Imam Warith Deen Mohammed

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3/14/2008

Conversation in Boston

Support Religion For Social Dignity and Community Empowerment

With Allah’s name, the praise and the thanks is for G-d. We thank Him for the gift and blessing of the model human person Muhammad (pbuh). The honorable and noble servant and Messenger of G-d and what follows of that salute or that traditional salutation to the last Prophet (pbuh), the seal of the Prophets mentioned in the Bible as it is given in the Quran.

Imam Warith Deen Mohammed

Praise be to Allah. We say, "Al-Hamdulillahi Rabbil 'ala'ameen." The praise and the thanks is for Allah, the one G-d, Who is the Sustainer, Lord and Cherisher of the worlds. We witness that He is One and One alone, not sharing responsibility for the maintenance of the universe and our own lives. We witness that Muhammad pbuh is His last Prophet.

Prophet Muhammad pbuh was to come in prophecy and also by way of the prophetic Office of the prophets. That prophecy is fulfilled in him, and the matter is completed. It is concluded. We pray the traditional salute, asking the prayers and the peace be upon him, and what follows of that salutation among Muslims to the last Prophet. Upon us be peace and G-d's Mercy and His Guidance. We ask always that Allah (swt) bless our efforts, and purify our intention for the efforts, and then reward our efforts, for He is the best to reward. As He says in His own Book, the Holy Qur'an, He is the best to reward efforts.

The Muslim agenda is based upon what Allah (swt) has revealed to us as our responsibility in the Qur'an and in the life of His Messenger, His Servant Messenger Muhammad, the prayers and the peace be on him.

We think the topic, the subject that we are addressing here is a subject that really needs to be presented to the general society of America, particularly to the African American people in the society of this country, whether they believe like we do or not in religion; because we, more than any other people, have unusual kinds of problems, or peculiar difficulties coming to grips with or accepting our social responsibility.

Social Responsibility

The word "social" refers directly to human relationships in society. The first social obligation is to one's closest members, our families. But the social obligation extends outside of your family community into the general community.

Three Circles: Family, religious community, general

community

I would say for people who try to establish their lives in accordance with the ideas that they have in their religion, they have three circles that they have to be aware of as circles for their lives and their livelihood, the first being the family, as we already said. The second would be their religious community and the third would be the general community. That is the situation for us. We have to be concerned for our families first, then for the Muslim community, and lastly, for the general community, the town, beginning with the neighborhoods where we live, because it is non-Muslim. I don't think we have any Muslim neighborhoods yet. We hope to have some. So you have to begin with your neighborhood, and most likely even your neighbor next door.

What Islam Wants For Us

I think this topic is one that needs more discussion openly, publicly that is, not just in institutions. We know these institutions are working on social problems and they also create social problems; not that we are not doing something wrong, too. We make mistakes, too, because we are not in the light. We have those three circles, and two of those circles belong to us as Muslims — our families and our Muslim community.

A knee pops up, a foot pops up, and the Mother says, "What is this? This is a tough one I've got here. This is an active one here!"

Frederick Douglas

In the circumstances of the plantation slave life we gave birth to great minds. Frederick Douglass, perhaps the most notable one of them all, was born a slave. He lived as a slave until he was a young man, then he broke from his slave master, the second slave master. He didn't break from the first one. The first one was humane and allowed him to study and to get educated. The second one he got because of bad financial circumstances for the first one. The first one had to sell him to a second slave master. The second slave master was a typical red neck, a typical slave master and Douglass wasn't used to that kind of bad treatment as a slave. So Frederick Douglas struck him, actually hit him and knocked him down, and out.

Then Douglas came up North, up the East Coast where there was no slavery, and he began another life. Mr. Douglass became an orator of the United States who influenced President Lincoln, influenced his thinking and everything. He made a great impression on the world at that time. He was invited to Europe, and went over there and made impressions on them. Frederick Douglas, who was born a slave, was just one, perhaps the most outstanding of them all. But there were others, too, men and women, who came from slavery and then took on the role of freedom fighters, freedom strugglers. Women like Sojourner Truth and others, not just men. They dedicated themselves to the liberation of their lot, the whole of their people.

Beginning of African American History

At that point we were separated from our social responsibility. For me, that point should be the beginning of African American history. I think all of us should identify with that history, because we are Muslims. It shouldn't mean that we are less interested in the life history of Black people on this continent. No. We should become even more interested in the life history, the good times and the bad times, the struggles and great achievements in spite of barriers or difficulties put in our way.

Slavery designed to remove the human soul and spirit

In spite of the extent to which conditions were created to actually take the human soul and spirit out of us... You know, the hardness of slavery back then was designed to actually take the human soul and the human spirit out of those people, so that they wouldn't be any trouble for the cruel master. He could sleep and rest comfortably. He's not worrying about a Nat Turner or anything. In fact, at one point it was written in their publication that the Black man has become docile. He has no will to resist, no will to complain even; he has become docile. That's what they wanted, the slave to be docile. Docile means like wanting to sleep all the time.

