05/25/1997
IWDM Study Library
Publishers' Conference - Hattiesburg Miss

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Praise be to Allah. Al-humdulilahi rabbil alameen. Prayers and the peace be upon the prophet Muhammad. Salla lahu alaihi was salaam. What I hope we can do today at this meeting is, at least, identify one project, or one publication. At least one, maybe, two, for us to be thinking about and be looking for our role or our contribution, that we can make, or that we will make Inshallah to the production of that publication. Really, I think we need to work on two at the same time. I would like to see us come out with two publications, right away, as soon as possible.
One, on our history, beginning with the earliest recordings of achievements for civilization, for the growth of civilization, on the continent of Africa to the present time. But I would like to title this work, with the purpose of having the title of the work, restrict or give direction and disciplines to the whole project. So, the title that I would like for us to have, since the main interest of the whole work will be the coming of Al-Islam and how Al-Islam is going to influence the future life of African-American people.
At least, a model community in the African-American society, the Muslim community. For right now, I'm thinking of a title that will satisfy this need or this interest, the title like, well, not like, the title; The History of Achievements for Civilization and Our Heritage. So, in the title, Al-Islam won't be there in the title, but we will begin to work on that title. The History of Achievements for Civilization, those achievements that have advance or served to bring the African people onto the path of civilization, is that clear, what I'm saying? I think it's clear.
Achievements in our history for advances on the road to civilization. It's a long title, but we'll work with it. Achievements in our history, our, meaning, the African people history. Achievements in our history for advancing us on the road to civilization. Maybe a caption that would be separated from that title, but yet that will actually be that title, our heritage. So, that language, and then in big focus, OUR HERITAGE. I think we can work with that title, and do an objective work, a very objective work.
I'm sure that most of you understand that, what objective mean. We can do an objective work and give credit to where credit is due, to the strides of the African intellect, that resulted in advancing civilization on the continent of Africa. Then, we come to America, and we show our presence here. Everywhere we are, we ought to find them, we ought to find our people. The people of the Fiji Islands, they came from Africa, too. The natives of Fiji Islands, they came from Africa.
They were builders of ship, they were sea-going people. They didn't come to Fiji Islands as slaves, they came to the Fiji Islands as voyagers. They are very strong, physically, and they had row boats. Big, strong boats. This is history. I have been to Fiji Islands. They had big, strong row boats. They rowed the boats across the ocean, that's a feat, that's really a great feat. They arrived into this Fiji Islands, they weren't brought there as slaves, the native of Fiji Islands.
We shouldn't miss any of them, we should try to be complete and thorough as we possibly can, and tracing the movement, the traffic of our people from Africa to where ever we are in the world. And saying something about their achievements. This will be good for us, if the study doesn't benefit anybody but us, it will be more than worth it. The work, if it will be just appreciated by us, it will be more than worth it. It will be a great treasure we can leave to our children to come, children's children, they could have this, so they could see the history of our family, the African family, the history of the African family.
Our heritage is whatever our people were able to produce and leave with us, that's good for our good life that G-d wants for us, and our good future that G-d wants for us, that's our heritage. No matter what their belief or ideas were before Al-Islam, we know we have to recognize that. And the how Al-Islam came, or how the conditions were, and then show what happened, to take away the glory of Al-Islam from Africa, glory of Al-Islam has left Africa. The Muslims are in bad shape in Africa now. In my opinion, they are in bad shape.
We show how the west was moving, and colonialism came in, and this disrupted the society, and cut off the growth, the Islamic growth, stopped it, and began to counter those good influences, and tried to reform the African's mind to make the African mind primitive again. That was the effort, conscious effort of western dominators, who came to Africa was the influence of the retarding of the mind, and there was a regressive movement for the mind.
Instead of continuing on in the path of civilization, it would be influenced by superstitions, and old African religions, and everything. They'll be divided against each other, putting them against each other so they wouldn't have unity, they'll be against unity, making them feel that their pride is in their distinction, not in their unity. This was done. Education and everything was taken over, and the African people, even the Muslims, had to go to the non-Muslims for education.
This is was setback. It's not the failure of Al-Islam, it was that the Muslims just weren't prepared to withstand the march of the west, the conquering footsteps of the west. Maybe that was Allah's Will. We don't know! Because Allah said that, "He calls one people to dominate another." Sometimes, that's how He help a people, by permitting them to be conquered. Eventually, it puts them in a situation to want to have their life back in their own hands. Then the liberation process starts again for them, you see. If we can try to be as objective as we possibly can and start with the earliest signs of real effort to have civilization.
Civilization for us must be seen in the growth of the intellect, the growth of the human intellect. The freeing of the human intellect to live in the biggest boundaries possible for it. This is the growth for civilization. When the human mind comes out of the narrow circumstances that it's in and began to look for wider horizons, wider horizons, bigger horizons, bigger boundaries to live in and to grow in, that's the liberation of the human mind.
That's how the human mind is liberated, that's how the human mind comes to understand universal logic, universal systems and universal logic and universal principles, et cetera. Al-Islam wants us to have that and Al-Islam condition us to come out of the narrow boundaries of thought into the broader and broader boundaries of thought. That's what Allah means when He says, "And the garden that He's prepared for them its width, is as the width of the heavens and the earth."
Gardens to explore, gardens to cultivate, gardens for the intellect for our rational curiosity et cetera. This is the way we should look at civilization. Civilization was revived and when you talk about the renaissance, we're talking about really the revival of civilization aren't we? Yes. Because we're not looking at civilization as the growth of industry. Because the growth of industry doesn't necessarily mean the growth of civilization.
