04/20/1988
IWDM Study Library
IWDM in Cleveland OH

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

As-salamu alaykum.
Congregation: Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.
That is peace be unto you. First, we acknowledge the one Lord of all the worlds Allah, for Him is the praise. We pray the prayers, and blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, the last of the prophets, the universal messenger. And upon his family and upon his companions and what follows of the appropriate salutation.
Believers; all people, Muslims and non-Muslims, if non-Muslims are here, we wish you peace and Allahs mercy and His blessings. On this occasion, as on all occasions, we ask for Allahs guidance and for approval and hope that Allah will accept what we offer.
Last evening was another great occasion for us, the 11th testimonial banquet. I wanted to say last night that I was really, very happy and very pleased inside to see so many distinguished, well-known, well-established people for their good works and hard work joining Imam Clyde Rahman and the supporters of Cleveland from the Muslims of Cleveland.
The Congressman Louis Stokes and all the honorees and all the other dignitaries from the outer community, and especially from public service. It was really a beautiful evening. And to see them so relaxed with us, that's a new thing for us. Years ago, we would have distinguished persons of that acclaim among us, with us for major meetings, but they wouldn't be with us long and they wouldn't seem relaxed with us.
Some of them would give the impression that they were with us and impressions that they were making was strong sometimes, but I didn't see it as a situation that offered a relaxed atmosphere. The atmosphere was not relaxed, but last night I witnessed the most relaxed atmosphere that I have witnessed between Muslims and very notable distinguish leaders from the outer community and from the government or public world of politics, public service.
We very happy over that. We think that's an indication. That's an indication that our worth is being established and people are accepting us for our true worth. And I hope that you will feel the same thing that I felt because it makes you feel better inside and it helps your own condition as a Muslim to feel good inside. It doesn't help our condition as Muslims to feel bad inside.
Seeing persons as the distinguished persons we saw last night joining us in our testimonial dinner and awards banquet and being so at home and relaxed with us, it's really a great encouragement to me to work harder for this cause that I have accepted and many others have accepted.
Our address today is on community and personal advancement. Our desire is always to see what we offer be a factor for influencing more progress in the community life and more progress in the personal life of those who attend the gatherings. Many times, we work hard for something and we are not able ourselves to clearly identify what we are working for. We simply say we're working to please Allah. "Were working for the Deen", I hear is the common expression now.
Most of the people that we are talking to, they still don't know any Arabic and we say were working for the Deen. They just hear a word. They don't know what you're talking about half the time, but I understand the spirit and everything. It's nice to see us get attached to these new words. Working for the Deen. Say, "We're working for the religion", so that everybody will know what were talking about. We're working for the religion. We're working for Allah, G-d, Lord of the worlds and we are working for the religion.
We say, "Well, we know we have to do, we have to give the people the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet." That's true. We have to give people the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, but supposed we were talking to a different audience, an audience of individuals who were for many generations having the Quran, knowledgeable in Quran, having the Sunnah, the life history of Prophet Muhammad that is, and being familiar with it. Then what would your purpose be then in preaching them the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet? What would your purpose be then? To remind them. Supposed they are a group of people that are very well up on what you're talking about, and they are always reminding themselves. There are many Muslims who don't need anybody to remind them of the Quran, of whats in the Quran and what's in the life of the prophet, peace be on him.
They are very well up on that and they accept the personal responsibility to keep their own minds remembering what Allah has revealed and remembering the life works of our prophet, peace and the blessing be on him.
In America, we should know what we are trying to reach. We should know what we are aiming for. We should know what we're after when we stand before an audience and begin to talk to them on our concerns; Al-Islam, the religion, the life of Muhammad, the prophet, peace be on him, or Quran, and Sunnah, or any other subject within the big context, within the broad focus of our religion.
We should know what we're after. What are we after? You don't speak to every audience alike. Audience differs as to their concerns and as to their needs. They would have different concerns. They would have different needs.
In America our needs are greatly different from the needs of many Muslims in many of the lands or countries of the East, and Middle East, and far East where Muslims live as nations in North Africa and West Africa, East Africa, and even some in South Africa. The southern part of Africa that is, not in South Africa. Not the so-called nation by that name. I'm not talking about that, and in the far East; India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China even, in Russia even.
Many Muslims all over the world. In Europe, in the islands of the Pacific and all over the world, so many Muslims. When we meet them, we'll find that they have different concerns and different needs. Although we all have the same general concern, and that is the concern for the Muslim. For his religion, for his Muslim life.
We all share that general broad concern, but we should recognize when we are addressing the audience, we should recognize that the audience would have certain sensitivities that are characteristic of their life and their experience. And we should try to recognize those sensitivities and do our best to present the religion to them, respecting what their sensitivities are, what their major concerns are, what their real needs are.
Many things that we can, I would say, put small emphasis on. For example, a Muslim leader will make a big mistake, just preaching faith and goodness to American audience. The big mistake will be that they are used to that. That's the way that the religious people of America, it comes to them most of the time. Faith and goodness believe and be good. If a Muslim says that, can you say that any better than church people say it?
