10/27/2001
IWDM Study Library
Imams Meeting 
Shreveport Louisiana

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Imam WD: As-Salaam Alaikum. [Arabic language] Its good always to meet Imams and visit Imams, that's always special, and a spiritual blessing and comfort to be with you all. I didn't have anything in particular to say to you all.
[laughter]
If any of you, Imam Faheem, if he would like to ask me or comment or something of particular concern whether positive or negative [laughs] I'm open to that. I'll just have a few words to say then I'd rather just open to questions or comments from you. Yes. The most important thing for me in the view is that you know what we're doing, what I'm doing. When I say we, I mean my office, myself and my office.
What we're doing at my office; what we're doing in the way of dawah, what we're doing to support and contribute to the progress of the community, the national community, and religion and also in business. Or I should say in dawah and in business, because business is a part of religion for us. Our obligation is to develop the material environment, an obligation on Muslims and it was on Adam according to the Bible and the Quran.
G-d created a man and charged the man with responsibility to dress the garden. The garden in Islam is the whole environment, the total environment. The first garden is the garden within our own souls; our personality, of character, et cetera. The garden [Arabic language] is expanse [Arabic language] is different from [Arabic language], they sound the same but they're not. [Arabic language] that's earth, the last one is earth. It's expand or its expanse. It's earth. The skies and the earth.
We may say, "How are we going to develop the skies?" It didn't say develop there. It says that garden is something to be cultivated. Garden is also something that you get benefits from. You plant, you reap. You plant, you harvest. But a garden also gives you beauty. Sometime the area is already naturally beautiful, you don't have to do that, G-d made it beautiful.
The skies, the whole skies, has been used as a field that soothes the soul when we look at it and we contemplate the wonders of G-d, we reflect on the wonders of G-d's creation, the wonders of G-d, and the wonders of His creation. The astronomers studied the sky and they got benefit from those studies that enabled them to do better on earth. They were able to make the compass and use the stars to guide them on seas and oceans. And, other benefits too they got from the skies.
Allah says that He gives you what you need from both the sky and the earth. So, can see now clearly that the skies and the earth are given to us for us to plow it with the plow of our intelligence, the plow of our brain, our intelligence. If we plow it, we will get results, especially if we give it something as we plow it. As we plow it, we give thought to it, you study it, dwell on it. As the Honorable. Elijah Mohamed said, "Brothers, turn it over and over in your mind.
[laughter]
That's what the farmer does; he turns that land over and over. [laughs] Just turn it over and over in your mind. It's like in the field of study that's the universe to G-d. Muhammad came after Jesus Christ, peace be upon both of them. Jesus Christ was last seen by his disciples as a garden. Muhammad the prophet came behind him to tell us about the garden and to make us understand better what that garden is. The garden is the natural world that G-d created for man's intelligence, for human beings to study and to get benefits from the study to make his community life on earth better. 
If we can just accept what Allah revealed to Muhammad regarding the purpose of man's life, we would be prosperous if we love it. And I don't see how any person that's not dead or lazy to the core cannot love it. In the beginning of man's existence, man was in the skies. We imagine man to have been in the skies according to scriptures. Because G-d said- He told the angels, "I'm about to create a man," a mortal human being, a Khalifa. He told them that. When they disagreed, it caused differences in the order presided over by G-d; in the order of the angels presided over by Iblis a, Jinn. He said, "Get you down from here" so they must have been up there, into the earth.
Get you down from here into the earth where you will find your livelihood; everything you need. He has made the earth to give you all of your needs. All of your needs. It's in Quran. Said, "Get down from here where you will find your livelihood, where you'll be gathered, where you'll live and die and be resurrected again, be raised up again from the death. Now we know from the teachings of Muhammad the prophet, peace be upon him, this has two focuses and he said for everything that G-d has revealed there is an expressed meaning and an alluded to meaning, implied, alluded to meaning.
He said it was the same for what he taught too. Muhammad the prophet said exactly the same thing for what taught. What he gave us has an expressed meaning and an alluded to meaning or an implied meaning. Implied, you can directly get it, you can't quickly get it unless you have already gotten it or been taught it. That's what it means, you don't quickly grasp it. You see the surface, you see the plain message.
There's another one. For every ayyat, there is two. The obvious meaning from the study of scripture when He said get down from here, it was that they were in paradise, they were in a perfect place where there was no problem. It was tranquil, it was peaceful, all of that. No problem had entered it yet until Iblis disagreed or disapproved of G-d making man independent of Iblis.
Until that point everything was under the Iblis, angels even, the order of the angels were under him. Okay, so that's the obvious meaning. That everything was perfect. G-d would speak of creating man in a world and a system that was all perfect. When He shared or exposed His plan to the angels and Iblis trouble started.
[laughter]
When He disclosed His plan for man to the angels and Iblis, then trouble started. He said, "Get you down from here." We know the obvious meaning; the obvious meaning is that G-d created man without trouble. He created human beings perfect, without trouble. It's our consciousness in the world, when we become conscious of the world, trouble starts. The creation itself is free of any trouble.
G-d has made us so that you can't even remember any pain, you can come through all kind of pain in child birth. The mother and you and the baby suffer all kinds of pain. When you come, you don't remember anything, you don't remember any pain, nothing. No inclination to disobey Mama, you don't come out striking her, you come out looking for her affection and accepting her affection.
Loving her, at least trusting her, depending on her, and needing her to comfort you; you male and female, that's how we're born. We're born without a problem, like heaven; like a heavenly child, an angel from heaven and brought into the world. Consciousness comes on, and trouble starts.
