10/25/1981
IWDM Study Library
A Study of the Word “Muslim”

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Imam WD Mohammed:
Visitors, if we have visitors with us, Peace beyond to you. Asalaam Alaikum. Praise be to Allah, Guardian, Evolve, Cherisher and Sustainer of all the Worlds. There is nothing worthy of worship except Him alone. And Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. In the Qur'an, the Holy book of the Muslims, Allah the Most High says, speaking of those who live for the pleasure of the Almighty, Allah says, "Of the people, of humanity you'll find among the people of the world, all of them taken collectively, you'll find those who sell themselves, sell their own souls seeking the pleasure of Almighty G-d. And Almighty G-d is gentle and kind to His servants. This is from the Qur'an. We have heard the perhaps, I know I have and I'm sure that many of you have heard of the individual who sold his soul to the devil. And actually that idea is taken from the original idea that is to sell one soul for the pleasure of G-d.
And another place in the Qur'an, Allah, the Most High, says that He has bought or purchased from the believers, their souls, their souls. This is very key, very key terminology or very key expression for understanding exactly what is required of the person, the individual person. If the individual person hoped to have a pleasant and good life, we have to be prepared to give our whole life to the pleasure of Almighty G-d. If we are not prepared to go to that extent, then we are not really going to be completely free of burden, misery, unhappiness. We can expect unhappiness. We can expect misery if we are not prepared to give our whole life to the pleasure of Almighty G-d.
That area that you reserve is the area that's going to get you in trouble. You have to be prepared to give your whole self, your whole soul, your whole life to the pleasure of Almighty G-d. It's a big thing. It's no easy thing. It's a big thing. It's easy only on those who seek it, who love it, who prefer the pleasure of Allah, the pleasure of Almighty, of the Almighty, to the pleasures that this material or this physical world offer them. And in another place, the Almighty says, "There are among men those who say, Oh G-d, give us of this world. And in the next they have nothing. And there are those who say, Oh G-d, give us of this world and of the next. And He gives them of this world and of the next." You see? So it's a matter of attitude. It's a matter of attitude. What attitude we take. If we are selfish, impatient, inconsiderate of what is right, of what is best, then we can expect plenty trouble. But if we are really sincere in our hearts, then our heart is a key factor for opening the way to us to that good life. The good life. The good life is the life that we live respecting what the Almighty wants. That's very broad in its significance.
Many of us think that the worship G-d is a personal matter. There's no way to worship G-d and not be involved in a matter bigger than your person is. Impossible. It is that concept and that concept alone that ties everything worthwhile together. So that's what the meaning is for us. The meaning is coming into G-d's way. That's why we have to worship Him and have to see Him first and foremost. We have to come into His way. And when we come into His way, we have the best possible life in all respects. There are those who ask, "Oh G-d, oh Lord, give us of this world. And in the hereafter they have no assurance."
So many of us want to know, how can I get more money? How can I get a better car? How can I pay my rent? Well, those are good questions to ask, but from the right position, from the right position, be prepared to make concessions, to wait, to make sacrifices, to do whatever. You must to stay within the discipline that G-d requires of you. Because if we don't take that attitude, then our appetite of going to eventually destroy us, we will be eventually destroyed by our appetites. and we are going to come back to that. But we want to make a few comments on the article that appeared in the paper today in the Oakland Tribune and it begins on the first page. So a lot of people know we are here now.
This is the Oakland Tribune today, Sunday. And down here you see it says Muslim leader moves to Oakland. I hope one day it'll read Muslim leader moves Oakland to G-d. And that takes a whole lot of help, won't it? So get busy. This article is by Gerald Davis, Tribune writer, Tribune staff writer Gerald Davis. A young man. I met him and right away I was impressed. Didn't look like any foolishness was in him. And I just trusted him. So when we got through with the interview, that was about three hours and a half, three hour and a half interview, and we wasn't rushing. He was taking his time to ask his questions and to make comments and seek more information out of my reply to him. And I took my time too, so we didn't rush. We took our time, but still we were there for three hours and a half. And then he came again the next day, wasn't it? And he said, "I just need about five minutes to clean up some areas. I have some questions." And he stayed for another hour and 20 minutes.
So all in total we got about a five hour interview. Yeah, almost. That's right. Well, I just want to say that that man didn't let down my expectations. I thought the young man was very intelligent. I thought he was very sincere. And I told him, you just feel free to work with the article, you a journalist, handle it like you want to. That's what I told him. Because I wanted to see what he wanted to do, what he and his paper wanted to do. And they showed me they wanted to do a good job and they did a good job. Very excellent job. This paper has an Bilalian editor too. I think he's their first, isn't it? Their first Bilalian editor and he got the paper when the paper was in a bad financial situation and he introduced new programs, new methods, and brought the paper out of this crisis. I'm told there's a couple of things in here that I'd like to comment on, although all of it's good, all of it very good. But what I liked best was how he ended the article. Lemme see, can I go there? They didn't tell that I was locked up too. Muhammad Ali was locked up. I was locked up too. And I stayed in jail longer than Muhammad Ali. He didn't stay in jail no time. I stayed in jail long enough to miss Mama.
Now the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he led us all. He stayed in jail a long time. He and a few others. My brother Emmanuel, the oldest brother, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and a few others, they got five years sentence. That's right. I received a three year sentence and was given parole after 15 months. All total. I did about, I think 17 months, something like that, 18 months in lockup. And really didn't have to do it, just my stubbornness. I could have worked in the hospital, didn't have to go to war. They told me, you can go to Elgin State Hospital in Chicago. You don't even have to leave the city.
I said, no, I can't accept that. They said, "All right sheriff, we are finished with him. Take him on." Right on my birthday too. October 30th, they locked me up. Well, I began my sentence on October 30th. I guess they wanted me to remember what it was for. See because on your birthday you're supposed to register. And I didn't do that. On my 18th birthday. I was supposed to register for Selective Service. And following the Honorable Elijah Muhammad like the other followers did, I didn't do that. Other men did. I didn't do that. So they got me. He ended the article on this note. The clock can never be turned back that far again. That's all right with me. That man is all right. He knows how to write. I don't know if we'll need a blackboard, but I like to have a blackboard when I'm here. Or a whiteboard and black chalk. It doesn't make me any difference.
