11/27/1994
IWDM Study Library
Support Religion for Social Dignity and Community Empowerment
Newark NJ

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
With Allah’s name, the praise and the thanks is for G-d. We thank Him for the gift and blessing of the model human person Muhammad (pbuh). The honorable and noble servant and Messenger of G-d and what follows of that salute or that traditional salutation to the last Prophet (pbuh), the seal of the Prophets mentioned in the Bible as it is given in the Quran.
Prophet Muhammad pbuh was to come in prophecy and also by way of the prophetic Office of the prophets. That prophecy is fulfilled in him, and the matter is completed. It is concluded. We pray the traditional salute, asking the prayers and the peace be upon him, and what follows of that salutation among Muslims to the last Prophet. Upon us be peace and G-d's Mercy and His Guidance. We ask always that Allah (swt) bless our efforts, and purify our intention for the efforts, and then reward our efforts, for He is the best to reward. As He says in His own Book, the Holy Qur'an, He is the best to reward efforts.
The Muslim agenda is based upon what Allah (swt) has revealed to us as our responsibility in the Qur'an and in the life of His Messenger, His Servant Messenger Muhammad, the prayers and the peace be on him.
We think the topic, the subject that we are addressing here is a subject that really needs to be presented to the general society of America, particularly to the African American people in the society of this country, whether they believe like we do or not in religion; because we, more than any other people, have unusual kinds of problems, or peculiar difficulties coming to grips with or accepting our social responsibility.
Social Responsibility
The word "social" refers directly to human relationships in society. The first social obligation is to one's closest members, our families. But the social obligation extends outside of your family community into the general community.
Three Circles: Family, Religious Community, General Community 
I would say for people who try to establish their lives in accordance with the ideas that they have in their religion, they have three circles that they have to be aware of as circles for their lives and their livelihood, the first being the family, as we already said. The second would be their religious community and the third would be the general community. That is the situation for us. We have to be concerned for our families first, then for the Muslim community, and lastly, for the general community, the town, beginning with the neighborhoods where we live, because it is non-Muslim. I don't think we have any Muslim neighborhoods yet. We hope to have some. So you have to begin with your neighborhood, and most likely even your neighbor next door.
What Islam Wants For Us 
I think this topic is one that needs more discussion openly, publicly that is, not just in institutions. We know these institutions are working on social problems and they also create social problems; not that we are not doing something wrong, too. We make mistakes, too, because we are not in the light. We have those three circles, and two of those circles belong to us as Muslims — our families and our Muslim community.
A knee pops up, a foot pops up, and the Mother says, "What is this? This is a tough one I've got here. This is an active one here!"
Frederick Douglas
In the circumstances of the plantation slave life we gave birth to great minds. Frederick Douglass, perhaps the most notable one of them all, was born a slave. He lived as a slave until he was a young man, then he broke from his slave master, the second slave master. He didn't break from the first one. The first one was humane and allowed him to study and to get educated. The second one he got because of bad financial circumstances for the first one. The first one had to sell him to a second slave master. The second slave master was a typical red neck, a typical slave master and Douglass wasn't used to that kind of bad treatment as a slave. So Frederick Douglas struck him, actually hit him and knocked him down, and out.
Then Douglas came up North, up the East Coast where there was no slavery, and he began another life. Mr. Douglass became an orator of the United States who influenced President Lincoln, influenced his thinking and everything. He made a great impression on the world at that time. He was invited to Europe, and went over there and made impressions on them. Frederick Douglas, who was born a slave, was just one, perhaps the most outstanding of them all. But there were others, too, men and women, who came from slavery and then took on the role of freedom fighters, freedom strugglers. Women like Sojourner Truth and others, not just men. They dedicated themselves to the liberation of their lot, the whole of their people.
Beginning of African American History
At that point we were separated from our social responsibility. For me, that point should be the beginning of African American history. I think all of us should identify with that history, because we are Muslims. It shouldn't mean that we are less interested in the life history of Black people on this continent. No. We should become even more interested in the life history, the good times and the bad times, the struggles and great achievements in spite of barriers or difficulties put in our way.
Slavery designed to remove the human soul and spirit
In spite of the extent to which conditions were created to actually take the human soul and spirit out of us... You know, the hardness of slavery back then was designed to actually take the human soul and the human spirit out of those people, so that they wouldn't be any trouble for the cruel master. He could sleep and rest comfortably. He's not worrying about a Nat Turner or anything. In fact, at one point it was written in their publication that the Black man has become docile. He has no will to resist, no will to complain even; he has become docile. That's what they wanted, the slave to be docile. Docile means like wanting to sleep all the time.
Human spirit Is a responsible spirit
If you leave him alone he will take a nap. "If you don't keep urging him on, he'll just take a nap." You can look up docile if you want in the dictionary, but I think I have a skill with these words. I might even write my own dictionary one day. The movement started to awaken in us again the human soul, the human spirit. The human spirit is a productive spirit. The human spirit is a responsible spirit. A lot of us miss the meaning of just what human is. If you look in a dictionary, just an ordinary dictionary, you look up the word HUMAN, it has maybe a few entries, a few explanations, but the main one they will use is a scientific term, "HOMO SAPIEN." So what is HOMO? Homo is a man, but can be also a woman.
The more society puts pressure on the masters of language to be more correct with their meanings or the definitions, the more we find the masters of language changing the policies and allowing us to have a different use of words.
Human Identity
The human identity is what it is referring to. Really the word, MAN, is used by us, and not WOMAN as such, in that particular definition. But originally man meant woman, too, even in Islam. That's why the Qur'an says, "... He created you from "nafsin wahidah," from ONE PERSON.2 And if you read the Qur'an in Arabic, you read it very carefully, this one person was not Adam, alone. It says, "... He created from IT, it's mate...." 
Khalifa The male is not that by himself he must have male and sensitivities
Then Adam comes, and then the woman comes, distinct from each other. But originally the word meant both male and female. So whatever the khalifa is, the man is not that by himself.3 Khalifa is male and female. Whatever khalifa means, the man is not that by himself. It takes the woman with him. He has to become that "nafsin wahidah" again before he qualifies to be the khalifa. It takes the woman with him. You have to have to two operating, then he's the Khalifa.
You say, "How are you going to get a woman back into the man?" He has to be born again, or has to be created by Allah swt, with the sensitivities that a woman has. He has to have both: the male sensitivities, and the woman sensitivities, if he is to be the best, the type of ruler that G-d wants for us on this earth.
African Americans Are a New Creation of G d
The life, the bad experiences of slavery as it began down in the South, on the plantation, is really the beginning of our history as a people in this part of the world, or in the world. Because actually what has been created? Some of us actually represent a new human creation, or a new social creation. And I would think that is the strong minority that we have, of free thinkers. Recently an unpopular African American, the conservative who sits on the Supreme Court as a judge, the Supreme Court Justice (Clarence Thomas), he was the keynote speaker in Chicago, and he made this statement. It was published in the paper the next day. He said that he invites blacks to become free thinkers.
Now, that's no new invitation. Dubois said, "To the extent that we will go to teach our children to think, will be the measure of our freedom." So what is he saying? That we will expand the measure of our freedom, we can have more freedom the more we think independently, or the more we think on our own and pass it down to the next generation: think on your own, think on your own. I never told Muslim Journal to put that statement in the paper, that they keep in there now, on the educational page, or academic page, the school page. The statement ends with me saying, "I will never give up the pleasure or the dignity that I have of thinking for myself." I will never give that up. I'm going to always think for myself.
