03/03/1996
IWDM Study Library
What Muslims Believe and Want in our Lives

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Speaker: To a title What Muslims believe and Want was recorded at the North Side High School in Memphis Tennessee March, 3rd, 1996. This is the national public broadcast of the Iman W.D. Muhammad. Muslim American spokesman for Human salvation and now Imam Muhammad.
Praise be to Allah. As-Salam-Alaikum.
Audience: Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.
IWDM: That is peace be on you. We witnessed that G-d is one and one alone. That is, there is no other god with Him. That we witnessed that Muhammad to whom the Qur'an was revealed about 1400 years ago is the last of the prophets and Allah's servant and His messenger. We pray the prayers and the peace be on him. And what follows of the traditional salute to that prophet. And upon his descendants and his companions all be peace and upon us be peace, Amen.
We're thankful to be here in Memphis again. This is my third speaking engagement here over the years. We know this city as a popular city in the south and also in the north. It is a city of good folk life. A city of Dixieland jazz and also good old country and western. That some of you all, maybe can't relate to but I do.
When a man singing the blues, I can hear him. And I can feel him, no matter where he is or what color is. And believe me, Country & Western in my opinion, is another way of singing the blues.
And this is the city of the great Elvis Presley. When I was here before I got a chance to visit his exhibits and we enjoyed the visit very much. There's a lot to be said about this city but I think it is just a good southern town and a popular southern town. We are happy to be here today. We hope that what we say will be received and appreciated in the way that we are trying or want to present it. We would like for the audience here and the people of Memphis and really the people of this country and the world really to know Muslims better.
We would like that we know ourselves better. Because of some of us as Muslims throughout the world, even in countries that we think should know all about Al-Islam and Muslims. Many of us have lost some important knowledge of ourselves. Many of us are not knowledgeable in the common language of Muslims or the common language of the religion of Al-Islam.
Many of us confuse very important ideas in the religion. Many of us confuse the idea of prophet and prophet-hood. And the religion is seen as a religion of splinter groups, sex, differing with each other on sometimes very important matters. Such as prophet-hood that I just mentioned. We hope that this address will help clear up some of that confusion. And give us a better understanding of what should be our beliefs and wants according to the number one authority in the life of Muslims the word of God. It’s called the Qur'an or in English or Arabic, English American language, Koran.
We hope also that we will better understand the concepts that are most important for us in the context of the book, the Holy Book. The concept of G-d, the concept of man, the concept of the world, most importantly. But also, the concept of religion itself. We know that as students of our religion, we know that religion has ordered the call our attention to the concerns of the greatest importance. We have in our religion prayer and the call to prayer. The call to prayer is called Adhan and prayer is call Salat.
Before we begin prayer, we hear the call to prayer. The call to prayer is to alert us, to get our attention. To remind us that we have an obligation to G-d. That G-d is most important in our life. That G-d is the greater and that means greater than everything that we can imagine or think about. We have the call to prayer and the caller he's called the Mu'Adhan after the term Adhan or Adhana. The verb Adhana really means to pay attention. That's exactly what it comes from.
This term that is used for call really means to give attention to or pay attention. The one who gives it, he's called Mu'Adhan the noun. He is the one who's striving or who is making the effort to get the attention. You know there's a saying in the English literature, “Romans, countrymen, give me your ears, lend me your ears, friends, Roman, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Well, I believe that whoever wrote that they had been touched by the Adhan. Because that's exactly what the Adhan is saying. Muslims lend me your ears. Yes, ear itself is Udhan. And Adhana means to get the attention of someone by speaking to their ears, by appealing to their ears.
The Mu'Adhan, he is trying to get the attention of the people. The first thing he says is, "G-d is greater." Greater than what? Whatever you are thinking about or whatever comes to your mind or can come to your mind, G-d is greater. He says Allahu Akbar, Allah simply means G-d. Allah is not a term invented by the Muslims who follow Prophet Muhammad. Allah is a term that was existing long before Muhammad.
In Arabic they had the term Allah, simply means G-d. If you go to the Arabic speaking parts of the world, you will find Arabs who also Christians who never taught themselves to be or converted to Al-Islam. Muslims are converted to Al-Islam. They also call G-d by the same name Allah. G-d is Allah in Arabic, is Allah for a Christian, is Allah for Muslim, is Allah for anybody speak in Arabic. G-d is Allah.