We have now close to 1:20. And I hope that all of you'll do your best to be here on time. That way we all can get out earlier, I think. But if I see people straggling in at two o'clock, that make me feel like going on saying, see, thinking about them. They just came in. You see? And I'm not going to be doing that. I'm not going to do that, because for the benefit of everybody, we should try to get here on time and that'll make us get out earlier. I'm sure that'll help. I'm working on it hard, but that'll sure help if you come in on time.
Now, in devoting this time this afternoon for the study of the word Muslim, Muslim. And I say study because if you are inquiring into something or discussing it from knowledgeable sources, it's a study. And really the Muslims in the days of Prophet Muhammad, and I guess it was true for all the Prophets, Jesus Christ too, Peace be on them, they called this kind of meeting that we are having here now, they called it Ta'lim. And Ta'lim means studies. You are studying, you're learning, someone is teaching and you are learning. And the teacher himself is involved in the learning because actually when someone teach, he should himself be trying to improve his own vision and understanding. He shouldn't be just trying to impress somebody, but he should be trying to reach the mark as accurately as possible. And if he does that and the people participate, then even the teacher is learning.
You see? Yes. So that's why I used to call my talks conversations. Some of you heard me say that. Say, well, I'm going to have a conversation with you. Because it's an exchange you know, and we hope to have at the end time for questions. We'll accept a few questions. Don't think everybody can get in, ask questions. We can't. We can only take a few questions and the next time we try to get more in. But every meeting we hope to accept a few questions. We want to pay attention to both the course that is rough, unfinished, and the kind sense of the meaning of this word Muslim. Muslim. There are many Muslims I believe that don't really know what Muslim means. I don't mean here, I mean everywhere throughout the world. I believe there are many Muslims that don't actually know what the word Muslim means. They have a light surface grasp of the word, but to really know exactly they really have the word, the rich meaning of the word. I doubt it, I doubt it. So let us, can I take this mic off so I can, I would like to keep the voice at the same level. So I'll walk with it here. I'm going to put the word on the board Muslim. Let's see. Can I make it bigger so we can see it?
Muslim. This is Muslim, the word Muslim and in English, it's spelled as it is in the article by Mr. Gerald Davis. Muslim. The understanding now that I'm approaching comes with the term "Al Awal" and another term, the one that contrasts with that term "Al Ahkir." These are two Arabic terms, so I'll put them on the board, Now these two terms are translated, the beginning and the end, the immediate, the latter. Now, hereafter. We can sense perhaps now a direction in the language pointing us to something because I'm connecting these words, dealing with these words in relationship with this word Muslim. Muslim. Allah says in the Qur'an that He has created us to grow, to grow. That's one of the necessities of the creation, that it grow, that it doesn't remain stagnant. Stagnant, or static. That it grow When we hear the word first, last, intermediate, advance. Or intermediate, latter, faith. Right away movement comes to mind. Movement comes to mind that has a beginning point and a concluding phase, a concluding stage, you see. Movement comes to mind, that we grow. That we grow. And in another place in the Qur'an, Allah Most high says, "Man can have only what he strives for and his striving will soon be seen." Efforts are rewarded by Allah efforts are rewarded by Allah. If you make the effort, you are going to get some result, you see.
What I'm suggesting here, I say suggesting because I have followers here and I have friends here that I might even have an enemy here. So I'm suggesting. To those who are with me in this community, I'm sharing it with you. To the others I'm suggesting. And you make your own conclusions. You take it or leave it as the old man used to say. I'm suggesting that these two terms, while bringing to our mind the temporary benefit of this physical world to the human life, the human spiritual life, it is also directed at something else. And that is the first stage development in this life and a final development in this life that represents our ticket into what is the Ahkir proper, the real eternal life. Alright. Because we know that this world has been described or spoken of as illusion, illusion. Allah says in Qur'an, that this world is illusion. It ain't what it appears to be. And that's true, that's true in every meaningful way, every intelligent way it's true. It's not what it appears to be. The beginning and the end stage, Al Awal and Al Ahkira. Now look, see, we like to point out things as we go that are in any way touching upon what we are doing or talking about you see. Al Awal. You heard, heard of the owl, the wise old owl. He is a creature that sees it in the dark, but his eyes are bad and not too good for daytime, right? But he has good, very good vision, very good vision. He's wise old owl, he's very good. He sees very well at night.
And this world is the same way. The vision of people who see nothing but these perishable immediate goals. It's like someone only seeing in the dark. Can't see in the light. In the light of true reality, they can't see, they're not even scientific. If they were scientific, they wouldn't place so much importance on the perishable things. They would place more importance on a strategy to take them through, right? Yes. So I'm suggesting that these two terms are referring to here and hereafter and also to that growth process that we understand as the behavioral and intellectual development of the creature. When we talk about behavior, we are talking about something that is determined by the nature, something that the nature has determined, the physical life and its nature. When we talk about the intellect, we are talking about something that has come out of that and has gotten vision, has gotten focus on that, that enables it to conduct itself better. So here is learning and light now operating to improve behavior, address a discipline, a condition, a state, attitudes.
Muslim behavioral life has it's origin life in natural life. Not only is this origin in natural life, it is expressly the excellence of the natural life because all of our behavior is tied to nature. Even that behavior that disobeys nature, it is tied to nature. It wouldn't be possible without the nature. Muslim intellectual life is a continuation in the natural process, not out of the natural process. A continuation of that natural process, Muslim intellectual life. And I have associated this intellectual life now with Al Ahkir. Al Awal for the behavioral life, Al Ahkir for the intellectual life. In the scriptures it read, it says, "I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly, more abundantly."
