As-Salaam Alaikum.

Dear Helper in the Cause of Allah:

This letter is to introduce you to the new study guide material. These study and training units are based upon a speech which I delivered September 21, 1986 -in Phoenix, Arizona.

This speech, in my judgment, formally ushers in that which is the launching pad of a worldwide movement.

Each study session is designed on the guidance of Allah to produce: self-examination; self-analysis; self-correction; and, to quicken in each of us, the self-accusing spirit. For, it is only when we are awakened morally that we have to face the self-accusing spirit which leads to our resurrection.

Resurrection is that process that begins with the self-accusing spirit and does not end until we become one in perfect harmony or peace with Allah and His Creation.

"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1 Nay, I swear by the day of resurrection
2. Nay, I swear by the self-accusing spirit 2606(footnote)
3. Does man think that We shall not gather his bones?
4. Yea, We are Powerful to make complete his whole make..."
HOLY QUR'AN 75:1-4
Muhammad Ali Translation

Note that Verse 2 of Surah 75, Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection), is explained in footnote 2606 as indicating a spiritual resurrection. The rising to life of the spiritually dead and the Great Resurrection are one and the same. And the first stage in our spiritual resurrection occurs through the stimulation of our self-accusing spirit: that is, when the inner voice speaks, guides, warns, reproves, exhorts and accuses us of going contrary to what is right.

If you will notice, this inner voice does the work of a Messenger of Allah (God). Would you knowingly kill one of Allah's (God's) prophets or messengers? What would be the punishment if you did?

Everytime we act to still the voice of correction, coming from within ourselves, we are in fact murdering the Messenger of Allah (God). The result is spiritual blindness, leading to spiritual death, leading ultimately to an untimely physical death.

If we desire to stay alive spiritually, we must never still the voice of Allah (God) within. We must protect it, for in our moral awakening, it is the best friend that we have; for it is Allah (God) working on the inside of us.

The more we feed on truth and right guidance from Allah (God) the stronger the voice becomes. That inner voice is like a seed which can ultimately grow into its perfected state, to be the Mind of God Himself in you.

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..."
PHILIPPIANS 2:5

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to me that if he could choose any symbol to represent His Work, it would be the trumpet; for the trumpet is the symbol of resurrection. It is a man, a voice and a truth that is capable of quickening to life the inner voice, the spirit, the essence of Allah (God) in man.

"His quickening to life and this process of heeding truth and right guidance is the process which brings about a transformation in the Believer. As you know, mere belief counts for nothing except that it is carried into practice. This phase of our development is designed, by the help of Allah, to bring about a transformation or complete change in our lives. This is done by stimulating self-analysis and self correction in us. Our self-improvement actually brings into fruition the awesome power of Allah (God) to "make complete his (our) whole make." 75: 4.

No Believer is exempt from this study. Those whose desire is to be qualified as laborers, must be foremost in study and self-analysis in this transformation of our lives.

Each student, after studying the principle under analysis, must then analyze self and critique self. The study sessions, while leading the student to self-examination, first; self-analysis, second; self-correction, third; must simultaneously be therapeutic. Therefore, these sessions must be twofold. consisting of both theory and practice. The practice will refine the theory.

The student will receive assignments which allow him or her to apply the principle just learned. At the following session, the student will relate his or her experience in applying the principle and what the results were. The discussions will also consist of narratives from the students: when, in our personal experience, we failed to apply the principle and what were those results.

Let us remember: that the mosque is a place where people can repair or come out of a world that represents death and inhale the spirit of life in an atmosphere of peace, harmony, freedom, justice and equality; which is to give a prototype of the Kingdom of Islam (God). Today, however, the mosque must also be a launching pad for our activities, to establish the kingdom of Islam (God) on Earth. Therefore, self-development is an absolutely essential component of this microcosm of the new world.

It is not enough that we grow horizontally through the acquisition of farms, factories, banks, industry, trade, commerce, money, good homes. As you can see by the daily news, Allah (God) is destroying and rendering bankrupt, people who have money and good homes. Why? Because horizontal growth alone is death. All dead things are on a horizontal level. Therefore, we must grow vertically; grow in uprightness, or we will be overcome by our horizontal growth.

In all of our prayers in which we ask for blessings on Muhammad, we ask Allah to "...bless Muhammad and the followers of Muhammad, as Thou did bless Abraham and the followers of Abraham..." The Qur'an says that Abraham was an upright man and he was not of the polytheists.

These study sessions and practical applications if it be the Will of Allah, will strengthen us both vertically and horizontally.

May Allah bless you in your endeavors to do His Will for yourself and His people.

As-Salaam Alaikum.

Your Brother and Servant.

LOUIS FARRAKHAN

Minister Louis Farrakhan
National Representative of
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
The Nation of Islam

In The Name Of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.
I Bear Witness That There Is No God But Allah And I Bear Witness
That Muhammad Is His Messenger.

I GREET YOU ALL IN THE GREETING WORDS OF PEACE:

AS SALAAM ALAIKUM.

I want to say that I am very happy and honored to have this opportunity to be here in Phoenix, Arizona tonight. And I want to thank all who made this evening possible. To Brother Jabril Muhammad and the Believers in Mosque No. 32, here in Phoenix; to all of the friends and well-wishers; to the Chicano and American Indian Brothers and Sisters who welcomed me here; to the distinguished pastors; to the members of the Black religious community; I am very, grateful --- to the staff of the Plaza Symphony Hall; to the Police Chief and all of those who helped to make this evening a peaceful evening; we thank you from depths of our heart. Thank you, very very much.

I would also like to thank Minister Don and Sister Tynnetta Muhammad and all of those who spoke kindly of me and welcomed me to this beautiful city. I am very honored to come here. I am very honored to choose such a city in which to live and do the work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Mixed feelings and controversy surrounded the Honorable Elijah Muhammad when he first moved to Phoenix. Likewise, those mixed feelings surround Brother Farrakhan in my coming into this area. These mixed feelings of apprehension and fear and love and hope come because the man and his message is understood by many in the Black community, but misunderstood and purposely misrepresented by those in other communities and this is what creates such controversy around myself -- my person --- and the message that I represent. But, I am so grateful to Almighty God that all of you are here tonight to listen for yourselves; to make a judgement for yourselves. I think that is the most intelligent posture that we should hold.

If, in a court of law, a man is considered innocent until he is proved guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, then I would hope that you would save judgement of Brother Farrakhan until you have heard what I have to say. And, of course, those of you who have heard me on many occasions, you are listening to a man, who like yourselves hopefully is constantly growing, constantly evolving.

There is a song that they sing in the Christian church, "God Is Not Through With Me Yet". So, you have to be careful how you judge something that is on the move. In fact, the only time that you can judge a thing is when God puts a period to their life and their testament is finished. Then you can adequately judge. But, while the Testator is still writing His Testament, be careful what you say; you might have to retract your words.

I have chose for my subject: "SELF-IMPROVEMENT: THE BASIS FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT." Now, there are many, many developers who buy land and develop that land into communities, towns and cities; placing on this land magnificent structures costing hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars.

This activity of land development is going on in Phoenix and in cities around the country, and, indeed, around the Earth. However, to those who spend those hundreds of millions and billions of dollars building structures: unless we build people; unless the human potential of people is developed; then man, in his underdeveloped state, will ultimately destroy the cities that he has built because of revolution and war.

So, the Scripture is right in teaching, 'What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?' What would it profit us to build magnificent structures, beautiful buildings, magnificent bridges, built with magnificent technology and the soul of those human beings are wretched and deprived and underdeveloped and rottening from within? How does one lose one's soul? What is so important about the soul, or the essence of our being, that if we lose it, we lose everything?

There is a verse in this Book, the Qur'an, that says that on the Day of Judgement that if a man owned all of the wealth that is in the Earth, he would ransom it to keep himself from the chastisement of God. Well, what is it about the chastisement of God that is so great and what is it about the wealth that people abundantly seek that is so little, that you would give it all away just to save your life in a time of trouble? This is why I have chosen the subject, "SELF-IMPROVEMENT: THE BASIS FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT." Because it is the improvement of each of us as human beings that is lacking in the world, and because instead of human beings improving, they are degenerating. Then there is no hope for the nations, for they are all on a path of self-destruction.

It is written in the Holy Qur'an, which is the Book of Scripture for the Muslims, that Allah created man to face difficulties. God has brought us all onto the Earth to face one difficulty after another and it is the facing of these difficulties and the overcoming of these difficulties that helps us to improve our character and improve ourselves.
Now, the key word is 'to face' a difficulty. 'To face' a difficulty means to look at it; to assess it; to summon the total strength or our being to oppose it; to overcome it; to have a determined, persevering, courageous spirit to overcome the difficulty. There is no difficulty that man is faced with that man does not have the ability to overcome, if he will summon the strength of his being against that obstacle in the pathway of his progress.

But, how many of us turn our backs on difficulties? Whenever the difficulty comes, we turn away from it; try to find an easy road out of a difficult situation. I am talking to all of us. How many of you, when a difficult situation arises in your life, summon the strength of your being to stand resolutely and firmly in the face of that difficulty to overcome it? Or, do you turn away?

Brothers and Sisters, each time we turn away from the struggle to overcome difficulty, there then is deterioration of character and there is destruction of the Will --- and the Will that is within you is God's gift. It is His Essence that He gives to man and anything that deteriorates your Will destroys your ability to cope with the problems of life. Struggle is ordained.

Struggle is ordained by God. God is not a vicious God. He is a Loving, a Beneficent and Merciful God, but He ordains struggle. Because without struggle, you cannot bring out of yourself that which God has deposited within you. It is something that has to be brought out and it is a struggle overcoming difficulties that manifest your own gifts and your own sublime qualities.

Struggle is ordained, but the Qur'an teaches that 'after difficulty comes ease.' God gives you difficulty then He gives you ease. It is like a blacksmith, if you will, who is shaping a piece of steel. He puts it in the fire then he beats it and he cools it. This is the way God forges men and women of character. He does not forge you into great men and women without the fire, the water and the beating. These are the difficulties of life; we must face them; we must overcome them. All Praise is due to Allah.

Look at the little bird. See how it pecks its way out of the egg --- the shell. It struggles to come forward. Then, that bird struggles to get its balance and it struggles to fly. But, when it flies, it's gone. God has ordained struggle. Look at the caterpillar, how it struggles to get out of the cocoon and look at human life as it struggles to come forth from the womb.

Coming to birth is painful. It's painful to the mother, but if the baby could tell you what it just came through, the baby would have a story to tell; for ofttimes, when the baby comes forth, its head is pained, there are bruises on the shoulder, because birth is painful. Likewise, you cannot go to new levels of consciousness, new levels of awareness, new levels of power and development without pain; and if you shrink from pain and won't face the pain and face the difficulties, you will never evolve to the people that Almighty God intends for you to be.

This Book, the Holy Qur'an, teaches that man is created complete, yet incomplete. How is man complete, yet incomplete? There are stages of evolutionary development. We start, as the Qur'an teaches (and biologists will bear witness), from a cloudy drop of water called sperm, mixed with ovum. Then we evolve into a clot, then into an embryo, then into a fetus, then we come forward --- complete, yet incomplete. You are today complete, yet incomplete.

Human life has a pre-determined goal. The pre-determined goal of all human life is not to walk the streets of Phoenix with dope, no hope, no direction, no guidance. The pre-determined --- now listen to this --- I didn't say 'determined', but, 'pre-determined'. Before you came into existence, there was a goal set for your life and that goal for your life is written in the Bible and in the Qur'an: that goal is to make that life meet with its Source; its Creator.

This Qur'an says that many of you deny meeting with God. Some of you think that the only way you meet with God is that you have to die physically, and they say 'I am sending you' or 'You are going to meet your Maker.' No, no, no, no, no, that is the wrong way to understand Scripture, Brothers and Sisters.

Did you think that when you meet with God it's going to be a sit down --- 'How ya' doin', God! Glad to meet ya. Sure nice. I been thinkin' about you. 'Been prayin, now I get a chance to see you, talk to you.' This is not a meeting. To 'meet with' means to 'join' the essence of your being to the Essence of The Originator of all of this life. To 'meet with', to 'join with', that is the pre-determined goal of human life.

Look at you, male and female. You have a pre-determined nature that makes you gravitate towards one another. You just can't help yourself. If you make yourself other than that, that's what you did. Nature has given you a goal to meet one another. I'll get off of that. But that's all truth. We all have problems and those who have that problem, I hope you will listen carefully; and all other problems. Listen carefully to what Brother Farrakhan says to you tonight from The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and think about it, and I'll guarantee you that you will come away from here with a different perspective on your life tonight.

Now look. As we move towards union---male and female---or move towards union---people with people---this union brings joy and peace in a measure. When you marry, that doesn't mean you are united, that means your intention to unite has been sanctified in the presence of witnesses. You have intended to come together as one. But, it takes years of struggle to overcome the problems that keep male and female, which are made by God to be together as one, it takes years of struggle to become one. But, when you become one, there is joy and peace in that union.

I heard my Chicano brother say that the Mexicans and Blacks should no longer be divided; the Native Americans, the Mexicans, the Blacks, should no longer be divided. But I will say this: Humanity should no longer be divided. It is joy and peace when people can unite. But Indians and Mexicans and Blacks can never become a united people without a struggle.

We must struggle to overcome the difficulties imposed by our desire to be united. There are always attending difficulties. But how do you deal with it? Do you run away from it, or do you face it with the resolve that our unity is more important than the things that keep us divided with one another?

Now Brothers and Sisters, the greatest goal of all life is to meet with, or to form a perfect union with, Almighty God Allah. When there is a perfect union with God and when we become one with our Creator, then the Attributes of God come right across our own personality and character, so that we become one with the Source of life, so that when you see the person, you are actually looking at God.

Wait, now I don't want to throw you off. I want you to follow this carefully. If you can become one with the Creator, join with Him in a perfect union, which is a great struggle, then His Attributes, His own unique Personality, will impress Itself upon you and His own being will come across your being, so that you die, He lives, in you---through you. When they see you, they see Him, for you are in Him and He is in you. Is that clear? Are you alright?

This is what is meant in the Scriptures by the 'transfiguration' of Jesus of the Mount. It didn't take place in the valley; it never does. You have to go up in the Mount. Why? Because to climb a mountain tests your will, test you heart, test you endurance, tests all the fibers of your being. So, when you reach the summit---not the summit of a mountain---but the summit of life's struggle when you become one with your Creator. Then you can absolutely have His figure come across you.

This is why Jesus is so important in the New Testament. His life, according to the Qur'an, is a 'perfect example'. We need to understand why the life of Jesus is a 'perfect example'. I will touch that in a minute. We are talking on "SELF-IMPROVEMENT: THE BASIS FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT".

Now, all Muslims who are present, we have a ritual in Islam that is called 'Hajj' or 'Pilgrimage', where once in a lifetime every Muslim is to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca, in Arabia. I have been blessed to make that wonderful pilgrimage. But, when I made that pilgrimage, it was clear to me that the pilgrimage was nothing more than a sign of another journey; the journey of the sperm to its goal, which is to meet in Mecca, but to meet with that which Mecca represents, that which the Ka'bah represents.

When we get to Mecca, we say, 'labaika Allah-umma labaika' 'Here I am O Allah, in Your august Presence.' When you are in the Presence of God, when you have met with God, you have performed the real pilgrimage. And that, each one of us is to perform in our lifetime. Our whole life is a struggle to meet with the Source of our life.

The Qur'an says when you meet with God, you become a soul at rest and it says, 'O soul that is at rest! Well-pleased with thy Lord and thy Lord well-pleased with thee.' When you reach that point in your development where you have improved and developed to the point where you are a soul that is no longer fighting, no longer struggling, but you have reached the goal and soul is at rest; you are well-pleased with God and God is well-pleased with you. That's the goal. But to reach this great goal, there is struggle at every stage. After overcoming one stage, there is ease to build you up for the next stage of struggle. This is the path to God and this is the path to Self-improvement.

Now, if you look at the prophets, all of them are examples of this struggle. Every prophet that God sent into the world is an example of this struggle to meet with God.

