2005 November 30th
Imam W.D. Mohammed and Guests
Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Abdul Kareem:
Peace be upon you and welcome to today's program, Imam W. Deen Muhammad and Guest. Dear community, I want to first and foremost mention to you that by Allah's mercy and grace, we say with the name of Allah the Merciful Benefactor, the Merciful Redeemer. Ameen. We witness that there is no G-d but Allah and Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, is the messenger prophet for the whole of mankind.
Abdul Kareem:
Before introducing my leader Imam W. Deen Muhammad I'd like to make a few brief comments concerning the program. This program is designed to clear up the misconception Muslims and non-Muslims have about the religion with being on Islam. Also, this program is designed to educate the human spirit using the Quran in the life of Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, is the criteria guideline. And today, by Allah's mercy and grace, I'd like to interview our leader Imam W. Deen Muhammad concerning Mobeen, or clarity.
Abdul Kareem:
Our topic of subject matter is our G-d-given role as men and women in a holistic society, a holistic community, and please excuse us they're a little shy, a little and nervous today. Thank you. As Salaam Alaikum Brother Imam, first and foremost, thank you for taking time out from your hectic and business schedule to come out today and do the taping and also I would like to quickly thank, Imam Ghani, Imam Shaheen, and Imam Morraco assisting us today in the taping of the program. May Allah show us his blessings and send upon each and everyone of you. [inaudible 00:02:36] As salaam alaikum
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
It's a pleasure to be your guest. It's been some several, I think, several years.
Abdul Kareem:
Yes.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
A few years back, and I was your guest.
Abdul Kareem:
Yes. Alhamdulillah. Brother Imam, my topic now today is clarity. We live in such a troubled society. The Muslim, Christian, Jews communities are so troubled. And in the first Sunday address, and also in recent times, you talk about much about the breaking of the covenant. Can you guys share with us what you'll be talking about?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Well, the breaking of the covenant in the scripture, we call the scripture the people of the book, and the Quran the message that was revealed to Muhammad for all the world, the Quran. These scriptures speak of a covenant. And a covenant is G-d's protection given to people who pleased them, who served him and who pleased him, followed his way, followed the way of G-d. But once they proved to not respect the covenant, they could lose the covenant. And some that came before lost the covenant to those that came behind them.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
The Jews had a covenant with G-d, as we know, by their scriptures and the Quran verified that. And also the Christians had a covenant with G-d, and the Quran verifies that. Those people who follow, when don't break, don't deviate, they still have that covenant with G-d. Other Jews, other Christians. But any who break the covenant they lose it, who break that covenant, disrespect G-d's agreement that they had made with G-d, and that was to follow in the spirit his way, in his way.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
The Muslims also are told that in the Quran that we are under the covenant, that G-d has given us the covenant through Muhammad, the prophet, and his following. We also are given a covenant. But the same goes for us. If those who disrespect the life that G-d chose for us or that G-d revealed for us, we lose that covenant.
Abdul Kareem:
Okay, thank you, brother Imam. My next question to you, brother Imam, is respect and appreciate. Can you just give the community some update of our community state, the state of community update? ComTrust Salaam Nutrition. We have Imam W. Deen Mohammed Cultural Center and the like. Can you give us some updates on activities?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. The most recent development for the Mosque Cares. That's my ministry, W. Deen Mohammed Ministry office that serves the following that we inherited from the Nation of Islam's leader in that time, Hon. Elijah Muhammad, may G-d give him peace and forgive him his sins. That office recently, as you know, established national broadcast, in fact it goes out of even the United States of America into some foreign countries now. It's by radio and we have a live address that I give monthly every first Sunday, I give a live address, and it's going very well. We're getting very good comments from the radio stations, yes.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And a lot of encouragement too, especially from our radio stations in the Deep South.
Abdul Kareem:
Wonderful.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, it's really encouraging. And the business CPC, Collective Purchase Conference, LLC, limited liability, ComTrust, limited liability company. As you know, it was established to strengthen us in business, following very much the idea that was given to us by our late leaders, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, which he called the economic blueprint in one of his publications. But he also called it pooling your money, pooling your small resources. Poor people can come together, and he's not the only leader of the past in the tradition of our people here in these United States and the world.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
He's not the only leader that advocated that. Others did too, but he was successful in making it really big and getting national attention for his leadership. As a leader of a community that was doing something with their neighborhoods, contributing to the betterment of their neighborhood.
