07/31/1981
IWDM Study Library
Jumuah
Oakland CA

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Dear beloved Muslims, Allah the Most High has revealed the Qur'an to a mortal being, Muhammed the prophet, upon him be peace, as guidance and as an explanation explaining that which has been revealed before the Qur'an and as a criterion for judging what is revelation and what is not revelation. For the believers, for Muslims and also, He has revealed the Qur'an to the mortal being, Prophet Muhammed, the last, as a mercy to all human beings, to all the people. In this world we call the Western world, we are tested daily and every hour of the day, it is very, very much necessary, very important that we remain constantly devoted to the practices of our religion in order to survive in this non-Islamic environment. It is a blessing this month, the Ramadan, month of Ramadan, the great blessing because it sharpens our wits, it heightens our sensitivities for obedience to Allah, makes us more conscious of our duty to Allah as Muslims and gives us added protection against the unIslamic influences in our environment.
It brings out the best in us. It strengthens us morally, spiritually, rationally. It strengthens the family, the home life. It strengthens everything because during this month, we are giving more attention. We're giving more attention to our obligations in this religion. This should continue throughout the year. This month that brings back the Islamic consciousness and the strength, in its strength, should be a reminder to us that we are to be consciously devoted during the whole year. Many of us I know have experienced great benefits already from the fast. Great benefits in terms of improved mental makeup and in terms of physical health. This mother is indeed a great blessing to us. However, the talk today is not on the month of Ramadan. This Khutbah, at least the first part of it, will address the tendency in us to stray from the disciplines of our religion.
There is a saying reported in the Hadith of a man that was crying the blues, complaining that he was in a miserable way and he was not blessed. This man is reported to have been a Muslim man and he was wondering how come he didn't receive reply from Allah since he had been so urgently pleading to Allah for answers. It is reported that the prophet said of this man that his clothes were not Islamic, not halal. The food that he ate was not halal. This particular man had just given himself to things that were not halal, and the prophet was reported to have said, "How can he expect an answer from G-d? How can he expect the answer from Allah when he has been grounded in things that are not halal?" 
We have to be careful to watch over the state of our own thoughts of mind and behavior, to be sure that we are at least in the form of a Muslim before we start questioning the power of our religion to bring about reform in our lives.
The medicine is only good if you take it, and religion can only benefit us if we believe in it and then act out that belief in our daily practices, in our behavior.
In this Western society, we are people that are blessed to have great noble concepts, but few of us have the intelligence to live those noble concepts. The precious concept of human dignity is a concept that most of us at least know how to vocalize, we can express it in words. All of us have some idea of ourselves as being respectable creatures, having equal respect in the eyes of the Creator. All of us have some idea of the dignity of the person from the Western side or from some knowledge. It's established that the human being is a sacred vessel.
He has been endowed by his Creator with rights that can't be taken from him. He's a free spirit. His mind is sacred. He's entitled to thank for himself. I think all of us know these things. All of us have these ideas about the human being, the human individual person, but few of us show in our behavior that we understand what we're talking about. Few of us live out the life that is implicit in that kind of definition of the human being. What is the answer? The answer is teaching. The people need to be taught and this religion has been revealed as a teaching. It is taught. The Khutbah is a teaching. When the Imam delivers his Khutbah, he is teaching. Do we teach those who throw away the precious jewels of our Al Islam? No, we teach those who have an ear for what Allah has revealed. (Arabic)
If you should happen to engage the pagans, the ignorant people who reject this way, say to them peace and keep going.
 But to the believer, we report what we have received of the guidance of G-d in a way so that the individual is taught. Teaching has two movements. One is the imparting of something. The other movement is the receiving of something. So teaching suggests learning. The purpose of the Khutbah then is to increase the learning of the believers. If the learning of believers is not increased by Khutbah, then it is not really an Islamic Khutbah, or the people are dead. We are to call the people to the way of Allah with wisdom, and (Arabic)and with excellent exaltation, excellent speech and warning that gives warning. Warn, but in an excellent way. Admonish, but in a noble, respectable, excellent way. Deliver with beautiful, beautiful, attractive speech. And at the same time, be firm, firmly committed, that is, to the guidance of G-d. What cuts has to cut, what burn has to burn. But the object is to educate. The object is to educate and to save souls, by the help of Allah with the guidance of G-d.
Most High, whose proper name is Allah says in the Qur'an, "And remember, (Arabic) and remember how we made your inheritors after the Ad people and gave you habitations in the land. You build for yourselves places, castles, and open plains, and carved out homes in the mountains. So bring to remembrance the benefits you have received from a Allah and refrain from evil and mischief in the land." The gift of G-d is to be responded to in the proper way. (Arabic) We expect that after the leaders receive the guidance of Allah, then they should be examples of the best behavior. We are not supposed to be among those people who work mischief, work deceit, and spread corruption or contribute to the corruption of the land. Allah has sent to them the revelation, the guidance, to do away with that.
The purpose of the guidance is to remove deception. Do way with mischief making, bring an end to corruption, clean up the land. This is addressing a land, people, a nation, a land, but we are addressing as the individual person. Because after all, it has to start somewhere. This is not our nation. This is a Christian nation. Our nation is a portable nation. It's the Umma of Al Islam. This nation is a Christian nation. And nevertheless, in political language, we belong to it. We belong to this political nation. We have to understand the reality that we live in.