Or the growth of dominant conquest. Conquerors. They conquer. They're growing. They're conquering more territory, they're bringing more people under their rule, et cetera. That is not necessarily growth of civilization. What really shows us the growth of civilization is progress for the mind, progress for the human intellect, education, correct education. So, that's where civilization is to be seen in the progress that man makes for his mind, for his intellect.
And that progress is to be understood as the freeing of the intellect to reach bigger and bigger boundaries or to extend over more distant horizons until it becomes universal. Universal in its vision, universal in its perception and universal in its principles, logic et cetera. Some of you are college graduates, you follow very clearly what I'm saying, right? You follow very clearly what I'm saying. This, to me, is a comfortable situation for us to put our minds in so that we stay in that situation and if all of us are in the same situation mentally, then our work will be consistent. Our work will be consistent and our work will be objective. Yes.
Because if we respect universal truth, universal order, universal law, universal principles, universal respect, if we have that, then the work has to be objective. Is that clear? All right. Okay. I would like to see us start on that book. That's the book we should start on. We should start on the history of our family tree, the African people. The language of the title should be just what I gave you, that is achievements that advance the African people on the road to civilization. Or however I gave it to you, it's the same thing, I gave the statement slightly differently.
Our heritage. All of those excellent achievements in our heritage, are we qualified as students of Quran and the life of our prophet to put it that way? Yes, we are. The prophet did not disrespect any achievements of the people even though they would call "Jahiliyyah" ignorant, the ignorant age people. He wanted them to recognize their excellence even before Al-Islam. He said, "Those who had good behavior, they translated like that, "But those who had excellence in their lives, that's what he's saying. That's the word, the exact word. "Those who have excellence then are the excellent ones now." That's what he said.
He was telling them, "Now we're here, but don't forget that you are not zero people, some of you. Some of you were good people, you weren't all the same." That's what he was saying. You are not all the same and those who were good without the light are the good ones now. Those who were excellent without the light are the excellent ones now. They picked up that term in Africa, the dark age, the dark continent. Well, we want to say that's the dark continent, yes, that's the dark continent, but there was excellence accredited to the people at certain turns in their history and at certain places and time in history. We see excellence there, so we recognize it.
And that's our heritage. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, was a determined man, he was a tenacious man, tenacious. Holding together, can't break his will. Tenacious. Tenacity, I learned that word in Physics. Yes. He had a tenacious will, tenacious make up. He couldn't be broken, he couldn't be separated, you couldn't take him apart. He got that from he's ancestors. Nobody taught him to be like that. I'm telling you something that's closer to home. We have a heritage.
Don't you all be stupid. Don't you all be narrow that we going to say, "we got nothing, we didn't have nothing before Al-Islam." You had your humanity and it survived slavery, survived the plantation life, the Jim Crow days, shoot. That's a great accomplishment.

That's a great accomplishment. We've inherited a tremendous humanity, haven't we? Yes. Let us do this book and not be afraid and try to be as factual as we can and as objective as we possibly can be, but let us not be what you call it? Prejudice without intent. 
You understand what I'm saying, right? Prejudice without intent. Just been intimidated so much that your work when you produce it is prejudice. Prejudice against yourself without intent because you're being intimidated. I’m not intimidated. I'm the son of Elijah Muhammad and the product of G-d's revelation. I’m not intimidated. Now, so much for that and you who have a feel for how this should be developed using that language I've given you as a kind of guideline, a kind of restriction. A restriction that restricts us from going outside and too many different ways and aiming at too much and too many different things.
Let us use that language to restrict us in our work, or our contributions, for our research and everything. Use that language, hold strictly to that interest. Now let's go to the second kind of publication we’d like to do at the same time. I would like to see us do a book called Islam and focus. You know they a have book by that title, Islam and focus. We might change it slightly, but that’s what we want, to focus Islam. Put Islam in focus. We want to deal with the basic things, fundamental things. We have already proved that we can produce books that look just as good in quality and appearance and everything as the books that they’re producing overseas with the Arabic text and everything.
We have brothers already doing it Qasim Ahmad, brother Yahya Abdullah and others. They’re already been doing it and there are others we have some more too. They’ve already shown they can do this. In fact, I think some of you have the typewriter to produce the Arabic characters. I know we can get them, if you don’t have them, we can get them. That ain't no big deal. We can get the typewriters and I can type myself. In fact, I have typed. I use to have one. But it's so out dated I left it, it might be still in the house where we used to live. My wife got it, she’s holding it. That’s okay. Got the house.

We don’t need it anymore. I told her she can go sell it and divide up the money up with the children so it could help educate the grandchildren or something. That’s okay, she’s keeping it for another reason. She has a secret. She’s going to surprise me one day and tell me what she’s keeping that house for. I know one thing, I don’t have any money for the children education, the house should be sold. I believe that typewriter is over there in the house in the basement of the house over there. It’s too old they’ve got better ones now, but we can do it.
Some of the work that you produce already at the Islamic learning center in Houston, brother Imam Qasim Ahmad, it compares to the best I’ve seen, we can do it. That’s what we want to do. We want to do a book on Al-Islam showing the essentials of Al-Islam or the first things in Al-Islam. Al-Islam is a lot, but what’s first? What's more important? The most important thing, that’s what we want to do. Presenting the most important things in Al-Islam and that will start with Al-Islam as a faith and Al-Islam as practice.
