03/10/1996
IWDM Study Library
Islamic Convention at the Meadowlands
Secaucus NJ

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
0:00:14 Imam WD Mohammed: As-salamu alaykum. Praise be to Allah. We say Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillahi rabbil alamina. The praise and the thanks is for G-d the Lord, the sustainer of the universe, of all that there is in the skies and in the earth and between them. We witness that he is one, the Lord, creator of everything. And we witness as Muslims that Muhammad is his servant, his messenger, the seal of the prophets, the last of the prophets, G-d's servant and messenger. A mercy to all the world. Muhammad to whom the Qur'an was revealed about 14 centuries and some years. We're very happy to be again here in Newark speaking to this audience, of honorable people, Muslims, faithful supporters of this religion, and the muslim community. I want to begin by, I would say, doing a review or restating what Islam is. And I think we should do this often because in the busy world that we live in, busy life, or busy lives that we have, we sometimes get away from what we have taken for granted, and that is the teachings of Islam.
0:02:15 IWDM: The teachings of Islam can be given in about five minutes, so that we know clearly what Islam is from what Islam is not. And Islam is first of all to worship one G-d, the one G-d who created everything. The one G-d who's the Lord of all people and the Lord of all the worlds. In the Arabic language, or the Quranic Arabic language, the name is Allah the same as it is in the common spoken Arabic language for Muslims and for non Muslims. The name is Allah, it is translated G-d. But actually, when we study the name Allah in Arabic we learn that there is a word for G-d in Arabic. And there's a word for a G-d proper in arabic. And G-d in the common usage, that is non Muslims or even non Christians or non Jews can use a name from the Arabic language for their G-d or their gods, gods that perhaps Jews, Christians and Muslims wouldn't recognize as being G-d.
0:03:48 IWDM: They can use the name in Arabic and it's a different name, it's Ilah. And we have as a statement of our strong belief in the G-d, the one G-d, the true G-d the expression, "La Ilaha illallah." La Ilaha illalah there is no Ilaha, no G-d, except Allah. Now, these words are not the same, it's not like English, I say there is no G-d except the G-d. I used the same word both times for both references, no G-d except the G-d. But in Arabic we don't use the same word. We use a different word, we say, "La Ilaha illallah Allah." La Ilah except Allah. Ilah and Allah the two words. Ilah means G-d as people commonly may use it. And it can refer even to G-d that is not G-d, a false G-d. But Allah is the proper word. And those that are authorities on the Arabic language, grammar, arabic usage, word usage, they say that Allah must have come from a combination of two words, al meaning the and Ilah meaning G-d and when you combine them together, you get Allah meaning the G-d, the G-d. I don't know if that's a fact or not but I tend to believe there's a lot of truth to that, that originally Allah might have been made from two words. One meaning G-d in the common usage, and the other one meaning the. And when you put them together, it distinguish that G-d from all other gods. It becomes Allah and Allah by the way cannot be used for feminine, and it cannot be used for masculine, Allah.
0:05:51 IWDM: Allah has no gender. Allah, the term Allah has no gender. There's no way to give gender to the term Allah in arabic. Like we can give gender to the term Ilah. Ilah can be made Ilahat, Ilah atun feminine and it can be made Alihaa which means the plural, G-ds. But there's no way to take the term Allah, the word Allah and make it grammatically say G-d female or G-d male. If you can't say G-d female with it, then there's no G-d male with it.
0:06:32 IWDM: So G-d in Arabic is not supposed to be seen as a female or as a male. Also, Allah, the term Allah, also it's important to know that there's no way to say more than one G-d, and use the term Allah, no way. You can't say with the term Allah, in Arabic, you can't say two Allahs, two Allahs, you can't say it in Arabic, there's no way to say many Allahs in Arabic, there's no way to say it. So Arabic is a... The Arabic term for G-d, Allah, is a fixed, F-I-X-E-D, a fixed term, it cannot be changed into gender, male or female, it cannot be changed into many, two, many, plural, no dual, no plural, for the term. This term was not used by the worshippers of Mecca, the people who worship gods in Mecca, during the time of our prophet, it was not used. It was known, they knew it, but they did not use it. They used the term Ilah, it's a feminine and masculine use and it's duo and plural usage, they used the term Ilah, they didn't use the term Allah. But when Muhammad mentioned the name Allah, some of their more learned and educated people, they, some of those that were closer to the Kaaba, they had knowledge of this G-d. The Christians, those who followed Christianity and Judaism, they knew the term Allah, because their G-d also was one G-d, considered to be the only G-d for all the universe and for all people, so they knew of the term Allah.
