10/05/2006
IWDM Study Library
Ramadhan Statement

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Imam Darnell Karim:
We allow about five minutes just to ask, I have one question to ask on the Ramadan?
IWDM:
Before we start?
Imam Darnell Karim:
During it,
IWDM:
During the taping?
Imam Darnell Karim:
Yes sir. Or do you just want to go straight through? Whatever you feel comfortable with.
IWDM:
Let me go straight through and perhaps I can finish in about 40 or 45 minutes. Then that'll give enough time for your questions at the end.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Yes sir. I think it's probably two or three questions at the end. Can we let you know what the question is just in case you don't want to?
IWDM:
Yes.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Mine is on this decision by the Fiqh Council of North America to adopt the position of accepting astronomical calculations? The reason they say, is to bring "the American Muslim community out of confusion and hardship and so that they can establish Muslim holidays on calendar like every other religion in America." That's their reasoning. So they're even negating the fact of siting, if you can site it, they're saying don't even try, just use scientific calculations. And so this year I know for sure they're doing that. Certain communities follow that.
IWDM:
Yeah, well that's what I go by, really, because all the time you can't tell. It's cloudy and it's very difficult to site the moon in modern times. Pollution also blocks you from seeing. It impairs the vision. So, Arabs who live out in the desert who have clear and wide open spaces, they can see it easily and they hardly ever have rain. So, the clouds are not blocking them. Most of the time there are no clouds. And I'm sure when they don't see it because of clouds or something, they just calculate it. You calculate it from the days. You know you go by lunar calendar anyway. So yesterday, they knew. So today they just about know what time, you know. The next day they just about know exactly what time the moon, what phase the moon is in all the time. They know day by day. But for us it is very difficult to know and to sight the moon. And I think the scientific way is best for sighting the moon.

But the phases of the moon, scientifically speaking, may still differ from region to region. Time region to time region. But if you, just like our daily paper, Tribune, or any of those daily papers, sometimes even the local papers, they have the time tables of the moon in it. And if you go by that, you ain't going to miss, because if there's a new moon, this is a black moon. It has no crescent showing. That's scientifically speaking. So, if a new moon is today, is sited, it's today, on this date. Tomorrow is not the fast. It's not the fast. Tomorrow is not the day you should fast. But the moon is going to be sited, the crescent moon is going to be sited at the night of tomorrow or at least by before Fajr tomorrow. So, it works all the time for me, it's accurate. So, if the new moon is today, we don't fast tomorrow, but tomorrow night we make our intention and the next day we fast and it's always right. So, what they're talking about, it's okay, we've been doing that anyway. That's what we've been doing all along.
Speaker 3:
Yes sir.
IWDM:
Cause they'd be talking about, they sighted it. I say, how can they sight it? Can they see a new moon? Can they see a crescent? And the day is a new moon. Ain't no way they can see it. But when you enthused, you see anything, I saw the "Mother Plane" once. I believed in it so strongly, I saw it. "There it is! Look at that star moving." I don't know what it was. I blew the saw. I don't know what it was, but I saw the Mother Plane, Mother Ship! You all can start if you like, (Arabic).
Imam Darnell Karim:
Please turn your cell phones off or on vibrate. The article we read here real quick is about as we read a lot in the Quran where it reads about turn your faces toward the Qibla or and turn your faces towards the Masjid Harram. So, here's the word that I wanted to ask about. It says, (Arabic). And then, but it is using the word that I was questioning was (Arabic).
IWDM:
Yeah. Yeah. So (Arabic) means turn.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Yes sir.
IWDM:
(Arabic), turn. It means turn, to turn the face. (Arabic), it means to turn your face. (Arabic) means you know (Arabic?)
Imam Darnell Karim:
Yes.
IWDM:
Yeah. It's (Arabic), its of (Arabic), of the same. (Arabic) is of (Arabic.)
Speaker 3:
Okay.
IWDM:
It means to go parallel with.
IWDM:
To go parallel with. Yeah, because Masjid Harram is not all that they built up. It's original, the original word, the Kaaba, that little house. And when you turn your faces in prayer, in prayer, you look directly at a wall, right? You're looking at a wall or a corner, depending on what position you're in around the world, you're looking at a wall or a corner. But when you go there for the ritual, you go parallel those walls. And (Arabic) is used for a river bank. (Arabic), that means spiritual, spiritual, clean. Like you wash in a river.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Thank you.
IWDM:
Yeah. The people are flowing, flowing like they're flowing, circling like a river
IWDM:
Yeah. And they're reciting, their minds are being purified or hearts and spirit being purified, like water cleansing. That's why the Arabs say that the Kaaba had to be repaired because it was flooded. How often (are) floods, floods happening out there, in that desert? They mean it flooded, meaning that the waters were all confused and it damaged the Kaaba and it had to be repaired. Whenever you're ready.
IWDM:
Thank you for that understanding.
IWDM:
(Arabic) As salaamu alaikum. Our discussion for this segment for W D. Muhammad and guests, W. Deen Muhammad and guests is on the sacred month of Ramadan, of Ramadan. And the Ramadan, as you know, is the month of fast for Muslims all over the world.

