10/05/2003
IWDM Study Library
Research Our Faith Chicago IL

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. G-d is Great. G-d is the Greatest. We worship none but Him, only the One G-d. And we follow the human example of the best of His Creation, His Servant and Messenger Muhammad and those who are model before him. That our first father that He Created was created in the most excellent mold. And Abraham is also said to be in that mold and we follow the order of Abraham.
Millatul Ibrahim, Hanifa, we follow the order of Abraham, the upright in his nature. And we know that G-d wants us to be the best human being that we can be. And that's why He Created for us these excellent figures or examples for us of how G-d wants us to be and live in order that we have success and heaven in this life and after. And we pray that G-d keep us always in the best life and save us from the life that takes us down, Ameen.
It is wonderful to see you all here on this first occasion for us in this area where we will be addressing an audience monthly, first Sunday of each month. This is our first Sunday in this, I would say plan. We used to do this years ago. Years ago we used to speak once a week and invite the surrounding areas, especially those towns nearby like the big mothers town, Chicago and the suburbs, but also Milwaukee has always had very faithful and devoted members and they always came before my time. I saw how faithful they were in answering the invitation to come to this area. And hear my father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
And we have a few other neighboring places too, but I do remember Detroit having members to come down all the time and Milwaukee, and a few other places. Now we have Racine and several other places, small cities around, not far from us. And even St. Louis and Kansas. As far as Kansas City, we have Imams, representatives from those towns coming. Whenever we have a meeting of this size or a meeting of this importance, I have nothing to say to trouble. I have nothing to say to confusion.
I have nothing to say to disappointed people, but I have a whole lot to say to people of good sense, to people of faith, to people that are not disappointed with me. (Allahu Akbar. Clapping). This is no small work that we are doing. This is a big, big work, big, big job. It's bigger than I imagined it to be when I was a boy, sitting somewhere on the third or fourth row from the front listening to my father preach. It's bigger than what I imagined it to be when I became a minister under my father.
Preaching in Philadelphia and getting good results for him or for the Nation of Islam. It's bigger than what I imagined it to be. It's bigger than what I imagined it to be when I became the leader on the passing of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I had thoughts and the job as I saw it then it was big. But as I've learned more and experienced more in the path of G-d, I came to see that it is bigger than we imagined it to be, in all the time behind us. This job is big. It is big and sometimes I feel like I'm all alone.
But I hope that as we have opportunities like this to address the major concerns that are in the path, still in the path for us, we all will come to see as a Christian say, see it better by and by. You know, there are many of us, I say us because we are included. There are many of us that are not really comfortable with what the religions have offered us and we certainly are not comfortable with what man's world has offered us.
I say many of us, I'm talking about believers, I'm not talking about just any people out there on the streets. I'm talking about people who want to be right in the light of what G-d has established. And we want to know what G-d has established. And as I said religions, I said religions with the "S" religions haven't satisfied many of us.
When I look at the religions of the world today, I see those religions needing help. The religions themselves need help. Christianity in the world, needs a lot of help. Judaism in the world, needs a lot of help. Islam in the world, needs a lot of help. And if I had not already been converted to believe in G-d and follow the way, this world and it's religions could not get me. I wouldn't want Judaism, I wouldn't want Christianity and I wouldn't want Islam the way I'm hearing it lived and preached in this world today.
The representatives wouldn't attract me at all. Not even those in Mecca. I would have no interest in them. Looking at their world, how messed up it is and how they seem to be unable to come out of the mess. I wouldn't be attracted to them. You might say, well this is... what are we going to do?
We going to follow the best, that's what G-d tells us to do. G-d says, "And follow the best thereof", talking about the religion itself. Because the religion invites many levels to it, many levels regarding good sense and or intelligence. Many levels also regarding decency or moral nature, it invites many levels. It does not want to place burden on anyone that that individual can't manage.