Believe and be good. You can't say it any better than church people say it. We have to find out what does our religion offer that is of benefit to the people that we are talking to and how does our religion address their situation, their condition, and then do our best to present the religion with that kind of respect.
And if we do so, the outcome will be positive for the people. The outcome will be positive whether they embrace what we believe in or not. The outcome will be positive because you are addressing their concern. If Allah has given a healing medicine for ills, and if you recognize the ills and the medicine in the religion for those ills, and you administer it, whether the people acknowledge "La ilaha illa Allah", there's but one G-d, the Kalimah; the creed of the Muslims and Muhammad is His messenger or not, they will be benefited.
I'm the type of person that feels that we should be teachers of the religion, or preachers of the religion, with awareness of the practical approach, not just to be moved by emotions, feelings, but to be moved by what is practical. And if you're a true believer, you don't have to worry about emotions and feelings. A true believer, if he worries about emotions and feelings, he worries about drowning in them. He worries about the danger of giving himself too much to emotions and feelings. That's what I'm saying.
The true believer, he doesn't have to make a point of coming across as an emotional pack of energy or something like that. No, if he does that, he's going to mess up. He's going to lose himself, and the people will all lose. We should look for what is practical and should work with that kind of respect for what is the practical needs in the life of the audience that we are addressing.
And my opinion is that whenever I'm addressing any African American group, or any group of Americans, period, my opinion is that what we need is just good sense. The biggest thing we are lacking is just good sense. It's so happens that our religion more so than any religion that I know, and I think I'm pretty much up on religion. Our religion addresses the human being as creature of intelligence. He's a creature of faith. He's a political creature.
Our religion recognizes him in all the major roles or major persuasions. The legal persuasion, academic, social, moral, all of these are recognized and addressed in our holy book, and by our prophet, peace be on him. But the first recognition of the form of man is that of a creature of sense, a creature of intelligence, a creature with rational ability. A creature able to reason, to make decisions, to have choices, to choose between right and wrong. To choose between what is sense and what is nonsense. What is good for him and what is bad for him. What promises him a good life, and what promises him a bad life.
The human being should also be able to sense where something is taking him. Not just what it's doing right now, but where it's taking him. And our religion wants us to be aware of that. Wants us to be aware of where we are, where we should be, where we should be going, and where we are likely to go if we are not caring people. Just don't care about anything.
In addressing this topic, we are not going directly at community. The need for community to advance, or the need for the individual person to advance in society or in his private life. We are going at those conditions that we think are most responsible for a people succeeding and failing. But we are not going directly at the subject of advancement for society, advancement for the individual person. But rather going at the condition, or the conditions that make possible or invite success, and failure. And this is the best way. This is the answer. This is the help.
Everything needs the climate if it is growing, if it is life, it needs the climate. You can't have a good harvest unless the climate is right. You have the seeds, youll have the land, but the climate has to be right. If the climate is right, then most likely you'll give a good crop or good harvest.
Likewise, for the human production. And I mean the human productivity in the broader sense. Some of us want to produce as families. Some of us want to produce as employees, the job market. Some want to produce as leaders. We have many needs. Whatever our particular need is, we need a climate. We need a climate for life and growth.
They revealed religions, not just our religion, the major revealed religions aim for just that. They aim bringing about a climate that favors community life and individual life. The climate is right, the community will grow, the community will advance, and the people as individuals will also grow and advance if the climate is right. A climate for our sensitivities, a climate for our mental sensitivities, a climate for our moral sensitivities, a climate for our social sensitivities.
The great land we live in America with all that it has to offer in the way of science, culture. Even culture but look at the state of the family in America. Not only in America, now in most of the world. The state of the family, for the most part, is very sad.
Are we so stupid that we can't manage family life? No, we have the education to manage family life. Are we so poor we can't manage family life? No, we have money to manage family life. There was a time not long ago. 30 or 40, 50 years ago, that's not long, when families really poor, feeling hunger, feeling the pains of hunger in their stomachs every day almost, were able to keep a good family life, good family sensitivities, good respect among members of the family, good treatment of each other and good treatment of the children towards parents and good treatment of parents towards children. They were able to do that.
But today it's very, very hard to find families like that. It's not because we don't have money, it's not because we don't have education enough, or intelligence enough, something else is missing. So, we need the climate. And I repeat, the biggest need that I recognize in society is the need for good sense. Just common good sense. Now, you can be very intelligent, you can be very educated formally. Formally, that is from a school, a real physical school. This college, that university.
You can be educated in that formal sense and still be unprepared for common sense life. We find many people today with all the education, but no ability to manage common-sense life. They have the same problems that used to be problems of what we call the stupid-illiterate people. They can't manage their money. Yes, they can't manage their money. They get big income. They can't manage their money. They're always in debt. Always in financial trouble. They can't manage the social life of the home. Always having problems. Family is torn apart.