The call says Allahu Akbar that is G-d is greater. That is said four times. And then call says, "I witness that there is no god but the G-d, no god but the one G-d, twice. Then the call says, I witness that the Muhammad is the messenger of G-d, not G-d. I witnessed that Muhammad is the messenger of G-d, twice. Again says, Haiya 'Alas-salat. It’s translated come to prayer. But this term that is translated to mean come, it comes from a word that literally means life. Hai is life. The Arabic language is very special in the way that it operates. The way that the language is formed and the way that it operates is a very unique special language. The verb that means come is taken from a word that means life, hai. Hai'yun means living. Hai’yun is living. Haiya in the adhan or in the call means come to prayer. It means come. Haiya 'Alas-salat means come to prayer. But if you notice those who have studied a little Arabic, if you notice it says, Haiya 'Alas-salat.
This is not the common way you speak if you want to say come to something. If I want to say come to me, I would say ta'ala, come. Or emchee'alay, come to me emchee'alay. Elay means to something. ‘Ala is different. It's a very special way of using language. It’s revealed way, the Islamic way. It has the higher meaning than common meaning. So, it is saying really, Haiya 'Ala, it means come alive. I'm going to give it to you very literally so that you understand what exactly we're saying. Haiya 'Alas means come alive upon. Haiya 'Alas-salat, upon worship. Come alive upon salat and salat is worship. Come alive upon Salat, upon prayer or upon worship. Come alive upon that. That's the meaning, but a common translation, very simple, common translation is come to prayer. That's how they translate it, come to prayer. Haiya 'Alas-salat, come to prayer. If you have been listening to me and attentively to this point. And that's what is athan is, to call attention. If you've been listening to me attentively with your ears, then you see that life is very important to Muslims.
Life is very important. The real life, the true life. Because if we don't have the true life for human beings, then we will have a life of misery that will lead us eventually to self-destruction. The true life for human being is only life with salvation. That is the human salvation. To have the life that was intended for the human being. And who knows better the life that was intended for the human being than the creator that created all of us, that gave us the life? That designed us, that gave us our bodies, our physical forms and made it possible for us to have the life? He created the body and the life. The material body and also the life of the body.
So, that one should know best what is the correct life for us human beings, that is G-d. And, that's how man has thought as far back as we can go. That's ancient knowledge, ancient wisdom. After Haiya 'Alas-salat, we again say Allah is greater, G-d is greater. There is none worthy to be worshiped except G-d, except the one G-d. And that is the call to prayer. The prayer itself is taken from the verses, chapters and verses of our holy book. No Muslim is to make salat from any writing or readings other than the writing and readings of our holy book called the Qur'an.
If we can give you a better picture by saying, imagine us being Christians and every time we gather to pray or be alone at home praying. If we pray, we are quoting the Bible, we are speaking the Bible, we are reciting the Bible. That gives you a good picture of what Muslims are doing when we are making prayer. When Muslims are making prayer, we are reciting our Qur'an, the holy book for Muslims. We are reading it, reciting it and we can't put something from our own mind into it. We can't put anything. If we do, it finishes the prayer.
No Muslim will continue to follow someone if he does that while we’re praying. It can only be the word of G-d. Now, understand that we don't call what the average person call prayer, we don't call that prayer. We call that calling on G-d, just calling on G-d. The Christians hold their hands like this, and the Muslims our hands like this, some closer, some higher. But like this, the hands out with the palms open like this, the hand open like this.
We don't call that prayer that's not salat. That's called dua and dua comes from a word means to call out. To call out for help, to call out for something you need, to call out because of an emergency or an urgency. That's called dua. You find that in some books, even our duas will be called prayers. But technically speaking, that's not the prayer. Salat is prayer and salat, every word of it has to be the words of the Qur'an. The words of the Qur'an. Even what we say in what we call the sitting position. Some of us may think it is not Qur'an but it is. And actually, we are not saying that outwardly we say that silently to ourselves.
So, those words are not even heard. We say Ashhadu anla ilaha illallah, I witness that there is none to be worshiped except the one G-d. Wa ash hadu anna Muhammadar rasulullah, and I witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of G-d. We go on and recite some other things. Attahi yatu lillahi wassalawatu wataibaatu. In the beginning we say those things, but all those things in the Qur'an. If not in the exact language, in language that we read it we say, “well, that is exactly what the Qur'an says, it’s there.” That's said silently and it would be properly called a dua in the sitting position. In what we call jalsa, the sitting position.
It would be like our Dua, not the salat, in a sitting position which is a step in the salat. But only after finishing, but everything that we say while standing. Because we stand in salat, the rest of the rituals of submission to G-d. We stand in salat and everything we say while standing has to be the word of G-d as revealed in the Qur'an. From the Qur'an itself and nothing else. This brings us to what is the basic beliefs of any Muslim.
The basic beliefs of any Muslims are given by G-d in the Qur'an, in our holy book. But have also been given in very brief form by our Prophet Muhammad who was asked himself, “What is Al-Islam?” And he responded by saying, "It is to worship G-d, one G-d Allah and to associate none with Him. It is to worship G-d and associate none with Him, no other G-d but Him. It is to believe in the Prophet Muhammad. And it is to pray the five daily prayers. And to give in charity. And to fast the month of Ramadhan. And to make visit to the house.
