The Straight Way
Imam W. Deen Mohammed



I hope God blesses us with guidance and understanding. I hope he blesses me to be able to express my thoughts clearly to you and I hope he blesses you to receive my thoughts in the proper way. I don't intend any mockery. I don't intend any disgusting criticism. So, if you might hear that or feel that, please know that I don't intend that. Everything that I do and say is for the sake of improving us and not merely criticizing. 

Alhamdulillah, Praise be to Allah, Guardian Evolver, the Cherisher and Sustainer of all the worlds. We put our complete trust in him. We seek Him for forgiveness. We do not associate anything in worship with Him. We praise and give thanks to Him on the blessing of His generous and noble messenger Mohammed. In the Qur'an, the Most High says, Dhalikah Al Kitaabu laa raiba feehi hudaan lilmuttaqeen "This is the book in which there are no defects. It is guidance for the Mutaqeen." Also Allah, Most High, says in the Qur'an that no one can go in the way of Mutaqeen, except Allah wills. He is Lord Cherisher of all the worlds. And again, Allah Most High says in the Qur’an that, "The path is open to whoever has a will to walk in it." Whoever desires to walk in it let him walk in it. Whoever desires not to then let him not walk in it.”

So, it is the way for us to choose of our own free will, but at the same time there is a condition for the human beings,  for the believer in this religion that  cannot come unless it be with the blessings of Allah, by the will of Allah. And that is the Mustaqeem. Mustaqeem is translated as the straight path. It may be translated variously…
The pure Qur’anic term, Mustaqeem; the way of the Muslim, is of the order of the Prophet Abraham, Ibraheem in the Qur’anic language---Ibraheem the upright one the Hanifa the upright one the sincere in faith who did not associate any with Allah; he did not associate any with Allah. His devotion was pure  sincere, whole and without any allegiance given to any except Allah, Most High. 

We have in the rituals of Hajj the maqaam Ibraheem, the place where Ibraheem stood and   gave his devotional prayer to the one  Allah. Maqaam, maqaama, mustaqeem, all refer to the one single thing and that is the right position---the right position. None can come to the right position, except  Allah wills. None can come to the right position except as Allah wills.

He is the sole guardian of that. Once we take the position of the Mustaqeem, the path of Mustaqeem, then we have  constant, secure, stable life. Do you think that Allah, Most High, will bless anyone with or allow anyone  to get that of their own free will?  No. If that was possible for us to get of our own initiative then everyone would be successful, because that is the position of success.   That is the position of security, safety, stability,  uprightness. If anyone  could get that, then the wicked would have equal access to the life, the good life and they don’t. They don’t have access to the good life. They have access to the material things, but they don’t have access to the good life. The good life is only for the good, it is not for the rebels who refuse to respect Allah, His guidance and His messenger, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him.

Dear beloved Muslims, our way is the way of the righteous. The Muslim way is the way of the righteous. It is not the way of the wicked. It is not the way of the double dealers. It’s not the way of the two-faced people. It is the way of the sincere and the righteous. Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alaihi was salaam, he said, “Ad Deeni Nasiha.” “The religion is sincerity, sincerity.” This word Nasiha it is equivalent to our English word sincerity and even perhaps with the meaning---pure meaning sincerity. And the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be on him) went on to explain to us how this sincerity is discharged or carried out. He said it is sincerity Billahi, it is sincerity to Allah. It has to be sincere with Allah and sincerity with…and sincerity to His Messenger, we have to be sincere with Prophet Muhammad. We have to be sincere with the Prophet.  And sincerity with the Amma, (that is to say) with the leadership. The plural of Imam---Imam is one person;  amma is the office of the Imam.  We have to be sincere with our leaders. Wa ummuhum and we have to be sincere with, the body of people. That covers it all doesn’t it? We have to be sincere with Allah, we have to be sincere with the Prophet, we have to be sincere with the leadership, the Muslim leadership and we have to be sincere with the body of people---that follows the leadership.

We have an obligation to be sincere, to be honest, and to be right. We have that obligation to Allah. We have that obligation to Muhammad, Rasul ul Allah, the messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alahi wa salaam, Peace and Blessings be on him. We have that obligation to the Imams, the leaders of the community, the Muslim community that we put in office that we give our support to, that we acknowledge to be fit leaders. We have that same obligation. we have an obligation to them too. 

But what makes this a true democracy is that we also have that obligation to ourselves  as a body of people following the Imam, that follow the Imams, we have that sincerity to ourselves. If the people are injured,  if the Imams are disrespected, if Prophet Muhammad is not given his due respect,  if Allah  is not given due respect, we---all of us--- have  an obligation to call that to the attention of the person or persons who are   violating that respect. We have an obligation; say “Brother you are not respecting your obligation to be sincere to Allah.” Maybe all the time we don’t know. It is between him and Allah.
Whether we can call him to account or not, if he is a Muslim he has to accept what Allah has revealed and he accepts that Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of G-d and he accepts what Prophet Muhammad has said  that is true and right for all of us: That we should be sincere to Allah; sincere to his messenger;  sincere to  the leader to the office of the Imam or to the office of our leaders; and to be sincere to the common folk.

