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IWDM Study Library
Work A Necessity for The Soul

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

[music]
Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. As-Salaam Alaikum. Peace be on to you and peace be upon you. Praised be to Allah, we say, "Al-hamdu lillah." Praised be to Allah, the Lord, sustainer, nourisher of the worlds. We witness that he is the One, our Lord Creator, G-d for all of us as we are told in the Quran, they say to the people, meaning the Christians and Jews, say to them, "Our G-d and your G-d are one and the same. Our G-d and your G-d are one and the same."
We witness that that G-d is G-d and there is no other G-d. We witness that Muhammad is the last of the prophets called the Seal of the Prophets, prophesied in Torah and in the Injil of the Bible. We salute him with the traditional salute, upon him be the prayers and the peace and what follows of that traditional salute. We are pleased to be here in Mississippi, here in the towns of Whitman and Meridian and we really appreciated the last evening, the banquette that was given and the speakers who spoke so well last night and so impressive and in my opinion in tune with reality, and the gathering that was large and very beautiful, last night was a wonderful night. We appreciate the imams and the good pioneers of our community who supported attendance last evening and also this attendance here today from around the area in the South, South of the United States. The banquette speakers last night and the imam, Shabazz, Yahya Shabazz, seems to have been in focus support for our business growth. Business growth, or economic, development and in my opinion, they are right on the money. They are not off target at all. They are on target.
We all appreciate too the good support that you obviously have here in the religious community of both Christians and Muslims. The spirit of brotherhood was in the air last evening at the banquette. We felt it. We felt a connection for Christian and Muslim, spirit and values and it was very much appreciated. That's what is needed in the world more than anything else right now, is the need for us to see with the eyes that G-d created for us.
G-d created eyes for us, and he wants us to see what he created us to see. We are not to see the world in a selfish way. We are to see the world with the eyes of an unselfish servant of G-d. Unselfish servant of G-d. We should want for all of G-d's creation, what G-d wants for his creation. G-d created everything and cares about everything. G-d doesn't have any favorite people or any favorite race. G-d doesn't have that. All people are G-d's favorites. All colors are G-d's favorites.
The best of us, according to the teachings of our prophet and the teachings of the scriptures, if we understand the scriptures, the best of us in G-d's presence is the one who's most serious about respecting him, respecting G-d, and pleasing G-d by presenting ourselves in the life form that G-d wants us in. That's what makes you bigger in the eyes of G-d and Muslims are to recognize only that as a basis for any special recognition to somebody.
We recognized them above another because of their higher development and obedience to G-d who created them. But not for their color or their skin or their national origin or anything other than how they measure up in terms of how they are conforming to what G-d wants for them as his servant on this Earth. 
The post civil rights period that we're living in now, the topic that we selected says that the civil rights period is over. That doesn’t means that there might not be concerns for civil rights or a need to address civil rights, but there is no longer the importance of civil rights over another importance that has manifested, and that is human excellence and human relations. Human excellence and human relations and human rights in the international world. Human excellence, human relations, human rights in the international world, not just here.
The attention has shifted from national problems to world problems. From trouble that nations have with their citizens, from trouble that is in all citizens of the world and how the trouble in all citizens of the world affect our life in our respected countries, and this trouble is affecting our lives so much that it has priority now over the trouble that we are experiencing with each other in our respected countries.
I agree with the speakers last night that it's no longer civil rights as the issue before us, it is responsibility in citizens throughout the whole world. And respect for that responsibility that G-d has created everybody to have. G-d created all of us to have a responsibility in our lives. To the degree that we can shoulder that responsibility, or manage that responsibility that G-d created us for, we will have dignity in the world.
We will have protection for our life in the world. But anyone who cares not for that responsibility that G-d created him or her for, they cannot expect to have dignity and protection for their lives in the world anymore. In fact, we haven't had it. It always was something that was not there for the person who doesn't accept responsibility that G-d created us for, created us all for responsibility.
Now, I rather express it this way not civil rights, post-civil rights period, but post-civil rights needs. After the civil rights days, we are left here with needs, we have needs. But these needs are not the same as the needs we had during the civil rights days, they are not the same. There was a need to bring out the evils of racism so that the citizens who were victims and the citizens who were perpetuating it would have an opportunity to be healed, become healthy, become normal as G-d wants us to be as citizens sharing in the blessings of the nation. 
That has happened, and we have to recognize not only the role of the civil rights figures. Really, Dr. Martin Luther King, I don't see him so much as a civil rights leader. I see him as a human leader working to bring healthy human conditions to the souls of all citizens so that there would be better performance by citizens and a better world for citizens to live in, a better human world for citizens to live in. That's why he couldn’t stop at just political issues.
When he died, he took up the business issue, economic issue. He was about to get busy in the business arena, in the business circle, on the business stage. Regretfully, he was assassinated before we could see him in that role. The needs that we’re left with are really more individual or personal responsibility than the responsibility of government, federal or state, personal responsibility. We are left with the need to qualify for the full measure of freedom in America or in the United States.