I thought there has been about three of them in there now. One of them was actually taken from the Prophet himself, his own saying, "When the Muslim or the Believer endeavors to do anything, whether it is draw a picture, or sell some goods to the market or on the market, or get a good score in school as a student, or clean up the house, whatever, cook the meal, says, the Muslim, the Believer, whenever he endeavors to do anything seeks to perfect it." He seeks to perfect it.4
Hand of Allah Is on the group and holds the whole universe in one hand 
So that tells me, that Allah swt says, whatever the Messenger pbuh offers you, accept it. Allah swt has made it obligatory, made it an obligation on me that when the Prophet pbuh says something, I accept it without questioning it, without doubting it. 
The Prophet pbuh himself has obligated us to accept responsibility, to be responsible. There's a saying, "The hand of G-d is on the group,"5 meaning the collective body. Jumah means the collective body. If we say, bring the people together, put them together, or collect the things together, we say, ijma. So jummuah means, after the things have been made into one bunch, or into one collection, put them all together.
So, the "Hand of Allah is on the group". What does the Hand mean? Allah speaks of Himself as having two Hands, just like we have two hands. "Yaddaa" is two hands. Are we left to really wonder or guess at what these two hands mean? No, Allah swt says just in one hand, alone, He holds the whole universe, all creation. Then He asked Iblis, the fallen angel in Western theology, Christian theology, "What is the matter with you that you refused to bow or make sajdah to this man that I have made with my two hands?" He said, "My Two Hands."
Two Hands for Creating and Teaching Man
So we know now what the two means. The studious thinker right away comes to the conclusion, and he now knows what these hands are. One hand is the "Hand of the Creation." The other hand is the "Hand of Teaching." 
Allah hands: 1. Teaches man 2. Created universe
With one hand He teaches man Himself. G-d Himself teaches man. With the other hand He created the whole world that he had to later teach man about. So, what are the hands? Look in the English language to understand what hands means. First look at the word "handicap.' Handicap means that he is impaired, his ability is seriously hurt. His natural ability is impaired or seriously hurt. Look at the word "handle." "Can you handle this affair?" meaning, "Do you have the ability to take charge of this affair?" 
So hands, even in English, must have a meaning, originally, in "responsibility for," the "ability to manage," right? "The ability to manage," and if you have the ability to manage, then you can accept the responsibility for that particular thing, if you have the ability to manage. Can you manage driving a car? Okay, they'll give you a license. If you can manage driving a car, they will give you a license. Can you handle it? That's the word I want, 'handle.' Most of the things that we have a handle on, the handle is its main control, isn't it? The handle is its main control. So we can come to the conclusion that "hand" means "control". The control, the entity that represents the control is the hand.
Now G-d is saying that He has in His Control, the whole creation that He made. Isn't that where it is supposed to be? Yes. And G-d says, "Is not there for G-d both the Creation that He made and also the Authority or the Command?" Yes, the Qur'an is the Authority, the Qur'an. Yes. So we understand then, that to mean that G-d has two main controls in the creation and in the life of man, the natural control from the creation that He made; He has that control in our lives. And the other control is the control by the way of enlightenment and He has that, too.
Mother earth turned man to G-d
I am a witness as a student now for about fifty years, a serious student, studying the word of G-d, studying the ways of the world. I am a witness that man has no great achievement whatsoever that he doesn't owe to revealed knowledge. Without Revealed knowledge, he would still be drinking out of skulls, chasing women and beating them over the heads with sticks, with tree limbs and stuff, to get his pleasures. But he has been civilized. And the first to be civilized was the one that G-d guided, who turned back to His G-d by way of study, or researching the creation itself.
Man turned to the creation that bore him, as his mother so to speak, and he questioned his mother, and his mother pointed him to his father, symbolically speaking, metaphorically speaking, G-d Almighty. This is how it happened. Don't think that it is correct for a Muslim to use that kind of language. It is not. I used it. I said, "metaphorically speaking," and I am going to clear up the mess by telling you it is forbidden for us to use that kind of language in Al Islam. There is no metaphor for G-d. But since the Christian world has that kind of language, it was easy for me to make my point with it, to you, a Western product. So I used it.
Adam as an Incomplete Creation it was complete with Muhammad
G-d said He made His man with His two hands, with both His hands. What does this tell us about that man that G-d has as our first father? We know that He was referring to Adam. But for the scholar in Islam, especially for the blessed scholar in Islam whose thoughts have been blessed by G-d, we know that Adam was incomplete when he was made. His completion began with the next prophet, and the next prophet, and the next prophet, until the last one. With the last one, his creation is complete. The creation of Adam is complete.
So the creation of Adam was not completed until Muhammad pbuh was created. And how did Allah create Muhammad pbuh ? Ar Rahmanu, The Merciful G-d, the Beneficent G-d, or the Merciful Benefactor, "Khalaqa Insaan." Alamal Qur'an," that's first, then "khalaqa insaan." He revealed the Qur'an, taught it, and then created the person. 8
Muhammad Created Twice
So Muhammad was created twice, by two hands. He was perfect in his natural creation, before the revelation of Qur'an came, and then G-d came and created him with the other control, the Hand of revelation. Then after He completed him, He said, "Ar Rahmanu;" not G-d the Father, the concept is non-existent; not G-d, the Son, or the Holy Ghost, these concepts are non-existent; G-d, The Merciful Benefactor.
Attributes of Allah hundred just represents the completion of one series
G-d has one hundred attributes and that one hundred can be multiplied by thousands and millions. One hundred just represents one completion, the completion of one series from one to one hundred. G-d has one hundred attributes, and this is the One that you turn to as your Merciful Benefactor.
The Story of Adam, the Khalifah:
A good, clear view on the khalifa. Now, if we can understand the concept of khalifa - we have a good perception now of that concept, of what the khalifa is. I can now begin with that in bringing out what I want to bring out. Man in the role of authority or power that G-d planned for him or intended for him is depicted, or pictured, given in concept, as khalifa. G-d says in the Qur'an that He made not one, but many. He made us, whether we qualify for it or not, He made us khalifas.9 The plural is used, 'khulafaa'; not just one khalifa, but many. All of us have, or are created with, are born with, a capacity within us to be khalifa of 
G-d. That's what the whole story is to tell us, saying that Adam is the father of all people, of every human being. The story is to tell us that we all have the capacity to be whatever that first man was created to be. He was created to be khalifa. We don't hear of the term used in Al Islam until after the Prophet (pbuh). Then they named their leaders, their rulers, khalifas. The Prophet was not there to say that was correct or incorrect.
Prophet Muhammad Didn't Appoint a Khalifa
There was nobody called khalifa in the time of the Prophet pbuh. After him the believers got together and they decided to do a psychological thing. They said, "Look, a big officer, we have lost him. So our ruler has to be big, or the people will not pay attention to him. We need a big officer that will at least be so magnified in the eyes of he people that they will give him respect, because the Prophet pbuh was magnified so much in our eyes. Just a preacher, or an Imam, or leader, that won't do it. He has to have a bigger title." So they did a little study and research, and they came up with the justification for calling their leader, the Khalifa. But, believe me, the only khalifa we have had was Muhammad, the Prophet (pbuh).
Whoever occupied that position, or claimed that position after Muhammad the Prophet (pbuh), he was nothing but a shadow of the Khalifa. He was not the real khalifa. Thank G-d for blessing him with the personality and the character to at least be a shadow of Muhammad (pbuh), the Khalifa.
A Sign in the Short Life of the Khalifas
Now I'm going to say something that I haven't said before but that I wanted to say a million times. There is a sign in the short life of the khalifas. I think only one of them had what you might call a normal, long life. There is a sign there for us. And we would be fools not to take it as a sign. After the passing of the Prophet (pbuh), khalifas, rulers, were betrayed, assassinated, one behind the other. Their lives were not long with the people, except for one, and really his wasn't too long. That is a sign. To me it is a sign that we should study this office of Khalifa.
