03-06-1994
IWDM Study Library
Nationalism and Al-Islam

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Announcer: This is the public broadcast of Imam W. Deen Mohammed Muslim-American spokesman for human salvation. Today's lecture by Imam Mohammed recorded at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, March the 6th, 1994, titled Nationalism and Islam.
Imam Muhammad: There's a time right now and this time right now, this is a time of slumber for the white race and awakeness for the black people but most of us are ignoring the time. Most of us who just like the slave when they were free from physical bondage in the south and in the North, some of us too up here just a little different situation.
Some ran and said, "Now I'm free to develop my mind. I want to learn to read. I want to get an education. I'm going to get it even if I have to have only 4 hours of sleep a day. I work 12 hours in the field and study four." There were others who said, "I don't have to go to work for Old Masters today, I'm going down by the river and fish. I'm going to get Mary, Mary free too."
[laughter]
That's the situation we have today, all the efforts of the freedom struggle championed by Fredrick Douglass and others and the Civil Rights Movement championed by the Civil Rights leader and aided by the Daredevils. Daredevils from both sides. We still have some of those who say, "I'm free now. I'm going to concentrate on catching up, getting myself established, overcoming setbacks. That's what I mean by catching up. Overcoming the setback of slavery and discrimination, get myself established and promoting advancement of my family my people. Some take that position.
Then others say, "Here's a chance to get over. I'm going to sell drugs, I'm going to open a business and exploit niggas. Sell them inferior products at a high price, then to tell niggas they got to pay me because they're black. [unintelligible 00:03:02] with me brother. You're betraying black brothers, you're betraying your race, brother. How come you don't support this black business brother?" Some say, "Well, I'm going over to see Mary. She's free, too. I'm going to the pool room, catch up with Joe and Billy they free too."
We're still having those that care and those that don't care, those that's got a sense of purpose and those that don't, right? Yes. Things don't change that much. Times change but things don't take that much. People are basically today what they were a billion years ago.
Disease and health, ignorance and sanity, insanity and saness whatever, those extremes. Right? Yes, you have all those extremes. Wild and crazy, discipline and sensible, you always have these extreme. That's why G-d wants us to elect people that come forward of people that because of their makeup, they are fit to be leaders, a model, leader for the others and that's what (unclear) Society, that's what keeps society advancing. Not the many, - the few. Because of the few, the many have changed. The few who makes such progress and get such establishments and get control over resources that they're able to change conditions for the name.
We have in our nature, we see potential in our natural potential like a seed. If a seed is a corn seed or whatever seed it is, it has in itself what it needs to become corn. A corn stalk, an oak tree. An apple tree, whatever right? Or if it's an animal, the germ, the seed of the animal has what it takes to become that animal and not only that animal, but that animal producing other animals. All life is intended not just to be a life, but also to be a producer. So we have it in our nature and our natural capacity or ability to reach the levels that Allah wants us to reach as social creatures, social Purity?
Now we speak of moral Purity, we speak of spiritual purity, but we don't talk about social purity and believe me that's the biggest test for people, social purity. That's what distinguishes the prophets and set them above those of their time. They were men of social purity. Social purity means that you have the social life and appetites and aspiration that G-d approved for the excellent human being that he intended you to be. That you don't like the taste of racism in your social body, you don't like the taste of discrimination against somebody because of their ignorance or because of their weakness, or because of their sex or whatever.
You don't like the taste of that in your social body, that's social purity. You see your own child having a future in an establishment but you see somebody else's child more capable showing more initiative showing more efforts or having a better mind today in the position that you want for your own child and you're in a position now to favor your own child and discriminate against that other child but social purity won't let you do that. You will see your own child become second to another child before you do something that is socially impure. That's social purity.
Now that's the social creature that Allah wants all of us to be or become but we don't have it. if we had it in South Africa, the problem would be solved there instantly. If it had been in the white man that called himself to the followers of Christ, when he came over here and discovered America this continent, we never would have been put in bondage and treated like we were treated. I know some of you are impatient, you can leave. I'm taking my time. Yes, even if they sit, they sit until they start feeling a little discomfort then they try to give me some indication.