So it doesn't burden the people who are not interested in education. They don't have any interest to become students and excel in education. So religion won't... this religion doesn't put burden on them that they can't bear. It has an invitation for them to have family, to have a job, to be honest and decent and not be worried with higher knowledge, et cetera. So there's a place for everybody. The religion has a room for everybody.
I think this is in the Bible too. There's a room for everybody, you know, in religion. But it expects you to be decent, to want to have good behavior. It expects that of all of us. It expects us to want to have good character, good character and not to be feared by others because of our bad character that we will rob them or that we will corrupt their neighborhood. It wants of all of us decency, human innocence, where you're not having any bad thing on your mind to carry out, affecting others.
That's what religion wants. Our religion wants that, but our religion, as I said, it invites people from all levels, all levels of interest. From the smallest interest of the man who just wants to eat and go to sleep and have a nice place to rest and wake up and go to work and come back home to his family and do that until he dies. Religion invites that person. But the man who carries the burden of the neighborhood on his mind, he wants to see the neighborhood improved. He wants to see life better for people. The religion invites him too.
The man that questions the logic or the good sense in things and he's not satisfied with the world as he's seeing it. He thinks the world is not quite as sensible as it should be. G-d is also inviting that person to come. And G-d gives help to all levels, gives help to all levels. The man who wants nothing but just family life, G-d gives help to him on his level, gives him so much help till one day he might have a transformation and he might say, "Girl, I think I'm going to start working with the good leaders in my neighborhood. I think I want to contribute, make a contribution to the community".
Yeah, he might have an awakening, an awakening and have a transformation, and experience a transformation. That has happened. Yes. Now G-d says, "And take the best thereof, and take the best thereof."
G-d tells us during the fast month of Ramadan, I'm giving you example, during the fast month of Ramadan says, If you are in sound mind, if you are sane and healthy body, you should fast the days of the month, the whole month of Ramadan fast, fast. It's coming up soon. You should fast the month of Ramadan, all the days of the month of Ramadan 29 or 30 days.
But G-d says, if you are sick, you don't have to. G-d says if you are traveling, you don't have to fast those days you're traveling. And G-d says you can make up for the days you don't fast, by feeding, giving a poor person his or her meals for each day you miss. Now, there are some fellows who are very comfortable financially. Ramadan comes, they just carry on their business as they always, as they normally would do. And when Ramadan is over, they feed 60 people. You have to feed 60, double for the days you intentionally broke it. So you feed double, you have to have double. So it is easy for them to feed 60 people, so they give 60 people enough to feed them for 60 days.
G-d says, "And take the best thereof". What is the best? G-d says, "But it is best that you fast if you understood". Because it teaches you piety and self restraint, so that you come closer to what G-d wants you to be, for the good of yourself, your family and mankind. Yes. So, "And take the best thereof". I could speak on this for another 20 minutes or more, but let's go to Muhammad himself, prayers and peace be on him. And that's the way we salute him. The traditional salute to him.
He himself is a model of human excellence, G-d says, "For any who believes in G-d and the last day". That means any who believes in G-d and believe that their life should be lived for G-d. If it's not lived for G-d, then you're going to answer for a life that is not acceptable, a life that G-d does not accept. So people who believe that, and that's Christians, Jews and many others, people who have that kind of faith, our Holy Book that G-d give us, it tells us that Muhammad is a model, an excellent model for such people, not just for Muslims.
Jesus Christ is a model for human, for humankind, for mankind. Muhammad is a model for humankind, for mankind. Not just for a particular group of people following a way, a certain way. No, for all human beings. So this model we are talking about, this human model we are talking about is as G-d says, "He is a mortal human mortal like you".
"Mithlukum", like you. He's not an angel. He's not a G-d. We are not given a G-d to imitate. We can't imitate G-d. It's impossible. We are not of that divine nature. We are not a divine creature. We are human creatures. We can't imitate G-d. We only can follow G-d in His descriptions that we identify with, but we can't be as perfect as He is in that. For we describe G-d or G-d has described Himself to us too, as "Merciful".
