Islam in the future of America
Detroit Michigan 11-17-96 

Imam W. Deen Mohammed


As Salaam Alaikum that is peace be on you peace be unto you we thank Allah for our presence her today for our health our strength and that we are Muslims cause that is the best blessing. To be a person of faith is the best blessing anyone can have.

We witness that G'd is One La elaha illah there is but only One G'd and we witness that Muhammad is the last or the seal of the prophets, G'd's messenger who received the Holy Book that is believed in and followed by Muslims all over the world; in Africa, Asia, Europe, America now all over 1 billion or more Muslims on this earth they all have the same Book or we all have the same book, the Qur'an that was given to Muhammad the Prophet about 1400 and 15 yrs or so ago.

Q. 9:61; 21:107; Muhammad mercy to all the worlds

We pray the prayers and the peace be upon him, Muhammad the messenger of G'd, the mercy to all the worlds, the mercy to all the worlds. Allah highly glorified is He says of Muhammad that we have not sent you except to be a mercy to all the worlds, a mercy to all the worlds, so Muhammad is a mercy to all the worlds not just to one world but to all the worlds.

And before going further into that I want to maybe explain the worlds cause maybe to us we're thinking when we say to all the worlds we're thinking about the Christian world, the Muslim world or the secular world and the religious world or the academic world etc.. if
you're thinking that way you are correct. But mainly the worlds that we call the cultural world, the scientific world, the political world. Muhammad is a mercy to all these worlds.

And it is because of the Our'an that Allah gave to Muhammad the Prophet that the Prophet is a mercy to all the worlds. In his character he also is a mercy to all the worlds, but he couldn't be a mercy to the academic world and the political world and the financial world etc., if Allah had not given him the Qur'an. It is the Qur'an that made Muhammad a mercy to all these worlds, praise be to Allah. So we salute him with the traditional salute the prayer and the peace be on him, the seal of the prophets, the last of them, the mercy to all the worlds.

We are happy to be here again in Detroit on our monthly occasion or monthly meeting to deliver this address and we pray Allah always protect us from errors, help us to meet the goal to reach the goal that we are striving to reach and to make our presentation acceptable amin.

Al Islam or Islam in the future of America, I had a few words with the Imams before coming in here we greeted each other and had a few comments and one of my comments on this topic or subject was, that when we are talking about the future of Islam in America we're talking about the presence and contributions that will be made by all Muslims in America not just by us.

By Pakistani, Arabs, Palestinian or whatever by the Saudi or whoever, Egyptians, Africans, Nigerians whoever, Sudanese because we are becoming more and more a
nation of many nationalities or many people from many different nations.

And the Muslims are increasing in number here presently they're coming from east, west, north and south every where the numbers are increasing here and I claim this and I don't think that anybody will prove me wrong they might not like it some of them but I-claim that it is because of our presence here the black or African Americans Muslims who came from the temple of Islam to the Mosque of Islam, Masjid of Islam, it is because of our presence here that these Muslims from abroad or Muslims from outside of America are coming here now with faith in them having a Muslim presence in America.

They didn't have faith in that before obviously because they weren't promoting that before, its only been since 1970 or so that they have been promoting that, the work to establish their Muslim life in America. This is a wonderful change, a wonderful thing that's happening for Muslims, that they now want to establish their lives and presence here as Muslims.

You meet them, I met one man just not so long ago and he just following the habit of those who have been coming for a long time 50 yrs or maybe a 100 yrs; so he introduced himself to me as Raymond, but he didn't call it Raymond he called it excuse he was from the Asian wasn't from the Arab now, don't think he was Arab, this was an Asian; he was from India or Pakistan, I didn't ask him. But I know he was from that people, that race; so when he introduced himself he said my name is Raymond and I'm curious, so I'm waiting the opportunity to find out exactly what that name is.

So before we left I said I don't have a card say you have a card, he said yes and he spelled Rahman, Rehman, he spelled it Rehman; it was Rahman, that was his name but he introduced himself as Raymond and he was in business for business sake, well maybe for G'd sake too I can't say that he wasn't but I know he still was pushing that business and you know he wants to be successful in business so we can't blame, people prejudice against you because of your name.

I have to change me name to get a job, yes my father put me out wouldn't give me any help from the inside and all I knew was the inside and it was back there at a time when if you said your name was a Muslim you said you were Muslim or something, you had problems, you had a problem. Very seldom the employer would want you if you were a Muslim, any way I found out I wasn't going to get any job calling myself Wallace D. Muhammad so I changed my name to Delaney, yeah I was Wallace Delaney, social security card everything in Delaney I had it recently changed I didn't want to lose my monies so I told them I want the same account but I want Muhammad on it and they did.

So now its Wallace Muhammad the same social security number but Wallace Muhammad, Wallace D. Muhammad now on it yes I did that and I followed my brother. I had an older brother he was working under the name Emanuel not Robert he even changed his first name too, Robert Evans, he was Robert Evans and then my brother Jabber the manager of the great heavy weight ever jumped into the ring Herbert we called him Herbert back then, recently his name was changed to Jabber Muhammad, Jabber was working, Herbert, Jabber was working in the name Delaney, so I took the name that he was using and I was also in Delaney.