0:08:21 IWDM: But the Meccans who worship idols they didn't, very few of them knew of this term, so Muhammad, the prophet chosen by G-d to be the last prophet and the messenger to the world, he reintroduced the term Allah, to the Meccans, Arab people, and they became the ones to promote the term Allah for G-d. Eventually with other Muslims of Africa and Asia and all over now and America now, we are the ones promoting the usage of this term Allah, for G-d. So we say that Islam is built upon five structures or five essentials. They're also called five pillars, pillars like structures that hold up a great building, a great material structure. They are five pillars or five principles or five essential support structures. The very first one is what we have been discussing or talking about is Allah, the belief in Allah, and with it because we are Muslims and we know the religion, the creed of faith in G-d, combines also faith in the mortal, human messenger of G-d, mortal, human messenger of G-d. So we witness that G-d is one and should be only worshipped and no other G-d worshipped beside him, and we witness that Muhammad is the mortal human messenger of G-d. That's the first structure, the first pillar, the first essential in our religion.
0:10:10 IWDM: And Muhammad, when he was asked, the prophet himself, prayers and peace be on him. When was asked, "What is Islam?" He gave what I'm giving you right now, and he said it is to worship G-d as though you're seeing him because if you don't see him, he's seeing you. To know for sure that if you don't see him, he is definitely looking or seeing you, looking on or looking at or seeing you. So Muslims are to worship G-d with a firm belief that this G-d is ever present and is aware of us all the time, have us in his sight all the time, all the time. This is the belief of the Muslim concerning the G-d. And Muhammad also stressed, prayers and peace be on him, that the one, the person who says and believes that Allah is his Lord, he will have paradise. He will have the paradise. One who says and believes, and he says or she says, Allah is my Lord, they will have the paradise. G-d will eventually put them in heaven in the paradise. So that tells us that some people obviously are not saying Allah is their Lord. They have other than Allah for their Lord. So it is important for Muslims to remember that we are to always know that Allah is our Lord.
0:11:49 IWDM: The term Lord, in the Quranic Arabic or in the Arabic language is Rabb, Rabb, R-A-B-B, two Bs, Rabb. Now this brings me to discuss something else at this point and that is community life, community life. It is important for Muslims to understand before I go to the next structure, to the next essential pillar of Islam that tells us what Islam is, it's important for Muslims to understand that our religion is a religion that requires of its believers or its adherence that they accept it as an obligation to be a community, to be a community. A community means to have a public. Muslims must have a Muslim public. We cannot just have our religion in our private homes. Our religion is not to be seen only in our private homes. Our religion is to established in the public. We are to have a community Muslim life. We will get to that more in detail as we go. Now the second structure...
0:13:23 IWDM: Giving them in their order that they were given by the Prophet is prayer, prayer. Prayer in the Islamic terminology, and we have to say Islamic terminology because before Islam there was no such word as Salah for prayer. It was after Prophet Muhammad was missioned, and the Qur'an was revealed to him, and the term came from G-d, Salah. Salah is not this. Salah is not this. Salah is reading and reciting the Qur'an, the holy book revealed to Muhammad for all of us. Reading and reciting that, and following the steps and discipline that was established by Muhammad the Prophet for us to follow as we are reading and reciting the Qur'an. The Qur'an is always recited in the standing position. Ayahs or some prayers from it may be recited when we are in the sitting position or in the bending position with our hands at our knees. But in the standing position the Qur'an is recited. So actually the Muslim's prayer or the Muslim's Salah is really the communication of and the commemorating of Qur'an, the holy book, Qur'an. It is recorded that Muhammad the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, in one of the days of Ramadan, the nights of Ramadan, but nights of Ramadan, finished the whole Qur'an in one standing. That's what has been recorded.
