07/27/2007
IWDM Study Library
Meaning of Islam and Value of Education

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

As Salaam Alaikum. Bismillah Ar Rahma Nir Raheem. That is Peace unto you. And with G-d's Name, the Merciful Benefactor and the Merciful Redeemer we begin our program. And I would like to first just to keep the right picture of our religion before us. I would like to begin with the meaning of the greetings As Salaam Alaikum, Peace be unto you and also with the meaning of our name Muslim. We are Muslims and the name means one who accept to live a life of peace. Peace with G-d and peace with one's fellow man. And also, our religion, with the meaning of our religion Islam. When Prophet Muhammad, our Prophet, the Prophet of the Qur'an, the last Prophet or the seal of the Prophets, when he was asked, what is Islam? His reply was Islam is to worship G-d, one G-d, to witness that He's One, and it is to give in charity, make Salat, pardon me, make prayer and give in charity, Zakat.

And to fast the month of Ramadan and to visit the house. He said, Hajjul Bait, to visit or make pilgrimage to the house. The house is a house built by Abraham and his son and it was built for all mankind. G-d says in our Holy Book, Buni Al Li Nas, it was built for all people, for all mankind. There's much to be said about these five essentials or also called five pillars in Islam. But we are just giving a quick introduction. So, if we have peace for our greetings and peace in the name we say Muslim, call ourselves. And our religion also has peace in it, Islam. It is a religion of surrender, peaceful surrender, peaceful surrender for the sake of G-d, for the sake of G-d. So, if we have peace in all these names, it is strange that Muslims would not project themselves as a peace loving people. And we know there are many Muslims who project themselves as peace loving people. They are leaders of global movements or worldwide movements that include people from the world, from all the nations of the world or from the global community, leaders from the global community. There are many such groups. The Minaret of Freedom is one of them that I know it is made up of, this organization is made up of scholars. They are really scholars, social scientists in Islam.

But I'm also knowing that there are non-Muslim movements that include Muslims that invite Muslims to not only participate but also to share the leadership of those global missions. We'll say global missions are global movements. One that I would like to mention at this time is the WCRP, the World Conference of Religions for Peace. I have been with this organization for over 15 years, perhaps over 20, about 20 years. And it's a religion, pardon me, it's an organization that invites the great religions of Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Judaism, but also Buddhist, the Buddhist and Hindus and some others all are making up the leadership of this international organization. I'm an International President of this organization and it has many several International Presidents throughout the world. But I'm also aware of Chiara Lubich movement that is also international. It began as a movement led by Catholic woman, young woman who I think was only about 17 or 18 when she started the movement.

And she gathered around her for the leadership also non-Catholics and also non-Christian. So, they have a movement too also that's working for peace, their commandment or principle that builds on one commandment of Jesus Christ according to the gospel. And that is that you love one another, that you love one another. And this young lady have taken that principle and promoted it throughout the world and has gathered to herself, to herself for the leadership of the movement persons from religions outside of Christianity, not just Christians or not just Catholics. So, this is the world that we want. We want to see a world where people are not only tolerant of one another. If we are working under the one G-d and we say we are servants of the same G-d, then we should be more than tolerant of one another. We should also be supportive of one another and all of that our scriptures approve. If my Holy Book approves my working with you, then I should work with you. If your Holy Book approves it, we should be working together if it approves of me working with you. So, this is what we are trying to promote on an international scene or in an International picture. We are trying to promote more than tolerance. We are trying to promote tolerance and support of one another in all the good that we do.

Going back to the meaning of Islam, I would like to conclude by saying Islam is religion that is established in the Qur'an called the Book of G-d or the word of G-d, the Qur'an, our Holy Book. And Islam is established in that book as religion that does not favor superstition. In fact, it comes to rid our society, human society of burdensome superstitions that burden our minds, burden our reasoning powers, burden our good senses. Islam comes to dispel the darkness of superstitions and myths that contribute nothing to human society but suspicion and black magic or white magic or some nonsense. And it also eventually contributes to evil and harm to people because when we promote superstitions and what we do, we invite people who want to exploit human weaknesses and they become our witch doctors, our modern day witch doctors. And they take advantage of innocent people.

