12/12/1992
IWDM Study Library
Passaic NJ

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
We want to address the relationship of the religious community of Muslims to the religious community of Judaism and Christianity. From a knowledge of how the Quran addresses the goodness of the two people, the people of Judaism and the people of Christianity. We began by acknowledging that we have in common, revelation from G-d, through prophets that are named in the scriptures or in the revelations given to the Jews, Christians and Muslims.
One of these prophets is named in the Quran is Ibrahim, upon him be peace. He's called father by the three people of the great religions. By Jews, by Christians and by Muslims. And it has been said that we are tied together in a belief in Abraham or in what is called sometimes by some of the Muslim Imams from overseas as an Abrahamic faith. We know that in the Quran, Allah refers to the faith as the faith of Abraham. The faith of Ibrahim, the faith of Abraham, the upright one.
In the Quran, the term "People of the book" is used to identify Christians and Jews. And we know that when we hear the expression "People of the book" It is saying or, the scripture is saying or Allah's words in the Quran is saying that we have a relationship with those people. The people of the book. The Jews and the Christians.
There are many prophets names in the Quran other than Abraham. All of the well-known prophets as you know, they are listed in the Quran. Moses and Jesus and many others that are well known in the scriptures of the three great religious community. Peace be on the prophets. We share together then not only a belief in one G-d, but we share together a belief in the continuation of revelation and prophecy and prophethood. Beginning with the earliest prophets to the last.
Now, we know that unlike Muslims, the people of Judaism have yet to recognize Muhammad as a prophet. And we also know that the people of Christianity on the whole, although we also have some small denominations in Christianity. I wouldn't be surprised if you could find some small groups of Jews who acknowledge the prophet, Muhammad. But I don't know of them. I do know some small denominations, unpopular denominations of Christians who acknowledge our prophet. They give respect and refer to him as a prophet of G-d.
However, the point is that we Muslims, we acknowledge all of the prophets. They are acknowledged in the Quran. We must accept them. We acknowledge them as being prophets from the one and the same G-d. Highly glorified is He. In the Quranic Arabic His name is Allah and He has many attributed names, many attributed names in the Quran.
It is important for us to also know that these big bodies of people, great bodies of people; Jews, Christians and Muslims have also been affected by revelation that we connection that we have with revelation, we have been all affected by that.
So, we find that there would be a likeness of spirit which we will share with Christians. And I believe there is a likeness of spirit that we will share with Jews also. Although they differ. They're not the same spirit. And a commitment that we share. A commitment to serve G-d on this earth and to promote what we believe to be G-d's will for man on this earth. I don't think there's too much difference in how we perceive what G-d's will is for man on this earth.
If I understand Judaism and the life of Jewish people on the whole, generally speaking. I find that they are conscious of not only living for themselves; but they are conscious of making a contribution of living in a way that they make a contribution also to the progress of the world community. The world society of man, so that the world society of man or mankind will be moving closer and closer to what G-d wants for man on this earth.
When we look at the history of the Jews, we find many times in their history where they were advancing or promoting service to the general community of people. Not just to themselves as Jews. And we know whereas the Jews might differ from us and that we are outgoing. Well, I should say some of us are. We are supposed to be outgoing. We're supposed to be people carrying our message to the world of mankind. We tend to be public with our message.
We know that the Jewish religion is mostly given right in the synagogue. It's given in their synagogue but the Jewish influence is broad, very broad. And I'm only doing what that song says, "Accentuate the positive." That's what I'm doing. I'm accentuating the positive. That's what means everything to me, the positive.
We know that the Jewish people, their lives have touched the people that they have lived among, have influenced the people that they have lived among. Their dedication to education, to the intellect, to improving the intellect of man, to developing the sciences, to promoting knowledge and science. Have influenced many people, many nations. Many nations owe something through their work and their influence. We have to acknowledge that. The western world owes a great deal to the influence, the work and the influence of the Jewish people in promoting, I could just say civilization. To be more specific; education, science and culture.
Christians as we know, for a long time, seems that Christians were held back from their mission. I'm talking about the Christian people as a world body also. I'm talking about these groups as a world body. Christians were held back a long time from their mission. After the centuries of persecution when the church was established as the Western church, we know that we have bright minds, great minds in Christianity, in Christian leadership but the church believed that it should dominate, that it should control everything.