The principles, the articles of faith and the five pillars or five essentials for practice and give those. I have some books from Egypt that they gave me. The minister gave me and he told me I can reprint them, take excerpt we can do whatever you want to do. It’s a lot of good work they’ve done, so we can quote. We want to quote other books too and there might be some books that we have in own possession right now that we should perhaps give credit to.
We will look at these books and we see where we want to go, what we want to say with our book and where we want the most attention at. The emphasis, where the concentration is going to be and then we look in these other books and see if they’re saying a similar thing or something supportive and we will use quotes from them. That will give the book more acceptance, broad acceptance in the broad Islamic society here and overseas too, that’ll give it more acceptance.
It’s no more than natural, that’s scholarly work. It isn’t scholarly for us to give our views and recognize what the other people have said that contribute to the same conclusion or point that we want to make. We would do that and make our special contribution to the tafsir, to the commentary, not their commentary but our commentary. Whatever we find to support our commentary and to give support or assistance to our commentary, we use it.
So, we’re talking about beginning with the essentials of Al-Islam, Al-Islam as a faith. It’s different now Al-Islam as a faith, Al-Islam as a community, two different things. Al-Islam as a faith, Al-Islam as a system, that’s what I meant by community. Al-Islam as a faith, Al-Islam as a system and what we’re talking about community system, Al-Islam as a faith and Al-Islam as a system. That’s why the prophet used the language constructed or built. He said Al-Islam is built or constructed upon five essentials, then he gave those essentials and the implications that we find when we study those five essentials or those five principles, reach all throughout the life of a Muslim, his whole society.
It touches the whole life of the Muslim, everything. Those five go out and touch upon everything. The oneness, Kalima, "La ilaha illalla, Muhammadan rasullallah." That Kalima that’s one of them. That’s the only one of them. That’s the one that reveals to us the logic that ties everything together, that holds everything. There’s a logic that holds everything together for Muslims and that’s the logic. The logic is that first principle: "La ilaha illalla, Muhammadan rasullallah." 
Here is G-d and man brought into a relationship. G-d and man brought into a relationship, there’s G-d and there’s man. What is man’s relationship with G-d or to G-d? He is G-d’s messenger. He is G-d’s servant. Worker, he works for G-d. That’s what Abdi means, he’s G-ds servant. It means he’s G-d’s worker, he works for G-d. Man’s relationship with G-d is that of a messenger and that of a worker. He’s G-d’s messenger and he’s G-d’s worker, he’s working for G-d.
Like I said, that shows us the logic that holds everything else together. If we are going to build institutions, government institution, institutions of law, legal institutions, educational institutions, if we’re going to build any institution, then that institution must be first supported by that logic. That G-d is one and our relationship to that G-d is that we are messengers and servants of that G-d. Not the messenger, but messengers and servants of that G-d.
If we follow Muhammad then we carry the responsibility for delivering the message, don’t we? We are the “Abd” too, the servants of G-d. We’re ready to see our place through Muhammad. Muhammad is the window or the peekhole for seeing our own self. How we are supposed to disposition ourselves in this world, to carry the message, to propagate the word that G-d wants propagated and to have our work conformed to G-d’s will and then our work is for G-d.
This is the logic. Then worship, prayer. Prayer is a worship. Prayer is an organizing on our whole life, that’s what it’s for. Prayer is to give a system organization into our whole life. Prayer is to bring all of our life into a discipline for G-d. The physical life, if you bring your whole life, surely, I have turned my whole self to Allah. That's what the Prophet said, Abraham, "peace be upon him. That's what it's for. “Surely, I turn my whole self to Allah, being upright to him who originated the heavens and the earth.” So, that's the meaning of prayer and that's the purpose of prayer. Prayer is to bring our whole life into a discipline, into an organization, a system, being organized, his life is being organized so that the spirit, mind, flesh, devotions, everything will be for G-d and under G-d. That's a prayer. Next after prayer, we have charity or zakat. All of these things are inherit needs in our life. 
We have to establish ourselves as philosophers, Islamic philosophers if not as Islamic scientists. These are inherent needs in our life. And we bring the support for saying these are inherit needs we bring the support for that. We establish the basis for that kind of position in the Quran. "Here it is, here G-d says this in this chapter this, verse G-d says." That's the support for our position that worship, prayer, salat is an inherent need in our life. Then G-d says, "He has given every creature his mode of salat.
G-d is telling us that this is something inherent in the human nature. This is something that your life calls for, that you think of your prayer, you see yourself in this form, the pray Allahu Akbar and the disciplines of salat. But the birds, the camel, everything has its mode of prayer, his mode of prayer. And that's highly philosophical, but we could discuss it and come to understand it. I think I can lead that discussion. I've been thinking on it for many years. I think now I can discuss it very freely, very relaxed, and I can explain how these other creatures have their mode of prayer.
Their salat, their mode of prayer. So, it’s saying that it's inherited in our nature and our souls. Our souls want this. What the prayer does? The prayer gives our obedience, our complete obedience back to G-d. That's what it does. The prayer gives our complete obedience back to G-d. The earth is created by G-d. The earth is under G-d's law. The law that G-d made for the earth. G-d gave the earth a certain nature and that nature manifests itself in certain laws.