So sometimes you have to do these things if intention is good Allah will forgive you for that you intentions are good, you know the people are not going to accept you, you not going to get justice in that name so why go without a job, you can get a job in Wallace Delaney you know and it didn't change me I was still Wallace D. Muhammad, but for them my name was Wallace Delaney.

Now if you want to change and start drinking liquor and gambling with the fellas on the job and everything, now you know it be better for you to change your religion than embarrass the good religion doing things like that. I didn't change my way I kept my same life but I changed my name. And got a job and that meant a lot to me and my wife and the one daughter I had at that time or we had the one daughter we had, yes.

So when we're talking about Islam in the future of America we have to understand the we mean all Muslims and those who haven't yet got an interest in coming to America, they'll later get interest and they will come here, and they all will come here [en sha Allah] and their presence will be accepted and known and accepted and the Islamic presence, Muslim presence will grow and grow and grow in America.

But I am more interested in our community because I'm with you and you have made it possible for me to be the leader I am and you are my support, I'm mainly aware of us and our future in America, but I want us to be aware of the future of all Muslims in America.
This is the well I think the third time I have addressed this topic here on two other occasions we addressed the same topic, Islam and the future of America so this will be the third and [en sha Allah] the last, the concluding talk or address on Islam and the future in America.

Islam has a future in America because of this special I would say form of government or society that we have. America is a society that was perceived and established to be a place for people living anywhere on the earth who wanted an opportunity to live their life as they choose to live it. It began with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower coming to this country from Europe, many of them denied their rights not only civil rights or whatever but the right to practice their religion as they wanted to.

Many of them were denied their rights to practice their religion as they wanted to practice their religion so they came over here to have an opportunity to re-establish themselves so that they can have the life they chose or they wanted. So this is a very special place, America; there is not another country like it on the face of the earth, no its not.

I've traveled around, I know there is not another country like this on the face of the earth where you can come and express your own feeling about the government, your own feeling about religion, no church or no one religion dominating that's going to say you don't talk that way here stop them, no it can't be done that way.

There's competition here and those who have the greater means can hurt the progress of those who have no means or lesser means, but that's competition.   If you're willing to join the competition engage the competitors you can make progress here for your cause whether it b e political or religious, you can make progress in America for your cause.

So this is a free society, a democratic society very peculiar to the rest of the democratic societies we have on this earth, very similar to you I think the mother country, Europe, Britain, England very similar but yet very different from that too, its a very special kind of ideology or political idea that we have here is very special.

That's not to say that I prefer it to all other idea, I'm just saying that right now its the only country, only society that offer us this amount of opportunity the life that we choose to have the only country. The idea that I would prefer naturally would be the idea of Islam, that Islam would be the idea for this country, but in my opinion the political movement in Islamic circles of the world are not nearly as impressive to me as the political movement in the American people.

I think in many ways the idea of justice in this country is much more Islamic than the idea of justice in many Islamic countries. I wouldn't want to live under their justice no I wouldn't.

Muhammad the prophet he is given in the Qur'an our Holy Book as an answer to a promise that G'd made to the people of the Book I the Torah and in the Gospel or in the Injeel, in the old testament and in the new testament, we say Torah and Injeel. And you know they say those who would find it uncomfortable to listen to this kind of talk, this relaxed kind of talk where we not in arms ready to do battle with all Kafirs and everybody is Kafir but us, you know.

So when we're doing this kind of talk it makes some of us feel uncomfortable I want to remind them that when Allah mentions Muhammad being in the Book that came before I don't have to find go hunt for another bible they say the old testament is not what it was before and we know that, the Christian history church tells us that and the new testament is not exactly as Jesus the prophet gave it peace be upon Jesus, we know that Christian church tells us that.

Q. 7:157; Muhammad in previous scripture 
John 16:7;   Expedient I go away

 But when Allah mentions in the Qur'an that Muhammad is the prophet mentioned in the bible the language that's used in the Qur'an I find it in the bible presently just as it is in the Qur'an not different. So that tells me that G'd wants the people of the Book to know, Jews, Christians that Muhammad is also the answer to a promise that was made to them the promise that the world would get a liberator who will take the yokes of bondage off the people and these yokes are not so much physical yokes but the worst yoke of bondage is the yoke that enslaves or hold down or suppress or contain, hold you back from mental progress.

Education then moral progress

Do you know there is no moral progress without mental progress, society can only go so far on the road towards moral decency without education, education has made it possible for people to have higher morals so society can be protected by higher moral code. It is education that made that possible. Go among the dumb people that are innocent but they will be doing things that will be offensive to our moral taste, why its not because they are bad, not because they are immoral, its because they're just not educated they're not enlightened.

So sometimes we put a little too much importance on the moral side of life, it deserves a whole lot of importance but it cannot advance itself only but so far unless there is enlightenment. It was enlightenment that advanced the morals of the Arabs, it was enlightenment that advanced the morals of the world, Europe and the rest of the world.

