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IWDM Study Library
IWDM Lecture
Oakland CA

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

As salaam alaikum. May peace be on you, we witness that there is the one G-d who is La illaha illallah. We witness that Muhammad when the Quran was revealed is Allah's messenger and servant and the last of the prophets, prayers and the peace be on him. Again we're here on this day [unintelligible 00:00:47] to join you with joy and in support for the school here in Oakland, the Muslim private school here in Oakland. We pray as always that Allah bless your efforts, bring the results that you hope for and make all of us successful in our efforts to establish ourselves as Muslims and to realize establishment for ourselves as Muslims and also as American citizens.
What I hope to do is make a contribution for [unintelligible 00:01:50] that you have. The Imam Shuaibe has told me that we didn't want to limit you to any topics of our choosing any kind of lecture you think is suited to our team here. I was saying to myself "Well, what can I say in this time that I have to fit on this occasion?" I'm going to address the thing that I have been addressing now for many months, for more than a year or two. That is the life that Allah wants for us and the life that all people identifying him as the life of excellence. The life intended by G-d for each and every one of us.
I'm also going to be speaking to you that see, I so many of you that I know very, very well, Muslims. I'm also going to be speaking to you and I hope the others who are here our honored guests, the special people to all of you. I hope you'll forgive me if I kind of speak past you, that is if you do not recognize the language. 
I recall having a dream long before I ever became a leader of the Muslim, and I told my father about this dream but at the time I was a young minister for my father. I think everyone knows my father or who my father was, I don't like to say he was, he's still my father [laughs] I don't have another father. [unintelligible 00:04:34] my father, I don't have a father, yes you do living or dead you have a father and a mother and all the other relatives. Just because they died doesn't mean that they don't exist anymore or you don't have them anymore you still have them. And I brought this dream, - something made me tell my father about this dream and I told him about this dream. He listened very carefully to my dream and he told me my dream had meaning to it, that's all he said, he said: "Son your dream has meaning to it." He did interpret one part of it, I'm going to give you the dream, it wasn't an ordinary dream this was a dream that stuck in my mind.
While I was dreaming it, it was very vivid, very vivid it had more of an attraction than the other dreams. This was a different dream. I dreamed that I was just out by myself in an area or some land that I couldn't identify and I came upon [unintelligible 00:05:55] nowhere, it wasn’t a city, like open land. I came upon a big swimming pool out of nowhere, big swimming pool. I'm attracted to the swimming pool and I went to the swimming pool and as I got closer I could see a man there. I got very close to the [unintelligible 00:06:19] of the man and the man was swimming, he was swimming in the water. He got out of the water and he looked at me not saying anything.
Then he set off on the pool upon the surface of the water and he stood on the water, this man in my dream. I hope you're not dreaming. This is a dream. He stood upon the surface of the water. I always wanted to swim, it was a long time before I ever got in the water I was grown almost before I ever got in the water to swim. I wanted to swim so bad. I looked at this man, I just jumped right into that pool and imitated him and I started swimming. Before I knew it I was swimming like a shark, a professional, I [unintelligible 00:07:11] swimming so nice just like he did.
Then I was moved to step out of the water and stand up on the edge of the pool and I looked at the water and I stepped down upon the surface of the water. I did exactly what I saw him doing and I stood upon the water and this was the only part my father wanted to interpreted it. He said, “son water means people," He said "It means one of these days you're going to be a leader for the people." that's how he interpreted that part of the water. Dreams are funny they just break abruptly, no logical connection, now I know more than [unintelligible 00:08:04] but I'm still out in the open away from dwellings and [unintelligible 00:08:10].
I see it looks like an industrial machine vehicle for moving dirt but it was just sitting there, a huge one, huger than anything I had seen at that time. But when I went over there to see the industrial [unintelligible 00:08:38] I didn't see one as huge as that one that I saw in this dream. I saw some very monstrous looking things, tall as this building, dirt movers. Anyway, I begin to go and think what was there. It was a long ways away as I got closer and closer I could see that there was a very high pile of coal. When I was a boy we used coal in most of our homes to keep our home warm in Chicago.
