01/12/1992
IWDM Study Library
Qur’an as the Foundation for Society

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Announcer: Imam W. Deen Mohammed, the Muslim American Spokesman for Human Salvation, and now Imam W. Deen Mohammed. The following lecture by Imam Muhammed is entitled the Quran as the foundation for society Part 1. Recorded January 12th, 1992.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed: As salaam alaikum.
Audience: Wa-alaikum as-salaam.
Imam Mohammed: That is peace be on you. Ash-hadu alla ilaha illallah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah (Arabic). We witness that there is but one G-d. The Lord creator of all the worlds. We do not associate with him any as G-d or as a deity and we witness that Muhammad, the last prophet, is G-d's messenger and servant, the peace and the blessings, the prayers and the peace be on him and all of what follows of that excellent salute to Muhammad the messenger of G-d. Amin.
Before going into my presentation for the day, I want to make a few comments to express again my joy over the very successful benefit that was given for Clara Muhammad School here in Oakland the evening of elegance. I look forward to that every year. I don't think I've missed but maybe one or two if I miss any. One. I missed only one I believe, so I look forward to them and when I don't come out here believe me, I'm very disappointed. Wherever I am you can say, "Well, he's disappointed." I look forward to this. This is one of the best days in the year for us. For me to come here and witness the evening of elegance.
Also, I think we should be Muslims especially Imams, we should feel very good over the guest speaker. The guest speaker we had. Bishop Will Hersfeld, I met him at the reception for Mr. Nelson Mandela. That was the first time meeting him to my knowledge and he recognized me. I guess he had seen my picture of something and he came up to me and I guess there was 100,000 people out there and we were all right there under the cameras and things but he didn't make-- He seemed to have had no problem coming up and greeting me and embracing me giving me a big hug and everything.
I say, well, a Christian Bishop man and of the cloth that has that kind of admiration, brotherly love for us to come in and greet me like that in the eyes of all the people I said, "I hope I see that man again." I told him. I said, "I hope we have an occasion to be with each other, to see each other." And we did last night. Praise be to Allah. I had to make some comments. Those things would have burdened me until I wouldn't have been able to do a good job here with this. Now I'm free to start.
I have a kind of introduction to my talk today and my talk is going to be within the theme of the conference. All right? I'm sure you'll be able to take excerpts from it and I won't have to do that work. I want to begin with this statement and then I'm going to this book. This is an old publication. It's out of print. I mean, we've sold all of them and we don't intend to print it again. It's As the Light Shineth, but I want to tell you this is the most popular publication that Imam W. Deen Mohammed has produced. This publication, As the Light Shineth, none has equal this in distribution. We distributed this, - it sells at least four or five times larger in number of copies sold than anything we've done. I've already begun Volume 2.
[applause]
Inshallah it's going to beat this one because I've grown up a little bit since then. I feel very confortable with this. In fact, when I go back, I'm amazed sometimes myself. I say, "Did I say that?" 
Now my talk will be within the conference theme. The Qur’an as the foundation for society. Quran as the foundation for society. For Muslim society first of all, but whatever we know that the hope of Muslims is to see what Allah has revealed, become the accepted way for all people. Muslims hope is the same as humanity's hope. That's my opening statement. Muslims hope is the same as humanity's hope.
Now I want to read from this book. I got some glasses too and I need them, most likely if you are farsighted or even sighted, you're going to get one of before you live around here long enough, you aren’t going to be even sighted always. You are going to be farsighted or nearsighted and usually those that are farsighted as they get older they get nearsighted and those that are nearsighted as they get older they get farsighted. I want to read this little small portion of this book “As the Light Shineth”, and it's titled, “Human Nature Is Black”.
Now let me explain before we began the reading that we don't mean black in actual color. Now let me begin reading. It is very important for us to understand the idea of man being black before he was any other color. It doesn't mean physical blackness it's talking about human nature, it's talking about` the intelligence potential. The intelligence potential is in darkness, it is born out of darkness just by its own potential is able to produce life. The intelligence of the human being in darkness without any knowledge by effort in itself or by itself is able to bring about light or whiteness.
Now here we are using the color term a term four color again, - whiteness so I must explain right here or emphasis because it's explained within this within this piece of reading I believe that by white we don't mean actual color white. Whiteness means light not physical light the light of knowledge.
Where did Dr. Fard get this concept? Now who are we talking about Dr. Fard? We’re talking about the teacher of the late leader of the Nation of Islam of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, of the Black Muslims, Elijah Muhammad, or Elijah Muhammad's teacher who's called Fard. You spell it F-A-R-D, but is pronounced F-A-R-A-D, Fard. Where did Dr. Fard-- and he's called professor Fard. He's called Dr. Fard. He's called something that's forbidden, G-d in the person of a man or G-d in the flesh. He's called by me, the satirist in the wilderness or in the forest.