So, that tells us that man needs something that he can't give himself by himself. He needs help from Allah. He needs help from his maker, from his Lord, to bring him back to good sense. Help comes two ways mainly. Help comes to one by means out of our control or out of his control. That is, he is just a good person and the heavens smiles on you and you get help. G-d helps you. You get help. But that kind of help is like the help we give babies. As babies grow up and get older and more responsible, they join us, they're adults now, that kind of help can't keep coming. And if it keeps coming it's not enough help to dignify you in the world of grown-ups because it's coming to a baby, and it is baby help.
That is, for example, you have problems at home that's making you sad and everything. "G-d bless you." Suddenly you find the attitude of the house changing and family is being nice, but still, you're just as poor. You're just as poor and you have no new ambitions, you're not going after bigger things in the world. But you're surviving and you're happy, "Oh, yes, I'm finally happy now. G-d blessed you. He just turned the hearts of the family; we get along fine now. That was help to babies and the babies are getting along fine now.
The other help that comes is help that comes not just because of the goodness of the heart, but it comes because of the urge of intelligence. There is the urge of intelligence that says, "Hey, this got to make sense." "And this level of living that I have is not fair", and you don't look out there for somebody to blame.
This kind of intelligence I'm talking about, it makes the person aware of his own resources. And his own self-worth. It makes him feel happy about himself. And he's happy to think of himself as a moral being and as an intellectual being, an intelligent being, a being of intellect, even though he's perhaps not that kind of intellectual. But he thinks of himself as a moral being and as a being of intellect. That's the kind of help that grows us up from baby to adult life.
So, it's not enough just to have a whole lot of faith and be good and want to be good. We like that. The term moral is the western term and the nature of morality in the West differs from the nature of morality in Muslim society. The nature of morality, the very word is different. Because moral in English has to do with good and bad, right? Good and bad. The term moral has to do with good and bad.
And moral, the very meaning itself is subject to change depending on the moral trends in the Western society. So, what was morally offensive when I was a boy, is an approved thing today. It is not morally offensive anymore. So, we don't have that idea of morality. We don't have that kind of term for moral in the Islamic world.
And if you're really a knowledgeable Christian, you know there's no place for that kind of idea in Christianity. Thats a secular world idea and it's harmful. It's bad because it does not establish permanently for us an idea, a perception of what is good and best for us. It leads us to the trends of the culture regarding moral thoughts and moral behavior. To be at one time fed with good, moral sensitivity in the name of moral life and at another time to be fed with diseased sensitivities in the name of the same moral life. So, we need a climate for productive life. A climate for productive community life, a climate for productive life in the persons and individuals.
How did our religion Al-Islam? Since we are more familiar with that and that's in our religion, we should talk about Al-Islam. And the great majority here are people who profess to be Muslims and I believe most of you are. Although I know a few of you are liars because it's just shows out from you. A few of you are liars, but I believe most of you are Muslims. Since most of us are Muslims and I'm a Muslim myself, we should see how our religion has treated the human life to bring about that climate for productive growth.
I have to get my glasses now, I need a little help, if I can find them. Maybe before going directly to our religious knowledge, the sources of our religious knowledge Quran and the Sunnah of the life of our prophet, I should go through what has been said maybe of Muslim worth by non-Muslims. Non-Muslim writers, authors, on history or on the development of societies.
There's a book called Muslim Contribution to Civilization. In this book, he quotes Western authors. I'm just going to read some portions to you to say this, that we don't represent a religion that hasn't proven its effectiveness. Our religion has proven its effectiveness. In history, it has been recorded. Many of us think because a thing is not serving us well today, it never had any more value to us than it has to us today.
There are many things that we have today that are not serving us well that served us very well in times gone by and had great value for us then. So, that should tell us that the thing itself is not responsible for us not getting the benefit. Something has happened to us to cut off the benefits.
If this religion brought great benefits to society in time gone by, then we shouldn't doubt the power of this religion to do the same in any other time. Because the condition of man is not so much a matter of what the world is or what the world represents as a challenge to him, but it is more a matter of what he represents as a challenge to himself.
Many nations have been free from oppression. Societies that is, have been free from oppression. They have been free from invasion of outside enemies. They have had their independence, they've had their freedom, they've had good life. Werent oppressed by anybody, wasn't not bothered by anybody, no progress.
Resources were abundant everywhere. They lived in a rich place, rich in natural resources, no progress. Just lived as babies for generations. For hundreds of years, just lived as babies. Why? It's because the self-condition was not awakened. The self and the self-condition had not awakened in them. So, that's what has to happen.
Then we find people who have been oppressed in the worst way and live under oppression one generation after another for hundreds of years and even oppression won't force them to be aggressive, but instead just make them content to live under the domination of others. This is history. And then we find in the contrast of that, nations that have resisted oppression, and before oppression came, they were not really showing any superior ability. But after oppression, they begin to show superior ability. Oppression awakened the self-respect in them. The self-respect and the destiny in them was awakened by oppression.
I say again, it is not the condition of the world most of the time that makes the difference for people, it's the human condition that makes the difference for people. Look how prosperous America has been but look at how America is feeling now in competition with several nations of this world. Failing in competition with several nations of this world, though she had the upper hand. She had the world in her hand in fact.