That's the house built by Prophet Abraham and his son in the venerated the city of Mecca." That house is called the house, bait al-uula. The first house built for the worship of G-d. It is also called Baitul Ateeq, the most ancient of the houses built for G-d to worship the one G-d. And it is also called Kaa’ba. And I hope that we will come again to this term Kaa’ba as we proceed with the outline that we have for this address today.
That is in one focus what Al-Islam is. But the message that those five simple statements broadcast are very, very broad. It takes books and volumes to write on those five simple statements. The first one being worship G-d and acknowledge G-d as G-d. And acknowledge Muhammad as a messenger.
The second one being to pray the five-daily prayer. The third being to give in charity. The fourth one being to fast during the month of Ramadhan. And the fifth being to visit the house in Mecca built by prophet Abraham and his son, peace be upon them. At least once in our life if we can manage it. If we can manage the cost and also have the health and strength to do that. We have to do it at least once in our life. Many Muslims they make the Hajj every year. Because they have money and G-d has blessed them with the strength and health to do that. But if we do it only once in our life, we have fulfilled that obligation. We have met that obligation.
It is important also to know what are the articles of belief or faith in Al-Islam. We are given the picture of Al-Islam as a religion of expression. And that’s most important. That’s what makes Al-Islam. It is the religion of expression. As the scripture says, not Qur'an but scriptures that came before Qur'an. They say that faith without action is a dead letter. So, to just have a faith or belief and not act upon it is dead faith or dead religion.
Therefore, when prophet Muhammad was asked, “What is Al-Islam?” He didn’t give the articles of faith. He gave the pillars or the structures of Al-Islam that that is expressed in our life. Because when we witness G-d to be the one G-d, we have to express that with our tongue, we have to say that.
To become a Muslim, we have to verbally give that, "I witnessed that there is but one G-d." You have to verbally give that with your mouth. So, there is an expression, we hear it with our ear. There’s an action. The tongue makes the action, the mouth makes the action and the ears hears it. We witness that you have said that and we accept that you are one of us. That G-d is one and Muhammad is His messenger. The second is to pray five time daily. And these prayers are carried out with our mouth, spirit, the whole body, everything is going through actions when we make our salat.
The third one, to give in charity. To give in charity, you must have work or somebody must have given you, left you something that you can put in the charity. You must have inherited something or you work for something so you could give it into charity. And when you give it into charity, that’s the act of giving. There’s the act of giving. There’s an expression that we all can witness. The fourth one is to fast in the month of Ramadhan.
It’s the act of obeying strictly what G-d has ordered for that fast month. And doing strictly what G-d has ordered for that fast month. Eating at the proper times, drinking at the proper times, having sex with our wives at the proper time, et cetera. It is a fast that restrains the strongest urges in man’s life, the strongest urges in the flesh. The urge to eat and to drink and to have sex and to sleep.
We refuse sleep for much of the nights of the Ramadhan to stand in prayer. Praying to G-d while others are sleeping, while we would normally be sleeping, we are standing in prayer to G-d. The strongest urges of the flesh, of the body, are resisted and disciplined for the sake of G-d doing the fast month, the month of Ramadhan. And by the way, it is very important to remember that the fast month is the month that the prophet received the revelation of Qur'an. The month of Ramadhan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
I hope that we are giving you, I know I’m doing it accurately. But I hope that you’re receiving it accurately. You’ll be surprised how you could say things to people and you ask about 10 people in the audience what did they hear and the different version you’ll come up with. We hope that what I’m saying here is clear enough for no one to confuse anything. This is what we want to establish first in this presentation here today.
We want to establish clearly what Al-Islam is. The articles of faith are to first say, “I believe in
G-d.” The first belief, not to say. First, believe in G-d, to believe in G-d. And to believe in the angels. And to believe in the prophets. And in the books that they brought, all of them that came from G-d. And to believe in the Qadr of G-d. That’s a Qur'anic term, an Islamic term, Qadr. Qadr means the rule that G-d has established over all living and dead things, over all the creation.
That rule determines whether something is going to be harmful to us or good to us. It works in the outer world and it also works inside us. It works inside us, to punish us if our intention is bad. If our intention is bad, we approach something wrongly, we get the wrong result. Now G-d has made it so that even if our intention is not bad but if we’re ignorant. If we’re ignorant of how we should approach something, if we approach it wrongly, we get the wrong result. We get the harm of that thing. Why would G-d do that? Create something to harm us even though we’re ignorant of it. To teach us so we will know these things.