Though the prophets' examples are not what I would call a perfect example; (because) the prophets struggled in the absence of God with Light from God that is considered, in symbolic language, 'moonlight'. Since the moon represents the Sun, in the absence of the Sun it has no light of its own; it borrows light from the Sun and reflects it to the Earth. Likewise, in the absence of God, prophets reflect the Light of God to the people of the Earth. But, they do not see. They are not a witness of God's Divine Presence; they are only a witness that God is interested in the affairs of men. Do you follow what I am saying? If you have a limited light, you can only be a limited example. The prophets of God had limited light; therefore, their example is limited. It is not the apex example of human beings.

This is why in the Christian context, Jesus Christ is the Supreme Example. Why is Jesus the Supreme Example? Jesus is the Supreme Example because he is not a 'prophet', in the classical sense of that name; he is the Master of prophets. He comes, not as 'a' star of God, but 'The Star' of God---for in Jesus is a witness, not that God is Coming, but that God is Present. Listen, listen, listen now.

Jesus becomes the Supreme Example because he is not moonlight, but he is actually sunlight, or, 'The Light of the World'. So, Jesus gives man a glimpse of his potential. Jesus is not here for you to worship him; he is here for you to follow his example, that where he is, you may be. Meaning that what he has become you also can become if you follow that path. Do you follow what I am saying?

Listen, Reverend. You know, Reverend, we waste a lot of time getting the people to worship Jesus, when in reality, we should be getting the people to follow his example. If the group had followed the example of Jesus, you wouldn't just have Jesus, Peter and Paul, but everywhere you look, you would see another Jesus. Because if you follow that example, Jesus is only manifesting what is really in yourself.

Are you following what I am saying? 'This is a different message from Farrakhan. I thought Farrakhan was telling us we should hate people.' You don't know where Farrakhan is coming from. You really don't listen. You'll understand me better if you stop trying to pre-judge and do some post-judging. Listen to what I am saying about this man, Jesus.

He is the perfect example of human potential. Therefore, he should be shown to men, not as some being that is out there in space, that we can never attain. That is the wrong way to preach Jesus. If you make Jesus acceptable, he becomes reachable. But If you put him out there on Cloud 9, saying, 'Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Master, Jesus has control of the forces of nature', and you don't show every human being that he was a born of a woman and came through the vicissitudes of life, just like you. He struggled and overcame and the last test that he had to overcome was death. Not this death that you are thinking about. I'll get to that later on. Not too long from now, don't worry.

But, he overcame death to give us an example of how death is to be overcome. But, once you get past a certain point, you are out there. It is like an astronaut going out in space. I mean, Brother, those first few minutes---they are rough. When they reach the ceiling of gravity, where there is pure fire; they are going through fire; they have the heat shield around them. It's rough Brother. But when they get out in Space they have gotten out of the pull of gravity of this sphere; then there is smooth sailing. But, getting out there--that is the test.

You know, when I was in church we used to sing a song at Easter time--in the Episcopal Church---I don't know how they do it in the Baptist Church. But, it went like this: 'The strife is o'er, the battle done, the victory of life is won. All glory to that risen Son, Allelujah!' Now, I sang that as a Christian, but today I understand it as a Muslim.

Tonight, there are Christians and Muslims praying together, singing together, seated together. Why? Because Farrakhan does not come into the Valley to divide people who believe in God, but to show those who believe in God that, if you truly believe in God and seek to understand what you believe, you find a way to connect things that appear to be diverse and different. Because, if we can connect Indians and Mexicans and Blacks, who appear to be different (and whites), then what can you do to connect Hebrews, Muslims, Christians. It should be easier to connect those who believe in God than those who are culturally and racially different. Tonight, we are going to overcome all of that.

I am sure you will agree with me that there is a great problem with man. I am not talking about color, now. The white man has a problem and is a problem to himself and others. Listen. Wait a minute. 'Now here comes that racism.' No, no, no, you just be quiet.

The Black man is a problem; he is a problem to himself and he is a problem to others. Listen The Chicano is a problem, but he is a problem to himself. The Indian---Native American---is a problem to himself. All human beings are suffering from a problem and the problem is not somebody else; the problem is yourself.

We have a problem. And tonight, what we want to do, is just analyze what is giving us all of this hell. Will you help me to analyze this thing?

I am a Black man and I love Black people. I sit and cry over the beauty that I see in Black people that perhaps others do not even see. I am willing to give my life tonight, if dying will make life better for you. I would leave here tonight and die for the Black man. I would much rather live for you, but if dying would do it, I would die tonight. I don't want to live seeing you in this condition; I do not care to live and watch my people dying in my face and I do nothing to help them out of this condition,. I cannot take that. But, Brothers and Sisters, listen to me.

If every white person on Earth dies tonight, you would have a problem tomorrow. My Chicano and Native American brothers and sisters, if the white man died tomorrow, you would have a problem the day after. The problem is not the white man. The problem is something within yourself that you are not facing up to. Listen to me. White people, there is something in yourself that you are not facing up to. So, each of us has some facing up to do. But, somebody has to show you your face, so that you can face up to your face and deal with yourself. Forget about your neighbor. I want you, tonight, to deal with you, because you are your worst enemy.

I listened to the television this morning. Reverend was really preaching.. He was preaching about how the devil is seeking to rob you. The devil is seeking to take joy from you. The devil is seeking to keep you from the Kingdom. The devil is going to do this, you can't let the devil do this. I mean, this devil raises a lot of hell, doesn't he? And no one can get a handle on this devil and choke the hell out of him. Tonight is the night I am going to let you put your hands on that devil that is giving you some particular hell, an you can strangle the hell out of him tonight.

The Holy Qur'an and the Bible teach us that God has no need for any of His creatures. He is above need of His creatures. He is independent of His creation, but all creation depends upon Him.

The Holy Qur'an, again teaches us that man thinks himself to be self-sufficient. He doesn't recognize his incompleteness. Man is created in need and he or she goes about his whole life in pursuit of the fulfillment of needs; we don't even recognize our need of God until trouble afflicts us. The more trouble afflicts us, and there is no one around to help us, then we call on God, making our prayer sincere.

I went into the sweat lodge with our Native American Brothers and Sisters. If you have never had that experience---it is an experience. In there with fire; heat like you have never felt; darkness that resembles the darkness of the womb out of which birth comes.

I was outside of the 'inipi', listening to those who went in in front of me; I listened to how they called on God when they were praying. When that heat got hot, I heard them say 'Oh, Grandfather!' And I mean there was no insincerity in it. You could tell they were reaching for somewhere deep down within. I heard the Muslims, in the 'inipi', saying 'Oh Allah!' I mean, they cried His Name out with such fervor, such sincerity. I said, 'Uh-huh. God has to keep us in total trouble in order to get a sincere prayer from our lips.'

And even those who think they don't believe in God. Just travel on these airplanes and wait until it hits a severe (air) pocket and bumps. You see the Christian grab for his cross. You see the Jewish person get the Star of David or the Talmud; a Muslim gets the Qur'an, or something divine. They don't ask for the navigator, because he cannot see where he is going. They reach outside the plane to somebody that they know, or believe, has power over this wind, over the forces that are tearing this plane apart.

And the Qur'an says: "And lo! (When I get you safely to port), you set up other gods besides Me. Surely man is ungrateful.' Look at how you get on the plane and the man says, 'This is Flight 242, American Airlines. We will be landing in Los Angeles in 3 hours and 40 minutes. We will be flying at speed of 450 knots, at an altitude of 36,000 feet and we are looking for an on time arrival.' He does not say, "God Willing.' He doesn't recognize that there is another Power here. He (thinks he) is the power.

Listen to me carefully. That word, "I", that personal pronoun "I", represents 'independence.' "I" will do this. "I" will say that...Don't worry, just as good as done. I will take care of it.' It's the ninth letter of the alphabet. The number nine (9) represents completion.

Man is complete, yet he is incomplete, but he does not want to recognize his incompleteness. He is not sufficient, but he wants to think that he is self-sufficient, so his thinking of his self-sufficiency and his completeness damages his perception of reality. So he says, 'I will see you tomorrow. Oh, yes, the money I owe you. I will pay you on the weekend.'

Brothers and Sisters, we cannot speak independently of God. We have no control of tomorrow. We must always recognize Allah and remember our need of Him and our complete dependence upon Him, lest we abort our development. The moment you say 'I' and you don't think there is another Power and you don't recognize that there is another Power, you are setting up a state of mind, an attitude, that will abort your own meeting (with God) and start you on a degenerative road.

Listen. The Bible says, when you speak, say 'I will do thus and so, if it be the Will of God.' The Qur'an says, when you speak, say, 'I will do thus and so, Inshallah (if it be the Will of God).' Because between today and tomorrow, there are forces that you know nothing of, that can interfere with all of our plans. So our plans must be contingent upon whether God will permit it, or whether Allah will permit it, or Grandfather will permit it, so we must acknowledge Him, lest we make a serious mistake and abort our own progressive development and improvement in character.

Moses is given to you (the biblical Moses) and me as an example. Here is a man that God chose; a man that God taught; a man that God empowered; a man that led his people out of Egypt into the wilderness. He used a rod that God gave him with Power and Majesty, but he was overcome and said, 'Must I smite the rock and bring forth water?' And God said, 'What is this? What is wrong with you, Moses? What do you mean, must you smite? Have you forgotten Me?' Moses quickly repented. He said, 'Oh, I am sorry.' God said, 'It's too late. For this, Moses, I am going to deny you the Promised Land.'

Now, here is a man who served God faithfully, but spoke independently of God, because power has a way of making you forget. See, you that lust for power, you that have it; you that lust for fame, you that have it; you that lust for money, you that have it; you that have some of these things that most of us strive for; once you have it and people admire you, there is a tendency to forget Who it is that you are dependent upon. When you forget, you lose something. Moses (biblical Moses) lost the Promised Land. What will you lose? See, you lose the Promised Meeting with God, by thinking that you and I can do, on our own.

If Jesus is the Prime Example, and he said, 'I of myself can do nothing, but whatsoever the Father Wills, that I do.', he is telling you that he is dependent. He is not Sovereign Lord. He is dependent upon a Power bigger than himself. Well, that example should be studied by us, for the Qur'an teaches us that Allah loves not any self-conceited boaster, who goes about the land exultingly. In fact, the Qur'an says the most hateful sound to God is the braying of an ass. Even if he gave the ass a voice, he doesn't like to hear it. When you talk like the jack ass, going about in the land exultingly, self-conceited boaster, saying and thinking that you can do things which you really cannot do, then God intervenes to show you that you are not what you think you are.

Look at how many rockets have fallen out of the sky. With a few successful launches of the new program that came out of NASA, suddenly every rocket they sent up exploded. See, there is another Power and that Power is trying to tell you, 'Look, man, you are not God. You had better wake up and recognize, you are coming out into My Universe, taking a peek at what My technology has built. Why don't you bow down and recognize that there is somebody bigger than you?

Now. This part of the lecture is really the heart of it. This is very difficult and I want you to pay attention.

In this Qur'an, as well as the Bible, Allah says, 'I am going to place a ruler in the Earth.' And the Angels say to Allah, 'What will you place in it except that which will create mischief and cause the shedding of blood?...We celebrate Your Praise and extol Your Holiness.' But, God says to them, 'I know what you know not....I am going to place a ruler in the Earth and that ruler that I place in the Earth is going to create mischief and cause the shedding of blood.' The Angels say, 'You are Holy, why would you do a thing like this?' And God says, 'I know what you know not.' Listen carefully, now.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us a very clear interpretation of the Qur'anic passage. That interpretation dealt with a ruler who is over the nations of the Earth, who has created mischief and the shedding of blood. But God, Who knows best, said that even though a mischief-maker 'has become the ruler by My permission, nevertheless, at the end of the mischiefmaking and bloodshed there is something that will wipe away the pain of his rule...I know what you know not.'

Tonight, I would like to advance another interpretation of that scripture. You say, 'Wait a minute, Farrakhan. Who are you to advance an interpretation?' Really, nobody, just a student of a great teacher. But you know, it is wrong for any man to think that any one interpretation of a divine word is the interpretation. How could this be God's Word and you treat it as though it is your word? If The God, Who reveals the Book, gives a Word that is comparable to His own consummate knowledge of things, then how could you dare say that His Word is limited to your meager interpretation or mine? I would like to offer this interpretation to you as another way to look at scripture.

Listen. 'I am going to place a ruler in the Earth.' Not on the Earth, but in the Earth. Where did you come from? Your flesh is from what? The vegetation of the Earth. Your bone is from what? The stone of the Earth. Your blood is from what? The water of the Earth. This lump of flesh and blood and bone has to have a ruler in it. Something that rules it; something that commands it; that dominates it. Is that right?

Now look Who is talking. This is the Lord of Creation talking. 'I am going to place a ruler in the Earth.' And the Angels said, 'My God, what You are going to place is going to create mischief and cause the shedding of blood.' Then He answered, 'I know what you know not.' Now, if God is going to form this body and He knows that you are supreme above the Sun, Moon and Stars, above all the creatures; you are the supreme existence --- Man and Woman. He is going to place in you a ruler. But, the ruler that he puts in you has got to come through stages of development and on its way is going to create mischief and cause the shedding of blood. I want you to follow me, because I want you to see yourself.

'I am going to place a ruler...' In Hebrew,' ruler means 'Elohim' or 'God', 'Divine Essence', 'Will', 'Divine Force.' God shares Himself with Man and Woman. The only reason you can say 'I' is because the true 'I' has shared a part of His 'I am' with you, that you may be. Look, now. He, Allah, God, places in you a Power from Himself. I am going to say this --- it may create a lot of trouble. But you all are ready for trouble. When God gives you some of Himself, that is a Power that you have to learn how to handle. You see people get rich too fast; what happens to them? You have to be spiritually equipped to handle the Power of God. When God shares Himself with you, He gives you a problem to overcome. You have to struggle with the only force that is in you, which is the God Force. There is no other force but God. 'But I thought there is a Devil.' Wait a minute. That is what you become when you abuse the God Force and use it for negative ends.

Many years ago, people thought that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Then they thought that perhaps the Sun was the center of the Universe. So, we asked the Honorable Elijah Muhammad one day, 'Is the Sun the center of the Universe?' He said, 'The Sun is very near the center.' He didn't say any more. The Sun is not the center. God, Himself is the center of what He creates. He makes everything to revolve. If the Sun were the absolute God, it wouldn't move; it would just make everything else move. But the Sun is also revolving. It is near the center and there is an Unseen Reality that makes the Sun move.

Look at a child. What makes a child want to be the center of attention? Have you seen your children? You have been one, probably you still are. How many of us want to be the center of attention? 'Hey, look at me, ha, ha.' Why do you think people go into show business? They want to get attention. And when people shower attention on them, they feel so good. They become a star; they become great. Then they begin to think they are different; they talk different. It takes time for the child to mature, to realize that there are others in this world other than himself. I want you to look, now. Don't look at anybody else; look at yourself, because I am talking to you.

If the child does not get attention, he resorts to destructive means to get it. God is a Lifegiver, but God also Destroys. The same Power is within us; we can give life, but we can also destroy. So, if we don't get attention, we break the party up. 'If the organization won't recognize my tremendous skill and ability, I'll break the organization up.' Look at you. 'If the church won't recognize that I can sing better than anybody in the choir and give me a solo, then the hell with the choir, I'll break it up.' What kind of mind is that? What kind of power is that, that you have misused? See, someone is creating mischief with a created thing. Your voice is a gift of God, but it is the way you use it.

The child must learn to accept its place with others You are the center of nothing. And you are deluding yourself if you think you are. There is always a True Center and you are not it; neither am I.

Again, I am quoting from the Qur'an; the Qur'an says the 'Jinn' was created before Man. Some scholars say that 'Jinn' means a being of fiery nature and temperament. Have you ever watched an infant when you don't give it its desire? The infant will cry so hard. Watch it now; it cries so hard until you see fire come right up in its face; it may be Black, but it turns red with the fire of anger, because 'You didn't give me what I wanted! I am hungry! I want to be changed; not tomorrow, right now! And if you don't change me, I'll raise so much hell, nobody in this house will sleep!' The infant is a creature of emotion.

If the Jinn comes before the Man, you must come through the fire of emotion before you can become a developed human being. You have to learn to control these forces within your own being that come from God Himself, before you can become a human being.

The child wants gratification now. Allah says you must learn patience. And when you are patient, it shows that you are maturing psychologically. The child is selfish. It wants everything for itself. It must learn respect for others. The child must be tolerant of others. The child must learn to share with others. And so, a child has all of these forces within that have to be controlled; that is why God gives children parents.