They are the laws that governs the life of earth. How's it going to stay constituted as it is and how is it going to stay orbiting or moving as it is in the system, we call the system of the stars or planets. G-d has given us the soul. The human soul is designed in such a way that it needs to know that it is responding to its G-d. And Allah has revealed the order of pray to us, to Muhammad so that our souls could have this satisfaction of knowing that it's giving itself to G-d, in obedience. The soul.
And if the soul is given, the whole life is given. When we give our soul, in obedience to anything, the whole life is given. It doesn’t have to be consciously. That's why music can take over your intellect. Music can take over your morals. Music can take over everything because it is communicated to the soul. It takes over the soul. Is that clear? Yes. Anything that takes over your soul takes over your whole life. Your whole life. So, a way to get people the whole life in your hand, fish in the water to their soul and you’ll get their whole life in your hand.
This is psychology of the devil. This is the psychology of the Shaitan, to get the whole life of the people into his hands by coming through their soul. I'll give you an example, Satan, he told the man that, “If you eat of this tree, forbidden thing, do the forbidding thing, that's all it needs. If you do this forbidden thing, your eyes will come open. Your eyes will come open.” And he said, “G-d didn't really forbid you this thing. But G-d just didn't want your eyes to come open.
"That's what he's saying. Now if your eyes become open, you become as the G-ds." That's what Satan said. So, here is a man having in his soul the desire to get closer and closer to G-d. “I can become as the G-d. I can live as a G-d.” So, that's too much for the unexperienced intellect in the way of G-d to deal with, so he felt victim and then Satan got his soul because it was his soul's desire to be more closer to G-d. "This Satan is telling me if I follow what he's suggesting," he didn't know it was Satan, "if I follow what he's suggesting, I'm going to become like a G-d."
So, his intention was good, the man's intention was good, even while doing the wrong thing, his intention was good. That's an example how the soul is reached and once the soul is reached, the whole life is in your control, whole life is in the control of the person who reached the soul and got the soul. You have so many stories in myth and in fiction about Satan bargaining with the person and trying to get him sell his soul. 
Once you sell your soul, he got everything, he got you, he got everything. La ilaha illa lah, the Kalima, will save a soul, even though that soul be in hell. This is Quran, will save a soul even if that soul be in hell. So, that should tell us something about the power of La ilaha illa lah. And we'll discuss that. We should have a little to say about that. I'm not talking about a book of 200 pages. I'm not talking about a book of 100 pages. We can do this because it's going to be so condensed, it's going to be so compact and so clear.
We're talking about a book of 25 to maybe 40 pages, that's all, 25 to 40 pages. A book on essentials, of faith, of Al-Islam, Al-Islam, faith and that's how it should be titled. Al-Islam: Faith and Practice. Or Faith and the System of Life. I think that's better. Faith and the System of life. Zakat is charity. Now, if we understand the importance or role of Tawheed, the Kalima, La ilaha illa lah in our life and then how the prayer is intended to save the whole life for Allah. Say, “Never did the people lose their establishment until they neglected prayers. They started neglected prayers.”
That tells us something, you here these muslims, these sheiks, these imams they come over here. And they say, “There is a tent and there is the four corners of the tent and the one post in the center, La ilaha illa lah. And if that one post falls the whole thing is gone.” And they say its “La ilaha illa lah”, but Allah says in the Quran, not them, Allah says, "Never did the people fall until they neglected prayer. So, who should we listen to? The sheik or the Shaker?

We know La ilaha illa lah will bring you out of hell. If you're in hell and you hold on to that there is one G-d, Allah said it'll bring you out of hell. But establishing society, ordering society establishing so it works for the people, so it works for the people living in the community, you must have more than La ilaha illa lah. That's why prayer is mentioned and stressed, so much over and over again, but not prayer as a ritual. These Muslims just doing this and doing that. They have no understanding. They can't keep an establishment, but if you know the significance of prayer for saving your individual soul.
And know the message of salat. There is a message. If you know the message that salat is communicating. Salat is communicating a message to us. It is telling us how we rise and fall. It is telling us what brings us to stand up. I'm talking about not only individual but the society. What brings it to be established and what causes it to fall. And after it falls, what can get if back up. That's what it's telling us. It's the story of life and death. It's a depiction, like a theater showing us the rise and fall of individual and the nation, the society. What caused it to fall and what will get it back up.
You make two sajdahs. And the real meaning of sajda and you can rise back up. Two sajdahs and the prophet said, “the best position of prayer is sajda”. Isn’t that what he said? The best position is sajda. Insha’Allah we will talk about these things more. Those two put us in position to establish zakat. Zakat is supposed to be a just system, economic system, a just economic system. I agree with those thinkers in Islam now. They're saying zakat is more than just charity. Zakat is the guiding principle for us to design a just economic system or order.
If you think about zakat. If you think about what Allah says zakat is for, think about it, you can see that zakat is really addressing all the economic needs that we have, all of them. Because zakat is an obligation to us all. Zakat requires that you work. How you're going to give if you don't work. How you're going to give if you don't produce. Zakat is saying you must be productive and you must produce more than enough for your own needs. You must produce enough to also take care of needs of those who can't produce or who can't take care of themselves. Or who finds themselves in situation where they need assistance, money, financial assistance. That's what zakat is for.
Zakat is dictating that we have an advanced economic system like we have in West and other advanced nations. An advanced system where people are productive and they're producing enough to finance the needs of their whole society. If education needs money, you're producing it. If widows and orphans need money, you're producing it. If the sick needs money, you're producing it, right? Yes. If education needs more, you're producing it. We should see zakat more than just charity. We should see zakat as a principle that asks of us that we have a productive society and a society that cares about all of its members.
