09/02/1990
IWDM Study Library
Atlanta GA

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Had empires that stretched all over the known world. When the Greeks learned about the Great Empire of Kush, the Africa. The people that would be called Negro, and black, and inferior by the white supremacist of this age or this world. You know what the Greek said? "They are black gods." This is quoted in history. "They are black gods." Why did the Greeks call them gods? Because the Greeks, though they were very intelligent people, they couldn't rise above a fascination or an obsession with their own image.
Not only the Greeks, we're talking about most of the known world. Wasn't Pharaoh obsessed with his own image? He put his own image everywhere. The ancient Egyptian put their own images, they put their images everywhere in huge, magnified, much exaggerated beyond truth and reality or beyond real life. Big, huge, massive figures towering up over the people.
So, the Greeks too they had an obsession, a preoccupation with their own image because they saw so much. Allah created the man wonderful. They saw so much beauty, so much value. They appreciate themselves so much because they also knew of barbaric life. Ignorant, uncultured life, they knew of that. So, when they came into sciences and knowledge and culture, they appreciated the human being that they saw in themselves. So much they wanted to give it high credit way above the low, despicable, barbaric savages, et cetera.
They became preoccupied and fascinated with their own image and they called themselves gods. Everything that they saw that mystified them and fascinated and charmed their intellect in creation, they named it a god. It was a god or goddess. Everything, not just human beings, animals too. Gods were put in the animal’s figures. The powers and laws of creation were all given god-form or god identity, the identity as a god.
Just the features of nature themselves, the Greeks and others too, gave these features the name god. They were gods, all gods. They call it the family of god, the Greek family of god, gods numbering into the hundreds or even to the thousands. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure that the gods of the Greeks number into the thousands, so many gods. Everything a god. Everything that they wonder over, everything that attracted their intellect and made them wonder about it or was fascinated or couldn't explain it completely, “a god. This is a god, that's a god, everything's a god”.
Whatever was doing wrong is a god too. Things that doing evils is a god too, are all gods. It's a god. So, we hear in the language, the god of good and evil. God of good and evil, god and goddesses. Major gods and minor gods. This is the language. Dear people, let me watch my time here. The ancient world, the whole ancient world of the empires was guilty of that, not just the Greeks. As I said, Egypt did it, the European nations did it, not just Greece. The European nations did it. Rome and Greece were the best known for this. For this fascination with their own image.
Apollo, naked obscene man, in his appearance. If we didn't know what they were talking about and we saw him out there on the public, Say, “what's this obscenity?" Cupid, relieving himself.
If we didn't know what it was all about in Greek mythology. We would say, "What is this obscene thing here?" We would call the police and say, "Can you have this neighbor arrested for having this damn thing out here in front of me?"

“That's Cupid”. Well, tell me about it before I shoot him.
I hope you see where we're going and I said I'm not wasting words.
To kind of sum this up now, to go to the next step, that's business. To sum this up, what have I said? I have said by implying, I have said that religion is where the foundation of racism is. Religion is where real racism is preserved. Racism is not, as I said earlier, preserved in racial groups or protected in racial groups. Racism is protected in imagery. And the imagery of religion. "Thou shall not make any engraving images." That's the Bible talking to the Western world. And we know in our religion, we are to stay away from the mirror. You want to know how you look, ask your wife.
I'm sure she'll appreciate you paying her that respect. In our religion, we're not to have photos of ourselves all over the place. Satan has influenced the world that goes astray or that are heedless. Satan has influenced the world powers and the people under them to be vain, to love vanity, to follow it until they just come all out of human form and become distorted figures, mutant creatures.
The ugliest woman I've ever seen was by definition of beauty in this world, one of the most prettiest women I've ever seen. But when I saw her emotions, when I saw her preoccupation with her own beauty, she became so ugly to me, she looked like a demon to me. Yes. What was in her just disfigured the outside and made that beautiful doll look like a demon. I said to myself, "Thank you, Allah, for not allowing me to get something worse than what I have had. I thought I had it bad, I thought I was bad off but lord thank you for saving me from this." You talking about hell, you get one of those, man, you will really learn what hell is.
They'll kiss you and singe your moustache. I mean real singeing, not no thrill. You come away with blisters all over your lips. Hug you and stick dull hot knives all through you. What I mean, when you come to know them, everything they do as a gesture of love or affection, pains so much. It hurts so much. They just give you a kind word it just hurts so much. "You look real nice today, you're looking so nice today so and so and so." Coming from them, it hurt so bad.
Because you know you have to translate that.