0:15:20 IWDM: Now that took some long standing, but that's what is recorded, that in the one night he completed the whole of the Qur'an. And I guess that was to put it on the record that Muhammad was also the first passage, the first one who memorized the whole of the Qur'an, and the evidence was given that they witnessed his recital in one standing. Prayer, being our second pillar or the second essential structure in Islam, says to us many things. The word says purity, purification. The word says also elevation or being elevated, lifted up, the word Salah. It says being purified, it says being lifted up, and it also says being educated, being illuminated. This is the most essential meaning in the word Salah. The third pillar of this faith, only five of them that are given to show us what Islam is, is charity, Zakat. The third one is Zakat, charity.
0:16:46 IWDM: And charity in Islam is not only given to someone else, but it is also given to yourself, and we will get to this more in detail as we progress with this topic or this subject. The charity in its strict sense is giving, giving, giving 2%. Some say 2.4, 2.5, but most will say 2%. Giving 2% of your capital earning after all your needs have been taken care of in a reasonable way, that you have not been extravagant, you have not given yourself luxuries or too much, you've taken care of your essential needs, yourself and whoever your dependents are, you've taken care all that. You have your property taken care of, you've taken care all your obligations, financial obligations, and then you have some money what we call in America savings or money that we can use for investment.
0:18:10 IWDM: It's money over our needs, investment capital. So that money that you have in excess of your needs is taxed at the end of the year, 2% of it goes to Zakat. This is the strictest meaning of charity, and that money is mainly for those who serve the religion full-time and are poor. They can't support themselves, they're not rich, or they don't have enough income to support themselves from any other source, so they are supported by Zakat. They are imams, they are teachers or whatever, they are supported by Zakat. They assist the imam, they assist the school or the teachers, or they assist the community in some way. And they're services needed, and they're good for that particular job, so they get the Zakat. But they can't be having income sufficient to take care of their needs and also get Zakat. They should get Zakat only if they don't have income sufficient to take care of their needs. Zakat is for the poor; poor, needy person; poor and the needy. There're two descriptions of them: One is poor, just poor. The other one is misfortune, and misfortune has befallen them. They are misfortunate people. They are people who suffered a bad fortune. So they might have been well-off last year. They might have been well-off last night. But suddenly they don't have any money to put themselves up in a home, or they don't have money to buy a meal. We are to give them help from Zakat if they qualify.
0:20:00 IWDM: And believe me, there's a lot to qualify. One is that you should be a Muslim, you should be sincere. Doesn't mean you have to be sinless because I don't know a Muslim that's sinless. You don't have to be sinless, but you have to be having desire in your heart to be a good Muslim. And you have to be supportive of your religion and your Muslim society, your Muslim community. Those are the first qualifications. Also a qualification is that you have to be in your condition because you can't help it. If you can work and earn a living and everybody knows that, you don't qualify. If you are not looking for a job, you're not interested in work, you don't qualify. So there's other qualifications, I haven't given them all, but I've given a good picture of what the qualifications are. Now, there is other charity. And Zakat in a general sense or in a less... A sense that is not as strict would be anything that we give for the sake of G-d, for G-d's pleasure.
0:21:31 IWDM: So you don't have to give it in the form of money all the time. If you have a service, or skill, or knowledge, and you give that as a Muslim so that others will benefit, you're giving charity, you're giving in charity. If you devote time improving your own education, going to school to improve your own education and this is no easy thing for you, it's hard for you to get enough money to do this and you're doing it, you are giving in charity. Though you're spending on yourself, you're still giving in charity because you're doing it for the pleasure of your G-d, of Allah, G-d. And it's going to benefit not only you. A person who does something for G-d's pleasure, they're not gonna benefit just themselves. They're gonna benefit relatives and friends, and needy people. They're gonna benefit society at large. So when they spend on themselves, they are investing not only in themselves, but they are investing in a better future for their families, for their neighbours, for their society.