So, we want to make it clear that Islam comes to do away with unnecessary, burdensome, I would say mysticism and superstitions. With that, I conclude my comments on what is Islam and I now want to acknowledge that we have guests. We have Imam Darnell Kareem, who's the Imam in this area. We are near Harvey and East Hazel Crest. We are in this area south suburban and west and east, south suburbs of Chicago, both the west side and the east side, Harvey. The Imam Darnell Kareem is known to be representing Islam in Harvey for some time, for some years. But my knowledge of Darnell Kareem goes back to Chicago where both of us came up. I'm older than he by five or six years, but we came up in the Chicago area, we went to the Muslim elementary school, we went to the Muslim high school and we graduated with diplomas from the Muslim high school established under the leadership of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, my father.

Upon him be G-d's protection, may G-d protect his soul and give him peace in paradise. Yes. And my mother of course was a strong supporter and promoter of the school that was called the University of Islam in those days, the University of Islam. Now if you wonder how come we are saying University, and I've just introduced it as a high school, I learned that African-American colleges started like that. The founders of the college didn't have a degree from anywhere, but they founded it and they called it college. And those colleges, some of those colleges developed into universities, African-American universities. Yes. And when they started, they didn't say it was a high school, they said it was a college or university. That's right. Yes. But they had to live up to that. They had to produce that. And I believe that's exactly why our school was called University of Islam, to motivate African-Americans who were segregated or discriminated against, denied equal opportunities as equal citizens in the society we call America. At that time, we needed encouragement and we needed our people to have faith in us. And believe me, when we said the University of Islam, we were proud. Yes. As the students of the elementary school, the students of the high school, we told people we went to the University of Islam, we said it and we weren't afraid to say it. We didn't mumble it out. We said, What school you go to as a teenager asking me that? I said, I go to the University of Islam. You think they laughed? No, they didn't laugh. They were in awe.

I'm really serious. Serious. Yes. We got nothing but respect. That's right. And really we had something to put on their minds that'll make them doubt everything they were taught.
Imam Darnell Kareem:
That's right.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yeah. Because one thing for sure, we had a belief that black people were not inferior to white man, nobody else. Yes sir. That's right. So, I want my guest to join me now. To my left is our good friend Imam El Ghani from Racine. Thank both of you all for joining us today. And I want to open myself to you if you want to question, ask me any questions, but I'm also opening the mic to you all if you want to make statements or comments or anything. Welcome.
Speaker 2:
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Imam WD Mohammed:
I think we got 10 minutes left.
Imam El Ghani:
Well Brother Imam I would like to thank you very much for having me on your program. And I would like to ask questions in reference to, you said, you once said that you were a Christian.
Imam WD Mohammed:
I once said I'm the boss with the hot sauce. But don't pay any attention to what I said. Just get to your point.
Imam El Ghani:
I respect what you said Brother Imam.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Thank you. Thank you.
Imam El Ghani:
And there's an Ayat in the Qur'an that says that to, for the believers, those that are close, we'll find those that are close to us are Christians. And you once said that you are Christian, but you was a Christian by your own definition.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes, I did say that.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes. So, could you elaborate a little bit more on that for us?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Well, Christian comes from a word that's, let's look at the word itself Christos, and it means pure, clear, and pure. Yes sir. It's a wonderful name. Yes. But for Christians it comes from the word Masiah. Masiah. And Masiah means Christ, Masiah means Christ. It can be traced back to Judaism and it can be traced back to Islam. Masiah in the Qur'an. Masiah Al Isaa. I just said Christ Jesus in Qur'anic language. Yes sir. Classical Arabic language or Fus-ha. He understands this meaning Fus-ha because he was taught by the same teacher I was talking about Jamil Diab, may he be in heaven. Yes, yes. So, the word means wiped clean. Wiped clean, wiped clean. Something was wiped clean. Masiah. Yes. So that's what Christ means. And as I was saying, English can be traced back to the word Christos, meaning something pure, clean. And you can hear Cristo too, it has some relation. You know that should have some relation Crystal and Cristos. Yes sir. Or Crystal and Christ. Their related. Not the same, but there is a relationship. So, it is referring to the purity that you got from G-d, the purity that you got when G-d created His creature, this human creature. He created him with a purity so that he could inherit that purity from the original or first man that G-d made himself.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. So, I identify with that purity and I have support for my identifying with it from the Bible.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Jesus Christ said, I in you and you in me, meaning that whatever was there, it was common for both Jesus Christ and the people he was leading.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
It was theirs by inheritance or by the virtue being created by G-d. They didn't create it themselves. They were created by G-d. And the first man G-d made, he made him with a purity, or with a crystal. You ever heard the expression crystal clear?
