11/08/1987
IWDM Study Library
An Islamic Formula for a Successful Life
Cleveland OH

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

Dear Muslims, people, brothers and sisters, As-Salaam-Alaikum.
Praise be to Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the worlds. We bear witness that He is One Alone, He has no partner, no equal, no shareholders in the rule of the heavens and the earth. And that He has missioned Muhammad the Prophet, to be the last Messenger and Prophet of G-d. We acknowledge the Oneness of G-d, and we acknowledge the Prophethood, and the great universal mission of the last Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH), and upon his descendants, his Companions, the righteous all. And we pray peace and blessings be on us, today, and always. We ask Allah's approval for our meeting here, and His blessings on it. Because as Muslims we know, that without Allah's approval, and without His blessings, we have nothing but rejection and hell.

I feel very pleased to be in this facility, that has been secured for this occasion. And we have nothing but fine compliments to say to the hosts, that have worked so hard to make this day a success in this facility. That is, Imam Clyde Rahman and all of his helpers. We also appreciate all of you for taking the time out and having an interest in this occasion, coming here to witness this day. We hope that all of you will benefit in a good way, in a positive way.

Our topic for this address today, as you most likely know, is "Islamic Formula for a Successful Life."

I choose not to go to simple answers when addressing the Muslims here in America. In fact, knowing the condition in the world today, for all people, Muslims included, I wouldn't go directly to simple answers if I were addressing an audience in the Muslim lands or in any part of the world. Not in these days. The answer we need is not a simple answer. It's a simple answer if we can step outside of our own circumstances. But in our circumstances, it’s not a simple answer. We have to have an answer that our circumstances won’t permit us to have. We have to rely upon the method of scripture, which is the method of G-d. We have to rely upon the method of scripture, in order to have solutions to our situation, in these days and time. The only time we don't have to rely on scripture is when life is in the state that G-d intended it to be in, and I don't think that's been so for most people since Adam, and that's a long time. 
I think since Adam, most people have had a need to receive revelation from G-d; guidance from G-d. As we know, even G-d revealed to Adam for his own guidance. So, He created him and made him in his nature and in his functions, in his total life, a perfect human creature, without defects, without flaws or shortcomings.

Adam was created a perfect human creature. Unlike the belief in some religions, that the first man was having a defect in himself, which necessitated another man or a second Adam to save humanity from the defect of their first father. Muslims don't have that belief. Our belief is that Allah made Adam as He wanted man to be, and Adam was a human being, therefore, he could make mistakes. And the human limitations on our life, does not mean that we are imperfect. A perfect one is a perfect one. A perfect two is a perfect two. Etcetera.

A perfect one is not a perfect ten; it's a perfect one. So, we can be perfect human beings, without being G-d. Some people are influenced to believe that “to be perfect, you have to be G-d, or an angel. You have to be G-d or an angel; to be perfect is to be G-d or angel, and if you are not G-d and you are not an angel, you are imperfect”. Quoting a philosopher of the Western world, he said: "To err is human; to forgive is divine," which reflects the same kind of fundamental idea in Western minds and in most of the Eastern minds, that human being is an imperfect creature. Yes, to err is human. But it is not as descriptive, as accurate as a description or an attribute of humanness or human being, as some other fine compliments we can make, or more accurate in describing what is human being. Because a human being is not inclined to err; the human being is not attracted to error, to make errors. The attraction in the human being's life or the pull on the human being is not towards errors, it's toward perfection.

The little baby that comes today, we can watch the little baby, watch the life of that little baby, the behavior of that little baby, and almost from the moment the baby comes, we can see a curiosity working inside of the child. We can see interest; the child is filled with an interest and nothing about the child or the child's behavior says to us that this child just came from hell, this child just came from sin, or this child is prone to do wrong, or to make confusion or mess. No. To the contrary, we see in the child, a spirit, an interest, and an effort to do its best, to display humanness and human goodness and to invite humanness and human goodness.

None of us have gone to the nursery in the hospital and viewed the babies that were born today or yesterday or last night or whenever, and got the feeling that these babies just arrived from hell. To the contrary, we get the feeling that they just arrived from heaven.

Many will not agree with my method of accomplishing the task, given the subject that we have chosen; many will be disappointed. Because when you say, we're coming to invite you to hear a speaker. And naturally, if they like the speaker, they are going to sell him off to be a great speaker. And you expect him to follow the form of the speakers you've heard, and when he doesn't follow that form or come across, in the way that you expect the speaker to come across, you're disappointed and maybe you lose interest, and maybe he won't even get your interest. And I am aware of all of this; I know how to get your interest. I know how to satisfy your expectations. If I can't do it, I could have somebody write it, and I read it. So that's not a big job. That's what most speakers do anyway, they have somebody write their speeches and they read them, or get familiar with them well enough so that they can give it as though it is coming straight from their own thoughts and mind and imagination, and everything. I could work on that and I am sure I could do a good job of it.

But this is serious business. This is very serious business. And I risk being rejected, I risk being insulted, I risk anything, to bring what I feel should be brought in the best manner that I feel it should be brought. And that's the only thing I can be satisfied with.

So, dear people, we wish you peace and the blessings of G-d. And we continue by again saying, we seek Allah's approval and His blessings for this occasion, and on our efforts; we pray the choicest blessings upon His Servant, the last and universal Messenger, Muhammad (PBUH).
Some of us will think of power and perhaps government, wealth, knowledge, or a number of things may come to our minds. But few of us think of power, an influence in the life of people comes to mind. But we know that power has been identified by people in business, in politics, and in other fields of interest, as influence. And they say, “the extent to which you have influence, in or over the lives of other people, is your power”. People who have great influence over the lives of other people have power.

I recall reading the Reader's Digest reference to the influence of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, our late leader, and my father. They referred to him (the Hon. Elijah Muhammad), as "the most powerful Black man in America," in the magazine. This was back in the early 60's.

I also recall the media being excited over the influence demonstrated by Malcolm; he also had great influence, and they recognized that he had great influence over the lives of the followers of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. And they reported that the late Malcolm Shabazz, (Malcolm X as he is also known), came to the police department, and the police department was surrounded by the militant followers of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. And they were protesting very angrily, the killing of one of their brothers, by the New York police. The situation was very dangerous for all concern. And they were amazed at the power that Malcolm demonstrated, when he came and he spoke to some of the officials, and he got information that he felt he needed, for the situation, and then he went outside and addressed the brothers that were all around the police department. And with his hands, they said, he just said, 'go home. Everything will be taken care of.' And they just left. Now that's black power! 
That was unheard of, that an angry group of emotional black people can get together and become sober in an instance. That’s unheard of. That was power. That's power.

Now, we can understand that kind of power. That’s influence over people’s lives, so that’s power. We should be able to see life, our lives as a life open to influences. The great philosophers, the great men of imagination, insight, into the nature and workings of things, they have imaged the human being, depicted him in their words, as a creature of influences.

I believe that if we can see ourselves in the light of what G-d has revealed, we can be successful in any time, no matter how difficult the time, in any place, no matter how difficult the place.

I am saying simply what religious people are always saying: “G-d is savior. His solution is salvation; faith in Him is the life”. I can't say any more than what they have said already. I am just saying exactly what has been said already. But perhaps the way it's presented today, will be the answer for some of us here today.

Human being is a creature of influences. And Allah, G-d that is, the One Lord, He says, of the man that He formed, 'when I have breathed into him of My Spirit, accept him, make obeisance to him.' This is what He said to the angels. He ordered the angels, to yield, to submit to Adam, as the appointed guardian on earth; G-d's appointed guardian on earth. Not only for man, but also for the good care of the environment that man occupies or lives in. And we know civilized man has accepted that responsibility. Not only responsibility to his race, to his species, but also responsibility to the environment he occupies. G-d charged the man with that, G-d qualified the man for that. And as I said quoting what is in the Scripture, that G-d ordered the angels to accept and submit to that role that it be given to Adam, and to recognize Adam in that role given him by G-d.

