1980-September-5

Bilalian News

The Believers Will Be Victorious

Imam Warith Deen Muhammad

The Believers Will Be Victorious

With the Name Allah, the Gracious, the Compassionate.

(Editor's note: Following are excerpts from Imam Warith Deen Muhammad's Jumah Prayer Khutbah delivered at Masjid Honorable Elijah Muhammad. April 4.1980. — Continued from the last two weeks.)

All praise is due to Almighty God, the Guardian, Evolver and Sustainer of all the worlds. The blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah to us all.
O Allah, guide us, forgive us our faults, and grant us the blessings of faith. I bear witness there is no deity except Allah, and I bear witness Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger. Peace be upon him, his descendants, his companions, the righteous servants, all of them, and upon us in America and throughout the world:

Allah says in the Quran, glory be to Him, "Reverence Allah with the respect that is justly due Him."

Let me now read the verses from Chapter III, beginning with the 15th Verse — after the quote that was just given.

...For the righteous are Gardens
In nearness to their Lord,
With rivers flowing beneath:
Therein is their eternal home;
With Companions pure (and holy):
And the good pleasure of Allah.
'And in Allah's sight
Are all His servants.
Namely those who say:
"Our Lord! we have indeed
Believed: forgive us then.
Our sins, and save us
From the agony of the fire.
Those who show patience.
Firmness and self-control;
Who are true (in word and in deed);
Who worship devoutly;
Who spend (in the way of Allah,):
And who pray for forgiveness
In the early hours of the morning.
It is witnessed by Allah that there exists
Nothing worthy of worship except Him.
And the Angels, and those endured
With knowledge are standing firm
On justice.

How come we break justice when we corrupt the purity of worship? We break the law of Justice because the law of justice and the purity of worship are intertwined and coexisting — they affect each other. The law of justice depends on the right worship of Creator. If you give worship to gods that are not God, it breaks the justice. We can't have justice in a society that doesn't have the right worship of God.

I've gotten my conversion by inheritance. My conversion is by inheritance, not by the Imams. "Oh, we don't like that kind of talk!  He thinks he's something special." No, I think this religion is something special. It shouldn't be played with; it should be lived seriously.
"Certainly the religion with Allah is Al-Islam." Not Judaism, not Christianity, not your own ideas. "Nor did the people of the Book differ therefrom, except through envy of each other after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the signs of Allah. Allah is swift in calling to account."

What should we give special attention to here? The eye-opening words — "They didn't differ, until knowledge had come to them." Envy came between them. People vie for superiority in knowledge just like they do for money. When money comes, people get greedy; they get in the contest with each other for the money. When the knowledge comes, they are that same people. If they behaved that way in the face of money, they will behave that way in the face of anything that they think will be a great value.

That's because we were envious of the position of leadership. We couldn't get it all for ourselves, so we decided that we would have our little special organization, our little special sect.
Don't think you'll have any problem in this life that Allah hasn't already dealt with in jthis Quran. We have this temptation, E, this weakness to be the big-shot, to get all of the attention, to be number one in the limelight. It's a worse problem for those who are so-called intellectuals. If they can't get us by walking the straight path, they'll step off and walk the crooked path.

The wise, ancient sage said that in the human being is every animal of the forest. Allah says, highly praised is He, in the heavens and in the Earth, and in that which operates between them as well as in yourself, are instructing signs from Allah.

Should that exclude the dog? What is he a sign of? — A sign of your innocence; a sign of your big loving heart. The human being, in his innocence, has a big loving heart. That strong loving heart can give itself in devotion to its master and become so loyal that it will risk its own life, that it will operate on an inferior level for its master. Fight an enemy that's too much for it, respond to the affections of its master, for as long as its master wants to be affectionate.

Can't we say that these animals do in some way represent or symbolize the faculties in man?
Don't we abuse our dog, that thing that people abuse and just take advantage of? ...When your intelligence is going against your well-being, the heart comes to the rescue. It says, "That's wrong — don't do that. You're going to get in trouble. That's not justice.
Our Holy Prophet said of Bilal in a Hadith, he heard him walking in the Paradise ahead of himself. Not that a person is going to walk ahead of Prophet Muhammad in Paradise, but Bilal represents a faculty in the Prophet. He was heart — Bilal was heart. And heart will go in ahead of the intellect. Isn't that what scripture says?

My Lord! The Prophet is telling us how we can be saved. You'll be saved by keeping your heart right. And again Allah says, never will He change the state of a people, until they change the states of their souls. If you can take the right spiritual attitude, if you can take the right moral attitude and begin to want righteousness in yourself and justice for self and others, Allah will come to your aid and change your condition.

"So if they dispute with you, say 'I have submitted my whole self to Allah. And so have those who follow me.' And say to the people of the Book and to those of the Pagans, 'Do you also submit yourselves?' If they do, they are in right Guidance."

The word "Imam" has different meanings. It means leader. The word Imam is even applied to a body of knowledge, to an office, to a responsibility. It's not just applied to human beings. Why? Because we also follow a body of knowledge. Actually the body of knowledge is a bigger Imam than any of us. But a community needs its human Imam, because there is always going to be some human being in a community excelling others and having more qualifications for the job.

We say in the Du'ah which is in the Quran, "Our Guardian, Evolver, and Cherisher, keep our hearts from deviating, after you have guided us aright. And give us from your presence, Mercy. Surely, you are the One to grant favors." Allah-u-Akbar.

Allah is the perfect being. Allah is all righteous, truthful — no imperfections in Allah. Allah is Supreme and Perfect without any imperfections.
O Allah. Make us of those who purify themselves and of those who repent, and guide us in your path. Amen.

Peace be to you Your brother in service to Allah.