We need to qualify for freedom. We never think that freedom places demands on us. That freedom also has a price. Nothing is without a price. Nothing is without a price. If we try to give you everything, tell you don't have to move, to lie in the bed, you want to stay in bed forever? We’ll guarantee you that you won't have to get up. We're going to bring you food, everything. We’re going to take care of you like you’re an infant.
When you just make a little noise in your sleep, we’re gone come to see what’s the matter, change your diaper or turn you over or something so you can go back sleeping and be comfortable. Still that existence is not without a price. You’re going to have to breath and the body after a while says I’m tired of you just breathing without you being aware of it, wake up.
We can't keep you asleep, the body is going to wake you up. And you're going to wake up and you're going to be conscious of breathing and you’re going to have concerns. You have to pay a price. Breathing is an effort, it's an unconscious effort so we don't see it as an effort, but breathing is an effort. Doing nothing is an effort, it is. Doing nothing is an effort. That’s why after a while, you’re bored. You’re tired of doing nothing.
Nobody can give you a life without a price, you’re going to have to pay something. And the price gets bigger and bigger the more you accept to do less and less. Yes, the more we accept to do less and less, the price gets bigger and bigger. We are told of a paradise that G-d promises us. And G-d says of that paradise, the soul that enters it will enter among G-d's workers.
He says, "Enter you among my workers, then enter you my paradise. Enter you among my workers then enter you my paradise." So really, the qualification for entering G-d’s paradise, the paradise that He has for us, is that we accept to be among the workers. See it wasn’t Marx, that thought of the value of the dignity and the value and the need to work, to have happiness? It was G-d.
When we see the picture for the creations of Jesus Christ, peace be upon Him, returning after death and he’s seen as a gardener, an agriculturalist working the earth to develop the ground, we see a picture of a worker. So that picture is telling us that’s what got him up to G-d in heaven. He was a worker dedicated to work. [Arabic language]. Enter you among my workers, then enter you my paradise. But we say well, but we don’t have jobs. You don’t have jobs or you don’t want jobs?
I never thought that it was impossible for me to find a job, I never thought that. I don't care how bad employment gets, I never think that I can’t find a job. I believe I can always find a job. I believe I can always make a living. I got that from what I call the thriving, struggling poor who never accept the indignation of being idle, doing nothing, earning nothing, having nothing. Determined because of the respect that they have for themselves.
The picture that they have of themselves drives them to go find some work. I was out of work once my father was a, I don't know whether he was testing me or training me for the future or just simply punishing me. But anyway, he wouldn't give me any help, financial help. I couldn't find a job either, no employment offers, no jobs. I couldn’t find a job. I got me a bucket, rag, newspaper and I went to an area of Chicago that had hotels where rich people live. They’re staying in these nice little hotels, not really big hotels.
I went to this hotel it had about forty something rooms, and I had gone to others they turned me down. I told them your windows need a wash. I said I’d like to give you a price for washing the windows in this hotel. I talked to this manager and he accepted it and I washed the windows in that whole hotel. The hotel was about seven floors high, seven stories high. I have no equipment and I’ve got newspaper.
I learned from other workers that newspaper was good for cleaning windows, but I had the put something in the water, but newspaper is really good for cleaning windows. So you dry it with the newspaper, you dry it off with the newspaper and that's what I'm doing. Three days, I completed the job, I got good money. My three days was equal to a week that I would have gotten from the job that I had before.
I found myself later, same situation. So an idea came to me, cleaning carpets and if they’ll let you clean furniture. I went from door to door asking people if they had any carpets that need cleaning, I'm expert. I say I'll give you a demonstration if you like. I got jobs and I cleaned people rooms. Anybody knows what a janitor’s brush is, you clean up toilets with? It’s a big brush with a big head on it like that round in a big stick. That’s what I cleaned the steps with, the carpet that goes down the steps. I used that to clean the steps, using the suds. It was nothing but the suds cleaning the steps.
Then I was able to make enough money to buy me an upholstery cleaning machine. So then I stopped cleaning with the brush, I was using the brush also another brush on the porch, to clean the porch. I started using my machine. After a while, my wife was not frowning when I came home. I worked myself into that situation. She wasn’t frowning anymore when I came home. She greeted me with a pleasant face when I came home from work.
So don’t say there are no jobs. The human soul needs to be responsible, needs us to be responsible for something. If we don't accept responsibility for the things that G-d has created all of us to be responsible for or those demands on us that G-d has created us all to be able to meet, then we are going to punish our own souls, will deprive us of happiness, will make our life just a hell. You’ll just be depressed and miserable, or tensed, are angry, are desperate, you'll be in hell. That’s hell, that’s a degree of hell on this side when you're like that.
We have freedom now but we have to qualify for it, we are free. Americans were free before, - they were always free, the white Americans, they were free. But do you think some of those whites weren’t suffering? And some of the whites are suffering now, they're suffering. They’re out of jobs, they’re hopeless, they're desperate, they're depressed, they’re on drugs or some other form liquor or something, drugs all drugs. They’re in crime. They’re losing their lives to crime life. They're going insane. They’re in the halfway houses et cetera.