The point we want to make with this, is that G-d says, 'when I have breathed into him of My Spirit'. Meaning, when he is following the influence that I intend for him, when he is under the influence I intend, for him. G-d intended that we be influenced by certain influence. If we are influenced by contrary spirits, as they say in religion, if we are influenced by contrary spirits, we are going to be taken into a hell of a life; a hellish life.

Now, how is man, if he is plagued by contrary spirits, he wants to accomplish something, but every time he makes the effort, soon something is always coming in his way, something is taking his mind off of it, something is weakening his will, something is weakening his effort, something is confusing his perception of what he's supposed to be about, influences coming from all kinds of directions, contrary spirits. So how can that man get a hold of himself? How can that person get a hold of themselves?

Sometimes there is no quick answers, that's why I say, I don't like to come with any quick answers. Saying, 'here's the ABC of success.'

No, the first step in being successful, in getting the life that you will be happy with, and we are going to touch upon this again too, because after all, we have our own needs as human beings. And to be happy is one of them, at least to be pleased, is one of these needs in our life. Which is respected, regarded not only by man in society, but it has been given a great place in scripture. That need has a place in scripture.

Now, the best way is to bring as I said, a solution from scripture, a solution from G-d. I am going to go as far as to say today, knowing that I don't have time to make it very clear, or to prove it to many of you who may not agree with it, or might not take it seriously. But whatever man has, whatever we have, as real strengths in our lives, real guidance in our life, real solutions for our life, came from G-d by way of Revelation. And if it didn't, then you were in heaven, you didn't need it yet.

Before going on, to put the focus on man that I think makes possible the successful life, I want to bring to our attention the role of nature, the importance of nature, the respect that is given nature, in our Holy Book.

Not to say that other books don't give respect to the nature, but they give respect to a nature and then they say that that nature is not human nature.

We know that other scriptures say the wonderful things about man's excellence, that is essentially, the same things, that is said about man's excellence in our Holy Book, in the Qur'an, the Holy Book for Muslims. But I repeat, the compliments they pay, you can't really feel them; you can't really feel good about them, not in your human awareness, because the compliments are not paid to human nature, they are paid to another nature. They say, “that in man is a nature of divine and the nature of the human, the human side of man is the dark side, the divine side of man is the light side, the bright side. The human side of man is always threatening him, always tempting him, always putting him in bad situations. The divine side of man is there to rescue him. And that man has to exercise the divine will in himself; he has to exercise the divine will in himself to become strong enough in his divine nature to overcome the weaknesses, etc., etc., of his human nature”. For Muslims, that's not the case. There is no exercising of divine nature; the human being has no divine nature.

That philosopher who said to forgive is divine was wrong. To forgive is human. It’s human to forgive. That's not a separate quality of man, separate from his human nature, that is his human nature, that bids him to be good, that bids him to forgive injury, to forgive insults. That's not G-d in man, that's man in man. G-d made us that way. 

We believe that G-d, in His perfection, has shared with us attributes of His perfection, and those attributes in us are not G-d they are ours; they are our property. And they are only G-d in the sense that we belong to G-d, we are all His property. But my identity is human, my identity is me, and my attributes of my humanity, good or bad, of my nature, good or bad, are my attributes! And if you could total all the wonderful attributes of human beings, all of his qualities, etcetera, and then total up his defeats, you would find all of his defects are nothing but an error in pursuit of his perfection. In other words, what I am saying, is the human being is not a creature of defects; the human being has been made perfect by G-d. He has been made perfect by G-d, and if we are perfectly human, you won't have problems. 
Contrary to what they say in the Western philosophy, “that the human being is weak”, and all of that stuff. No. If you strive to be perfect in your humanity, perfect as a human being, you will not get in trouble. You don't get in trouble because you are trying to be human, you get in trouble because you are trying to be otherwise, or because you are slipping into an inhuman kind of thinking and inhuman kind of behavior.

So, we have to get away from these influences. I don't care if they come from the pulpit, I don't care if they come from what is labeled as sacred scripture, I don't care if they come from words 'they say were spoken by G-d, if they are wrong in our life, if they prove to be of no logic, of no soundness in our life, we have to reject it even with G-d's name on it; throw G-d's name on the page and all into the fire. Then we can free ourselves from the influences.

Let me tell you something: it makes all the sense to me, that if my life is subject to influences, influences can overpower me. For after all, Mary was overpowered by influence, the Blessed Mary, peace be upon her. She was overpowered by the influence of the Holy Ghost. It was an influence; no mortal touched her, nothing physical, it was an influence. They said it appeared as a man in every respect. But it was not a man, it was an influence.
So, the good sense tells me that I should take care of the more serious problems of influence first. And if influence is coming at me to harm me, from a dog, that's not as serious, in my opinion, as influence coming at me to harm me from a man. And, by the same logic, the influence that is coming at me, from television, soap operas, the movie screen, Walt’s Disney story. Or whatever, funny book, comic strips, or your dreams and imaginations, whatever, these influences are not as serious for me, as the influence that is coming from a book labeled 'G-d's word.' I said for me. Because I have fear and respect for G-d.

And if someone hands me something with G-d's name on it, that says, “this is G-d's, this is sacred, G-d ordered this”, and I discover that there are influences there that are not good for me, I'm not going to go and look at the influences and the politics of America, or look at the influences and the crime society of America. I'm not going to go to those places first, I'm going to go to the more serious spot first. I'm going to look at the influences in the book that's labeled G-d's book, because I am more susceptible to influences that are coming from G-d than I am susceptible to influences that are coming from the world.

That's the way I look at it. So, the first thing we should do is to be sure that you are not following a religious idea, be sure that you are not under influence of a religious idea, that threatens your well-being, that threatens your possibility for excellence. And this is no new talk of mine; I've been doing this talk for 30 years.

I am convinced, and nobody can disprove it. I am convinced that most of the religion that is preached for the poor, common people, is more harmful to them than alcohol, dope. Because these things come from man. There are many good Believers who'll say, 'No, I don't want you dope pushers, I'm not going to buy what you are selling me; get away dope pusher.' Many will say to the bartender, 'no, don't pour me a drink'; many, innocent, uneducated people can handle that. But those same innocent, uneducated people, cannot handle the subtleties of scripture, that claim to be from G-d, but armed and loaded with all kinds of detriment to the life of man. And the first crush is a crush upon the esteem of man. Man should hold himself in some kind of estimation, that he is of some value, and the first blow is to his own person, to his own image, as being a thing of value. Although we know that there is the great flattery too, “and G-d made man in His own image and likeness”. 

'And G-d made man in his own image and likeness.' That's there too. But how is that interpreted? Man, in the image and likeness of G-d, well, you know they say and the angels; G-d and the angels. G-d says to the angels, according to the Christian idea (which is the Western idea), “let us make man in our own image and likeness”. So, they go make man in the image and likeness of G-d and angel. That's why when the concept of man as a human being is addressed, they say, “oh, this is the problem for the man, his human nature. That's the problem for him. His G-d-nature, his angel-nature, his heavenly nature; that's the good thing. That's what will save him”.