What happened to them should make us want to study the office of Khalifa. Why did this happen? Why did the people treat them this way, if they were such unquestionable authority, if they qualified for that? Not to say that they didn't qualify as khalifa, but don't you know that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), if he had seen any one, any single one of his companions, reminding him, or bringing to his mind the idea that this person is in his behavior or in his ability, qualified as khalifa, he would have called them Khalifa Umar, or Khalifa Abu Bakr.
He never called any of them khalifa. Why? Because khalifa is not to be worn by any one single person, Khalifa is all of our title. And if you get a person who qualifies to lead us in that role, to be that kind of person, we should never call that person himself, singularly, by himself, khalifa, unless we are doing it as I am doing it now. We are saying that G-d created us all to be khalifa, and here is a person here who indicates to us in his person that he has grown into the dimensions of khalifa, that he has the qualities, the dimensions of khalifa, that he has measured up to the dimensions of khalifa. But to then make that a title-no. When you make it a title, it is just like calling your leader the King, or the Prince, or the High Priest. It's the same as doing that.
You're going to separate him from the people. "So he's the Khalifa, we worship him...." There's a lot to be said about that; a lot to be said about that.
Amir is the title Not Khalifa
I think I have already told some of these brothers in private that it is a mistake. It is a mistake that they called their rulers the khalifa. They should have continued to call their rulers, Amir, because that is a title for which we have justification from Qur'an and from the life of the Prophet. Where is the justification in the Qur'an for the title 'Amir?' G-d says to us, "And order by what has been revealed...." Command, order, Amir. And G-d says to us, "Order upon the principle of Shuraa, of mutual consultation..."10
This is a meeting of the minds, the mutual meeting of the best minds, discussing the matter and coming up with a consensus, a judgment they all support. Right? That's what G-d says to do. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "No matter how small the task is, if it involves more than one person, choose you, an Amir."
So from that we can conclude that we can call ourselves 'Amir.' The biggest Amir, he is over all of us. The President of the United States is far from being the only president. There are a million presidents, more than that in this country. There are presidents of corporations and other things, right? They are presidents, too. But we have one president, who is president of the United States, voted in by all the people. He is the president of the United States. So we can have Amirs here, and Amirs there; Amir over sweeping the floor...when the bakery closes down. "Who's the Amir for the sweeping the crumbs up, brother? Al-Hamdulillah, you're the Amir? Take charge, brother, you're the Amir!" I believe if that had been done, we wouldn't have had so much intrigue, so much undermining, so much trouble for Islam.
The Prophet, The Perfect Man
Allah (swt) is the Foreseer, the All Knowing and the Foreseer. And He has a plan to override all plans that may develop. His plan as I understand it, as I perceive it, His plan was to bring more attention to this term "khalifa," because the people were not educated enough back then to understand the term "khalifa." They were just introduced to it, but the full meaning of it had not been given to them. It took them years of study, studying the life of the Prophet, and only a few of them, a select few among the top scientists, or the top scholars of Islamic scientists, came to the conclusion that the Prophet is "Rajilun Ta'amun," meaning that he is the Perfect Man. And he is also "Rajilun Kamilun," the Complete Man. He is the Complete Man, and the Complete Man is the Perfect Man.
Once G-d has completed the man as He intended for him to be made on this earth, then he becomes the perfect man. Perfect means, meeting and satisfying the purpose, or the desire, or whatever, that is perfect. So when the man has met the qualifications that were expected from him by G-d, then he is not only complete, but he is also perfect.
Quran 5.3:
"...This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion..."
And the indication that Muhammad was perfect, was with the proclaiming the Qur'an to be complete and perfect. "On this day I have revealed for you your religion, completed my favor on you ...Have perfected for you your religion, and completed my favor on you." So this is both, He completed His favor on us and perfected.11 So completion and perfection goes together. The completion is the perfection. When it is complete as G-d intended, it is the perfection.
So Muhammad, according to Lady Aisha, was the reflection of the Qur'an, more so than that, was the Living Qur'an walking among us.12 That's how she described him. That's how the wife described the husband. So if he is, if he has been the vessel for the last revelation of the Qur'an and G-d has deposited the whole revelation into that vessel to cause a scholarly lady, Aisha, May G-d be pleased with her, to identify him as the embodiment of the Qur'an. That's what she said. See, they didn't speak English, they spoke Arabic. As the embodiment...he is the embodiment of the Qur'an.
Then if his identity, when she was asked to describe him, if his identity then is really the embodiment of the Qur'an, the Qur'an walking, living among us, expressing itself among us, in marvelous words and also with deeds, then if he was that, and the Qur'an was completed and perfect, then he himself is also completed and perfect. So the scholars reason that Muhammad pbuh is the answer to an age long expectation that was on the wise of the world, that man was being moved by his Creator, by his Shaper, to better and more complete form; that He is not finished. That's why it says, "I will be what I am." I shall be what I am. What I am, I'm not yet. But I shall be what I am."
So who could say that with any more confidence, comfort, than Adam, himself, if he knew his creation. Adam is the one who should say that. Adam should say that somebody may say, "Who are you, Adam?" if Adam knew that he was created to be the Khalifa, and that he really was incomplete, but it was coming. Adam, represents the line of life that continues.
Muhammad Is Adam in Completion, Perfection
So, if someone says, "Muhammad was Adam." Am I incorrect? No, I am perfectly correct. Muhammad was Adam in completion, in perfection. He is Adam. So Adam starts with the first creation, the first act of G-d to create His man. And mind you, Allah did not say to the angels, "I have created a man." G-d never said to the angels, "I have created a man, I want you to respect him." G-d said, "I am going to create a man. I am going to create a Khalifa."13 If you look at the expression in the Qur'an and you, as a person who has studied that word, its grammatical rules for it in grammar, how it is to be explained grammatically, you will know that G-d was saying not that I created or that I am going to create. By reason, yes, I am going to create. But actually what G-d said is, "I am creating". I am in the act right now of creating a Khalifa. "Anna Jaailun". I am making a creation. Where am I making him, in heaven? "Fil Ard", in the earth.
I am making in the earth a Khalifa. That is what G-d says to the angels. But it's okay to translate it, "I am going to make in the earth a Khalifa." I'm not saying that we should do away with that translation. But for teaching, you should make it clear that the verb says, "I am making, at this time I'm doing this. I am making now, I am making, a ruler or a khalifa in the earth."
G-d spoke to Adam. Adam was the first step in that work, in that plan. Adam had in himself at that time, the concept G-d created. And the concept at that time had all future possibilities in it, although Adam at that time had not awaken to all of those possibilities, all the future possibilities in him. Adam, when he was made, he became father of all the generations, the father of even our leader, our Prophet, the last Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh).
Muhammad, the eighth, led seven Prophets in Prayer
We know according to the teachings of the Prophet, Adam was the first concept, and out of him it was possible to have all the other concepts. According to the teachings of the Prophet, it was possible to have Jesus, the Christ, peace be upon him; and it was possible to have after him, Joseph, Yusuf, peace be upon them; and Idris, the fourth, peace be upon him; and Harun, Aaron, the fifth, peace be upon him; and Musa, Moses, the sixth, peace be upon him; and Ibrahim, Abraham, the seventh, peace be upon him; and Muhammad, the completion of all of them, who led them all in prayer, peace be upon him, he was the eighth and he led the seven in prayer.
Prayer Is the Word, the Qur'an
This is Islamic teachings. He led the seven in prayer, even his father, Adam. He led his father, Adam, in prayer. He led his father Ibrahim, Abraham, in prayer. What is this telling us? That here is the son, the last son, in the Prophetic progression, the last son, he leads even his two fathers in prayer. Did he lead them in anything else other than prayer? No, only in prayer. What is the prayer? The Word. What is the Word? The Qur'an, the completion and the perfection that they all were aspiring to reach. Now here is the answer coming in the last one.
