Purpose of Life by Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace

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Speaker Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace is the executive director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, an organisation dedicated to promoting Islam. Based in Sheffield, Khalid Yasin lectures widely on Islam to audiences of predominately non-Muslims and new Muslims. Most recently, Khalid has established the Islamic Information Network, the first Islamic satellite channel to broadcast in Europe, and a film production studio putting together Islamic media projects. Below is the transcript of his speech in 1994 in Saudi Arabia that has attracted 43 non-Muslims into embracing Islam that very night. ________________________________________________________________ Dipetik dari web: www.darulkautsar.net Text Of Speech Entitled ‘Purpose Of Life’ ه حاب ص ه وأ ل ى أ عل م ، و ل س ه و ي ل ع ه ل ى أل ل ص ه ل أل ول س د ر م ح م ى عل لام س ل وأ) لاة ص ل ه ، وأ ل د ل م ح ل ن. أ0 أدى ه ل ع أ ب) ت ن. أ م ى عل لام س ل ه ، وأ) ركاب ب له و أل) مه ح م ور ك ي ل ع لام س ل عد ، وأ ب ما ع ن. ، عي م ح ه أ) ي ت رG ه وذ وأجG ر وأ. Dear respected Muslim brothers and guests, as my brother mentioned to you, I’m here tonight and feeling very honoured to have this opportunity to address you on this topic; and I want to say that this is not a lecture. I don't think that I’m prepared to lecture, but it's sort of an

description

Purpose Of Life by Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace. Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace is the executive director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, an organisation dedicated to promoting Islam. Based in Sheffield, Khalid Yasin lectures widely on Islam to audiences of predominately non-Muslims and new Muslims. Most recently, Khalid has established the Islamic Information Network, the first Islamic satellite channel to broadcast in Europe, and a film production studio putting together Islamic media projects. Below is the transcript of his speech in 1994 in Saudi Arabia that has attracted 43 non-Muslims into embracing Islam that very night

Transcript of Purpose of Life by Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace

Page 1: Purpose of Life by Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace

Speaker Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace

Shaikh Khalid Yasin Wallace is the executive director of the Islamic Teaching Institute, an

organisation dedicated to promoting Islam. Based in Sheffield, Khalid Yasin lectures widely on

Islam to audiences of predominately non-Muslims and new Muslims. Most recently, Khalid has

established the Islamic Information Network, the first Islamic satellite channel to broadcast in

Europe, and a film production studio putting together Islamic media projects. Below is the

transcript of his speech in 1994 in Saudi Arabia that has attracted 43 non-Muslims into

embracing Islam that very night.

________________________________________________________________

 Dipetik dari web: www.darulkautsar.net

Text Of Speech Entitled ‘Purpose Of Life’

، وسلم عليه الله صلى الله رسول محمد على والسالم والصالة ، لله الحمد إن

ورحمة عليكم والسالم ، بعد عما ، أجمعين وذريته وأزواجه وأصحابه آله وعلى

الهدى اتبع من على والسالم ، وبركاته .الله

 

Dear respected Muslim brothers and guests, as my brother mentioned to you, I’m

here tonight and feeling very honoured to have this opportunity to address you on

this topic; and I want to say that this is not a lecture. I don't think that I’m prepared

to lecture, but it's sort of an advice, to myself even. Because I’ve seen myself sitting

in these chairs in front of me.

 

Just a few days ago, a few years ago...just a little while ago, I was sitting right there,

where you are. Christian, non-Muslim, whatever nationality, doesn't matter. A human

being that was not aware of Islam. And at that particular time, did not fully

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understand the purpose of life. So with that note I request you to think of what I’m

saying to you just as information and as an advice, not a lecture.

 

The information which I wish to share with you, it may seem a bit extensive, but

when you consider the capacity of the human brain and the amount of information

that it can store, and that it can decipher; then a few pages of information tonight I’m

sure it would not overburden you .

 

It is my responsibility to address the topics of our discussion tonight; what is the

purpose of our life. And also, to ask the question, what do you know about Islam. I

mean, what do you really know about Islam, not what you heard about Islam, not

what you've seen in the actions of some Muslims, but WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT

ISLAM. I'm honoured to have this opportunity and I would like to begin by saying that

all of you have an equal responsibility, and that responsibility is to listen with an open

heart and an open mind.

 

The world shows what prejudice and cultural conditioning, it is very hard to find

people that are able to take a moment to think. To think about life objectively, and

try to arrive at the truth about this world and the real purpose of our lives.

 

Unfortunately, when you ask most people the question; "What is the purpose of our

life?", ( such a fundamental and important question ), they will not tell you what they

have concluded through observation or analytical reasoning. Rather, in most cases

they will simply tell you what someone else said. Or they will tell you what is

commonly presumed by others. What my father said the purpose of life is. What the

minister of my church said the purpose of life is. What my teacher in school said,

what my friends said...

 

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If I ask anyone about the purpose of eating, you see...why do you eat? Everyone will

say, in one word or another, "Why, it's for nutrition!" because nutrition sustains life.

 

If I ask anyone why they work, they will say because it's a necessity in order to

support themselves and to provide the needs of their family.

 

If I ask anyone why they sleep, why they wash, why they dress, etc; They will answer:

"This is a common necessity for all human beings". We can follow this line of

questioning with a hundred questions. And receive the same or similar answers from

anyone in any language, in any place in the world. Simple.

 

Then I ask you the question; "Why is it, that when we ask the question what is the

goal and purpose of life, that we get so many different answers?” That's because

people are confused, they don't really know. They're stumbling in the dark. And

rather than to say: "I don't know", they just offer any answer that they have been

programmed to answer. Well think about it tonight.

 

Is our purpose in this world, simply to eat, sleep, dress, work, acquire some material

things and enjoy ourselves? Is this our purpose? Why are we born? What is the

objective of our existence and what is the wisdom behind the creation of Man and

this tremendous universe? Think about that question.

 

Some persons argue that there is no proof of any divine origin, there is no proof that

there's a God, there's no proof that this universe has come about to any divine

purpose. There are people who argue this way, and they say that perhaps this world

came about by chance. A big bang, and this whole great world with all its

orchestrations just came together. And they argue that life doesn't have any definite

purpose, and that there's nothing that can be proven through either logic or science,

that there's a God, or a purpose, or any divine reason behind this world.

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Here I would like to mention a few verses from the Qur’an that addresses this

subject, and I'd like you to listen first to the Arabic, because the Arabic is a medicine.

While you're listening, you're getting the medicine. And after that, I'll offer the

translation.