We want to shift the mood to business. But we have to sum up what I have said. I have said number one, that if we want to find where racism has its origin. I mean real, popular, ugly, oppressive racism, where it has its origin we have to go to imagery in religion, falsehood in religion. Allah tells us that in the Quran if we understand it. Regarding Pharaoh and his ugly cruel oppression over the people, what does Allah say in reference to him and his cruelties? Shirk, giving the wrong picture of Allah, the wrong idea of Allah. Shirk is the worst kind of oppression. La thulmul aatheem. It is the worst; the most oppressive kind of slavery is to be enslaved by falsehood concerning what Allah is. And I bear witness to that.
When we look at Pharaoh as an oppressor who said, “He is G-d”. And had a family of priests working under him and a hierarchy that kept the higher idea of the creature up in the Pharaoh and up in those closest to him. And as you got down from the Pharaoh, the more you descended from the Pharaoh, the lower and the more despicable the creatures became. This is the order of Pharaoh. Don't you find the likeness of that in the international world of racism? Don't you find the likeness of that? People who are at the top claiming they're at the top, the purest. "We're the purest." And those who have a little less purity will be close to them. And get down to the bottom and there is the one who has nothing but impurity.
He is blacked out with impurity. That's the negro, the colored man, the black man, the African. Don't you see the same? The likeness of the same? Don't we find among them personalities who claim themselves to be the G-d? “The G-d”. And then we, many of us, were exposed to be double-crossed. I don't mean double-crossed in its common meaning or common definition. I mean double burden, crucified twice, that's what I mean. But thanks to Allah, the merciful one, the dearest, the merciful, we are saved from it. We reject white arrogance over other people and we reject black arrogance over other people.
We obey our religion, the Quran and our religion. We obey the last prophet, the messenger to the worlds. We obey him. There is no superiority of a white over a black and no superiority of a black over a white. I'm quoting the prophet word for word. No superiority of an Arab nationalist over a non-Arab nationalist and no superiority over a non-nationalist over an Arab. The only superiority is obedience to Allah.
Praise be to Allah. Now, I want to ask you is this religion resolving the conflict?
Quickly summing it up. Allah says He has-- Let me get it. I got it right here. Just give me a moment. I made notes so I would keep it like I wanted it. Just clear and complete. If you would just give me a chance to find it. I want to find this note. Here it is. Allah says of our common identity, “Wa sawwarakum fa ahsana surakum”. That He gave you your design, your feature. The human design, the human feature. Fa ahsana surakum, and made most excellent that design.
Again, Allah says in our holy book, Wa razaqqakum minat tayyibat. And He provided for you from all the good things, all the good things. Who did He provide all these good things for? By reasoning from this revelation, who did He provide all of these good things for? The person in the common identity. Not for the racists. Not for the liars. Not for the Shirk makers. For the makers of godly images for themselves or god images for themselves. Not for them. He didn't make these good things for him.
Look, Allah says, "My servants shall inherit the earth." You should know this Muslims. This has been said to people before you and they have gone up to the top of the world and reached all over the globe and enjoyed freedom and power. What are you going to do? Rise up too. Knowing that Allah says that He made this for you. The resources in the earth, the resources on top of the earth, growing out of it. The resources in the environment above the earth. "All," He says that He has sakkara, made it subject. Made it to yield utility for you. That’s what Allah said. This is no small religion for no peanut head or pea headed person.
And then He speaks of the design that He gave you. The human design. And associate His gifts of graces, goodness, and all the things that we like with that person in that design. To tell us that He made it for that person. Now, if you want to be foolish and let the deformed creatures get all of it and deny it from you, that's your problem baby. I'm a Muslim, I say it's for me. And if they don't measure up better to me to the Surah, the Surah that Allah made, then I say I have a better claim, a more legitimate claim on these bounties, these material graces and also all other kind of graces than they have. I'm going to start moving more aggressively to get my share.
See dear people, when a soldier is in uniform, he should be serious. Once I can put on a uniform, the uniform that Allah says He made for me, and realize that I am fit for the profession, and I'm wearing the uniform and I'm fit for the profession, look out. Because I'm not playing. What is the way to achieve this? How did I achieve this much progress in realizing this?
I achieved it by obeying Allah, I achieved it by fearing Allah, I achieved it by putting the better nature over the temptation to fall down in my nature. I achieved it by being decent and rejecting indecency. So, if I am to advance this now and really gain and become a real contender for those that's guided, I have to hold on to what has brought me this far. And let me tell you, if I can get enough of you holding on to it with me, the sinners are in trouble.