Where did Dr. Fard get this concept? Out of Genesis. Genesis says that there was darkness upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of G-d moved upon the face of the water. G-d said, "Let there be light, and there was light." White came out of blackness according to Genesis. Prophet Muhammad, the prayers and the peace be on him, speaking to his companions pointed to Bilal. Now, who is Bilal? Bilal is the first Muezzin. Muezzin that term is an Arabic term. It's actually an Islamic term.
See, I want the Imams to start explaining more to our audience. When we say an Arabic term, it's Islamic language. If it wasn't used before Islam, though is Arabic, it is more correctly Islamic. Don't you call your names Christian names? What were they? English names. Once they become part of your religion, the language of your religion, then those are Christian name. Let's not give the Arabic language or the Arab race or the Arab people more than they are do. They didn't have these terms before Islam, or before Al-Islam, that's what we have to understand.
Let me repeat that. Prophet Muhammad, the prayers and peace be on him, speaking to his companions, pointed to Bilal, this is from a tradition, and said to them, "We all are Bilal." What did he mean by that? That we all are Bilal. Black never in the history of the human rise in civilization was intended to mean skin blackness as a sign of inferiority. It was always intended to mean the blackness of human nature. Human Nature is a dark form. Out of that form comes the light of intelligence and knowledge, the science and everything that lights the world. Where did it come from? It comes out of the dark matter of human nature.
The Holy Quran says that G-d makes His man of-- and this is translation. [Arabic language] is translated black, stinky mud fashion into shape. Gave him refinement, high principles, high human dignity. Then he, meaning G-d, gives him, meaning the man, something and also the woman [chuckles], something of his own inspiration, we may call divine inspiration. He told the dry, rational minded people who think that nothing can be or exists unless discovered with dry rational tools or empirical instrument that inspiration cannot come to man.
G-d tells the dry-brained, rational so-called scientists in the Holy Quran, G-d says, "Nevertheless, when I have breathed into him of my spirit, fall you down and submit to him." What does this idea gives us in Quran? That man is made from black stinky mud. It means that certainly, the human being has flesh odor. This physical flesh of our, it will have odor, it will have odor. If the earth is rich doesn't it smell too? Now you people from the south who farm had gardens and worked in the farm, you know that exactly. You had the pictures very clear and vivid for you.
If the earth is dead like sand, does it smell? No. If the earth is alive, it is called humus. Doesn't it have a smell? Yes, it does, and the more smell it has, doesn't it do more work to grow more life? Yes [laughs]. The smell is the sign of life. It means something is alive there. Angel has no smell. We call it stinky, but in the nostrils of G-d, if we can think of G-d having nostrils, it is not stinking. It is a matter for aiding the growth of life.
Do you think your sex stinks in the nostrils of G-d? It stinks only when you abuse it. Only when you degrade it, abuse it, have sex out of lawful marriage, disappoint your mate, your good husband or your good wife. That's when sex stinks. Your body, do you think that when you sweat, the sweat bothers G-d? Do you think the musk that comes from your body when you are working hard bothers G-d? No. G-d has made it to bother you, so you would do some washing.
[laughter]
The Holy Quran frees our minds from those old dark, primitive, savage kinds of concepts. It dignifies us and makes it possible for us to even live a comfortable life in our own individual world. It unifies the man's physical life with his spiritual aspiration. It makes it possible for them, meaning the man, to shake hands with natural life and say, "Brother, I'm glad to know that you are my Siamese twin that we are one flesh to natural man, natural light." Yes, this is the religion, all praise are due to G-d, to Allah that is. Dear beloved people, let us wake up, there's too much to say it today. We will continue at a future time. I hope we will continue where we are leaving off today. Go home, do your work, do work that you have to do in your home, feed your children, get ready for your tomorrow, but never put down the work of advancing this message.
When I say your brothers and sisters, I'm using your language. Your brother and your sister is any human man, woman or child on the face of this earth. We're talking in the context of what is human, what is truly human. Allah says, and I repeat, that he made us tribes and families that we should recognize, or acknowledge each other and not despise each other. This is the word of G-d in the Quran. G-d has said in the Quran, that he has made all men, all people. He himself is the creator of every man, of all life, of everything. He says that he has created the man in the best form, in the best mold, in the best design. He says again, that he has dignified all people on this earth. You don't need anybody to give you a false dignity.
This is the word of G-d in the Quran. G-d has said in the Quran, that he has made all men, all people. He himself is the creator of every man, of all life, of everything. He says that he has created the man in the best form, in the best mold, in the best design. He says again, that he has dignified all people on this earth. You don't need anybody to give you a false dignity. Know your original nature and come into the guidance of G-d. You will find that your dignity is a permanent, innate, inborn, original dignity. Nobody has to give you a false artificial dignity.
