05/09/2006
IWDM Study Library
IWDM speaks to Association of Professional Chaplains Atlanta, GA

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

Thank you. Thank you so much and I feel the same way about each and every one of you. Thank you so much. We always begin with the greetings, wishing the peace to our audience. Our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the book that we call the last of the Revealed Books, the Qur'an. He once advised one of his followers, he said, "Greet a person with peace whether you know him or know him not, greet him with peace." So that's understood by us who study the teachings and life of our Prophet, Peace be upon him. That's understood to me whether he's a Muslim or non-Muslim, you greet him with peace and we greet everyone with peace whenever we give an address, making address. Our greeting of peace comes from our heart to everyone in our audience, we wish peace and peace for us is a complete wish. It leaves out nothing. It is trouble from different things and different areas of life that prevent us from having peace inside. So, peace to us is the best greeting, the best wish. Very honored again, very happy to be your guest, your speaker. I really remember Dallas, Texas and the recollections warms my heart every time I recall. It warmed my heart because you received me so well and made me feel so welcome and I appreciate that and I certainly appreciate you inviting me for a second time. Now, I know I was received very welcome, but I wasn't thinking I'd be invited again, but thank you very much.

Yes. First I want to make an introduction here and after the introduction I want to address what is being supported by Rabbita, World Muslim League based in Mecca and has the support of the Custodian of the two sacred places in Mecca, our Qilba, the house that we turn to in prayer and the house that we visit when we make pilgrimage, which is required at least once in the life of every believer, to make pilgrimage to the house we believe to have been made built, pardon me, by Prophet Abraham and his son, Upon them be Peace. And it so happened that the President now or Secretary General of Rabbita is a person I know very well, been knowing him for years before he received that position. And he was once head of all the universities in Saudi Arabia. He was director for the universities in Saudi Arabia. He took care of education for all of the universities and then he was put in another position, a new position. For the first time the government of Saudi Arabia had a ministry and they made him the head of the first ministry, the Ministry of Endowments, Culture and Endowments in Education. He was put over that. And his third position is the position he has now, which is President or Secretary General for the worldwide organization called the Muslim World League. Rabbita, Muslim World League.

We are living in very, very special times. I don't know how many of us really think about the time that we are living in. Just a few years ago we couldn't imagine that so many new happenings, so many innovations would occur in such a short period of time for the life of the religion really, and for the life of technology, science and technology mainly, in particular. We're seeing great changes, great changes in the world population. We are seeing people not being able to escape each other. Cultures, governments are being brought together, no way to escape each other. We are living in really a very new and different time from the time that I lived most of my life and experienced as a child, young adult, married man. Our time we are living in is a time when we we're witnessing the conclusion of Bible and Qur'an prophecies. I'm a student of both the Bible and the Qur'an and that's how I perceive this time that we are living in. When I recall prophecies, both in Bible and in Qur'an. I know it's difficult for some of us. Even or Imams say, "Well, what do you mean prophecies in Qur'an?" We don't think of the Qur'an being a book of prophecies, prophecy, but it is also a book of prophecy

Signs, evidence in our troubled public with this commercial culture, with the growing risk of war in the Middle East and other places too. Poverty, growing poverty in spite of all these advances we have made for civilization and society. Growing crime, catastrophic diseases like AIDS. And worst of all in my opinion is the brain void that I see when I look at the public lifestyle, especially our youngsters, how they live, the spirit that's in our youngsters on the streets, what's driving them. On a positive note, I'm inspired by and encouraged by world peace, promoted by organizations like one that I belong to, the Religions for Peace, used to be called WCRP, World Conference of Religions for Peace, who has as its leader William Benley, we call Bill Benley, Dr. Bill Benley. And other organizations, at least two or three others that I'm not going to here that I belong to. I'm encouraged by those organizations, what they're all about and how they are seriously working, and some taking risk to promote peace and harmony throughout the world with respect for diversity. And I would say not only respect for the diversity but with an interest and also contributing to the freedom and welcoming of diversity throughout the world. I am impressed by those who are genuinely working with the hope that quality human life will come to all human beings on this planet earth.

