1988-January-15

Muslim Journal

"An Islamic Formula for a Successful Life" : Part 5
Los Angeles, California — November 15, 1987

Imam W. Deen Mohammed

Their light is getting dimmer and other lights are competing with their lights, and from every apparent, it seems like their light is going to lose place to the light of other people. Already, the industry has been eclipsed by Japan, Korea, and a few other small nations. In fact, the future for them seems so hopeless, that they have already given up, trying to keep leadership in industry for the American people. Yes, they have already given up. Their strategy now is to benefit from putting their eggs in many baskets, or investing in the international world, or allowing the international world to invest in America. That's the strategy for continued life, for the American society. Right? And if you read or listen to the news, if you are serious-minded, then I think you know that.

So it's a new day, and a new opportunity, and the less ignorant people (when I say ignorant here, I don't mean stupid — some of you are much more intelligent, than white people that are running big things) are cheated. He (the white man) has a sense of reality, and his place in it that you don't have. So his sense of reality and his place in it, is a motivation in his life, and you need motivation. All it takes is a pretty woman, or a little dust in the nose, and the poor black achiever is finished. Because he doesn't have a motivation that's stronger as an intoxicant than coke. My motivation is stronger than coke. Coke can't do anything for me; that stuff is too weak. My sense of place in the cosmic reality, and sense of place at home on earth; knowledge of my purpose, my aim, the destiny that God created me for, it's so much more valuable, so much more important. It places more value on my intellect, than to take some dust and put in my nose, to interfere with the normal function of this kingdom. Hell no!

Devious, competing nations, have always used human weakness, to bring down their competitors. Competing nations will go and pretend to be paying homage to their competitors, and bring all the pretty whores in the kingdom. And the leaders of the government that they are in competition with, start going to bed with one of those whores, man, and never wake up. Or either they will sell them on habit and foolishness. Christian African-American, if you look in the Bible carefully, you can come up with a lot of help for yourself. I read this statement in the Bible, and said how come more Blacks are not giving this as a word of caution to our people. If they are Christians, they should be using the helpful guidance that's in their religion, for their people. It's much better to say you are saved than to ask me am I saved - do I love Jesus Christ, do you love the Lord Christ. It's much better for you to say something else to me. I don't love my mother, I don't love my father, I don't love my brothers and sisters, I don't love myself, and you come asking me if I love Jesus (peace be upon him).

So you know, I have all the respect for Christ Jesus, but not this poor image of Christ Jesus that the American public has. "Oh do you love Jesus? Have you been born again? Is Christ your personal savior?" We can help each other much better by saying 'my people are destroyed by wine and song." Yes! And that's the truth. Entertainment, foolishness, wine, intoxicants, playfulness, songs and dance, dominates the life of the black city man. Am I right or wrong? It's plain; we don't have to argue about this. This is plain; everybody recognizes truth right away. The black city man's life is dominated by foolishness, entertainment, and dissipating pleasure, pleasures that dissipates his valuable resources. That's what he's dominated by. Now how in the world can we compete with learned society, with the new age that's coming in — how can we compete with them, and they have great tradition, strong family traditions, strong disciplines in their life, that dictates their behavior; as a group, not as an individual only, but they have philosophy and discipline, that governs their behavior as a group, as a limit to how far (the Japanese and other races and nationalities as a group) there's a limit to how far they will go in indulging themselves in this dissipating pleasure thing.

They drink that wine very carefully, and in small doses. But we live for it; we work five days a week, to spend all of our checks on it. Now, I know you've heard this before, but as long as this problem exists for the ignorant masses, we have to work on the problem. We have to address the problem: 'my people are destroyed by wine and song.' 'My people are destroyed by a lack of knowledge.' These are sayings from the Bible; this is what the preacher should be saying. The preacher ought to come to his pulpit and say 'Amen my people are destroyed by wine and song, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Amen, pass the bucket and let's go home.'

But instead he's going to cater to your weaknesses, he's going to give you some church wine and church song, and play it until you go crazy out of your mind. He isn't satisfied until you lose your senses, and just go limp in your seat. Then he thinks he can really preach. He did preach. See, 'preach' is a reach — p-r-e-a-c-h. 'Preach' is a reach, with a "p" preceding it. It's a reach, and a blind man. he reaches, but if he wants to teach, he should say, 'my people are being destroyed by wine and song, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. People. God go with you. Amen, pass the bucket.'

What is the aim of bringing this concept to you and getting you to feel the sense, your identity in the cosmic reality? The freedom for you is in the cosmic reality. You don't understand that this idea has practical benefits. God has said to man. that He created the universe and He placed man in the garden, and He charged man to keep the garden, He made him responsible for that wonderful environment. He made him a responsible being in that wonderful environment. Don't violate the order of this environment, but complement it; don't introduce contrary things, but build upon the wondrous things, that God has provided. This is what God charges man with, when He put him in that wondrous environment. And He told the man that He had made all of these things for his benefit, for his service, He made all of these things — the Bible says that He put all of these things under man. Our Scripture saves us from the pitfalls in that kind of idea, by telling us, no.