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir. Yeah. Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. Now, you know I've heard many leaders of Islam, not from our association, outside of our association in America and outside of America. And they say, scholarly persons in Islam, they say a Muslim can't be a Muslim and consciously disbelieve in Jesus Christ. To be a Muslim is also to believe in Jesus Christ. Yes. So, I said I'm a Christian by my own definition right?
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
That's what I'm establishing with these comments. Yeah. Okay. So, a Muslim, what is a Muslim? Muslim is one who yields his will to serve G-d's purpose or to be in a accord with G-d's will. And once he has a nature or a natural appetite for peace, to be at peace, he's at peace. He wants to be at peace with G-d. He wants to be at peace with his fellow man. That's Islam. That's Muslim. That's Muslim, you see?
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
So, I find that when I read the gospel of Jesus Christ and search the meaning of Christ, research it, the meaning of Christ, I find it very comfortable for me to believe that the purity of a Muslim and the purity of the Christian is the same. Exactly. No different. Exactly the same. When we say Muslim, we are referring to the original purity that G-d put in the human makeup when He made the first human being. And I believe that the Christians understand that also. Knowledgeable Christians will agree that that's what they believe too of themselves. That they have a purity that was put in the first human being that G-d made. We call him Adam, we call him Adam.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
We know he lost his purity to the seductive voice of Satan in the garden.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
We know that. But we know he had that purity. And our Holy Book says he met a word from his Lord and he regained that purity. He was forgiven and he regained that purity and he was forgiven. So, we don't have a picture of Adam, our first father as a sinner. We have a picture of our first forefather as a human that had human limitations and the serpent or the Satan, Satan or Satan, he was too subtle, too wise, too tricky for the new man on earth called Adam. So, he was able to seduce him out of his nature. But G-d says in our Holy Book, he met a word from his Lord and he repented.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir. So, then Brother Imam in one aspect, the life that we live then should identify us in that aspect as to whether we are living the life or an example of a Muslim or a Christian.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. Yes. The essence.
Imam El Ghani:
The essence.
Imam WD Mohammed:
The human essence is more important than the Biblical or Qur'anic declaration that we make, not that G-d revealed.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
That we make.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes. Yes.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Do you think in that explanation that you gave, which is very clear, do you think that that would be a means of the Christians and the Muslims coming more together?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Certainly.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
If they come to that understanding?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Certainly, it's well known that our Prophet Muhammad, the last Prophet said that a time will come when you'll see Christ Jesus and myself together. So, if we accept what the Prophet says, that's like a prediction or a forward looking picture of what Christians and Muslims should have, which is a relationship with one another. If the Prophet said, you're going to see myself and Jesus Christ together eventually down the road. So that should at least move Muslims to want to see good Christians and good Muslims together down the road. And we already way down the road. This is 2007.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Exactly.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Long ways from 570, 80.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That's right. There's a word in the Qur'anic or Islamic terminology being used in society a lot, they use a lot of loose words. Words that are good, but perhaps they give the wrong meaning off to the public. And this word you most commonly hear is Jihad, jihad.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Jihad, jihad. I love jihad. I do. My survival with my good mind and my good morals intact. And they are. My good morals are intact. Never lost them. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad passed. I never lost it. I changed from that idea of religion. You know, I changed and I invited you all to change, to embrace the Qur'an and join the international Muslim world in one religion under one religious perception or idea. I did it and you all followed me in that, right?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes. Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And what brought me to do that? My jihad. My jihad. Yes. So, we shouldn't let the meanings that the media or bad behaving people give that term jihad. We shouldn't let that meaning pass on, be passed on to us.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Jihad does not mean terrorism. Jihad does not mean treating people unjustly. Jihad means struggle, simply struggle. And if we hadn't struggled as a people, where would we be in this country? We'd probably be dead. All died out.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Killed out or dying out. It was because of the freedom struggle that we are here in the position we are in right now as a people liberated and accepted as equals in this society.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
So, jihad, it's nothing wrong with jihad, it simply means struggle. And G-d tells us in the Qur'an Jihadul, to make strong jihad, make a strong effort. So, first thing we should know is that people misbehaving and if they identify with something good, they also contribute to that thing, good being misperceived. Is that clear?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes. Yes it is.
