10/01/1978
IWDM Study Library
Moral Strength

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

All Praise is due to Allah, the Guardian Evolver, the Keeper and Sustainer of all the Worlds. We ask for His guidance, we ask for His Mercy and His forgiveness. We ask that He bless us to be a community of Muslims upholding the banner of Al Islam as it was upheld by the companions of Prophet Muhammad, Sa Ala Alahi Wa Salaam. I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah alone. There is nothing like unto Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger and His servant. Dear beloved Muslims. Allah has blessed us and has enriched us. He has blessed us to be Muslims. He has blessed us to have faith and He has enriched us with understanding, with teaching, explaining to us the mysteries that Christianity and other ways left us with. We thank Allah for relieving us of the great burden of confusion and misunderstanding and we pray Allah that we will prove grateful and obedient servants all the days of our life and that we will raise our children and spread this message of Al Islam to others so that we will be called helpers in the way of Allah.

Allah has said that He will make this religion, Al Islam, the dominant religion, though the rejectors of faith hate it. It is the obligation on every Muslim to spread his faith, to invite people to the way of Al-Islam, to teach the Qur'an as much as we know it. And only when we have faith and practice that faith is that faith going to produce for us the things that make a comfortable life for individuals. We can have all the faith, but without the practice we'll never have the life we want for ourselves. Allah will not give us ease and happiness and blessings in our life until we make sacrifices and practice our faith. We have to value our faith above the things that give us personal pleasure other than the pleasure of Almighty G-d. Many of us are striving to have our full life satisfied under or in obedience to G-d, but many of us have trouble obeying G-d because other things are pulling on our lives. Things are pulling us away from obedience to G-d, so we have to strive hard. The human being finds his way to his objects or to his goals with his feelings, with his senses, with his feelings, with his intelligence. We have to use our intelligence. Allah has sent Messengers, Prophets to appeal to our heart, to our sentiments, and also to appeal to our intelligence. And we know the last message to Allah's Prophet the Qur'an, it appeals to the man's intelligence over and over again. It says "Oh thinking man, Oh rational man, Oh men of logic." You see. "Oh men of sound reasoning."

Oh men, the brain. So, Allah, through His Prophet has addressed the intelligence of the human being. It is only by using our intelligence can we truly come into the full light of Al Islam. We don't want to be people responding emotionally only, or responding out of the sentiments of the heart, but having little understanding. We don't want a group in the dark searching for the way with spirit only. We want to use intelligence. And if we use intelligence, we'll find the way and we'll overcome those things that pull away our religion. We'll overcome those things. Doesn't intelligence tell you that nothing is more important than the Creator of the heavens and earth? Then shouldn't it be just an automatic conclusion then that nothing in your life can be more important than obedience to G-d? I noticed some Muslims, they don't work for outsiders, they don't work for non Muslims, they work for Muslims or they work for themselves. When Friday Jumu'ah comes, they remain at their home or in the streets. Some of them just peddling around, or loafing when Jumu'ah prayer is called. Allah Most High says when prayer is called, the midday prayer, the Jumu'ah prayer is called, leave your business.

What about those who have no business and they still stay away? It is a shame and they don't understand yet. Al Islam is a balanced religion. And for those who think, when we say balance we mean keep a little sin on the scale, that's not the kind of balance we're talking about. The Muslims should have nothing but good deeds on the scale and he should struggle hard to keep only good deeds on his scale. He should try to keep a scale that has no bad deeds on it at all. Balance in Al Islam is not leaning so far to one thing that Allah say, that you neglect something else that Allah says. But all of that Allah says is lawful. Allah doesn't tell us to do anything that's sinful or unlawful.

It is lawful to take care of our children. It is a duty to raise our children properly, to educate them, to see that they have as decent a life as we are able to. It's a duty to provide the material needs and etc. so our wife and our children have a comfortable living. That's the duty. The duty on every male and female as Prophet Muhammad says is to educate themselves as well as their children. You see, these are duties. A man has a duty to develop his spiritual life, his spiritual nature, and he has a duty to develop his financial, financial worth. If the man is poor, then he should feel something is missing in his life as a Muslim until he finds some lawful means, some legitimate livelihood so that he can earn something for himself and enjoy that dignity that comes with earning with your own hands and with your own intelligence. You see, this is what we mean by balanced religion. The Muslim who prays all the time and fasts all the time and keeps the Qur'an in his hands all the time and quotes Hadiths all the time but has no job, contributes nothing but prayers and reading, that's an unbalanced Muslim.