After zakat is fasting. Now what happens after people achieve wealth? They become spoiled by money or wealth. You keep yourself for G-d. You develop your muscles so that you're not eating too much. You're not drinking too much. You're not indulging too much. You're not spending too selfishly, et cetera. Fasting comes for that purpose. Now, if we sacrifice or restrain our self for anything other than obedience to G-d, it won't work. That's why Allah says, "And fasting is for me." Fasting is for me. You know our whole life is for G-d, but why He says fasting is for me? Prayer is for Him, yes. He says that too. "Make your prayer in remembrance of Me," that's what He said. "In remembrance of me," He said. Make your prayer in remembrance of me.
He says, "Fasting is for Me." That's really getting very, very personal, right? Very, very personal. “Fasting is for Me.” That's because men, women too, we will have self-interest and we will fast to stay pretty. We'll fast to stay healthy. You have health freaks, you have beauty freaks. You have all kind of freaks. We take these things too far and we just live for our appearance, for our physical appearance. We live for our health. Some people just live for their health. They can look ugly in appearance, but they're so proud, they're healthy.
G-d knows these tendencies in us, so He says, "Fasting is for me." So, that we won’t be running around here, because after a while if G-d didn’t say that. And if we don't keep that on mind our fast is for Allah, we'd be competing with each other and Nation of Islam members were doing that. "Oh, brother, I fasted the whole week, brother, you ain't did not fast three days. Look at yourself, brother, you ought to fast. You look like a pig. You need to fast, brother. What's wrong with you? You couldn't fast, you have no will power," right? Yes. We have the Nation of Islam as a model that show us what will happen if that fast is not for Allah. 
"Fasting is for me," Allah says. Fasting is for me. Now, we know the main purpose of fasting. It is to make us conscious that those who eat well and got plenty, make them conscious of the life of those who don't have. You start man rich, he doesn’t have to ever be hungry and believe me, most of them will not ever be hungry, if it wasn't for Allah telling them to fast in the month of Ramadan. They will never be hungry. Rich people don't be hungry. Whenever they want to eat, they eat.
So, they don't know the hunger pain. They don't know what it is to go all day and can't eat. But Allah designed the fast so that the rich man will know what it is to go all day and not eat, so he's anxious to give some money to the poor, plus he sympathizes. Now he knows what they suffer, he knows what it is and he don't want anybody feeling like that, so in Ramadan he gives plenty of money to feed the poor. To feed the people who need to be fed. We know the real reason for it. We'll come to the last one now, Hajj, the pilgrimage, Hajj.
We don't want to just give Hajj as a ritual, but we want to look at it in a philosophical way. All of these pillars, you want to look at them philosophically. What does the word suggest, Hajj? Difficulty. The word itself suggests difficulty. Hajj is something difficult. A word that is derived from Hajj, in fact, I believe it's just the other way around I believe Hajj was really derived from this word. It means to contend with something. To be in contention with something. To contend with something or to be in contention with something. What is it that we are in contention with? Our own inclinations, our own tendencies to go astray from what Allah wants. We are contending with our own self. To keep our own self in obedience to Allah. “La baika lahuma la baik. La baika la sharika laka la baik.” 
So, this is the effort to bring ourselves in obedience to G-d. “la baika”. I obey you O G-d. That's what you say when you start the Hajj. You start saying that. We are in contention with our own self, to bring our own self to conform to G-d's will, to what G-d wants for us, so this is Hajj. The last thing we have to achieve, the complete victory is when we get every selfish interest out of the way of what G-d wants. And G-d wants us to see every human being as equal members in the family of man. As equal members in the family of man. That's the last achievement. So, when we give up our nationalistic interest that’s in the way of universal brotherhood, that's the greatest victory.
So, the Hajj is a great victory. When you come back, you're a new person. You're supposed to be a new person. And if you went there half committed to the goal of unifying humanity, you have no new life. But if you go there and you come back reconciled with humanity, that I'm not as important as the whole. My race is not as important as a whole. My nation is not as important as a whole, that we're one brotherhood. We are one family. If you don't come back with that, your Hajj was not sound. It was a defected Hajj. And you won't have that feeling of renewal or a new life.
Even if you believe that way, if you're a man of such principles and I believe when I went there, I was because I understood that. I had come to that development before making my first Hajj, in 1967. If you go there already understanding that Allah cares about the whole human family and He will not favor any part of it over the whole against the interest of the whole. He is not going to do that. When you see all those Muslims, Chinese and they look like Chinese, long-- I've seen them, long mustache hanging down here like this. I thought he should be a Buddhist or something, not a Muslim, but he's a Muslim. A Muslim, a serious Muslim. Long hair looking like, what's this guy’s name? Fu Manchu, look like Fu Manchu, looking like Fu Manchu, but he's a Muslim.
He is following the same steps of the Hajj that we follow. He's doing it like we do it. He's serious and he's touched by what he's doing, his devotion just like we. You see that? And see another man from Tibet, another man from Africa, another man from Europe. You see all these different people. If you're really aware of G-d wanting us to be again one family, one people, it touches your heart. You come back with a rebirth too. Yes, you come back with a rebirth. You don't have to go there and learn how to come back with a rebirth. If you already know that and you go and witness that big scene over there, oh you come back a new person. That's a Hajj.