Imam WD Mohammed:
If it ain't, please ask me a question. Learn all about this.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
We grew up with that kind of self.
Imam WD Mohammed:
That's what we were told in the temple.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That's right.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Ask questions and learn all about yourself. But all we wanted to know was something about the devil.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That's exactly
Imam WD Mohammed:
And the devil can't guide you to nowhere except to hell. There's nothing to learn about him they ain't already know.
Imam WD Mohammed:
He's evil.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That's true. Yeah.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And a deceiver and he's ungrateful. All those things already known. You can't teach anybody that.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Can you give us, since we've mentioned a lot of the Ministry, the Ministry of WD Mohammed. What is the current focus of WDM Ministry?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Of the Ministry?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes. What is the current focus of it?
Imam WD Mohammed:
The current focus is the old time focus, the first focus. It hasn't changed.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
The focus of the WDM Ministry is to advance human excellence. Human excellence under G-d.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
All Praise is due to Allah.
Imam WD Mohammed:
That's all. That's one statement. Don't need anymore. Advance human excellence under G-d.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Wonderful. 25 minutes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Well, I'm just told that time is winding up here. So, I think we've had a very interesting conversation between us here, Imam Darnell Kariem Imam of Harvey, Illinois and also the Imam for the suburban East and Southwest suburban area. He might move back to Chicago one day and maybe have a 20 million dollar Masjid and school built.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
For you. We would do that.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. He might do that one day. Yes. And Imam El Ghani, we thank you for being with us today. Imam Al Ghani assists us in many ways for the promotion of Islam in the correct picture in these United States and throughout the world.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Thank you very much.
Imam El Ghani:
Thank you.
Speaker 5:
Whenever you ready.
Imam WD Mohammed:
As Salaam Alaikum. That is Peace Be Unto You. We begin remembering G-d. We say Bismillah Ar Rahma Nir Raheem. With G-d's Name, the Merciful Benefactor, the Merciful Redeemer. We witness that He's one and has no equal. And anyone who comes to Him, guided to Him or come to Him on their own, they come only as servants. He is G-d and not a servant and everything else serves G-d. So, we would like to now address education or the role of education in the religion of Islam. In the religion of Islam, we know that the very first verses of revelation given to the Prophet Muhammad, the first words of G-d that came to our Prophet, is directed toward correct education. The first words were "Read." First word. It wasn't Allah, it wasn't the Creator. The first word to our Prophet was "Read." Our Prophet heard the words of G-d saying, "Read in the name of your Lord who created." And it continues on with four more verses following that to make a total of five. There's no accident or there's not without purpose that the first verses revealed to our Prophet were five. "Read In the Name of your Lord who created." With these verses, G-d connects the human mind through Muhammad the Prophet who is the teaching guide for all people in our religion or in Qur'an and a reality. The teacher and guide for all people. Not that all people will follow him, but he is established as a worthy teacher and guide for all people established by G-d who gave the revelation to him. "Read, Read." If we don't read, where will we go In modern society, in a modern world? To failure, to complete failure. "Read." The most important word in any school is read. If it's a preschool it's read. Read these pictures that are going to take you to a higher level of reading where you'll be reading grammar, words, grammar, et cetera. Read for the elementary school, read for the high school, read for the college. You better be reading or you're going to be losing there right away. In fact, you won't stay there but a few months if you can make it that long. Read.

The most important word for promoting progress in the world is read. If you go and do some study and study the societies that are not progressing, I guarantee you they have the greatest amount of illiteracy. And those that are advancing as competitors in this modern world, International global community we have now, if they are advancing is because they are raising their level of literacy. Yes sir. They are reading and raising their letter level of literacy. Now we don't have to go outside of the United States of America to see that picture. Inside of our borders, the borders of the United States. We have those excelling, those with high level of literacy and we have a typical public picture of ignorant behavior, indecent behavior, immoral behavior.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Rude behavior.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Filthy behavior, self-destructive behavior in our public. And we have great percentage of dropouts. These dropouts are in that public.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And they don't read. They just watch pictures. They just see objects. They're not reading. So really we can look to our own society and we see a great percentage of failed people who are failing, especially youngsters.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And they are failing because they have lost an interest in academic pursuits. And when they were there, they were just there but had no excitement, had no, I would say curiosity, had no lively curiosity to attain knowledge. The price for attaining knowledge is to spend some time reading. And the more time you spend reading, the more you broaden your mind to be successful on the path to higher education. So, reading, we know reading is most important. And the first word of revelation or communication from G-d to Muhammad the Prophet was "Read." So, what does that forecast? There's something forecast in that activity, that first action. There's something forecast. What is the forecast?