I'm not saying that there's not a way to clean that thing up. Those who make the confusion, they also have a defense for it. So, they have a clean-up job, they can do a clean-up job, I know that. But of what account is the clean-up job, if it's not cleaned up in the minds of the public? What good is the cleanup job if a few so-called elects know how to do the clean-up job. But the multitudes are without any knowledge of the clean-up job, all they have is the picture of how it was presented. So the multitudes of the people have to live with the idea that their human nature, their human qualifications, their human worth is rejected, and that only the divine, if they can be transformed, reborn, if they can be redeemed out of the mortal into the divine, then they will be saved. Isn't that the idea? That’s the idea. “I'm going to have to be redeemed, reborn, transformed, out of the mortal, out of the human being, into the divine, if I am to be saved.

Dear beloved people, the return to G-d doesn't mean that. The return to G-d for you is the same as the return to G-d for a dog. The same as the return to G-d for a tree, for a flower. Yes! Now, since a dog cannot even conceive the idea, that has no meaning in the dog's family. That only has meaning in the human family. So, when we human beings cause the reality of dog to be misplaced, then G-d will one day bring the reality of dog back to where He intended it to be. That will be the return of the dog to G-d.

When we confuse reality in any of the environment, and also in ourselves, and take it out of the place G-d intended for it, the return of that reality to the place G-d intended for it, is the return to the reality to G-d. 
Oh, I know there are other explanations too. Yes. When the world conforms to G-d, it returns to G-d. When the world conforms to what G-d wants, it returns to G-d. We know that too. Yes. And when your life is no longer under your control, under your power, and you die, only under G-d, you return to G-d. But do you have to die like that, to return to G-d? No. You can return to G-d while living, and according to both' scriptures, not just the Muslim scripture, according to both scriptures. If you don't return while you are living, your return is of no good.
In other words, you are not given credit for your return. Eventually, everything has to go the way of G-d, the way that is, that G-d intended for it. But if you don't do it while you have a conscience and a free will to make the decision yourself, and you wait until death comes, it's too late. Death closes the door against repentance, closes the door against any possibility for you that wasn't already for you before you died. That's according to both scriptures. And many of us hear these things, but they don't register on us.

We think things are going to start happening with death. Things start happening with life, and they stop happening with death. And if you don't get it straight now, too late. And I know what some of you have said, 'well, I don't care when I'm dead and gone, I don't care anyway. That'll be the end of it.' Have you found some proof for that?

See, that's the simple way G-d presents it to us in the Qur'an. Have you found some proof for that? Well, if you have proof, then maybe you can go on comfortably, at your own risk.

So, it is important to know the value placed on nature. Nature is redeemed in our religion, because other religions going off the track that G-d’s Prophets put them on, raise nature up for ridicule. And believe me, the thing that is ridiculed by this civilized society now, more than any other thing, is nature. Isn't that a fact? Nature is the most ridiculed thing, in this so-called civilized, enlightened society.

If you look at the movies, watch the conversation of the so-called learned, listen to what they are saying in their discussions, you will see that the most ridiculed thing, is nature.
It is accepted among the educated of the profession, that there is no such thing as deviant behavior. Now, I don't take for granted that everybody knows what deviant means, which I believe most of you do. Deviant means to deviate; deviate means to go off from the norm, off from the natural or normal way. And they are saying that there is no such thing as deviant behavior. 

So, nothing you could imagine, no matter how far away from the norm, no matter how far away from the natural, cannot be called by their classification, by their strict language, in their disciplines of science, can be called deviant behavior. What are they saying? They are saying nothing new. They are just extending the same old idea, that man is conceived in iniquity, born in sin. That's all they are saying; they are saying the same thing, they don't have anything new, and they are using their own language thinking that they have something new. But everyone can trace the same b.s to the Bible. Excuse the language I didn’t say, “to the b.s Bible”. I said, “to the Bible. I have respect for the Bible, even though, it's a dangerous book, very dangerous book. And I don't have to take long to prove that to you. You perhaps saw it in the news where some preachers, testing the words of the Bible, went and struck their hands down in a viper's pit, and got bitten and died by a snake. You perhaps read in the news, where some preacher, influenced by the crucifixion, nailed himself upon a cross. Had himself nailed up on a cross, self-abuse.

And I said this twenty-five years ago, and I say it today, there wouldn't be so much problem with alcohol if the Bible didn't say take a little bit for your stomach's sake. You don't tell the ignorant masses to take a little bit of alcohol for their stomach's sake. They are going to be the judge on how much their stomach's sake is.

They say, “Well, Hell, man, you're talking about your own stomach, 'I know my stomach best.' And then G-d's way is not to tempt man to do sin. How does our Holy Book deal with problems of that kind? It says, 'do not approach it.' Not, don’t sample it, or take a little bit, but do not approach it. Because approaching it is the indication that you are weak for it. You see me going to a fine sister's house, and I don't live there, by myself, in night time, in the wee hours? You call me a lie if I say something different, because I'll be deserving it, because I shouldn't have gone there if my intentions were good. I shouldn’t have even gone there.
So, Allah says in His Holy Book to us, that this religion is the religion of the original order. This is the religion of the original order. What is the original order? The nature created by G-d. He says that upon which He fashioned man, and man here means all people. An-nas, not rajl. "Rajl"means man, one man; "an-nas" means man as all people.

It is the nature upon which He fashioned man. So, our Holy Book tells us clearly that G-d approves the inherent nature of man, and not only does He approve it, He directs man to accept and respect that nature, and do his best not to violate that nature, but to live in accordance with its natural urges. And the natural urges in the inherent nature of man, is toward excellence. His natural urges are towards excellence. In fact, this is no, thing exclusive for man, the natural urge is in the universe are urges toward excellence. And science bears witness to that, when they come up with the concept or idea of evolution. Evolution means a process that's continuous, from inferior to superior, from rough to smooth, from uncultured to cultured; from raw to finished, from incomplete to completion. That's what the idea suggests, from emptiness to fullness, from want to satisfaction; from of no value to esteem. This is the movement of evolution. And it testifies to the truth of the Holy Book. Oh yes.
And G-d then cautions us, after bringing this before us, that He has given you great resources, a nature and a will in it towards excellence. So, when a man tells a lie, that's not the aim of his nature. That's a possibility of his nature. You don't describe me by a possibility in me, you describe me by the tendency in me. And G-d said Adam did not have a tendency to do wrong; he slipped into it.
So, G-d forgave him and said in time he will again meet with my word and Adam did. Adam in time met with the Word of G-d and his generation was back on the track again. That's humanity and that's beautiful. Man likes to be thrown into difficulty. You take a man and put him in heaven. If heaven mean nothing to do, he going to ask you to let him out soon. Yes, if he is any kind of man. If he is any kind of man, he will ask you, "Hey, let me out baby, please." You say, “isn’t nice here?” "Hell no, it's boring the hell out of me."
Man wants challenge, if he is a man. And I’m speaking for women too, we just say man. See, when we are addressing plural audience, a plural number in Arabic, when use a masculine you're addressing man and women. This is Arabic grammar and I think it goes for English grammar too, to a point.