This is how we want to treat these essentials in the religion, then show how the effect of Hajj should touch the whole life, the whole society. We should come back home and live the principle of Hajj. Hajj shouldn't stop, the principle of Hajj must continue. We come back home and we live the principle of Hajj. We see each other as brothers and sisters, equal and the noblest of identities, the human identity. Not the racial identity. Not the ethnic identity or the cultural identity, but in the human identity. We see each other in the noblest of the identities that we have, that's in the human identity. We are one human type. We are one human family. We are equal shares in the provisions that G-d has made possible for us.
I can’t go against your interests and your rights to share in it and you shouldn't go against mine. If I want an excellent future for my people and my family in America and for this nation, I must also want the same for you. That's the principle. Yes, that's the principle. Inclusion but yet distinction. This is all part of the Hajj. I'm talking too long, I don't like to do this, but it's so important. To me, this is very important to make these ties, to tie these things in. G-d says talking about the Kaaba, the Masjid Al Haram. Where ever you are, turn your faces toward this house. Turn your faces towards this house.
These so-called wise people, I just have a good high school education formally. I have about three hours, a little more, college credit. I have no education. My formal education I don’t consider being educated. I'm not an educated person, not formally, but I'm a self-taught man. I'm a man that just drink up and eat up and swallow up, my eyes be drinking and eating.
My whole body just appetite. I can feel it coming into my pores.
Because of that, G-d has enriched me with knowledge. They will look at that and won’t see what it is actually saying. In fact, a brother sent me a tape, a Muslim Imam sent me a tape and he was doing his tafseer on that, “that for everyone there's a goal toward which G-d turn them, so, turn all your faces toward this sacred house, Masjid Al Haram.” He said in a tape. Really, I admire him, I like the way he thinking, he is thinking. That’s better than not thinking at all. He is thinking and what he was saying was beautiful, but he's missing the main thing. He missed the main thing. He didn't see the main thing. The Hajj is protection for our unity and our diversity. For our unity and our diversity.
Every child in a household under the parents, don't they have equal rights? Don't they belong to one family? But don't the parents want to see each of those children pursue their interest that's lawful and legal and become their distinct individual persons? That's what G-d wants for us. That's what the Hajj is saying, that I want you all in unity as one, but I want you to know that I want you to keep your distinctions that G-d approves of. That means my taste for clothing, my career choice, all of that I'm supposed to have this. Allah don't want all of us of some one mind. One mind and one picture. Allah wants us to have our own individual pictures. Isn't that beautiful?
When G-d says for each of you is a face, that word is literally face. You know, I know the ones that know the Arabic and several of you are out there, brother Imams you know the Arabic. Wajha is face. For each of you is a face, now Waj is face, but the word is slightly change, Wijha which means a goal for your role in life. You want a role in life. You want a place in life for you. In education, in industry, whatever, in politics, you have a goal for your life. Now the word is taken from Waj, Wajhun means face and it's Wijha. It means, you know we have the two words, face and character. A caricature is really your face. An exaggeration or a drawing of your face that exaggerates your distinctive features that give you your look. They exaggerate it so right away you know that's him, yes. Right away you know that's him. It's exaggerated but it makes you really notice him easier and quicker. If he's got a long nose like that, they exaggerate it and make it a little longer. If he's got a big, wide mouth and they can exaggerate it and they can make it a little bit wider. Right away it's exaggerated you say, "Aye". Right away you know who that is.

That's what it's saying. Your distinct identity is your Wijha. Your distinct identity, so for each of you is a distinct identity towards which G-d is turning you. G-d is turning you. G-d gave you that, G-d put that in your nature to want to be that character that you want to be. What's going to protect that character? Conform to G-d's will for you in the life of mankind. Not, just in your separate life or in your nation or in your race or your ethnicity. But as long as you accept to be in harmony with the plan G-d has for the whole of mankind, you can keep your distinction G-d gave to you and G-d wants you to keep it.
So, come with it, come here to the home of mankind. Bring your distinction or your distinct looks, your distinct ambition, of your separate ambitions, your separate goal that you want in life. Bring it here and be at home with mankind. Have our separate interest. Have our separate interests. G-d wants us to build upon our separate interests. But bring it in the room of mankind and sit down at peace with others who have their separate interests too and that all of it conforms to the will of G-d. For the whole of mankind, isn't that the way the world is going? That's the way the world is going.
People are encouraged to respect each other's life, to respect each other's cultures, to respect each other's devotions but have racial harmony and religious harmony. That's what they're asking for on top. Up in the sky right now. That's what they're asking for, yes. I'm talking about leadership, top leaders. Top world leadership that's what they're asking for right now, they say we have to do this. We can't afford it; the future won't let us be any other way. To survive and progress in the future, we're going to have to have that. Every people have their qibla, huh? 
This is your Qibla, Allah tells us we have the most excellent Qibla and I bear witness. Every people have their qiblah, we have the most excellent qiblah. When Allah said every people, he's not talking about the savage. He's talking about people.
Every people have their own qiblah. People of the book, civilized nations, that's what He's talking about, yes. Praise be to Allah. We've gone over briefly, the structures. Buniyal Islamu Alaa Khamsen, prophet Muhammad said prayers and peace be upon him. Al-Islam is structured or built upon five essentials. “Ala khamsen”, upon five essentials so we're kind of going over them.