When a child first put his hand near the fire, he knows not to play with that. So, just like the mother, a lady, or sister. The mother will pull the child back, sometimes slap the child’s hand because the child is about to get hurt, about to put his hand in something that will harm it. Now the mother didn’t want to hurt the child. But the mother hurt the child to let the child know not to do that. So, you hit the child’s hand, take his hand back from there, the child will know. Sometimes you could communicate the strong message without hitting the child’s hand. And by just grabbing the hand and said, “No, no, no.” And that’s done many times, but sometime, the child’s hand is hurt.
This teaches us. So, we learn by experience and we learn by study. We learn both ways. G-d has created us to learn by study and to learn by experience. So, G-d has many things out here that He wants man to know. The greater our knowledge has become of the world that G-d has created, the more qualified we are to manage our own life and to manage the things around us or the things we have to manage in our environment. This is what G-d wants for us. G-d wants us to grow up to be able to manage our own lives very well and also to manage our circumstances very well.
And this is the failure of the African-American, the black man. On the whole, we cannot manage our own lives very well. And if we can, it looks like we fail to manage the circumstances in our environment, very well. If we only turn back to G-d, we will get the help we need to become good managers of not only our personal lives, but also of the things that G-d has created or provided for us in our environment.
Audience: Yes, Allahu Akbar.
IWDM: Allah is greater, Allahu Akbar. Our religion is to call our attention to concerns of the greatest importance. The number one concern is G-d. No concern is more important in the life of His creatures than G-d Himself. The concerns that follow, we have given them as statements of what is Al-Islam. And as statements of what is faith or belief in Al-Islam. G-d want us to know life and wants us to know what supports life. Nothing supports life more than G-d Himself. G-d is the first and most important support in life or to life.
There was old revered man in Al-Islam. He was of African origin, birth, but he was living in the Middle East. In fact, he was living in Arabia. He visited us and I got a chance to meet him. I had a personal meeting with him just before the assassination of Malcolm Shabazz or Minister Malcolm X. I met him and he couldn't speak hardly any English at all. I could understand a little Arabic. And I guess he said, "Well, we are not having an easy time communicating with each other." He didn’t say it to me. But he picked one message to dwell upon and he wanted to know if I understood it. He wanted to be certain that I understood it.
He said in Arabic I will give it to you in English. He said, "For everything, there is a compensation. For whatever you lose, there's something that can be put in its place and in time you won't miss what you lost." He said, "But only one. If you lose it there is nothing to compensate for it." He said, "That's Allah." That's G-d.
He wanted to be sure certain that I understood that message.
I understood it and I appreciate that. Because I've always felt that in my heart. And that's what Christians believe, that's what Muslim believe, that's what Jews believe. That you can lose everything else but as long as you have G-d you can survive and one day you can have happiness again. That's what we believe as worshipers of G-d.
So, G-d is the most important number one and most important support in our lives. G-d want us also to know our debt. We have a lot that we didn't pay for. So, G-d want us to know our debt. Why does G-d want us to know our debt? Does G-d want us to know our debt because He's worried that He's not going to be paid? No. G-d says you cannot pay Him anything. Nothing we can give Him except our obedience. Except our conscious obedience. It’s called Taqwa in Al-Islam, the religious term for it is Taqwa.
G-d says there's nothing that you can give Him that reaches Him except your Taqwa. Meaning your conscious obedience. You're obeying and you're caring to do it the right way. You're caring to be pleasing to G-d to be pleasing before G-d. That's the only thing that G-d says reaches Him that He accepts for Himself. Nothing else that we can give Him that He needs. He says, "Your money, your wealth, whatever you have, that's for you. He doesn’t need it.
He says even your sacrifices of life, of blood don't reach Him. He doesn't need it. He says, but your Taqwa does. Isn't that wonderful? Your conscious obedience is the only thing that reaches Him and that He accepts and that He has the delight in. He has the delight in that that you have given that to Him, that's for Him.
And if you give that to Him then you have all your needs satisfied. Especially if you give that to Him with knowledge. And knowledge comes with the revelation, the Scripture. G-d has revealed the Scripture to the people before us and also to us in this time. And if you give your conscious obedience to Him and follow the knowledge that He has given you then that's all you have to do to have a good life on this earth.
To have all your needs fulfilled. Because if we give our obedience to Him then we're going to use our money as it would please G-d. We are going to have relationship with women as it would please G-d. These are the things that bring man down that cause man to fail in life no matter how small he is in society, no matter how big he is in society. What bring most men down is their weakness to money or their weakness to sex.
And if we give these things with the strong desire to obey G-d then these things are not going to become a detriment in our lives, they're going to be joys, reward and joys in our life. I could say this for all the millions and billions of things that we want. I know I want so many things I don't want to ever start to try to count them because I'll be dead before I finish counting. That's how many things I want.