The boys had to shovel the coal, bring it in, the coal man would come and dump it out on the stoop. We would have to shovel the coal and bring it in and dump it through the window into the basement. Hardly ever did the coal man do all the job, he would just dump it and not tell us I guess they saved money that way. They would have us go out bring it in and dump it into the basement. Anyway, this pile of coal was very high and the kind of coal we used in our furnace [unintelligible 00:09:53] perhaps was no more than about an inch and half in diameter. Something more was [unintelligible 00:10:01] go up to the top of that pile of coal, piled up like a mountain.
I wanted to see what was on the other side and this pile of coal was obstructing my view to the other side, now this is a dream, like I said. The logic is lost sometimes in dreams. Most of the time. Why now is this pile of coal obstructing my vision, my view, and I’m out there in the open anyway, but that's the way it was in the dream. I couldn't see on the other side because of this pile of coal. I started up this pile of coal. I [unintelligible 00:10:40]. No, not so far [unintelligible 00:10:44] to the top it. I couldn't get to the top. Something in me told me, don't try to go up in higher, because every time I tried to step, the pile of coal wouldn't support my step. I would be brought down a bit. However, I kept trying and it started busting up, [unintelligible 00:11:01] gradually and I near the top and something said, "Don't try to up any further, go back down." so I went back down. I went back down to the base of that pile of coal.
First, then I tried to further interpret my own dream. Tried to understand my own dream. If I were to describe to you, the difficulty I've had-- A symbol that I (unclear), to the position of leadership, and serving as I want to serve, I can't describe it better to you than trying to go up a pile of loose coal.
[chuckles] (unclear). But I think it's a perfect symbol. You know coal, dust. Coal has the potential for industry, or the potential for comfort energy. Industry was fueled by coal when I was a boy to a great extent, but also warmth. Our homes were warmed by it. It’s a meaning now when I look at that, I think, "This is the members of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. This is the Hon. Elijah Muhammad’s followers. This is the Nation of Islam. Symbolically speaking. A great pile of coal, a mountain, a society, a government, a structure that will support the kind of leadership, but from whom? Every time [unintelligible 00:12:50]. [chuckle] [unintelligible 00:12:56] are almost, each individual's [unintelligible 00:13:01] together. The only thing supporting them is that they're put together in that situation. [unintelligible 00:13:11] in my opinion, that's a very (unclear) picture of us.
What attracts us to each other? Love each other? Closeness. We want to be close to each other, right? But are we structured on any kind of idea? Are we based on [unintelligible 00:13:28] a whole pile of ideas, are we basing on anything, are we structured in any kind of idea? No. Leaders, followers. That's all. The leaders and the followers. The leader brings the followers the together. Now, we had the lessons of the Nation of Islam and all that, but those lessons aren't ever put together. Nothing was extracted from those lessons to us as an idea, or a system of life, of government, of society for us. No. I know we have some kind of structure. There were minister. There were captains. There were lieutenants. I know that. But how were you held together? The lieutenant said, "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad." The captain said, "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad." The minister said, "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad."
All of us were just fired up with the Honorable Elijah Mohamed, and the lesson said, "The black man is superior. The black man is god. The black man is the original man.” but it made us just love each other, just be happy and proud of each other, so we felt good about our self. That was a warmth, a warmth inside the coal, but we were cold as hell weren’t we?
Now, I know coal is C-O-A-L, but I'm talking about C-O-L-D. We were cold too, we were cold people. And yet having having the potential for so much warmth. Cold, but loving to be with each other. Loving to be together. I mean by cold, I don't mean that any of you individually were cold-hearted. I meant what we believe was a cold belief. Many times the way we were treated by each other was cold too. Yet, there was a desire enough to be warm. The fuel of [unintelligible 00:16:02] energy, to be of comfort and even [unintelligible 00:16:09]. The desire was there.
We don't have to be like that anymore. We don't have to be a community with no idea of life. Our people, going back to the earliest leaders we ever had, they wanted us to be turned on to an idea of life. One writer writing recently about [unintelligible 00:16:45] to the African American, Robert Michael. His book is titled Liberating Visions. It's a very good book, Liberating visions. He writes about Dr. King, he writes about Malcolm. He writes about Booker T. Washington, and DuBois, W. E. B. DuBois.
In his chapter on Malcolm, he talks about Malcolm straining for an idea of life. I'm using my own words, and I say an idea of life. He calls [unintelligible 00:17:52] a system, a system. He said that Malcolm (unclear) leans toward socialism. That Malcolm made statements in support of socialism. But he said Malcolm's statements did not give approval to any particular brand of socialism, especially not communist socialism, and he said that Malcolm regretfully never was able to realize or create a system, a system.
