August 18th 2001
Imam W. Deen Mohammed in Nashville, TN

IWDM:
We praise G-d Who created the world, of the skies and the earth, and all living and made a very special creation when He made the human being and the excellence, that He, and now His Creation with. We witness that Muhammad to whom the Quran was revealed about 1,400 years ago. The model of human excellence, a model as Allah says, G-d says in our Holy Book for any, not just for Muslims, are for His following. A model for any who believes in the Last Day, who believes in G-d and believes in the Last Day, in the Judgment, that they have to be accountable to G-d, the Maker, the Creator of everything.
IWDM:
What is our purpose that G-d assigned on this earth? In our religion, in our Holy Book, the purpose is given. And it says, G-d says that is, that man is created to worship or serve G-d. He said that He neither created the jinns, spirits, the jinns, nor man, for any purpose except His worship, except to serve Him. I'm familiar with the Old Testament and the New Testament and I can say to you that the Bible, the Holy Bible has the same language in it. The purpose of our existence on this earth is to serve the G-d that made the earth, created it when there was no earth to...to hide and...and created man, when there was no man before existing.
IWDM:
I'm happy and honored to be invited here. Last night we had a wonderful time, as your guest, we came to celebrate with you and to recognize your honorees and to hear your keynote speaker, attorney Sarasay lll, and we enjoyed the evening. It was a wonderful evening last night and we enjoyed having dialogue with the Christian minister or reverend. We had a wonderful experience and discussion with the Reverend Paul and the evening was so lovely. The meal was very tasty, the environment was beautiful, friendly, warm and dignified.
IWDM:
We...we are here on this earth to serve G-d. How do we serve G-d with our whole life? Says G-d says in our Holy Book, the purpose of our life on this earth is to worship Him and to worship Him means to serve Him. For the Christians, I see Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, in the New Testament saying the same thing, "That I'm...I'm here to serve G-d, the One who sent me." And how did he serve G-d, who sent him into the world? He served Him by serving his... G-d's Will for human life in society. He questioned the behavior of persons that didn't sympathize with suffering people. He questioned the behavior of persons who claimed that they believed in G-d, but was not being kind to their fellow man. The questioned person that didn't have charity for those who are sick, hunger, et cetera. So service to G-d is really through our service to mankind and in community or in society.
IWDM:
In our religion, in our Holy Book, G-d says, your sacrifices of blood animals, that does not reach Him. He said, what reaches Him is your obedience. Your obedience, our obedience to Him is what He say reaches Him, not the money we give. We say for G-d, to G-d and the animals we sacrifice to G-d, that does not reach Him, only our obedience reaches Him. So what He's saying, what G-d is saying, that He doesn't need your money and He doesn't need you to give Him anything. He's independent, needing nothing.
IWDM:
But what He loves is that you obey Him and obeying Him does not give Him anything, obeying...obeying G-d gives you everything. So really G-d's Love is the Perfect Love and His Love is Divine Love, He loves not selfishly. I have to admit that I have had a good relationship with my wife and a beautiful experience with her, life as her husband and father of our children. But it has been selfish love, I wanted a lot out of it for myself. G-d wants nothing for Himself. He Created the world for the living, Created everything for His servant who will obey Him.
IWDM:
And we often look at this world, people of faith and we...some of us, we're patient enough to just be peaceful, accept whatever G-d's Will let us have in this life. Even if it's nothing, a life of poverty, a life of sickness, a life of broken families, whatever. We bear it all patiently, those who strongly believe in G-d. But sometimes we ask, "When are we going to see relief? When are we going to have it good?" And we think that the world, it belongs to satan, it belongs to, we say shaitan, it means satan. We think the world belongs to shaitan and the criminals. We can't do anything about it, we have to live in this world with criminals and suffer and bear with them. Bear, tolerate all these evils, et cetera, but that's not Scripture. That's not Quran and that's not Bible.
IWDM:
Bible says, "Rebuke satan." So you read, Christians have to even stand up to the devil, it says, "Rebuke Satan and he will free from you." And in our Holy Book, G-d says, "And fight the schemes of satan." It didn't say fight him directly, because he's a...he's a mystery. Satan, for us is a mystery and he's hidden from us, we cannot see him in the form, in physical form. We don't know where to go and say, "That's satan, I'll go there and kill him." It's not like that, he doesn't exist that way. He exists in his works, he exists in his schemes, that's where he exists. So G-d says, "Fight the schemes of satan." So surely his schemes are weak, they're not strong, they're weak. They're strong only against the weak morally, the weak in faith, the weak spiritually, but they're weak before the strong in faith, they're weak before the strong in spirit and we're to fight his schemes.