 

ملك ولله ، الرحيم الرحمن الله بسم ، الرجيم الشيطان من بالله أعوذ

واألرض السموات خلق فى ،إن قدير شيء بكل والله واألرض السموات

وقعودا قياما الله يذكرون الذين ، األلباب أللى آليات والنهار الليل واختالف

، باطال هذا خلقت ما ربنا ، واألرض السموات خلق فى ويتفكرون جنوبهم وعلى

النار عذاب فقنا سبحنك

 

We seek the protection of Allah from every evil thing. Allah mentions to us in the

Qur'an, that to Allah are belongs the dominion of the heaven and the earth, and Allah

has power over everything:

 

"Behold! in the creations of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of the

night and the day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding; men who

celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting and lying down on their sides. And

they contemplate the wonders of the creation in the heavens and the earth, with the

thought, "Our lord, not for any foolish purpose hath Thou created all of these, glory

be to Thee, give us salvation from the penalty of the hellfire"."

 

Now here in these verses, Allah has mentioned very clearly to us. By first, join our

attention, to the creation of ourselves. The different postures to the human body, the

different attitude of the human psychology. He draws our attention to the heavens,

the alternation of the night and the day, the fundament, the stars, constellations, and

then he says to us, he has not created all of these for any foolish purpose. Because

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when you see the design of it, you know the design of it is very powerful and very

precise. And some are very powerful and very precise, that is beyond your own

calculation and imagination, it cannot be foolish. It cannot be just thrown together.

 

For instance, if you took ten marbles and number them 1 to 10, and all of them were

of different colours, and you put them inside of a bag, and shook the bag. And then,

closing your eyes, reach inside the bag and I told you, pull out marble number 1. And

then pull out marble number 2. And then pull out marble number 3, in order. What's

the chance of your pulling out the marbles in order? Do you know what the chances

are? Twenty-six million to one! (26,000,000 : 1)

 

So what's the chances of the heavens and the earth being thrown in the big bang,

and orchestrated like they are. What's the chance of that?

 

My dear respected brothers, we have to ask ourselves a further question.

 

When you see a bridge, a building, an automobile, you automatically consider the

person or the company that constructed it. When you see an airplane or a rocket, a

satellite, or a large ship, you'll also think about how incredible of a vehicle that it is.

 

When you see a nuclear plant, an hovering space station, a super international

airport like that exists here in this country, you have to be thoroughly impressed with

the engineering dynamics that are involved. Yet, these are just things that are

manufactured by humans, manufactured by human beings.

 

Then what about the human body? With its massive and intricate control systems.

Think about it. Think about the brain. How it thinks, how it functions, how it analyses,

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stores information, retrieves information, distinguishes and categorizes the

information in a millionth of a second! And does it constantly. Think about the brain,

for a moment.

 

This is the brain that makes the automobiles, the rocket ship, boats, and so and so.

Think about the brain and who made that. Think about the heart. How it pumps,

continuously for sixty or seventy years, intaking and discharging blood throughout

the body. And maintaining that steady precision throughout the life of that person.

Think about it.

 

Think about the kidneys. What kind of functions that they carry. The purifying

instrument of the body, which performs hundreds of chemical analysis,

simultaneously. And also controls the level of toxicity, and the content of the body.

And it does these automatically.

 

Think about your eyes: the 'human camera' that adjust, focus, interpret, evaluate,

apply colour automatically, the natural reception and adjustment to light and

distance. Automatic. Think about it. Who created that? Who has mastered that? Who

plans that, and who regulates that? Human beings themselves? No, of course not.

 

What about the universe? Think about this: This earth is one planet in our solar

system. And our solar system is one of the systems in the Milky Way. And the Milky

Way is one of the constellations in the galaxy. And there are millions of galaxies like

the Milky Way. Think about that, and they are all in order. They are all precise.

They're not colliding with each other. They're not conflicting with each other. And

they are swimming in and along the orbit that has been set for them. Has human

beings set that into motions? And are human beings maintaining that precision? No,

of course they're not.

 

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Think about the oceans. The fish, the insects, birds, plants, bacteria, the chemical

elements, that have not been discovered and cannot be detected even with the most

sophisticated instruments! Yet each one of them has a law that they follow. Did all of

these synchronization, balance, harmony, variation, design, maintenance, operation

and infinite numerations, did these happen by chance?

 

And also, do these things function perpetually, and perfectly, also by chance? And do

they keep on reproducing themselves, and maintaining themselves, also by chance?

No, of course not! That would be totally illogical and foolish to think, and in the least,

it would indicate that however it came to be, it is totally outside of the realm of

human capabilities. We will all agree to that.

 

The Being: The Almighty Power, God, The Creator who have the knowledge to design,

to proportion, who has created all of these, and is responsible for maintaining all of

these, is the only one that is deserving of praise and gratitude. If I give each one of

you one hundred dollars for no reason, just for coming here, then you would at least

say thank you. What about your eyes, your kidneys, your brain, your life, your breath,

your children, what about that? Who gave you that? Is he, not worthy of praise and

thanks? Is he not worthy of your worship and your recognition?

 

My brothers, that in a nutshell is the purpose and the goal of this life. Allah

subhanahu wa ta`ala said to us in the Qur'an: "I have not created the Jinn (the spirits)

nor the human beings, for any other purpose except to worship me." This is what the

Almighty says.

 

So our purpose in this life is to recognize the Creator, to be grateful to the creator, to

worship the Creator, to surrender ourselves to the Creator and to obey the laws that

He has determined for us. In a nutshell it means worship. This is our purpose in this

life. And whatever we do in the course of that worship, that system, the eating, the

drinking, the dressing, the working, the enjoying, between the life and the death, all

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of this is just consequential. But we have been created for worship. That is the

purpose of our life.

 

I don't think that anyone who is scientific or analytical, they won't have much

argument with that purpose. They may have some other ulterior purpose within

themselves, but that's something they have to deal with, between themselves and

almighty God.

 

Let's go to the second half of our topic. What do you know about Islam. Not what you

heard about Islam, Not what you have seen in the actions of Muslims, because

there's a difference between Islam and Muslims. There's a difference between a man

and a father. A man who has children, he is a father, but being a father is a

responsibility. If a man does not fulfil those responsibilities, he is not necessarily a

good father.

