04/09/1999
IWDM Study Library 
Los Angeles, Ca

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
They got a sense of family. They got a sense of community pride. They want a piece of America for their families, for their people. We don't need all of you. Allah says, "See how the same rains falls from the sky on the same ground where some things come up, cheap and worthless, while others come up beautiful and luscious with big value." We don't need all of you. "Oh yeah, they need us. They need us." No, we don't need you all. We need you one or two. And one or two of you from this gathering here today, can join the one or two from other gatherings in different places and we will have a good number, a sufficient number to do what the model leaders of Muhammad the Prophet did with him. Changed the whole world. You don't need a lot of people, you only need a few determined people and they can change the whole world for the multitude. So, let's get out of this idea that we got to convert everybody. What must be done to remove the rust? To remove the rust from the rusty locks? We intend to save every one of the 17 million. Impossible.
And you should know it by now. After 60 years of that, you should know it by now that it can't be done. So, you let the water fall on everybody. The rain from the heavens is for everybody. So let it fall down on everybody. But don't worry if a damn thorn come up over there. Crab grass came up over there. Do you see anything that you want that you wanted that you were hoping for? Harvest it. Go on to make progress. Go after progress. Yes. Cause there is always going to be crab grass coming up. And thorn bushes etcetera. They'll have a little rain over there every now and then. Community pride, a sense of community. We can't get anywhere if we want to be Shiites more than we want to follow G-d more than we want to follow the example of Muhammad the Prophet. If we want to be Sunni more than we want to follow the word of G-d in Qur'an more than we want to follow the example of Muhammad. We ain't going anywhere. We are not going anywhere. We won't be successful if we want to be members of the Nation of Islam more than we want to follow the Qur'an, more than we want to be like Muhammad in human excellence. We are not going anywhere.
We're not going be successful. If we want to be the friend of the establishment more than we want to be followers of the word of G-d and the leadership of Muhammad, you are not going to be successful. You want friendship with the Christians, with the church leaders more than you want to see the proper dawah for the Masjid. You are not going to be successful. Community pride. That's what we want. We want to fulfill the natural need in us for community pride. Bill Cosby, he's gotten more wealth than maybe 90% of the whites could ever get in their lifetime. Not many whites can get the wealth that he's been able to get. Very few. But is he really satisfied with his life in America? No, he's not. We go to him and asked him. He said no. Why? Because he looked at himself as an individual. He's very successful. But when he looked at himself as a member of a community, terribly deficient, terribly deficient. And you know what makes us feel that way more than anything else? The knowledge that we have not been singled out for abuses, for denial. We have been all lumped together for abuses and for denials.
So, it has gone into our soul since we all were denied together. We all were abused together. It has gone into our souls by the will of G-d to make none of us be satisfied until the whole of the people is in a better state of condition. That's G-d's way of helping all the people by causing them all to carry the burden of what affected them all and what was planned for them all and what was executed upon them and against them all.
Now we know some of us, we enjoy our little freedom and our little achievements in life like the cocaine sniffer. And we are not even aware that we belong to the African-Americans. So, I'm not saying there's not an exception. Everybody's not feeling like Bill Cosby. There is an exception. "Far as I'm concerned those poor niggas don't exist. My buddies are rich and that's the only world that I'm concerned about." You got some that think like that. But they on drugs, heavy drugs. None of the normal minded people or natural minded people would be thinking like that.
Life in America. Life in America is a very special life. I want you to understand that. If it wasn't a very special life, I wouldn't be living here. G-d knows I wouldn't be living here. I'd be living somewhere else. America in its concepts, political concepts, political ideology, governmental concepts, societal concept, whatever you want to call it, it is designed. It is constructed. It's planned. America is an experimental model. I'm not saying this. This is what the wisest of the American builders of this American society say. It is an experimental model. They call it a living constitution means that it's subject to mature more. It's subject to develop more. It's subject to even change itself. Get rid of something that's there to improve its form. This is the nature of American ideology, American political ideology, American governmental concept. This is the nature of it. It's experimental. What does that mean for us as citizens of this country? Any citizen of this country can dream of a better America. And you can share with the American public your dreams. And you can compete with those who are in power. And if you get more of the good people on your side, you can change America and make America the America you dreaming of. This is America. This is what makes it so special. Makes this place so special.
