05-14-1989
IWDM Study Library
IWDM in Los Angeles

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Imam Mohammed: As-Salamu-Alaikum.
Crowd: Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.
Imam Mohammed: With Allah’s Name, the Gracious, the Compassionate. Giving praise to Him, the Most High and thanking Him for the blessing of the last and universal messenger and Prophet Muhammad. May peace and the blessing be upon him, upon his descendants, companions and righteous all. Amin. Upon us be peace. Again, we're thankful for the opportunity to address you here in Los Angeles at this facility. We appreciate the opportunity to make some contribution to the united effort of Muslim communities and this city and in the state.
We see progress and we appreciate that very much. Also, I’m happy I attended the occasion last night, it was very good and very excellent program and seemed to have been well organized, and we appreciate that very much also. We are going to bring to you, the subject or topic of sincerity and the value of religion to any society or nation. We can't do a thorough job, that is we can't cover everything, so I hope with the help of G-d, I hope to address the role of charity in society and the role of region in supporting charity. To mention very briefly, superstition and mysticism and the role of religion in evolving that element in the nature of man and society, to a plane where no more danger or a treat to man and society.
Mysticism and superstition is part of our nature, we can't dismiss that no matter how much we try to be scientific, still that's in our nature. G-d has made us in such a way that we can never know everything as we know apples and oranges, or dimes and nickels. Somethings we have to have a good imagination for. We have to use imagination, and we have to have a good imagination to appreciate and live with those things.
Such things are a spiritual nature, the spiritual side of men, always require that man move out sometimes in the dark, feel his way. He's not seeing his way all the time, he has to feel his way sometimes. However, we must understand that as Muslims, we are not to favor darkness or blind faith, superstition or mysticism.
We are not to favor that, we have to favor sound reasoning, good practical sense. I think that's one of the features of our religion that accounts for the simpleness or simplicity that was referred to by Dr. Hadhud, just now just before I came to speak. That Al- Islam as is called in our Holy book, is an easy religion, is not a difficult religion. It's a religion that the common man can feel very comfortable in, he does not have to feel awkward at all in this religion.
It’s a religion that allows all of us to live and grow and not feel awkward or overburdened. We thank Allah for this opportunity, it’s a great opportunity, we’re living in a great day, where we can speak to public gatherings and express our opinions freely because we're people of free will, limited free will, of minds of our own and real happiness for us is a situation where we can speak our own minds.
In many societies of this international world, believe me, I have traveled because being your leader has put me in a situation to get many benefits that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise, and because of that I have traveled and I have seen what the situation is for the freedom of the individual in other parts of the world.
This is not to lift up America in your eyes, that's not my motivation, that's not my motivation now, my motivation is to tell you the truth. Most of the places I’ve been, you don't have this freedom, we do not have this freedom. Muslims in their own lands, don't have this freedom. It is because those nations came in behind colonial domination, the domination of European power, that lasted for generations.
Some areas of the Islamic world lasted for hundreds of years and they left their influence, they left their direct influences and they left their indirect influences. By direct influences I mean influences that the subjects, the now independent Arab states and the people can see, and they left also those influences that they have not been able to see, and because of the influences that they see and also the influences that they are not able to see, they're still struggling to find themselves. They haven’t come back home yet as Muslims.
I'm talking about the great majority and what is now seen as the international Muslim world. That is not to say that they are not good Muslims, no, you have excellent Muslims in the international world. You have excellent Muslims in terms of faith in Allah, faith in Prophet Muhammad, faith in the Quran. Love for the religion and love for the prophet, we have excellent Muslims in that part of the world.
When it comes to establishing their society, they have not yet found themselves. They haven't established their society, they're still in the political confusion that was left by the colonial dominators, the dominators from Europe. That puts them in a worse situation than we're in when it comes to the freedom to speak and to preach and propagate and speak your truth, and not fear that someone would come in and break the doors down and arrest you.
Puts us in a much better situation than they're in. Some places are better than others, but for the most part that's the state of the Islamic world. Their public denied freedom to grow, learn, and grow in their religion and express their opinions. I don't think we have it all so easy here now. The gain here is just a little bit more complicated, but everywhere there's gain being worked.