It is something to make a baby and not know what to do with it. Most of you, dear mothers, are wonderful, wonderful creatures, but you make babies and you don't know what to do with them. Poor father, he is just out there. He just plants the seed and runs away. He doesn't know what to do with life. You are given to the child, mothers and fathers, parents; we are given to exercise control over these forces within the child. And you must feed your child knowledge, guidance, as you exercise control, that the child may grow into the proper use of the Divine Force. Therefore, when the parent does its job, it turns the child over to institutions that become the stewards of the Life Force.

School is not school---it is the Steward of the Life Force in your and my children. It is the 'other Mother', the other nurturer and fosterer of this child and its development on the road to its meeting with God. Listen, now, schoolteacher. You have never been trained like this.
Church---that is an institution. The pastor is supposed to educate the congregation in the matter of control and guidance of their lives and the young lives of their children. Then, you have Government---that is an institution. These are the stewards of the Life Force of the people. Therefore, you are given the privilege to make laws to govern the people. But what have you done? You have created mischief and cause the shedding of blood, because there is ignorance in the parents; church; there is ignorance in the government. In fact, children rule over us.

Each of us has great potential, but a just and balanced home, governed by wisdom, fosters that potential. However, when another, or one people, to the neglect or detriment of another, we set up the destruction of that home, that school, that society; for you are making devils. 'What did you say?' Yes, I said you are making devils. And, when you make a devil, you ought to be responsible for what you make. You are making your destruction, in your homes, in the schools, in the church, in the society; we are making devils. Now, wait a minute. 'My God, Farrakhan, this is terrible.'

Look at all of you righteous people in the church. How come there is no peace there? Come on all of you saints; you sanctified ones. Who is raising hell in your church? 'Well, it's the devil.' Yes, the devil in you. You don't want to come to grips with that, do you? I told you, you are going to have to strangle that beast before tonight is over.

Man can be an animal or Man can reflect God. You start in this world, like a fish, swimming in a bag of water. You evolve out of that and you come forth crawling; like other crawling things on the Earth. God never intended for you to be an animal. He wanted you to be a coming out of the animal stage of development into a moral consciousness, where you have a spirit in you that accuses you for what you do, based on that which you know instinctively is right.

I remember once I went to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. There was a young girl; she was about twelve (12) years old and she had committed an act of fornication; she wanted me to go the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and plead her case, because she said her mama never taught her; that she did this thing and she was ashamed, but if her mother had taught her about these things, she probably would not have done it. So, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, 'Brother, don't let that little girl put that stuff over on you.' He said, 'Her mama didn't have to teach her. Ask her where did she do this thing. And, if she went and did it in the dark, which I am sure she did, then that meant she did not want the light to discover her activities.'

Listen, now. Listen to what he said. When you are innocent of something, you do it in the open. But, when you have to find a dark place to do your thing, whatever it is, then this means there is something about this that you know you should not be engaging in. So, he said, 'Go and give that girl time.' Now, when he told me that, he said, 'God created the planets at right angles to the Sun and He created the brain cell of Man to think right. So when you think other than right, you think against the grain of the brain cell; therefore, you damage your brain the power of the mind.'

There are things that you instinctively know are right; you don't have to be taught that. The nature of you is created that way. There are other things that you have to learn, but most of us know right from wrong. It is an instinctive thing that God puts right within the nature of you. So when there is a moral consciousness, your mind says: 'I shouldn't do that. I am wrong.' Then you are coming awake. And, when you are condemning your own actions, then there is an awakening of moral consciousness. You are coming out of an animal stage into moral stage of development; that is a very good sign. But when you can do evil with impunity and don't feel anything, you are dead morally, dead spiritually and you are an animal in your so-called 'human' existence.

We live in a world that is spiritually and morally undeveloped and man's potential to become human has not been realized. People all over this Earth exist on an animal plane. And that is why, in the Book of Revelations, John the Revelator saw four great beasts as having charge over man. You are controlled by beasts in human form. And you yourself have become a beast in human form.

God gives you, in scriptures, a snake crawling in the garden and some of us have become just like that. We slip up on our brother in a crooked, surreptitious, snakelike manner, whispering deceit. That is a person with human potential, but who has generated into a viper. So Jesus said, 'You generation of vipers.' Look at what he called people. He called them snakes. They weren't actual snakes, but their actions were like a snake because the Divine Force of the Divine Light within them was being used for negative purposes; therefore, they had become an enemy to God and enemy to His Will for themselves, as well as each other. They had become 'Shaitan', 'Satan' or 'Devil'.

I am not blind to what I am speaking of. Here is a man on drugs. His wife is clean. His evil has affected himself so that he does not want to stop at himself, so he goes to his wife and he says, 'Baby, you ought to try this.' I have seen men smoke reefer and blow the smoke of the reefer into their baby's face. I have seen men feed their children beer or wine. Well, if you will abuse that life with wine, whiskey, beer or drugs, you will abuse it sexually. Animals in human form. Beasts in human form, demanding respect. Who can respect an animal with Divine potential? I can cope with a dog when it lifts its leg by the fire hydrant, but I cannot cope with a human being that acts like an animal. That human being needs to be taught. The animal is instinctively an animal; but you, you can come out of that stage that you are in.

There is but one life and that is Divine Life. All life comes from water, is that right? Water is H20, is that right? It has three (3) stages, or, it can take three (3) forms, depending upon the condition of the atmosphere. If the temperature falls 32 degrees and below, water changes form and becomes what? Ice. If it is 32 degrees and above, to 212 degrees, it becomes what? Liquid. When it gets above 212 degrees, it becomes what? Steam, or gas. God gives you Divine Life. Ice is the opposite of steam. God is the opposite of Devil. There is but one life. God gives you life. Now, how do you live it? If you live it in a negative way, under the influence of your own life force that you will not struggle to master, then you become a devil in your person. You become an opposer to the Will of God in your person. There is no devil outside of you giving you hell, it is you, the devil of yourself, raising hell with yourself and on the Earth.

Does this negate what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught? No! This bears witness to what he taught. The more you struggle to gain mastery over yourself, the closer you come to God. It is faith in God that stretches you towards Him. It is your faith in Him that makes you move closer to Him to connect with Him. And when you connect with Him, Heaven and Earth meet.

This is why, in the Book (I think it is Genesis), Jacob wrestled with an angel all night long, until his life was preserved. You have to wrestle with the God Force in your own Self, in order to advance. If you do not wrestle and overcome with an intelligent, enlightened, mature mind, you become a devil.

We have reached the point, or place in time, where the childlike, mischievous, bloodshedding nature of man is threatening his own existence. Man's desire to become the center has ruined his own world.

Now, I am going to speak specifically to Caucasian people---without malice, without hatred, just speaking to the facts. You have desired to be the center of the life of all other peoples of the world. You want your culture, your way of looking at God, your way of looking at life, to be what they perceive reality is. And because you desire that like a child, to be the center of everything; white folks, you are not the center; you have got to take your place. Listen to me good! Your desire to be the center has ruined you, ruined your soul and ruined your nation and ruined your world. You are not the center. God has always been (the center), but you won't recognize Him, with your proud, arrogant, haughty, self-conceited, boastful, mischiefmaking, bloodshedding malice.

It is this childishness that produces racism. 'Well, my color is better than yours. See, I am white.' Or, the reverse, "My color is better than yours, I am Black.' 'Well, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that Black is beautiful.' It is; it should be to you. But, if you take that to the extreme, you will become what you condemn. If Black is so beautiful, and you are so supreme, how can you walk with the Indians? How can you walk with the Chicanos? How can you walk with another human being? If Black is supreme today. I am the Black man.' 'Well, you ain't so Black.' 'Well, I'm Black enough.' Then it starts getting ridiculous. Chinese people saying, 'It's time for the the slanted-eyed people to rule. Only rice-eaters rule today.' Mexicans say, 'No, no, no. It's tortilla time.' These are children. These little children playing childlike games with the Divine Force of Life. You cannot do it. This has messed you up, white folks. And it will mess you up, Black man. We cannot play that kind of game.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught you Blackness, because the Caucasian had made you hate what God had created you to be. He didn't teach us Blackness for us to be another mischiefmaking devil in the name of Blackness.

Sexism: 'I'm a man. I run this thing. Get in the home where you belong, woman. Shut up! You don't speak here. Cook! Sew! And, above all, have babies.' That is a hell of a mischief-making role to put a woman in and make you a 'thing'. And you, with your silly self, you go along with it.

Here is a man who dresses you up like a piece of meat and you don't care to be anything but a piece of meat for a man to look at and measure. 'I'm 36-23-42.' Sex is created thing, that man, in his mischievous, childlike nature, wants to abuse now. Look at you little devils. We are messed up.

'My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty.' I can see President Reagan now, standing there with his hand over his heart, tears running out of his eyes, as the Statue of Liberty is lit; a big overgrown, child. Mischief-making child! What makes America greater than any other nation? Nationalism is a curse when you put your nation above others. It is righteousness that exalteth a nation, not technology. You are not righteousness, you are a self-inflated, self-conceited, selfish, self-centered, vain, egotistical, proud, arrogant six-day-old child.

'More gold! More gold! Anybody got gold? Well, I'll take the gold. Alright, you Indians, I marched you all out West, put you on the worst land I could put you on, now I find that you have the last energy resources in America. Indians, I am coming after you one more time. I want the oil; I want the uranium; I want the gas; and I don't care how many human lives, how many babies I kill, because I am a mischief-making, bloodshedding, child. I am a Devil in human form.'

I know that there are 22 million Black people in South Africa, but we whites, we have the right to take this land. We have the right! We built these cities, we built these towns. These niggers didn't do anything! Get in the mines and get the gold! Get in the mines and get the diamonds! That's all you are good for. Your human life, your human potential, means nothing. You are Black!' You are a devil. This is Satan Botha talking, Satan Thatcher talking. They are deliberating over our lives. Satan, Devil, Beast in human forms. 'I thought you stopped calling people devils.' I call you what you are.

I do not say this with hate; I want you to see that you are facing the challenge of your life, because now your white racism is producing a backlash. Now, Black people want to assert their Blackness and they have a better 'rap'. You tried to make us think we are inferior, but when a Black man says, 'I am the Original Man', you cannot deny it. You cannot say that we are making up a lie. How can we be inferior, and we produced you (you didn't produce us)? How could we be inferior and your genes have their origins in our genetic structure? How could we be inferior and we slept in order to allow you to rule? We are waking up, now, you cannot rule us any more.

So the Yellow Man is coming up, asserting his power today. The Brown Man, in Japan is coming up, asserting his power, today. The Black Man, in Africa, the Caribbean, America and the Isles of the Pacific, is coming up today, reaching for his power. But, it is a childlike reaching that is producing bloodshed and more bloodshed. But God said, 'I know what you know not.'

'I know that he is a Mischief-maker, but he can come out of that. I know he is a little devil now, but I am going to make him a God after a while. Yes, he is going to fulfill all of the evil that he can do, until he is dissatisfied with his own rebelliousness. He is going to long for a change and that is when I will come. I will come in the fullness of Time. I will come after the works of Satan. And I will offer Man a chance to redeem himself.' Look at it, Brothers and Sisters. This is your Bible, really, opened up in front of your eyes. When the Bible talks about the resurrection of the dead, it is not talking about people coming up out of cemeteries, it is talking about the Divine Light of God coming up out of you after it has been frozen in the death of a childlike existence.

In my conclusion: Adam fell and Adam's fall is only a picture of man's fall from his Divine position with God. Adam was no shallow creature. Adam was a man who had power over angels. He was born to take God's place in the rulership over this domain; born with that potential. But he disobeyed; he transgressed and he fell. 'Fall' does not mean he fell out of the heaven onto the Earth. 'Fall means when you fall from your spiritual power, your moral make-up. You become and animal in human form. That is a fall, Brothers and Sisters. And I suggest to you, with deep respect, that Humanity has fallen and become cheap, base animals in human form.

You could not do the things that you do, if you were not an animal in human form. You don't steal from another human being. You don't beat up an old man or hit an old woman in the head. This is not white people doing this; this is you, Black man, doing this to yourself. You don't take a young girl and throw her down in an alley and rape her. She is not offering herself to you; that is the act of an animal, a sick, depraved mind. You are a sick people and you need a doctor. This 'Black and proud' stuff is not where it's at anymore, Brothers. You are sick and you need a doctor., You need to come up out of that condition because you have become an enemy to yourself.

The Old Testament is a testament of Law. Moses brought a law. You don't give laws to a righteous people. Look at his law: 'Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not kill.' What kind of people is this?

God gave Moses a law for this world. As long as that law existed, the wickedness of man was kept under the wrap of a righteous law. But, when Nimrod broke the civilization of Moses, he broke the law. Once there was no law, wickedness rushed out of the people's souls, because they were wicked and the law made them look right.

Jesus came into the world and the people said 'He doesn't come preaching the law.' They were so dark in their minds, they killed him. Now, we are 6,000 years from Adam. We are at the end of the law. God doesn't come to control you with law. Law is only a cover for your wickedness, it does not make you better. Listen!

I just came from Mecca, in Arabia. If you fornicate, they will cut your head off. If you steal, they will chop your hand off. They don't have a lot of stealing and there is not a lot of fornication and adultery. That doesn't mean that people don't want to do it, though. It is just that the price is too high. So, they think about it all night long. And when they get on that plane going to London and Paris, they take off those holy garments and put on their jeans. The sheiks are in the disco; they fornicate, commit adultery, do anything that they are big enough to do. Then, when they return to Saudi Arabia, they are 'holier-than-thou'.

You see, law is a cover for hypocrisy. It makes you look right when you are wrong. It is hell on the inside. This is why Jesus said that he that lusts after a woman in his heart has already committed the act; Jesus was not interested in you looking good on the outside, he was interested in purifying man from the inside and the law will never do that. Some one has to grow a man out of this childlike stage. And what is the Force that grows, evolves, feeds, nurtures, nourishes?

The New Testament is called the testament of Love. And so, Love replaces Law. Man gets a period of Grace and in that Grace there is Love. If that is rejected, then comes Destruction.

Now, what I am saying to you, when I speak to the Jews, is not hatred. I am concerned that you do not end up being destroyed by God. I am saying to you, that what you have done to the Palestinians is wrong. You don't like me. What did I do? I say, 'You're wrong.' I didn't do anything against you. I am like your mother. A good Jewish mother will spank you when you are wrong. A good Jewish mother does not care whether you desire a thing; if it is wrong, she will speak against it. You may dislike her for a while, but you will get over it. But Brother Farrakhan is Black. I don't look like your Jewish mother, but I am better than she is by you, because you are wrong, and I must tell you that! Whether you like me or not is irrelevant and immaterial. But, if you will come back from your wicked ways and grow up, you can return to God. You cannot force yourself on Him as the chosen people! God chooses whom He pleases and He doesn't choose you today! That is all that I am saying. Unless you choose Him! If you choose Him and will submit and return and repent, then alright, come on in! But don't attack Farrakhan! 'Death to Farrakhan!' Death to me? For what?!

You don't want me in the Valley. What is so precious in the Valley that you don't want me here? You are, according to what I heard on the news, ranked Number 5 in the country in dope. You should want me all over the Valley.

You think that man is physical, so you feed him physical things and you think that he is satisfied. You cheapen women. You give them a fur coat: 'Here, baby. Wear this fur coat, darling. Here is a diamond ring, put it on, sweetheart. Bless your heart. Honey, what else do you want?' And you walk away and tell your friends, 'I know that she loves me.' Then you find her in bed with someone else and you wonder why. It wasn't the diamond ring; it wasn't' the fur coat. You have misjudged reality.

When you get away from God, you misperceive. You think she is a thing, so you give her things. But her essence is the Essence of God. She cannot be satisfied with 'things'. You have to give her what her soul is born and created to feed on, and it cannot feed on 'things'; it feeds on the spiritual essence in a man that is made by the nature of "God to complement what is in her nature. Listen, Black man, and listen, all men!

You are not a thing and she is not a thing; therefore, material things cannot satisfy us. When I look at the mountain, it is a 'thing'. But it is a thing of magnificence, because I see beautiful trees; look at the insects; look at the life here. This is magnificent. So what does it do? It feeds something in you that makes you want to go behind the veil of the mountain, the veil of the valley, the veil of the flower, to see the reality behind the veil; and the Reality is God.