 

 Islam is a rule and an order. If a Muslim does not fulfil these rules and orders, he is

not a good Muslim. So you cannot compare Islam by Muslims. We hear the terms

Islam and Muslim quite often. And we read about Islam and Muslims in the

periodicals, textbooks in colleges and universities, we hear and we see a lot of

inaccurate, misleading and purposeful misinformation through the media. And I have

to admit that some of these misinformation and misrepresentation has been

perpetuated by Muslims themselves.

 

Yet, one out of every five persons in this world of some five billion people is a Muslim.

One out of five people in this world is a Muslim. This is a statistic that you can verify

in the encyclopaedia or the almanac, or in other sources that you would like to look

at. How was it that one out five people in this world is a Muslim, that we don't know

something about Islam, the facts about Islam. If I told you that one out of five people

in this world was Chinese, which is a fact, there's one billion Chinese in the world, one

out of five people is Chinese. But we know the geographical, the social, the

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economical, the political, the philosophical, the historical factors of China and the

Chinese. How come we don't know about Islam.

 

What is it, that joins 29 nations, and some say 37 nations. What is it that joins these

nations and this universal configuration into a common fraternity. What makes a

brother in Saudi Arabia my brother (and I'm from America), and makes this brother

from Pakistan my brother, and makes another brother from Indonesia my brother,

and from Africa my brother, and another one from Thailand my brother, and from

China, from Spain, from Russia, and so forth... what makes them my brother? We

have had different cultural, psychological backgrounds. What is it about Islam that

automatically embraces us and joins us together as a brotherhood?

 

What are the accurate characteristics of this misunderstood way of life, that is

followed by a great part of humanity? I would try to provide you with some facts, but

in addition to this, as I mentioned to you before, it is necessary to you, to be open

minded and open hearted, because, if I turned this glass upside down and poured

water on it, I'll never get a glass of water. It has to be right side up. Facts alone do

not lead to understanding, but rather a combination of tolerance, ambition, and the

ability to appreciate and to accept the truth, when you hear it.

 

The word Islam means 'surrender', 'submission', and 'obedience'. Surrender,

submission and obedience to the law of Almighty God. You can say Allah, you can say

The Creator, you can say The Supreme God, The Supreme Force, The All Wise...all of

those are His names. We say Allah because in Arabic, there's no other expression.

This expression, Allah, cannot be applied to any created thing. Other words that we

use for Almighty, people apply to created things. "The almighty dollar". "Oh I love my

wife, she is tough." or "He's the greatest." No, no, no, no.

 

But the word Allah can only be applied to the one who has created all of this that we

have previously described. So from this point, I'm going to use the word Allah, and

you know whom I am speaking about.

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 The word Islam is derived from the root, سلم   'SALAMA', it means to be at peace or

to have security. Therefore a Muslim is a person that surrenders, submits, and obeys

to the law of Almighty God, and through this submission obtains peace, and security

for themselves.

 

We can immediately see that by such a definition, the Arabic word Islam, describes

the same manner and behaviour of all the well known and respected prophets and

messengers of Almighty God. All of them: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David,

Solomon, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, John the Baptist, Jesus son of Mary, and Muhammad,

may Allah's peace be upon him and all of them.

 

All of these men, these prophets and messengers, came from the same Almighty

God, with the same message, with the same chain of transmission, and they said one

thing: "Obey God!". Worship Almighty God and fulfil the purpose of life, and do good

actions and you will be rewarded with another life. That's all they said. Don't make it

more than that. THAT'S ALL THEY SAID. Regardless of what language and what time,

whom they came to, that's all they said.

 

If you read the scriptures carefully, without your own interpretation or somebody

else's, addition, or fabrication, you will find that this was the simple message of all

those prophets, who confirmed one another.

 

 Not one of those prophets ever said "I am God, worship Me!". You don't have to

think, because you won't find it in any book that you have. Not the Bible, not the

Torah, not the Old or the New Testament, not the Psalms Of David, you will not find it

in any book! You will not find it from the speech of any prophets. Go home tonight,

and palm through all pages of your Bible. And I guarantee you, you will not find even

one, anywhere.

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 So where did these come from? That's something else that you'll have to investigate.

And in another setting, which is set that straight very easily for you: history has a

way of turning over every stone. We can immediately see that by such a definition

the Arabic word describes what all the prophets did. They all came and submitted

themselves to God. Surrendered themselves to God. Call the people to God. And ask

the people, and insist upon the people to do deeds of righteousness.

 

The Ten Commandments of Moses, what was that? The speech of Abraham, what was

that? The Psalms of David, what was that? The Pedicles of Solomon, what did he say?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, what did he say? What John The Baptist say? What did

Isaac and Ishmael say? What did Muhammad s.a.w, peace be upon Him, what did he

say? Nothing more than that.

 

الدين له مخلصين الله ليعبد إال أمروا وما

 

Allah says – "And they were ordered nothing except to worship Allah, being sincere

towards him,

 

القيمة دين وذلك

- and this was the straight way."

 

This was the original message. By the same token, it would also be appropriate here

to consider those prophets and messengers are Muslim, because, Muslim is what?

Don't think about the Arabic terminology, don't think about Mecca or Saudi Arabia or

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Egypt, no! Think about the word MUSLIM, means 'He who surrenders himself to

Almighty God and obeys the laws of Almighty God, in that case whether naturally, or

in a dialectical manner, everything that surrenders to the law of almighty God is a

Muslim.

 

So when a child comes out of the womb of his mother at the time God has ordered,

what is it? It's a Muslim. When the sun goes around in its orbit, what is it? It's a

Muslim. When the moon goes around the sun, what is it? It's a Muslim! The law of

gravity, what is it? It's Muslim law. Everything that submits to Almighty God, is a

Muslim! Therefore, when we eventually obey The Almighty God, we are Muslims.

Jesus Christ was a Muslim. His mother, his blessed mother was a Muslim. Abraham

was a Muslim. Moses was a Muslim. All the prophets were Muslims! But they came to

their people and they spoke different languages. The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w

spoke the language of Arabic. And so in the Arabic language, submit and surrender is

Muslim. The one who submits and surrenders is Muslim!

 

Every prophet and messenger of Almighty God brought the very same and

fundamental message: Worship Almighty God and be sincere towards him. If we

examine the message of each of the well-known Prophets, we can easily conclude

this fact. Where there's a conflict, it is a result of false assertions, fabrications,

exaggerations, personalized interpretations of alleged writers, historians, scholars

and individuals.

 

For instance, Let me point something out for you that if you haven't looked at. As a

Christian, I looked at it before I become a Muslim and I didn't understand it. How

come, throughout the Old Testament, God is always referred to as ONE. The Master

and Lord, and King of the universe. And that in the first Commandment given to

Moses, He did not allow anybody to worship any engraved images, or to bow down to

anything in the heavens, or the earth, or the sea below, He never allowed that.