Now, G-d cautions us after presenting us with the nature He created for us and giving it to us so that we can respect it, cherish it and respect it. He cautions us He says, "Let there be no alterations on the nature created by G-d."
He's given men an intellect, great imagination, creative mind, free will. So, He created man with the power, with the capacity, the ability to make changes on what G-d have already ordered. A bird can't make no change, no prophet will come to a bird and say, "How come you deviated from the way you were instructed to build the nest?" He builds it the same way; he can’t make no change. “How come you singing this new song and corrupting the music”. No, he's still sang the same way he sang a billion years ago. He's still singing the same way.
But we with our intellect, our free will, and imagination. We can make all kinds of changes, all kinds of alterations on the pattern that G-d has established. So, G-d cautions us after telling us, "I have created this nature. I chose this nature and it is excellent. It is the way for you to travel in your route to your destiny. You don't pick way outside of the human nature. You travel the way of human nature in your route to your destiny." Now, that doesn't make sense too. If I have a destiny why should I pick up the plan for something other than me? If I have a destiny, I should pick up the plan for the human being not for the angel or for the deity. I'm not the deity I'm not the angel so I don't want their plan. If I'm going to get to my destiny, I should have a human map, not an angel map. I should have a human map to get to my destiny.
An angel was already in his destiny when he was first made. That’s how come there's no problem among the angels. Man had to grow into his destiny with free will, freedom of choices, to deviate or go straight. So, G-d says, “Let there be no alterations on the nature created by G-d. No changes in the nature created by G-d”. And G-d again says knowing that man must be led also by example. The baby that's born into the family today could not be talked to like we are talked to. The baby has to be influenced by our examples. And even though we grow up, and we are not babies anymore, to an extent, we still must be influenced by example.
In fact, in the language of the education today they talk of model learning, model teaching, model instruction. Where a model is the source from which the instructions are coming, the teaching or the direction or education, whatever we might call it, it's coming from the model. From the model itself, not from a communication, not from the model's communication by way of language or something but from the model’s own behaviors is communicating instructions to the subject. And we know consciously and unconsciously, as impressionable creatures we are accepting the influence from the behavior of other subjects. And whether aware of it or not our own behavior is shaping to the influences that are coming from other models. So, they place great importance in childrearing, on the children having a good, healthy role model in the house. Mother, father, who are the adults in the house they should all be aware of the risk that they might pose in them and themselves being poor models or bad influences in the home environment.
What I want to say about that. Now, my point is this, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be on him, He's the last messenger of G-d. Whatever was incomplete before is complete now. And man must not only watch over language. “In the beginning, there was the word and the word took on flesh”. Man must not only watch over language but man must watch over the customs of people, the customs of society, the behavior of the individual in the public and at home. Because this is what is communicating behavior to the ignorant, to the weak, to the young in mind and development. Allah has given us simple answers for our success. “You have in the messenger of G-d an excellent model of conduct. For any who fears G-d in the last day”. You have in the messenger of God an excellent model of conduct. What is the prophet to us? What is the prophet sunnah to us? The prophet sunnah is his conduct.
G-d didn't say you have an excellent sunnah. He said, “you have an excellent conduct, an excellent model of conduct”. But that is the same as sunnah. Because what he did, what he said, how he handled questions, how he handled problems, how he dealt with situations were all the expression of his model conduct.
And Allah again says to the Muslim, “you have, in Muhammad, in the messenger of G-d, an excellent model of conduct for any who fears G-d and the last days”. He's not a model of conduct for the G-dless people, those who have no respect for G-d, how can you be a model for them? Those who don't believe that they're going to have to account for their actions one day in the afterworld or in a later world for their behavior now if they don't believe that. Why try to sell them on Muhammad the model? They don't care about that but if you say you believe in Allah, you believe in the Lord G-d and the last day that you have to answer before Him then you have, in Muhammad, the most excellent model of conduct.
You should be following his conduct. You should be influenced by his conduct. A simple formula for success in the life of the Muslim. You should be following his conduct. And you should learn about him if you don't know about him. Just as you are obligated to learn about your illness by going and consult a creditable source. A doctor, or a book that can give you the answer. You are obligated as a Muslim to go to the behavior of Muhammad and learn just as you will learn the prescription for your illness from a doctor. Or the behavior that you should follow to avoid problems from a science book or medical book, or a social science book or whatever.
Just like we go to those books for that help, we as Muslim, are obligated to go to the life of Muhammad, the prophet, for his model, for his conduct, for his way of handling things heavy and light so that we will be successful in this life. Because G-d has made us impressionable creatures and if we don't follow the model that He has given us we are going to have contrary spirits from the many models that we have been following knowingly and unknowingly.
You have people saying, “I will walk in no man's shadow." And the same fool is walking in a thousand men's shadows. He'll be condemning one that he's thinking about and following a thousand that he can't even observe. In fact, every behavior you get came from somewhere. You didn't come here with it. The way you laugh came from somewhere. The way you cry came from somewhere. The way you frown came from somewhere. The way you speak, harsh or easy came from somewhere. All of that came from somewhere, but it came from so many places and you were the attraction for it so when it piles up on you, it becomes you is uniquely. It's uniquely you. But where that unique you come from? Influences all out there. So, if you don't watch over the shaping of your own life, then you're lost, you're lost. You will be cast into hell and in the fire and in the ice pit. From one extreme to another, into the fire and into the ice house. One extreme to another. Yes, you'd be thrown from one extreme to another because you don't have any direction for yourself. You don't have anything you're focusing upon.
The people that are successful on this earth are people with a perception, with a focus, with an intent in life, with a destiny, with a purpose, with an idea of what their life is, what their life should be, where that life should be going. Yes, the Jewish people with all of their faults, they are successful in the world. With all of that ups and downs, with all of their suffering, they are successful in the world. They will talk about the Holocaust, but they won't talk about the Gold Coast. They had the Holocaust; they got the Gold Coast. But they don't talk about the Gold Coast they got; they talk about the Holocaust. Not to criticize them, to make a point. That if you have a mind of your own, you have salvation. Now, I know somebody would say, "Well, a mind of your own means independent thinking.
And a person can be criminal and independent in his thinking, he won't have salvation”. That's right. If he's criminal, he doesn't have any independent thinking. See, you're coming from the general, the general picture. I'm coming from the specific. I'm speaking to you as a religious man and a mind of your own mean a mind of your nature as G-d created it. And if you have a mind of your own, then you will have salvation. But if you buy the mine that's contrary to the nature G-d has created from the world, you're in trouble. They used to have terminology like this, fixed minds, but now they say mindset. "Well, he's coming from his mindset."
Well, I guess that's what it is. The mind has set. A mind can be fixed in the heaven, but set means down. Don't take that too seriously. Now we know that there are many concerns and factors influencing the state and outcome of life. So, in the time that we have today, we can't go over all of these important concerns. We don't have to. It's not necessary. There are only a few key concerns that we need to be aware of in order to have a good successful life. And first of all, as Prophet Muhammad stated his last address, peace be upon him, that was also printed in the tenth testimonial book.
The last address or the final address of prophet Muhammad. He warned the Muslims to be aware of the devil's influence in religion. He mentioned the achievements, the greatest accomplishments that G-d had ordained and had been realized in his mission, that the devil had been defeated on the peninsula, in the Hijaz, in the Mecca, and surrounding areas, that the devil had been defeated there. “The devil has given up hope of being an influence in this area”.
But he cautioned them, he said to be cautioned, be aware of the devils and influence in religion. That is, that you have to watch, the religion has been made perfect by Allah. Prophet Muhammad was doing nothing but paraphrasing or speaking from Quranic revealed word influence. Where Allah says-- Someone can you quickly get the get fifth chapter, third verse. We will read it. He'll hand it back to me, I'll read it. Where Allah says that the favor of G-d had been completed on us. The religion had been cleared, made clear and established again in the perfect order that G-d intended and what G-d had promised to come as revelation had been given.
And we read it now from the Quran, the fifth chapter of the Quran called the Table Spread and it's in the third verse where it begins. "This day are those who disbelieve despair of ever harming your religion. They have given up." Despair means give up. Give up hope, be disappointed, be hurt and disappointed that they have no more chance. They have despaired of hope of harming your religion. Fear them not, fear me. That's G-d speaking.
I mentioned the Prophet cautioning us to look out for the devil's influence in religion. Now that it's cleared up the land is free from his influence, he despaired of ever having any control here anymore in this land. But the prophet says, be aware of his design on religion, that the devil has a design on religion. Whereas it is all right now doesn't mean it will remain that way, because if you fall asleep, if you turn your head, before you know it the devil is so skilled, that he will influence your religion and that design will be working in your religion after G-d has already saved you from it. It can happen again. And we know it has happened, all over the world.
And it goes on to read, "This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favor on you and have chosen for you as religion Al-Islam." And I'm reading the English of this translation. I remember 10 years ago I couldn't find Al-Islam translated like that. I think Warith Deen Mohammed has done something. Yes, when I began preaching 12 years ago as a new leader, and mentioned that nowhere in the whole of Quran where you find Islam like that unless it is talking about an individual's personal religion in his own personal life.
When you're talking about religion all of us have to live and learn from the Quran and learn from the prophet. Is always called Al-Islam. And I heard people criticized for me and most of the criticism came from the people I was try to help. There wasn't a single Muslim scholar among them.
And I was so happy and felt so good. A man who takes up the problems of his people carries a heavy cross. I was made to feel so good by an Islamic scholar when he told me, he says " Yes, you are right you're bringing it to our attention, that it is not Islam. You're right, it is not proper to say, call it Islam, it is Al-Islam." He told me back then that is about eight years ago, he said "You will see the influence is going to come by the Imam." He said, "and the language is going to change". And now I'm reading it. I didn't even know it. Allah is my witness. I didn't even know it was here.
If you come here right now you’ll see Al-Islam.
You know, we don't give credit to a person without the world's credentials. That's the attitude of most of us. So, since I don't have a Ph.D. Or a BS, I don't have any degree. Those who don't have them either, they bring me down on their level. They're like, "Okay, men, you can charm me with these words and charm me with this grammar but don't get serious about what you're saying if it conflicts with what those people say who have credential, I'm not going to accept it." Well look, the people who give those credentials the most respect are the people who don't know much about them. The ignorant who didn't finish high school, and many times, not even elementary school. You give those degrees the most credit.
People in college and university they do not give those degrees that much credit. In fact, you can tell them you are a doctor of something they ain't even impressed they want to know what have you done. They want to see your achievements in that field you're talking about you're a doctor in. So, if I go back to school and get a degree which I intend to do, I'm getting it for you. You are the only one that is demanding it.

