Qur’an Shakir

Qur’an Shakir, affectionately called Madame Q, is credited with pioneering projects and programs in the Atlanta area and is recognized across the U.S. for her championship work as an award-winning educator for nearly 30 years, a sought-after presenter at conferences and conventions on the topic of education, relationships, and youths, and as an advocate for children through several projects and programs. Certified as a Jegna, master educator, guide and distinguished leader, she is a seasoned school leader who has trained, mentored, and prepared educators and teachers in public and private schools, has developed and partnered with small organizations to establish in-house instructional functions, volunteered 20 years as a chaplain in a local women’s prison, and served as a Public Information Leader for three different public and/or non-profit agencies, supporting over 20,000 employees across the U.S.   Madame Q is passionate about education, building strong relationships and families, and properly preparing young people to lead and serve. She prides herself in being a graduate of the University of the Creator - Advanced Practice Professional Umm. Born and raised Muslim in the U.S., she is a descendent of the first Muslim pioneers who established Islam in metro Atlanta in the late 1950s. She is a native of Atlanta and second-generation Muslim in a family with at least four generations of Muslims.  Having served as director/principal, coordinator of online learning management systems, curriculum coordinator, technical coordinator and support, a teacher, and as an education consultant to public and private school educators, she is currently a national education consultant, communications coordinator, a radio talk show host, a freelance writer, and serves on dozens of community, business, education, and non-profit boards.  A Hajj Hero and a World Pilgrim, Madame Q co-owns Celebrating Sacred Connections, an organization elevating the status of women. 

Madame Q has made it her mission to live by the recommendation of her religious leader and teacher, the late Imam W.D. Mohammed, who said, “What we need is faith in G’d, simple living, hard work, and high thinking.” These four acts are a part of the mission and creed of Madame Q who proclaims her duty to live a fruitful life where every word, every thought, every act performed, and every encounter experienced is about honoring and appreciating life and all of creation. 

 I am Because You Are…Ubuntu

By Qur’an Shakir

Qur’an Farah Shakir Abdul-Khaaliq, G, Madame Q. Once Qur’an Shakir-Sabir. That’s me.  I love my names.  A familiar question asks, ‘What’s in a name?’ What’s in my names, all of them? G’d told Adam to declare the names of things in creation. Names and naming are important.  The ‘Good Book’ says a good name is better than riches. Are my riches in the names I am given or in the names earned through MY life experiences?  

I could say my names identify the layers upon layers of the essence of me --a servant, a wife, a mother, a G, an educator, an educator’s educator, a blessed thinker with a lot of ideas, ideas that many see as a gift, a genius, once a doula, now a shrouder. The beauty of being me, called by many names, is that I am also one filled with the spirit of my Creator; and my Creator has kindly, mercifully, generously watched over me and all of the me’s that I am. This me has an intuitive voice of little angels. We all have them. My little angels are protective and guard me. They guide me. They speak to me and I listen to them. Yes, I listen when they speak to me; however, as much as I’d like, rarely, do I go inside and really sit with them because I spend so much time being available. I am available to so many on so many levels.  

For example, ironically, for years, this me has been blessed to be available in the spirit of Al-Awwal - the first to catch and appreciate new life as it emerges into the world and available as Al-Akhirah, the last to cleanse, wrap, and bid farewell to the experienced life as it departs the world. I made myself available at birthing time for some sisters and unwed teens. In times gone by,  my hands, my voice were sometimes called to the room to support the vulnerable mother working to push new life into the world, I was available to share great stories, to advocate for, to offer words of comfort, laughter, remembrance and celebration of motherhood, parenthood, G’dly accolades. They called me doula before doulas became a prized supporter of women in childbirth, one in the space to help new life emerge into the world.   

Transition to now, later, now, I am available when a sister answers the call of the death angel.  After she has answered that call, they may call me to gather her family and female beloveds to shroud and help prepare the sacred body to return to the Creator. Such joy being in the space to remind of how that feminine vessel served the Creator by serving those around, of how we are a testament to the value of a good life, a life of no regrets. So important. I love being available to shroud my beloved sisters, those I know and those I don’t know. Shrouding, like being available as a doula, is a spectacular time of the celebration of the stages of life, of the Majesty of our Creator. You see, death is a part of life and sometimes we wish it wasn’t there. But, truly, the only way to avoid death is to not to be born. Instead, why don’t we just enjoy it all? 