Ramadan, the term itself is said to come from the practice of the Bedouins, who would be walking in the hot desert and they would wrap their feet to protect their feet from the burning sands. The Ramadan is a protection, is as a protection from the burning passions. And Ramadan is most importantly a discipline in obedience to G-d. And that brings us to give the quote, the saying of the prophet: "G-d said, fasting is for me, fasting is for me." And of the fasting person, G-d says, "the breath of the fasting person is as the best perfume with G-d," meaning this, that we put ourselves in a difficult, unpleasant situation. One who is used to keeping his mouth clean or her mouth clean, is not pleasant to, not to brush the teeth or have the mouth clean, often. And most people, they can't be brushing their teeth every hour, every hour or two. So, we do experience unpleasant breath on us, on the fasting person. Disciplining for the sake of G-d, that's the most important. Some fasting persons that I have observed over these many years, they will not break their fast on time. They most likely start will start their fast on time, but they will not break their fast on time. Now this is an innocence.

We think we need to start the difficult day of fasting on time for G-d. But when we break the fast, we don't think we have to break it on time for G-d. Why? Because inside, without thinking inside, we are feeling that well, I don't have to rush. I can wait a few minutes so I don't have to rush right now to eat. But it's not what suits you, it's not what you would like to do. It's what G-d wants you to do. And this disciplining is the most important element here in this ritual because G-d wants us to learn that we don't do things when we feel like doing them. Some things are so important that we can't wait until we feel like doing it and we can't go on feelings. We have to go on logic. We have to go on authority. Authority. And this discipline is to get us to recognize the highest authority in our life, and that is G-d. We say Allahu Akbar! (That) means G-d is the highest authority in my life or in our lives or in our community life. Allahu Akbar. G-d is the highest authority or the biggest authority in our community life. That means in our souls and everything. So disciplining is the most important thing. And when you work on a job for a boss, this is not the highest authority, it's the boss. It's just the boss you work for. If the boss say(s) be at work at nine or eight, you try to be there at that time. If the boss say(s) you get off at four or five, you're supposed to be out of that place, you're supposed to be leaving there around four or five. Now if you just stay around there on your own, the boss may question you, (and) say, "hey, everybody(s) gone, what are you doing?

What are you waiting on? How come you haven't left." So, you know that if you work or have a record or history of working, you know that you understand that very clearly. Now when we break fast, we don't break fast when we feel like it. Break fast on time. Maghrib, when the sun goes down and time when Maghrib time is given, you're supposed to stop your fasting, stop your fasting. If it's at five o'clock, you don't wait till five 15, you stop at five o'clock. You rush to get you something to take. And the first thing you take in the fast month is something that is not processed or changed by man, that is cooked or whatever, put in an oven or boiled or whatever. You don't take any food that has been changed by man or by human beings or by anything.

You take the food as it comes naturally from the earth. So that means fresh fruit. And the most popular of the sweets or the products of the trees that we take is the dates. It was the practice of the prophet to break the fast with dates. So, we find Muslims throughout the world breaking their fast with dates. Now if you don't like dates, nobody want to force you to take a date. You can break your fast with anything that comes natural, even a vegetable that's raw. You can break your fast with a vegetable. Choose some celery or eat a tomato or that's a little technicality there because some books classify a tomato as a fruit not as a vegetable, but there are cucumbers. There are a lot of vegetables and tastes nice too that you can break your fast with. But the best is to break your fast following the taste and habits of practice of our prophet.