You know, there's always a light and darkness, good and bad, the devil and the righteous, G-d and the devil, the righteous and the wicked. Always, no matter where you are, that's going to last forever until Allah brings about the end of this world. That's going to be and we have to accept that and do the best we can and struggle. If we have strong faith and if we work hard with our strong faith [Arabic language 00:46:52]. If we have strong faith and actions, good works, and we compete, don’t be afraid to compete
[00:47:02] [END OF AUDIO]
Imam Mohammed: I'm not claiming that I know so much and that I'm having some special vision or some special awareness of prophet. No, I believe many scholars, many students of the Quran and of the life of our Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him. I believe many of them understand that, but maybe it haven't registered on them with the gravity that I have experienced. It depends upon your life experience, how you want to be affected by things.
One will have one kind of life experience, and he will hear that Muhammad the Prophet is a mercy to the world and it will have an impact on that person. A person with a different experience will hear the same words and perhaps experience a much greater impact, or perhaps even a much lesser depending on the life experience of the person or persons.
I thank Allah that I have with my associates here in America, the African-American Muslim, that I have a unique life experience. When I hear certain things, I'm not satisfied to just see those things in very small dimension. I want to see them in a bigger dimension because the whole world has been a confusion a puzzle or myth and a myth for my mind. I want to see how I can use it, not only in Chicago but in the United States. Then I want to see how I can use it in the international world. I want to see what is this meaning for the international world.
Our previous speaker, he mentioned that this religion is the universal religion. I think that's what we should be looking for when we are looking at the beauty, wisdom, and gifts of this religion, we are to be looking for the universal context for the universal application for it. [clears throat] Giving this talk I would like to set what I think would be the stage or create a spirit or a frame of mind or a set of emotion, whatever, that I think would help you appreciate my comments on this topic that we have taken today. [clears throat]
This honorable gathering, distinguished persons, Imams, and believers. We say [Arabic language]. I bear witness that there is no deity, no divine, no G-d, however you want to say it except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Allah the Most High for him is the praise, for him is the glory. The last of the revealed the books, the Quran, Allah, the Merciful Benefactor.
Certain men and certain nations, they want the people to see them as the benefactor, Allah is the Benefactor. We owe Him thanks and obedience for the gifts, for the benefit that we find, all of them. Whether it comes from Christian society, Muslim society, Jewish, atheist, communist, wherever it comes from. It is good for man, we owe Allah thanks and appreciation for that because as we say all religious people say of established religion; nothing could have happened without G-d.
Allah says of Muhammad the last prophet, we have not sent you to be other than a mercy to the world. The term for the world in Arabic is [Arabic language]. This term addresses world forming or conforming to disciplines of knowledge, science. In the word [Arabic language] is also the root, [Arabic language] which is knowledge, [Arabic language] means worlds that have formed or grown upon knowledge, so it's knowledge.
Now we know their world that have not developed according to that, the description. The world of [unintelligible 00:07:47], the worlds of magic, mysticism, pure superstition, idolatry. The [Arabic language] world that Prophet Muhammad brought enlightenment to that existed in the peninsula we call Arabia today and the surrounding areas.
Those worlds were not built, supported, structured by knowledge of science. Those worlds cannot be included, Allah is not the law of those worlds. No, He has power over those worlds certainly, He's G-d over those worlds certainly. He evolved them before they came into a second evolution of their own foolishness certainly. Allah is Lord of all the worlds, but not these worlds that we call worlds that are nothing but guesswork and foolishness. We make the mistake of calling them worlds.
We have business world, we have the world of education, we have the world of politics, the world of government, we have the world of culture, we have the world of religion. Allah is the Lord of the world. We may first take Allah's or are reference by the term [Arabic language] to refer to the worlds of men, that is; the nation with their different racial makeup, different nationality.
However, for the not so general or for the direct and detailed reference, the term [Arabic language], the world by the term is meant; world audit upon disciplines of experience tested established knowledge. We speak of the Western world and the Eastern world. The difference is to be seen in how knowledge have evolved these two different worlds, that's what makes for that difference. Business, education, government, culture, religion. From these concerns, there have developed an endless list of specialized into an activity.
We have so many other fields that are have to be included under business concern. The same would go for the other major heading that I have referred to here.
As a matter of concern, it is to be understood that in viewing that over which Allah is Lord, we ought to see both the divisions of Mada and activities outside the borders of our human existence, or our human influences and power, and also to see within or inside the borders on existence. For the out of boundaries, there are the worlds of planets.
