01/07/1983
IWDM Study Library
IWDM Jumuah Masjid Malcolm Shabazz

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

Warith Deen Mohammed: All praise be to Allah, the Guardian, the Evolver, the Cherisher, the Sustainer of all the worlds. We put our complete trust in Him. We ask forgiveness in our prayers to Him. We do not separate or break from Him. I bear witness that nothing deserves worship except Allah alone, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger. Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad whom the Quran was revealed, upon his descendants, upon his companions, upon the righteous, all of them, upon the believing people, upon us here and throughout the world.
Dear beloved Muslims, Allah has obligated us to worship Him and to worship Him alone, and to associate nothing with Him. La ilaha illallah is the declaration of faith, the declaration of faith for all Muslims. Muhammadur Rasulullah, Muhammad is not G-d, Muhammad is a Messenger of G-d. La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah. We know we are to worship Him, associating nothing with Him. Allah said in the Quran, highly praised is He, "Qul huwa Allahu ahad." Say, "Allah, He is one". The title of this surah is Al Ikhlas, and it is translated into English by the translators of Quran as meaning the Purity, the Purity.
This is a pure idea in al-Islam, a pure idea of the concept of G-d. Anything other than that is impure. If we associate any in the worship of Allah, then we lose the purity of the concept. Say, "Worship Him and worship Him alone, and associate nothing with Him in worship." Not of the creation, not of our imagination, for Allah has said, whatever we imagine, He is far above that. Praise be to Allah. We glorify in the worship of Allah, we glorify in the worship of Allah. That's peace for the individual. When the individual comes to glorify in the worship of Allah, he finds true peace. But when he glorify in his own worth, or in his own achievement, that leads him to more and more difficulties, to more and more frustrations, to more and more stress, to more and more unhappiness.
We thank Allah for the religion, the religion of truth, the religion of clear guidance, the religion that has made our souls to rest, and have saved us from confusion and agony. Dear beloved Muslims, Allah says in Quran, "He neither made the jinn nor the human being for anything except for his worship." We know that philosophers, they have interpreted the purpose of man or the purpose of life in many ways. But here we find, in the Quran, Allah giving to us the purpose of life, not only for human being but also for jinn, as to what that is, it is to worship Him and to worship Him alone.
Again, we know that everything worships Allah. Allah tells us in the Quran, highly praised is He, that every creature knows its mode of worship. Every creature knows its mode of worship. We understand by that, that Allah has designed the creation and His design prevails, and whatever we do to deviate from that design is temporary. It will result in our own loss, in our own destruction. But if we follow the guidance that He has given to the prophets, especially to Muhammad, the complete, the last, if we follow the guidance that Allah has given to us through His prophets, then we will have lasting progress, lasting progress. We will be at par with His will, because that is the purpose of Revelation.
The purpose of Revelation is to bring us in par with the will of G-d. His will covers everything. There's nothing existing that does not bear His will, or that does not come under His will. The creation of the heavens and the earth as Allah tells us in the Quran, as well as the human life and everything, comes unto the will of Allah. Allah has called us to worship. Allah has called us to understand Him, to worship and to understand Him. And in our faith, we turn to Allah and we also in [inaudible 00:17:19] for understanding.
Dear beloved people, Allah calls us to pure faith, to faith that He intended for us, to faith that He intended in the very creation of us. Not to a faith that we dream up, not to a faith that we plan, or that we work out with our [unintelligible 00:17:53] tools of intelligence, but to faith that He has intended for us. The faith that Allah calls us to is natural faith. Every creature, every creature experience that faith at one time or another. But Allah has also guided us. He has also guided us, guided us into the light of that faith, guided us into the understanding of that faith. Allah calls us to concern. Is that right? Allah calls us to a concern because He knows that concern is natural for us, and that concern is faith. Allah calls us to that concern. Allah calls us also to education, to teaching regarding that faith.
Allah wants us to understand that faith. He wants us to understand the rational basis for that faith. Allah calls us also to understanding, to education, to taaleem, to education. We know that on the Jumu'ah day, we don't only pray, but we also give Khutbah. The Khutbah is supposed to be structured on the lines of Islamic knowledge found in the great sources of the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, peace and the blessings be on him. Dear beloved Muslims, we should be able to distinguish our faith from the faith of ordinary religions. Ordinary religions call people to faith, and that faith is mostly a spiritual faith. Our religion obligates us not to stop at just the spiritual experience, but to look rationally into the rational basis of faith so that we will have knowledge of our spiritual life, and be able to manage it better in the world of adverse spirits, adverse influences.
Praise be to Allah. Again, Allah calls us to community development, but He calls us first to what conscience-- Again, it's conscience. Man has a sensitivity, a sense of obligation, spiritual obligation. Sometimes he can identify just what's moving in him, and he says, "Oh, this is the love of G-d. This is the love of G-d." He knows that his spiritual life calls for expression and the glorification of his Lord. That's the concern there, but he also needs education. He needs to understand his spiritual nature, and understand the rational basis of spiritual life, so Allah gives him both.