The sinners are in trouble and I'm not afraid to say it. If I can get enough of you all with me, the sinners are in trouble. Overnight, alcohol problem will be done away with because I will outlaw alcohol.
Hold up. I want to obey Allah. That's how come I’m here where I am now because I want to obey Allah. Overnight the dope problem, the drug problem will be over because I would outlaw drugs.

A lazy man with muscles and ability to work not going out every day to try to find something to do even if it's washing windows or asking somebody, "Can I wash your car?". I don't care if he has no skills, no skills at all. If he doesn't go out every day to try to find him stuff to do when he's got a wife or a baby or babies at home, I will put him in jail or beat his butt on the public streets.
The problem is we are spoiled. Spoiled by people that let Satan breathe his plan into them. Now, the jails and the penitentiaries won't be filled with us. No, no. Stop that traffic right away. Let us continue now, and believe me, it ain't necessary to get emotional. As I said, Allah's goodness is powerful enough by itself. It doesn't need any emotional build up. Continuing now what it says, Wa sawwarakum fa ahsana surakum, wa elayhi maser. He gave us this design, these features, this human design and made it most excellent our design.
Now, understand that from this pattern design, other designs are made. But those designs if Allah will accept them, they must obey and continue to be genuine patterns after the original. He gave you this design and then He speaks of your design in the plural. See? He says, “sawwarakum fa ahsana surakum”. It's one, it ain't plural. The design is one, Sura. Made excellent that one pattern for many of you. Doesn't that ring a wonderful bell? For some of you, I believe it does.
Wa elayhi maser, And to Him is the destination. Again, He is the one who gave you your forms descriptions in the wombs. That's where it's given. You don't come out of the womb, that is and tell us who you are. It was told in the womb. In addition to the doctrines that they teach they say, “you got to go back in”. They say, “you ain't fit, you've got to go back in and be born again”.
He is the one who gives you design in the wombs according to His will. According to the will of G-d. And again, He is the one who created you then gave you your design. Look, I have plenty of material here, the time will allow me, I'm going to write. If Allah bless me with the life and the health, I'm going to write some wonderful books that Allah has given me out if His mercy.
I'm making a lot of progress with them. I'm working on them. I'm making a lot of progress with them. I don't have time to bring all the materials for this one address today. I read on writers, because you need help. So, I read writers. And one part of this book said, "Most good writers, they scrap about 60%-70% of what they write. That means if you got 10 pages, six to seven of them went in the trash. Well, that's what I've been doing.
But thanks to Allah, every now and then now, I throw something in the trash. Every once in a while, I throw something in the trash. But for a long time, right in the trash basket because it doesn't serve the purpose, it doesn't measure up, it lacks in too many ways and we throw it away. That what you've all got to learn. You get your mind, all those thoughts in your mind, what reality is and everything and you check it out with what Allah say. 
That's what you got to do. You have to ball up that stuff that you were so fascinated by. It is hard for a writer to spend hours on something and then look at it and see it, it didn't measure up according to what Allah revealed. Then start balling up, throwing it in the trash. One day I carried a whole shopping bag out of that stuff down. Look, I'm not joking, I'm not exaggerating, a whole shopping bag of balled up pages. Just put them in for the trash and then the garbage man come pick it up. I know what some of you all saying with your profiteering selves, "Chief, I wish he had given me some of that."
No. Into the trash because that's where we're going if we don't shape up. Into the trash. So, look how creation is brought in. To tie creation in He says, Wa la qad khalaqnaakum. And definitely, laqad is a strong word. Definitely, He created you. Allah created us. You, it’s speaking. Allah is speaking in the first-person plural, “We”. "And definitely, we created you. You plural, you many. Thumma, thereafter, we gave you the design, your design. Sawwarnaakum. We designed you or gave you your design.
Now when you study biology and you see in biology the human picture. Is that necessary the human being? Think about it. When you study biology and in that biology book, that book on the structure of living creatures or the anatomy of living creatures, when you see that anatomy or that figure, he might look as pretty as Apollo. Doesn't necessarily mean that that's a human being. No, it does not. Because that picture may be with a chapter on man before he became civilized. It may be a picture connected with the information or discussion on man before he became civilized.
When he was no more than an ape in his behavior or a monkey in his behavior or a dog in his behavior. When he was running around beating his wife upside the head with a stick or something, a tree limb, dragging her behind him and worshiping the dog. See a lot of us don't know this. Men have worshiped the dog as a deity. It's in mythology, isn't it? Yes. Now, if you can't understand mythology, let us go to just ordinary primitive society life.