He broke the fast with the dates. And dates are mentioned in the scripture, that G-d provided dates for the mother of Jesus Christ and for him when they were needing sustenance to be given food and for water. He provided for her dates and water, the ripe dates fell down. She was sitting beneath the branch. The ripe dates fell down so she didn't have to look up to get it. It came down to her and she took a little branch, a little small branch, and she made grooves in the ground in the soil. And when she did it, water came up here. The water was very high that she was able to reach water very easily in the spot where she was. So, this is scripture and breaking the fast with dates and water has scriptural reference and significance and are important. Breaking the fast on time is very important.

Now, disobedience, we used to be trained in the Junior Fruit of the Nation of Islam called the FOI, fruit of Islam. And we were given military training not to prepare us to go to war physically, but the same purpose that was served by drill, our military drill and the school established in Tuskegee by Booker T. Washington. He had drill. And we know that the American schools have drill R-O-T-C. -R-O-T-C, American Schools, ROTC is drilling. That helps to prepare the young male for military service. But for Booker T. Washington, that was not the purpose. And for the Nation of Islam, that was not the purpose. It was to teach us to hear and obey, to hear and obey. Don't question. When the cadence giver, the sergeant or the lieutenant, whoever's drilling the soldiers, when the cadence is given, you don't think, you respond immediately.

It says left flank, immediately you make a left, a flank to the left. If they say company halt, immediately you come to a halt. If they say forward, mark immediately you step forward. Left face, immediately to the left, right face, immediately to the right. Above face, immediately to the rear. At ease. Immediately go to ease. At ease. They tell you when to go to ease, when to ease, when to be at ease. At ease. Immediately you go to ease. So, when time comes for breaking a fast, so you can have it easy, immediately go to eat at the time of breaking the fast. And that will be at the time of Maghrib, Discipline, obedience to G-d. That's the key. Now benefits, so many benefits we get from that. The fasting brings about a condition where we empathize with the suffering people of the world, and with the suffering, people of our neighborhood, suffering people in our family, we empathize with them. We feel and experience suffering, hunger that a poor person will feel and can't get relief on his own. He has to wait until relief comes or wait until he's favored to have a better situation where he can eat something. So, we are enforcing a fast upon ourselves, for G-d's sake, to come nearer to G-d, in obedience to Him. And we are experiencing hunger, so when time comes to break out fast, it's natural for a Muslim to want to eat with others, family members. But if there's a poor person next door, you want to go and give that poor person some food to that person. And so and so, my neighbor next door, they don't have food and they're hungry most of the time. So, you want to rush over there to share the breakfast meal with them. The suffering people all over the world, there are people suffering from famine, suffering from diseases, suffering from dead economies or no economy, no development at all. And they are hungering all over the world. And we have persons like Jimmy Carter, former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Roslyn going to Africa and other continents where great populations are suffering with diseases and hunger and other problems, to help them.

And they are assisted by companies, powerful rich companies. They're assisted mostly by individuals who in their own words, who partner with them with their checks of $25, $35, $50, a thousand dollars. And because he was former president of these United States, he's so well known and his credibility is so strong. So, he gets many, many persons and companies to assist him and his wife in the great work that they're doing at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. So, it should make us feel good to know that there are persons like the former president of these United States, Jimmy Carter, who are doing tremendous service in the way of G-d and in the way of all good humanity to alleviate misery, to wipe it out, to eradicate certain diseases, et cetera. I wish I could talk to you more on this because this is very important for us to know.

And good news helps the spirit. Good news strengthens the spirit. Bad news hurts the spirit. And mostly what we get is bad news. So, when we have the opportunity, let us share good news with one another like I just shared with you of the Carter Center in Atlanta and Atlanta, Georgia, strengthening the spirit. But that not only the spirit is strengthened, also the morals are strengthened, the moral muscles are strengthened. That means the strength to do what is morally right becomes stronger as a result of you disciplining yourself for Allah's sake during the days of Ramadan, keeping the fast of Ramadan. When we keep the fast of Ramadan, we're also strengthened by the remembrance of G-d. For we are to read one 30th, one section, Juza, one section or one 30th of Qur'an each day for a number of 30 days. We know the month sometime it's 29, but we read at least one section. So, we are reading quite a bit in the month of Ramadan. Some people are blind, but this is (a) rare exception. If they are blind, they listen to the Qur'an recited by a human being or being recited on a recorder.

