Muhammad Ali Signed and Inscribed Prayer Book | Ali Childhood Home Museum Provenance

Property from the Muhammad Ali Childhood Home Museum

Sotheby’s is proud to offer this Prayer Book signed by Muhammad Ali. The Prayer Book is signed by Muhammad Ali and features an inscription dated "5-8-86".

"Prayer and Al-Islam" was published in 1982 by the Muhammad Islamic Foundation, founded by Muhammad Ali.

Going Deeper | Muhammad Ali 

Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay began boxing at the age of 12. At 18, Clay had won the gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, before becoming a professional boxer later that year. 

Early in his professional career, Clay separated himself as a showman. He would not just win, but would also display charm and personality, often reciting poems about his opponents or coining now well-known phrases, such as “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

In 1964, after defeating brawler Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight Championship in one of the largest upsets in sports history, Cassius announced that he had accepted the teachings of the Nation of Islam and had taken the name Muhammad Ali, a name given to him by his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad. 

Over the next few years, Ali dominated boxing, defending his World Heavyweight Championship title and remaining undefeated in his professional career. 

In April of 1967, citing religious beliefs, Ali refused his draft status in the United States war in Vietnam. Ali’s classification as a conscientious objector was denied, resulting in the loss of his World Heavyweight Championship and his license to box. In June of 1967, Ali was sentenced to a 5-year prison sentence for refusing induction into the armed forces. Ali remained free on bail for four years, before his case was overturned by the Supreme Court. 

During his suspension, Ali publicly focused on his religion, engaging in conversations with civil rights activists Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, and some of the world’s top athletes, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jim Brown who had also been standing up in the name of social justice. 

As he had been inspired, Ali inspired countless others. At Ali’s Funeral in 2016, Dr. Sherman Jackson spoke about Ali’s impact: “Ali did more to normalize Islam in this country than perhaps any other Muslim in the history of the United States… and all of this he did in a way that no one could challenge his belongingness to, or in, this country.”