"And Without Doubt He Saw Him in the Clear Horizon"
So he leads them in prayer to demonstrate to us by way of metaphor, to demonstrate to us that here is the line of growth, completed. Here is what Adam wanted. Here is what Christ Jesus wanted.
Here is what Joseph wanted, Yusef wanted. Here is what Idris wanted. Here is what Aaron wanted. Here is what Moses wanted. Here is what father Abraham wanted. This is what they all wanted. They wanted the arrow to reach its target. And here it is fired out of a bow, two traveling along to the destination as though they are one, reconciled perfectly, hitting the target perfectly. 
The Qur'an said, he met him on the far horizon. It was a long ways from Adam's day, a far horizon, but that spirit finally got there and the job was complete, and perfect. Yes. So this is the way we should understand it.
Christianity No Threat
What is their justification for withholding this knowledge from their masses? They are slave masters. Intentionally, or unintentionally, they are slave masters. This is the common knowledge that will protect us and allow us to grow in strength and in quality, numbers and quality. This is the knowledge we need. If they would give their following (I'm speaking of the Muslim world), what I give you, they wouldn't have to worry about Christians coming among them converting Muslims. There would be no threat from Christianity. How can there be a threat from a lower plane, to a higher plane? G-d has been raising this up from lower planes to higher planes. And we claim that Abraham and us sit on the highest plane. Then how can there be any threat from our zone, from these zones beneath us. This is not to speak, show disrespect or to speak in a disrespectful way of Christianity and Judaism. No, it is not at all. But it is simply to say that if that's all they have, is what was written for them, we don't have anything to worry about.
Now G-d has progressed their thinking, and enabled them to extract from what has been revealed to their prophets of old, and see the light as it should be seen, in its completion and perfection. We still don't have anything threatening from them. We should make them our allies. We should become allies, because we have been blessed by G-d, all of us, to come to the Promised Land. Now, the purpose in me dwelling on the concept or the idea of Khalifa like this, all this long time, is because I believe that is our strongest starting point. When we want to understand, what is my existence? What is this thing here I call me, my flesh, my body? Little babies, they can teach us something. We say, "I'm going to take a bath." But listen to the little baby, sometimes. Sometimes there is a little alert baby in the house, or young child in the house, and you say bath, and the baby will say, "body." "Do I have to wash my body?" Body, that's what you are. You are a body and conscience. Conscience is in the body, consciousness.
Talking about Khalifa. We have dwelled on this term all of this time to establish that the starting point for us in understanding what we are, and where we should be going is Khalifa. It gives us the complete picture that should be the motivation in our life for every interest that we have. For every area or field of interest, Khalifa should be the thing that generates confidence, hope in us. What can we not accomplish if we believe ourselves to be the Khalifa, if we are believers in G-d, as Muslims?
G-d Has Made Everything to Give Its Service to His Khalifa
Allah swt says that He has made everything in the sky. That means the universe, or the external world. He has made everything in the sky...the skies, he said skies, plural, "Sammawa", everything in the skies (and the world). The Qur'an says He made it to give its service to His khalifa.15 And He puts Khalifa into the plural, meaning there will be Khalifas, many all over the world, and they will be generation after generation. They will continue just like the generation of man. In fact, the Khalifa is the real line of the generation of man. It is the real line of the generation of man. He said that He has made us Khulafa, or khalifas in the earth, and then we, if we understand that and we see that our starting point is khalifa, something that is not finished. The finish line for the Khalifa is Muhammad (pbuh) and with him, all of us, if we follow his revelation, his pattern, his sewa, his uswa, his pattern.
Who Can Motivate Us Better Than G d?
The starting point is that point and as long as we perceive or see ourselves in our ability, in our creative ability, our inherent, or creative ability...as long as we see ourselves...native ability, all referring to the same, as Khalifa, then we don't need anybody to motivate us. Who can motivate us better than G d? Allah is the best to motivate us.
Khalifa Is for everyone in the essence of pristine nature 
And Allah swt has said to us that all of us in our essence, all of us in our pristine nature, in our original capacity, all of us have the potential to be His Khalifa on this earth. There are learned Muslims that I have met from different parts of the world, particularly from Pakistan, India, and Palestine, Palestinian, hinted very strongly to me, by or from a Saudis, and Egyptians, that maybe Allah is making a Khalifa in America. I have had some Asians come up to me and even told me.
And I told them the same thing that I told you all. The Khalifa is not meant to be one man. We all are Khalifa. And if we have someone who qualifies to be the leader for us all, then, that person should simply be called a leader for that group, or the Imam, but not Khalifa. That term is reserved because it is the property of the common person. It is the inheritance of the common person. And if you make it the title for your leader, you take the common peoples' mind off it as their inheritance. They told me that, and I witnessed inside they were telling the truth: The Khalifa is being made in America.
The job of light is to condition Life
The biggest job of light is conditioning the life. When light comes, it doesn't only show you where you can go, but light makes you feel better inside. Light is relieving. Darkness is burdensome, especially when you want to do things. That's why G-d says He made the darkness to oppress and made the light to liberate. If light conditions us, as well as clears the environment so we can see where to go and how to go about it, what is this conditioning? And I was about to say, the conditioning is that it makes you feel better, and it makes you less burdened. It makes you more prepared to act or to move to do the things you have to do. It enlivens you. That's why the light is also called the life.16 It enlivens you. It makes you feel more alive, more active. You've got more energy to go now. And it actually energizes you. Light energizes the spirit, just like the physical electricity energizes whatever it's sent into. Right? The light energizes the spirit, and it also comforts, gives comfort, because with light comes warmth, too.
The same light that gives us life, also gives us warmth, the sun, the original light, the biggest light we have, the one that only Allah (swt) hung up in the ceiling. And when it is hung up there, all other lights lose their attention. They are not on stage anymore. They still exist, but they have no stage anymore once Allah (swt) hangs that big sun up there in the daytime. The sun, what is the role of that light? And this is the light that we should be comparing the light of revelation with, sun and light. The sun and the light is a sign, a metaphor in our world, pointing us to, really, the true light, which is the light of revelation, the light of enlightenment, divine enlightenment. It is a sign of that. So let's look at the sun as a symbol now, as a sign of the real thing. This sun does not only clear the environment for us to see things, and approach them more safely, and manage them more safely, etc., all this; but it also energizes us. It contributes to a happier day for us... "Oh, look how bright, isn't this a beautiful, bright day?"
Sun symbol of happiness
I've heard men of wisdom in ancient scripture say that originally the sun was not a symbol of light, though it was the light. They say it was a symbol of happiness. The light, the sun, comes up, then happiness. The light of the sun meant happiness. The influence was happiness. So this is what it meant to ancient people, I am told, and I believe it. I believe it. I also did some research. I believe that in ancient times they saw it mainly as a symbol of happiness, not just light. So we know that it is the element behind all other developments. The sun influences weather, more so than anything else. The sun acting upon the earth, acting upon the environment, maybe not directly all the time, but the sun in its role influences weather more than anything else. It is the force behind all weather. Cold, heat, cold and hot, rain and snow, sleet, everything; tides, We say the moon controls the tides. That's what they say. The moon has no light of its own. The moon has no phases without the sun. Its phases are caused by the sun and its path and its relationship to the earth in their path around the sun. This is how we have to explain it. So we explain whatever happens to the moon, whatever happens to the earth. If we explain it, we have to go to the sun to explain it.
Hamem Masnun Warm Soil
Earth The womb for all life
Human Humus From dying and decaying soil
Now, plants grow not really because of rain. It is an additive. Plants grow because of the sun on the earth. The earth is the womb. The earth has the germ, but the sun must feed it. Now, before even there was germ in the earth, there was the sun. And the sun in time made the germ for production. Scientific thinkers, I am sure you just instantly you see it all. Because we know before there was animal life, plant life, then animal life, and a lot of dying and decaying, finally made humus soil. That's how humus soil came into existence. And now from humus soil, we get all the great productions. Things coming up and dying, death building up the soil, is what has made it possible for us to have the richness of soil, humus, that we have now.