She had the world in her own hand and still leads most of the world in the field of science and technology. Still leads but is failing at home. The answer is not the material condition. We want computers in every house. We want every house to have all the computers in them. "Beef up the sciences, beef up the sciences. More science, more of the sciences, more of the practical subjects in the school", et cetera. That, "That's going to make the difference."
That's not going to make the difference if the human condition is neglected. You can give your son everything of material worth that he can possibly imagine. Give him more money than he can spend. Give him so much money he's wondering what to do with it. You can send him to the best school, give him the best environment, and still, sometimes that son will not be healthy-minded, will not be productive.
You say, "I'm just invested in him and it just seems to be no use." No use, why? Because the human condition in him is the neglected thing. Youre not neglecting his needs in the environment; he is neglecting his human condition. And he has to have a climate to turn on the human life for him and to make him begin to see himself as a great creation of Allah, a great creation of G-d. To see himself in that way and to value himself, to appreciate himself.
I used to be a little bit shy in religion myself. I was a little bit shy when it came to addressing the human being importance of self. I was a little shy. I thought that that might be taking the importance away from the more important thing, and that is G-d. And that kind of shyness in people often lead them to become preachers of the world to come, only. Just get people ready for the world to come; the hereafter.
That kind of shyness in us will do that. In fact, we will reject the world and we start to invite people to separate from the world and get away from material interest and get away from this and get away from that. "Follow this formula for developing holiness and this formula for developing purity and this formula for transforming you into an angel." That's the route we sometimes take. Not knowing really, the true picture of the world that Allah wants us to see, that G-d wants us to see.
I hope I don't have to keep saying G-d. Allah is G-d. For us, that's the name of our G-d in Quran and it's the most pleasing name for us. I hope that Christians don't feel that we are fighting them. When we say Allah, we're not slighting you at all. We love for you to know our term and hope that you can appreciate our interest and our attachment to the term as we understand your interest and appreciate your interest and attachments to the term that you know. Term for the one Lord and creator. It's the same for you as it is for me, same for all of us, Allah.
We need a climate for productive communities and productive individuals. It's not going to come by no mechanical method. Its not going to come by a mechanical method. It's going to come by a condition in yourself that makes you different than those people who neglect themselves and the world. It's said in so many ways in our religion and in other major religions.
Now, let's hear what this author has to say. Quoting writers of the West, Muslim Contribution to Civilization, "By concentrating their thought on individual events, Muslim scholars were able to develop scientific method much further than their Greek or Alexandrian predecessors. They were responsible for the introduction or the restoration of scientific methods to the Medieval Europe." That is history.
I believe most of us know what the scientific method is. The scientific method is that discipline of the rational thoughts that look for objective facts and reality, objective truths, that that is not influenced. They try to keep from having the field of studying or the things they are investigating being influenced by their subjective influences such as how I feel about it.
So, to be objective, a person who has prejudices against a particular nation, if he is a scientist, he has to be objective. So, if he is studying their life, he can't let his feelings, his bad feelings for them or his bad opinions of them influence his study of them. His scientism dictates that he obeys scientific methods, that he disallows subjectivity, his own feelings, and prejudices, and respect only what is established as truth in the given situation. So that kind of orientation, as most of us are aware, I'm sure, that kind of orientation in the mind, in the intellect is what has made possible the new advance of science in the world, and especially for the West, for America, that kind of orientation.
And when you think about it, the greatest benefits to nations have come from two directions, from the moral direction, and from the material direction. And science has been the greatest tool or instrument for making possible greater advances for man in the material world. And the great advancements in man in the material world, because of greater disciplines of science. Because science was not always this way. As this writer has said, these Muslims, Arabs in the earlier history, but later on Persians, the Turks, Indians, and others, came in and did marvelous things and made marvelous strides in science and civilization just as did the early Arabs.
So, we find that it is this discipline in the intellect of man that has accounted for the major advancements of man in the world of society. And these things are tied together, the moral life and the material life. They're tied together. As the material life advances, it also brings about a climate for greater advancement in the moral life until a certain point is reached, or until a certain degree in progress has reached where man began to take things for granted and forget where he got it all. The material advancement, it influences also moral advancement. Moral advancement makes possible material advancement, and then material advancement makes possible greater moral life and greater moral advancement. They go together.
So why should we be, in religion, of this kind of mind that material and darkness and Satan and evil are on one side, and light and angels and holiness are on another side? That's wrong. And believe me, whether you're conscious of this or not, living in a society, in a world that has conditioned its citizens to think that way, you are affected consciously or not. You are affected. I could go on to point out, to cite to you cases that I have read about of individuals in the major religions, especially Catholicism, and I'm not picking on Catholicism. I have great respect for Catholicism. It has some big problems, but it's done so much good. I see Catholics just like I see other religious people, they're good.
On the whole, they are very good people, but certain things in their teaching have presented real problems for their members, certain people in their members, certain of their members, certain ones of their membership. Likewise, for the average Protestant church. The Protestants are good people. On the whole, they're very good people. I have no problem with that. There are great things in Protestantism, but I also recognize that they have a unique problem too that makes them handicapped in the world of competition, in the great world of competition, a handicap. So, I'm just pointing out that we do have many problems too.