Now, this sincerity obligates us. Can  we stand to see our common body of people going astray  and not be affected by it? Should we  watch leaders misguide and wrong the common people and don’t stand up against it; don’t stand up for the rights of the common people? No, we have an obligation. This religion is telling  us that we have an obligation to Allah, to His messenger, to the office of the leadership, to the leader, that office, that body of leaders  and we have the obligation to the common folk. That means all of us; the Imam is in that body too. We have that obligation to be sincere.

One of the members of the Council of the community of the American Muslim Mission recently told me that he looked up the word and he was confused. He looked it up in some dictionary and he was confused. He   wondered how we could give that kind of definition to Allah and His messenger. He said he understood how we could give that definition to each other, but not to Allah and His messenger. Because he thought that the giving of that kind of sincerity  wasn’t just being sincere, but was also the giving of aid,  giving assistance; helping someone in an inferior  position or in a weak position. But, that’s not so, that is not the meaning of the word. 

The meaning of the word is to be sincere in whatever you are doing. Be sincere in your thinking, be sincere in your feelings, be sincere in your action, be sincere in everything. That’s what the meaning of the word is---be sincere. Don’t be hypocritical, don’t be two-faced. Don’t pretend to be something that you’re not. Be what you profess to be. 
Praise be to Allah, the one Creator alone who governs the heavens and the earth and all therein. Who created everything and he made possible, all of the advantages and all of the progress that we realize as his creatures. Praise be to Him, the perfect the only perfect, the Almighty, the all-knowing, the beneficent, the merciful compassionate, Lord of all the worlds. Praise be to Him. The Pure and the Perfect of whom there is no defect. Praise be to Him.

We should worship  Him with sincere heart---we should worship Him with sincere heart. We should seek him with  sincere heart. We should read the Qur’an with  sincere heart. We should seek the blessings that are in the Qur’an with sincere heart. We should accept Prophet Muhammad with sincere heart. We should relate to our imams with a sincere heart. And we should relate to each other with a sincere heart.

Where is there any security for people where there is no sincerity? Where people  are just doing their own thing with no respect for what is right, for what is demanded of them as Muslims, as believers. Muslims and believers are obligated. Allah says “count not your religion as a favor to  me; it is a favor to you.” Your religion obligates you.
Al Islam is not a seasonal thing that people put on for convenience and take off for convenience. Al Islam is  most serious business. And if I was a decent person, and I wanted to play with something, I would play with something that was designed for play. I would not play with this religion. Any decent minded person, Christian, Jew, atheist---I don’t care what he is would not play with this religion. There are many fads out there that you can play with. So let us be sincere.

Let us know first what we want. What do we want? Ask yourself “what do I want?” Know first what you want.  If the way  of Al Islam is too big; then at least be intelligent enough to respect the obligation on you to respect this religion, and to respect the obligation that this religion holds out or establishes for us. I am not saying that we should be perfect, that Muslims must be perfect. The Muslim must take the position to be sincere and true all the time; not to be perfect. But we strive for perfection.

We know we are human beings and that  we are never capable of having perfection that we find in divine in Allah himself; he is the only one that has that perfection.  But we can be decent models in a human society. We can be shining models of excellence in a human society. We can reflect the excellence of Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be on him, because he was a mortal, just like us. Allah most high says in the Qur’an “Say I am  a mortal, just like you---anna bashiruun mithlukum.” 

He didn’t just say “I am a mortal,” because  later some silly, devious-minded person who would later come up  and say that “he was a mortal, but not like us---he was a divine mortal.” Allah  said, “Say I am a mortal, just like you.” Anna Bashiruun mithlukum, I am a mortal just like you. So whatever excellence he achieved in life, it was possible for the mortal human being, because he is a mortal human being just like us. And the point is made; it is emphasized in the Qur’an so that we would know that.  That Prophet Muhammad’s excellence is not something that’s up in the sky, beyond human reach.  Prophet Muhammad’s excellence is on earth with mortal human beings. And we are obligated to grow into that  excellence that is exemplified in Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be on him. That’s the human being women, men---all of us.  

 We are to grow into the excellence of Prophet Muhammad, because he is the example for all of us…
Allah has given us great knowledge that if respected with the respect that our professed faith requires;--I say our professed faith requires---we would see in that Qur’an and this religion the highest science, the highest way or path of excellence that there is. 
Allah wants for us the good life. He wants for us the best that is possible for ourselves as human beings. He has created us and he has given us an inborn excellence. That if we respect him, and turned to him with hearts sincere then that inborn excellence will begin to express itself and will begin to grow outwardly. We will realize a capacity that we did not know we had. We will realize excellence that we did not know we were capable of realizing. Allah wants the best for us.

