04/26/1981
IWDM Study Library
Community Accountability
Chicago IL (4th Sunday Hookup)

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Asalaam Alaikum. That is Peace unto you. All Praise is due to Allah, Guardian, Evolver, Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds. I bear witness that nothing deserves worship except Him and I bear witness that Muhammed is His servant and His Messenger. We're grateful to the Almighty for this opportunity to address you here in Chicago and by telephone in our many Masjids and Community Centers throughout the United States and perhaps even beyond the borders of the United States. Every time we hear the alarming report of the rapes, of death, murder, rape, robberies, break-ins, et cetera, it's so shocking. We don't want to believe it, we don't want to believe it, but it's a fact, it's true. And I believe that this world has long ago accepted that such waste of life is a natural part of the scheme of things.
It's no simple matter to turn life back from self-destruction once it has really given itself to self-destruction. It's no simple matter. It's a hard thing. When the whole house is in disrepair, in bad repair, what do you do? You say, is it worth it? And you might come to conclusion that no, it's not worth it. Let's tear the whole house down and build it up all again, all over again. Sometimes the life of people in a society comes to such low level of human decency and intelligence that you just can't build on anything that is there.
You have to discard all of it and start all over again. Many of us are unable to do that with our personal lives, but that's what's necessary for us who have become victims of this blind, suicidal, corrupt, self-destructive society. We have to accept that we need to start our lives all over again. And many of us can do that. Many of us have done it and I believe many more of us will do it once we realize that that's the only way out for us. Dear beloved people, G-d has not created this world and us and left us without knowledge to preserve the strength and goodness that He created. He has created everything and then He has established knowledge for safeguarding and preserving what He has created.
This knowledge is available to every nation that has come upon this earth that really deserve to be called a nation. But the people, the leaders are too weak to accept, to distribute that knowledge or to permit that knowledge to be given freely to their subjects. Therefore, we find that life is oppressive in most of the nations of the world, perhaps all of the nations of the world. I know that there are degrees of hardship and slavery, but I'm certain that most of the world, most of the nations of the world have their share of oppressive life where the good life is discouraged and the bad life is encouraged.
This is no new development. The world has been like this ever since we've known the world. It has been G-d who has sent His Prophets or his Messengers to the people to invite them to His way and to establish their dignity. We read of Abraham, of Moses, of Jesus, of Muhammad upon them be peace. How they followed G-d's will, received guidance from G-d, imparted it to the people and changed the world in their day and time. We are not Prophets of that type or Prophets in that sense, but we too can do marvelous things. We too can baffle and astonish the disbelievers with our ability in the society.
Dear beloved people, Muslims believe that if they follow what has been revealed that they can realize accomplishments in their life comparable to those accomplishments realized in the life of the Prophet. We have not been told that because the Prophet is not with us we can't expect the same success. We can't expect the same miracles. No, we are to expect the same success. We are to expect the same miracle if we follow the same guidelines. If we accept the same knowledge and obey the same knowledge, then we should expect the same results. Some of us wonder how we change this world. It's in the worst state that the world has ever been in. How can we turn this around? It's worse than the world was in the days of Sodom and Gommarah. It's worse than the days the world was in the days of ancient Egypt. How can we turn this around? We can turn it around with the same instrument that was used to turn it around before. The instrument is not lost. The instrument is truth. The instrument is the word of G-d. If we have that instrument, then we should look at ourselves if we are not realizing gain, progress success in our lives. Yes we should look at ourselves. The instrument is a winner. If we are not winning, that means we are losers because of a defect or shortcoming in ourselves. Therefore, the most important thing is to be in top shape yourself. If you in bad repair, what can you do with tools that's in good repair? So this is the problem, restoring self first. If G-d has given us knowledge and guidance to shine light on the problems of society, then we want to first see what kind of shape we are in as individuals. Because individuals are needed to change the condition of the world. And if they are not themselves prepared, what can we expect? There is a saying of the Prophet, Upon him be Peace, that a certain man had been just wandering. He had been on a journey long, long time and he stopped and he began to raise his hand to the sky and address G-d for relief in his life. And the Prophet reported that this man was a Muslim whose very life showed evidence of his neglect as a Muslim. He had neglected himself as a Muslim.
The Prophet reported, Upon him be Peace, that the man dress was unfit for a Muslim. Haram as we call it. What he was eating and drinking was also unsuitable for a Muslim. Haram, as we call it, means forbidden to Muslims. And the Prophet went on to say that the man had become just engulfed by the things that are Haram. And it concludes how then can he expect to get an answer from G-d? How then can he expect to get an answer from G-d? So you see how burden falls on ourselves. You see how we are obligated. Prophet Muhammad again says "Everyone is a ruler with subjects in his charge."
You might say "I'm a ruler?" Certainly you are. The Prophet said "All of us are rulers and we have subjects in our charge." And G-d Most High has said, even the members of your own physical body are going to charge you in the day of judgment, charge you with abusing the good use that G-d gave you in those members. Your eyes, your ears, everything, your hands, feet, everything thing will hold you accountable for their misuse. This is a wonderful idea. This is a wonderful concept. If a human being can accept that which is a fact, it can be proven scientifically. This is no mystery. To you it's a mystery because that's the limit of your knowledge. And G-d says that. Now, not that G-d is speaking through me. Don't think that I'm a Prophet now. No. G-d says that in His scripture. It's already written a long time before me. If we can accept that idea to be true, don't you know we will have better control of ourselves. We'll have more respect for our own body, for the members that are in our own body. You'll have more respect for your hand, for your physical self,
You'll treat yourself better. Yes, if you could see your life in that reality. We're considering talking for this afternoon on self accountability, but we want to carry this self accountability into its broadest dimension which is community accountability. However, I am reminded at this time that it's the hour of Dhur prayer. And those of you who are prepared to make Dhur prayer, we should make it now before I begin to talk. So if you can just form a line in the proper direction, we'll make Azan and have Dhur prayer and then I will continue the talk.
Pardon me, those of you who said the Dhur prayer already, then you're excused. Those who are not accustomed and don't desire to participate, then you should also just leave give those who are going to pray room. You'll know because when the lines form, you'll know whether you are in the way or not. There's no need for a lot of movement. Only that movement that is necessary. I'm told that some of you prayed earlier. I think maybe you prayed too early but since you didn't know then you're not responsible. The time went up one hour. Yes. Is there someone who didn't pray? Did you pray? You prayed already. You prayed earlier. Alright, so the Imam who didn't pray, will he take charge? What Imam didn't pray? All Right, could we call Adhan quickly and Iqama. Prayer is an eyeopener to aid us along the path of personal struggle against the opposition that comes to us from our own selves. You'll not attain righteousness before giving up of the things you love. Again, the Most High says, "It is not the eyes that are blind but the hearts that are in their breasts."
The Prophet said, Peace be on him "The best jihad is hajj, the hajj." How are we to understand that? The best jihad is the hajj. How are we to understand that? What is Hajj? Hajj is one of the five basic obligations in our religion. We are obligated to pray to Allah. We are obligated to fast the month of Ramadan. We are obligated to be charitable. We are obligated to make Hajj. And the first of the obligations is to testify to the existence of one and one Allah only, and to the fact that He missioned a mortal human being to be Messenger to the world.
Hajj then is a personal obligation on believers who are able to carry out that responsibility. That is who are in health to do it, who have means to do it. They're obligated to do it at least once in their lifetime. Muslims like to have to their credit that they have made several hajj, but the obligation is only one in the lifetime of the person. Recalling the saying of our Prophet, then we should understand that hajj is a struggle against the rebellion in ourselves. We may describe it in many ways, but I'm talking about the essential, the essential nature of the hajj and significance of the hajj. It is essentially a struggle taken on by the individual to carry out hard tasks so to speak, against the desire in his own makeup to give that up or to put that aside. When the Muslim makes hajj, he most likely leaves all of his cherished possessions behind him. He leaves his whole home, his family, his wealth, and he goes out to make the pilgrimage or the hajj. When he arrives there, he expects no conveniences, he expects hardship. He expects no privacy. He expects to live in a community setting with people from all over the world, small and great, rich and poor, wise and ignorant, cultured and uncultured. The worst and the best meet there. It gives us a good picture of what the world is that we belong to. It let us see the state of our world and it puts us right in the midst, right in the thick of what is existing in and on all of us. And you have to give up your privacy. See when the man is at home, if he doesn't like the situation, he can walk away from it.
If he doesn't like the company he's in, he can leave it. If he gets bored he can get up and go or do his own thing. But in the hiajj, you have to follow the strict rules of that hajj. And you might want to get up and go, but you got to stay right there with your brother that you might not like. So it's a strong test of the personal endurance, the ability to endure and to control yourself for G-d's pleasure. Oh yeah, it's a wonderful test and nobody with an ounce of sense in their head ever really made a hajj and didn't come back victorious.
Maybe your victory wasn't my victory. But everyone who makes the hajj with an ounce of sense in their head comes back victoriously. Why? Because you have been thrown helplessly into a challenge with yourself and the outcome is always appreciated though it might didn't satisfy you completely. The outcome is appreciated because you know that you managed to advance your ability to handle your own self during that hajj. Now isn't that what we need in this world? G-d says that He created us in the most excellent design. The human being is no cheap creation. The human being is an excellent creation.
As much as the scientists know about the human being now it still amazes them when they meditate or reflect on the great machinery we call the human person. His biology, his psychological makeup, his emotional makeup, all of this really marvels the men of science, bring wonder to their mind even after they have accumulated so many volumes of scientific data after observing this wondrous machine that G-d created. So we are talking about a wonderful thing. We are talking about the best model for a creature in creation. Who are you talking about? You man. You. Yes, you sister.
So I heard the Imam say last week nobody is really poor who's aware of the blessings of Allah in them, who have faith and is aware of the blessing of Allah in them. The Imam said none of those people can be poor and that's true. They are rich. That's how come they can be thrown in the same situation with the unfaithful people and in a few months or few years, the unfaithful are marching to the head shrinker and the faithful are still carrying on like ain't no trouble came into their lives. Yes, this is one of those days when I just feel very good inside. And when I feel this way I'm inclined to talk very slow.
See a thing at peace is a thing in order, a thing out of peace is a thing out of order. Sometimes this world have us so jittery, so upset, that we just want to release, we want to get out, we want to throw out the burden that's on us. And then there are times when we are very much settled within ourselves, peaceful and well contained, and we don't care to just rant and rave. We just want to have a sober conversation. Well that's good too, isn't it? Praise be to Allah. Now, let's read from the Qur'an where G-d says "Oh Children of Adam, we have bestowed raiments upon you to cover your shame as well as to be an adornment to you. But the rainments of righteousness, that is the best. Such are among the signs of Allah that they may receive admontion." Oh you Children of Adam, let not Satan seduce you in the same manner as he got your parents out of the garden, stripping them of their rainment to expose their shame. For he and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them. We made the evil ones friends only to those without faith."
And Allah says again in this Qur'an that Satan has no power over you. He only invites and you answer his invitation. But he has no power over you. The limit of his power is to invite. Then you wrong yourself by answering his invitation. How can we manage? Is there some exercise that I can do to improve my ability to resist Satan? Yes. Remember Allah, the remembrance of Allah is the greatest power on earth. And that is the word of G-d and it was written long time ago. Alright? Yes. We want to know how we are going to survive in this world that has given itself more and more to corruption, to blind self-destruction.
We are going to survive with the guidance and help of Allah and those who refuse His guidance and disrespect His help, they are doomed already. Yes. And this is no new thing. This has been the way of the world since it was made. Praise be to Allah. Dear beloved people, this is salvation. What I'm talking about? This membership in Al Islam, this is salvation. There are degrees of dignity, degrees of knowledge, and we all represent some place in the scale, but the worst off of us is saved. The worst of us is saved if they keep in the membership of this community, for this community itself is salvation. How is it salvation? It's salvation because it is a unique entity. It is salvation because it is itself. It's salvation because it has its own distinct makeup. If the boat is good for getting across the water, the no good person on the boat has a good chance of getting across the water.