What about you Muslims? Don't you all have problems? Yes, we have our problems. We have many problems too, but our problems are not like the problems of Christianity, not even like the problem of Judaism. And I think this should make Muslims feel very good. Let me give you an example, I have sat down in discussion, religious discussion, with representatives of the Jewish community, representative of the Christian community, and myself, we've sat down together. And in these discussions has brought out that they have an idea that G-d revealed the religion, 
G-d give us revelation, but once it's in our hands it's our responsibility to not only follow it but to update it.
And they were surprised when I told them that, "No, we will never think of updating our holy scriptures." They said, "How can it continue to serve you if there is no room for you to make changes in it? Are you going to accept that women can't be Imams?" Well, I don't see any problem for a woman being an Imam. If you take the word imam, to mean, teaching and leading, she can teach, and she can lead. A woman can do a lot of things a man can do. Are we going to call her a man because she can? So, there are certain words that have been fixed for certain things, and in our religion, the term Imam is fixed for the man.
The one who come before the people that lead them in prayer and give the speech of khutbah. It's not for a woman. If a woman says, "Well, can I lead?" Yes, sure you can. Learn the religion, teach it. Sure, you can, and we have many learned women in this religion that make great contributions to the bettering of understanding of Muslims in this religion, but they are not called Imam. It just happens to be a term for the man and not for the woman. Many of them are better teachers of the religion than many of the Imams. They are better teachers of the religion; they have better ability in everything. So, should she feel bad?
You know, if we continue with this kind of extremism in the name of some kind of liberation or freedom, I believe we're going to reach that point pretty soon, a woman's going to say, "Hey, don't call me a woman. I have the right to be called a man, and right now I want you to call me man. I'm in the spirit to be called man. You don't have no exclusive right to that term."
Some of us are going to be just careless enough to say, "Okay, man."
But some of us know better and we ain't going along with it. We're going to stick with what G-d has revealed and make ourselves bend to fit His life. We're not going to bend His life to fit our wild desires. Continuing now, the crusades have brought. Now, I don't how many of us familiar with the Crusades. I understand now that in these schools, you don't learn very much. In most schools, they don't learn very much nowadays, you know. They don't even teach you how to count your pocket change. We still have very good schools, but for the most part, our schools are very neglectful.
The Crusades were wars between Christians and Muslims. These wars lasted for centuries, eight centuries, some say even longer. It lasted for centuries. But during those centuries of war, there were also periods of peace. They weren't constantly fighting all the time. There were periods of peace, but the peace wouldn't last too long. The war with the Crusades would open up again. Actually, the Crusades are not a term for the Muslims in this conflict. The term Crusades is the term for the Christians in the conflict. The wars are all called Crusades, and that should tell us something. That should tell us something.
In spite of what history has done to make it appear that the Muslims were the aggressor, that should tell us something. The wars are named after the Christians. The term names Christians and not Muslims, the Crusaders. The Crusades had brought a considerable number of Christians face-to-face with a civilization much superior to that of the Europe of their own time. The Crusaders found many things that were completely new to them, as well as techniques that were still unknown to the West. This is technique mean skills. Skills of the intellect and other techniques. Industry, skills of the intellect and skills of industry.
The introduction of oriental products into the European markets and the adoption of new techniques in agriculture, industry, et cetera brought about a profound transformation in the economy of Western Europe. This is a Western author saying it, brought about a profound transformation in the economy, a profound transformation in the economy. Now, if my religion was able to influence a sluggish, or a slumbering economic cycle into lively economic activity, and growth, and eventually productivity, if it was able to do it back then, I should have a concern to at least look at my religion and respect my religion for its economic value as well as other value.
That's what I have learned, in fact, I learned it very soon. I learned it even while I was following my late father and our late Honorable leader, Elijah Muhammad. I learned it even while following him. I learned that there were powerful influences straight from the Quran itself for bringing about appreciation for material life, appreciation for economic growth, business life, and economic development. I found that that there was there. And at that time, I was crippled because I was under my father's rule, under his order, under his rule and at that time, under his spiritual grip. So, I was crippled. I couldn't come before people and tell them what I was actually seeing.
In my heart, I actually wanted to say we got better help for economic development coming from the Quran than we have from anything that my father can say. I recognized that then and I'm telling you now. There's greater help for economic development, for economic life and development coming directly from the Quran than anything my father ever said or that anything that I ever said or ever could say, and I'm aware of that.
Look, what we say in our small vision of importance, we have a small vision of what is important for man compared to what G-d can reveal. Our vision is very small, very small. Our small vision of what can be done to better the life of society and man is nothing in comparison with what G-d has revealed. We have had men come up in the name of themselves borrowing, robbing scripture. Borrowing from scripture and making us believe that they were coming strictly and straight from their own separate independent resources. They were not. They were borrowing and stealing from what G-d had revealed.