[laughter]
I'm still talking about the first meaning. The second meaning is that the order of men in scripture, in religion, was like an order of angels. They didn't believe they should use that human brain, they didn't believe they should use that human intelligence. That they accept revelation, but don't let your rational mind come into it. Don't use your rational mind and accept revelation, let G-d speak, you don't let your thinking or your mind come into it.
What G-d revealed, write it down, give it to others. They don't question, they don't let their mind come into it. That's it. That's the order of the angels. And obviously Iblis too was in the role of an angel. He was leading them and obviously, though he was not created to be angel, he was in the order of an angels, and in the role of an angel and performing as an angel until G-d made a problem for him. He could not accept that a mortal who would use his mind [laughs] would be over him, or would be independent of him. That upset the order. What I'm saying is that other application is that there was an ancient order of religious thinkers who were like that, and they were the most powerful and most informed of all the orders on this earth.
There were primitive religions, or man thought-up religions, but those who got by interpretation, guidance, were over them and much higher than them in the order. But their order was not for this earth, their order was for heaven, up in the sky, up there. Their religion was for up there, not down here. G-d said, "I'm going to make a man since you all are not doing what I want to have done with my creation, I'm going to make a man. Now, you will face something and I'm going to make a man.
[laughter]
He didn't see like the Bible. The Bible says in the Bible, G-d is given to have said to the angels, "Let us make man." Allah says, "I am going to make a man." He didn't ask them anything. I'm going to make a man to your disapproval. If you study history, you will find that those who tried to conform perfectly to what they thought was the will of G-d, rejected their human side and they sought to develop their spiritual side until it became divine; divine, not human. Divine, angelic, et cetera. This is history. 
The Quran is not addressing something that didn't happen. Its just addressing something of man's life that is reality for man's life. It's not talking about something spooky, this is not spooky and guess work. Islam, revelation, even the Bible, no spooky guess work. [laughs] As one physics teacher we had in the University of Islam said, he was so excited about this science, the whole science of the nature of Islam.
He loved that the Islam, under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was making the real world, the material world that he-- he was the professor of physics, in part. So, before he would start his class out, he was our high school teacher, before he would start his class out  and he wasnt teaching Islam, he was teaching physics -, but he would start out with this is his sentence. Before we even read it out, he would say, "Islam is no vain imagination of superstition, Islam is a reality," and then he would start teaching. [laughter]
Brother Louis was his name. And the Honorable Elijah Muhammad converted him in prison. [laughs] The Honorable Elijah Muhammad would talk to you according to where your mind was. And that's an intelligent person. An intelligent person will address you where your mind is. If you're a medical doctor-- If you want to bring a medical doctor to Islam, then don't forget that Islam is all about health too. The religion Islam wants us healthy and scientific minded. At least to have some among us, scientists, and caring about healing people and making people well, et cetera. You come to that person that way, and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad knew that. If you were religious, if you were churchy people, he knew how to come to you. That was his groove. If you were churchy, that was his groove.
[laughter]
He would really work on you then. [laughs] If you were a businessman, he'd talk business to you. He would say, "Our savior promises us plenty of money."
[laughter]
You know, friendship in all walks of life. You would affect the person where they are, in their own mind. So, the creation of man in the Quran makes the creation of human intelligence more important than anything else. He said to the angels, I'm making a Khalifa in the earth. He said, "Tell me your names" to the angels. The angels said, "We have no knowledge except what you've given us." They didn't know their names. To Adam, He said, "Tell them their names." That showed us what G-d is. He didn't say, "How do you feel when I give you this beautiful picture of my creation?" He didn't say, "How you feel? Do you feel like you want to shout?" G-d didn't talk to them that way. G-d was addressing their human intelligence, their brains. "What do you know? The man I'm going to create, he'll know more than you. He's going to even know your name, you don't even know your own name."
[laughter]
That's the creation of a scientific thinker isnt it? Yes. Because angels are not something that you can perceive directly. You can't perceive them directly. You need to work the brain to try to see an angel. [laughs] You may never see the angel with your eyes. And you wont, because the angel is pure light. An angel is pure light. Pure light means transparent. Not fire. [laughs] Muhammad says (peace be upon him), "G-d did not create or make something better than the human brain." No, he meant better in his service, and that's what we look at. Service. What can you offer as service? Can you serve mankind? Can you serve this community of people on earth? What do you have to offer as service? We know the human brain is what we owe for most of the things that have advanced society. We know G-d is behind it certainly, but the human being brain-- You look all around you, you see the products of the human brain. The structure, the building, the lights, the coloring, the decoration, the floor, everything, the coffin, this light, the electric system, you're looking at the products of the human brain. And that's the cultivation of the garden. The angels won't change anything. Wed still be grazing the earth like sheep if the angels were still in charge.
[laughter]
Wouldnt even buy bread, just grass; eating grass. So, this is very important. Whether this is meant to be for Christianity it shouldn't be an issue with us. But it is important for us to know that this is the reality for us as Muslims. Reality is that religion is all about man being a servant of G-d in his own environment. He is to serve G-d by working in his own environment to bring out of that environment what G-d put in it for man in society, for man in community life, for man in society. He put all these things into his creation for us to use our brain, discover them, and utilize them for the comfort and betterment of human community life. It happened in Muhammad's time, great cultivation. The Adhan says. "Come to prayer. Come to success." But as many of you know who're sitting here today in Shreveport at this beautiful Masjid facility, many of you know that come to success is Falah, and Falah is cultivation of the earth. It aint success. Not by direct translation or literal translation, it's not success. But by reasoning, it's success because if you cultivate the earth, you're going to have success. At least success as a farmer, a gardener. Hayya alal Falah, Falah is not success; its cultivation. Falah is cultivation. As the common man you go to any Arabic- speaking country and go out in the field and say, "[Arabic language]". [Arabic language] is from the same word. Where is the cultivator? They'll try to find him for you. [laughs] Just like we have the expression peasants who work the land, poor people, they got it in Arabic; fellaheen. Fellaheen are those people who just work on farm like peasants. Fellaheen. The Arab, he knows Arabic, but he can't get any knowledge from his Adhan. "Here is a Negro, African-American black man
[laughter]
turned on to plow the universe with his mind by his father, Elijah Muhammad. He hears his Adhan and gets more out of it than he can and he speaks Arabic.