Abdul Kareem:
For sure.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. We have a similar idea we call Collective Purchasing Conference is collective, is pooling, coming together, bringing our small investments together and making one big investment that represents us in the form of a company, a limited liability company. It's going well, too. We had some setbacks. The setbacks was the perishable products, Halal meats products. It was a setback because we didn't have persons that were qualified enough, skilled enough as meat cutters and business managers, etc., throughout the country to make it a success.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
We are now recovering from the setback because we are concentrating only on dry goods. The biggest attraction for us now is buying men dress suits from Mexico and another country it's further south in the southern continent. That's going well also. There are many things that we are doing. Imam Daniel Kareem is heading up a building project to accommodate a mosque, a school and social center. Yes, it's going to be really great. I am already committed to deliver one address a month from that facility, or at that facility.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
But I intend to support the school and all the other efforts of that project that's in the design of that project. I will be involved, I'm sure, on a daily basis as well.
Abdul Kareem:
Wonderful. As a follower of the Imam respected, what city is it located the mosque, in what city would it be located?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
In East Hazel Crest. It's advertised in the Muslim Journal, and applications and everything: Those who want to contribute to, they'll find all that information in the Muslim Journal, yeah.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you. Also another question I like to ask you Imam is, you mentioned before about possibly getting a convention center for our upcoming Mosque Cares Convention, another [inaudible 00:10:51] event. How's that?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, they spend a lot of money and it hurts us when poor people, if we were not poor as poor as we are, we wouldn't hurt us so bad. It hurts us when poor people have to spend that money, over a million dollars every convention year. Well, over a million dollars, sourcing two million maybe. We spend that money on hotels, a big part of it they spend on banquets, the hotel's serving food to us. And we need a big area, so a small hotel couldn't accommodate us.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
We have to go to the big hotels and all those real very big hotels in downtown. And when you go downtown you have big dollar. We have a brother who's a contractor. He's also an Imam, [Imam Ameen 00:11:41] in the suburban area, where we are. In the east and west, southeastern suburbs, I'm in the West and I'm involved, too. I have an office in the east suburbs, southeast suburbs and also in southwest suburbs. And he is a big businessman. He has secured a piece of property, that's close to three acres, and the facility is big enough to accommodate nine or ten thousand for the convention. It's doing very well.
Abdul Kareem:
Wonderful. Dear orders, dear community, for the benefit of those who are just tuning in, you're watching the Imam W. Deen Muhammad and guest. I'm your host, I'm Abdul Kareem. Brother Imam, the next question I'd like to ask you is... Well, this is just a question for the benefit for non-Muslims, who are potentially interested in accepting the religion of Deen Al-Islam. You mentioned before Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, is mentioned in scripture of the Bible. Can you point to some areas in Bible and Scripture where Muhammad is mentioned, prayers and peace be upon him?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, the description is given in the Quran, and the Quran, our holy book, which is the last revealed book from G-d. G-d says that Muhammad is the unlettered messenger prophet, who is mentioned in the Torah, that's the books that were given to Jews. We call it Old Testament now. For one of a better term to show exactly what is the Torah. Not all Old Testament, as we read it now in English, no, not all of it. But the Torah that Jews have kept for themselves from the books of Moses. You'll find him mentioned in the Torah and in the Injil. And the Injil is the New Testament of the gospel. But the same thing goes for the gospel, too.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
The gospel has more in it than what is referred to when we say the Injil, we mean the original teachings of Jesus Christ, G-d's peace be on him. Muhammad is described as a liberator. It says, "He will lift the heavy burdens from the backs of the people and he will break every bond to slavery." That's the liberator. And also in our Holy Book he's described as a man like Moses sent to your brother, from among his brother and from among the brothers, a man like Moses. And Moses is known by theologians, Christian, Jews and Muslim, known as a liberator. Moses was a liberator. He led the people out of bondage to Pharaoh. He led them to a land of religious freedom.
