THE TRUE MEANING OF HIRAM ABIFF AND THE VEILED SYMBOLISM
By Fahim A. Knight-ElLet me start this article off with a physics axiom, which goes something like this: 'for every action requires an opposite and equal direct reaction'. I had authored an article on the subject of Hiram Abiff about ten years ago, but it is one of those Masonic topics that seem to always invoke curiosity amongst Freemasons and non-Masons alike, and therefore, with this writing, I have committed myself to dedicating another article to the greatest mythological and symbolic Grand Master ever recorded in Masonic history. There have been many treatise and books written on Hiram Abiff, but many of the prior scholarly explanations and analysis giving have always focused either on the esoteric, occult or Gnostic interpretations of Hiram Abiff—it still remains as one of the most misunderstood topics in the Freemasonic ideological worldview, which is the interpretation of Hiram Abiff and its the deeper relations and Masonic connections to a long lost people that is missing. So, I have always offered an interpretation that upstaged the Eurocentric and Western scholars’ perspective on Hiram Abiff by personifying him and demystifying this Nubian grand master as being directly tied to the history and legacy of the black man and woman of America; my citations and scholarly authority begins with the advent of Chattel Slavery and the dehumanization of African people—surely the motives and objectives of Hiram Abiff experiences bears close similarities to the so-called American Negro experience. This interpretation has always been met with resistance from white supremacy Masons and from Negro Masons as well who lacks the knowledge of self. No, other people historically fit the depiction and legacy of the symbolic Hiram Abiff Masonic character than the so-called American Negro ex-slave who arrived to
What is Masonry? Masonry is a system of morality, veiled
in allegory and illustrated by symbols and to understand Masonry, one must
become a serious student of symbolism and allegory (in particular having a keen
knowledge base of the sciences of etymology and epistemology). Albert
Churchward who authored the book titled, Signs and Symbols of Primordial
Man and Manly P. Hall (the scholar Hall was a 33rd degree Masons
and had written a number of books on the origin of Freemasonry) who
authored the book titled, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Gerald Massey
who authored book titled, Ancient Egypt the Light of the World and The
Book of Beginnings and Godfrey Higgins book titled, Anacalypsis, etc., all of these are
pieces to the Masonic puzzle. The above mentioned scholars are white scholars
who have bear witness to the ancient knowledge being originated out of Kemet
and the world owes a debt of gratitude to the original African man and African
woman who stood as the fathers and mothers of civilization. They objectively
and with an unbiased fervor traced the origin of science, language, supreme deities,
religion, architecture, folklore, medicine, mathematics, engineering, etc., to
Kemet or Ancient Egypt and this is why Freemasonry as a system of
academics and learning is heavily rooted in the Seven Schools of Liberal
Arts and five schools of architecture styles (these systems of learning predated the
Romans and the Greeks—Plato, Aristotle and Socrates borrowed their
philosophical ideals from the Nubians of ancient Kemet (Egypt), which teaches
us that Hiram Abiff is an old protype that was first seen and observed in the
teachings of Asur, Heru and Aset—the radiant sun and resurrection of the dead.
He was a learned man and was commissioned and entrusted
by King Solomon to construct a Temple that would have majesty and valor of the
great architecture styles seen in Egypt and make Jerusalem and this Temple
special in design and reverence, because this edifice would be seen and
embraced by the major three world religions being Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam (Jerusalem is considered the third holiest city in Islam
behind Mecca and Medina). If Muslims
cannot make Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca or Medina than according to many of the
Hadith writers, Jerusalem is considered acceptable in the eyesight of Allah (God);
perhaps I need to be teaching this to my brothers of the Ancient Egyptian
Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (the Potentates, Chief Rabbans,
High Priest and Prophets, Oriental Guides, etc.). The Shriners, Masons, Muslims and the
Islamic world do not have a clue about what it's truly meant to touch and
kiss the black stone, which was placed in the Kaaba (the great Mosque)
by Abraham and his son Ishmael according to the Holy Qu'ran Sharrieff. And those of us who have acquired the
knowledge of self have the duty and responsibility to teach the world and
rescue our history from these Arab imposters who have ethno-racial lineages to
the Semites and are not the original inhabitants of Saudi Arabia (which was
separated by the man made Suez Canal from Africa and the white man renamed
this territory the 'Middle East" but in my study of true geography there
is no such place called the Middle East, it is only a part of North East
Africa).