Allah tells us that he does not want hardship for us.... Yet, at the same time we have to be prepared for difficulty in life. We have to be prepared to meet hardships.  And to bear difficult things in difficult situations, difficult burdens, to bear them, rather than succumb break down and give up the excellence of our own nature of our own being that Allah has given us.

Should anyone abandon his dignity when his dignity is his security---yes his dignity is his security? Should anyone abandon his dignity in hard times? No when times get hard we don’t abandon our dignity, we bear it. We tough it out because we know that Allah has ordered us to do that and that he has shown us  our better life. We don’t want to lose it. 
Dear beloved Muslims we are to grow in moral excellence. We are to grow in sincerity---sincerity. We are to grow in sincerity and truthfulness; and moral excellence. We are to grow in obedience to Allah in taqwa. We are to grow in goodness in the expression of righteousness and goodness. We are to grow in goodness---Ihsaan If our hearts are sincere and they responded to the sincerity of  our own souls and hearts, then we will be growing in taqwa and in ihsaan. And Allah will increase our faith for us. We will have growth in imaan. He will increase our faith for us. 

But none of this is possible if we are seeking selfishly: if we are seeking self promotion. We should be seeking the pleasure of Allah. We are to be seeking the pleasure of Allah. That should be uppermost, that should be the whole vision, and whatever is happening is happening within that scope. We are seeking the pleasure of Allah. That’s the key. Don’t seek to please me. Don’t seek to please Imam Hamidullah. Don’t seek  to please Mayor Byrne; or your immediate employer; or the president of the United States. They are mortals just like us. They have defects, just like us. They’ll become corrupt if you give them your complete allegiance. 

Any time you give a human being your total allegiance, you will make that human being corrupt. If that human being accepts it, automatically that human being becomes corrupt. Because Allah hasn’t given any human being the capacity to accept the complete devotion of another human being; no, that is only for Allah. We give them their share, they have a share and Allah will pay the respect that they are due. He has given us their place. We give them respect on their level in their place. We don’t give them what is due to Allah alone. Don’t you know that no human being can say that he is the abd (or slave of another human being) of anything except Allah? I can’t be abdi or abdulheem. I can’t be the abd of the president, the Abdu of the president, no. Search the Qur’an very carefully that term is given to no one except the one who is the servant of Allah. 

“Oh Chief, Oh Governor I want to be your abd” I don’t see why any of you would want to be that. After two or three centuries of being the abd of the white man I don’t see why any of you would to be that. We are a servant or slave only of Allah, Him alone. We have a stopping point when it comes to others; I will give you my devotion up to a point. I will obey you up to a point. And that point has been established by Allah and His Messenger Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alaihi wa salaam and I stop there and I don’t give you anymore. That’s all, that’s finished. If you ask for any more then go talk to my Lord, see if He will make you a lord---He will not make you a lord---He will destroy you. So dear beloved believers we have to understand that. This religion is a sincere one. It has established rules and regulations that we cannot violate them and say that we are a good believer and say that we are a good Muslim---no! We are not good Muslims if we violate these rules that are established. We are only good Muslims when we are obeying with sincere intent. Ati Allah, wa ati rasul---obey Allah and obey His Messenger.

No one can read the Qur’an and say “Oh the Qur’an is enough for me; I have the Qur’an that’s enough for me.” No!  Prophet Muhammad has been established as an example for us. We are also to obey his example. Don’t try to tell me how  to live this religion Prophet Muhammad has already told me how to live this religion. We don’t need a new person coming up telling us to “just take the Qur’an because this is modern times let me show you how to live it.” We don’t need someone to tell us to just take the Qur’an, because this is modern times and we don’t need Prophet Muhammad. No, Prophet Muhammad is the messenger for all times. You take the Qur’an and you read it and you seek to follow it in the light of what Prophet Muhammad himself did.

Prophet Muhammad didn’t make two standards of justice; two standards for the right and wrong; no, only one. He did not make two models, two  guises, two faces; no, just one. He lived a certain way and it was that way all the time and with everyone. At home he was the same Prophet that he was in the public. And in the public he was the same Prophet that he was at home. Did Prophet Muhammad go after the luxuries of this world? No he did not. Prophet Muhammad was not attracted to the lust and luxuries of this world. Prophet Muhammad went after justice, equality, truth, cleanliness, uprightness, and respect for everybody. 