The chief, he's tough, he's bad. He's so proud of his macho, whatever it is. So, he wants to wear something that enhances his image. So, to enhance his image, he will wear a bear's head over his head or a wolf mask. That tells you they thought more of those creatures than they did of themselves, if you didn't buy my first explanation. 
Praise be to Allah. Why? Why did they admire those features over themselves? Because they had been unfortunate to not come into enlightenment. And Allah says of the soul. He created the soul, the human soul, the person, the seed, the real core of the person, the soul. And I wish we had time to talk to you on really how the soul is the depository and also the reservoir for all the excellence that comes out of man, the soul.
This is discussed in a book by-- My thoughts are rushing. I can't give it to you right now. Inshallah, I'll write on this and give it to you at a later time. I may recall it before I finish. Anyway, one of our Muslim brothers writes on this idea. He does an excellent job and says so many wonderful things that I wish I could give you right now. Allah says that the soul has as its inherent natural properties the potential for enlightenment and G-d-consciousness, they translate it. I prefer to just use the word regardfulness.
The soul is created with that property and its potential for enlightenment. Fujuraha its enlightenment. Wa taqwaha, and it's regardfulness. As we said earlier in the speech, the original and the best regard that G-d has put in our nature is the fear of Him. The proper fear of Him. I say, "Him" for want of a better language. Arabic is much more safer for us to use these pronouns. The ideas that we have when we say Him won't come to the mind of a person whose language has always been Arabic.
We live in a culture, we've inherited a culture from the European, from the Western man and also a language from them that has all been influenced by Shirk, the wrong idea of G-d. So, it makes it very difficult. I wish we could just understand the gravity or the real seriousness of the oppression that is on us and agree just to go on excursion with Imam W. D. Mohammed and stay in the desert or somewhere until we are ready to come back and take over.
I don't mean take over with the sword but with the truth. And I believe we could do it. I know we can do it. Well, it's happening anyway because we are in the desert. Poor in hell as we are, I'm telling you, we're in the desert. We don't have to go out to the desert, we are in the desert. I just wish we could get together more often and stay longer.
So, here, we see creation is mentioned and it's tied, it's mentioned in the same word message with Sawwarnaakum, and we gave you your design. Again, quoting from the Quran, one prophet was challenged by the disbelieving ruler, the boaster, and his intellectual arrogance and in his might. Arrogance of power, material arrogance, and intellectual arrogance, and he told him explaining it to him who G-d is. He says, “Allathi ahta qullishay’in khalqahu thumma hada”.
Powerful statement. For the students, for the scholars, powerful statement. Allathi ahta qullishay’in khalqahu thumma hada. He told him, "G-d is the one who gave everything its creation." He was telling that arrogant ruler that too. He gave you your creation too. He didn't have to say it. He said, ahta qullishay’in. You're claiming to be G-d but He's the one who gave everything its creation, meaning you too. He didn't say, "You too." He was a diplomat and a skillful man. A man that could go in the camp of the violent unpredictable enemies and come out with his shirt still intact.
He didn't address it directly to the powerful, menacing ruler but he told him anyway clear as it could be if that he was intelligent. He said that, Allathi ahta qullishay’in khalqahu thumma hada, the one who gave everything its creation and thereafter its guidance. Khalqahu thumma hada, I put its guidance in there. Why? Because by my own reasoning from the language it tells me that “khalaqahu” means a hint, it's guidance. And if you don't believe it. we have to just look at it again. Khalaqa Fasawwa, Qaddara fahada. Those are steps. Khalaqa, He created. Fasawwa, then gave proportion, symmetry, balance, intelligent design. Fasawwa.
Then it says, Qaddara fahada. But the prophet didn't go by four steps. He was with an impatient ruler. He didn't go by four steps. Allathi ahta qullishay’in khalqahu thumma hada. Qaddara fahada. But the “fa” is not there when he was-- The ruler is too threatening and too impatient. He didn't have time for all those “fa”s. Allathi ahta qullishay’in khalqahu thumma hada.
Now, a wise ruler that came to me, “the divine mind”, you can put the “fa”s in.
I wish all of us could appreciate this equally but that's not even how it happens when we're invited to dinner. I've seen some people eat like it was breaking their jaws. They can't even appreciate good food. Then some of you all are just smiling and, "Have some more. Have some more brother. Have some more. Have some more. Eat." 