God didn't put you over all of these things, God made all of these things to yield their treasures, their benefits to you. The fish in the sea. the Bible says, the water and the land and everything, the air and the things above, that's what the Bible says. And our Scripture says the same, but without the pitfalls. It even says, that He has sakhra shams, the sun. We've read about it: He has made the sun to yield its benefits to you. And now we see it. That's cosmic man. When God tells me that he made resources: for me. as far as I can see, sun, climate, rain, winds, plants, animals, mountains, treasures in the earth and in the sea, Allah says in this Book, my God. my Maker, says in this Book, that He made all of that to render (yield i benefits and service to me.

That makes me cosmic man. My field of resources extends beyond the earth itself. Practical, because right now industry is trying to utilize more and more sun energy to get away from the problems of gas and other fuels that pollute the air. A long time ago before man even thought of that, there was strong evidence of the practical benefits in that philosophical concept of man. In fact, we can't even say it's philosophical today, anymore, can we? Philosophical means it has wisdom, logic, therefore it has benefits, it has reality, it has relationship, it has place in connection with you, therefore, it has benefits. That's a simple way of saying what philosophy says. But we can't limit it any more to purely philosophical concepts; it has proven practical benefits.

You need to expand your mind, and accept what Allah says about you. Allah is our Creator. Allah is our Maker and we have to accept what He says about us. And Allah says more about Warithuddin Muhammad, more about Wallace D. Muhammad, Allah says more about me than science. Western science identifies me with the animal, with the monkeys. Some scientists say there's an evolution, that there are unexplained things in the evolution of man coming from ape and monkey. Some scientific viewpoints from Western man. say that the human being now is a product of a freakish thing that occurred in nature, or a product of a fault in nature. Now isn't that kind of thinking the same that is found in the so-called true interpretation or true reading of the Bible? Man is conceived in iniquity, born in sin. not fit as God created him, therefore he has to be born again of the divine, he has to be God-man, in order to save man. He cannot just be man and be a type for man's salvation. He must be God's man — man-god to save man. I'm telling you, this kind of stuff on the minds of the people keeps them servants. And don't look to me, I'm speaking nothing but what God has revealed.

So here we are caught up in the entrapment by the white man's racial arguments. African-Americans are bearing and carrying a terrible identity problem, an identity crisis; they can't come up with a comfortable view of themselves. 'I'm black,' and he decides to live with that. Tell me what is the difference between saying Tm black' and 'I'm Negro.' What is the difference? I'll tell you the difference. You're saying you're 'black and you don't know what you are saying. If you say you're Negro, it's because 'negro' means 'black' in Spanish. So when we were calling ourselves 'Negro,' we were calling ourselves 'black,' but we were calling ourselves 'black' without a knowledge.

And why did we call ourselves 'Negro'? Because the white man conditioned us to not call ourselves Africans. The white man who comes over here from Europe, he doesn't say I'm a white man. He only says he's a white man when the subject of white and black comes up. The white man doesn't come over here and say 'I'm a white man,' he says 'I'm a Caucasian.' 'Caucasian' means he traces his origin to the areas in Europe called the Caucasus Mountains. And many of them are as white as Caucasians will not call themselves Caucasians, because they are not from that area: they don't trace their origins from that. So most of these whites will not say 'Caucasian'; they will not say 'white.' They will tell you who they are. They will say 'I'm Spanish.' 'I'm Italian,,' Tm Greek.' 'I'm Yugoslavian,' 'I'm Albanian.' 'I'm German,' That's what they tell them. And when they come over here and identify over here on this land they say, 'I'm German-American,' 'French-American,' 'Italian-American.' Right? We are the only ones with an identity that goes no further than the rainbow. Now isn't that a fact?

Therefore, Jesse can lead all of us. One leader. Jesse. Jesse is enough for me.' Not to reject Jesse — I don't reject him. I think he is very useful, perhaps more useful to the media and the white man than he is to us, but he's useful to us too.

So now to come closer to the real field of influence. Though our field of human influence is on the earth, that's where we will carry out most of our great tasks and achievements, according to God's plan. Even if we go to the moon, where was the feat accomplished? On earth. You have to accomplish the feat on earth to get to the moon. So, we may go out to the boundaries that God has invited us to go out to, and mind you. God also warns us, that any who seeks to steal a peek into the boundaries out there, if your intentions are not right, he has already set up guards out there; flaming stars or meteors. Stars will strike you and come against you out there. Now we know that this is to be understood or interpreted, although we know that many intruders have been knocked down by shooting, flaming bodies. So that happens too.

In fact, time says that most of these bodies that are seemingly resting in peace, now, in the cosmic reality, survive great waves of bombardment from colliding bodies in the heavens.

There's another idea that we should come to, that will make us stronger and prepare our inner conditions for greater tasks out here in the world, and that is the idea that heaven itself was not perfect and not permanent. It's very clear in both religions that heaven was created by Allah, but an adversary manifested itself in heaven, and caused the fall of heavenly beings. And we didn't even know that. We have these quick notions and quick ideas about things.

(To be continued)