So they are free. You want to be one of them? That's what we should ask ourselves, not if we are free in America. We should look at the others that are free. We should look at all that are free and we should observe those that are free and see what accounts for them living a comfortable life. See what accounts for them being in a situation not to be begging or complaining, and then look at ourselves and see what’s missing in us that’s in them.
We have to qualify for this great margin, our great degree of freedom we have in this United States of America. We have to qualify for it. So that's where we are now in the post-civil rights time or span. We are where we have to really look at ourselves again and understand ourselves in these new circumstances. Understand ourselves in these new circumstances. We're not in a Jim Crow south anymore. We’re in these new circumstances.
So let us understand ourselves, see ourselves and try to understand ourselves, our reality. What's in the way of my life that I want in this new reality and under these new circumstances, and then qualify for the freedom that you have in this society. We say free as a bird, but I see the birds have responsibility. I see the birds knowing that there ain’t no more food that’s going to be around here, snow is coming. And I see the birds getting together as a community and they take off in great numbers flying south.
Free as a bird. I see some old hard knock birds, crows. I see them hanging around after all other birds have left, the area that’s predicted for hard times. They’re gone. But I see these birds, free as a bird you say, free as a bird, I see them going out in the cold weather hunting for food. Coming to my back porch, I drop something on the floor, of course I didn’t know it, seeing him finding it. Free as a bird, he founds it, he needed it. I never saw one nodding on the porch.
[laughter]
Never saw one on the porch with the DTs. They’re not on drugs, they’re on bird dignity. So let us qualify for this freedom that we’re always demanding and talking about. Let us qualify for it. Now, we have had a lot of damage done to our natural spirit that G-d created. We have had a lot of damage done to our ego as human beings created by G-d for excellence, for self-respect, for social acceptance, for dignity et cetera.
This great soul that G-d created, we've had a lot of damage done to its spirit, the spirit for excellence in that soul, the aim in that soul for achievement, fulfillment of life et cetera. A lot of damage has been done to it, by what? Disappointment, raised expectation and then shocking failure and disappointment. America offers all of its citizens a great life. We brag that in America, you can get anything you want.
There’s opportunity for everybody here in America and we quietly accept it deep down in our soul, this promise. Once slavery is behind us, that’s over, and once we’re no longer called black and put down publicly about the government, or by the institutions of the country, okay, so now that’s not in the way anymore. Racism is not in the way anymore. I’m not shut out because of my color anymore. But I don’t have that promise. I still feel hungry. I still feel lacking. I still feel that I'm the subclass, I'm not equal, and America said that we could have everything.
Then our youngsters, they watch television like all of us do, and television may show us some reality for the struggling free citizen, but most of what they show us is artificiality. Artificiality, something that's real for a very few but unreal for the many or us in American. They show us families on television with color TV and all kind of electronic stuff entertaining their lives and here's a black family looking at it, or a member of the black family looking at it, and they expect that they should have that too, "I'm supposed to have that too. I'm supposed to have that TV and we're supposed to have that table they're eating on and that food that's being served and we're supposed to have that car that they walk out the door get into".
America, especially commercial America, commercial media America, it lifts our expectations up too high. It makes everybody think that they're supposed to have what anybody else has. That's the way the commercial world is. It doesn't say, "You can't afford this", it'll show you a $50,000 or $70,000 automobile. It's talking to my son just like it's talking to the son of Rockefeller, it ain't making no distinctions between Rockefeller's son and my son, it's trying to sell all of us on that car. My son sees it and he wants it, "Daddy, I want a Porsche. Daddy, I want a Jaguar".
Now, I'm made uncomfortable. Here I am put on the spot, I've got to explain to this boy that Jaguar is not in my reach, has not been in my reach and I don't think it will ever be in my reach. Now, when I tell him that, he's disappointed. Now I'm no longer his hero. He's out there going to find some other heroes now, "Daddy can't even guarantee me a Jaguar". He goes out and finds him some other heroes who say, "Yeah, man. We can get that Jaguar, man. You sell about a thousand bags in one year, man, you have that Jaguar". He's selling drugs to get his Jaguar because there's a promise that he can get his Jaguar selling drugs.
Heightened expectations. Unreal expectations. This is the nature of this world. How are we going to cope with this? How are we going to beat this? It's so subtle, it's done so subtly, it's disguised, it comes to you and it gets into you before you can see that it's really something you should reject. It's already into you, it's already affecting you. Now, some of you might have a wife that ain't happy because you didn't get her that Jaguar. I know somewhere there's a wife that ain't happy because that brother has got two jobs, he's what they call, he earns a paycheck.
That's where his money comes from, a paycheck, and paycheck means just what it says, paid and check. Paycheck, paid and you're checked. If you don't accept to be checked, you have no more paycheck. Pretty soon you'll have no more paychecks, you must accept pay and accept the check more. Here he is, he got two jobs, he's earning maybe three, earns two or three paychecks, trying to get her that Jaguar. Unreal expectations. That's the big problem with freedom in America. The commercial world makes us have unreal expectations.