The Muslim Ummah, call it, Ummah. And some have translated this word nation and I can understand that translation and accept that translation, but I feel the real meaning of this word when I look at where this word comes from. It comes from the word meaning mother. Mother is Um, and Ummah comes from, is derived from that word Mother. Mother. And the plural of Ummah would be Umum. Many communities, many communities. A single community, Ummah and we are called an Ummah. We are an International community. That's what Muslims are, an International community. And this is the identity that is stressed by G-d in our Holy Book more than any other meaning. We are Masjid, Mosque, place of worship, we are congregations, we are all of that. We are preachers, dai's, calling to the way of G-d. We are all of these things and we are a brotherhood, we area brotherhood, sisterhood or brotherhood that includes both females, males and females.

We are all of that and we are Muslims, but the name Muslim itself is not given such a big place in our holy scriptures. You don't run into the name Muslim too often. What you run into all the time, very often, is believers. G-d addresses us as believers, not so often as Muslims, but always as believers. And He addressed Jews and Christians and some other religions as believers. So, we have this word believer and it represents not only Muslims but the religions that are not having the Qur'an and not calling themselves, having adherents that are calling themselves Muslim. Now we have our Prophet, pardon me, yes, our Prophet. We have him saying to us, "Which is the best Islam?" Someone asked him that question, which is the best Islam? And we have him also giving us "What is Islam?" Someone asked him, "What is Islam?" And we have him giving us his own words, what Islam is, and we have someone asking him as I said, which is the best Islam. And he answered that person. And he told that person, which is the best Islam. Now when he answered the question, what is Islam, he said, "Islam is built upon five, five." And we think this to mean five pillars, five principles, five essentials, translated different ways by different translators. And he named them, he said, "It is to believe in G-d, it is to believe in G-d and it is to pray to that G-d. It is to give in charity. And he said, it's to fast the month of Ramadan." That's the month, the whole month during the daylight hours to fast that month that the Qur'an, the month in which the Qur'an was revealed in the latter part of Ramadan, the month called Ramadan.

That's why we devote ourselves intensively to reading the Qur'an and have Night of Power come, the Night of Power comes within that last 20 days. And he said it is to visit the house, Hajjul Bait. He made it very simple. He said, Hajjul Bait. That means make pilgrimage to the house that I mentioned already. The house built by Abraham, Prophet Abraham and Prophet, his son who also another Prophet, his son, Upon them be Peace. So that's what he gave when someone asked him "What is Islam?" That's what he gave them. And we know these five essentials have strong reference, very strong reference to the essential life of every human being. The Qur'an emphasizes five. Prophet Muhammad emphasized five. Jesus Christ emphasized five. If you will accept it, I have to ask your permission to speak, to say something about your Bible because I'm not an authority. I haven't been established as an authority with you all, only authority with my heart in the presence of G-d. But Prophet Jesus, he said there was a woman washing at the well and he said, "You've had five husbands, and the one you have now is not yours."

And again, he fed the multitude with two fish and five loaves of bread. And their that five is again. And David picked up five smooth stones from the water and he used just one to take down the great threat to his people, Goliath, the mighty Goliath. So, we have this five in common.

Now. We have Rabbita supporting a publication, and this publication is The Muslim World League Journal. And this publication that I'll be giving you excerpts from for the next maybe five or 10 minutes, this publication came out for the month of October and November, two months. It represents two months, October and November. I believe they have every other month, every two months they have an issue coming out. And this is 2005 November through, pardon me, October through November, 2005 issue. And in this issue one of the contributors to this Journal is mentioning the support in Islam for minorities in an Islamic state where Muslims are in the great majority or in the majority. And he says, and I quote, "The ideological basis of this Ummah is derived from the history of Prophets from Adam to Muhammad." And that would definitely include Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus. From Adam to Muhammad. "Due to various reasons, the Muslim Ummah has been losing most of his ideological characteristics and distinct moral qualities which had enabled it to reach the height of success in the world." And he goes on to say, "However it, meaning the Ummah is unable today to carry out the mission assigned to it. The mission assigned to it by the revelation, the Qur'an which was voiced and preached and taught to our Prophet, the last Prophet Muhammad, Upon him be Peace."