Some of them say that they don't believe in anything but this life but they be down there trying to spook me up, giving me some messages by spookism. Spooky transference or something. Well, I got your spooky message, but I ain't (unclear). I could sum this life up that G-d sees as our genuine true life that we call us. I could sum it up in one word, - Muslim, but for some of us, that ain't enough. When the prophet Muhammad prayers and peace be on him when he said that every human being is born a Muslim but is made otherwise because of the circumstances that child is born in or put into.
Prophet Muhammad is saying, that every child is born with the human life, that G-d wants in every person, but that life is lost because of the circumstances that we are put in or born in. That's what the Prophet is saying. Now there's a word "Humanity," and the word is used in different ways. It has one meaning and one connection, and another meaning and another connection. Humanity means study and we call it humanities, right?
Humanity means the best side of a human being. That human being's humanity. It means what we would like to see, what decent human beings or what all human beings need to have, in other human beings. Humanity, so we won't be mistreated by other human beings. We will be aided and helped by other human beings.
A humanitarian person is a person that cares about other human beings. He cares about other human beings to the extent that he will sacrifice what's his, for what the other human being has no direct right into whatsoever. The only right that other human being has in his money, or in his labor, or whatever, is the right that's qualified upon that person's perception or ideas of his own humanity. A belief in his humanity is what qualifies you to have a right to what's in his pocket. We could say the common life of all of us, that G-d intended for us, is our humanity.
When G-d said that he made man, G-d is saying that he made humanity. Not an animal. I'm sure there were some African animals roaming around before G-d made his man. There were some European animals roaming around before G-d made his man. Some Asian animals roaming before G-d made his man. G-d said, "I'm going to make a man. I'm going to make a Khalifa and place him in the earth, and give him charge." G-d is saying, "I'm going to establish my creature's humanity." Then when his humanity is established then I'm going to give him charge. Even the angels will submit to him then. Angels will be his servants. Isn't it wonderful?
Humanity is neither male nor female is it? Humanity is neither male nor female. Humanity is us. Equally male, equally female. G-d says he made them of one person. Male and female.
And then cause to spread from the two, male and female, meaning men and women. Now in connection with the statement that I gave from Quran of G-d completing his favor and perfecting the religion and completing his favor and preferring for us, Islam or Al Islam. I'm giving you another now, offer another one in connection with that one. G-d says of Islam, this religion. He says, "It is the religion of fitra, the original pattern upon which he evolved all people."

Now if you accept my terms, I'm not changing anything. I just selected an English term I think, and G-d blessed me to select the English term that others have been missing, "humanity." If you accept what I have given them as an explanation, that this identity that G-d wants in us that we call that special creature, that special person, special human being, is our humanity.
Now when we study civilization, the history of civilization all over the Earth. No civilization has evolved, or come to any great respect in the eyes of human beings, except upon one Foundation. The foundation of man's humanity. All those who came upon any other Foundation, they are not regarded as civilizers. They are regarded as savages, barbarians, even though they achieved great sciences, great weaponry et cetera. We see them as advanced savages. Materially advanced savages. Materially advanced barbarians. We don't attribute civilization to them, do we? No. We can attribute civilization only to those who had a foundation in their humanity and were motivated because of their humanity and through their humanity to make progress for human beings.
Looks like the world hasn't experienced any true civilization until modern times. Ain't that a fact? That's the truth. Yes, haven't experienced any true civilization until modern times. We read of those civilizations but where are they? They're lost in time, they're lost from history. I can't find them. When we go back to the builders of the pyramids, they had great wisdom. They obviously had a knowledge of astronomy. They had a knowledge of chemistry, obviously.
They were people who were of industry, they had a knowledge of physics, great knowledge of physics. This is obvious when you study their history. Great builders, but they were oppressors. They discriminated against one group of people and favored another group of people. Their religion was also oppressive. Though they achieved the knowledge to embalm Pharaoh and preserve their physical body for thousands of years. Though they achieved the knowledge in chemistry to make paints, to stay looking fresh on a wall for a few thousand years. This is a fact. This is what they were able to do.