Yes, G-d the Lord of heaven and earth He says, "this day have I perfected your religion for you. And completed my favor on to you and have chosen for you as religion, Al-Islam." And the prophet said in his farewell address and I repeat it, "This day have the devil despaired of controlling you in this land." Because G-d had established Muhammad and the religion and the Muslims under him and had completed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. So, it was all over for the devil. Isn't that wonderful to know that something can happen in our lives and that we can humanly understand that was to be the end of the devil's control in our land? “Oh, you can’t get the devil out of here.” Yes, you can. Prophet Muhammad said the devil was exiled out of Arabia because of heavy pressure from the Lord and His messenger. And the good believers following the model of excellence. Yes, the devil was exiled, he was put out, he was banished. Now ain’t nobody going to convince me that the devil doesn't have a stronghold on black people in America. Can’t nobody convince me that the devil doesn’t have a-- I mean a stronghold. He is in control. Yes, I'm convinced of that.
That doesn't mean that some of you are not spared. If you have kept your conscience and have kept the fear of G-d in you, you been spared. But most of our folks are not spared, they're lost. The children are alienated from their parents. Parents alienated from the children. Living in the same house, riding in the same automobile, and so distant from each other. As the Scripture say, "there will come a time when a mother won't be able to help her own child." I think the bible says it, I know the Quran says it, “that neither the parent nor the child will be able to help the other”. Child will want to help his parents but the way is blocked, no possible way. Tuned out. A parent will want to help the child no way. Tuned out. Children tuned the parent out; parent tuned the children out. Parent is blessed to have a good-minded child, the parent got an alien mind tunes out the child. Tunes out the good child. Yes. Everybody has influence over your children but you. Parent listens to everybody but the people in the family. Yes, bad times.
Today in this address, we want to consider the individual as an accountable creature valued to the extent that that individual accepts to be personally responsible. Personally responsible. Understand that our religion, our Holy Book says, "nobody is going to be punished for the crimes of another." And that's Scripture. Scripture says the same thing. “Nobody has going to be punished for the crimes of another”. I don't care what excuse that that may put up. “Well, my family was bad. I came up in a bad environment”. G-d is merciful. I don't care what kind of environment you came up in and how bad your household was, G-d bless you with somebody in your acquaintances that represented help, guidance, good influence. G-d hadn't left anybody without some help.
Allah brings help to everybody. But if your mind is so messed up that you disrespect everything, you won't get the help when it comes to you. And if that happens, you are to blame. We don't have to give ourselves to wrongdoing, to bad spirits, to bad attitudes, to the extent that we turned down a friend, when he come, that we hit the hand that's trying to help us. That mean that we have been weak for the evil spirit and we have allowed the evil spirit to dominate and take us over. So, we're in hell whether we know it or not. Dear believers, we have to understand that. There are many of us weeping over our children.
Your child has perhaps gone so far, transgressed so far that that child has put itself in hell and you don't have the power to pull out any dweller of hell. G-d hasn't given us the power to pull anyone out of hell. They must make the change themselves in order to be pulled out of hell. We believe that people can be redeemed from hell. Some religions, they say, after hell, no chance. In our religion, hell is eternal but also hell is also conditional. Yes, it's eternal but also conditional. You will go to hell, but if there was something in your nature strong enough, it may be the factor for pulling you out of hell one day.
That's our religion, isn't that good news? This is the same religion that Abraham taught, same religion Moses taught, same religion Christ Jesus taught, peace be upon the prophet. They all taught this same religion. Now, isn't that good news? I know why the Bible says good news, and I know why the Holy Quran says good news. “And give the good news to the believers”. That's what the Holy Quran says, “and give the good news to the believers”. Because the way they present the religion to us, it puts us in a hell of a situation.
My nature was made wrong. I'm born for temptation and sin and stuff. My first mother and father were natural, so that messed up the whole line of human being forever. Sex is sin. And it is the strongest urge in me. So, what does that says for me? Strongest urge for me is to reach pleasure gratification, not with a spoon of beans, or lamb chops. No, with a woman chop. I’m just telling it like it is. Now, don't let no brother fool you. I don't care if he's a saint. Don't let him fool you. He talking about, “his greatest pleasure is eating Halal”.