And so, Beloved, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen; for she has become a habitation of devils; a hole of every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hateful bird. 'Babylon' is talking about America, specifically, but the condition of the whole world generally. It is a habitation of devils and a cage for every hateful bird and a hole for every foul spirit.

Go out in the street. There are people drunk, filled with drugs; they hate you because you are Black, you hate them because they are white, or Mexican or Indian. I listen to the cheap remarks that one passes against another. It is wrong to degrade another human being who is already degraded. You can't call him a nigger and degrade him; you can't call a Mexican a 'spic' and degrade him; he is already degraded. He is a devil. He has degraded himself; he has become an animal. You can't call a white man a 'honky' and degrade him; he is already degraded. He is a devil. He deprived you of what God wanted you to have; therefore, in depriving you, he deprived himself. He is an enemy to God and he is an enemy to himself. You have become an enemy to God and an enemy to yourself. No one is holding you back; it is you. You are in your own way.

'A habitation of devils.' I did not come to Phoenix to add to these problems, but to use the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to help solve these problems. And so, until we can face ourselves, until we struggle for self-improvement, self-development, then we cannot see the good in ourselves; therefore, we will not see the good in others. And it is only when you can see the good in yourself, see the good in one another, that you can start building a true community.

You will start building better homes when you understand, parent, that you have a duty. You can hardly fulfill your duty, because you have to work. Who is watching your children? You are working, man; she is working. What are the babies doing? What of those children? Who is guiding them? Who is helping them and nurturing them; fostering them? The street!

Send them to school, and what do they find there? A racist school! A white-centered school! I cannot send my babies to school and you are going to extol your race over all other people as though we are just 'also rans' on the Planet! How is that good for your babies' minds? We ought to either change the schools or take our children out of them, because the more your children get a racists, sexist, materialist education, their ability to run the race of life will fail them. Their teachers have failed in the race of life, the government has failed in the the race of life; therefore, they are unfit for the stewardship of the Life Force in human beings.

Beloved, economic development must become a reality and we cannot look to the government to do it for us.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt started welfare and welfare was alright, but when you keep a medicine going beyond the time it begins to kill the patient. Welfare has grown to mean 'farewell' to productive living. No human being can be self-gratified waiting for a check to come on the first of the month. This is degrading to the human spirit. It robs us of the ability to struggle to attain our own potential. We are only self-gratified when we earn our own way. So we must develop to the point where we can say 'Farewell' to welfare.

With 206 billion dollars coming to Black people every year, there is no reason why we cannot say 'farewell' to welfare. But we don't produce any of the things we consume. So we sit around and laugh and make mockery of the Arabs, the Jews, the Chinese, the Koreans and others who are in our neighborhood, serving our needs; but we refuse to serve our own needs. Therefore, they take the money out of our community into their communities. They live in Paradise Valley while you live in South Phoenix, in a terrible condition. We have got to turn this around.

We have decided that we are going to produce some products that we spend money for every day. We have got to get some of that money back into our own hands to build institutions that serve our people's needs. Indian, Mexican, Chicano, Black---we must serve our own community.

I was on the Indian reservation and they said to me, 'Brother Farrakhan, why don't you come and set up businesses on the reservations?' I said, 'No.' And they said, 'Why not?' I said, 'If I did that, I would be no better than any other exploiter. I said, 'What we will do is come and help you set up your own businesses; then you make the money from your people because that is what we will be doing for our people.' We cannot condemn exploitation and then become exploiters.

You know, you must wash and clean if you are going to come out of this condition. Bad smelling and bad acting people, nasty and dirty, is not going to make it. You must clean up. Jesus said, 'Wash and be clean.'

So, we have come out with a new product called 'Clean N Fresh'. Brand-spanking new. 'Herbal Essence Shampoo.' Clean your hair; keep it clean. Don't have you hair in the condition where lice like you, stay with you, cling to you, because you are unclean. And when you put the shampoo on, you must get the conditioner. You must keep your hair in good condition. This is a 'one-two punch'. And it will knock out the dandruff and all that bad conditioning of your hair and make it soft and easy to manage. It is as good product, Brother and Sister. And we are coming into the Valley with a line of products. We want to offer you a chance to sell these products and earn a living and make some money to better your condition. Self-improvement must also men economic advancement.

Here is a wonderful roll-on deodorant; a beautiful shower and bath liquid soap; a beautiful hand and body lotion. Here is a conditioner and hair dress. Brothers and Sisters, this is the first of a line of products.

Within the next few months, we are coming out with a 'Power Plus' line of detergents for household use. Our brothers and sisters who are out of a job; we want to create a job for you. We will teach you how to sell and you go. And the commissions you make on selling these products will begin to add to your own life. This is only the beginning. It is a humble beginning. It is not what we want, but we must start someplace. When we start, can you imagine the money coming from this?

We want to help the school system in Phoenix, but we also want to build a school system that is a model for the school system that we desire to help. We must build our own hospitals. The Mexicans, the Indians, the Blacks; we must have our own hospitals. We cannot let others experiment on us. We must care for ourselves, then God will bless the child that has his own.

And so, dear beloved Brothers and Sisters, I conclude by saying to each of you---you and I---we must come out of an animal or carnal existence. We must become moral and act upon that which is morally right. Community development is not building buildings. Community development is building people and linking people with people.

'The strife is o'er and the battle done. The victory of life is won. All glory to that risen Son, Allelujah!' What strife is o'er? The struggle to meet with God. That struggle is o'er, the ascendant child of the Creator. Now, we can say, 'Praise be to God! We have come from being animals and little demons and we have become godly and godlike.'

The challenge to Chicano people is not to look for the enemy elsewhere. Conquer the enemy within. When you conquer the enemy within, no enemy outside of you is more powerful, or is able to weaken you.

Native Americans, it is not the white man that made you fall. It is you who fell from Grandfather. And, in your fall, according to Indian tradition, the man---the two-legged man---is weaker than the four-legged, creeping things. Not because by nature you are made that way, but because in your fall you are less than that. So, take on the wings of the eagle. Do not look to the eagle to carry your prayers to God alone, look at the eagle as symbol of where you can fly if you mount up on the wings of knowledge and power and conquer the weakness of yourself that cause you to fall in the beginning.

White people. You must struggle against this self-centered thing. You must struggle---please listen---against this thing that makes you feel that 'white' must always be on top and it is somehow degrading if someone of another race ascends to a position of glory. This is wrong. If you refuse to struggle, your whole world will come down as it is coming down around you and it will never rise again. While there is time, why not admit your fault? Repent of it. Struggle against the weakness of your self, because you do not have an excuse; God has raised a prophet in every nation, and you Caucasians, have had prophets. So, you have had examples of moral conduct of what you could become if you would struggle. If you do not struggle, then God will end your world.

Black man and Black woman, there is nobody to blame. Yes, the white people brought us into slavery. Very good. But, who ordained it? See, if you want to blame somebody, why not blame God? You don't have the heart, do you? Because God is good, isn't He? He wouldn't let white folks do this to you---but He did. What did they do it to us for? You have to struggle to prove there is character in you, Black man. And that is why the last will be the first. And that is why the stone that the builders rejected is going to be the headstone of the corner. 'It is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our sight.' You have no excuse, Black people Nobody to blame; look within and conquer the enemy of self that makes you an opposer of your own journey toward God. And you put that internal enemy to flight. There is no external enemy that could handle you.

The challenge now is yours and mine. I hope that you and I will be able to say like Jesus, 'the strife is o'er...'. The battle is done, man. The victory of life is won; I got it. I made it. Not number one in football, not number one in singing, dancing and clowning, not number one in this and that, but the victory of life, meaning that the Divine Life that God gave you, you finally have connected to the Source of it.

And now you have become one with God, so there is no more struggle, no more strife, the battle is over, the victory is won and you have become a risen child of that Creator that has ascended to the heights. Then we can say, Allelujah, for Praise belongs to God!

Thank you all for listening and may God bless you as I greet you in peace, As-Salaam Alaikum!

WELCOME

GREETINGS TO YOU. I AM MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, SPEAKING TO YOU LIVE TODAY FROM THE HOME OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO. WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO HAVE THIS PRIVILEGE AND THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH YOU MORE OF THE TEACHINGS AND THE WISDOM OF GOD, REVEALED TO THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD.

OUR THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE LISTENING ON RADIO STATION WBEE AND OUR THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE LISTENING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND EVEN FROM THE CARRIBBEAN, BY WAY OF A NATIONAL RADIO-TELEPHONE HOOK-UP.

IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO BE HERE IN THE HOME OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD; A HOME WHICH ALLAH(GOD), BLESSED HIM WITH; A HOME THAT IS REALLY A SPLENDID MANSION, WHICH HE REFERS TO AS "THE PALACE." I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET EXCITED OR UPSET AT THE REFERENCE TO THIS MANSION AS A "PALACE." FOR A "PALACE," OF COURSE, IS THE "RESIDENCE OF A KING OR EMPEROR." BUT A "PALACE" IS ALSO THE RESIDENCE OF A "DISTINGUISHED PERSON."

THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD IS BIGGER THAN AN EMPEROR AND HE IS BIGGER THAN A KING; AND CERTAINLY HE WAS, AND IS, A DISTINGUISHED PERSON. AND THOSE OF US WHO ARE CONNECTED TO HIM ARE BEING MADE DISTINGUISHED BY THE WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING THAT HE IS IMPARTING TO US FROM THE ALMIGHTY GOD, ALLAH.

WE WELCOME YOU INTO THE HOME OF THE HONORABLE ELUAH MUHAMMAD. AND FROM THIS HOME, YOU MAY EXPECT THAT PARTICULAR GUIDANCE THAT WILL RAISE US FROM A DEAD LEVEL AND INFUSE US WITH A NEW MIND, A NEW SPIRIT, A NEW DIRECTION.

IT WELL ALSO CAUSE THE RESURRECTION OF THE TOTALITY OF HUMANITY.

(OCTOBER 26, 1986)

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.

I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH

AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, our subject matter for discussion today is titled: THE WILL OF GOD.

Everything in Creation is the manifestation of the Will of God. All of Creation expresses the Attributes or Characteristics of this Mighty Being, The Originator of the Heavens and the Earth. But the Will of God is the Power behind the throne. The Will of God is the Power behind the Universe: its creation, its maintenance and its sustenance.

The Holy Qur’an constantly reminds us that Allah's command is just "Be!" And it is. But this is not some spooky term such as "Abracadabra!" or "Open, Sesame!" When Allah(God) says "Be!" He summons the Power of His Own Being, His Creative Mind and Will, to bring about that which He Wills.

When Allah says, "Be!," this is an expression of His Will. But it is more than just the expression of His Will, for when He says, "Be!," He arranges forces, resources, angels, people — according to a Plan — to bring about the Fruition of His Will

Allah's Will never fails. There is no plan by any scholar or scientist, no power in the Heavens above or in the Earth beneath, that can circumvent the Plan of Almighty God. In fact, the plans of the present world leaders were all taken into consideration. Before they were even a thought in the mind of their father, their plans were known. Their scheme was known. And Allah took their plans into consideration. He places His Hand over their plan; He places His scheme over their scheme, so, that even their wicked schemes help to bring about the Fruition of His Will. That is a Mighty, Powerful Being we are dealing with. When He says, "Be!" it is.

What a wonderful thing, that Almighty God, Allah chooses to share this Power with Humanity! Think of that, Brothers and Sisters! Almighty God, Allah, Who has created everything by His Will, shares His Power with you and me! We, today, have the ability to Will. We have the ability to plan, to organize and to bring into fruition our plans. We, too, can say "Be!," go to work, and it is.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught us that the brain of Man is "infinite." I want you to think on it — THE BRAIN OF MAN IS INFINITE. If the brain of Man is infinite, then Man can bring into existence whatever he conceives in his mind; the repository for Allah(God), the place for the God to dwell. God is infinite in the brain of Man.

In the New Testament, Jesus says that he knocks and if we will open up to him, he will come in and sup with us. This does not mean that he is a visitor standing outside your door (although it could mean that, too), but just as you would open the door of your home to allow into your home one who is a friend, likewise we should open the door of our ears, the door of our heart, the door of our mind, to let Almighty God, Allah come in. For there He wishes to dwell: in the Infinity of the Brain of Man!

The Will is the Real Power of Allah(God) in Man. However, the Will must be buttressed, or supported, by Faith and by Knowledge. Let us look at Will and its meaning; Faith and its meaning; and Knowledge. Let us look at what Allah(God) has given us of His Will. And what do we have of Faith? What do we have of Knowledge, to buttress and support the power of own being?

"Will," according to Webster's, it "the faculty of conscious and especially of deliberate action." There is no action that is not preceded by a conscious thought, planning and then the carrying of a plan into action. "Will" is the power of control that the mind has over its own action(s).

To be able to Will is to have a creative force within that actually can change the conditions of our lives, the condition of our homes, the condition of our community, the condition of the Nation and the condition of the World.

But Will without Faith; Will without Knowledge; is Power without direction. It is power that can be manipulated. It is power that can actually be used by a smart, crooked deceiver to make slaves of the totality of the human family. Therefore, all of us must be possessors of Knowledge and Faith.

Faith, of course, is "confidence or trust in a person or thing." Faith is having confidence in your own ability or in someone else's ability. In the Divine Scheme of things, Faith is having confidence or trust in Allah(God). Having Faith is having confidence and trust in His Word: Knowing that His Word never fails; His Plan never fails; His Will never fails. When we put our trust completely in Allah(God) and in His Word, we have the ability to see beyond our knowledge — for what we know is limited.

Faith can be as big as a mountain; Faith can be as big as the Universe itself. Regardless of what you know, you must have a greater Faith than your Knowledge. For your Knowledge is, of a surety, limited, no matter how much you know. But if your Faith in Allah(God) is great; your Faith in His Word is great; then that Faith will lead you to greater and greater Knowledge.

We must be faithful men and women, but we must also be possessors of Knowledge. There are so many of our people who have a lot of Faith but very little Knowledge. We need both: Faith and Knowledge; to buttress and support the power of our being, which is our Will.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said, nearly 1400 years ago, "One who goes out in search of Knowledge is in the Path of God until he returns." Why did Prophet Muhammad make such an utterance? It is because when we go out in search of Knowledge, we should never return. For Knowledge is the Path of God. And Knowledge, like God, is Infinite. When you go out after Knowledge, never say, "I found it!," for when you have said you have found it, you have stopped searching. You have stopped seeking. When you stop searching, stop seeking, you reach a plateau of learning. That plateau leads to the death of your society; the death of your own power; your creative energy. Unfortunately, this is what has happened to this world in which we presently live. Man has amassed a lot of Knowledge, but, unfortunately, he believes that he has found it. And in finding it, he has lost it and is no longer in the Path of Allah(God). So the Knowledge that he possesses leads his society to greater and more complex problems which his own Knowledge gives him neither the light, nor the ability, to solve. This is when Allah(God) steps in — when our own Knowledge fails us.

Knowledge without Faith is like a ship without water. Can you imagine a ship without water? No wonder the people in the days of Noah laughed at him because he built a ship and there was no water. But Noah knew what the people did not know; he knew that water was, indeed, coming.

What about you with this tremendous skill in science, mathematics, physics and chemistry? Don't you realize that you are, yet, a baby? You have a little bit of Knowledge and very little Faith in Allah(God). Consequently, your Knowledge takes you nowhere but to self-destruction. And so, Beloved, each of us would want to develop the power of our own being; to use that power to better ourselves, our families, our community, our people, our Nation, the World. We must seek Knowledge and we must develop Faith. For it is Knowledge and Faith that buttress and support that great Power of Allah(God) in Man: Man's ability to Will.

The Will is protected and also sustained, not only by Faith, but also by our Attitude, which demonstrates the degree of our Faith. We cannot have a powerful Will and a weak Attitude. The Attitude that we have is for the protection of the Will. Change your Attitude and you might redirect your W2L

Attitude is "the manner, disposition, feeling, position" with which we regard a thing. It is a "tendency or orientation, especially of the mind." Think of these words. It is a "tendency" or an "orientation" of the mind. In fact, Attitude can give you — or damage — your ability to perceive reality. Mood can colour your perception. So we have all of these things that affect the Will, and, in fact, redirect the Will. Beloved, we must be careful of our Attitude. (We are going to talk about that a little later on in this program, but I want to lay this base before we discuss Attitude.)