0:22:43 IWDM: So this is charity spent on yourself. And Allah says that lost is the person who does not spend on his own self. Lost is the person who will not spend on his or her own self. There is much to say about charity, but I will conclude with this, that a Muslim society is to be built upon the principles of Islamic charity. Its economic concept, its economic policy, its financing, everything should be built upon the concept of Zakat in Islam. So that tells us, or at least suggests to us, that there is other aspects or other speeches of Zakat that we have not yet discussed. There is the economic teaching of Zakat that we are not discussing at this particular time, but we are just recognizing, we are acknowledging that the economy is supposed to be conceived and structured upon the principle of Zakat in Islam.
0:24:04 IWDM: After Zakat, which is the third pillar of Islam, or the third essential structure of Islam, comes fasting. Fasting is restraining the strongest creative appetite in us. We may say, appetites of the flesh, the strongest appetites of the flesh. It includes even restraining our anger, anger. Now, who would think that anger has something to do with the appetites of the flesh? But it does. It includes restraining our affection, our sexual affection. During the fast month, the days of the fast month, I cannot give my wife a sexual kiss. I would be breaking the fast. I can give her a non-sexual kiss on the cheek or somewhere. But if I get sexy with it, I'll break the fast. So the fasting is not just fasting from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and snacks in between, and from the drinks we take during the day normally, or whatever. It is also restraint, fasting, denying every appetite that is the appetite of the flesh.
0:25:37 IWDM: We fast for the whole month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar for a period of about 30 days on the average, sometimes 29 days. This brings us to the last of these structures or pillars that give us the clear picture of what Islam is. The last of these, the fifth one is pilgrimage to the house, or to the sacred mosque Masjid al-Haram in venerated Mecca. Some say sacred Mecca. The house built there is called Kaaba, The Kaaba. And it is the Kaaba. And it is a point for us, a direction for us, no matter where we are on this earth, we turn to that point, the Kaaba. Actually, we're not turning to Mecca in prayer, it just happens that the Kaaba, built by Abraham and his son, Peace be upon them, is in Mecca. And that's why we are turning towards Mecca. We're actually turning towards the haram, the masjid, the mosque.
That house is also called the first house. It is for all people. Buniya linaas. Built for all people. It is the most ancient house. For the worship of one G-d and built for all people. It's not for blacks only, not for whites only, not for asians only, but for all people. We go there once in a lifetime if we can afford it. That means we have to have to have the physical ability to go there and perform the rituals. And we have to have the mental state to be there. Our minds have to be healthy and we need the physical strength to make that journey. Once in a lifetime. The Muslims would like to do it every year. And there are a surprising number of Muslims who make it every year. You would be surprised to know that a number of members of our community have made that trip almost every year. And they enjoy it.
CONTINUE EDITING HERE AT 30:49
[pause]
0:42:22 IWDM: This is the urgent message of today that is given in the term globalism. Globalism. Let us not be ignorant of that. Because any community of people or any race of people or ethnic group that is not in tune with this, they're gonna be behind. They're gonna be behind. And those that are most aware of this and most in tune with this movement, with this new trend for the whole world, they're gonna be the ones keeping up and stepping out front. And believe me, I don't wanna just keep up, I wanna step out front. And I believe that Allah has given us the Qur'an and Muhammad to equip us to step out front. But this tells us that being a Muslim is no small concern. Being a Muslim is a big concern. It begins with my own personal life, and it extends out within, out within, out within, until it embraces the whole life of mankind on the whole earth. Among us should be those trying to qualify, to not just be leaders at home or leaders for Muslims. There should be those among us trying to qualify to be leaders for City of Newark.
0:43:47 IWDM: To be leaders for this State of New Jersey. To be leaders for this nation, the United States of America. To be the leaders for this world, community called the International Community of Nations. Earth, itself. I feel very proud. I feel very fortunate to be a member in the religion of Islam because my own soul is greatly pleased, gratified and greatly pleased by this demand on me to qualify myself to lead not only Wallace and his family, but to lead humanity and this earth. Now, I may not qualify. I may not make it but I'm happy to know that G-d has opened the door and G-d has opened the road. And G-d has shone the light on the path, say "Wallace, if you want to, you can go all the way and be the leader for all mankind on this earth."