Prophet Muhammad did not treat a person disrespectfully because they didn’t have money. Most of his close companions were poor people. He didn’t slight people because they weren’t educated. His ummah was uneducated until Allah blessed him with the guidance and it became educated. It began as an uneducated community, an uneducated ummah and a poor ummah. And Prophet Muhammad said in one of his sayings peace and blessings be upon him, “that it began with the meek and it shall return to the meek.” It began with the meek and it shall return to the meek. It won’t come to the proud; it will come to the meek, to the humble people. Not to the rich--- (it comes) to the poor people. Not to academia, they are arrogant--- (it comes) to the common people.

We want stability in our lives. In this part of the world, life is driven to the winds of change. It looks good one season, bad the next. It’s prosperous in one season, destitute in the next. We haven’t found as a people, and I am not only talking about the African-American now, I am talking about all the masses in America. We haven’t found leadership for ourselves. That will give us something to live in that is more secure than the faddish culture of Western society that sweeps a man out of hell into purgatory and out of purgatory back into hell. And never allows him a chance to make his life stable to secure himself, to secure his life.

This religion requires growth of us. But first we must be sincere. It requires growth of us. Can a Muslim be satisfied lagging behind everyone else in business? Lagging behind everyone else in citizenship responsibility; lagging behind everyone else in political dignity; lagging behind everyone else in community pride. No, Muslims can’t have that. If you are a Muslim and understand your religion you can’t lag behind the other people in these respects. You must be foremost because Allah says; the Muslim community they will be foremost, the righteous, those who really are sincere and really carry out what is asked of them; Allah says they will be foremost. They won’t be lagging behind. How long are you going to let this world sell you a temporary bed under the Sun to rest your head on and say you can have that as long as we can give it to you? But don’t get up out of that bed and try to do what we’re doing. And you have some good jobs now and the factories are booming, and you can have that. Now, when that runs out you just stay right there and you wait right there until we make something else for you. Now we will try to get you some welfare, we will get you some welfare. Now, when that runs out  you still don’t try and do anything on your own  you lay right there with welfare until we do something else for you. 

Muslims can’t accept that. If we understand this religion we can’t accept that. We can’t accept that the system dominates us and defiles our faith. No, we can’t accept that. Muslims must work for their future Muslims must invest in life in the present and for the future. And they must work towards the future; they must work to improve the future. Muslims cannot allow their community life or individual life to be put into the hands of other forces. Muslims must take their lives as individuals and as a community into their own charge obeying Allah, obeying his messenger, respecting their leadership respecting the community. And they press forward to gain more dignity to gain more freedom to gain more stability to gain more clout. If others have clout why shouldn’t you have clout?
This is the true way. No one should come to this religion unless they are sincere because here is great dignity. And we shame ourselves in the light of this religion if we don’t do what we have to do.

Dear beloved Muslims, we have personal, private duties to carry out and no one is going to watch over us except Allah. We accept that and we have been and trusted to carry it out and we have to be accountable for that ourselves as individuals.
Prophet Muhammad explained to us what goodness is. The Muslim is required to be good, and to practice goodness. The Muslim is the muhsin; the doers of good. And ihsaan is one of our strongest principles—ihsaan--the doing of good. Prophet Muhammad explained to us what it is. It is to behave as though you are looking directly at Allah. You know if any believer really believes in Allah and he was looking at Allah all the time, would he act right?

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, he said “it is to behave as though you are seeing Allah. For if you do not see Him; He is seeing you.” So if we know this and if we believe this how can we continue to do wrong? The moment that we do wrong it comes to our consciousness immediately we say astaghfirallah “Oh Allah forgive me my sins,” “have mercy on me take away my sins.” We cannot deny ourselves the precious good life that Allah has made possible. Sentiments are so innocent that they are dangerous. Yes, they  are dangerous. We give ourselves to sentimental urges and be unaware that we are putting ourselves in hell. And one of the strongest tendencies in the people who don’t follow a disciplined life is that tendency to give themselves to sentimental influences. I have seen people go out and do wrong, violate their own principles because at that time they were washed out by sentiments. “Oh hell they did it to me. They didn’t have any respect for my feelings, so I am going to pay them back.” So what is that, except the forces of sentimentality working? You are hurt, so you are going to go do wrong.

Sometime I think of the self neglect and the community neglect that we have is a problem of sentimentality. Yes, I really do believe it’s a problem of sentimentality. Either we are so sentimentally involved in our own self or we are so sentimentally attached to somebody else that we can’t get our head together and keep the lights on. So let us be aware of that. We want stability and the only thing that can give us that is the fear (or consciousness) of Allah. Attaqullah, fear Allah with the fear that is due Him. The fear that is due Allah is the fear that involves not only fear but also love and appreciation. Allah, He is not a being that represents all threats (Tape is indistinct).

He has bestowed upon you dignity and excellence and has entrusted you with great potential, courage, ability; and has given you…freedom  freedom to exercise your own will. He has entrusted you with more than anyone else can give you. No one can give you the trust that Allah has given you. Maybe I am willing to share my business with you, be my partner share in half of the trust, half of the responsibility for my business. Oh, that is a lot of trust. But Allah has said that He made the human being that will obey Him. He made him to carry the trust of the heavens and the earth.  . Do you know that? That is a great trust.

