1980-June-13

Bilalian News

Man’s Proper Role: Part 6

Imam Warith Deen Muhammad


Faith is a belief in something before knowledge has been completed. But the faith is there, the faith holds me. Doesn't the faith also constitute some knowledge? Because if I didn't have any knowledge at all, the faith wouldn't be there.

"Have you seen Allah, Brother? You say you worship Allah. Can you show Him to me?'
Say, "No I can't show him to you, Brother."
"You tell me, you've never seen Allah? Did Allah ever speak to you? They say He spoke to the prophet; has He spoken to you, Brother?"
"No! He never spoke to me."
"He never spoke to you - you never saw him? You just believe in what the Quran says, then?"
"Yes!
"Why? Why do you believe that?'

Sometimes a Believer can't explain himself. But actually there is some knowledge. His heart knows something that his mind can't speak very clearly.

Once the knowledge becomes complete, we don't say "I believe that” anymore. We say, "I know that." Say, "Well, I know one thing. Brother Islam is right. We can argue about God all night long, but I know one thing, Brother - Islam is right." There are some aspects of the faith for which we still, don't have complete knowledge. We don't boast that we can tell you everything; we tell you this religion is right.

Knowledge is what we want for dignity. As our knowledge increases, that dignity grows bigger and bigger. Finally it gets so big that the person is not even conscious of his own dignity the person is conscious of his own responsibilities. We are conscious of trying to do what Allah wants us to do in this life. 'That's what drives a Believer.

This religion is the religion of humanity. It's the religion of every person born or who ever was born. Allah says in the Quran, chapter 30 — the pattern on which He has created humanity — this is not a religion for us as Bilalians, as blacks, or as North American Muslims, this is a religion for us as people in the image of all people. That's right, that's what we have to understand clearly! That our religion says God has not given us something that our nature doesn't require.

God has not given us something that he thought to give us after He created us. He gave us something that our nature requires. Human nature is in everybody. The same thing that my nature requires here in America is required of the Pigmy in Africa, of the Watusi in Africa, of the man in the cold zones of the North, of the American Indian, of the white man in Russia - everybody has the same nature.

This religion of ours says that it is a prescription answering what is written in the nature. How can we think just locally? How can we think black? How can we think America? We have to think universal as well. Al-Islam didn't come to make us some North American holy-rollers. This religion came to unite us with all people, to dignify the man all over the Earth, to unite man all over the Earth.

You don't have a black mission, no Chicago mission — you’ve got a universal mission. Now isn’t that dignity? Doesn’t that shine more light on our dignity?

—END—