When we say Allah is Lord of the world, the first picture perhaps comes to mind is that he is the Lord of the universe, [Arabic language]. He's the Lord of the universe. That's true, that's correct. That is the bigger picture. He is Lord of the universe. Now, tell me, how much benefit has that in my life? To know that Allah is the Lord of Neptune, He's the Lord of Jupiter? I don't know anything about Jupiter, and Jupiter is not doing anything for me. Jupiter has no play in my life that I know of. Maybe the NIST can bring something to me, but not that I know of. You see?
Though that's the big picture, and certainly, the extended universe, a world of material matter, it is more important and bigger than our small planet, but as a matter of importance, this planet is more a concern for us than Jupiter and all the other planets that are in the mini galaxies beyond.
When I think of Allah as the Lord of the world, as being Lord of the world of science, Lord of the world of matter, the world of business, the world of education, the world of governance, the world of politics, et cetera, I think I am closer to the meaning that Allah wanted me to have when he says, "I am Lord of the world." Because it is man that wants us to think that he's Lord of these worlds, and the Allah wants us to know, "No, man is not Lord of these worlds, I am the Lord of these worlds."
Again, I repeat, of the prophet Mohammad, the last prophet and last messenger, Allah says that he has not been sent, except as a mercy to all the world. If Allah has said this to prophet Mohammad, then this is true and Muslims must accept it.
Now, if our prophet is a mercy to all of the world, then we should have some interest in all of the world, and we should have some role in all of the activities of all the world because our prophet came as a mercy to all the world. If you are accepting my explanation, then you have to accept that Muslims have to have great interest in the world of education, in the world of science, in the world of industry, in the world of government, in the world of whatever it is, in the world of culture, in the world of entertainment.
We ought to have real serious interest, and we ought to be involved, and we are to be seeking a Muslim role in those worlds because Allah says, our prophet has been sent as a mercy to all the world.
Congregation: Allahu akbar.
Imam Mohammed: Now, if you can take that and run with it, I think I can see where you're going. You're going with a religion that's good for any nation, that has value for any nation and any society. [silence]
People are not afraid of kindness, people are afraid of cruelty. People are not afraid of friendship, they are afraid of coldness, indifference. They are not afraid of love, they're afraid of fear. If we come with a religion as Allah [unintelligible 00:17:03] us to come with it, we can have this religion in any nation. We just have to have the diplomacy.
Now, we know there are some people that are so wicked, you cannot do anything with them but go to war. All right, I don't mind going to war. If what I've got has a place in most of the world, I don't mind going to war with a small part of the world. But I don't want a religion that's going to get me in trouble in most of the world, I ain't ready to fight the whole world.
[laughter]
If this is an easy religion, then Allah wouldn't give us a religion that we have to battle for in every nation or battle for around the globe. We are doing something wrong, we're not seeing straight, we are not seeing as Allah intended for us to see in this religion if we're having trouble everywhere we go with it.
Now, there's a simple way to present this subject, to go and look at the disciplines of our religion, the devotion first and the disciplines of our religion, and then show their meaning and their benefit to any human being. I hope to do that one time, someday. I choose to do it this way today. You see? This is a different way.
I always liked the rain from the heaven come down, and then go, and I know it's not going to stay cloudy forever. The sun is going to come out. In other words, I like to prepare us psychologically, prepare us psychologically for the burden of life on this earth. Because the Satan and his help, his company, they are fighting us from the plane of psychology more than from any other plane. If we are not prepared psychologically to deal with the forces that are against us on this earth and in these nations, we're going to lose.
I think we need a much bigger view of the value of our religion, we need a higher appreciation for our religion. Something has happened to make our religion too small in our own eyes, and we need to work our way back to the full view of this religion where we could see it in its great magnitude, and in its great power, and in its great charity, and in its great gifts to the world.
We need to see it, in that big picture, so that our appreciation for it will become much greater, much taller. Then, we will have the strength to live this religion for ourselves, to live it for our children, our family, and to live it for the good of all people. That's what it was intended.
Now, I mentioned the Lords of the outer world in the boundaries, and Lord of the world of the boundaries within us. We think of the outer world that is the world of planets, the world of plants and animals as the rested world, the world that has come to rest, R-E-S-T.
I have read books by qualified authors writing on the life of insects. I recall reading one author writing on the life history of the roach. Yes. He said that they have documented that roaches were in the halls of the Pharaohs, he didn't say this, I'm saying this. He said to [inaudible 00:22:36] me.