Abdul Kareem:
Sure. Praise be to Allah. The next question, dear brother Imam, is also one of the follow-up comment. You mentioned before Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, mentioned in the Bible. He said, "And the message will be revealed on the staff." Can you share with the audience what that means?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Well, I don't know this might have some connection. You know the Imam who recently passed, he received the highest prize for propagating or representing Islam from Mecca, the holy city Mecca, the government there, Ahmed Deedat [crosstalk 00:15:41] he made the connection, he's one that I know has made that connection and I recall another Imam, I can't recall his name right now, who made that connection, who was also what we call immigrant Muslims or Muslims from the outside, overseas. I don't know if we can actually make that connection, not directly, but by reasoning, yes. By reasoning or by rational interpretation of scripture and reasoning, we can make the connection.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, but what we do know that was said of him before he ever got a word of revelation from G-d, that people recognized him as sons of the Arabs, who never told a lie and who could be trusted. They called him As-Sadiq, means he always speaks the truth, and they called him also Al-Ameen, means you can trust him. So these titles our prophet Muhammad had before he ever was given revelation from G-d or met with G-d's revelation.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you, brother Imam. My next question to you, brother, is, I want to ask you about some glossary what these words mean. I'm going to ask you because in my everyday travels I find many people's interested or potentially interested in accepting the religion of Al-Islam and I'd like to ask you the term Jihad in this naturalistic paradigm, what does that term mean, Jihad?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, the meaning that right away comes to mind when you say Jihad, the meaning that comes to mind is struggle in the way of G-d, striving or struggle in the way of G-d. G-d says, "And make the Jihad in the path of G-d, in the way of G-d." [Arabic 00:17:49]. And make the struggle or struggle in the path of G-d. [Arabic 00:17:54]. With your wealth and with your own souls. With your wealth means give, strive to earn money and then give of what you earn, of your net that you earn. Give something to help the way of G-d, to help others who are less fortunate than you, and to support the message of Islam to give it to others who will accepted it or whom we can invite.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
This is money. Then the other is with your own souls. It means spiritually and morally, strive against the temptations that come to invade your life, to take away your moral excellence and your spiritual life, to struggle to keep yourself healthy and strong against the temptations that come from the misguided world.
Abdul Kareem:
Okay. Thank you, brother.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Those are two forms of Jihad in the path of G-d. It says [Arabic 00:19:12]. There is Jihad with your own self, your own soul, has to be put at risk to save our women and children from killers who will invade us and kill us. That's physical fighting, that's the Jihad also.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you, brother Imam. The next question, Imam, the term Imam, please share with our audience in the community or those who are interested or potentially interested in the acceptance of the great religion of Deen Al-Islam. What is the responsibility or the concern in modern day time, in our time of the Imam in the community?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
The responsibility of any Imam.
Abdul Kareem:
Yes, more the Imam who identify with your ministry per se.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Sure thing, it's no difference. The responsibility of any Imam is to be a leader, an Imam means a leader, is to be a leader for people who identify with his religion, Islam or Al-Islam. And to do that he has to reflect the moral teachings and the spiritual teachings in his own life as well as the rational teachings in their total composition. He has to reflect this in the way he lives. If he's lazy and not interested and working, he's a bad image of an Imam. If his morals are not good, he's a bad image. If he doesn't respect education and promote education and appreciate our children going to school and progressing and graduating, if he's not in love with that, he's a bad Imam.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
The responsibility of an Imam is to follow in spirit the teachings of the Quran. I say in spirit because some follow, but not in the spirit of G-d, they follow the spirit of the world and they call themselves Muslims, and they call themselves Imam. I know a few. They follow Islam, but they follow in the spirit of the world and not in the spirit of G-d's word and of the Quran, and that's also bad.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And they should know Muhammad, the prophet, because we wouldn't know how to pray, if G-d hadn't inspired him to understand how to lead us in prayer and give us the pattern, the description of how we perform our prayers. It's not in the Quran, it was only given to Muhammad, the prophet, to demonstrate it to the following, and he did. Thousands of people, many thousands of people followed him in prayer and they learned how to pray the Islamic way.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And there's so many other things that we learn to do that we cannot get that understanding or that guidance directly from Quran, except by inspiration or interpretation. And how many of us will be blessed with that? And we will never get it like Muhammad, the prophet, got it because he was given the message directly from G-d.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you, brother. Imam, another question I want to ask you, the Jumah, what is the criteria for Jumah and what's the significance of the brothers in front and the sisters in the back of a Musalla?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. Well, common sense tells me that I'm a man, and even at my age, like many men at my age, they still can be influenced by a woman or affected by a beautiful woman. And if she's bending over in front of you, and that's trouble. A woman should never bend over in front of the man in worship. It's not a must that they pray behind us, but they shouldn't pray in front of us. If they pray in a separate section to the left of us or to the side of us, that's fine.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
In the Nation of Islam, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, when he started out for many years, the sisters always sat to the left and the brothers to the right. Sister was on front row, but it was separated left and right. And the brother was on front row, but on the right side. That's the way it was. Later it was changed, I guess because the crowds grew and grew big. And I think that's made it more convenient for mothers to come quickly inside the doors and find a seat rather than go up long ways to the front. Yes, I think that had a lot to do with. But Islam is a truth and good reasoning.