We can't accept the world the way that commercial world presents it to us. We have to ourselves see with the light of faith and G-d, see with the understanding of our religion, see upon the principal standing, upon the principals of our religions. See what should be seen as the real world. See the real world as Christians, good Christians following principle, standing upon principle, and good Muslims standing upon principle with the guidance that G-d has given us. Let us ourselves perceive the world for ourselves, not through the eyes of the television or the media or the commercial media or the commercial world. Then we will have a chance.
We have to stop glamorizing and stop giving popularity to the indecent achievers in our society, to the criminal achievers in our society. How is that done? Again, by the media, especially news media. They'll find some criminal, guilty of drug trafficking or something else, and they'll have him on the news, show him on the news, or her on the news, sometimes it's female, show him on the news in his fineries, all dressed up in his fineries, walking as though he is the executive in a bank or big corporation.
Walking along and they ask him a question, the media asks him a question, - "Mr. so-and-so, what do you say about the charges they have against you? What's going to happen to your empire now that you're arrested?" He should be wrapped up in big black [unintelligible 00:37:48] and he should be tied like he's a big sack of potatoes or something so nobody sees his face or anything. They just say, "This is so-and-so-and-so, he's just been arrested for such-and-such", but no, he comes in showing off.
He did want to get on TV, maybe he went into crime just because he knew if stays into crime long enough, he's going to be on prime time television. We give him this kind of respect, we give him this kind of exposure, this kind of glamour, glamorizing a criminal. What is that saying to the boy who's struggling, who's hungry, who can't get the Air Jordans he wants, can't get the jeans he wants? He's walking with patches and holes and suffers but knows that he can go out there and get into crime and be successful. What is that saying to him?
We're doing a lot of things to keep these troubles on us and to keep these troubles multiplying. We can't just change the television, force them to do certain things, they're not going to do them. Because their whole operation is based upon conflict [unintelligible 00:39:12] so what makes money is going to be a determining factor for them too, "Well, we do so much yes but if we go too far with this, we are not going to be in business anymore", they're not going to go out of business.
But we have to inform ourselves. The preachers have to stop just preaching for good spirit, we have to be preaching for good sense in our congregation. For survival sense in our congregation. For consumer sense in our congregation. Most importantly, for sincerity in our congregation. Sincerity. Not a fake artificial congregation. Living for a life of artificiality. A sober, natural, excellent human congregation. That's what we should be working for. Then we'll have a congregation standing up on principle.
We’ll be able to protect themselves against the evils of Satan influenced in the culture of the world, not only America. Next, I want to come to something else. Something that'll give us hope. Let us talk, what I’ve focused on then was a bad picture in the world that's so depressing. The popular culture that's too big as a force for us to deal with unless we have G-d working with us. Yes it is. None of us can survive the influences of Satan or the poisonous world to our soul without G-d's help, none of us.
For now, I want to talk about something else. We're told, now that there is no more or formidable adversary, or foe in the way of democracy as we perceive democracy. America now stands as the leader on the world scene, international scene. America. That's what we being told. It seems the international world has accepted that. There's no more contest between capitalism and communism or the Soviet block and the west. No more contest. That's over.
How quick we forget. How quick we forget. I can look back just a few years back when a time when we actually were carrying on us a of fear that maybe the communist would declare global war and drop atomic bombs on America or send missiles over here and we would be in an atomic war. That was a real threat. How quick we forget. Now the threat is no more. It's gone. We don't fear it anymore. There's not a presence of that fear anymore. It seems as though maybe not capitalism in what that word by itself signals has been victorious. But free enterprise and democracy is victorious over communism.
We accept that. I'm accepting that our country is the leader in the world today. Our country is the leader in the world today. However, too much will be lost if we don't observe also that something else has materialized, the promise of democracy has materialized. The promise of democracy has materialized. The promise of democracy that this is the better way. That this idea is the better way. That this idea is best for the globe, for the international community. It has materialized. Believe me, there are small communities that were yesterday under dictators, they're celebrating now. They're celebrating the day of democracy.
The day of free enterprise. They're getting rich, rich, rich, rich, rich. But the citizens that this idea has not yet reached as it should reach them, who are poor and somewhat isolated, though this is the time for inclusion. They're not celebrating. They're not excited. They're saying, "It hasn't proven anything to me. I don't see anything to shout about, to be happy about." There is the promise to Abraham. Listen carefully please. There is the promise to Abraham made by G-d in the scriptures, of the Muslims and the Christians and Jews. There is the promise to Abraham. It has also materialized. The religious community is not saying there is victory for the people of Abraham.
We're saying there is a victory for the people of capitalism. There is a victory for the people of free enterprise. We're not saying there is a victory for the people of Abraham. There is a victory for the children of Abraham. There is a manifest victory for the children of Abraham. What did G-d promise Abraham? G-d promised Abraham, when this world was under idolatry, when this world was under savages, vandals etc., war mongers, dictators.
G-d said to Abraham, "Your seed shall inherit the land." We call ourselves the children of Abraham. The same as saying the seed of Abraham. We call ourselves the children of Abraham. Jews, Christians and Muslims, we call ourselves the children of Abraham. G-d promised the children of Abraham that his children will become the inheritors of the land. That they will become the people to enjoy the graces of G-d, the bounties of G-d, the great resources that G-d provided when He created this earth and sky etc. They were promised that.
