04-01-2007
IWDM Study Library
IWDM First Sunday Lecture
Pt 2

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

00:00 Imam Mohammed: More than that, we were created and put in a world that inspires us to learn skills. We look at play and we say, "Oh, let the children play." But do you ever think about play? Do you ever think philosophically about play? Do you ever look at play to understand that it may have a message for your mind and a direction for your life? Humans play, animals play, all living animals play. They have play. Some are not as playful as others. Some are so turned off to play they look like strange creatures, they frighten us. They're dull. You ever see snakes playing? I've never seen snakes playing. They don't play. In fact, everybody afraid if they find one near. Right? "Watch out for that human snake." Because everything in the real world is just a sign of something in your world. And I was saying my world, 'cause I'm you and you're me. [chuckle]

01:17 IWDM: Yes. So play is a teacher. A teacher for the wise. Yes. G-d made us to play when we are little and not educated, not informed so that we develop skills for manhood. The same skills you learn in play are used for industry. Play required that you respect one another. And once you don't, play is over. You don't want to play with each other anymore, right? Play requires teamwork. Play requires also tolerance. If we want to play this game like it's supposed to be played, I have to tolerate you and you have to tolerate me. Play requires rules. Some rules have to be established for play. And if the play is on the first level, not highly developed, just on the first level. Play is fun as long as you're respecting and caring about each other. Once you're not doing that play is over. And play is developing the young muscles, the tender, soft, weak muscles. Making the muscles stronger for the job ahead in adult life or in a more developed life. When you have to go out and help father in the field. Rake the grass when the leaves are falling or do other chores around the house. You're going to need muscles. So play are developing those muscles. Well, I think that's enough for you to see that play is for a purpose and play is not for play only. Now, when your life becomes a life of play for fun only, you're finished. There should be wisdom and guidance in things. Praise be to G-d.

03:37 IWDM: Now, looking at our growing up, people in the natural life environment, not spoiled by all of these artificial ideas of what life should be or is. Those persons in the natural, unspoiled environment, they want their children to inherit their best life. If their children inherit their best life then they can die in peace. They don't dread dying if they have to die. They can die in peace because they see their children being there to carry on their best life traditions. Carry on their good works. They see their skills and their contribution to mankind and to mens' society, to mens' community. They see them remaining after they're dead. But when they don't have children to inherit their best life, they die very, very miserably. Their death is painful. Their dying is painful. Their leaving here is painful.

05:08 IWDM: Now, when the adults or the parents themselves become small, they all die not knowing human life. Not ever knowing human life. Isn't that sad? To come into life and go out and never know your own life. Animals, they have been locked into the natural system of things. So the animal, no matter how low or how high the animal is, that animal comes into life living to live its own life. And that animal will live its own life. And you take a picture of that animal a thousand years ago, a million years ago, it resembles, not only in its form, but it resembles in its behavior the life it had a thousand or a million years ago. Yes. But a human being, as my father said, a black man can turn devil overnight.

[chuckle]

06:20 IWDM: A human being can lose their originality overnight. One night and you got yourself into a mold of thinking; you've got yourself into a spirit that have cut you off from your own true life. Now you live in artificiality and going to hell, because it will take you to hell. If the human life is not in an environment supporting human life, then the human life falls to hell. So, our parents are important to keep the children. And good parents should be loved by the children. And we should try to preserve their good contribution to the world, no matter how small that contribution is. We should try to preserve their good contribution to the world. And we should be like living things. Living things grow and increase in value and in beauty. Even the hyena looked a bit worse when it was first born. Name a ugly thing. It was a bit uglier when it was first born. But it took on a pattern of development and it sprouted, it blossomed, and it became more beautiful. You don't get a rose from a rose bush. You don't get the rose immediately. You plant roses, you don't get the rose immediately. You get a little thing, you don't know if that look like a rose at all. But as it develops, finally it produces a beautiful rose. Isn't that how human life should be? You shouldn't stay as you were. No, you should increase in value and in beauty.

