The Power of Virtue and Modesty

 

The Power of Virtue and Modesty:

By Audrey Muhammad @virtuemag

As a young teenager, I loved looking at magazines and seeing the various fashions, but oftentimes did not see anything that I could actually wear with modesty.  Modesty is the behavior, manner or appearance that avoids indecency. The Al Nisa International Fashion Week that was held this summer by Carmin Abdullah Muhammad in Chicago was a beautiful display of modest fashion and unity. Not only did the event allow various designers to display their garments, but it also gave young girls and women an opportunity to express themselves in a fashionable righteous manner.

Bro. Sa’ad Muhammad, Student National Secretary, said he was very excited to have his 13-year-old daughter, Sajdah Muhammad, model in the fashion show.  He said, “I am glad to have her involved in an activity that develops self-esteem and confidence.” His daughter graced the runway like a pro, displaying elegance, confidence, grace, and beauty. The first night of the AlNisa fashion show featured swimwear, streetwear, and outfits for children. It was beautiful to see children taking pride in modest dress.

Jalilah Muhammad, daughter of fashion designer, Queen Aminah, was proud to have her mother to be a part of a show of this magnitude. “She has worked so hard for so long and has loved clothes all of her life,” said Sister Jalilah, “It was later that she started to design. She was inspired by Mother Tynnetta to become a designer and further her love of fashion. Instead of just selling clothes and buying them, she became a designer.”

If we sew garments or like to model them, we as women, do need outlets to express our creativity. This society has magazines and now online platforms that encourage women and girls to show their body, but thanks to Virtue Today Magazine and Facebook groups Modesty International and Covered Girls Rock, women are able to express their opinion and have fun showcasing fabulous fashion.  Top Covered Girl and administrator, Monique Muhammad, who was also a model for Modest Fashion week, does a wonderful job displaying fashions on the page.

Did you know the word “virtue,” which comes from the Latin root “vir” for man, at first meant manliness or valor, but later became known as a term for “moral excellence.”  Thus, man/woman should be virtuous. It is interesting to note that the Bible talks about woman of virtue in Proverbs 31 and the Holy Quran 16:120 describes the prophet Abraham as a “model (of virtue), obedient to Allah, upright...”  According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, Virtue means, “conformity to a standard of right; a particular moral excellence.”  Important “virtues” we should develop are principles like patience, kindness, forbearance, and courage.

We were given the standard of modesty and moral excellence throughout the Bible and the Holy Quran with scriptures.  In first Timothy 2:8-10 it states, “In like manner also, that woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety…”  The bible encourages men and women to display virtues like humility, godliness and good works.  The Holy Quran 33:59 reminds women to “lengthen their garments,” lower the hem of your garment so they will be recognized [as a righteous woman] and not harassed. Think about it, the more woman show their bodies, the more they are harassed.  It is beautiful that woman are given this wise word of guidance and protection.  You protect what you value, and value what you protect. May God bless us all to value modesty and develop the virtuous principles God gave us.

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Teacher Creates New Holiday to Honor Black and Indigenous Women

 

Teacher Creates New Holiday to Honor Black and Indigenous Women

(Nationwide) - In a 1962 lecture in Los Angeles, California, Malcolm X said, “The most disrespected person in America is a Black woman.” Today, a teacher and her daughter are helping to change the view of Black women from a “disrespected state” to one of “honor” with the establishment of “Mothers of Civilization Day.”

The idea for the new holiday was developed by Audrey Muhammad, an educator and writer who has always taught the value of Black History in her high school literature classes in Ohio and California.      Her daughter, Hasana Muhammad, is a junior Computer Science major at North Carolina A & T State University, designed the website and book for the new holiday.  They are hoping that schools and colleges will help celebrate the new holiday this year.

“Every year we honor our mothers who gave birth to us, but we often do not think of the woman who gave birth to humanity, which is the original woman, the Black woman,” said Mrs. Muhammad who is the editor for Virtue Today Magazine, a positive women’s magazine.   “Did you know that the oldest bones to be found, as of this date are of a Black woman?” The bones were found by an anthropologist named Donald Johanson and his assistant Tom Gray on November 24, 1974 in Hadar, Ethiopia.  According to Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, the evidence of early humans who lived between 2 and 6 million years ago come totally from Africa.  Since the bones of the earliest female were found on November 24, 1974, that day will be used to celebrate the Mothers of Civilization Day. 

