1978-August-18

Bilalian News

Our True Guardian: Part 1

Imam W. D. Muhammad

With the Name Allah, the Gracious, the Compassionate. As-Salaam-Alaikum

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 blessing 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:

1 was wondering how to begin this address today and the lost little girl saved me from having to think of how to begin.

In our religious language the female is sometimes used as a symbol representing the community or society, and we know that we do have a lost society. We may think we have solved all of our problems, but we must remember there are still many others who haven't begun to solve their problems.

I think that Allah just wanted to remind us with this little girl as a sign because she wasn't really lost-See how quickly they found her. She wasn't really lost.

I believe God has just given us a sign. He wants to remind us that there are still others that must be reconnected with their true guidance, their true guardian.

Who is our true guardian? Our Creator, Almighty God Allah, that's our true guardian. And there are some of us who are still looking for that connection again with the true guardian, Almighty God Allah,

We shouldn't forget once we find our peace with Allah and have settled again in faith, we have to get up and go out and call others to the way of God so that they will find that true connection again with their guardian who is Almighty God.

Dear beloved people, this is a wonderful day here today. This is a great day. There is nothing else happening today on the face of this Earth as big as what's happening right here in Chicago's Grant Park in this gathering of Bilalians, African-Americans, and people who don't know they are Muslims.

When we say Muslim, the people say, "Why does he always have to talk to the Muslims? Why is it so necessary for everybody to be Muslims?" If you could speak Arabic, you wouldn't ask so many questions.

The word Muslim means one yielding the will to the will of God. Christians are taught to be Muslims, Jews are taught to be Muslims, Muslims are taught to be Muslims and we understand what the word means. We are to yield our will to the will of God so that we will have no false leadership in our society.

Can we follow individuals? No. We can't follow individuals unless the individual leads us with the banner of truth. If the individual takes up the word of God and leads us with that banner, then we can follow that individual.

For the Muslim, the pure and perfect banner is the Holy Book called the Quran. For the Jew, it is the Torah. For the Christians, it's the Gospel. But we are all part of one original body.

We are different communities but we belong to one spiritual body. We are united by the great prophets of Almighty God who didn't come from different gods, but came from the same God. Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad and all the rest came from the same God and they brought us a message from that same source.

We may differ as communities, but we are united in the prophets because all of us accept those prophets. Muslims must accept every prophet of God. The Muslim must not give one qualification or one legitimacy and take it away from another. No — they are all equally legitimate.

God says to us that we must not distinguish between their legitimacy. They are all equally legitimate because God sent them all. Abraham, Moses, Jesus. Muhammad and all the rest.

Isn't that enough to unify us? Isn't that the common denominator that we need to remove the problem of denominations? Yes. That's all we need, that one common denominator that overrides.

I have my denomination, you have your denomination, but there's a denominator that binds us all together: that is the word of God and His prophets.

Let us work together because we are one people. Allah says to us in our Holy Book,'' Muslims go all together as though in a race toward everything that is good."

Allah speaks to the general religious community of the whole Earth in the same way. He says to all the religious people — the followers of Moses, the followers of Jesus and the followers of Muhammad — Allah, Almighty God, the Most Praised One says, "Go you all together as though in a race after all that is good."

Wouldn't that be a beautiful world if Christians, Muslims and Jews, ail people who believe in the true and Almighty God, all went in competition with each other to do good?

That's what God means when He says go in a race. I'm trying to get the prize, you're trying to get the prize, but we're all running the same race. We're not running against each other, we are running together after the same thing.

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,
Wallace D, Muhammad
(To be continued)