[laughter]
Probably because his mind has been trained to think in a certain way. He can hear that Adhan over and over again and he aint gone get nothing because his Adhan is for up there. My Adhan is for up there and down here too.
[laughter]
Come alive. Hayya means come alive. The Arabic have, again, in their common language, they have [Arabic word] means living. Anything living is [Arabic word]. It is [Arabic word] the same way. [Arabic word] is the-- The [Arabic word] at the end of it is grammatical. It's affected by the rules of grammar. [Arabic word] the same word. The [Arabic word] at the end of, it indicates the grammar. That's what it indicates, the grammar. It's the same word. In the Bible, they have proverbs, they have what they call-- I read it in the Bible, it's called an Arab proverb. It is a proverb, but the Bible says Arab proverb. Yes. A living dog is better than a dead lion.
[laughter] 
[Arabic language]. So [Arabic word] means living. The expression [Arabic word] it's an imperative, it's a command, that you live. G-d is saying, "Be alive." Live. Isn't that what the prophet told the widows son? Live. Live. Be alive. Come alive. He was dead, but He had the power to tell him to come alive. He came alive. Was that the widows son? No. no; it was Lazareth; he was the one that was dead. And the widow's son was--
Participant: [unintelligible 00:31:38] --
Imam WD: Yes, that's right. He told him to live. We were told that our Savior came to give life to the mentally dead. The mentally dead, not the spiritually dead. I don't think there was a black man on this planet earth, spiritually dead. Even if he was drunk.
[laughter]
Back there in the thirties if somebody started playing some church music he would be trying to straighten up.
[laughter]
Hed say, Thank you Lord! Thank you, Lord! It was in all of us. Even if you didn't go to church it was in you to respect G-d. Yes. Reading those too, we said we get two meanings. Come alive, yes. Hayya, come alive. Come alive spiritually, yes, but the more important in Islam is that you come alive mentally. The brain is what will bring progress for you in your life and community, and for you in the world and yourself too. Even for your spirituality, you need your brain working to develop your spirituality better. Some people say the heart-- Yes, the heart is a conditioner. The heart conditions the brain. If the heart is a bad heart, it will condition the brain to follow the way of destruction.
A good heart will condition the brain to follow the way of health and production and creativity et cetera. A good heart will do that. Yes, the heart is important as the soil for the brain, the first soil for the brain. The brain should first get its roots in the human heart. Yes. The brain should get its roots in the human heart. Know what the human heart wants, the good human heart. Will a farmer put his good seed in bad ground? No, so the human heart shouldn't get its roots in bad ground. I mean, human brain should not get its roots in bad ground, it should get its roots in the good ground, the human brain. The human brain should get its start in the human heart. Said, He revealed it upon his heart. If He had to reveal good upon a mountain, not together, these are separate; these are two separate texts in the Quran.
One text, important is the first one, is that, "He would have revealed it upon his heart", meaning upon Muhammad's heart. He revealed the Quran upon Muhammad's heart. But in another text of Quran, Allah says, "Had it been revealed upon a mountain, the mountain would have crumbled into dust." The mountain couldn't take it, it was too heavy, but the human heart could. What was the mountain? The intelligence. The mountain represents human intelligence. If He had revealed upon man's intelligence, man's intelligence would have been destroyed by it. But He revealed it upon his heart. An innocent little heart, aint gonna question G-d, what G-d says, but a brain will. [laughs] And Muhammad was prepared not to question it because he had not been taught before. He was ignorant of the scripture. He didn't know anything about them. His brain couldn't come in and say, "Well, this isn't what I was taught." He wasn't taught anything.
[laughter]
"This isn't how I was taught to see it." He couldn't say that. He had never been taught scripture or anything like that. [laughs] But then G-d said, "And we shall teach you so that you will understand, or know. So that you will not forget. We shall teach you so that you will not forget." Here G-d was revealing to Muhammad and at the same time teaching Muhammad. Revealing to him and teaching him. So, the man that had no knowledge was given knowledge directly from G-d. After the Revelation came, then you couldn't say he had nothing but a heart. He didn't have any intelligence or a brain or he didn't know. G-d had given him plenty intelligence, plenty brain. When He turned his brain on, onto scripture. He was already turned on to money, He was working in business for his money. May G-d be pleased with her, Lady Khadijah, his first wife.
He was turned on to business, to the world; but He wasn't turned on to scripture. Unlearned, unlettered in the scripture. G-d says, "We shall teach you, and you shall not forget." [Arabic language] then you will not forget. [Arabic language] means we will teach you and then you will not forget. You'll remember because the way you want to be taught is going to make it easy for you to remember, and you will not forget. They were made so that they're easy to learn, easy to recite. To commit to memory He made it rhythmic, rhyming, et cetera. We shall teach you so that you will not forget, then you will not forget. [Arabic language] Then you will not forget.