Likewise, the Muslim that spends all of his time in his business and never seen a Jumu'ah prayer hardly and makes one prayer week maybe, never keeps up regular prayer to G-d, that's an unbalanced Muslim. The Muslim who forgets prayer and feel no burden, no shame, feel no hurt in his heart while he's busy all the time and making money or going out for worldly pleasures, that's an unbalanced Muslim. This is the correct way to see balance. G-d has said that there are certain things that we must do in order to live a full life as Muslims. And if we neglect one part of those things while taking care of the other part, we are living an unbalanced life. But nothing Allah bids us to do is unlawful. Allah doesn't us bid us to commit sin. Allah doesn't say go out, get uptight, go out and drink a little bit. No, if we get uptight, you pray to G-d to give you some strength and understanding. A lot of them tell us if you get uptight in this society where so many women running around with bikinis on, in short dresses, if you get uptight, it's okay to have sex out of wedlock.

Or have an affair. No, the Muslim is never to have an affair out of wedlock. You're to only have an affair with your lawful wife or your lawful husband. You'll never to have an affair with someone that you're not lawfully married to. This is Al Islam. You say "Oh, I'm uptight, I'm going to curse. I'm going to use vulgar language to let off some of the steam." That's not Islamic. That's silly. So let us be careful not to make our sins legitimate acts. If we do that, then we charge G-d with sinfulness. Allah haven't invited us any sin. We can't do that. Well, let us have the right understanding brothers and sisters. Let us remember that a Muslim cannot be perfect because he's a human being, but he can strive for perfection. And only by striving for perfection will he ever become the best possible person for himself and for others. If you say, "Oh, I have to keep a reasonable amount of bad doings in my life." That will never bring you to the best that you can be. Only when you say I don't want an ounce, not one speck, not an atom of wrong in my life," then you can achieve the best.

And Allah is a perfect being. Allah is all righteous, truthful, no imperfection in Allah. Allah is supreme and perfect without any imperfection. Who is Allah? Allah is our G-d. And what does that mean? Allah is our G-d. Allah is the object of my growth, my mind, my heart. Everything grows toward Allah to please Allah. So, if my whole day is reaching out and worshiping G-d and reaching out to please Him and He is perfect, then I'm going to grow toward perfection. And Allah has said, commit no sin. Commit no sin. Now He knows that we will fall into some small sins, but He asks us to commit no sin. Allah also says the believers are those who avoid major sins and only fall into small sins. So that tells us that even the good man, the best man is going to fall into some small sins. They say, "Oh Jesus Christ never sinned." Well, he's not here to tell me that. Somebody is going to fall into some small sin but never justify sin, never. Sin cannot be justified. When you commit one, no matter how small it's wrong. You have done a wrong and you're going to have to give an account for it. Allah says, whether the sin be an atom weight, you are going to have to account for it. And if there's an atom weight of good Allah says He's going to reward you with good for it. This is a perfect way and Allah says that He only rewards the sin with equal of the sin. Whatever the equal of that sin is, that's what your punishment will be. And aren't we to be like Allah? If Allah is Merciful, aren't we to be merciful? If Allah is wise, aren't we to speak wisdom? If Allah is just, aren't we to be a just people? Yes. The Muslim strives to be like his G-d on a human level. He wants the attributes of his G-d to shine in his life. He knows he can't be divine. He can't be a G-d, but he can be a good slave servant, an obedient slave. He can't idolize his G-d. Is that right? Yes.

Meaning he can take on some of the attributes of Almighty G-d. In fact, we are born with them. We're born with kindness in our nature. We're born with truthfulness in our nature. You don't have to teach a human being to be truthful. You go where there's no education and the so-called backwoods primitive man and woman, they have a law. speak the truth. Didn't come from Mount Zion. Moses didn't tell them that. G-d put it in their nature. Yes, so we should strive always to be the best person and never accept a speck of sin no matter how small it is. To do something that we can wear honorably. No man can wear any amount of wrongdoing honorably. We can only wear good deeds honestly. Whenever we mention the name of G-d, we should mention His name with great reverence. Allah says in the Qur'an that the Muslims are those of whom when the name of G-d is mentioned, they feel great reverence. Says they even sometimes tremble. They tremble.