Allah says that he offered the trust of the heavens and the earth to the Angels and other forces and they refuse to accept it, but the human being accepted it  so he gave it to the human being. Is that right? And Prophet Muhammad, Muhammad he is the model, he is the one that we should focus on. He carried that trust in the manner that pleased Allah. He came up to the measure. He measured up. And he is called what   ---Al-Ameen the trustworthy one. And what greater trust can anyone give you than that? So you should follow Prophet Muhammad, follow Prophet Muhammad. And carry out the trust of the office that  is in Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad, the office of Khalifa. Carry out that trust.

You know that most of us are not a Khalifa. The best we can do is be a good citizen, be a good Muslim. But Allah has offered you that trust. Therefore He has said that you have the inherent ability to be that. Is that right?  He has said that you have the inherent ability to be that, though you don’t think of yourself of fulfilling that. So who has given you the greatest trust---Allah.

Marxism will give us a picture of reality that they say is reality. They take the social man and put him under material principles. Instead of putting material principles under social principles, they put the social man under material principles and call it socialism. It’s materialism. That’s what is it’s not socialism it is materialism. Communist ideology is materialism ---not socialism. And the capitalist ideology is materialism. There is nothing but one true social program and that is the ummah of Prophet Muhammad, salla allahu alaihi wa salaam (it is) the only true social program.Prophet Muhammad. This is what Allah has blessed me to see.

My studies of what they say and what Allah says in the Qur’an and what Prophet Muhammad did as a historical man… Prophet Muhammad is no mythological man; Prophet Muhammad is a historical man. In fact, he is the only prophet really established in history. All of the other Prophets are established upon reports, scriptural, religious reports. Prophet Muhammad is the only prophet, Peace and blessings be upon him that is established in history.

So, we look and we know these things for ourselves and we have made our choice, Prophet Muhammad is our leader in the masjid, on the street,  in politics, in economics in every way of life and in every field of human interests Prophet Muhammad is our leader.  (They say) “We can’t have that, there is separation of church and state,” well that’s your business. This is our business; your business and our business. We respect your business you respect our business. The Muslims don’t have to be divided in their mind, divided in their interests, divided in their logic, divided in their moral vision where I have a church life on one side and a government life on this side. That’s division in the human being. 
Let us be sincere to this religion so we can get the benefit and grow. Isn’t growth one of the purposes? Allah says that he created us, so that we may grow. Don’t let these things come into your ear and pass out without you thinking. Give thought to it.

By the way, I was talking to my son this morning Saddruddin. I said Saddruddin don’t think too much on your birthday. The birthday announcement that you have there---somebody gave him a big headline from a newspaper and it had a report in the headline, a sad report in the headline and I didn’t like that up on his wall all of the time and he looking at that sad report all of the time. But it was the headline on the day that he was born so they gave it to him thinking that he would like that. I said Saddruddin don’t pay too much attention to your birthday. That birthday is the day that you came physically from your mother as a human being. I said the day that you were really born is the day that you decided to be truthful with Allah and to be a right person. I said that’s the day that you were really born Saddruddin. Saddruddin said that was the day I started thinking. How wonderful Allah is! He is such a marvelous teacher. My son he is not the philosopher who says “I think therefore I am.” He is just a little boy only 10 years old---and just made 10. He said, “Daddy that was the day that I started thinking”

Allah, most high, says Dhakir--- think, ponder, and reflect…, Allah says you get great benefit from thinking. Ladhikr ul llahi Akbar Reflecting on Allah and remembering him is the greatest. So we ask Allah for forgiveness for our sins; that He pardon us for our mistakes; that He return mercifully and forgivingly to us and grant us faith, peace, sound hearts, firm determination to be Muslims and to follow the path the way of Prophet Muhammad, salla Allah alahi wa salaam. Rabbana laa tuzigh quloobanaa ba’da ‘idh haditanaa wa hablana minl ladunka rahmatin ‘innaka ‘antal wahaabu, Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower

Dear beloved Muslims, Allah promised us growth and He also promised us another growth. Two growths; one growth is the growth that comes with taqwa comes with the fear of Allah and the sincerity of the heart, true devotion that comes from that, a growth in moral excellence, growth of healthy productive sentiments. If our heart is not given to Allah first, then we cannot expect a growth in healthy sentiments. But then Allah promises us another growth; and that growth is in knowledge and understanding, growth in the sciences.