Dr. Wesley Muhammad is a Nation of Islam minister and scholar (under
Minister Louis Farrakhan) and a former Five Percenter (and/or member of the
Nation of Gods and Earths) who use to go by the name of Brother True Islam. I
purchased his book a few years ago titled, Black Arabia and the African
Origin of Islam and he covers some of the Asiatic, Hijaz (ancient Saudi
Arabia) history and the ethno racial lineages of those original dark skinned
tribes who were connected to the Maghreb region of North Africa in which I have
found Brother Muhammad's research and work valuable and relevant. He also authored
another good book titled, The Book of God: An Encyclopedia of Proof that the Black Man is God that also possesses a lot of
good ancient Nubian history. Dr. Yosef A.A. Ben Jochannan first published the
Book titled, Black man of the Nile and His
Family in around 1973. Here is the first point of clarity; the Arabs
did not arrive nor invade Kemet (ancient Egypt ) until the 8th Century A.D.
which means the greatness of Kemet and the Egyptian Mystery Systems were not
destroyed by the Arabs, because they did not arrive into Kemet until A.D.
within the modern era. But Egypt had been under
assault by the Semites (Jews in particular) Phoenicians, Romans, Assyrians, Greeks, etc., (long
before Arab colonist and enslavers arrived). Yet, that is not to suggest
that upon the Arabs arrival that they did not desecrate the sacred temples
and claim the history of Kemet as their own and simultaneously and erroneously
claimed kinship to the original Nubians who occupied Kemet and all of
North Africa .
The Greeks had occupied Egypt (Kemet) thousands of years
before the Arabs. These so-called Arabs were a mix and miscegenated
people, but the original inhabitants of Egypt were dark skinned, broad nosed and
kinky hair "Negroids", but through race mixing the Arabs
(Indo-Europeans) in which Saudi Arabia over periods of time became more mulatto
in skin color and due to European imperialism the once geographically connected
Arabia, which was part and parcel of the original continent of Africa (what Dr. Yosef
Ben Jochannan called Akebuland) was separated and was geographically reclassified as
being part of the so-called Middle East. They were not Asiatics in the truest
sense of ethnic-race classification, but Elijah Muhammad and Noble
Drew Ali both called us the Asiatic black man. The Arabs did not destroy
the Egyptian mystery system, yet they co-opted our history and culture by
stealing our birthrights in which Dr. Chancellor Williams in his book titled, The
Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D does a thorough analysis of recording how
the dark skinned Nubians were pushed out of Lower Egypt southward and light
skinned imposters settled and begin to occupy Kemet and white European scholars
have systematically whiten Egypt in order to claim this great civilization as
their own; most of this was done prior to the Arabs arrival in the late
600s-700s A.D. Their main objective was to impose Islam
(missionaries) on the indigenous people of that region and exploit the
commercial interest they had in these black lands, which were rich in natural
resources.
We will one day soon be like the first Muezzin (caller
to prayer and have the responsibility of bringing all of humanity back to the
path of God known as the Great Architect of the Universe). Bilal Ibn Rabah
who was a dark skinned Ethiopian slave who converted to Islam and became
one of Prophet Muhammad's closes companions and he had this melodious voice and
Muhammad gave him the duty to call the faithful to prayer (the black man of America
is that symbolic one), the Prophet was even recorded as saying that he saw Bilal footsteps entering heaven before his very own. Some of the enlightened world knows that Freemasonry
will continue to play a huge role in world affairs, because it is so
intertwined in the social, political and economic affairs of humanity. The New
Age movements and those who search out ancients texts and who like the Sufis
(the highest form of mystic Islam) and Hindus and Jews who became more inspired
by the teachings of the Kabbalah and see the value and credibility in
mystical teachings in Freemasonry as one of those schools of thought that
will continue to lead one to various paths of understanding relative to spirituality—outside
of religion and faith traditions. The enlightenment is forever evolving and new
interpretations of Masonic Speculative knowledge will continue to be
needed in order to build upon some of the unfinished Masonic work that became
disrupted and stagnated when the horrid crime took place at the building
of King Solomon's Temple and it was to teach us deeper moral lessons
about human behavior and how brotherhood has to be strengthen by
a cabletow that was stronger than any physical string or
rope, but it must be rooted in the best of human character and strengthen
by unconditional love (you are your brothers keepers).