So we know that He wants us to be merciful. And He's described as Pure. He wants us to want purity and to seek purity. He's described as the Truth. He wants us to be truthful, et cetera. So that in His descriptions or His divine attributes that we share because He has imparted that from Himself to us by way of creation, then to that extent we can follow G-d.
But we can not be perfect. We are not perfect beings. We are beings subject to err as the philosopher says. And we are subject to lose the good life that we have and the good sense that we have and have to be rescued by good people or by the Mercy of G-d as G-d says, "By the Mercy of G-d". Yes. So Muhammad the Prophet now, he's a model for us and he's a model of our human life in its excellence. In its excellence that G-d wants for all human beings. He's a model of that for us. So G-d tells us to follow him, to believe in him, first of all, and says, "And believe in His Messenger".
Don't only believe in G-d, He says, "Believe in G-d and in the Messenger", both. To believe in G-d is one thing. To believe in the Messenger of G-d is to believe in the possibility of human beings living a successful life. Succeeding and enjoying all the joy that G-d Created them to enjoy.
That means you believe that human beings can conquer corruption in their life. They can conquer laziness, they can conquer indecency. They can conquer these things and have a good life. You believe then that human beings can live with each other and trust each other. You can live with each other and not fear being hurt or harmed by each other or robbed, et cetera, by each other.
So you believe then that human beings can have a peaceful and good community life, if you believe in Muhammad. And that's following the logic to its correct conclusion. And G-d tells us, "Follow the logic to it's correct conclusions". And G-d didn't send men from Him, into the world from Him or into the world from Him. Yes.
When G-d calls a man to serve Him, He first takes him out of the world and then when He prepares him, He sends him back into the world. But He first has to take him out and prepare him and He sends him back in. Then he knows how to do his job. Once G-d prepares him, he knows how to do his job in the world. So G-d puts him right back in the world. So Muhammad, we follow him in his excellence and we are to believe in him. And G-d says, obey him, "Wa tee Allah wa tee rasulahu."
Obey G-d and obey His Messenger. Not only that, and obey those that you put in authority. You put somebody in authority, you voted, you elected that person, you put them in authority, you put them there, then you are supposed to obey them until you disqualify them. If you disqualify them, then put another one there or put others there. But those that you have authorized, then you obey them.
And they shouldn't order anything that they don't have an authorization for. And as Muslim leaders, we are authorized by two sources. The word of G-d, called our Holy Book, or the Quran, and the life example of Muhammad the Prophet who received that Book from G-d. We are authorized by that. So if I come from myself and start ordering or saying things arbitrarily... arbitrarily that means on my own without respect for the sources that I'm supposed to be under or obeying, then you reject me as your leader and you don't follow me in those things. G-d even tells children if they can read the Book, G-d even tells children to disobey parents. It said, "Obey them". But if they ordered something that you cannot find support for from G-d, then don't obey them in that. But keep good company with them in this world. You hear that? You hear that? This world tells parents, "Don't listen to children," I mean, "Children don't listen to parents." Tells children, "Don't listen to parents," and doesn't follow it up and say, "but be nice to them in this world".(Laughing).
Well, what do you mean, this world is not telling children not to obey parents. I was watching a commercial on TV and they were trying to sell my child something I didn't approve of. So they were telling that child to this obey me. This is a commercial. I'm not talking about the wild streets. Yes, a commercial trying to sell my children something I wouldn't want them to buy. Trying to make them spend too much money. Want them to live rich and they're poor. Life is hard enough without that invitation from the commercial world. [...] Up on the poor. You know what I'm talking about.
Yes. So G-d says, "Obey your parents". But if they order something for you that you don't find any support from me from G-d, then don't follow them in that. But keep good company with them in this world. That means for the rest of their life, as long as you live, as long as they live and you are living, you supposed to be kind to them and try to have good company with them.