He’ll have to be starving to death to go to a plate of Halal lamb away from a beautiful woman that you're attracted to. Yes. So, it puts us in a terrible situation, to give us a religion that rejects us in the form that we created in and then make our best enjoyments sinful.
Going back again to personal responsibility. No person can be blamed for your own wrongdoings. You have to accept that blame on yourself. The only time that you excuse is when you are feeble-minded, or too young in age to know better. And even the youngest child in age sense when it's being invited to do wrong. I'm convinced that the religion presents a common-sense formula for a successful life and also directs us to it. It's not just hitting there, hanging there somewhere in the book. No, there's guidance in the book, guiding us to it. Societies consider self-image or self-view, important to well-being and performance, that is achievement levels.
Now, let us pause here for a moment, and not just go on to something else. Let us think about this seriously for just a little while. If that is true, if that statement is true, and we know it's true, we know that societies generally, most of the societies, even primitive society, they have a healthy self-concept, a healthy self-image, a healthy picture of themselves as creatures or whatever they call themselves.
They have a picture of themselves that they feel in their own mind is comfortable for them to carry, comfortable for them to look at. Now, somebody may see it from a different angle and may say, "Oh, that does discredit to you," and may bring that news or information to that primitive society or that misinformed society, or misled, or misguided society, whatever, and may change their idea. But at the time, when they're in that idea, they are seeing that idea of themselves as being good for them and praiseworthy in their eyes. Some societies, primitive societies, have taken on the traits of wolves. Others, the traits of eagles. Others, the traits of different other forms of life, even snakes. They have singled out some traits of the snake as being excellent traits for a human being in its own makeup.
They're taken on the subtleties of the snake, the strategy of the snake, the smoothness of the snake, etc. And they have taken on those attributes into their own personality and they pride themselves in being snake-like in certain snake characteristics. And they're comfortable with that concept or that picture of themselves. It helps sustain them; it keeps them at least in some constant form. It makes possible them staying in some constant form, as a thinker, as a feeler, as a personality.
In this world today, we are not put on our own to do anything about the state of our life. All the answers are supposed to be provided by the society, the government, the schools, the media, and other structures or other establishments. All of them are ready to tell us what we're supposed to be doing with our life. They don't give us time to try to do something on our own. They have conditioned us to feel we ain't supposed to think about making any alterations on our own life. They gave us the feeling, they condition us to believe that we're supposed to wait for an indication from the media, or from some other source, before we even think about changing the behavior, or questioning what is existing now.
The church used to have a strong role in calling people back from straying walks of life or straying behavior. But even the church now is of little or no influence in the life of the public or life of the masses. Is that a fact or not? It is a fact? In fact, the church itself follows the trend. The church, for the most part, follows the trends. If the trend is let it all hang out, the church let it all hang out. If they had a three-piece band, they add 20 pieces more. If the music was of the certain pitch, they raise it up 10 more pitches. They get loud, just like the world.
I'll say for the most part, that's the church, follow the trend. It even affected a religion as conservative as Catholicism. The Pope comes and make lectures in different parts of the world, in Africa, South America, and America, preaching to the people to come back from these makeshift ideas in Catholicism, come back from these homemade religions that you have in Catholicism, in Catholic order. Come back from that, to what is traditionally established. He asked to call him back. Why? Because the influence of the world is so great, that it goes right into the sacred quarters of life and blind us to our commitment to G-d and the sacred quarters of life.
It caused us to follow the patterns of the world right in the sacred quarters of life. Yes. What is the key? What is the key for success? The key for success is, "Be intelligent." Be intelligent, know your life. Get a picture in your mind of what G-d created you to be. Don't listen to the media to tell you what a man is. They'll say "Life is love." That ain't enough. Love means 1000 things in one man's mind. So, that ain't enough to tell nobody. But they'll tell you something like that, just give some general statement, "Life is love" or "Do what makes you happy." I hear that a lot.
And they're supposed to be an authority. They are an authority. The media is a powerful authority. When they got a figure on the media telling people, "Yes. The best, the healthiest way just to do what makes you happy." Happiness is also trendy. Yes, the idea of happiness is trendy. At one period in the history of America, happiness meant being principled, being G-d-fearing, being civilized. That meant happiness. That was happiness. But doing the hangout, let it all hang out days, happiness came to mean "Do anything you like, whatever is your pleasure, no matter how weird or how far out."
And they try to condone that behavior. They put a sanction on it. “Is he happy with it? Well, he has a right to it”. So, my capacity to enjoy something wrong is the sanction for me doing it. “Oh, he gets happiness out of it? He smokes cocaine. Is he happy? Yes, he snorts the dust. Is he happy? See when they say something it establishes the rule. Now I'm just applying the rule to show you how ridiculous it is. “Oh yes, you shouldn't block a person from doing what they're happy with, you shouldn't block them from their pleasure and whatever they please, whatever makes them happy, you should leave them alone”. Okay, make this little sucker of mine, this got them demon in my house. It makes them happiness, to snort, snort, snort and it causes me $100 a week. Now he may be happy but I'm not, I’m miserable. I'm about to kill this damn demon.
Somebody better start talking straight because I'm about to execute this got damn demon.
See, that's why the people like to come out to hear me because I talk like they do.
So, we are led astray by powerful influences, influences with credibility given to them and they don't deserve it. The person that deserves all that credibility and respect is a good old simple mother or simple brother, or sister, living a G-d-fearing life in the home, doesn't have all the education, but at least have a decent human life. And will give decent human treatment to another person even though the person doesn't even deserve it. Now those are the people that should be lifted up in this society as people with credit, people that are worthy to follow, worthy who to listen to, worthy to be a model for us. Yes, because those people with the credentials are punks and sissies and freaks and hoes and bastards and everything.
All kind of weirdos, they are training themselves for deviant behavior. In training for the ultimate in deviant behavior. “Have you tried this way yet? You tried putting it in your nose? You tried plug it up all the holes in your head and everywhere else so no air escape? Oh, that's terrific. That's terrific”.
Going to see psychologists, psychiatrists, and reading in the reports that they have a high degree of insanity than everybody else. Going to doctors to be healed and reading in the reports that they're the victims of dope more so than anybody else. This is the kind of world we're living in and we're just on our own. Don't want to follow good Mama no more. Don't want to listen to a good father or grandfather anymore. Don't want to listen to a good G-d-fearing person anymore. Everybody on their own. We must live together and we must accept guidance from the best sources. Not the most popular sources. Yes, the authority of the media is popular, but the authority of the Holy Quran is safe.
Allah in His revelation has never given man an ugly picture of man. Always given man a glowing picture of man, beautiful glowing picture of man, of human life. Allah says surely man is created in the best of mold, in the best of molds. And Allah says that He is the one who have given you your Surah. Surah means your description, your features, your Surah. It goes for the individual. I have my individual picture, Allah created this. Didn't He?
My mother knows she didn't, she knows she didn't. She didn't know whether it was going to be a hit or miss, left or right. She didn't know, but Allah knew. So, if we give anybody the credit for this that I see here, Allah did it. Through my parents, but Allah did it. All right. When it comes to the picture of a race, you look at yourself as a race. What is the typical feature for the race? The broad features for the African American, the black man or the African American. I like to say African American but the black man's okay. Long as we know what we're talking about.
The broad features, the broad nose, broad features, not the keen, sharp. The nappy hair, the nappy hair, the nappy hair. Allah said He made it. There are some mythologies used by race supremacy, race supremacists. Some mythologies have been aimed at the black people. In their mythology, they say that the black people got that kinky hair from a curse. “The “god Rama” flung the sun disk over Africa. And it came so close to the heads of the African, it shriveled their hair”. This is within their mythology. This is in Indian mythology, Asian, Indian mythology. “God Rama” cursed us, he got angry with us and flung the sun disk over Africa and it came so close to us that it scorched our skin black and shriveled our hair”.