Then he has a community concern. That's as natural for him as the spirit of worship in him, the community concern, because Allah has created him as a creature to obey Allah, his Lord. Allah has also created him a creature to accept responsibility to the community, and to the society, and to the environment out of which he's born, upon which he grows. He has this obligation too. Many of us know the concern, but many of us don't know how to intelligently pursue the steps for fulfilling that obligation or that responsibility to our community, to society. Allah calls us twice. He calls us to worship, and He calls us also to our community responsibilities. We know that the Muslim community is one community. Allah says that this, your community, Ummatan wahidah, is one community. "I am your Lord, so worship me only."
This is the oneness of Al-Islam. How wonderful it is that Allah has shown us the oneness of G-d, the oneness of creation, the oneness of humanity, and the oneness of community. We may live in different communities, we may live in different religious communities, different philosophical, different ideological communities, we may live in different cultural societies, but what Allah has revealed to His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, concerning the nature of community, concerning the needs of community, universal truths, universal facts that hold up everywhere. They are good for every life, they are good for every society, they are good for every community.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: That's why Allah has said in the Quran, highly praised is He, that Muhammad is a mercy to all the worlds.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Though they don't become Muslims by name, if they looked into the wisdom, into the great science then Allah has revealed to His Prophet, they can see their many, many tools for structuring their life better. They'll find there the answer to their own problems and situations. Praise be to Allah. So, isn't it wonderful to know that Allah Himself gave us the light? Not the founding fathers of the Western civilization or Western society, not Plato and Aristotle, not the modern social science that we have now in the United States, not Karl Marx, but Allah gave us the light.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: We know that in Arabia, in the Holy Land, Mecca, our Prophet preached, and get it unto himself, to the nation that is, great companions and great supporters. Out of them grew scholars. Today, we recall in history that occasion that accounts for the regeneration of science, and scientific study and research on this earth.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: This is a fact of history, a fact of history. Dear beloved Muslims, as we come to the gathering on Jumu'ah day, or any other day, in the spirit of the Muslim community to worship Allah, to practice our religion, to revive the spirit of the Muslim community. When we come, we must understand that our community asked of its members more than just a spiritual experience. It asked of them complete involvement, complete involvement, total involvement. The spirit must be involved, the heart must be involved, the brain must be involved, and the hand must be involved.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Four total involvement. This is what Allah asked of us. This is what our religion is. It is not a religion for just spiritual experience, no indeed. But we know the spiritual base is the most important. We know that, more important than any other base. Why? Because Allah says the first principle is what? To worship Him and to worship Him only, associating none in worship with Him. No son, no wife, no daughter, no-- What you call it, girlfriend, no nothing. No nothing, only Allah. He is alone, divine. Nothing else divine but Him. He is alone, divine, everything else is mortal. Everything else is created. Allah says in the Quran for us, "What if it was His will to destroy Jesus Christ and every creature on earth, who could save Jesus Christ and the creatures on earth?" None.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Allah in the Quran speaks to the believer that has embraced this religion from Christian Trinitarian experience, and let them know without a shadow of a doubt, Jesus is a mortal created like you. He's not divine. There's only one divine, that's Allah.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: And He missioned Prophet Muhammad so that Prophet Muhammad would be an example for the whole world to see. What is the role of Messenger? What is the role of Prophet? The role of Messenger is not to project himself in the image of a divine. The role of Messenger is not to be worshiped. The role of Messenger is to demonstrate how human beings ought to behave on this earth.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: The role of a Messenger is the role of a mortal human person, not the role of a divine. G-d says, praise be to Him always, G-d says in the Quran, "If this earth had been populated with angels, with non-mortals, then I would have sent you a non-mortal, but since the earth is populated with mortals, I'll send you a mortal as a Messenger." That's not only speaking to the life and the mission of Prophet Muhammad, that's speaking to the life and mission of every Prophet He ever sent a mission, that they all were nothing but-- He said in the Quran that never did He sent a Prophet that didn't walk in the marketplaces, had to buy his food. He was a mortal just like the people. Again, He says, never that He make any prophet or messenger that he didn't prescribe for him, wife and children. This is Quran. We know that Jesus was a prophet, and Allah prescribed for him wife and children. Praise be to Allah.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Alhamdulillah.
Warith Deen Mohammed: This religion is the religion of purity, religion of oneness, and the base is spiritual, but the expression is rational. We know we cannot search with our rational senses all of the spiritual matters. We have to believe them on basis that are rational. Is that not right? I believe in Allah. Well, brothers can you explain Allah thoroughly with your rational senses? No. Allah says no vision comprehends Him, but He outstrips all vision.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Praise be to Allah. But do I have any rational basis for believing in Allah? Yes, many, many, many. In fact, that mystery that I cannot completely digest with my rational senses is the very basis for my rational convictions that I can't explain thoroughly. Without that concept, then even the things that I can explain thoroughly become a problem. Yes, but only with that base can I explain other matters thoroughly. Praise be to Allah. It is the first base. La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasullullah. No G-d but one G-d and man role is to worship Him. Praise be to Allah.