It's the same with the meal that Allah offers us from Al-Islam. Thank you very much. The time is going fast. I'm going to round it up and give a summary on the part of the talk about materialism. Let me give a quick summary as we're going to close out. The thing I want to bring to your mind regarding the conflict for us and business is materialism. That's the conflict. Materialism is the conflict. Allah intended for us business, and big businesses and growing businesses and blossoming businesses and multiplying businesses. He wants us to have-- You going to put some limit on how much money you want? That's just like a Muslim saying, "I ain't going to have no more than three children."
Something wrong with that Muslim.
No. The kafar should be saying, "I'm not going to have any more three children. Because I got three times at the plate and that's all. Strikeout”. We ain't looking at no chance at the plate. We looking at chance at the whole thing. Not just the plate. It may not even be anything in the plate. 
So, we ain't even playing that game. Baseball has its place in sports. And sport and play have no place in our religion. Allah say to the arrogant and boastful disbeliever, He said, "Do you think We were at play when We did all this creation? Do you think We were playing or at play when We did all this creation? You look at that sun, moon, stars, galaxy and all the wonders of earth and creation, do you think We were having fun?" Praise be to Allah. Yes, materialism is the evil. Now to understand materialism as the evil, we have to understand the motive in business. The motive in business. In our religion, matters are judge by intent, intention.
The motive in business in western idea of business is to make profit. They call it the profit motive. Am I correct or not?
Congregation: Correct.
IWDM: But a while back, some generations back, the big theorists and policymakers of the western world met to look at the problem of a stagnant economy. I got this from them, not from somewhere else. This is from America's reports. And they decided, one of them suggested that the answer for it was not to be disciplined by the law of demand and supply, but to understand that appetites for anything can be cultured. The appetite for anything can be cultured. So, they came away from there with the idea that anything, if what they got ain't selling because there's no more demand for it that they use their imagination. Business brought in psychologists and everything.
Now, sales are determined more by what is given from the psychologists to the entrepreneur than it is by anything else. That was a turn for the worst in what was already terrible. You remember when we were children? I'm over 50. I don't want to tell you how many years over 50. When you get over 50, you don't want to brag.
I have fun with my colleagues back here some time. You better have some fun too. All work and no play make somebody a dull boy.
But play intelligently. Don't forget that. Whatever the Muslim does, he does it with a sense of demand for excellence. That's the prophet saying. Whatever the believer does, he does it with a sense on him for the demand for excellence. So, if we're having fun, we should have fun in the most excellent way. If we're having pleasure, amusement, do it in the most excellent way so that our fun enhances the Muslim life of ourselves and others that we are influencing. Don't fall down and have fun like this world have fun, you'd be gone and lost and never come back. Now, where was I? Psychology in business. With this idea, they started to just make everything.
They also learned later after starting making all these things that people weren't asking for, but they decided. You know what they have now. See the people who are intelligent and also have respect for decency. It hurts their moral nature. It makes them suffer a lot to go along with things they know are very, very sinful.
…“money for investment. Among us is money for consumer ignorance”. So, the evil is the motive in the business. You make business Halal. By obeying the motive Allah intended, you make that business Halal. Don't think pig is the only thing that is not Halal. The worst pig is a pig in your spirit, the pig in your appetite, the pig in your behavior. That's the worst of all pigs and Allah want us to know that you do not eat pig. Do not digest or consume pig. You are what you eat.
The conflict is materialism and materialism have to be understood. When I say materialism, I'm talking about this greed in the Western idea of economics. This greed that is protected, built into and protected and used as the main resource. Don't you know the main resource in Western business and economy is greed? If you take out greed, they fall quick. Ain't no more to the Western economy if you take out greed. I have to sell you what I know you don't need. If you don't want it, if your intelligence tells you, you shouldn't have it, then I have to come up with a psychology to make you believe you've got to have it.
So, I've come out on television and show you and everybody that you admire, they got it. Everybody, you want to be in your dreams, they've got it, and most Americans have it, so you start feeling like you've been mistreated, you've got to get it. This is the evil in the business idea or the idea of Western economy. This is evil is the evil, it's the profiteering thing.
Profiteering means to go after without any respect for moral obligation. To go after the profit. That's what profiteering means. To go after the profit without any respect for moral obligation. Don't you know the thing that's undermining the social life of not only African-American?
Now they know., they tell us that we are not the only ones who have the collapsed families, destroyed families, fragmented families. We're not the only ones. The other races are suffering the same thing now because as they say, “what goes around comes around”. And Allah puts it this way, “your evil will hymn you in”. You send it out that way to go over there, but Allah has made the universe to make it get out of your hands. Pretty soon it's too big, it's bigger than the target you sent it to. Now, it needs more room. It's a growing thing, it's out of your control and you still got the same appetite for it, you still send it out too. After a while, it goes right all over you.