And believe me, the name of G-d put trembling on the sincere believer, especially when his mind hears it without any interference. The world is so full of stuff and your mind is so burdened with a billion things, until when somebody says Allah, you half heard it. But real believer, if he can ever give his full attention, or her full attention and say, Allah, it does something to the heart. You feel something inside. Allahu Akbar. I want to read during this Khutbah from the first verses revealed to Prophet Muhammad, Sa Alahu Alahi Wa Salaam. Let us all say "Sa Allahu Alahi Wa Salaam." Yes, the Peace and Blessings be upon him. But that statement or term or expression needs itself to be commented on because it's not an ordinary Peace and Blessing. It is the Peace and Blessings that Allah promised and it was carried out or fulfilled in the life of Prophet Muhammad. It's the Peace and the Blessings that come to the human being and the community of human beings through a Prophet that earned the great blessing of divine revelation, complete and perfect divine revelation. This Qur'an came to Prophet Muhammad. It is a book explaining all the mysteries away. What I mean by that is the false mysteries, those false ideas that we had, false concepts of creation, false concepts of G-d, all of the false things that mystified our lives, all of the superstitions have been blown away and destroyed by the clear message, the Qur'an. And that came to Prophet Muhammad about 1400 years ago. And because of this message, there came peace, security, blessings, increasing and increasing. And the community was lifted up in the eyes of the world and still is lifted up in the eyes of the world. Regardless of what anybody may say, it is the true Muslims that are still the highest in the world's eye in terms of devotion to G-d, in terms of truthfulness, in terms of sincere religion. The Muslim is still the highest. Who takes time from his work to come to Jumu'ah prayer and worships his G-d, to remind people that there's a life, that if you lose it, your physical life is no good. Who is it that break up the business, stops the government operations, tell the people to come out to Jumu'ah. Who is it that can't hold his servant back even though he wants to make the $10 up to pay his bills this week? He say, "No, the brother's a Muslim. I know I have to pay these bills. If he stay here working, during Jumu'ah, I can make it." He can't hold that brother back from Jumu'ah.

His business has to wait. Allah comes first. Who is it that makes every day in the life of a human being, a day of worship, five daily prayers, constant remembrance of G-d? Who says no, not one day every day is for Allah. It is the Muslim. No Sabbath. Every day is for worship. Who makes every act an act of worship? The business must be lawful, therefore, it serves the good of society. Therefore, it is an act, a good act, an act of charity, an act of obedience to G-d. Is that right? Who has made the whole life a G-dly life. No one but Allah through His Prophet Muhammad, Sa Alah Alahi Wa Salaam. So, I don't care what the world says. The truth speaks louder than anything they can say The Muslim is the best, the Muslim is the top. The Muslim is the supreme model of human society. We don't say these things. We honor it. We'd like to hear your reply. It can be proven. They neglect their prayers. Many of them failed to keep up the life, but the life is still here. The Qur'an hasn't changed. Prophet Muhammad's example is still the same and there are still Muslims who respect that.

Who keep up their prayers and live the good life. And the leadership still uphold this religion. You may find the people falling short, but you go to Mecca and ask them any of the questions that I've just discussed, and they'll give you the same answers that I gave. Maybe the King is weak in some respects. Maybe the Imam is weak in some respects, but the Imam won't say "No, that's not so. We don't have to do that." The imam will say "Yes, G-d says that, and G-d forgive us for our negligence. G-d forgive us for our sins." He won't say, G-d didn't say that. If you say "Brother, do you pray five prayers? If he spoke the truth, maybe he'll say, "No, I don't keep up my five prayers." But if you say, can we neglect the five prayers? He would say, "No. The Muslim is to pray five daily prayers. The Muslim is to worship daily his G-d." Let's read these verses from this chapter, Al Alaq, Suratul Alaq. In English it means the Clot, a Clot of blood. Some says it means the life, the life in the germ, in the human germ. But that life we know it itself developed into a clot of blood. So still it would be either translation would turn out to be the same anyway

Before reading the Qur'an, we say "Audhu Bilahi Min Nas Shaitan Ar Rajeem." That is, "I seek protection with Allah from the rejected enemy, the Satan." How do we know we should say that? Did Prophet Muhammad tell us to say that? Yes, but even more Allah says in the Qur'an. It's right here in the Qur'an.

Unless you read the Qur'an and become familiar with it, you won't even know that Allah says in the Qur'an, highly glorified is He. He says in the Qur'an before reading the Qur'an, say, Auudhu Bilahi Min Nas Shaitan Ar Rajeem. I seek protection with G-d from the rejected Satan. The Muslim must have Allah on his mind when he goes to the Qur'an. And he must have the right understanding of his own weaknesses. Some of us go to G-d's word and we go to it as scientists. We don't go to it as servants of G-d. We pick up the Qur'an and we open it up as a scientist. This is no frog that you can dissect, no chemicals that you can take apart. You don't have the power to read one line unless Allah is with you. And that goes for your whole life. But if you expect to understand the Qur'an, you go pick up the Qur'an as a servant slave, as a helpless human being who can get nothing from G-d except what G-d wants you to have. Ask His protection from the rejected Satan. Bismilah Ar Rahman, Ar Raheem. With the name Allah, the Gracious, the Compassionate. Read in the Name of your Lord who has created all that exist this translation says here. Read in the name of your Lord. I prefer to say With the name. Who has created all that exists.
Announcer:
Tune in next week for Part two of the special Jumu'ah address by Imam Wallace D Muhammad in Chicago, Illinois on Friday, June 2nd, 1978. Tune in next week and every week.