To worship Him, associating nothing with Him. To worship Him in his entire life, not just in one quarter of his life, in his entire life. To worship G-d at home, and to worship G-d on the job, and to worship G-d in business, and to worship G-d in education, and to worship G-d in science, and to worship G-d in economics, and to worship G-d in every quarter, in every area of my life.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: This is the Muslim life. If we worship Allah in every quarter of our life, what is that telling us? That's telling us that Allah has directed us to this truth, that the only explanation for the material reality is the belief that one G-d has done it and we owe Him thanks.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: We owe Him thanks and gratitude. Praise be to Allah. This is what brings peace to the individual [chuckles] This is what has made giants of ignorant, backwards, oppressed people. This is what have brought them forward and put them on the map. This, not these materialistic philosophies that are now trying to put the little man on the map. In fact I don't even believe that's their intention. I believe it's a game they play with the little man. For if they really wanted to put the little man on the map, they'd give them the example of Muhammad, the Prophet, peace be on him.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: What would inspire the masses of the world more than to see that here was a man, uneducated. Here was a man in the darkest nook of the Dark Ages. Without the scholars' help, without the materialist help, without business help, that man rose to be the torchbearer of civilization, of education and progress for the nations and masses of the world.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: If they really were sincere in their attempt, in their efforts to raise the dignity of the little man, they will bring to him the best example of what is possible for a little man.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah. I'll never buy socialism, never buy. I'll never buy communism, never. I'll never buy Christianity, never. I'll never buy Judaism, never. I'll never buy the philosophies of Plato, and his fellow, Aristotle, and the Greek leaders, never. I'll never buy anything except the Word of G-d and it has been revealed to Muhammad, peace and blessings be on him, in the Quran.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Why? Because my eyes have been opened. My eyes have been opened, and I see for myself what is dignified for me. I see the world cheating me and the people of my lot. I see the only word respecting me and my dignity is the Word that G-d revealed to Muhammad, peace be on him.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: My dear beloved Muslims, this is the man that you have among you. This is the man that you have among you, a man that's moved by the Quran, by the life of Prophet Muhammad, by what is offered in this religion to all people, even the little man.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Praise be to Allah. Let us understand the oneness of this religion, and let us understand it requires first of us that we believe in Allah, that we have faith. Allah said that we must believe in Him. How? Bil-ghayb. What is the meaning of bil-ghayb? Bil-ghayb means believe in Him without completely understanding it rationally. Allah says, believe in Allah, and believe in His messengers. Believe in his angels, believe in the Messengers, believe in the Books that they brought. Is that right? He says, "Believe in the promise, the afterlife." He says, "Believe in the divine ordinance." Is that right? He tells us many things. We should believe in it.
Can you thoroughly work it out mathematically? No. But he said believe it, bil-ghayb. Believe in it while there's an absence of understanding. You don't completely understand it, but your heart tell you, your spirit tells you, your native life tells you that you should believe it. Your brain can't figure it our completely, but your native life tells you, "You  should believe it." That you should believe that our Lord, a divine being, something that's not subject to the limitations that you're subject to, something above you has done all this.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Your nature tells you that. Your native life also tells you that that, that did all of this has been affecting life on this earth through worthy persons. And those worthy persons say, "I didn't get this directly. I got this by means of a communication that I cannot totally comprehend." Believe in the angels. Praise be to Allah. Believe in the angels. If we examine each of these principles that we have to believe in, we can see that the basis of believing in them are established in our very nature. There's the rational basis for it. The scientists say if enough people experience the same thing, there's grounds to say it's real.
[laughter]
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: There are millions and millions upon this earth, the great majority of people upon this earth, say they have had this experience. They believe, so it's scientifically established.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Praise be to Allah.
Audience: Alhamdulillah.
Warith Deen Mohammed: But those who want to grab up the resources and corral the people of earth for their exploits, they want us to doubt this. They want us to doubt what our ancient life has passed down to us. They want us to doubt what our native life, what the native soul of my being has given me. They want me to doubt thousands and thousands of years of experience and belief. They want me to doubt it for their fleeting moment, for the fleeting moment of their lies. Their lie is just that long, but this experience, thousands of years old.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Praise be to Allah. They have no explanation. When the setting sun set, they have no explanation. They say, "Well, humanity is disappointed again." They have no explanation. Allah says that he leads us to what? To light. And the what? The enemy, the Satan he leads us to darkness.
Audience: That's right.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Allah says Allah promises, and Allah fulfills his promise. But the enemy, the Satan, he promises, and he fails to fulfill his promise. Every time he fails, he'll say, "Don't blame me."
[laughter]
Warith Deen Mohammed: "Because I never pretended that I knew everything. Didn't you know I was just like you? I was searching for the way too?"
[laughter]
Warith Deen Mohammed: Isn't this his language in the Quran? "So didn't you know that I was no more in a position to know than you? Don't blame me." Praise be to Allah. We study the history and the trends, the social trends, the cultural trends, the spiritual trends. If we study these trends and the history of man,, we see that they come up and they establish an ideology for man, and they present it as though it's the fact, and it doesn't stand up long. Within a generation or two, the very thing that they said was an actual fact is shaken and begin to tumble and fall. They offer no excuse but that this is experience, this is human experience, this is history, this is man.