We think it means more cars. It means more growth. You must bear fruit. Isn't that another saying of the book, I'm talking about the Western book. You must bear fruit. That's the condition. Another place, "Feed my lambs," is that right? Feed my lambs. I come that you'll have life and have it more abundantly. What am I saying this for? I'm saying this to show you that the Qur'an and the Bible are saying the same essential thing, but one book has been twisted, altered, to on the surface, serve other ends contrary to what G-d intended. Whereas the Qur'an is a corrected book, pure and straight, upright, honest, just perfect. No deception in it at all. It is a book without deception. By intellectual we mean not the ordinary meaning because when we say intellectual we mean smart. We mean Fiqh. So let's put this word Fiqh. What is this word? What is Fiqh?
Translations Fiqh is jurisprudence, law, jurisprudence. But that's not the meaning that I am referring to now. I'm referring to the first meaning of this word. Fiqh. The scholars in Sharia or law, they acknowledge that the meaning of today is not what it meant in the time of Prophet Muhammad. It now applies to the cumulation of discussion, legal discussion by the jurist, et cetera. So it refers to that. But originally what did it mean? Understanding, it means understanding. Correct understanding is Fiqh. Correct understanding, the right understanding is Fiqh. And there's Fiqh for everything in the Qur'an. There's Fiqh not only for the Qur'an, there's for the Sunnah. There's Fiqh for everything you see. So this is what we talking about, Fiqh. And it fits in with the major movement of scripture. How do we know? Because the hunger in the people of scripture from book to book, cover to cover is the hunger for understanding.
The word implies scientific reality. Scientific reality. And it's a matter of historical reports of history that this religion as taught by Prophet Muhammad, awakened the sciences and brought back higher learning to the dark world, to the world at that time. And made possible the rejuvenation of the higher sciences that spread from Arabia into Spain, into other parts of the world at that time, and finally was taken over, the scientific inquiry, by the Western world. Many of the Western historians and scholars, they point to the fact that the Renaissance of the West was sparked by the rising of the Ummah, the community under Prophet Muhammad, Peace and Blessings be on him. Muslim on the first level is identified in natural instinctive behavior. In the natural field, non biological, we see the laws of physics, the laws of physics operating. Matter and its properties, nature and her features, the natural phenomena. Is that Muslim?
Yes. Yes. According to our Holy book, that itself is Muslim. So there's Muslim on that level. And in the biological world I repeat, the life is governed by instinct. Is that Muslim? Yes. According to our Holy book, that's Muslim. Then, is there anything that's not Muslim? Yes, Satan, the devil, the Satan, he's not Muslim. But everything that is in the order in the nature that G-d created is Muslim. On the second level, Muslim is identified in the tendency to establish moral preferences. Now here we have moved out of the physical, purely physical life into a biological life that's governed by instinct, now into human life. And we are talking about moral preference, moral conscience and moral preferences.
This sense, moral sense, it's no stranger to nature, to the natural world. It is just an expression on a human level. Yes, that's very nice. That's professional. We come into a moral mind, a moral conscience, and we sense an urge and urgency to establish what is right from what is wrong, to live by moral principle. This urge too comes out of nature. It is this law progressing with the evolution of the matter. The matter in its physical state, the matter in its biological state, the matter in its rational state or in its human form, progressing. Progressing. This moral life is natural, inherent, implicit in the natural life of the human being, which is of the universal order of matter and life. It makes me feel much more comfortable following a discipline in religion that I know have a real base in the universal scheme of reality. It makes me feel much better. I don't know about the rest of you Muslims, but we feel much better. Now, let us go again, look at the word Muslim and see what level are we on. Are we Muslims in the first sense, in the second sense or in the third sense? If you respect no disciplines, if you have no moral conscience, but you have no rebellious tendencies either, you just don't care, you just carefree, you just loose and free. And perhaps if there's no intent on your part to be wrong, perhaps you are a Muslim in the sense that the stone the little boy throws is a Muslim. Or any other inanimate thing is a Muslim. You see? Now, if you are on a second level now and you find yourself following intelligent patterns of behavior, but you are not doing it out of any respect for moral code, you have no moral code, you are not a moralist, you're not even concerned with morals as such, but you just find yourself following intelligent patterns of behavior. And if someone asks you why you behave that way, you are thrown off your feet to even tell them why. Then you perhaps are a Muslim on the second level. You are a Muslim like the bird, like the rat, like the lion, like the bear, like those things you see. You're instinctively a Muslim. Well you are not yet a human.
Ain't no human on those first two levels. I don't mean to be funny up here, but some of our conditions, it's funny you know. And I'm seeing people. While I'm talking, I see people. I've met people who are on these levels. So though we are Muslim, we are not yet a human. We don't just want to be Muslim. The identity of us is people, human beings. We want to be human. We don't want the Muslim of the planet, the Muslim of the sun, the Muslim of a stone, the Muslim of a river. We don't want the Muslim of a snake or the Muslim of a bear, a rabbit or bird. We want the Muslim of a man.
So that's the third level. Prophet Muhammad, the Muslim on the third level. Abraham a Muslim on the third level, G-d's great Prophets are Muslims on the third level. And their followers are people of the third level. Yes. Now some people have a sense of what is morally right and wrong and they follow the spirit of truth of righteousness in accord with what they sense to be right. Is that right? Now they don't have to be brilliant, they don't have to be Einstein, they don't to be genius, they don't have to be intellectual. They are Muslim on the human level, but they are grades on the human level. Yes, we are conscious Muslims because of moral motivation and perhaps moral motivation only. But comes a time when the man becomes a Muslim because of intellectual motivation and moral motivation. And when he becomes a Muslim because of intellectual and moral motivation, he's qualified to be Imam. He's qualified then to lead Muslims, qualified to be Mu'alim, the teacher. Yes. Oh buddy, buddy. You know how I like it. Sure by now you know my favorite foods. So there are those who say this old, new patriotic nigga WD, he ain't no Muslim. Maybe not, on your level.