So, G-d want us to know our debt. And G-d want us to know our debt so that we will have gratitude. So, that we will have hearts that are thankful, hearts that appreciate. And when we have hearts that are thankful and hearts that appreciate, those hearts are good for our families. Those hearts are good for our neighborhoods. Those hearts are good for our nation for the United States of America. Because of us having hearts like that our families will be better families and happier families. And so, will our neighborhoods and our nation.
It's simple truth, wisdom of the ages. G-d want us to know our human constitution. G-d want us to know simply put ourselves. And there have been great philosophers, great thinkers called philosophers. And they have sat and meditated for hours and days and days trying to correctly perceive or know self. Who am I? What am I? How have I been made. Why have I been made this way? What is my purpose here on this earth or in this town or at this place? What is my responsibility? What should I be doing? Who do I owe obedience to? What should I devote my life and my time to? What should I give my life for? What should rule in my heart, and in my mind, and in my soul? What should rule in my private world?
Man striving, struggling to know himself, to perceive himself clearly, to know exactly clearly what he is. The average person has small knowledge of self. The average person got a very small knowledge of self. Now, that’s just like driving a high-speed vehicle and having a small knowledge of that vehicle. Now can't you see how come so many of us have so many wrecks in our lives? We're operating this technical, this most complicated and most technical machine we call the human being. We are operating it with very little knowledge of it.
The great thinkers, they knew if they were going to succeed in life and guide man and society to a better existence on this earth, that they had to first know more about themselves. The first thinkers first wanted to know self. And trying to know self it led them to believe that this is no accident. That I'm human, that I am this special creature with intelligence, free will and a free mind with ability over all other living creatures. It’s no accident that I'm here with all this ability, with all of this complexity. It's no accident.
So, they start to search then the creation to try to find what's behind all these. And their conclusion was that there's an intelligence that's not made like we are, that's not material like we are, that's not perceptible like we are. We can't see it with these physical eyes but we can see it with our heart, our spirit, our soul, and our intellect. We can see it. And they decided and concluded that that is the one responsible for my existence, for man's existence and for existence of everything else.
They said that is G-d the Creator, the maker, the creator of everything. And Allah says to us in the Qur'an that, “G-d, He is the creator of everything, Al-Khaliqu qulli shay. The creator of everything. Look how wonderful G-d is. G-d says, "And G-d is the best of creators." Knowing that man as he progresses especially with science, and technology, et cetera, that man is going to see himself as a creator, as a great creator. And we are.
G-d has given us creative thought and we are able to create wonderful things. So, G-d put it in the book to let us know that He knew you were going to be a creator before you even realized you were one. But know man that G-d is the best of creator. Because whatever we use to create, we use the material, the resources, the tools, the instruments, the pens, et cetera, that G-d Himself created. Now what do you mean man? Pen. G-d didn't create pen, man manufactured the pen. I'm not talking about that pen you buy at the store. Parker and Bic and all those pens. I'm talking about the pen of creation. G-d writes with creation and G-d speaks with creation. Yes, G-d's pen is the whole creation. He writes for man with His creation and He speaks for man with His creation. When the heavens burst with lightning or has to open for lightning and thunder roars behind it. It sends a message into our ears. That's G-d speaking through His creation. Huh?
Yes. When we hearing a bird sing, G-d's speaking through His creation. When we see a mother animal calling its child and hear the mother with our ears, that's G-d speaking with His creation. And man didn't learn anything until he became conscious of what G-d was saying with His creation. Became conscious with his eyes, conscious with his ears, conscious with his flesh. Feeling and hearing what G-d communicates with creation is what fed the mind and caused man to know and begun to speak himself. Yes. Now, you may say, "You're, stretching it."
You may say, "Mister, you stretching it." G-d says to us plainly in the Quran, "Everything that you see in the skies, everything you see on earth and whatever is in between as well as everything that is in yourselves, are signs written from G-d." If all of this is the writing of G-d, and I read it. Even if you couldn’t understand my first description. You have to agree if you're intelligent and educated that when you're reading, you're also hearing, you're hearing with your mind, you're hearing silently. Huh?
Yes. You read and then the message come to your mind and then you translate that into English. And when you start reading, you're actually hearing your own voice inside your own body, silently. They call it silent reading but you're hearing it, aren't you? Yes. My G-d this is heavy.

G-d wants us to know our own constitution, the human constitution. G-d want us to know our environment and to fill a depth on us because of the environment. G-d wants us to know that in the environment are provisions for us that He provided. That He wants us to utilize, He wants us to get the benefit of all those things. But He want us to remember Him and be thankful. He wanted us to remember our indebtedness. To remember our indebtedness presses upon our conscience and will urge us, even force us to pray to G-d. To get out of the bed and pray to G-d, to stop working and pray to G-d. Yes.
