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IWDM Study Library
Fault of the African-American

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed: When you have the right fear of G-d and these people in the world today they're working hard at killing the faith and respect in the people for G-d. Look how they've come out lately presenting G-d in a way that takes the fear out of the baby's heart. When I say the baby's heart I mean grownups who are babies in their mental development. To take the fear out of the baby's heart, presenting G-d as a common old man, George Burns.
The last one of their theories so far they have told us that G-d is really the reverse of a coin. On one side is good, on the other side is evil. On one side is G-d, on the other side is the devil. They have brought men back to that primitive belief that this external world is everything. It's forces that give good or account for good in our lives are from one aspect of it and the forces that account for harm and evil are from the other aspect of it. Good and evil are just two aspects of one creation and therefore the forces of good and the forces of evil are really the forces of one creation and G-d is both G-d and devil at the same time.
That's what they're saying. That G-d is G-d and devil at the same time. He takes on the role of the devil for convenience of necessity and he takes on the role of G-d for convenience of necessity. Is that not what they're telling us? Is it helping their situation? It's not helping their situation. The more they come out trying to discredit G-d, the right belief in G-d and discredit the excellent life, the excellent fear in men, the more trouble they get into themselves. They don't better their world by doing that, they make their world worse. I find confidence knowing that no evil person escapes judgment.
Umma: Allahu Akbar.
Imam: That's why I won't even tire up my energy trying to correct the person that insists upon doing wrong. Praise be to Allah. Dear beloved Muslims let us understand this and keep our faith right. We follow the way the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. We are the community of Muslims. Our book is the Qur'an, the last revelation. It is complete, it serves all needs now and until this world is passed away.
Yes, that's what we have been taught as Muslims in this religion by the word of G-d and the prophet, peace be upon him. Now dear beloved Muslims, also understand that your faith obligates you to do more than just carry it in your heart. Again this is in accord with the scriptures that came before too. I recall the Christians saying when I was a boy, "If you got a light let it shine."
You don't take your candle and put it under a bush but put it on the housetop so it will give light to the environment so it will spread and give light to others. That's what I've heard. Don't bury your talent but put it to work, that's what they said. Have they said that? G-d says in our Qur'an, "Man can only have that for which he strives. If he strives his striving will soon produce."
That's what G-d says in our holy book. The human person can only have that for which he is willing to strive and if he strives, his striving will soon produce. Praise be to Allah. The prophet has said to us, peace and blessing be on the prophet. The prophet says, "No descendant of Adam has ever enjoyed any meal more than the one for which he himself worked." What has the prophet given us here?
The prophet has given us insight into the life of the struggle of man and into the soul and the nature of man in terms of reward. That actually the best reward, the best pleasure, the greatest amount of pleasure is the rise from your own effort not from getting things without doing anything. Those who have chosen the way of servitude, dependent for a better life have really sold out the better life for a worse life but they don't know it. They think it's easier now, they think, "I have more comfort now. I can enjoy, now I'm really enjoying. I don't want the hardship. I don't want the headaches. I don't want the burden so I'm going to just take it easy, go with the wind. Bend with the pressure."
Some imams, they stay around here for 40 years and never have merrited anything because they follow that principle. Bend with the wind, go with the pressure, no principle. I respect those who got kicked out for voicing their opinions in defense of rights than those who bend with the wind, go with the pressure, just to hang around. Like I heard one say, "Oh, I've been here a long time. You can't stay around long time like this if you're going to make disturbances." That's the slave in us. That's the slave in us that lives just for conveniences.
Isn't that what made the slaves satisfied with slavery, the fear of obligation? The dread of being responsible so he'd trust his master with all responsibility for a few conveniences. He'd give up principle, bend with the wind, go with the pressure, do anything, succumb to any low level of existence. That's no good. We can't pay too big a price to get that out of ourselves. There's no price too big to get that out of ourselves because believe me that's the thought of the African American people right now.
You talk freedom, freedom, freedom. You talk independence, independence, independence but actually your spirit, your mode of behavior is that of a slave. As a lot you're slave people, that's a fact. You're a slave people. Give me something to do, if you don't have anything for me to do, let me rest. I'm not going to leave you, I'll be right here when you want me. But really the lazy slave in his heart he's saying to his master, "I hope you don't want me soon. I like doing nothing. I like being carefree, free from all obligation." G-d says, "Accept your obligation, fulfill your obligation." In the words of G-d he says, "As soon as you're free from one task, pick up another."
That's the teaching of the Qur'an, teaching of the word of Allah. That the believers should not be idle, should not be idle, that as soon as they finish one task enter right away into another. Now you know if any people follow the word of G-d as it's given in this book in its pure form, they must be successful. It's impossible for them not to be successful. They must be successful. So dear beloved Muslims let us work hard at keeping the proper relation with our Creator, whose proper name for Muslims in the Qur'an is Allah.
The proper relation with his creation and study the Qur'an, read it daily and also study the history of Al-Islam beginning with the prophet's own struggles and sacrifices and difficulties as well as successes in Arabia about 1400 years ago. Study the early history of the Muslim, the great companions of the prophet, how they were able to take up the teachings of the prophet and follow his Sunnah, his way of demonstrating the faith and make great strides and changed the face of the globe.
