07/11/1999
IWDM Study Library
Jumu’ah Greensboro NC

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Imam Mohammed: Allah Subhaana wa ta Allah created all things. He's the creator of everything as given in the Quran. Allah is the Alkhalaq qullishay the creator of everything and that he's the best creator. [Arabic language] The best of creators and we know that the human being is a special creation seen in the model human. Muhammad sall? llahu 'alayhi wa salaam whose life was the model human life before he was made a messenger to the world, messenger to the world as a mercy to the world by his Lord, our Lord, G-d almighty creator of everything.
His excellent human model that he had, the creation of G-d for human beings, the model that he created for all human beings, for us to emulate, to know as we emulate, and it is the - I would say, the desired model with G-d for all human beings. Uswatan hasana he's called Muhammad the Prophet. G-d said you most certainly have in Muhammad Uswatan hasana.
An excellent model and uswaa when you study the term uswaa it has to do with balance. Uswaa has to do with balance from the same word [Arabic language] balance. We know that G-d says of the seven heavens, that he made each of those heavens in the balance. [Arabic language] in the balance. The balance for a Muslim is to live a whole life in obedience to G-d. That's the balance for Muslims, to live a whole life in obedience to G-d.
Mysteries are in all religions and these mysteries tend to draw the mind away from the things we understand, to dwell on the things we don't understand, the unknown. Are those things that are not known by the brain, by the rational mind as much as they are known by the soul and the spirit. The result is if we don't have the [Arabic language] if we don't have the model Uswatan hasana as a model for us, we go to the extremes thinking that to be religious is to go for these extremes and spiritual devotion and neglect the rational devotion and the material development of our communities.
For Islam is here, Muslim brothers and sisters. Islam is here to keep us from going into those pitfalls where we go to the extreme with mysticism and to the extreme with our spirituality and make that our rational life and our community life. The community itself is called the balance community. A different term is used, but it is called the Midway community, a community that doesn't favor the extremes of left and right. The extremes of left and right. [Arabic language] is the term. Community that doesn't favor the extremes of left and right, but keeps to the model that G-d wants us to keep.
The words of G-d in the Quran to us, to seek by the means that He offers us the afterlife, the hereafter, the end. We know what G-d says of the Al-akhira that it is the best in quantity and also the best in quality. It is the best. It is the fulfillment of G-d's gift to us, of G-d's promise to us. It is the complete reward for our living in obedience to G-d on this earth, in this life. At the same time, while it is better in quantity and better in quality, G-d cautions us. G-d says to us [Arabic language] Translated, "Seek with the means that G-d offers you the hereafter, the promised life to come after this, but don't forget your share of this dunia, of this world."
Islam obligates the human being who follows the religion of Islam to live a life of obedience in his abstract body and also in his concrete body, both in my spirit and in my flesh. This is something special for Islam. Christians will eat pork and not feel that they are committing sin. Christians will drink liquors in moderation [Arabic language] wine, beers, whatever and whiskey in moderation and think they're committing no sins. Christians will do many things with their concrete bodies that we can't do and they think they are committing no sins.
For thus, their religion is very special for us to see it as this balanced way that requires obedience in both the abstract and in the concrete. Both the abstract and in the concrete and G-d says to us, giving us signs of how the resurrection of the dead will be. We know Abraham, peace be upon him, Prophet Ibrahim, he had some questions. He was a faithful man, but he was also a rational man.
He respected his rational mind and he wanted his rational mind to be comfortable with the things that he gave himself to in faith, in religion. He asked G-d, he says, "One thing is troubling my soul. It's not that I don't have faith, but so that I'll be comfortable in my soul, tell me how the dead will be-raised?" We know that G-d gave him a parable that satisfied his heart, his soul. He told him to put the training birds and put them - portions of them on four mountains and then call them, "You trained them, you call them. Then call them and you will see they will come to you." This was satisfaction for the soul of Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him.
G-d also gives us a parable in Quran. G-d says, "See how a town is neglected and the roofs of the building caving in. Then, new life comes to that town. Restores it." G-d says "Likewise is the resurrection." In concluding this Khutbah, this part of the this khutbah I want to say to you that G-d like industry wants for us not just as resurrection of our spiritual life, but G-d wants also resurrection for our community life. For we should never be satisfied as Muslims with communities in bad repair, communities that are an eyesore for the neighborhood, unsightly places. They are not good for our children's spirit, for the children to be raised in such neighborhoods. They are not good for our souls.
