The Soul Of A Butterfly

by Muhammad Ali

  About the Book

  In The Soul of a Butterfly the great champion takes readers on a spiritual journey through the seasons of life, from childhood to the present, and shares the beliefs that have served him well.

  After fighting some of the fiercest bouts in boxing history, today Muhammad Ali faces his most powerful foe – outside the boxing ring. Like many people, he battles an illness that limits his physical abilities, but as he says, ‘I have gained more than I have lost … I have never had a more powerful voice than I have now.’ As Ali reflects on his faith and the strength it gave him during his greatest challenge, when he lost the prime years of his boxing career because he would not compromise his beliefs, he describes how his study of Islam has brought him to a greater awareness of life’s true purpose. As a United Nations’ Messenger of Peace he has travelled widely, and he describes his 2002 mission to Afghanistan to heighten public awareness of that country’s desperate situation, as well as his more recent meeting with the Dalai Lama.

  Ali's reflections on topics ranging from moral courage to belief in God, to respect for those who differ from us. Written with the assistance of his daughter, Hana, The Soul of a Butterfly is a compassionate and heartfelt book that will provide comfort for our troubled times.

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Introduction

  God Bless The World

  Competition for Love

  Love

  A Letter to the World

  The Early Years

  The Foundation of Life

  The Innocence of Youth

  Black is Beautiful

  The Purpose of Life

  Awareness

  Birth of a Dream

  The King of the Street

  The Showdown

  The Victory and the Lesson

  Confronting Fear

  The Road to Success

  A Golden Victory

  An act of Liberation

  The Middle Years

  The Road to Freedom

  The Freedom Song

  Black Pride

  If I Were President

  Speaking Out

  The Journey

  My Spiritual Evolution

  The Day I Met Islam

  The Meaning Behind the Message

  My Fighting had a Purpose

  Personality

  Gorgeous George

  Malcolm X

  I am the Greatest!

  7th Heaven

  The Black Superman

  The Announcement

  Too Late for Forgiveness

  Courage

  The Moment of Truth

  The Boy Inside the Man

  The People’s Champion

  The Presence of God

  Standing Tall

  The Greatest Knowledge

  The Heart of Man

  The Blessing

  Giving

  That is Why

  Still the Greatest

  The Comeback Fight

  My Golden Fights

  My Philosophy of Boxing

  True Success

  Determination

  A Newfound Friend

  Return of the King

  George Foreman and the Rumble in the Jungle

  Champions to Come

  No Sad Goodbyes

  The Shadow Dance

  Muhammad Ali vs. Cassius Clay

  The Decision

  Happy Memories

  When I’m Gone

  The World’s Greatest

  The Current Years

  Accepting Change

  The Voice of Silence

  Remembering the Speed

  The Power of Will

  Follow the Leader

  A Higher Consciousness

  The Evidence of God

  How My Faith has Changed Me

  What is Real

  Fear

  Parenthood

  Daddy

  Fame

  With God’s Help

  A Story of Gratitude and Generosity

  Respect

  Unity

  Recipe for a Good Life

  The Olympic Flame

  In Troubled Times

  Islam and September 11

  Afghanistan

  The Special Olympics

  Meeting the Dalai Lama

  The Dalai Lama and Muhammad Ali

  The Secret of My Success

  How I would like to be Remembered

  True Happiness

  A Spiritual Goal

  Working For God

  Postscript

  The Road to Heaven

  The Soul of a Butterfly

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  To my parents Odessa and Cassius Clay, with love

  Muhammad Ali

  To my Guardian Angels. They know who they are.

  Hana Yasmeen Ali

  Love is a net where hearts are caught like fish.

  Sufi Wisdom

  INTRODUCTION

  People were always asking me what I was going to do after I retired from boxing. My response then was as it is now: During my boxing career, you did not see the real Muhammad Ali. You just saw a little boxing and a little showmanship. It was after I retired from boxing that my true work began. I had more time then to develop my spiritual being the way that I once developed my muscles and agility.

  When I look at the world, I see that many people build big beautiful houses but live in broken homes. We spend more time learning how to make a living than we do learning to make a life. What I hope to share with you are the beliefs that I have come to live by. Many of the philosophies, stories, and ideals that have touched my soul and inspired my heart I learned from my study of Islam. I have shared this knowledge with my family and friends; now I offer it to the world.

  Over the years my religion has changed and my spirituality has evolved. Religion and spirituality are very different, but people often confuse the two. Some things cannot be taught, but they can be awakened in the heart. Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn’t belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone.