Now, again, effort. Let’s be a little philosophical. Effort reflects the value we place on our wants. Now, I find the people who suffer the most in the world, who are lowest in the status level, who are lowest in those levels. I find that they have two things working against them that they don't show that they're aware of. One is, their wants are too small. What they want is not enough. Or they want but the they don't have the right value of what they want. A man would say, "Man, I wish I could find me a good wife, wish I could find a wife to please me."
And he's always finding the wrong woman.
Now he wants the right woman but he can't have her. Because he hasn’t placed the right value on the woman yet. If he ever places the right value on the woman, he will get the right woman. Not only will he get the right woman, he will be able to keep the right woman if he places the right value on the woman, on his want. Some of us want a nice car and we can't get that nice car. Or if get it we lose it right away, lose it quickly. Because we didn't place the right value on it. It goes for anything, for life itself. We want a good life. But many of us are not able to place the right value on that life. So, we can't have it.
The guidance of G-d makes it possible for us to regard and respect things properly. Whether we know the value or not. The religion teaches us plainly how to respect or regard things for the pleasure of G-d, for G-d sake. G-d is the value that protects all other values. If I love my wife for G-d's sake, my love is going to be a lasting love, an enduring love. My love will outlast my intelligence. My love will outlast my compassion. My compassion might be limited but obedience to G-d gives me something that is not limited.
Working for G-d's pleasure is something that is not limited. So, when most men will say, "I'm through with you woman, I want a divorce." The man that loves his wife for G-d's sake, will say, "Woman give me three days to cool off and I'll be speaking to you again."

Yes. Effort reflects the value we place on our wants. Muhammad, G-d's messenger, did not present a new religion to the world. It says plainly in the message that he received called the Koran by the western people or the Qur’an. It says plainly in that book, “that this is no newly contrived or written message.” It is the same religion that was given to the prophets, all of them; Abraham, Noah, Jacob, Jesus, all of them receive the same message.
This is what G-d tells us in the Qur’an. Jacob, Isaac and all of them receive the same message. So, did Moses and Jesus received the same message. Same message that Muhammad received. But each was given the message in the measure and in the composition that the time and circumstances required. And that was to be followed until the universal dimension came to man.
When man progress and grew on this circular sphere or object we call Earth. To know that the Earth is one sphere, one ball, one living room. And to know that men all exist and live on the one planet. And to know that they all will have to interact with each other one day. And they will have to have laws that they respect so that they can live together on this Earth without destroying each other.
When man comes into that universe knowledge of his reality on this planet. Then G-d will give him the universal message of how to live on one globe as one community of people. So, the message of Muhammad, not the message of the prophets that went before. The message of Muhammad emphasizes universality. Emphasizes the whole picture for man on this Earth. It emphasizes, it stresses, it focuses in particularly on the recognition of man as one family on this whole Earth.
And as man being accountable to one G-d and man being one humanity. And It goes farther to address something that develop in the later centuries, 18, 19 centuries. We will see the 18 and 19 centuries, racism. Modern racism, it addresses it very plainly. It addresses racism to get man away from that ignorance and bring man into universal understanding, universal principle. The universal knowledge of man, not man in his simple unimportant definition. "A man of color or man with black, with nappy hair or men with straight hair or man of sharp features or man of blunt features."
No, but to know man in his truer and more meaningful identity, man as humanity. Man, as a special creature, made with a special heart, made with a special soul, made with a special spirit, made with special interests, made with special ability to articulate all of that. To express all of that to other people and to build and build and grow out of his circumstances. To change his present circumstances so that they don't resemble the past circumstances at all. Animals can’t do that but man can. So, G-d wanted us to know more importantly may not how black we are, or how we are white, or how red we are. G-d wanted us to know importantly how human we are. And the more we know how human we are, the better we can live and cope with these things we have to cope with in this life. And succeed and not only succeed but triumph and a big victory. Allahu Akbar.
Muhammad, the last prophet, he came to tell us that Al-Islam is not a newly imagined religion or a newly contrived religion. He came also to tell us that he was sent not to one people but to all people. And he came to teach us how to order our priorities. And the first thing he taught us was that G-d is first in your order of priorities. G-d, Allahu Akbar, Allah is more important. Allah is bigger, greater, more significant, more important. Therefore, get up before anything else wakes you up. Get up before your stomach wakes you up. Get up before you get enough sleep. Get up before it's time to go to work. Get up before it's time to go to the field.