[laughter]
Long before our home had roaches, the Pharaoh's palace had roaches.
[laughter]
He said the roach back then his life has not changed, his life back then is the same as it is now. He looked the same, he's social order was the same. He doesn't produce any more now that he produced back then. He hasn't advanced his order at all, but he is a sure survivor. Now that's the rest, and roach is part of the rest of honor. [laughs]
The conclusionary[sic] after we give thoughtful thought to Allah's declaration that he has not sent Mohammad except to be a mercy to all the world is that Mohammad is not sent to be merciless or to be heartless to any world or to any people. We have been given religion in the wrong way. We have been given not sincere religion.
We speak of religion is sincerity, if religion is sincerity, then religion itself should be sincere. If religion is sincerity, then religion itself should be sincere. What does that suggest? That suggests that there are religion that are not sincere. Allah has not sent the prophet to be merciless or cruel to any people, to any world, to any discipline, whether be the disciplines of science or a culture or whatever, he has not been sent to be merciless and cruel.
The false religious man, who falsely inspires, who's not sincere, and who does not present sincere religion, he thinks to introduce himself, he must first make everything else look bad. Many of us have been led to think that material is evil, nature is evil, human nature is evil, science is from the devil. Ought no people are led to believe that. Moralization should be fought because it's unfaithful. The only culture is the culture of spookism. The only music is the music of spookism. The only truth is spooky truth.
[laughter]
Yes. We've been led to believe that by some people in religion.
Now, that's not a mercy to the world. The prophet kindly considered of every people and every people's knowledge, their culture, their knowledge, their culture, their advancements, their contribution to civilization. He was moved kindly to look at them, to appreciate them. He told his followers that when you go among other people, take care and don't undermine their culture. Don't bring your culture and impose your culture upon them.
Our religion is not a religion that seeks to remove the culture of the people, no. Our religion is set to complement whatever good you already have and to free you from the mistakes, from the error of those that went astray, and to add beauty and greatness and refinement to what you have without taking away from you your identity.
Now, I believe that these aspects and these values of our religion that I'm mentioning here in brief because this is not, this takes a long time. I wish I had the scholarly ability to write volumes on this. Maybe one day I will. I just got up this morning and looked like I had a rebirth.
[laughter]
Who knows, I may live for another 100 years.
[laughter]
Yes, that's how long, I feel I've lived already.
[laughter]
Yes. I tell you, there's somebody here, "Yes, you were born, so how old are you now?" Is say, "100 years old."
[laughter]
I'd be joking but of course, I feel like I've come through that much. [clears throat] Muhammad is a mercy to the world. He's a mercy to the world. Wherever people appreciate the true values of life there is an opportunity to convert them to Al-Islam or at least an opportunity to be their friend and associate, their comrades in battle against the evil forces that are against all of us, yes.
Allah's Prophet in mercy Muhammad that is. Allah's Prophet, pardon me, Allah's Prophet and Messenger Muhammad did not come because there was a need to serve vengeance. He came because there was a need to serve mercy. Allah calls him a mercy to all the world.
In the search for life and vision, man and society have with their ideology, or with their ideologies stretched out too far in certain periods of human history, and have had to consequently come back home and coming back home had to be a painful and costly experience. In as much as we are creatures of productive free will, I said, "Productive free will." The free will should be productive, that's why G-d has given us free will so that we can produce more, so that we can create more. Whenever there is a non-productive free will, that's a free will out of order. I'm a free person. The living, especially among the white folks, they look at you and say, "Well, how come you are not white yet?"
[laughter]
I think many of you understand what I'm talking about.
[laughter]
We are creatures of free will, and as much as we are creatures of free will, we are creatures given to adventure, to risky and sometimes dangerous adventure. This may bring to mind history's dangerous voyages across oceans and over unexplored land. However, the more dangerous and most costly adventure has been the risk-taking voyages inside the territory of human nature.
Now we're looking at the world within. It is human nature to be intellectually excited over our human capacity and complexity, that's human nature. When we wake up and realize that a dog can do no more today about the order his society than he did a thousand years ago, and then realize that we have a limited free will capacity to change our order, to expand it, to take the dog and make him walk a tight rope.