And it  came as a blessing to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be on him, the Qur’an, the revelation that contains the light and the guidance for the whole of life and for all time  came to Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to the world, as guidance to the believers---as mercy to the worlds.
Dear beloved Muslims we want to fulfill the life. We want the whole life that Allah has created for us. We don’t just want the life of spiritual and  not the life of the material. Allah wants us to have the sciences. He wants us to have leadership in the sciences. Without that, we can’t be true to that strong community. A strong community needs science. It needs  men that are devoted to apply those sciences for the benefit of society.
Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alaihi wa salaam, said “the best of you is he who is most useful to the society.” The best of you is the most useful of you to his society. So we have to benefit society. We have to apply the knowledge for the benefit of society. Look how the sciences have been abused. They have applied the sciences for the benefit of the power establishment. They have used the sciences as obedient servants  to the rich and mighty, with no thought as to the obligations to serve the best interests of the common masses of people. 

Those who truly discharge that responsibility they will serve the good  welfare of the people. They will serve the good welfare of the people. Look how they say “we have made a mistake in designing the cities.”
The cities are too cluttered. There is not enough natural life in them, too much noise, too much pollution, etc. Why did you make that mistake?  It is because the science is serving the capitalist.... That is why  they made this mistake. If the sciences were serving humanity, they would not have made that  mistake.
They would have considered that this is too dead for human beings; let’s put some glass here, let’s put more glass here, let’s bring more trees here. This is too dead for human beings but they were only trying to get more wealth, more material wealth so they made a messy job. They oppressed life instead of serving the life. When Muslims come into this religion, and you know what this religion holds for you; do you think it’s not possible that you can become the leaders in science? There was Ghana in Africa and other centers of scientific studies, and research and development in Africa before the days of our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be on him. 

There were scientific centers in…before the days of our Prophet peace and blessing be on him. Many places had scientific development before the coming of Prophet Muhammad peace and blessing be on him.  But their light had gone out, they had regressed. They had toppled, they had been toppled, and they had fallen down. They  had lost what they once acquired. And it didn’t come from learned scholarly people—the revival didn’t come from scholarly people. The revival came from the ummiyeen the unlearned people under the ummiyee (unlettered) prophet, Prophet Muhammad, the unlearned Prophet. That is where the revival came. And what made it possible---the revival of the sciences---that book---Al Qur’an Kareem that came to Prophet Muhammad that’s what made it possible. Now you study history, and then look at the character of the populations now in the west in America. 

Look at the character of the populations. I am talking about massive populations; Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York. All of these centers where the population is concentrated look at the character of the population and you will find that the character of the population resembles the character of the population in the time of ignorant (people in) Arabia, the time called jahiliyyah. The same character is there. What are the manifestations in these cities now? An over occupation with self-gratification of the lower senses---not the higher senses, the lower senses: or a fixation with materials interests. Isn’t that right?  They can’t get out of it; it seems to be a fixation. The behavior, the chemistry, the biology seems to be fixed there in the material interests. And we don’t want to give much attention to the real reality, we are just fixed right here in this concentrated lower vision of what the real is.

Look at another manifestation; the people are under crime, the people are oppressed in these big populations by crime. Crime is the oppressor in all of these big populations. In the time of the jahiliyyah seen in the time of Prophet Muhammad in Arabia the criminal manifestation was there; the criminals were dominating the society, not the moral people the moral people weren’t dominating. The criminals were dominating. This is the same manifestation. And look again in these populations that we have in these big populations in these big cities; it is not the blacks, not the whites, it is all the races of the population centers.  And what do we find as another manifestation: gang mentality---groups of people forming together to form gangs. We only see what is published in newspapers that these are teenager gangs. Those “teenage” gangs are directed by grown-up men. 

And some of those men are in the police department. Some of those men are in City Hall.. If you could see the whole picture you will see that Cleveland the adult society is dominated by grown up gangs; nothing but grown-up gangs; gangs of grown-up men; criminal mentality, criminal gang organization dominating the life---the same people that were in the jahiliyyah.
I have faith in this Qur’an that did it once and it can do it again. I long ago decided to follow this book and Prophet Muhammad---I long ago decided that; that’s my commitment. And I’m not going to change that. I pray Allah, I ask Him in my prayer Allah, the moment that I change that, please destroy me. I don’t want to be conscious anymore. So that’s my decision.

I don’t care what your law says, I don’t care what the law of the land says; I don’t care what you tell me is illegal. The Constitution of the United States, the Bible and the Constitution of the United States says that this gang dominance, this criminal dominance of society is illegal, but it’s existing. So don’t tell me what is illegal. I think they have gone so far from their own law, from what they promised human beings in this so-called free society---free world they have gone so far from it that they have no right to tell me what is  illegal. They have no right to use the word.

If they want to say what is  illegal; let them start by correcting what  is illegal already under their own power. Don’t come to me with what is illegal; correct what is illegal already under your own power. But no, most of our leaders in the government they must be gang leaders too they must have the same mentality. Because they will…send spies into a healthy minded organization, but won’t do anything about the rise of crime out there in the public. But they will sit down in conferences and decide “yes, we have to send spies in to all of those black organizations.” 