Abdul Kareem:
Oh, G-d. Praise be to Allah, we say Alhamdulillah, dear community. For the benefit of those who don't know what it means, it means Praise be to Allah. Another term is Allahu-Akbar. What is meant by the term Allahu-Akbar?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, it means G-d is bigger, G-d is greater, G-d is more important. It means all that. It means the bigger, whatever you're thinking of is good and you see its size, G-d is bigger than that.
Abdul Kareem:
[inaudible 00:24:52]. Those questions come up every day. They say, "If I accept the religion of Al-Islam. I can't have interaction with my Christian relatives and friends." This is like a common lead to the question I'm going to ask you now respectfully, brother Imam, is that our beautiful, beautiful blessing Allah gave us with the meeting of the Focolare
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
I never knew of Christians like them. I know there are more, but I never knew them. And when I met Chiara Lubich their leader, who founded the organization when she was about 18, 19 years old, I think 18 years old, during the World War II when the bombs were falling all around in Europe. I met her and right away I knew she was a woman that had been blessed by G-d, had received special blessings from G-d. I felt that and recognized it right away.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And then I received the book on her life, her life story, and I read it and the next time when I met her and her followers, I was even more eager to get better acquainted with them and to have them better know us. And that was their also strong desire to get to know our community better through me, of course, to see what Imam W. Deen Muhammad is teaching his following to make them different. And they know Muslims because they have in Rome at the Vatican, they have Islamic studies department there that's perhaps bigger than most of the Islamic study departments that we'll find in Islamic countries around the world.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, they invested a lot the study of Islam. They have ancient manuscripts and everything. Not ancient, old medieval manuscripts, very valuable, very costly materials that's Islamic, where they can study the sources just like any scholar in Islam having access to Azhar University and its libraries, etc., to the best sources available to us. They know our religion, and when she speaks, we recognize right away that she knows our religion. When she speaks to a Muslim audience, she quotes the Quran and Muhammad, our prophet. She quotes the word of G-d from Muslims script book and also our prophet, upon him be peace
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. What attracted me to them was, there seemed to be very comfortable position they had with hosting Muslim leaders and sharing podium or stage with Muslim leaders to address the common ills of society today.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you, brother Imam. I'd like to make a comment. Sometimes some of the brothers that we travel down from Minnesota here on the first Sunday, and a few times we'll have a house, like a residency house, at 40th and Woodlawn but the believers, anyway, really, really nice group. We'll go there, we'll call them ahead of time. They charge me about $10 a night, $10 or $15 a night. Allah is Al-Raouf, compassion, there shows so much compassion. I didn't, know exactly the direction, I called them up and they came out and [inaudible 00:28:57] and the Haji was so warm to us. And we went to the house, they had a breakfast, real beautiful.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And that's how a believer should be, yes. Only $10?
Abdul Kareem:
Yes, at about $10 to [crosstalk 00:29:14] [inaudible 00:29:20] We had a coffee and tea, nice little internet game, really wonderful atmosphere. Not too far from the Hon. Elijah Muhammad's House.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
That's right.