This is better than a boat. This moves on alnd too. Can get up and go in all four direction, move like the mothership. Stop and back up. It's not bothered by friction or inertia. Be traveling at a billion miles per second and stop suddenly, get out in the other direction without stripping a gear. This is better than a boat.
Isn't it good? Oh, isn't it good? It is good to be with people that share your life and your hopes or aspirations. Why? That itself is a paradise. Yes, you'll not attain righteousness until you give up what you love. Haven't we said very often to remind ourselves that a man lives and dies because of the state of his own heart? And if we can put our heart in the right state, we have salvation. And until we can manage to be true within our heart, there's no hope for us. How do I know? Because Allah has said He does not change the state of a person or people until they first change the state of their heart.
The Lord is not going to make a life pleasant for you until you first take the right disposition in your own heart. And why should He, it's not justice. You have not really truthfully identified yourself and you asking for something. So who is that? I got to know who to give it to. You asking for something and you haven't truly identified yourself. Identify yourself. I'm a sinner Lord, I'm a liar Lord. I'm a weakling Lord. I follow lust. I give into fear that is not the fear of you. Then the Lord say, I know you. Not another one in creation spoke like that.
Maybe they spoke but each individual sends off his own individual vibration. And my story is different from yours, though they look very much alike to the eyes of the spectators. I know my story is not yours. Alright? Yes, because I'm a creature of sensation, a creature of sensitivities, and we just don't register the same. No two people are the same. So when I confess to G-d and pour out the sentiments of my heart to G-d and confess my life before G-d, then I have a chance to be helped. But as long as I'm denying the fact of my shortcomings and trying to put myself off as something that I am not, I don't have no chance with G-d. I have to first be truthful with G-d, then G-d will come to my aid. I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to be George Washington who never told a lie.
I don't have to be an angel. I can be a big sinner with a cross of sin as big as theirs. And according to the words of this sacred book, G-d will forgive me. In fact, in this religion we are told that every time the Muslim, the believer, offer before Allah sincere repentance, the sins behind him are gone and he's accountable from that point for no more than what he will do at that point or after. Sometime we think we know the goodness of G-d. Believe me, we don't. We just know a little bit of the goodness of Allah. He is so good until if you really could see Him in his goodness, it will make you speechless. You won't be able to contain yourself. That's right.
Now listen at that. Here I'm a man in my religion who has lied, who has done wrong or injustice to other people and I turn to G-d with a sincere heart and I repent with pure sincerity. G-d then wipes out everything I did behind me. And it's from that point on that I'll be judged for my wrong. Haven't we been told many times that once you declare yourself a Muslim, everything you did before that time is behind you and you are not charged with it. Why? Because the time prior to that conversion, you were not in a good situation to really be accountable for your actions.
When you understood the message of Islam and was converted to it or maybe you didn't understand it, but something reached your soul and you understood in the depths of your being that this was right for you and that you had an obligation to declare yourself before us and before G-d as a Muslim. At that time, your heart took a courageous stand. At that time your heart, if not your intellect, your heart took a courageous stance and G-d rewarded you for the deed of your heart with the blotting out of all the charges in your past. And no one had to submerge you in the water, no one had to sprinkle you down.
You were submerged into your heart by something convincing that came from G-d. So you were submerged in your heart and you gave up. Say I ain't going to fight no more Allah. I want to be with you. Allah I want to be on the side of the righteous. I think today I'm going to get rid of this shyness of mine and I'm going to tell the Imam I want to come up to declare my faith. And they walk up. Sometime they walk up like they carrying a million pounds on their shoulder. Then sometime they come forward like they been locked up for a million years and the door was just opened. Yes, sometime they come up here like they broke out of jail. And then sometime they come up like they carrying a million pound load on their backs.
But most of them when they get there they have the couraage. I've seen some breakdown in tears, sobbing while they were saying it. But they say "No Allah but One Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger. Prophet Muhammad used to require especially of women, we know this to be recorded, that when they came to declare themselves to be Muslims, he would also get them to pledge that they would not give themselves to past wickedness, past corruption. And many were invited to testify that Jesus is the Prophet of G-d and one of His righteous servants. Though we are not asked to do that, knowing that we are from Christian experience, Christian ideas, we should at least in our heart say to Allah, I bear witness that Jesus is a Prophet and one of your righteous servant. Yes. That's what we should do.
Self accountability. Knowing that we are accountable before our Creator who sees and knows everything and who has power to do whatsoever He will. Accountability to self and to our Creator. Our Creator has held us accountable for our own personal management. Isn't it wonderful that Allah has created a creature that He has given more dignity to than he gave to any other creature? Do you think the sparrow, the lion, the snake, the dog, the fish. Do you think these creatures are accountable for their life? Do you think they are accountable for the management of their lives? No.
G-d has kept charge over their life. They sleep intelligently. They awake intelligently. They live intelligently. Show me an animal that's a fool. Yes. And I'll show you an animal that you've been messing with. Yes. Animals ain't no fool. Big bad dog rushed up to my cat and my cat just sat down just as quiet, like that big bad dog came to put on a show for her. She just sat down just quiet. But when he saw her sit down so quietly he stopped in his tracks. Stopped just like a charging bull with front brakes.
Yeah, his front paw stuck out stiff just like that. And he looked at the cat and he started approaching a little bit and he stopped and the hair began to rise up behind his neck. Something was deep on his mind. And he made a few short steps backwards and forwards to see would she get up. And when she didn't, he walked on away. But it looked like to me it took him like five minutes for that hair to go down on his back and his neck. He was upset for a long time. That was an intelligent dog.
But we have been given the freedom to violate the natural rules of intelligence that G-d gave us from birth. Yes. And we sometimes know we are violating the rules of natural intelligence. And we even know that we are going to get bad consequences. But since the consequences are not as close to us as the thing that we are hungry for, mouth is watering right now, we take the chance, we go on and we grab it. But if the consequences was as quick as the burn that we get from sticking the hand in the fire, oh most of us would be saints. But the consequences are sometimes so far into the future, we take that chance. It's not pressing on us you see, what's going to be the consequences. It's not really demanding at that moment.
Pay up. So you know how it is. Lemme pay later. Pretty soon you got a debt so bad you wish you had managed your life better. Boy, I wish I had started out with this sense I got now a little earlier. Yes, he has dignified us by giving us charge of ourselves. Allah says in this Qur'an that He made Adam a Khalifa. What is a Khalifa? A ruler in the earth, a custodian for G-d in the creation. One with the potential to look out after the welfare of not only himself but the created things that G-d has made. One who is capable, who have the potential to be the keeper, the watchman and the superintendent or the supervisor in the creation. One with the potential to go and explore the mystery of his environment. Bring out the hidden thing and be an instrument for improving upon that that Allah made. Not as an independent, as a servant of his G-d, as a Khalifa. Do you know what Khalifa mean? It comes from the word which means tbehind. Not in front, behind. So G-d made the man to do what? Come behind.
G-d created the world and rested the world. Rested the world In what sense? He rested it in the evolution, the process of evolution. He created the world and rested its evolution, arrested its growth. You are not acquainted with this kind of language. You must understand everything grows to its fullness and then rest. We find that some things grow to their fullness and they get a new life, new challenge to their survival, bring out power for adaptation. And they began to come into a new life to suit the new challenge. Science tells us that the frog once was always the little fish like thing. But by him being forced to come out of the water, he developed the nature to metamorphise, to be transformed. So the frog is transformed in his development from a fish like thing, a tadpole, into a frog. Now if you didn't know this, you had never seen or heard of this and you still had your same mind the world gave you. And if the Imam would stand up here and show you a fish looking thing and a frog and tell you this thing is this thing. "You can't fool me. I'll never buy that lie." Because that is a miraculous thing. That is a very marvelous thing that a fish like thing have become a walking thing on the land.
Yes. Isn't it wonderful that Allah left the pattern, what you call it when you steal the picture. He started the animation and looked like he still there. Be static. Be static. Want to hold you in that pose so My later creature can observe you. Don't you know all the creatures evolved from simpler, simpler forms to more complex and more excellent forms. But Allah didn't leave behind all the creatures, the evidence of their transformation. But for certain creatures He left evidence of their transformation. We can observe it in our own lifetime. We don't have to wait for the clock of evolution. We don't have to go back and turn film and recall all that took place over those millions of years. We have a still picture.
A still picture set in time where we can take a look and see the wonders of our Creator. Yes. Now, dear beloved people, we are told that everything in creation is a sign of Allah, a sign of Allah's knowledge, a sign of Allah's plan, a sign of what Allah is doing in you. You fish too. Allah says in Qur'an, "And He began everything out of water." He didn't say except the man. Oh yes, He began everything out of water. Now dear beloved people, so we must understand that we at one time were a more simple creature, a more simple creature. Now let us come to the wisdom of the nation.
The creature is susceptible to the influences in his life, and he is exposed to those influences that will take him backwards into time. We can go backwards into time to improve the present, and we can go backwards into time blindly and lose the present. Yes. What am I talking about? I'm talking about your genetic makeup. The shrink, no telling what he does today because most of them have become perverts. Well he might ask you to allow him to intercourse your mind. May I intercourse your mind? Will you submit to an intercourse of your mind? And you'll say, I'm brave. Go on. Go on baby.
That's if you are a victim of this world. Now, dear beloved people, it is scientifically proven that the past is clocked into the present, the past and the present live together in your genetic makeup. That's why the head shrinker can put you unde rhypnosis and tell you to think backwards. And you think yourself all the way back into childhood, all the way back into infancy, all the way back into the womb that bore you. This is no joke. This is actual fact. For those who are familiar with the Christian terminology and that religion, I am he who was before the world was.
Now we know that can be put in different context, but let's look at it in a scientific context where it is true. What is the world? This order as we understand it, this history of man as we know it, that's the world. Now, if I would speak to you today, right this moment and tell you I am before the world was, you would think I'm crazy. "Oh, that man is weird. He's a nut, a spiritual weirdo". And you might be criticizing a wise scientist who can prove scientifically what he's saying. How come I'm not before the world was? This body that you see here, where did it come from? Said it came from Elijah and Clara. That's right. And where did it come from before it got into Elijah and Clara? Oh yes, it came from William and Marie. And where did it come from before it got into William and Marie? Now you are on to what we are talking about. We end up, we going to be in a place where the world was not. Or when the world was not. Is that true? Yes. Then you say "Oh, but how is that you?" Don't I resemble his father? Well then that tell you that I came from way back there. Yes. That tell you that biologically speaking, I came from way back there. I resemble my father, I resemble my mother. I remember his parents. I remember her parents. So that's proof that I might resemble Adam.
How sweet it is. Yes, yes. So by reasoning with our intelligence, we come to the conclusion that that thing doesn't stop until it goes back to Adam, who's called our father in this Qur';an. So my father's genes are in me. If he's my father, his genes are in me. Adam's genes are in me. Oh yes, if Adam's genes are in me, let us go beyond Adam now. Where did that come from? From Adam. Says Allah created him from dust. Says Allah created him from clay. Allah created him from water and breathed into him of His spirit and he became a living soul.
So genetically speaking, my existence goes back when there was no man, was no woman, was no fowl, no fish, no creature. "Oh I don't believe that. That's too much." And you saw Alternate States and didn't say that was too much. Came back trying to explain it to other people. That was one of those weird science fiction movies. Alternate States. Yes. You see how he went back? Yeah. You see what the movie writer is trying to tell you, not to go back, go forward. You don't want to go back to what G-d brought you from. You want to go forward to what G-d is leading you to.
So if I go backwards, I'm going to find that tadpole. Pretty soon I'm going to find the clay and the dust and the water needing the breath of life, right? Yeah. You got tricked. You thought I was going back to divinity. No, you go back to simple creation. Allah made us from the simplest creation and then guided us with his law into this excellence that we are in now. We used to have the idea too, that the past is greater than the present. Say who am I? I am the original man. The Asiatic black man. Didn't want no problem. Don't say African black man. That's a big problem because we already have a preconceived idea of the inferiority of the African people. So we couldn't make no testimony like that. We say I am the original man, Asiatic black man, owner maker, cream of the planet earth, father of civilization and G-d of the universe. We used to say before the stars were I am. Me and my father hung the sun and the moon and decorated the canopy with stars. We used to say that. Yes, and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he wanted to find really some clarity. He was looking for a crystal clear picture of that. And the best he could do before he passed was that long before all of this was made, you were an atom in darkness, black carbon atom in darkness.
