Board Member Spotlight: Imam Muhammad Abdur-Razzaq Miller
My name is Gabi Wachs. For my senior project I worked at the Interfaith Center as an intern during the month of May. As part of my duties, I was given the honor of spending an afternoon with the Interfaith Center’s Board Chair, Imam Muhammad Abdur- Raziq Miller. After a tour of his mosque- the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship- and a delicious home-cooked meal with him and his wife, I was granted the privilege of interviewing him. I found that there are few people in the world who are as introspective, deep-thinking, and committed to interfaith dialogue as is Imam Miller. As Imam Miller so wisely asks, “Before we start yelling at each other, why don’t we talk to each other first?”
Until his mid-20’s Imam Miller lived a life of confusion. He was searching for a teacher that could inspire him; he needed someone to lend guidance and shed some light on how to live. While working successfully for company Dun and Bradstreet, Imam Miller’s sister-in-law informed him about a teacher, Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was a Tamil-speaking mystic from Sri Lanka who preached the philosophies of Sufism, and whose transcendent and prophetic demeanor appealed to Imam Miller immediately. Imam Miller was instantly taken aback by Bawa’s teachings. As he says, “Bawa wasn’t like other teachers. He didn’t take money. He only gave advice.” Imam Miller says that at the end of 1972, Bawa was “the answer to [his] prayers to find a teacher.”
Imam Miller’s love and admiration for Bawa was established during his first visit. He began studying Arabic and the Quran with Bawa and before Imam Miller was aware of it, Bawa had shaped him into his disciple.
Imam Miller relayed the story that one day Bawa was telling people how long he’d known them. When it came to Imam Miller’s turn, Bawa confessed having known Imam Miller for 69 years. Imam Miller, being only 31 years old at the time, was clearly shocked. Later, however, he understood that Bawa had known his soul for 69 years. This sentiment solidified the relationship between Bawa and Imam Miller as one containing mutual love, respect, and brotherhood.
Over time, Imam Miller began wearing a head covering as a way to protect himself from external harm and also as a sign of humility and modesty before God. He further commented that modesty helps in not distracting others from their relationships with God.
When remarking upon Sufism, Imam Miller described it as “the obliteration of self with God subsisting as reality.” This means the necessity of the removal of one’s own ego and sense of self-importance to make room for God to take over.
In conclusion, Imam Miller affirmed with complete assurance his belief that one can never stop learning, that to be a life-long learner is the greatest achievement of all. |
