Malcolm X and the Dignity Found in Islam

Introduction

In 1964, an interviewer asked Malcolm X a simple question: Why Islam?

His answer did not come from podiums or parades but from years earlier, behind steel doors and fluorescent lights. In a prison designed to grind men down, Malcolm learned how to stand up.

In those years of confinement, he scavenged the library for anything that could change a man. He went searching for the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and found only fragments. From scattered pages, he stitched a story: a Messenger who returned to the very city that expelled him, not with revenge but with mercy. He read about Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, who reclaimed Jerusalem yet spared its people—even though those same walls had once witnessed a massacre.

Victory without cruelty. Power without vanity. Somewhere in those lines, Malcolm recognized what America had tried to strip from him: dignity.

The Spine Born in Sujūd

Malcolm was not chasing macho strength or hollow pride. He found something deeper: a spine that refuses to bow to creation, a strength born when the forehead touches earth and remembers Who it belongs to.

Years later, cameras would find him. But the posture the world saw—upright, unflinching—was authored in that dim library aisle. Faith gave him a way to absorb the world’s contempt without swallowing it. It taught him to receive honor not from people, but from Allah ﷻ.

Strength Without Arrogance

Even our worship carries this memory in the body. Watch the pilgrims enter the Sacred Mosque. Men uncover their right shoulder, then begin ṭawāf with a quickened pace in the early rounds. To an outsider, it might look like theater. But its origin is profound.

When Quraysh mocked that the Muslims had grown weak in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ instructed his companions: move with strength, without arrogance. Show that you are sound. Walk as a people who are whole.

Malcolm understood that language instinctively. He came from a people trained to lower their gaze, to apologize for breathing, to hide their strength. Islam taught him otherwise: to square his shoulders, to meet the day clean, disciplined, and dignified.

Submission rooted in tawḥīd is not surrender. It is mastery of the self. It forgives without groveling. It speaks truth without begging for a seat.

Our Lineage of Honor

There are still cells today. Some are made of concrete. Others are conference rooms where you are expected to laugh at what injures you. In both, the temptation is to shrink, to become less than whole.

But Malcolm’s story reminds us otherwise. Remember the Prophet ﷺ entering Makkah with clemency when vengeance was easy. Remember Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn opening gates with restraint when revenge was possible. Remember Malcolm X teaching a generation to stop apologizing for their existence.

This is our lineage: to receive honor from above and carry it within.

Applying This Teaching to Our Personal Lives

1. Ground Yourself in Prayer

   • Sunnah: The Prophet ﷺ said, “The closest a servant comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating” (Muslim 482).

   • Benefit: Sujūd is a reminder of where true honor lies when we lower ourselves before Allah, He raises us. Neuroscience affirms that daily grounding rituals like prayer regulate stress and enhance resilience¹.

2. Practice Dignity in Forgiveness

   • Sunnah: The Prophet ﷺ forgave the people of Makkah on the day of conquest, saying, “Go, for you are free” (Ibn Hisham, Sirah).

   • Benefit: Forgiveness preserves dignity by freeing the self from chains of resentment. Psychology confirms that forgiving reduces cortisol and boosts well-being².

3. Stand Strong Without Arrogance

   • Sunnah: During ṭawāf, the Prophet ﷺ instructed the companions to show vigor without pride.

   • Benefit: Carrying oneself with confidence without arrogance builds respect. Behavioral science shows posture and gait influence both self-perception and how others respond³.

4. Seek Knowledge as a Means of Liberation

   • Sunnah: “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim” (Ibn Mājah 224).

   • Benefit: Malcolm’s library became his sanctuary. Modern studies affirm that continuous learning reshapes the brain through neuroplasticity, opening pathways for growth⁴.

5. Remember Where Honor Comes From

   • Qur’an: “Whoever desires honor, then to Allah belongs all honor” (35:10).

   • Benefit: True dignity cannot be stripped by society, for it is anchored in Allah. This conviction shields us from shame and external validation cycles.

FAQ

Q1: What did Islam teach Malcolm X about dignity?
Islam taught him that true honor is from Allah, not from social approval. It gave him the strength to stand tall without arrogance and to forgive without humiliation.

Q2: How does Islam define dignity?
Dignity in Islam flows from tawḥīd—knowing Allah alone grants honor. It manifests as self-mastery, humility before Allah, and courage before creation.

Q3: Why is the Prophet’s ﷺ clemency in Makkah important to this theme?
It showed that dignity is not vengeance or dominance, but restraint and mercy when one has the power to retaliate.

Q4: How is Salah al-Din’s example connected to Malcolm X?
Both embodied strength without cruelty. Malcolm saw in Salah al-Din’s story the possibility of power that preserves human dignity.

Q5: How can Muslims today embody this dignity?
By holding firm to prayer, knowledge, forgiveness, and confidence—living as people whose honor comes from Allah alone.

Footnotes

1. Davidson, R.J., & McEwen, B.S. (2012). Social influences on neuroplasticity: Stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 689–695.

2. Worthington, E.L., & Scherer, M. (2004). Forgiveness is an emotion-focused coping strategy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60(4), 375–386.

3. Carney, D.R., Cuddy, A.J., & Yap, A.J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363–1368.

4. Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. Viking Press.