Don't you know it was the Muslims and the prophets that changed the face of this earth? Praise be to Allah. Let us study that and benefit from it and work hard at doing G-d's pleasure, wherever you are, in your home, on the job, in the public, wherever you are. Our first path is to work hard at pleasing G-d and that covers everything. If we do that, everything will be taken care of.
Dear beloved Muslims, Prophet Muhammad the peace and blessings be upon him, has been described by his wife, Aisha, May G-d be pleased with her, as the Qur'an in practice, the Qur'an in practice. We know when we read the Qur'an, the Qur'an is like a manual as some of the scholars have written, but someone has to carry out the manual. The prophet was chosen, peace and blessings be upon him for that purpose so that all of us can follow him in carrying out the manual and applying the manual.
He has been described by his wife as the Qur'an in practice. Praise be to Allah and we thank Him for Muhammad the last, the prophet, the most excellent of creation and for his model as a guide for all of us. The prophet regarding the relationship that should be between husband and wife has also addressed meaning command, a meaning to provision given in Qur'an. Allah permits us, that is men, to use some measure to get obedience from our wives.
Those who give thought to this division in this Western society before becoming too upset could understand that wife abuse is one of the number one problems for law enforcement in this modern civilization that boast of women freedom. If we can get the faith or the courage, the courage comes because of strong faith. If we can get the courage to do just this to what G-d requires of us in this religion, we will be on solid ground. We will be in a good situation for the first time as people in this troubled world.
I'm talking about the African American in particular, but all of us, poor, uneducated, half-educated, miseducated masses, all of us, but I'm talking particularly now to the blacks or African American people. You who accept this religion, women and men. If you can accept, get the courage, not to question what Allah has put in this book, you would put yourself in a good situation for the first time.
I don't know a sister and I've been talking about it and I'm very careful with this position in Qur'an because I know the sensitivities in the Western women so I'm very careful with that particular position. I haven't found a single woman yet that has indicated with her spirit that she accepts what G-d has put in the Qur'an, that a man has a right to grab her, shake her up a little bit when she gets out of line and her behavior is endangering the life that they have chosen. Most of them have just come right out and told me, "No brother Imam, I'm not accepting that. I'm not accepting that no man got the right to hit me," but they get hit all the time.
Now see if you were a student of psychology like I am, you would know the very fact of your denying him that will make him insist upon it, insist upon it until you give in. What you want to do? Go on being brutalized forever or accept what G-d says in the Qur'an? Tell the man, "I know you're stronger than me in your muscles. I know you're my superior physically-speaking. I know you can strike me lightly and hard severely and I probably can't do anything about it and I think G-d has given you a right. He wouldn't have given you that muscular superiority over me for nothing."
If you could just accept that you'll find most men will give up. They'll give up. The world has given us ideas of our relationship with each other that were intended to make a good relationship impossible. They don't want good relationships for husband and wife. A good relationship for husband and wife means a discipline in the family. It means a sensible household. That mean that they won't be able to sell you all their junk and all their excesses.
That mean they won't be able to dictate the mind and spirit of your household. They don't want that. That's the last thing they want, is for relationships to be sound and healthy and good. They want to keep the relationship so that they can exploit it. If the relationship become good, they can't explore it. They give the woman an idea to make the man think he's an ape, that G-d has made you an ape, macho man, superman, right?
Show the man with his bare hand knocking holes through stone walls. Pulling up big trees by the roots. Isn't that what they show us in fiction? They show us that in fiction. The man, make him so tough and then tell the woman, "He better not strike you. He'd better not strike you. If he does, he'd better not come in my court." They have excited your man to become a little young boy showing off his muscles and strength and then tell him that you are his boss.
"No matter what you do, he better not take his hand, he better not use his hand on you. If he does, he better not come to my court." See the trouble they make for relationships? That's designed to destroy the proper roles, deny the dignity to the roles, husband and wife. Neither can be established while you're fighting over rights. The words of G-d in the Qur??n [foreign language] strike them lightly. That's from G-d. G-d prescribes that.
The wisdom in it, I don't think we'll ever decipher completely, but I can see a great depth of wisdom in it, that if G-d has given me-- G-d gave me this right. I don't have it of myself. I'm not carrying out my own authority when I strike my wife lightly for her wrong. I'm carrying out a provision given to me by G-d and the Muslim wife will not see me striking her. She will see the law of G-d striking her. From my hand, it comes nildly from G-d severely.
G-d has checked my hand and told me not to apply it severely. Lightly. Look how we have refused to accept what G-d provides and now we're getting it severely. Severe brutalizing of the woman by the man, that's an issue right now in Western society. It's not all that one-sided. Don't let the news fool you, because I know a few friends who have been brutalized by their eight wives.
[laughter]
The prophet said, "The best of you is the one who is best towards his wife." When you quote the prophet brothers, don't forget that quote. "The best of you is the one who is best towards his wife." In his last pilgrimage and his farewell address the prophet dealt with this concern at length. He went on to say that, "If your wives lend themselves to the depravity," you know what the depravity is? A tendency to do wrong. To corrupt things. To turn the home or the society over to corruption and wrong doing.
[00:26:32] [END OF AUDIO]