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All the prophets said He was one and that He was the Almighty God. Throughout the

Old Testament this is completely repeated in all the places. Then all of a sudden we

got four testimonies. The Four Gospels called Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Matthew

who? Mark who? Luke who? John who? Four different Gospels that were written forty-

eight years apart, and none of these men, who did not collaborate with each other,

none of them wrote their last name?!

 

 If I gave you a cheque for your pay this month, and I wrote my first name onto the

cheque and told you to go to the bank, would you accept that cheque? No you

wouldn't. If the policeman stopped you in your apartment, and you only had your first

name, would that be acceptable to him? Could you get a passport with only your first

name? Did your father and mother give you only one name? Where in the history of

man is one name accepted as a documentation? Where? Nowhere, except in the

Bible.

 

And how could you base your faith upon four gospels that are written by four men,

that didn't seem to know their last names? Then after those four gospels, there are

fifteen more books written by a man who is an apostate, who kills Christians, tortured

Christians and then said that he envisioned, saw Jesus, and he was commissioned as

an apostle of Jesus.

 

If I told you that Hitler, after he killed all those Jews, then he himself decided that he

want to be a saint and he met Christ or Moses on the path, and he became a Jew, and

he wrote fifteen books, and added them to the Torah, would this be acceptable to the

Jew? No. He wouldn't accept that. So how can four books without a last name, and

fifteen other books written by another man, and this is the first time that God is

called a man, and the first time that God is called 'three', and the first time God is

given a son, how is this acceptable to the Christians? How? Think about it. We won't

argue that point, I just give you something to think about.

 

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The advent of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him) did not bring a

new religion or a way of life as some people erroneously claimed. On the contrary,

the Prophet (may Allah's peace be upon him) confirmed the life and message of all

the previous prophets and messengers, both through his personal conduct and

through the divine revelation that he received from the Almighty.

 

The sacred scripture that Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him) brought is

called Al-Qur'an. This is what you heard: Al-Qur'an. It means 'That Which Is Recited',

because Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him), he did not write the Qur'an.

He did not author the Qur'an. Nobody came and helped him to write the Qur'an or to

author the Qur'an, and nobody collaborated with him in this, but the angel Gabriel

recited to him, and Almighty God made his heart a receptacle of that. Just like the

satellite disc is the receptive of wave and gives you the TV image.

 

The Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him)'s heart was the receptacle

of revelation, and we have this Qur'an that has been preserved fifteen (hundred)

years without the change of a dot! Is there any other book in the world that you know

of, that has been preserved as it was revealed without the changing even of a dot?

No book, only the Qur'an.

 

Don't take my word for it, go to the library and read what the Encyclopaedia of

Britannica, or the World Encyclopaedia, or The Americana Encyclopaedia, or any

other universal encyclopaedia of the world that is not written by Muslims; read what

it says about Islam, The Qur'an and Muhammad s.a.w? Read what non-Muslims said

about the Qur'an, Islam and Muhammad (pbuh), then you will accept what I'm saying

is universally documented and clear. That Muhammad (pbuh) is the most profound

individual in the history of humanity.

 

Profound why? Read what they say. That the Qur’an is the most incredible, the most

profound piece of literature in the annals  of history! Read what they say, that the

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Islamic way of life is categorized and so precise and dynamic. It has never changed,

read what they say.

 

The sacred scriptures that Muhammad s.a.w received, is called the Qur’an. And each

of the prophets and messengers - they also received their scriptures. And in the

Qur’an, these Prophets, their scriptures, their stories, the principle of their mission is

mentioned in profound details. Did Muhammad (pbuh), did he meet them and eat

with them and talk with them, and collaborate with them to write their biographies?

No, of course he didn't.

 

In the Qur’an, Muhammad s.a.w is referred to as the messenger of Almighty God, and

the seal of the previous prophets, which, is the limit of his role as a human being.

Muslims do not worship Muhammad. We're not Muhammedans. He have not the right

to take the name of Muhammad to say we are Muhammedans.

 

Nowhere people who followed Moses they are not called Moseans. People who

followed Jabob are not Jacobites. Or the people who followed Abraham are not

Abrahamians. Or Davidians. No, no, no. So how'd these people called themselves

Christians? Christ did not call himself a Christian. How'd the people call themselves

Christians?

 

Christ said that whatever he received from Almighty God was the word of God and

what he heard is what he said, is what he did. So how they call themselves

Christians? We have to be 'Christlike', What was ‘Christlike’? He was a servant of

Almighty God, so you should be servants of Almighty God, that's all.

 

And the final scripture and Divine revelation in the Qur’an makes a very clear and

precise statement: "This day have I perfected your religion and completed my favor

upon you. And chose Islam to be a complete way of life", so through the Qur’an the

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word ISLAM came. And the word ISLAM, it came in the Qur’an. Because, when the

building is complete you call it a house. When the car is on the assembly line it is not

an automobile. It is in the process of assembly! When it has been completed, it has

been certified, it has been test-driven: it is now an automobile.

 

When Islam was completed as a revelation, as a Book, as an example through

Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, it then became ISLAM. It became a complete way of life.

Deenul-Islam. So it is the word that is new, but not the practice. Not the Prophets, not

the Order from God, Not a new God, not a new revelation, but only the name; Islam.

And as we said previously, what were all the prophets? They were all Muslims.

 

Another distinction to keep in mind is that Muhammad (pbuh), unlike his

predecessors, he did not come to the Arabs or to his own people exclusively. No.

Therefore Islam is not the religion of the Arabs. It is not for the Arabs, yet Muhammad

the son of Abdullah (pbuh), he was born in Mecca, a city in the Arabian Peninsula;

and certainly he was an Arab, by birth.

 

Consequences of his birth; choice of the Almighty. Additionally, The Qur’an was

revealed in the Arabic language, to protect it, to make it pure, and clear and precise,

yet the Qur’an dispels any organisations or associations that the message of

Muhammad was limited or meant for the Arabic or Arabs exclusively.

 

Allah s.w.t said:

 

يعلمون ال الناس أكثر ولكن ونذيرا بشيرا ، للناس كافة إال أرسلناك . وما

 

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That you have not been sent o Muhammad (peace be upon you) except to the whole

of humanity as a warner, as a one bringing glad tidings, and most of the human

beings, they simply don't know.