So, I'm not a naive person. Whose got a lot of ideas that can't be realized. No, I'm not. I'm looking at facts and reality and I'm responding to facts and reality. And I'm saying to you that we have as much right as any American to plan our Islamic future. And our Islamic future is not just planning to have a space to make sajda. Our Islamic future is not just planning an elementary school, a high school, or even a college or even a university. That's not the whole life. That's an aspect. That's a little facet. That's a aspect of our life. We will never have the life that satisfy our souls until we concentrate on having community life and then see these other things as steps towards the completion of community life. Masjid is first, yes. Worship of G-d is first. We must have a place to pray. We must have a place for Jumu'ah. Jumu'ah is an obligation on all Muslims. We must have a place for Jumu'ah prayer. Yes, that's first, but is that the whole picture? No. Very small part of it. The big part is the whole. G-d never said to us, you are the best mystics on earth.
You are the best group of mystics I've created. He said, you're the best community. Evolved for the good of all people. Evolved for the good of all people. Are you going to hold on to that crazy stuff from the past? You going to keep on looking and see what scar you got left from the plantation? "Yeah, that look like a whiplash back there. Dirty devil slave master. Yacub grafted skunk. Look what he did to my back. He hadn't to put me on all those shoes that wasn't big enough to fit my foot, forced us to wear small shoes. I wouldn't have this meter toe. Yeah, he's a Yakub grafted devil skunk of the planet earth. Realize that today is a new world. New time. New world. You could get any shoe that fit you now. Yeah, you can wear the shoes that fit you now. Or go barefooted. Not in Chicago in January though. But you can go barefooted now too. Nobody to blame for your condition as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said. There's nobody to blame for your condition now that you have been freed and invited to truth. There's no one to blame for your condition but you. That's what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said.
So now we going to stand still, stand still and wait for the mothership to come and save us. We going to stand still and wait for Muslim police to be on every corner saying, "Go that way to the mothership. As Salaam Alaikum. Go to Culver City. The mothership is there waiting for you. You going to wait for that foolishness? It was good in its time. Powerful psychology to hold you. I'm telling you, that's some stuff that I watch every now and then. Not from superpower. I just make my own screen and I sit. Then I put all that stuff on a white wall. I have white walls in my house too. I put all that stuff on a white wall and I say , "Wow, what a terrific piece of work." But I ain't going to get in the picture anymore. You can bet your life on that. I may project it once in a while, but I ain't going to get into the picture. Not ever again because I'm free at last. Thank G-d Almighty I'm free at last. Community pride, a sense of community. G-d didn't make any one man to live alone. G-d didn't make any one man so limited in his potential, so limited in his resources that he can do nothing but take care of one person. G-d made every man with the capacity, with the resources, with the potential to take care of many people. And the more we exercise that great power and property that G-d has given us, the more freedom we enjoy.
The more of the good life we embrace. Praise be to Allah. So, you are invited to grow. Allah says that He has given you this religion that you may grow. He don't want you to stand still. He don't want you to be stunted, doesn't want you to be little small midget forever. He wants you to grow. Grow in your role and your ability to support community life. You are a community. He want you to grow in your ability to support community life. And the more you grow to accept responsibility for community life and the more you contribute to the life of the whole community. Some of you have no desire to be welders. You have no desire to be industrialist. You have no desire to do anything perhaps but to just draw beautiful pictures, make beautiful designs, do beautiful art work. Make your contribution. If it's satisfying no more than you, nobody but you, you are a freak artist. Yeah. Any artist that draws beautiful things and don't want anybody else to see it. That's a freakish artist.
So, exercise your talents, increase your talents. You are going better the society because your contributions, if they worthwhile, they're not going to stay just with you. They're going to be accepted by others and the whole community as a result of your contribution will be better. Some of you are singing and you send me your music and I'm sorry I'm so busy I can't hardly respond to most of you. You send me CDs even now. Yeah. Oh man. They really stepped up their program. They make CD's and I'm wondering if you were having candles in the dark when you were composing it because it sounds like a seance going on. Allaaaah, Allaaaah, Allaaaaah. Wait a minute, I ain't ready to go to sleep. I'm trying to wake up. What is this sedative you sent to me? On a CD. Long playing sedative. On a CD. Go back to Africa and learn some rhythm, Booomba, booomba, booomba. Just do that and say "Takbir" I'll buy it and play it. Allah says, He said He has made us the best community. It means best in its use to supply the society, the members of society with the good things that G-d created them for. That's what it means. And G-d says, "Who has said to My devoted worshippers that they're forbidden the kairat? it says these things are for them in this life. Listen, this is what G-d says in Qur'an. These things are for them in this life and exclusively for them in the hereafter. What does that mean? That mean in this life there'll be those who do not respect G-d enjoying these things. But in the hereafter those who now share in the enjoyment of these things will be cut out of those things. And only the believers who are faithful to G-d will be enjoying those things, goods and services that benefit and prosper humanity as G-d wants humanity to be benefited and prosper. That's what it means. And G-d says, "Seek with the means He has made possible or availed you with the hereafter, the next, the afterlife. But don't forget your share in this world." Don't forget your share in this world. How are we going to have a model community if we don't want to have industry and be responsible for industry? If we don't want to have industry, commerce, thriving businesses, et cetera, and be responsible ourselves for that, be the generators of that ourselves. How can we answer that obligation to respect our responsibility for this present world, to respect our share in it?