And you just had a desire, and your desire caused that atom to start rotating on his own axis. And it spent itself into light and into world. That's what he said. See that? Now you might say the man lied. From your point of view, he lied. From my point of view, he told the truth. How is that possible? If I clock my genetic being to the first man and then to the material world that G-d created before life was created, shoudn't I keep on clocking it back? So if I keep going back, I find the beginning of this creation. And whenever Allah began this creation, I was there. How is that so? Because I'm of this creation, it's impossible for me not to have been there.
Not in this form, but in my existence. I was there. Now what does it matter with that mythology? What does it matter with this symbolism, with this mythology of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The thing that's wrong with it, it does not have a connection with the truth or with reality as we know it. That's all that's wrong with it. We know that the world was set on its own movement or velocity, inertia or whatever you want to call it. The world was set upon it all. It was created and given to its own force. Is that right? Its own force. The nature and the force in which it was created, began to operate to force the creation to growth and to completion.
Is this not a fact of creation? Yes. For the material bodies, by following the laws of their nature, compelled by the laws of their nature, have evolved to what it is today. Is that right? Alright. Okay. So if I speak of my own essence, should I also realize that my own essence was in that and my own essence too evolved under the force of the law of its own form and nature? Yes. Certainly it had a Creator, but the Creator put it under itself or under the law and nature of itself. Yes. Now dear people, if we can understand that, then we should see this creation as a unit. The creation is one unit and Allah says in the Qur'an, "Can't they see that this creation was one unit before it was separated?"
One unit, one whole. Our life is not foreign to the tree, to the animals, to the minerals of the earth, to the elements of the space. Our life is akin to that, part of that, belonging to that unity. The elements in your being, aren't they the elements of the creation, the calcium, the phosphorus, the iron, whatever. Isn't it the same as that in the creation? If we reduce it down, won't it be exactly what we find in the creation? Now, dear beloved people, here is a great knowledge. The greater challenge the matter has had to face, the greater ability the matter has.
And if we could really think in this big way, deep way clearly, then we would understand how we are the best of the creatures Allah created. But at the same time, the worst. What makes us the worst? The drunken use of the human potential. If you use your potential sanely, intelligently, soberly, you'll be the best. But if you use it blindly, silly, crazy headed, you'll be the worst. The most powerful vehicle is capable of traveling the best, the fastest, the farthest. But it is also capable of having the worst accident, right? Yes. So potential is potential. And if it's a potential for greatness, it's also a potential for great destruction.
Yes. So this explains, we should understand ourselves. We should understand ourselves in the scheme of the reality we call the creation. We should understand ourselves in that scheme and come to accept our great dignity. And once we know that, the truth will set us free. Free from what? Free from fear to do what is right. Free from the fear of the world before the call to do what is right. Free from worry, free from fantasy, free from superstition, spookism. Free from blind appetites of destruction. We'll have freedom from that. Why? Because we will have a force operating on our behalf of our own selves.
That will be the strongest motivation possible for us. What is the problem for those who are charged with advancing society? Preserving an advancing society? The greatest problem for them is management of human life. They say if we manage human life with respect for its innate or inborn dignity, it will get out of our hands. Man is not trustworthy. So we can't allow him the freedom his creation does deserve. So they have long ago decided that they have to manage you through your genetic machinery, that they have to manage your life through the principles or the theory of your genetic behavior. That's their decision. The result is you as a majority of people are afraid of the force of the environment.
Your life is not chartered on a course with you being the captain of the ship. Your life is subject to the changes in the scheme of the influences of this society. Is that truth? For a whole mass of people, a whole neighborhood of people, whole South Chicago are up on the board of some program. And they're saying where you'll be five years from now. They're saying what your emotional mode will be 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now. They're saying where your mentality will be in the future because they don't trust you with the dignity, the freedom that Allah gave you.
Alright, what are we getting at? Salvation. Salvation has come. Yes, salvation has come. The proof that salvation has come is the fact that I speak the way I speak and nobody can challenge me. Salvation has come. Oh yes, the mothership is mine. I'm Chief captain at the wheels. Oh yes. What I'm talking about? I'm talking about the mothership of my own essence, the ship of my own life. That's what I'm talking about, has been brought into my control. So it's salvation time. I don't have to wait to see if it's going to be winter, or summer, or fall, or spring. I got my own chalk and my own program. I say next year will be winter on the 21st of the month, one o'clock sharp. And whenever I want to call spring or summer, I just call it. And that's what it's going to be. Because I am the Khalifa.
I ain't under no Khalifa anymore. I am the Khalifa. Haven't you been told that a very precious idea in America is the sacredness of the individual person, the autonomy of the individual? What does that idea mean? It means Khalifa. Americans just say it in different words. The autonomy of the individual means Khalifa. Khalifa means that a person should be accountable to himself for his own behavior, for his own wellbeing, for his own future. He should be able to take into his hands the forces of his own circumstances. And with faith in G-d, chart his own course. Chart his own future, make his life in the mold pleasing to G-d. Yes, he should be able to do that. But we are not able in America to take control of the circumstances that we are in. We are not able to even get decent representation as retail grocery store people. We don't even have a fair share of the retail grocery business in our neighborhoods.
We don't have a decent share of the institutions. In fact, we have no share of the institutions, the hospitals, the colleges, the universities, the institutions of culture, the libraries. All of those things are in people's charge that are not us. We are riders, we are passengers. We're ticket bearers. The captain is somebody else. And now for the first time a community has come to mushroom, evolved to it's senses, has grown up into itself and has seen itself and say, I like you. Long time since we saw each other. I have forgot even how you looked. And they told me a lot of lies about you. They said you were unattractive. They said you were inferior. They said you were black and ugly. Oh, how beautiful you are. We are. Let us not part again. Yes, but not the blackness of the skin. The blackness of my originality that had no knowledge to express until G-d freed my intellect. And then my intellect reached into the darkness of my being of the past and began to speak. And it was wonderful. Ooooh baby. It was wonderful. Yes.
Does the tree speak? Can the rivers talk? Can the birds speak to us? Heck no. Except as signs from Allah. They can't speak. But my mind has been freed. I have a free conscience. I have a rational mind. My intellect speaks. Speech is the peculiarity of the human creature. The other creatures, they have their language, but that communication is signaled. Our communication is both signal and rational. That's why we even alter our language. The bird speaks today like he did when he was made. He can't alter his language. But our speech changes. We improve upon our speech. We improve upon our language. You see? So dear beloved people, we are able to express with the intelligence that that was hidden in the dark of our genetic essence. And when we able to express that we are wise, and no one can get that knowledge except from G-d.
You get it as a blessing or you get it as a robber. Those who get it and abuse it are robbers, they stole it. Because they're not using it for the purpose designed for it. You see now, dear beloved people, let us go on with this. For the first time in the history of the African descendants, we have salvation. Salvation that is not only seen in faith, but it's seen also in knowledge. But when people have knowledge, their condition can be improved greatly. We can be saved and not yet be restored. For the mere expression of true faith will save me. But what will restore me?
Knowledge. Knowledge. Dear beloved people, your community is blessed with the knowledge to steer itself, to direct its own course, to live in its own orbit, to enjoy self containment. This is a miracle because that does not exist outside of this community. If it did, our people will have more respect. Our people will have better place in the world leadership. For if the world knew that the members of the Black Caucus....Just that name tell you they don't have what we have. Black Caucus. Caucus sound too much like carcass. And then black from their definition, from their dictionary, black really kind of conjure up the other meaning. Back Caucus, Black Caucus. Carcass is something dead.
A caucus is a body of people that come together to do something, to carry out some plan, some obligations. But a carcass is something dead. Not only dead. A carcass is something dead and neglected. You don't call a carcass something dead and buried or something dead and stuffed. You call a carcass something dead and neglected. When you find an animal lying out there dead and not buried, that's a carcass neglected. Okay, well we have the Black Caucus, pardon me, carass. And if any of them had the depth of knowledge and insight that we have been blessed with by Allah through His guidance, they would have a more respectable place in the leadership of this world, of this nation.
We wouldn't have one Senator, two Senators then no Senator. Right now we have no Senator. All of these millions you just quoted from the statistics, 24 million. They say 24, I say 34. When they say 15 million, we say 20. Now they say 24. We say at least 34. People who are not interested in your communities and your families, you think they're going to be interested in giving you the right numbers. They give you the numbers that suit them, whatever they want to say. And you'll probably stay one 1/12. It'll never change until they come up with a bigger trick.
Then they may say something else. Dear beloved people, our life is best helped when we see our life in the historical development of society, when we see our life in the movement of man and history. If you can't find a situation like yours, then the best you can do is just build with the tools you have. But if you can find a situation like yours, wisdom dictates that you also study your life in the light of that situation like yours, as well as in the light of your own experiences and knowledge. Can we find a parallel in history? Yes.
And I believe it's in history not for the past but for the future. The future that has come with our being brought to America, made slaves and then giving us a share called freedom. Yes. I believe that it speaks to us today more so than it speaks to those that we are told it addresses. What am I talking about? I'm talking about the history of the Hebrews. When we study history, we don't find no resemblance of what is happened in our life as strong as that that we find in the history of the Hebrews. For their circumstances almost exactly parallels ours.
They were in a place without dignity, without strength. They were at the mercy of stronger powers. So stronger powers seized upon them and took the weak Hebrew community of Goshem and put them in bondage. And it so happens that one of the mothers of one of their sons, fearing for his safety, received a vision or instructions from G-d and placed her child in a basket upon the water and left that child to the inertia of the stream. And since the river was going to Egypt, that's where the child ended up. Wasn't no captain on the ship, no captain in the basket, nobody to steer the course of that little basket. But the river of its nature was going to Egypt. So the baby went to Egypt and the wife of Pharaoh came out and saw the baby in the river and reached and pulled the basket out and looked at the baby and fell in love with it. Brought the baby into the household, into the palace.
Brought the baby into the palace. And the baby became so much enddeared to Pharaoh that Pharaoh took the baby to be his own son, made him a son. His own son. Gave him great responsibility. He became a great leader in his own right, a builder for Pharaoh. Should I make connections? I don't think I need to make connections. You know our history. We're river people. They call us Nagar. Nigar for Niger. Is that right? Yes, we are river people. Southerners say nigger because he can't speak English, not to mention Arabic. He say nigger. The niggers. The niggers.
Yes. Now didn't they also call us Sam and Shine. Sam and Shine. You know what they talking about? Shems that in Hebrew is Sam. With the S, Shams. In Hebrew, Sam. Yes. They're talking about Sham. What is Sham? The sun. The sun. What is the role of the sun in our environment? It is the news bringer of a new day. It brings the news of a new day and it gives us light for livelihood. Is that right? It warms us, give us warmth. Oh yes. It brings us up from our bed. And it induces in us sleep when it starts to set. Is that right? And it sets. And soon after most of us retire.
Is that right? And then it comes back up in the morning and wakes most of us up again. It regulates our lives, it grows our energy, it feeds us, it clothes us. It shine light in our path. Why that's a great symbol, Wouldn't you say so? That's a great symbol And the nerve of these people to call me Sam. You no Sam. Sam's son, Samson, the sun. And that glorious symbol that comes all the way down to the New Testament, the son of righteousness. Is that right? Oh yeah. For you who have studied it, you know. The S-U-N of righteousness is the same as the son of man Jesus is called in the New Testament the Son of man, the S-O-N of man. But we know that it's the same as the same wording in previous scripture before it was tamed. S-U-N, Son of righteousness.