I know you all write. I don't know if we recorded this? But if we record it, those of you who want to help us start working on this book. I'd like to make this recording available to you, so you can go over and keep it fresh in your mind what have been said. And start for me I will hope that you accept that I'm the director of all the projects. Okay. If you accept that then we're going to have a good job, excellent job, best job. Yes. I would like to be the director of all these projects. Somebody has to be the director of it, you know? Oversee the whole work. What I like for you all to do is go back and do research in the best books and the books that shows the most liberated Muslim mind. By the most liberated mind of the author. Not any narrow-minded author that's just dwelling on problems of western civilization, or the kafirs. Don't even quote anything. We can't quote him because he's too prejudiced. He's not free-minded as a Muslim.
Be careful of those authors. You don't want anything from them. But those authors who are encouraging rational outlook and rational appreciation of accomplishments by any people, by everybody. You know, encouraging the unity and embracing of what is good in western civilization. There are authors doing that, they're doing that. We want those authors. Look for quotes from them, or authors who will be objective. They don't have to mention western civilization at all, as long as they're being objective and staying upon the purity and universality of Al-Islam, then we love them, we are safe with them, we can quote them and they won't hurt us.
But if we quote the wrong person, he might say just what we want. But somebody might say, "But why you quote this person? This person is really in opposition to you and also your views". You don't want that, so find supporting material for this work. That's what we should do first, find supporting material. You don't want to a lot, just identifying statements. Statements that you think is close or compatible with what we're looking for La Ilaha Illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah. Salat, Zakat and the fasting and the hajj. Find something supportive, keep it and bring it to us.
At the next meeting, let us have it or maybe you should keep it and also send it to me. That's what you should do. You should keep it for the next meeting but so we don't be held up, let me see it because that will let me know how fast we can progress with this. Let me see it and I can be identifying that that we're going use or that I think is good to use and I'll bring it to you and have some comments on it, some thoughts about it. You might change my mind. Maybe it's something I'd say, "Well you're right, we shouldn't use that." I might drop something that I think we might use or I may pick up something that I didn't pick up so we'll do that. Give me a chance to look at it. You see, before we have the next meeting. Insha’Allah at the next meeting, we'll start writing this book. Yes, I'm going to be looking for some support too. I will be looking for some things. I don't have a lot of time so I can't look for much but I'll start looking for something too. Insha’Allah as I said, the next meeting we have will give assignment to different ones. And start writing the book. Yes.
That's two books, we got them. You who think you can make contribution, go home and start working on it. Two books, the first stage of our work is really research. We're looking for research, material that will say what we want to say or help us say what we want to say or support what we are saying. That's what we are looking for first. All right, that finishes that up.
One other thing. Now, you know I'm your Imam and I think most of you know that my whole life is for this work. I'm not working for myself, I'm working for the destiny that Allah wants for us. I'm working for the destiny on this earth and hereafter, yes. I'm working for the Ummah. I'm working for the Ummah that Allah wants us on this earth in America. I'm working for the new Medina that Allah wants for us on this earth in America. That's what I'm working for, so you all should see helping me as more important than any other thing in your life. I'm serious. Some of you feel that way already but I'm very serious. You should see helping me as more important than any other thing that you have to do in your life. Yes, because you should be wanting to help G-d and want to see what G-d wants for us. If I'm your leader for that, then you should give everything to that leader that you possibly can give. I shouldn't have to worry about the-- I don't have time, I'm too busy. I'm involved in too many things now, I don't have time to even do my own speeches. You all should help me even do my own speeches. I don't have time. Saying, "Oh, how are you going to help me do that?" Yes, same way I'm asking you to help get this book together, you can help me do my speeches. All I've have to do is give you the subject and then you will go find the supporting material for that subject. And just don't have any overkill, because I don’t have enough time for it.
You all can do it, so we need some of you all who love to do research to get my subject from me. Especially, important engagements, important subjects. Like the convention subject, the state of the Muslims. You all should be pulling materials together for me. The state of the Muslim, the state of this community. You should be pulling materials together for me. You can bring the information then it's easy, I don't have time.
I will come with the spirit for the speech. I would give the spirit to the speech. You would give me flesh and the bones. Bones and flesh for the speech and I will put spirit into the speech. Yes. All right. Let me know if you can help me. You don’t have to let me know. Just go get on the job and send me your work, send me something. As I said, don't make it too wordy, you don't want it wordy. You want to make it as concise as possible, right to the point, clear and concise, clear and brief as possible. Make it as clear and as brief as possible. We have a lot of achievements in this community.
Really when I give these speeches at the convention, I would like for someone before me or even myself to bring the community up to date on how the community is growing. We have new minds coming in among us, professional people coming in among us. We have new business people coming in among us. We have people in the community who have gone into, more businesses. We should have our report and our report should be a report of progress, a report of progress. That's what the state of the Muslim community should be, it should be a report of progress and a projection.
I can give the projection based upon your report of progress to me. If you can do that, Insha’Allah, that will be a big help to me. I'm going Insha’Allah, I'm invited to go to Egypt, it's a blessing from Allah. I was wondering how are we going to go to Morocco and get those sardines and not have to take money out of CPC, to do it. I said, well I'll get an Umrah ticket that would reduce the amount of money that we need. The Umrah tickets, Saudis told me that you can get an Umrah ticket for $500 brother Imam. I got one before I went over there, $500 but that's $500 from New York to Jeddah, back to New York. I have to pay the ticket from Chicago to New York, but I go into Newark and the brothers pick me up and take me to New York, save a lot of money.