Why send a spy to check something that’s not  happening? To check something that you say “has a possibility, it may happen, “we see the design, the design tells us that this can happen so  we will send spies in to work on it to check it. When the criminals have taken over the city; the criminal have taken over our private lives. And you’ll  come in and peep on Black people because you say that “there is a possibility that they might do something criminal.” First get the criminal that is already doing something criminal. Then after you have gotten him, and then say well you all have the possibility so we are going to send our spies in on you. I say welcome, welcome, it’s our turn.

Muslims have to give their complete devotion and allegiance to Allah, and then use your faith and your guidance, apply it in your life and the life of your family and let it shine in the world and don’t give a damn what the world thinks about it. You go on on and do what you know to be right. “Oh, Brother Imam, that  is dangerous talk.” No, that’s holy talk, that’s righteous talk, and this world says “you want to be good, that’s  okay, we will allow it, but take your concerns in to heaven, don’t try to work for your concerns down here; “If you want to be good, okay. We give you room gone on upstairs”

But you say “Allah I want my share of the world too, G’d says to me in the Qur’an; Waibtaghi feema ataka Allahu alddara alakhirata wala tansa naseebaka mina alddunya. G’d obligate me to get my share of the world too.” . They say “well you want that too? Okay you can have that but leave your morals. You leave taqwa; you can’t have that and taqwa; you can’t have that and ihsaan; you can’t have that and morals.” You want that? We accept that, but leave off truthfulness, leave off righteousness, leave off your wholeness this is no place for it here.”  So who are we going to obey---them or Allah? Allah says do both. Work for the promised life with what He has availed you; and don’t neglect your share of this material world. That’s what Allah says. 

Now who are we going to obey, them or Allah? Allah has not created me a criminal and Allah has not made me an angel. So they tell me “if I respond to my moral nature “go to heaven, be an angel; get out of this realm that you are in. Or else take off that nature and give yourself to materialism and then we can have you down here.” No, Allah hasn’t given me that kind of nature. Allah has given me a moral nature. He hasn’t made me a criminal by nature; He has given me a moral nature. And Allah has given me an appetite for the things that help me grow in the material world. Allah has given me that. And I know by studying the Qur’an now that growth in the material world also aids the growth of the inner development; that it improves the inner person the inner becomes better---he becomes better. 

So actually experience in this world helps prepare us for excellence in the next..And that no man should have excellence in the latter world without having experience in this material world.  Allah says in the Qur’an that He has never sent messengers without deciding for them wives and children. Wives, that’s sex, you have to have sex with your wives. And you have to be responsible---you have to be obligated to your wives and that means that you have to work. If you have a wife you have to work in the world, you have to have business; you have to have a productive life, an income. 

If you are going to have children, that is going to increase your obligation. Plus now you are going to have to be a kind of political, governmental authority, because now you have a social order here with your wives and children. So this tells us that we have to move into the full dimensions of life that is possible for the  human being. In doing this, we experience the kind of experience that makes a better inner person, it enriches the inner person. We see an inner development, an inner growth as a consequence of our being involved in the material world. And you can’t get around it.
So what am I saying? I am saying that your spirituality your inner self, in order for it to grow for the hereafter you have to have involvement in this world. You have to be in economics. You have to be in government. You have to be in everything. You have to be a society involved in the full activities of the human society. It is a requirement for the afterlife.

I am not teaching. I am repeating. I’m only saying--- giving you what I read; what I know to be facts in this religion. So let us accept that and grow. I am not hurrying with the khutbah because I know that we don’t have times like this often. This is a great day, great day.. An employer used to tell us, “You’re lucky Mohammed.” I said yes boss. You  think I don’t call the boss---a white man, a brown man or the red man or the Black man whoever is my boss on a job, you think that I don’t call him boss?  I like to call him boss. I would say, yes boss. I would say what…? He said “you are lucky to get on in this elite company; you are getting in on the ground floor. 

This is a new day; the clock has run out again. And the intelligence of society has been toppled again. And the Muslim if he holds onto the life of this religion  he has a chance to come in on the ground floor. He has a chance to get into the position and be responsible for the future. Be responsible for the future life of society. That is  he can make a contribution, I mean. After all, Allah He is governing all of the time. No matter what we do Allah will manifest it. We have an opportunity so let us get in on the ground floor and take that opportunity. Move ahead, go ahead, and press forward. We are blessed now for the first time to have access to knowledge that establishes people…For the first time in our history in this part of the world we are blessed to have access to that precious knowledge---superior knowledge, rare knowledge--- that establishes people. So let’s take this opportunity press forward, make it happen.  Again I say that we are blessed that now for the first time to have the kind of knowledge needed to establish people.