When we see a Ruffian spirit begin to rise in our personal
lives, Masonic Houses, we should not allow any deviations from practicing
the true landmarks of Freemasonry and never allow the type of spirit of
betrayal to take root, it will negatively impact our Masonic organizational
structure and it was betrayal that led to the premature death of our Grand Master Hiram
Abiff (now, in the Biblical book of Kings the Hiram from the
land of Tyree) and the Masonic Hiram Abiff are not the same
individuals. And our story is mere
allegory, which is pointing us towards mastering all the principles giving to us
in our understanding of the foundation of Freemasonry that comes from living by
the principles of Morality, Friendship and Brotherly Love. Building that
true temple that Yeshuaa Ben Yosef (Jesus the son of Joseph) talked about which
was building a temple, that wasn't an external and/or physical temple, but
building the temple having spiritual value and not material value this
alone should force us to always seek the higher elevation of using our
knowledge to create a new paradigm (the greatest temple is constructed from
within, the human spirit and soul which leads us to true immortality). I will always
challenge my Masonic brothers to be better students of the knowledge and work
to move beyond just being engulfed in the social—I refuse to have allowed
myself to being raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular on the
square and then allow myself to be deposited back into the grave of
ignorance (or darkness and voluntarily put on the blindfold) once you were
raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular, it took you out of the
coffin and stood you up 90 degrees upright to a living perpendicular (no more blindfold, awakened to
enlightenment—this symbolically represented a new birth and a resurrection from the dead).
My brothers, we must allow our personal path and
journey to always lead us to having and open mind and use our
acquisition of this great mythical and mystic knowledge to better humanity and
ourselves (you received a substitute word because we were taught at the death of Grand Master Hiram Abiff the true master word was forever lost, but it is our present day duty to search out the lost word by being good students of Masonry). There lie the value of character and ethics, this is the
ultimate fiber that will strengthen and hold Masonry together along with
knowing how to apply the working tools and implement the square and compass to
enlighten the world with truth and direction beyond our commitment to our York
Rite and Scottish Rite houses. The working tools should serve as a moral
compass to give humanity direction, it becomes useless to have all this wisdom
and knowledge that have been passed down through the ages by ancient master
teachers, gurus and sages and we allow our obligation of never to reveal
and always conceal the teachings and secrets of Masonry to deny us the right
and privilege to help awaken those that sleep (I too will not violate my oath but what manner of man would hide his light under a bushel basket).
The symbolic story of Hiram Abiff, is one of the world's best kept secrets in the world of white supremacy ideals, they
only give us the symbolic teachings of the greatest grand master ever
recorded in the ritualistic teachings of Blue Lodge Masonry, but the
true interpretation of the Hiram Abiff story was never revealed to the black man
(there are Caucasian Masons of even much higher degrees than 33rd who bow down
in private to the origin of the black man being God and they worship you
in secrecy) because this Masonic folklore gives way to a people who were
hit in the head at the East Gate (Africa) and were forcibly brought
on a westerly course and was ultimately murdered and buried in shallow grave
in which three of the major perpetrators were England, France and America
that posed as principal perpetrators. It was their imperialism, colonialism and
Chattel Slavery via the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Middle Passage that
led to the final blow to murdering the real Hiram Abiff, the
so-called black man of Africa and North America
(this blow caused us to lose our land, names, God, culture, Folkways and
Mores).
The above mentioned three European white nations (have
hid and buried some of our ancient knowledge, identity and wisdom in secret vaults (and
in international libraries and museums) in white Grand Lodges in Europe, America,
Canada, Australia, etc., have committed themselves to never allowing the true
Hiram Abiff story to be revealed and some of it is even hidden in Israel,
Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Turkey. These four Muslim and Islamic nations
have had a long history of involvement in Freemasonry in spit of its
so-called Middle East adherents of having to survive in nations that have
historically viewed Freemasonry as heretic; both Sunni and Shia Islamic
nations have outlawed Freemasonry as being anti-Islamic and those caught
practicing Freemasonry in some of these Muslim societies would become subjects
of Sharia law and killed.
I have now had the privy (by invitation) to sit in
various Masonic meetings of international implications and have discussed
Masonry with some of the best Masonic intellectuals and Masonic scholars in the
world within these research societies and they know our history better
than we know our own history. I have challenged their often white supremacy
worldview and shared with them an Africancentered view of the ancient craft of
Freemasonry; I have always done this unapologetically. The three Masonic
Ruffians who conspired against the Master Builder Hiram Abiff
had motives and objectives of stealing the masterful architecture
plans—blueprints and drawings that were inspired by God and fraudulent tried to obtained the Master Mason password. What you do not know,
they were not just architecture drawings, but they were scrolls (that delved into the high sciences of mathematics, astronomy and physics in which had been passed down by the Kemetic master builders who built the pyramids and other sacred structures in accordance with the universal laws), which
were divinely inspired and although they represented some aspect of Sacred
Geometry (this knowledge was much more than right angles and perpendiculars).