Will is Power, but Power must be guided. Guided by what? The Power of Will must be guided by Knowledge. But there is an emotional force that gives direction to Will. And the emotional force — which is the creative force upon which the entire Universe is constructed — is Love. And it is out of this awesome power of Love that the Will springs up; it springs up out of this emotion, and it is directed and guided by that emotion. When you couple Will and Knowledge and Love, then you have a balanced individual, whose Will is being used in a creative, constructive way; not in the way of destruction.

Let us take a look at the things that adversely affect the Power of Allah(God) within Man. From the time that the baby comes into the world, we see a demonstration of Will. Mother is not teaching the child from "day one," yet the child accomplishes much in that first year of life. From what? From the Will.

The Will moves the child to grow and grow and grow. The first year of life is the strongest year of educational development. It learns more in the first year; and without a teacher! The teaching comes from within. What does that tell us? That there is a Power within every human being that can teach and direct. That Power is connected to its Source. It can be a Source of comfort, guidance, protection and deliverance for every human being.

Let us look at the things that adversely affect the Will:

I. FEAR

Did you know that Fear is what the enemy of Allah(God) at hand, uses to restrict the Power of your own Will? What are you afraid of? Once someone can make you afraid, they restrict the Power of your own being to express itself.

Look how many people today live in fear. "I'm on a job and I am afraid that I am going to be fired" (by a cantankerous boss or foreman). Think of it. So the foreman is threatening your security. You are afraid, so it restricts your Will. And, in a sense, it helps to make the individual not just a worker on the job, but a slave to the job.

Anytime we are afraid to think, to move, to express ourselves, for fear of being censured; for fear of losing a job; then we need to get away from that type of job, for we have lost the most precious thing that we could have and that is a Free Will. That is what AUah(God) has given us. But if your choices are made out of Fear, then you have made yourself a slave.

Fear is a distressing emotion; aroused by impending pain and danger. Of course, the Scriptures teach us that the Fear of Allah(God) is the beginning of Knowledge and that, of course, is true.

The Fear of Allah(God) is restricting, but it does not restrict us in a way that damages our development. The Fear of Allah(God) frees us to act in accordance with His Will.

II. VANITY

The next thing that hurts the Will, redirects the Will, redirects the Power of our being in a negative direction, is something called Vanity.

Vanity is excessive pride in one's appearance, one's qualities, one's abilities and/or one's achievements. It is Conceit. Vanity can lead to Arrogance. And, of course, anything that is done with the spirit of Conceit lacks real value. In fact, it is hollow and worthless. And those of us who are self-conceited; who are overly concerned with ourselves and who see too much importance in ourselves in our relationships to others: our acts are shallow. Our words are hollow; they have no real value. Consequently, we are considered, in the Eyes of Allah(God), worthless.

III. PRIDE

The next terrible distortion, or that which distorts the Will, is Pride. Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit or superiority. Whether this is cherished in the mind or expressed openly by our bearing or conduct, makes no difference.

Once the mind is beset with Pride and we swell up with Pride, this directs the Power of our being. So we do things to enhance our merit, our superiority, our sense of importance. And we come blinded, by Pride, to the Will of Allah(God); to the Power of Allah(God). Pride makes you think of yourself as the Power and not God as the Power. Pride will make you pay lip service to Allah(God) and even feign humility, while in reality, the heart is a boiling cauldron of False Pride which has now corrupted the Will and redirected it toward an end that makes Man a slave of his own self-conceit, importance and, really, Delusion.

[I am sorry to depart from this lecture and make this kind of statement; but such a statement — that which I am about to make — can be proved true. This (Pride) was the condition of Pharaoh's mind and it caused Pharaoh to make terrible blunders which led to the destruction of his power, his people and his nation. This has been, and is, the state of mind of most leaders in the world. And, unfortunately, it is the state of mind of the President of the United States. It is also the state of mind of the powerful men and women that are gathered around him. They have for so long thought of their own importance above obedience to the Will of Allah(God) that their own Pride, now, is speeding them toward a hasty destruction.]

IV. ENVY

This is another emotion that can absolutely corrupt and redirect the Will. Envy is a feeling of discontent, usually with ill-will, at seeing someone else's superiority, advantages or success. How many of you — how many of us — are plagued with this disease of the heart, right now? You are angry with someone whom you feel has an advantage or a success that you believe should be yours. This is a terrible corruption of the Will of AUah(God); of the Will of Man.

[So these enemies of the Will: Fear, Vanity, Pride, Envy, must be gotten rid of. But how can we get rid of the enemies that keep us from full development?]

V. LUST

Lust is a voracious appetite; a sexual appetite that is inordinate. It is out of the Divine Law. It is out of the way of the Order of Allah(God). It is something that we feel we have to do. It is a compulsion. And we allow that drive, that sexual drive, that Lust, to actually corrupt our Will and direct our Will towards ends that are nonproductive of good.

VI. ANGER

To those of us who are angered much, Anger can direct the Will. Anger directs the Power of our being toward the object of our Anger. And ofttimes, in our Anger, we can do very destructive things to Self and others. Anger is something that must be controlled.

VII. GREED

And of course, lastly, there is Greed. Greed is the accepted inordinate or rapacious desire for wealth, power, food or drink. Allah(God) wants us to be satisfied. But when we are overcome by Greed, this lust for wealth or power or food or drink, it manifests itself in our conspicuous consumption. It manifests itself in our directing our Will to destroy those who stand in the way of our assumption of Power. It leads to obesity, where one destroys one's health because of one's Greed; or destroys one's health because of our uncontrolled urges.

When Allah(God) asks us to become His servants, He asks us to give Him the best part of ourselves. What does Allah(God) ask us for? He asks us for our Will. What does He ask us for? He asks us for the Power of our being.

Since He gave it (Power of our being) to you and you say, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," then if Allah(God) has given you a bit of His Own Power (which is His Will) then He asks you will you give it back in surrender, what should our word to Almighty God be? Of course we should say "Yes. I submit my Will to do Your Will." Not by force, but willingly.

And this is the meaning of the Arabic word "Muslim." To be a Muslim is not some strange thing. To be a Muslim doesn't mean being radical or being an extremist or being a parrot. To be a Muslim means that you recognize that your Will that has been given to you by God, as His Gift to you. And He is requiring of us, obedience to His Will; submitting our Will to His. And when we do that, we are called Muslim.

And the religion of obedience to the Will of Allah(God) is called, in Arabic, Islam. And so we say to you, Beloved, that every prophet of Almighty God, was, by the action of that prophet, a Muslim, though he may not have called himself Muslim as such. But his act of submitting his Will and time to do the Will of Allah(God) is an act of surrender, that, in Arabic we say he is Muslim, his religion is Islam.

So when we are asked to submit to our Will to do the Will of God, He takes that Will and He fashions it. He makes that individual unto Himself. So when The Honorable Elijah asked us, "Who is The Original Man?" He is gently directing you back to your original state, since your original state is to submit.

You came into this world not knowing anything. You came into the world pliant, ready to be taught, to be shaped, to be guided, to be developed, to be evolved, to be nurtured. And so, you submitted when you came in. Your original state is one of submission to Almighty God, Allah. And if you return to that state, you can become the Original Man of a New Dispensation. You can become the Cream of the Planet. For those who submit to the Will of Allah(God) rise above all of those who reject obedience to His Will. By submitting to the Will of Allah(God), we can become the Fathers of a brand new civilization; a civilization superior to those who have rebelled against His WflL

In fact, we can become that which the Holy Our'an calls "Caliphat," or, "one who takes the place of God," God's Vicegerent. We can become the Supreme Ruler of the Universe Itself. It starts with obedience to the Will of Allah(God). Because of the awesome power that Man can come into by obeying AUah(God), he must learn valuable lessons.

Brothers and Sisters, whenever Allah(God) has chosen a People, He chooses them for Eminence. He chooses them for Greatness. He chooses them for Exaltation, but he requires of them obedience to His Will.

If we submit, Allah(God) starts exalting us. There is a requirement — a prerequisite, if you will — for Exaltation. And Allah(God) gives us that prerequisite in the very first verse of the Holv Our'an: Al-hamdu "Lilla-Hi" (The praise belongs to God). If you submit your Will to the Will of Allah(God), The Most High, and He begins to exalt you, to nurture you into greater power and creativity and greater influence, then there should be in us obedience.

Humility is the state of mind that each one of us must be in, in order for Allah(God) to continue His Plan of Exaltation for any of us. And, unfortunately, History tells us that every time Almighty God chose a people for exaltation — when He gave them Power, when He gave them Wealth, when He gave them Influence, they began to forget Him. They lost their Humility. Their Will became corrupt. They became hypocritical. They began to speak what was no longer in the heart. And so, Allah(God) chastised those people and He brought other people in their place.

Dear Listeners, this was the fate of Israel. According to the teachings of the Bible and the Holv Our'an. Allah chose Israel for exaltation. But He wanted them to submit. He made Israel above the nations of the Earth. But when she got to a certain stage in her development, she lost her Humility. She became vile; she became envious; she became greedy. She became all of those things that corrupt and redirect the Will. So her Will was no longer the Will of Allah(God); it became the selfish Will of Israel, with God's Name added to that Will. So Allah(God) punished Israel and made her an example for us today.

The Prophets and their magnificent accomplishments that make them of regard in this world and worthy of regard in the Hereafter, are all due to the quality and the degree of their submission of their Will to do the Will of Almighty God, Allah.

The only reason that we call the names of Moses, Abraham, David, Solomon and the great worthies of Allah(God) is because they distinguished themselves by doing a mighty work. They submitted their Will to do the Will of God. They are on the pages of history as an example for you and me.

BREAKING THE WILL:

But what about the breaking of the Will? Whenever another individual wants to make you a slave, he wants to break your Will. He wants to absolutely interfere with the faculty of conscious, deliberate action on your part. He wants to take control of our minds over our own actions.

This is terrible, Brothers and Sisters, but all over the world today, humanity is enslaved by people who come in the name of AUah(God). People who come in the name of politics, medicine, religion or science. But their aim is to make you and me submit to them as though they are God besides Allah. And the knowledge of no leader, no teacher, no prophet is absolute. The prophet only gives you a knowledge of how to reach the Absolute. The prophet's knowledge may be absolute for that time, but it is not absolute for all time. He brings you a knowledge that you can rely upon, but it is a knowledge that must lead you to Higher Knowledge, or leads you to the Absolute. And the Absolute is Allah(God) Himself.

Why, then, must you be enslaved to a textbook by one whose perception of reality may or may not be proper? One whose mind may be damaged by one or more of these damaging things: Envy, Fear, Greed, Lust, Anger, the swelling of Self-importance? This kind of thing, that comes out of the textbooks of learned men, can corrupt our Knowledge if we take our doctors of law and our monks for lords besides Allah(God). No, no, no! Their knowledge is not perfect.

We must not take imperfect men or textbooks as the Absolute and build our complete world on that which is an assumption or theory that has yet to be proved true. Only Allah(God) knows how to direct the Light which He has given, for He alone is the Light-Giver. When we submit ourselves to these 'Johnny-come-lately(s)' and become slaves to preachers or teachers who come in the name of AUah(God), or in the name of science or education, then we put ourselves under the control of a mind that is lesser. We become, in the words of a movie, "The Children of a Lesser God." Why should we be the children of a lesser god, when we can be the children of the One True God?

Every day that we live there is someone trying to break our Will. In fact, Black brothers and sisters, that is what made us slaves. Our Will was broken; our ability to control our own minds was broken. Somebody wanted mastery over our thought processes and over all of our actions. Somebody wanted to make us a slave. And I respectfully say to you, that in making us a slave, white people, who are the descendants of the slave-masters, have made themselves slaves.

Now they are slaves to their own material world. Slaves to the Lust for Power. Slaves to Greed. Slaves to their own Self-importance. Look at all of these slaves that are in the world. So any of us who come today in the name of Jesus, in the name of Muhammad, we come to redeem and to free a world of slaves. Some know that they are slaves and some know not. Many Black people under the sound of our voice think that they are free. How foolish could we be? You are not physically enslaved to Caucasian people, but you are enslaved to false ideas and concepts espoused by those who know how to trick and deceive the mind and fill you with false delusion; breaking your Will.

Today, there are people who are fat — just plain fat. Fat for what? You eat too much. What do you want to do about it? "Oh, God, I'm so fat... I'll go to my doctor, maybe he will give me a pill." A pill?! A pill to do what? A chemical? To slow down your Lust for food? Or, "Maybe I will go into surgery and he will put a balloon in my stomach or clip my stomach." Clip your stomach?! Oh, Brothers and Sisters, what fools we have become. We are relying on surgery, when the very thing we have to clip our stomach — the very thing that we should be developing that will give us Power over our actions, is our Will.

But your Will has been broken. Your Will is destroyed, so the Power of Allah(God) in you is almost non-existent. You are, in fact, slaves. Oh, Brothers and Sisters, your knowledge is undermined and your Faith in God and Faith in Self is broken. How many preachers I hear on Sunday morning talking about Faith in God.

But they do not demonstrate this Faith. They are afraid to make a move because of political consequences. "I am afraid to do this because it might cause that." What are you afraid of? Fear restricts the Free Will to choose. "I can't choose my friends because I am afraid. I will not walk with Farrakhan because it will hurt me. I will not speak to him publicly because it may hurt me." What is it? It is Fear that restricts you and it is Desire and Lust that make you a slave to your own desires. This is a shame, for men whose Will is to be leaders, to be bound and shackled and fettered with such demoralizing chains and yet claim to be leaders of the people.

This is the way it is with politics. These politicians are the weakest of leaders. One should never put a vote of confidence in a politician, because he is like a leaf which blows whichever way the wind is blowing. How can we put our hand in such leaders' hands? Politicians, it is corruption of your

Will, the breaking of your Will and the making of yourselves a slave. Again, the Government of the United States is guilty of misdirecting the people's Will. You can be angry, justifiably, but suppose someone lies to you. They make you angry and then the Anger directs your Will and your Will becomes destructive of the object or the person for whom you have this Anger.

Can you imagine that just a few weeks ago, it came out in the newspapers that the President and his staff sat down and agreed to a Lying Campaign. Oh, they give it a nice-sounding name: "Disinformation." What is "disinformation," but a big, bold, Lie? What is the plan behind the Lie? The plan is to create Anger by lying on Qaddafi.

You create Anger against Qaddafi. When you lie on Qaddafi, you make the people angry then you direct their Will against him. So now, the government, which is to do the Will of the People, says "We must destroy Qaddafi." Then you bomb the home of a Head of State. "We are not doing wrong, we are doing the Will of the People." But who manipulated that Will? You manipulated it by lying. And you have the audacity to quote Winston Churchill to justify that, by saying that in war, the truth must be protected and surrounded by a big platter of lies. What are you saying, Mr. Schultz? That you are a Liar? And that you wish to make slaves of the people, misdirecting their Will? And those who will not go along with you, you will put out a propaganda campaign against them in hopes of breaking their Will.

But you have noticed, that no matter what you say about Farrakhan, you have not broken my Will, nor can you. As long as I submit my Will to do the Will of Allah(God), then the Power of Allah(God) sustains my Will.

That is what made Jesus so dangerous. That is what makes Muhammad of the Holy Our'an (Peace be upon him) so dangerous. These two men attract the Will, give a buttress and support for the Will, show Man how to increase the Power of his Will and strengthen his Will. This means the breaking of the back of all pharaohs, all slavemasters, all slavemakers. This is why the true message of Jesus is a message that the totality of the human family needs. The true message of Muhammad is a message that all of us need.

In building the Will, Jesus asked his disciples to fast. Many of the followers of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, here in Chicago, have been on a three-day fast. This fast is to develop the Will. It is to develop the Power of your and my being. Why? Because it is only when our Will is developed and properly directed, properly supported and properly encased, that we have the awesome Power to change the reality under which we live.

The support for your Will has to be Prayer. Prayer gives you the humbleness of mind that allows you to develop properly — to submit your Will to the Will of AUah(God).

Fasting gives you the Power to reject food when you want it; reject drink when you want it; reject sex when you do not want or need it or when you are not in the presence of those whom you are married to. Think about this! It is the destruction of your Will that has made you less than a man, less than a woman — even less than the animals and the beasts of the field.

Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, gave his disciples the "Be (attitudes)." He wanted his disciples, who were with him in a work of redemption, to develop a "Be (attitude)." What is he saying? Develop a mental posture that will support and encase His Will so that your Will is not subject to the things of the world that come to break your Will.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Now no man that is poor is blessed. I want you to get out of it, of that thought, that your poverty is a blessing. But those of you who are poor of the energy of life; poor in the control of yourself; poor in the Will or development of the Will and poor in submission to the Will of God — for you, Jesus said, is the Kingdom of Heaven. For Allah(God) is going to give you someone that will give you all that you have been deprived of that has made you poor so that you will once again be rich indeed.

Solomon said, "The House of Knowledge is the House of Mourning." Because the more you know, the sadder you are about the reality under which we as Black people and all of humanity lives. We who mourn over human beings living like animals, to us the Scripture says: "Blessed are you who mourn, for you shall be comforted." We know that Allah's(God's) Will is to redeem us; to save us of this condition; to heal us of this broken Will, this broken Spirit, this broken Faith that has corrupted us. When you know that, you don't look at the conditions and fall into despair and let the mood of despair cause an Attitude that will redirect your Will in a negative direction.

Jesus said, "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven." Jesus is saying, again, take the Attitude that you are blessed when people speak evil of you, persecute you, say all manner of evil against you falsely for his sake. Don't think that this is a curse. Think, "This is a blessing." Keep that Attitude and your Will will grow stronger to resist the persecution and the evil speaking of those who speak evil against you.

"Blessed are the meek, they shall inherit the Earth." "Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."

I say to you. Brothers and Sisters, that you are the Salt of the Earth. But if the Salt has lost its flavor, wherewith shall it be salty? You that have been guided by the Message of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, by the Light of the Truth, you are the Salt. You can give flavor to the Light of Black people. You have a knowledge of God and a strong Will that can give flavor to the lives of Humanity. But if your Will and your Faith is broken, and your Knowledge is undermined, then what good are you? Your salt is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodded under the foot of men.

And so, Beloved, in my conclusion of this broadcast, I hope you will do everything in your Power to strengthen your Will.

Strengthen your Will. Do not be a slave to any man. Bow down only to Allah(God). Fast and learn to strengthen the discipline of your Will, that you may be able to eat, drink and live the good life, without the obstruction of all of the forces that come against the Mighty Power of your Will.

May Almighty God, Allah, bless and keep you, as I greet you in peace, in the Arabic language, thanking you for these few moments of your time: AS-SALAAM ALAIKUM!

WELCOME

GREETINGS TO YOU. I AM MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HONORABLE ELUAH MUHAMMAD, THE PREACHER OF FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY TO THE BLACK MAN AND WOMAN OF NORTH AMERICA AND A LEADER, TEACHER AND GUIDE FOR ALL OF HUMANITY.

(NOVEMBER 2, 1986)

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL. I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters, it is once again my privilege and honor to have this opportunity to use these airwaves over Station WBEE, to broadcast live to you from the home of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, that Great Guidance and Truth that will indeed make us all free.

To those of you who are listening via telephone hookup throughout North America, it is once again my great privilege and pleasure to have this opportunity to share some of the Teachings of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad with you.

This week, we would like to discuss PART n of THE WILL OF GOD and those impediments that keep us from practicing Allah's(God's) Will.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has said to us that to know and to do Allah's(God's) Will is "absolutely our Salvation." But the question must then be asked, "How do we know Allah's(God's) Will?"

Some wise persons can, by reading the Creation of God, come to a definitive understanding of His Will. For everything that Allah(God) created is a result of His command to "Be!" And everything that Allah created has an aim and a purpose.

Since nothing in this Creation is without aim or purpose, when we learn to read Creation, we read the aim and the purpose of Allah(God). And to read Allah's(God's) aim and purpose is to know Allah's(God's) Will for His creatures.

Of course, one must be very studied to read Allah's(God's) purpose in the Heavens above and in the Earth beneath. Since many of us are not that learned or not that studied [unfortunately, many of us do not even care to read the Heavens and the Earth], therefore, we need another way to become acquainted with the Will of Allah(God).

In the Bible, it teaches us, "How can they know, except that they have a Teacher? And how can they have a Teacher, except he be sent?" Whenever a man loses the ability to read Allah's(God's) Will in that which is around him (or her), then it is incumbent upon Almighty God, Allah, out of the Abundance of His Love and Mercy for humanity, to raise a Prophet; a Messenger; an Apostle to teach us the Will of Allah(God) and to give us the privilege and the opportunity to submit our Will to do the Will of Allah(God) and come into favor with Allah(God).

My Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters, we can see that we live in such times today. For even though we have scholars and scientists who absolutely are reading Creation, they are not reading Creation to find the Will of Allah(God). They are reading Creation to learn how to use the powers of Creation for their vain, self-seeking and self-serving ends. So Allah(God) must step in to confuse the scientists, to confuse the scholars and to bring their knowledge to a naught. This is because their knowledge is not serving them in the service of AUah(God) and humanity, but their knowledge is destructive to them and to humanity.

What about the poor and the ignorant who "take their doctors of law and their monks for lords besides Allah?" They need to know the Will of Allah(God). We need to know the Will of AUah(God). So Allah(God) must intervene in our affairs, lest all of us be destroyed!

There were those who did the bidding of Pharaoh and Pharaoh's bidding was not "right-directed." This tells us that Pharaoh made the people to submit to do his Will and his Will was in opposition to AUah's(God's) Will. Pharaoh's Will was not righteous; Pharaoh's Will was not "right-directing" — Pharaoh's Will was Evil!

What about 1986? What about right now? The chiefs, the leaders of this country, and the President himself, want all of us to obey the laws of this government and to obey their bidding.

That is right; we should obey the law, we should respect the law. For without laws there is no order and without order, we have anarchy and the total disruption of the society.

If [President] Reagan and his chiefs were obedient to Allah(God), it would be easier for us to obey them. But, when their direction is not "right-directing," yet they order us to join their armed forces to fight on the side of the oppressor; they tell us we will go to jail if we do not obey them; then, "Respectfully, kind sir," we must decline to obey Pharaoh or to submit to his bidding.

We now hear the Call of a Higher Calling. We hear the Will of Allah(God) being articulated to us through warners, reminders and teachers that Allah(God) Himself is inspiring. So, we would rather obey Allah(God). And this brings us into a clash with the Government of the United States, on a national level, on a state level and on a local level. We can obey you if your Will is "right-directing"; if your bidding is "right-directing." But, if your bidding is in contravention to the Will of Allah(God), then we have to respectfully say, "Go to Hell!"

Prophets, Messengers and Apostles teach us Allah's(God's) Will; specifically, for a certain people and for a certain time period. Whenever Allah(God) sends a Prophet, he gives that man a temporary message: that temporary message; is based upon an Eternal Message. Both messages embody the Will of AUah(God).

The temporary message is the Will of Allah(God) to cure a particular (specific) spiritual, moral or physical ill of the people of that day and time. And, of course, that temporary teaching which embodies Allah's(God's) Will as a cure, is sitting upon a permanent teaching; immutable principles that never change, no matter what time or what season. And in these immutable principles is the Immutable, Unchanging Will of Allah(God).

Prophets bring a temporary message for their contemporaries. And Prophets bring an Eternal Message. Whenever a new Prophet appears, he abrogates much of the temporary message of former Prophets. This, of course, is an abrogation of that temporal Will of Allah(God), for the curing of a particular disease at that time. We do not need the medicine after we have effected the cure.

But no Prophet has ever come and abrogated the Eternal Will of Allah(God). All Prophets bear witness that God is One and His Eternal Will is One; all of the Prophets spoke to us out of that Eternal Will of God.

The Muhammad of the Holv Our'an (Peace Be Upon Him) is called the Universal Prophet. He is called the Universal Prophet because he brings a message that fits all people, all conditions, for all times, up to the Resurrection and the Judgment of the world. He is called the Universal Prophet because the message that he brings makes it unnecessary for a Prophet ever to have to appear again. For that message will be internalized in the hearts and minds of the people. Therefore, there will never again be a need for a Prophet or a Messenger.

Beloved Muslims, I ask you to reason with us. The Message of the Holv Our'an has been preached for 1400 years and that message has nearly been spread to the ends of the Earth. But the Will of Allah(God) contained in that message is practiced only by a few.

Even among the nearly one billion (1,000,000,000) Muslims the Will of Allah(God) is practiced in a vain and self-effacing way. The charitable aspect of the Will of Allah(God) is missing in much of the teaching of Islam. In fact, Islam was to bring us an entire world. But nationalism and factionalism is absolutely corrupting the Spirit of Islam.

The world of Islam is in convulsion today against itself. It is in revolt today, against itself. Why? There has been a negation of the practice of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Therefore, there is a need today for a Reminder. There is a need today for a Warner. And, more than that, there is a need today for a Power to be in the world, that the Will of Allah(God) may be implemented.

The Will of Allah(God) can never be implemented on talk alone. Talk is cheap! Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was sent to teach us, but he fought. And in fighting against die opponents of Allah's (God's) Will, Allah(God) blessed him to prevail — until the Muslims became corrupt.

Today, what is needed is the presence of The Mahdi. Who is The Mahdi? He comes to guide us on the right path, that we may be successful. Why do we need to be guided to the right path? Because §haitan (Satan) has come to us right in the straight path and has made 95% of the people of the planet Earth deviate from the teachings of the Prophets, Messengers and Apostles.

Today, all we have is a good word on the Book that is not being practiced. A good word among the Muslims, a good word among the Christians, a good word among the Jews, a good word among those who have received Prophets throughout the world. And who is practicing these good words? Evil, now, has taken the upper hand over the people of good. Hypocrisy has gained strength over the leaders. Therefore, people profess from their mouths what is not in their hearts. The practice of good has gone down the drain.

We do not need a Prophet anymore; we do not need a Messenger anymore. Dear Brothers and Dear Sisters, you are right; the Message is here. What do you need? What do we need? We need the presence of a Power in the world that will not compromise and does not come to teach anymore, but to execute those who have violated and refused to submit to the Will of Allah(God). And that Being is in the world.

It is that Being that The Honorable Elijah Muhammad represented to us in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, to Whom Praise is due Forever. A Human being, but a Human being Who is born into the world, is nurtured and grows into Wisdom and Power to destroy the wicked from the face of the Earth. To break the head of opposition [to bowing to the Will of Allah(God)]. This is what makes it unnecessary for a Prophet to ever have to come again. For as long as there is no enforcement of law, the preaching of law is folly. It is Vanity. As long as we preach righteousness but there is no structure to make righteousness real, then our preaching is in vain. And as long as we have churches and mosques and synagogues that preach the Will of Allah(God) but there is no enforcement of that Will, then our preaching needs to cease. In fact, it is brought to naught by the wicked doing of those who say they believe in AUah(God).

Jesus is called in the Scripture "The Eternal Guide." Jesus is called "Eternal Guide" because he is more than just a Prophet — Jesus is called "The Christ." This word "Christ," in Greek, means "one anointed to crush the wicked." This is why Jesus was hated even before he was born into the world. The wicked expected this Messianic figure — this Mahdi — to be on the scene. They knew the time of his arrival. Therefore, since they knew that he was to be a Human being, they watched the women who were pregnant at the time he was scheduled to arrive. They knew that a star would herald his birth.

Herod sent out a decree that all boy babies should be killed from two (2) years old and under, because he missed the birth of this Mahdi; of this Messiah; of this Christ. Jesus is called "The Eternal Guide" because he doesn't represent Allah(God), hi the absence of Allah(God), Jesus is a Witness of Allah's(God's) Presence in the world — in Man.

You say, "But this is contrary to the teaching of Islam!" If you only look at the face of it, it is contradictory to the teachings of Islam. But if we look deeper into Christian theology, we can reconcile that theology absolutely with the teaching of the Holv Our'an.

Jesus represents Allah's(God's) presence in Man. In the Book of Isaiah, it says that a child will be born; a virgin will conceive him and the child's name will be called "Emmanuel," meaning "God is with us." How will you know that God is with us? Because an ordinary human being, born of a woman, making the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the lame walk and raising the dead to life, is not ordinary. It is Extraordinary. No Prophet ever did that.

But the Messiah, according to both the Bible and the Holv Our'an. was to have that kind of power. When such a man appears in the world doing such kind of work, then Allah(God) Himself is present in that man. And when that man is backed by the Power of the Lord of the worlds, he crushes the wicked, he crushes all opposition to Allah's(God's) Will. And when the opposition to Allah's(God's) Will is finally crushed, then the Victory of Allah(God) — The Truth — is established. Then you don't need a Prophet; you don't need someone to remind the people anymore of the Will of AUah(God). Because then, AUah's(God's) Will is established and those who live after the crushing of the wicked will have no other alternative but to willingly obey Allah(God). If the people willingly obey Pharaoh — a manifest fool — why would not they willingly obey Allah(God) in His Righteousness and Power?

Today, when we ask someone to obey Allah's(God's) Will, some of us, it is like asking us to deny our own right to think and act of independence. "Will you obey Allah's(God's) Will?" The people say, "I don't want to be a slave ... I ain't obeying* God's Will... I am an independent thinker . . . I'm a free thinker." You free-thinking fool! Brothers and Sisters, I do not mean to insult you. But if you think that you are a free thinker you are absolutely foolish. Today, the Government of the United States of America is spending millions of dollars to perfect the art of "mind control." They are spending millions of dollars in the development of new and sophisticated drugs that they can put in the water and put in the food that make you easily submissive to "subliminal suggestion." They have learned to program your thinking through the artful way of touching your subconscious without your conscious mind ever realizing that you are being programmed. Yes, it will be a struggle to obey Allah(God) when Shaitan(Satan) is fighting now for all that we have, because he knows that he has but a short time left to rule.

We must fight, too — to obey Allah (God). Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Allah(God) does not want to make us His slaves. In obeying Allah(God), we are truly free. So many of us think that when we obey AUah(God), again, it is a negation of ourselves. That is not true.

You are already in a state of Self-Negation and you do not even realize it. What do I mean by that? Negation means "to deny." It is a negative denial. It is to deny that which is true and that which is correct and that which is proper. Self-Negation is to deny that which exists, therefore making ourselves nonexistent Self-Negation is to nullify our existence.

I must respectfully say that 90% to 95% of the human family of this Earth have already nullified their existence. Allah(God) did not create Man to live on the plane of lower animals. If the aim and purpose of Allah(God) for Man is that Man be His Vicegerent: His Khalifa, His Successor in this realm. Man is to rule in this realm — we are not doing that. We are living a life lower than the animals. And, therefore, in the Bible, in the Book of Revelations, the Revelator is saying that the rulers of the Earth are titled, or given, the names "Beast" and "Dragon." These are not good characteristics. Great Beasts ruling humanity? A Dragon ruling humanity? A Serpent ruling humanity? This is a nullification of who and what we are — Human beings. This is an absolute denial of your own existence as a True Servant of Almighty God, Allah.

If you are not going to serve Allah's(God's) Will, why should you live in His Creation? He is justified in removing you and me if we do not want to bow in submission to His Will. If the Sun can bow and you depend upon the Sun; and the Moon and Stars can bow and without them we have no life; if the very orange whose juice you squeeze into your throat to give you vitamins and strength has submitted to a law (otherwise it could not come into existence); and everything that you eat is submitting to Allah's(God's) Will, but you refuse, then why should you eat?

Why should you breathe? Why should you drink? Why should you live in a Creation of Almighty God and deny Him? By denying Him you have nullified your own existence and you are practicing Self-Negation.

Yes, Reverend, you are preaching Self-Negation. Yes, Pope of Rome, you are preaching Self-Negation — not Self-Denial. Anytime a Human being can call himself or herself a Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Muslim, or whatever you call yourself and you do not continue this process of evolution (and you and I come to the Perfection of God) and we abort that development, then in the abortion of that development, we are practicing Self-Negation. Therefore, we have nullified our right to exist and Allah(God) is justified in removing us from the face of the Earth.

Jesus never taught Self-Negation. He taught Self-Denial and there is a difference. Submit to Allah's(God's) Will. Will you submit if you know Allah's(God's) Will? Jesus, when he spoke, to his disciples, asked his disciples to deny themselves.