I think the Honorable Elijah Muhammad did have a system, and he did have an idea of life. His idea of life was Muslim life as he interpreted that life or conveyed that idea of life. It was Muslim life. His system was the Nation of Islam, a socialized system, a socialized system for receiving income, putting it to use or distributing it. Those critical of him, especially our leaders, they later charged him with being a black capitalist. Which I don't think is correct. I know the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was not a black capitalist. He was just big daddy. We welcomed him as big daddy, and not only the Muslims, I've heard leaders and if he was here he couldn't deny it, Rev. Jesse Jackson, who[inaudible 00:20:35] as our Muhammad as our father. [inaudible 00:20:42] that we, speaking of himself in Christianity [unintelligible 00:20:47]. He said, "We, called him dad." That's what he meant to many people, a father.
They didn't want to publicize that because they didn't want to be identified as one of his followers. Privately they would refer to Honorable Elijah Muhammad as father, or dad. Why? Because he assumed that position of daddy, a father over us. He would tell us, we have to clean up ourselves. We got to clean up our homes. He would tell us to respect our wives, he would tell us to get out and get a job take care of our family. That's a daddy. that’s the way daddy talks to you.
He would tell us stop imitating the white man. Stop following him and his bad ways. He would tell us stop wasting money, put it to good use. He would say pay your debts. Don’t cheat anybody. Give an honest days work, even though you give it to the white man, or devil. That's a pretty good dad.
When we look and try to find in what he offered us, a system that we can be satisfied with, in America today it’s not there. In fact, the system that we had was a system only designed to be temporary. It is designed for the worst times that we experienced in the United States of America. Then as times improve there will be no justification for his system.
This was a system separate from the system we call The Society of America. The economic system of America, free enterprise system of America. You're separate from from the political system of America. It is [unintelligible 00:23:31] establish [unintelligible 00:23:32] but it's just establishes itself independently of the political system of America. That was a temporary thing. It never had any real reality in America. It would have perhaps if we had gotten those separate states. What did he say about the separate states privately? He said, "I don't know, they're not going to give us any separate states. He said but I asked for it anyway. He said they went to war and fought each other over that.
I know he's not going to give us any separate states. So it seems that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said the many things just to create or [unintelligible 00:24:28] that's all he wanted, get a [unintelligible 00:24:31] to himself to say something to send a message out. What message would he be sending out by asking America to give him separate states? He's saying, "Look, you got a lot of blacks that want integration. You've got a lot of blacks that need to solve the race problem by having you include us and accept us among you.
Well, you've got to see that, but we'd be happy if you just give us a place where we can live by ourselves and have our own lives and be responsible for ourselves. That's what he's saying. He is saying no to the blacks, we pick them out of those who enslaved them, then they're discriminating against them, after you freed them. You break up their families, discredit the husbands, put them on welfare. But nobody asked you for a divorce because you are a bad parent, yet.
Because here is one African American man, there's one black man that want’s a divorce. Not going to be with you anymore. I'm glad that he's on the page of the history, that there was some black people in our history that said to the white man, "I don't like you either. I don't want to be with you either. You're a bad parent. I'm going to take you to court have you condemned as a parent then we can go on our own."
[unintelligible 00:26:10] and he was still up in that time, in [unintelligible 00:26:15] that's why Jesse Jackson could call him dad because that man was doing something, Jesse Jackson wanted in his own heart and soul but never had the courage or situation to say it to the white man. I want to divorce you. [unintelligible 00:26:31] you’re no godamned good as a daddy.
[laughter]
You're a bad parent. We've seen that this [unintelligible 00:26:41] treat us like apes and donkeys, and dogs, and swine. You're a bad parent. Now getting back to the idea. I studied W.E.B. Dubois, and Washington [unintelligible 00:27:01] and all of them. What they have in common Malcolm, all of them. Yes, and even the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. In spite of what he said about the white race and all that, that was for effect. That was a strategy. That was symbolic more than real.
You know what Honorable Elija Muhammad said once to us when I say us I mean the leaders who happened to be there in his house, where he held all of his leadership meetings. They [unintelligible 00:27:28] the same table is the conference table. These are the tables for the staff. One table couldn't hold all of his staff. He had two or three of those long tables.