G-d made his man from what? Humus, not just soil, humus, hamiem masnun.17 He made his man from hamiem masnun. He made his man from rich soil, fertile soil. And the expression hamiem is for the people of that time. In their language, hamiem means warm. You get a lot of life and a lot of fertility in the soil and it's hotter than the soil without fertility. You who work with soil, you know. You put your hand in rich soil and feel it. Then put it in sand. Sand is cooler.
The more fertile soil is warmer. Masnun is a play on, "it might be offensive to your smell." So some translators say it's "from stinky mud." They translate it, "from stinky mud". That's not an exact translation. That's not a perfect translation...there is nothing there that says "stinky". But it just says that it's warm. It has heat, and it is something that you might despise. But out of that comes the possibilities for your life and your future.
So what built up all of that humus for the life to be created out of? The sun. And the sun appeared to ancient man to rise up, really, from the bowels of the earth. You see, ancient man was not scientific, so he didn't know where the sun was coming up from. The only thing he saw was that it was coming up. When he was out at sea, it looked like it dripped some of its fire back into the water. So he thought it was coming out of the water. If he was at sea, or if he was on an ocean, then the ocean was the East. When it rolled out of the ocean, he thought the sun was actually rising up out of the water. And it appears actually to be dropping some of its fire back into the water. I've seen it. It doesn't come up clean, and clear. I mean clear of the water. When it rises up, you see beneath the sun the illusion that the sun looks like it's dripping some of its fire down into the water as it is coming up.
G-d has made the rising of the sun on ocean fronts, or lake fronts, or things like that, to appear to man as, actually, it is coming up out of the water. And if the land is open, it appears that it is coming up out of the earth, itself, that the sun is actually coming up out of the earth. If the land is not open like our city land, it looks like it is just flying across the sky. In any explanation, without science, it is a spooky thing, isn't it? Only science took the spook out of it.
So we know now that it is just an inanimate body of fire, of burning material. We know that now, but ancient man did not. He was in the "Thulamat", the oppressive darkness, and he was being formed. And G-d formed him to believe that a G-d is doing this and this is a sign to me that I have to read. "So what, how shall I read this, my Lord?" He doesn't know his Lord. He doesn't know science, either. But he believes in his Lord. He knows that something did it all. "How am I to read this my Lord?" He finally comes to read it as G-d intended for him to read it. That's the potential of the sun rising up out of the earth. That's the potential of the sun coming up out of the earth to light the earth. Now look at your earth, your body. He also made a sun to rise in your body, in the dead matter of your body, and once your potential rises up and frees itself from the bowels of your earth, your personal body, it will light your world.
Yes, it was a sign that G-d gave ancient man. And then the language becomes confused in time, and they take the sun to be G-d. I may say then that the Khalifa can be metaphorically depicted as the sun, couldn't it? The Khalifa. Not the SON, the SUN. We must come to understand religion, the life history of religion, because when we are talking about religion today, we are talking about religion in a completely new picture, or a new focus or a view from that, that men had before, what we call the traditional or classical prophets of G-d. You know, we talk about Adam.
We have history, man's history bears witness to certain developments in the life of religious people, and we can go back to a time when religion for man was what the modern world came to call heathenism, paganism, idol worship.
Religion Of early man was not corrupt
Paganism, Idolatry Decline in Religion
I believe that what we call paganism, heathenism, idol worship, I believe that this represents a decline in religion. I believe that originally man did have what we may call for want of a better term, primitive religion. But his primitive religion was not a corrupt thing like we find in much of paganism, or heathenism. I believe that his religion was the best that could come about in his time then human condition and circumstances. And I believe that he saw, as we just explained earlier, things in the environment as messengers themselves of the G-d behind it all. He saw these things as messengers, the sun as a messenger, giving him a message, the trees, or the particular tree that attracted him, his attention more than others, as a messenger giving him a message.
Khalifa Is Sun
Now it is interesting to me to note that in some languages, SUN, the sun outside, is neuter, neutral, or of neuter gender. In some languages it's masculine. In some languages it's feminine. Now, if my reasoning that I established earlier is correct, that the sun may be used as a sign or a symbol of Khalifa, the potential that's in us, that once it is freed or released it becomes the light of our world, if I am right, correct in that, then look how well this language problem supports what I am saying. They can't give a gender to the sun. One language says that it's a she. Another language says it's a “He”. Another language says it's neuter.
Potential In our potential we are both Male and Female
Woman not the cause of the downfall of man 
Isn't this the same problem we have with our own selves, this sex problem we have? We can't decide whether we should be man or woman, female or male, or unisex, or what. But in our potential we are both. And the best ruler, as I said earlier, he must have both in him, the sensitivities of both in him in order to be a good ruler. Now that takes a lot of the macho out of the man, doesn't it? Well, look at your body. If you are a normal man, come up naturally and normally, that right muscle is a little stronger than that left one. 
You Have a Male Side and a Female Side
Brain Stronger intellectually on so-called left weaker body side
So actually you have a female side and a male side. But the scientists say most of your best help for your intellect comes from this (left) side and not from this (right) side. Isn't that what they say? So the weaker side physically is the stronger side when it comes to intellectual ingenuity. And you know the beginning of the intellect for Adam didn't come until he had a wife. I'm talking straight, man, actual facts of history, of language, of scripture, etc.
He didn't even know he had eyes until he got a wife. You say, "...Oh, but that wife caused him to lose his sight." No, he just had to have a night in which to rest so he could wake up and have more energy for another day, and a better day. Because each time he went to sleep, when he woke up, he woke up better, more prepared for the day, better prepared for the day. And in Al Islam the wife wasn't the cause of it.18 The wife isn't a partner with the serpent in Al Islam. The serpent is acting by himself, and he (the serpent) is deceiving both the male and the female. He is causing the problem for both of them, and the woman is not helping him. She is not his partner, in Al Islam. Understand that, Baptist brother, who is teaching Islam, now.
Man Two Stages: natural possibilities then revelation
Now, the point that I want to make here is this, that religion has taken man to two stages. Religion for man in the first stage was man in the hand of G-d that represents the natural possibilities, before revelation. Religion for us begins with Adam, the first man, and the first man with us means the beginning of the strain in the intellect for enlightenment. So actually, the beginning for us is the beginning of revealed religion, revealed to Adam.
G-d Revealed to Adam
Adam Man of human nature not sin he fell to learn not to commit bigger obstacles in the future. G-d revealed to Adam, because G-d says, "When I have breathed into him of My spirit" that means the gift of inspiration, Divine Inspiration, Revelation.19 And G-d said, "and he came upon a word and he repented." The word was the word of revelation and he repented for his wrong. And G-d accepted his repentance. So Adam is not the man of sin. He is the man of human nature. He is capable of making errors. He is capable of sinning, but that's what G-d created him for. G-d created him to learn by experience, and to grow by experience, to not repeat the mistakes he makes, but to learn from them so he doesn't make them in the future, and be prepared to perhaps to avoid even bigger obstacles in the future, because he already met with the smaller ones that alerted him better, or alerted him more. So we see it as a learning process. What they call the weakness in man, we see it as a component of his strength. If we didn't have also the capacity to error along with the capacity to want to be perfect, we wouldn't progress.
