06/06/1978
IWDM Study Library 
Community Night

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Now we know that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was not G-d and that he was not really the Prophet Muhammad but a unique man who had in his life so much of the scripture that he himself was really afraid of scripture. His whole life was molded by his belief in scripture. So, let's look at this now. He says that book is not the present Holy Qur'an. And he says that it is a book that the present world has not as yet seen. And the devil infidels may not see it nor touch it. He could have just said the devils are going to be destroyed before this book comes, couldn't he? But he says the devil cannot see it nor touch it, which tells me that the speaker must have had in his own mind the idea that the book was going to come while the devil was still existing. Is that right? All right. I see something else here. He says that it's a book containing the guidance for the people in the hereafter, not of this world. Therefore, it is carefully guarded from the eyes and ears of this world. Says a book not of this world. What is this world? Is it this world period, the whole world? Or not of the Western world. He said it is not the present Holy Qur'an. If this is not the present Holy Qur'an, then that make me think that he had the idea that there might come another Holy Qur'an. Isn't that, right? He said this is not the present Holy Qur'an. Why did he say it is not the present Holy Qur'an? That makes us think that maybe he had in his mind the idea that there's coming another Holy Qur'an.
Well, I agree with him if you understand it the way I understand it. The present Holy Qur'an that he had, what was present in it? Arabic. So, he is telling us that he could not read Arabic. The only Holy Qur'an he had was a translation. It won't be the present Holy Qur'an. This English is not good enough. I've been telling you that all the time. You have to understand the Arabic, because these people who translated it, many of them, they trusted others to make the English translation for them. And those that could handle some English, there wasn't good enough. Let me tell you what he said of the book that he saw. And he didn't just say it to me in privacy. Others heard him say it. He said he saw it and it looked like it had a third dimension. Says the letters were not just on the paper, it looked like they penetrated the pages. He said there was a light that was emanating from the letters And he told me out his own mouth. He said, "Son, that one letter that I recognized, it looked like it was all through the book." He said it was this letter, he made with in his hand like this. He said Lam. What is that? That's an Arabic letter. And what book does that letter penetrate?
It is the Qur'an in Arabic. Allah. Two Lams in it. Yes. Our first pillar is loaded with Lams. So, he had a vision that the Arabic Qur'an was going come after him. Not the English Qur'an, the Arabic Qur'an. Not the present one. The present one you were using is an English Qur'an. Is that right?
Audience Member:
Yes.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Now what are we using? An Arabic Qur'an. I read it in Arabic, I give you a translation. I even to discuss the English, to show you the weaknesses in it or to show you the beauty of it, the translation. Many of us do think that there's coming a book especially to us and it's not going to be the Qur'an. If the Honorable Elijah Muhammad felt that he would've said, "It's not going to be the Qur'an." He didn't say it's not going to be the Qur'an. He said it's not the present Qur'an. Which means that it's going to be another Qur'an, a future Qur'an. Is that right? Yeah, that's what it's going to be. A future Qur'an. How's it going be a future Qur'an? There's only one Qur'an. The word wasn't known until this book was revealed. You don't find Qur'an in no other book. Yes. So, if there is a future Qur'an, how's it going to come? G-d is going to reveal it to who? "To Silas. To John Muhammad. To Farrakhan." You far as hell from the truth. That's right. You are really critical if you think that. This book here is the mother of books. The Qur'an is the mother of books. It has given birth to Hadith in volumes. And every time there's new understanding there's a new Qur'an.