Now your children are hollering, your children are being locked up, your children are dope attics. Your children are just going out just vandals, vandalizing properties, bringing your cities down and bringing your society down. Your children are just going out shooting the innocent, target practice. Why? Because the evil you sent out now has grown and multiplied and hymning you in. That's the justice of G-d. In concluding this, Allah says, “fasawwaakum”. What is the seewa? Seewa also means similar, the same, so what is our equality? It also suggests equality. Where do we find our equality?
Our equality G-d has created an equality for us and creating us all of one pattern creation, one pattern human creation. That one pattern human creation has potential. That one potential is a potential for excellence and a potential for self-destruction. A potential for excellence and a potential for self-destruction. QadKaaba man dessaha. Allah says, "Qad aflaha man zakkaha." Certainly, he is successful who spends on his soul”. QadKaaba man dessaha, and he is a loss, a failure, debased, brought down to the lowest of the low, who debases his own soul. Qadkaaba, means he's out of it, he's lost who debases, bring down his own soul, he cheats his own soul, he refuses to spend on his own soul.
He invests in his soul that that is cheap and inferior, and poison, and polluted, corrupts his soul and chokes out the life of his own soul. He poisons and deforms his own soul with what he has given his own soul. And the other one feeds the excellence of his soul. He spends on his soul. See, spend means to give something of value. You don't spend used toilet paper. Nobody wants that, it has no value. You spend what has value to a decent sane minded people. You spend what has value, but not if he knows people that met back there over the stagnation of the European western world economy.
They said, "We're going to sell them used toilet paper and they're going to like it. They're going to be running through the door, knocking on it before the store is open, 'Give me some used toilet paper.'" When you think about some of the things we are buying, isn't it the same as used toilet paper? Allah says that He has approved “tijara”, which means commerce and trade. He has approved tijara, commerce, and trade. It means serving, supplying legitimate needs. He has approved supplying legitimate needs and making business and income and profit on it.
A profit, sure you make a profit on it. But in the real sense, you're not making a profit on it because we are not supposed to sell somebody something that is worth more to us than it is to them. Just think about it, when I say I will make a profit on this, that's says something in business language, but it also says something in plain simple language. If I say I'm going to make a profit on this, that means I got more out of it than it's worth. So, really, we're not supposed to make profit. We don't call it profit, we call it sales and the price of it. It's the sale and the price of it. That is the price. The price of it is supposed to be no more than the legitimate value to the person I sold it to.
And the person I sold it to is not the standard, the market is the standard. The intelligent market is the standard. Because you can sell something to a fool and then it’s not good business in Al Islam. You can sell something to a fool way above the price he bought it and he doesn't know the market price. He doesn't know the market value, so he buys and he's a fool. You took advantage of his ignorance. That's not legitimate business for Muslims. You, business people. How many here are business people? Raise your hands. I thought you would come listen to me. I just believed.
Somebody told me, he said, "They don't look at you having a thought in business, you just go there and just read the Quran and Hadith to you." And I didn't hear them, I refused to hear them. I'm going to believe that the best of our business people want to hear what I have to say about business.
Business people, you're my main interest here for this part of this topic. I got a belief in you. I got a faith in you. Let me tell you quickly what this involves. I believe as the business people who came in the early life of the Muslim community, international Muslim community, what we call the Ummah, after our prophet, peace, and blessings on him. I believe that as they were a powerful instrument for dignifying, for giving a good image, for attracting people of material accomplishments to the religion of Al Islam called Islam, commonly called Islam. I believe that they were instrumental, the instruments to attract such people to this religion.
I believe that you are going to be the instrument to attract the higher caliber and a more successful class or group of people to this following that identifies with me. You're going to do it. Your success in business will do it. That's our greatest need now is business. Business, business sense, business-mindedness. We're not only needing business-mindedness and business sense in the business people. The reason why they have so much difficulty establishing themselves as big business people, I mean the best of them, is because there's no business sense and business mindedness in us the consumers. So, with your help, you're going to be a powerful tool of Dawah.
With your help, the business people who associate with us, we have no organization of believers. We have no, what you call a, they said what's the name of your movement? What's your name now? What do you mean what's my name now? You mean for all these people that are with us and Muslim, we have no name but Muslim. Our only name is Muslim. You can call us Muslim Americans, or American Muslims. I like to call us Muslim Americans because I like the adjective to go before the noun, especially in English, now in Spanish that’s another thing. You can call us Muslim Americans, but as far as identifying us as a group. No, that's done away with. We're international Muslims, aren't we?