[laughter]
He never could do that. We have the capacity, not only alter and improve upon our world and make it more productive and take it into another dimension, a higher dimension, a higher plain of social order but we are able to do that with even the animal world, teach them and teach them things that they were not able to do until we took them and trained them all that.
Congregation: Yes sir.
Imam Mohammed: Give them faith and courage that was not in their order, that was not possible for them in their order. Imagine a horse, a dog or something having the courage to walk a tight rope, that's out of religion. Now, maybe, if the situation can be created to make him desperate enough to get from this point to that point, [chuckles] I'm a little wild in my thoughts sometime [sic] I have to control myself, but I can imagine a dog just wanting something over there, that he want it very bad [sic], He-
[laughter]
-he's been wanting that for a long time. He sees it, he can see it and he knows it's there. He knows it's there.
[laughter]
There's nothing to get him over there but a tight rope.
[laughter]
I don't think he needs anybody from the carnival or from the-- I think he's amazing, he'll get over there.
[laughter]
He'll get over there, [chuckles] he'll walk that tight rope.
[laughter]
But you see, with our imagination, we have to create a situation for him to do things in his possibility that he has not had a situation for.
Congregant: Yes sir.
Imam Mohammed: Since no situation has brought it out of him. That we have to create those situations. Still, that makes man a very special creature.
Congregation: Yes.
Imam Mohammed: We must be amazed when we look at our unique nature and capacity as creatures in Allah's creation. It is human nature to want a part in nature's creative process which introduced the evolution or introduced [unintelligible 00:36:23] which introduces the evolution of matter a second time. Matter evolved to become the rest. Then something else happened and it found a new evolution. It brings us new activity, new growth, and new products. It liberated the mind of man.
Now, waking up within self, can make a person become awestruck before the revelation of our seemingly superior role in creation. Seeing, witnessing the second creation and beholding its solar light within the nature and makeup of man, seeing, arising of that sun above the terrain of human matter has fascinated some who saw this second sun, this second solar light and became fascinated. Calls them to a form, what we have now is a modern-day order of sun worshipers, idolaters.
With this new world of sun worshipers, idolaters, a new imperialism exists, new tribalism exists, new racism exists, new nationalism exists and have gotten to be much more subtle than the old evil of ancient times, or medieval times. These new forms of idolatry, false worship, tribalism, racism and so forth are more powerful because they are more subtle. They are more powerful, they have more influence in our lives, they have more control over us because they are more subtle. They are more difficult to see and recognize.
One thing that has stood out that is good and gave us a situation for hope is true religion. True religion has never been a prostitute. We go back in our history of our popular religion, the popular form of our religion, the order of our religion, we go back to Abraham long time ago, we go all the way back to Abraham. We believe, that though Abraham brought us into this popular and most advanced perception of the religion, of what it's all about, we believe that even Adam the first man was of our religion, though it wasn't properly established popular as such, but it was his religion too. It was the religion of the first man on this earth.
Adam was sincere and not right. Adam felled[sic] into trouble because Satan was too devious for him to deal with in the early beginning history of man, too devious for Adam to deal with. But, as Allah tells us in the revelation, the Quran, our holy book tells us that Adam was created right and good and that he, after going wrong, met with the word from Allah and repented. He turned from the wrong ways. He got back on the right path.
We don't believe in an Adam that went wrong because his nature was wrong. We believe in our Adam that went wrong because he was outmatched at that early stage in the history of man. That he was outmatched but eventually he met with this light from his Lord. Pardon me--The word from his Lord. He met with the word from his Lord and he changed from his ways.
Our father Adam is honorable. His nature is good and perfect. Yes. That’s a mercy to the world of racism. Am I right?
Congregation: Yes.
Imam Mohammed: That’s a mercy to the world of racism. We all have one common father. One common father. Our father was not inherently evil. Our father was inherently good. Our father didn’t have to commit sin. Our father committed sin because he was outmatched. Sin is not the way of our father. Repentance and righteousness is the way of our father. He met with an opportunity to correct his ways and he corrected his ways. Oh, I can live with that dad as a proud son. Alhamdulillah. Thanks be to Allah. Yes.
In all periods, sincere religion takes upon itself a somewhat mysterious burden of human nature, human spirituality with its strengths and infirmities or weakness. With its emotional and intellectual tendencies, religion takes up the course of man’s life and work for the good of his spirituality in all periods of time.