The Europeans were established with his knowledge. The Chinese the Japanese were established with their knowledge. We have even a better one, an even greater (knowledge) one more right, more pure, better, clearer, more consistent, whole. Again we have the opportunity for the first time to establish ourselves in the light of what G’d have revealed. We couldn’t do it before. There is no knowledge in Christianity to establish us, not in the preachers and not in our leaders. If there were we would be established, we would find  establishment.

The African-American under Christianity has just about been blown off course by the winds of these turbulent days, isn’t that a fact? We look at the church leadership and at the masses going to church and it doesn’t represent the kind of devotional moral sense that used to be in most of them, no. They’ve been swept off course like drifters just drifting out at sea. Some of them have become so political that you can’t recognize the Gospel anymore with what they say.

Others have become so materialistic; it sounds like a gimmick  a moneymaking gimmick. They preach the moneymaking thing. A few are trying to hold on. But for the African-American masses and for all of the other masses in America now they do not have any real stability no real security in that at all they offer nothing.  And they never did have that kind of knowledge that establishes people and give people really an anchor, roots, structure, firmness. They didn’t have it. They never teach it through that institution. Through their guidance we would never have been able to achieve that. 
In fact the only movement that has come close to giving us some kind of balanced life---a well structured life has been social movements, legal movements, not church movements. The church has had to come out of the church and get into political movements or social movements or something else in order to achieve something of value for us.  And that has been haphazard; hits and misses in the dark. So I say again, for the first time we, African-American masses and other masses in America all of them---if they want to accept it---it is the first time that we have access to knowledge that establishes people.

You buy communist ideology and immediately you come under a communist hierarchy. And you are in the same inferior or weak position you are in under capitalism. It’s just a different ism. You know it’s a fact!
But if you accept Al Islam  any brother, any brother  in the ranks---no hierarchy decides---any brother in the ranks that feels that he has better knowledge than I have and better morals than I have and is better qualified to lead this community---any brother in the ranks  can come up here and take over And when I’m not here---and it’s time to start the jumah, time to start prayer any brother who is qualified from the ranks can come right up and he does it  and you would have to follow him just like you would follow me. 

Not that we don’t choose our leader: certainly we choose our leaders. We choose them but there is no restriction on the individual that denies him from putting his hat in the  ring…. We don’t have to wait for someone to approve another leader. If someone has seen him and knows that he has better qualifications for this position, he doesn’t wait for an election.  He just says, “Look, I would like to help, the Imam. I believe I have more ability and I can do a better job I would like to help  the Imam.” 
If he helps the Imam he becomes the Imam if he has better ability. He shouldn’t say “I want to topple the Imam,” that would be the wrong attitude. He should say “I want to help the Imam” and if he comes to help  and he has a greater ability, if I am a good Muslim, I should say this man should be the Imam, he should be the main leader---not me. He is more qualified, he is the better one to lead us. And if I don’t say it, and you can see it you should say “hey you haven’t seen the light, brother Imam, this man is better to lead us than you.” 

Yes! This is (an example of) a true Islamic community. That is the way that they would do it; they would behave that way. All of us have the Qur’an, but in the communist society there are materials that the little people the people under them can’t get. And in the Church there are books that the little ones can’t get; only the top people in the Church can get those books. But in this religion the highest knowledge is available to all---the highest---they have nothing higher than that (Qur’an). They have nothing better than this Qur’an---nowhere.

You may say that there are scholars that have their explanations they have knowledge that has been passed down to them, precious knowledge, keys for understanding the Qur’an and all that.    But Allah has not entrusted the society to them, no indeed. That is why the Prophet said it would return to the least, to the poor, the downtrodden it shall return to them.. Why, because their whole explanations are not necessary for insights or inroads into this knowledge. All you have to do is be sincere; you be sincere, you be right and if the time demands it, Allah with His Mercy and His Grace, He will give you what those guys didn’t have.   So access to it does not depend upon a hierarchy. That is, access to the wisdom does not depend on a hierarchy (Tape is indistinct) and the knowledge itself,  the written book is available to all. So understand that.

And know that for the first time we have access to that precious knowledge that establishes people. We don’t have to depend on welfare. We don’t have to depend on the winds of circumstances.  We don’t have to depend on the Democratic Party. 
Do you think the people who acquire stability, strength, possessions, political power,  and economic dignity; do you think the people who acquire that depend upon the Democratic Party? Do you think that they depend on the Republican Party? They make the Democratic Party! They make the Republican Party; they put in the Democrats (leaders) they put the Democrats out; they put in the Republicans, they take the Republicans out. Now what do you want? 

I want Allah, Prophet Muhammad, the Qur’an, I want Al Islam. Oh Allah, Bless us with the faith, increase our faith, and give us of this world that that you approve, that that is good, and in the next that that you approve that is good; and save us from the curse of the Satan, the fires of sin. Ameen.