The new holiday was launched on the National Days Archives and the book describing the history behind the new holiday will be available later this month. The book shares the history behind "Mothers of Civilization Day," the new holiday for Black and Indigenous women around the world. It includes comments by Dr. Ava Muhammad from the launch event and highlights of women like Michelle Obama, ancient Egyptian women, and many others! Mothers of Civilization Day is a day to recognize and be thankful for the first women on the planet, the original women, regardless of their ethnic background.  Original women are women of color from Africa, North America, South America, and Asia etc. These women have kept traditions alive, taught customs and created a beautiful culture of love and pride.

How do you celebrate “Mothers of Civilization Day?”  It is a day that you take the grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and aunts and put them in a “circle of love” and have each family member share a positive word about each woman.  It is also a time for a history lesson and to let the children know that they are looking at the first women to be on the planet.  You can do this at a family gathering or on a Zoom.  Some may even celebrate it during that Thanksgiving weekend since many families will be together.  It is a non-religious, non-commercialized Holiday.  More information about the day can be found on the National Archives Day website, which now lists it as a national day at  https://www.nationaldayarchives.com/day/mothers-of-civilization-day/.

        The day is gaining support since the official launch party for the event held last year on November 24, 2021 via Zoom.  Honors are pouring in from around the country and will be featured in the first Mothers of Civilization book, which may be pre-ordered on the website. God willing, a book tour will soon follow hopes Mrs. Muhammad.

At any time, men and women can pay tribute to the “Mothers of Civilization” in their lives by giving them an “honor” on the Mothers of Civilization website:  www.mothersofcivilization.org.  The honor will be placed in their listing and stay on the website forever.  In this digital world, children and grandchildren can now read about their mothers, grandmothers, sisters etc.  Virtue Today Magazine is the media sponsor for the day. To support the day, sign up to be on Virtue Today Magazine’s email list at www.virtuetodaymag.com.    If you would like to be a part of the upcoming “Mothers of Civilization Day,” please email themothersofcivilization@gmail.com or call (336) 901-0122.  For more information, visit www.mothersofcivilization.org.

 

 

 

 

New Year, New Variant:  ME!

By Audrey Muhammad

As we embark on another new year, my resolutions are a little different.  The things I am determined to do have more of an urgency to it.  For instance, eating to live is a LAW. Just as the Coronavirus is changing, I have to change to a better version of me.  I had always enjoyed exercising, but for those who don’t like exercising, think of the benefits you will receive from simply taking a walk or doing another source of exercise:

• 1.      You will help strengthen and condition your heart.  (I want my heart to be strong and walking, jogging, dancing helps along with resistance training, especially if you do circuits).
• 2.       Exercise strengthens your lungs
• 3.       Exercise enhances your body’s ability to absorb nutrients. (This will aid us with the supplements we were encouraged to take such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D3 etc.  Please read the Covid Section which is found in the Final Call.)
• 4.       Exercise also reduces stress and uplifts your mood.

Number 4 is one of my favorites because traveling to the store started off being a very stressful event for me at the beginning of the Pandemic.  However, I found doing a short workout before going reduced stress and made me feel better and stronger.  I also thought about how many steps I would get in the store by walking around.  I am more “intentional” with my workouts. 

Furthermore, I have become more intentional with my eating.  Granted, sometimes I would eat a pizza or two (smile) and say, “Oh, I will work it off tomorrow.”  But what if tomorrow doesn’t come?  I must think about what is best for my body TODAY.  In How to Eat to Live, Book I it says, “Eating the wrong food and eating it too often starts trouble in the physical body everywhere—from the sole of your feet to the crown of your head” (p. 41). 

If we have packed on a few pounds during this Pandemic, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us clear instructions on what to eat when we are overweight.  He said, “Do not eat spaghetti and macaroni at every meal.  If you are overweight, do not eat it at any meal, and if you want to live a long time, do not eat it at any meal.  Food such as spaghetti and macaroni is processed, not cooked thoroughly, and is hard to digest” (How to Eat to Live Book II, p. 11).  In the 1991 lecture entitled, “God’s Healing Power,” The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan encouraged us to exercise and utilize weights because our metabolism slows down as we get older.  Exercise helps to raise our metabolism.  He even produced a video discussing health and we saw him lifting weights with a trainer.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “We must have regularity in everything we do” (How to Eat to Live Book II, p. 45).  We must have regular meals, regular exercise, and regular prayer.  This is one of the reasons why we are given a time to eat, preferably one meal a day between the hours of 4-6 p.m., is best.  We are even taught to say our prayers in regular intervals. 

