10/03/2004
IWDM Study Library
RESEARCHING OUR RELIGION, ESTABLISHING BUSINESS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
PT. 4
By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

00:06 Imam W. Deen Mohammed: Allah who act about it. The word of G-d is our salvation. But the word of G-d only comes into the world to save us when we have been deceived to separate from our own souls, and Satan caused that deception, he brought us to be deceived, to separate from our own souls that G-d created for us. Let G-d give us a double portion of his mercy, he promised that He will give us a double portion of His mercy, that He will be merciful to us twice. G-d is merciful to us when He create us human from our mothers. That's a great mercy because that life is much higher than any other life He created.

01:05 IWDM: Men when we get in trouble and follow our own free-thinking, independent thinking, without respect for the order that G-d made in the heavens and in the earth, we get in big trouble and we fall under the schemes of Satan, then G-d is merciful again. He said, "Well, they were deceived into that so I have to come and give them help." And if just one soul, there may be 5 billion on earth, approaching 6 billion maybe now, but if just one of us on the earth... Just like when a man have sexual relations with his wife, science says that hundreds of thousands of germs are burst forth, but most of the time only turn out to be the new baby. All those misses, one hit. Well if we have 5 billion people, if we have all the 5 billion miss, but one make the hit that G-d wants it to make, G-d says He will save the whole people. If just one remain in His good nature, G-d says he will save the whole people.

02:39 IWDM: And Allah says in the Qur'an, G-d that is, He says, "In your death of all of you and your resurrection, is just like the life and death of a single person." Meaning that if just a single person lives, we all can live and if a single person dies, eventually, the influence of that one's death can bring us all to death. What is that single person? Human, the human, the human life. If the human life dies in us, we all die. But if the human life is saved in us, that one life, we all can live, we all can live. True human life is saved, we all can live. And it doesn't have to happen in many people, it can happen in one individual body. We've seen how one popular entertainer can just grab the minds of everybody and before you know it, the great majority of the people are following or are being influenced by the performance and character of that one entertainer. Yes? 

04:00 IWDM: So we have many lives in this complete life we call human life. The human life branches out, it branches out into spiritualism, it branches out into government, politics, it branches out into agriculture, sciences, and everything, it just branches out into all these things. So when we look at our life now as a people, we just can't think about life as being body or being religion or spiritual. We have to see our life as being political, we have to have a political life, we have to have an industrial life, or a business life, a cultural life. As the honorable Elijah Muhammad says, "I'm trying to put them in a new dress." We have to have a cultural life. Culture means what are your tastes? What are your particular tastes that make you different from other people? In music, in dance, in art, and also in labor. What kind of vocations you all favor that distinguish you from other people. The Africans are great craftsman, right? Work well with wood and stuff. Although they work with other things too, but they're known for being great wood craftsman. So all of that that you do experience with your mind and your skills, it has a way of enriching your soul. And eventually, because of your particular tastes, your particular appetites, in all these areas of life you become distinguished from other people.

06:00 IWDM: Now if we gonna follow the trends of the world if we gonna get our tastes from television, and from the music industry, and from the streets, then we are people with no life of our own. Our leaders used to protect us from that, we used to have conscious leaders who were keeping us in touch with our own life line. The new African-American that G-d has birthed or created on the shores of America. They were trying to keep us in touch that with that, so that we realized that G-d is in our life. That because of G-d, we have been able to make it this far. Whether it was Christian or Muslim, they kept this in our minds and they kept the human excellence before us. That we are supposed to choose character and choose virtues, choose righteousness over just cheap, vulgar pleasures. They insisted upon that and we were progressing as a people.

07:20 IWDM: But now, since the Civil Rights Movement we look at us as a people, I don't see progress for us as a people. I go through the neighborhoods I used to be in when I was a young man and a teenager and those neighborhoods haven't changed. The properties are still owned by other people, the big properties. The businesses are still owned by other people. There is still the corner where the drunks hang out. There's still the neglect, the terrible neglect in the neighborhoods, or either other people are making the neighborhood look good, not us. We're doing something better, we do keep better lawns than we used to. I see more beautiful green lawns now in the black quarters. That's progress, that's progress. You've got to appreciate whatever good we do. Can't find too many buildings, the houses with the paint peeling off of them anymore. We're doing that, we walk out looking like we're going to manage the bank. Always dressed up, we're looking good.

