by Muhammad Ali
If you experience prejudice or injustice, keep your head up and your heart open. Bitterness will only weaken you. Don’t let anger consume you. Never let resentment into your heart—it will only weigh you down.
I was grateful for the time I had with the Dalai Lama. I have come to understand that there are those who believe in God and those who make God a reality. The Dalai Lama is among those who manifest God in the journey of their everyday lives. Before leaving, I thought about how I would say goodbye, but then I realized that there are no right words. So I parted from him the only way I knew how—with a hug and a smile. It felt just right.
THE DALAI LAMA
and
MUHAMMAD ALI
Beside the great man there stands another
Whose heart prevailed against cruel winds,
Whose patience lasted without end,
Whose faith has refused to bend.
Beside the great man there stands another
Whose goal of peace for all mankind
He’s pursued with body, heart, and mind.
Along the path of grace and thunder
Beside the great man there stands another.
For His Holiness the Dalai Lama
May you journey well.
HANA YASMEEN ALI
the secret of
MY SUCCESS
All of my life, if I wanted to do something,
I studied those who were good at it;
then I memorized what I learned,
and believed that I could do it, too.
Then I went out and did it.
HOW I WOULD
like to be
REMEMBERED
I WOULD LIKE to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous, and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him, and who helped as many people as he could. As a man who stood up for his beliefs no matter what. As a man who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love. And if all that’s too much, then I guess I’d settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people. And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.
true
HAPPINESS
THERE WAS A time when I felt the need to show the world how great I was, but I don’t have to prove myself anymore. My life’s purpose has changed with time and my spirituality has evolved over the years. Everything that I do now, I ask myself, will God be pleased with this? We may think that we have moments alone, but God is there, and always watching.
I conquered the world and it didn’t bring me true happiness. The only true happiness comes from honoring God and treating people right.
A SPIRITUAL GOAL
WE CAN NEVER pray enough, or give enough, or share enough, or care about the world enough, and we could never love enough to repay God for his gifts to us.
Being kind to all of his creatures, showing respect for ourselves and others, treating all people with kindness and showing compassion for the less fortunate, ill, and deprived, is what we should do. Knowing this strengthens my faith and turns my faith into spiritual awareness. When we devote all of our actions to a spiritual goal, everything that we do becomes a prayer.
Gratefulness in the character
Is like fragrance in the flower.
Sufi Wisdom
working
FOR GOD
I KNOW THAT I have lived a blessed life. I have nine beautiful children and six grandchildren. I have a loving wife and a beautiful home surrounded by peace and nature. God has been good to me, and I wouldn’t change anything that has happened to me. I have learned something from it all. I’m not as physically healthy as I once was, but in many ways I’m a lot stronger now. In order to be truly spiritual, we have to cast aside our material desires and our physical image of ourselves.
A Hindu poet once said, “If the angels who are entirely spiritual could fulfill the purpose of creation, God would have not created man.”
I have learned that it is through tragedies that we grow. The losses that we experience, the illnesses that we face, and the pain and sorrow we sometimes feel enable us to achieve our highest and greatest purpose in life, which is spiritual growth.
My greatest accomplishments in life were achieved outside the ring, and my greatest privilege in life was becoming a messenger of peace and love. Because there is nothing as great as working for God.
the muhammad ali center
The Muhammad Ali Center will open in the fall of 2005 in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. It will be an international cultural and educational center that is dedicated to the ideals Muhammad has exemplified throughout his life. Like Muhammad himself, the Ali Center will focus on what brings people together, not what sets them apart.
Visitor experiences at the Muhammad Ali Center focus on six defining themes of Ali’s legacy: Respect, Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, and Spirituality. These themes are explored through remarkable interactive and multimedia learning experiences and exploratory galleries. Visitors follow the story of Ali’s journey and are invited to embark on their own paths to personal success. Through extensive educational outreach, international partnerships, exhibits and distance-learning programming, the Center will reach individuals across the country and around the world.
www.alicenter.org
the road
TO HEAVEN
A few weeks ago my dad and I were at his house watching old Elvis Presley movies together. Dad is a big fan of Elvis, and in the middle of the movie, Dad reminded me that Elvis had given him a white jeweled robe back in the mid-seventies. It was Saturday afternoon and Lonnie was at one of Asaad’s ball games, so it was just the two of us spending the afternoon together. After the movie ended, my dad asked me to drive him to the bookstore in Benton Harbor so he could buy some Bibles and Qurans for a project that he has been working on.