Human spirit Is a responsible spirit

If you leave him alone he will take a nap. "If you don't keep urging him on, he'll just take a nap." You can look up docile if you want in the dictionary, but I think I have a skill with these words. I might even write my own dictionary one day. The movement started to awaken in us again the human soul, the human spirit. The human spirit is a productive spirit. The human spirit is a responsible spirit. A lot of us miss the meaning of just what human is. If you look in a dictionary, just an ordinary dictionary, you look up the word HUMAN, it has maybe a few entries, a few explanations, but the main one they will use is a scientific term, "HOMO SAPIEN." So what is HOMO? Homo is a man, but can be also a woman.

The more society puts pressure on the masters of language to be more correct with their meanings or the definitions, the more we find the masters of language changing the policies and allowing us to have a different use of words.

Human Identity

The human identity is what it is referring to. Really the word, MAN, is used by us, and not WOMAN as such, in that particular definition. But originally man meant woman, too, even in Islam. That's why the Qur'an says, "... He created you from "nafsin wahidah," from ONE PERSON.2 And if you read the Qur'an in Arabic, you read it very carefully, this one person was not Adam, alone. It says, "... He created from IT, it's mate...."

Khalifa The male is not that by himself he must have

male and sensitivities

Then Adam comes, and then the woman comes, distinct from each other. But originally the word meant both male and female. So whatever the khalifa is, the man is not that by himself.3 Khalifa is male and female. Whatever khalifa means, the man is not that by himself. It takes the woman with him. He has to become that "nafsin wahidah" again before he qualifies to be the khalifa. It takes the woman with him. You have to have to two operating, then he's the Khalifa.

You say, "How are you going to get a woman back into the man?" He has to be born again, or has to be created by Allah swt, with the sensitivities that a woman has. He has to have both: the male sensitivities, and the woman sensitivities, if he is to be the best, the type of ruler that G-d wants for us on this earth.

African Americans Are a New Creation of G d

The life, the bad experiences of slavery as it began down in the South, on the plantation, is really the beginning of our history as a people in this part of the world, or in the world. Because actually what has been created? Some of us actually represent a new human creation, or a new social creation. And I would think that is the strong minority that we have, of free thinkers. Recently an unpopular African American, the conservative who sits on the Supreme Court as a judge, the Supreme Court Justice (Clarence Thomas), he was the keynote speaker in Chicago, and he made this statement. It was published in the paper the next day. He said that he invites blacks to become free thinkers.

Now, that's no new invitation. Dubois said, "To the extent that we will go to teach our children to think, will be the measure of our freedom." So what is he saying? That we will expand the measure of our freedom, we can have more freedom the more we think independently, or the more we think on our own and pass it down to the next generation: think on your own, think on your own. I never told Muslim Journal to put that statement in the paper, that they keep in there now, on the educational page, or academic page, the school page. The statement ends with me saying, "I will never give up the pleasure or the dignity that I have of thinking for myself." I will never give that up. I'm going to always think for myself.

I thought there has been about three of them in there now. One of them was actually taken from the Prophet himself, his own saying, "When the Muslim or the Believer endeavors to do anything, whether it is draw a picture, or sell some goods to the market or on the market, or get a good score in school as a student, or clean up the house, whatever, cook the meal, says, the Muslim, the Believer, whenever he endeavors to do anything seeks to perfect it." He seeks to perfect it.4

Hand of Allah Is on the group and holds the whole

universe in one hand

So that tells me, that Allah swt says, whatever the Messenger pbuh offers you, accept it. Allah swt has made it obligatory, made it an obligation on me that when the Prophet pbuh says something, I accept it without questioning it, without doubting it. The Prophet pbuh himself has obligated us to accept responsibility, to be responsible. There's a saying, "The hand of G-d is on the group,"5 meaning the collective body. Jumah means the collective body. If we say, bring the people together, put them together, or collect the things together, we say, ijma. So jummuah means, after the things have been made into one bunch, or into one collection, put them all together.

So, the "Hand of Allah is on the group". What does the Hand mean? Allah speaks of Himself as having two Hands, just like we have two hands.6 "Yaddaa" is two hands. Are we left to really wonder or guess at what these two hands mean? No, Allah swt says just in one hand, alone, He holds the whole universe, all creation. Then He asked Iblis, the fallen angel in Western theology, Christian theology, "What is the matter with you that you refused to bow or make sajdah to this man that I have made with my two hands?" He said, "My Two Hands."

Two Hands for Creating and Teaching Man

So we know now what the two means. The studious thinker right away comes to the conclusion, and he now knows what these hands are. One hand is the "Hand of the Creation." The other hand is the "Hand of Teaching."

Allah hands: 1. Teaches man 2. Created universe

With one hand He teaches man Himself. G-d Himself teaches man. With the other hand He created the whole world that he had to later teach man about. So, what are the hands? Look in the English language to understand what hands means. First look at the word "handicap.' Handicap means that he is impaired, his ability is seriously hurt. His natural ability is impaired or seriously hurt. Look at the word "handle." "Can you handle this affair?" meaning, "Do you have the ability to take charge of this affair?"

So hands, even in English, must have a meaning, originally, in "responsibility for," the "ability to manage," right? "The ability to manage," and if you have the ability to manage, then you can accept the responsibility for that particular thing, if you have the ability to manage. Can you manage driving a car? Okay, they'll give you a license. If you can manage driving a car, they will give you a license. Can you handle it? That's the word I want, 'handle.' Most of the things that we have a handle on, the handle is its main control, isn't it? The handle is its main control. So we can come to the conclusion that "hand" means "control". The control, the entity that represents the control is the hand.