Is that not a fact? Isn't the Holy Qur'an a book that is constantly growing, constantly getting bigger? As our knowledge expands, we see a bigger Qur'an. As G-d bless us with more understanding of this book here, we come up with greater than what we had yesterday. So, couldn't we acknowledge now that we have a new Qur'an? It's the same Qur'an, but our knowledge of it is new. Our knowledge of has expanded, deeper and broader. This Qur'an is like creation itself. The world is getting bigger and bigger because men and women are learning more about it. We don't say this is the same old world that was here five hundred years ago. We say we live in a bigger and better world. Likewise of G-d's word. It gives us as much as we can take. It feeds our growth as much as our minds can expand. And the Qur'an that we saw a thousand years ago may be small when compared with the Qur'an that we have today. So, this is the way we should understand these things. That after the English, which is poor, not capable of rendering the pure message and beauty of the Qur'an. After the English comes the pure language of Arabic. And as we grow, the Qur'an gets bigger and bigger, newer and better because we get more words. We see more that is written in the word. "Oh, we going to get a new book. Every people have to get their own book."
You got your own book? I don't want my own book. I want G-d's book for everybody. I have to deal with other people too. I can't just live by myself. I want a book that teaches me about everybody. I think that's good sense. I know one thing. I'm happy with it myself. I feel good. I don't take no sleeping pills. I go to sleep just like I went to sleep when I was a baby. And go sleep just as good. Sometimes I wake up smiling. I love a simple, sane, principled religion. Now if you want something to get you all mixed up in the head. If you got a thing for madness, you can have it. I like to sleep myself. I want some restful nights. Our sister has asked me to read these two verses of the Holy Qur'an tonight and she wants me to explain. These two verses are from the 24th, 24th chapter of the Qur'an called The Light, Al Nur.
Now I'll read the verses first. "Say to believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard, their modesty. That will make for greater purity for them and G-d is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. That they should display their beauty and ornaments, except what most ordinarily appears. That they should draw over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husband, their fathers, their husband's father, their sons, their husband's sons, their brothers or their brother's sons or their sister sons or their women or the slaves who their right hand possess. Or male servants free of physical needs. Or small children who have no sense of the shame effect. And that they should not stomp their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And "Oh you believers. Carry you all together towards Allah that you may obtain success." Now she asked for explanation. Now let's read this and give explanation. First we see the equality that G-d treats male and female morality with. It is the same. The human morality is one morality. Male morality is no different from female morality. The female morality is no different than the male morality.
That the woman is not to tempt the man to lust anymore than the man is to tempt the woman to lust. That a man must dress modestly and he must keep his lustful eyes away from the woman and the woman must dress modestly and keep her lustful eyes away from the man. That's number one to understand. Now let's go on a little more. It says, "Should not display their beauty and ornaments except what most already appears normally." That means that you shouldn't go to extremes like some women do. They look like prostitutes walking down the street. They got have all kind of makeup on. lipstick shining, legs waxed and just looking like they just ready to hop in the bed. Back in the days they used to also put bells on the ankles so when they walked they attract the man's attention to look down to see how nice their legs are or how nice she keep her feet. She was more concerned about a man seeing her feet, that she wasn't a common street worker. Or a poor bird walking the street. See how my feet are fixed up better than the baby. See how tender my feet look, how special they are cared for. I'm a special woman. I'm no ordinary whore in the street.
Same problem except what it means just like everybody else, don't stand out. The modest dress is a common dress. Most women, they dress modestly. But some women just put on anything. Or don't put too much on just so they stand out among everyone else. That's what it means. Don't try to stand out among the men or anybody else. And they should draw their veils over their bosoms. Now this is the Arabic Qur'an. The Chief Imam can go here and look at the Arabic.
All right now. Women in those days wore veils. Islam did not start women to wear veils. The Jews and others already were wearing veils, all right. The difference was that the Muslim woman had to be more concerned about covering up her breast than covering up her eyes. Don't wear a veil over your eyes or your face and show off your breast. Now don't you know some women like that? Cover up a small thing but show you a big thing. Yes. So, it told them to take their veil and cover up their breasts. And do not display that except to their husband. Now this word, the word in Arabic. I want to find the word for you in Arabic. Yes. Here it is. Zina. Zina means something that attracts attention. Something that attracts attention. And it means to attract attention. Means you want to be pretty, you want to look attractive. That would be Zina. Something that adds to your attractiveness. You know what time the mailman come. Here you are, go in the house, doll yourself up for the mailman. The mailman. You see the mailman with yourself looking all ready to go. "Hi" There was a brother, a husband who tells you his friend is coming over to the house. He told you he's bring a friend over. You go and dress up for the friend, looking all nice. Why you dressing up for the friend? You supposed to be dressing up for the husband.