These lessons had a more spiritual meaning, which were
passed down to Hiram Abiff who had rightful ownership to this knowledge because
he had been properly initiated, entered, passed and raised to the sublime
degree (the Ruffians did not have all the signs, tokens and words that would
have allowed them to crossover into Joppa); to miss and/or overlook the value of
suitable proficiency requirement (is no different then understanding that
mathematics is Islam, and Islam is mathematics the knowledge has to be giving
and received right and exact) because these lessons were rooted in the ancient
mystic knowledge of those who had traveled and studied the mystery schools
and had to be self-mastered and understood the wisdom that was revealed in the
celestial and terrestrial spheres (represented in the symbolic columns of
Jachin and Boaz, which typifies beauty and strength) in which they had
organized to steal and was unwilling to continue on road and path less
traveled.
These conspirators also understood that Hiram (the black
man) would layout his scientific and knowledge of engineering on the
Trestle Board relative to building King Solomon Temple (the timber was
transported from Lebanon and it was of special quality and number of labors
were astronomical), but this 15 Fellowcraft refusing to following
and learning the skill-set of the Operative Masonry who knew how to
meltdown brass, and/or precious metals into supporting the decorum and the
beautification of the the temple (which according to biblical history was
destroyed three times)—they sought to engage in a conspiracy against the Grand
Master. The construction was systematically aligned with the spiritual and
geographical motions and movements of the Sun (lessons in the winter solstice
and summer solstice), which ties Masonry directly to studying and
understanding many aspects of the universal order of things, in particular knowing
the mathematical and astronomy of the universal order and how the divine laws
functions as it relates to the sun, moon and stars (the motions and the divine
principles have meanings far beyond the emblematic and many have found deeper
meaning into the Zodiacs and numerology).
These Masonic moral lessons were designed to teach us that
each degree and the work it involved pursuant to the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft
and Master Mason degrees should be taught and met with the highest
level of seriousness (and internalized) in which this training is nonnegotiable
(it should allow us to travel to foreign lands and territories unimpeded
because we have been invested with the proper password and be able to obtain
higher wages). The conspirators had only obtained partial knowledge (they were
just Fellowcraft and not master Masons), but it would become their lower-self
which controls emotions and ego (one of the seven Chakras) that led them
to become jealous and envy of the knowledge that our Grand Master
Hiram Abiff had obtained and because of this they were not
willing to exemplify patience as good students, but they had plans of
stealing the architecture knowledge of Hiram Abiff, the master builder.
The Medieval Europeans who were involved in
the science trades and craftsmanship were valued because, it determined
whether or not they had obtained the necessary workman's skills to be
elevated and moved forward in these ancient trade Guilds associations,
which would be equivalent to modern day labor unions and each stage of
mastering the knowledge, it impacted ones wages (it ultimately determined
socio-economic mobility). The operative skill-set mastering had many
incentives and each lesson was predicated on learning and mastering the
previous knowledge—Now, lets be clear the Nubian Nile Valley Civilizations
of upper and lower Kemet (Egypt) had been engaged
in the mystery systems of initiations (and were the originators of Operative Masonry and Speculative Masonry) long before the Europeans who
during the Medieval period had become quasi-awakened and even after
this initial historical phenomenon they were once again enlightened by the Blackmoors
during the 8th century. I am not speaking of Arabs and Berbers; J.A. Rogers who
authored a three volume set titled, Sex and Race and if there is any
hidden or hard to find ancient historical information about Black civilizations,
Rogers ordinary
is my go to scholar. He has some very good information on the Moors and their
ethno-racial kingdoms before and after the 8th century.
The likes of Imhotep and Akhenaton and the Kemetic history
tells us that much of what the Europeans incorporated in England, France and Scotland relative to Freemasonry
was stolen and lifted from Kemet. The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) who
so-called convened and established the first body of organized Freemasons in
the world in 1717, did not give credit nor recognized the Kemetic mystery schools. The Eurocentric mindset has never allowed many of those
Europeans of yesterday and today to pay homage to the original master
builders in Kemet and Kush. The black man is under the symbolic disguise of symbolism, is the
true Hiram Abiff shrouded in mystery and coded in Masonic allegory.
Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT
REAL THINK TANK located in Durham ,
NC ; our mission is to inform
African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie
ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings
behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We
are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw
off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter.
Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-El can be reached at fahimknight@yahoo.com.