What am I referring to? I'm referring to the best thing that the man had been able to give man. The sciences, the sciences themselves, man didn't come into those sciences alone. He came into those sciences after revelation came to him. He didn't come into those sciences independently; it was only after revelation came to him. And we have a model to work with. I don't just have to say this with no proof. We have a model to work with. A man that was uneducated, Muhammad the prophet, peace be upon him. A man that is called unlettered in history, not only by a Muslim. He's called unlettered in history.
He came from no institutions of higher learning. He was not tutored by any learned, big, bright intellect of his day. And he received revelation from G-d called Quran. And after seeing Quran and giving it to others, in time, his society, his community that received that revelation from G-d became the spark for setting the fires of science, light, and intelligence, and intellect for the whole world. This is history. So, there is a model for it. The Jahiliyyah Arabians or Arabs from the Peninsula, Hejaz, the area was called Hejaz in that day, they had no scientific achievements before Quran. They had no real dignified political achievements before Quran.
They had hardly any achievements at all before Quran. They were called people of the dark ages. They were called Jahiliyyah, meaning ignorant society. Uncultured, ignorant society, Jahiliyyah. That's the term in history for that society. But after Muhammad with the Quran, with the Word of G-d, they came into great spiritual life. They came into great moral life. They came into a great sense of civilized community, and in time, became the factor for exciting the intellect and also this appetite for Science in the West. This is history. This is fact.
So that tells us something. That here is a model in Muhammad and in Al-Islam, a model for us to point to and say, "Well, you can tell me that man brought Science and man brought all of this by himself, but I have a community in history, I have a Peninsula in history that had not that at all and it came to them as a result of G-d's revelation." I'm also referring to Marxism. Marxism had great theories, materialism, material dialectics, contradictions for man, conflict, social conflict, and material destiny, all the great ideas of Marxism. They are nothing but distorted conceptions of what G-d has revealed to His prophets.
Take it out of context, bend it, twist it, distort it a bit, add something to it in your own name and then come up with something. But have they proven to be as valuable to man over the long run of life as the Quran or as the revealed wisdom? No, they have not because we see a decline of that ideology right now in our day and time, a decline of that ideology.
I'm not picking on the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He's just one of many men that has stood up and offered something to people in his own name, the blueprint for the black man and all of that, the economic growth and economic program for the black man. I'm not saying that he didn't,
that he was like some of them, no, he wasn't atheist like the communist people. He didn't say, G-d has nothing to do with this. But he said this is my plan he didn't say this is the Quran's plan or that this is based upon the Quranic idea. He didn't say that. He said, this is my economic program. This is my blueprint for the black man, mine.
In saying that, he offered something, and I saw it back then, that he could come from a much stronger position with much greater help, if he came directly from Quran itself. I saw that then. I don't think I am the only one, don't think I'm singling myself out that I'm the only. No, I'm talking about myself because I know myself, I experienced that myself. But I'm sure that there were others among you, others among the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's followers that also sensed that the best help could have come directly from the Quran but you were in the same situation that I was in back then, you were crippled or your hands were tied or your mouth was muzzled or your eyes were cloudy because of the situation.
We're not crying over that. I'm happy. I've learned from that experience back there. And my experience with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, his teaching in society has been more positive for me than negative and I still obey this religion without an interruption. You here what am saying? My obedience to this religion is without interruption. My mother and my father taught me not to eat pork, not to drink liquor, not to be immoral, not to be unjust. They taught me these things in the name of Al-Islam in the name of Islam and the religion. They taught me these things. There was no interruption.
I never became despondent, or disillusioned to the point that I say, I'm going to get drunk. I see faults in the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's teaching, he's not in accord with the Quran. I'm going to drink; I'm going to do anything I want. I never did that, never did that. You know of no one. You can go behind me, trail me from then till now, and even before then, you can't find anyone, I don't think you can find anyone. There's nobody that has met me that could even lie like that. No, you can't find anyone that can say that, he did start that, that he started drinking, that he started smoking, no. I didn't drink then, I haven't drunk. I didn't smoke then, I haven't smoked.
If my father could come right now from the grave and say, Wallace, give me your report. I'd give it to him. He'd say, boy, you sure have been a good follower of mine. Yes, because I followed the best. You know a man who invites people to follow him, he's not inviting you to follow him when he acts the fool. So, you mean your father acted the fool? No, I'm not saying that, but certain individuals will do things that he doesnt want you to follow him in. I'm sure that he had some weaknesses, some defects. If he could come back and say let me see how many followers I got to see here, see if they still following me.
He's not going to say, who followed me in that thing I did at the table that I was embarrassing. He wants to know who followed him in the best that he did. Who followed me in not drinking, who followed in not smoking, who followed me in being respectful of authority, who followed me in being respectful of intelligence? Who followed me with being respectful of family life, who followed me with being responsible for themselves and their household? Who followed me in those things? That's what he'd be saying. Who followed me stretching their imagination to do something about the material condition of the poor neglected black community? That's what he'd be talking about.