Now I wanted to read that as introduction to this talk or presentation today. Oh by the way, this is-- I forgot something is hanging in my mind to. There's a brother and he impressed me so much. I was invited to come down to Pine Bluff Arkansas to see a new masjid construction built by the Pakistanis in that area. I understand that Pine Bluff is almost 50% us, - African-American and the facility the Pakistani financed it and they are actually the administrators there. They welcomed all the other nationalities which is Muslim. That's Muslim of anybody to do that. It was just nothing but Muslim. I saw it and there I met a brother who did some of the ironwork for them, the ornamental work for them.
He is one of the brothers, he and his wife, one of the constant supporters of the MACA Fund. We call the Muslim-American Community Assistance Fund and he told me to be sure and give Imam Shuaibe and his wife also. He said be sure and give you and the Muslims the greeting for him. Yes, and I promised him I will do that. I promised him I will do that. I learned that he has build the gate or something.
Congregant: He sent the blueprints for us to choose.
Imam Mohammed: I saw it. It looked beautiful. He showed me the drawing and it looks beautiful. His name is my name, Wallace Deen Mohammed. Same name.
Congregant: That's a fact.
Imam Mohammed: That's true. It is true. Here's his card. Do you want to see it see it?
[laughter]
That's how we looked at Fard. Just like that. Yes, yes.
[laughter]
Now, I want to go back with that statement that I made about our hope being the same hope that we identify as the hope of humanity and we identify this hope in the progression of scripture. Not just scripture to Muhammad but as Allah says in the Quran scripture also before Muhammad. That we believe in the scripture revealed to Muhammad and also that, that was revealed before him.
Now let me let me make this very clear which I believe most of us know but some of us I don't think we have registered it. It is not only talking about the Bible that came before the Quran. It didn't say the Torah or the Old Testament and the Injil, the gospel. It didn't say that. It says, "And believe in that that was revealed before you," meaning Muhammad the prophet or before your time.
It means all scripture going back to Adam, that Adam received the word. It includes that. Whatever G-d has revealed to human beings in the whole time of the life of man and society on this Earth, we have to acknowledge it and say we believe in that too. Though we don't even have it anymore. We can't go and find it and read it but we must believe in it. When we believe like that, what it does for us? It puts our soul, our spirit and our mind in good situation.
When we got a big dark area hanging behind us, it burdens the spirit it burdens us and we are not even aware of it. The Quran frees us in many ways that most of us will never know. Yes, let me continue now. The hope of humanity. I (unclear) human creations, tradition of excellence is man’s hope. That's his hope. There is a tradition of excellence that we see evolving from the most primitive or the most backward days of man to the most modern or to the most advanced days of man. We see a tradition of excellence. Excellent behavior on the part of the family, the children, everybody. Excellent behavior on the part of the professional people, the builders, the grocery people, the commercial people. Excellence on the part of government. This is the excellence that we hope for. It's evolving. It gets better and better all the time.
Though we are now perhaps a burden more than human beings have been burdened in any other time, but our burden now is more the burden of stress. We are living a stressful life perhaps more so than the human beings have ever lived on the whole any other time the life of man. That doesn't mean that our conditions are worse. Our conditions are better now than at any other time that we can read of or imagine. Yes. That doesn't mean we don't have problems, we have plenty. Especially we.
Now a term in scripture, light, is found in Genesis and also in the Quran. I'm going to go to Genesis and see can we interpret this term light. Genesis says darkness was covering everything. There was only darkness. The Earth was (unclear), without form and dark everything dark. G-d says, "And there was darkness upon the water." The water was dark. And G-d says, "Let there be light," and there was light.
Where did the light appear? In the water. It says the spirit moved along the face of the waters and G-d said, let there be light and there was light. The Quran mentions water and darkness also. It gives a parable and it says, the likeness of the darkness is as the water. Darkness upon darkness. Levels of darkness. Now those who have stood by deep water, a lake or even a pond sometimes or a lake at night when it's very dark and you look at the water you can see that on the top of the water is lighter and the darkness is more with depth. The deeper you go, the darker it is to your eyes. I guess this is very dark down there. The depths is very dark. The spirit moved on the on the face of the water.
Now, I'm doing an interpretation here. You can accept it or reject it. That's not what I'm working for. I didn't come here to work for you to accept or reject me. All right. It says, moved upon the face of water. Let us see the phase of the water now as the part having the most life. And G-d said, "Let there be light and there was light." Everything became light. He rose up a light for the day and he set in the heavens the light for the night. We know that to be the sun and the moon.