I read books by non Muslim authors explaining how they observed the moral decencies of the followers of Muhammad the prophet and they were excited, they were inspired to life their own moral life up higher. This author explained how during the crusades the non Muslim noticed that soldiers on the battle field fighting Muslims, they noticed that the Muslim fighters would be clean and would be smelling good on the battle field and they weren't in the habit of doing that, they didn't go to the battle field to smell good, you know.

But the Muslims had discipline washing five times for prayer bathing keeping the scent
off the body using perfume, using some kind of scent on the body, keeping themselves neat and clean even though they had to go fight, that was their discipline that was there life that they had gotten after the time of ignorance because of the enlightenment that came with the Qur'an and Muhammad the teacher, the liberator. So we should understand these things and don't think that being a goody, goody was all that matters in the eyes of G'd.

Hadith__________Ink of scholar

Mishkat al masabih I.p53; "the superiority of the learned man over the devout man is like that of the moon on the night when it is full over the rest of the stars..." 

Mishkat al masabih I.p54; "One faqih has more power over the devil than a thousand devout men."

Muhammad has explained very clearly to us that it is the educated among the faithful that make the best contribution in service to G'd. not the dummies. The educated and I think we are a very special African American community of Muslims because we became Muslim because the invitation to us was an invitation to improve the condition of our mind, it was an invitation for us to rise up out of ignorance or to be freed mentally, that's what excited us, that's what attracted us.

I remember when most of the men the seniors in our association they would be militant youthful, energetic hardly ever saw one walking slow like he was about to wind down or go out on you, no; no matter what his age was, going briskly and moving energetically and what were they excited about? Knowledge, you catch them with a book a book on problem book or lesson assignment book you catch them with some book, they loved it they were attracted to knowledge.

So we should understand these things now if we're going to be an influence in the future of America for shaping, that's what we mean we going to contribute to the shaping of the future of America; because everybody that comes into this country they are welcomed here not to just live here but to make their indentation here on this society. The Chinese do it Koreans are doing it everybody does that, so we don't want our indentation here? I do, I want my indentation of this American soil, I want to see my picture in the great big picture of this American society, I want to see my picture in there.

I don't want to blend into somebody else's picture and be a shoe or necktie or something, baseball cap on their head no I want to have my own picture, I want m own identity as a Muslim to be seen in the beautiful picture of the plural society we call America, don't you want that, how many want that let me see your hands?

Alright praise be to Allah if I had seen a great majority of you with hands down I would have said [ma' salaam] I wouldn't even have said As Salaam Alaikum to you I would have said [ma' salaam] and left, cause this is serious very serious. We are of no use to our religion is we don't want to have a religious presence in this world.


Religion is faith

So Islam this great religion Islam it is firstly and I would say most importantly a religion
of faith a religion of faith, because without belief, without faith in G'd, without belief you don't really have religion, that's what religion is, religion is faith religion is belief. If we don't have any need or room in our life for faith or belief then we don't have G'd, you can't just have G'd in your life you have to believe in G'd, you have to have faith in G'd.


Faith in G'd

If you Have G'd in your life and you don't have faith in G'd then you don't have G'd in your life, you're fooling yourself. G'd is too big for just your mind, G'd is too big for just your mind, your brain, you need your soul and if your soul doesn't embrace G'd vou don't have G'd you're fooling yourself. So we are firstly a people who have faith in G'd we are a people of belief.

Q. 3:193; One calling to faith 

Allah says of Muhammad in the Qur'an in our Holy Book that he is a called to faith so that's the beginning of religion, faith is the beginning of religion; and not faith that your own mind affirms, yeah my thinking says that's correct no, faith that your thinking cannot all affirm, but (faith) your soul can affirm it. so that's where we have to believe [bil ghaib] means believe without any proof before you, believe without any evidence before you to convince you, [bil ghaib].

It hasn't been manifest, hasn't been made known to you but you believe still. So you came to faith without all of it being made known to you. You came to faith in G'd without G'd being known to you to your mental satisfaction, you came to faith in life after death [ al baithe baidal maut] the resurrection from dead after you have died [baidal maut] after you're dead.

So you came to believe in that if not with the Hon. E. Muhammad with the church that you belonged to before you joined the Hon. E Muhammad you came to believe in that although your mind, your mental grasp could not understand it all, you accepted it upon faith.

So this is the first step the first requirement in religion is that you believe that you have faith; however, that step will not equip you by itself to be competitive in a world of believers who also are scientific, very well educated, scientific minded, industrious producers, no.

Many people of spiritual life faith only or interested in the faith forget about the other side they have managed to survive on this earth and their numbers grow sometimes but they have been forces to make it a part of their religion to play down the importance of the material industrial world, they even treat it [progress, wealth ] as enemy to the soul so that they can feel comfortable at ease an have some self respect not having any showing in the industrial world.

So they kind of make it possible for them to feel good about themselves in this world
they have to say that money corrupts you, wealth is sin, the higher life for the human is
not money and no sex, that's not what Allah wants.


Be like babies and grown ups 

Allah wants us to be like babies and at the same time to be grown up, Allah want us to be like babies believing in our kind parents and not having to be suspicious of them and having them to explain every thing they do, now you know we have some children like
that sometimes why do I have to mama why, why do I have to eat now? I don't like that why I can't do this you have some of those now t.v. made children, Hollywood made children you have them.