Oh yeah. This is not guesswork, this is fact. So what was he was calling us? He was calling us G-d vicegernt. He was calling us G-d's custodian. He was calling us the Khalifa. He was calling us the superintendent, the one who runs the affairs for his Lord. That's what he was calling us. But he was making mockery of us. Just like they said of Jesus when he was supposedly crucified, or was carrying the burden up to his place of crucifixion. "Look at the King, look at he who would be King. Behold your King " So that's ridiculing. When you get the person a situation wherein he has no power to live his dignity, then you ridicule. So the dumb southern slave master and his children who came later who called us Shine, Sam, they were ridiculing. Yes. When we were in the caves and hillside of Europe, and you on the banks of the Nile and the Niger River, when you were in Ghana and Timbuktu two in your glory, you were the Khalifa. You made the people rise up for work. You marshaled the energy and the resources. You the one clothed the world. But now look where you are Sam.
You don't shine now for the Lord, you shine for me. That's what they were saying. They were ridiculing. But now look at Sambo. You know they had to put Bow on Sam. You know why? Bow represents impulses, passionate impulses. You use a bow with an arrow to shoot the arrow. You have to draw the string back to fire it. And that's just how your impulses work. You first get tension from going in one direction and then the thing fires out with the force of the tension you see. Tension can be built up because of servitude in captivity, because of corruption, because of many factors. Tension can build up. And the bow of that tension sooner or later will fire out a protest. It fires out a protest. Well see, Sam used to be a natural man. He used to know from his own nature when he should fire out.
So they call him Sam Bo. Sam Bo. Yes. Now look in your Bible. They call Joseph. They say Joseph is a bo by a well. Why is that connection brought up? Because Joseph was put in our situation. Or we were put in Joseph's situation. We once belonged to a social family. We once belonged to a society of people. But they treated us so bad that we ended up among strangers. I didn't do this. I'm not making these connections. I'm just quoting. Yes, he fell among strangers, but the circumstances of his misfortune turned into a fortune. Yes. How beautiful it is. And in the Qur'an, Allah says in the Qur'an, "They put him in a dry well.". Meaning it wasn't his fault that he wasn't excellent in that bad time of his life, you put him out of his natural environment. How could he be what he was created to be when you separated him from the nature and from the environment that I gave him. Sot he was put in a dry well and travelers came along and they took him out of the well and sold him into slavery.
Is that right? So what did that tell us? By my reasoning, Joseph wouldn't have been sold into slavery if there was water in the well. You can't enslave a man that's got his own freed mind. You have to take away the freedom of his mind. You have to enslave his mind first to enslave him. We ain't talking about no physical bondage, we talking about captivity that lingers way after Emancipation Proclamation, way after the shackles have been taken off, all the leg irons gone, the gate opened and the man told to go and he's still walking as a captive. That's the kind of slavery we talking about. Alright, so Joseph ended up in Egypt too, like Moses did, right? And ended up getting a very dignified place in Egypt.
Egypt, his situation improved so much that his own family had to come to him. The members of his society that had mistreated him, had been instrumental in getting him into his misfortune. Yes, they had to come to him to improve their own situation. Because by divine providence, the whole world suffered. There was a shortage of things necessary all over the world. And it so happened that Joseph was in that good situation. This is so good, so good. And the vision came to Joseph. And in the vision his society came under him, his brother, his father, and his mother. All of them came under him. Not because he sat somewhere and planned to get himself in the position of leadership or rulership over his society. It was because G-d saw the injustice done to him and began to work through divine providence to give him an excellent situation in a time of need. Now I want you know that we are existing in a time of great world need. The whole world has its head hung. Nations all over the world walk in a stooped form with misery on their minds, gloom before their eyes. No motivation, no hope, no vision into the future. All of them are preaching doom. And right here in America, in Egypt under Pharoah, he that was separated from his own mind, put into the material ground, is sitting in a fine situation.
Yes. Is in a fine situation and has the courage to tell the whole world Egypt is not under a famine. Where Joseph is there's plenty. Maybe you don't have anything to offer the world for the future. But come where Joseph is, he is over the storehouse. He has allowed Joseph to talk on the Bell system all over the United States and anybody that want to come get their needs, they can come. But you have to see Joseph because he's over the store house.
Praise be to Allah. Dear beloved people, we are blessed to have a parallel in history where we can draw significant meaning to encourage us to go on with stronger determination. Yes. Now if I would tell you the fullness of this story, we would be here until the sunrise again. We are not going to do it. But in my conclusion, let me tell you this. No people in our situation can come into dignity again without first exodusing. The people of Moses day, they had to Exodus, they had to get out of Egypt. Now you may say, well Imam, are you going back to Garveys thing back to Africa or are you going back to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad brief program for separate states? No, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad made it brief and it should have been brief. We are not going back there. The news that I have for you is this. The exodus of those people in scripture was not a physical migration, it was the movement of their mind out of the influences that dominated them in that cultural environment called ancient Egypt. We have to move with our minds out of the influences of America's life and we have to have faith in Allah that no matter how dry the land becomes when we move out. Cause when you move out, there is less mind than there was before.
Less water than there was before. You understand? Yes. Because in America the water of our mind is the fullness of this country's cultural life and influences. Is that not true? Now when we move out of this, we have to leave the great bulk of this stuff and go out with a small amount. So we in a sense go out into a desert where there's very little water, but that water that is out there is free for us. It's not policed. G-d has made it available in the desert that is free of Egypt. So come on out, come on out of America into the desert of your own mind and trust that Allah will make it rain.
Trust that Allah will bring a spring up from the desert and form a beautiful oasis there and all of us will have drinking water. But if Allah bring up springs in the desert, then shouldn't there be leaders over those springs? If a spring come up, shouldn't you also recognize the leader for that spring? But we are told in scripture that G-d ordered Moses "Crack the rocks." He exiodused and G-d said "Crack the rock." And he struck 12 rocks and obtained 12 springs and for each spring was a leader. Is that right? Alright. Okay. So G-d has sprung up under you a spring of knowledge and understanding and some of you say, I want the spring but I don't want the leader.
So they'll come, come from way aross the land, they'll come from Phoenix, they'll come from Mississippi. They have come from the extremes of the United States to taste the water but they don't want the leader. Yes, I like to listen to what he say too. They don't prefer Farrakhan's water. They're not going for Farrakhan's water, they're not going for Silas water. They're not going for my Uncle John's water, Uncle John in Detroit's water. They're not going for that water. They don't even go for the church water. They like this water. And they know that they didn't see nobody pour it. They didn't see nobody pour this water. It sprung up.
But they don't want to accept the leader. We should see a parallel in what has happened in the past and G-d is telling us that if He blessed us through some of us, what can be drier than a rock. The desert is dry but a rock, it has hardened with the dryness. It has become hard dry. Doesn't even have a human mind anymore. Now G-d told Moses to strike a rock. Out come water. All Praise due to Allah. Okay, We know that we were given to dry concrete principles under the influence of WF Muhammad or WD Fard.
We were not allowed to have our own minds. We were not allowed to think with our own minds. We was taken out of the pool of Christianity where we were fish for the fishers or the fishermen, and put into the dryness of Fards doctrine. And we became hard stones. So set in our ways, so set in our mind that there was nothing to shake it, nothing to quiver it, nothing to get a response from it. Just like a rock. You hit it, it doesn't respond. It'll break before it shows sensitivity, but you touch the water, it quivers all over.
So we were put into a dry logic and we're told not to think except in the channel of that dry logic. No matter how convincing argument was from outside of that channel, you were to ignore it. And we followed it as robots. We followed it as blind programmed people. We refused to think outside of the rocks. We were told we were G-d and believed it or at least we didn't question it. Believe me, I was born under this teaching, 'm talking right now. A son and a follower of the leader, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. And I accepted what he taught me from a child through my mother and others. I didn't question it.
When something would come to my mind from outside of the disciplines of that teaching, I would've quickly shut it out. If it was challenging what I was taught, shut it out with a fear that Allah would punish me if I gave an ear to what had popped up in my mind. Yes. So I shut it out. And if anybody would argue with me, I had a straight way argument. I had a forward march argument. It knew no backing up, no retreat, no side flanking. I said what I was told and that was it. All right. Okay, so this was a mind that had lost its own inborn, natural G-d-given sensitivity, put in a dry well. Now gradually the influences in my environment began to steer me to be curious, and the spirit moved on the surface of the water.
Suddenly water came again after a void. Suddenly water says and let there be light. And there was light. And the light started to grow until it got so big, one light went up and ruled the night. And then later another one went up and ruled the day. How come night has to be before day? This is not only Genesis, this is also Qur'an. The Qur'an teaches us also that darkness was before light. One light was put up to rule tonight and it is called a lesser light. Then after that, a greater light was put up to rule today. First you have to have the light of conscience that shines in the dark.
You can't see your way, you don't know the world. You don't know the things of the world. The world to you is a darkness, it's over your head. But you got a light of obedience, a light of truthfulness, a light of righteousness lit in your mind. And that little conscience for true faith will keep the light on until the sun comes up. Then when the sun comes up, the moon takes a back seat. The day is made bright and the moon becomes dim and faint in the sky. That's if it survived the night. Many times the moon doesn't survive the night. When day come it's still hid. But sometimes the moon survives the night and it's out there with the sun. But the sun is so bright that the moon has to take a back seat. The moon sits back and retire, goes into jalsa, holds it's hand and make dhikr while the sun runs the world.
Well we had to wait right? Had to wait till Allah bless us. Now dear beloved people, knowing that we have been blessed like this to live through the spiritual darkness and confusion of this world on faith and good conscience. to be blessed with the light of understanding that gives us the ability to tool the instruments, to chart the course of our families, the course of our community independently to become a community growing into greater and greater degrees of self-containment. Don't you know it's slavery to be contained? And there is no learned person here or out there that wouldn't admit before me if he was here to speak, that we are the most contained citizens of America.
The extent to which we are contained represents slavery. Slavery, that's all. And it seems that we have been so intimidated by the awesome structure and complexity of this society that we don't even think. We think it's silly to assume independence, leadership. I remember as a younger boy, they used to laugh at us when we'd talk about it. "Can't do nothing without the white man." You know, we don't talk that way anymore. We talk that way, but we don't talk it openly. But with our language we are still saying the same thing. "We can't do it without the white man." "We can't make it without the white man." But they used to boldly tell you that. I mean they'd laugh at your face and laugh in your face. "Hey, we can't, ah you can't do nothing without the white man."
Now, dear beloved people, I am saying that we can do something without the white man. Not only am I saying that, I am saying that it is a necessity that we do it without the white man. Not only without the white man, without the black man, without the yellow man, without the red man. We must do it by ourselves. I don't want Jesse Jackson and those other people coming in here to help us do this. They know from looking in from without that they are not qualified to do anything in here but follow me. So they don't come. They don't come. They know that the Imam is fully in charge of his affairs and they don't see no way of coming in here except through the front door. Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah that he has blessed us with salvation. Oh yes. Dear beloved people. I said we cannot make it without an exodus. Now just recall some of the language of the past now. I have just talked about Ancient Egypt. Prophet Muhammad, when he was leading the people in the vicinity of Arabia, he mentioned idolatrous past. He mentioned the circumstances of an idolatrous people that allowed G-d to come in and work divine providence on their behalf.
Do you think when Abraha came marching on the Ka'aba, the vicinity of the Kaa'ba with his herd of elephants, do you think there were Muslims there making Salat? Do you think Muslims were there in a Ka'aba free of idols? That was just recent before the mission of the Holy Prophet. So we know that the Ka'aba had idols in it. It was defiled and the people themselves were Pagan or corrupt. But Abraha's army couldn't march on the Ka'aba. Oh baby, baby, baby. He had to turn around. Hashim couldn't defend it. The great grandfather, grandfather of the Prophet, the keeper of the Ka'aba. He couldn't defend it. When Abraha asked, where's the army? Where are the people where your men? I'm getting ready to come in. I have nothing.