I'm no physicalized Muslim. You can bet that. I'm proud to say I'm not that. I am a Muslim on the proper level. I'm a moral Muslim and I'm a rational Muslim and I'm happy with this life. I wouldn't give it up for nothing. I have long ago sold my soul to Allah. I don't want it back. Pray that He never allow me to get it back. I don't want it back. You know we used to say that in the early days and then as we got into the material thing, we got drunk. Instead of becoming wiser so we can handle the material challenge, we got drunk in the material thing. And now many of us don't even understand what we used to say.
"Surely my prayers, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds." Didn't we used to say that? We used to begin every meeting with that. We would come to the meeting and just like we started here today, we would stand up behind the Minister and everybody, men, women, and children would hold their hands like this and we would say, "Surely I turn myself to thee Oh' Allah." Trying. We didn't say being, trying to be upright to Him who originated the heavens and earth. It didn't say to Fard Muhammad, we said to him, who originated the heavens and the earth. And the Honorable Elijah Muhammad told us that Fard didn't originate the heavens and earth, but we used to pray to Him who originated the heavens and earth. And I'm not of those who mix up G-ds with G-d. And I'm not of the polytheist. Didn't we pray that?
And we finally got to that place where we say "Surely my life and my death and my sacrifices are all for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds." That's what we used to say. That's the pure prayer of the Muslim. Now we can say it and really be at ease, knowing that we are conforming to that prayer. In our thinking, in our behavior, we are trying to conform to that. In our thinking, we are conforming to it if you have accepted what I represent. And we are trying to get our behavior to conform to it. Oh yes. Ooh, this time moves
This term Muslims suggest then a growth and a line of growth. Not just a growth, but that growth follows, follows a direction, it follows an upgrade direction. You must upgrade the quality of that term to reach your human excellence, your human fulfillment. You are not your complete self until you move up to the third level and stand upon both feet. The feet of moral excellence and feet of rational excellence, right? Yes. This is the Muslim man and the woman too. It's not my fault I have to use man, it's talking about the woman too. Because in our religion, intellectual, which is the highest point in the development of man is intellectual, but the condition for intellectual fulfillment is moral excellence.
I don't care what genius name you call to me, just call off some genius. If he didn't come by the way of moral excellence, he's not a genius, he's a fool. That's right. We can just point to so many cases in history to show you that that's so the fact, to prove to you that fact. Yes. Look at Hitler, they say he was a genius but he didn't have the moral base. So the man's history spells out FOOL, right? Yes. And we can name 'em, a lot of them. A lot of them. I know one right now not too far away. Yeah. Call himself Mr. Glebe tongue glib tongue, articulate and refined. But he doesn't have the moral base. So what he's doing spells FOOL. And I didn't name him because really he has more than one name. Now let us before, let's finish here, we'll finish here. Get knowledge, but above all get an understanding. Isn't that the book? Get knowledge, but above all get an understanding. This Qur'an brings us the understanding. We don't want just knowledge just to be able to rattle off some knowledge like a recorder.
We want understanding. When we have understanding then we are able to apply and implement that knowledge. We're able to get some benefit from it while we live.
And if a religion can't do that, then it belongs up there. It doesn't belong down here. That's right. In fact, It doesn't even belong up there. Cause the workings up there tell me that there's some real things going on. Praise be to Allah. All right. We believe in life and we believe in the resurrection. We believe in life and in the resurrection, but we don't believe that the resurrection is the resurrection of a life that just started at the resurrection. We believe that it's the resurrection of a life, that got it's start here. And what does the book say? "Those who are dead in this are dead in the hereafter." Isn't that what it says? Alright. Is that true also for the Muslim, for the Qur'an? Yes it is. If you are dead in this then you'll be dead in the hereafter. Yes, the same. The same exactly. What does it mean? It mean that if you don't come into moral sensitivity before you die, you will never be resurrected except to hell.
That's right. Now you who don't come into intellectual enlightenment, doesn't matter. If you have come into moral life, even after death, G-d can give you intellectual life. Yes. Now that shouldn't be any encouragement for you to neglect your intellectual development here, because our religion condemns you putting off tomorrow what you can do today and you get punishment for that. If you have the ability you must exert yourself, you must push forward. Yes. If you don't do that, you are punished for it. There's a saying of Prophet Muhammad. He says that a man was terribly grieved, terribly burdened to such an extent that he was seen among the people with a knife and he took it and he cut, he slit his arm and the blood came forth so profusely that he died. And Allah said, Prophet Muhammad, this is not Qur'an now this is Hadith Qudsi that's on a level next to the Qur'an. Prophet Muhammad was inspired, divinely inspired to say these things that he says in Hadith Al Qudsi. Hadith Al Qudsi. Hadith means report of what the Prophet Muhammad said or did. Yes. So Allah said, "My servant has forestalled Me, therefore I deny him the Jenna. I deny him the paradise."
So ignorant acts on our part brings bad consequences, aborting our life gives us less in the next, perhaps nothing. We can't abort our life. What does abort mean? Abort mean to stop the process before it fulfills itself. And Allah said, "My servant has forestalled Me," meaning that he has taken from Me the right that is only Mines. I'm the giver of life. I am the taker of it. Now he has taken upon himself the authority to take his own life. He didn't give himself his own life. I gave him his life and I have a plan for him and he has forestalled Me, So I'm going to forestall him. No paradise. Hell. Yes, yes. That's what He said. Isn't it justice? Certainly it's justice. See what many of us don't know. Cowardice is a sin. Cowardice is a sin. Cowardice is a sin.