In the Quran, a good word is given in symbol as a good tree that gives its fruit in all seasons. Now we know we expect seasonal things to give their products in their seasons. Here is a good word given in symbol as a tree that gives its fruits in all seasons. We are told in the holy book in the Quran Allah’s book, "And do not die except as Muslim." We know death is winter. Death is winter.
Now how can we give our good products even in winter? By dying as a Muslim, you give your good products even in winter. There are times when society is going to come such a challenge for-- I would say the advancement of your Islamic cause. That your Islamic cause is going to have to maybe go into hiding. Maybe retreat. Yes. It has happened. This isn’t something-- I’m not talking about something that hasn’t happened. This has already happened. The Islamic cause has gone into hiding doing part-time fasting now, Islamic cause has gone into retreat. Yes. Some conditions form that makes that cause that, makes that happen.
If we hold to our Muslim line, if we hold to our Muslim discipline, If we just hold to our Muslim discipline, hold to our Muslim principles, hold to our Muslim conduct of life. Don’t eat pork. Don’t drink liquors. Don’t take dope. Don’t take drugs. Don’t lie. Don’t give yourself to lying. Don’t steal. Don’t take advantage of the weak. Don’t lie about G-d. If you can’t tell the truth, don’t say anything. Pray to Allah daily as you’re taught to. Witness him as one G-d and witness Muhammad as his messenger. Give in charity and make the Hajj as you’re able to. Fast Ramadan.
That’s holding to your basic essential principle discipline. That’s holding to it. No matter what happens in society, don’t give a fool. Don’t you die as a live coal-.
[00:47:31] [END OF AUDIO]
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed: That gives its fruit in every season. Even the tree that died. There are trees that died. They died. We look at the tree, the tree appears to be dead. The beauty has gone from it. It still has its essential basic structure and design. Dead but has died in form. The branches are still there, the trunk is still there, the tree is there. It's just missing it's life, the life has gone from it. It's dead in its own form. However, like this (unclear). This thing is alive in its own form. When the season comes again, when the opportunity comes again, when the situation comes again, when the environmental condition comes again for it to get life it comes right back as it was before. Comes right back as it was before.
A tree is beautiful in its symbol. There are trees that give shade. There are trees that give fruit. There are trees that give flowers and most of the trees give you their bodies. You can take their bodies on cold days and burn their bodies and warm yourself. You can see by the light of their fire. You can take their bodies and build your house. They give you food, protection, comfort, shelter. Aren't they charitable?
[applause]
Powerful symbol of G-d's charity. Powerful symbol of G-d's charity. They hold the form in death. By holding the form in death they live again. I work with the ground a little bit. I worked with plants a little bit. I know those plants that come up and die soon as the weather changes. They don't hold their form. When the weather change, they fall all down and limp and twist all out and get out of shape and everything. They ain't got no life to come. [Arabic] Do not die except as a Muslim except the death of a Muslim. Hold to form and you will live again. That's the condition for living again. Die holding the Muslim form so that you will live again.
[applause]
Another thing about the tree is a symbol of charity. If you want to be of use to somebody else, if you want to be good for more than just yourself, you can’t have no small establishment. Those who have no appetite for anything but something small, believe me, you ain't going to be around very long. The tree has an appetite. That strong tree it has an appetite for something big for more than just his own needs. It sends its roots down deep into the earth. I imagine it says, "Well, we are not tomato vines. We have a lot more charity to give than tomato vines." We better send these roots down deep because we got a long way to go up and a long way to go out to accomplish what we want to give and what we want to do in charity.
They send their roots down deep, become well rooted and well established in the ground. We know Allah says that the-- That the only masjid proper for us to pray in is that masjid established from taqwa from the very beginning. [Arabic] taqwa. Established upon taqwa from the very beginning. What should we have in the ground floor? What investments should we make under the surface? Investment in regardfullness. Sacred regard for Allah, taqwa, that should be the base. That should be the base. That should be the foundation. That should be the production floor for the Muslim. Your taqwa. Your regard for Allah.
Regard for Allah includes, requires, necessitates, regard for also your mother, your father, your children, family relations and all the other valuable sacred things of human life and society. We ought to have a proper regard for all the sacred or very, very serious concerns of man and society. If we have that regard, we have the ground floor for building. We have the land on which to build. The land on which we wish to build. We have foundation for our masjid. Foundation for our mosque life. For our mosque life. Foundation for our life as Muslims. Faith and regardfulness. Faith and regardfulness. From that ground floor, we get the energy, the power.