Who's the keeper of this place? I am. I can't stop you. This is Allah's place and it's up to Him to defend it. Now here was a pagan situation, an idolatrous situation, and a man saying that G-d will defend it. A man that had not received the Prophet Muhammad's message. And the elephants came and they were turned back by divine providence. They were turned back by Allah. Now, oh you shake now you shake your soul because you know where I'm coming. We had Temples over here, Temples called Temples of Islam. We had defiled the Temple. We had distorted and misrepresented the religion. Not of our own doing. Because we were incited to do these things by WD Fard who called himself G-d in person. How do I know? Oh, he didn't call himself G-d. Your father called him that. No, he called himself that. I will quote you his words. And they prayed and they prayed for a mystery G-d. But no mystery G-d came to their help, their aid. They received no help until the coming of the son of man in the person of WD Fard.
That's his words. That's his words. He said that we prayed to G-d and no mystery G-d, no spook came to help them until I came. Who am I? He said in his own words, I'm talking about the teacher and founder of the organization who missioned my father. He said in his own words, no help came until the coming of the son of man in the person of WF Muhammad or WD Fard. Alright, what is the son of man in the Bible? He was talking to Christian people. My father was a member of the Christian society, son of a preacher. My mother was a holiness woman in the church. So he's talking and most of the members were from the same background. He's talking to Christian people. So who will they identify him as being? If he say I'm the son of man, they will see him as Jesus. And if he says that no help came to them from a spirit G-d only from me, they will say he's G-d. No other way to come to any other conclusion except that he told us he was G-d and put us in Temples.
And now I say to you that the Temple stood. The elephant herd came against it. Materialism and corruption came against the Temple and the Temple stood for 40 years, and it didn't show no size of weakness until Sambo started rising from the eastern horizon. Yes, until new leadership began to form in me, when new leadership start to form in me, the Temple began to shake and crumble. By the time I came into the position the Temple had suffered great devastation, criminal activities right inside the circle of the Muslims of the Temple. Corruption right into the top, leadership, right into the top of the leadership, corruption. But did it happen over those many years? No. Fast as you were found with dirty hands, you were marched right out of the Temple.
I'm talking about the thirties, the forties, the fifties and much of the sixties. I'm talking about 40 years, to give you a round figure. For about 40 years the Temple was the holiest place. From physical observation the Temple was the holiest place perhaps on this earth. Churches didn't have the moral discipline that we exercised in the Temple. Mosque of Muslims around the world didn't have the moral discipline that we exercised in the Temple. If a brother was caught lying, he was marched up front and had to give an account to the whole body for lies, or stealing, or committing fornication, or committing adultery, or for mistreating his brothers and sisters. He was punished right on the spot for those things. Excommunicated. Is that right? Right. Exiled, put out, thrown out.
And I am telling you that the Temple stood. How come it stood? Because G-d saw something valuable in that Temple. So He protected that of value until He could liberate it and give it to it's full dignity. Yes. Just as the vicinity of the Pagans was blessed. Why? Because there was a house there dedicated to G-d. It was a house that G-d was obligated to look out for. Though it had become polluted, G-d did not intend to let that stay. He intend to one day free it from his pollution. Now likewise dear people, we too were blessed with something that G-d Himself is obligated to defend. What is that? This Qur'an.
Allah says that He will protect this Qur'an Himself. The Qur'an was left in our midst as our Holy Book. We had profaned it just as the Arabs had profaned the sanctuary, the Ka'aba. We had profaned it by bringing into it false doctrine, false teaching, idolatrous teaching, right into the language of the Qur'an. Didn't we do it? In fact, this very man I'm talking about and I know it's late, but this is very good for you. This is what builds a strong community. When you have the knowledge of your own history and you see where you came from, where you are, where you're going, that's what makes a strong community. And especially when you see the divine hand working in your affairs, that's what makes a strong community. Now, so I know it's made and I plan to let you go at three, but this is important. This same man, WD Fard, he told us that men made the Holy Qur'an.
He told us men made the Bible and the Holy Qur'an. And he said that men meet every 25,000 years for that purpose. And they come together with each other and they plan history and scripture for 25,000 years to come. That's what he told us. Now the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he wasn't a convert before he met this man. He knew nothing about the Qur'an or about the East or about Arabia or nothing before he met this man. So all his information came from this man and this man spoke with more authority than anybody else ever did.
And this man spoke with more concern it seemed, for him and his situation than anybody else ever did. So he had a right, he had a right to listen to that man, for that man attacked his number one enemy. In the days when that man came to Detroit and converted my father and mother. In those days there was still Jim Crow law in the south. There were still signs of saying nigger or black or negro or whatever they call it. Go around the side there, get your hamburger at the side window, back window, go up in the balcony of the theater. Don't mix down here on this first floor. Alright So put yourself in that situation now and see yourself as one of the worst victims of that circumstance there in the thirties, right after the Wall Street crash, a day of hard times for all Americans and then the subject of an oppressive society are there in that situation too. Put yourself back there now, a man on welfare and was getting nothing but a bowl of soup and a little flour, little grease for him and his family of six I think it was at that time.
Eight. Yes, eight. Now with the children, with all of us, eight. Yes. Then a man comes and just condemn the whole world and tell a Christian people that he is their long awaited Jesus, knowing how dear Jesus was in the hearts of most African-American people. Knowing that now and seeing those circumstances and seeing him coming to rescue the victim, the subject from his terrible situation, you know that most of the people will automatically think that that man was G-d or from G-d. Yes. So they believe him. Can't blame the Honorable Elijah Muhammad for that. But what he told the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was as logical as what the church told him.
In fact, more logical because what the church told him didn't even respect his own nature, didn't respect his own dignity or his own creation. The church told him the chosen were white. Prophets, angels, all of them. And call the devil black. That old black angel Satan, I am giving you church terminology. And many of them, including my father, were told also that our racial features and identity was a curse on us from G-d through Ham and his son Canon. Yes. Now can you imagine that man rejecting or not listening to this man who came to him, say that I'm the long awaited Jesus. And we were told that this man went into a church, WD Fard. And he told the Church of African-Americans say, I am your long awaited Jesus. They threw him out, but he told them. So he finally got followers who believed that. Now dear people, don't you think if G-d Almighty protected a Ka'aba that fell under the custodianship of idolatrous people would protect the Qur'an that fell under the custodianship of idolatrous people.
We too were idolatrous, but the Holy Qur'an was in our midst and we were innocent as Hasham was. Hasham wasn't guilty. He didn't know. All he knew is that that house was sacred and that he should at least speak for it's sacredness. But the proof that he didn't have knowledge to defend it, he said, I can't defend it. Allah would defend it. If he had knowledge, he would've spoke the inspiration of G-d. He would've said G-d has instructed, G-d had said, but he didn't have anything to tell Abraha about G-d in connection with that, the circumstances of that house, the Ka'aba. Which tells us that he himself was just a blind, innocent man who was in a situation where he was trusted with the care of that house.
Alright, our situation exactly. Our situation exactly. Here we are with G-d's protected book, calling ourselves G-ds. And we would tell you there was no G-d before us. We hung the stars, moon and everything. Praying to WD Fard also called WF Muhammad, praying to him. I'm not speaking from somebody else's report. I prayed to him myself. I was instructed to pray to him all my life as a child and my early manhood. So I prayed to him. Here we were praying to a physical man who called himself WD Fard or WF Muhammad, calling ourselves G-d and seeing him as our chief G-d, the supreme being among a family of G-ds.
I am giving you the actual fact truth. Okay? Now, most of us left the church. Not that I left the church, I was raised under the deacon, but I'm speaking for us. All of us. Most of us left the church because we wanted a more sincere religion. We were disappointed with the hypocrisy of the church. So we came to that call of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad because it appeared to us in all respects, to be very honest, very frank, very open, very sincere. And brave and bold on the issues of justice. So can't you see now how most of us too were innocent. Those that Fard got, they were innocent, most of them. And those that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad got, most of them were innocent. Now here's a community of innocent Pagans, sitting around the Ka'aba attending the Ka'aba saying, oh no, no, you're not to handle it like that. Kiss this before you read it. Wash your hands before you touch it. Hold it high, don't hold it low. We were in charge of the Ka'aba. We were telling people how they are to respect the Ka'aba. And the enemies came and they tried to shake the temple and they couldn't shake it. Couldn't shake it.
Praise be to Allah then the Honorable Elijah Muhammad blessed one of you with understanding. And he came into the Ka'aba and he said, get this out of the Ka'aba. It's forbidden. Get that out of the ka'aba, it's forbidden. Change the whole situation and made the Ka'aba fit in the eyes of G-d. Is that not the truth? Alright. And now the people look at us and they don't like it because I say we have a history. They wish I would separate completely from the past. Pretend that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad never existed. Pretend the Nation of Islam, Lost Found Nation of Islam as it was properly called, never existed. Pretend that WD Fard never came. Just say you accept Sunni Islam Imam.
And stick to the Sharia. Stick to the Hadith. Stick to the Qur'an. My man I have a history that has greatly enriched my life, that have brought me up to the Ka'aba. I have a history that brought me as a guest to the Ka'aba. I didn't escort myself. My history escorted me up to the Ka'aba. Are you telling me to leave all of that in the past as though it never happened. You don't want me to tell the people that I was in bondage in Egypt and a famine came and it became my good fortune to be put over the storehouse.
You don't want me to tell the people that I was in a desert in a well that was dry, and the Lord changed my circumstances and I became a leader of a spring that nobody poured water into. You don't want me to tell anybody that. Well you just keep on with that kind of mind and keep on watching me tell the people this. I'm going to tell it to the last breath leave my body. I'm going to tell the world if I get a chance what Allah has done for me. Yes. That He took us out of impossible situations and has given me freedom of mind, freedom of intellect, charge of my life, charge of my future, have given me vision into the dark secret quarters of the world, have exposed to me their secret operation, and have blessed me with the same tools for building society that they have hoarded from us all of these generations. You tell me I ain't going to tell the world this. You've got to be nuts.
Oh, but people will think you saying what your father said, that you a Messenger of G-d, that you are a Prophet. No, no indeed. I'm a Khalifa. I'm no Prophet. I'm no Messenger of G-d in any sense that you are one. But I'm a Khalifa. I am Captain. I'm the Superintendent in charge. I direct the courses of my life. I have a mothership. I can get up and leave circumstances that are dangerous for me and stay away until the thing cools down and come back. Oh buddy. Yes. I have been blessed so much that I don't envy nobody.
I don't see nobody that I want to be but me. I want that to be crystal clear. I don't see nobody that I want to be but me. Say, wouldn't you want to be Muhammad? I think I am. As nearest to him as anybody I ever seen. Muhammad was a brave soldier. Muhammad was a truthful man. Muhammad didn't back up for the world. He made the world back up for him. That's me baby. Now that I've been made new, now that I've been blessed with light on my feet. Brother, I fear nothing. I don't back up or f flesh before the world. The world can not intimidate me. They can't frighten me. I don't have my hopes in the United States. I don't have my hopes in Arabia. I don't have my hopes in Pakistan or in Egypt. I have my hopes in Allah and in Allah alone.
And I believe every government can fall right at this instant. And I believe I can carry my life and those with me forward as the Khalifa in this earth. Yes. And this is the faith you need. This is the blessing of people who were completely cut off from past history, from past life, from their sociological development. Don't you think it is justice that G-d give them charge of their affairs? Yes. That's my message, that G-d has given us, prepared us to take charge of our affairs. To follow this way and change our circumstances from one of shame to one of dignity and respectability. We can do it. Dear beloved brothers and sisters, we have to learn to respect each other knowing that Allah has made each of us over the creatures of the world, of the earth. That alone should make us, if we have that kind of understanding, treat each other with more respect. We should treat our children with more respect. Instead of forcing them to respect us because of our seniority or because of our parenthood, we should be forcing ourselves to respect them more. And in that way we'll bring a healthy mind back to our children. And our children will in turn begin to respect us. We have to respect our sisters more. The women of our community. We have to value them and protect them.
We don't want to see them exposed to the shameful kinds of things we meet in the streets. None of us should want our wives, our daughters to be walking by themselves out in these streets. I know our circumstances, our financial circumstances forced us into a situation like that. But we shouldn't like it. We should dislike it. We should bitterly dislike it, we should hate it. And we should be wanting to find some way out of this where our sisters would will not have to go unchaperoned in the society. And our sisters. You should care so much about the word of G-d and the dignity He has placed in you as a mother and responsible person for the new life. You should care so much about that, that you would welcome the brother acting in your good interest.