Abdul Kareem:
Not too far from there. [inaudible 00:29:33]
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yeah, we moved into our first big, impressive house when I was 14 and I lived there from 14, 15 up until I got married about 24, 25 years old. I lived at 4847 Woodlawn. That's very close. So you stayed at a nice house? [crosstalk 00:30:07] [inaudible 00:30:07]
Abdul Kareem:
Brother Imam from day one each time that you speak is of historic proportions. In the genesis of your leadership, you made a very historic talk in Philadelphia, "Remake the world." On our first Sunday address, they said, "Researching our religion and establishing business life in our community." The late Hon. Elijah Muhammad says, "Do for self." Sister Clara Muhammad established the schools, and he also would always tell us to follow the logics to his conclusion. The earlier conversation about the ComTrust, is this like the Hon. Elijah Muhammad's teachings about "Do for self", the ComTrust evolutionizing Imam Elijah Muhammad's ideas? Can you share some thoughts about this
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, we are told in Islam, in the Quran, the book of G-d, we are told to follow the best thereof. Muslims should pursue excellence as many Westerners do with a passion. And we're also told by Muhammad, the prophet, peace be upon him [Arabic 00:31:40]. He said, "Whenever you endeavor to do a thing, seek to perfect it." The motivation is excellence. He said of his followers and listen to this, because this is really revealing. He said of his followers, those followers have gotten from him the message of Quran and message of Islam, "The best now are the best back then in the days of ignorance before the coming of Islam and the enlightenment." He said, "The best now are the best back then."
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
What is he saying? He's saying that real people are people who, before they get guidance on their own they want to be morally good, they want to be rationally sensible. They want to be excellenyin their moral constitution and in their rational constitution. They want to be rational and they want to be morally excellent. This is what they want. Muhammad, the prophet, was already established in that mold before G-d called him. And G-d mentions it in the Quran, he said, "He's already lived a lifetime among you," meaning that his life, before I had talked to him before I had put into him of my own spirit, his life then was a life of excellence. Before even G-d revealed to him his life was proven. And G-d didn't call him to teach him good morals, to teach him to be a decent person. G-d called him to do that for others.
Abdul Kareem:
Again for the benefit of those who are just tuning in, you're watching Imam W. Deen Muhammad and guest. I'm Abdul Kareem, and our topic or subject matter today is Mobeen, clarity. Clarity of the spirit of the Quran, the Bible and the Torah and all monotheistic energies and paradigms of past present and future. Brother imam in your recent talk [inaudible 00:33:57] you say, "Religion is [inaudible 00:34:09]." [inaudible 00:34:09]
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Let me change a little bit. Let me say people who are truly religious, they are people who are thankful. Isn't that right? They are thankful. They show appreciation for even little things done to them or for them. They are faithful. They are sincere. They don't have to be educated, either. They're sincere. They don't like being phony and they don't like phonies. Yes, real religious people are true to the meaning of religion. Real religious people they want to be progressive, want to advance their life in the world or in a material world.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. Poor people come to religion. If they think you're sincere and changing their life of poverty or improving upon their life, so they have a better material life, they will give you their money and give you and give you and give you and give you. I changed a little bit from religion to religious people, yes, and that's how we know religious people. They're thankful to G-d for their good life and for all the things he created to support life and for good friends and relatives and friends. They are just thankful for all those things.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
But they realize eventually, it comes to their consciousness I think it's always in that spirit, but eventually it comes to that consciousness that they owe the one that provided all these things created us and provided all this, they owe him for that. And to live with a consciousness like that, to live with the consciousness that we didn't create this world, and we couldn't make all these things, and we couldn't produce ourselves in this excellent human life form, the highest life form on the earth. We couldn't do this. We should recognize that we owe a debt to G-d. And how is the debt paid to G-d? G-d says, "Nothing you give me, not even your blood, your sacrifice of your life, reaches me, but your obedience does.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
That's how we pay him. We pay him by obeying his word and following in the spirit that he gives us.
Abdul Kareem:
Wonderful. Brother imam, there [inaudible 00:36:54] Yes from grateful and thankful. What would be your message to the community? Allah says, "The creation is an embodiment of signs." We look at Katrina, we look at the Tsunami, we look at the divorce rate at epidemic proportions, and we was talking a few minutes ago about being grateful and thankful. What would be your message to the community about humility, sensitivity and the like thereof?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
The Christians have a saying, "The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away." Well, if we pray to G-d to have a good life and we let the world know that we live for G-d, and we tell America, we are children of G-d, just like you are, and he does not mistreat some of his children and treat well others, they put that kind of pressure on him. And then, when the good time comes, when the powers yield to our pressure and the pressure of members outside of our race who join us to help us get our freedom, and once we get it, we forget G-d. Then G-d says, "You forget me, and I forget you."