Speaking of enjoying it all, as an educator and one that appreciates celebrating life,  it was me who initiated the design and construct of a document that could be used for any Muslim, male or female, at the time of their janazah (celebration of life, prayer as they are returned to Creation), a document to highlight that person’s seerah (life story) as well as the procedures of the Muslim janazah. Thusly, for years, when a male or female Muslim departed this life, I got that call to please prepare the janazah program, a document design that did not exist until I did one in the 1980s. I made it, designed it for family and friends who were not Muslim and did not know what was going on; and I designed it for Muslims to know what to do during the janazah. I felt a need to educate. I did the janazah program in case the imam forgot to say ‘no sajdah, remain in qiyam (standing), say Al-Fatiha, At-Tashahud (prayer for the prophets), prayers for the deceased, and prayers for those that remain behind.’  I felt it needed to be explained and understood and, somehow, I thought we needed a keepsake for the family, the children, those that may not remember.  Now, many are designing Janazah programs. I feel responsible because I was available to tell those hundreds of stories.  

I am Qur’an, a clear guide to truth. The Hon. Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam from 1930-1975, named me while I was still in the womb of my mother. It was a part one of his visits to Atlanta. Qur’an is the sacred name of our book of revelation. Is it sacrilegious to have such a holy name?  I am told. ‘No, consider it your challenge to live up to this beautiful name.’ Being named Qur’an makes me keenly aware of all of Allah’s revelations. I am aware and grateful of how He has a succession of scriptures sent to communities in need. The Qur’an is the last of those revelations. I think about it often.  I am guided by this book of 6,000 plus ayah nestled in 114 chapters, 30 juz, still in its original language, translated into many languages, revealed more than one thousand, 400 years ago. I read from it daily.  I probably would read it anyway, but having the name Qur’an is an added joy to reading it.  

I am Farah, joy and cheerfulness, named ‘Farah’ by my mama and my daddy because I was their first girl after having three boys. I sit in the middle of seven children that they had together. After me, came two more girls and another boy. I like Farah, a name denoting Genuine Joy. Happy. Big smile. Be infectious with that joy. This depiction of joy comes naturally for me.  I find joy in so much —being with young people, learning, researching, discovering, putting pieces together as I learn and discover, being with family, being of service, designing, did I say teaching? I love teaching, dancing, planting, making love, laying in the grass, walking barefoot on the beach and around the house. One of the first things I do when I go almost anywhere is remove my shoes and enjoy the earth, the floor. Joy!  Call me corny, but I find joy in obeying G’d. For real. When tested, I love being able to push past the need to be accepted, to follow the expected, and to just do what is ‘right’, obey the Creator as He has commanded. It is fun to me. Joy and cheerfulness! 

I am Shakir, a family name that our family consciously and strategically researched and accepted, legally changing our names in the 1970s, to abandon the X that was intended to dismiss the slave master’s name, London. Shakir, grateful one, servant of the Grateful.  This choice to be grateful defies 400 years of enslavement. Our family name is Shakir.  It signals a growth to be a servant of The Grand Creator who carried, carries us through HELL and never left, leaves us alone, who taught us to be resilient, conscious, and malleable. I am so grateful to be me. I find gratitude to be a way to peace and tranquil elevation. It is beautiful to be able to look into anything, any experience, any message, any words, any person, and find the words ‘thank you.’ I see a lot of angry, bitter people whirling horrible acts and accusations at the world, at others because they have not found the beauty of ‘thank you’, the beauty of being appreciative, the beauty of gratitude. I love being Shakir, grateful.  

Sabir is a beautiful name about being patient and persevering, a name that I don’t use a lot because it reminds me of the 18½ years I was married to a man who married too young and, thus, never really understood how to treat a jewel like me. Because he wasn’t raised to be grateful and to find joy in everything, he didn’t know how to accept it when he received it. 18 ½ years may have been too long to have stayed in that relationship waiting, persevering, praying, patiently waiting for the deserved care. One of the best things about having this beautiful attribute of Allah, Sabir, as a name is that I could emphasize the concept of being patient, understanding that patient doesn’t mean sitting waiting for something to happen. This ‘Sa-BA-ra’ is about not complaining as you work to make things happen. Also, Sabir is the family name of my beautiful offspring and some of my grand designs.  

Abdul-Khaaliq is another beautiful name earned through marriage. Abdul-Khaaliq, servant of the creative Creator, is rarely used but I accept it because it is the surname of my beloved zouj. We’ve spent nearly two decades together and being with such a patient, caring, joyful being makes me grateful and feeling well loved by my Creator. My creativity is granted space to ignite and bring fulfillment.  

Hajja, the earned title of a hero who has completed the rites of the fifth pillar of my Islamic faith. I earned this name, this title, of dignity and honor, having visited the sacred precincts of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, retracing the footsteps of honorable heroes like Lady Hajarah, the African woman, who gave birth to Prophet Ismail and ran with patience searching for the provisions of Her Lord. To be a Hajja is to trust and to journey with faithful confidence, believing in AL-WAHHAB, The Supreme Bestower, The One who is Generous in giving plenty without any return. He is everything that benefits whether Halal or Haram. I am a Hajj Hero.  