That's right. That's what's got the world in such bad shape. We are cowards. Allah want brave men, brave women, brave children. Yes. Don't cop out. You're copping out when you take the easy route, you are copping out. Take the route that Allah has set us upon. Take that route and know that Allah has said "Surely with difficulty comes the ease." You'll get the ease. You'll get it with difficulty. That's the payment for ease, struggle, face the challenge. Alright, let us continue now. This word Muslim is a great honorable title. The previous scripture, the Bible says "The peacemakers shall be called the children of the Most high G-d." What does that tell us? That the highest aim in creation is obedience to the will and law of Creator. And that obedience began when G-d said "Be, and it was." Worlds began to take shape in the void and they came under law. Natural law. Natural law is nothing but a manifestation of the will of the Creator. Yes. Then that natural law manifests itself in the living matter that comes out of the dead matter, the biological creatures in the sense of his instinct, he obeys instinctively. Is that right? Yes. And look how rich he's in knowledge on the strength of instinct. The wasp can take mud and make a beautiful artistic design. Is that right? Yes. The bee takes it's wax and make a beautiful, marvelous house with so much scientific wisdom in it, perfectly structured, air conditioned inside. This is fact. This is science. You go to school to learn how to sew. Spider get up and never went to school, get up and sew himself a web. You measure it and wonder "Hell how he got it so accurate?"
Space is accurate, geometrical and accurate. Is that right? Yes. You think man can tunnel? If you could take a big, big some kind of x-ray machine and look at the earth and see how the ant has tunneled himself through the earth and how he has underground farms where he's farming under the ground. This is the ant and this is science. And we can go on talking about the marvelous world that Allah has raised out of the dead matter under instinct. Is that right? That's an indication to us that you can do accurate things, you can do accurate things. You can make beautiful artistic work If you too respect the will of G-d manifest in the law of the matter that He created. Get the science that you may have life and have it more abundantly. Why let the white man get all the life? Why can't you get some of the life? It's for every creature of Allah, not just for the white man. Your fathers used to have more than Europe has. And your fathers were tricked and they went to sleep. And Europe got ahead of everybody. And now Europe has been tricked and it's going to sleep. Why don't you get up and catch up?
Get up and catch up and out strip them. Yes. Our goal is not to be a white man. Our goal is to be a Muslim man, to outstrip all records ever established. Yes. And then doesn't our Lord invite us to come into a race, into a competition, a moral competition to achieve all that's excellent and good.
Let us now go to the board and we can take this off. The first and the last. Some of us, we just want to be the original man. "Oh, I just want to be the original man." Well, I don't want to be the original man no longer than it take me to look at him and see which direction G-d put him in. And once I see the direction G-d put him in, I don't want to be the original man. I want to be the second man, and the third man, and the final man. I want to keep improving stage by stage, step by step. I want to get so they say, "Hey, he doesn't look original. He looks finished." Because original is coarse and rough. And everything I see original is coarse and rough. Yes, yes. Society comes coarse and rough in its original state, but society grows into excellence that G-d intended for it. It becomes refined. Well I guess that was good for us in the first because we weren't even anywhere in this context. We wasn't nowhere in this frame of thought. So I guess the first was good for us in the first.
We want to conclude this on another note. Now we want to look at the term love. A Muslim is not a Muslim unless he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. So said Prophet Muhammad. All right. Love is a requirement for the Muslim. A Muslim must practice love, right love, true love. And again, how can you say you love Allah whom you've never seen and fail, don't love your brother you see every day. Isn't this the sayings of Prophet Muhammad? Love is as requirement. Then love must be just. J-U-S-T. Love must be just. Should I love brother so-and-so with the love that I love Prophet Muhammad with? That's not justice. I should love Prophet Muhammad with a greater love then I love brother so-and-so with. It's not just. I shall love Allah still with a greater love. So there are grades of love. The first love is for Allah, then for His Prophet, and then for community, for us. Is that right? Yes. So let's put the word up here in English. LOVE. Oh that's a big word. Love.
Love. And some of us can really say it. I love you. Yeah, I've heard 'em. I love you. And I say, I don't want you to love me. I can see by the way you treat yourself I don't want that love you going to give me. Yeah, you got some people they want to love you man. "Oh I just love you. I just love you baby." And you look at them and say "Look what you doing to yourself. I don't want you to love me. No, please don't love me. I don't want that." So what am I saying? Love is a bigger word than this world give it to be.
What is love in the context of religion? Proper religion. All right. You know if we say love, love is so generalized in this world. We have to know what we talking about when we say love. Love may be sexuality, love may be sensuousness, it may be lust. That's what I mean. It may be lust. Yeah, it may be insanity. Yeah. This world got all kind of actions for love. Marquis De Sade, when he was working out on his victims. For him that was love. Sure it was. That's what he called it love. It was love. That was his way of making love. And he just treated his victims, some cruelly. Something cruelly, yeah. Tortured them and everything. But he was making love That was sick love, wasn't it?
Now when the victim needs that kind of love, they call him what is it? A masochist. A masochist. One is a sadist and the other one is a masochist. And we done had a relationship with cruel Western white supremacy for so long that we have become addicted to the wrong kind of love. Yeah. We have become a masochist race. We don't like nobody that's treating us nice. We like people when they treating us bad. When European America was bad, bad, bad. Oh the niggas were so nice. Please excuse me, but I come for life and to have it more abundantly, They love the devil because the devil gives them nothing.
Well, well, well. What is the meaning of love in the New Testament? If you love Me, feed My sheep. Wasn't that the condition of love? The condition of love in the New Testament is care, concern for the needs of G-d's creature. If you love Me, feed my sheep, My lambs I think it says. Right? Alright, now love then in the New Testament is synonymous with kind consideration for the needs of G-d's creature. Is that right? Kind consideration for the needs of G-d's creatures. But in what idea? In the idea that G-d has established, not in your own idea. Because you have your own crazy idea about what the creature needs. You'll come here and shine my toe for 50 hours. "Say Chief you ain't had no blowout yet? I thought this would get you." And I probably want to kill you for doing that. Hey man, what you do rubbing on my toe like that for? But that's your way of getting me happy. Maybe you got yourself happy that way. You rubbed your toe and you say "Ooh, ooh."