Well, if I was a woman, I'm sure that I would feel so elated. I would feel so happy, so good to see a brother concerned about my safety in the public streets. Yes, the sisters are excused from Jumu'ah. They don't have to come to Jumu'ah. They're not forbidden to come to Jumu'ah, but they're not encouraged to come to Jumu'ah. It's up to them. But they are encouraged to come to the Eid. Why? Because at that time, especially in the East, in Arabia, in the Muslim land. At that time, the temperament and sensitivity of the community was so overcome by the great currents of the Eid, there would be little chance of any woman being insulted on those days. But at other times of the year, there's a greater chance even in the Muslim country of a woman being insulted. Because we have history to show that women were insulted even in the Muslim land. Even in the Muslim society, they were insulted. Some men approach women in the wrong way.
Some women left themselves open to advances from men. And all of these things are dealt with in the life of the Prophet, Peace and Blessings be on him. Now we live in a situation where we are a small minority. The great society is un-Islamic. The great society is a hell, a perilous place for any faithful, righteous person. So should we want our sisters out there in the streets? But I don't see any reason to keep them from coming to the Masjid, when they go to work at night to help take care of you. Pardon me, some of you.
So since they're going out working like men and they have to face the hard life of this society, like men, I don't see any importance in discouraging our sisters from coming to Jumu'ah. Because the risk to them coming to Jumu'ah is less than the risk to them all day long. See how you need leadership? You don't need no Imam that to come here and let a Sheik from bushy, bushy land or skinny, skinny land to come over here and give him a Kutbah. Do you know an Imam offered me a book of Kutbah's, and he told me that the one that we have for the day. He gave me the number of the one that they was going to preach that Jumu'ah. He said, would you like to have the book? Cause they had invited me to preach that Jumu'ah. You who know me, can you imagine me now being out of the United States and a dude giving me some old faded pages, old pages with some old Kutbah's on it, and telling me that the Kutbah for that Friday was number something he said. I forgot the number. I was so surprised, I can't even remember anything hardly he said but there was a book of Kutbah's.
So I told him, I said, well, what I have to say, it is very little. I said, I don't need the Kutbah's. I don't need the book. I said, I'll give you the regular Kutbah I usually give. He accepted it. So I gave him my regular Kutbah. And I think he made a mistake. He forgot his book. He went out the Masjid when it was over and left his book in there. If a good wind had come up, it would've blew those flimsy pages across the land. They were almost dust. So dear beloved people, a little humor is good for us. We have to know what to do in the light present circumstances, in the light of present circumstances. We live in a different time, different circumstances. Though we have the knowledge for addressing all times and all circumstances, we need somebody qualified to apply that in the light of these circumstances in this time. But those people from across the water, most of them want us to ignore the time, ignore the circumstances, bring Arabia and just sit it in America. Or bring Cairo and just sit it in America. Karachi. Just take Karachi and sit it in America, United States. And we just go Karaching all over the United States. That won't work. Thank you very much and sorry to hold you so long, but have faith and be happy that you are blessed. Salvation has come to us. And Allah has dignified us with leadership that can survive the challenge of this world's leadership.
That's a big thing to tell you. I'm not boasting, merely telling you the truth. That's a big thing to tell you, but believe me, it's the facts. We don't need anything but time. That's all we need from here on out. Time. Time for what I'm saying to reach more people who respect what I'm saying. That's all we need. And in time, mathematicians, chemists, astronomists, businessmen, all of these people, economists, doctors of philosophy, doctors of psychology, all of these people will hear in time and the doctor will come, the scientists will come, the economists will come, and he will work under this leadership with more enthusiasm than he have ever worked with in his life. All we need is time. Right now I'm about, well I'm approaching 48 years old. To tell you the truth, if I treat myself a little better physically, I'll be a man of about 38.
Now, with modern technology improving and ecology becoming a matter of concern more and more. Well I think a future here may give me another 50 years. If the Lord let this happen, for another 50 years, Great G-d Amighty. There'll be a light in this part of the world too bright for anyone not to see anywhere on the planet. The dignity we rightly deserve would come to us. In fact, we don't need 50 years, 25, maybe 20, possibly 15. With a good blessing from G-d. 10. Yes, yes. We are not interested in taking the controls of government from anybody. We want to grow up into the controls of government.
Not taking a thing. We want to grow up into the controls of government where the people can see that they didn't walk up, they grew up. They didn't get any ladder or anything, they grew up. By that I mean you'll be justly due the right to operate in those high places because you would have proven by your growth that you are qualified for it. That will come. Dear beloved brothers and sisters, Allah has blessed us now and I believe that it is something that we can say we have with the plan for Teachers Training College and boarding high school for those who want to go away from the city environment and give themselves fully to a learning environment. We have been blessed to get good news that our application is almost a sure thing, that it's going to be okay down in Springfield. We'd like to have some donations coming from people who got plenty of money but, be truthful with you, that doesn't even bother me because I know it ain't nothing that G-d intend for us going to be blocked. I know that. This will be an institution of higher learning. It will dignify us even more for us to be known as a community that has a training college to train its own staff, its own teachers.
Our teachers will not be limited to what the Teachers Colleges of this society have to offer. They'll receive special attention, they will get special qualifications. They will be qualified to really teach their community. Our community is not like any other community. They will have special training. From there will come men and women who will grow in the institution of education. They will get even broader vision. They will get even broader aspirations. So from there, who knows, education, distinct educational development may grow to be the very thing that might revolutionize education in the West. Who knows? Doesn't it need an overhaul? The system is badly in need of an overhaul. So who knows? We should have that hope. We should have that enthusiasm. We should expect that our institution is a gift of Allah.
That just as He has blessed the Qur'an to have leadership to respect it and represent it rightly, He will bless an institution among us with His own protection and the best will come out of that. Dear beloved people, our problem has been, we have been a people just doing nothing but living in the orbit of emotionalism. In the orbit of emotionality. We just talk and we respond to feelings and we address feelings and we try to live for the day. We follow the routine, but we had no structure separate from the structure of the society. We had no institution except the beginning of our private elementary school. Now with a higher education coming, forming into a college, a training college, we will come up to a very high plane in society and we will begin to operate on a higher place in society. And that one institution will automatically stir us to establish more institutions.
So after that's established, we can expect soon after another institution, maybe not of education, maybe one of art, maybe one of culture which is badly needed. We need to set an example of leadership for cultural trends in this society. Badly needed. We need to provide patterns of cultural life first for our own families in our neighborhood. Badly needed. Don't you know hat's a great undertaking for us. So look, don't think of yourself as some ordinary community. Think of yourself as a new life, a new world. See yourself growing up into responsibility of government, where you'll accept that the government is on your shoulder. Well you are a human being and you're free. And this land is yours as much as it anybody else's. If a white man's child can be inspired to aspire for government leadership, if he can be inspired to accept, to put the burden of his nation on his own back, why can't I be the same? Am I not entitled to the same? Does his color make him a different citizen? Citizenship is the same for all of us. Now I'm saying this as an American. As a Muslim I say their vision is limited, their destiny is finished. We are the new America. Asalaam Alaikum.
First, let me thank the community in Chicago and vicinity for supporting your community with your very good turnout on the opening day of the court. I believe that for most of us things are unfolding in proper ways and we expect to get justice. Yes. As you know, my position has always been that what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad told his followers is to be respected. And he told his followers that they were building a nation.
And the material accomplishments were the evidence of that national growth. For us now as sons and daughters of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to go into court and claim a partnership with the community in these assets, in my opinion, is robbing a community in the absence of it's leader who built it. Because if he was present, I don't think any of his descendants would claim a partnership in the assets of the community. It is only because he has passed away that some of his descendants claim a partnership with the community in it's assets. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad as sole trustee of this community had a free hand to build and grow as he wanted us to grow. And if he put certain things or certain access to properties in his name or in others name, we ought to study the development and that situation, that particular situation to see if this is real evidence that these assets were meant to go to some individuals. Now I'm aware that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad wanted to put his family members and other people that he trusted more than some of the others in bargaining positions where they would be able to have a strong argument, if other members in the leadership of the Nation of Islam would decide to take a wrong turn and abuse their confidence, the assets, the trust of the people, and misuse the assets of the Lost Found Nation of Islam as it was called. So he put certain people in positions where they would be able to bargain. He put his own family members in bargaining positions, but he never gave them anything conclusive. Their bargaining power was not conclusive power, merely bargaining power, because their name was on some cooperative papers, names on some certificates. But the certificates were never formally treated. They were never given legal documentation. That is, there was never a board meeting and a decision made and the person was brought in and informed, brought to the meeting and informed of the transaction or the transfer of properties to them. And proper signature being given on those certificates.
So it seems to me that it was something done just to give certain trustworthy person, a position, a bargaining position. And sometimes not trustworthy persons so much as needy person who has something due them and may be denied or overlooked, slighted by officials who come in and have no sympathy or no knowledge of the past. So he gave them a good situation like that. I'm one who was put in that good situation. I picked up a certificate, Wallace D Mohammed, So many shares, oh boy, so many shares. Wallace D Mohammed, so many shares. Shares of what? Shares of Progressive Land. I said, what is Progressive Land? Oh, that's not mine. It's obvious to me that's not mine. I don't have no share of that. That's the Nation of Islam's, that's the community's you see. But when people get desperate, they're not responsible for their behavior. And I have some relatives that I have to excuse until they get their good senses back.
Because right now they're very desperate. They don't have no income, they don't know how to pay their bills or they don't how they're going to keep the lights on. And I said, no more charity from me after you take a position against me and say you're going to take what is not yours and ignore my position as leader. Okay, you go on. I ain't going to give you no help. I'm not saying they're boycotted. I don't call no boycott. Anybody want to help them do it. I'll feel better because they're in bad shape. If you want to help 'em, that's up to you. I ain't going to help 'em until they at least show some signs that they want to do justice by me. and to do justice by me, they have to respect my leadership. Because I have done good by them. I wanted to bring this before the community because I feel that the community is best protected when the trash is out from under the rug. We don't want these things hidden from us and then they come out on the news, come out in the newspaper. Then the community is shocked and we're weakened, you see? So we don't want to be weakened. I was accused of being involved in the robbery of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's house while he was living. I got this in a letter and statement, typed statement. "I have learned from my son that you were involved in the robbery of daddy's house."
Allah is my witness, I didn't even know the house was robbed or was going to be robbed or was robbed until I was told I think about a week later. I wasn't in the community at that time. I was on another one of those excommunications. Time off. Time off. I don't say time out because actually I was never out. My mind was always in here. My concerns were with the people. But I say time off. It was one of those times and I learned that it had happened. I'm willing to disclose the full knowledge that I have of what took place, but I don't care to do it simply because I know theres at least one innocent person involved and I wouldn't want to bring this out. But I think that the person who accused me is obligated if he intends to identify in this membership. He is obligated to tell this community where his information came from, what his information is, and to prove to this community whether he really had some evidence that I was a party to something or not. And if he can't prove it, then he should ask the forgiveness of G-d, forgiveness of this community. Or separate from this community because we don't need people among us like that. So I'm not going to call his name. I'm sure he will get this message. I hope he will come before the community and let everything he knows come out so it can be judged. Dear beloved people. Allah is my witness, there was a time if I had an army, I would've come and taken everything
Because I know that people were oppressed, being mistreated, and criminals were taken over. So if I had an army, Allah is my witness, I would've come and taken everything. But I had nobody but myself and I never would steal anything. That's not in me. I'd rather give you before I take from you. Yeah. Dear beloved people. Another thing I want to bring before you is our relationship with the overseas Muslims. We have received contributions for the building of a Masjid structure, Islamic structure. Bilal's Mosque. This money was given to us through me as a trust. A trust representing the American Muslims, all of them, not just us other American Muslims too. That we would build this Masjid, call it Bilal's Mosque and would be it's custodian, take care of it, manage it, and welcome all Muslims no matter what race, where they're from. And that we would conduct it in a way so that no Muslim of any other community would feel that he's under us. He would feel just as free and welcome there as we and feel just as much a part of it as we are. That means we would rotate Imams, we would have Imams of different races, different communities to give the Kutbah there. We would just be in charge, but we would run it for the good of all the Muslims. I loved that idea. I accepted it. I accepted to be the trustee for that trust.