They would eat and right there he would also address the leaders. Talk to the staff. One day he said, brothers, we had to stop teaching Yakub’s history as something that happened back then because I have come to believe that our Savior led us to apply that to us now. That's what he said about Yakub’s history. I recall him taking all the old lessons out of circulation, a long time before most of you ever came to be followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
And hereis the reason he gave to us. He said these lessons are too much for you to understand. They are not for you, they are for me. He took them out of circulation. When he [unintelligible 00:28:48] didn't stop having them of reading them. They did it but they did it quietly without letting it be known [unintelligible 00:29:00] that they were still reading [unintelligible 00:29:02] and the result of them disobeying the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was [unintelligible 00:29:07] in the Jersey area and [unintelligible 00:29:12].
This [unintelligible 00:29:15] happening. Yes, that was [unintelligible 00:29:19] for them not obeying the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and besides the [unintelligible 00:29:23] there's so much [unintelligible 00:29:25] in the New Jersey area, New York area. That was his [unintelligible 00:29:30] of him not obeying the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He told him that they couldn't [unintelligible 00:29:35]. It was for him.
He saw that the climate for race relations, the changes, the African American man is getting to be very warlike in effect (unclear) could be very dangerous. He saw that coming, took them out of circulation. I'm talking about a long time ago, like 20 years or more before (unclear). He was taking those things out of circulation. 
What these leaders have in common is a desire to fulfill some an idea of life for their people. Most of them were unable to do it. If they could do it they couldn't let it out they couldn't articulate it but if you read and took signals from their work from their writing and from their preaching. You could feel what they're saying, an idea of life, an idea of life. Don't just live without a picture of life for yourself. A desire for your life an idea of life. A set of principles that you can express or define that represents controls of your life. A statement a belief of (unclear) what represents a framework for your life.
This is what they wanted, [unintelligible 00:31:32] and they also wanted the life spirit to be in our people. They didn't want our people to just have any spirit. To just have the spirit of the church is not even enough or the spirit of the temple is not enough. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he tried to give us an appreciation of our self, what we're worth, what we are, what our worth is. What our originality is, what we are in our original self as G-d created us.
He said your own self is a righteous Muslim. Then he treated us in a way to get us to understand what he meant by righteous Muslim. He didn't mean just this virtuous person, he meant an industrious person also. He would tell us move quickly, speak firm, learn, hold yourself up straight, be dignified. He told us so many things and all those things if we summarize them, we can put it in one statement. He was motivating us towards excellence. If you summarize Booker T. Washington's message for our life, he was motivating us towards excellence. Pick out any one of them, single out any one of them and if you study what they was pushing us towards, if you try and summarize it in one statement, you could summarize it in one statement, they were trying to motivate us towards excellence. They wanted a spirit in us, the spirit in us of spirit for excellence.
If you accept to be driven toward excellence or to be self-motivated toward excellence the result is that your spirit is going to become a spirit for excellence. It becomes automatic, it becomes second nature, it becomes automatic for you to want to do things as best as you can. That's how my parents influenced me.
My mother influenced me to want to be the best young boy, to want to be the best behaving young Muslim boy. To want to be the most respectful young Muslim boy, to want to get the best grades in school, to want to have the best character, to want to speak the best language. They motivated me to pursue excellence. Read the Quran be a Muslim and you'll see that the Quran has the same overriding message in it. The Quran gives us principles and tips for realizing our life, establishing our life and for advancing our life. It doesn't depend as much on the detail for our behavior for our (unclear) for our community. It doesn't put as much emphasis-- It doesn't depend as much upon us being there as it depends upon us being motivated to pursue excellence.
How do I know that? Prophet Muhammad, Allah says in Quran that you certainly have in him a model for any who believe in G-d and the last day. G-d tells us to follow and obey his model, accept, follow, obey his model. What is his model? Excellence, because G-ds says, you certainly have in him the best model, [Arabic]. If I want to tell you brother, -- Your performance is excellent, I say "Asanta." from the same word Asana. I would say brother, Asanta. You did excellent. My teacher used to grade us, he would grade us fair, good, excellent. My teacher, I'm speaking of now Professor Debildia our Arabic teacher.