08:35 IWDM: These are things that escape the minds of most people living today in these thickly populated places we call the big cities. These things escape the mind. We wake up and we look at the walls. We go out and we look at concrete and steel and bricks and whatever, and billboards. That's what we see. All of these distractions in the way of our spirit that wants to see beauty, that wants to see freedom. I'm not talking about the freedom that we want to do our own thing. I'm talking about the freedom that the mind and soul has when it can soar up in the heavens and see the beautiful stars at night, and the aura and peace of the higher regions. I'm talking about the peace that we enjoy on a clear day, when the wind is calm, the weather is nice. And then a big rain has just come down last night. And the Earth is fresh and smells nice. I'm talking about something like that, you know? 

09:58 IWDM: And you look at that beautiful sky and your mind just goes out into the sky. You know, the poor tells us, but most of us don't know it. The mind has wings to soar above the world of man. The mind also has a spirit to take it where it can't even go. Oh, yes. Oh, yes, that's what I'm talking about. That beautiful blue dome we mentioned, that seems to come down with its walls and touch the Earth. And that's the dome of every man on Earth. It's the dome of us living in America. It's the dome of the people living in Asia. It's the dome of the people living in northern Europe. In the North, and in the Middle East, and in the Far West, Far East, pardon me. It is the dome of the people living anywhere. That same dome appears over them. They don't see a different ceiling. Shouldn't that tell you something? We all live under one ceiling? And you know you got a ceiling over your crib. There's a ceiling over your crib. But you going to come to my crib, it's a different ceiling. But when you go out and see the room that Allah made, see the room that the Creator made for all of us. One ceiling. Doesn't that suggest something to you? 

11:39 IWDM: One air, one ceiling. The air that's over this part of the world is over every other part of the world. Same air. It might not smell the same because same things ain't on the ground. Different things on the ground. [chuckle] So it might smell a little different where you are, but it's the same air. Ain't no two airs, only one air. That's why if we disease this air up enough over the United States, the wind is going to eventually take it to somebody else's land, 'cause it's one air. Now, shouldn't that suggest something to you? That we shouldn't stink up our local quarters. We should try to keep our local areas clean and unpolluted, safe for health, safe for human life. Why? Because if we don't, we may end up killing others, along with ourselves. Because our stink, and our filth, and our diseases, etcetera are going to be blown by the wind eventually away from here to somebody else. Don't you see, G-d created everything so we would be forced to live together? Forced to think together? Forced to plan together? Forced to work together? For the good ends. For the good ends. Praise be to G-d.

13:13 IWDM: Now, enough trouble has already occurred on Earth for us to force us to think differently. To force us to come together and use the best of what we have. Use the best of what we have together. G-d calls us to migrate from land to land, one place to another. To migrate, and to go searching sometimes just out of curiosity, wanting to know what's on the other side over there. If I keep traveling that way, what will I come upon? What will I meet? So G-d gave us these curiosities. The Lord, creator of everything, gave us these curiosities to make us venture out and discover other people, other lands, other people and their skills, their arts, their creation. For what? So that in the end of time, and really the end of time, when the whole world comes together, that's the end of time. When your land comes to meet my land, and I come to meet your land, and all the lands have met, that's the end of time. So the end of time is really now, isn't it? The end of time is now. And why did G-d bring us to meet at the table in the end of time and speak to each other about global economy? Everybody's being tied in together, land-wise, economically. Land-wise or economically, everybody's being tied in together and working for a better existence on this planet.

