1980-August-22

Bilalian News

The Believers Will Be Victorious: Part 1

Imam Warith Deen Muhammad

With the Name Allah, the Gracious, the Compassionate.

(Editor's note: Following are excerpts from Imam Warith Deen Muhamniad's Jumah Prayer Khutbah delivered at Masjid Honorable Elijah Muhammad, April 4, 1980.)

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.
0 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 the them, and upon us in America and throughout the world:

Dear beloved Muslims, I'd like to begin this Khutbah with the reading of verses from Quran, the chapter entitled "Al-Mu'Minum." (Arabic...) The verses I have read are the first 11 verses of Sura Mu'minum (Sura XXIII). I will now read the English translation as given here by Maulana Yusuf Ali:

"The Believers must eventually win through. Those who humble themselves in their prayers, who avoid vain talk._ who are active in deeds of charity, who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in marriage bond, or the captives of whom their right hands possess, for in their case they are free from blame. But those whose desires exceed these limits are transgressors. Those who faithfully observe their trust and their covenant; and who strictly guard their prayers, those will be the heirs who will inherit Paradise. They will dwell therein forever." And Allah speaks the truth.

Dear beloved Believers, there is nothing worthy of our worship except the One who created everything. Anything else that we give our devotion to above the Creator will eventually corrupt us and bring about our destruction. In being called to the one Allah, who has created everything, we're being called to salvation. Because that is salvation for His creatures; when His creatures worship Him, that is their salvation. When they turn to other things that He has created, other things of the world, that is their destruction.

Dear beloved Believers, we want now to give some thought to these verses. These verses give us description of the Believers. It is titled, "The Believers" — "Al-Mu'minum." And it says first of all that the Believers will be victorious; the Believers will never fail.

It says secondly that the Believers are thou who humble themselves in their prayers. I their prayers they are fearful of the wrath ( God; they are fearful of God's wrath. They at praying in honesty, in sincerity; they at praying with hearts devoted to Him and Hi cause. And they are aware that if they thin wrong, they are subject to be punished b Him. Not to act wrong, but even if they thin wrong, they are afraid.
People who pray like that are indeed Believers. People who pray to, Allah with fez in them, fear of Him, fear of His judgment, fez of the way He is going to treat them, they at indeed the Believers.

"Who avoid vain talk" — talk that is wasteful, has no good purpose. It is no promoting any good, it is just done for fun. ft amusement — foolish talk, idle talk. The true Believers don't like to indulge in such talk.
"Who are active in deeds of charity" — the are the ones who are doing charity. A sinter Believer cannot live today and tomorrow an let the days go on and on and not do something for others. The sincere Believer feels obligate( Those who go around expecting nothing but help to come for themselves, who have nothing but a hand extended out to get something but never extend a hand out to give anything, the are not the true Believers.

"Who abstain from sex except with thou that they are married to lawfully- — those who are in a marriage bond with them. "Or those among the captives that they have charge over.”
Many scholars in Al-Islam have discussed this verse, and they agree unanimously that this means that the Muslims of that time under Prophet Muhammad, when there was war and captives — wives without husbands -the Muslims were allowed to take wives from among their captives. Not to have some illegal sex with the captives, no — they weren’t allowed to do that.

Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him, himself married such a woman. But he married her; there was a formal marriage was publicly announced.
That is the case with all the marriages in Al-Islam. There must be a formal, legal marriage Al-Islam does not accept concubines — only wives. Marriage must not be primarily for sex

The father or the one in the family who is the guardian there will give the hand of the Muslim girl in marriage to the Muslim man. But he requires proof of your ability to provide for that Muslim girl. A dowry is very important in the Muslim marriage. Satisfying the guardian is also very important in the Mush, marriage, although it is not always that ye have to satisfy the guardian.

If the daughter or woman is of mature age, she may marry you against the wishes of her father or her guardian. But that's not, liked in Islamic society. It should be with the consent and with the good wishes of the parent.

What we have to understand in this part of the world, since we read the Quran in English. most of us, and don't know the Arabic and don't know the history, we have to know that Al-Islam only recognizes one form of marriage: that is the legal, lawful, open marriage — not secret.

Again, here we look at the character of the Believer. In Verse 8 — "Those who faithfully observe their trust and their covenant." Believers are conscientious people. They don't like breaking their word: they don't like failing their promises. They are careful to try to do what they promised. They don't make promises with the intent to break them: they make promises with the intent to keep them.

"Who strictly guard their prayers.” The Muslim is not one who prays when he feels like it or prays out of formality. He sees his prayer as an obligation on him — a very, very basic obligation! Allah says in the Quran — highly glorified and praised — "Salat for the Believer is prescribed for regular observance."

Not any time we choose to observe: in the morning before sunrise: in the noonday right after the sun passes the zenith point; when the sun descends about a quarter of the distance away from that point; after the sun sets, and; before we retire at night.
These prayers are at prescribed and stated times. The attitude of the Believer is not to excuse himself, it's not to take personal liberties in this religion. The attitude of a Believer is to obey Allah. And to obey Allah, we must obey Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

We are to obey Allah and obey His Messenger. We are not to take liberties in our religion — to interpret our religion, and change things that have been established over a long period of time and there is all kinds of evidence to support it.

Don't say, "I don't have to pray," say, "I haven't developed the habit yet of keeping up my prayers," Don't say we have some excuse because we are Americans; don't say we have some excuse because of our job situations; don't say we have an excuse because the culture here doesn't provide time for us to leave our job and other duties to pray, say, "The condition, the situation is not yet favoring Salat in this country — I haven't yet found a way to carry out my responsibilities in spite of these conditions."

Never excuse your weakness, because passing over your weakness makes you weaker. Pretty soon you are excusing yourself from something else that is very important. Soon we'll see you and you are not even a Muslim.

"Who strictly guard their prayers. They are the inheritors," the plural of "Warith." "They are the Warithun,' those who will inherit the Paradise, they will abide therein."
We ask Allah to keep our hearts in this religion and to keep our hearts healthy and sound so that we don't deviate from the great way that He has guided us upon. The heart is the cause of us turning back. The Muslim says in his Du'a — "Our Guardian, Evolver, and Cherisher, keep our hearts from deviating after you have guided us; and grant us from your presence, mercy."