Do you think all that material had been destroyed? No. It's kept intact, it's preserved. They still printing it. They still have it. They still read it. I heard one person recently say, a comedian, African American comedian, he said that, "There's no race that looks up to blacks”. And I don't know of one. I don't know a single race of people that feel themselves in a worst situation than we're. None of them want to take our place.
The American Indian is about the worse off on this continent. They say, the American Indian, he does not want to take our place. The Appalachian white man. They say he is worse off than many of our people, on welfare, everything, worse off. But the Appalachian white man will turn red in the face as a beet if you go there and tell him, "You want to change places with me?" He'll say, "Are you crazy?" Say, "Hell, I could figure my way out of this, but I can't figure out the way out of what you're in."
Now, that's not to say that some of us are not doing very well. Some of us are doing very well, but the condition, the circumstances for the whole of us has to be carried as a burden by all of us. And really the people who are suffering the condition of "Our people the most" are our so-called progressive well-off blacks. This is documented. Those who suffer the most anxiety, those who feel the most insecure among the blacks today, are those great achievers among the blacks. Because after achieving they can't feel good about it. After achieving they still find themselves stigmatized. You may not want to accept it, but we are a people, 100 and so years after so-called real true emancipation, we are people carrying a heavy stigma of having been slaves of the white man. And every people, not only the white man here, every people outside this country. When they look at us, the first thing comes to their mind, “this is a white man's property”. I know many of you don't like to hear that.
One learned Muslim among us, with all those degrees, he criticized me, he said I'm not teaching the religion right. He said, “if I was teaching our religion right, I wouldn't mention the black people's problems”. How absurd, how ridiculous. Not only did Prophet Muhammad mentioned the problems of the Arabs of his day, but their problem is pointed to directly and indirectly, in the holy book itself. Their condition. Yes, the desert Arabs. Their character, the problem that their personality presented. The treatment of the Arab ills really is a way of treating the ills of society at large. Because their treatment was typical, typical of the conditions that fall upon all men when they turn away from the right thing or away from the truth.
So, their situation is addressed, and in addressing their situation without saying Arab all the time, because it's not Arab, it's just a human problem. And I agree, that when we address black’s problem, we shouldn't say this is typical of a black man, no. You got it, but it's a human problem. And if any other people have been putting you in the same situation, whether it was white, red, or green, they would have your problem.
So, when help comes to you, you should accept help, and stop doing the things that have made for your situation, that have put you in your situation, stop doing those things. Change your mind, change your spirit, man can change. Our religion says man is responsible for himself.
“Ya ay-uhalla dhina amanu, Alaikum an fusikum.”
"Oh, you who believe, on you is the responsibility for yourselves."
“Alaikum an fusikum”
Literally, it means upon you is the burden of your own soul, personality, mind, and behavior. Haven’t the learned, having the philosophers, the deep thinkers, haven't they said that a man must carry himself upon his own back. Yes, that's the proof of his strength. He must carry himself first. We walk on our own feet. When you walk, you're carrying yourself. When you stand up, you're lifting yourself. When you walk, you carry yourself. When you sit down and do things, you're commending yourself, consciously or unconsciously.
So, this ability to manage yourself is the ability that you must come by if you are to be successful in life. The ability to manage yourself, don't say, "I can't help the way I feel." You’re a lie. You can help the way you feel. Stop favoring the weak side of yourself. Stop favoring the temptations, stop favoring the quick way out, and start following the urge in your life toward excellence, and you will change your feelings. You will change your attitudes if you just follow the spirit. Isn't that what the religious people say? Follow the spirit.
There's a spirit in you, there's the spirit toward excellence. That's the true spirit of human life. It says, “do better”. It says, “do not be satisfied with doing this bad thing. Do not repeat it if you can help it”. It says, “do not be inferior. Make yourself shape up so people will respect you”. It says, respect your mother, respect intelligent people”. It says, “don't abuse the weak”. It says all of these things that G-d has given us commandments, it ain't nothing but human nature. That's all it is. Nothing but human nature, but when you walk off from it or forget it, G-d have to show it back to you. So, don't excuse yourself and there ain't going to be no excuse. "Oh, I can't help it. I can't help the way I feel."
I've had people tell me "I can't help the way I feel." I said, "Look, you could help the way you feel. Because if you keep feeling that way about me and I going to put some whipping on you. You going to change the way you feel. Because your feelings are beginning to make me very, very uncomfortable." I know I can put whipping on a person, and make him give up the ghost.
You know if you make him give up the ghost, you can make him give up that bad spirit. No, many times we can't. Many times, ain't nothing we can do. I was just joking then. Some people it works on but most of them won't. Many times, there's nothing at all we can do, not directly, to change a person, but believe me, the plan of G-d takes care of everything.
Dear beloved people, I hope I'm not going too long here. We want to turn now to specific verses or chapter in Quran and verses in the Quran. To show that Allah makes an appeal to the intelligence, to the conscience of man. He makes an appeal, and those simple, simple steps towards solution, are given in the holy book, but it doesn't necessarily mean that when we have problems of the nature, the complex kind of problems we have now in society, that we should go to those simple solution.
I've had scholars in religion suggest to me, “that the best way, brother Imam is to go right straight to the simple plain easy step solution. Tell them to pray, tell them to make their prayers, do their ablution”. All of that I know is very, very important. But how can you make your prayer if you're not in a mind to make your prayer? How can you make prayers five times a day if you don't even know the value of doing it? If you don't even know the need in your life for it?
People say, "Hey, that's ridiculous." Isn't it familiar, what I'm saying? That's ridiculous. So, I disagree with them. After all, did the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did he come and say, "G-d sent me, pray five times a day." No, he didn't do that. He preached for 10 years or more before establishing prayer as a daily requirement and public duty. People prayed privately; they didn't pray all at once. G-d revealed that to him gradually. They didn't pray to full prayers as we have it now all at once. It came by graduation, gradual steps. They had time to learn and get their mind in the right state for carrying out the duties of religion. And I believe that Allah's word is the answer. The Quran is the answer, but we have to appreciate it enough to stay in contact with it.
The majority of the Muslims of America, not only America, now we can say almost the whole world. The majority of the Muslims do not stay in contact with the holy Quran. You'd be surprised. There're many born Muslims from traditional Muslim families, going back hundreds of years, their youth can't even recite Al-Fatihah. You'd be surprised. I was shocked and hurt so bad. I couldn’t hardly believe it. Because I didn't expect it. But after thinking about it, knowing the influences in the world, I could understand it. They are people who know the religion by ritual so when the devil's influence piles up on them, their rituals cannot stand up against the devil's influence.
Ritualism is no match for the devil's influence. You have to have an understanding. And that's why both scriptures, emphasize understanding. “They look like humans in every respect, but they have no human understanding”. Without understanding, something missing, it’s just not the quality human being. He's not that intelligent creature that G-d prepared to deal with the forces of the world so you'll be overcome.
So, upon consideration for the manner by which Allah makes an appeal to our conscience comes an understanding, a view of the essential needs and descriptions in the concept of man. Philosophy offers us concepts of man, many concepts. They look at human from many different aspects or viewpoints and they will give us many definitions of man. Man is Homosapien, that's a scientific classification, isn't it? Homosapien. And man is also a social creature, a political creature. All of these definitions are given for man, a moral creature, a creature of habit. Many, we can go on, it takes too much time to bring into view, the many ways that man has been looked at and identified.
Our religion simplifies it. Before going to the very simple things, let me continue and I hope I'm not boring you today, I carry on too long. Since it is accepted that knowledge of Muslim life begins with the Quran, the chapter titled The Opening, Al-Fatihah and also titled The essence of the whole book, along with the first revealed portion of the Quran, and along with the concluding verses of the Quran, are selected for this here portion of our reflection on this subject.
The whole and every part of Scripture should be seen as an appeal to our intelligence, with its purpose, with our intelligence with its purpose, meaning the purpose of intelligence, with its purpose and its burdens. Human intelligence has a role to perform in human life on this earth. Human intelligence also, as consequences or as of necessity must carry a great burden.