15:04 IWDM: So that's why G-d did it then. It must be the answer. Designer of this Earth, and the skies, and all of creation must have designed it to be a mate for my mind. For me to indulge it, and for it to reward my indulgence, and for me to give back to it after it lifts me up in intelligence and science, industry, technology, etcetera. It lifts me up. So I should complement it for lifting me up, shouldn't I? Where man is repenting right now that he planned urban renewal in the wrong way. That he crowded out life, that he did the wrong things with science and industry. He's repenting right now. That he's spoiled the waters and made the waters undrinkable. Made it unfit for fish to live in. Many waters are unfit for life to live in. He's done that, and he's repenting his mistakes. And that he should repent his claim to be able to make his life on his own, and prepare a life for others on his own, and not turn to G-d's guidance. He should repent that claim. Why? Because that claim has got him into serious trouble.

16:27 IWDM: That claim has brought him to the door of doom. Yes. And he should be getting our acknowledging that "I was a fool, G-d." That "I was born like a navy bean. Hard and had no expression. A little hard, dead thing with no expression. And it was you who softened me up with your beautiful creation. You softened me up. You opened my mind, and made me grow in beautiful design. And I forgot you. I started looking at my own creation and forgot you, forgot how I got started." Yes, it's time for man to repent, repent and acknowledge that he had no sense at all. And that he couldn't have come into intelligence, he couldn't have come into society, how to build society, he couldn't have come into science and technology, he couldn't have come into anything unless he respected or had appreciation for the created world. And let his mind engage it and bring out the things that G-d deposited, that the creator deposited in the matter for his mind. And for his environment, for his comfort.

17:54 IWDM: If he would repent with a sincere repentance, G-d will give him what G-d promised. G-d will give mankind what G-d promised, and what is that? Just as I gave you a beautiful natural world that supports you living, surviving and making progress. If you will hold on to truth, sincerity, honesty, and innocence and work for the whole not yourself. Work for every land, not just your own. If you will do that, I will make your world also a beautiful garden of paradise. Thank you very much, and peace be unto you.

[applause]

18:49 IWDM: Allahu Akbar, we thank G-d. Well, that completes our presentation for the first hour, and I'm going to sit down and take a little break. I see we have our dear friends of this community, who are based in Rome, near the Vatican, the Focolare. And I don't know if they greeted us, but I certainly want them to come and greet us. Will you come and give us greetings, please? 

[applause]

[background conversation]

20:06 IWDM: So thank you, you're our honorable guest.

20:12 Speaker 2: Thank you. I didn't expect this, but I'm really glad to bring the Focolare's greetings also Chiara's greetings. As you have followed, I'm sure, as Imam Muhammad always asked that all us to pray for Chiara, I wanted to update that she physically still not doing too well. She follows everything. Everyday she is up-to-date with all that is happening worldwide with the Focolare and outside the Focolare, but I guess she still needs our prayers. And what's most dear to her heart is actually what Imam Muhammad just shared right now to bring this earthly paradise on Earth. Quite often people ask me, "How is it going with Imam Muhammad and his community?" And I think it's never been so... It's not gone so well. It's going really wonderfully. So I want to recommit our desire to live for this united word with all of you. But actually my being here today was not to address as a Focolare member, but as a Catholic church, and allow to give the microphone to Sister Joan McGuire that I would like to invite and can say a few words about an event that we are planning for Cardinal George on April 30th.

21:24 Sister Joan McGuire: Thank you.

[applause]

21:29 SM: Thank you. I'm Sister Joan McGuire and do work on the staff for Cardinal George. And it's a privilege to be here to make this announcement, but even more so to hear you.

[background conversation]

[applause]

21:45 SM: His whole talk on the poor and on the nature, and our going back to... I'm a farmer's granddaughter, so I understand his appreciation for some really get back to nature. But what I'm here is to invite you; this is the 10th anniversary of Cardinal George as Archbishop of Chicago. And to celebrate this anniversary, he wanted to bring together some of his friends from the other churches and from other religions. And so on April 30th, this is the first Sunday of April; it's the last Monday of April. It's April 30th. There will be a little service and Cardinal will speak on his 10 years of ecumenical and inter-religious work and his hopes for the future, his hopes to work with the other churches and religions in the future. So that will be on April 30th at Holy Name Auditorium. That's the place where we had the privilege of having a conversation between Cardinal George and WD Muhammad. So if you would like to come, just call us so that we know that you're coming. It's the Archdiocese of Chicago, 312-751-5325, but you could probably find out that address. We would welcome any of you who would like to come. It's an evening that I think you would enjoy. And you might even find a little surprise there because the Focolare, and particularly Marco, has done something very wonderful for us. So I thank you again for your time.