So they were able to do all those things. Make a broom before the West learned to use a mosquito net or a fly swatter. Yes, brooms, I've seen them. Brooms that they made thousands of years ago, looks just like the brooms you use today basically the same broom. Not only that, their furniture. You can take the furniture that was made back then the time of the pharaohs and put it in your house today and people will be complimenting you. Chairs, look modern, look modern, - - very nice designs. Though they had all that knowledge, they were in terms of their humanity, retarded.
The strong took advantage of the weak. Exploited the weak. Prophet Muhammad says, "If we are Muslims, we care for our old ones and our weak ones." Yes, we care for our old ones and our weak ones and our small ones. This is the proof of a Muslim development in you. When you feel responsible for the elderly people who because of their age have now become weak. You feel responsible for the women because you're stronger than them. You won't tell them, "Oh, go get the nigga yourself who snatched your purse." No, you get in your car or on your foot and you ride and trying to catch that nigga. You see? You won't look at the woman with her baby and say, "Well, you make it the best you can." No, the baby goes to your heart. The woman and the baby go right to your heart and make you feel so bad. You go out and miss sleep and do jobs you never would accept to do under other circumstances to take care of that woman and those babies. That's the Muslim in you.
What I'm saying is that what we call great civilizations of ancient Egypt and Anatolia, ancient Turk or ancient Turkey and other places, in the true sense they were not civilization. They were only materially advanced barbarians and you just think civilization. In the Quran, Pharaoh was not challenged only because he had the Jews in bondage. He's also challenged because he had his own intellect in bondage. The Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him. He questioned the logic of Pharaoh. "What is this stupid logic you got here? You are going against the logic of the universe and Allah has missioned me to come with it straight."
He said it is Allah who brings the sun up from the east and sets it in the west. Now here you come with it from the west. Reversing the logic, bringing darkness, ignorance instead of enlightenment. If the sun starts in the west, then it starts upon ignorance and darkness, mystery, superstition. Yes, all those things come out of darkness right? Yes. If it starts in the west at the setting point and then try to bring light is saying it's starting from an ignorant base or from a base in superstition and it's trying to give light to the world. Now I know you've heard that saying that the sun is going to rise from the west, that's true.
Some of us don't know all of that saying of the prophet, but it's going to get right up to the zenith and set back in the west. That's what the prophet said. It will rise in the west, but it's not going to set in the east [chuckles] it's going to go right back in the west. It's going to learn its mistake and go right back down in the west, then come up right. Come up in the east and set in the west. When you come up in the east and set up in the west-- Now, look at the term east. East for us is a point of the sun rising, right? That's what it literally means.
East means the point of the sun rising and west literally means the point of the sun setting. Look what the word is a play upon, east and yeast. Yeast rises bread, right? Yeast is an ingredient for rising bread. Bread is also symbolic of knowledge. When you want to give spirit for the body to get bigger and more delicious and more nice and a better texture to the mouth and everything, to the digestive system of the intellect, you have to have that natural ingredient in there. Stuff that the world rejects.
"Hey, what are you doing putting animal in here? Well, hell you are an animal too Mr." Just the one a little high on the scale. “Oh on the flesh is sinful”. No, you better include the whole human being then you can rise. Nothing rises unless it got that flesh. You know the yeast comes out of the animal, right? It comes out of the animal’s stomach. It's a play on what's needed to make the intellect rise not the physical sun, that's just symbolic. What we need to make the physical sun rise is that, that is in the animal body. That, that is in the animal body. That's why they have Jesus and his birth in a scene with animals.
These people have gone astray, they're going the wrong way, they’ve missed the mark. They think the way to get to the higher plane for their creation is to reject this gross body, this sinful flesh. Reject it and become a hermit or something or mystic, or something? Shedding off the flesh, the physical body to have the spiritual illumination. They've missed the mark. Prophet Muhammad is called (Arabic). Our master human model, that's what qualifies him to be our master, our leader. The top one, the chief for all of us. It is that he is the true human model. He said those that don't marry is not of us. We can't have no monks here.