 

As such Muhammad (pbuh) is the finality and fount of the great prophets and

messengers before him. And since we are making reference from the Qur’an to

support our presentation, we should give some background information on the

Qur’an itself. First of all, the Qur’an makes the claim it is the product of divine

revelation, that is, it was sent down from the Almighty God to Muhammad through

inspiration.

 

Allah said:

 

يوحى وحي إال هو إن الهوى عن ينطق وما

 

 "That Muhammad, he is not speaking from himself, his own ideas, or his own

ambition, or his own emotions and feelings. No. But this is a revelation; The Qur’an

which that We revealed to him."

 

This is the statement of Allah. Therefore, if we are to convince you or anyone else of

the authenticity of the Qur’an, we must prove, one, that it was impossible for

Muhammad (pbuh) to manufacture such a book. Secondly, we must prove that it was

equally impossible for any human agency to have created it. Let us think about this.

 

 I ask you: The Qur’an makes this statement :-

 

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علق من اإلنسان خلق

 

"And We created the human being from a hanging clot (that was clinging to the wall

of the womb)".

How did the prophet Muhammad, how did he know that the embryo started out as a

clot, hanging and clinging to the wall of the uterus of the mother. Did he have a

telescope? Did he have a stethoscope? Did he have some kind of x-ray vision? How

did he receive this knowledge, when it was just discovered 47 years ago? How did he

know that the oceans have a barrier between them to separate the salt and the fresh

water?

 

How did he know that? How did he know " تجرى لها  والشمس لمستقر ", how did

he know that the sun and the moon and the planets are all swimming in an orbit that

have been ordered to them? How did he know that? And on, and on, and on...how did

he know all that? When these things have just been discovered 25 to 30 years ago?

 

Technology and science, the sophistication which you and I all know was just

discovered these times. How did Muhammad (pbuh) fifteen hundred years ago, an

uneducated shepherd, a man raised in the desert, a man who was uneducated, could

not read or write, how could he say something like this? How could he produce

something like this? And how could anyone else living with him, before or after, knew

something that has been discovered just recently? Impossible.

 

How could a man who never left the Arabian Peninsula, a man who never sailed on a

ship, who lived fifteen centuries ago makes such clear and astounding descriptions

that were recently discovered in this half of the twentieth century.

 

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Also, if this is not enough, let me mention to you: that the Qur’an has a hundred and

fourteen chapters, over six thousand verses, and there were hundreds of people in

the time of the prophet Muhammad s.a.w who memorized this book entirely. Was he

some kind of genius? How did that happen? Did anyone memorize the Gospel, any of

them? Anybody memorized the Torah, the Psalms, The Old and the New Testament?

Nobody! Not even the Pope!

 

But there are millions of Muslims today, here's one, sitting here - who has memorized

this entire book! This is the ambition of every Muslim. Not SOME, EVERY! How many

Christians have you ever met in your life that has memorized the Bible? None. You've

never met any Christian that has memorized the whole Bible. Because you've never

met a Christian who even knew what WAS the whole Bible.

 

Because the Christians themselves have over seven hundred different

denominations, and there are possibly thirty-nine versions of the Bible with different

books and different versions. Different amount of verses, and different amount of

chapters and they don't agree with that, so how would they even memorize what

they don't agree about.

 

These are just some facts about the Qur’an. And I'm not speaking in a condemning

fashion, I'm a person who was a Christian! A person who found out these things

through my own investigation. A person who is now sharing this information for you,

overturning some rocks for you to look under. And it's up to you.

 

Finally, suppose I told you, that this book has been universally preserved without the

slightest alteration of any kind in fifteen centuries. If all of this is true what I'm

saying, if it is all true, would you agree that this book is quite profound, and unique,

to say the least? Would you be honest enough to say that? Of course you would, if

you are honest. And you are. Within yourselves, you have to come to that conclusion.

 

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Many other non-Muslims came to the same conclusion - Benjamin Franklin, Thomas

Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, many, many...I could go on and on.

They came to the same conclusion, whether they accepted Islam openly or not, they

came to that conclusion, that there's no other literature in the world that is as

profound as the Qur’an, as the source of wisdom, source of healing and direction.

 

A-B

 

On the issue of the authenticity of the Qur’an - let us turn into another subject

matter: The basic things of the Qur’an.

 

The Supreme Oneness of The Almighty God which includes His Names, His Attributes,

the relationship between The Almighty and His Creatures, An how man should

maintain that relationship. The continuity of the prophets and Messengers, their lives,

their messages, and their overall mission. The insistence upon following the final and

universal example, Muhammad (pbuh), The Seal of prophets and Messengers.

 

Reminding the human beings of the shortness of this life and calling them toward the

eternity of the life hereafter. Life hereafter; meaning; after here.

 

After you leave here, you’re going somewhere. I mean tonight. After you die, you

leave here, this earth, you're going somewhere, whether you accept it or know about

it, you are going there, and you are responsible because you have been told, even if

you have rejected it.

 

Because the object of this life is not for you to sit here, and after this do nothing and

have no effect; every cause have an effect! And you came to this life for a cause, and

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a purpose, and it must have an effect. It must want some sort of effect. You don't go

to school to stay there. You don't go to work, not to get paid. You don't build a house,

and don't move into it. You don't get a suit made, and don't wear it. You don't grow

up as a child, and don't become an adult. You don't work without expecting a reward.

You cannot live without expecting to die. You cannot die without the expectancy of

the grave. And you cannot expect that the grave is THE END, because that means

that God created you for a foolish purpose.

 

And you have not went to school, or worked, or done anything, or chose a wife, or

chose the name of your children, or came here tonight, for a foolish purpose. How

could you assign to God something less than yourself.

 

In attempt to capture and convince the imagination and the faculties of reasoning,

the Qur’an goes through great length and beauty, to expound upon the oceans and

rivers, the trees and plants, the birds and insects, the wild and domestic animals, the

mountains, the valleys, the expansion of the Heavens, the celestial bodies and the

universe, the fishes and the aquatic life, the human anatomy and biology, the human

civilization and history, the description of paradise and hell, the evolution of the

human embryo, the mission of all the Prophets and Messengers, the purpose of life

on earth...and how could a man born on the desert, a man that's illiterate, couldn't

read, how could a man born in the desert, could not read, and watching sheep, how

could he expound upon things that he was never exposed to?

 

The most unique aspect of the Qur’an however, is that it serves to confirm all the

previous revealed scriptures. And that should you decide to become a Muslim, you do

not have to consider yourself changing your religion! You are not changing your

religion.