The people who carry burdens on their backs, carrying no burden like the people carry it on their intellect. The people who carry burdens on their souls carry no burden, like the burden that the people carry on their intellect. Because of the important role of the intellect in the life of G-d's creature. G-d has said through His prophet, that the scholars, the real true teachers, the learned people who are true to that commitment, they will be in a rank in heaven, right next to the prophets themselves. That's the important placed upon the intellect, in our religion.
Now, this religion motivates all people to respect the human intellect. This religion doesn't believe that the masses must be ignorant. This religion believes that the masses are ignorant because of a monopoly on the knowledge. Because of a system that monopolizes the knowledge for a select few. Because of devious ways of the so-called power people, those in control, to eliminate the many so that only a few shares the great resources. Their interest is in preserving the few, the comforts for the few, the great future for the few, the power for the few. They're interest is not in the many because they don't want to diminish what they have, and what they are comfortable with, power, wealth, everything. That's not us, we’re against them. We are Muslims.
Our religion is a mass movement. Yes, it is. The Islamic religion is a mass movement. It is a movement to bring justice to the masses of people on this earth whether you accept it or not. That's exactly what it is. Not only our religion, practically, every religion is the same. Those religion of the popular scripture that we identify with, all, we're the same. They were religions that came, they were revealed by G-d, to bring justice to the many against the monopolies of the few.
Continuing now, about scripture, scripture should be seen, as well as an appeal to what is most desired, in for a definition of man in his life. We as Muslims, we are blind, if we go to the world institutions for definitions that we then place upon our own selves. I'm a man by this classification, according to this philosopher, according to this scientist. That's un-Islamic. No, I am what I am, upon what G-d has revealed. I am classified according to what G-d has revealed. Then you'll stay out of a lot of trouble.
Allah directing our conscience, to lead us to perception of ourselves and to reflection. Perception is seeing, reflecting is looking back at. Seeing and also reviewing, or looking at, to examine, to find, to bring out something. So, Allah, He influences the intellect with His word, with the Quran, to do this, to pursue a perception, clear understanding, and also to engage the intellect, under reflection, think about things, to reconsider, to look into, to examine from different angles and or aspects.
This is influence of revelation in intellect. It is designed to bring us to a right state of mind if we are not in the right state of mind. Or to give us satisfaction, that we are in the right state of mind, it will approve the state of mind that we have or will guide us to the right state of mind if we are responsive. Rather than give us finished products, Allah by His words cause sense and perception to be cultivated for us. Understand that. Rather than to give us finished product, Allah could have come to us like science, like the secular world, and give us “say, man is this, man is that”. No, Allah caused the heavens to rain. He causes the heavens to cloud up, then He calls the heavens to rain. He causes the clouds to be rolled back, the sky to be clear, and the sun to shine. Then He causes all of that to be reversed, to be taken under.
Then He makes the heavens black and the sun is not there. And He shows you another side of the world. And you have to wait for darkness. Sometimes He reverses it and you got nothing but clouds still. He reversed it; the night is here but we can't see what's in the night. It's cloudy still. But just have patience, pretty soon, there will be no clouds and He will show you what's up there in the dark. That's the way of G-d. The way of G-d is to show us by gradual steps, to show us by repetition, to show us by gradual steps, to show us by sequences. Night follow day, day follow nights. The sun is out in the daytime. The moon is out at night. The darkness reveals the stars. The light, the sunlight reveals the earth.
All of this is by changes and gradual changes and sequences. Allah is working on the mind of the human being, conditioning influencing the mind of the human being. And the man born under these natural influences is not a deviant. The man born under the crazy, wild city influences is the deviant, right? Yes, you know that. They haven't found any deviates among the Pygmies. They say they have the most trustworthy order. One study of the Pygmies reveals that it was a trustworthy order.
They don't know of theft. They all carry the concerns for each other and they must. We don't hear of great slaughter over there, black on black crime and stuff, so they must be doing well on the so-called primitive level of their society. Because they are under the influence of the natural world, but if they come and live in New York about five days, buddy look out. You’ll have Pygmy freak out time.
So, Allah doesn't give us any finished products like that's so simple, but He revealed the Quran in a way to touch every sensitive need or every sensitive fiber of our total being. And to touch it in a way to quicken right sense and right behavior in us, right direction for our intellect. Now in concluding this, look how the first chapter of Quran, which is called The Essence of the Book, does a marvelous and wonderful job of giving man a sense of self, a view of self, his nature, his limitations, his role on this earth and in creation.
How wonderful is done and we recite that verse. We supposed to recite it for every prayer, we recite it. For every important occasion, we recite it. Actually, for every endeavor we recite at least the first verses of it.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem, With the name Allah the gracious, the compassionate or the merciful, we recite it. In this chapter of Quran, that is the most important part of our daily life, Allah says to us that He is Lord of all worlds. And He gives us a prayer, a chapter as a prayer that invites us to turn to Him for guidance and assistance.
He is our Lord. The Lord of the universe and our Lord is one and the same. There are no two Lords, one for the material world order and one for the human world order. There's only one Lord for the material world order and also for the human world order, same Lord. Therefore, Allah focus upon us as first of all and most importantly as a part of the material wholeness of the universe. We are part of that material wholeness. We are part of that material wholeness. We are part of that continuity, that continuous scheme, continuous plan, continuous work of creation. We call the world all about us.
Man must find his definition, his identity first in the material scheme of things, he must find his definition in the matter created by G-d. You are matter, created from matter, you belong to the wholeness of the material world, all about you, in you and everywhere. That's what you must first understand.
So, G-d gives us a sense of belonging first before even He tells us that He made us from Adam, before even He tells us that we are the children of our parents, we know. He tells us that we are part and parcel of the whole external material world.
So, G-d really gives man a cosmic concept of himself. Cosmic, meaning the whole universe. He gives us a concept of our self and a belonging that is cosmic. I am created with this whole total creation. I am important part in it, I have a role to perform in it. I belong to it. I belong to the stars of the heavens. I belong to the earth. I belong to everything out there and here. I am one with creation.
That what Allah tells us is very important. Your mind will come from insanity to saneness if you just stop thinking the way I'm instructing you to think with the words of Quran right now. Yes, the crazy person will come back to sanity if they would just accept what we are saying. People go crazy when they alienate themselves from the world that G-d made them a part of and placed them in and intended for them to function in and be successful in.
You must progress as a material being. You must seek identification with the material universe. You must seek a place in a material universe. You must seek to understand a material universe.
You must find dignity and esteem for yourself in a material universe and if you don’t find it there, you'll find it in the linage of man. Because Adam was made out of that. And if I had worth in the material world that G-d has made and Adam was made of the dust of the earth, he was made from the matter of the universe, then I have dignity in Adam, Adam must be having dignity too.
That's why G-d says the plan on which He patterned man. The plan, the universal order, the natural order of things, the very plan upon which He patterned man, Adam. So, we see ourselves first not as a negro. Not as an African. We see our first self, first as a cosmic being made of the creation, belonging to the creation, made of the heavens, belonging to the heavens. One with the stars. Do you think you are not? You are one with the stars.
The matter that's in you is also out there. The matter that's out there came into you. Whatever you are, you've gotten it from the earth. The earth is a system member in that whole big old system out there. Of millions and millions of untold stars and galaxies extending in the universe so far away no telescope can find the limits of it. You belong to all of that. You are part and parcel of that.
Whatever potential is in out there, that potential is in you and G-d doesn't make you special. Though this reduces you towards insignificant place really. In the scheme of things, you're so small, but in your own world, following the direction for your excellence that G-d intended for you, following it naturally according to the natural urge for excellence in you, you can become a very special creature. So special that G-d says, "Heavens and Earth, yield resources for the benefit of this man."
Yes, G-d says that He causes the stars, the heavens, and Earth to all yield their resources for the benefit of this man. Now we can't finish this, next time I hope and we pray G-d guide us to the right path, clear up our minds, take us away from racist thinking, racist attitudes. You want to get ahead of the white man, put completely down his game or his things and walk straight ahead.