Even though they told you, "I don't like that religion you got now, we are Christians. You become a Muslim". You're not supposed to say, "You, you Kafeer". That's the crazy world that we see, the Islamic world that we see. That's the crazy world we see. "You Kafeer. Even though you be my mother, I reject you, you Kafeer".
And he'd probably be looking up from hell fire and G-d will put permit him to, just to have one glimpse of his mother and his Christian relatives in heaven and then cut it off right quick. So life is a road, you know, and it began the moment we come into this world, it's a road we have to travel. Muhammad said of himself, peace be on him, he said, "I'm like a traveler in the world and I stop under a tent".
And I guess the tent is the compass that you finally reach, and then he returns to his G-d. Life is over. And so it is for all of us, life is a journey. Life is a road. The poets, the philosophers and the preachers of religion, we all know that life is a journey. We begin the first step is with the life that G-d Created for us. This life that we know, that all of us know. Our human life, our flesh bodies that serve us as a home and a transport. We live in this body and this body transports us. That's the first life.
That's the life G-d Made. And G-d tells us of this life and promises us another life better than this one. G-d says He knows His Creation. Says, "Who can know creation better than the One who created it," and has been around for all periods of time, observing it, watching it. Since the very first day of Creation, G-d has been aware of His Creation. So He says, "Who knows better than the G-d that has created and has been around for all times?"
Then G-d says of His creation, that we are created from a small life germ, placed in a place of rest that's inside the female or inside of our wife. Placed in a place of rest. And it starts to develop and it develops into a clot from murky, white fluid, whiteish fluid. It develops into a clot of blood.
And G-d goes on to tell us how it begins to take on form, higher and higher. It becomes like a morsel of flesh or fetus lump with no bones. And then G-d says that He continues the creation of that life until it becomes complete with flesh, all clothed all over the bones, nice looking figure. Then He gives it into the world. And then G-d says, "Thereafter there comes to it, another creation, Khalaqan arkhar"
"Thereafter, there comes, 'Thumma khalaqna arkhar'; Thereafter there comes to it another Creation". And then G-d says, "G-d is the Best of Creators, 'Asanew khalaqna'; G-d is the Best of Creators". It says in another reference to this same progression, developmental steps that we take that G-d or name for us or created us, take in order to come to the condition that we are here, full human being in good shape. And He says, "Blessed be the Name of G-d, the Best of Creators". Isn't it wonderful? "The Best of Creators". Then G-d says, "Do you think G-d is unaware of what you are doing?"
Those led by the ones who are not looking to know how The Designer, The Great Artist, G-d Himself, how He wants the world to form, but they have gone out on their own arbitrarily. They have taken upon themselves the authority to shape a world for other human beings. And they designed their world to be a huge womb, creating man all over again after G-d has created him. They designed the environment to be a huge womb in which they place human life so that it will be created all over again. You didn't know satan was a creator, did you?
Some of you didn't know that. Yes, satan is a creator, says, "Nothing that G-d revealed to His servant that satan didn't conspire to do the likes of it". So G-d Creates satan wants to create and he does create. Now why am I saying that? Because you all that are in trouble and can't trust human beings. You can't trust the establishment, you can't trust the system. You can't trust the Preacher. You can't trust the Rabbi. You can't trust the Imam. You can't trust yourself. You don't have faith in anything. I want to tell you that this may be your day more than it is anybody else's. Because I think most of us need to do just that. Just stop trusting everything and then maybe we'll find the right thing.
How did man come to truth? By first doubting. Yes, by first doubting, He said, "I'm looking at this, but I don't think this is all of it. I don't think this is the last picture or I don't think this is the last word". He said, "I'm going to have to question this in search it". He questioned it, he searched it and he came up with another meaning. A meaning that he didn't have when he first looked at it. So man came to better and richer and more productive ideas by doubting the things he was looking at.