Progress on the path of knowledge, on the path that takes you to knowledge. Progress. That's what it's forecasting. Progress on the path that takes you to knowledge, real knowledge. The knowledge that the Prophet pointed out to us. He said, "Don't seek a knowledge that has no use or no value in society." If it can't benefit society, don't even waste your time with it. That's the teachings of our Prophet.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir. Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. So, I'm going to sum this up with the saying of our Prophet. He said, "The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr." So those waging jihad and losing their blood, even if they're doing it in a just way, that's not the highest act that will get you credit with G-d.
Speaker 5:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
There's an act higher than that that'll get you credit with G-d. What is that? That you teach people, share correct knowledge with people, help people become educated. "The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr."
Speaker 5:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
You know, some of us see Jesus just as a martyr. The ignorant people, they see Jesus Christ only as a martyr.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
You know that.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
But those people who are running the higher organizations in the world and international world, who running those higher organizations of religion, Christians, Christians I'm talking about.
Speaker 5:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
They see Jesus as much more than a martyr. They see the higher act. And I only have to refer you to the color of Jesus' words in the New Testament. Are they black or red?
Speaker 5:
Red.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. To identify his words. They're red, aren't they?
Speaker 5:
Yes sir. Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And now that looks like the blood of the martyr, doesn't it?
Speaker 5:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
No, it's the ink of the scholar. I know you all like me. I like myself.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
We love you.
Imam WD Mohammed:
When I see what G-d has put into me, I like myself. I don't like what I sometimes....I like when I put it to myself now.
Yes. So, when the Prophet left us with those words, the ink of the scholar is more precious, more valuable, should be more loved because precious suggests more than just value. It suggests an appreciation for something that brings about an attachment to that thing that make you fight and even lose your life for it. Right?
Imam El Ghani:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Precious. Precious. "The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr." The Prophet when he said that he was broadcasting to the world, eventually it's going to be heard all around the world. It is being heard. He was broadcasting to the International community of people that war is not the answer. Even if it's a war that is nonviolent, even if it's a nonviolent struggle. If it's a struggle with the physical life to win, it's not as good as the struggle with correct knowledge and to spread education and awareness of the intelligent life that G-d created us for.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yeah. Okay. That's my introduction. I want you all to join me now.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Alright. Y'all join me with comments or with statements or questions, whatever.
Imam El Ghani:
Brother Imam, back to what you were saying about the ink of the scholar. Would the struggle, the greatest, would that be one of the greatest struggle of the African-Americans community at this point in time is to educate themselves?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Well, maybe 10 years ago I would've said yes. But now the morals, the moral picture of the African-American people is so bad that I say the first thing is just to repent for bad, nasty behavior.
Imam WD Mohammed:
That's first.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And then maybe G-d will bless us to come back to our good senses. And we'll appreciate education again. Because we started out appreciating education, didn't we?
Imam El Ghani:
Yes, sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
When we were freed, we saw that freedom as a freedom to become educated.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
The freedom to read and not be punished for reading.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes. Yes sir. Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And the history says of our people being emancipated, the history says, American history says, that slaves could be seen, stopped on the field, in the fields resting on their plows with a book in their hand reading. So, when we had that kind of leadership, we did well. We didn't only survive, we got people to join us. Americans, white Jews and others to join us in our struggle to victory and bring us to get recognized as equal citizens in this country.
Imam El Ghani:
So, the education level went up and the morals dropped in the African-American community.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes.
Imam El Ghani:
Or in the entire community?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Well first the educational level went up because we were led by intelligent leaders and by leaders who weren't afraid to question their own qualifications or to question their own resources. And the question is, they say, we don't have knowledge. That's our biggest deficit. We have been kept from knowledge. So, the first thing they promoted was education. And as a result, Tuskegee, right?
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
In Tennessee.