[applause]

23:36 Speaker 4: Assalam Alaikum. Yes, in a few minutes, our leader will be returning to the podium, but right now, Sister Amatulah has some more announcements that she is going to be making for us.

23:57 Sister Amatulah: Assalam Aleikum. Bismillahi rahmani rahim. We thank Allah for the wonderful public address by Imam today, and we pray Allah that we put it into practice so that we all can benefit from it. Right now I want to give some brief messages. We'd like to acknowledge our guests who came to be with us tonight. Well, we already have Brother Marco and Sister Joan, we have John Hill. Could you please stand up where you are when I call your name? John Hill, Joshua Hill, Janet Hill, all from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They are the guests of Brother Taman and Sister Farida Mohammed. Allah Hu Akbar. And then we have with us, we have Nathan Blackburn, Azaddin Abdul Majid. They are graduate alumnis from DePaul University.

[applause]

25:01 SA: Guests of Indidio Kapu, and we have Suad Abdul Kabir, an intern at Eman. She is completing her Ph.D. At Princeton University, also a guest of Indidio Kapu. We have Brother Travail, from Racine, Wisconsin who's the guest of Brother Imam Abdul Ghani. We thank for their first time. If there's anyone else here for the first time, if you would just stand where you are. We didn't get the message, and we're so grateful also to have all our Imams from the east coast up and down, from everywhere. We're glad that you were with us again today. Some of the messages we have is Clara Mohammed School is having the 35 years of educating tomorrow's global leaders.

25:58 SA: There is a program with the 2007 friends of Clara Muhammad School Award to be presented to Miss Clara Wright, Noah's Ark Preparatory School. The keynote speaker is Imam Mohammed Sadiq from Indianapolis, with special guest Imam W. D. Mohammed. You know about that? He's looking... Brother Sadiq is looking funny. [chuckle] And this is in Milwaukee, there's fliers out, and Brother Imam Shahid is here for information. And our Brother Sahir, different people are here so you can get that information from them. Also the Jihad Bashir Support Foundation would like to invite you to its 11th annual scholarship award program. Saturday, April 28th, from 7:00 PM, it's going to be here at the Holmworth Hotel, which is good. Usually it's in the city. And brothers and sisters...

27:05 IWDM: I got a little arthritis in my back here, and sometimes it bothers me more than others. So I just can't jump up, I have to come up and loose and unravel. Okay. Yes. Well, today and from... Actually, from today, we will be having a kind of a different situation for this second hour. Most of the time for the second hour, I wanted to give to you, the audience, for questions and comments, but they have to be short, and we have to understand that only a certain number can be accepted and we're not going to have enough time to take too many. But every first Sunday I wish we could kind of give others. If you know you came first Sunday of this month, then next month don't you try to come, let give somebody else a chance, and it will work very well. But I do have two important matters to bring to your attention. I'm going to lean over here like this, it helps my back. I'm going to bring to you two matters, two important matters that I want you to understand. One is; we are learning this religion. And regretfully, some of our Imams are learning it very slow, and some of them are not really able to really put themselves into Islamic studies like they should, and I think it's because of age, and other problems and mostly because they burnt themselves out under the nation of Islam and they don't really have much energy left.

29:21 IWDM: Yes. But we love them, and they are making contributions in their own way given their own resources, or their own knowledge and experiences, and experience. But we have a young group that's coming forward, and they are making us feel very good. That was a young brother writing, and they had his article in the paper for more than once. He writing on the children's page. I don't think he should write on the children's page, not what he's writing, it's for everybody. In fact, it's... It was compose...