IWDM:
Now I want to go to the idea, the topic of my address here before you today. G-d, when He Created man, according to our Sacred Books, He created man to be responsible in his environment. The first man He created didn't have a nice little house like I have, like my...my family had and didn't have a nice apartment like a lot of my friends I know have. Condominiums and some...some of my friends they have mansions. Man didn't have that, he had nothing but the bare earth, the bare earth and G-d created him and charged him with responsibility for his environment, the total environment.
IWDM:
Now that first parent, we all came from, we all came from. We're the children, all of us. This is how we believe the people of the Sacred Books, the Bible and Quran, and we believe that we all are the children of that parent. Then we all have the life of that parent still in us. Our flesh is the flesh of that first parent. Our human makeup is the original human makeup of that first...first parent. His...our obligation is the obligation of that first parent. Our ability and capacity to manage the environment, is the ability and cap...and capacity that G-d gave that first parent when He made him. He made him fit for the job assigned to him, to be responsible for his environment.
IWDM:
You live in Nashville, relatively comfortable, peaceful, because most of the cities that I go to have serious problems of crime, joblessness, disrespect for human life, et cetera. But I find that this city is relatively Christian, peaceful, clean and good for family life, I said "relatively." You nice people of Nashville, I advise you to don't watch too much television, because if you do you're going to see my city in this environment, it's going to come on your screen one day and it might influence you. It might break your peace, it might influence some of your children to change this good life and go to the streets and leave G-d.
IWDM:
Getting back to the point. Man has been created to be responsible for the environment. When I say, man, I mean male and female, 'cause in the Scripture, man is male and man collectively is also male and female, male and female. It begins with the environment of the Sacred temple, the first Sacred temple and according to the Bible, that sacred temple is your own body. The body that you live in, you're to keep it sacred, you're to keep it from being defiled, you're to keep intoxicants out of that body, you're to keep drugs out of that body. It's a sacred temple G-d Created for us. We are to keep it from being defiled.
IWDM:
And then it...again, and this is Islam too, because Muhammad said. the greatest jihad is not the one we hear about in the news and how the neighbors miscommunicate jihad, that word, jihad, given the wrong meanings. It's the struggle within and jihad simply means struggle, struggle, struggle. Muhammad said, "The jihad within is the greater jihad." To struggle to keep the temple from being defiled. Keep out lies, keep out jealousy, keep out envy, keep out greed, keep out drugs, keep out liquor, et cetera. The struggle to keep the temple sacred, according to Muhammad, the Prophet, is the greater jihad, this is the greater jihad. If you are successful with that struggle, you are ready then to take care of the environment. But you cannot do anything, but make the environment worse, if you haven't first guarded the environment within. The environment within, within your conscience, within your heart, within your sensitivities, within your spirit. We have to guard that precious life, that sacred life from shaitan, satan, as you call him in Christianity.
IWDM:
Now the world, the world wasn't made to stay a paradise or to stay a garden, a Garden of Paradise. For G-d made our first parents and He put them in the Garden of Paradise and G-d says in our Holy Book, that satan seduced our father and our mother, causing them to come out of the original clothing that G-d created them with. And G-d says, "And the original clothing...clothes were the clothing of righteousness. Are the clothes of the righteousness." Satan seduced our parents, causing them to come out of their purity. Spiritual purity, to come out of their protection that was their righteousness.
IWDM:
To come out of their beautiful dress that was their righteousness and Muhammad the Prophet, prayer for peace be upon him, he said, "G-d wanted to show Gabriel," you call him in Christianity, we call him Jibril, wanted to show, Jibril, peace be upon the archangel Jibril, wanted to show him His creation. So He called Jibril, He said, "Jibril, behold My Creation." And Jibril said to G-d, "How can anyone go astray? How can anyone go wrong in such a wonderful Creation?" Then G-d instantly, as though on a big screen, showed Jibril, Gabriel, His Creation after satan had influenced it and Jibril said to G-d, he said, "My Lord, how can anyone go straight in such a Creation?"
IWDM:
So we have to then accept that the world as G-d made it, is a Paradise for man. All man has to do is approach it properly, approach it as G-d intended for him to approach it and he will reap good results, great benefits and he will have a Paradise in G-d's Creation. This is...this is...this is backed up also by the saying in our Holy Book, say when the righteous who bear patiently, never breaking their faith in G-d. When they are blessed with the world to come after this one has passed away, they will in Heaven or in Paradise, they'll be there and they will say, "This resembles what we were in before." It means the real, the real world that G-d has made. What G-d promises us is a return to the real world that He made originally, before Satan enforced it.