Now there's a logic for that statement of G-d. G-d, what He says is not only revelation, what G-d says is a logic. There's a logic for that. All of you, whether you're Christian, Muslim, no matter what you are, and believe me, just because you dress like Muslims, don't you think I believe all you are Muslim. Some of you are Christian, some of you are Christian, but you've been caught into a Muslim portrait and you've been known in that portrait for so long that you just ashamed to tell them this is the wrong picture. But no matter what religion you are, all of us believe in religion. We believe that One G-d did all of this and He made the earth for all his creatures. If He made the earth for all his creatures, then that means I am a shareholder. I am a part owner in this earth, at least in terms of my ability to utilize it, to make use of it. I'm a shareholder. I'm a part owner. I'm one of the owners. That's the logic. So, when G-d says, "Do not forget your share of this world, G-d is saying just that. That I made you just like I made all other people.
And when I see you in the judgment and you have done nothing with what I gave you, I'm going to treat you accordingly. That's what G-d is telling us. I'm going to treat you accordingly. Do we have any support for that in the teaching of Muhammad the Prophet? Yes. Some people brought Muhammad the Prophet a man they thought to be a holy man and they said, "We wanted to present this man to you, this servant of G-d because he is so good. He prays all the prayers. He fasts all the fasting. Muhammad the Prophet said, "Who takes care of him? I guess Prophet Muhammad knew if he says all those prayers and everything, he did more Muhammad was doing, Sa ala alahi Wa Salaam. Muhammad said I'm a busy man, I can't pray Fard and Sunnah and Nafl and Nafl and Nafl and made up Nafls. So, the Prophet says, "Who takes care of him? Who provides him with his substance for his livelihood? They said, "We do." He said "Then you are better than he. He said then you are better than he." Is there any more support for that? He said the hand like this, asking for something to be put in it, is not equal to the hand like this. Putting something in the hand that's asking.
So, the dignity of the poor is never poverty. The dignity of the poor is the spirit in the poor to get out of poverty. And that's why the prophet was giving us an incentive, giving us help for that spirit that we have in us to get out of poverty by telling us the hand like this is never equal in value to the hand that's like this. Praise Be to, Allah. And then we have G-d revealing to us the prayer of the best of His devotees. Our Lord, give us of this world, the good things the best, the good things. Hasana. Means excellence, the best. And in the hereafter after this world, the good excellent things, the best. And save us from the punishment of the fire. That's the prayer of the best of G-d's devotees. Do you pray to have the best in this life? Do you think it would grate on your soul, on your beautiful mystic souls? To hear me praying for the excellence of this world? It shouldn't because G-d has the best of His devotees, it's revealed in the Qur'an, asking for the best of this world. The Qur'an didn't change. Fit Dunya. The Arabs made a song. Some of the performers, the singers made a song about 40 years ago or so. Al dunya, He Ya, He Ya. Al dunya, He Ya He Ya. Well it's still the same language, same thing.
Thirteenth or fourteenth centuries later, they still know what dunya is. They said the dunya of the world is what it is, is what it is. And life is what it is, is what it is. But I want to get a piece of what it is, what it is, because G-d told me to get a piece of what it is, what it is. That I have a share in it and I want my share of what it is, what it is, what I is. Whatever it is. Allahu Akbar. right? Yes. So, they call us spooks. That's another name for black people. In case some you Muslims who came over lately to visit join us as citizens recently. Black ain't the only name we got. Spooks, spooks. That's another name we got. Spooks. They called us spooks. And when you look at Soul Train, that's what they're saying. Spook people. Soul train Blowing off steam. They done upgraded, progressed, the locomotive. And it is not a steaming engine anymore. It's not ran by coal and steam anymore. It's diesel. The Soul Train still have a steam purpose. Soul people, what are they saying when they call us soul people?