Back then you didn't have them because the parent would beat that spirit right of them, when I was a boy my mama say I'll whip you until you come into another spirit and she would do it.

Sajdah baby

So Allah wants us to be as babies on one hand and as strong men and women on the other hand, when it comes to trust in G'd He want us to be like little babies and believe me when we prostrate on the floor in saidah we are saying to G'd we submit to You as we were in the womb before we were born and You shaped us and You delivered us from the darkness into the light, so we submit our whole life back to G'd as little babes as little infants more than the infant we give G'd the life that he gave us before we even had conscience give it to G'd isn't that wonderful?

But then upon doing that, that Merciful, Gracious G'd the pray's a demonstration of that He will lift us back up on our feet as men so we come up from that position and we stand up again as men, erect in line with each others like soldiers shoulder to shoulder foot to foot, isn't that wonderful?

We do that only for G'd and after we render our whole life to the ground only for G'd nobody else no other power not nation no, nothing deserves that from us except Allah highly glorified is He.

So we must understand that Al Islam is a religion of faith but it comes to cultivate us to cultivate our field we call our human life. The human life is a great field for cultivation and Al Islam comes to cultivate it. It has its moral quarters it has its rational quarters it has its political quarters life has all these wonderful quarters and G'd wants to cultivate every quarter of our lives, every facet of our lives, every area of human life and potential G'd wants it cultivated this is the purpose of Al Islam.

Q.5:3; Perfected religion, completed His favor

G'd says that he has complete His favor on you, perfect for you the religion and completed His favor on you that's what G'd says, that's why He give us Al Islam. To complete it means to serve all of your needs that's why the learned among the educators and the preachers of Islam they say Al Islam is a comprehensive religion; its a religion for the whole life of the person, not just for the spiritual side, but for the whole life of the person, wonderful.

I think that this religion is more suited to the idea of democracy in this country than any other religion in this country, that's my boast. That this religion compliments this great idea of the American democracy, United States constitution upheld freedom, religion, liberty, democracy. That Islam is more suited to it than any other religion that I know of.

Islam influenced Constitution? 

There are religions that are beautiful in their spiritual presentation lacking in their rational presentation, religions beautiful in their rational presentation but lacking in their academic interests or presentation. Islam has it all promotes it all, when I read certain things that the framers of the constitution wrote and said I 'm tempted to believe that they were reading the Qur'an and reading the history of Muhammad the prophet and they got information and they were inspired and what we see as their work is not all the influence of Christianity or Judaic Christian society of the world but its the influence of Islam the Qur'an and Muhammad the model for the world that's my belief.

Al Islam

I have heard certain preachers of ours not from our African American community, outside of African American community in the Muslim circles say of the Islamic idea that it is an idea for revolutionizing bringing about reform for the whole world and that's exactly what it is. It is an idea that G'd has given to us that will revolutionize it will actually reform the whole world and that's what Allah wants.

Allah wants the whole world reformed, reform mean to form it all over again if it was formed right I wouldn't be called nigger in this country 20 yrs ago or 50 yrs ago if it was formed right, something was wrong you wouldn't have to have so much strife internally and so much bloodshed internally if there wasn't something lacking in it, something was lacking; its a great opportunity but it is yet waiting for demands to be put on it to bring it to it perfection; 

America is not yet to its perfection.

America is still a growing idea this democracy is still a maturing, growing idea and who knows maybe its in Allah's Plan the lord Creator of us all who loves us all and cares about us all, maybe it in Allah's Plan that Islam come in at this particular time and be the influence to bring this democracy to where it wants to go. At any rate its very possible for us to believe it, I believe it and as many of you will join me in this belief the more profitable we going to be in America.

And some of us put just a little too much importance in just establishing Islam I'm hearing preachers say now the duty of a Muslim is to establish Islam, his religion. No one was as qualified as Muhammad the Prophet for that job and our wonderful prophet the perfect model the human being Muhammad the Prophet, he was ten or eleven years discussing religion with his close relatives and friends and friends of their's not trying to establish prayer or zakat etc. but just hoping that the Meccans who were in power would permit them to make hajj once a year he did that for half the time he was preaching for half of the time of his whole life's mission.

But now they say well there's not need for that now the world is different no there are enemies on this earth today that are much more capable of wiping us out than were those idol worshipers in time of Muhammad and if he respected their power, if he respected their strong hold on the society we should respect the power and strong hold that these non Muslims have on this society or on any society that we find ourselves in on this earth.

We have to respect power we have to respect those in authority, we have to respect the overwhelming presence of somebody that's not agreeing with you, you have respect that and then have an intelligent strategy don't just go out as kamikaze what they call them suicidal mission people don't just go out as kamikaze soldiers knock down the great Satan and the great Satan just get bigger and bigger the more those soldiers enlist the bigger the great Satan gets.