Do you want to let them fascinate you and draw you into their new ideology? Study their history and see how they have done this before and disappointed the people, disappointed the generations. Study the history of Al-Islam. Study the history of Revelation, and see how Revelation has never disappointed the people but the people have disappointed the Revelation.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: This is the fact, this is the truth. The Revelation has never disappointed the people. Has Al-Islam disappointed Islamists? No, it's followers have disappointed it. Is there any reason for the neglect of education in the Islamic corners of this world? Do they find any justification for it in the Quran and in the life of Muhammad? No. Is there any reason for holding women back? Is there any reason for oppressing the woman, the female, in the Islamic world based on Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet? No. Is there any reason for shutting out the little man and making him a slave, using him, exploiting his potential, exploiting his resources, and not letting him have a share in the world, in the production of the world? Is there any justification for that in Quran and the Sunnah of the prophet? No.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Is there any justification for the monarchy, for the dictatorships that we see in the Islamic corners of the world today, in this Quran and the life of the prophet? No. So tell me, who has disappointed who? It has been the followers that have disappointed their religion, not the religion disappointing the followers.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Haven't Allah told us that this is what's going to happen, that he rotates the rule? He rotates the rule. He gives it to people to trust, to see how they will respond to that trust, and as long as they respond well to that trust, they have that trust. But when they fail that trust, Allah calls another people on earth to look around and see where that trust is, and say, "It's something I can trust." They pick it up, and they come into a new spirit, and they have such drive, such enthusiasm, because they have been shut out, they have been ignorant.
Now, all of a sudden they see something they can trust. Those who are victim of their father's doings, who used the trust selfishly, they look to the new people that's rising, and they say, "There's hope for us." Those that were once the leaders, they have to look to a new people for inspiration, for leadership. This is history, it happens all the time. We see the focus of leadership or the leadership moving in time from one nation, from one people to another. The focus is not always on one people. If we're blessed to rise in America, this community here, if we're blessed to rise in America as Muslims, the citizens of this country--
I'm not talking about just blacks I'm talking about the citizens of this country. If they're blessed to rise as a Muslim community here, don't think the focus of [unintelligible 00:46:34], the focus of attention will stay here forever. It won't stay here forever. In time, there'll be another people who will be more worthy because they will be more open to obey Allah all the way.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: It will shift again, so while we got it, brothers, let's make the best of it.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Yes, that's what I want to do. I don't know how long it's going to be on us, but while we got it, brothers, I want to make the best of it. Not only for my sake, not only for my children's sake and their children's sake, but brother, I love you too. I know you ain't nothing but me. Your circumstances have been mine. Your children's future is just like mine. I live this and hope that this blessing will stay on our life for the sake of our coming generations as long as possible. That's why for the moment in my life-- Life is but a moment. I want to make the best of it.
Believe me, this is what its going to take. This spirit, spirit is powerful. Spirit is more powerful than concrete matter. Spirit is powerful. Yes.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: What do you think holds the concrete matter together? Spirit.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: What do you think tears it apart? Spirit. Spirit is stronger than matter. Praise be to Allah. Let us understand that. Now, dear, beloved people, if we can understand how much we need this religion, that the oneness of Al-Islam is the only principle that can bring us together in unity.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: All other religions feed this tendency in us to stray, to become different, to set up our own little selfish thing. But this religion require of us that we hold to form.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: We don't have to have a governmental order. We don't have to have a political order. We don't have to have a governmental order, understand that. In this religion, Allah watches over the state of affairs, and Allah says to the Prophet, "Tell them you are no person to watch over the state of their affairs." Where does responsibility falls? Responsibility falls on every individual.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: This religion comes to us and it places the great treasures in our hand, saying, "Here, this is your possession. This is what Allah intended for you, these are your possessions." You take them as individuals, and it makes every individual responsible for what he or she received.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Is that not true?
Audience: Yes.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Then, it establishes for those individuals that conscience is the only thing that will preserve you. As long as the people remember G-d, he remembered them.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: As long as their hearts remain with Allah, he kept his favor on them. But whenever their hearts left Allah, he took his favor off of them.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: What is the factor? What is the factor there? What is the determining factor for the life of a society in al-Islam? The determining factor is not what kind of political order they structure for themselves, the determining factor is the truthfulness, the sincerity in the members of that community.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Yes. Allah holds the leadership responsible for the word, and for obedience to the example established in his Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him. Allah holds the leadership responsible also to the people. Yes, to the people. Never in the history of the Prophet do we see the Prophet calling together a council of giants a council of scholars, a council of giants to protect the future of al-Islam. We saw him addressing the masses of people to protect the future of al-Islam.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: He didn't entrust this to an individual. He didn't entrust this to a combination of people. He entrusted it to the masses of people, the public of Muslims.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: That's what we have to understand today, that Allah has entrusted the faith of our community to the public of Muslims. That's why we have in Iran what we have there now, because Allah has taken the heart of the public of Muslims. Khomeini has just been a vocal, a mouthpiece, he has just been a spokesman for what was burning in the heart of the true Muslims in Iran.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Praise be to Allah. This is what we have to understand. As long as we play the game of world politics, they will hold us back, they will hold us down. They will come in as a cuckoo bird, and they will plant their eggs in our nest, and they will raise their children in our house. Whether we come to al-Islam as it was revealed to Muhammad, we'll cut them off.
Audience: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: That's what we are going to do. We're going to cut them off. We're going to cripple the devil. Praise be to Allah and his hosts. We're going to leave them lame.