That trust grew with the contribution of Sheik Zayid of Abu Dhabi to about 1 million and a half dollars. Some of you remember the Sheik of Azerbijan. Sheik Sultan.He is the ruler. He came here and visited us and he wanted to build something right here. But since we couldn't have it right here, it wasn't enough space. He said, well, can we just symbolically lay a stone? And some of you recall we had a symbolic stone laying there and newspaper photographers came out and they got shots and everything. And it was announced by the city because the city was so much in favor of us building that project because it would bring jobs to the city. And it would be a monument to help beautify the geography of Chicago or the land of Chicago. It'd become a landmark for this city. We haven't given that up. But the Sheik expected that if he initiated that, that others with money would follow up.
It so happened that the only one followed up was his neighbor in the Emirates, Sheik Zayid, who was the President of all the Emirates. I've never met him, but my brother Jabir who is right here. He met him, he talked with him in his house, just like he talked to us. He's been very close. That generous ruler, President of the Emirates gave us $1 million. And this was some time ago. And he pledged, I think a quarter of a million. Yes, a quarter of a million for its maintenance once it was built. Yearly, no limit, no termination, indefinite period. Quarter of a million for its upkeep and maintenance. That's meant to pay people who will reside there on the property. The Imam who would reside on the property. Those who will work to keep the property up. So that would've been a big help job wise as well as a big help for the religious, for building the religious prestige of this community. Alright. Since then, years have passed and the money has just been there. We have been drawing interest and using the interest to support Propagations in America. Our community has received the biggest part of that interest money, but also other communities have benefited from that. Some of you were at the Mosque when I made the talk. Easter. Easter Sunday. The $5,000 that I gave to the educational program, program of education in the name of their Bilalian members came from that interest.
Other contributions outside we have given from that interest. The school of Clara Muhammad throughout the country have been helped. Not all of them, but I believe the majority of them from that interest. Masjids have been helped from that interest. Productive Imams have been helped from that interest. The Council of Imams has received something to assist them because they badly need it. People ain't got no money and we ain't sticking nobody up, we're not getting money. Really, people who know what's happening, they wonder how in the world we still existing. No kidding. They wonder how in the world. Because we don't have any campaigns like we used to have to raise funds. We're not squeezing the beet for all of the juice that's in it like we used to do. So they wonder how we made it. We don't have a big business that's bringing in money. We don't have it. The Bilalian News does not have the circulation that Muhammad Speaks had. So we are not getting the money from that that we got from Muhammad Speaks. So they wonder, how are we doing this? We are doing it by the Grace of Allah.
We're barely making it. Barely making it. The school here is doing pretty good, but most of our schools badly in need of money financing. Most of our productive Imams are badly in need of charity. Imam can't live if he only getting 40, $50 a week. They say well go out and get a job. If an Imam wants to be a good Imam, he can't go to a job and work eight hours every day. I tell you why. An eight hour job turns out to be at least a 50 or 60 hour job because you have to have time to prepare and go back and forth. Time for the job, for preparing for the job and transportation to and from the job and resting after. The job will wear you out. And unless it's a very easy job, you need a lot of rest from a hard 40 hour week job.
So to tell the Imam, he has to work 40 hours and then expect for him to produce greatly for us, is really defeating our own selves. If we have a good Imam that produces for us that's presiding over a community of 80 to a hundred or more or 300 people and that Imam has proven to be efficient and he produces for us, let me tell you, every member of that Masjid should sacrifice something from his pocket if it's no more than a penny. If I couldn't give nothing but a penny, I would give at least...I'd say look, I have only 5 cents, 5 cents. I'm going to give you a penny. I'm going to take the other 4 cents and see can I get me a Tootsie roll.
I'm starving to death. I have to have a Tootsie roll or something. Yeah, I would do something. There's going to come a time where we going to separate the true from the false, the men and women from the boys and girls. We going to find out where you really stand. You see, this burden shouldn't be placed all on a few people. If all of us would do our best without putting ourselves out of doors, without neglecting, neglecting our family, but just sharing. Isn't the imam who is producing for all of us, isn't he worthy to get a share of what we give our family? So if I have a family of six and I have six meals, if I know the Imam is hungry or he didn't get donations, he can't get his food this week. Shouldn't I say Yeah, we have six but we're going to take this six and we're going to make 'em seven. One of these meals today will be the Imam's meal. This is the spirit of a Muslim community and that's what we must do. So dear beloved people, here is the situation.
I have to go to these donors and tell them that inflation is eating up their gifts and unless we find some way to invest this money to bring in a return to offset the rate of inflation, that we are doing nothing but laying up money for others to use. Alright? See that's the facts, that's the economic facts of these deposits. I've been told that we can invest the money for long term, but it will place the money under certain conditions and I don't think we should do that without the approval of the donors. So I'm going to see if we can get the approval of the donors. If they approve of that, we'll do it. If they don't approve of that, then the best thing is to take that money and use it to build the Teachers Training College to build education for our community. That would be the best thing to do with it. And we are not going to terminate the project. No, we will just rest the project until the hearts of the rich people decide to bring money enough.
Because at that time the cost was estimated between 14 million and 16 million for the Mosque that overseas brother designed for us. The name is Muhammad Mustafah of Egypt. Well-known architect, well respected. He drew the original drawing. Then we gave them to American architects for their own specifications, revision and specifications because he's not American he's Egyptian. So some changes had to be made. They came up with a very beautiful model. You've seen it some of you, the model of it, very beautiful model. Something that will put an Islamic landmark on Chicago. We want it. So we are not going to terminate it, but we are going to try to use our money in a different way because it's Unislamic to just set money up and let it be eaten up by interest or by inflation. By inflation, pardon me. That's un-Islamic. It's un-Islamic to really take interest. But look, interest is growth of money for nothing. Alright? Riba, growth of money for nothing. If this society has eaten up my money, they give me a third of its back. Is that Riba?
Riba, they're guilty of the Riba. They eating up my money that has this value and next month they tell me that doesn't have that value, that inflation has eaten it up. You see? So actually the Riba is on the part of the society, not on our part. So I think if we can get a bigger return on that money to offset the bite of inflation on it, we should do it. Now, I'm not going to impose this upon the donors. Some of them are very, very, very, very touchy when you start talking about interest. Some of them won't hear it at all. So I'm not going to argue with them. I'm just going with the proposal and I hope that they will say, "Brother Imam. We contributed this for the Muslims over there. If you'll just reserve a certain percentage of the application to the college, to the Muslims of the general community, we'll accept that idea. And then we'll have a Teachers Training College with provisions for people outside of this community." That will be very excellent. You see? Be very excellent. Alright. The other thing I wanted to bring to your attention is a fact that our relationship with overseas Muslims and especially with immigrant Muslims, needs improving badly. It's time for us to ignore our feelings, our grievances, our charges against immigrant Muslims and make an effort, a sincere effort to extend the hand of friendship and brotherly love to them. I don't think we can do anything that will be as impressive for us in this country than showing this country one Muslim community without racism, without racial arrogance, without racial hatred and suspicion. Why? Because this country is a country built upon the common dignity of the common person and a country that promises the common person freedom and dignity in this country. If you understand that this is a country that promises all races, all ethnic groups, all minorities, that they are going to overcome racism. They didn't have to say we are going to overcome racism. But in that it says it respects the common dignity of the common person. It says that we will one day have to get rid of racism.
Do you understand? This is the Constitution. This is the promise of this nation. Now the church has also preached brotherhood, brotherly love, but at the same time, some of the church people and some of the churches has given support to racist doctrines and has helped to keep racism in the society. And because of that, the American people are today as racially sensitive as they were 50 years ago. Don't think it's gone because the government has taken a position, the local government has taken a position, the leaders speak out against it. But there is a subtle quiet vein that still breeds in the citizens of this country the pockets of racism are still existing as it did 50 years ago.
It's because no one has extricated, no one has uprooted, has purged and uprooted the very foundations of racism in this society. We have the goods and the materials to do that job alright? And we are doing it. We are on the job and we are doing it. Believe me, you'd be surprised the people who write me and tell me that they were racist. But as a result of reading your book, as a result of hearing your tape, as a result of hearing you speak at such such place, I am free of that. Many of them write me letters thanking me, thanking me, not me. I don't deserve no thanks. I'm merely doing what I'm obligated to do and that is preach truth. But as a result of that, they tell me I was rid of it. And not only Caucasian or European members, but also Bilalians. Yes, they write me and they confess these things and express their happiness over being converted from racist mentality. Now dear beloved people, don't you think the best thing going for us in this war against entrenched racism in this society is the concept of brotherhood in Al Islam that won't allow any Muslim to think racist.
And we have on record a Prophet addressing racism. I don't know of any Prophet that addressed racism. If he did, he's not on record. I believe they addressed it in their own way, but he's not on the record for addressing racism. But the last Prophet Muhammad, Upon him be Peace, he's on record for addressing racism. He made it a major issue.You may say how? If you find something in the last sermon of Jesus Christ, an issue in the last sermon of Jesus Christ, wouldn't you say that was a major Christian issue? Alright, in the last sermon of our Prophet Muhammed, Upon him be Peace, racism was addressed as an issue. Therefore, racism is a major issue for the Muslim society. That's what Muslims need to be told all over the world in the East, that Prophet Muhammad addressed racism in his farewell address to the Muslims.
And by so doing, he made racism a major issue. I'm not going to hold you here. This is less than the subject believe me. We have Dubois, an intellectual of our leaders in the past. He says that the issue of the 20th century is racism. He said that didn't he? And it turned out to be. In fact it still is now. Prophet Muhammad addressed it 1400 years ago with these words. He said, "No superiority of an Arab over a Non Arab. No superiority of Black over White or White over Black. The only superiority is the goodness of your heart before G-d."
The only superiority is Taqwa, that's the sincerity and goodness of your heart with G-d. So who is best? Who is most genuine in his heart on the truth, on obedience to G-d and love for justice and righteousness. That's the best person, not his color. It was the end of that. But many of us don't understand. it's also addressed in the Qur'an. But it's addressed in symbol, symbolic language, metaphorical language. So there are those who will tell me that's the wrong interpretation. And how am I going to say no, you are wrong. This is the right interpretation. We can't force our opinion on them. But in the Qur'an it says you'll find in the plant various colors.
It also says you'll find in the mountains various colors. Intense black, intense white, good colors, very distinct, sharply being distinguished from the other. And it says likewise for yourself. What is this saying? It's saying that color differences is a scientific difference. It has nothing to do with humanity or spirituality. It's a scientific factor. So you differ. Certainly you differ just like other things differ. Can you go now and pick the best things to eat by picking the color? Say white is the best color, I'm going to eat nothing but white things. And another one say, black is the best color I'm going to eat nothing but black things.
We would hurt ourselves, wouldn't we? Yes, we would hurt ourselves because the good things are not always under the color. You'll find the best of this particular item maybe will come under white, but for the other item, it may come under black, another one will come under the green, another one will come under red. So the best is not by one certain color. The qualities vary with the colors. Is that right? I mean the colors vary with the quality. The quality stays, but the colors vary. Alright, so now in one line it is as addressing the scientific basis for these color differences. But on the other hand, it's addressing religious symbolism. Religious secret thought. The mountain represents leadership and stones in the leadership represent human logic, human thinking, human rationale in the leadership.
Alright, what it's saying is that the mountain in government, in leadership of the world nations, the nation of the world, there has been the black, extreme black, intense black person. There has been the white, the very white, the pink white person. There has been the red. You'll find the different colors. Yes. Do you think G-d will tell us the different colors in the mountains just to tell us that there are different color stones in the mountain. So G-d revealed a great Surah, a great revelation, a great verse to tell us that in the mountain we'll find stones intensely black, intensely white. Why? We can see that just walking around looking at 'em, right? Yes. So it hasn't been revealed just to tell us that. It's revealed to tell us something about an issue.