And it seemed that the church believes it had to wait for G-d and just keep the masses from being taken over by the Satan or by the devil. It seemed that was the vision of the church, that it felt its role should be to educate its leaders, give them the wisdom, the revelation divine wisdom. And rule society so that society wouldn't be taken over by Satan.
The church for a long time as you who know it, if you study the history of the church during the early centuries or during the several centuries after Christ Jesus, peace be on him. You know that the church for a brief period of time did not promote education for the general masses of people. And it did not promote education for women. Not only the general masses but not even for women. It did not promote education for women.
It is just recent really in the history of Christianity and the church, that we see as a change where Christians coming into their real mission. The mission that they were held back from for several centuries. And that is a mission to promote the advancement of the intellect of man. The freedom, the liberation, and advancement of the intellect of mankind, meaning women also
That came very recently. Martin Luther as you know, he rebelled inside that old church order. And behind Martin Luther came what we know to be the Protestant Movement and also what we know to be The Renaissance. And Muslims take a lot of credit for that because we believe that the Christian in studying what Allah had revealed to Muhammad the prophet, the prayers and the peace be on him. And in studying on how we perceive the role of a religious people on earth they began to question their own leadership.
And with Martin Luther in the forefront of that. They began to come up with different conclusions as to how Christians should live on Earth and what they should be promoting as their priorities. So, we saw a great movement of change, a movement for liberation. A movement for the liberal propagation of a free and generous propagation of knowledge, promotion of the sciences, promotion of justice. And that too is where we have a common tie.
We three great bodies of people; we call Jews, Christians, and Muslims, we have an idea of how Justice should be promoted on this earth. It's not just justice in man's perception, it is justice as 
G-d intends that justice be promoted or established on this earth.
It is a justice that G-d approves of. And this brings us to an idea of destiny and progress. I believe that Muslims have our own special vision for promoting progress on earth. I believe that we have our own special way of perceiving the destiny. But I believe that the end, the conclusion, the end result will be the same for the three major groups, for Jews, for Christian, and for Muslims.
And the end result is really is that we serve G-d to make a contribution to the progress of man on this earth as G-d wants man to progress. G-d wants man to progress as an obedient servant to Him. G-d wants man to progress with his life intact, with his whole life intact, his moral life as well as his rational life. G-d wants the whole life to be intact.
G-d wants man to go forward with the best of his resources that G-d created him with. And the best, the most precious resource that G-d created the man with and the woman is the human intelligence, the intellect. G-d wants us to go forward with that. I believe we all see the destiny and its conclusion in the same way that man is to be helped and aided by his fellow man who believes in G-d so that he can realize more and more of his excellence that G-d created him with.
I'm not going to refer to any language and any particular body of knowledge to do this, to achieve what I want to achieve here today. I'm only addressing what I see as common focus, common interests and a common belief in a conclusion, or in a destiny. Our idea of progress should be seen in the light of what G-d has revealed concerning man’s great identity and his excellence.
In Quran, Allah says he is going to make on this earth a Khalifa. How do we understand this Khalifa? We understand the Khalifa when we see the Khalifa, in the narration, in the revelation concerning this Khalifa. G-d says, "I'm going to make in the earth a Khalifa. This Khalifa, some will say it means an agent to serve G-d, an agent in the earth that will serve G-d. Some will say a ruler in the earth. A ruler someone who rules. It's both.
G-d is going to put in the earth one who is going to be responsible to G-d for himself and for everything that he has influence or some authority over. That's what it means.
He is going to make in the earth an intellect that will be responsible to G-d for himself and for everything that he has, authority or influence over or for everything given into his charge. If we listen to the language of the Quran concerning this Khalifa and make the right connections. We see that G-d gave this particular Khalifa in Quran the same that G-d gave man in the Bible.
The Bible says that, “G-d created the man and gave him dominion over all things, whatever is in the land, whatever is in the sea gave him dominion”. Allah in the Quran doesn't use the term dominion but Allah says and we know that this is the same idea that is being addressed. This is the same language. Only one language is in the Quran another language is in the Bible.
G-d said that, “He had made subservient”. Or He has made everything in the sky in the earth to yield its value, to yield its resources to man. That He has made whatever is in the earth, whatever is in the water, whatever is in the sky. He has made it to yield its work, its utilities to man. He wants that to be utilized by man. And He has made the resources in the earth, in the water, in the sky to accommodate that, to accommodate man. They won't rebel against man, no. They will accommodate man. They will yield their utility. They will be pleased to submit their utility and their resources for man's use, for mankind, man and woman.