And I'm saying, if he would come and find me, if he was a judge that I had to face in the resurrection, I'd have no fear of him. Because he's going to say, "Hey, boy, you're all right. Do you mean to tell me you obeyed those laws without interruptions?" I'd say. "I sure did, yes." And I know what you got on me here lately, but you just got one piece of the evidence. If you see all the evidence, you'll change your mind about that too. See, some people, just like misery loves company, misery loves company. The old folks used to say that, misery loves company. Sinners love company, too. Sinners love company. "Yeah, you hear about the man, you hear what he did?" "Yeah man."
Well, I thank Allah. I thank Allah. I think I'd go before any court and don't have to worry about doing a day in jail. Not a single day, not even an hour in jail. No, no, because I have been blessed by Allah to love right. To love right. I love right, I love G-d, Allah. His name is Allah for us. I love Allah. I love His Messenger. I love the revelation of G-d, the Quran. I love the life it has. I love the direction in it. I love everything about it. I love goodness. I love righteousness. I love decency. I love truth. I love honesty. I love them. All of that I love.
So, I may have weaknesses, I'm a human being, I'm going to have a weakness. But as long as I love these things, with the great love that I have for them, I don't think I am going to ever become a criminal. I'll never be criminal, and I'll never be a notorious sinner. I'll always be noted for repenting quick.
So, let us not exalt any person above G-d. Let us realize that every person is very small and almost nothing when compared to G-d, every person. And no prophet will ever compare himself with 
G-d. No prophet ever did that. No man ever did that in the name that was really sent by G-d, no man. Now, quoting more now, in reality, an economic revolution was sweeping a society and a whole continent. The influence of revelation the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad that were really nothing but the application, the practical application of what G-d had revealed in the holy book.
So, I have introduced that to say this, that our religion, as others reveal knowledge, but our religion has more recent of the major religions and it has more history. It has more history, more living facts to support its claims than any other religion. Our religion has been proven, it is established for its benefits, for its power to affect healthy change and productive life in a person and in society. It's proven. That should give us good reason to trust it now. And not to be quick to say, well, we are Muslim, but what difference does it make? Our life is no better than Jews, no better than Christians, no better than Buddhists, no better than anybody else's, no better than the Protestants, so what difference does it make?
Don't have that kind of attitude. Look first at yourself to see if you are respecting the worth and value of your own religion. You measure up to it first before you begin to criticize it or look at it as not having the strength or the power to bring about the desired change in your life that you want. Question yourself first, because the Allah says, never will He bring about change for people until they first change the state of their own souls. They have to change the state of their own souls. If there's something in your soul that is contrary to the life that G-d wants for you, then no help will be coming to you from any place until you first become dissatisfied yourself with that bad state in your soul.
And G-d has given all of us human beings a nature to want better. Not just better for our backs and our physical homes that we live in, but better for the inner condition of man. He has given all of us that nature to want better for the inner condition of human beings, man and woman. So, don't fool ourselves. Let's be honest with our own selves. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, I turn now to the sayings of the Prophet and we're still going after the same aim, a climate for a productive community, for productive individuals, the advancement for the society and for the person.
Our Prophet said, peace be upon him, the best richness is the richness of the soul. Now, our Prophet is not the only one that says that. There have been other philosophers, other men of great knowledge and vision, not that the prophet was a philosopher, he was a prophet proper. But there have been other educators, that's what I meant to say, other educators have said similar to us about the value of the soul. In my travel, you know traveling on the plane, if you will accept exchange with people, you find many people, educated, world travelers well-experienced walking encyclopedias with a wealth of knowledge, that will talk to you if you will welcome that kind of exchange and you will learn things from them.
I've learned things from just traveling, sitting by people in planes, that I wouldn't have learned if I was going to perhaps the best college. I have met one gentleman. He was a recent immigrant from Europe. And he shared with me his life, the story of his life. And he told me how conditions were in Europe, he said, you know why? Now, you know it ain't easy for a white man to talk to somebody like this, an American, especially American, you know.
Not easy. He said, "Do you know how come the immigrants are able to come over in America and to get more out of democracy than the Americans that have been in the country for generations now? Do you know how come?" I said, "Why?" He said, "It's because we have internal resources. That's the answer. That's the answer. He said, "I came here poor." He said, "I didn't no material wealth." He said, "But I came here with internal resources." Now, wasn't that very decent of him and courageous of him to tell an American just what the real problem is?
So, I told him, I said, "Look, I really appreciate you telling me that," you know, right in line with our light you know, so I didn't tell him that you know. I did appreciate him telling me that because him giving it to me gave me added support, you know, and plus made me understand another area of the problem better. The conversation lasted for a long time. Yes, and that what makes the difference. He told me that the reason why they're able to achieve because they come here with resources of the inner person. They come here with internal resources, sources of the inner person, resources of the inner person and he's a big businessman.
It started off you know; he's talking about the prices of the ticket. We started off that way, we were talking about the price of the ticket, and I told him I always look for the best price I say, try to make the reservation way ahead so I can get this super saving, you know? And I told him, I said, well, I probably would never sit up there in first class unless somebody bought me a ticket or gave it to me and that's how come I was up there. I was in first class. Somebody in the airport recognized me and said, look, do you want to go and first class? Now, what kind of fool would say, no, no, no, I'm a second classman, I will not accept first class.