While faith is to be lift, high held up if you choose nothing but faith you are lacking you are terribly lacking, you are terribly short of what you're suppose to have. Allah says in Qur'an there are those who know the Book by nothing except faith Allah plays that down we're suppose to believe it just like it is you ain't suppose to think, say I just can't understand why this is so its true every word of it just like it is, well maybe so, but there's a jazz singer he said make it real and when he question certain things in his song he said, compare to what. You have to have some kind of reference you given me all these strange things and telling me I have to accept them in mind and giving me no reference, at least give me something to rely on, some kind of reference to support this strange belief. The know the Book on upon faith, only upon the basis and strength of faith, they know it not upon the basis and strength of logic. Allah doesn't want us like that.

I'm going back now to what I said of Muhammad promised in the book, the old and new testament or in Torah and in the Gospel, in the Injeel and Torah more correctly for Muslims. In the Qur'an Allah says that he is the one that was promised would come and he would purify the people he would break the yokes of bondage free the slaves and he would teach them the Book and the wisdom, that's a little bit more than just inviting them to faith. 

Q. 7:157;   

Prophet remove yokes burden
Q. 62:2; Unlettered Prophet purify. teach 

he would teach them the Book and the wisdom [ketaba wal hikmah], the Book and the rules of logic, that's the [hikmah], the book and the rules of logic.

If we want a presence in this country in the future shaping of this country we have to make up our minds that we are going to be hard working studious believer in the Qur'an and the example of Muhammad the prophet. Hard working studious believers in our Book the Qur'an and in the life example of our Prophet Muhammad; because he is the one we should put our eyes on, focus on to see how are we to progress with this religion.

When G'd gave him the order that he's going to carry the responsibility for pr0phethood, be G'd's messenger, what did he do, what was the first thing he did? He went and shared it with the closest person to him his wife so what do you do, what should you do when you get something for the first time on Islam; before going on the job and making the boss angry go and share it with the person closest to you. That's following the wisdom of Muhammad the prophet, that's following the excellence the nature of Muhammad the Prophet, take it to the closest person to you first.

And then he shared it with his closest friend Abu Bakr his closest friend then finally one day after he had shared it with the close one then he said I'm going to test it, I'm saying this you know I think I can get away with it, he must have said I'm going to test my ignorant country men, I'm going to the Kabah so he went there he called their attention very respectfully he addressed the, got their attention.

Bible____called truthful and trustworthy

If I were to tell you that an enemy force is approaching would you believe me? Yes you are     El-Amin, they knew him as a truthful and trustworthy person and this is in the Book too, its prophecy that one would come and he would be called the truthful and the trustworthy Muhammad was called that by the ignorant pagan idolaters he was called that by idol worshiper before even he became the Prophet, he was called the truthful As Sadiq, that was one of his names title name that they gave him he was called El-Amin they gave him those names they didn't call him Muhammad most of them called him El-Amin when they addressed him.

So they replied yes so after he put them on the spot he said la elaha illah the trouble started, yes the trouble started cause they had about 369 G'ds and what he said in Arabic was no G'd but the One G'd so the trouble started;   but now we should follow him there too.

So what do you want to tell the people first? Oh I want to show them the fiqh and give them the sunnah and the fiqh and the tafsirs, they're not even Muslims yet you going to
give them sunnah and_______: I bet you somebody in this audience somewhere it might be one or two here, right now criticizing me because I don't have the fiqh the tafsir, the sunnah and aqeedah and all of that here and giving it you and giving it to this audience. You need a special school for that not a public audience, not a public gathering and then you need a special selection of students for that not just any student. Most of the students not interested in that you got to find those who are interested, they will be the keepers of the precious knowledge. When you out here talking to the general audience you are to respect the mind set that's here.

You know I guess that's what make the Muslim preachers mostly spiritual preachers or either doom day preachers in Islam they either spiritual preachers .. Come on out with us for forty years forget about you wife and home don't worry about that that will be taken care of. Didn't the prophet so and so go out from his home and didn't he trust his home with G'd and his wife didn't have to be fed by him, G'd will feed the wife, come on out brother G'd will feed your wife.

Now that's one character ok and here is another, brother we have to fight this devil we have to fight the Satan you have to fight the jahiliyyah you have to fight him what are you brothers doing, you have to be like Malcolm and you have to be like rap Brown, what are you brothers doing? You have to get in the world brother get in Jihad, drop a bomb on the empire state building do something brother.

Not thinking that there might be 30 Muslims in the empire state building at the time and about 300 good Christians believing in G'd and trying to be kind and brotherly towards Muslims, they not thinking who else is in the building, that belongs to the great Satan you know; blow up the empire state building brother what are you doing are you revolutionary, no are you doing Jihad for Allah?

So you have the two types right? Wait a minute there's a third type too they do all their talk in secrecy and they whisper when they're talking, did you know you have to do this prayer and you have to do this extra prayers, Allah will bless you with the knowledge but you have to do 20 rakats, you're not doing enough rakats you have to do 20 rakats and maybe 40 before you go to bed. And you have to say subhanallah, la elaha illah Allahu Akbar 50 million times, Allah is going to bless you with great knowledge, when you get the great . knowledge Allah will make you the big khalifah. Where are we going with that?