As we were driving down the highway we noticed an elderly black man standing on the corner of the street with a Bible in his hand. We also noticed that he had his thumb up, so we turned around and picked him up. When the man got into the car he told us his name. We will call him Ernie for privacy reasons.
Ernie told us that he just got out of church and asked if we could drop him off a few miles up the road, then he said he would be able to take a cab the rest of the way home. I told Ernie that we would not mind driving him home, but he said he did not want to take us out of our way.
At this point Ernie still had not realized who my father was. When we came to a stop light my dad turned around so that Ernie could see his face. Then Dad said, “We are on our way to the bookstore to buy some Bibles and Qurans, so it won’t be out of our way.”
Now Ernie recognized my father and said, “Muhammad Ali, well isn’t that something!” He went on to say, “Thank you so much for this ride. When we get to my house I have three Bibles I can give you for free.”
My father replied, “Thank you, but we’ll pay you for them.” But Ernie said that he wanted to give them to him to repay him for the ride. My dad asked him what he did for a living.
Ernie told us that he had recently suffered a stroke and that he had had to retire from his job of more than twenty years. My dad then asked Ernie how much money he had in his pocket; Ernie told him about ten dollars.
My father looked at me with wide eyes, leaned over and whispered, “How much money do you have in your purse?” I told him that I would have to go to an ATM to get some cash. Dad asked me to take out as much as I could, so I did. When I got back into the car Ernie and my dad were talking and laughing together like old friends. I handed the money to my father and he turned to Ernie and extended his hand with the money in it.
Ernie looked at the money and asked, “What’s this for?”
My dad told him, “It’s for you.”
Ernie shook his head and exclaimed, “No, no, no, there won’t be any of that going on here!”
My dad insisted, “Take the money
; I want you to have it! It’s for the Bibles that you’re going to give me.”
But Ernie still would not take it. He said that it was way too much money for three Bibles and that he wanted to give them to Dad, not sell them to him.
Then my dad said, “Take the money. I want to help you.” Still Ernie said no.
Dad didn’t know what else to do, so he tossed the money into the back seat next to Ernie and said, “You have to take it now!”
Ernie gathered up the cash and said with the most gentle voice, “Mr. Ali, I know that you are very famous and influential, but you can’t make a person do something if they don’t want to. Even though your intentions are good, I still don’t want to take the money.” I could see that my father was impressed, but at the same time a little confused. He was so used to people asking him for money before he even had a chance to offer it to them. He seemed at a loss for words.
Then, finally, looking at Ernie with pleading eyes he said, “Take the money, man, I’m trying to get into heaven!”
Responding just as forcefully Ernie told him,
“So am I!”
My father, not taking no for an answer, said one more time, “If you don’t take the money, I might not get in!”
To which Ernie replied one last time, “If I do take your money, I might not get in!”
When we reached Ernie’s house he introduced us to his wife, of more than thirty years. They have no children and they live in a small, nice home amid a stand of trees. As we were leaving I noticed that my dad had hidden the money under a napkin in the kitchen. I gave Ernie and his wife my phone numbers and told him to call me when he needed a ride to church or anywhere else.
Then as we were getting into the car, Ernie walked over to us, asked us to join hands and said a prayer. As we were driving back home, Dad asked me if I would really go and pick up Ernie if he needed a ride to church. I told him I would. Then he asked, “You would go out of your way to pick him up and then take him all the way home?” Again I said I would, if he needed me to. I noticed my dad’s head was down and I could not see his face.
He then looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and said in a soft and gentle voice, “That’s me in you.” Then he smiled at me and added, “You’re on the road to heaven.”
Hana Yasmeen Ali
the soul of a
BUTTERFLY
It was not my father’s heavyweight championships that made him great; it was not his Olympic success, or his victory over the government. His greatness lies in his ability to keep love in his heart through all of the upheavals of life. His greatness is in his courage, it’s in his strength, and it’s in his compassion. In my eyes, he was even greater at being a loving father than he was at being a world champion.