 

If you gained weight, and you had a suit, and you really liked that suit, you don't

have to throw the suit away, do you? No. Go to the tailor and tell him: "Listen, cut a

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little and add a little bit of material there because I like this suit, just make it a little

bit bigger for me".

 

 If you lost some weight, you wouldn't throw that 500 Dollar suit away, of course you

wouldn't. You take it to the tailor, and say: "Listen, take this suit, make some

alterations because I like this suit".

 

With your belief, your honour, your virtue, your love of Jesus Christ, your attachment

with the God, your worship, your truthfulness and your dedications to The Almighty

God...you don't change that and throw it away, you hold on to that, but you make

alterations where you know that the truth has been revealed to you. That's all.

 

Then you have to be honest enough to know if you have lost some weight and ready

to make some adjustments.

 

Islam is simple my brothers. Bear witness that there is none to be worshipped except

Almighty God. If I ask anyone of you to bear witness that your father is your father,

how many of you would say: "Yes, my father is my father"? "My son is my son", "My

wife is my wife", "I am who I am"...then how is that you hesitate to bear witness that

Almighty God is One, and Almighty God is The Only, and The Almighty God is your

Lord and your Creator? Why? Are you arrogant? Are you being glorious? Did you

possess something that God doesn't possess? Do you have some secret that you

want to share with us? Or are you confused? That's the question you have to ask

yourself.

 

If you thought that you would die tonight, and that in front of you was the Paradise

and at the back was the Hellfire, and you had the chance to put things straight with

your conscience, and to put things straight with God, and to ask God to accept the

best of your deeds, if you have the chance to do that before you die, and you thought

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that you would die tonight, you would not hesitate to bear witness that there's only

one God. You would not hesitate to bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of

God and representative of all the Prophets. You would not hesitate to bear witness

that you are one of those who would like to be written down in the Book of God as

THOSE WHO SUBMIT.

You would not hesitate. But you think you're going to live for a little while. You

wanted to enjoy some things. You want to drink a little bit more Scotch. You want to

lay down a few more girls. You want to wear a little more scanty suits. You want to

dance a little bit more. You want to sing a little bit more. You want to hang out a little

bit more. And of course, you're not ready to PRAY everyday, that's because you think

you're going to live for a while.

 

But how much is a while? I see some of you are like me: is becoming bald. How much

is a little while? How long ago that you have a head full of hair? Some of you are

going to get grey, I see. How long ago was it when it was all black? You get aches

and pains in the knees and the elbows and other places. How long ago was it when

you were just a child, running and playing without a care? How long ago was it, it was

yesterday?

 

Yes. And you're going to die tomorrow. So how long you're going to wait? Islam is to

bear witness that The Almighty God is GOD, THE ONLY GOD, the only ONE without

any partners. Islam is to acknowledge the existence of the Angels who were sent with

a duty of revealing the revelations to the prophets, carrying the message to the

Prophets, controlling the winds and the mountains, and the oceans, and taking the

lives of those who God has ordered to die.

 

Acknowledging that all the prophets and messengers of Almighty God were righteous

men, and they were all sent by Almighty God. Acknowledging the fact that there will

be a final day of judgement for all creatures. Acknowledging that all good and evil

has been proportioned by Almighty God. Acknowledging that there would definitely

be a resurrection after death.

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The fundamental duties incumbent upon all the Muslims, is simple. Five things. Islam

is like a big house, and every house has to be built with pillars and the foundation.

And you have to build the house with rules. The pillars are the rules. And when you

build your house, you must follow the rules. The five rules of Islam is: One; To uphold

the code of strict monotheism, not to accept any partners with God. Not to worship

anything along with God. Not to say anything about God that you have no right to

say. Not to say He has a father or son, or daughter, or mother, or uncle, or aunt, or

the board of trustees, or anybody He has to ask; or to say anything about God, that

you have no right to say.

 

To bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Almighty God. To observe the

prescribed prayers. To pay the prescribed charity. To fast during the month of

Ramadhan. To perform the pilgrimage. One may ask the question: "Isn't this

difficult?" No, my friend. It is not. Not to those who open their minds, and open their

hearts, and accept the truth.

 

I put the matter before you, and you sentence it yourself. You take the sentence that

you want. You sentence yourself to peace and Paradise, or you sentence yourself to

confusion, frustration and Hellfire and punishment. YOU sentence yourself. You ask

yourself: "Do I bear witness that there is only one God", and when you ask yourself

that question you say: "Yes, I bear witness". "Do I witness that is Muhammad who has

been explained, that he is the Messenger of Almighty God?" "Yes, I do bear witness".

If you bear witness to that, than ALL of you, and all of us ARE MUSLIMS.

 

Muslims; and you don't have to change what you were, you just have to make

alterations in what you were in your thinking and practice.

 

In finality brothers, I ask you. An honest and direct question: How many of you

understood what I said to you? How many of you, just raise your hand if you

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understood. How many understood. How many of you DISAGREE with what I said?

About God, about Muhammad, about the creation of life, how many disagree

essentially what I have said? Ok, all those who agree with what I said, raise your

hand. Say that "I bear witness that there's only one God". [voices of audience

repeating] "I bear witness that there is only one God". [voices of audience repeating]

"I bear witness that Muhammad [audience repeating] is the Messenger of God"

[audience repeating]. Ameen [repeated]. Ameen [repeated]. Ameen [repeated].

 

May Allah bless us, may Allah help us, may Allah guide us, and I would say to all of

you brothers, that you are very honest, you're very patient, but don't leave this

gathering like a plate of food, and just leave it. No, take this plate of food tonight,

when we take our break, you sit down with a Muslim. And let him explain a little

further to you the prescription of Islam. Take the next step. That is, wash your hands

before you eat. Wash yourself before formally become a Muslim. Accept Islam, know

about Islam, practice Islam, and enjoy the bounties that Allah has bestowed upon you

because faith is not something you take for granted. If you don't put it into practice,

you lose it like a fragrance.

 

May Allah guide us, may Allah help us, and I appreciate the honour of being able to

make this presentation to you tonight. Assalamu`alaikum, warahmatullahi,

wabarakatuh.

  

 

Question & Answer Session[11:39.5 / 46:56.6]

 

 I think that it would be appropriate at this time to open the floor for some questions,

and, in spite of the fact that generally speaking, almost everyone of you here

pronouncedly accepted the basic tenets of Islam, still, for clarification purposes; ask

any question that you want. As brothers. Don't feel intimidated or that your language

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or you have to be knowledgeable, ask any question. In fact, the most silly questions

are the best ones. So, any question you have to ask, ask.