Today, we are the ones having that more than any other people. America's a Christian nation. The Jews are not a people with any small influence and say so in the international world. They are a small people in number, but they have great influence and great say so in the international world. Find me any people other than the children of Abraham with any power and presence on the world stage as promoters, as promoters, as operators. making things happen as visionaries.
Find me any other people than the children of Abraham in that great role, on the world stage, you can't find them. Even the Soviets, that were communists. Now they're going back to religion. Moscow Muslims flourishing now where there used to be the communist bloc. Churches now flourishing where there used to be the communist bloc. China now still holding on to its own special brand or special make of communism. It is also relaxing, its grip on its people and they are beginning to freely practice their religion again. Muslims, Christians and others, Buddhists and others.
The presence and prominence of the children of Abraham is the greatest in the world. The world is mostly in the hands of the children of Abraham. G-d’s promise to the children of Abraham has come true. Shouldn’t that make you believe in G-d if you didn’t? Shouldn’t that revive your faith if your faith has been weakened? That G-d promised something to Abraham long time ago, our second father, after Adam and now it has come true. It has materialized for us, for the children of Abraham in the world. The seat of Abraham, they are supposed to be G-d’s servant for the good of all humanity, and isn’t that what’s happening?
The three great faiths are coming together on the highest level of a leadership and authority and they are discussing how they can contribute to the betterment of this world so that all people benefit. Not just the people of Abrahamic faith, but also Hindus, Buddhists or whoever. They are meeting together to see how they can contribute to the world being better for all human souls, not just for the children of Abraham.
Again, the promise materialized. The promise being answered and fulfilled. In our time, in this generation, this is the best generation in the history of man. I would have loved to have been back there in the time of the early Ummah, the early community of Muslims under Muhammad the great, the prophet, the last of the prophet. Peace be upon him. I would have loved to been back there, to have set with him and listen to him and heard the message from his mouth and responded to the call.
To give my life if I had to in defense of the religion, also just benefit from being in that time. Enjoying the presence of our prophet. I would have loved to been back there, but that was not a time as good as this time. No. The only thing that was better about that time is that those people could be in the presence of the Prophet. Likewise for the time of Jesus Christ, please be upon him, the Christian. The only thing you would have going for you is just being in the presence of Christ Jesus for his living and preaching, but as far as circumstances for our human life, you wouldn’t have been in a better time.
Now is the best time and we must be special in some kind of way. We who have survived and have been born in this time. We must be special in some kind of way for us to be here. G-d wouldn’t have ordain, or willed, that we been here present to see this time and witness this time and prove ourselves in this time if we weren’t special. We are to see the people who pay the great price not only blacks or whites, all of us.
We are to see the people who paid the great, great price for what we have today as opportunity and G-d is rewarding them through us. G-d is rewarding them through us for the great price that our forefathers have paid, our ancestors have paid. You are so blessed by G-d but you don’t know it. You are so favored by G-d and you don’t know it. You have all the proof that G-d is G-d, ever living, ever present and fulfills His promise. You have all the proof of it, but you can’t open your eyes. You don’t know how to look for it so you don’t know it.
But I know it. I'm confident that I can take care of myself as an obedient servant of G-d. I’m not worried about how my family is going to be taking care of, but I know I could take care of myself and I know G-d is going to bless me to take care of my dependence. I know it. Throw me out in the no man’s land where not a thing is growing and if I didn’t throw myself out there, I couldn’t help it, you make those circumstances for me, I’ll be happy.
I know my G-d lives eternally and never was born and never dies, never sleeps, never slumbers, never have any need for anything, never is diminished at all. Is always as He has always been and has the same long reach and the same (unclear) to rescue, that He have always had. Throw me out there. I will be taken cared of.
[applause]
Thank G-d we’re not going to be thrown out there, instead they’re throwing the rabbit into the briar patch.
[laughter]
Right at home, right where he could drive best. We have all the signs that we need to support our faith and encourage us to obey G-d and go forward with our lives. Leading economist, this never has happened before. Leading economists are now saying. One of them that I'm speaking of now his name is C-O-V-E-Y, Covey. This particular economist is the leading economist that serves the White House and the State Department as adviser. He has 40 offices internationally.
Not just in America, they're all over the world. 40. He has retail businesses, the man is very, very successful financially. He advises not only the government and not just federal government, he also advises city and state and other small government, but he also advises big corporation. He gives advice to them. He showed them how to work themselves out of their problems and to make great gains in the future. What is he standing upon? This man.
He says that, "You cannot be successful especially in this times of global revolution." There’s a global revolution that has taken place. A global revolution and the nature of society brought about because of changes in the global economy, and the global economy, the way businesses has to be done now globally. He says that, "No institution can survive anymore unless it is based upon the principle. It cannot be based upon profit or production or anything like that, it must be based upon principle."