Monks don't follow Muhammad, peace be upon the prophet. Men that want to to take women in marriage follow the prophets. Yes, he said to marry is my tradition. Then he's called in the Quran, Bashar [foreign language] human model just like you. You know the word Bashar it's a hint to really the skin. It's our skin that we feel, we feel with our skin. The sensitive part, we feel it. They say they can operate on your brain once they get past the sensitive areas bone and flesh and the skin. They can operate on your brain, you don't feel nothing. The brain doesn't have that kind of feeling in it, you see? Yes.
There's material in us that you can't feel, but G-d made all the material outside to feel as a protection for that that's inside. Now suppose we couldn't even feel outside? These guys who use crack, cocaine all this stuff. I can imagine-- "Let me see I put a bigger hole than you put in me man." They'd be putting holes in each other, they'd be walking around like a sponge or like a sieve or something. "So how did you get like that?" "We were playing."
[laughter]
G-d gave us protection, it hurts. "Stop that man, are you crazy?" It's that protection, that sensitivity that gives us protection then, right? It's the presence of sensitivity that gives us that protection. If you have the presence of human sensitivity in the society, you give the life of the society to protect. The vital organs, the vital life of that society is given the protection. That's what he is, a humanitarian, Muhammad the Prophet. The human man, the true human man, a humanitarian man. The Bashar, that's in all of us. Bashar [unintelligible 00:28:13]. Mortal just like you, human model, just like you.
G-d says, "This religion of Islam is a religion of the original pattern upon which he evolved the people." They were evolved upon their inborn humanity. G-d created all of us with an inborn humanity that we are to grow into to reach our human destiny. When a man becomes true to his humanity that G-d created him with, then he has reached his human destiny. When a society becomes true to that, that society has reached their human destiny
It's that protection, that sensitivity that gives us protection then, right? It's the presence of sensitivity that gives us that protection. If you have the presence of human sensitivity in a society, you give the life of the society the protection. The vital organs, the vital life of that society is given the protection. That's what he is, a humanitarian, Muhammad the prophet. The human man, the true human man, a humanitarian man, the Bashar, that's in all of us. (Arabic) mortal just like you, human mortal just like you.
So G-d says this religion of Islam is a religion of the original pattern upon which he evolved the people. They were evolved upon their inborn humanity. G-d created all of us with an inborn humanity, that we are to grow into to reach our human destiny. When a man becomes true to his humanity that G-d created him with, then he has reached his human destiny. When a society become true to that, that society has reached their human destiny. We take great pride in education because education more than any other process, accounts for all other advancements. All other advancements. The man who invented the first automobile, he had to study and qualify to come up with that concept and produce it and make it and pattern it.
Now, we have to go to school just like he did. We study to join the effort or the work of manufacturing those automobiles, correct? I don't care what it is, your sewing machine sister, your curtains that hang on your wall, your floor, your house, your faucet, your plumbing, whatever it is. Everything was advanced or made possible by education.
Now, we go to school and we lose this history, we're separated from that history. We go to school and we study physics, we study chemistry, we study electricity, we study this, we study that, we study all these things and we are not connected with the history of the knowledge of that thing. That actually the person came upon that thing by studying. He wouldn't have got it, except by studying. Then he passes his knowledge on to us so that we can continue that. Tell me, who is more precious to society? The educator, or the industrialist who benefits from the invention of the students, the person that studied, came up with ideas? Or the government official that runs the government after it has already been studied out and worked upon hard by some political idealist or some political theorist? Who is to be valued the most? The Educator.
True prophets that advanced their people, they all were educators. That's why the last prophet is given to us as an educator and educator that G-d Himself educated. The man had no formal education before. Prayers and peace be on him, Muhammad the Prophet. G-d brought wrote him the first words of Revelation and told him what you're told when you go into the class. "Pick up your book, let's read. Pick up your primer, let's read." G-d says, "Read" to Muhammad. He said it three times before Muhammad began to read and understand. Muhammad replied, "I can't read. I'm not a man of letters."