 

Question : Please tell us more about Islam. What is Islam? What is the meaning of

Islam?

 

Answer : Okay. Islam has basically five pillars as I mentioned. Bearing witness that

there is none to be worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of

Allah, as we said.

 

The performance of the prayer. Praying five times a day, based on the order of

Almighty Allah. Somebody might say, "Why do we have to pray five times a day? I

mean, why do we get to pray SO MUCH?" What if I said to you, "Listen, I got a job for

you. And, we pay five times a day. We shall pay you the same as you get your pay

every week, but this new job will pay you five times a day, that you have to wash up,

line up five times a day to get your pay. Would you have any problem with that? No

you wouldn't. When that bell rang, you'll be the first to get washed, you'll be the first

to get in the line, and the first to get your pay. Because you know the benefit of it.

 

Well, the Prophet s.a.w told us; "If any of you have a house with a stream in front of

it, if you went to that stream, and you washed in it five times a day, would there be a

dirt on you?" Would there? If you have a river, or stream in front of your house, and

you washed there every day, you bathed in that river, would there be any dirt on you

at the end of the day you bathe five times a day?

 

The purpose of prayer is to keep you pure. To keep you clean. To keep you reminded

about Allah. And how long does a prayer take? It only takes ten minutes! It takes you

longer to smoke a cigarette. It takes you longer to call your wife. It takes you longer

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to drink some juice. To eat a burger, takes you longer to stand in the street and talk

some foolishness. It takes you longer to use a toilet!

 

You mean the one who you worship, the one who gave you heaven and earth, the

one who gave you Paradise, the One whom you believe in, you are not willing to stop

what you're doing five times a day, and just ask Him, praise Him, ask for forgiveness,

worship Him, be grateful towards Him, for ten minutes? Of course you are.

 

These are what prayers for, to keep you pure, because in-between the prayer, the

Prophet s.a.w said; "From one prayer to another, Allah forgives your sins.

 

You see you pray the early morning prayer, and you might think of something, do

something or say something or whatever that is wrong. When you pray the noon

prayer, then He forgives you for that. The same thing for every prayer. So, at the end

of the day, how much have you done, that you still need to be forgiven for? Not

much.

 

So the idea is to keep you clean. To keep you honest. Keep you reminded. Keep you

knowing that you are a Muslim. Keep you reminded all the time that Allah is YOUR

ALLAH. Because I figure one day when I wasn't been along, you'd start thinking to

yourself that you don't need to worship. That's why you tell your son, your daughter

when they're young, you say "Be in this house at 8 o'clock!". You don't think that at

8:30 they will going to become a pumpkin, but you want to get them accustomed to

respect in that house and come home at 8 o'clock, so what about your prayer five

times a day, because He wants you to get accustomed, to remember Him.

 

He doesn't need the worship, you need it. We need it. He doesn't need it, but He

ordered us this as a blessing, for us. And that's why the Muslims has a great blessing

because these five prayers a day act upon his mind, his psychology, his physiology,

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his social posture, everything in his life is revolved around this prayer. And even if he

is a bad Muslim. He's still a Muslim. A Muslim never becomes a Christian or a Jew or a

polytheist, a Muslim never worships idols, he might be a bad Muslim or a bad

representative of Islam, but he's still a Muslim. If you ask him who do you believe, he

says Allah. You ask him who he follows, he says Muhammad s.a.w. You ask him what

is the book of Allah, he says the Qur'an. What do you believe? he says in the prayer

and the fasting in the month of Ramadhan and making the pigrimage.

 

So even he's a bad Muslim, so he's Muslim and he's still striving. And this is what

prayers for.

 

After the prayer Allah orders us to pay zakah. Zakah;    اه̈ا© ̈زك ª̈من أ̈فªلَ̈̈ح ª Allah , ق̈د

s.w.t says.

                                                                                             

The word   زكى 'zaka' means 'to grow', to prosper, to benefit. When you give

something from your surplus wealth to the poor, by taking out of your surplus wealth,

and giving to the poor, Allah purifies the wealth that is left over. You see, it's like

blood letting, you take a little bit of blood out of you every month, that excess blood,

and that purifies the other blood; well, the zakah; is a form of 'moneyletting'. You

see, you take some money from your wealth, your excess wealth, that you're not

using, that you're piling up in the bank, in your savings, and you give that to the

poor. A percentage. Because of that, the little bit you give, Allah purifies your wealth.

 

But if you don't give that, then the whole body of what you have becomes impure. So

it is called 'zakah'.

 

 And don't the people who are less fortunate than yourself; don't they deserve a

portion of your wealth? Yes. And if Allah doesn't order us to do it, will we give it?  No

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we wouldn't, even when Allah orders us to do it, some of us still don't want to do it.

So zakah is for the poor, and to purify your wealth.

 

Fast in the month of Ramadhan, is for discipline. Is to learn self-control. If you cannot

Fast from sunrise to sunset, or before the sunrise to sunset, if you can't control your

tongue, if you can't keep from smoking a cigarette, if you can't stay away of your

desire for the wife, if you can't keep from thinking lustful thoughts, if you can't

control your anger, if you can't keep away from food, if you can't keep away from

these things for 12 to 14 hours, then what kind of a person are you? How powerful

are you? You can't control your private parts, you can't control your tongue, you can't

control your mind, you can't control your stomach, for only 12 or 14 hours? Then

after that Allah says: "Drink! Sleep with your wives! Eat!" "Smoke a cigarette if that's

what you'd do."

 

 So, it keep us to learn self control, and also, by doing that for 14 hours, you'll going

to get the idea how the people in Somalia, Eritrea, other parts of the world, who are

'fasting' involuntarily, every day. You'll get an idea how they feel. Not exactly

because you're doing it for 14 hours, it doesn't hurt you. I mean, your stomach

doesn't go to your backbone in 12 to 14 hours; but you know, you got a sort of a

sense of deprivation. So Allah, He joins you with the poor. Makes you a little more

humble. Doing that a private time, you read a little more Quran. You'll recite a little

bit more of the Book of Allah. You'll think more of the Prophet s.a.w's behavior. You'll

think more of your responsibility as a Muslim. You'll think more about Allah s.w.t, and

as a result to that, you elevate yourself spiritually. That's what the Ramadhan is all

about.

 

The pilgrimage: to the house of Allah s.w.t. It is not Allah's house in the sense that He

lives there. No, it's the house that Abraham and his son Ismail (peace be upon them)

built to commemorate the worship of one God.