Angels One Capacity Is to be perfect, not to err
The angels have only one capacity: the capacity to be perfect. They don't have the capacity to error, to make error. But it wasn't the angels that G-d said He put a degree over man, it was he Khalifa that He said He made a degree over the angels. I wouldn't exchange this human nature for anything in creation, nothing on earth or in heaven. I know that might disappoint you. It is not in my nature to want to be Allah swt , and I know that Allah swt is the Biggest. Allah swt is the Best everything. But it is not in my nature to want to be Allahswt . The most attractive place for me is the place of human life and possibilities. Human life and human possibilities that's the most attractive place for me. It is not in my nature. 
Fool in revealed wisdom wants to be G-d
Now that I understand G-d and the world, it is not in my nature to even want to approach in any small degree being G-d. Nobody could have started in that direction but a fool. It took a fool to start in that direction. A fool in revealed wisdom. I can't even imagine. And just the hint of it is so oppressive, it almost wipes out my existence. To be an angel, No. I've been created for adventure. Angels never had any adventure. Angels just had errands to run. G-d created me to love adventure.
Religion and the Intuitive 6th Sense is revelation
So, let us not just hear the word religion, and not know that there are two major progressions for religion. One is the progression for the man limited to five senses analysis or perception of things, including religion. That's one progression. The second progression is the sixth possibility for man. The sixth possibility for man is revelation. Revelation made it possible for him because 
G-d has created him with another sense, intuitive sense, an intuitive sense. A sense that brings all the five senses together and it acts as one. All senses in him come together in him to function or perform as one sense.
6th Sense is when the Five Senses Become One
You know they say that when a physical man or woman loses maybe a left arm, or a left eye, what was in that goes then, it shifts the power that it had to the other one, and the other one, the remaining organ or limb becomes stronger. This is what they say they have finally discovered. Now I think that when all those five die, or become as dead, when we say, "Oh Allah, G-d, I have strained to find a way with my five senses. They have failed me, so I dismiss every one of them. I don't trust any of them. G-d, wherever you are, guide me." Those five senses then become one sense.
You put them down and nature brings them all together. They become one sense. And when you know anything, you are having experiences you never had before... "What's happening to me? I'm seeing things when I sleep. I'm getting messages while I sleep. I wake up and the narration continues." Now, that's some heavy intuition there. It's gotten heavy, now. If it stops when you wake up, that's one phase. But if it continues after waking up, it continues, that's an ever living life. It has been turned on not to go off. So you wake up from sleep and it keeps on without breaking its line or communication, no break in the communication.
We have history, man's history bears witness to certain developments in the life of religious people, and we can go back to a time when religion for man was what the modern world came to call heathenism, paganism, idol worship.
Prophets Revelation
Black stone: Symbolic of the man, matter has died to its senses
That's what happens to prophets, messengers of G-d. They get that kind of communication from G-d. When they become as black stone, the matter has died to its senses, and become as a black stone, deader than human soil, but so rigid, can't break it, on that solid foundation comes the understanding. If we can understand that, then, we should be aware of the tendency to become heathen or pagan or pre-history man, pre-classical man, in our religious makeup. There is a tendency. Don't think that's in the past. That dominance is in the past, we are not dominated anymore by that kind of world, but the people are still here. We still have people here who are in that first phase/stage religion. They are in religion not to open their minds up. They are in religion not to see their intellect grow. They are in the religion just to feel good, and to be free from fear, and have hope that they are going to have another life after this one. That's all they are in the religion for. They are in religion in the first stage. 
Those who are in religion in the second stage, they are in religion to improve the condition and state, and function, efficiency of their intellect, their minds. And you find most religions, they devote some of their moneys to having their own schools, don't they? It is a pity we don't have stronger schools. Insha'Allah, we're going to get there.
Al Fatiha is the Essence of the Quran not the key
What is the key role for man if he is to be successful with his life and responsibilities on this earth? Khalifa, That's the key role. The Qur'an is the key. Al Fatiha is the first, the opening. Al Fatiha is a hint at key. And G-d doesn't call Al Fatiha, the Key, but He gives it the title or meaning that hints at, or alludes to Key. Then He says in the contents of the Qur'an that the whole Al Fatiha, Al-Fatiha in its entirety, is a capsule of... The best of the scholars in Islam, they say that the Al Fatiha contains the whole Qur'an. In Al Fatiha is the whole Qur'an, not in its narration, but in its purpose, and in its power. That's why you can read only Al Fatiha in your prayers, because the Al Fatiha in its essence is the essence of the whole Qur'an. This is how they give it, and it is correct, as I understand it.
Keys Many access to them is made possible by revelation
Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an there are many keys. To what? To the skies, the heavens, and the earth, "Wal ard". The Qur'an says, with Allah are the keys". If you understand it, access to the keys is made possible by revelation. So with the Qur'an we can have access to the keys, for the skies and the earth. And with those keys, then we unlock the treasures, and then they render their yield to us.
Now, here, if we understand it, the Qur'an and Muhammad belong together, the Word and G-d's purpose on earth and man's life belong together, don't they? They must be reconciled. They must be brought together so that man and the Word of G-d, which is also the spirit of G-d, the inspiration of G-d, come together in one.
Give that to mankind, female and male, all nations, give that to them, then that word in man, in a material body will have the same effect on our possibilities for our life that the sun has on the dead earth, for the possibilities of life on earth. And we see what the sun has done in time. It has just grown life all over the earth, life from the lowest level to the highest. That's man...the most complex. That's man. Now, we can recreate, can't we? We can have another creation. If this meaning is correct, or if this translation is correct, this commentary if I may say. then we can have another life. 
Can't we live on a lower level on the plane of authority and we may also be qualified by the people to pass up to higher level. So actually it can go up. It can go down, delegating authority. Can anybody give orders to the President of the United States? No, not directly, but indirectly, yes. The President, he has advisors, and some of them may see him going in the wrong direction. They will come with the logic, or with the correct information. They will inform him, and he will have to change his ideas, or change his decisions, and come up with something else. So we here we have authority coming from a lower level to a higher authority, in man's society.
And this really speaks for a great democracy. When a man up high can't take correction from a man beneath him, he's not ready for the idea of democracy. But the man on the lower level, he should be sophisticated enough to know that you are not to aggravate this man when you come to him. For after all, he is a bigger grinding wheel than you are. And he might just hide all the evidence and grind you to powder, sweep you right on out of the government. And it might not be discovered for five or six generations. So what I am saying is we have to be intelligent, and we have to be circumspect. Circumspect means know what's happening all around, not just where you are. That's circumspect.
So the focus is on the individual. But we don't believe that the many are to lead the few. The few are to lead the many. And the many are to be a kind of gage or a kind of monitor for the few to study, to get indication when they are getting off track, because after all, what you are doing is serving the group. You're serving not yourself, and not only the few, you're serving the many. So the signals for your direction, when you can't get it on your own, from knowledgeable sources, the Qur'an and the Life of The Prophet, or the people themselves.
Allah Speaks Through People
G-d will direct the leaders and caution the leaders through the people themselves, the majority. So when you see something affecting them and they are not pleased with it, question yourself, if you are administering to them. If they are not happy, if they are not pleased with you, question yourself if you are administering to them, because Allah will speak to you through the people. He will speak to you through Himself, from Himself, His Word. He will speak to you from the Prophet and He will speak to you from the people. Isn't this what the Prophet told us? 
He told them to take advice, or to seek advice. And the question was, from whom? The Prophet says, from Allah and His Messenger, and from those that you charged with authority or responsibility. That's your Ameer, your leaders, and authority, those in authority.
And he says also from your, A'anamma, and it means your constituents. You who are in the position of the leader, you have people influenced by you and your leadership. They are your constituents. Seek advice from them, too. That doesn't mean just go to them and say, "Congregation, what do you think about this?" Yes, you are supposed to do that when it is necessary. But it means also that you are supposed to monitor their state, and you see their state not pleased, or unrest, it should make you question what you are doing. And they will be a signal to you to get back on the right track, or to come away from something you've gotten involved in, etc.