G-d repeated it through the angel, "Read", and lastly the words became finally the words and the third time request comes out, "Read in the name of your Lord who created. Created man from a small clot of congealed flesh or blood. Read in the name of your Lord, the most generous who taught man the use of the writing pen, the fountain pen." These first verses came to the Prophet-- The first verse which came to the Prophets didn't say, "Go to Egypt land, my people are lost, or oppressed." No. Go to school.
[laughter]
Imam: The whole world is oppressed.
[laughter]
It's in the dark. The darkness of moral corruption and ignorance. Go to school. G-d says, "And I will teach you myself." That's what G-d tells Muhammad. He said, "I'm going to teach you so that you will not forget." That's what G-d tells Muhammad. Revealed and gave him the verses to read and then told him, "I'm going to be your teacher." Here is a man selected that had no formal education, selected to enter the high institution of learning, headed by G-d Himself and to have G-d as his professor.
Congregation: Allahu Akbar.
And he was successful. This is not just a joke, this is something that became materialize for Muhammad. It materialized that he was the leader who lead the whole dark world back on the path of knowledge, science, enlightenment. All the continents were in darkness in ignorance and that little peninsula he was born on was steeped in ignorance. It's called Arabia now it wasn't called Arabia then. It only became Arabia that whole peninsula is only called Arabia with the coming of King Abdulaziz, the first king of Arabia in the time of United States government. In fact, in some of you alls lifetime that happened.
Some of you were old enough, you were around when that happened when King Abdulaziz became king of what he calls now, Saudi Arabia. He put his name on it, King Saudi, Abdulaziz Saudi. He became king, and they named the country after him, Saudi Arabia and the days of the Prophet, one part was called Hejaz, big part of that continent was called Hejaz. It was referred to as Hejaz, not Arabia. It was the west, the Christians that called it Arabia. It's in the Bible, Arabia. The land of the Arabs, Arabia.
Without us coming into our humanity, we can't get the blessing of true education. True education didn't come either until the humanitarian was established. The humanitarian leader for a free and civilized human society. When they came along, then we had to true education. We call it true education back there, even the Greeks had among them, men that were inspired by their humanity. Don't think ancient Greeks was one of these barbarian civilizations, it was not. They had barbarian states, but among them was the humanitarian philosophers, and because of that, they were able to advance science and knowledge.
When they lost that, when the west lost that and came under dictators, who didn't set upon the throne of their humanity and administer justice, or the law, what happened? Christian society became the most oppressive society. Christian society became the most oppressive society. Became the most barbaric society. I don't want to point to the ugliness of the Christian society, but some things we just can't overlook. Look what they did to us. Look what they did to American-Indian in the name of Christ Jesus. G-d forbid, they did these things. Look how they oppress their females in Europe, females weren't allowed education for hundreds of years. Isn’t it something? You want to think about that. Now, was that Christian? No, it was not Christian. A savage sees through a savage eyeglass. He sees through the lens of a savage. So if a savage picks up the gospel, he’s going to see only that that appeals to the savage. He’s going to miss that that’s speaking to his humanity especially when he’s drunk on his savagery. You see.
Now give you an example or illustration closer to your own hands. Look how I look at the Quran now and look at how we looked at the Quran 25 years ago, just 25 years ago. Reading the same beautiful book, but one seeing through the eyes of the drunk black man, that's angered with the white man, and the other one seeing through the eye of a sober black man that’s pitying the white man. He sees the language there addressing his humanity and he becomes a different person.
We all come up looking at the same sun, feeling the same warmth in the summertime, smelling the same beautiful flowers, looking at the same beautiful light, but some of us turn out to be ugly as s.h.i.t. and others don’t. It’s because of the disposition in our own minds and souls, and that’s what G-d says. He says that never will he change what is bothering you until you change what is bothering your soul.