Congregation: Yes.
IWDM: We're international Muslims. We live in America. We have citizenship here, so the sub-definition, the subclassification, the subordinate description is Muslim American. On top of it, international Muslim. You want to separate yourself from your great dignity? I don't. You want to be 50, I want to be one million. I'm a member in one billion believers. Say, "What's your name?" "Muslim." That's the way you deal with these people over here, they're tricky. No, don't let them intimidate you and make you feel awkward. I just got to come up with some name. “Is it the World Community of Al-Islam in the West? No.
What is it, American Muslim Mission? What is it?” Muslim. Muslim, faqat. Those who speak Arabic will know exactly what I'm saying. Muslim, khalis. Muslim, it’s finished and ended, Muslim. That's it. Muslim American if you want to know where I'm at. If you want to know what geography I'm in, Muslim American. “What community do you belong to?” I belong to the international community of Muslims. If you want to know center I attend. If you want to know what ethnic group, I'm in, well, be specific. Put them on the spot. Make them feel uncomfortable asking the questions. What Allah says? He will raise up a group that will do what is right, I'm making it short, and will not fear the accusations of the accusers.
Isn’t that what he said? That means they won't be intimidated by this world's tricks. When they ask, "Are you a Muslim?" "Yes." Don't hesitate. "Are you a Muslim?" "Yes." "Praise be to Allah" "Yes." Thank G-d for his mercy. Yes, I'm a Muslim. Who is your leader? Muhammadan rasulullah, Sallallahu alayhi was salam. I must translate it for you who don't speak Arabic, you speak English. Muhammad the messenger of G-d, the peace and the blessings of G-d upon him. "Where's your organization?" "We don't have any organization. My family is my organization. I'm on my way to it, I don't have much patience with you right now.
I bet you might be asking what body I belong to? I belong to the body called the international body of Muslims, they number one billion, thank you very much, goodbye, have a good day."
Isn't that wonderful? When I talk like that, something in here, doesn’t it just rejoice? Something in there saying, "That's what I like." That's why this religion is called Deen Al-Fitra, it is the religion of the original nature of the human person. Patterned after the pattern that is universal throughout G-d's creation or the universe. Ahhh, isn't that wonderful? We don't have to be reconciled with the universal realities. We don't have to have our human life reconciled with the universal realities. We don't have to bump our heads anymore against universal truths in our path to reality.
Just being a Muslim and following the Quran and following the pattern of Muhammad the prophet, peace and blessings on him, you end all that problem for yourself. You're reconciled already, you don't need a mediator, you don't need an arbiter. Oh, Buddy. They talk about a mediator, they talk about an arbiter, we don't need all that, that's done away with. Tawheed, unity, one creation, one G-d over it, one designer, one author, one owner. “Well, what do I own?” Nothing. And that's what you, business people, should apply to yourself, the philosophy and the psychology for saving the person who is indulging and involving himself in material for material gain.
If you keep that philosophy, it will be a strong factor of saving your human life, your senses and making you successful for Allah. And He will make you successful for business world, for the real business. Yes, if you accept that you own nothing. Ownership is for Allah alone. Everything that we have is a trust. How can you own something and you're going to die? And you don't even know whether is going to be given to a Joe or the man that you hate the most. You don't know where it's going. So, how you the owner and you don't know what's going to happen to it? You may have a heart attack just five minutes after you say, "I'm the owner."
Have a heart attack and it goes to somebody you hate. That happens. Praise be to Allah. So, what Allah says is that He has approved legitimate business. That's what tijara means, legitimate business. But He has outlawed, made forbidden. What? Riba. What is Riba? Greed. Where you just want to get more and more on what you're selling. You ain't never satisfied with how much you can get on it. They call it interest multiplied. In fact, that's the way it's described in the Quran, interest multiplied. Usury, an English word for it is usury. It means asking more than the value, requiring more than the justified due to you.
That's what's forbidden in business. What is the benefit of this now? What is the benefit of this for business, to end this conflict where we don't have materialism and these ugly concepts of principles of economics and business on us? What is the benefit of that? I believe with all my heart that the benefit is a new business people will grow up from us. And these business people will be so Muslim like that they will do for the society that comes in touch with them the same thing that the great shining businessmen did for the societies that came in touch with them after the life of our prophet, immediately after the life of our prophet.
They say, I think it's the biggest population that we have, the nation is called Indonesia. And if I'm correct, Indonesia is a country that was brought to this religion by the influence of ethical, decent, social, great advanced social natured Muslims who were also excellent business people, who excelled in business, am I correct? We have some people who know history. There are scholars here. They're telling me yes, I'm correct. Indonesia, the country that has the biggest population of any one country now. I think it still has that lead, doesn't it?