He said, “This applies universally.” He said, “No individual can have a future worthwhile anymore in the world if they're not based upon principle.” Now, isn't this religion? Our religion says-- My father was asked, “What is Islam?” He said, “Islam is structured upon five principles. Five essentials, five principles.” Our life is just a life of principle. Faith and principle. Faith, principle, work, charity, giving, sharing. This is our life, this is Muslim life, this is a great life.
He says that any institution or groups of individual who their function in the environment, who sees their function in the environment as the control for them, as a security for them, they won’t be able to survive. You must see your function within yourself. Your function must be within yourself. Then you can survive the changes in the environment. But if your function is environmentally placed or environment placed and not personally centered, or placed in your own self, you won't make it.
Isn’t that what G-d wants for us? Isn't that what G-d asked of us? Allah says in our Holy book. “Oh believers, you are responsible for your own souls." or we can change and say the word soul, mean also self. "Oh believers you are responsible for your own selves." So here I am, told by G-d that I’m responsible for my self. If I'm responsible for my self, I should not then see the security for my self in an institution, government or private, or in the environment. No, the security for my self must be within my self.
So what is the security for myself? My religious principles, my Islamic principles. My Islamic principles represent my security. As long as I conform to the Islamic principles, G-d is one, G-d gave me everything, G-d is obligates me to show my appreciation, and G-d gave us the prophet and G-d gave us the religion of Islam, I’m to use it to benefit from all of this and I'm to show my appreciation to G-d that gave it all to me.
These are principles, these are people living by principles. Don't you know to live by faith is to live by principle? Faith is only to describe the condition, faith only describes the condition of that person. He is a person of faith, that's his condition, that's the description of his soul, that's the description of his mental makeup. He is not living upon his own knowledge or upon his own ability he is living also upon faith.
Which is bigger than his knowledge and bigger than his ability. Faith in G-d. But what does his faith ask of him? A life of principle, a life of principle. I just can't do anything that I feel like doing, I just can't behave any way I want to behave. My life is governed by rules, my life is governed by discipline. Those disciplines and rules are founded upon principle. Yes, we manifest in these. They take root and they grow with our structures because of principles, men of principle.
We have to have our function first here. The function to protect our life, to secure our life. The center for our security, wellbeing. Wellbeing, security and forward movement has to be here first. Here first, in us as our religion or as our idea that governs our life. Then whatever happens out there to disappoint us will not unestablish us, will not take away our establishment. We'll still be established, though we've lost the hope in that thing out there that we had real faith in. It's gone but still we're standing.
If all our faith is in something out there, when that's gone, we collapse. That's what happen with the citizens of America who are not part of the strength and the progress of America. That's what happens to them. The thing without, them to support them, then they got nothing else. They fall down helpless, desperate, frustrated, out of it. I've read the Bible, says "Every tub shall sit on its own bottom." Every tub shall sit on its own bottom. Every man shall have his own vine and fig tree. Ain't that the Bible? Yes, you have a vine and fig tree, but you've got to take care of it to keep it.
If every tub will sit on his own bottom, that mean you won't go and ask somebody else for their tub. That's when the dignity comes, that's when the fulfillment of your self-respect, fulfillment of your dignity, it comes. When you are doing something, you go to bed at night knowing that you did something to keep the lights on, you did something to keep the telephone on, you did something to keep the gas on, you did something to keep the five-day notice from coming, to move out of this apartment, you did something. You rest like a king. Your wife can come to see you sleeping in the morning and kiss you, you're looking so pretty.
But you go to bed knowing that you ain't do nothing to keep those things, you didn't do nothing to provide these things that you enjoying and that you have, dooms day may come at any moment. You sleep ugly and your wife wants to divorce you.
 [laughter]
I gave this talk in private once, this talk about sleep. How to go to bed and rest pretty. What happened? What would she say? "Yes. I had to wake that nigga up he was looking so ugly. I said, 'Wake up, nigga.'"
[laughter]
I say, "Wake up nigga, you're looking ugly."
[laughter]
Now I'm going to close out with this interpretation of what I see as revelation. Not just a prophecy but it's a prophecy and revelation in the Qur’an. We don't claim that-- I don't claim, I'm no prophet so whatever I say, it can be questioned and someone can argue with me. I don't mind that and I accept that. That's what makes the world progress, we should be willing to argue with each other or to differ. Anyway, G-d says-- I want to give you two examples from our scripture.
One example of what I call-- What I think is just revelation not prophecy, is on the bee, the insect, honey bee. G-d says of the honey bee and he reveals to the bee. G-d gave revelation to the bee, to the honey bee. To me, that's revelation not prophecy, just revelation not prophecy. There is a lot to understand in that, a lot that G-d is revealing with that expression that he revealed to the bee, gave revelation to the bee. But when G-d says, "And the earth shall behave one day. The earth shall behave as though her Lord had revealed to her or inspired her." That's prophecy and revelation, prophecy and revelation.
I think this is a time when we see that prophecy fulfilled, this right now is a time when we see that prophecy fulfilled. This is a prophecy for the universalizing of the world. The universe, the world is going to become universalized, if you could understand my expression. The world is going to be universalized. When we live in America under a United States government, and our lives in America are influenced and shaped and determined locally by influences and experiences and happenings and whatever, opportunity locally in our nation, and that's happening in other countries, the world is not universalized, the world is nationalized.