Do you remember when Jesus met a young Jew who was under the law and teaching of Moses? This young man asked Jesus, "How can I obtain the Kingdom of Heaven?" And Jesus said unto him, "Do the law and the commandments of Moses." And this young man said, "I am already doing that." (The young man felt, "Well, I've got it made, I've got you beat into Heaven already!") And Jesus said, "You're doing that, that is good. Now go and give away your wealth to the poor. Deny yourself. Pick up your cross and follow me." That young man who was doing the law did not want to follow Jesus that day, because Jesus was demanding something more of that man than that man was willing to give. He said, "Look, I am already doing the Commandments; that's the Will of God. Well, I must be Heaven-bound." But Jesus came in a time period with a specific Will of Allah(God) for Man. And if that man who was working the Will of Allah(God) through the law of Moses was not willing to go one step further with Jesus, he was denying himself entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. At that point, even though he was practicing the law of Moses, he nullified his right to exist. He was practicing, then, Self-Negation, because he would not practice Self-Denial.

Why did Jesus say to him, "Young man, go and get your wealth and give it to the poor?" Why did he say that? He said that because Jesus came into the world with a specific message and mission to the poor who were crushed under the foot of the powers of that day.

The Will of Allah(God) is Freedom, Justice and Equality, which can be discerned in all of His Creation. But the Will of Allah(God) through Jesus, represented Redemption, Salvation, Eternal Life, Resurrection and Judgment. What do these terms mean?

Jesus said, "/ did not come into the world to be ministered unto. I came into the world to minister. I came to serve the poor. I came to heal the sick, the blind, the lame; I came to raise people who are dead to life. If you recognize that I am doing the Will of Allah(God), I ask you to submit and help me to help more. Help me to feed the poor; help me to better the condition of the poor. And in order to do that, I am not asking you to negate yourself, I am asking you to deny yourself. I am asking you to sacrifice your own personal desires to help me establish the Will of Allah(God) for the good of yourself and others. I am asking you to be unselfish."

Moses asked that of you to a degree. He asked you not to steal; he asked you not to covet; he asked you not to lie; not to murder. He asked you to honor your Father and Mother. That is basic to righteousness.

But Jesus wanted to take you a step further. In fact, he wanted to give you your degree, so that it would never be necessary for another Man of God to come to you. For you, in your own life, would be a Witness of Allah's(God's) Presence. And if Allah(God) is present in your life, in your being, manifested in your words and in your actions, then you have closed the door on Prophethood; you have closed the door on Messengership by the fact of Allah's(God's) Presence in your life.

We live in that time. The man, Jesus, that came 2,000 years ago, did not come in the time of Redemption and Salvation and Healing. He came 2,000 years too soon. And so, Paul saw him as a man born out of "due season." But we are at the right time now. And a man has appeared in the world to redeem Man; to reconcile Man to AUah(God): to cause us to see and hear and know the Will of Allah(God) and then inspire us to willingly submit our Will to do the Will of Allah(God).

That is what that name, "Muslim," means. It is a big title. It is a great title. It is a most distinguishing and distinctive title that a man or woman can be given. In fact, it is better than "Emperor" or "King" or "President" or "Secretary of State" or "Attorney General" or "Governor" or "Mayor" or "Senator" or "Congressman." You glory in these titles! "Your Right Reverend Worshipful Master." You glory in these titles! But Allah(God) has come to negate those titles, because you have already negated them by not using those titles in service to the Will of Allah(God).

And so, Kings are falling by the wayside today. In fact, there are just a few left and they are going soon. Presidents are being overturned. There is revolution in every house, every nation, every government. Governors cannot govern. Mayors cannot "mayor." And Worshipful Masters are not being worshipped as Master anymore. You are suffering loss. And it is grievous for you to see, because all of your righteous titles have not led you to obedience to the Will of Allah(God). So the biggest title that a man or woman could have is that "I am one who has submitted my Will to do the Will of Allah(God). I am a Muslim."

"How can they know Allah's(God's) Will except that they have a teacher? And how could they have a teacher except that he be sent?" The rulers of this world are not going to send you a teacher that will give you power or thought to go against their bidding. Pharaoh is not going to send you anybody to teach you against his bidding, even though his bidding is not "right directing." Likewise, Mr. Reagan and Company and the former Presidents of the United States are not going to send you a teacher. The rulers of this world, Black People, are not going to send you a teacher that will give you the spirit to go against their wicked direction!

Allah(God) has to intervene and give you a Teacher. So, when we say that Allah appeared in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, we are saying that the Will of AUah(God) the Spirit of AUah(God), the Power of AUah(God) has been manifested in a man who came among us. And that man reached down into the bowels of America and raised up a man from among Black people — The Honorable Elijah Muhammad — and filled him with the Aim and Purpose of Allah(God), the Will of Allah(God) and asked him, "Will you submit?" And The Honorable Elijah Muhammad — of the Black people of America — said, "I am the first of those who submit. My prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death, are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds."

You cannot save that your prayer, your sacrifice, your life and your death are all for Allah(God) then you refuse to obey Allah(God) and refuse to fight and strive in the Way of Allah(God), for the Cause of AUah(God). What is His Cause? He came to redeem Man; to reconcile Man to Himself and that means Woman, too. He came to find that which was lost. All of humanity is lost, but the Black man of America is the most lost of all human beings, crushed under the foot of the nations of the Earth.

By redeeming you and me first. He gives us a test. "Will you, who have been crushed under foot, help Me to reconcile the nations of the Earth, who are lost to AUah(God)? Will you help Me to restore the Earth to its pristine purity and its original beauty? Will you help Me restore Man to his original state, as Cream of the Planet Earth and God of the Universe?

Will you help Me to do that? I do not need help, I can do it Myself, but I want to give you the privilege of entering into My Kingdom by asking you to willingly give up your Will. Curb your personal desire(s) to help Me put over My Desire for you."

When I met the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, thirty-one (31) years ago, I was a Musician. My whole life was music; I knew nothing but my music. And thirty (30) days after I met him, he said, "It's either your music or me. I am not asking you to play your music, because I don't need a Musician right now. I need someone to help me establish the Will of Allah(God). Farrakhan (I was Louis at that time), will you deny yourself? Will you men pick up the cross?" It does not mean an actual cross — string one around your neck, drape one over your wall or write it on the door — "Pick up your cross" means to suffer for the sake of righteousness; to suffer for the establishment of the Will of Allah(God). This is because the Scripture teaches that when you practice the Will of Allah(God), some of you will be put in prison. Some of you will be killed for the Will of Allah(God). But are you willing to go through that for Allah's(God's) sake?

The Scriptures of the Holy Our'an say that Allah will certainly try us with something of fear, hunger, diminution of fruit, loss of property and loss of lives; but give good news to those who are patient and steadfast under trial.

You don't submit to Allah(God) without trial. You don't submit to AUah(God) without tribulation. But when it comes, you seek refuge in Almighty God, Allah. And in Him is your repose. And in Him is your and my Sanctuary. When we go to Almighty God, Allah, we get the strength to endure the suffering; to endure the denial and the rejection, the persecution, the evil treatment, the jail, the beatings and even the death, for the sake of Allah's(God's) Plan.

I don't know about you, but I want to be one who submits to the Will of Allah(God). Oh, you can call me National Representative or The National Spokesman or The Minister. You can call me The Supreme Minister. If that is all I want, that is Vanity. Because all of that is coming to a naught, in just a few minutes. I want to submit my Will to do the Will of Allah(God). I don't want to negate myself by continuing in vanity. I want to deny myself. And I am willing to suffer for the sake of the establishment of Allah's(God's) Will. So now, I am a follower of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad — The Jesus of Today.

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters, I am saying to you that you are being asked to submit to the Will of Allah(God). And that Will of Allah(God) is very special. It is the same as the Will of AUah(God) brought by all the Prophets. But with us, it has a special difference. It is dealing with the Resurrection of the minds of Black people, because our minds are even less than the animals. You need a new way of thinking, Black Man and Woman.

And a new way of doing. Not only do you need it, humanity needs it. Who is going to teach humanity? Who is going to help them to see the correctness of the Will of Allah(God)? We must do our part. And this is the way we earn our way into the Kingdom of Allah(God).

Those, of course, who do not care to submit to Allah(God), do the bidding of Pharaoh. And those who do the bidding of Pharaoh are Self-Negating. Pharaoh represents the powers of the world. Reagan? Yes. I say the Pope, yes. The religious teachers of the world, yes. They are all out of the way. Now, you may say, "Well, Farrakhan, why would you say a thing like that?" Because its the Truth.

All of these religious leaders met in Rome; to pray. For what? To pray for peace. Do you think that Allah(God) heard their prayer? That's the prayer of Hypocrites. Why should you pray for that which is clearly written hi your Book; that "they shall seek peace, but they shall not find it." Allah(God) is going to plague the people of the Earth because of their denial of His Will. They have negated their right to exist in peace. Peace is the fruit of obedience to the Will of Allah(God). It is a Gift of Allah(God). And you want it without submitting? You want peace without obeying Allah's(God's) Command? What a fool you are!

You deny Jesus and you want peace? You reject Muhammad and you want peace? You kill the Prophets in between and you want peace? There is no peace for the wicked! And there is no peace for this world.

So Reagan can pray for peace. There is no peace for Mr. Reagan! There is no peace for America! There is no peace for Russia! There is no peace for the nations of the world! For you deny Allah(God). And in denying Allah(God) how can you have peace? You first must make peace with Allah(God) in order to make peace with Man. And you are denying Allah(God) when you reject obedience to His Will.

So look at you. The country (America) is going to Hell on a rocket ship. The rocket ship (Space Shuttle "Challenger") went up and into Space and blew up in a blaze. This is a sign to you that all of your mathematical calculations that you think will put you in orbit; that will give you perpetuity, are designed to bring you into a flaming, fiery Hell. And that is exactly what you deserve for denying the Will of Allah(God).

You have negated yourself, Reagan. You have negated yourself, Government of America, because you deny Freedom, Justice and Equality to the people in your midst. You crush the poor under your feet; the poor of America and the poor of the world. How can you have peace? There is no peace for the wicked. Pray for it! Gather all of your scholars and scientists together and pray, one and all. There is no peace.

The Lord has commanded us to tell you Death and Destruction shall be at your door, henceforth, now and forever until you submit.

What is the Number One (#1) disease in America? Heart failure! What are you suffering from, America? Heart failure. Young men dying of heart attacks. What is your problem? Stress. Why are you stressed? High blood pressure. "I'm getting a stroke . . ." Who is talking? You say, "Well, I'm eating too much." You have eaten too much; but Allah(God) intends to see that you eat less — by giving you a Famine. AUah(God) intends to see that you don't stuff yourself. Allah(God) intends to give you a loss of appetite. The Holy Our'an says, "By the time! Surely man is in loss, except those who believe and do good." You can't just believe: you must do good. And doing good means being in harmony with the Will of Allah(God).

The Bible teaches that we shall see signs in the Sun, Moon and Stars. And on Earth, the distress of nations, as mens' hearts fail them with Fear because of what they see coming upon the Earth, the sea and the waves roaring. Today, this heart failure is because you refuse to submit: you won't do Allah's (God's) Will. So AUah(God) is negating your Will. And when He negates your Will, that causes you to grieve, because you are suffering loss now. Why shouldn't you lose? You are being cancelled out by the Power of a Superior Will. And that is the Will of Allah(God), coming through The Mahdi, Master Fard Muhammad, Himself. You are being negated. You cannot oppose Him and win! You will lose. And you are continuously losing because in denying the Will of Allah(God), you have negated your right to exist.

Beloved, I appeal to you, Muslims and Christians, all of you, take this prayer that The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us and put it into practice: "I seek refuge in Allah from anxiety and grief." To seek refuge means to find a shelter or protection from danger or trouble. To find shelter in anything that one can find recourse in for aid, relief and escape. And I am telling you that there is no escape except in the God Who is negating your Will to establish His Own. He is On Time. He is Present in the world.

You have anxiety, distress or uneasiness of mind, caused by apprehension of danger and misfortune. You are in grave danger. You are going to suffer great misfortune and great anxieties because you refuse to bow to the Will of AUah(God). What about grief? Yes, you will suffer pain, mental suffering and distress over affliction of loss. You are losing your homes, you are losing your cars, you are losing your loved ones. You have lost your minds. President Reagan is not in his right mind; he has the heart of a beast today, like Nebuchadnezzar. You will continue to suffer loss and ruin because you have negated yourself by denying the Will of Allah(God). You do not want to put forth an effort to obey AUah's(God's) Wffl.

And so you can sit in the Mosque all day long; it doesn't make any difference, because if you will not work the Will of Allah(God), you have denied His Will. Therefore, you are sitting in the Mosque in a state of Self-Negation, not Self-Denial. You have a ruined soul. "Seek refuge in Allah from cowardice." And what is cowardice, but a lack of courage to face danger, difficulty and opposition? He never promised you a rose garden. He never said the road would be easy. But if you do not have the courage to face the opposition, to face the difficulty, then you will suffer grief, fear, loss, anxiety, stress and strokes and death — because you have negated your right to exist.

I appeal to you in the name of Allah, and I appeal to you from the guidance of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad: Let us do the Will of God. Not do this selfish, "I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't fornicate, I don't commit adultery. Yes, I am a good person." Good for whom? Good for yourself? You are good for nothing! Unless you are working to change the conditions around you. You cannot change those conditions without programs; you cannot change those conditions without methods; you cannot change those conditions without direction. So if you deny the direction coming from the Director — The Honorable Elijah Muhammad -- there again, is more Self-Negation.

So sit up in the Church and die of Self-Negation. Because your righteousness is as a filthy rag because you are not involved in the effort of redeeming yourself and others, healing the wounds of others, along with the wounds of yourself. You are not involved in that divine work. So if you are not involved in that work, then wherever you are sitting, you are negating your existence. It is so sad that you can be in the House of God, sitting in the House of Refuge. And God is destroying His Own House.

The other day, the roof fell in on some church. An airplane fell out of the sky a few years ago and fell on a "Pillar of Fire Church" and sent it up in smoke, killing the people in it. These are signs to you, that the Church has become a mausoleum with dead men's bones in it; singing hymns of praise to vanity.

You think of your righteousness, you think of your goodness, but you do nothing to make another person good. You walk by the weak and you walk by the wicked and you walk by those who hunger and thirst for a better life and you care nothing for them. You have negated your own existence because you are denying the Will of Allah(God).

You are out there every day seeking to make a dollar. There is nothing wrong with making a dollar, Allah promises He will give you that. But to seek a dollar and to deny the Will of Allah(God); to seek a dollar and take the dollar to fatten your bank account; to go and buy fine homes and fine cars and will not work for the poor, work for the underprivileged, work for those who are denied Justice in the society. I think you have negated yourself. And this is why Jesus said, "It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to see the Kingdom of God." This is because the rich man is not willing to deny himself and help the poor and underprivileged.

Beloved, I am appealing to you in this prayer that The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us to say seven (7) times a day: "O Allah, I seek Thy Refuge from anxiety and grief. And I seek Thy Refuge from the lack of strength and laziness. And I seek Thy refuge from being overpowered by debt and the oppression of men. O Allah, suffice Thou me with what is lawful and keep me away from what is prohibited. And with Thy Grace make me free from Want of What is beside Thee."

"I don't want what is beside Your Will. Make me obedient to Your Will. Make me a Muslim." The Christians say, "Fix me." They don't want a position where they choose for themselves. They say, "Lord, fix me. Lord, fix me. Lord, make me ..." What do you want to be made? I want to be made, like Jesus, to say, "Not my Will be done, but Thy Will be done, in the Heavens above and the Earth beneath." And when we can say, "Thy Will be done and not mine" and mean it, then go to work to know God's Will and then to do God's Will, we have become the Righteous. We have become a Muslim. We have come to the right path. We have come to the path of God's Divine Favour. Is this what you would like to be? If you would, then from this point on, I tell you, know God's Will and then do it

So let all Muslims and Christians and Jews who hear this broadcast know that the Mosque, the Church and the Synagogue is no House of Refuge. There is no House of Refuge for anyone except in the Lord of the Worlds; in doing the Will of God. Do not get angry with me if we point out your failure(s) in working the Will of God. But your wickedness is working your own vanity and calling it the Will of God, so do not blame me. Blame yourself. I am just a Reminder. I am just a Warner. I am just one who comes in the name of my Father, the Sender, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. For without Him, I would have nothing to say. Without Him, I would have no guidance to give. I come in his name as it is written, as a Comfort to you, a Warning to you and a Reminder to you.

May Allah(God) bless you, each and every one of you, to hear this Reminder and not to just take it lightly: but to make up your mind that you are going to be one of those who does the Will of God. Thank you for listening.

AS-SALAAM ALAIKUM!