The prophet was trusted with a weighty word very, very complex strategy, very very complex sophisticated intelligent strategy for advancing and promoting the cause of G'd
on this earth among the different people on this earth. We should be trying to perceive that. What was his logic what was his strategy for advancing the cause of G'd on this earth, and we should as near and as much as we possibly can follow him in his own strategy, in his own life and leadership for us; follow him as much as we can as nearly as we can and as much as we can to be successful.

I'm very comfortable following Muhammad the Prophet, very comfortable following him. His followers were persecuted in his own homeland he knew of Christian ruler in Ethiopia now called Ethiopia so he thought to let some of his people escape a lot of the misery and persecution and go there to open up a new area of opportunity for him and his followers; new hope for him and his followers.

So he sent a group of them on a mission to go to Christian Ethiopia and state their case to that ruler and ask that ruler to give them asylum, protection there, let them stay in that country to escape the persecution and misery that they were encountering. They went and they didn't say you Kafirs you must reject Christianity I came for you to give me some protection we are severely persecuted in my country but first you must denounce this kufr and stop being Kafir. They didn't go there like that, the Prophet was alive it was the Prophet who sent them and they didn't go like that, so why now we have to say you Kafirs.

They could have read from surah Ikhlas to the ruler of Ethiopia they could have told him Qul huwal lahu ahad Allahu samad lam yalid lam yuulad lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad, they could have told him that.

Say G'd has revealed to us say G'd is One and One alone they didn't attack the Trinitarian idea but they showed that they loved Christ Jesus and that Prophet Muhammad endeared to Christ Jesus and had endeared them to the mother of Christ Jesus and they showed that Christian ruler that Allah the G'd that revealed to Muhammad had given a whole chapter to her name Mariam, that's what they did, so they reached the heart of that ruler and after he heard what they recited of surah Mariam he promised them that they would be accepted and that their stay would be comfortable and that they would be protected as long as they were in Ethiopia, he promised them.

And when the Meccans came finally on their heels and demanded that the ruler turn their citizens over to them so that they take them back home and deal with them, the ruler refused to turn them over he said I find no fault with these people he refused; that was diplomacy that was not just an act of faith in Allah that was a demonstration of diplomacy which required some intelligence some wisdom some ability to devise a strategy to get yourself in where you are not perhaps wanted.

Now that's the prophet I follow I don't follow these church style John the Baptist the get their heads taken off by Salome I don't follow them I follow the wise diplomat, the wise strategist Muhammad the seal of the prophets. As the religion advances we are free to do more to express more to acquire more and even demand more, but know your circumstances, know your circumstances and respect those circumstances and devise means and methods respecting the conditions you find yourself facing and the problems that you find yourself facing.

Deal with the realities that's wisdom, deal with the reality, if we continue to do this we're going to become more and more successful, we're going to become more and more welcomed in this country the welcome to us is going to get bigger and bigger. I never dreamed that I would go to a swearing of a city council person and be asked to officiate, swear that person in and it be a accepted a Muslim person, and not just a Muslim person a Muslim woman, yes.

You know I felt great sister Latifah Muhammad Tuskegee Alabama, she campaigned and won city councilman seat yes city council woman seat, council person whatever it is; and we learned while we were there for the formal ceremony there, that she's the only lawyer among them, ain't that wonderful?

Now you think about that you wise ones just think about that, no really I'm serious think about that you wise, think about that. Here we got a Muslim person in the city council, on the city council seat and a woman, African American, graduated from Tuskegee University and the only lawyer among her colleagues. Think about it, she is, I know cause I talked to her, she thinking about it.

Islam is a religion of peace, peace, the name given to our religion is peace, Al Islam means the religion of peace comes from salaam means peace. A Muslims is one who
accepts this peace to serve G'd's Will and to live at peace with G'd's creation and with G'd's creatures, especially the human creation, that's a Muslim that's what it means.

Peace with everything 

So you got a problem with the sky, you are not yet-where Allah wants you, Allah wants you to make peace with the sky cause Allah created the sky you got a problem wit the earth, you are not yet where Allah wants you, Allah wants you to make peace with the earth cause that's Allah's earth He created it Allah wants you to be at peace with G'd first and with every thing He has created.

Allah wants you to be at peace with the dog, with a pig, oh I can't be at peace with a pig, Allah didn't say don't respect the pig, Allah didn't say don't be kind to pigs, Allah said don't eat pigs. Don't hate pigs, no Allah created the pig, don't hate it just don't eat it.

Our greeting is peace, all this peace in our language, all of this peace in our identity shouldn't that tell us something? Al Islam in the future of America oh its wonderful, and our G'd one of His names is The Peace, one of the name we Call Allah from the Qur'an we get this, As Salaam, that's His name, As Salaam He is the Peace. He is the Peace and all other peace is an expression of His Will, is an extension of the peace that is G'd wonderful.

Now, I understand the greeting and you know they say Salaam Alaikum now, but perhaps Muhammad the Prophet perhaps the Prophet did greet somebody Salaam alaikum
perhaps he did I don't know I can't I don't have proof one way or the other; but I know when he was addressing his following or his companions on the greeting he always said As Salaam not just Salaam. But even if its Salaam, it may weaken a little bit I would say the gravity for what I'm going to share with you, but still and yet it has a powerful gravity.