IWDM:
Oh, don't you believe in a life after death? Certainly I do, I have already been resurrected from the dead and I hope to have another one. (Laughing) Praise be to G-d. Certainly I do and I believe every word of Scripture, every word of Scripture. Praise be to Allah. Praise be to G-d. Now, eh, G-d says, also to us... in our Holy Book, eh, the Paradise that He will give you will be gotten as the expanse of that garden. Will be as the expanse of the heavens and the earth, the heavens and the earth and is that in the Bible? The Bible says, "And G-d will make everything new." There will be a new heaven and a new earth and that will be the...the...the reward for those who kept faith...kept faith and didn't succumb to satan's influences in this world.
IWDM:
This is what both Books agree with each other. You'd be surprised how close the two Books, the Books of the Muslim and the Books, eh, Book of the Christian is. The Books are so close, that believe me, I don't care to make you, convert you to Islam. If you live your own Book, live your own Book, you're going to make me happy. You live your own Book, you're going to make the environment good for all of us. If we would just live our own Books, we'll have a beautiful city, even in Chicago.(Laughing) We'll have a beautiful environment, a beautiful public environment, if we will just remain true to our own Books. But we need first, Leaders of good character and then we need Leaders who are intelligent and will study their Books. That's what we need.
IWDM:
So I want to conclude this talk by saying, that responsibility that was given to our first parent is ours...is ours. We are Adam...we are Adam and his wife, we are Adam and his mate. We are our first parent, just like I am Clara, my mother, and I am Elijah, my father and I would be very ignorant to deny that. Elijah's life is what made possible my life. Clara's life, my mother, is what made possible my life. I'm living as a new person, W Deen Mohammed, but I'm living because I have in me, the genes of Elijah and the genes of my mother Clara. And if we go back, back, back, back, back, you're going to come to your first parents and you have the genes and the human makeup, original human makeup of the first parent, call it, Adam, call it whatever you want to call it.
IWDM:
We are man, that's what we are. We are Adam, that's what we are and if you read your Bible and you read Quran, you will understand that. Muhammad made it very clear to us, he said he had been taken on a visit to Jerusalem, from the Holy precincts, the first Sacred House, or...or Temple, or place of worship in Mecca, in the Holy precincts there, the Kaaba, the Sacred House, the Kaaba. He was taken from there on a journey, they call it, some...some translators of the Quran, they call it the night joint journey, the night journey, taken on a journey and he was lift up from that place and ascended into the Heavens.
IWDM:
And there he saw on the first level plane, he saw our parent, first parent, Adam...Adam, and he greeted Adam. He said, "Peace be unto you, As Salaamu Alaikum." He said, "My father, Adam." And G-d took him up to a higher level and there he saw Christ Jesus and John on the...on the second level and he greeted both of them, he said, "Peace my brother, Jesus, and my brother, John, peace be unto you." And G-d kept just carrying him up and up and up until he reached the highest, the seventh and there was Abraham, our, the next Father, the second of our Fathers, Father Abraham and he greeted him. He said, "Peace be unto you, my Father Abraham." And in the Quran he was explaining something from...for us, in the Quran, G-d says, "And there are seven planes in the Heavens and a like number within yourselves." We descended from these Fathers, these...these...these...these Holy men, we descended from them spiritually. The...the people of faith, they have passed their spirit on to us and we descended from them.
IWDM:
One spirit, we got as a natural consequence, and that's the spirit of humanity that was given to Adam when he was created, our first parent. But we also have the spirit of Moses in Jews, they've been...they've been influenced by Moses more than anything else. And we have the spirit of Christ in Christianity, you've been influenced by Christ more than anything else and the Bible says, "And those...the...the children are those who follow in the Spirit, who follow in spirit." So we have to understand these things and realize that we are not just individuals. We're individuals owing our individuality at our existence, especially our human definition and human identity, to those who went before us. And don't disrespect your parents ever, because actually you are your parents. Their life is in you, your body came from them, you're here because they lived before you.
IWDM:
The Quran, G-d says, "There are seven planes in the Heavens and a like number within yourselves." We descended from these Fathers, these...these...these...these Holy men, we descended from them spiritually. The...the people of faith, they have passed their spirit on to us and we descended from them. One spirit, we got as a natural consequence, and that's the spirit of humanity that was given to Adam when he was created, our first parent. But we also have the spirit of Moses in Jews, they've been...they've been influenced by Moses more than anything else. And we have the spirit of Christ in Christianity, you've been influenced by Christ more than anything else. The Bible says, "And those...the children are those who follow in the spirit, who follow in spirit."
IWDM:
So we are to understand these things and realize that we are not just individuals. We're individuals owing our individuality and our existence, especially our human definition and human identity, to those who went before us. And don't disrespect your parents ever, because actually you are your parents. Their life is in you, your body came from them, you are here because they lived before you and they mated and you came about. So let us remember these things, let us be more serious. We are very scientific, we need to be interested in a human person, a human person and then there won't be the shameful disregard for human life that we see on television all the time.