The soul, to be comfortable and at peace especially of the man, the female too, but especially for the man. The man has an obligation on his soul to produce the environment, the physical environment that is good, healthy for himself and especially for his children. The wife is always the test for that. If the wife ain't comfortable brother, please examine your work again or examine your shortcomings again.
G-d has given us our wives to help us develop this concrete reality. [laughs] Let us not overlook the role of the female as a prompter, as an encourager for us to make improvements on our concrete world. On our concrete world or in our concrete world as well as the social life. This is my message to you on this khutbah on this blessed day, on this special day, on this most blessed day, our special day of the year, according to the sayings of our Prophet Muhammad sall? llahu 'alayhi wa salaam.
This is the best day in the year, even better than the Eid day, better than the Eid ul fitr, better than the Eid ul adha. This Jummah day is more valuable to us than those holidays. On this special day, this is my message to you that we should look at what we are doing with our concrete body and concrete establishments and not neglect them while knowing as G-d has told us that the spiritual life and the promise in the after this world is better in quantity and is better also in quality.
Asalaamu alaykum again, Allahu Akbar. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Al humdulillah. La illaha illahu wadahu la sharika la. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illaallah. Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abdahu wa rasuul. Sall? llahu 'alayhi wa salaam. [Arabic language]
We are giving dua of the believers in Quran, Rabbana atina fee alddunya hasanatan wafee alakhirati hasanatan waqina AAathaba alnnari. These two statements in one expression have bearing on each other. Our Lord, give us in this life, this world, excellence. Excellence. Good. Excellence. Give us in the latter life, the life You promised us. Good. Excellence. Excellence. The last reference also has bearing. They all have bearing on each other and save us from the fires of sin, waqina AAathaba alnnari, and save us from the fires of sin. Save us from the punishment of the fires of sin.
The first condition, Rabbana give us to this life. Excellence. Muhammad Prophet in his uswaa, as we have said kept the excellence that G-d created for the human being. For 40 years, that's a long time, for 40 years his human character was excellent. Nobody found fault with his character. Rather they praised him for his good character. He was known by all the people of his town, of his land, for his good character who knew him. They knew him for his good character.
They called him El-Amin. They called him As-Sadiq, the trustworthy one. They called him As Sadiq, the truthful one and his name was Muhammad, praiseworthy. He was named also Ahmed, the one who gives praise to G-d, want us to give praise and recognize what we should give praise to. He's called all wonderful names. All that was given to him before he became Prophet, before he was assigned the responsibility to give message to the world and be the last prophet, the seal of the Prophets mentioned in the Torah and Injil.
He had this uswaatan hasana and we should look to what G-d is saying to us through the revelation, a prayer of a believer saying, believers saying, "Our Lord give us in this world good, atina fee alddunya hasanatan. Give us in this world good." If we respond to that, we then will not be satisfied to have poor showing in this world. We want excellence in this world. We want excellence for this country life as well as this spiritual life. We want excellence for our neighborhoods, for our home environment, for our neighborhoods. We want excellence for the Muslim community of the world. We should never be satisfied with our comforts here in America knowing that there are some Muslims in some other part of the world who is suffering and don't have these comforts.
We should never be satisfied because the ummah is one ummah. Ummahtan wahidatan waana rabbukum faoAAbudooni. This is a saying of G-d, "Your community is one community, that I am your Lord, therefore worship only Me." G-d says that to us and G-d says, "This is your community," and He says, antum, "You are the best community." Kuntum khayra ommatin okhrijat lilnnasi. We have an obligation also to be a model encouraging all nations, all people to be the model human community that G-d wants.
We should have excellent community, a community of benefits, of good benefits to ourselves, but this community of good benefit should be a model attracting the admiration and attracting the interests of other nations, of other communities that are not Muslim, so that they will extract something from us or they will even better be attracted to us to become Muslims like we are. If we don't work on both the concrete reality and the spiritual reality, we are missing the path of G-d.
I conclude this by saying, Muhammad the Prophet was asked for something that would benefit the person for life and life to come and G-d inspired him to say these words, I believe, that are His words, He said, [Arabic language] He said, "say I believe and thereafter be upright." Faith first and faith should be influenced in you to make you want to be decent and straight before your G-d.
We know that the path that G-d calls us to walk is the path of uprightness, siraatal-mustaqeem We say it in Al Fatiha, Ihdinas-siraatal-mustaqeem Guide us on the right path. Guide us on the correct way. Muhammad said to that person, [Arabic language] From the same [Arabic language] Say, "I have faith." and thereafter be upright in your deeds, in your behavior, in your actions, in your thoughts, in your heart et cetera.
We ask G-d to forgive us when we are gone astray [Arabic language] Amin.