[unintelligible 00:36:32] above the good he said in his [unintelligible 00:36:38], asanta, asanta it make you give excellence. The prophet said certainly you have in Muhammad [unintelligible 00:36:50] asana, an excellent model for any who believe in G-d and in the last day. [unintelligible 00:37:01] believe in G-d and the last day. Some people believe in G-d but are not conscious of an obedience to him. What will keep us conscious of obedient to him? There is going to be a last day [unintelligible 00:37:15] day for your independent action. In your last days because of your independent action and we will have to account for our independent actions before the Lord of the world.
[unintelligible 00:37:34] and this is a belief that not only [unintelligible 00:37:39] but before Jews had it. Before Jews had it Christians I mean before the Christians had it Jews had it and others had it. There is not just Christian association of their (unclear). I say association because we have something in common, we Christians and Muslims. That is the continuous revelation and the same lines of prophets, a continuous line of prophets. The motivation towards excellence emphasis is on that. Now there's something else that is important for our idea-- I hope I'm not going beyond my time too. Make me aware of the time. I must stop at that time.
This model of excellence is not something foreign to us [unintelligible 00:38:42] all of creation. It's not something that we ourselves can identify with. Allah says of him, Muhammad, say to them, meaning to the people that he was sent to lead the world really but first it's the Muslims. [Arabic language]. I am a mortal person just like you. It would have been enough maybe for some if G-d had said, "Muhammad say to them "I am a mortal" but no that's not enough because we say of certain people he's a mortal but not just like me. [laughs]
You have said of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Yes, brother, he's a man just-- He's a man but he's different". Is that what we said? That, " Yes brother he's a man but he's different." and you were made to believe that Honorable Elijah Muhammad in his ability and in his position and his (unclear) is his destiny. It's something that we could never be. Now he might say, "Yes I can never be Muhammad either." you can never be the last prophet either. We could never fulfill the role of the last prophet. That role has been fulfilled by the prophet. That not only can be Muhammad, we are Muhammad. When Allah said, tell them, I am a mortal just like you." Then the prophet was taken up into a vision from the earth and a travel from the [unintelligible 00:40:39] from putting up his [Arabic language], there at Mecca, the haram, the holy precincts the Kabba, the House, the ancient House. He was taken up from there from the masjid of haram to [unintelligible 00:40:55] through the sky and made them apart like that.
And G-d caused him to descend up Jerusalem. They are now in [inaudible 00:41:10] the masjid of the rock, the [inaudible 00:41:13] of the rock. What was he shown? He was shown (unclear) from the earth on the first level [unintelligible 00:41:25] he met Adam, the first man. He went to a higher level, he met Jesus. The prophet who came just prior to our prophet, the last prophet, but in that progression or on that ascent Jesus and John the baptist is on that second level above Adam.
He went to the third level, and there was Joseph, the prophet Joseph. The first left level that was Idriss and some say that Idriss is the prophet Ezekiel, but we don't know that. All we know is that the prophet is Idriss. In the fifth level, there was Aaron, the brother of Moses. On the sixth level that was Moses, and on the seventh level there was Ibrahim or Abraham.
Peace be upon the prophets. In that ascent he identified that two of those were and are our off fathers because he said As-salaam Alaikum my father Adam. In any other level, he went up to he says As-salaam alaikum my brother. Until he reached the seventh level, Abraham, and he said As-salaam Alaikum my father Abraham, Ibrahim in Arabic.
My father Ibrahim, at that level he get As-salaam Alaikum my father Ibrahim, he called him father. He has two fathers. Allah says in the Quran, that there are seven tracks above you, and a like number also in you, that's what Allah says in the Quran, that there's seven above you and seven in you.
I stand on solid ground, when I say that those on those levels, they represent no more than potential in every human being. They represent the potential in all of us. Now the prophet was th eighth of them he ascended, G-d's blessed him to ascend and he came down now, he is in the earth [unintelligible 00:44:03]? Is he symbolic of what is our potential? Yes, but more symbolic of the community potential. The community potential that's in all of us. It's in all of us to identify in the idea that they make for us a good society. It is that idea.