 

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So now it's Muslims. You can go home and take your bath. And go with some Muslims

tomorrow, or next day, or the weekend; go to Mecca, visit the house of Abraham your

'father' and his son Ismail built for the worshipping of Allah s.w.t and make the lesser

pilgrimage, called the Umrah. And then when the Hajj time comes, you make that

pilgrimage and that's when you'll going to see what the power of this Islamic

brotherhood is about. You will never see it. You will never witness it, you will know it,

you will not taste it, until you make the Hajj.

 

 (Narration of  Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz @ Malcom X’s letter from Mecca)

 

"Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true

brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy

Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy

Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the

graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.

 

"I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca, I have made my seven circuits

around the Ka'ba, led by a young Mutawaf named Muhammad, I drank water from

the well of the Zam Zam. I ran seven times back and forth between the hills of Mt. Al-

Safa and Al Marwah. I have prayed in the ancient city of Mina, and I have prayed on

Mt. Arafat."

 

"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all

colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all

participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my

experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white

and non-white."

 

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"America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from

its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met,

talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered

white - but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I

have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together,

irrespective of their color."

 

"You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I

have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought-

patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions.

 

"During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same

plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept on the same rug - while praying to the

same God - with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was

the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and

in the deeds of the white Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black

African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana."

 

"We were truly all the same (brothers) - because their belief in one God had removed

the white from their minds, the white from their behavior, and the white from their

attitude."

 

"All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

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Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X)

 

(End of Narration)

  

 

I'm speaking to improve myself as a Muslim. And this is how we have to understand

that as a Muslim, you look into the face of other people, and you see yourself. And

you're talking to yourself. And if, what you're saying to yourself, if you believe it, then

you'll have no problem in conveying it. And I ask Allah to improve me as a Muslim. If

it doesn't the other Muslim, I ask him to improve ME, as person, and as a Muslim. And

I pray that you, brothers, that are here, that you don't leave here without making a

more formal reception of Islam. Sit down with Muslims when we eat and drink, and

embrace Islam more formally; clearly. Ask questions from a person with perpective.

 

And before you leave here today, make the commitment to go home and take a bath.

Not because you don't bathe every day, not because you're not clean, but just from a

ceremonial point of view. You see; your car looks better when being washed. Doesn't

it? your clothes looks better when they've been washed and pressed. So, if you make

a fresh commitment with God, you got some fresh inspiration, go home, use water,

wash yourself. And after you wash yourself, pray; any way that you know, and say "O

Mighty God, please preserve me, please guide me on this way, and make this way be

good for me, and inspire me with it, and make me and keep me as a good Muslim.

 

And if you ask Allah that, He is The One Who Gives Everything. He'll give you that, if

that's what you want. And if you want money along with that, ask Him for money! If

Islam, if being a Muslim is not enough, if it's money that you want, Ask Allah! Saying

sort of "Allah, I like Islam. I believe in you. I believe in Muhammad (pbuh) but I also

need some money. O Allah, please give me a raise!"

 

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And maybe your brothers here, maybe when they see your situation as one that

requires it, your employer or the brothers who are also Muslims, they'll help you if

that's what you need. Because we're all brothers!

 

You have a social problem; ask your brothers. They will help you because we're

brothers. Whatever your problem is, first be Muslims, and if you get problems: you

drink, you dance, you play with women, you gamble, you lie, you cheat, it's alright;

be Muslim. Because if you don't be Muslim you'll never change it. I don't say "keep

doing those things", but you start where you are. And you start straightening up your

house. If your house is in a mess, you don't say to yourself "oh, it doesn't even

matter!", because if it doesn't matter, then you just tear the whole house up.

 

But if you say to yourself "I'm gonna start tonight, at least i'm gonna take these

books up, and tomorrow night I'll make up the bed, tomorrow night I'm gonna sweep

outside, tomorrow night I'll clean the...

 

See? after a period of a month, you've straightened up the whole house, you've

straightened up your life. And you gotta help it you brothers.

 

So, may Allah help us and bless us, and I appreciate very much, brother. Your very

kind words and comments, are there any other questions or comments. Yes, brother?

 

 Question: First steps to become a Muslim?

 

Answer: Okay. You say; SAY: Asyhadu an laa ilaaha illallaah. Muhammad Rasulullah.

 

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Okay, all of us say: Asyhadu an laa ilaaha illallaah. Muhammad Rasulullah. Sallallahu

`Alaihi Wasallam.

 

This is the statement of Islam. It is only a word, but an atom, which is split, creates a

powerful explosion, doesn't it? With this one word, it will create explosion in your life.

You carry this word LA ILAHA ILLALLAH then you will never accept anybody else that

to be worshipped other than Allah. And you'll gonna love Allah, you'll gonna obey

Allah, you'll gonna worship Allah because you believe LA ILAHA ILLALLAH.

 

And when you say MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH (pbuh),  then you'll gonna accept his

example. His guidance. You'll gonna accept to his example. You'll gonna love the

Prophet s.a.w, you'll gonna follow the Prophet s.a.w and when you start loving him,

walk and following him, and accepting the guidance from him, you yourself will start

to absorb his character. And when you start absorbing the character of Muhammad

(pbuh), you will feel different, you will be seen diferent, you will be known different

and your whole life will be different.

 

This is how the process of Islam begins, my brother. You did it. We did it. All of us

have done it. Now from this process, you'll take the next steps and you're gonna sit

tonight and we'll gonna explain to whoever wants to, needs to, all the other steps.

But don't worry about the other steps. A baby; takes one step first and falls down.

Gets back up, takes two steps, falls down. And after two or three months the baby's

walking all over the house. And after six months the baby's running, and after a year,

the baby doesn't even need any help. Is that right or wrong?

 

We all start out as babies. You said: LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADAR-RASULULLAH,

then you say: ASY-HADU - I bear witness; that there's none to be worshipped except

Allah. And ASY-HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAR-RASULULLAH - and that Muhammad is

the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). So, with that doorstep statement, we're all Muslims

now. Everybody who said that is a Muslim. Now from this point, let us be good

Muslims. Practicing Muslims. And brothers.

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Is any thing somebody else here would like to add to this? Because again, I'm a new

Muslim. I just discovered Islam a few days ago. A few years ago. And it's still new to

me. So, what I'm saying to you, there's brothers here who'd say much better. I'm not

a scholar. But because I'm between them and you, they selected me to do this

talking to you. I'm in between THEM and YOU.

 

So, some of the brothers here might be able to say something to add to what I've

said and clarify some things for me. InsyaAllah. [END]