08:32 IWDM: But you're just like Dathan, who was a slave in Egypt. Dathan rolled around in a chariot with the spinning hubcaps, golden spokes in his wheels, silk draperies hanging on the windows of his carriage, fine diamonds and jewels in his walking cane that he didn't need, he just carried it to show that he had it. He could walk without a cane, Dathan. But when he went before Pharaoh, Pharaoh said, "What you want, boy Now, he didn't have to say it with that word B-O-Y. He can say, "You out of money again?" [laughter] "You out of money again? Well, you'd better get rid of some of those credit cards."

[laughter]

09:43 IWDM: So, it's wake up time. Now, in my conclusion, you have to get back to the original identity. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad had it right from his teacher, "Know yourself as the original man." And that means the original soul that G-d made before the world spoiled it. Know your soul as the original person, the soul that G-d made it before the world spoiled it. And putting it very simply, know yourself as a member in the human family, the human family that includes all the people on this planet earth. Know yourself firstly as a relative of every person on this planet earth. That identity is the best one, the strongest one that's the one that offers you the most for your future, the greatest progress. And then, when you put on the other identities, that strong identity can hold them all up. They can branch off from it and they all will be beautiful and strong. Your racial identity will branch off from that, be beautiful and strong. Your cultural identity will branch off and be beautiful and strong. Your identity as a citizen of America will branch off and be beautiful and strong. Every identity can be supported by that human identity. That's what makes us one life, and that's what makes us strong and acceptable in G-d's eyes. Stick with that and let's work on every other identity to get it beautiful and strong. Especially the neighborhood, the financial identity of us as a people weak in business. Let's change that. Thank you, peace, As-salamu Alaikum.

[background conversation]

11:36 Speaker 2: Takbir! 

11:37 S?: Allahu Akbar! 

11:38 S2: Takbir! 

11:39 S?: Allahu Akbar! 

11:40 S2: Takbir! 

11:41 S?: Allahu Akbar! 

11:42 S2: Brothers and sisters, hold your seats just for a minute. We came in prayer, we're gonna leave in prayer. Prayer is always good any time, every day, every minute. Thank Allah for our leader, Imam W. Deen Mohammed. One thing, brothers and sisters, we would like for you to do. Now I'm talking about economics, talking about business, talking about supporting ourselves, and if you got a dollar in your pocket or more let's take an opportunity, and they got some dollar items over there let's go over to the vendors and support them, this evening. Would you do that? I'll lead the charge, find out what they have, purchase what they have because we gonna spend it somewhere else anyway. So, why not give it to them 'cause they might have something you want... You have, you want or need. So let's start among ourselves today and then move and try to get that what Imam just expressed to us. So, brothers and sisters thank you very much. May Allah bless you and if the leader have anything else to say will close it out.

12:49 Speaker 3: Brothers and sisters can we remain seated for a few minutes? We are able to do our prayer but Imam wouldn't be able to take questions and answers today on next Sunday, he'll be more prepared to take the question and answers after he [inaudible]. Thank you very much. [chuckle] Not next Sunday, the next first Sunday... That would probably be around November six or seven somewhere around there. November 7th, yes and he'll be more prepared then for the question and answer, so thank you very much and can you wait for a few minutes? 

[pause]

13:48 S3: Sister would like to make the Shahada, so can you come forward Sister? 

[background conversation]

14:18 IWDM: To be accepted as a Muslim and the community of Muslims we are already accepted by G-d with our hearts, our souls... Accept, but to be accepted in Muslim Community we follow the tradition that's over 1,400 years old now. The tradition of our Prophet Muhammad upon him be the prayers and peace who ask of converts from pagan society that they worshipped idols. He would ask them to make the Shahada, he would ask them to include, that they will not go back to the bad behavior of the idol worshipers, they had very bad behavior. And some say that he would ask also those converted from Christians to say that, "They witnessed that Jesus Christ is a servant of G-d, a messenger and servant of G-d." That is, "We don't accept that Jesus Christ is G-d, only a servant and messenger of G-d." But I don't find a lot of evidence to support that so I think it's enough to say, "We witness that G-d is G-d and Muhammad is a messenger of G-d."

15:31 IWDM: So, you will repeat that "G-d is G-d one G-d and Muhammad is the messenger of G-d."

15:36 Speaker 4: G-d is one G-d... And I'm nervous... And the messenger is Muhammad.

15:45 IWDM: Yes. We accept you Sister.

15:48 S4: Thank you.

15:50 IWDM: Allah be with you, G-d be with you, and keep you always.

[applause]

16:04 S3: Praise is due to Allah.