And remember, Prophet Muhammad didn't come and start men having more than one wife. Men were having more than one wife, some of them. And we have been restricted to a limited number. And told that one is best for you if you only understood. So, there was a limit, it hadn't been stopped. So, there was a husband who had more than one even before the mission of Prophet Muhammad. Now let's look at the word and see. I know what it is. I just want to make sure. Could be relatives, other relatives that were not named and could be the members in the house that belongs to the members of the house. Could be people that live together in one house. But they live together. They don't have any problems. Maybe their cousins living in house. Sometime a relative might be living in the house. There could be other women. So, their women here is very general meaning. Other women that are not named among the relatives are the slave their right hand possess. Now this word is translated as slaves.
Why do you say slave? They had a reason. These types of servants, under Prophet Muhammad's leadership, were servants that had been captured in war. These people were adopted, accepted and allowed to be a part of the community. They were allowed to be sold back. If the army, the enemy army would pay what you called ransom. They were sold back to the enemy side. If they wanted to go back, you had to allow them to do so. So, you mean to tell me that the Muslims had to buy their own people back if they wanted to come back? Yes, that was the law. Now if I capture some of your people and you want to get them back, you have to pay a ransom. So those people who were captured in war, if they wanted to go back, the enemy side had to pay to get them back. And if they paid, they got them back. That was a rule that both sides respected. The Muslims had to pay to get their people back too. It was just a rule of war back in those days and still now it's still the rule. Many of them, in fact, the great majority, when they fell into the Muslims hands, after they fell into the Muslims hands, they decided they didn't want to go back. They wanted to stay with the Muslims. Somebody had to take care of them. Somebody had to give them housing, let them come in. So those Muslim who had more wealth, they would take these people in. And these people were put in the custody of those people. You understand?
Those people were captured in war. And they weren't violent, they didn't have anything against the Muslim society. They wanted to live in the Muslim country. They were put in the custody of powerful or wealthy people. So, in the custody of those people they were servants, but not really slaves. The Arabic word doesn't say slaves. It says servants. Slave of these Indians or Arabs doesn't mean slavery in our language. It means servant, that's all it means. If he hadn't had somebody who really does not understand and has no real interest in his religion and in the welfare of the Muslim, that person would have the Muslims use the word slave in the translation that I say shouldn't be there. Slave is an ugly word, it' an ugly word. And the Arabic is not ugly. The word literally means one who has been put into their charge. Those that have been put into their charge or custody. People in custody. And that's the way it should read. But it is not like that. Okay, let's continue now. It says whom their right hand possessed or the slave whom their right hand possessed are male servants free of physical needs. Now lets see this word.
It means just what it says. Men who have passed the age, are so old and there was no sign that they are open to the women anymore. Now not the grandpa that's still looking. They ain't talking about that kind. There are some old men, they finished and they give up. But some, they finished and don't give up. They ain't talking about the one that's finished and haven't given up. Talking about the one that's finished and gave up, ain't bothering the women no more. It's good for the Muslim to live the Qur'an. We don't do it. But I'm telling you. Sisters, you want to make your houses better. You want better relationship with your men. You want your men to be better and loving and more tender and loving to you. You want them to work harder for you and help you build a happy house and a happy life for yourself sister. Live the Muslim woman of the Qur'an. I'm telling you. Don't go dressing up and prettying up for company and outsiders. And do that for your own husband. And when the men folk come in the house, ask your husband, "Say dear, would you like me to come in? Do you want me to come in and be with your company?