So you come to me with your warped sense of what is happiness and you start working on my toe and I say, "What you doing, what are you doing?" Pretty soon my toe hurting and you wonder how come I didn't get what you got. We have to get in the natural theme that G-d has established and see maybe there are some deviations, maybe there are some quirks in the process. But let's see what the major thrust, what the major direction, what the major movement says. And that'll tell me what G-d wants. Just because I see a couple of men step out of line and shake and lie down with each other and do to do, that doesn't tell me that that's what I'm supposed to do. I want to know what is the major theme, what is the major movement, what G-d intends.
And I won't find that looking at deviations. I'll find that looking at what the major scheme says, not what the accident says. Right? Yes. I might shoot the shoot at that bad man. But in shooting at him to hit him, I might knock a hole in the wall too. Then somebody get the pistol and start blowing holes in the wall. Hell, well look and see that the aim was the man's head, not the damn wall. Don't tear the walls down. So we look at people's behavior in society and say, it must be all right. G-d wouldn't have made nobody behave like that if He didn't intend it. But aren't you rational? You are not under instinct, you are under reason.
Aren't you rational? Then shouldn't you look at the scheme and choose that that is established against that that is unestablished? G-d hasn't established homosexuality. G-d hasn't established sadism. G-d has established life, and justice, and kindness. Is that right? So that's what you should follow. And I didn't even read it from a book. It didn't make sense, and you can't argue with it. So we got it from the nature. The pattern on which the Gospel is established is established on the strength of what nature says of its maker. Who is Allah? Love. Let us look quickly. Ah time gone too fast.
We'll be through in a few minutes. What is love to the believers, to the Muslim people? What is love to the real Christians, to the real religious people? What is love? They see it in the natural life. In the natural life. There's an Imam called Kamaluddin. Imam Kamaluddin. He's in Houston. He's the Imam over Houston, Texas, the regional Imam of Houston, Texas. And he loves to eat like I do and many other people do. But I think he enjoys it perhaps more than most of us. And whenever we eat together, he has something he really like he'll say, especially meat. He likes nice meat. He say, "Tender as a mother's love." Yeah, that's his expression. When he put it in his mouth he say, "Tender as a mother's love."
So love is considerate, love is considerate. The mother, she's considerate. Sometime an old wayward girl, old cheap girl will get knocked up and have a baby and she never treated anything with kindness, was cruel, selfish. But you'll see her handling the baby very tenderly and she won't throw her breasts at his face, flapping, hitting him in the face with her breasts. She takes her breasts very gently, and she very gently places it gently to his lips so he can nurse. Is that right? So considerate. That's love. That's love. And G-d love Before the mother love. The breast is soft. They ain't made no pillow like that breast. Oh baby, baby baby.
Yes. Look, inside heat, electric pillow. Heat nice and warm. Not hot. Just right. That's love. Allahu Akbar. That's love. Yes. Now the milk when it come out, it ain't got no stones in it. Ain't no glass in it. It's soft and smooth. Baby ain't got no teeth. That's consideration. It goes down so nice. It ain't hot, it ain't cold, it's moderate, it's just right. It's tempered. Temperature is just right. The baby drink it he goes to sleep. That's love isn't it? Oh yes. Now the nourishment is given with care and consideration. The nourishment itself in its quality is also nice and easy on the child.
And then the child begin to get teeth, right? Now the teeth is an indication that this child is going to have to face harder responsibilities, right? Yeah. The teeth are indicating ain't going to be so easy now. Swallowing, the bed ain't going to be so soft and nice. Your teeth. So the teeth prepare the baby for the heart of life. Teeth come through hurting the baby gum. Wow. Teething. Teething. Right? Now you say, "Oh but that ain't love. It hurt the baby." If I hurt the baby to prepare the baby to sustain the hurt that he must sustain to survive, that's love. That's love. Allah knows. He doesn't burden any creature beyond its capacity to bear. The baby has the capacity to endure the suffering, the teething. And look, condition the mother too. The mother too. Because that child growing up now is going to be harder on the mother. So the mother has to be conditioned too. So what happens? He takes those teeth and he draw blood from the tit and she say "Ah." But she doesn't stop showing him love. It's bleeding and she's still trying to nurse him. That's love isn't it? That's love. Yeah, that's love. The nipple is bleeding from the bite and she's still trying to nurse him. She's nursing. She ain't going to stop cause he bit her.
Well, we could talk a lot about this, a lot about this, but we going to keep moving on. Life must fulfill it's growth requirements. It must move into its full pattern of possibilities. Allah has established possibilities and He urges the life to move into the fullness of those possibilities. He starts it off with kindness, then He put a little prick to toughen you up for the task because as you go, it's going to get rougher and rougher. Yes. So He put a little prick, He prick you a little bit, bite you a little bit, pinch, toughen you up for the task. That's Mercy. But it ain't mercy when we come in the house and feeling bad and start knocking our children around, We are letting out our tensions on our children or on each other. Now that ain't love, that's hate, that's ignorance. What is the purpose of all that knocking around? You ain't doing it with love, you're doing it out of selfish consideration for your own self. Now I'm all angry, I got to release these tensions, go and bust the poor child's head, beat him almost to death. That's cruel. That's not love. Dear beloved, people let us know what love really is. Then we go to the other extreme, some of us. And we call this love. Letting the child do whatever they want to do. That ain't love. That's cruelty, cruelty. Allah doesn't leave life in the physical or in the animate state, from the instincts to do whatever it wants to do. He guides it with a pattern of law, to keep it in the right light for itself. Therefore the bird still know how to make it's nest, still know how to mate and have a home. Still know how to treat that youngster with kindness. Is that right? Yes, the creatures know these things.