Excerpts from the Muslim World League Journal also include that I have here, include a statement I offer you now, says every country formulates certain laws and rules regarding the rights and duties of the minorities residing within its territories. Islam gives non-Muslim minorities full freedom to observe their religion, according to the Islamic Shari. Sharia is a term that translated as law. These body of laws, collection of law, differ from one area in the Muslim world to another. They're determined how they construct their law, are determined by which preacher, which teacher they follow. And those schools are called Madhabs, Madhabs. Madhab comes from a word means really to go or to walk or to go away, Madha, Dahaba- he went away. And the picture that comes to mind, he went away on foot. He walked away. Dahaba. So the Madhab are Schools of Thought. And as you know, Saudi Arabia, and I'm quoting here, publication, that's supported by Saudi Arabia. So most likely the influence here in this publication that I'm quoting from is the influence of the Wahabi, Wahabi School of Thought. Or the Wahabi Madhab, a school that some think it's also feeding the spirit and mind of terrorists, the Taliban and others.

And it perhaps is, but something was feeding my mind too. And the mind of my father's Ministers of the Nation of Islam in the forties and in the fifties, sixties. Something was feeding our minds too. And we were reading the Qur'an at the same time. We had the Qur'an and we was displaying a lifestyle, a life form very strange to Muslims of the world. Muslims of the world couldn't identify with our life as we were living it under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. it was quite different. They only could identify with our, I would say manners. Our manners were very good under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's teaching, and our emphasis on cleanliness, physical cleanliness, and a decent dress. We were superior in that. But if they heard our thinking, they would say, "Where'd this come from?" They wouldn't at all be able to recognize or identify our thinking at that time. So, what am I saying? I'm saying that members of Saudi people or the Islamic world, they can be reading the Qur'an, they can be reading the wisdom and the logic of their teachers, of their Schools, of Thought, Madhabs. It doesn't mean that they're going to perceive it correctly. You see as your disposition, in your mind and heart, that's the way you're going to see it. And if you are not dispositioned in your mind and heart to be in accord with the mind and heart that has produced the matter or that is expressing the matter that you're trying to perceive, you won't perceive it correctly. And you can perceive it in a very, very different way than intended by the authors. So, I can't really blame the Wahabi school for the behavior of some of these people who they say our students of that School of Thought any more than I can blame some of my brothers and sisters and some of the Ministers even who were influenced by my father's teaching while they at the same time had the Qur'an that they could read. It was accessible. They could read it if they wanted to and many of them did. In fact, all the Ministers had the Qur'an, and I'm sure they were reading it, but they were not living it at all. Not to say they were Taliban, no, we were not making any terror. We were not terrorizing the world or any society. No, we weren't doing that. But we were just, I would say tripping off, tripping and going way out of space, out into space and didn't know how to get back home. But thank G-d we were sincere. So, G-d brought us back to Earth, G-d's mercy brought us back to earth. So, it goes on to say here that.... I think while I was talking I missed something. Excuse me a minute, I have to go and get back to where I was here. No, no, I'm okay. I'm okay. Yes. This publication also says, Every country formulates certain laws and rules regarding the rights and duties of minorities residing within its territories. Islam gives non-Muslim minorities full freedom to observe their religion. This is coming from Saudi Arabia. According to the Islamic Sharia, Muslims are not allowed to interfere in their religions, in their religious matters.

The basis of this freedom is divine. As the Qur'an stipulates. Then he gives a quote here from the Qur'an itself. "There is no compulsion in religion." And I'm sure many of you, most Muslims, they know that, whether they be Ministers, teachers or not. "La Ik hara Fidin." Let there be no compulsion in religion. And he ends that quote and goes on to say Prophet Muhammad, Upon him be Peace, has also taken steps to ensure the religious freedom of minorities. He commanded the people of Yemen, which is bordering Saudi Arabia. He commanded the people of Yemen that no person of Jews and Christians will be forced to renounce his religion.