We have to recognize that the majority of this country are not Muslim, and their attitudes, their concerns are not Islamic. They're guided by different persuasion or different discipline. Recognizing that, that we have to live in the world and separate at the same time. We have to live in America and yet separated at the same time. I can't confuse my Muslim life with American life. They're two different lives. Being that there is no political order, a political establishment over this society that is Islamic, then I have to recognize a greater amount of responsibility on me as an individual person.
If this was a good sound Islamic society with rulers over it that were Islamic, good sound Islamis leaders, then there would be less burden on the individual person because the leadership would be making the environment conducive to the Islamic life. Since the leadership is not committed to make the environment conducive to the Islamic life, then every one of us as individuals must accept great responsibility to carry the world upon our shoulders. The individual person must handle all upon its shoulders. We must be strong enough to hold up America. We should be strong enough to hold up America. What I mean by hold up America. America has many, many weaknesses in it. Many, many temptations, many weaknesses, many corruptions. I have to be able to stand up under all of this without giving in, without compromising my religion, without putting my life as a Muslim in Jeopardy. I have to carry America upon my shoulders.
I have to be a better American than any other American. Other Americans may fall to the sins and temptations of this society. Other Americans may lose their moral vision, their moral sights. They may lose their rational balance. But I, as a Muslim, I should maintain mine because I don't live in a context that confuses me, or live in a context that guides me straight. Dear beloved Muslims, this a great obligation on us. And this is our business, not that out there. There's a great obligation on us as Muslims. This month, it helps us. It helps protect us against the influences that will weaken us. It gives us renewed vigor, renewed sense of commitment. It brings us nearer to our Lord, who is the Creator and Lord of all. This is a good opportunity for Muslims to 'gird up their loins' in the language of the Western world, to tighten up the reigns on your own life for future success in the months to come.
(Arabic) Where is the personal dignity for the Muslim? Allah, the most high said, "surely the most honorable of you is the most obedient of you to Allah. Surely the most honorable of you is the most highest of you. Surely the most honorable of you is the most G-d fearing of you." Isn't that what a (Arabic) is? It refers to that particular posture in the mental and spiritual makeup that is conscious at all times of its obligation to its creator. Many of us are tempted to forget our obligation to our Creator when we are heavily pressed by the routine kinds of things of this world.
The job will take our mind away. The wife will take our mind away, or the husband will take her mind away. The children may take our mind away. Fatigue may take our mind away because we are grinding all the time. What I mean by that, this world works us to death. And I don't mean physical work because too many of us are out of that kind of work. I'm talking about mental work. The things that are happening in our social environment are constantly putting pressure on our minds. We are burdened all the day long. We're pressured, pressures, pressures, pressures.
We go out in the street, pressures. We come back home, pressures. Everywhere we go, pressures, pressures, pressures. Burdening us, burdening us, straining us. We get tired and we say to ourselves, "I'm tired." And some of us, in that time of great fatigue, we lose our senses and we say, "I'm going to have some fun. I'm tired." For some of us, fun is adultery, fornication, drinking whiskey, using dope, some kind of narcotic, gambling, doing unislamic things. For some of us, that's having fun. That's getting a rest. For some of us, destructive things is our fun, is our rest. I'm tired. I'm going to rob so and, so and so. I'm going to rob a bank. I'm going to destroy that building across the street.
You see how the pressures make some of us behave? None of us should get tired. (Arabic) "Surely with difficulty come ease." We're not afraid of the difficulty. We know that difficulty is going to heighten our sense of what is right and wrong if we are Muslims, it's going to develop our ability to .............. if we are Muslims because the Muslim is not going to give up. The race for the marathon makes those who are not committed to it, tired. But the marathon racer, he doesn't get there because his mind ain't on the sacrifice, his mind ain't on the time he's put in.. His mind is on the price he's going to be paid.
The Muslims are not supposed to get tired. Our minds are not supposed to be on the price we are paying in this world. Our Mind should be on the pleasure of G-d, the reward that we will get from Allah from obeying Him.
We know how we get into trouble, lose our seeing ability, become blind. Allah has told us ...
So Satan followed him up and he went astray. So Satan followed him up and he went astray. Those who are conscious of their own sacrifices and are not conscious of the reward at the end of the road that they will receive from Allah, they are the prey for the Shaitan.
They are easy prey for the Shaitan. Satan can get them very easily. The Most High says, and I want to read these verses through. "Alas you should say our fathers before us may have taken false G-ds." What is this referring to? Adam. The first human being as we understand it in this religion was given guidance and then Allah, the Most High, put the children of Adam on the spot by requiring of them a testimony. They had to give a testimony. Testimony to what? To the source of their knowledge and understanding. You didn't come into that without the help of Allah. So they had to come and they had to give testimony that it was Allah, the Lord, Creator of everything who gave them all that they had to sustain themselves with.
"Thus, Do we explain the signs in detail that per chance you may turn unto us."
These verses are not given in any empty fashion.

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