A very wise and pious old man, my old friend Muhammad Abdullah of San Francisco back then, but then he moved to Haywood and he died in Haywood, may G-d give him Paradise. He told me once, he said, "You know, our Kaleema, our Sacred creed, our Holy creed, Sacred creed. He said, "It begins with a negative. It says "no" before it says "yes". It says, "Laa ilaha ill Allah, There is no G-d to worship except The G-d". So it begins with a negative and we know where we got this creed from Abraham, our Father Abraham, and the story of his search, searching the Creation and doubting that these things that his father worshiped was G-d, brought him to say, "None of these things are G-d".
The story ends with him witnessing a sunrise, a beautiful sunrise after he had studied the stars all night long and he saw stars' fall. He said, "You cannot be my G-d. My G-d is not one to fall". And then when the sun began to rise, it was a splendid morning, I guess the atmosphere and everything, and it was just right for that beautiful sunrise. He said, "Oh, this is a splendid one rising. This must be The G-d". And the story goes, it's to teach us. It's a story to teach us. And the story goes that he set and observed it until it began to decline. And when it's light went out, it set. He said, "Oh no, you can't be my G-d. My G-d is not one to set". And his conclusion was that all of these things was on some kind of plan and the Planner was G-d. That was his conclusion. And that's why I said earlier, we follow the order of Abraham, the upright in his nature that's in our Holy Book, say, "Millati Ibraheema Haneefa", the Order of Abraham, the upright in his nature.
So much for that. Getting back to the first step in the road. So G-d creates human beings and human beings are born innocent. All human beings are born innocent. Our criminal law, in the history and study of the criminal law of the United States, we find that there was a time it was interrupted by a belief that we... criminals could be protected from society, by neutering them, castrating them so they wouldn't have more children or more criminals, wouldn't give birth to more criminals. We know that law existed for a while, but the good sense came back and they got rid of that law. So that tells us that civilized nations don't believe that criminality can be inherited...you can get it from your mother and your father.
Think about that. That's our belief. Allah, G-d that is, He tells us over and over that everyone has a clean slate when he is born. And not only that, those who have been deceived by the satan or been deceived by just ignorance and lost the good life. That once they take Shahada, that means once they declared themselves openly and with witnesses, that they are divorcing themselves from that kind of life to serve G-d as witnesses. And to follow Muhammad's example. G-d says, "Everything prior to that is wiped clean as though you are newborn baby with no sin". This is Islam, "As though you are newborn baby without any sin". Now you know the same idea is in Christians as, "We're born again, born again Christian". So you have a chance to be born again in Islam too. (Laughing). Praise be the Allah. Alhamdullilahi Rabil Alameem.
Praise be to G-d the Lord Keeper of the world's. Yes. So we began with innocent life. This human life, this flesh we got is innocent until our thinking becomes wrong. It's innocent. Babies love, learn love right away from their mothers and they learn trust, faith, right away from their mothers. They come out just today and in a few minutes they're resting peacefully against the bosom of the mother.
Trusting the mother, not fearing anything, leaving it all to the mother to protect them. That's innocent life. That's innocent life. So we start with this humanness, physical flesh. This body which is good, comes from G-d. And so far no one has been able to create this flesh body. They can only use what G-d has created and make certain, maybe a by step, a few important things, you know, bypass a few important things, make it happen quicker or something, you know.
Or they maybe can take something from the life and instead of putting it where G-d wants to be, they put it in a tube somewhere. They put it in a protected environment and they do something with it. But they haven't created the life. They're just using the life that G-d Created. And even that's proven to be very risky. Huh? Yes. So G-d is still in, though we have got all the great sciences, we can do wonders with science, still G-d is the One we have to look to, to have creations reproduced. Still reproduced from His pattern. Man has not created a pattern separate from G-ds' yet. Yeah. So we start with this life, this human life. We can trust this life. We can trust our human life to support our good thinking. We can trust our human life to support our good dreams and aspirations, our aspirations. We can support, we can trust this. In fact, when we start to have dangerous thoughts, the body becomes alarmed and you may break out and sweat. Or you may start stuttering and you never stuttered in your life. That's your own nature telling you, "Hey, I don't...I'm not comfortable with what you got on your mind now, niggah". Oh I'm sorry, excuse me. I forgot. Not supposed to use that big "N" word. They call it little "N" word. I call it big "N" word. Not supposed to use that word. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Yes.
