
1990-07-22 The Burden of Misconception Part 8
 Imam W. Deen Mohammed
 (1990-07-22)
 Location: Video Lectures – Page 1

00:00 Imam W. Deen Mohammed: Yes. That's the answer for it. Untie this knot and the whole rope will be loose, made straight again. I do believe that. Now, let's come to the last business. In order for us to promote progress for Muslims as business people or as people realizing that business is the major concern or should be a major concern in the African-American life and community. Business. We have to first start with the most serious problem that we have gotten from past experience as slaves and second class subjugated people in this country. And how quickly... All of this takes much much much work, much talk, much elaboration. But this is the talk, this is the address and I just have to just mention these things very quickly. We have to understand that behind us. You know, you are not the product of the present time only. All of us are products of past and present. We are products of the past and present. We all know that. We can use scientific language for it, but we know that we are products of the past and present.

01:27 IWDM: So we are products of the past. Some of that influence, some of that negative influence, socially undermining influence has been passed on to us from generation to generation, by mouth and by attitudes and by behavior. And, also we have to acknowledge or admit or be aware of and accept that some of it has passed onto us as behavioral traits. We have behavioral traits that's in the natural body. See in time, the unnatural situations for the natural excellence that Allah wrote is affected and a bad nature is made, even for the natural body. But isn't it wonderful that Allah doesn't let that show in the baby. The baby has to grow up and find support for that in the society before it will take it on. That's much to be said. I wish we could just live together. I do. You know we need that. You know, our situation is so serious we need to form a camp and just live together for 90 days. We can't do it but we need it. [applause] Yeah, so a lot of it comes as traits. These are traits that we have inherited now from people who just made the habit, over generations, of behaving against their best interests and pass it on, comes as a behavioral trait in a child. So when it grows up in society and finds influences to support that deviant behavior and they need to express themself. It expresses itself. Yeah.

03:18 IWDM: They call it heredity, right? Heredity. Heredity. Circumstances and heredity. If I'm perceiving the light, the guidance in this religion correctly, our religion puts attention on both heredity and circumstances. But our religion obligates us to treat circumstances. I don't want no hospitals experimenting on the genetics of man. We don't need that. See if Muslims have a civilization, it's gonna be greatly different in many respects than the Western world civilization because of what we believe in. We respect so nature so much, certain things we ain't gonna do. We ain't gonna be tampering with nature. You see? We work on the circumstances. And the fact that we don't have to work on the nature to make behavior better. In fact, I think most authorities in the Western world, I don't think they abide this work on nature. They still put the emphasis on environment. Am I correct? Anybody know? I believe they do and place emphasis on environment rather than on hereditary factors. Although they study that, it's good to know that. But when you want to treat the ills, look to what is happening in the environment. Yes. So the prophet said, told us about the environment when he said that every child born a Muslim in environment makes another otherwise. And he also told us about the environment when he said that Allah when he made the Ark, conceived the creation, he invited the angel, the great angel, Gabriel, Jibril to see what he was creating.

05:17 IWDM: And he said to the great angel, he said, "Behold my creation." And the great angel looked at the creation and the great angel said to Allah, "My Lord, I don't see how any creature can go wrong in such a creation." Then Allah brought the creation as it was going to look under the influence of Satan and showed it to the angel and the angel said, "My Lord, I don't see how any creature can go straight in such a creation." [laughter] So that tells us, environment. That's telling us that environment is the thing that we should address and we should start right with our own environment. So business people you have a responsibility to carry this religion, too. All of us. Every Muslim has the responsibility to carry the religion, to be a representative for this religion. As Khurshid Ahmad said... Khurshid Ahmad just has been nominated and given the prize by the Arab, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for propagation, for propagating, for being the most effective propagator, of being the propagator, not... But for being a propagator that they saw as being the one deserving of that special award. You heard of a Nobel Prize and all that. Well, now the Saudis, they got an award that they give to outstanding preachers and teachers and intellectuals, mostly. Preachers and teachers and representatives of this religion, they give the awards to them.

06:51 IWDM: So, Khurshid Ahmad who is also... His ancestry goes back to India, Pakistan. And before it just started... I think the only other one was Deedat, Ahmed Deedat of South Africa, whose roots also go back to India. So it's showing you that the Indian people, Indian-Pakistani people have really been, for a long time, very active in propagating their religion. And I think the Saudis are wise to recognize them. Yes, very wise to recognize them. And very fair. Very wise and very fair in their recognition of those person. My name had been put in nomination. They don't have to give me that award, but I could use the money.