[applause]
0:45:02 IWDM: Allahu Akbar. So we are a people who's supposed to believe in progress. And G-d has given us the two major concerns to keep in mind if we are to progress, keep in mind where we came from and keep in mind where Allah, G-d, want us to go. Now, isn't that simple? Don't forget where we came from and keep before your eyes where Allah want us to go, and we are guaranteed progress. We want a future for this community, that means the future for our school. We want a future for our Imams, our messengers. We want a future for our cultural life.
0:45:53 IWDM: Christians, Muslims, we are not to live on the vote of this world's culture. We're supposed to have our own culture. If you a good Christian, you should want to know what is good Christian-approved cultural life and a good Muslim should want to know what is good Muslim-approved cultural life. We are not supposed to be opening our ears to any music that's played out there in the world. We are not supposed to be singing any songs that make a hit. We're not supposed to be doing any dance that we see on television or hear about. We're supposed to be very, very selective. We're supposed be turning down a lot of songs. We're supposed to be turning down a lot of music. We're supposed to be refusing to do a lot of dances.
0:46:52 IWDM: We are supposed to be hard and selective. We are supposed to have Muslim taste. We are supposed to have Muslim lifestyle. We are supposed to have Muslim folk ways. We are supposed to have a Muslim culture and a Muslim identity as an ethnic racial body. And we're gonna have to work hard for it because the influences of the popular culture are very strong. They take our babies before our babies learn to talk or walk. They take our babies and have our babies movin' and shakin' to the music, and to the songs, and to the indecencies of this world. So we have to work very hard to establish an environment where our babies will know the sound of Islamic, a few moves music before they notice sound of worldly and destructive music.
[applause]
0:47:43 IWDM: This is gonna take some hard work. We're gonna have to put more responsibility on our artists, on our singers, on our music writers, on our dancers, on our theater performers. We're gonna have to put more pressure on them to conform to the principles, to the beauty and morality and purity of Islam. And let nothing come out of your mouth or shake from your body, unless it's approved in the light of what is Islam. Then we'll realize a life in America. And G-d will then favor us and G-d will love us and G-d will help us establish schools and mosques and social centers and theaters for Muslims and ball fields for Muslims, sports for Muslims and everything that we need. Transportation lines for Muslims.
0:48:38 IWDM: Shipping lines for Muslims. International trade for Muslims, political leaders for Muslims presiding over a Muslim town over a majority Muslim constituency. This is what we'll realize if we just accept what G-d wants of us and that is for us not to come just with our spirits. Don't come just with our feeling. Don't come just with our rhythm. Come with our intelligence and come with our behavior and make our intelligence and our actions conform to what G-d wants and G-d will make us a strong people, and G-d will make us a community established in America for everybody to see and admire.
0:49:23 S?: Takbir!
0:49:25 S?: Allahu Akbar!
0:49:26 S?: Takbir!
0:49:27 S?: Allahu Akbar!
0:49:28 S?: Takbir!
0:49:28 S?: Allahu Akbar!
0:49:30 IWDM: To realize that kind of neighborhood, that kind of environment, we're gonna have to plan for it. So I mentioned this recently, other ethnic groups are doing it and we need to do it. Let's let people move where they want to. We can't stop that. We believe in democracy, freedom, the right to have your own life as you want it. But there are a number of us that are soldiers, men, women, and children. Don't think we don't have some soldiers among our children. I know them. I can name some of them to you right now. So we have some of us that are soldiers, and we know that we are at war. We're at war with Satan. Shaitan and his influences. We're at war with the mighty schemes of the Shaitan himself. We know we're at war, and we know the job of being a Muslim and sustaining a Muslim life and realizing Muslim neighborhood is gonna require Jihad. Really, Jihad. Real, strong Jihad.
0:50:53 IWDM: That means we're gonna have to plan our neighborhood. We can't just let it happen accidentally. Let us organize a development group who will plan housing for Muslims. I'm not speaking just to Newark. I'm speaking to the Muslims of America. Let us have a development group who will plan housing for Muslims. And let us start to select 15 or 30 people, 30 or 60 people who are willing put their money into accounts for the purchase of one or two apartment buildings, find a land with room to grow. Get one or two of these apartment buildings. Own those buildings together. You will have collective ownership of those buildings. Respect each owner as equal. Every owner is entitled to whatever any owner is entitled to. Give every owner the same benefit. If 30 people can buy this building and realize good apartment life in that building, paying only $300 a month, then don't charge one more than the other. Every all 30 pay no more than $300 a month.