All of this was said to you this afternoon, this evening, to say one thing, in Islam we are to understand that this religion came to benefit man and society. When we say man, we mean male and female, came to benefit man and society. Why is man so important? Why you say man and not woman? Because G-d created man and woman differently. He created man to cultivate the field, and bring in what he finds in the field so that he can make his home life better. But He created the woman to develop the home life where she will be tied up for most of her young life, bearing children and be responsible for rearing them, to send them out when they're old enough, strong enough, big enough, mature enough into the field with her husband, especially the boys, the men, the males. This is the natural way of life. This is life. Life has done that. You can't blame man for that. Life did that to the man and the woman. I don't think no man said in the beginning of life, "Okay, you stay in the house, Im going out." He said, G-d damn it, I have got to go out.
[laughter]
It is cold as hell out here; it's some wild things out there; I may not come back, baby. Pray for me, pray for me, please. He didn't choose that. Nature put that on him. And now the women gone blame us for keeping her at the house. Who we gone blame for sending us out into the fields? Her! [laughter]. You greedy thing you. You couldnt get enough; you never get enough. Hell, I planted a garden right by the house. You had to send me way out here to get you something special. [humorously]. You learned that there was something else out there 500 miles away, and I'd be away from home for five months just to bring you that chinchilla coat or whatever it was you wanted. 
[laughter]
Yeah, the woman sends the man out. Thats why in the symbol for male sex and female sex, it has the circle firing the arrow out.
[laughter]
And believe me thats just whats done happened to us brother; that circle done fired us out.
[laughter]
We have to recognize these natural distinctions from males and females. And Allah says the male is not like the female. Its in the Quran. The male is not like the female. So, where we have to know the commonality, and that's the spirituality, that's the human intelligence, et cetera. When it comes to the role in society, there comes the difference. The role in society is different. Historically different, naturally different, historically different; the roles in society. Now modern world is trying to make them the same, right? It's trying to make their roles in society the same. Women does the same thing than men, whatever she wants to do. Ignore nature; dont want any children. That's the jinn order again, taking over the world. I didnt say devil. Thats the jinn order again. Taking over the world. It ain't going to work this way. The jinn told Solomon, You want Shebas throne? I can get it to you while you blink your eye. In the blink of an eye. Now thats awful quick. But Solomon turned him down. Solomon, the prophet (peace be upon him) Sulaimon, was a righteous man. He didn't accept the jinn. They go out and get that quick overnight success; fly by night success or whatever they call it. Theres a sister back there. Sister, we just got through talking about you all.
[laughter]
Good things. Good things; all good things. Keep that food cooking back there. Got to keep them happy when they got their hand in that food. 
[laughter]
In Islam we have to understand that the most important thing for men is that he's created to be the servant of G-d. And he is to serve Him in community life. You can't walk away from community life and be a servant to G-d. You got to serve G-d through community life. Thats where you serve Him. Because actually He says, "I need not for you to feed me. Ancient men, they were ignorant of science and all of the universe, so they knew something was responsible for making the earth productive, giving the rains, bring out the life and everything and the warm weathers to bring the production from fertile land, et cetera. So, they made everything a G-d, rain G-d, Sun G-d; everything they couldn't understand, a G-d. So, when they got a nice crop theyd say, "Oh, we have to give the G-d some of it or He will be angry with us." So, theyd take some of his crop and burn it and smoke goes up and that was given to G-d." They sent it up to G-d; an animal or whatever. They thought the river was a G-d so theyd throw something in there to it. [unintelligible 00:46:23].
[laughter]
Theyd throw a cow in there, a sheep or something. I dont know if they would throw that in there. Theyd probably throw a rabbit or something. Unless he had too many; he might throw an old cow in there. Yes, theyd sacrifice something to the G-ds. So, Islam came to get you rid of all that superstition too. G-d said, "I don't need that you feed me." He doesn't need anything of His creation, so how are we going to give Him something? Our Taqwa, our obedience, our clean, decent healthy conscious obedience; our Taqwa.
He said they used to give a blood offering. He said, "The blood doesn't reach me, only your Taqwa." Then they stopped the blood offering. And actually, we are not doing a blood offering, but we do slaughter and we know the blood is to be drained from the animal as best we can so we can halal; and then we eat the animals. But the blood is not for G-d. He said, "The blood doesn't reach me, only your Taqwa." Your righteous obedience to Him reaches Him. Muhammad the Prophet is a teacher and he taught us that whatever you do that is good, that the service is good, is worship, is an act of worship, whatever you do.
That is good, the results are good, goes for a good purpose, a good cause, benefits, its benefit is good, then that is an act of worship. We worship G-d as the Bible said, "Worship G-d with your whole body, mind and soul." Doesn't it say that? This is how Muhammad came and taught. Muhammad taught the Bible. But he taught the meanings of the Bible, you see. Not the Bible literally, but the meanings of the Bible. He told them that everything you do should be an act of worship. He's saying the same thing to them that the Bible is saying; worship G-d with your whole life; your body, mind, and soul. Doesnt it say that? Not just with your spirit, but with spirit, mind and soul, everything. If you worship G-d with your mind, then it means when you are using your mind as a farmer or as a blacksmith or as a doctor or whatever, let your mind respect G-d. Don't do what you know would be not accepted by G-d. If you do that with Taqwa, guiding what you do with your mind as a doctor, a blacksmith or whatever, your profession is service to G-d. And, according to Muhammad, it might have more value than prayer, if youre just doing prayer and not now. Again, I'll mention this. Two or three men, Muslim men, were so impressed with the ritualistic devotions of a certain believer who fasts when it's time to fast, he fasts, prayer time he prays, et cetera, that they brought him to Muhammad the prophet. They said, "This man, we want you to meet him. We want to just present him to you because he fasts when it's fast time, he prays when it's prayer time, he does do that." Muhammad the prophet, peace be upon him, he said, "Who cares for him? Who takes care of him?" They said, "We do." He said, "Then you're better than he." Islam will not accept prayers and fasting and rituals if you're not doing something to develop the environment and make a contribution to the community life.