The west is blessed with it. America is blessed with this. That we are all the creation of one and the same Creator. That we are endowed by that Creator with the same qualification for a acheiving on this earth. In the language of that document, "With certain unalienable rights among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
(unclear) how the idealist or the theorist translates a language [inaudible 00:45:15] as it is, and most Americans accepted it just as it is, accepted to be (unclear) that human beings are all one creation, and what every Gd has deposited in one person. There's been a life establishment of their life, and the establishment of a great society who has deposited in every one of us. That's what that language says.
By them saying, "Endowed by the Creator." tells me that they identified that idea somewhere in their Christian teaching, somewhere in the bible, somewhere in the message of Jesus Christ, somewhere in their perception of Jesus Christ for his role on this earth. Somewhere they found that language and then put it in their own words or put in [unintelligible 00:46:19] through the preamble of a statement. Also, the declaration of independence has the same powerful language identifying us as citizens that represent not only the purpose for forming a government but also the end, the goal, the [unintelligible 00:46:43] of that government to prove every man, so every man has the same opportunities in their society. To have the power of that government not in the hand of a select few who claim some human creation different from the collective body, but to work for the good of every individual person.
[00:47:10] [END OF AUDIO]
TAPE 2
W. Deen Mohammed: I don't care how small your operation is. If you have to work with people to get a job done, the best thing to hold your people together and to inspire your people, advice your people, move your people to greater and greater opportunities and performance is this idea. That we are attracted to each other and we can form strong bonds together, we are bonded together firstly because we identify in one original human excellence.
We believe that G-d made us wonderful, great. Made us for excellence. Made us for achievement. Made us for success. Made us for high morals. Made us for great intellect. Made us for great industry. Made us for great achievement in every decent rational human way, and we can believe that. That each of us are endowed thusly by G-d our creator. We have an appreciation for each other (unclear) better, but if we identify in something than that, the possibilities for us achieving becomes smaller, and we identify in something much smaller than that. Some of us identify with each other just because we're black. When we say, oh, we’re black that’s our identity and blacks ought to stick together." You know what that says? You know what that (unclear) saying to most of us? We identify in hurt. We identify in pain. We identify as victims of the white man. That's what that says. Why? Because we can't even, to live, get together as blacks, we can't even teach the [unintelligible 00:02:35] and the motivation system before. We can't teach [unintelligible 00:02:43] before. We can't see it. We blind [unintelligible 00:02:48]. Honorable Elijah Muhammad, or Malcolm (unclear) before. We can't see any of those [unintelligible 00:02:53] before. Black just seems to black us out.
[laughter]
And all we know is we all hurt together and the white man is most likely the one to point to for it, so the result is just hitting and missing all the time. Taking two steps forward and three backward. Well, we don't have to be in that situation. I'm not saying that we should turn to some idea that I'm giving you now for our [unintelligible 00:03:40] and concept of life. No, [unintelligible 00:03:51].-- We should go to the Quran. We go to the example of Muhammad the prophet, the prayers and peace be on him. I'm not taking anything away from that.
No attention from that at all. We must keep doing that because we are Muslim. What I'm telling you is if you want to be in a better situation than the average Christian or the average Jew, or the average Muslim, heed the motivation for all of us that can be summed up in very few words. There's a whole lot to go over but the belief, the articles of faith, the articles of practice. Important excerpts from Quran. Important excerpts from the Hadith, the sayings of the prophet. That's a whole lot. We can remind our people on what should be our motivation and what should be our conscience. With just a very few words, - strive for excellence.
Excellence in every respect. Moral excellence, intellectual, excellence in every respect. Strive for excellence. That's easy. If we seem to be regressing or falling down on our responsibility it'd be easy to say remember we are a community that Allah created to be driven or motivated for excellence. [unintelligible 00:05:39] can pull us back. Excellence. You know it's not excellence when you call each other black niggas and black [unintelligible 00:05:46] son of so and so, you mothers so and so on. You know that's not excellence.
But the honorable Elijah Muhammad tried to call us [unintelligible 00:05:53] by telling us your own self is a righteous Muslim and they'll still (unclear). But a lot of us because of the image of the Muslims in the world now we're not even moved by that too much. But I'm saying all of us should still be moved by desire to pursue excellence. And this [unintelligible 00:06:23]. I wouldn't substitute that language. Moral excellence. In the Quran also, Allah speaks of Prophet Muhammad, and he says Muhammad is not the father of any of your men. Of any of your men. Muhammad is not the father of any of your men.