Here we must understand then also that the sun and the moon in scripture are not really that sun out there and that moon we may see tonight. He's talking about another sun and moon. Though G-d did make that physical sun that we see in the day when the clouds permit us. Are not there or permit us to see. And that moon at night. We know G-d make that but why do we need a prophet to come tell us that for. Primitive man running around in a cave. If he had a name for G-d, he'd go like, "Oh G-d." If it was too hot for him then, "Oh G-d cool it, cool it."
[laughter]
We didn't need no great prophet, no great mind, no super intelligence to come and tell us G-d made the sun and G-d made all of this. Man knows that by nature because nature tells him that something did this and it's bigger than I am, it must be G-d. He calls it something by some name and when we interpret that name, we find that it means G-d. Now I'm coming to another term, "Kingdom". People have hope for a kingdom, a righteous and just kingdom to come.
In both scriptures, This hope is addressed. In the bible a prayer is given- "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." How does the Quran address this kingdom? As the throne and it was decided today by Imam at the beginning of the meeting. It is addressed as the throne and the Quran says, "Of the throne that His throne meaning Allah's throne or G-d's throne extends over the heavens and the earth." [Arabic language] That His throne extends over the heavens, the sky. [Arabic language] doesn't mean heaven. Heavens is English.
[Arabic language] means the skies. Literally translated, correctly translated. His heaven expands the skies-- His throne, pardon me, expands the skies and the earth. There's more there to that but that's outside of this subject which I will like to talk about because we need it bad in this world but I'm not going to burden you with more than, or give you too much outside of the, -- I'm trying to stay within the limits of this talk. Now, kingdom, what is the man's hope for a kingdom? We talk about man's hope.
The traditional hope of the human excellence of man. That tradition of human excellence. It also is the hope of man and I'm saying again that a kingdom, a certain kingdom is the hope for man, and all these are the same. When we hope for that traditional excellence, to become better and better and (unclear) for us on earth. I'm saying it is the same expressed. It really is expressed is the same- or interpreted- is the same as the hope for of kingdom, that special kingdom to come on earth. Also, it is the same as that hope for life.
Now the Genesis doesn't say man was hoping for life, but G-d saw his condition and said, G-d, said, "Let there be light and there was light." It is the same as the hope for light- all these is the same. Now I want to come to something else. It is destiny. Destiny. Also called divine destiny. I'm saying that that's another term or another expression for that same hope. In the tradition of classical civilization, which is nothing but another language of classical scriptures. I don't have the Quran. I was going to raise the Quran up. This is not the Quran. It's supposed to be put down and the Quran raised up.
Now, let me continue. The destiny. What is the destiny? Do we have a term for this destiny? Yes, here is the Quran? It is the same. Quran and scripture will have one language and civilization has another but it's the same. This destiny in Islamic terminology or in Quranic term is called akhirah. akhirah What is akhirah? It is the translator by translators as the hereafter. It is translated also as the- what is this called? -the hereafter? The latter, the latter.
A more direct translation is given as a latter. The latter. The former will be [Arabic word] in Arabic. The latter will be al akhira. The latter. It's translated like that. Hereafter is not Quranic, hereafter is not Arabic. Hereafter is English. Understand that. There's nothing in this word that says hereafter. This word says, "latter" the end, the latter, what's coming later. That's all it says, what's coming later. Former and what's later or former and the latter. What is the latter or the end of our (unclear) that's yet to come, what is that for us in another expression?
The future. That's what it means, the future. We should believe in the future but not just any future. It is the future that G-d intends for us. We should have faith in the future that G-d intends for us. This word, al akhira, if I was going to translate the Quran and I do plan to do that, and I am going piece by piece, or bit by bit as I can find time, and as G-d blessed me to do it, I would translate this term not "hereafter". I would say those who believe in the future and in my commentary, I will say, the future designed for man by G-d.
Audience: Allahu akbar.
Imam Mohammed: Allahu akbar. That means that Allah is greater. I'm saying that to the wise and to the fools. That means Allah is greater.
[laughter] 
Some of the people who have the biggest idea of their own wisdom, are the biggest fools you can find.
Now I'm going back to the bible, to the new testament, again, speaking of that kingdom. The promise of a kingdom to come. I want you to quickly look at the expressions of that in the Prophets John and Jesus. Peace be upon John and Jesus Christ.
John came, alarming the people, didn't he? According to the New Testament. This is not Islam, this is not the Quran. You know the Quran presents it differently. John came alarming the people, "Repent." Why did he wanted them to repent and in a hurry? "The kingdom of G-d is coming."
We forget sometimes that it wasn't Jesus who announced the kingdom of G-d, it was John who announced the kingdom of G-d and then Jesus came as a sign.