We speak of certain things as being potent. A potent seed. A potent pill. A potent potion of medicine, whatever. Having power to produce an effect. Potent. Well, our potency is in our taqwa. Is first of all in our taqwa and in our faith. The right faith. Upon that or out of that will come all the great things, all the big and strong things, the great growth that will mean for productive life and charity. Yes. Sincere religion. Sincere religion should be of this nature and of this picture, sincere religion. There are people coming up in religion, -- Kitchen leftovers. Scraps through religion. I was told recently that Eldridge Cleaver who used to be a panther, wasn't he? Black Panther and he got a revelation. He saw something like Paul saw. He came out of jail and went into the church.
Now something else has happened to him. He's saying now that his religion is “Chrislam”. The first thought that came in my mind was that he needed a good Muslim and a good Christian to go up to him with two swords. The Christian hit him and say Cris and a Muslim hit and said lam.
[laughter]
[applause]
And be through with that. I want to say so I don't have any problem in the future, that's just talk. Some Muslims from the F.O.I. days M.G.T days that didn't quite get in from that adventure just might go and try to do that. 

Dear beloved people, I want to see as many of us Muslims want to see, and not only Muslims, Christians and other good people of this American society. We want to see us live up to the excellence of the ideologies we claim, to the excellence of the religions we claim. We want to see the members of these religions live up to that excellence and if we live up to the excellence in our religion we will be motivated by charity just as good Christians are motivated by charity. Muslims shouldn't live in America and work only for their individual selfish needs, our personal dream. We must take into account the needs and the dreams of the whole society. If we do that, we'll come into the spirit that Allah wants us in. We'll come into a real spirit of charity. We can't accomplish it, we can't be successful unless we first of all understand that our main purpose for existing is to serve Allah.
Now, understand what is meant by "to serve Allah". Understand the implication. Understand the broad implication. You know, people rise according to the things that are influencing their rise. It can be something happening internally, something happening externally. There must be something influencing their rise. There is nothing more powerful to influence the rise than Allah himself. The only reason why people who think they are close to G-d, who think they are completely devoted to G-d, who think they are sacrificed for G-d's sake totally, the only reason why they're not producing and not advancing and not accomplishing in the world is because they do not see right in their religion.
You can love G-d with all of your ability, but if you can't see right, you're not going to be consistent. You're not going to be effective. You're not going to be advancing in a consistent way. No. You'll be satisfied with nothing. Many people say I don't need nothing but G-d. Their love for G-d has made them choose poverty. Allah doesn’t want that. Allah wants us to choose poverty over sin, or poverty before we choose sin. Allah wants us to choose poverty before we choose sin, but Allah doesn't want poverty for us.
No, indeed. Allah wants growth for us and I'm speaking the Quran. Allah wants growth for us. He wants productivity for us. He wants advancement for us. He wanted us to grow into situations where we are not dependent on society. Where we are not dependent on society, but members of society, many of them, can come to us. He wants us to grow out of dependency into a situation where we can help those in those that are in situations of dependency.
[audience agrees]
That's what Allah wants for us. The prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, He said the hand that is like this is better than the hand like this. That's to motivate Muslims not to be doing this. Be doing this.[appluase]
Also Allah has said that he has certainly made honorable and respectful, dignified [Arabic], every child of Adam, and the prophet, peace and blessing be upon him he says that no son of Adam has enjoyed anything more than the meal that he earned lawfully. Not the meal that was given to him like this. The meal that he earned. He sit down and eat that meal. You know it. I don't have to tell you that. We've had that experience. So many of us have been eating that meal like that and once we get that meal that we earned, lawfully, man we sit down at that table and we are the dignified son of Adam.
[laughter]
Baby, will you bring the roast chicken on down.
[laughter]
Darling, I think the company is ready for coffee.
[laughter]
When religion promotes this kind of sensitivity, this kind of feeling and aspiration in people, religion is serving the good of all nations and all societies. You can be in a communist society and if you have this in your heart and this in your mind and this in your intention, you're not going to be a threat to them. Now they might limit your activities, but they will appreciate you. They will appreciate you and they will guard your house more than they guard the house of the communist who doesn't believe in G-d but has not that kind of sincerity and charity.
[00:15:54] [END OF AUDIO]