0:52:25 IWDM: And if anything is saved at the end of the year, let it be saved for all of that 30 to have a say so over how it is spent or who it's gonna go to, let them have equal say so in it. This can easily be done, easily be done. And you get enough area so that you can expand and realize a small neighborhood or a medium sized neighborhood, or maybe a big neighborhood of nothing but Muslims. Now, there'll be some non-Muslims who will like it and say, "We're gonna live here too." That's okay. But the Muslims will be in the great majority. The Muslims will be the property owners. Others will own just a small percentage of the property. Therefore, the Muslims will have a neighborhood like the Irish have in Chicago or like the Polish have in Chicago. They will have a neighborhood that they dominate. A neighborhood that the politicians have to respect as a Muslim neighborhood. We can realize that but we will never realize it unless we plan for it. That can be done. It can be done soon. Once you get a couple of apartment buildings, pretty soon you'll have enough buildings to bring you income in. You can then start building some private homes too. Now I know you have a building plan already on the way here. I've seen it. I've visited the homes. I saw it. That's good but the effort is not big enough. You need a bigger effort and you need better planning.
0:54:20 IWDM: You need plan to plan so that you know you have room to expand. You map out your whole neighborhood. You say, "We're gonna have a neighborhood of five-mile radius or we're gonna have a neighborhood of one-mile radius." And you plan for it. You find that much land. Seek to acquire it and then start building and eventually you'll have that Muslim neighborhood. You don't have to do it right in the ghetto or right in the slums of these cities. You can go out from these cities. It doesn't have to be in Newark. It can be out from Newark. You get strong enough out from Newark then, you can come in to Newark. And do the same thing in the heart of Newark.
0:55:12 IWDM: Okay, so this is Jihad. This is the kind of Jihad we need now. And you need the appreciation for what you labor for that will make you not permit anybody to violate any of your rights. If they violate your rights, or take advantage of you or try to crook you out of what you got or do damage to your property that you have acquired, you have to have the appreciation for what you've labored for to go to court to pursue them, stay on their case until you win. And you also have to have the courage to even die, shed your blood if you have to because sometimes its too expensive to go to court, you have to settle outside of court. [laughter] And I know what I'm saying, I gave it plenty of thought. Then people respect you and they won't walk over you, they won't take advantage of you. They wanna treat you like you are of no count. And we got the Muslim here to carry it out. I don't have it, my back is bad.
[laughter]
0:56:26 IWDM: But we got it. So, when people think Jihad the first thing they pick up and think of is swords rattling [chuckle], guns, firing weapons, firing automatic weapons or something. Jihad. We don't need that Jihad. We're in a civilized country. We're in the United States of America. And we're in 1996. And this year of 1996, Muslims are not only recognized, but Muslims are being hosted by the first lady of the United States of America on the day of Ramadan fast.
[applause]
0:57:24 IWDM: So anybody think they have to pick up weapons and fight the country or fight the Newark police department. And that doesn't take anything from your demonstration that you have here, not with your demonstration. But it should be a peaceful demonstration because we believe that this country will give us justice. We believe that Newark will give us justice. We believe that the courts of Newark will give us justice and that the police department will clean up its act if its act is not clean. We believe that. And we have to believe that because we believe that Allah created man in the best of molds. So Islam has more emphasis on peaceful Jihad than it has on violent Jihad. The emphasis is on peaceful Jihad and the prophets prayers of peace be upon Muhammad even Abdullah the last of the prophets. He said the greatest Jihad is really the conquest of self. When you conquer your own self and bring your own self into peace for Allah's sake, you have succeeded to carry out the greatest Jihad. Allahu Akbar. Does that mean that we are not supposed to be prepared to go to war? Physical war? Fight and lose life and limb or shed blood? If that's necessary. But that's not what will establish a good life, a good community for Muslims. You only do that because you're forced to.