  People have asked me if I still work on my faith. The truth is, I can talk all day about my faith because more than anything else in my life, I believe in God. If all of the oceans on Earth were ink, and all of the trees were pens, they still would not be sufficient to write down the knowledge God has. Knowing that God has power like that keeps me humble. The more I study about God and Islam, the more I realize how little I know. So, I am still studying, and I’m still learning because there’s nothing as great as working for God.

  Truly great people in history never wanted to be great for themselves. All they wanted was the chance to do good for others and be close to God. I’m not perfect. I know that I still have things to work out, and I’m working on them. There are certain things I have done that I am not proud of, especially when they caused pain to others. I ask God for forgiveness.

  No matter where I go, everybody recognizes my face and knows my name. People love and admire me; they look up to me. That’s a lot of power and influence for one man to have, so I know I have a responsibility to use my fame the right way. That’s one of the reasons I’ve always tried to be good to everyone no matter their color, religion, or position in life. Though some people may see themselves as better or more important than others, in God’s eyes we are all equal, and it’s what is in our hearts that matters.

  People say that I gave away too much money during my boxing career. They write about how some people took a
dvantage of me, stole from me, and how I let them get away with it. Even when I knew people were cheating me, what was important was how I behaved, because I have to answer to God. I can’t be responsible for other people’s actions: They will have to answer to God themselves. Throughout my life, I never sought retribution against those who hurt me because I believe in forgiveness. I have practiced forgiving, just as I want to be forgiven. Only God knows what’s in a person’s heart, his true intentions. He sees and hears all things.

  Many people around me had their hands out, and I tried to help as many of them as I could. There’s nothing wrong with that. I gave to people in need, even when I could have used the money myself, because God had made me rich enough. Now, as I look back, it seems that the more I gave in the name of God, the more he has given back to me. I try not to speak about the charities and people I help, because I believe we can only be truly generous when we expect nothing in return.

  At night when I go to bed, I ask myself, “If I don’t wake up tomorrow, would I be proud of how I lived today.” With that question in mind, I have tried to do as many good deeds as I can, whether it is standing up for my faith, signing an autograph, or simply shaking a person’s hand. I’m just trying to make people happy and get into heaven.

  My concept of religion has broadened over the years. My mother was a Baptist, and my father was a Methodist. They both believed that Jesus was the son of God. I don’t believe that, but I believe he was an important prophet like Moses. I believe that on judgment day, my parents will be in heaven, not because they were without fault, but because they were decent, loving human beings, and they believed in God. We all have the same God, we just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans, all have different names, but they all contain water. So do religions have different names, and they all contain truth, expressed in different ways, forms, and times. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew. When you believe in God, you should believe that all people are part of one family. If you love God, you can’t love only some of his children.

  This book is a reflection of my life, it describes some of my most memorable experiences, and tells the story of how I came to be the man I am today. I have come a long way since I started boxing. I’ve traveled all around the world and met all types of people. I believe that God beautified the planet by spreading everyone out and making us different. The goal of our nations should be to work on understanding, respecting our differences, and celebrating our similarities. We should appreciate the beauty in the diversity. It would be a boring world, if every flower were the same shape, color, and size.

  One of the most important aspects of my spirituality has been gradually recognizing all of the moments in my life when God was working through me, inside and outside the ring. Growing up, I had trouble reading and spelling. I barely graduated from high school. They have a name for what I have, dyslexia. But back when I was in school, teachers figured that kids with learning difficulties were stupid. School was challenging for me, but I found a way to work it out. When I came to a brick wall, I didn’t give up and quit; I found my way around, under, or over it. I found a way to work with what God gave me. When I read or hear something that I think is valuable, something that speaks to me of the world as I feel it, I focus on those parts. I memorize them. When something seems true to me, it becomes part of me. That is how I learn.

  I felt God was always working through me. He filled me with wisdom, confidence, self-assurance, and awareness. I studied life and I studied people. I may be poor at reading and writing, but when it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich. There is an old saying that I’ve recited over the years. It goes like this: “Where is man’s wealth? His wealth is in his knowledge. If his wealth is in the bank, he doesn’t possess it.” My wealth is in my knowledge of self, love, and spirituality. I’ve tried to use my knowledge to be a good representative of my people. I can’t be blind, because if the blind lead the blind they all fall into a ditch.