You know most men go to field. And I mean this is the most industrious of men on the farm. Most of them don't go before sun up. They wait to sun up, just the crack of day. Then they go out because they have to see what they're doing out there. G-d says, get up before the sun gets up. That’s what G-d says to Muslims in our religion. We have what we call the fajr prayer, the first prayer of day. The Fajr prayer, it’s the prayer that is called the dawn prayer also. The dawn Prayer. Before there's any sign of the sun. In fact, when it gets light enough for you to distinguish things, even though the sun is not up yet so you see the sun, but if you can clearly distinguish things that's too late for the Fajr prayer. You're supposed to be able to see a shadow at Fajr time.
If you can’t see a shadow at Fajr time, is too late for Fajr prayer. It's like dusk dark but at the morning time, not the night, not evening time. It's like dusk dark, that's the first prayer. So, G-d is saying to us, that He's the first priority in our life that nothing is more important than G-d. Show it, demonstrate it in your life. By putting everything else beneath G-d in importance. Your work, your job, sex, everything, even sleep, put everything, in its proper place, have nothing competing with G-d. This is Al-Islam. And if you do it, you're going to be successful in life.
This is what Muhammad the prophet came to teach us and to show us. To lead us, he demonstrated that to us. He did it himself. The religion would have us to manage this priority by firstly correctly identifying concerns of the greatest importance. When we list to you, “What is Islam?” The five structures or five pillars of the religion and gave you the articles of faith. We gave you a list or order of priorities for Muslim and ordering or order of priorities for Muslims.
Thereafter we're taught to recognize that all existence has been formed under the rule of checks and balances. Under the rule of checks and balances. Literally speaking and figuratively speaking, G-d says, “He has put everything on a balance scale.” Everything that exists has been put in a balance scale. So, that if it tilts this way too much, G-d's law is to make whatever has to happen to keep the balance.
We learn as students of general science or the students in college. Students of the balance of nature. We learn that there's a balance of nature. If you don't respect that balance of nature, we can lose the environment that supports human life. The very environment that supports human life, man can be himself the cause for its destruction. Because of that, he will himself, lose his existence too.
He will become extinct too. If he doesn't respect the natural balance of nature and life that G-d created. Well G-d says not only these living things, plants, animals and men have a balance of nature. But that he has placed everything in the balance. So, your personal life, even your abstract, invisible self. Inside you is under checks and balances. And if you give too much to one thing while denying another thing unjustly. It's going to hurt your life inside. This is no easy thing. Is it? This is no easy thing to manage.
What we're saying to you with this address is that we cannot manage our life without the maker of this life. We cannot manage human life without the creator of human life. No matter what man think of and write. And men have been doing it since ancient times. They have been writing the philosophy of life. They have been writing the blueprint for a good living. They have been writing the dos and don'ts for men and women, for families and society. And still men and women, families and society are going to hell with almost every generation. It’s because they failed to recognize that G-d is the best writer. G-d is the best speaker.
What He has revealed is supreme. What we think of and invent in our own minds independent of G-d, is nothing but that, that is doomed to perish. G-d says with Him is the ever-living things. With Him is the long-lasting life. He says with Him are the things that will endure forever. But with us without Him are the things that are doomed to perish. This is the reality that we have to learn.
And if we ever learn it, G-d will bless us as He blessed the great nations who were enlightened by G-d. Read of the great nations that were enlightened by G-d. The great nations that were enlightened by G-d. They came from primitive existence into great industry. Great industry, great sciences, great skills. They became the leaders of man on earth. Right now, who are leading the men on earth? Is it a communist nation? Is it the atheist nation? No. It's people who say they believe in G-d. People who say they believe in G-d. They're leading the men and women of earth, today.
Look at all the things we see around us, that we'd like to have. The chairs we like to sit in. The mic that we like to speak in. Did G-d bless an atheist with this knowledge or was it a G-d-fearing nation that came up with this knowledge? The citizens of G-d-fearing nations gave us the mic. The citizens of G-d-fearing nations gave us those seats. The citizens of G-d-fearing nations gave us the fine automobiles we ride in. The citizens of G-d-fearing nations gave us the television we like to watch. The citizens of G-d-fearing nations gave us the 747, that carries us across the plains. Up in the air, high above the mountains and the clouds. It was the citizens of G-d-fearing nations.
Show me what the citizens that didn't believe in G-d have created for man. Show me there works. Show me what they have contributed to our lives. Show it to me, I haven't seen it. I have not seen it, show it to me.

Now. African-American brother and anybody else that happen to be in this audience or anywhere on this earth. If you need special help for your race, I'm talking to all of you. Believe in G-d as I have presented G-d today. Follow your scripture and follow it obediently. Love it and obey. And your race will progress. You'll become more creative. You'll become more progressive. You'll become more productive. And one of these days, you'll be equal to or you'll be first on this earth.

To lose a relationship of primary importance is to go against the universal checks and balances and to lose a good life. Now, a relationship of primary importance is child to mother. Mother must love child, with mother-love. And child must love mother with a child's love for a mother. Of child to father. Same thing goes for the father. Of parent to the children. Of husband and wife. If we lose a relationship of man to woman in marriage, we're going to lose and lose big.