Audience: That's right.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Yes. All we have to do is obey Allah, obey the example that he established in Prophet Muhammad, follow the life as it was revealed through Prophet Muhammad. That's all we have to do. Dear beloved Muslims, Allah called us to worship and respect only the religion as it was established under his Prophet. If there's a mosque that has not been built on taqwa, do not attend it, don't pray in it, don't support it. How do we know when a mosque is not built on taqwa? When the theme there is not respect for Allah, when the theme there is not faith in Allah, when the theme there is not obedience to Allah, when the theme there is not faith.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: When the theme there becomes politics, when the theme there becomes making money, when the theme there becomes exploiting individual, when the theme there become oppression, then we know that's not the masjid built on taqwa.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Allah said, "Don't even pray with that congregation. Don't be seen in that masjid." You want success? This is the way to get it. Obey Allah. That's the way to get it. Praise be to Allah. When we didn't know no better, we were excused. Praise be to Allah. 
Dear beloved Muslims, let us understand that our religion is a religion of faith, and a religion of practice, or religion of action. Our religion is a religion of spiritual life, and our religion is a religion of community life. We can't separate these. Our religion tells us that life is one. We must live it all as one life. We can't make divisions in our life.
We live in a country under philosophy that is changing, I believe, but nevertheless, we have to respect it. They believe in the separation of church and state. We can never believe in the separation of religious life and state life. Religious life and state life are one. They have gone about to demonstrate how that belief is to be effected or applied in the world. They have really shamed themselves as a nation claiming to believe in G-d. They took prayer out of the public school. Trying to take religion as much as possible out of the hearts of the students. They try to make materialists and atheists out of the college students, all brought about because of the people of this country accepting that idea that religious life and practical life are different and can't work together.
For us, the only practical life is the religious life. Anything other than religious life is imagination, superstition, guesswork on the part of the man. Praise be to Allah. We ask Allah for guidance. We ask him to forgive us for our sins, to correct us when we go wrong, to strengthen our faith, to raise us up a community respecting the great leadership of the universal messenger, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. We ask him to not allow our hearts to go back to confusion, to sin and corruption, after he has guided us [unintelligible 00:58:53] [Arabic language].
Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, with the name Allah, most gracious, most compassionate, peace and the blessings be upon Prophet Mohammed, the noble, generous messenger of G-d, upon his descendants, his companions, on the righteous, all of them, and the people of faith here throughout the world ameen. Dear beloved Muslims, we want to recall the words of Allah in the Quran, Allah Most High says, (speaking in Arabic). Allah says in the Quran, "Never did he change the blessing or take away the blessing with which he blessed in favor of people until after they had changed their own hearts. Allah hears and he knows everything and that their parable is as the parable of Pharaoh and the people before him." We know the story of pharaoh. Pharaoh was an exalted man. Pharaoh had great power in the world. Pharaoh and his people had been blessed. They had domain, they had influence, they had great wealth, they had command of the land, and they had sciences.
The test came when Allah revealed to a people through His Prophet Moses, peace be on him, the way into G-d's grace, the way to please Allah. For Allah had pleased them but they had not pleased Allah. Their turn came to please Allah. Allah inspired the Prophet to go before Pharaoh and to tell Pharaoh how to correct his kingdom, and that your first act should be not to oppress the people that G-d has given the mission to.
Pharaoh couldn't accept that, could he? He was arrogant. He was too proud. Instead of his heart remaining as good as it was, it got worse. See, we hear in the Scripture that Pharaoh was a bad leader, Pharaoh was a bad ruler but what we failed to hear is this, that G-d didn't punish him until he became a worse ruler. For the Scripture says, "When Moses came to him with the message from G-d, his heart hardened."
And then what happened as a consequence of his heart hardening? The favor began to come off of pharaoh and his people. The power, the command of the land  is taken from him. He was disgraced by smaller people, disgraced. He didn't lose a battle to a giant like himself. He lost a battle to a spiritual group of people who were not even established politically and materially.
Can't you see then it is necessary for us as believers to keep our hearts in the right state? And Allah says what? That worship Him and establish prayer. For what? For the remembrance of G-d. He said literally, "For my remembrance, that you remember me." Dear beloved Muslims, let's not just come here to pray. Pray in your homes. We don't have yet established community providing community facilities enough for the Muslims to find it convenient to live their religion as a community. Most of our devotions must still be done privately in the home. Yes, because of the nature of this society.
In an Islamic country, the masjid is not locked but can we do that in this society? We have to lock the door when we're not here or we have to keep somebody here all the time. Now, I hope the day will come when we will be able to afford to keep somebody at every masjid all the time so that anytime someone wants to come in and pray, the doors will be open like they are in most Muslim countries. That's what I'd say I better say most healthy Muslim countries. Praise be to Allah. Don't forget that. You have to accept a big responsibility now for carrying out your religion in your own personal life, not only for your own sake but for your children's sake.
Most of the members of the Islamic world are Muslims, therefore, the husband and the wife are both Muslim and husband and the wife are both an influence in the life of their children. But over here, the sister may be Muslim, the brother may be Christian, or the brother may be Muslim, the sister may be Christian, or one member in the house may be Muslim and another one Christian. And all of those influences are reaching the household.