0:59:16 IWDM: A Muslim is never supposed to go the route of violence, or killing if there is a peaceful way out. He is always supposed to be looking for the peaceful way out. His very name says that he's a peacemaker, a peace keeper and a peace lover. A man that has chosen for himself the state of peace, and is called Muslim and Muslima for the woman. Yes, this is a Muslim. In his greetings all the time is peace. As-salaam Aleikum, As-salaam Aleikum. His greeting is peace. And G-d had revealed to him with the words to Muhammed, that one day He's gonna bless him, though he be lost, physically lost in the perishable nature of this world or with the perishable nature of this world, that G-d is gonna give him another life. G-d is gonna produce him over again, just as he was before. Isn't that wonderful? G-d said when you wake up in that new state or you open your eyes and become conscious in that new state, you're gonna say, "This looks like what we had before! Oh that's wonderful!" To look at my wife and she looking just like she did before. Look at my children and they looking just like they did before. Look at my food it looks just like it did before.
1:00:58 IWDM: Look at my accommodation, my home, it looked just like it did before. Look at myself, I look just like I did before. Oh I've got head and eyes and mouth, shoulders and all that. Hands and legs and feet, stomach and digestive system, heart and all that and lungs, sex organs... Just like it was before. Oh man I'm ready to go to that new life. It's gonna be without all these troubles. It's gonna be a new life where we're gonna have all the good things we had before. Isn't that wonderful?
1:01:33 S?: Yes.
1:01:34 IWDM: Yes that's wonderful. Thats something to work for. And we should work to establish it on this earth. And G-d will measure our work on this earth and will reward us according to our work on this earth.
1:01:56 IWDM: Peace, peace. We should be at peace, should want to stay in a state of peace. And we should want to promote peace. And we should want as our goal, as our destiny, the state of peace. That means a peaceful nation, a peaceful international community, a peaceful society of men and women on this earth. And we should promote the standards of excellence that have been tested and approved down through the ages. The standards of excellence. G-d says to us al amr bil ma'ruf, to command, order, instruct, upon what? The known standards of excellence. Bil Ma'ruf, the known standards of excellence for human beings. Now if there are any other people, be they of a different political party, or of a different race or a different ethnicity, or be they of a different nation, if they are trying to promote the standards of excellence, the known and tested standards of excellence, tested over the long train of history, over the long long of history, they have been tested and have been proven to stand up, to hold up the life, the best life of man, family and nation then we should be also allies of those people. We should consider them our friends and our allies.
1:03:40 IWDM: And we should work for their good future, and for their good state and for their good future. And they should also see us as their friend and allies and care about our present life, our present condition and work for our good state and our good future. If a world develops like this brothers we can defeat Shaitan on this earth.
1:04:00 IWDM: And that's what Allah wants. For us to defeat Shaitan himself on this earth, defeat him on this earth. Allah says, "Then fight the schemes and machinations of Shaitan." Fight them. Say for surely his schemes, his plots, his schemes are weak. Weak, not strong. Weak! So Allah, our G-d who made us and made the jinn, that the Shaitan came from, yes, he made the jinn that the Shaitan came from and he made us. He knows what we are capable of, he knows what the jinn Shaitan is capable of. He knows both. And he tells us, "Don't underestimate what I made you. I have made you stronger than the Shaitan. Fight his schemes for his schemes are weak." His deceptions are mighty. His deceptions are powerful. The deceptions of Shaitan are mighty, powerful. Yes they are but only if you don't see his deceptions in some kinda order or in some kinda formation.
1:05:13 IWDM: If you can put his deception in some kinda orderly arrangement, you will come up with his schemes, his plots. His scheming and his plots, his scheming is weak. Weak. Then you can meet him on the battlefield and you can defeat his schemes. Don't look for him. He's too elusive. He won't be there. You think he's there, you go to strike him there you might strike your own brother, or your own sister, or your mother, or your aunt or your grandfather. No, don't fight him that way. You don't look for him in his turf. Look for him in his actions. Look for him in his influences. Look for him in his plots, in his schemes. And fight his plots, fight his schemes. Get him out of your neighborhood. Get him off your television. Establish a Muslim community and he won't have any place of comfort there, I guarantee you.