The Prophet Jesus Christ, he demonstrated in his own action, he demonstrated what should be the spirit of that kingdom of G-d. He started bringing to the conscience of people, even his own people the Jews, who thought of themselves as the favorite people and I'm using the common language. We don't say Jesus was a Jew. Technically speaking, no prophet of G-d was a Jew. Technically speaking, no prophet of G-d-- I'm technically speaking. I'm speaking as a Muslim now. You all will allow me speak as a Muslim too, right? Okay. Technically speaking, no prophet was a Christian.
Audience: That's right.
Imam Mohammed: Technically speaking, every prophet was no more than what we are, a Muslim. What is a Muslim? We introduced the Muslim in the very beginning of this talk, when we introduced the traditions of human excellence. That is the Muslim. Just the human excellence of man. That's Muslim and G-d ain't ask nobody to do nothing for him, unless they were first in that human excellence.
Before going on from here, I want to make it clear again that by future and hereafter and destiny, we are talking about the hope for the traditional excellence of humanity, of man, to be fulfilled on this earth.
Now, I come to another expression, face. Face, F-A-C-E. We read in scripture where the hope of man is also-- When we say man, we mean woman and man. A society. That's what we mean when we say man. We mean society, which is woman and man. Isn't that wonderful? I see how you picked it up right quick. I see that. I got his vibe from behind me there.
[laughter]
Imam Mohammed: That's not spooky, that's real. That's human too. We look in scripture-- I mean scriptures before Quran, scriptures before the gospel, before the new testament. We read where the hope of the oppressed people was to see the face of their Lord, the face of G-d. What did face mean to them? You think they were asking to see the face of a white man? No. That's not who they were hoping for. When they were talking about the face of G-d, they was talking about just what you say to each other when you're speaking of somebody that you miss or somebody that you wish was still living or somebody that you wish was near you in your town, that's in down south somewhere to help you in your moments of great need and you say, "If I could only see her face." You don't mean her physical face, you mean her presence. You want her presence because she has something that you need in her makeup to comfort you or in her treatment that you need. When people say they wanted to see the face of G-d, they wanted to see G-d's presence. His presence was just not for his presence per se. No, they wanted his presence because his presence provided what they need. They felt that his presence would fulfill their need. They were talking about what? Kingdom. What is kingdom? Rule, R-U-L-E. When they said they wanted to see the face of G-d, they meant, "We want to see the rule of G-d on earth. We are sick and tired of this oppressive rule. We want to see G-d's rule on this earth. We see your face oh king and we don't like it."
Face mirrors the person's makeup to you and tells you what you can expect from that person. When you go to a person and you need something for everything you want to do [unintelligible 00:47:14] Look at me man. Talk to me, baby. Look at me. Don't turn your head." You want to read that face. I am saying that face is just another symbolic term representing the just order, the just rule, the just government that the people hope for on this earth. Isn't that a great disservice to that powerful message, to show the people a white man and say that's what they were hoping for? I'm not prejudiced against the white man. You know that. I risked your love and your allegiance to tell you that that's wrong.
Just so we know what time of day it is, I am going to change, go off from the subject, what they call it? Digress. Sometimes you have to walk away from it and pick up something and then bring what you saw over there you need, back to the path of direction and keep going. Just to show you what time of day it is, while the white European American-- Every time I use white and black, please see quotation marks. White in the dictionary means pure. It means light. It means a whole lot things most white people are not. Black in the dictionary means ignorant, void, empty, dead, dull, sinful and much more that I can't quote for you, that just can't apply to most black people. To some, yes, but not to the many. While we are celebrating almost, now I know most of our political leaders, they are not celebrating. Black caucus, they are not celebrating this. Black caucus members, they are not celebrating this. Most of our popular preachers in the church they are not celebrating it, some of our oppressed imams they're not celebrating but I know I am in a group that with me we celebrate a change for the better in America. We recognize that we are living in a better situation today than we were living in 30 years ago. We're not going to close our eyes to that reality but while we differ maybe in the way that we respond to change for the better on a part of the behavior of whites in quotation always we do share the burden of a continuation of that old misrepresentation and mistreatment of us. The Japanese and I won't explain for them why they do this. We know the Japanese have been guilty of reawakening some racist idea about us.
Are giving support to some of the die-hard racists with the language they use and the face expressions they make and we read where they have sambas dolls, popular Sambo dolls being sold in Japan. We just can't say that this problem is over, it ain't over. We celebrate change for the better but we realize there's still work to do. Not on them. That's the mistake that most of our leaders make. Time is out for asking for more change in them, on us. Now we should realize also that-- By the way, I try to catch Tony Brown's Journal as often as I can and that's where I got this information about the Japanese selling dolls, the Sambo dolls. Tony Brown my little short brother that's awfully tall. Now this is important too that we realize this, that there have always been good Caucasian European-American white people in this part of the world and the new world, They didn't just come here, they always been here, they were oppressed too, a majority of them did the evils and were successful in establishing the order of the white supremacy that they were successful in.