What do we do in that case? We have to become propagators. We propagate not only with the tongue, we propagate with our behavior. We have to live this religion as it should be lived and let our life as we live it before our Christian mate or before our non-Muslim members in the household. Let that life be the force that command respect from them. Whether they say, "La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah" or not, their respect will be so great that they'll say, "I'll step back. No, you tell the child what to do."
G-d has put it in the heart of individual to love the child. If a Christian see that you have a better influence in that child's life for the future, most Christians will step back and say, "No, you tell the child what to do." But you have to first convince them that your life is better. The only way you're going to convince them that your life is better is by living it as Prophet Muhammad demonstrated it and as his shining, wonderful companions live it, as the best Muslim lived it. That's the way you have to do it.
If you don't do that then really, you're fighting with one hand for yourself and with the other hand, you're fighting against your self. Because you're neglecting your own personal life, it's going to be your undoing. Many of us don't care about ourselves as much as we care about our children. The things we tolerate in our own life. We hate to see it in our children.
Why don't we become really people with muscle? If we can't save our own life from self-destruction with our own hands, then how are we going to convince our fellow man that we can save him or stand by him as a brother to protect his well-being. First, prove that your own hand is working to save your own life from self-destruction and then your brother can trust you to advise him or to walk with him. Don't walk with me down the road that's stony and rough telling me that you are your brother's keeper and I see your own hand feeding you destruction.
Are you going to help me, buddy, when you can't even stop your own hand from feeding you destruction. I don't think most of us want this situation, I don't think we want this state of life. Let us pray to Allah for faith and for his protection that we get the strength to command the members of our body, so that we bring our own Kingdom to conform to what we want. Shouldn't a man bring his own personal kingdom to conform what he wants? Until he done that, is he a man? No. How is he a man when he can't even command his own hand he's a child, somebody has to command him. Somebody has to protect him from his own hand. Allah has entrusted us with a great message. Great religion with the light when it's only going to benefit us to the extent that we use it and practice it in our everyday life. Praise be to Allah.
Dear beloved Muslims, I want to read to you again something here, not that it is material with authority for we know the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and the lost found Nation of Islam as it was as it was called is something of the past and it doesn't stand as an official model for us. Not only that, we owe it nothing, we only take examples of good as we wish from the life of  the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and his society he called the lost found Nation of Islam. I'm not offering this as material that should be respected or taken in as authoritative material, no. But, that's just as we refer to what happens in Chicago and point to the lesson in it. I'm referring to the words of Elijah Muhammad, may Allah forgive him his sins, grant him peace, admit him into the paradise.
Now, let me read to you some of his words. Addressing the concern of moral decay, destruction, bloodshed and other problems. He said, though the sun of the nation's light sets, if we travel with the sun we will stay in the light. Now, we have a knowledge of the geography of this earth, the rotation on its axis, we know that it's moving toward the sun all the time. But in moving toward the sun as a spherical body, it takes itself also out of the sun as it brings itself into the sun. That's just clear isn't it? It's a wheel, so as it rolls itself into the sun is rolling a part of itself, that part that just got in the sun is rolling it out of the sun. You see? But it's coming right back in it. It rolls right back in again so it keeps taking a sunbath every day. A bath in the light every day that's the earth.
Now, scientist on this earth, men, mortals that Allah has blessed, they tell us that they have calculated the speed down to a fraction. If you can go at a certain speed, the sun won't set on you. Yes, if you ever took a trip abroad, to Europe or someplace distant, continent, you wonder how come that night was so long. It depended upon the direction which you would travel, but if you're going eastward, you want to know how come the night is so short. This day is shorter, - this is day already? They give you like, they give you dinner and here comes breakfast about two hours later. "What? So soon?" That's because that plane has almost cut the advantage that the earth's speed has in half, cut it in half.
Yes. Honorable Elijah Mohammed said-- so, he went in the plane, he traveled in planes. You know, he didn't have much faith in the white man. But when he was on the plane, he to believe what he was seeing. He says, if you didn't travel in the light of the sun, travel and stay in the light of the sun, the sun doesn't have to set on your nation. Now, you know the sun can be a symbol of many things, the sun is a symbol of something this is specifically in the religion or in mythology but it could be a symbol of many things. Whatever lights our world. If we can stay in the life of faith, if we keep traveling in the light of faith, if we keep traveling in the light of intelligence, traveling in the light of truth, traveling in the light of correct behavior. We don't have to have a fall, No. Our society doesn't have to fall, it only falls because we don't stay in the light. Isn't that right? That's what the leaders say.
Now let me go on and keep quoting this great leader of the past day gone by. It's gone, it'd never come back. No, it will never come back. That's not Allah's way. We say that the pen has made the script, the ink has dried. That's it. Omar Khayyam saying you can't get back one line of it. So it's over, it's gone. But we are still here and we can use the lesson, can't we?
Start 11-25-17  1:19:54
He goes on to say, so it is with the nation if they travel with the light of truth backed with moral practices and determination to correct errors, listen to this, this is the wisdom. And determination to correct error and mistakes. The sun of that civilization would not set so early. I go further to say it won't set at all as long as you keep that determination. How why it would set, Allah never changes the state of a people until they neglect what's on their hearts. That's the commitment to be right.