But the man, free from instincts, trusted to use his own intelligence, goes off the pattern, becomes selfish and forgets his responsibility to his own creatures, and abuse them, releasing his hostility. Cruel, that's cruelty. We must be aware of ourselves and what Allah has designed for us. Respect that and conform to it. And love each other in the right sense and in the right way. First I must love Allah, and that love proves itself in my treatment of His creatures. Isn't that what the Prophet said? Yes. And you're not supposed to neglect your responsibilities no matter what happens. You're not supposed to neglect your children, crying because your man left you and as a result you let your children go to hell. No. I don't care what a woman goes through. If she's a mother, she should have some consideration for that new life. In fact she should be saying, "Well, mine is gone but there is still moving on so I am going to strive to do my best for them." I don't have no respect for parents that treat their children cruelly. i don't care what experiences they had. I expect some intelligence when it comes to a little child. And a person really has to have a terrible problem where they go and abuse little children. That's right. Because respect for that new life is strong in the human nature.
Now let me wrap this up and close it out now. And hopefully we can deal with it next time. And I hope that will make us to understand that this world's idea of love is not always right. In fact it's more wrong than right. Let us love with the right love that respect our good senses, and above all, respect what Allah intends for His creatures. Then we will be safe. Read your Qur'an, familiarize yourself with the Qur'an. This is the book, this is the light. This is the guidance. Familiarize yourself with it. And if you're having some difficulty understanding parts of it, because it's in English. The Arabic, most of us don't know it. Then you come to me or come to someone else and hopefully we can give you some understanding. But read. That is your book. That is the Qur'an. And you will become better Muslims, better prepared and equipped parents, you will have better life.
I thank you for your attendance today and hope to see you next time. Peace be on you, and may Allah keep us from deviating after He has guided us straight. Keep our hearts sound, our faith firm, our position firm and our feet straight. Ameen. Asalaam Alaikum.
Speaker 2:
Right now I'm in kind of a dilemma whether or not I should continue in communications, whether or not I should finish my Master's or go on to Law school. I don't know how I could fit in more or less in the television industry as I am a Muslim.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Alright. I think I understand. By communications you mean the communications technology?
Speaker 2:
Yes, yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
You're not talking about performing on the screen.
Speaker 2:
No. I'm more interested in working behind the scenes in terms of directing and producing.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. I don't see any problem. No problem. And even if you were performing, it wouldn't be any problem if you made the demands that a Muslim sister should make. They'd recognize it. You still could make it.
Speaker 2:
Thank you.
Imam WD Mohammed:
May Allah bless you with more progress. Well we are going to have to limit it now to only one more and this sister has had a hand up for some time. Sister Mohebi. Is that it? Yes. Alright.
Sister Mohebi:
I'm Sister Mohebi, wife of Brother William Abdullah The question that I have is, last week when you spoke, you spoke on how there were differences that were cultural and there were differences that some of the things that people think are Islamic are really cultural differences and I wanted you to be more specific.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes, yes. For example, most of the sisters in our community tend to dress like you. You're very beautifully dressed. I have no complaints. Most of the sisters tend to dress like you and that's Oriental in style. They would be just as Muslim dressed if they went downtown and bought a long dress that covered them up as they should be covered off the rack if it was long enough and put it on. So that's one example of cultural differences that are not necessarily Islamic problems or issues. There are many cultural habits that Muslim have that distinguish them one from another. Say one may be from Saraja, another one may be from Egypt or from Pakistan. They'll have different habits and they will tell you that the Muslim does such and such.
But if you really question them, if they're knowledgeable they will tell you say, well no, it's not important. This is my family. This is how my family's tradition or my country's tradition, culture. It has nothing to do with the religion. It's not important. But if we are not careful, unlearned Muslims who are just coming into this religion and they're unlearned, they'll go crazy trying to follow all the habits of the people they run into. Because I have 'em coming to me telling me, I saw brother so-and-so. He said, do it. I said, look please, please follow me will you. You can't follow everybody.
Yeah. You have to have somebody to follow. They follow their leaders. You follow your leader. A lot of us think a woman is only one supposed to be covered. A man's supposed to be covered too, decently. You're not supposed to be immodest. The man can't come here with those old tight Sherwood Forest pants on. You know those tight leggings show and all the print of everything you know. That's indecent. The man should be put out too. he should be told, go home, change your clothes, dress, come back here, come back when you dress properly. Yes. So the men have to be properly dressed too. Neither of us can be indecent and out of wisdom, G-d has instructed the Prophet to tell the women to cover the whole body from neck to ankles of the feet, arms down to the hands, leaving only the head in public, leaving only the hands and the face exposed as you are now. Yes. Yes. I said one more. Was that the one I was talking about? Okay, thank you. Well see next time In Shallah. G-d willing next time. Asalaam Alaikum.
Speaker 3:
We have a few announcements. Today is the final day to make your orders for Collective Buying. The Collective Buying table is in the far corner of the assembly room. The order for the coming week will be long green, brown rice and honey. The Collective Buying order is $15 per family. This coming Tuesday evening, Imam Warith Udin Mohammed will be speaking on radio station KEST 1450 on the AM dial at 8: 30. The broadcast will be live and will be on the subject of Collective Buying. This Saturday coming, there will be a dinner in honor of Imam Warith Udin Mohammed at the Cultural Center at 7:00 PM The tickets are $7. Persons under 12 years of age will be admitted free with an adult. Brother Nadir who's standing here, please see him and other brothers for your ticket. Very important. Classes, the announcement was made earlier. The Imam and teacher's class is from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on Thursday evening. On Sunday morning at 10:30 to 12, a discussion class will be held. The Oakland Masjid Ensemble is holding a flea market on Saturdays. The cost is five dollars per booth. Please participate. CRAID which meets on Saturday after Dhur prayer here at the Masjid. Please participate in the activities. Also, Brother Yusef Wakil and Brother Rashid Ali are also working in the local area for Dawah.