Islam establishes an obligation on Muslim countries to protect their minorities places of worship, places of worship. Also rights to own, own and conduct business, to own and sell to their people or to others, the right to be employed both by government and non-government organizations or employment. And it goes on to say, and this article goes on to say, the history of Muslim governments supports right of religious differences and the freedom to have public activities for these various religions and their adherence. Now we know this is not permitted in many Muslim countries. Rabbitas publication is not trying to or claiming to present the picture of reality for Islamic societies of the world or governments. It's only trying to set the record straight as to what those governments should be following. And that is if they're Muslims, they should be following the Qur'an and they should be following the leadership of Muhammad the Prophet, Upon him be Peace. The Prophet's companion, Khalid Iban Walid, conquered the city of Hirah in the period of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.

Quote- "It was explicitly recorded in the treaty that there Churches and Synagogues will not be destroyed. They will not be prevented from blowing horns and no restriction will be imposed on the procession of their sacred emblem." I put that sacred emblem there, he said on the procession of the cross, which I thought it needed a little more clarity speaking here today. "During festivals, during their festivals." Now, if all of that is true, that the Qur'an gives this freedom of religion to everybody and that the obligation is on the Muslim country and on Muslim authority, whether it be a Imam over a Masjid, over a congregation or a Masjid or a mosque or government official. That there's an obligation on the Muslim leader representing Islam to protect the rights of minorities, the rights of Jews, rights of Christians, the rights of others who profess a religion and a belief in the Lord Creator who is above all and in control of all.

If they profess such a belief, then obligation is on the Muslim leaders, on the Muslim authority to not only grant them permission. G-d has granted them permission. So, his right is to uphold what G-d has established, to grant them permission to have their religion and to practice their religion and even bring it out into the public and have their festivals of celebrations within the Muslim country. So, what I'm looking at is the freedom that we have with a majority Christian population in these United States. We have the freedom to practice Islam. We have the freedom to have our parades. We have the freedom that's given to the majority to have our religion and to express our life publicly if we care to do that, you see. So, I see that and when I see that, I wonder why the Muslim world lost the essential characteristics that's revealed to us in Qur'an, in our Holy Book and demonstrated to us in the life of Muhammad the Prophet. And why we have lost our moral life that is established in our Holy Book.

The moral life is not washing our hands. The right hand first and the left hand. Rinsing out the mouth three times, and then sift a little water in the nose and mouth and washing the face over three times. It's not the steps of ablution for prayer. That's not the essential life. It is not even doing dhikrs, counting on our fingers, glorifying G-d. That's not the essential life. It's not finding a rug, insisting that we have a rug and be praying on a nice clean rug or a decorated rug. These things are trivial when you look at what is human life that G-d wants to establish. Not for Muslims only, but for the whole people on this planet Earth. Then these little things become toys.

Thank you. Thank you. And we thank G-d that we are your guests here today, that you have invited us and I love you folks. I do. Yes I do. And I want to be at your service. Whatever I can do to in some way contribute to the professional chaplain and what you desire for the people of America and elsewhere. If you have that interest too, I want you to know that you can call on me at any time. I would just love to be your friend and your brother. Your brother helper. Yes. And I want no attention for myself. I need no attention. I don't like too much publicity. I fear it like some people fear drugs.

Yes. So, I'm going to conclude this with the saying of the Prophet. When I said he was asked, "Which is the best Islam? When he was asked, "Which is the best Islam?" here's what he said. When I read this, I understand what is said throughout the Qur'an. That this book is a book containing books that were revealed before, containing scripture that came in books pardon me, scriptures that came in, books that came in books before. The Prophet was asked, "Which is the best Islam?" His reply was, "You feed the hungry, you say Salaam to whom you know and whom you do not know. "And I thank you. And may G-d keep us always in the right life. In the life He created us for. Ameen. As Salaam Alaikum.