He was great in the way that he made sure all of his children knew and respected each other. He taught us life’s most valuable lessons, not just with his words and moral opinions, but through his actions. He taught us about kindness, about friendship, about compassion, about generosity, about virtue, and about love. His office door was never closed, not even when he had important interviews and work to do. He was there for us even when he was away. He showered us all with affection and love, and made each of us feel special. He told me bedtime stories until I fell asleep at night. He brought my lunch to school. He helped me eat my vegetables, so I could have dessert. He always stood by me, no matter what. And he recorded every word that we had to say. He was great in his singular way of making me feel important.
With all of the prizes, trophies, awards, and treasures that my father has received and given away, his greatness lay in the way he kept the recordings of his children’s voices protected in a small safe.
Dad, believe me when I say that in my eyes you are the world’s greatest father, not because you were perfect, but because you gave us the greatest gift any parent could ever give a child … Yourself. You no longer have to communicate with words; your eyes express what is in your heart and your smile tells the story of love.
Whatever the future holds for my father, know that this is true … He has lived a life dedicated to God, and all that devotion lives on inside him. He has lived his life with strength and courage, and those virtues live on inside him. He has lived a life in pursuit of peace, now all that peace resides inside him. And he’s lived a life full of love, and all of that love lives on inside him.
He is happy, he is at peace, and he truly loves being Muhammad Ali.
Hana Yasmeen Ali
the soul of a
BUTTERFLY
WITHIN THE HANDS OF TIME
He no longer has the energy to walk against the wind,
So he has decided to make time a friend.
There are no limits while turning the hands of time,
All past and present moments are forever entwined.
Somewhere in the distance are shadows of the butterfly,
where all that once flourished, carries on in his mind.
Where youth and health will always thrive,
Where strength and speed are eternally fine,
And Golden Gloves still shine.
For all that he has gained and lost in sight of a greater good,
he weathered the storm with elegance and style,
beside a grace wherein truth stood
Now as the years pass, as age overtakes and grows.
There will be more stories told of legendary goals.
In retrospect of yesterday, remember what was great.
True heroes are those with hearts of gold,
and ideals that never fade.
So when you seek to know this glory, look to the open sky,
Where all that he has loved is treasured,
Always and forever prime, within the Soul of a Butterfly.
Hana Yasmeen Ali
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to praise God for providing all of the spiritual advisers and teachers who have taught me and guided me throughout my life. Without them, this book would not have been possible. Even the simple discovery of a great book is a blessing.
I’d like to give a special thanks to my family—my wife, Lonnie, and all of my beautiful children—for their unconditional love.
Muhammad and Hana would like to thank the following people for helping make this book possible.
Susan Crawford, Hana’s literary agent for this book, for all her countless labors and endless hours that she has contributed, along with her support and enthusiasm. Bob Bender, our editor at Simon & Schuster, for his dedication and patience. Ron DiNicola, who is a good lawyer and a family friend. Special thanks to my brother, Rahaman, and to my old friend Gene Kilroy for sharing their wonderful memories, Howard Bingham for contributing his timeless photos, and last but certainly not least, Deborah Seager and David Chaudoir for their invaluable assistance. And a special thank you to Tom Hauser for his cooperation and generosity. We are grateful to all of you. You were each essential in making this book what it is.
* * *
Hana also wishes to bestow a very special thank you on her mother, Veronica Porche Anderson: Thank you, Mother, for strengthening my confidence in myself, encouraging me to do my best, and believing in me like no one else. I love you dearly.
About the Author
Muhammad Ali is the former three-time world heavyweight boxing champion. He and his wife, Lonnie, have established the Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, to preserve and share the legacy and ideals of Muhammad Ali.
Hana Yasmeen Ali is the author of More Than a Hero. She lives in Michigan, near her father and stepmother.
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
www.transworldbooks.co.uk
Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies
whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
First published in the United States in 2004 by Simon & Schuster
Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10020, USA
First published in Great Britain in 2004 by Bantam Press,
a division of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © 2004 Muhammad Ali Family Trust
dated October 22, 2002, and Hana Yasmeen Ali
Portions of The Soul of a Butterfly draw on previously published material from Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser, © 1991 by Thomas Hauser and Muhammad Ali, published by Simon & Schuster, used by permission.
Muhammad Ali and Hana Yasmeen Ali have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the authors of this work.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448168538
ISBN 9780553816464
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
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