[laughter]

07:43 IWDM: Yeah, I'm a practical man, and I know our condition over here is not asking for awards first.

[laughter]

07:56 IWDM: So the business people, we all... All of us, in this religion, the religion incorporates the whole life and every legitimate interest of human beings. So we could say in this religion that everything worships Allah. Allah intended that everything worshipped creator. So when I'm praying as a man, I'm making my ablution, I'm worshiping Allah. When I'm giving the goodbye, leading their prayers, or studying the Quran, studying the religion and passing on infamy, I'm worshiping Allah. But understand, in this religion, when you are correctly behaving as a business person, you are also worshiping Allah. Worship in our religion is everything you do that compliments the scheme of God, and serves the Allah that he has established.

08:57 IWDM: Everything you do. The business person... Sometime you have sensitivities that you, and I hate to touch, but some I find it very, very good to touch. Even the military man, the soldier, the general of the army, the man flying the plane in combat, if he is really serving the cause that Allah wants, he is serving Allah. He is worshiping. He's going through an act of worship. And in our religion, if he's killed in the process, he goes straight to heaven. This is our religion. So, understand that. And whatever I said for our concept of God as the creator, whatever I said for the problem of racism, race on us, it also applies to this last section of this address, business.

09:54 IWDM: We have to first of all be in touch with nature, have a sacred respect for nature, and pursue always the excellent aim in nature. And you cannot do it by yourself, you need revelation. You need Quran. We cannot ignore that every important thing that is happening in our life has affect on each other. They affect each other. The scientists who came up with the theory of relativity, he's talking about the universe. It includes the social family. It includes the social life by me, as well. It includes our social life as well. If you will stress that theory and apply it to social behavior, social life, or any life, it's theory for the whole universe. Now, I'm not saying if you wanna apply that directly and just raw as they get. But what I'm saying is that if you want to succeed in your business, in your store, or as a salesman or whatever... If you wanna succeed, you have to keep before you all the important... What do they call it? Not factors, but things affecting each other. I'm sorry I don't have the term right now. The important items in this, the important concerns in the whole life that affect each other.

11:30 Speaker 2: Elements.

11:31 IWDM: Elements, no, that is not the term I want. There's another word. It means factors that are affecting each other because of the nature.

11:39 S2: Variables.

11:42 IWDM: Variables. That's the word. Variables. Variables. That's the word. That's not the one I wanted, but that's a good one. I'll accept, I'll use that one.

[laughter]

11:50 IWDM: You have to be able to keep a eye, a focus on the variables, the important variables in that situation. Now, you're going into business. You're gonna sell halal meat or open a halal meat store, or whatever. Or are you gonna be a salesman for a particular company? Are you gonna have a particular product or service? Whatever. You have to keep your eye not only on that activity, you are a total person. The business person has given himself mainly to business but he's also a social person. Keep your eye on the social life, most importantly the social life. Keep your eye on the social concern, starting first at home. Don't neglect your social life at home. Build a strong social life at home. And also understand what Allah has said, that you did not get this social life except out of the earth. He created us out of the earth. So all social life is based in material reality, in material reality. Have a respect for material reality and that direct connection that social life has in material reality, and have a respect for the business. Keep all of these important factors of variables before you and your focus. Be conscious all the time, you have to almost be like a juggler, right? You don't want no ball to fall. They're all important. You gotta keep the social life up and you gotta keep the material life up and you gotta keep the business up. All got to go together. And how can you do that without a moral authority in your life? 

13:33 IWDM: Your moral authority, if you're a Muslim, should come from Allah, the Quran, and the Prophet. They set priorities for us. It's wrong to put my business before what Allah says in the Quran. It's wrong to put my business before what the Prophet has established in his life for us. It's wrong for my business to be in conflict with Allah revealed in the Quran or to be in conflict with the life of the Prophet. That's wrong. And I should never feel comfortable in business knowing that I'm in conflict with the Quran or in conflict with the life of the Prophet. I should never feel comfortable in business. You wanna be successful, be that way and you'll be successful. I hope to see you next time soon. As-salaam alaikum. May God guide us.

[applause]

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	1990-07-22 The Burden of Misconception Part 8	

05/25/15 		Page 1 of 4