  My soul has grown over the years, and some of my views have changed. As long as I’m alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done. All through my life I have been tested. My will has been tested, my courage has been tested, my strength has been tested. Now my patience and endurance are being tested. Every step of the way I believe that God has been with me. And, more than ever, I know that he is with me now. I have learned to live my life one step, one breath, and one moment at a time, but it was a long road. I set out on a journey of love, seeking truth, peace, and understanding. I am still learning.

  GOD BLESS

  the world

  I hope that one day all

  nations great and small

  will be able to stand up and say

  we lived in pursuit of peace for all.

  Maybe then there will come a day

  when instead of saying, “God bless America,”

  or “God bless some other country,”

  everyone everywhere will say,

  “God bless the world.”

  Love is the only thing that every soul brings to earth with it.

  A Hindu poet said: “The desire to love brought me to earth, and the same desire to see the beloved I am taking with me to heaven.”

  Wouldn’t it be a beautiful world if just 10 percent of the people who believe in the power of love would compete with one another to see who could do the most good for the most people? So many of us enjoy taking part in competitions, why not hold a competition of love instead of one that leads to jealousy and envy? If we continue to think and live as if we belong only to different cultures and different religions, with separate missions and goals, we will always be in self-defeating competition with each other.

  * * *

  Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love.

  In a competition of love we would not be running against one another, but with one another. We would be trying to gain victory for all humanity. If I am a faster runner than you, you may feel bad seeing me pass you in the race, but if you know that we are both racing to make our world better, you will feel good knowing that we are all racing toward a common goal, a mutual reward.

  In a competition of love we’ll all share in the victory, no matter who comes in first.

  A heart enlightened by love is more precious than all of the diamonds and gold in the world.

  inspired by a sufi message

  The outer beauty of a person must merge with the inner beauty and become one.

  This is the source of true beauty.

  Sufi Wisdom

  LOVE

  THE IDEAL OF BEAUTY

  True beauty is found in the heart of the beholder.

  As I begin the story of my journey, I would like to share a short story that I learned from the teachings of Sufism. There once was a king who enjoyed spending his spare time in the company of philosophers and friends, debating various subjects. One afternoon, the debate concerned where beauty lies. As they were talking together on the terrace of the palace, the king and his friends could see their children playing in the courtyard. The king called to one of his servants. He gave him a jeweled crown and asked him to place it upon the head of the most beautiful child in the courtyard.

  The servant took the crown and walked out to the middle of the courtyard, where all the children were playing as their parents watched from the terrace.

  First the servant placed the crown on the head of the king’s son. He saw that it suited him well. The boy was a handsome lad but, somehow, the servant was not satisfied. He tried it on the head of another child, and another, until he came upon his own son, who was sitting in the corner. He placed the jeweled crown on his son’s head and found that it suited him wonderfully.

  The servant then took his son by the hand and led him to the king. When he reached the terrace, he bowed his head and spoke. “Sire, I have found that of all the children, the crown
suits this one best. Indeed, if I tell the truth I must say this. I am ashamed to appear so bold, for the child is the son of my humble self.”

  Then the king and those beside him laughed very heartily and thanked the servant, for they all thought his son to be very ugly indeed. The king walked over to the servant and said, “You have certainly told me what I wish to know: It is the heart that perceives beauty.”

  coauthor’s note

  Myths are about gods, legends are about heroes, and fairy tales describe the endless worlds of magic and dreams. This book is neither myth nor fairy tale, but the story of a legend with unwavering conviction. In the following pages you will read about a man who asked his heart what actions to take, and his heart replied like the beat of a drum that has yet to fade. You will read about a man who stood up for those who could not stand up for themselves. About a man who stared adversity in the face. A man who shared himself with the world and all who came his way.

  You will read about a man who embodies the conflicts, struggles, and hopes of hundreds of years, a man who mesmerized the world with his artistry in the boxing ring, and won its respect with his courage outside it. Yet, his greatest accomplishments—love, kindness, and generosity—all occurred outside the spotlight. Throughout his life, he has moved us to tears, of both joy and sorrow. He has found a home in the heart of the people of all nations, and become the epitome of a champion and a hero.

  It is said that more has been written about Muhammad Ali than any other living person. When you have a heart as big as the world, the world wants to write about it. The difference between this book and all the others about him is that this book is from his heart.

  In the following pages, you will see the world through my father’s eyes. You will learn about his dreams, his obstacles, his heartbreaks, and his victories from his youth to the present moment. This book is a journey through the defining moments in my father’s life. It is filled with his personal recollections, occasionally sprinkled with my own memories, and laced with the stories and poems that touched his heart.