And the illiterate, one who can't read, uneducated person or just one who can't read, they have to do the same. They have to listen to a human being, a person, a Muslim, reciting or reading the Quran each day in the month of Ramadan or they have to listen to a recording. Without the words of G-d touching our minds and our heart and moving our spirit, we'll be missing too much during the month of Ramadan. So, the month of Ramadan is a month of fasting and is a month of being close to G-d. And the best way to be close to G-d is to listen to G-d's words, to hear G-d's words and absorb them, take them into our system, our mind and spirit. Also, we have our priorities, our sense of priority, strengthened. We come to naturally respond to G-d and know that G-d is more important than anything else. So, if someone will say, turn the news on, and the praying one getting ready for salat may say, oh, I'm sorry I can't join you, I'm about to make salat. He won't say, okay, I 'll watch the news with you and after the news I want to make salat. No, when you say Allahu Akbar, that means you make salat and then you do something else. The only thing that can excuse you from salat is a personal deficiency, or personal problem, something that you are experiencing that is very unpleasant, that makes it difficult for you to pray at that time. That's the only thing (that) can excuse you. And that's because of G-d's mercy. So, G-d loves His creation. G-d loves His human creation and His mercy. He doesn't want you rushing to pray to Him and you are in pain and you can't hardly stand up. No, He doesn't want you suffering when you're praying to him. So, He makes allowances. He say(s) you can pray sitting, you can pray lying down on your side. This is a merciful G-d. We say of Him. (Arabic) Oh most merciful of all that is merciful, that is G-d. Priorities, I repeat it's to strengthen our sense of priorities, and in doing that we will have a much more successful life as individuals. We'll have a much more successful life as families. We will have a much more successful life as neighborhoods and as communities, if we will improve our sense of priorities. G-d is number one, G-d is first, G-d is the highest authority and G-d should be your number one priority. So, this month we hope to complete it. And at the end of the month we come to the last point of my presentation. At the end of the month when we complete that last day of fasting, oh boy do we feel good? Ah, we have a strong sense of accomplishment for G-d, a strong sense of victory, victory over my inclinations, over my weaknesses to break my fast. Great victory. And let no one tell you the human beings spirit doesn't need victories. Thank you very much. Peace be unto you, as salaamu alaikum, Ramadan Mubarak!