Their own people were oppressed too, they never liked it and many of them have died from the start of that evil to the finish of that evil. Many of them died, John Brown is one of them, they called him a mad man but he died because he was fed up with that evil and he wanted to make a physical demonstration, sacrifice himself and whoever would help him fight it for the sake of demonstrating his rage at something even existing like that in the country. Not only that, these people we call white. They didn't just start accepting us, look when we were free according to history the first church headed by one of our people was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Richard Allen and it's called the first black or African people's church in America. He established it and from the moment he established, he began preaching his congregation was not just blacks or just recently liberated people from slavery. No, he attracted also whites they described his congregation as being a congregation that had a appreciable mix of both black and white, that tells you a lot.
How many of us would have the courage if we were white to go and join a congregation of a black man who has just been liberated from slavery that most of the whites thought was a monkey and should still be in chains? How many of us if we were white would have the courage to go and listen to that man preach? What I'm saying to you that we need to give intelligent study to the behavior of white people, not just bad whites but good whites. It is more important now to make a study of the behavior of good white people in the history. Because we know all about the bad and there are people they don't do nothing but talk about the bad. We don't have to do that, we need to focus on the thing that they're not focusing on. The good people in our history and especially the good whites that died, many of them because they wanted to demonstrate their moral rage. Within the theme, the Quran as the foundation for society.
The Quran speaks of the face of G-d, the throne of G-d but also the face of G-d and in the Quran which is the word of G-d unchanged, perfect. G-d also speaks of his face and He says that there's coming a time when nothing shall exist, everything is going to perish and vanish but the face of G-d the Most High. All right, let's move on. We gave some reference from Genesis. Now let me give something that I think is a kind of Genesis language if not Genesis so we have nothing called Genesis for us the Genesis is Quran that's the Genesis. The whole Quran for us is Genesis and Genesis that represent the second birth, the life that will remain is not going away man is born he dies but if he lives again he lives without dying. We believe that once we live in Islam obeying the Quran following the example and the Sunnah of Muhammad the prophet that we have the life that will not perish and will not die that is for us eternal life.
Now you can have some stirring if you like but I don't have any stirring inside me, I'm perfectly at peace. Now we have some language in the Quran that suggests to me a kind of Genesis and I'm going to start with that language now. Allah explaining how this religion comes about, - Al-Islam, how the Quran itself comes about, how the religion itself comes about. He tells us that this religion is not an unconnected happening. This is no unconnected occurrence. As concerned scriptures itself, Quran, bible and other scriptures. It is a fulfillment, a completion for that long history or tradition of revelation. It is a completion or a fulfillment. As for the prophets it is also a fulfillment. It is their hope, the prophets had a hope. They had a hope that G-d would fulfill his promise on the people so for them, it is also fulfillment and what is the language for [Arabic language]?
Speaking of Muhammad he is enough for humanity, enough. What is referring to? Enough for humanity? Is referring enough as a general in the army, enough as a statesman in the government? Yes, but much more. Man has hope for the fulfillment of human excellence in one of his children, so that that child can establish the order G-d intended. Muhammad is enough, telling that man stop hoping for another son, stop hoping for another child. You've got enough in this man to fulfill your hopes on this earth.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed: [Arabic language]
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed: He's enough for the whole of humanity as their hope for a son. What? Jesus was a sign wasn't he? Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Says then that he, the government will be upon his shoulders. All right? Meaning Jesus Christ, peace be upon him. The government will be upon his shoulder so he is the hope for a man, a son, that will be able to support, carry the idea of government that was the dream or the aspirations of humanity since we have been on this earth.
The Quran is saying that Muhammad is not just a sign of this. He is the fulfillment of this. Where do we see the connection now? This is not an unconnected happening. I mean Quran, Islam, the Muslim society, it is not an unconnected happening.
It is in occurrence within the great tradition of human excellence. It is an occurrence within the progression of scripture, et cetera, within the evolution of society itself. It says, of this religion or of this way, the Muslim life, the Islamic life it calls it Din Al-Fithra. Din means religion or translated religion. Al-Fithra literally means originality. (Arabic) means origin, [foreign language 00:39:18] originator, one of the names of G-d, Allah who he is the [foreign language 00:39:24] the originator. So, Fithra means and order or a state that represents originality. To help you understand what we're talking about, G-d made man according to Scripture.