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Tuskegee. And now we got it all over. Got the African-American colleges and universities all over. Howard in Washington DC, all over everywhere. And they don't get enough support from our people, not even from the educated percentage of educated ones among us, these African-American colleges that are ours. They originated as a part of our struggle, or I would say as the main part of our struggle, the main thrust of African-Americans struggle for good life in this country. Those institutions were formed to do that, to bring that about. And I don't think we give enough credit or pay enough attention to those institutions. We know Bill Cosby and his wife supports them. We know even white man supports them. Bill Gates and his wife supports them. But it's not known well enough. The value of those institutions in our isn't known well enough in history to get the recognition that it needs to be getting from at least educated persons throughout of African-American identity throughout the United States.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
I have a question here in terms of the education, and it's been a lot in my mind in terms of Imams under your association. As you know, there's many, many of them who have become Imams and as I said, some of the many you have named. But in looking at all of that Imam, and as much of you have clarified and made so many things so clear in terms of the Arabic, the Qur'an and et cetera. This to me, I feel represents a wealth of resources that exist in these people.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Imams.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Imams. Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Imams.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That they're educators. Some of them is even business people. So, they're carrying a wealth of information with them. How best could they help in this ministry?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Well, I think a good percentage of them are doing a beautiful, wonderful job.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes, sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And we are seeing the results of their good work in the many places South, in the South, West coast, East coast, North, everywhere. We are seeing their good picture, good picture of their work. And we know they're doing a good job and they're worthy of our support and our admiration. But we have a big number also that are body snatchers. They can't be comfortable in their own body to go snatch a foreign body. And next time we see them, they're in an Indian body or an Arab body or a Palestinian body or something. Egyptian body. And they're talking to us and we don't recognize. who is this foreigner?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Now that hurts me to see that there are still African-Americans around who feel more comfortable projecting themselves a different people than projecting themselves as themselves. So that hurts me. Now what are we going to do with them? We don't have a clinic big enough for them, so we're going to have to reach them with good common sense. You have to appeal into their good common senses.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That's right. I think that's the size of it too.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Now that's a body snatcher that snatches a body that he can't manage.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That's right.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Can't manage his own body. He snatched another person, another race, the body of another ethnic group or racial group. And he can't manage that either. In fact, he'd be in more trouble than he was before.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
That's right.
Imam WD Mohammed:
He's in more trouble. But he thinks because he's got this new image of an Arab or a Palestinian or Indian or something, or Pakistani, he thinks that nobody sees him, that he has hidden himself behind the mask of another people. And he thinks he won't be questioned.
Imam El Ghani:
Go ahead.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And he has nothing to say, but Yani, Alhamduillah, Mashalah. He has about 12 or 13 words in his vocabulary. And he thinks he's speaking Arabic, right?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes. Right.
Imam WD Mohammed:
I'm sure you met some of them.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes,
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. And I hope some of them hear me right now. I hope they get a chance to view this program.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
We'll try.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And I hope they hear me and I want to tell them that I love you, brother, but you just pain me to my heart to see how you limit your future.
Imam El Ghani:
Put it there. Yeah. We'll get it out there Brother Imam.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Thank you.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
In reading the Qur'an a lot, many things that come on you, words that come on your mind and some be outstanding.
Imam WD Mohammed:
What was that?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Many words that you read from the Qur'an and some of them outstanding that they come to your mind.
Imam WD Mohammed:
I thought every word in the Qur'an was outstanding.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Oh, yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
I'm just having fun with you right now. But I'm keeping the focus right.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir. Thank you for that too. Is that the word rush. It says rush to prayer, rush to this, rush to that. So just to name a few like the word Sa'a, Urabaya. So you hear these words in the translation say...
Imam WD Mohammed:
Will you give us an English meaning of each one?
Speaker 3:
Sa'a like an extra effort.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yeah. Sa'a is to move. But with difficulty. Or you are moving but you're moving against opposition. You're moving against opposition. The next one now.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir. So, then it says, then after you come to the prayer, then it says, Watha Rubaya.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Is that from Sura'a, to go quickly? Sura'a.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
No. No. sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
I can't see it.
Speaker 3:
Wetharu.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Oh yes, I know, From Thera.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Okay.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Wetharu Beya.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
But they translate to say rush.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yeah, it is. It suggests to go with speed.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Okay.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Haya.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes. Haya. It's movement with life.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir. Right.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Haya is a movement. The movement made possible because of your life force.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Life force. Yeah. This is life force, movement because of life force. And the next, last one,
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Sa'rau.