If you all have a questions, I'll accept questions, but the presentation has finished. I can accept questions if you want.
Speaker 3:
Anyone else have any questions?
Imam Darnell Karim:
Well I'll will just deal with the .... Number one question. I had the other one and you answered that when you first started. When I said the Ramadan, the word Ramadan, you started off explaining
IWDM:
Yeah, that'll be a little bit too much for the time we have left to go over that explanation. That was fine what you gave. Oh, thank you. No, you answered the question. Thank you.
IWDM:
Imam Darnell Karim
IWDM:
There is another question I had on the tip of my head was about every year, like they said, we lose 10 days and of course we go according to the lunar calendar. Yes sir. Does that have any significance that each year we go back 10 days, 10 days, 10 days we keep going back and pretty soon we see ourselves fasting in different months and seasons. So, is there a connection there?
You brought up a very important observation. Very important observation. I knew myself that it is very important to fast during the lunar months.
Yes. Because it's a mercy from G-d. If you fast the western calendar, what is it, Gregorian, I think calendar, following the sun, that's calculated by the sun, your fasting could be longer the next day. But when you go backwards in the calendar, your calendars, your fasting is only short, always shorter. The days are getting shorter as you back up. So, if you fast today and fast sunset going toward the winter, right? If the sunset that five o'clock, two days from now, it's going to stay a little less. It's a little earlier, right? Yes. And it keeps getting earlier and earlier as you fast.
But in the summertime it's longer. It may get it longer, but if we were fasting the other way, I think it would be still even longer. It would be harder. So going like with the lunar calendar, that's kind of going backwards, against the sun calendar, we experience relief, shorter days of fasting, most of the time as we fast. So that's the mercy of G-d that we have fasting by the lunar calendar. That's the mercy of G-d. Because what you have just said now, about the number of days that are missed, being 10 short 10, we lose 10 and that's 10 every month. 10 every month. No, no, not 10 every month season. I mean 10 every season. Yeah. 10 every season. So that loss of 10 should have a reference to conscience. Should have a reference to conscience. And what we are doing is losing the conscience of the world, but gaining the conscience that G-d wants us to have.
And if it happens every season, that would be 40, wouldn't it? And that has great significance. 40, it has great significance. 40 refers or connects us or has reference to the life that G-d created us to have. And we know that a certain prophet, Moses fasted 40 days. And it has significance. And Muhammad also fasted 40 days. (Qur'an) says a day with G-d is not the same as a day with man. So, Muhammad lived 40 years before he received one word of communication from G-d. And G-d says of him for that time, that he had already lived a lifetime with you. That 40 years was a lifetime. And he lived a lifetime of restraint. He refused to be influenced by corruption of the society, by the corruption of the society. He refused to be influenced by their worship of idols, though G-d had not spoken to him and he had no religion, no formal religion, no formal or revealed religion. He was just following the best of his own nature, the best of human nature. And he had established himself as a clean and upright man of very extraordinary character. Just a model human being. And G-d had not communicated anything to him. So, he lived the best of his creation and he was successful in keeping that until G-d revealed to him. That was 40 years. So that has a reference to the 40 in scripture, especially to Moses fasting for 40 days. 40 days to please G-d. So that was a lot. That was khutbah on your question.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Always stayed with me for a long time.
IWDM:
Yeah. So, it stayed with you because it has great significance and your soul knew it, but you didn't know it up here, but your soul knew it. So, your soul stuck with it.
Imam Darnell Karim:
All. Praise is due to Allah.
Speaker 3:
Does that have anything to do with also the Bible story? There's a story in the Bible, I believe it was during the time of Noah where it said rained, 40 days, and 40 nights, without stopping.
Speaker 3:
And then the Quran also mentions, I believe that the man is not mature until he's 40 years old. How?
IWDM:
All referring to the developmental life of man, that if he followed the best of his natural urges, he will keep his soul and his life honorable and in form and order that G-d wants it in and raining 40 days and 4o nights, means there was a lot of sins and pains to be washed away to get it back to where G-d wanted it.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Is that true in the history of Muhammad the prophet peace upon him? This said that he only made one hajj?
IWDM:
That he?
Imam Darnell Karim:
Made only one hajj, one pilgrimage according to tradition was this?
IWDM:
I'm not sure of that, but that can be true because we only know of one. Because other attempts, they made an attempt, but at that time the Muslims hadn't gained authority in Arabia. They were still under the authority of the idol worshipers and they had agreed that they could make the hajj, but when they got there, they weren't allowed to. They were turned back. Turned back. And the prophet accepted it. He didn't resist the authority, he recognized them as being an authority. But revelation came later and you know, it was established that the Kaaba was always intended to be for believers who belonged to the order of Abraham, the order of Abraham. Abraham who built it, he and his son, Ismael, and it was then established by revelation that the Meccans or the idolaters were not to have authority over that precinct. A victory came and after victory there was a hajj the main hajj, the big hajj. And that was a hajj where the prophet gave his last sermon.