Really the word is (Arabic), means what is burdening, or going against, - what is working against your own soul. The soul G-d is talking about is the seed of humanity, that’s the soul. The soul of your humanity. I'm sure all of us have a core somewhere that is pure animal. The best man is capable of sometimes having his weird perverted fantasies, and you say, "I don’t believe he did that." Well, he doesn’t believe it either once he gets his mind back. That's why Fard he distinguished between the black self and the real self. He said, "And who is your own self? Your own self is a righteous Muslim."
So the human mind, in order for it to get the circumstances for its growth which is it’s humanity and evolve, it has to be innocent. Has to have that social purity, not wanting to do any wrong by anybody, self and nobody else, and if it gets that condition, then it needs to benefit from studying, and the knowledge acquired through diligent study. Tireless, diligent study.
So, we want to see what is responsible for the excellence, and advancement and the good progress and strength of a society, we have to look at man’s intelligence, his intellect, his rational mind and look at his intent, and in Islam, we say all matters are judged by intent. Now, this is what the prophets taught long before the American Bar Association. Now every qualified lawyer and judge know the main thing you’re supposed to be looking for when judging a person, what was the intent? If there is a contract argued, what is the intent? What was the intent? That’s the crucial element, right?
Isn’t it very wonderful again that G-d says-- you know this talk I’m talking about, I'm giving you today is just mainly on showing us the true self and how we in our natural life is the most excellent creation. We in our natural life. But the only thing that keeps us from the excellence our natural life is the blindness or the ignorance of our humanity. Once we come to see that the most valuable and truest identity we have is our humanity then we won’t be held back from that progress and from that excellent life.
We call relief. Relief from one pain to pleasure, right? Relief from one pain to pleasure, but when you look at what happens to people in society. Look at what your good pleasure wine is doing to society. You’re not to judge these things but what’s happening to you individually, you're supposed to judge the good or bad of a thing by its effect on society. Allah says, "Stay away from drugs, gambling, gambling also and games of superstition." Allah says, "Stay away from such because it is the work of Satan." [Arabic]. It is the work of Satan [Arabic], therefore stay away from it if you expect to be successful or guided. This is what Allah says.
I think Allah in telling us that about these evils that plague society, also explained to us what He means when he says in the Quran, or the holy book that Satan is our obvious enemy. It’s obvious that we’re held down and weakened and denied establishment because of the sins that are encouraged by the society. Heavy drinking, lust, gambling, superstition. You know anytime you go to the lottery, and I know you don't like me for this. Anytime you go to the lottery and you buy so many numbers, you are violating your own religion.
You’re not supposed to accept anything in blind faith other than G-d. You’re not supposed to close your eyes and open your mouth to nobody but G-d. Now that goes for the ears too. So the world is filled with political strife, economic strife, social strife, all kinds of strife, rivalry, competition, for more of it sins, corruption on corruption on top of corruption, and the only thing we need to do to meet this evil is to deal with the plain simple realities that we’re looking at every day. You know these things are evil and wrong for the majority, so let’s have the minority stay away from it too.
You say how can we live in America, how can we, -- Not only live in America, my idea of America tells me that if I promote Islamic virtues, Islamic values, Islamic perception, if I just give my whole life to it and you join me to do it. If we convince enough of these citizens in America to follow this way of looking at things we can outlaw by the Constitution, outlaw drinking, outlaw gambling, outlaw superstitions, we can outlaw the lottery, we can do all of this. There are some small towns that you can't drink in right now. If enough of their citizens don't want it that's it, it becomes law. Don't think America is a place where we can't go forward we've been going to go so far and now we have to stop, we can go as far as the human nature and G-d help allow us to go.
One day I hope to see this America change drastically again. It changed drastically when they got rid of white supremacy. It changed drastically when they open up this country for equal opportunity and equal treatment under the law et cetera. This country changed drastically. I'm believing that I can live to see it change drastically again. You have to be as convinced as I am, you have to be as determined as I am to obey what Allah says in the Quran and have faith that it can change the world.