I said, if that won't cost me anymore, I'd appreciate it very much.
So, he had a pull, he worked for the airline, he went there and upgraded my ticket to first class. So, we're talking with the gentleman and we start talking about the price and everything. So, I said, you have to really have some money to ride first class nowadays. He said, no I don't have that much money. He said, I wouldn't say I'm rich. He said, but I'm well off. He said, I don't have to worry about the material things, he said. He said, but my company, the company I work for, they pay for it. I said, all right. I said, they paid for it because you are of value to them and you're worth that ticket.
He said, I guess that's what softened him up to me. Then he said, you know when I came to this country, I was poor. Then he started talking about the immigrants that come over and explained what I explained to you previously. Now, if that man, see, you don't understand, most of us don't understand science. Don't you know I'm establishing scientific support for what I'm telling you right now? I'm not bringing enough information to you to make the argument really solid scientifically, but I'm on the scientific method. The scientific method is the quote history, quote facts then bring a living witness from a living example, and that's what I'm doing.
These things are saying that the human condition, the inner condition is what makes the big difference. It's what makes a big difference. So, don't play Revelation cheap. Revelation is the best thing man had ever had. The best thing that he will ever have, Revelation. Revelation from the Lord of the worlds. Our prophet also said a man that was going along the road, he gives us a report on this man. He says, "Once a man who was passing through a road, found a branch of a tree with thorns obstructing the road. The man removed the thorns from the way. Allah thanked him and forgave him his sins."
Now, why I say something like this? Because we need a climate. We need a climate for community and personal growth advancement. We need a climate. I know things that have been said to us in the environment that we know. This world environment, I'm not blaming it on America only, no. America's just been the leader, just been the most, the biggest in the most visible nation. No, but the whole world has had a share in this ignorance, a share in feeding our minds with ignorance and influencing our minds in an ignorant way. The whole world has a share in that. So, yes, we need a climate.
Now, our attitude towards Allah, our attitude toward revealed knowledge has been influenced by sector world, secular world and erring, salty religious world. Comes from both ways, from the religious world, the wrong kind of information has come to us about Allah. The wrong kind of information has come to us about human identity, human worth, the wrong kind of information. And all of this wrong information has a lot to do with our attitude now toward Allah, the Lord creator, toward revelation towards prophet, toward the religion. The secular world has been successful in separating the majority of the citizens from every real help that G-d has offered. In that way without putting us in any chains, they have us as their slaves. Now, I'm not talking about any particular person, any particular cooperation, any particular religious group. No, this is really the work of Satan himself, the devil. This is the work of Satan himself. But Satan cannot make any advancements in man's life without man inviting him in. This is our religion. Our religion says that. Satan has no ability to make any advancements in our lives without us giving an invitation. But we can't say, whos the Satan? The Catholic. No, Satan is not the Catholics. I read that. I read that Satan is a Catholic. That that's the house of the devil by other crazy Christians.
Well, sorry, by a crazy Christian. That was a slip from the old days. There was a time that we thought they all were crazy, but I don't think that anymore and G-d is my witness. I know better. We know the influence is the influence of the devil of Satan himself, Shaitan is the name in Quranic language. It's the influence of Satan, of Shaitan. We know that but it was because man invited that evil influence. Men invited those evil thoughts. Men saw profit in following that evil and men took up that evil. Men executed that evil. So, the devil where are he? There he is. You're doing it, that's the devil. Am I right or wrong?
See, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was not all wrong, no. If you're doing the work of the devil, then I don't point over there. The devil, over there. The devil up there. No, the devil is where you are, because youre carry out the works of the devil. So, at a time in the life of America, different people from different religions, mostly from Christianity, have made themselves willing subjects, willing tools of Satan the Shaitan himself. And they have influenced the life of people to come away from everything that G-d gave them as real support and real strength in their lives.
Away from respect for G-d, away from respect for the unity of G-d's world, G-d's creation. They broke up the unity of G-d's creation and made the world, two worlds, the world Satan and the world of G-d. They broke up the unity of G-d's human creation and made it white and black. And we can go on showing how they broke up the unity of G-d's world, broke up the unity of G-d's world, and caused us to see the world in conflict and in contrast, as being the product of evil force and good force, and all of that has conditioned our attitude that we have right now.
Because in time scientific progress, education, and scientific progress will bring us to see the fallacy, the flaws, the blunders that man made and gave us, and then we turned to those and said, "Well, that was the religion." The religion was powerful for that. They did this to us. Hardly ever we say the secular world did it, but the secular world is usually the main culprit, the secular world. The secular world influenced the church. Can't you see how the church has been influenced over the last 20 years by the secular world? How our preachers have stopped trying to obey scripture and have started trying to just be politicians? They just want to be politicians. Demagogues at that. Demagogues at that, meaning people that will cater to your weaknesses just to keep your dollars coming into the offering.
To be continued..