So we can trust the life that G-d Created. But what's given us trouble is the life that we create. And G-d says, "He's the Best of Creators". That's to tell the wisest among us, working behind close doors, working in secrecy, having secret councils, planning man's life in secrecy. G-d is speaking to them through a human being. Muhammad, a man that He revealed these things too. And He's telling them in their secret places, "I know you are creators, but I'm the Best of Creators and don't think I have not been observing what you have been doing with My Creation. And I'm going to call them back to the life I gave them in Paradise". Islam is the call to life. Hayya. Hayya alas Salat means come to life. Come live. Come alive. Hayya. Come alive. Alal Salat. Come alive...for Prayer. Come alive for Prayer. Say it twice. Hayya alal Salat. Hayya alal Salat. Say it twice. Why? Because you had a good mind. It was the mind that your good nature gave you.
So if you're still in that good mind, come still because you have to be educated. It's not enough to be innocent and good. You have to be educated. And don't think education is just for those who want to get a certificate from High School or College or whatever. Education is for every human being born. Yes. And that's why G-d has Preachers and Messengers. And that's why we have men who take it upon themselves to inform the public and have the public be better educated. We are not left to the mercy of these institutions, although they are much needed and we have to support them and they are our best help. These excellent schools we got. Public schools and private schools. We know that. But we are not entirely upon the mercy of those institutions because G-d will inspire and awaken a politician, or a social worker or just a common person who's satisfied just to go and punch a clock and punch in and punch out and go back home and watch TV and go to sleep and enjoy whatever in the house and go back to work. Sometimes he'll get a change. As I said earlier, a change will come over that person and that person will be the one to say the public is kept too stupid. The public needs to be informed. Yes. So that's G-d. That's G-d in us. That's G-d in us. That won't let us just suffer and suffer and suffer something that He has created us to rise above or with the power to change. G-d will move us to the point and we have to do something about it.
Allahu Akbar. G-d is Greater. That's what we are saying. Yes. Now, step one began in your innocence. We want to make progress in the road. We don't want to fail. We want to get to the end of the road. And the end of the road is not the end of living. The end of the road is the end of struggle and suffering and confusion. The end of the road is a good life here on earth and hereafter. A good life where you'll feel good about yourself. You'll feel good about how you and your family are living. You'll feel good about how your neighborhood is thriving or existing. You'll feel good. Now, how can we feel good, completely, perfectly good as long as there's another neighborhood suffering like ours used to suffer. Or there's another nation suffering like ours used to suffer. You see how G-d has Created us to be one family, to register hurt of all people, to feel that hurt, to not to be comfortable in our souls until everybody has a life that's livable? Now we know all of us are not this conscious. We have practiced putting things out of our mind that bothers our conscience. We have practiced so much until we can look at people suffering and crying and moaning and dying and miserable and being mistreated, and we just keep on smiling and go to sleep and rest good tonight. But there's always a few that G-d has Created that won't accept that.
And one day from the few,, will come one that will disturb your rest. Yeah. Call you out in the field to go to work to make things better. This is the way of G-d. This is the way of G-d. And thank G-d and thank good people. Yes. So the second step then, if you want your good life, if you can make up your mind that, "Yes, I want a good life. I want a life that I don't have to be ashamed of. I want to be a good character. I don't want to be a bad character. I want to be somebody that other people can feel comfortable around, that other good people can feel comfortable around or with. I want to be a person that good people can trust. I want to be loved by my family and appreciated by my family". If you are that kind of person, you already made the first step. You got the first step made. This tells us that your life is in good condition.