So this is how it works. The whole, all important parts work together for the success of the whole. And this is a true democracy, when all the people are included in the shaping and promoting or the directing of the interests of the community. That makes for a true democracy.
As a philosopher, we may go a little bit further with this idea now and say that even though...because philosophical thought it doesn't only act or make conclusions upon what is established, but it makes conclusions upon what is even alluded to, or what is possible, maybe, even though it be in the hereafter maybe that far away. Now since Allah (swt), even though He favors just a few of us to realize so much of that capacity and that potential that He has given us, that we are able to rise to the top, He has deposited that in every single one of us, every single one of us have it. We have it, or he or she has it. Now the idea for the society then must acknowledge that.
So in the idea, the social idea, or the political idea, whatever we want to call it, that we have to give us a sense or a perception of our society, how it should operate, that language should also say that each person, male and female, though they don't express or manifest the ability that G-d deposited in every human being, the law, the land, the authority of this land, the law, the community, the authority of this community, recognizes each and every person as being equal to the top person in the society. Based upon what G-d intended for you, you are equal.
So I'm not to see any person, male or female, no matter how less learned they are than I am, or no matter how bad their behavior is, I'm not to see them as a animal, or as beast of burden, that I'm to take and put all the physical burden on, make him do all the dirty things, take the broom, sweep...I'm supposed to be worried about his state, and I'm supposed to be coming up with ideas to reach his intellect, to turn his intellect on. So we never give up on any member of our society. The right of every member is the same right that each of us may claim. So we are to treat them with respect and if we see them in a bad condition, we're not to put them in an oppressive situation where they can never come out of it, where they think that G-d intended for them to do nothing but sweep up the trash at the end of the day, or wash the pots, the pans at the end of the day.. .We're supposed to be hurt by that brother's situation, by him being locked into a groove or a pattern like that. It should hurt us, and we should be trying to reach his intellect to let him know that, "Greater things await you, brother. Allah (swt) means much more than this for you." We should have this kind of compassion on the people, and if we have that kind of appreciation for each individual person on an equal level with the best of us, and we have that interest in freeing them for greater possibilities in their life, then we are really doing the job of Khalifa. We are really doing the job of Khalifa.
The community interest is bigger than the individual interest. The individual possibility works with the community or with the environment and the community to bring the environment and the community to its better future. But the individual can't do it alone. The individual can't go any where without community interest, because the community interest is the second component. It's individual interest, that's the number one component. In the individual interest, inherently, are the community possibilities. In the individual himself, he has inherently, naturally, put in him by his Creator, the possibilities for the community future.
Individual Like a Seed
So he is like the seed and the seed has to be planted in the field. The field must be the environment or the context for his future possibilities. So if we don't alert him and awaken him, or place him in community interest, he has not much of a future. So we have to do two things. We have to, as clear as we possibly can, perceive the individual as Allah swt intended for him to be perceived in his concept. And then perceive the community interest as best we can, based upon Qur'an and the life of our Prophet pbuh , conceive the interest and then bring the two to be reconciled. Say, "Brother, you are a possibility for great things. You really are the future of the earth in seed form. But the seed must be placed in the earth, and the earth will feed your seed."
The sun gives spirit to that seed. Gives spirit to it, spirit for it, energizes it and also supplies it with another form of energy. They call it chlorophyll. Chlorophyll, it's green, isn't it? Green, growth, that's what green is, growth. And we know that this is the way the tree grows, by the sun having a chemical effect on the leaves, and the leaves feeding the trees, and the roots, the roots taking up water, and also carbon. The tree is mostly carbon, isn't it? The body is mostly carbon, so that carbon is mostly coming from the leaf, if I'm correct, if I remember my science correctly. It comes from that chemical process that's produced by the sun's effect on the leaves that makes them green, but also makes them take in energy. Also the chlorophyll enables them to take on, to bring about the process of changing that energy to carbon, the wood. Photosynthesis, that's what they call it, a big word.
That's how the tree grows, not just from the roots, but also from the leaves. The leaves breathe and receive energy from the sun. They are taking in the air, carbon dioxide. It's taking in and also feeding from the sunlight by the process of photosynthesis. And that's how the tree is able to get that big body, big, strong body. All plants must have leaves, or some shoot to come out that will receive food from the sun, right? If they don't they can't grow. You know, the mushroom it grows in the dark, but it looks like it's a womb baby to me. It doesn't look like a baby out of the womb to me. It looks like a womb baby to me. I don't want to be a mushroom, I'll tell you that.
Now, in perceiving the society, the interest of the society, it's very simple. What is the interest of our society? The interest is to perceive our selves first as social creatures. When Allah swt tells us over and over again that he made us as plants. 22 Plants also have male and female, they generate and they grow together. That's how they grow best. When you put certain grass to it self, and keep other grasses out, that grass thrives best.
So even the plant life thrives best when it congregates or when it hangs out together. If they get all mixed up with each other, you find weeds and everything killing and strangling their lives. They find foreign life affecting their life negatively. But when they grow together, they grow so nice together. If you put foreign plants as close as you put plants of the same life form, you will not be able to get the abundance of growth that you'll get if you let those plants grow just to themselves.
So, that's what Allah swt is telling us. The like should be with the like and certainly the corrupt should not be mixed all in with the non-corrupt. If we are clean and decent, we don't want to have non-decent people mixed all among us. In fact, if I could, I would have them sitting in a certain spot over there. But we can't. G-d has given us no authority. Instruction from the Prophet (pbuh) is that we don't have any authority to look into their hearts and minds and determine the value of them.
Allah Judges
Allah swt knows their value, we can't judge that. We may take a brother who drinks and sit him over there with the corrupt, and that brother who drinks may be in heaven a little higher than us when are resurrected. We don't know. Maybe the drinking that you did with Islamic science was bigger, made you a bigger drunk than he is. So we don't know. So it is hard for us to do that. But sometimes I would like to see a good situation where all the corrupt, I know they are over there. I would be free, more relaxed to talk over here. When I talk over there I'd have something for them to say. It would be more relaxed for me to address them knowing that they are over there. But we can't do that.
Islam Focuses and shows man firstly, principally, as a social creature
Qur'an’s Spirit is social inspiration. It feeds our social aspirations
So now, what do we have to see, first? That Al Islam is a Religion that focuses the light on man and shows him firstly, principally, as a social creature; that G-d intended for him to be a social creature; not to be satisfied being an island, or on an island all to himself; that he must mate and become a bigger social unit; family, tribes, and then until you embrace the whole community of man on this earth and see yourself as a member in one family, with all people. So man is a social creature.
Quran Gives Social Inspiration
Man is a social creature and the spirit of the Qur'an is, what? The spirit of the Qur'an is social inspiration. It feeds our social aspirations. This word social is bigger than we think it is. By social we don't mean just associating with each other, physically, but our dependency on each other as members of a world society. We want to keep the focus on the Muslim community right now. As members of the Muslim community, our dependency on each other brings us together and our love for each other brings us together. So here we have a love for each other that brings us together, and a dependency on each other that brings us together.
Pretty soon we find that the teacher of the school has to be tied up full time in doing that. But there is also a need to have business growing in the community. So there is a business person feeding business. The social context in terms of people keeps expanding with growth, and as it grows there is more demand for more things to take care of the needs of its growing people. He can have the regulation of the home in the parent. He can have the regulation of the family in the parent. He can have the regulation of the morals in the parent, the discipline, the laws that discipline the family can be in the parent, everything. Everything can be in the parents. That's a small unit and he can manage that. But when it extends and involves hundreds of families, he can't manage that. If there is nobody but him and his family, he can go out, take his sons out with him, children with him, go out and plow the field, and regulate his own food. He doesn't need anybody to regulate the economy for him. He can handle that. But when they multiply in a social unit, it's the social unit that is getting bigger. The social unit gets bigger and brings in demands for industry, for more sophisticated government, more complex government ideas, and everything else we can think of. There is not one other single influence responsible for the growth and development of society, other than the social principle, or the social influence.