Imam WD Mohammed:
There's the one. Yeah. Means also to rush or to go quickly, to go with speed.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
And then Sabiqu.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Huh?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Sabqu.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Means to go as in a race.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
To go in competition with others. You are trying to be out front, you're trying to get out front or ahead, going to get ahead. Right. Okay. Now what's your question now?
Imam Darnell Kariem:
The question would be as you are reading them, how would we respond to these different rushes?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Well, if you just obey the commands, you're safe. If G-d says rush to forgiveness from your Lord and don't let the money coming through your cash register at your business hold you back, then the way to respond to that is just do it.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Stop letting your money pull you away from G-d.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
I get it.
Imam WD Mohammed:
But rush to G-d, know that G-d is more important than your money. Rush to G-d more than you rush to your bank account or to your business. So, if we just do it, that's the answer. But for the scholar, he should study these meanings and should find connections for Sa'a, because in the garden we were deceived right? And the Bible Genesis said, A serpent spoke to us right? And the serpent Ya'sa'a.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Right.
Imam WD Mohammed:
He goes struggling through the world for his own security, survival and his interest, whatever it is. So that's how he moved. That's how the serpent moves. He moves like that. And then when Moses was told... Moses, G-d said Moses, he was on the holy grounds of Sinai, on the planes at the base of the mountain in Sinai. And G-d said, "Moses, what is that in your hand?" And he said, "This is my stick. I beat back the brush with it and I'm walking through the bushes," et cetera.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And G-d says, "Throw it from you." And he threw it from himself, he saw it moving as a snake. And what is the word for moving? Yes'a.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes it is. That's right. Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
And a snake moves against great opposition. He has no legs. He's moving with skin. Very difficult. But he was created without any legs. So, the skin replaced his legs. And Satan still moving by skin. But he learned how to move by our skin. He gets into our skin. So, the scholar should study meanings and try to make connections.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
In the context of revelation. Cause this comes from revelation. So, he should study these meanings. And in the context of revelation, he should make connections so he educate himself in the manner of these terms.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir. Okay, thank you.
Imam WD Mohammed:
That's a whole lot for this audience we are talking to. It might be too much for this audience we are talking to.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
They need light baggage.
Imam El Ghani:
Okay. Your time is about 25 minutes. Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
We at the conclusion?
Imam El Ghani:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
I hear that we got two minutes. Two minutes to round this up and I hope we are leaving at least five minutes for us to acknowledge our sponsors and to leave messages with our audience. Yeah. So, I will quickly bring this to a close and if you find me humorous, I am humorous, but I'm not funny.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Thank you very much. Peace. As Salaam Alaikum.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
I don't think you mentioned anything about the Convention.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes, yes we do. I'll do this one myself. We are having our Convention this Labor Day weekend. We are having it in the Southwest suburbs and we'll have a canopy covering to protect us from hot sun and rain. That's what we have planned. Similar to what we had in White Plains, New York, if you remember a few years ago we met in White Plains, New York and we had the big crowd there for our Convention and we were having canopy covering tents, open tents. So we are calling this an open air, Open air Convention. Should be very enjoyable. And well, I'm going to share with you what makes me, that started me to smiling right away. And that was that it cost us like one quarter of a million to go downtown in those big hotels, to rent the Hyatt Regency. And I'm hearing that this one's going to cost us for the canopy covering maybe about a little over $13,000. And admission is going to be very low. And if you don't intend to participate in everything, like you're not going to be selling products there, we have opportunity for you to sell your products there. Lawful products, no food. We don't want to have the problem that food brings with it. So please no food because we asked last year and the year before, people come and they leave trash and we tell them, look, can you clean your area that you occupied before you leave? And we end up having to face the problem ourselves. So, no food please, nothing to eat, no edible products. But if you want to sell clothing items, accessories, clothing accessories, whatever like that, oils, scents, jewelry, whatever. As long as it's not hot, I'm going to test it myself. I'm putting my hand on it. And if I feel some heat, I'm going to say, no he can't have this here.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes, please remember that everything has to be lawful, lawful, lawful.
Imam Darnell Kariem:
Yes sir.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Not anything that is unlawful. Everything has to be lawful. Alright. Yes. So, I just wanted to make you aware of this myself, and you'll be getting more information on our planned activities for Labor Day weekend. There will be a Public Address, my annual statement that I make informing the community of what we are having as a difficulty and what we are having as success and what we see as new opportunities open for us. So InshaAllah, we'll be making a public statement on Sunday. Thank you very much.