They mean you live for nothing concrete. You live for no community establishment. You are like people with no house. Spirits with no room to live in. Spirits with no body. Soul folks with no body. And we buy their language and we take pride and calling each other soul. Soul brother. Hey soul brother. Hey soul brother. Well, one of our leaders, a writer, he wrote about us and I guess that was 40 years or more ago. And he was a novelist, he put it in his own language. He said, explaining his misery. He says "Seems that somewhere behind me, I got separated from my social responsibility." He's explaining the bad situation of the race, the bad spiritual situation of the race. That we in a bad spiritual state, we are not happy, we are not fulfilled, we are not free. And what's the reason is? We haven't accepted social responsibility. Somewhere in the freedom struggle up from the plantations along the way to the present time, we got separated from our social responsibility. Our responsibility to our family, our responsibility to African-American neighborhoods, our responsibility to African-American community life. We got separated from it. And here come Islam, voice of Islam, the voice of the Qur'an.
The appeal of Muhammad the Prophet and his excellent model. And it touches us. And it touches us. And a lot of us don't know why. We just love Islam so much. There's many reasons for this, but there are a few really important reasons for this. One important reason is that we can't trust the society that reduced us to less than a human being to give us or show us the path to G-d. So, when Islam now comes independent of America, we embrace it. Here is something that my slave master is not giving me. Here's something that the country that denies me is not giving me. Here's something that's coming from the outside.
So, we embrace it. Their is a tendency in us to grab and embrace and adapt that that's coming from the outside. I remember long before people got acquainted with Islam, long before the Nation of Islam got popular in America. And I used to see African-Americans dressing like old Spanish medieval time captains of the, on the ship and things. Yeah, they'd be dressed like that. Another one dressing like Napoleon Bonaparte. That was their dress. I mean they were so proud of it. Another one wasn't carrying an easel in his hand, but he looked like a French artist, was wearing a French town just like the French artist. And in every way he was imitating the French artists. Anything but America. Anything but this. Just wanted to get away from what was forced on them, what was forced on us. Yes, yes. Now I believe that part of the reason for us embracing Islam, coming through the Nation of Islam, coming through even now, coming to the call of Islam now, is that we want something that doesn't say to us, you got this from the same hand that put you down. Now there's a problem for our leaders to look at, address and work on it until we get that thing out of us.
You can't keep living in the past. You've got to travel, you've got to prosper, you've got to grow. You've got to make progress from the past. Don't keep living in the past but walk the path and make progress every day. To do that, you can't be remembering that "Yeah, the white man this, the white man that and this is a white man's thing and this is a white man's world. We ain't going to be able to get nowhere in the white man's world." Well, when the man first was put on this earth, it was the animal's world. Now I suppose he had said "Oh, this is the animal's world. We ain't get nowhere on the animal's world." And believe me, in Western society mostly what you are looking at who's holding power is the animal.
So again, rise up human beings and say, yes, this is the animal world, but it wasn't made for the animal. G-d made this for a human being and advance your life over the life of the animals so they will live in their inferior quarters and you live in your superior quarters. That's where G-d wants it. Yes, I don't care how high they are up in the society, up in establishment politically or otherwise, G-d, if they are not the human person that G-d created us to be, G-d does not want them there. And if you sincerely go after them to unseat them, to unestablish them with your establishment. Not with your mouth, with your establishment. That's how you want to unestablish them. With your establishment. You know how come animals are not ruling this area we in right now? Because too many houses built here, too many streets are all around here. Too many vehicles are running up and down the road. They don't want that. They can't live in this kind of environment. But that's the way you unestablish them, establish yourself. And the natural spirit in you for community pride, if you just obey it and respect it and do something every day to make a contribution to the betterment of your household and the betterment of your neighborhood, the betterment of your town, we will be successful. It's as simple as that. And do it in cooperation with the best of your people. Let the weaker be supported by the stronger.
Let those who see better see the way for those who can't see. This is the way of G-d for all times. That's the way of G-d. Don't be so proud of your little vision that you don't want to have it helped with a bigger vision. "Well hell, I know what WD Mohammed's talking about. He's talking about revitalizing the neighborhood, opening up new business, creating retail stores overnight. Sounds good. But I got my own plan. I had mine before he told you all about that. In fact, I had mine in 1971." When you are living in a society as a minority and more dependent group or community, it's wise for you to study how can you work with the bigger establishment, the bigger numbers for a better future for all of you. And it is not their job to look you up. It's not the job of 200 million to come and look for 35 million and say 35 million scattered all about and doing without, we would like to have you included. And we want the best of your leaders to put their heads with the best of our leaders so we can have this a better society, a better country for all of us. That's not their job. The obligation is more on you.