The life G-d gave you is in good condition. Your temple is in good order. The temple of the individual, your flesh body is in good order. So the second step then is to want to be informed so you can make progress on the road of life. As I said, it just ain't for anybody. You can't make progress on this road without being educated. You have to be educated. And I'm not thinking of academic, the academic world. I'm talking about good common sense, good common sense, and knowledge of how G-d made life or made you to live.
That's what you have to have. You may not call it G-d, but if you don't want to call it G-d, call it Creation, call it Mother Nature, call it whatever you want. But something is responsible for making you the way you are, making you the human being that you are. Something is responsible for that. And you should want then to know this plan that I've gotten from Mother Nature or Creation, whatever you want to say, because we know G-d is the author of it. Yes.
But then He Created matter, Mother Nature to give birth to us the first time. Yes. Okay. So if you don't want to include G-d, stop right there with Mother Nature. Say, "Okay, I want to be the best that Mother Nature offers me". That's the first step. Then say, "I want to see what direction, what help is in Mother Nature for my mind, for my reasoning. So that I reason better. So that my reasoning will serve me better. So I will become more successful. So see, Mother Nature is a teacher herself, isn't she? She's our first teacher. Mother Nature is our first teacher.
Muhammad was not stupid when G-d called him. He was a successful businessman. Peace be on him. Muhammad was not immoral or indecent when G-d called him. He was already a decent and loved and admired human being by his own people. They called him As-Siddiq, the Truthful One, Asaadiq, pardon me. Same thing. Means the Truthful One. Asaadiq also means the Truthful One.
And they called him El-Amin, the Trustworthy One, the Honest One. The one that you can trust. They were calling him these names before G-d called him to be the Messenger of G-d. So what does that tell us? That tells us, G-d is telling us by choosing Muhammad, by revealing that He chose Muhammad. G-d is telling us the same thing, and that Jesus Christ in his sign, in his mystery, tells us. That a human being can have a good life without Revelation or Prophets being sent to him. You hear that? Human beings can have a good life without Revelation, without Prophets.
G-d doesn't have to come to us that way. G-d made us to have a good life. If we just respect the good life that G-d made for us, we can have a good life. As Muhammad had a good life, and Muhammad is just one given to us as an example. There are many human beings. They become very decent. They keep a good life, and they become very rational and very intelligent and very productive without joining a religion.
This is a fact of history. A fact of history and a fact of nature. It's a fact of nature. Isn't that good news? For the Christians, this same message is in the Nativity. The birth of Jesus Christ is shrouded in mystery. Same message is coming to the Christian world that I'm giving you right now. And that's why the Bible is called the New Testament, it's called Good News. That's the Good News. These phonies in religion telling people, you have to repent your sin. Repent, repent, repent, repent. You have to reject this mortal flesh, this mortal nature, reject that gross body. There's a temptation will lead you to damnation, huh? Yes.
So the Good News is... they got off track. They went blind in their own self-righteousness. The Good News is human beings are born good. It is only your wrong thinking that makes you bad. That's the Good News, that we all can have salvation. Praise be to Allah. Thank G-d. Allahu Akbar. Yes. So the second step is to trust your good senses, your natural good intelligence, your good senses that G-d Created you with. And want to become more intelligent, more informed in the ways of life, in the ways of living successfully.
I'm going to come back to that point in just a few minutes. And I know you're tired. I won't be talking long. The third step, now we have a third step to make. The third step is to struggle to know, "What is my purpose in this plan that I find in Mother Nature?" I find this big plan in Mother Nature. Now, what is my purpose here? Am I to worship matter? Am I to worship the earth? Am I to worship up the trees or life? Then you go on, on the search. You search the things you know to see if those things are worthy of you worshiping or coming under them.
