdat al shudud) as it is known that only Allah has the power to perceive Allah. The Moorish American Prayer implies that there is a oneness of being and that also implies a substantial continuity between Allah and the Universe. Therefore, the M.A.P. clearly represents a truth that states that Allah absolutely transcends the realm of substance but also is the guiding light from such a realm of illusion.

Allah: the father of love as expressed in the Moorish American Prayer, represents an aspect of the metaphysics of Love that embraces the divine and human dimensions of the higher self reality. Divine love is both the cause of creation or manifestation of the universe and it is the animating force of the self-manifestation of the Absolute’s perpetuation of being. The divine essence within each Asiatic represent a form of the personal divinity that makes the science of love possible. Man’s love for Allah is his/her commitment to inward progression and outward unification cohesiveness as expressed in tones by the Moorish American Prayer/Shahadah. The science and metaphysics of love embraces the fact that the only place where Allah is to be found is within the heart center of Asiatics. This divine center is the only possible bridge to truly knowing self as the supreme principle is both absolute and infinite and from the latter arises perfection.

The soul has insatiable love and desire for perfection despite the weakness of flesh as perfection and union with Allah is the purpose of salvation. A stagnant existence in the world of illusion and lower self entrapment has no self-subsistent reality as it draws its existence from the soul’s need for perfection as the soul knows that “man is doomed to perfection.” It is a relative nothingness which obstructs the manifestation of perfection by creating a disequilibrium and an internal jihad that takes place between the lower self and the higher self. Therefore, the supreme reality by being infinite in nature expresses the potentiality in man: born as a perfected seed yet to be recognized by it as flesh and finite mind. The supreme principle lies within the sovereign power of man’s essential nature. Allah alone is perfection but Allah is also the source of perfection. The problem of evil arises due to the reality of universal manifestation as evil has no subsistent reality. It is a privation having no being in itself and once a Moor has declared and proclaimed there allegiance to Allah and Allah’s power, then Moors, by virtue, act as fearless and upright beings in the plane of manifest. By process of cosmic cycles, Moors proactively evolve as they force the cycles of imbalance to return back to its initial source from which it is an illusion or shadow of: Aught. The absolute primordial essence is indefinable and as Asiatic’s meditate on the prayer and testimony that leads them into the realm of pure manifestation, they evolve into the teachers and guides of humanity, uplifting those that have fallen as they (Moors) will become the “living” Will of Allah manifested on the plane called Assiah. Only then will light be perceived as its self in man; giving rise to the perpetual lesson that “none knows Allah but Allah.”

It is the essential nature of that which is divine, the absolute, to manifest itself and it is also by virtue that the essentiality of creation that the cosmos comes into existence which is the shadow of the Absolute, that man’s spiritual blue-print is realized. Regarding the spirit of freedom, man possesses within him/herself a “Will” that presses pass the boundaries of normality. This Will is the spirit substance that remains intangible and transparently luminous by virtue of the spirit’s unveiled presence of the of Light of the Absolute in which Freedom itself is Unlimited. Freedom is beyond being as freedom encompasses the evolution of Allah’s creations in its totality otherwise there would be no need for the intangible force of Will. At the level of pure essence, there is absolute freedom for there is no limitation on growth as the possibilities of man are infinite as Allah is infinite. At this level of being, which is the principle of spiritual evolution, man clears the mist from the mirror only to have clear vision of destiny and capabilities. Freedom in itself has no opposite but form manifestation is in its given constraint. However, this is surpassed when man realizes that Allah’s essence in man has no limitation nor can it be bound by illusion.

In conclusion, the Moorish American Prayer is truly a MAP for Asiatics to find themselves while also revealing the difference between the exoteric and esoteric meaning of universal knowledge. For the purpose of psycho-spiritual development, a transition exists between prayer as ritual and as a spiritual unveiling for both personal and universal truth. A large percentage of Moors in America know the Moorish American Prayer by heart, signifying the fact that we have, indeed, mastered the ritual aspect of prayer, but what of the esoteric and metaphysical nature and experience of the M.A.P.? Through an active approach of Moorish Science, we develop a unification of “Will” that is in harmony with Allah’s “Will” and grand plan. This level of “Will” manifestation urges man to be sincere in desire, thought, concentration, contemplation, and meditation as he/she learns to speak to their higher self which naturally encourages growth in awareness and selflessness towards others within their community, and eventually to “the uplifting of fallen humanity.” Therefore, with knowledge of Moorish Science comes the natural aspects of responsibility and accountability. Once one becomes more knowledgeable about spiritual affairs and happenings, they then begin to see greater consequences in what may seem small or insignificant to others. Finally, the closing of the M.A.P. and the usage of the word “Amen,” signifies that which is concealed, hidden or esoteric in nature. Noble Drew Ali left, in code, an encrypted message that would ignite the psyche(s) of the developing Moorish American(s). In utilizing the final word of the Moorish American “Kalima,” the Moorish mind shall find the greatest of all treasures: Allah within and the Aught of “Self.” The M.A.P. introduced Allah as the “father of the Universe,” but concluded with Allah as the “Hidden” symbolizing Man’s eternal quest for perfection and oneness with Allah while on his/her journey of “Origin and Return.”

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-Zothyrius Ali El