Dont say "I ain't going nowhere. I can come out you and see sit with his company." What about when you have the sisters around, do you want him coming out and sitting down with the sisters? Don't you want him to make himself scarce? If you cared anything about him, if you really love him, why would you want your man sitting up there with your girlfriends? In America, the average man, when his friends come over, the woman will come in there and take over the room. In a real Muslim society, when the men come, the women call a man to answer the door. That's right. She calls a man to answer the door. She not getting up in every man face that's coming up to the door. One thing I'm telling you about the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He might have talked funny, but he ran his household with strength. You let my mother go run to the door and see he know that a brother is there. "Hold on, what are you doing Clara? What's the matter with you? Now I'm going to get me somebody in here that can answer that door. You stay away from it from now on." Now he never had to worry about that with my mother. I'm just telling you what he would have said. My mother would go to the door. She just didn't know who it was. She would tell him. I heard her ask. Sometimes she called him honey. That was her pets name for him. "Honey, she said, should I go answer that? And if he wanted her too he would say, "Yes, go answer that." And if he didn't want her to, if he thought it might be an outsider he would say, "No, you better let so and so go answer it." That's the way you should live. And if that sister have some company, get yourself out of the way. Don't be sitting up there trying to talk them like you a woman too. Get on out the way and let them sisters have their company. They should not strike their feet.
Oh yes, I missed now. Yes, "Or small children who have no sense of the shame effect." That means little minors. Now that child start sometimes, they ain't no more about three or four years old and they start noticing things. Once he start noticing, you have to start checking him. "And they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments." As I said in those days, the women, we can look right in the footnotes. Let's see what it says here. It is one of the tricks of unchaste women to strike their ankle ornaments to draw attention to themselves. I told you they used to wear bells, they had bells. So, when they walk they click, make a ringing sound to draw attention to their nicely cared for feet. And most likely when you look at the feet, she open the wrap a little bit. So, you see a little more than the feet. Whorish women, that's what they used to call them when I was a boy. Whorish women. "And all you believers, turn you all together towards G-d so that you may attain success. Or he says bliss here. But the success that Allah promises to us is happiness, paradise, freedom from sin. So, I have read these two verses now and I hope the sister has gotten the explanation that she was looking for and also the explanation she wasn't looking for that somebody else could have been looking for. The verses are 30 and 31. The chapter is chapter 24 and the Surah, the name of the Surah is the Light. Al Nur, the Light. In fact, I talked on this same idea, same teaching in the Qur'an, in Birmingham, Alabama when I was there Sunday, Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama. I talked on the problem of sex, the equality of sex. And how the woman and the man in Al Islam is treated the same. Most of us think that the Holy Qur'an is telling the man to lower his gaze. But it says to the woman too, lower her gaze, you see. Because she can be tempted just like the man can. And she can be lustful just like the man is lustful. You know they really misused both of us, haven't they? Yeah, they have misused and abused both the male female. Got the female thinking she's a tempter, tempting man to sin. And got the man thinking he is an oversexed dog. And he's just lustful, just out to rape everybody. Yeah, that's how they treat men.
My wife didn't believe that women rape men. Wallace, what you talking about? I said girl, don't you know women rape men? You always talking about men raping women. She said, "Ah, ain't no woman raped no man." But Allah bought it out. It was there right on the news. Woman rapes man." I said, woman didn't I just tell you women rape men. The reason why you don't hear about it is because the society has made the man feel that he's not supposed to tell nobody as woman did anything to him. A woman beat him up, he ain't supposed to tell nobody about that. If she rapes him, he ain't supposed to tell nobody about that. A man, if he see a bunch of women coming down the street, he is going to check them out. He's going to look at their faces. Are these rough women or women who mean him good? We both have the same nature. Just watch the animals. You got women in heat just like you got men in heat, don't you? Yes. Well, the man has just been trained to tell you what he wants. But the woman has been trained to pretend she don't want what he want. It's just the society, right? They have trained the woman to pretend that she don't want what you want. Now let's change the subject a little bit. We gonna get ready to get out of here, I know it's late. But believe me, this is what keeps us from Satan.



