1978-June-9

Bilalian News

The Principles of Al-lslam

Imam W. Deen Muhammad

With the Name Allah (In the Name of God), the Gracious, the Compassionate

As-Salaam-Alaikum

(Excerpts from a Khutbah delivered by Emam Wallace D. Muhammad at Jumah Prayer, March 10, 1978 -continued from last week.)

Dignity comes in this religion. Allah asks us to perform Hajj. He asks us above all other things to be a living witness to one God and one God only, and that He sent His Universal Messenger, and prayers. The Holy Quran tells us to guard our prayers — to watch over it.

Prayer is essential for my health, for my life, for my happiness. Shouldn't I guard it? Shouldn't I watch over it?

Allah tells us, also, to give charity and to fast the month of Ramadan. Fasting makes it possible for us to give charity.

If a human being just eats, eats, eats; take, take, take — never fasts, then pretty soon the forces of greed take him over and when he knows anything, he doesn't have his own life.

His own life is taken away from him by wild appetites. "Oh, I wish I could get my life back," he says. "Can anybody tell me how to fast? Does anybody have a weight reducing plan? I wish I could get my life back."

God tells us after fasting to make Hajj. Here are the five. We have five now, it's complete.

When you look at man, you see five — five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot. Five points in the whole body, the tip of the hands, the tips of the feet and the head make five points.

Five stands out in his very being. The Holy Quran has established for us five fundamental principles. The last of those is Hajj.

Wholeness. Isn't that what we suffer for, wholeness?

We want to be one with creation because we are creation. We want to be one with flesh, because we are flesh. We want to be one with the good human spirit, the good human sentiments of the heart. We are sentimental beings.

So we want to be one. Oneness comes when we accept all people into our family.

We make the Hajj — the Nigerian comes, the Moroccan, the Englishman, the Chinese, the Filipino, the Japanese, the Indian — all come there.

They all come to one place. When they come they are not coming as tribes. They have to put down their tribal banners and pick up La-illaha-ila-Allah, Muhammadan, Rasul-Allah. Yes!

One God, one leadership, one family of men, one community. That's how they have to come. They can't come with their nationalism. They have to come in the spirit of obedience to God.

One flesh, following one way. One community of people yielding their wills to Almighty God; that's how they have to come.

His is the oneness. When we come to that we have what our hearts desire. If we will accept just the fundamental principles of Al-lslam and live those, apply them in our daily lives, and live them.

You don't have to go to Hajj to practice Hajj. I think it was one scholar in Al-lslam that said, "The biggest Hajj is the Hajj of self-control."

If you can control yourself so that yourself doesn't disobey God's instruction, you have made the biggest Hajj.

When we go to Hajj the biggest test is the test on your ability to control yourself. You want to do things like you've been doing them at home, but over there you can't. You have to do things like they should be done so that everybody gets along.

You want to do your little private thing, but you can't have it there.

You might want to get up and call somebody or turn on the radio and listen to your favorite broadcast, but you can't do it there. You might want to go to your favorite restaurant where you've been getting your breakfast every morning, but you can't do it there.

You might want to put on your favorite cap, you can't do it there. You might want to talk your favorite talk, you can't do it there. There, the talk is Unity! Oneness! Hajj! Obedience to God!

(To be continued)

Peace be to you.
Your brother in service to Allah,
Wallace D. Muhammad