The world is a world of nations, and the life is the lives of the citizens of the world. Their lives are nationalized, nationalized. When the importance of the character and the nature and the influence of our nations are not bearing on us, our life and how we live and how we see the future, but it is a global community into national community and its dynamics, and its dynamism, and its realities and its nature that's bearing on us, the world then is universalized.
The citizens are universalized. We become citizens in the universe of this earth, or citizen in the universality of the global community rather than citizens in our separate nations only. Our character even as citizens of our nation is being shaped now over again by the global realities, by the global international reality. We’re living in the time of the unity of the human family, the unity of the human family.
The oneness of the global community. G-d says, "Man was once one community." Meaning that you were going to become again as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end, and you going to become again in time, one community. Isn't that what they are saying? One world order, one world order. These predictions in the scripture have come true. They materialized and man can no longer be addressed now in his separate departments, in his nationalistic nature and needs.
He must be addressed in his human nature and his universal needs. His universal needs, his global community needs. The Qur'an prepared us for that G-d revealed and addressed this time that we are living in now. The earth shall behave as though the Lord had revealed to her or had inspired her. The earth, what is the earth? Al-ard, al-ard is the ground. The ground, the material ground that we walk on. That’s al-ard. - the earth.
Now we know that we began in history of man’s industrial life. We started as agriculturalists, farmers, agriculturists. That was the first character of the economy, agricultural economy. We moved from there to an industry and to an industrial economy. From an industrial economy, the economists are telling us now we are moving into a service economy. The time of information, information sharing and selling and dispensing. This is the economy but it is the economy. Isn't it?
You know we don't want to lose our faith, we don't want to weaken or taint or make our faith defective. I don't find that threatening to my faith, I find these revelations strengthening to my faith. It makes me all the much more convinced as a servant of G-d to stand in the posture and in the nature that G-d wants me in and act as G-d wants me to act. I'm all the much more convinced. We know everything G-d says in Revelation has two applications.
They apply to one reality and to another reality-- to two realities, everything. Maybe I'm not satisfying you if I'm not addressing the other reality, but we're living in the time of the material reality. Materialism would be a mystery, would be a puzzlement, material reality would be a burden, material reality would be a foreign enemy of man spirituality until the time when man is enlightened enough and illuminated enough, is understanding enough and knowing enough to see G-d's will and purpose in the material realm.
His will and purpose is in the material realm just like it is in the spiritual realm. That's why we're told that G-d see us coming together, all heavens and earth, willingly or unwilling. This is the will of G-d that these worlds must come back into one unit as G-d made them in the beginning, and our material life must be reconciled with our spiritual life. Our spiritual life must be reconciled with our material life so that we carry them both with equal respect into the great road of progress that G-d has made possible for it.
This is the salvation, this is the freedom, this is the liberation. This is the resurrection while we live in this life. It's not that we won't have the resurrection after the conclusion of the world. Yes, that's the great resurrection but G-d resurrects us while we live in this life on this earth. He also resurrects it. G-d says, "Look at a town neglected, its roofs falling in." The restoration of that town is as a Resurrection. That's what G-d says in our holy book, the Qur'an.
G-d wants us to look at a town neglected, its roofs collapsing. Life is not seen there anymore the activity has gone. How someone comes in there, a developer comes in there looks at that town, says, "This town can have life again." and brings life, - for G-d says, "Likewise is the resurrection." Now that's not to take anything from the great resurrection that we expect but I'm sure G-d wouldn't have given us that picture if G-d didn't want us to be resurrectors of our towns.
G-d wants us to resurrect towns that have died, like Gary, Indiana and a few others. G-d wants us to resurrect these towns. G-d has given us the faith, the guidance, the light and the hope to resurrect our spiritual life. G-d wants us to become resurrectors of the life in the environment. Isn't that wonderful? I find this so wonderful, so liberating. Boy, if I was a sanctified, I'd be shouting on the wind. You wouldn't see my feet on the ground, -- I'd be up there in the air shouting.
This is the time for us to accept full responsibility for our life in community, - life in community. Islam does not show us just Muslim life, it shows us Muslim life in community. It wanrs our Muslim life in our Muslim community to be a model, inspiring and inviting people who haven't achieved what we have achieved. To have hope in our model, that they can have a model like that, too. That we are a witness for all mankind.
G-d has made us Muslims, a community raised up for the good of all people and as a witness for all mankind. This is the great hope, this is the great vision. We can't just live for another leather jacket or new pair of sneakers or another fancy looking automobile. The many can't carry this vision and work for this for great dream but we have to have some leaders representing the many doing this. So no small number of us, if we are together in a church or mosque or whatever, or in an organization or whatever, no small number of us should be happy without a leader who is a visionary.
We need visionaries. We need people who can see the mighty plan and the mighty destinies, the great destiny. We need people like that. If you don't have them in your small group, your leader is deficient, let him plug into the energy of a bigger leader outside, and let him bring that energy and light his bulb in his small room so that all of us will have the light in the life that G-d wants for us. We have to work on this and we are doing it.