And if you search without Revelation, without G-d, none of that. Keep all that out of here right now. If you search with your good natural intelligence, you are going to come to the conclusion that, "I can't manage this by myself. I have to serve something above me". You can call it an idea of truth. You can call it a perception of your destiny. Call it whatever you want. But you have to serve something bigger than you. And G-d tells us, "O man, don't think that the creation of a human being is bigger, is a bigger matter than the creation of the sky's and earth". This world will overwhelm you. This world will beat you down and bury you. And wipe your history out as though you never existed. Yeah, that's what this world will do. It's a bigger matter than you. So at least find that discipline that accounts for this world being sustained. If it would break its laws, it would destroy itself. So find that discipline that sustains matter, the earth, Mother Nature's world, or order. And then say to yourself, "This world is sustained that's bigger than me, by obedience to certain laws. So I'm going to have to recognize a set of rules, a set of laws that something governs me bigger than my mind". Call it what you want, but that will be your salvation.
Yes. I can not understand, how in this day and time on this earth, we're enjoying and all the benefits that we owe to the productive mind of human beings. The creation of modern transportation industry. Air conditioning, heat in the winter, cool in the summer. Fast transportation. Entertainment for the mind after we work it hard. Entertainment that's so technical, so scientific that it blows our mind. All of these great wonders coming from the productive brain, the productive intelligence of human beings. And all these material comforts that make life so much better. All these health benefits that have made life so much better. All of this progress we have made, in the road toward justice for human beings. Protecting the work environment so that the work environment does not abuse human life, or unnecessarily hurt or risk human life. All of this progress we have made with our brains. Skyscrapers, especially Muslims brothers, you so-called Imams.
All of this help we get from Islam. All this help we got from Muhammad the Prophet, peace be on him. Saying that one day the common man is going to be competing with the establishment to build skyscrapers. This is in the sayings of Prophet Muhammad before that was skyscrapers. But don't think there was not a history of skyscrapers being put on the earth before this period that we enjoy now called modern times. Ancient nations were able to build high towers. You heard of the tower babble? Yes. Even in the Arabs land, they have found ruins that establishes for them, proof that their ancestors once were great builders of stone structures, and high stone structures. That's just one place all over the world that has happened. All over the world that has happened. They unearth signs remains of civilizations gone by that were able to do these things.
Now, Muhammad the Prophet, he was a businessman. He wasn't a shepherd out with his sheep, looking at stars, looking at the stars at night and going to sleep and waiting for the sunrise so he could go back and take care of his sheep. He was a businessman writing contracts, signing contracts, traveling to other towns, neighboring towns, cities. Even to Syria, as far as Syria, from Saudi Arabia doing business. And G-d called him to be the last Messenger or the last Prophet, pardon me, the last Prophet. How in the world can you Imams, with your mind awake, criticize Imam W. D. Mohammed, for having an interest in business.
Look, do you think the ships that brought us over from Africa as slaves, or to be put into slavery, you think that's a dream? That's real history. Do you think all the years and generations of suffering that we've gone through, and denied a chance to be free citizens, enjoying citizenship with other people, whites and others, do you think that's a dream? That's real history? There might be a man or a woman alive today that knows a lot about that terrible time. Maybe even experience some of the abuses back there in that time. Isn't no dream, that's real. Do you think all of these millions of African Americans in America now, singing the blues, saying that we still don't have what we're supposed to have. When are we going to get ours, reparations, something. Do you think that's a dream? That ain''t no dream it's real. If you are really the brains that you claim to be, how come you can't read the history of your own people and see that the history of your own people demand Divine intervention, and rise to your feet and walk behind Imam W. D. Mohammed, if you're a real Muslim. If you're a real Muslim. (Takbeer. Clapping).
Thank you, thank you. I don't claim anything big. I don't like to even look at myself as being important. I don't. But I know that G-d has blessed me with a soul and with a spirit, and made me soul wise and spirit wise, fit to be my own Imam. I am happy and proud to say Imam W. D. Mohammed is my Imam. And yes, I want to go off and play some time. All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. So at times I want to go off and play, but the job is too important. I say I hope it'll be one day we'll be comfortable enough and we'll have all these things done. And I'll have more spare time because Johnny wants to play some too. Thank you very much. In peace. As Salaamu Alaikum. (Clapping).