It's addressing an issue. So dear beloved people, our religion is powerful against racism. It's the religion that is revealed to do away with racism. People will judge us not by what we preach, but by what we practice. If we have this religion that is more effective in dealing with the evils of racism, then shouldn't our community be an example of that higher knowledge, of that higher consciousness? Certainly. Than the only way we can be an example, we have to show brotherly love, brotherly sentiments, extend those brotherly sentiments to all Muslims, regardless of their color or their national origin.
So I'm not asking you to do that. I'm instructing you to do that. And I hope knowing you, see I know you. You are not a racist. You may be mentally sick, but you are not a racist. I know you, your genetic history have not put that into you yet. So I know that. Oh you can love a European child as much as you love your own. We are fortunate that our genetic past didn't put us in no bad situation where racism was bred into us. No, we don't have that. So I know you can do it. So let's be good to these people. Ain't nobody perfect, ain't no race without fault. We know their shortcomings and we told 'em about that shortcoming. And to be truthful with you, I found some of them can sit and listen to the truth about themselves better than you can. Cause I talked about 'em, believe me. And when I got through talking, they rushed up and hugged me and shake my hand. In fact, one told me, "Brother Imam, you have to lead all of us. You have to lead all of us. We need you."
Yes, one of 'em told me that and I told 'em, okay, but get the rest of your people to agree to it. I am not going to assume something that's not the reality. I'm going to visit InShallah, the leader of the world movement, the world organization, pardon me, called Rabita Islamia. That's the World Muslim League. When I go there, I'm going to meet him as a friend and a brother. I hope to meet also Sheik Bin Baz, who is head of the Council of Imams in Saudi Arabia or the Assembly. The Assembly of the Imams of Saudi Arabia. And I'm going to him as a friend and as a brother. We have to get out and meet other people who share our same interests, same religious concerns. We have to meet them. We have to extend to them the hand of fraternal friendship. And we have to invite them to come into a discourse, dialogue, conversation with us for mutual benefit.
We have to even be willing to contribute to their causes. Don't you know a Muslim in this part of the world, if he knows that famine is in a Muslim country and ignore it, it doesn't register on his heart, something is wrong with him. If he knows that a Muslim land is occupied by foreign soldiers who have taken over the control of the Muslim land from them. If he doesn't feel something hurting his heart or something disturbing his heart, don't something wrong with him. Some of us think that we are still slaves and though we are free, this freedom is not really complete freedom.
And we're to go and ask the police or the FBI or the Mayor or the Governor or the President if it's okay to like foreigners, even if they're Muslims. Yes, some of us have that problem. I'm telling you, some of us still carry that old slavery fear, slavery fear that we think we ain't completely free. It's okay for us to do our thing on the south side, but don't go overseas unless you ask shorty. And don't befriend no foreign nation unless shorty say do it. That's our mind. But Israel befriend who she wants to befriend. Israel, a nation formed from citizens, Jews scattered around the world, mostly in Europe right? And the Jewish people in America speaks against nations on behalf of Israel or the Jewish people with no respect for any other nation whatsoever.
They don't consider the interest of America. They consider first the interest of the Jewish people. And they will go and argue and blaspheme America to get America to bend to their needs. Now I'm not saying we should behave like that. I don't like that in the Jews. We shouldn't behave like that. We should be careful of what we say that will take from the image, prestige and dignity or power of our government. We should be careful of what we say because we don't want to weaken the government. We want to strengthen the government. But at the same time, we shouldn't be some crazy nitwit who think we are little children owned by the white race in America and their children are free, are free to promote their interest and to have outer country or outer nation interests. But we are not free to promote our interest and have outer nation interest. Yes, we promote outer interest. We have outer nation interest, we have foreign interests. And we deserve the same respect that they give other citizens.
If we get the opportunity, we going to import, we going to export. We get the opportunity, we going to have cultural exchanges, student exchanges, we going to be involved in the international world if we get the opportunity. And we don't ask for it, we demand it because it's a right of all citizens. Yes, I'm going over there to put my hand in their hand as a brother. Maybe I don't buy his world politics because after all I'm a Kalifa too. So maybe I don't buy his world politics. But he's my Muslim brother and he represents a great prestigious organization, world organization.
And he has a wealth of information and knowledge and resources. And he has already extended generously some of those resources to us. Do you know we have gotten thousands of books that would've cost us millions of dollars. We've gotten them free through Rabita. The same body that I'm talking about right now. We've gotten them free. They've come to us as a result of MSA, Muslim Student Association at that time. Whose representative was Brother Dejane, a Sudanese. Very good person, very understanding person. He was instrumental in getting us great contributions of good Islamic books in English. Qur'ans, many of them in English and Arabic. We didn't have the money to pay for that, too much. We got it free.
Nobody told me, look Brother Imam, if you don't change your style, don't expect no more books. Cause they know what I would've done if they had told me that. So they wouldn't do that anyway. Even if they were crazy, they wouldn't do that. They were craz, they wouldn't do that. But they're good people. They wouldn't do that. They haven't given me any conditions. And if anybody offers or come to me like that, right away I stop 'em. No conditions. If anybody want to be helpful by us, no conditions. Yes, if any Muslim Palestinians or any of 'em, they come to me and ask me for help. They say, Brother Imam, would you speak out on the Palestinian issue? I spoke out. I told 'em I speak out when I do. But they reminded me. I spoke out. I made a special, special effort to speak out against it, speak out that week on it. I did it. I didn't tell him you have to get me some money from the East.
That's a hustler. That's a key international hustler. I wouldn't do that. I don't. You don't owe me nothing. Nothing. I'm going to do it. That's my duty. If it is not my duty, you ain't going to get it if you're bringing me a billion dollars. That's right. Now I know you all can't do that. You can't take $5. Some of you, you can't take five. Break you off $5, you'll do the wrong thing. But Allah is my witness. With the heart and mind I have now, who knows. Allah protects me. With the heart in mind I have now they could say we have $1 trillion for your community Brother Imam. But to do it, you have to get involved in international politics.
You have to have a Palestinian lobby, organize a lobby for Palestine. You have to help Afghanistan, organize a lobby for Afghanistan. You have to help. You know what I would say? Although it's my desire to see those people helped. You know what I would say? Sorry. I would say sorry. You know what I mean? I'm sorry to hurt you like this. Cause it hurt a man when he bring you a trillion dollars and you tell him no. Man, that hurt him bad. So I have to say I'm sorry. Cause I wouldn't like to see him hurt like that. I say I'm sorry. I don't mean sorry for myself. I'm okay. I'm sorry for you. I wouldn't do it for all the money in the world. I wouldn't do it because I'm a man of principle. I don't live for advantages. I live for Allah's pleasure. And they couldn't offer me any amount of money to get me to change my own principles and my direction.
No indeed, they wouldn't do it. So we go there as friends, we go there as brothers and if there's some area that we can work in together and support each other without us jeopardizing our own individuals, our local interests, let's do it. Let's do it. And let me tell you, anybody I meet over, anybody over there who tell me that they got commodities that they can ship here and will give us a big saving, I'm not going to respect this capitalist regime who says we don't need imports, we need exports. Baby, you got imports because we need money and jobs and better living conditions.
Right? At one time I said, no, let's not look for imports. The situation is bad for the United States. The world markets are gone. Let's not look for imports. Let's look for exports. We want to export. You look for exports. As soon as you get something to export, because you are not the resource captain, you are not producing the commodities, Right away it's taken out of your hand and the other seller gets the benefit. We look like fools over here being brokers or money finders for people who already got more money and more job opportunities than we got.
So I put that down a long time ago. But if we can find imports, brother, we want to get 'em, bring them here and use them for the good of everybody. But they should benefit us directly. Yes. Don't try to undersell nobody and drive nobody out of the market. Whatever the standard market price, that's what we should respect. Yes. That means more money come to us. Some of us want to sell fast and big and undercut everybody because you're getting it cheap. They're getting it cheap too. Maybe cheaper than you. But they sell it at the market price. You sell it at the market price too, but make the market fair. Wouldn't it be great if we could continue the economic program of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and improve upon it, enhance it, dignify it, and make it stronger? Wouldn't that be great? We are in a better situation to do that than the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was.
We are in a much better position to do that than the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was. Yes. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad did it against great odds. Great odds. We don't have those odds to face now. Say we would get commodities in here and sell 'em to our community. Our community would get jobs. We could make fair prices. We could be an influence to bring about fair prices to our people because then the others who are selling products in our community, they will have to meet our challenge. You see. Say, hey, you got the 10 cents extra on this article and we know it's selling in the general Chicago market for 10 cent less. Why you have it 10 cents more on the South Side? On the West Side? it's because of the people. You disrespect their intelligence. All right mister we are going to sell this and drive you out. Economic righteousness for bringing about social justice. Believe me, other than righteousness, the strongest tool for bringing it about social justice is economic strength.
I'm not on a mission to find no money or nothing like that, but I'm saying if I see it, I'm going to make note of it. But if there's something we could get over here, imports from anywhere. I got an invitation to attend a ceremony for a leader of Zimbabwe. So happened that the letter got to me two weeks late. I just got the letter yesterday. They sent it weeks ago. Well you understand that. Okay, so I get it too late to attend, but I'm showing you that we are well respected by people at high places. They invited me a special invitation, gave me numbers to call in Washington, gave me numbers to call also in their own land. Said that they will make special arrangements for my visit to Zimbabwe, What they call the Communist country. Okay? They call it a Communist country. But we know those people are not in Communism by choice.
They didn't choose it. They had no way. Alright, so I don't regard them as Communists. I regard them as good human beings. And I would've gone, Allah is the best Knower. It was best I didn't go. Allah is the best Knower. But I don't think that it really speaks for the dignity of our community, for our community to be a party in keeping things from happening that our relationship with others of our race and others of our Muslim society. Anyone who serves outside concerns, whether it's governmental or not, to block progress between us and Africa, or between us and Islamic community of the world, is a traitor of the worst type. He is an Uncle Tom. He is a bastard of the worst type. Yellowback, yellowback slimy dog of the worst type. Now, they shouldn't do that. They should have more respect for themselves to do that. But that's part of the thing we have to put up with. Now, Allah is the best Knower. They plan, Allah plans. When Allah get ready to perform His work that's it. All of their little scheming will be just wiped out.
Rendered nothing. reduced, to nothing. And they'll think back and say, boy, all of that effort, all of that work. And we didn't accomplish a thing. Yes. Well, dear beloved people, pray that we have a successful trip. It is my plan to leave very soon within a few days and I'll be up in the big bird again. I hope to come back with greetings, eternal greetings from the Muslims that I meet, and also with news of some progress in our relationship with the Muslims across the water. And I hope that one of these days soon I'll be coming back from a visit to Africa and we'll be telling you of progress there. There is right now a program underway to get me an invitation, a state visit to Nigeria and some other African states. That'd be wonderful. And I hope that this will be just the beginning of a kind of yearly visit from our community. Yearly we should be gone to Africa. There should be a national funded programs to send representatives from our community to Africa every year, at least once a year. That's a must.
We go to hajj once a year. Well we shouldn't forget the motherland either. They have a lot to offer us and we have a lot to offer them. And it will really be wonderful and beautiful to see us spiritually united if nothing else. Don't you know if great numbers of the African Americans can go and visit the African people and they start coming here and we become spiritually united, don't you know there will be rest for our souls. Oh yes. Those that have been in agony because of estrangement from our own ancestors, well that will be rested. The African people they'll feel good and we'll be made to feel good. And from that exchange, who knows, maybe cultural exchange, maybe business exchange, and they can strengthen us and we can strengthen them. Do you think if the Irish had people in Africa, in the positions and in the unique kind of economic situation that some of them are in, do you think they would ignore those people? Do you think any race other than us would ignore the great motherland over there with all of its resources and all of its possibilities? No. They would be going over there trying to make contributions to the development of their motherland. And they would also be seeking what they can find in that part of the world to also improve their situation in America. Well, sorry again for holding you so long, but believe me, it's worth it. Asalaam Alaikum.