You have to have productive income, productive work, pardon me, productive work and halal income. Yes. That's Islam. Now, I didnt mean to talk to you all this long. You know what makes me talk to you all long like this? You all blame me for it, "Yeah brother. Oh, I came out of there with a migraine headache. I needed four Excedrin. 
[laughter]
Well good for you cause you all sitting there looking at me like, Tell me more. Thats the only reason why I keep talking. Im looking in your faces youre like, Tell me more. 
[laughter]
Thank you. If there are any comments or questions, I'll accept them. We ask G-d to give us His mercy and guide us always. Ameen.
Participant: Takbir.
Participants: Allahu Akbar.
Participant: Takbir.
Participants: Allahu Akbar.
Imam WD: Now, I rather you not ask your questions directly to me. I'd rather the Imam, or Brother Fahmi receive your questions because I don't know who to-- There might be more than one hand. I don't want to be bothered with that, so they will select the ones for me to respond to or reply.
Participant: As-salaamu alaykum.
Imam WD: Walaikum as-salaam.
Participant: I have a presentation here for you from my wife and myself. [unintelligible 00:52:36] all the way down to [unintelligible 00:52:39].
Imam WD: This is lighter?
Participant: Yes.
Imam WD: Lift its weight up. Let me hold it. If you've got all that in there  thats pretty good.
[laughter]
Thank you very much. I can use one too. I don't usually bring them unless I've got somebody with me, like my son today. I'm not supposed to be lifting over two pounds.
Participant: I could mail it to you if you want me to. I could mail it to you if you want me to. [inaudible 00:53:14] 
Imam WD: I don't know. The security is so strict now. It's complicated. It's so complicated. They might not let you put it on the plane.
Participant: I'll mail it to you.
Imam WD: I'd appreciate that. Would you mail it to the Ministries office?
Participant: Yes, I can.
Imam WD: I don't have a place to receive it and I might not be home. I'm away from home a lot and I don't have anybody there. If you mail it to the Ministries Office, I'll get it, not the post office box, the address.
[laughter]
Participant: Do you mind if I take a picture with you?
Imam WD: My picture days are over. The only preacher I don't want to take a picture with is an angel or Satan.
[laughter]
If you're an angel, they won't see you anyway.
[laughter]
Host: Brother Imam, we thank you as always for your beautiful accommodation.
Imam WD: Thank you. My pleasure.
Host: One question, Brother Imam. We had a discussion earlier when Sister Baseemah was here and she was bragging about the suits that some men wear that she had. I see this right here is-- You're cutting it up. [laughs]
Imam WD: This is from Bangladesh. The one she's talking about is from Thailand. We are studying to see if we should import some from Thailand. Thailand is better by business situation than Bangladesh. They tailor made this one. They tailor measured me.
Host: We see. Brothers, that we had that concern, you see the quality there. Allahu Akbar.
Participants: Allahu Akbar.
Host: Brother Imam, we really appreciate your time and we know that you've got to get ready. We're just going to need one question. This is a brother from [unintelligible 00:55:37].
Participant: Thank you, brother Imam. As-salaamu alaykum.
Imam WD: Wa?alaykum as-salaam.
Participant: I just want to ask you if you would, please, give us your insights. We've been reading these things about the current things happening in Afghanistan since 9/11, but anything you want us to know or your insights on the situation in Afghanistan the way our country has responded.
Imam WD: If you are familiar with what I have said already, what has been printed in the journal, the Muslim journal, that's all I can say. I have nothing more to add to that. Something that we like to stay away from because the air is so sensitive. Something we like to stay away from that I have to say on occasion, I had to say it and it was appreciated because it has to be said. Sometimes, a matter is so serious that you're not supposed to say what is expected of you to say. I'll give you an example. The companions of the prophet taught, that the prophet taught, that if a bad person says something correct but you know this person's bad, you know their intentions are bad, you know they have no good purpose among you and they say, "Muhammad is the messenger of G-d."
You're not supposed to say, "Yes." If they say, "Allah is G-d." You're not supposed to say, "Yes. I know that." You're supposed to be silent. You don't need to bear witness to anything they say, although what they're saying is correct. If Muhammad the prophet, prayers be upon him and peace, if he has taught us that we are to hold our tongue in certain circumstances, we're to hold our tongue. Even though the speaking is correct and righteous, we are to hold our tongue. You don't want to bear witness to what a corrupt person is saying because he's only getting you to relax. And after a while hes gonna sneak something in there and you're going to say yes, and it's going to be one of the things that's going to bring you down and hurt you.
He's going to leave you with hurt. This is wisdom. Now, when those suicide bombers bombed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but mainly World Trade Center where so many innocent lives were lost, the air was so sensitive. You don't want to say anything to cause people to have any thought that you might be considering the perpetrators or the murderers' rights. There were things that I couldn't say in those circumstances, very sensitive. Not a thing that I could've said that I knew should be said too. It should be said but not in these circumstances, not at this time and these circumstances. What is that? This is not just about these suicide bombers. It's been going on in Israel and Palestine. Before it came to America, it was going on in Israel. Now, we don't know for sure, we believe wrongly that what happened on 9/11 was orchestrated by the-
Participant: Taliban.