Sun Is a symbol of man as a social unit
Now, go back to the sun as a symbol. The sun, I said earlier that it's the principle behind all the changes in the weather, the growth and everything, didn't I? So here you have, now, me saying that the social interest, the social principle, is the influence behind all the other growth and possibilities.
Can't we then say that the sun is also a symbol of man as a social unit, the Khalifa is male and female, and the purpose of male and female is to have generations? That's the social principle. So the Khalifa is the social principle. He is the sun. He is the social principle.
Social Dignity
Now, we're talking about religion, how religion offers support to the community, for community empowerment and what it offers also for economic dignity. But I would say the motivation for economic dignity in the plan of G-d, is the first social dignity. And what I have established for you, over these long times that I have been talking, is a real interest in the social dignity, the social honor. G-d says that He has created everything in honorable pairs, translated also, noble pairs.23 Nobility means a lot to men of intellect, and women of intellect. 
So, He says He has created everything in noble pairs. And then Allah (swt) says He has made honorable or noble every child of Adam, because they are inherently the Khalifa.24 G-d made honorable and noble every son, every child, of Adam, both male and female. So male and female, when the two come together, they represent the social interest in this language. The social interest, right? The beginning of the social interest. And G-d says that He made us how? In pairs. Isn't that what He said? So this is proof in revelation that the social interest is our nature. It says He made us in pairs. And then He goes on to take away that macho insanity. He says that He made you one from another. After He says that He made you from one person, then He comes back and He says, He made you one from another.
The male is made from a female, and a female, G-d made you one from another, the social principle, the social interest, the beginning of the great construction of this democracy that has outlived every other form of democracy, every other form of government till now, and is really a kind of beacon light for the rest of the world. 
Right now it is serving as that, right? We have other nations coming under pressure to bring their democracy, or accept democracy, or to bring their democracy up so that their democracies won't shame man on this earth. Not that we are satisfied with this democracy. It doesn't mean that at all, but I'm just pointing to that. And the beginning, I repeat, of this movement, the movement to construct this great idea of democracy, started with, what? The social principle. You who have studied the history and you know it started with the social principle.
Politics From Social
Man Is a social not a political creature and it is his social interest that requisitions the political. Man is identified as a social by nature. Inherently, he is a social creature, not a political creature and it is his social interest that solicits or requisitions the political establishment, and every other establishment. So if we neglect the social life, the social interest, the social dignity of our community, of our people, we are aborting all of those other great possibilities, aren't we? Because the first womb is the social interest. It's going to give birth to all the others. So if we don't attend the first womb, the first mother, look what's going to happen.
So I think I'm giving you keys for making your community a productive and progressive community. Now maybe I'm dreaming, and I'm not in the world of reality myself, but I don't think so. You all have to wake me up if I'm dreaming, but I think I'm awake. So, if I'm awake, and you say I'm awake, then don't hear what I'm saying and go home and rest on it like you rest on a good dinner, that you are going to pass the most of it out tonight or tomorrow, if your system is regulated.
Don't do that. If you do that, and you find some of it is going out, be a scientist, pick that crap up man and get a microscope and see what came out in that, that "I just digested from the Imam last night. I didn't mean for all of it to go out that way." Maybe you'll discover something in there for agriculture.
What I told you is simple. I told the brothers when I was coming down. I said, "There shouldn't be many questions when I finish because my plan is to make it so clear no one will have a question." That's what I tried to do. And I have brought you to the point where I wanted to bring you, and I can say what I want to say now away from the subject, but yet in connection with the subject, with no difficulty whatsoever. We must be different. We can't go on being just like we used to be in the past. We must be different from the majority of the African American people. We must not follow in their pattern of behavior. We must not follow in their moral behavior. We must not follow in their social behavior. We must not follow them in their business behavior.
Muslims Black need new business behavior
We must take on a new business behavior, and we must demand that we have business people in our community that can supply us our needs, our grocery needs, our clothing needs, all of our needs. We should put pressure on them, say, "Brother, you are qualified. Brother, you have so much education. Brother, why don't you go on back to school and complete that education, or why don't you take the education you have now and go get some specific knowledge in this particular area. We think you can be a good grocery store operator. We think you can be a good banker, or good financier. Let us put pressure on our people that have promise, that tell us by way of qualification that they can do more for us than they are doing. Let's tell them that you have an obligation to produce, not just for yourself, brother. Your interest is community.
Allah (swt) created you for community interest. The community is a social entity by its nature that G-d gave it, and G-d created you, brother, to contribute something to your community, to provide for your community!
Business Start Where You Can in an Easy Way
We are supposed to be providers, to provide you must have something. So that means you have to own something. You have to be responsible for something, or own something. You have to make it produce and come up with the supplies or the provisions that the community must depend on. We can start with simple things, with easy things, start where we can start. I don't believe in going after the impossibility, and stepping over the possibility. That's stupid. But a lot of our degreed people will do just that. You come up with a simple vision and they will make it so damn complicated ... excuse the language ... that it will make you go home and you will have locked bowels for two weeks. Say, What happened to the beautiful idea we had? We don't want that.
So this world, they give our people practical knowledge, but they give them so much imagination, theory and dreams, in terms of where they can go individually, so that they forget to put the interest first on the tools that they have to use to get where they want to go. And they put all the attention on the mirror that looks like the picture of how I'm going to look when I get there. And they can never get there, because they can't stop looking at themselves, what they going to be when they get there.
African Americans Must Support One Another
Support African American business, and start first, if you are a Muslim, with your own Muslim brother. Support your African American Muslim brother's business. And if there are any non-African American Muslim brothers in your congregation, make no distinction between them. They are just like the black one. They are in your congregation. Once a brother is in our neighborhood, or in our congregation, no color matters at all. He's with us. The brotherhood of Islam is more powerful than the brotherhood of blood, of race. So you make no distinction if he is in your community. But if he is outside of your community, why help the Jingolese, there is no such thing as Jingolese. Don't look it up. It's not even in the dictionary. Why help the Jingolese Muslim community and you belong to the African American Muslim community. You belong to the African American Muslim community.
Is your community so strong and so solid that it can now give aid to the Jingolese community? Or do you need aid? You keep your efforts here. Support yourself and build yourself up strong so that your hand will not be like that (asking), your hand will be like that (giving) one day. And that's the honor. So says our Prophet, Prayers and Peace be On Him. That's the honor, being able to do that to somebody else and then help bring them up.
So this is what I want to see. I want to see the Muslim community continue to have an interest in the outer community, grow in the government, grow in the politics of this area, grow in business, support your good business people.
Brain Trust
Business people, form an association. You already have it, but I'm telling you again, because maybe some here are not with you. Business people, form an association that will not jeopardize the members of the club, or the members of the association. But bring the members together so they can benefit from each other's resources. And I'm talking about most of all the mental resources, intellectual resources, brain resources. Come together so you can benefit from each other's experiences, and mental resources, because the knowledge that is missing in you, and perhaps even those working immediately with you, may be with another brother that belongs to your congregation.
When you all come together and share freely with each other, without charging each other a thing, benefiting mutually, you are having social interaction on a higher level than just entertainment, and eating, or dining. This is the more productive level of social interaction; and you are benefiting, multiplying, growing. There is much I would like to say to you. I could talk until this time tomorrow, and I won't finish. G-d knows it. But I have to go and you have to go. Thank you very much. May G-d forgive us our shortcomings and our sins, and grant us guidance, mercy and guidance always. 
Ameen.