To me, the concept, the perception of man, his role on this earth, his destiny on this earth is the same for the three great faiths. For the Jews for Judaism, for the Christians for Christianity, for the Muslims for Al-Islam, they are the same. And this is where the real value is. The real value, the real importance for us in religion is man. His identity under G-d's eye and His purpose on this earth as established by G-d. That is the real important value in religion. Everything else is kind of tied to that as being incidental, is it?
Once G-d made a man with that great nature, with that great potential, with that great purpose on earth, with that great destiny, then everything else just happens automatically. Praise be to Allah. Praise be to G-d. Now, I said, we are accentuating the positive. I know they're many questions coming in your mind about the differences.
The differences are always staring us in the face. It's not the differences that help us. It’s the things that we have in common that help us. We need to take more time to look at the things that we share in common and less time to the things that divide us, then we all can progress.
We don't only have this connection in scripture and this connection with the prophets and this connection with the perception of man with the concept and perception of man as a creature on earth responsible to G-d for the utilizing of all the natural resources. All the natural resources. We have also something else. We have a history.
In Spain, Muslims, Jews and Christians cooperated for the advancement of civilization. That's a great history we should never forget. The 500 or 600 or more years that Muslims, Jews and Christians enjoyed peace. Do you know, America is only 200 and something years old? The people who came to this country and found the Native American here, the ones we call Indians, actually they haven't been here no more than about 500 years, correct?
Only about 500 years, and we're talking about a history of an Islamic state in Spain that lived for better than 500 years enjoying cooperation. For Christians, the Muslims and the Jews working together to promote the good life, the advancement of the excellence in man. Now we know that was lost. The Muslims lost the rule in Spain and the Christians took over their leadership.
And the Christians had been the ones in the lead of the sciences and finally industry and now technology. But they can't claim not even their own great contribution without acknowledging the contributions of Muslims, the contributions from Al-Islam. And it seems that now we're coming into a level term, another change.
We find that people who are coming into the sciences and into the technology are not limited to one people anymore. The world has become one community and they are coming into these sciences and they are making great contributions. They are leading man, the progress of man now and they are represented by all people. Asians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, all people are represented now in this great effort to advance the life of man on this earth so that we realize more and more of the excellence that we are created with or that we have in our very makeup, our very human makeup. The intellect is most important of all, the human intellect.
How do we know that man is to be seen basically as an intellect created by G-d? From the Quran. G-d said to the angels, "I’m going to make a Khalifa in the earth." And the angels were disturbed by that. They didn't have the knowledge that G-d had on his fate on earth, his potential, his destiny, they didn't know it.
So, they didn't trust a human being that would be free to use his own mind on his own, to think on his own. They didn't trust that. The angels are seen as beings that don't think on their own. They only carry the orders of G-d. And Allah says in the Quran, “On the night of power the angels descend obeying every order of G-d.
They are not like men, a human being to reason on their own or to make judgements on their own. The angels were greatly disturbed that G-d was going to create such creatures and give that creature responsibility for the fate of society here on the earth. Not that G-d is not always in charge we know that. But He trusts man with his own life and with his own destiny on this earth.
G-d told Adam or the man that He was creating to tell the angels their names. In the language of Quran say that G-d taught him. That G-d taught this man. This story begins with G-d giving knowledge to a human being, to a creature, human being, addressing his intellect. That is enough for us to conclude then that when G-d conceived this man to create him, He conceived the man as an intellect.
He said to the angels who didn't like to acknowledge this man as being worthy of this great role that G-d was creating him for. He said to them, "When I have inspired him, or when I have breathed into him on my spirit. When I have inspired him of my own self. Or when I have breathed into him of my spirit, then bow down, submit to him et cetera."
What does this add to this? It tells us this, that man's intellect alone will get him in trouble. The angels were right. The angels were right. Man's intellect alone will get him in trouble. When I mean to say alone, I mean under his authority only. Man's intellect under man's authority only will get him in trouble. But G-d says, "When I have breathed into him of My Spirit or when I inspire him of My Own Self, then accept him, make submission, make sajda. So, we find that this is not only in Al-Islam, this is in Judaism, this is in Christianity. The belief that man can only realize his great destiny that G-d created him for when he comes into a knowledge of G-d's plan. When he comes into a knowledge of G-d's plan for his life, G-d's will for his life. When he comes into a knowledge of his purpose as a creature created by G-d, that's when he can really benefit. That's when he can really be trusted to be responsible for himself and his environment and to advance the great life. Yes.