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. If you look at the spirit of African-American people, focus on African us now, if you look at the spirit of African American people, every people that live and share the same kind of life together, they have a common spirit. Although they have a common spirit with every man, every human being. They have a common spirit, each other, that make them more closely bonded to each other than to others. And education have different names for this ethos, the ethos of the people. But the common expression is the spirit of the race or spirit of a people.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. If you look at the spirit of the race today and look at the spirit during the time of Carter G. Woodson and Frederick Douglass and the others, women and men, who influence us to go in the direction that we're going in, fearing G-d, loving G-d and giving G-d credit for everything good. And putting pressure on the on those who deny us this in America, the whites who deny us this, putting pressure on them to change. When we lose that attachment to G-d and lose that appreciation for G-d in our life as a people, and when we lose the direction for the life that G-d wants in us, then we're subject to be punished.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
If we read the history of Jews and others who left G-d and forgot about him and great wrath came upon them, great punishments came upon them, storms, earthquakes, raging fires, etc. And we see all that, locusts and all these things and diseases punished people, because they weren't with G-d, right? Because they were against G-d's way, they were not respecting G-d. If we believe this, then should we see our people driven out of Louisiana, yes, New Orleans, and not reflect and not think that maybe this is not just nature, but maybe this is G-d telling us to wake up and get back? Go back to the best life that you left?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. Well, you see signs. G-d says there are signs in the heavens and in the earth, and there are signs as well in human beings. And G-d says, "But most people go on moving heedless, not paying attention to the signs."
Abdul Kareem:
And that's what's happening, brother Imam, that's what's happening. I want to say, praise be to Allah, is a blessing to be in your presence with you, my leader, and it's an honor, a blessing of being interviewing you, brother Imam. Before you arrived today, Imam [inaudible 00:41:37] and Imam Ghani and [inaudible 00:41:41] were talking. And he said, "Imam Mohammed represents the answer to the prayer you bring for the Afro-American community." Can you share that with the community?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Who represents the answer?
Abdul Kareem:
Your spirit, your leadership represents, we say, with the African American community the prayer of Ibrahim, the success, prosperity, the life thereof. And he was saying that what you represent, your leadership, your devotion to the spirit like an honor in the life of Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him. My question to you, to African Americans who watching this program, what would be your message for us, appealing to them to turn to Allah wholeheartedly, turn to the life of Muhammad wholeheartedly?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
My message to them?
Abdul Kareem:
Yes.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Well, are you talking about those who are suffering with a lot of problems? But I can't speak to them directly anymore. G-d has inspired to me to speak to them to the good people that's not in the bad shape there. So I say to the good people out there, in the world, in the cities, walking the streets and in the homes, I say to the good people, "Hold on to your goodness and know that you were among the living and not the dead. And then let your goodness be known in your areas, so that you will give life to others by your example."
Abdul Kareem:
Wonderful. Thank you, brother Imam.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Thank you.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you. Brother Imam, what a beautiful occasion in our recent Ramadan session, and I want to ask you two terminologies you introduced teaching during the Ramadan session. Taharah, what does Taharah represent and what the Taharah mean?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. Taharah is purity, purity in religion. We achieve that by staying in touch with the best sources of our religion. Firstly, the Quran and then the life of Islam as demonstrated in the life of Muhammad, the prophet, upon him be peace. The month of Ramadan is a whole month of abstaining from the things that we used to eat during and eating, abstaining from drinking and eating and abstaining from having sex, even with the wife. Abstaining from having sex and abstaining from giving in to anger and indulging someone in arguments. It's a discipline for the spirit, the mind, the body, is a discipline for the whole life.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And we're reading the Quran every day. If we follow it correctly, according to the tradition of our prophet, we will be reading the Quran every day with an aim of completing it by the end of the fast month. Yes, reading a portion every day to complete at the end of the fast month. Nothing can inspire support and inspire spirit for purity like the word of G-d, nothing. That helps us. If the people want to have that, then they should stay in touch with the purity of their own scriptures.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And G-d says that none can touch it but the purified ones. What it means? It means you can touch it with your hands. In fact, you don't have to be a Muslim, non-Muslims sell off the Quran. It comes from a non-Muslim hand. It doesn't mean you can't touch it physically. It means that, if you're, not yourself, one who loves to purify his life for G-d, then your heart will not receive inspiration and feeling and sensations will not grow in your heart from your reading Quran. Your own mind that wants to be in contact, touch, be in touch, that's another word, isn't it? Your own life that wants to be in contact and in touch with what G-d is saying, with the truth about it. You will never get it unless you desire to purify your life for G-d.