Congregation: Yes, it has.
IWDM: Yes, it has the biggest population for any single Muslim nation, Indonesia. And that's not Arabs, that's Asians. That's another thing they want us to think. That this religion is Arab religion, is Arab prophet, Arab religion. And Arab believes in it and very few others believe in it. The great majority, the Arabs are a small minority in the great population of one billion Muslims. Not only that, they haven't always been, and even now it's questionable, whether they're the leaders in 
Al-Islam or not. Don’t think that the Arab are leaders in Al-Islam. Allah picked the prophet. Look where I came from, I came from African Americans and now I'm blessed to be recognized by you.
You recognized me first. Yes, don't think I'm going to ever forget that. I will never forget that. You recognized me first, but after your recognition in time, now I'm getting recognition from the international world, and they're not paying flattery to me. They're not paying any flattery to me. At first, I thought they were joking, I had to listen twice. This big man with all these degrees, is he serious or is he just trying to be nice to me? Over the years, I've come to believe that they are serious when they tell me that I'm a scholar with them. They're serious, they're very serious. So, I got the recognition after you, now I'm getting the recognition from them.
What did the assistant for the department of education at the Saudi embassy tell you last night? He told you, not only this man, a leader worth following, he's decent, truthful, honest, treats others that way. He said he must be a genuine. I'm just giving you a quick summary what he said. And he said his thoughts are profound, his works are profound, the community is profound. He didn't want to hurt your feelings. He knows the community is not profound.
If the community is profound it’s because of them accepting something that's profound. And we know the thing that is most profound is the Quran itself and the life of our prophet, his teachings. Yes, so, obviously, this has touched my life now and has given me the insight and the ability to also make profound assessments of things. So, they respect my ability to make profound assessments of things. And he said too, he said he knows you all. That's true. I'm one of you. I was raised around you, played with you, grew with you. What time is it? The time is gone. There are so many things I want to say that's very important.
Please let me know when five minutes up. I'm serious. I'm not going to holler at you or put you on a spot or nothing, just let me know what time is it.
Now start the five minutes when I start talking.
Do you think being the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad I haven't been studying what you call "black people"? How can I be the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, especially given the burden, the responsibility for some of these people and not study my people very seriously? Yes, I have. Now, in addition to that, I had become aware of an attempt on the path of the so-called media and the security for the establishment. They have high security and low security. They don't have to have a professional look. Don’t think I'm talking about people with a badge or identification card.
I'm talking about those and I'm talking about those that have nothing. Nobody is in communication with them, but they are self-made, volunteered, security for the establishment. You may wake up and see one in your home.
Now, I ain’t going to go no further than that. Now, I have detected that they are trying to make the world believe and leave it on record that this religion under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and even now attracts mainly sinners, convicts, ex-convicts, low-life people. Quickly let me tell you something, the people that performed the good, supporting family environment. And I'm not speaking for myself only, I'm speaking for several or all of my brothers and sisters from my father and from my mother. They provided for us the family environment. Certainly, my father and mother, my genetic father, my genetic mother, they were our parents, but we were looking to have parents in the following of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
So, the people that provided for us that family environment to support our good life, and carried us on, and let us know they love us and everything, those people, we call them the pioneers. Some of them are not pioneers, some of them are you too now, you're there still coming. Allah is still blessing us with people like that, but the majority of them are the pioneers. Those people, brothers, and sisters, friends, people, those people that I'm talking about now, most of them did not come from low-life. Most of them were moral people.
They were moral people when they heard the message of Al-Islam as it was given from Elijah Muhammad, they were more people then. They just didn't like what had been done to their people by the white world. Is it immoral for them not to like that? And those that join the Honorable Elijah Muhammad who are moral, I say the same thing that the history of Al-Islam says of those who join the prophet. He said the best now were also the best in the Jahiliyya. Ain't that what the prophet said? The best of his followers that were with him then, he said they were the best in Jahiliyya, the best in the days of ignorance, and I say that too.
The pioneers, my people that are with me and support me, and believe me, some of them are a hundred years old and they will try to kill you if they know you want to harm me. If they can get to you, they sure would try and do you some harm. They'll find a way to hurt you, buddy. And they sure ain't going to support you in anything against me if they recognize it. If they recognize it, they won't support you in anything against me.
I say of them the same. They were the best in the days of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad when we really believed in what he was teaching and they are the best now. Peace be unto you, As-salam Alaykum.