That wasn't too much so I was going to do that. I'm pretty sensitive up here. Okay. Something inside me told me, "wait, something is going to come." I get this invitation from Egypt, from the Ministry of Awqaf. I get this letter saying that you are invited, you're selected to present a paper and attend the conference and to present a paper on Al-Islam in the world, past, present, and future. You can select any of these areas and all of these areas, each area also has areas, so under the future, I found my place. Yes, I found my place. So, mine's going to be on the future. And what I intend to say with this paper is that the world is developing or growing in the direction that's going to bring about the biggest welcome for Al-Islam in the history of the world. That the future is going to have the biggest welcome for Al-Islam for Muslims and Al-Islam. No welcome is going to be bigger than the one that we are going to we see in the future for Muslims and Al-Islam. By the world people, by the nations and societies and the establishments of the world. They're going to welcome because Al-Islam is more compatible with the order to come than any other religion or ideology. Al-Islam, Yes. This is what I am going to present and I don't need your help from Quran, I know where to go in the Quran. I'm going to get support for this, from the Quran first, and also from Muhammad, the life of Muhammad.
But I’m with a certain organization now and we are discussing. They are discussing and we had been inviting them to participate, we are discussing the trends, the world trends and what these world trends tell us about the future order of the world, how the world is going to look in the future, you see? And the trends are toward, racial harmony, religious tolerance, and spiritual harmony, and economic justice. All of this is the direction of G-d's plan in the Quran. This is where G-d's plan in the Quran is headed. When man will come again to recognize that he's one family, that all people are one, and to respect each other's differences. Compete with each other, cooperate for good for the good future and to compete with each other for the advancement of excellence. For the advancement of excellence on the part of man, this is the Quran.
This is the time now that's what they want, that is what they are asking for. There are people coming to that position of mind, where they want that and they're willing to work for. They're willing to help inform the world, their constituents or their societies first and then come on the world scene and help inform the whole world, support that it needs for the whole world. That's what they're asking. WCRP, World Conference for Religion and Peace. Parliament of World Religion, Rabita-World Muslim League based in Mecca. WAMY, the big organization in Mecca, based in Mecca too. World Muslim Youth, World Muslim Congress, World Council of Peace, all these organizations.
Do you know I'm a member of practically of everyone I called? An officer, now what does that tell you about us? These organizations don't invite you, unless they see that you have something to offer and that you to have a place there, if you don't fit among them, they won't have you there. That tells us about our little selves, that tells us that we got something very special and our minds have become very good and very big, yes big minds. Yes, we must have big minds, they wouldn't have us up there with them. I was in a meeting. They trust me to hear things and I know I have to be in their confidence to let me hear those things. I can't even repeat those things to you. Global Policy Association, sponsored by the Global Policy Association. They shared with me some very, very shocking things, shocking, but I would say good news, good news. They know I way think that's why I was there. It is shocking but it's good news and they wouldn't share that with me unless they trusted me completely. And the language was so complicated if I didn't already have a perception of these realities, I wouldn't have understood the language anyway. Here's the son of the honorable Elijah Muhammad, only Muslim meeting with Colin Powell in Washington DC with a small number of people. A small number of religious leaders that's going to help make this plan for our youth work, that says a lot. The only African-American at this conference for global policy. The only African-American, not a one. The only other African-American there was my guest, my company I brought him there. Allah has blessed us with very special makeup, we have a very special makeup and with interest, that's very, very significant in the world of today and tomorrow. Our interest is very important for the world of today and tomorrow. People who see this they recognize it, we have to be carrying out our interest that's why they want to include us.
In fact, it's just like the story of the prodigal son, the prodigal son went astray, lost but when he came back, the house rejoiced more over his coming than they did over those who stayed in the house, that's how we are that's really how it is. They see our African-American people mind as being lost, just lost. Now here is the African-American mind come back home with the boss of the house. His mind is back with the boss of the house as G-d is the boss of the house, I don't know what you had on your mind. G-d is the boss of the house. Those people recognize, those big people recognize, they know G-d is the boss of the house. So, when they see you back in the house, you've come back home they're so happy to see you.
You all should see how they treat me, I'm telling you, thanking me, to one I said-- They were taking pictures and I made a mistake I thought they were taking pictures of different groups, I thought it was my group so I went over to get in the picture. They were so afraid they'd offend me, they didn't know how to say it, they said, "Mr. Mohammed you're going to be in the next picture, you’re going to be in the--" I said, "I didn't know, I'm sorry." One of them said. I said, "I'm sorry." I said to them really, I don't like to be in the center or in the focus anyway, that's true I don't like-- I'm not one that want to be on stage. One of them said, "wherever you are, you're in the center of the picture." That was a compliment to us, I see it as a compliment to us. I'm just Wallace D. Mohammed but Wallace D. Mohammed is also Imam W.D. Mohammed.
Imam W.D. Mohammed has meaning here with you all, with us in our progress, in our growth so really, I saw it as really a compliment to us. I said it's right, what we believe in and what we are all about, these people respect us so much. You can't take Allah's will for us or for you selfishly, that's Allah's will for you and you isolated, taken off to yourself by yourself you and are nothing but put you back in Allah's plan now you're something. I hope you understand what I'm saying.
I know I'm nothing, really, I know that. I am nothing, everything I am Allah is because of Allah's plan for us. I hope you understand that and I mean that and I don't need your flattery, I don't need no praise, it makes me uncomfortable. Thank you very much, As-salaam-alaikum.