Let us strengthen ourselves from within.  In the Study Guide entitled “Building the Will Pt. 4, it states that strengthening ourselves from within is a way to protect ourselves from outside forces; we have to check internal forces such as “Greed.”  If we check our internal forces, it can help free us “from any threat of being manipulated by outside forces; elimination of the internal force deprives the external force of a connection to our mind and heart.”

 Let us strive to be obedient and make a better version of ourselves.

May Allah bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth, and happiness.

(Audrey Muhammad is an educator, aerobics instructor, and author of Get Fit to Live: Be Your Best You!  If in prison, you may order the book, by sending a $10 money order to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC, 27661.  She leads a 30-minute exercise class every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. (EST).  For more information, email her at audrey.a.muhammad@gmail.com,  Please consult a physician before beginning any new exercise or dietary program).

 

 

 

The PowerNetworking Conference:  Learn, Earn and Prosper!

By Audrey Muhammad

 

If you attended the PowerNetworking conference this year, your value has just gone up!  Everyone’s “return on investment” was high due to the excellent Global Virtual Power Networking Conference hosted by Dr. George Fraser.  Thanks to the Black power we witnessed at the PowerNetworking Conference (PNC), we will never have to worry about the “electricity” going out ever again.  The light of knowledge shared at this year’s conference was truly electrifying.  This year’s theme was “R.O.I. is King:  Learn, Earn, and Prosper.”  Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant shared some powerful words at the beginning of the conference.  He said, “If we explore our ‘net worth,’ we can value our “network.” 

Dr. Stacie Grant served as the MC for the event and helped to introduce the various segments.  This year’s participants were able to get a “front row seat” to view celebrity interviews with actor/author Hill Harper; radio personality, Michael Baisden and billionairess, Janice Bryant Howroyd, while enjoying comedy and exercise segments with AJ Jamal and Cheryl Jones. Participants were also able to virtually mix and mingle in the PowerLounges & Suites with top trainers and coaches like Dr. Cheryl Wood, Brother Bedford, Dr. Tiana Von Johnson and Dr, Casey Kimbrough.

The amazing celebrity interviews were conducted by Dr. George C. Fraser, the Founder of the PNC.  For twenty years, the PowerNetworking Conference has been the home of Black professionals and entrepreneurs looking to connect, grow and prosper. Forbes named it “One of the Top Five Conferences Not to Be Missed”. The conference has developed a unique platform helping people to network and build a financial legacy.  Dr. Fraser, who is an Elder, author, entrepreneur, speaker, and networking guru, has an amazing skill of bringing people together and helps everyone feel heard.

The PowerNetworking Conference participants were able to comment in the chat about every event on the main PowerStage which featured presenters such as Dr. Delatorro McNeal,  Dr. Ron Daniels, Dr. Mike Roberts, Iyanla Vanzant, Dr. Stacie NC Grant, Dr. Boyce Watkins, John Hope Bryant, Walter Bond, Linda Clemons, Delano Johnson, Eugene Mitchel, Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes, Dr. Randal Pinkett, Che Brown, Dr. Kwa David Whitaker, Ambassador Andrew Young, Trevor Otts, Dr. Cheryl Wood, Wendy Muhammad, and Tony Jackson and many more.

In the first celebrity interview, Dr. Fraser and actor/author Hill Harper had a frank and fun discussion about education and money.  Hill Harper, who graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, said, “Education and money both buy you something very similar in life…options.”  He said if you go to med school or law school, you are not limited to careers in those areas, you just have more options.  When asked what three things he thinks black people need to thrive today, he said, “1. A Truly rooted deep sense of self-worth. 2. Unity 3. Transfer cross generational wealth.”

There were so many jewels of wisdom shared during this power packed 4-day event.  Michael Baisden talked about the need to pivot during this time. Dr. Jackie Mayfield, one of founders of ComproTax mentioned that “where there are challenges, there are opportunities.”  Some of the best life-giving advice was given by billionaire Janice Bryant Howroyd, founder and chief executive officer of The ActOne Group.  She said, “Never compromise who you are personally to become who you wish to be professionally.  Like Earl Nightingale, she defines success as the “progressive realization of a worthy ideal” and encouraged the participants to “understand your worth before you gain the money.”  Which is why Dr. Fraser said, “We should always chase excellence, never chase money.  When you are excellent, money will chase you.”