Imam WD: -Taliban under Bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden. We believe that story because there's so much evidence and the government is so strongly holding that position that he is the one. Its coming out of there, but it hasn't been proved. It hasn't been proved yet, but it has been proved that he is of that mind. Because he said things cheering them. Not saying that he was in with there, but that's good. Allahu-Akbar. That's good. He is of that mind, so that makes him guilty. It makes him guilty.
He's of that mind, he's guilty. Meaning that he would do to if he could, even if he didn't do it. Let's say that he did it, that he sent that, he did that. What is he responding to? Not to save him. No, he shouldn't be saved, he should be killed. Not to spare him anything that he's got coming that justice to him. No.
In the interest of knowing what we should do, what our position should be, and how to live from this moment forward. We should want to know what would cause him, if he did that, what would cause him to do something like that? Go out of his Muslim nature. Go out of this human nature. Go against his Islamic religion, the faith. What would cause him to do that?
When Israelis come to a person who's Palestinian who's been living at his home, that's been his home for as long as he can remember, his father's father's father as his home and they tell him, "You got to get of this house, you and your family and your children. We're taking over this house." What about that person? Has his bad circumstances affected the hearts of a Saudi prince like Bin Laden? Maybe so. Okay. A lot has to be looked at.
I don't treat these guys as murderers only. I treat them as murderers and as deranged persons who have been driven out of their minds by cruelty to Muslims and mainly to the Palestinians. They see Israel as the terrorists. That's what they see. They see Israel as the terrorists. They are looking at their innocent civilians. I should say our innocent civilians. If theyre Muslims, they're our innocent civilians.
They're looking at our innocent civilians of our religion who have been just robbed of their land, their home and their land and killed sometimes because they can't take it and if they try to defend it, they will be killed. They try to defend now and stay there, they'll be killed. They were civilians and they were innocent. This is what the public doesn't want to hear. When I say the public, number one, what Israel doesn't want to hear. Number two, what Jews that support Israel in the United States don't want to hear. What our government that has to deal with Israel don't want to hear. What the government people don't want to hear.
This is very dangerous for you to even talk like this in the public. It's dangerous. You're taking your life into your own hands. If you talk like this in the public, you're taking your life into your own hands because there is a Jewish supporter or a Jewish person who's very serious about keeping these things away from our American public. Therere government people who are very serious about keeping these things away from the American public.
If you go out there and talking these things in public, you will be risking your own life. Whereas at the same time, you will find ears to listen to you, the American people. You'll find government people who feel just like you and listen to you. You will find some Jew who feels just like you and will listen to you. Yes, some Jews who will feel just like you and listen to you. Don't forget there's a big number that's small, so you're taking your life into your own hands. Don't get yourself killed for nothing. It would be for nothing.
What can you do about it? You go out there and talking, you're not going to change anything. Prophet Muhammad said, "If the circumstances won't permit you to use your hands to correct the wrong, use your tongue. Speak out. If you can't find the wherewithal to speak out against it, at least dislike it in your heart." We have been given permission to not go out there and get killed. You cant go out there and be talking, "Yeah! Now I understand this thing." 
[laughter] Get rid of that brother, he's been missing for 20 years. They know how to get rid of you; no evidence, no nothing.
Or, Did that brother use drugs? He was found dead. He didnt ever use any drugs, did he?" Well, you know, we don't know. He kept it hid. [laughs] They have so many ways to get you. Or just a big truck hit you. Bam! And he didn't see you. And youre gone.
[laughter]
So, let's not be foolish. Here is what we have to understand. Islam says, "Do not do anything wrong under any circumstances." Don't do wrong, but at the same time, if I'm starving and my enemy won't let me eat Halal, he says, "You'll die if you don't eat this pork." Allah says, "Eat it, but eat it, not desire it. And eat no more than enough to survive."
So, here is a thing that's strictly forbidden, but under these circumstances, I'm committed to save my life by eating some. Right? I eat them. Do you think these terrorists are not reading some of that and following the logic, carrying the logic through to support what they do? Not only that, if a man steals, theft is a serious offense in Islam. But we find that he was driven to steal by hunger. He's a poor person. He's trying to feed his family at home.
Do we execute him? Do we execute the law? No. The prophet says youre supposed to give him bread, give him some food. Here's another logic. So, have these people become so desperate that, so they're not in the position of a starving person, that starved out? They can't have their Islamic life because people feeding them unislamic, forcing them to do unislamic things.
They can carry the logic there, I wouldn't. I would die before I would do that. But I'm saying, they are human and they are subject to carry the logic there. Now, here's what they have on their side too. That is on their side, whether we like it or not. That's on their side. Okay? But here's what they have on their side too, if some of our people are killed by those that are not our people, they're supposed to turn that murderer over to us. This is Quran.
They are supposed to turn that murderer over to us or negotiate with us a settlement. You say this person did not intend to kill this person of ours? Okay, we're asking you to pay so much to us to give some comfort to the mother who lost her son, or to the family that lost their family member, and to our community that lost its member. Youre to give something to us even though it was an accident. If it was intent, on purpose, if it was murder, you're supposed to turn the murderer over to us. They say, "Well, the murderer escaped." Then you're supposed to give us one of your people. This is the Quran. You're supposed to give us one of your people. "The murderer got away." That doesn't make it different. "Give us one of your people." If it was a free person, you have to give us a free person. If it was a slave, you've got to give us a slave because there were slaves still existing in that time. There were still slaves in that time. So, if you kill one of our slaves, you've got to give us a slave. If you kill one of our free people, you have to give us a free person.