I'm talking about popular scripture. He made him perfect. He made him as a shining creation. He didn't put him in hell. He put him in Paradise called garden, and gave him responsibility for everything, for all around him. Now that was a man with tremendous ability if G-d trusted him to take care of everything around him. When you read in both Quran and Bible what G-d is talking about, you get that feeling that that was a tremendous person that G-d created. In the Bible, The Paradise is reflected in a great and high civilization that was existing in ancient times. The Earth was rich. The herbage, the vegetation and the growth was all rich and beautiful, and the streams were pure, the rivers were great and pure, and the civilization was high. It was a heightened civilization and the height in environmental excellence. Yes, Paradise on Earth.
The Quran says that G-d "Suk Kara" He made useful of utility for man. He brought it down, brought it within man's grasp, within man's reach, within man's capacity, within his potential, within his ability to utilize the things in the sky, the things in the earth. G-d says that He made them all to be utility to man. Isn't that wonderful? He made the things we see in the sky, and the things we see in the Earth, the fertile ground, the plants and everything, and the animals all to be utility for man. To be utilized for the goodness and for the betterment, for the good future of human society. How inspiring that is? The dead can come to life just by registering that alone.
Deen al-Fitrah, the religion of originality, established on the pattern, [foreign language 00:42:41]. It is that originality that G-d patterned man upon. So man's evolution as an intelligent being aspiring for a better life, better excellence, better life, better conditions, and a growth on evolution from something that G-d created, and that is that originality. G-d gave man the originality upon which he can grow. Now when he loses that originality then his growth flutters, falters instead of growing correctly, and getting good benefit, it grows incorrectly and brings suffering, misery and death. Now we know that the man when he was put in the Garden, what what was he told? Utilize everything. Now I'm coming to get them coming not from our languages, this is from the Bible. Utilize everything. Eat of every tree, but of this tree, forbidden tree do not eat.
That was one says “Do not eat from that.” Now I'm not going to try to interpret what that tree was. It's enough for me to know that everything was open to man except one thing. That's enough for me. Al-Islam comes to us now and Allah says in the Quran that he never ordered for the Prophets or for his messengers anything other than he ordered for us, the faithful, the believer. Yes, and the Prophets comes with the same from himself, that when we look at that saying from G-d and the Prophet says that G-d has ordered the good things and forbidden the bad things. The same as G-d says in the Quran. Prophet Muhammad also said which I register often especially in this society, I think it's necessary for us to register it often. This society says things that sound so beautiful, but if you think over it a little bit, it's the most dangerous thing you ever could tell anybody especially dumb people.
The Prophet says what is also, whatever the Prophet says, whatever Allah has given you, whatever the Prophet says, it can be found in the great tradition of excellence, scripture and human life. He says, "G-d is good and accepts only good. G-d is good and accepts only good. Then G-d says “Eat of the good things.” He told the Prophet this, right? Eat of the good things that G-d has provided. Then he told also the believers to eat of the good things that G-d has provided. He describes it as "Halal and Tayyib." Isn’t this the same instructions that was given to the man in the Garden? He was given the same instruction in the Garden to eat of the good things. Eat all of this but only halal and tayyib. What am I getting at?
We read of a Paradise and a Genesis behind us and we don't know that now we can live it in reality. We can have that paradise now. We can have that wonderful beginning of man on this Earth. Just follow the Quran and follow the ways of Muhammad the Prophet and we will have that. So the society that we want on Earth brother, is much bigger than what we talk about in our small meetings. It's much bigger than that. It's something that we should be working for not just for the good of Muslims, but we should do this in the interest of humanity at large. Though we first take care of home, that's my obligation.
That's a natural obligation and an obligation put on us by G-d to take care first those things that are in your immediate concern. Your family, your wife, your mate, your husband, your children, take care of that first. So we all Muslim community we ought to take care of our Muslim community first before we take care of the peoples' community. That's no more than right and natural and approved by G-d, but we would be crippling ourselves and making our own future shorter, smaller, worse for us if we don't see the big picture and realize that we are to be a help to humanity at large. This thing is bigger than just a mosque concept. Allah Akbar.
[applause]
Now let me come to another thing, a word from G-d. G-d says, [foreign language 00:48:44] is it not for G-d the creation and the command? Now I go back to the promise of a kingdom. The promise of a just rule intended for us on this Earth by G-d. What is one of the conditions for having that? It is a kingdom approved by G-d. If it is a kingdom approved by G-d, your laws can’t be the Superior Laws, your laws can't be the Supreme Law. Allah's Law as revealed in the scripture must be above your law. Your law must be approved in light of the Law of G-d. Isn't that the hope of humanity? That's not just a Muslim hope. That's the hope of humanity. Now men made mistakes. Men before the Christians and the Christians made mistakes.