During the “Money Answers All Things” panel discussion with Dr. Boyce Watkins, Rev. Dr. Casey Kimbrough, Bishop Claude Alexander, and Dr. Emma Fraser-Pendleton, Dr. Boyce Watkins he said, “Ask the right questions to get the right answers; have your money ask the right questions.”   Dr. Emma Fraser-Pendleton reminded the audience that Jesus asked the right questions and was able to multiply; the apostles didn’t ask the right question.

Everyone agreed that collaboration is key.  “People with money have no problem partnering with other people with money so that they can make more money!”   Dr. Emma Fraser-Pendleton stressed the importance of living below our personal needs. She said when she and her husband bought their first house, her husband wanted a Cadillac.  She said don’t get “caught up in having a Cadillac parked in front of the house.” We need to talk to our families about saving and growing our money.

The panel also discussed the importance of uniting.  Collaboration is key; people with money have no problem partnering with other people with money so that they can make more money. Our businesses need to learn how to scale up. For example, a one tractor operation is limited, but if three farmers come together with their tractors they can solicit for a bigger deal.

Dr. Fraser ended the conference with some profound personal advice such as encouraging brothers to keep their queens.  He said, “If you have a Queen in your hand, don’t shuffle so often because you may end up with a joker.”  For the women, he reminded them on how to choose a man by saying, “If you can’t build with them, don’t chill with them.” He said the goal and key for all Black people in these stressful times is “Supernatural Equanimity” …we must be Super Cool in tough times.”

This year’s conference has received amazing feedback.  "This is my first Power Networking Conference since Dallas. I’ve had to pivot since COVID and this year’s conference has put my attitude, behavior and skills back on track!” said David Tyson. 

Darlene McDaniel’s said, “I’ve made connections and have implemented the suggestions George Fraser shared on creating a networking system.”

For Darla Cummings, it was her first conference.  She said, “This was my first time attending the PNC conference and I personally want to thank Dr. Fraser for an amazing experience!!!

           Dr. Fraser reminded the participants about the mistakes commonly made in networking.  He said we need to spend more time networking and the “fortune is in the follow-up.”  Lastly, he said to remember that the purpose of life is to love, to give, to serve and to add the highest value to others.”   The participants at this year’s conference received their “highest return of their investment.” 

(For more information about next year’s “LIVE” conference in Houston, Tx. August 3-6, 2022, go to www.powernetworkingconference.com).

 

 

As A Man Thinketh...  #WordsMatter 

By Audrey Muhammad

Have you heard of the saying “You are what you think about?”  Did you know our thoughts can affect us, no matter what our surroundings may be or what we may have? There are some wealthy, unhealthy and unhappy people.  Even if we are “eating” good food, if our thoughts are “bad,” we can ill affect the digestive process in a negative way.  Our thoughts are the WORDS we say in our mind.  The words we use DO Matter.   The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “We can eat the best food, we can take fasts for nine days or for 20 or 30 days if we want to; and we will still suffer if we do not feed the brain with the right food.  These two bodies—the brain and digestive tract—have much in common with one another.  Whatever hurts one hurts the other.  We must treat both well” (How to Eat to Live Book I, p57).

Negative words are like “verbal fat.”  What am I referring to when I say “verbal fat?”  Verbal fat is referring to the thoughts and words that we repeat to ourselves that have a negative impact on our minds and are of no “nutritional value.”  Granted, some fat is needed as stored energy, just as maybe one person saying you can’t do something may be a slight motivation, but no one needs that type of spirit all the time.

How can we get rid of “verbal fat?”  We must exercise or practice replacing negative thoughts with positive producing ones.  (Two thoughts cannot occupy the same space and the same time, right?)  For instance, instead of saying, “Its hard for me to lose weight,” Say “It’s easy to improve my health if I do something each day to improve it.”  Or instead of saying, “I will always be fat,” say, “I will always strive to improve my health.  I am a child of God.  With Him, anything is possible.”  Are you getting stronger?  Are you burning some “verbal fat calories?”  (smile).  Choose your words/thoughts wisely; as the Minister recently said, “Words matter.”

