1975-October-31
Muhammad Speaks
The Seal Is Broken
Imam W. D. Muhammad
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"And I sow in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
"And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?"
—Revelation 5: 1,2
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In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; Peace and Blessings upon His Servant and His Messenger, Muhammad, forever, Amen.
As-Salaam –Alaikum
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
When we speak to you about the death and the resurrection of religion, we are not only talking about the death of the religious spirit or the death of the appreciation for the value of religion in our society — but we are also talking about the death of religious knowledge. The death of religious knowledge also causes the death of the meaning of religion and the death of the knowledge of scriptural language.
There are many verses in the Bible that tell us of the death of the religious language by "sealing the word/' To seal means to close, to lock up, or to protect from others.
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"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
"And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my lord, what shall be the end of these things?
"And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end."
—Daniel 12:4,8,9
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Darkness And Famine
We are also told in the Bible that the sun would go down on the prophets. In this scriptural terminology, "sun" means the light of understanding. The Bible is forewarning us that the world would come to a time when it would neither be able to see (distinguish) truth from falsehood nor prophet from impostor. In that time, the language of scripture would be lost from the people.
Again, the Bible says that there would come a time when there would be a famine all over the earth — not a famine of food, but a famine of hearing the word of God:
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"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
"And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and from to seek the word of the lord, and shall not find it.:
—Amos 8: 11, 12
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Religion Gives Life
In the Bible we have clear language and clear prophecies telling us that one day religion would be lost in the world and people would have to be blessed for religion to reappear in its true form in the world. Brother and Sister, right now we are living in a time when religion has been dead. We are truly blessed that now, in our day and time, Almighty God has blessed us with the Presence of Divine Mind to bring the truth of religion to light before the world again.
The world has known some religious teachings in our modern time because there are always righteous people who love God, truth, and human kindness. The desire to want to do what is right and what is just is natural in human beings, but that does not mean that religion is alive in its proper sense just because the spirit of goodness is alive in the people.
In order for religion to be alive, we must have the knowledge of religion alive among us. When the knowledge of religion is alive among us, religion is alive. Then religion can give us life in the form and after the nature of the true religion as it was given in the language (revealed words) to the prophets of God.
An Unnatural Society
Ask yourself if you have an explanation for the evils, the injustices, the confusion, the filth, the apathy, the lack of concern for each other, the cruelties, the senseless destruction, the killings and the vandalism that exist in the society today. Can all of these things exist if the true religion of Almighty God is alive among the people?
Do you think that the living religion of God is so weak that it would allow all of these evils to grow and to increase in its presence? It is not so weak that it would allow the spirit in the home and the spirit in the community to rise up in a strange image that is opposed to true religion. The unnatural conditions that we know to exist in the society today could not exist in the life of true religion.
True Religious Atmosphere
In our communities we hear the preaching of Christianity in the churches and the preaching of Judaism in the synagogues, but still the atmosphere in the community and the atmosphere in the majority of our homes is not the atmosphere of true religion.
True religious atmosphere is an atmosphere of intelligence, compassion, respect for one's self, respect for each other, sympathy, self - value, and an understanding of the value of others.
The story of "The Good Samaritan” in the Bible (Luke 10: 25-37) is a good example which shows that true religion is the religion that sees the physical and moral needs of the people. Then that religion has the courage, the compassion, and the strength to do something about the people's needs. A religion of this kind is not seen in the Western society of today, except in the work of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the West.
Courage Of The Prophets
We have come through a period of history in the world when the spirit of religion has been dead in the society because the word is dead. It is impossible for you to receive the clear, straight, pure word of scripture or revelation and not come to life (alive in religion). You will come alive to the needs of your fellowmen and you will do something about the pitiful condition of yourself and others.
Read the history of the prophets in the Bible and the Holy Quran. Once they received the Word of God, they got the courage and the strength to stand up and face all kind of opposition that faced them in their environment. They would challenge all the unrighteous people, stand up against mighty kings, stand up against powerful armies, and fight for the truth that Almighty God had revealed to them.
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26. Say :"0 God!
Lord of Power (and Rule),
Thou givest Power
To whom Thou pleasest,
And Thou strippest off Power
From whom Thou pleasest,
Thou enduest with honour
Whom Thou pleasest,
And Thou bringest low
Whom Thou pleasest :
In Thy hand is all Good.
Verily, over all things
Thou hast power.
27. "Thou causes! the Night
To gain on the Day,
And Thou causest the Day
To gain on the Night:
Thou bringest the Living
Out of the Dead,
And Thou bringest the Dead
Out of the Living;
And Thou givest sustenance
To whom Thou pleasest
Without measure."
Holy Quran Translation by Yusuf Ali; Sura III Verses 26-27
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Power Of God's Word
The Prophets of God were human beings like we are human beings. If the Word of God had such great power on them, why doesn't the so -called "word of God" that is preached today produce the same results in our lives? Not only were the Prophets of God moved to show great strength, compassion, and determination to do what was right no matter what the consequences were, but those people who accepted the Word of God from the prophets also showed this kind of strength.
The language that you hear when you read religious scripture is a language that has been lost for many, many years since the meaning was originally given to the people. Today you have the words, but you don't have the true meanings because the language has been sealed from your understanding.
Life Within And Life Without
The Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the West (the Body-Christ) has been blessed with the Light of Divine Mind which has broken the seals on the mysteries and the hidden meanings of the Book and the Wisdom. Understanding the language of scripture has given us the knowledge to make the True Religion of God come to life in our midst. We have life within and life without.
Thank you for honoring us with your time to read these few words.
Your Brother, W.D. Muhammad |