Now I know the connection with [unintelligible 00:07:00] and all that. I know the incident that it is commented on. I know that but the prophet himself says for every verse or for everything said in Quran there is a direct and also an implied reference. What is the implied reference here? The implied reference is that prophet Muhammad is not Adam. Prophet Muhammad is not Ibrahim. Prophet Muhammad is not the father figure. Prophet Muhammad is your brother. He came to demonstrate the common man.
What's possible for the common man, not the intellectual who studies the heavens, not the man that G-d originally created and made him conscious of his original creation before he was even educated, Adam, the first father. He was not him either, but the common man who is subject to be led wrong, subject to become ignorant after G-d has created him for wisdom. He's subject to become ignorant. The in need prophet for the in need--from the [Arabic language]. Isn't that Muhammad? You who speak Arabic.
The (unclear) prophet from the [Arabic language]. That's why he went up there. They already up there. And he came down. Allah inspired him. What is the difference? What is the difference between Muhammad and us? The only difference, Allah gives us is this, he is inspired by G-d. That's the difference. No revelation is coming to us. We are not inspired by G-d. Not on the level of prophet, no. We are not like that. G-d inspired him, made him a prophet. That's the difference. But he in his (unclear), in his nature, in his role in society he is just like us.
He represents no more ability than we have. He couldn't read, that's what we're told, but G-d blessed him to read. That doesn't mean he couldn't pick up Time magazine and read the headline, the caption. It meant he couldn't pick up the bible and understand it. He couldn't pick up the Torah and understand it. He couldn't pick up the gospel and understand it. He couldn't go and hear a preacher preach the religion and understand it, and G-d picked him up with no priest over him. He had no rabbi. And G-d picked him up and gave to him the religion because he is the fit vessel for it.
Common man yet standing in his excellence. Didn't betray his excellence. Even his own people who believe in idolatry. They said of him, Yes we know you, we can trust you. You are El-Amin The trustworthy one. And they thought he was so excellent it is human conduct, in his human model, before he was made prophet. They wanted to restore the house that they had laid a house for idles. It was a pagan house.
It was [unintelligible 00:10:42] it is the house built by Abraham and Ishmael his son, but it is a pagan house. The pagan house they want to restore it. They want-- the precious stone is the black stone. They wanted to put that precious stone in place, but each of them wanted credit for carrying it there.
And they asked Muhammad to solve the problems. [inaudible 00:11:05] which of us should carry this stone and place it there. Prophet Muhammad said, "Take a cloth and then put the stone in the center, and each of grab the edge of the cloth. He gave a solution for all them, that allowed all of them to have that divinity.
That special honor of carrying the black stone there. When they got it there to the place where it was supposed to be placed, they told Muhammad to take it out of his hands, and put it in the proper place. Now you brothers who have left that for blackism let me tell you something about that black stone. That black stone is the (unclear) potential. It's a symbol of the (unclear) potential. The potential that's in every baby that’s born. But it has to be, what you call, - unfold, unfolded [inaudible 00:12:15] It represents the being for the possibilities in you before you come into your conscious mind as a human being and begin to grow in that direction, for your fulfillment.

It is the night of our life, that's what the black stone is. It is the night of our lives. The night of our lives is the obedience, innocence pure part of our life. Now, this idea is just the opposite from the way the west believes, that light is purity. Yes he believed that light is purity too for angels. We believe that black is death too yes, for the dead. We believe that black is painful too for the sinful. We believe that black is ignorance too for the ignorant. But for the nature, we believe that black means innocence. Innocence, black is a symbol means you're innocent. Not only you're innocent, but you're potential, your rest is energy, you are energy at rest.
This is no idea foreign to other religions. The Christian faith, on Christmas the holy night is a (unclear) night. It's black, the night is black. We're told in the Quran, [Arabic language] the night. [Arabic language] We are told [Arabic language] Isn't that what the Christians say. Oh, holy night. [inaudible 00:14:36] [Arabic language] until the rising of the dawn. Meaning that man in his originality is a loving creature. We should have peace in that original nature. But once the mind has opened up then he had independent thoughts because G-d didn't want him to be a preacher without a free will having freedom of choice.