In the book, Get Fit to Live: Be Your Best You, it states, “For every physical law, there is a spiritual law.  For every physical reality, there is a spiritual thought.”  The book also discusses the examples given by author, Louise L. Hay, who explains in one of her books how negative mental thoughts can lead to certain physical conditions.  For instance, “ a loss of appetite may signal [thoughts of] fear or not trusting life, (therefore, you don’t feed yourself.)  Depression may be caused by the thoughts of hopelessness and ungratefulness, etc.  (Read more about your thoughts and wellness in the book, Get Fit to Live:  Be Your Best You available at www.virtuetodaymag.com).

The saying “Change your thoughts, change your life” is quite possible.   How do we get “fit to live” and grow into a God?  The Honorable Minister Farrakhan said in Study Guide #18, “The first step toward growing into the Mind of God is to desire to do His Will.  Then, we must learn to obey His Commands.  (“Rising Above Emotion Into The Thinking Of God”).    Isn’t God worthy of respect and obedience?  Let’s answer these questions with an affirmative “Yes!” and get fit to live! 

May Allah(God) bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth, love and happiness.

Note:  Every Sunday at 9 a.m. EST, Get Fit to Live sponsors a FREE 30 min. Workout.  Register at www.getfittolive.eventbrite.com

(Audrey Muhammad is a fitness instructor, and author of Get Fit to Live:  Be your best You! To obtain your copy, send a $12 check or money order to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC 27661-1402). Please consult a physician before beginning any new workout or dietary plan.  Send questions or comments to Audrey.a.muhammad@gmail.com)

Atonement for the Body: "I'm Sorry, body...I never meant to hurt you."

 

Get Fit to Live

 Atonement for the Body:  “I’m sorry, body- I never meant to hurt you”

 Who said we need to wait until January to make positive changes in our lifestyle.  The Holy Day of Atonement, which is October 16^th is an excellent time for us to thing about what improvements we can make to live a healthy life.  Let us look at the eight steps atonement and see how we can incorporate them into our fitness lifestyle.  (Quotes are from The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s Million Man March Atonement Message on October 16, 1995.)

1. Point out the wrong- Minister Farrakhan said that this first step is often the most difficult of all because “when we are wrong and we are not aware of it, someone has to point out the wrong.  The most difficult thing is when somebody points it out.  Do we accept it?”  How do we respond when someone points out that we are gaining too much weight or eating something we shouldn’t?  Most important, can we point out the wrong in our diets?  Have we committed a “wrong” to our bodies because we don’t exercise?   We must know what is need of correction.  Therefore, we must each perform a self-examination and self-analysis in order to perform a correction.   (It would also be a good idea to get a physical so that you may have an up-to-date reading of your body.  Please consult a physician)

2. Acknowledge- “To acknowledge means to admit the existence…”  All we have to do is look around and we see the health problems of our community and ourselves. 

3. Confess – Our first confession should be to Allah (God) to help relieve your soul of the burden it bears.  “The Holy Qur’an says it like this: ‘I have been greatly unjust to myself and confess my faults.  So grant me protection against all my fault for none grants protection against faults but thee.’  It is only through confession that we be granted protection from the consequences of our faults, for every deed has a consequence and we can never be granted protection against the faults that we refuse to acknowledge or that we are unwilling to confess.”  If we know we eat too much fried foods, confess and move on to the next step.

4.  Repentance – When we repent, we feel such remorse or shame, that we are determined to never conduct ourselves in such a way again.  Minister Farrakhan states that “Until we repent and feel sick and sorry over what we have done, we can never, never change our mind toward that thing; and if you don’t repent, you’ll do it over and over again.”  We should feel bad about eating an entire pie or gallon of ice cream.  If we don’t feel shame then we are on our way to silencing the voice of Allah (God) within.  That is something we definitely do not want to do; we want to keep God’s voice alive!

5. Atonement – Atone means to make amends.  What are we going to do to start the process of fitness atonement?  Are we going to fast for 3 days and then promise ourselves to eat a healthier diet?  Are we going to start walking 4 times a week?  We have to make amends to our body before it is too late.

6. Forgiveness – We have to grant ourselves pardon for what we have done, or else  we may spend too much time “beating ourselves up” and unable to make a change.