Imam Darnell Karim:
In that last sermon, I noticed that the word they called it khutbah (Arabic). But I noticed that (Arabic) and (Arabic) is very similar in terms of like (Arabic).
IWDM:
Like Khutbah.
Imam Darnell Karim:
We used to say (Arabic) and remember that saying we used to say in the Arabic class, (Arabic)
IWDM:
Yeah, right. I remember that. Put everything in its place, in its proper place.
IWDM:
Right.
Imam Darnell Karim:
So, they called his speech (Arabic). So, would that have a connection with, because you had said that his speech covered all the major issues
IWDM:
Not only for that time, but still for mankind, for timing to come. Issues of justice, social justice, et cetera, addressed by him that are still being addressed by conscious people in society around the world. The treatment of women, the rights of property owners, the rights of neighbors, et cetera. The slaves, the equal honor of human essence for all colors and all people, all nations. So, these things are still issues for society today!
I'm not sure of the (Arabic) I'm not sure.
Imam Darnell Karim:
That's what I was wondering.
IWDM:
I'm not sure, but I'm going to do a little research, A little study.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Just had both.
IWDM:
I'll get back with you. If I find anything that I think should brought to your attention, I'll get back with you.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Yes. Because I was trying to make a connection, the word with the actual wording of the language.
IWDM:
With (Arabic), but I don't think, it might have some small connection or possibly a major connection. But I said I have to do a little study, a little research. Now that's not the farewell pilgrimage? You talking about the Khutbah itself?
Imam Darnell Karim:
Yes sir. They called the farewell khutbah, (Arabic).
IWDM:
Yeah, but the pilgrimage is called farewell and that's (Arabic)with the F.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Oh, okay. I see.
IWDM:
Yeah.
Imam Darnell Karim:
There's a difference.
IWDM:
Yeah. But there is a word (Arabic), also (Arabic). So, InshaAllah, I'll look it up and see. (Arabic) would be (Arabic), like (Arabic). (Arabic) means to place something, but (Arabic) means something different.
Speaker 3:
Brother Imam, If I may, keeping within the conversation of fasting, some of us, some people are unable to fast and I understand that there has been an allotment for them by Allah to feed the poor, et cetera, feed the hunger, whatever. But what are some of the ultimate benefits that maybe one should be looking for during the fast? I know it is for spiritual purposes?
IWDM:
There are so many benefits that we as individuals get, but also society gets because of individuals disciplining themselves and getting the benefits of the fasting. And they live in the society. So, society get the benefits in so many ways, so many ways. But the one who does not fast cannot get all those benefits. No way. No way. And some people regretfully, are not able to fast. And Allah, as you know, G-d makes allowances for them. And if it's not, intentional, then you feed a poor person for every day you miss. So, if I miss one day, then I should feed a poor person for one day.
Speaker 3:
That's only for the people who are for some difficult reason, physical health or something that they're not able?
IWDM:
That's unintentional. If you do it intentional, then it's double. If you do it consciously, it wasn't because you were sick or anything then taking medicine, or on medicine, it was just because you just neglected it, it wasn't that important to you. Then the obligation is doubled. So, it's 60 persons, 60 days. You have to fast another 30 days and keep it right or you have to feed 60 persons for 60 days. So, what I do, I'm on medicine and I can't take the fast. This is maybe the third, second or third time in my life that this has happened where I couldn't take the fast. So, by me being diabetic, having number two diabetes or number two diabetic, I'm cautioned by the doctor that my meals should come close in time, small meals, but in short time periods and I have to take a pill, but I take the pill. But once a day I could take the pill in the evening. But putting something in my stomach is important. So, I'm not fasting and I'm missing the fast very much. I would much rather, if I had enough money, I'd much rather feed a thousand poor persons than to miss the fast. Than to miss the fast. So, feeding 30 or 60 persons, that's nothing for me. It can never make up for what I get, with the benefits I get from fasting when I keep the fast. That's why Allah says, but fasting, it’s better that you fast. He makes these allowances for us. He said it's better that you fast Fasting gives more benefits. Much more benefits. Although we get a lot of credit for giving to the needy, feeding the needy and the poor and needy people. Was that it?
Speaker 4:
Brother Imam, there's a questions I'd like to ask. Yes. The significance of the days we fast. You mentioned earlier some numbers
Speaker 3:
And the 10 days that we actually fast....
IWDM:
Normally the days are 30. That's the normal length of the month. 30. Sometimes it's shorter, it's only 29. But we still treat them, since they come, most of the time, 30 days, we keep in our memory, the fast month is 30 days, it's 30 days. 30 has direct connection with the spirit, the direction in the spirit. See we have spirit. We have spirit of life force, of our own life force, of our own creation. The life in us is called life force, life urge, life drive, whatever. Whatever we call it. But it is the life force. That's what it is. The life force. The life force is developmental and the life force will stay with us until we develop physically. Then it wants us to develop rationally. And lastly, it wants us to develop spiritually where we become spiritually comfortable inside our souls. Inside our souls. So, these are progressions and the Bible talks about it from Genesis to Revelation. And the Qur'an has it. From Muhammad, when he was trying to communicate with G-d and G-d spoke to him and told him to read and he said, I can't read.