If you don't, we are then free to go and kill one of your people; to kill somebody from your side to try and find a guilty person, or a person from your side that's like you. You aren't supposed to find a person that's good, you aren't supposed to look for a good person. You're supposed to look for a person that's bad like them, one of their people that supports that kind of behavior and take one of their people and execute him. This is Islam, the law of Qisas. What did Allah say about it? In it is a saving of life if you but understood. It is a saving of life if you understand. Let me tell you, I buy the logic 100%. There isn't nothing in the Quran that I don't buy 100%.
You've got a people that will take advantage of your cheapest nature, and they'll just kill you off and kill you off. You can't accept that, that people just kill your people off. Okay, then they'll say, "Oh that was an accident." It was an accident, okay, you pay for this. If they're your real enemies and they like hurting you that way, they don't want to give you that money. They don't want to see you with any benefits, so then you make them pay money. We call it blood money, paying for the blood you spilled. But, if it was not an accident, then they have to turn over the murderer. Now, if that hadn't been given to Muhammad the prophet, for us, in the Quran, there would have been enemies of Islam who would have been murdering and killing our people off, Muslims off, and getting away with it.
I know this community. Our enemies are not Jews, our enemies are not Christians, our enemies are not white folks, but we've got enemies. We've got some serious enemies. If the thing were to develop where they would start killing off brothers, I would be strongly for the law of Qisas, or the law of equality; the law of Qisas. If they murder one of ours, I say, "Well, they won't turn over the murderer, we've got to get one of them." I'm not going to condemn a man even if he's insane and crazy, if he's become a demon, I'm not going to condemn him if there's something in his case that's very, very important that we bring out. Without bringing that out. Condemn him, yes, but bring it out.
Yes, they're insane murderers. They'd be mourning. Yes, I know they'd be mourning because when they get that kind of nature, that kind of mind where they could just go and kill a wife, a mother, children and all that, and not have any conscience, they have become demons. They're insane and perhaps, both, demon and insane. What drove him to that insanity? Has he lost you? Have you made his life so miserable that you've driven him to this? So, it's not as clear as it looks to be on the outside. You've got to know what is transpiring, what's happening over there in the world where Muslims are losing their lives, their homes, children, wives, et cetera. And all they've done about it is, well, Camp David. Camp David. Another Camp David. Another Camp David, and the condition keeps going on.
That has to stop. We can't stop it, but Allah can. Allah can. Allah, sometimes, let's terrible things happen to people. Terrible things happen to people. We're not supposed to do it, but Allah, He knows. If He kills a baby, Allah; you saying, "Did Allah do that?" No, I'm not saying Allah did that, but I'm saying, if Allah killed a baby, is the baby really lost?
Participants: No.
Imam WD: [laughs] The wise man told Moses, "You can't follow me."
[laughter]
Imam WD: But the Jews, not as a people, or as a religion, the Jew as a hard-hearted cold defender of whatever they want to do among the Arabs in Islam. He could go out and kill 10 Palestinians for one of his people being hurt or killed, and nobody's going to get on his case until some missiles over there done hit him. The Arabs in the Islamic world see this as double standards. I do believe these pressures are being brought to bear on Israel, on United States, and the Western world so that they would rethink what they're doing and be more just, be even-handed when they're dealing with problems for the Israelis and the Palestinians, and any other situations in the world. Not just that, that's just one. Any other situation in the world.
They let political expedience decide, instead of moral expedience. Now, I worry about you all, I don't worry about me. I don't give a damn about life. What I do, if I have to do it, I have to do it. I don't care what the consequences are. I don't worry about a thing.
Participant: Takbir.
Participants: Allahu Akbar.
Participant: Takbir.
Participants: Allahu Akbar.
Participant: As-salaamu alaykum.
Participants: Wa?alaykumu as-salaam.
Host: [unintelligible 01:17:53] I believe you're welcome to stay for the program, but first, as the Imam [unintelligible 01:18:00]. We want to close it out. [Arabic language]
[video cut]
[background conversation]
[video cut] [pause]
Host: Audhu Billahi Mina Shaitan-ir Rahim. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Ithajaa nasru Allahi waalfathu. Waraayta alnnasa yadkhuloona fee deeni Allahi afwajan. Fasabbihbihamdi rabbika waistaghfirhu innahu kana tawwaban
With the name of G-d, most Gracious, most Merciful, when it comes to the help of G-d and victory and thou does see the people enter G-d's religion in crowds, celebrate the praises of our Lord and pray for His forgiveness. For He's oft returning in grace and mercy. Peace be at you and welcome to Islamic Perspective of Call to Freedom. What you have just heard is our consistency in reading from the Holy Book, the book entitled Quran, that is meant for all of humanity. We have just read in the Surah or the chapter known as An-Nasr, our help.
Our Muslim American societies mission statement. The Muslim American society is an Islamic community in association with the leadership of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, which proclaims in words and deeds the universal message of Al-Islam, that there is but one G-d and one human family. We are committed to establish a balanced community life in its broadest sense, witnessing the eternal wisdom for the words of G-d and the life exemplified by Prophet Muhammad. We will cultivate the pattern growth of human excellence and good character through building valuable relationships with all G-d's conscious people.
Our Muslim American societies vision statement. To be among community in its broadest sense, not leaving anything of value out. A community which is balanced, witnessing to all people, a community that G-d establishes, approves of and supports. Peace be unto to you.