Now at this point, I want to say that I think I've established the connection, the great connection, the most important connection for the three great faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Al-Islam. If we accept that, then we have to accept that we should value each other more than we value other bodies of society.
Muslim, Christian and Jews, we should value each other more than we value people of other religions or people of other persuasions. We should certainly value each other more than we value that people who don't even care about G-d, that think little or nothing of G-d, that don't even want to be bothered with the idea that they are accountable to a G-d. Certainly, we should care more about each other than we care about people like that. We should have an alliance.
We should have an alliance and our alliance should be for the purpose of protecting our common interests against those people who don't share our ideas. Criminal people, immoral people, G-dless people, people who profane sacred things. People who care nothing about whether a synagogue, is safe in a neighborhood from vandals, or whether the church is safe from vandals, or whether the mosque is safe from vandals; from people who will vandalize it, will destroy it, will profane it, will disrespect it in an ugly shameful way. We should have an alliance against such people, against such threats. We know the great history of the vandals.
Believe me, if they get an opportunity, we'll have another wave of vandals just like that one or worse. We share a common desire, a common interest in the destiny of man, so we should be in some kind of an alliance. We should have some kind of meetings together where we study together, the state of the world in light of what we know G-d wants for the world. Then share with each other our perception, share with each other our concerns so that we can be an alive body of people, Jews, Christians and Muslims, protecting the interest of man as we perceive it to be on this earth.
That's happening, don't think it's not happening. We have Muslims, top level of leadership from different parts of the Islamic world, Pakistan. I know two great figures in Pakistan, Inamullah Khan and Brother Dr. Hamdani. They're respected and valued by, not only Christians and Jews, but Buddhists and many other people of religion. They're respected because those men are genuine human beings. Genuine human beings. They're not selfishly working on this earth. They're working for the good of all people.
But I know of others. Egypt, Saudi-Arabia, Malaysia, many, many countries have great, great intellects. Great, great Muslim personalities who are meeting with Christians, Jews, Buddhists and others so that there'll be some coming together, some cooperation for our work having greater impact, great effects on this earth.
I love that idea. I have become a much more determined and dedicated Muslim because I have come into that perception and into that idea. When I was just seeing Al-Islam as something for Muslims. I didn't have the great commitment and determination that I have now. It was only after I saw the connection and saw that we have plenty help. 
Do you know, if we don't have anybody but the Muslims, the future doesn't look too good? I would say it to the Jews. If they don't have anybody but themselves, the future doesn't look too good. But when we see that we are allies, the future looks very good. I believe that's how come the present is not as bad as it is. It is because we do have that cooperation but we want more of that cooperation.
We want it to be known on the grass-root level as they say and I don't like the term grass-roots or mass. I don't like the masses either. I don't like any of that language, grass-roots, the masses. I don't like any of that language. But I guess I’ll have to come up with my language that I am pleased with, so I have to use this language.
We want that awareness to be shared by the grass-roots, by the masses of people. So, that we are not kept out of the great dignity that G-d has created us for. There is no dignity greater than Khalifa for us. We can call ourselves black and black god or whatever. But a black god has never been, to me, as dignified or as powerful as the black Khalifa.
We can call ourselves white god, but in my opinion, no white god can ever be as powerful and as dignified and as valuable to society as a white Khalifa. To me, Khalifa compliments us more than any other thing we could call ourselves. “We should call ourselves black god, favorite people of G-d, white god”, no. We know better. Something in the human nature just tell us that I can only have that with the shade drawn on the window.
I can't open the windows up and let all the light in. Something inside. Nobody can ever tell us 
G-d long enough or strong enough to make us feel comfortable believing that with the shades pulled back from the windows when the day comes.
I'm comfortable with the great honor that G-d has given me and when I say me, I'm talking about human beings. I'm comfortable with the great honor that G-d has given human beings in calling us, the Khalifa. His trusted agents on this earth. Thank you very much, may we work for the common good, for righteousness and for peace. Amin.