He goes on to say [unintelligible 01:21:01] standards of self, doing for self, so as not to be a [unintelligible 01:21:07] Lazarus. Now, most of us understand Lazarus don't we? Lazarus is that figure in the Bible who was at the mercy of everybody else. He didn't even have his own business, he didn't have his own house, he didn't have his own job, he couldn't provide his own food. He had to get everything from the rich man. Since he was at the mercy of the rich man, he received is just crumbs. Say the rich man would let Lazarus have the crumbs from his table.
We know the story of Lazarus and Lazarus has given himself to the habit of begging people who had, instead of trying to work himself out of the lot of have-nots. He is Lazarus and Elijah Muhammad said, "May G-d forgive him his sins and grant him peace." He says moral standards of self. What do you mean by that? He mean you have to set moral standards for your self.
Now we know many sources of wisdom present us with moral standards. As Muslims, our moral standards is in the life of prophet Muhammad. In obedience to the word of Allah but until we ourselves as individuals place an obligation to live up to those standards on ourselves as individuals, what good is it? This lead of us who did a lot to shake us out of the bits of Lazarus, he tells us that you must have moral standards of self. Doing for self. We heard of him speak of doing for self in connection with getting money, with building businesses. In the context of economy. But how many of us heard him when he was talking on doing for self in the moral context.
Believe me, that's our most serious neglect, the neglect to do morally for self of what we should do. When we get money, look what the moral neglect brings about. When we get opportunity in the material world, in the political world, look what the moral neglect brings about. When we come here to decide upon giving our support to a program, to give up some push into the future, some progress materially, look what the moral neglect brings about.
Most of us can't understand this. If we can understand water which is a symbol of the sensitivities of emotional life of man. If we can understand the water as also his moral life. Tell me, do you get any material breath before water come to the land? No? what can you do with the diamonds in the ground? What can you do with the uranium, with the gold in the ground? What can you do with that if there's no grain growing? If there is no food to eat? If there's no material to work with to make a house? Nothing.
We find that the agricultural life is first, isn't it? Agricultural life comes the tools and manufacturing and et cetera and et cetera then man began to use the gold as medium of exchange, starts to decorate with it, starts to sell the diamonds, starts to bring it into the process, right? We have to understand this. If we understand that as a sign that moral awakening that moral life must come to the material basis. Then we can make some progress.
Most of us, we want to leader to tell us how can we get some money, how can I get a paycheck, how can you guarantee me some income? We want that right away. But what you need first is a moral doctor. You need first a moral doctor. To come and tell you how to preserve that once you get it started. Praise be to Allah. In this world holding on trust, individuals that can't command their own life in a decent way great wealth and power? Do you think this world will allow that? No, indeed. It doesn't allow that. It has been a nation turn into a brute.
[unintelligible 01:27:16] commanding great wealth and power. The other nations will not rest until they have brought that brute nation to his knees. There no place in the world for the brute except to serve the civilized man. That's the only place for the brute and then the civilized man makes a cage for him. Are either holes and on a rope, [unintelligible 01:27:52]. I understand that, he goes on to say. As Jesus prophesied, we would be.
Once knowing this prophecy, we can keep our foot from sliding into the disastrous lake. What is the disastrous lake? When a man steps from the land upon the lake, then hid feet lose their place. The feet's place was to support the man on the land. But when you step on the land, the feet lose their place. And then the man has to throw his whole body into an effort to save his life. When before his feet alone, [inaudible 01:29:00] and he can use his hand to draw the to two word [inaudible 01:29:05], when you throw them in the water, his whole battle is in to save his life. Let us learn a lesson dear people. Praise to be Allah.
I thought it's not too inappropriate to include some words from a man who did a lot to wake our sense of responsibility to self. Let us understand the lesson that moral life is precious for us. Faith in Allah, keeping your moral life right, keeping your morals up, working always to improve that moral life to be more faithful to Allah, dear beloved people, you cannot fail. You come into the other treasures, it's automatic. If you just hold the faith in Allah, follow this religion sincerely.
In fact, another one of his quotes, he said, the problem he said of low spirit in the temple is not always a problem that the minister brings about. He said the problem of low spirit in the temple is the people. He said, "The people should be most sincere in their religion." He said, "They should turn to Allah more often." He said, "If they do that, they will see that they will have the spirit they want." Those are the words of Elijah Muhammad. May Allah rest him in peace. Those are his words too. He said, "Oh, we got to get this man out of position, with him here, we can't do anything." Can you come together and congregate? Can you come together and pray? You can do that?" Well, if you can come together and congregate, you can do everything else that's permissible in this religion.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Warith Deen Mohammed: Anytime the masjid doors are open for the members that come together and congregate, everything else is possible for them that is permissible in this religion. You have to understand, that ain't nothing going to work. When all the members of that operation are dead. You have to live up to your share of the responsibility. You have to be an alive factor in this society. Believe me, not of Christian but sometimes you like to pick, get something the Christian says, "If you got the light, let it shine." If you going to light, let it shine. Those who got light but we see no sign of it, they're suppressing their own light, or they don't have it.
Don't come here and blame everybody, blame individuals that is in their respective offices, [unintelligible 01:32:50] of the masjid, for the lack of progress, for the lack of initiative on the part of the community. Blame each and every individual that sit here, tolerate that state of commission. That's my message and I'm free. Praise be to Allah.