They were well-meaning. Their leaders intended to do the right thing but their vision was faulted. They were led astray because there was not perfect light. The light was incomplete. The light was imperfect. Paul said in the Bible, I think it's Paul, he said, "That which is in parts, it goes away, but there's coming a time when that which is complete will come and that will last always." I'm giving you my interpretation, my language, but that's what he's saying. He's saying that now, we only know a part, but when that comes that is complete, we will have no more of these problems. For us, that completion is Quran and the sunnah of the prophet or the ways of our prophet. You must understand that. We must understand that. We command only as Allah instructs us to command.
We hope for a day when the whole society of man will respect G-d's intent and G-d's instructions to us. All of his professions, both sides of his world, the secular side and the spiritual side or the religious side, we hope for a day when both sides of the world respect that. Now, we don't want a religious order or a government headed by religious people like we've had in the past. Those people made the mistake of following Egypt, pharaoh's orders, copying his ideas that the man, - he becomes G-d on earth. Pharaoh claimed he was G-d. He had a great civilization. And right today, Western ties and Western civilization pays respect and almost homage to the accomplishments of that ancient civilization called Egypt.
No matter how great it was, we don't want to see ancient Egyptian order on America, do we? No. We call their pharaoh idol worshipers, heathens, right? Though they had great science. They had great science, great material science. We don't look for an order like their order to come, thought the pyramid is on the dollar, and the focus of light is there over the pyramid, but we know we don't hope for an order like. We hope that America's excellent tradition of freedom, justice, equality, progress will continue, and that this democracy we have and have survived in for 200 years will continue to fulfill its promises, and become even better until we all are satisfied and not burdened and not punished as citizens in this country. That's what we hope for. We are not looking for that ancient order of Egyptians. No.
We're certainly not looking for the old Church of Rome to come back into power. We're not looking for that because they persecuted the common people. They persecuted the women. They oppressed women and they oppressed the common masses. What brought about that great ignorance and that great injustice? The belief that man is born to inherit divinity, to be a G-d on earth. That's what messed them up. Their king was also called the divine. This is history. He was called the divine, the divine king. Holiness, thou holiness, your holiness. Not only the pope, their great king when the church was ruling the land. We don't want that, but we do want the promise of G-d, the kingdom that he intended for man on this earth. For it to come, we must say as those who made the mistake said, but we say it and do right.
We say it and have the right vision, the right perception. We say it too, that the command must be G-d. It doesn't make us G-d. No. We are men. We're just common men making mistakes, repenting for our sins, but we have the word of G-d, the rules of G-d, and this order is the order approved by design, by and intended for us by G-d. In a sense, we do hope for a divine order on earth, a divine kingdom on earth, a divine rule on earth. We do hope for it, for the rule is always G-d according to the Muslims. The rule is G-d and the command is His. What does that mean? How do we apply that brother down here in our little small business? We too must apply that principle in our life in the home.
Sister, you should want the order of G-d in your house. You should want to run your family according to the word of G-d. You should want to raise your children, the hope for wives, the hope for husbands who will hope for homes run according to the order of G-d. You should want to raise your children, the hope for wives, the hope for husbands who will hope for homes run according to the order of G-d. When you have that, you have a unit, a unit model of the kingdom to come. You have a proof of what G-d promised in your house. Brothers, when we are teaching in our schools, and sisters when you're teaching in the schools, the school teachers and principals, you should be trying to run that school under the command of G-d so that school becomes a model, a unit in the great order that G-d intends for us on this earth.
That applies to all of our aspirations, to all of our investments, to all of our involvements, to all of our concerns, to all of our business. It applies to science and everything else. Though we are medical doctors, we should try to run our medical order so that it will be a small unit of that government, that divine government that's coming. What kind of administration you have here? One approved by G-d's word, the Quran and the son of the prophet.
[applause]
Then, it will be halal and tayyib. Then, it will be reflecting of that paradise that G-d wants us to have. Muslim must understand that G-d, he doesn't want to shock the ignorant believers and burden them too much. They are not intellectual yet. He says a lot of things to us that the ignorant must grow into wisdom to understand and appreciate. I think civilization, just the fact if you hadn't been doing nothing but riding on the bus of civilization, or the trunk or the tree train of civilization.
We have made so much progress now. I don't think we should have to be hesitant to tell you that G-d wants us to have paradise now and after, here and hereafter, now and later. I'm telling you that it's real. G-d's promise is real and the Quran makes this possible and practical. Prophet Muhammad shows us the steps plainly for all of us to see and follow. Dear brothers and sisters, that's the meaning of Quran as the foundation of society and we pray G-d forgive us all our sins and guide us always, grant us peace and prosperous families and happy families. Amin. As-Salaam-Alaikum.
[00:59:01] [END OF AUDIO]