Again, we thank you for tuning in to Islamic Perspective of Call to Freedom. And, we are very fortunate and blessed today to have with us the Muslim American spokesman for human salvation, the leader of the Muslim American Society here in America, brother Imam WD Mohammed. [Arabic language] Imam
Imam WD: Thank you, [unintelligible 01:23:12]
Host: For quite some time we have been preparing you with previous television programs in alerting you as to the coming of Imam WD Mohammed. This program today is dedicated to all G-d conscious people who are striving to please the one G-d. Brother Imam, we know that we are basically some way at a point where we don't have a lot of time, but again, we would like to welcome you to our program.
Brother Imam WD Mohammed is the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and he came in office in 1975. Brother Imam, we would like you to, at this time, if you would, just comment briefly on when you first came in 1975 in terms of your major focuses and basically what your concerns were during the time.
Imam WD: I became the leader in February 26 of 1975. With the passing of my father, our leader, who led us into many great things for our own good to our future. But, some of those things were temporary. They were not ever to be permanent and that was the idea we had of Islam. It was not to be permanent. We were not taught the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam, and we were not given the life of Prophet Muhammad. We were being prepared to be an independent minded people or community with innocence, sincerity, and with very, very big appetite for what Islam is. That appetite was held back to make it get stronger and stronger. What I mean by held back, denied. The appetite was denied. The food of real Islam was not given to us and to make us get more and more appetite for it.
So, when I became the leader, my responsibility to my father's followers, and to the community of Muslim society, known as the Nation of Islam at that time, was to take us from what we had been given before to the Quran, and to the true history and life of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, our prayers and peace be upon him. That was no easy job. We couldn't do it suddenly because it would have meant a great difficulty for the minds of the believers to be told to follow the Muslim because the Honorable Elijah Muhammad made a point of telling us that we were not being selected to follow the Arabs or any other Muslims outside of our Unites States. That we were being selected to lead our people into Islam and be a special community or a special group of Muslims in these United States, following our own thinking in Islam. That thinking to please G-d, to obey Allah, to obey what Allah wants of us. It was successful. We were told that we would lose everything that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad had accomplished.
He said the next person may use something of what we have or may not use anything of what we have. So, what I did was not without the support of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his wisdom. What I accomplished with you alls help and with the help of G-d above everything was the successful transition from black separatist militant Muslim loving in Islam, loving organization, to the Quran as read and understood by Muslims all over this land and to Muhammad the messenger of G-d in this Quran, the seal of the prophets, the last prophet, peace be upon him.
That was our accomplishment. That was my job. We were successful. G-d blessed us with success and now we are keeping the best. We don't throw out what was Islamic or what was good for us that we got in the first experience with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Now that we have gotten our life in good shape as Muslims under G-d's word, the Quran, and obeying His messenger Muhammad the prophet, we now can do something to show that we accept our responsibility to better our neighborhoods, to invest in our communities, and to invest materially for the material benefit as well of our people and of our neighbors who may not be of our faith.
Host: Brother Imam, in mentioning there, I know we often speak about major accomplishments. Since your tenure in office of being the leader, what would you say is your major accomplishment since that time in terms of the way you want to care for the community, to focus on one particular thing?
Imam WD: Yes, the major accomplishment is that I have done all this and I haven't gone crazy.
[laughter]
Host: We've filming today's program with a live audience and again, we thank you our viewing audience for tuning in with us today. Brother Imam we're talking about this again and being conscious of the time, I could recall studying the history of our people in coming out of slavery for some four hundred years or so that our people weren't allowed to read or to write anything or reference to educational things of that nature. And focusing on this, think about the point that you have been elected the president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. I think that's a major accomplishment in terms of- if we're saying, "A one-time slave and where we are right now." In terms of your accomplishments as an African American and a Muslim, how did this come about in terms of the election of being--
Imam WD: When the Muslim leader tell us the beauty and purity of his religion as given in the holy book, the Quran, he would find that the best minds from the Christian leadership, Jewish leadership also, will find him to be a human being that they can embrace and a human being that they would like also to work with them. If they're in the business of making a contribution to the whole of humanity, for the betterment of humanity.
Islam prepares us to embrace all nationalities, all colors, all ethnic groups and all people who believe in G-d and being accountable to G-d. Believe in G-d in the last days means believe and being accountable to G-d. Islam makes us attracted to all those people. I find such persons among Jews, Christians, et cetera that are attractive to me. And, when we meet, we don't see the religious differences as much as we see the common spirit in us to serve G-d through our service to humanity and to be decent human beings. That's the strongest proof of our faith, no matter what that faith is.
[laughter] 
Host: We're somewhat [unintelligible 01:31:56] I've thought about that appointment. Also, to mention that we share--
Imam WD: I share the presidency here. There are two presidents in the United States; I'm one of them. Thats the president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. Our secretary general is Dr. William Bentley, wonderful man that when I see him, I forget he is Christian. And I think he forgets I'm Muslim.
Host: [laughs] Praise be to Allah. We are mentioning the different religious groups and religious leaders. I think recently you met with Dr. Schuller. Has that [unintelligible 01:32:37]
Imam WD: No. In fact, it will be on Monday, this coming Monday.
Host: What is the nature of that meeting?
Imam WD: Dr. Schuller and I, we've gotten together and we've asked Christian leaders and Muslim leaders who are bothered by this bad mark on humanity and on our faith, on Muslim faith, caused by suicide bombers. We think we owe it to Christians and to Muslims to make it clear that Islam condemns all wrongdoings and does not at all treat murderers of innocent people any way except as murderers.
Host: [video cut] 
Make and address at the Vatican City.
Imam WD: Yes. The son of Elijah Muhammad made an address as the guest of the Vatican, guest of the Pope John Paul II. He sat there by-- I spoke--
[01:34:05] [END OF AUDIO]