He meant I can't read what G-d, what you want me to read. That's what he meant. I'm not a man of scripture. I've never received any scripture. I'm not Christian. I'm not Jew. I don't know about this religious issue here. So. G-d I can't read. So, the tradition, the legend or tradition, well not really a legend. It's kind of like a legend. But the saying in history is this, that G-d said to him, once read and he said, I can't read. Then G-d said to him another time, read and he said, I can't read. Then G-d said to him a third time, read and he began reading. Now time with man is not like time with G-d. That's been established earlier. right? So how long were those intervals? We don't know. One day, days, months. We don't know. But we do know that it has reference, direct reference to the need for you to feel it in your mortal body first. Preacher will say, do you have the feeling?

You have to sense it with your mortal body, with your flesh. As he sensed, as he sensed there was some real significance to that 10 days that's lost, perceived, when you're going backwards in the calendar, not backwards, but when you're fasting the lunar month, which is shorter than the sun month. He had that in his .... So that was the first read. And Muhammad was not able to read with that power in his mortal body. And G-d said to him the second time "read" and it struck his conscience, his mind, his rational mind. And he still couldn't read because it had not been awakened in his spirit yet. So G-d said to him the third time, read and he read, because it was awakening in his spirit. His spirit knew where G-d wanted him to go, to make the connection with His creation, connect His creation with the creation of the universe so that he will read the universal script. So, G-d said to him, "read in the name of your Lord, who created" The first communication that reached him. Read in the name of your Lord who created. So here you see human creation and the creation of everything else that's brought together, brought together. G-d is saying, not only you, this Lord didn't create just you. This G-d created the universe. He created everything.

So, G-d was situating his mind, positioning his mind to focus correctly for perceiving communication for G-d, communication from. So, the 30 is always spiritual and it's always referring to the developmental line for the arrow or direction or line for the life force. Those servants who want to come to their G-d and be in his presence and have the light on that He wants on in their lives and in the world, it has to start first in their flesh. They have to want it in their mortal nature. They have to want what G-d wants. And then it comes to the mind. The mind tries to find it. And lastly, intuitive urge burst in them and enlightenment starts coming and the spirit has reached the mark.
Speaker 4:
You certainly answered that question, Imam and ....in me, I felt the first 10 days of Ramadan over the years.
IWDM:
Yes.
Imam Darnell Karim:
You want to change the tape? Yes, please.
IWDM:
You're at the wrong door.
Imam Darnell Karim:
Come next door.
IWDM:
That must be Majied. I don't know. I don’t know who it is.
Speaker 5:
As salaam alaikum everyone!
IWDM:
Alaikum as salaam!
Speaker 5:
I've got all this mail?
IWDM:
Can you give us a few minutes? We're finishing a tape here.
Speaker 4:
There's some significance of Ramadan from those in the first 10 days. Cause the physical challenges are there and overcoming those physical challenges kind of gives a certain amount of strength and accomplishment. And in that second 10 days, there's more alertness of mind.
IWDM:
Right. I agree.
Speaker 4:
In the completion of Ramadan there's aways a new growth.
IWDM:
It is!
Speaker 3:
Affirmation of my faith and feeling like there's more to do and more to accomplish. The significance, when you talked about that today, answered a lot just now.
IWDM:
We start with the mortal body. With the flesh. Disciplining it for G-d's pleasure. That's right. And after 10 days you're right, you're not conscious of the flesh anymore, it's your mind. The night of power usually comes in the second 10, not the first, and near the end of the second 10. Prais Be to Allah. Praise Be to Allah. Thank Allah for you all too! And most of our all, we thank Allah for Muhammad and the Quran. And G-d blessed us with the nature, before Muhammad's time. He blessed us with men, honorable men who in spite of a corrupt environment and a corrupt world, they kept their best nature. Like Jesus Christ. Kept their best nature and went out of the world of corruption not corrupted, not corrupted. So, thank Allah for the wonderful creation that He has created and Muhammad is the last prophet to exemplify that or to be an example for us of that, pardon me, to be an example to us of that. And it earned him the last revelation, the Quran, which is our salvation for eternal, for eternity if we would choose it.
Speaker 4:
You mentioned the other day in the class about we should never see a time when the prophet Muhammad is not with us. And you mentioned that we have to even be little Muhammad's. Then the Quran says, and the prophet lives among you. I wonder if you would comment on that, if that's related to what you were saying in the class.
IWDM:
Yes. No, it was referring to that time when he was actually living his life among men or in community. It's referring exactly to that. But it alludes also to the Muhammad within all of us, as the Christians say Christ within, Christ within you. The Muhammad that is within us, it says, he is the most excellent model for any who believe in G-d and the last day. He is the most excellent model for any who believe in G-d and the last day. So, we don't have to be great philosophers to appreciate that G-d is saying that Muhammad is a model or excellent form of life that all of you can emulate. You can be like him, and you should want to be like him. Be like him in the devotion to only that that is pleasing to G-d and wanting for himself only that that is excellent in every respect. Excellent in every respect. So (Arabic) he is a (Arabic). (Arabic) means excellent a model, excellent model. So isn't there, just like we were talking about the natural urge in the lonesome soul who wants to be with His Lord or get near to His Lord to know what His Lord wants of him in the world. Isn't there also a natural urge in us for excellence? Even the person who gives himself to just folly, maybe he will dance, but he tries to dance, now tries to do an excellent dance. Maybe he will make jokes. But he tries to be an excellent joke maker. So, excellence is in all life. That's why the prophet says, upon him be peace. He says (Arabic) "G-d has inscribed excellence as a need in everything," In the very composition of everything. And would matter have evolved without that? No. It's the direction for excellence in matter that evolved the world as it is and everything that came out of their trees and animals and everything. And some of the philosophers, they called G-d the creator who made all these things to evolve into beautiful designs and (Arabic), call him the number one artist, first artist. But it is the nature of everything that exists to conform to art. Yes. And become beautiful and more efficient, more perfect. And it is not without difficulty. The mother carries the child for nine months and that child begins as nothing but a little unseeable, invisible life germ from the life of man, and then connected with the life of the woman and begins coming into its form.