When we say to each other As Salaam Alaikum and you say the same thing to a female you say to a male, you don't say As Salaam Alaike, that's grammar, correct grammar for a female, peace be on you and I'm speaking to a female As Salaam Alaike. And for a male As Salaam Alaika we have Arabs here they hear me and they are not like some of them that forgot Arabic, some of them got over here in the American dunya and forgot even Arabic; that's not to criticize them now that's to make them feel bad and hope that they will bring more of their people to be proud of their identity and stick to their Muslim life, to their Arab life.

Yes, I we say As Salaam Alaikum so we don't greet each other in the singular I don't greet you like you one person 1 greet you like you are many people. Kum means many not one and Kum includes females and males yes, As Salaam Alaikum you speaking to the whole body, everybody As Salaam Alaikum though it is male, masculine grammatically speaking, and plural using it in the masculine plural also includes the females too, As Salaam Alaikum. You could be specific with other expressions after that but that greeting includes everybody As Salaam Alaikum the peace, The Peace be upon you not as one person but you the many.


Peace obligate you

Now I want to give you the logic for this if you find a better logic for it come teach me I need it I need that help somebody can give me a better logic it means that they're superior, I always submit to superior. So As Salaam Alaikum you're saying the peace, and they say peace be unto you right? No, that's part of it but that's not exactly what its saying, it is saying The peace is on you [iala] on you, it is saving the peace obligates you. so that's how we should greet each other.

The peace obligates you, now if we would accept that we would come into a more serious understanding of our greetings we would be forced to accept the more serious responsibility say what is this greeting telling each one of us that the peace obligates us, that's a real democracy, that a real democracy where every individual citizen in that democracy is told daily all the time to keep them constantly aware that it is their obligation to be keepers of the peace. Peace be upon you [ialakum].

Now when Arabs want to say that this thing you don't have to worry this doesn't obligate you if he gives you something and you want to give him something in return and he say [mialak] they know what that means, it means you are not obligated its not on you, you're not obligated to give me anything for that. But when they say As Salaam Alaikum they been doing it out of habit so long they are not aware that their greeting is saying the peace obligates you.

How come the Islam is not what it was today, having the effect on people that it had in the time of our prophet? Its because the understanding of it is not the understanding
that those people had of it at the time of our prophet, the common people had a different understanding of Islam than what these so called learned people, advance people in the Muslim world have now.

They were enlisted into an army of peace keepers, when the prophet invited them to become Muslim they were not only invited to faith and practice Islam in its rituals they were made aware that you have to now keep the peace, this is a democratic society and each member is responsible for his share of, end the keeping of the peace. Never had any police force, there was no police force in the time of Muhammad, what do you need a police force when every citizen is obligated to keep the peace you don't need a police force. And look what the Islamic world does not it imitates the non Muslim world, non Muslim world has a police force they got a police force, non Muslim world get a junior police force they get a junior police force, they imitate the non Muslim world.

I'm not saying now no police force this thing is in place now _ _ we need to do what Muhammad did, we need to preach for 10 or 11 yrs. And work on training people conditioning them to carry the responsibility that Allah wants all of us to carry and in time the police department will say we're of no use, at least in our community, we're not even needed in this neighborhood, these Muslims don't need us, they don't break laws.

Islam is not just a preaching or a teaching Islam is also a strategy and that's what we have to know Islam is also a strategy, Islam has its own strategy for promoting peace and I shared with you some of the keys in the strategy that's _       _ As Salaam alaikum
well what is your religion? Al Islam and what are you called?   Muslim, and what do you hope for? I hope to one day be welcomed in the house of peace, Darus Salaam that G'd mentions in the Holy Book in the Qur'an Darus salaam that's the end goal for community that one day we would be in the government of peace, the house of peace in the government of peace isn't that wonderful?

We are struggling and working and striving as peace keepers as lovers of peace will make peace with our G'd and His purpose for us on this earth and make peace with His creatures. Doesn't mean you like His creatures, doesn't mean you won't fight His creatures but I'm made peace with them.

You say well how is that so? I've accepted that G'd created you and that you are important to G'd, that G'd loves you He cares about you so I must not disregard you and I must work to help you and influence you to come out of your bad life into a better life. So that's how you make peace even with the creature that you have to do war with. You've made peace with him in his purpose that G'd created him for you're at peace with that but you're not at peace with what he is outside of his form that G'd intended for him, and yet you're at peace with him in his form, in his purpose that G'd created for him, see?

That makes sense I think it does and I can do everything but help the clinically ill. I got enough patience to work with you if you're not clinically ill. And I didn't come with no pill or drugs or something, I do have faith in those crude methods they used to use before they got all those things, bring you up here  and put some wires to your head and put
juice to you then take if of and say you feel better?  Ask a brother for his magnum, his big pistol and hide it from you and turn all the lights out and fire it right up side your head and turn the lights back on and say how you feel now? Those were crude methods that they used in psychiatry long time ago, don't any of you all try that now, we'll be visiting you, and you'll have a straight jacket on.

So Islam has to be perceived or seen also as a Religion with a global mission or global purpose, global intent, global service that's what I mean by mission, global service and it has its own strategy for advancing that.