1:06:09 S?: Takbir!
1:06:10 S?: Allahu Akbar!
1:06:10 S?: Takbir!
1:06:11 S?: Allahu Akbar!
1:06:11 IWDM: Allahu Akbar. Now this brings us to another need. And that is the need to share our professionalism with those who don't have it. We see an uneducated, industrious hard-working Muslim woman or man. We see them struggling and trying. If we have professional knowledge and skills, let us organize a small service group that will give these skills, this knowledge and these skills to those who qualify among us that don't have them free of charge.
1:06:52 S?: That's right. That's right.
1:06:54 IWDM: Free of charge. Don't charge them nothing. See when you make plenty of money and you start realizing some capital for investment, then remember your school, your Muslim school. Remember the poor children that need tuition. Donate something back to your school. Donate something back to the poor of your community. Help another brother like we helped you. Help another sister like we helped you. But there should be men who make enough money that are doing well enough to give in charity some of their time is no more than one hour a week to have persons who need professional help come to them at their door, or at the masjid, or the school, the Imam will help you. Imam will give you a place for this, some room somewhere so you can have this activity. Let them come there and get some professional help. So they will be more successful in their endeavors.
1:07:52 S?: That's right.
1:07:56 IWDM: Also, an obligation is on us to work, to get ourselves in the financial position where we can finance more of our own needs. We need fire insurance. We need auto insurance. We need loans. We need to be able to make loans to our people. We need health insurance for our teachers. Yes, we need health plans for our Imams. Let us begin right with the staff of the school and the staff of the masjids, and let us ask the parents to come into the plan. All the parents that have their children in the school, all the parents of the community and the congregation, that support the Imam and the masjids, I want 'em all to come into the plan. And let us see that we have enough people who are ready to participate in a health care plan to make it financially acceptable or feasible for us.
1:09:24 IWDM: Many church congregations, they're taking care of all the burial needs of their congregation. They're taking care of other financial needs of their congregation. Here we are, Muslims, with a stronger emphasis on charity, good business, sound business, investing, and being responsible for your financial future. We have more emphasis on those concerns in our religion than you can find in any Bible or in any other religious book. How come we are not doing this more than they are? It is because we are ignorant and slow to move. Let's not be ignorant of what our religion ask of us. And let's not be slow to move. Let us put faith in each other, and let's hold each other accountable. And let's penalize each other for betraying the trust. And we will be successful, and Allah will make us great.
1:10:32 IWDM: Our number one task today, should be to give strong support to all our good business people, who have proven that they care about the Mosque, they care about the masajid, they care about the schools, they want our children to be educated, especially those who are in the young years. And Muslim schools, let us commit ourselves from the Imam on down to the least thought of person in the congregation, to support our good business people. That mean, you don't buy what he's sellin' from somebody else if he's selling it. You don't go to other person for a service that this sister's offering. I know a sister in this area who got a nice dental clinic. If I was here, I'd go have her look at my teeth just to look at her again and ask my wife to excuse me.
[laughter]
1:11:41 IWDM: Now you ought to find beautiful people in business among you that you like to look at, and go give them your support. Now with that number one task, we have to include accumulating enough capital, so that we will be able to finance some of these needs that other people are financing. And many times we can't even get them to approve our application. That concludes my talk, and I hope that we will realize the great responsibility that's on every Muslim, that is to not just live for myself personally, I have to make a contribution, toward establishing Muslim neighborhoods, so that we can realize community public life. It is strong establishments, financial establishments, cultural establishments, educational establishments, all these fine necessary structures of society. We have to prove capable of building them, raising them up, and commanding a neighborhood of Muslims ourselves. And having that neighborhood respected not only by Muslims, but by all the decent citizens and neighbors around us.
1:13:12 IWDM: Thank you very much. We pray to Allah always to increase our knowledge and understanding, to increase us in faith, and in endurance to make firm our paths for truth and proper worship, and to grant that that he has promised to his prophet, his messenger, servant Mohammad, and to those who would follow him. Peace be upon you, as-salaam...