We'd like to also announce that the school needs volunteers, the school cleanup from Monday through Friday after school between 4:00 and 8:00 PM. For further details, please see Brother Abdul Rahim Ali, also the Clara Muhammad School MPTA Presents Family Night Spaghetti Dinner Tuesday evening, November 3rd, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. It will be held at the Elijah Muhammad Cultural Center, a family event you're sure to enjoy. Donation is 3.50 without NPAT membership, $3 with membership. Children are 2.50 with membership, excuse me, without membership and $2 with the membership. A birth was had in our community very recently. Sister Rikya Muhammad is our new addition in the community. She was born November 24th, 1981 Saturday at 6:58 AM. She weighed seven pounds, 10 ounces. That's to Sister Maxine Kalila, Abdulah Muhammad and Brother Muhammad Bayan Muhammad.
Also there's a sister who is looking for housing. She would like to share a house with another sister. She has seven children. She can be reached at the preschool Monday through Friday or at 436- 9725. I'd like to remind you again this is the final day for your order for Collective Buying. The orders are $15 for honey and rice. Excuse me, the date of the birth. We have an error here in the writing. It was October 24th, just yesterday. Is there anything else please? Our Zakat payments are to be made directly to the Santa Barbara Savings. The address is 1446 High Street. That's in Oakland. Envelopes are available from the treasurer's office. So please see that. One more announcement. Brother Yusef Ali, who is collecting aluminum cans and papers for the school, asked that you continue your support and that those of you who bring papers, please bundle them first. I have no further announcement.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Those who had questions to ask. If your question was very important, then why don't you jot it down before you forget it. As you go or leave, jot your question down and next time if it's that important, we'll try to answer the question Thank you very much. Now let's have du'a. Thank you.
Now we have time to take a few questions please.
Speaker 9:
Yes Brother Imam. When is the Imams class going to be held?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. It will be Thursday. Thursday.
Speaker 9:
Would anybody be able to attend other then the registered Imam in the area?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. Well the class is for Imams who are over Masjids. And it's also for Imams who are not over Masjids that belong to the community. And it is also for those who are in or over Islamic studies program. So our teachers participate too. It is an Imam's class, but really the class is designed to give basics in Islamic studies. And right now we are concentrating on Arabic reading for the Qur'anic reading. Yes. And we also have another class. When is that class? Sunday mornings at 10 30. There is a scriptural discussion class. From 10 30 to noon time. And Tuesdays we're going to be on radio.
Speaker 10:
Yes. I was wondering what the scriptural discussion class is about.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. Well the language is tied in the language of the Jain philosophy, with the mystic language of the old Nation of Islam lesson because it has the same language, the same terminology, the same general pattern we find in Jain terminology. We find it also in the terminology of the lessons, Yaqub’s history, et cetera, numerology and all these other concepts we find in these mystic teachings. So that's why we discuss them. In the same vein, I don't think that you have any worry. You shouldn't think that you missed something because it was mainly to just bring to the attention, to the attention of those Muslims who were familiar, are familiar with the lessons, the mystic lessons of WD Fard. The nature of that language. The nature of that language. That was the purpose. I don't say it is so much metaphysical as it was allegorical and suggestive, highly suggestive language. Symbolic, secret, intentionally hid. That's what I mean by secret, meaning intentionally hid from the reader. Maybe someday you'll have similar discussions, but I don't right now. I don't know exactly when.
Speaker 9:
What exactly is meant by the term knowledge being available to all?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes, equal knowledge, what we mean is equal respect. Equal respect. We are not the same. Some people will learn more, some will learn less. We have different potential because of lack of enthusiasm maybe, and many other reasons, maybe even physical. We are not all the same. But the responsibility of a true, just honest Democratic society is to make knowledge equally accessible to all. And that's what we mean. Yes. That can be done. And don't deceive people, don't pull the wool over the people's eyes, don't have double standards, double language that enriches a few and passes over many to keep them blind to what's going on. That's what you're talking about. Yes. I saw the sister's hand in the rear.
Speaker 3:
Yes. I wanted to ask you about polishing my nails and whether or not it's permissible.
Imam WD Mohammed:
No, I don't think it matters whether you polish your fingernails or not. You're not supposed to polish your fingernails? Maybe he has knowledge of something being in the fingernail polish that is not Halal, not acceptable on the Muslim dietary laws or something. Maybe it's not quite Kosher. But I don't think the color has anything to do with it. I don't think so. Is there any other? Yes, we want hear more Sisters. Yes, sister with the baby. When you come closer to the mic.
Speaker 10:
I was reading a passage on Adam and I didn't get the meaning of the passage that talks about Iblis and his stance against submitting. And also about Adam being taught the names of all things. i didn't understand that.
Imam WD Mohammed:
It's telling us that fire without a logic is not enough, that it's not enough for the people. A purely scientific mind without having good moral base is no good. Iblis was arrogant because he thought by him having a high knowledge that he shouldn't have to submit to a human creature that didn't have knowledge. Now if you recall, G-d didn't ask that the rebellious one bow at that time. He said that when I have breathed into him of My spirit, bow to him. So what He was saying was this, G-d prefers moral life for the human creature then just a purely logical or rational mind. He didn't give it to the angels. The angels couldn't take it. They didn't have the power to take it . He offered it to the angel. He offered, he exposed it to the angels and He challenged the angels to be able to respond to the challenge and the angels conceded. We have no knowledge except what you give us. So Allah gave the knowledge to the qualified one, Adam. And Adam gave the names. So Adams ability to articulate and understand the assignment, which was to be Kalifah or custodian on the earth. Yes, yes. Well one more and then I'm looking at the time here. This is your fault.
So they're talking about the ritual medical people, knowing that they do that. Yes, they will. And I can show you evidence. And that's what I'm saying. In the new concept, language terminology, people will become victims if they don't have the knowledge. That's what it means. You have to be knowledgeable of these things in order to survive this crazy world.
Yeah, it's a lot of wisdom in it.
Speaker 10:
I wanted to ask you this question for quite a while. I'd like to know, what do you think of the idea of Muslims in Hollywood as a graduate student?
Imam WD Mohammed:
I am not quite sure how to answer that.