Abdul Kareem:
Right. Wonderful. As a follow-up to it brother imam, I might not have time, but I want to show you quickly. I might not have time to read the fulfillments of the prayer where you mention about one of the schemes of Shaitan is to make us cold-hearted, insensitive, on human survival and progress. A little comment I'd like to ask.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
You know how he does that? The same thing that makes you sensitive, he uses it in abnormal, perverted erotic extremes. He uses it. So your human passions that is your life. Without your passion you have no life. Your human passions, that is your life. He comes into that fire that's supposed to warm you in the house and he fires it up and gets it so hot. [inaudible 00:47:30] And it burns out the quality of your life. It burns out the quality so completely, this is given in these scriptures. I'm not giving you the word or script, but it's in Bible and Quran.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
It burns out the qualities of your life so much that it's like turning land into ashes and stone, and metal that the value has been all burned out of it. That's what's happening. If you burn the skin, burn this body, this body will eventually just be ashes or something hard, right?
Abdul Kareem:
Right.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, something very hard, insensitive. It comes and burns all the sensitivities out of your life, all the good human sensitivities out of your life, so that you become dead. You don't feel a thing. You only have your interests, you don't feel for momma, daddy, family, neighbor. You don't feel for nobody. You can get shelter or drugs and never bother your conscience.
Abdul Kareem:
That's a chastisement
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
That's the devil's creation.
Abdul Kareem:
Brother Imam, this is a literature we introduced to the community a few years ago, and somebody said the message of concern. When you talk about idolatry worship, people worshiping materialists, sexism and the like thereof.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yeah.
Abdul Kareem:
Could you make a comment about this? What inspired you to introduce to the community the message of concern?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Can you read something that you want me to respond to?
Abdul Kareem:
Yes, it mentions about the Quran 3, verse 64, "Say: 'Oh, people of the book, come to common terms as between us and you that we worship none but Allah, that we associate no partners with him, that we erect not from among ourselves lords and patrons other than Allah.' If then they turn back, say: 'We bear witness that we at least are Muslims bowing to Allah's will.'" Civilized nations should want their religions to also be civilized. False worship is a form of oppression.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Is the worst form of oppression. Yes. Okay, all right. Man's travel on the path of G-d is a road from idolatry, ignorance and idolatry, idol worship, worship of snakes, fire, stars, worship of everything, rivers, rain. His road has been a road from falsehood to truth. But why did he take that road? Because he wasn't comfortable with what was serving his spiritual life. He weren't comfortable with those false G-ds. Yes.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
What the readers should understand and what our audience should understand today is that people can be very sincere, but it doesn't mean that they have the right idea of G-d. And G-d will never short change. What I'm saying is, whatever their goodness have earned, G-d is going to give them full pay, full reward for their goodness, as though they believe perfectly in him. Because he's a just G-d, he doesn't charge them with what they don't know.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
But the world is moving away from all ignorance and it's moving away from all superstitions that can't be supported by revealed truth. Yes, and it's moving away from schemes to keep the masses of ignorant people and whoever else will accept it, away from the right path of G-d of the right idea of G-d, so that they can continue to exploit the people and capitalize on the work and production of the people. Yes, these are the enemies. These are the satans. These are the devils.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And in our religion we are told that those who promote that selling and buying of substances that take away the control of your mind from the person, such as drugs in all forms, strong liquors and substances. G-d says, "That is the works of the devil." And promoting gambling where people become addicted to just gambling. They can't stay away from the gambling table. They can't stay away from Las Vegas. They become addicted. It destroys families. It causes suicide in their homes. Yes.
Abdul Kareem:
Absolutely.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes, this is a terrible evil, and G-d says, "This is the works of the devil. Stay away from it." And G-d also says, "Presenting the wrong image of G-d and giving people the wrong idea of G-d is the works of the devil."