 My grand designs, the children of my children, call me “G”. In some world’s, G is a gangsta. Some think it is for Grandma or Grandmother. By no means. It is for the Giver, the Genius, the Generation’s Gift.  For me, G is G. The end.  She is the one that gives love and laughter, safety, nurturing order, direction, guidance.  G is one of my revered names. Nothing brings greater radiance than the bright eyes that light up when G enters the room and they rush to her arms.  Ahhhhhhhhh, G.  

My children call me Mom, Mama, Mommy, friend, girlfriend. Madame Q.  I love this role of being the one who grew four under my heart and one in my heart to call them my progeny. I often wonder if I did right by my children, keeping a protective wing over them as we grew through a household of laughter, games, work, hard work, and more work. Now that they are adults, I look back and smile. I wonder if their smile is the same as mine. I feel pain as an African American mother of sons.  I live in daily fear worried about the safety of my Suns and their ability to be able to be men, standing up, standing strong, setting up the community. Standing —Qawwamum, being the legs in the face of a country that hates them and harbors no good interest for their wellbeing. I pray that they are able to find their center, their love of Allah and that that love will guide their actions. I pray my daughters keep their strong voices and wills to make a difference. I don’t worry about them like I worry about my Suns, including the men they’ve married whom I love as my Suns. The world seems to have a vendetta against the Black Man, especially if he is strong, self assured, conscious of His Higher Being, and self directed. Pray with me please. Being a Mama ain’t easy.  

People who appreciate me call me Madame Q. Madame with an “e” at the end to symbolize a married woman. This name has its twists and turns as many think, ‘she must be a queen.’ Are they questioning or confirming? Some will even say Madame Queen. Really, Madame Q signals great relationships. Being Madame Q puts me at the pinnacle of many amazing connections and experiences. Students, family, connected ones call me Madame Q. I feel special connections to my friends; they are my family too. I learned that concept of framily from my mother. Some think I am the matriarch, the Madame, of our family.  Accepting this title is a little farfetched because, somehow, it means accepting to step into the mighty shoes of my mother who was the true matriarch. She wore big shoes. She lead our family, set a model and left a legacy —shoes that I don’t know I can ever wear. She was our glue, the kind that bonds everything —wood, paper, cement, people, houses, homes, anything that needs to be connected, bonded.  Madame Q is working towards fulfilling that legend’s legacy.  

As an educator who loves educating, I went through a special training to become a Jegna, Master Educator of African American children. I love the ring of that. A Master Educator. A Master Educator celebrates the learner as a gift from above. Being an educator is dear to my heart; it is a dream come true.  Educators are extractors. We light the pathway to freedom. All professionals and people that can read, think, be sat at the foot of an educator. Powerful. Educators extract what Al-Bari, the Evolver, the One Who bestows forms (or colors) upon what He creates, has already deposited in the soul of the learner. As an educator’s educator, this is the one message I want all to remember. This educator has been a consultant, a chaplain, a principal, head of school, community leader, owner of Celebrating Sacred Connections where we take the ordinary to revered, working to reclaim the glory of being a female by raising consciousness, understanding and appreciation for the G'd given power, majesty, and role of humanity through elevating the status of women. Masterful.  

In my heart lives many stories, I have a vivid memory and so I hold the history. That is a griot.  I claim that title. I am our community’s Griot, our family’s Griot (keeper of the history). That history uplifts me in being a community activist and advocate for children through education. Looking at the past, we can make plans for the future. That makes me prayerfully hopeful, a believer in our abilities and our power to unite, grow, groom, evolve when trauma knocks at our door; and she likes to knock at our door.  

We have a term in our African/African American culture called Ubuntu

Because you are, I am.

I am a woman, a gift from Allah to the world.

I feel the pain of my sisters

Physically slapped and touched and misused.

Spiritually and emotionally demeaned and abused.

I worry. I pray. I care. I am scared.

We say, ‘work together’ …

because you are, I am.

I feel you, resilient, outrageously amazing sister.

Sis Star!

Because you have the whole universe inside you,

I am.

Thank you for being

Because you are, I am.

To the Black race, my powerful, amazingly strong Black people,

Because you are, I am.

UBUNTU…

Because you are resilient, tough, honest,

sensitive, nurturing, forging onward,

I am.

Because you are open, open, open,

I am.

Because you are sharing from the heart,

I am.

Because you make it safe to speak and be heard,

I am.

Because you are resisting attempts to destroy,

I am.

Because you are bigger than the physical misuse,

I am.

Because you are bigger than the emotional abuse,

I am.

Because you are spiritually connected and so beautiful,

I am.

Because you are like the rays of the Creator spreading and prospering,

I am.

Because you are grateful, thankful, ash Shakur,

I am.

Because you are joy and tough honest kick ass purified beauty,

I am.

Because your words move mountains and you have no fear in using them,

I am.

Because you are

Ubuntu ,

--because you are, I am.