Dear beloved Muslims, let us support this religion. Support all the good hard working leaders we have. Support the true and sincere leaders and the true and sincere members who are not in leadership. Let us support each other as a Muslim community and let us all share the burden and responsibility for caring this community power to its dignity. Every member must share that responsibility.
Dear beloved people, you might have heard, I have resigned as the director of the Council of Imams and before I resign, I abolish the council itself. I told them before I resign that the council is no more in a seven body member, but it's in the membership of every leader that the people put in the position. If you ratified Imam, if that Imam is your choice, he is a member of the council with equal representation there. Whether he represents five people or five thousand, he has equal dignity, equal representation there. I established that before I left the office.
Let me tell you, my leaving that office is the day of freedom, the day of equality, the day of justice, its the day of real opportunity for this community. Because they can't pass the buck anymore. They can't say, "The Imam says." They can't say "We got to see the Imam." They can't say, "The Imam has not told me to do it yet." They can't say that no more. They can't use my name anymore in a conversation with you or what is happening in their position, in their office, and in their masjid. They are now on their own. They have nothing holding them up but the support of Allah, and the support of their collective body of the Muslims. That's all.
Now, the damn truth has come. The damn truth has come. Let us see, how many Imams are really Muslims. That's what we want to know. How many Imams are really Muslims? When they say, "Oh Imam, the bills are not paid." What happened? You can't say, "I have to check with our Warith Deen Mohammad." You don't check with me buddy. I'm looking for my own messenger. I'm going to find it too in [foreign language]. Praise be to Allah. This the true Islamic state of society.
Did prophet Muhammad setup people in offices? No. The people, they select their Imam, whoever wears the [inaudible 01:36:45], he steps forward if the people support him? That's the Imam. If there's something going on in their locale, they blame that Imam. It's only in an Islamic state all of preachers are governor. If there is some political matters or something, you can refer to that governor, right? You refer that to the governor after you have fail to get the results from the people in your location, and on your locale. Yes, then you can refer to the governor, and the governor then he comes to do what? To execute the law on a head of those that have neglected the law in your locale. Is that right?
Audience: That's right.
Warith Deen Mohammed: He comes to either condemn you for being wrong in your accusations or your complaints or you come to the truth of the law to bound the head of those who responsible in position of authority that's in Islamic state, but we have to understand this, that even that is determined by the people. Pardon me, when the colleague, when the companion of the prophet, when he was opposed and brought to his attention, that some matter was neglected in one court of the state. Was it a man, that brought that to him, that to attention?
Was it a governor? Or was it, someone in an office? No. It was the common member of the Muslim society and it was a woman and she brought it to the attention of the great khil?fa, may Allah be pleased with him, she brought it to his attention that certain Islamic responsibility are neglected here in this community, as she brought to his attention and right on the spot he said, "A woman corrects the khil?fa." He said, "I will take care of it. I will correct this neglect." Yes, that's what the khil?fa said. Alright, so, are we going to be leaders like the true leaders [inaudible 01:39:12] Islam? Yes. Are you know that religion now has spread from that land that the khil?fa was in, to India, to China, many places in Europe, to Africa.
How are we going to maintain the Islamic society if we got to wait till we get a phone call or send a message to a one person. Impossible. The burden is on the people. But Muhammad never delegated that kind of authority to any individual. No, indeed. Let us understand that, we expect our leaders to be responsible. They accept the position, they must be responsible. If they are not responsible, then the collective judgment, the will of the people who is sincere in Muslim will bound the head of that person that's not responsible and bring him to conform to what Allah has prescribed. I removed them from the positions of responsibility. That's the only way.
I hate to think that black people have to wait until a favorable planet produced for them one man they can follow. Every time that one man died, they have to go back into another waiting period and wait for another favorable planet to produce another one man that they can follow. That's pitiful. No, we follow Allah, we follow his messenger, we follow the Quran. We are intelligent people. We can read the for ourselves. We can read the Sunnah of the Prophet for ourselves. We are intelligent people and we can hold our leaders responsible for carrying this community in the direction it should go.
If Allah has blessed us with a man among us to guide us or to encourage us to come back because we can't guide anybody. To encourage us to come back and throws us to come back to the path of Allah. We have come back to the path of Allah. Whatever that person has done that we see a value to us in present life and in the future, we should cherish it. We should write it down. Note it our minds and then our hearts, put it on the paper, give it to our children and say 50 years from now, hold the people that claim to be followers of prophet Muhammad and claim to identify Imam W. Deen Muhammad Muhammad hold them to what? Was established as right in [unintelligible 01:42:15].
The man may die now, may die 100 years later. We don't care when he die. That's prominent, that's perpetual. Yes, our obedience to what has been established that's right and pure, that should last forever. I think this is a sign that we are growing up. Yes, it's a sign that we are growing up because here we have gotten a leader from an experience that was really oppressive, really a dictatorship. From a laws of a dictator is born the man that walks away and say the people rules.
[applause]
The public rules in the light of what G-d has revealed and established inhis Prophet Muhammad upon him be the peace. I pray to Allah to guide us always. [foreign language]
[01:43:30] [END OF AUDIO]