IWDM:
Youngsters destroying themselves, wild shootings, killing innocent people. The...the...the...the eh, the eh, killer going to jail, it's a terrible loss that a stupid youngster kills and then he goes to jail. His life...his life Is now wasted, his...he's locked up, not to mention the innocent young child that he shot and killed. Just going through the neighborhood just firing shots at random. We live in a crazy world and it's that way because they don't go to church in those big cities like you do in Nashville. They are not sticking with their religion in those big cities, like most of you all are doing in Nashville.
IWDM:
I didn't come here to convert any of you all. You're already converted, remain strong, remain faithful and you'll remain good Christians as you are. And convert more to your way of living, to your decency, to your peace, to your respect for G-d, to your respect for your preachers, your leaders in the church. Convert more to that, so your city will become even a better Nashville and we will have hope in Chicago, because there's a good place called Nashville. Thank you. Peace be unto you. As Salaamu Alaikum. (Applause) "Takbir. Allahu Akbar. Takbir. Allahu Akbar. Takbir. Allahu Akbar."
IWDM:
G-d is Greater. We thank Brother Imam. We know that he's got to...to leave soon, a plane he's got to catch shortly and, um, let's... let's beware of, settled in our mind that we...that we have had an excellent message that Imam Mohammed has given us. We don't want to, um, want you to, what we'll ask you to do now is, if you have, anyone that has any questions to ask of Imam Mohammed, you may do so. Eh, this is...this is very rare in these types of situations, but, eh, you have the opportunity to bring forth intelligent questions so that Imam can address them. And we would like for you to speak up, I would you want come up here, come up quickly and make the, eh, your question. Imam Deen Mohammed will, eh, will address the questions. Are there any questions? Yes, sir. There's no one else, other than that.
IWDM:
Yes. Eh, could you please, my...my hearing is...be 68 years old, October 30th, these ears and...and they let me know it too.
Speaker 3:
As Salaamu Alaikum Brother Imam. You mentioned in your talk that the satan is a scheme. satan is a scheme.
IWDM:
No, not quite, almost. No, I said, Allah says, G-d says, "Fight satan's schemes, fight satan's schemes." I say, you can't find him, he will elude you, you can't say he's that person, no matter how bad that person is. He will elude you, he will elude you. Eh, he will escape your ability to catch him in one place or in one body. I said, but we are told to fight his schemes and that's where he is, always in his schemes.
IWDM:
Thank you, Brother Imam. Excuse me. Was there anyone that has a question, please rise and put yourself in this position, so we can have this move quickly.
Speaker 4:
As Salaamu Alaikum, Brother Imam, could you do us a favor and address the...the youth and young adults in attendance here and give us some advice on how we can have the best progress for ourselves and for our Community.
IWDM:
All right. Thank you. Thank you.
IWDM:
When I was a teenager and even before really, I attended the private school of the Nation of Islam in Chicago, and at that time we were not recognized by government, not recognized by the school...school board, or the school system, or any, eh, institutional organization, or establishment that would give us a recognition so that we'd be accredited. So we were actually operating without the proof of the society, eh...we...eh... that was...that was and still is America. Eh, but we were inspired as youngsters to want to build a community life of our own and that touched us.
IWDM:
And really that was the driving force in us, even youngsters, back then we didn't hear, there was no such language as generation gap. Back then, we young boys, we wanted to hear what our elders had to say. We listened to them, we went to the Temple, sat on the seat...seats and we listen to them preach about Islam and our responsibilities and the world that we want to make for ourself, the community life we want to make for ourself. We have to stop dividing ourselves when it comes to what we want for human life. We can't have older folks separated from young folks and have young folks look at the old folks, like they have their life, they have their world.
IWDM:
We have one life and we are working for one world, we have Muslim life and we are working for a Muslim environment for Muslims. We want to have the same thing Christians like and that is to wake up in the morning and hear church bells ringing. We want to wake up in the morning and hear the call to prayer ringing out in our neighborhoods. We want wake up in the morning and look outside and feel good, because we'll see houses in front of us built by Muslims. We'll walking down the streets, see stores established by Muslims, operated by Muslims. We'll get on transportation that Muslims have provided and we will feel good. And believe me, if that doesn't touch youngsters, something's wrong with the youngster, that's where we should be.
Speaker 1:
Another question for him. Imam, you have satisfied the audience. You have satisfied the audience. So you have satisfied them, they're no questions.
IWDM:
A lot of them are in deep thought and a lot of them are waiting for you to say, "Ameen" or "Amen", as we say. Shall we go home. (Laughing).
Speaker 1:
Amen.