And the mother, she's living with the burden. The more it grows, the more burden she becomes. And when a child comes, G-d's so merciful, he causes the mind not to remember anything that happened in the factory while it was being formed.

But that developmental urge, working, life force was working all the time. So, when the baby come, we see a beautiful picture.

But not without a price. Now we want to take this baby, the neighborhood or the community and take it to where it should go in excellence and beauty and worth, et cetera, we have to experience the pain. It ain't like the mercy in the womb, but if we give ourselves to G-d, we are not conscious of the pain. So again, it's a mercy. Great work will be done and nobody suffers. (We'll) say, oh no, (we) said, brother, you did all that? We really appreciate how you suffered and sacrificed so that we can have these things. And the brother said, brother, it was a pleasure. It was a blessing. I enjoyed it all the way.

Thank you very much. Peace to you all and a blessed Ramadan! Ramadan Mubarak.
Speaker 3:
As you leave, when you said that (Arabic), seemed like what you were saying there in terms of the leadership, the Imam, the males in our society, that you were identifying actually that the burden of the Imam is in the proper form is the same as the mother, accepting the burden and the mercy of G-d relieve the pain.
IWDM:
Did you say Imam?
Speaker 3:
Yes sir. Yeah. Imam, right?
IWDM:
Well, it doesn't have to be necessarily be Imam. It can just be any devoted person, devoted to the right thing. What we experience as servants of G-d, carrying the mission. Is similar to the experience of a mother carrying life and the bigger the gift, the more she's strained and the more uncomfortable she is. But in her body, not in her mind. In her mind, the closer she gets to the delivery time, the more excited and the more relief and the more happy she is, the more rejoiceful she is. So here is the joy, the blessings outweighing the difficulty. And it's the same for us who serve G-d in the religion, the Imams. We'd be working in the community and the work is getting bigger and harder, but the joy is much more. The life communicates, the natural life communicates and it communicates beauty and wisdom.
Speaker 3:
We can give you the check for the books
IWDM:
It's somewhere here. It should be in his bag over here.
Speaker 3:
I'll bring you a copy of the book on Sunday.
IWDM:
Okay, good. Oh, wonderful. Ask Brother Yusuf to open that door.