We have to keep that relationship. First, know that relationship, value that relationship, and then keep that relationship. And realize that you could not have anything without G-d. Therefore, carry your problems to G-d, before you make a final settlement. Don't just do anything with each other before you, carry it to G-d. Carry it to G-d before you make a final conclusion. It will save you from a lot of loses.
Yes, G-d want us to have the good life. G-d said that, “He has revealed it so that we would have life and have the good life.” And I think we find the same expression almost in the gospel, "Come, that you may have life and have it more abundantly." Actually, the same is said in the Quran too. That, "You will have life and have it more richer." And that, "You'll have life and have the good life."
The good life, that's exactly how it's put in the Quran. G-d also want us to have the good establishment outside our bodies. Outside our private homes. G-d want us to have our neighborhoods established in an excellent way. He wants us to feel good about our neighborhoods. G-d want us to love our neighborhoods and to feel comfortable in our neighborhoods.
So, don't be crying, hollering and complaining everything on the city. On the mayor, on the police department. You have a big responsibility for your home situation. You have a big responsibility for your neighborhood situation. You. Every resident. You have a big responsibility for your neighborhood situation. We have good neighbors forming block clubs to address the problems of the neighborhood. To contribute to the happiness, and well-being, and endurance of the neighborhood.
That's our duty, that's our responsibility. So, don't just think government is supposed to do everything for you. That's one thing I like about the Republicans. Believe me, that's enough to make me a Republican if the Democrats keep messing up.

Yes. That principle that make them not want to see government grow so big that it weakens the citizens of this country. We have become weak if we don't have anything to put against our muscles. Nothing to put against your muscle and your muscle becomes weak. Pretty soon, you're nothing but flab.
Nothing but a sissy. And I’m not talking about that other kind.
Men you become nothing but sissies. You have to have something to put against your muscle so you can use that muscle. The more you use it, the more you keep it strong and healthy. And we shouldn't be crying out for the city, the Police Department, Human Service Department, The Federal Government, the White House, to be coming to our rescue all the time. We should be straining our minds and see what can we do to solve these problems in our lives. To make our neighborhoods better, to sustain African-American businesses and make them grow and become better, better and better. So, that we'll be depending less and less upon those incomers, newcomers to the neighborhood from outside for the things that we need as a people of the neighborhood.
Why should other people have to run grocery stores for us in our neighborhood? Why should other people have to run restaurants for us in our neighborhood? That's easy to do. Why should other people have to sell us furniture in our neighborhood? Why should other people have to be called to come out and put a new baller in or to fix the plumbing? Why should we have to go and call other people? That's a shame on us, a shame. And that was the spirit of Hon. Elijah Muhammad, my father, our late leader. His spirit was to put pressure on us until we accept to measure up to other men. That's not our wives’ responsibility. They can help us now because a lot of them are more educated than we are. And a lot of them are more professional than we are. And a lot of them are more qualified in the field than we are. Now that's a shame.
G-d held them back from the field for eons of time. And we've been in the field for millions of years. And now here the woman, doing this little time of equal treatment of male and female. She done go out in the field brother, and she beaten us. The African-American woman beating us in the field. That's a shame. Now I'm not saying you should stop her from growing in the field. Let her go to the field, she doing a wonderful job out there, good. But let us get back out in the field.
Let us get back out in the field. Even if you have to dress like a primitive savage. And go out there with nothing but a club. Go out there and hit a dam animal in the head, and bring it back home. Skin that caucus, clean it up, say, "Baby here's some meat. You don't have to shiver anymore. I took it's coat off and cleaned it up too. I dried it out, put some perfume on it. Wear its coat baby. I don't want you shivering anymore." Thank you very much. Be bringing it to a close.
Let us establish Islamic life as Muslims not just in our homes. Let us make our neighborhoods Islamic. Even if we have to move together with each other. Start by getting one big apartment building. And say, "30 of us have bought this apartment, we're going to live here." Then buy another one and another one. Cluster together so that Muslims will have Muslim neighborhoods. And Muslims will be responsible for Muslim neighborhoods. And Muslims will show the White House that we don't need the White House to help us in our neighborhoods. We don't need the president and we don't need the federal government to show us how to run neighborhoods. Every citizen of America has that ability in some of its fine neighbors. Oh yes, let us measure up.
I want to conclude this, this evening by saying that G-d came to establish our lives within and life without. He came to give us a good spiritual establishment and also a good social and material establishment. If we follow the guidance of G-d, we will not be behind the world, but we will be leading the world. Thank you very much. Peace be on you. As Salaamu Alaikum.