You should authorize the best of your leaders to go and make contact with the best of their leaders to let them know that we all have the same life. That G-d did not create us with different human lives. He created us with the same human life, the same human emotionality, the same human passions, the same human nervous system that breaks down under extreme pressure and sends us to the hospital crazy and helpless. So, He made us all the same. We are all the same human make, and we all want essentially the same human future, A future that will put us to rest, that we can go to bed and rest or go to our grave at peace knowing that our children will fare well in the world we have left them. All people want the same. So how come we can't go to them, and our best leaders, send your best leaders to them and tell them that. You don't need any great wisdom. Tell them just that. Tell them plainly like that. That is the wisdom. Sometimes the things that are put in the simplest terms are the wisest expression.
Yes. Especially when it's coming from somebody in a circumstance that tells the others, looking at them in their circumstance, "Oh, they'll never send people to us to join us in our efforts. They're too small minded." Think about it, brothers and sisters. That's what I'm doing for you. I'm doing it on my own and I've been doing it for a long time and many of your leaders have joined me now. So, we are doing it. We're doing it. But we want to see more of you supporting it. We want to know that the members of this community, the members of this Masjid here and the members of the other Centers and Masjids throughout this nation are supporting my leadership that you believe in what I'm doing. That you see a great future in what I'm doing and you're well wishing me and you are praying to Allah for my success. That's what we want to know. We want to know that. And we want you to give the support to your leader who will stand up and take the stand that I've taken. Join me in this stand and work for what I'm working for. We want you to give him the love that you would show me if I was here. Give him the support. Give him the support that you would give me if I was here.
That's normal and natural. Allahu Akbar. This is what we want. And I guarantee you that the way has already been opened. I have sat with big, big power holders. I sat with some of the richest people in this country and they have permitted me. They're interested in me. They marvel. They think it's a modern day miracle that the son of Elijah Muhammad is now Wallace D Mohammed in this day and time. That that man's son from back there is this man we are looking at today. They say that's a modern day miracle. Big powerful, no joke brother. Big, powerful rich people. They invited me to come and address the top of their people, their big leaders. And I addressed them. And you know what I told them? Almost the same thing the Honorable Elijah Muhammad told them. I say, really we don't want a lot from you. All we want. We got a plan. I said, all we want you to do is not interfere with our plan, don't hurt our plan. Don't bring your big machineries in the way of our little machinery. And you know what they told me when I got through talking to them? That's not all I told them. Taught them. I taught them too.
That's not all I told them. But when I finished, you know what they said? Their representative came back to the podium and he told them, he said, "Did you hear what he said? Do you hear what he wants? He's saying, all he wants to do is stay out of his way." And he didn't ask him for a response. But I looked at the audience when he was saying that, and I saw that they were respecting everything. They were accepting and respecting what was said. When it was over, he sat privately with me, and he told me, he said, "We are with you and we will be quietly supporting you." Allahu Akbar. And I know that he is, he and his group of capitalists. They're powerful capitalists. They're quietly supporting Imam WarithuDeen Mohammed. They're watching our progress. They're watching what we are doing and seeing if there's opportunity for them to assist us quietly or from out of sight, from behind the scenes. And that's the best way to support us. They don't want alarm other big fellows. And that's not all the support that Islam has opened to me. Islam. Living, trying at my best to live Islam and follow Muhammad the Prophet has opened up so much to me. And when I say to me, it means to you because they wouldn't even want to hear me if I didn't represent a constituency. And I represent a very special and a very large constituency.
So let us prepare ourselves and let the people, the congregation of Muslims everywhere support the best of our leaders. And if you don't have good leaders, give them some encouragement to be better leaders. You can start by giving them a little more charity. Some of you all, you want the rent paid. You want a Mosque to pray in. You want schools and you want a man to lead the Jumu'ah and to be there on time and everything and to be available to you when you want to discuss your marriage situation with him and et cetera. But you don't think you should look at your income and say, here is the $10 out for this week for the Masjid, $10 for the Imam. That's not right. Some of you got undesirable characters over you. And you think that you are being good by coming to the Masjid to listen to that undesirable character every week. And you think that you and he are different. But in the judgment, you're both going to be in the same fire because he was the unreliable character and you gave him your support. The establishments of Christians in this country have always wanted to have more and better education.
Education needs in this country was not always public education. It was private education. It was church supported education. Those were the first schools, the first colleges, the first universities. Now it's public education. It's been that way for a long time. Public education. And the whole establishment is changing now. They are becoming more conscious of an authority over them. They are becoming more conscious of their neglect, their neglecting the good life to make contributions to the good moral life and ethical life of their society. They are repenting a great period of sin behind us. They are repenting that now. The year 2000 is coming in.