If enough of us Muslims think that way and we come with the best, - you don't let a guy with a tumor on his brain no matter how sincere he is in his prayers. You don't let a guy with a tumor on his brain introduce Islam to the American public. We bring the best of our leaders and let them introduce Islam to the American people and those that got some kind of eccentric thing in them or a little weird twist in the brain, or in the eye, or in the face or in their sexual organs or something, we hide them. Even if we have to ask for the [unintelligible 00:52:10], do it secretly. We have to hide them and we can make progress in this country.
If you've been following me, I have been winning respect for myself and all of you that's with me. American people are coming to appreciate us, they welcome us. If it continue to go like it's going now, we may become the favorite child of America.
Congregation: Allahu Akbar.
The favorite child gets the opportunity to grow up and take the responsibility of the grown-up right? All right. In our circumstances especially in our economic circumstances, we are a child now but if we become the favorite, we'll get the opportunity to become an adult man in the business world of America. I hope one day that the influence of this teaching in this country, will make America just not satisfied with certain language that they use. "Oh no, that word landlord you can't use it anymore. That's the word that's illegal, it's outlawed. It's against the law for you to use the term landlord." There is nothing but one landlord, Allah is the landlord.
Now, for a few minutes let us concentrate on where our attention should be given firstly. Our main, our most pressing priority. First, a Muslim is to give his attention to the Quran. He's to study it with an interest in learning more about the Prophet. Don't just read the Quran, you have a prophet. You want to know more about Moses than you know about the Prophet that brought the Quran? Don't read the Quran to learn about Moses over Muhammad no, peace be upon the prophet. You want to learn about Muhammad. Believe me, every word you read is going to tell you something about Muhammad. When you say Bism you're learning something about Muhammad.
It took a man like Muhammad to get the revelation to come into him. Any man couldn't get that, had to take a certain type of man, a certain disposition in a man, a certain humbleness and a certain charity in a man to have G-d send an angel to give him those words. When you read the first word on the Quran, know that the word came to a deserving mind, to a deserving hearts. That the man was big enough, valuable enough in Allah's eyes and on Allah's sight, Allah's eyes symbolically speaking.
Big enough to deserve or earn the gift of those words of revelation. The more you read, the more you should be seeing the prophet. If that's a merciful book it came through by way of revelation of a merciful human being. If that's a book appreciating wisdom and knowledge and the intellect of man, then it came through a man that obviously qualified himself. He was a great intellect, he was a great human being et cetera. If G-d offers us great blessings, great treasures, then it came through a man that was himself deserving of a great message and great treasures. this is what we should understand.
Never think of Mohammed as being a member of a particular color or a member of a particular race. You should never think like that. We should concentrate on our home life if you only have one room make your room a Muslim room. Say your prayers in that room, be a Muslim in that room, entertain Muslim guests in that room or non-Muslim that respect Muslim life in that room. If you're too old to work, then go to the masjid and ask the Imam what value do you have to the congregation. Maybe he can bring you up and just have you say As-sal?mu Alaykum to them every now and then.
You'll be surprised what an old person can do for the audience just by saying As-sal?mu Alaykum brothers and sisters. I'm trying to say nobody is useless, everybody can do something to help us. If you're not an invalid or beaten down and weak because of old age or something get to work. Ain't no good Muslim who's going to stay in no house and talk about, "Why you don't go out and do some work?" "Ain't no job." That ain't no Muslim, that's not your Muslim speaking in you. That's the victim of mistreatment in America speaking to you.
Go to work. You can't get a dollar for it, work free. Yes, your nature, your soul needs work. Here's another law what you don't use you lose. Go to work. If you don't use your ability to work pretty soon you will have no ability to work. I'd rather work free than not work. I would. I don't accept not to work, I'll work for nothing. Who will I work free for? Another human being that deserves it.
Your neighbor going out working every day, making a contribution to your block, nice yard upkeep property, and everything and come back from work and then have to cut grass and water it. Say, "Look you're a credit to this block and to this neighborhood. You work hard, let me water your grass, let me cut your grass." "Have any paint? Let me paint your house." "How much do you want?" "Nothing you're a deserving person. I don't have nothing to do and work is good for my nature.
[00:59:03] [END OF AUDIO]