Abdul Kareem:
Wow. [inaudible 00:53:31] Yes, thank you, brother Imam. For the benefit of those who are tuning in you're watching Imam W. Deen Muhammad our guest, I'm Abdul Kareem. And, first and foremost or again I want to witness that there is no G-d but Allah and Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, is a messenger prophet to the whole of mankind. And I'll also make a brief comment that this program is designed to educate Muslims and non-Muslims about the true spirit of the Quran and life of Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him.
Abdul Kareem:
Brother Imam, I think a couple of issues that go to Muslim Journal about you made a talk, and you mentioned about the prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him. You mentioned about the five senses, drowning out the senses. When this drowning out the senses, it sets up corruption and corrosion in their heart and the soul and intelligentsia. My question to you, sometimes when you're addressing the community, do you go to a meditation or something that Allah revealed to you the day before? Can you share that all the time, your vibe before teaching the community.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
I have to go back to the five senses. You started with the five senses, I'll go back to the five senses. And I believe that's what you're continuing on.
Abdul Kareem:
Yes.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yeah. Muhammad, the prophet, prayers and peace be on him, he said, "Be responsible for five. Before five be your undoing, make you a failure." Yes. The same five that lifts us up, if not respected, takes us down. And that's the five senses, the sense of smell, taste, sight, feeling and hearing. The same thing that lifts us up will take us down. Those in the world who like to feel nasty and go to parties to feel nasty and indulge in life to get nasty, that sense of feeling is taking them down.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
And it goes for hearing, sight, nose, everything. Smelling, everything. Feeling with your hands, whatever. It goes for all the five senses. The same senses that G-d has created to evolve us and lift us up into the destined excellence for human life that's the same takes us down more than the dog. And a lot of them calling you to the dogs out there, right?
Abdul Kareem:
Absolutely. Another aspect of our [inaudible 00:56:15] about the five senses, but oftentimes when you teach us and in conversation with the believers they say, "Well, I was just thinking about that. I was just thinking about that in my self-conscious mind." You may bring a point up in your [inaudible 00:56:31]. That's why I mentioned to you about it. I said, "This must be the will of Allah we must be guided by. It must be a mercy and guidance from Allah." You teach us, brother Imam, about me and my own soul. I said, "I was just thinking about that." You hit me right on the head on that thing.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
G-d in the Quran, we are told that G-d made us for one soul [Arabic 00:56:51]. He made us from one soul. And of that soul, he made his mate and from him spread all the human beings, men and women on earth. So we come from one soul that means. We are still one soul. We are separate souls. Every individual that came has his own soul and he lives his own life, separate from the others, privately all or in some situation in the city. But at the same time we are still connected soul-wise to each other, spiritually, everybody.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Let me tell you something you may not believe. I lost a dear one to me. They got hit by a truck going very fast. When the impact hit, I felt it. My soul registered the impact. When I went along the street where they were killed and I ran over certain bumps, it was the same sound I heard in my spirit. I felt and heard it in my spirit. We are one soul. We are separate souls, but actually also we are one soul. And that's why human beings love to be with one another. We belong to one another.
Abdul Kareem:
Wonderful. Yes, brother, wonderful. Inshallah, brother Imam, I hope to get a chance to interview you real soon. We are just about out of times, we have about a minute left. Any closing comments you'd like to say?
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Yes. Well, my comment is, I hope nothing I said takes you out of your good senses and take you out of your good spirit or take you out of your good behavior, because my purpose is to contribute and build upon goodness. That's my only purpose.
Abdul Kareem:
Yes, Alhamdulillah. Thank you all for tuning in, you've been watching the Imam W. Deen Muhammad and guest. And real quickly, I want to show you we have a Muslim Journal, subscribe to the Muslim Journal. And if you're interested in obtaining a copy of the Muslim Journal, abdulkareembilal@yahoo. Com. And also the book of the Quran, if you're interested in the Quran, abdulkareembilal@yahoo.com. Thank you for tuning in and continue and to your family. Pray for world peace and continue to pray for world peace all over the world. And do all strive with your goods and persons to implement an act of kindness. Again, thank you.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Wonderful.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you. Peace be upon you. Thank you, brother Imam.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Thank you.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you very, brother Imam.
Imam W. Deen Mohammed:
Pleased and honored to be on your show.
Abdul Kareem:
Thank you, brother Imam, it's been an honor.
Speaker 5:
[inaudible 00:59:40] may I hug you? [crosstalk 00:59:40]