Soul contentment 

Peace is our final goal, yes we find ourselves first giving ourselves to spiritual peace it never ends we're always struggling to have spiritual peace that means peace in our soul so when I sit down at home by myself or with my loved ones whatever I'm at peace; that's the greatest blessing.

1. Peace of soul
2. Peace in society

If anyone can attain the peace of soul they have received the greatest blessing that G'd has for them, attaining peace of soul will permit you then to serve on any level of society, president of the United States, president of the bank whatever you'll be able to serve on any level of society and your own short comings will not defeat you. See most people are not put out of a position cause somebody else has given them trouble, they are put out of the position because of their own short comings, their own ignorance, their own bad temper, their own bad attitude or something its because of short comings in them, you see. But the person who has attained peace of soul it protects everything for that person.

Q. 11:7; 85:15; throne on water

Then after peace of soul we need what we call peace in the society, now that's when the struggle starts doesn't it? That's when the struggle starts that involves more than me struggling with my own self I got to go out here now and struggle with others, other people well that's what it means when it says that G'd's throne extends over the heavens and the earth His throne was upon the waters that's what Allah says in Qur'an His throne was upon the water then later His throne extends over the heavens and the earth.

See when you just searching for that peace in your own soul its like wanting life by the beach, wanting to live on the ocean front you know on the seashore. But when you start to want peace now for human relationships for the relationships in society you want peace for the family members, you want peace for the family and the neighbors, you want peace for the town's people, you want them to be at peace with each other; that's when the outer struggle starts.

Al Hadis lp.555#199w; greatest Jihad is own soul

Now Prophet Muhammad said the biggest struggle was the struggle with one's own soul so if you accomplish that big struggle first the other one won't be so hard, oh no.

We can 't wait on everybody to attain peace of soul we have to struggle for the order of peace in our public life, in our society, now we have a teaching, a Qur'an a Holy Book,
the Holy Book to serve that purpose for us and we have Muhammad the prophet who received the Book his life model to serve our community needs. So don't say well American not ready for us to establish peace for the American society let us start at home. Our first obligation is to ourselves, first obligation is to your own Muslim life, you say you're Muslim now establish peace for you own Muslim society.

So let us work on these relationships, let us work on these relationships of family, parent, children relationship, brother sister relationship in the household and then extend it neighbor to neighbor relationship we have all this teaching in Qur'an and in Muhammad's life, let us work on these relationships to improve, make these relationships more intelligent, make them more human, make them more prosperous, let us study this relationship and see how we can make family, help family to live with each other and to cooperate with each other so that they will be more profitable in this world, more profitable both spiritually and materially; isn't that what we should be doing? We shouldn't just say oh these families are in such a bad condition you say you have the supreme wisdom, if the family is in such bad condition how come you don't use what you got, no one will say Islam is deficient no Muslim would say that. We don't say Islam is deficient or is not enough, ain't enough there in the Qur'an to help these problems no none of us will even think that way.

So how come we can't study the family in the African American community that are Muslims not Christian Muslim, how come we can't study our Muslim families and come up with some kind of educational program for them informing them in the language of Qur'an and sunnah or language of Qur'an and Muhammad's tradition informing them and using our own intelligence to make the application according to the present and modern time and condition or circumstances.

Why can't we bring out of our intelligence, learning to the table and place it in subordination but not a verb place it under the Qur'an and Muhammad's life example? But bring that intelligence that experience etc., learning to the table say now we're going to study these families and we're going to come up with a training program, an orientation program a teaching program to strengthen these families so that they will accept the obligation to promote better relationships in their own household and work to get better results for their whole life, their financial life included.

Family Authority 

Bu: 2-18; 3-592; 9-252; Everyone Responsible

Family organization is a must in Al Islam there's always suppose to be someone in the household that is in authority the mother is in authority of the house, you the papa there, she's the authority in the house, yes. When it come to the household needs the household circumstances, household needs, she is the authority, she's suppose to be the boss there brother; you ain't suppose to be telling her, don't cook the chicken like that you should have found out before you married her how she cook the chicken and don't ask no questions after you say I do, just eat the chicken brother and maybe today ain't your day, maybe Saturday be your day to enjoy the meal, wait. I ain't joking I'm serious very serious, got a little humor in me, but I'm serious, yeah.


Mother rights, authority 

Some of us, the sister ain't got no authority in the house don't even ask her what color she want the bedroom painted, what happened to us? She supposed to tell you what color she want the bedroom painted and everything else in that house and don't be interrupting her when she's talking to the children, even if you think she's saying the wrong thing, be quiet until you can get her by yourself way away from all ears of the children and then discuss with her out of respect for her authority as mother of those children, discuss with her what bothering you. And if you can't convince her to come on over to your side that's what you married put up with it, yeah. We're peace makers. Praise be to Allah.

Now here we are I do believe in the last days of the world I do believe that I think the world has again come to the Judgement we in the final days of the world and really the bad is, the worst part is over, we about to see a rebirth of life on this earth, human life, human spiritual life, human moral life, human mental life, human intellectual life we about to see a rebirth of that whole world is about to be made new again Praise be to Allah. Isn't it wonderful that we in this time an I'm understanding