Once you become conscious (unclear) having freedom of choice then trouble starts. If G-d does not reveal to him trouble starts because he (unclear) make his own independence choice he can get himself in trouble, but G-d created him for that too didn't he? To learned by trial and error until he qualifies for guidance and help directly from G-d like the great prophets did. Like Muhammad did. But G-d inspired him. That's the difference, but we are created the same. G-d put all of him (unclear) on his aspiration, to extend charity, and help, to his fellow man that was a strain on him. G-d took that strain off of him.
Now I want to come to another idea, and that we we're created to be successful. We are created to be winners and not losers. We're motivated by excellence and it's much easier for us to accept that life is not all a bed of roses. Not all ice cream, cherries or whatever. Life demands of us some muscles. [Arabic language] the human being cannot have anything without striving for it, without effort and strong effort [Arabic language] and G-d says that's all for [Arabic language]
If you struggle and strive you shall see the results. You know that. History tells us that. A people who commit themselves to strive for high value, high purposes, high goals, great achievement for excellence and commit themselves to suffer bad times, Do you know how may came across the water and risks of so many diseases, look how many died before they got to America. They knew that the great risk was there, but they braved that because they were determined to realize the idea of life that they wanted.
Look what is (unclear) of an ideal life that you can celebrate. That you feel great about. Look what it can do. What kind of motivation it has. What motivation [inaudible 00:18:30] that people go out and live their lives, and their children's lives to get in a situation for them to begin working on building lives. We look at the Kabbah the original house [Arabic language] the ancient house and it also says the [inaudible 00:18:50], the first house built for all mankind [inaudible 00:18:56] It's only a symbol. We should want to be build a house in America for all mankind.
By that I mean, we could want to build a life in America for all mankind. We should want to build a life in America for all mankind. Build a life means have some perception of what [unintelligible 00:19:33] . What is most important in its foundation. Then what should be placed upon that foundation that completes the structure when we have the whole concept of what that life is. You want to build a house for black people. You want to build an ideal nation for black people. You will have the best nation for blacks people and any other people, build a nation for all mankind.
Build a community for all mankind. You say Allahu akbar, You can clap if you want, that's good, I like it, but, don't feel you have to, with all respect.
[silence]
I’m going to ((unclear) with this statement. The possibility for achievement for us individuals, for our group, for our family, for us as a nation or as Muslims or whatever, that possibility is maximized for us when the aim is the establishment of our idea of life and that idea of life is one that is based in a perception of our equal origin and equal worth in society, then it is maximized. When that goal or aim is to build that society for the collective body, our collective bodies where every person in that body can identify equally.
(unclear section)… or some other discipline that I don't have, I can’t identify with him but we all can identify in the belief that G-d created all of us with the same original design, the same original capacity, the same original potential, the same original nature. The same original behavior, the same original susceptibilities, same original flaws, same original weaknesses. What am I saying now? I’m saying that in the long run, I don't care what color you are if you don't seek this a high idea that G-d our motivated to excellence, in the long run, I don't care what color you are, you're going to fall victim to the influences to the weaknesses of man and society.
I remember a time when problems such as, petty theft, killing, smoking dope, smoking weed. [unintelligible 00:23:51] taking dope, whatever, [unintelligible 00:23:58] liquor, going to jail on the weekends, that was mostly a problem of blacks. You didn’t hear about no big crime problems for the Whites. But now it’s not a problem just for blacks white people, they smoke dope, they go out on the weekends and kill each other. They’re vulgar. They like to do the funk. They shouldn’t have a Soul Train on TV just for blacks. They should have a Soul Train for whites. All of us have been reduced to Soul Train. 
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we just could accept that in our originality, we are all the same, having the same possibility for excellence, the same possibility for achievement, and the same weaknesses for failure. Therefore we can all identify with one dignity and that dignity is the healing quality first, the quality healing purpose and appreciation to our Creator who created us so wonderfully.
That appreciation should be shown in obedience to Him. Regardfulness, taqwa. This is Islam. Wouldn't it be wonderful no matter what religion you believe in? Do you think Christians don't have their concept of taqwa? They do. They have this obedience and taqwa too. They have [unintelligible 00:26:16] they have all of these concepts too.
If they didn’t they couldn’t all identify with that language, “and we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We pray G-d for guidance always and ask him for forgiveness and His mercy, the peace and blessing be on the prophet, and especially on the last prophet Muhammad.
[00:26:46] [END OF AUDIO]1