As a leader, I promise those who are with me if they continue to support me before I die, if G-d blessed me to have the years I think I'm going to have ahead of me, we're going to resurrect towns like Gary. Yes, African American town. We're going to resurrect towns like-- Harrisburg is one but we've got a little town in Chicago, Robins. Robins, Illinois. We're going to resurrect little towns like Robins Illinois, like Harvey, Illinois.
We're going to resurrect these little towns. You've got them around you too you know.  I don’t know your towns. We're going to resurrect Tuskegee  Alabama.
[laughter]
Yes, we're going to resurrect these towns. I see right in my eyes, I see it so close that I could touch it. I see new Timbuktu, modern style, 21st century Timbuktu, I see new Africa. They got New Jersey, they had York town and England, they came and established New York. Well, I don't know whether I was taken from Sudan or Nigeria or Ghana, I don't know where I was taken. All I know is I came from Africa. I don't want New Ghana, I want New Africa. So when it comes to our ethnic neighborhood, they're going to see up there, "You're entering New Africa. Reduce your speed."
[laughter]
[applause]
Welcome to our futuristic shops and conveniences of this town. The law will be executed-
[laughter]
-for your protection. Rest in peace.
[laughter]
G-d put us here not to accept a sissy’s responsibility, and this has nothing to do with homosexuality. G-d has not sent us here for sissy’s responsibilities in to this world, He has sent us here for the full responsibility that he places upon grown-up people. We want no less than what G-d has offered us. We won’t be respecting ourselves or our G-d. Last night, one of the speakers, a Christian speaker, he said-- it was the radio announcer, he said on his radio show, talk show-- I'm closing. I've reached the last note, I've completed the last note I have here.
He said on his talk show that he-- He was answering a person who was asking him, seem like it was a Christine zealot or something, a little bit over-- You could be so high on the spirit, it affects you like being high on other spirits. You get tipsy and drunk and move out of your head. So I imagine that might have been one of those that called in and asked him, "Do you believe in G-d?" He said, "Yes." and the person jump right in with more words.
He says, "Wait, just wait. I haven't finished." That happened three times before he got a chance to finish. He says, "And G-d believes in me." That was our speaker last night, one of our speakers last night at the banker, the radio night. Dr. Schuller, that's one of his punch lines, "Believe in the G-d who believes in you." One of the attribute names of our G-d is "The Believer." Al-Mumin, that's the name of G-d-- Allah, one of the names of G-d. Al-Mumin, The Believer. What does it mean when G-d says he is a believer? G-d says to us He is The Believer.
So what does it means when G-d says He is a Believer? G-d means that he has faith in his creation, that he trust his creation. He has faith in his creation, he trusts of it. When we say we believe in G-d, that's what we're saying, we trust in G-d. Right? That's what we're saying. We say it on the money, "In G-d we trust." and then act otherwise.
[laughter]
I'm just joking. So G-d is the Believer. What's the difference between G-d for G-d as a believer and for us as a believer? We believe with limited knowledge, G-d trusts with unlimited knowledge, that's the difference. Wouldn't it be wonderful to think of G-d and know your G-d as one that believes in you? If G-d didn't believe in every human being, he wouldn't let every human being come here with a will to walk away from G-d.
You have freedom of will to walk away from G-d if you want to. How many parents raise their children and preserve in them an understanding that they have a choice? That they don't always have to please their parent? You may choose a life or a career that I won't approve of, but if that has to happen, I'm still your father, I'm still your mother, I still love you. You have that freedom, you have that right.
How many parents are like that? Some but not all. But here is a G-d that created us, He could have created us just like He created stone. It's there and it doesn’t move. Does nothing on its own. [laughs] Or He could have created us like He create the birds. Their life is decided before, - they're not going to do any more than that. They are not going to get involved in the life of ants. We get involved in the life of another specie and we start thinking how we can manipulate our genetic computer to maybe make our self a mixture of human beings and baboons.
[laughter]
We have this kind of freedom to imagine to work on things like that. [laughs] What it appears now is genetic manipulation. That is what it appears, genetic manipulation. That these scientist may come up with something that may alter the way we are species wise, change our species. Alter, affect or improve our species. The deforming of our species, the form that we are in as a specie. So let us know G-d, and if we know G-d, we will certainly appreciate G-d, and we’ll certainly try to walk the way G-d wants us to walk in this world and be what G-d wants us to be in this world.
If we will ascribe to please G-d in the light of what G-d has revealed for us, there is no-- I guarantee you success, I put myself on the spot. I guarantee you success. Anyone who finds what I've told you failing you, come to me, I'll pay a price for you failing. If you acted upon what I told you, you will not fail. Thank you very much. G-d be with us always, forgive us our shortcomings, our ignorance and our sins, grant us forgiveness and mercy, oh G-d, and protect us with your guidance for without your guidance, we have no guidance. Amen. Peace be on you. As-salamu alaykum.
[01:28:38] [END OF AUDIO]