7. Reconciliation/Restoration – “After forgiveness we are going to be restored.  To what?  To our original position…So restoration means the act of returning something to an original or unimpaired condition.”  Wouldn’t you like to have a healthy 20 year-old body and you are 40 year-olds?  Because of our poor lifestyles or “death styles,” we age a lot quicker than what we should.

8.  Perfect Union - When we are in perfect union, we are using our body and treating our body the way Allah(God) intended.  We also will have the beautiful feeling of peace.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to lay your head down tonight knowing that you have prayed, eaten a healthy meal and exercised?   Wouldn’t it we terrific to be able to say, “I have not wronged my body today?” 

May Allah(God) bless us all with peace, health, wealth and happiness.

 (Audrey Muhammad is an aerobics instructor and the author of Get Fit to Live. To order the Book send a $12 money order (Free shipping) to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC, 27661.  For more information email audreymuhammad@hotmail.com.  Please consult a physician before beginning any new diet or exercise program).

 

 

 

 

Build your Immune System and become Fearlessly Fit!

Some of us may have gone from saying “I don’t have time to exercise,” to saying, how can I exercise in my home?  You and your children will need to be active not only for your health, but for your sanity.  While most of us will be in our homes due to the outbreak of the Covid-19, we can make the best out of an unfortunate situation.  It takes work to improve ourselves and our bodies.  It takes time to see the rewards of our efforts.  However, do we believe, that as “children of the Most High,” that we deserve the best?   We deserve to have some time invested into becoming a better person?  Right?  Are we worth it?  Emphatically, YES!

What can we do during this time to protect ourselves and our families?

1.       Pray:  Prayer will give us the security and peace of mind that will relieve our irritation”- Minister Farrakhan via Twitter, June 9, 2014.

2.       Wash our hands with soap for 20 seconds on regular basis

3.       Refrain from touching our face and eyes.

4.       Eat to live: Eating bean soup, fruits and vegetables will help give us adequate vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C.

5.       Get proper sleep. 

6.       Lastly, reduce stress and condition your heart with a training program.

If you don’t have a current training program, you can start off with one simple exercise:  WALKING.

Walking is one of the best exercises that we can perform?   It is an exercise that improves your heart, lowers blood pressure, strengthens your muscles, strengthens your bones, improves your sleeping and uplifts your mood.  All it takes is 30 minutes or more 5 times a week.  You can take it one day at a time and count your steps if you don’t want to count minutes.

Whenever I see Minister Farrakhan, he is “on the move.”  This is an 86 year old man that “out walks” most, if not all of us.   He helped to lead us out into the community, how?  Walking.

How can you track your steps?  If you were one of the sisters blessed to attend your MGT class at Saviours’ Day 2020, you received the MGT Smart Bracelet.  If you missed it, you may use a smart phone or a pedometer to track your steps.   According to "The Walking Site," the average person takes about 1,000-3,000 steps a day. Since it takes about 2,000 steps to walk 1 mile a day, we usually walk a mile in our everyday lives from walking around the house, in the parking lot, in the store etc.  If the average person walks a mile a day, we have to find ways to increase our distance.  For example, by the end of my average work day, I usually have walked 2500-3000 steps.  When I get home, I may do a workout or jog or walk around a track so I can work toward my 10,000 steps. 

The goal for each sister and brother should be to walk, run or dance 5,000- 10,000 steps in a day, which can easily be done if we workout for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.  How can we increase our steps?  Use the stairs, have family “drill time,” dance, get up and walk every hour, or march while watching a video of the Minister.  Although the some of the world has stopped, we must keep moving.  I have started posting “Get Fit to Live” videos that can be played at home.  Please follow @virtuemag on Instagram or YouTube to see the videos and subscribe online to virtuetodaymag.com to get articles and updates.

As the Minister instructed, “Make your own communities a decent place to live,” we should also make our bodies a decent place to dwell in.  Just as we should not throw trash on our streets, we shouldn’t throw “trash” in our bodies.   If we exercise and reduce the sweets we eat and eliminate processed foods like white bread and pasta from our diet, watch how the pounds begin to fall off.   We will become “Fearlessly Fit!”

May Allah bless us all with peace, love, health, wealth and happiness.

 (Audrey Muhammad is an aerobics instructor and author of the book How to Set Worthy Goals.  To order the book, send $9.97 to Get Fit to Live, P.O. Box 61402, Raleigh, NC 27661.  Please consult a physician before beginning any new diet or exercise program).