WELCOME

GREETINGS TO YOU. I AM LOUIS FARRAKHAN, MINISTER OF MUHAMMAD'S MOSQUES OF NORTH AMERICA, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, THE PREACHER OF FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY TO THE BLACK MAN AND WOMAN OF NORTH AMERICA.

(November 9, 1986)

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.

I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH AND I

BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER.

I GREET ALL OF YOU WITH THE GREETING WORDS OF PEACE IN THE ARABIC LANGUAGE: AS-SALAAM ALAIKUM.

Once again, it is my extreme pleasure and privilege to have this opportunity to share with you some of the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Once again, we are coming to you live from the Palace, the home of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, which we, his followers, have been blessed to repurchase, renovate and rededicate to the furtherance of his teaching and mission.

Our subject today is PART HI of THE WILL OF GOD. All of us know or should know that the Will of Allah(God) is Righteousness; the Will of Allah(God) is that which is Good. No man or woman can be considered good, except that we are doing the Will of Allah(God). Certainly there are acts of kindness and there are acts of goodness that all of us know are universally recognized as good, but we cannot be considered a good people; this cannot be considered a good people; this cannot be considered a good nation (America); nor can we, the Muslims, be considered good, unless that goodness is rooted in our doing the Will of Allah(God).

The Holv Our'an teaches us "those who believe and are the doers of good to others, there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve." The Holv Our'an and the Bible are very clear on this point. One must not only do good to Self, but the doing of good to and for Self should lead us to the doing of good to and for others.

The Book of James says "faith without works is dead." The Holy Our'an teaches that "mere belief counts for nothing except that that belief is carried into practice." For us to consider that being good means doing our five (5) daily prayers (if we are Muslims), or saying our prayers if we are Christians or Jews and paying ten percent 10%, of our wages in tithes or "zakat" or offerings — this is only a portion of good. For that is the Will of Allah(God), but the doing of His Will has very specific requirements for each era of time in which a Messenger or Prophet appears.

Here we are in 1986 and we are living in the Time of the Mahdi, the Great One Who was to come to guide all of humanity to the right path. We are living in the time of the Messiah, that One Who was prophesied to come and Who, along with the Mahdi, would save the people and redeem them from the path of wickedness that they had treading upon.

The Will of AUah(God) today is very, very specific. No man or woman, sitting in a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, or in the street, can be considered doing the Will of AUah(God) by singing or hymns of praise. Even preaching sermons of praise and honor to Allah(God), or performing rituals of religion — this is not yet the Will of AUah(God). The Will of AUah(God) means the doing of good and that good is very specific. That specific good, by the Help of Allah(God), I shall outline to you in today's broadcast.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that there is no birth record to Islam; Islam is older than the Sun, Moon and Stars. Islam did not originate with Prophet Muhammad of Arabia, nearly fourteen hundred (1400) years ago (Peace Be Upon Him). Islam did not originate with the Holv Our'an. Islam did not originate with the teachings of Moses or the teachings of Abraham. Islam was before Abraham. Islam was before the Sun, Moon and Stars.

What is Islam? Islam is the Nature of God Himself. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught us that Allah(God) is Self-Created, meaning He was not begotten. He had no mother nor father. He is the Originator of Himself and of all things. In His Self-Origination, His act of Creation by His Will is to create man or to make man. In creating us, He created us from the Essence of Himself. The Holv Our'an teaches us, "O people, keep your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same kind and spread from the two many men and women."

We, the Original People of the Earth, are the First Creation of Allah(God). He created us from a single Essence or Person and that Person was the Essence and Person of Himself. If we are from His Essence, then His Nature is our nature and as He is Divine, that same divinity and spark of divinity is likewise in the Original Man. The Holv Our'an calls Original Man "Adam." And, of course, we are wrangling over this subject matter, but the Holv Our'an teaches us that Adam was created from black mud and fashioned into shape. All human beings have some colour, or are from the essence of what colour comes from or what colour is.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that the Black man is the Original man. He is not trying to teach you racism or racial superiority, he is making a statement of fact: that we are the First Creation of the Originator. We came here from His Essence; the Essence of Allah(God) is Islam. We are taught that the law by which a thing comes into existence determines its nature. The law by which we, the Original People, came into existence, is by Order of the Will of the Creator. Therefore, our Nature is to submit to His Will.

When we accept Islam, we are not accepting the Arab religion, we are not accepting some new way of civilization, we are accepting ourselves. The nature of the Original man is obedience to the Will of Allah(God). That, in Arabic, is "Islam."

The very Nature of the Original Man or the Original People or the Black People of the Earth is Islam. We are Muslims by Nature.

Master Fard Muhammad, the Great Mahdi, Who was the Teacher of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and is our Guide today, gave us six (6) words. These six (6) words summed up the scope of His Teachings to us and these six (6) words are: Accept Your Own and Be Yourself. The Christian world has gone to the extreme [in the use of the word "conversion."] Certainly, "conversion" means to change. However, when Master Fard Muhammad taught us, He said to us to accept what is "our own."

To be "our own" means that it belongs to us; we are its natural, rightful owners and possessors. We are the owners of Islam. It is our Nature, it is our Divine Right. When you are asked to accept Islam, we are not asking you to join a church or to join a mosque or to join an organization. We are asking you to accept the Nature in which you are created; then we are commanding you, by the order of AUah(God), to Be Yourself! Be Yourself!

What is Yourself? So many of us are confused over our identity. We are Black. We are African. We are this, we are that, we are the other. But this question is asked of us in our lessons from Master Fard Muhammad to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad: What is Your Own Self? And the answer is Your Own Self is a Righteous Muslim. Now of course, there seems to be some redundancy here, because if a Muslim is one who submits his Will entirely to do the Will of Allah(God) and the Will of Allah(God) is good and the Will of Allah(God) is right, then when you say "Muslim," you are saying "righteous." When you say "Muslim" you are saying a good person, a godly person.

"Your Own Self is a Righteous Muslim." Why is there word "Righteous" put on this? It is because the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that your nature is right, but we have been living other than our own selves. So even though Allah(God) has declared us to be Muslim, or to be Righteous, yet we now have to live up to that title, live up to that name, live up to that nature, by being upright.

In the Holy Our'an [3O:3O] it reads: "So set thy face for religion, being upright, the nature made by Allah in which He has created men. There is no altering Allah's creation. That is the right religion — but most people know not — ." Allah (God) is asking us in the Holv Our'an to set your face, set your mind, set your eyes, set your heart, set your being. Get set, be firm and ready to receive a way of Truth, a way of religion that is in the right state, in the Nature made by Allah. Set your face for religion, being upright.

My Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters (in the Nation of Islam, or those of you who are Black People), your identity is not your colour; your identity is not the landmass from which you come or originate; your identity is the Nature in which you are created. Since your Nature is to obey the Will of Allah(God), your nature is Islam. You are by Nature a Muslim and any name other than that is not a proper name for you. You are a Muslim. Accept Your Own and Be Yourself.

Are there any Muslims other than Righteous? In our lessons it is answered, "I beg your pardon, I never heard of one." In the Bible it says that AUah(God) would wink His eye at sin. Certainly the whole Muslim world is full of sin. The whole of humanity, who by Nature is to obey Allah(God), is full of sin. But Allah(God) now is saying to a specific people of His choice; not that you are not sinful, but that He will forgive you your sins altogether. In the Bible it reads "a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a child and His name shall be called Jesus and he shall save His people from their sins."

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught us that this is not referring to the great Prophet of Allah(God) that lived two thousand (2,OOO) years ago, but it is referring to the Messiah Who would come in the last days of this world of disobedience to the Will of Allah(God).

This world is a world of rebellion to the Will of Allah(God), and this is why this world has a limited time to rule and exercise power and authority over the peoples of the Earth and he shall save his people from their sins.

Today, we are very happy to say to the world that the Messiah, that One that was to come is now in the world and has come to birth among a people that were no people at all. And today, He calls us Muslim, He calls us Righteous, but His aim is to save us from the sins of Caucasian people that we have adopted and now from the sins of our own selves that we have poured upon by our rebellion against a Teacher that Almighty God has placed in our midst.

Today, Black people of America and humanity have involved themselves in religion. But religion is not as it was intended to be for religion, in a sense, seeks to change what is unalterable. The Holv Our'an says you cannot change nor alter Allah's creation. But religion today seeks to change the nature of the Righteous and make them into that which the [religious leaders] purpose.

I am speaking specifically now of this brand of religion that has been given to Black people by the Caucasian slave masters and their children. This that is called "Christianity" is so far removed from Christ. This is a concoction given to us by our slave masters and their children to make us better tools of service for themselves.

They have misused the Bible and the teachings of the Prophets and corrupted it in such a way to make us slaves of theirs in the name of Allah (God).

This is why the Black man and woman today are absolutely powerless. We have a powerful Nature, but if we submit to Satan, thinking that we are submitting to Allah(God), then we do the bidding of Satan, thinking that we are submitting to Allah(God), then we do the bidding of Satan, thinking we are doing the bidding of AUah(God). Then we get weaker and weaker; less powerful and less powerful, until we become total slaves to the powers of this world. The preachers of Christianity, for the most part, are enslaved to the powers of this world. I am sorry to say this, but the preachers of Islam are for the most part enslaved to the powers of this world, in the name of AUah(God).

What better way for Satan to come than to come in the name of Allah(God), in the way of Allah(God), in the path of Allah(God). According to the Bible. Satan will transform himself into an Angel of Light. And the Holv Our'an teaches us that Satan will come after the Righteous: "/ will certainly lie in wait for them in Thy straight path" and "/ shall cause them all to deviate." And Allah(God) says to him, "Whoever of them will follow thee, I will certainly fill hell with you all."

Look at you and look at the condition that you are in, that your family is in, that the church is in, that the mosque is in, that the synagogue is in, that the world is in. You are in hell, sitting up in church praising Allah(God) in an empty, vain way. You are singing hymns of praise while your life is a desecration of all of the things that we preach. We have become hypocrites, feigning to do the Will of Allah(God), but doing the Will of Satan in the name of Allah(God).

Away with such religion! Away with such people! Today, Almighty God is asking humanity to "set your face for religion, being upright" the Nature of Allah(God) and the Nature in which Allah(God) has created man.

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters, when we submit to the Will of the True God and do His Will, we come into power, we come into eminence, we come into greatness. Then the shackles of this world are easily broken, for the shackles for this world are compared to a spider's web and "surely the spider's web is the frailest of houses."

What is the Will of AUah(God) for us today? In the Bible, it is written, "for behold, I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind." [Isiah 65:17] The Book of Revelations bears witness to what Isiah prophesied, only from the Book of Revelations, the man is seen making the declaration that Isaiah prophesied he would make, "Behold, I make all things new." In the illuminating book, Our Saviour Has Arrived, by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Page 153, Paragraph 3, it says, "First Allah makes a new mind for us and a new way of thinking." Let us stop there. Is this in harmony with the Bible's prophesies?

Brothers and Sisters, if you are a "Negro" or some reasonable facsimile; if you are "Coloured"; if you are "African-American"; if you are "Black" (in the sense of the nationalistic term); you think you are on the right path, but, Brother and Sister, AUah(God) wants to make a new mind for us and a new way of thinking.

If AUah(God) is going to make all things new, He has to make people; He has to take a people and make them new. He is not going to do it easily, He is going to do it as the Originator did it in the Beginning. He took nothing and created something. In the end of the world, Allah(God) takes a foolish people, a people who are nothing, a people who are the rejected and the despised. Both the Bible and the Holv Our'an refer to this people as a "dead" people. And He takes that dead matter and He puts in it a new mind, a new way of thinking; He gives it a new form and a new expression. "Behold, I make all things new!"

The scriptures of the Bible are in perfect harmony with the teachings for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and His teachings are in perfect harmony with both the Bible and the Holv Our'an. For Paul says "put off the old man which is of the lusts of this world and put on the new man which is after Christ Jesus." Then Paul says, "Be ye not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind."

Dear Brothers and Sisters, we cannot say that we are doing the Will of Allah(God) if there is no transformation taking place in our lives; if there is no constant renewal taking place in our minds; if our thoughts are not being made better, closer, more akin to Allah(God) and His Will. No! No! No! Then we are only using religion as a cover, as a shield.

We are sitting in the seat of one who is to be made new, but we are following after the old, bringing works out that are akin to the old. Then we are hypocrites, for Allah(God) demands of us to be new creatures!

Let us go on. He teaches us a different education, one that we have never had before. I know that we honor and respect the education that we have received from the institution of learning of this world. Certainly if I had a degree from Harvard I would probably be more respected than I am now, not having one and that is a fine degree to have. It is a wonderful degree, from Harvard, or Yale, or Radcliffe, or Princeton, or Cornell, or Oxford, or Harvard.

But what does the Honorable Elijah Muhammad say here? "He teaches us a different education." "Who is He?" AUah(God), is He Who teaches us a different eduction, one that we have never had before. Let us look at this eduction then, if it is an education we have never had before.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad goes on to say that He gives us an education on the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God. Not of the prophets, but of the God of the prophets of the past let us try and understand this. A prophet is a Servant of Allah(God). Almighty god, Allah, today, is not trying to get you to be after the mold of a prophet; He is not after making you a servant; He is after making you like He made Adam.

Muslims, I want you to think over these things. If Adam was made powerful enough that the angels were forced, or asked by Allah(God) to bow down to Adam — and here Jesus is called a "second Adam" — and Adam is a man that angels attend and serve and according to the scripture, this Jesus is put in power over all of Creation except God Himself; then He is making of Man a God.

This is not strange. You say, "Well, there is no God but Allah." Yes, that is true. But we are aware of the Essence of Him, We are in His Nature. He allows us to wear His name. He asked to be our Teacher and if we submit to Him, what will He make us into? He will give us power over the Heavens and the Earth and over the laws that govern both. This will make us a God, but lower than Himself in obedience to His Will. He makes us Gods.

This is a pretty powerful education, then, isn't it? He is going to give us education, not of prophets, but of the God of prophets. "He builds our minds, teaches The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, "according to the way Gods think and not the way of thinking of servants or prophets." The prophets of the past were inspired and their inspiration was true, but since Muhammad Ibn Abdullah is the Seal of the prophets, he ends the prophets. We do not need prophets today; we have passed out of the time of prophets. We are in the Time of God and He is not making prophets, He is making Gods: men and woman with power to change reality. Prophets did not change realities.

In the last six thousand (6,000) years, the Ruler of the Wicked was the master of Prophets, even though they came from the Lord of the Worlds, they were mastered by the God of this world. Therefore, the Bible teaches us that God's Coming is after the working of Satan. Moses could never be entirely successful; neither could Jesus or Muhammad. And this is why the Holy Our'an today is accepted, yet rejected, by those who claim to believe in it. They put it behind their backs. Why? Because the God of this world has mastered the prophets and has come up and twisted the work of the prophets, until today it looks like no prophet was ever on the scene!

We do not want a prophet's knowledge; we do not need a prophet's knowledge; we want and need the Knowledge of Allah(God). We want to will a new existence, then bring that existence into Reality and crush the opponents of that Reality.

This is what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is leading us to in the Nation of Islam. Beloved, we ask the question, "Why do we enter the nation of Islam enrolled as students?" You cannot come into the nation of Islam except you become a student and recite what is called your "Student Enrollment." Why does each of us come into the Nation of Islam as a student? If we are going to get an education, the like of which we have never had before, then do not come proud; do not come thinking that what you know is satisfactory. What you know can be used, if it is used in harmony with the Will of AUah(God).

If you are ever proud of your knowledge, which Allah(God) rejects, He is not going to build His world on the knowledge of this one. He would make a fool of Himself if he builds His Kingdom and He borrows something from this Kingdom. No! The automobiles of our world will not look like this; the airplanes will not look like this; the vegetation will not look like this. Nothing will be the same as this world. He is an Independent God and He makes all things new.

He is inviting you, Black man and woman, into His classroom and through us, He is inviting the whole of humanity to come into the classroom. Yes, yes, yes. He is going to prepare you to teach the class in His absence. You say, "Who, Me?" Yes, you! The scripture says, "This is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our sight" that He would take the rejected and the despised and make them the cornerstone of a new world order. So when we come into the Nation of Islam, Beloved, we come as students.

What is a student? A student is a person who is formally enrolled in learning. A student is any person who studies, investigates and examines thoughtfully. We are students. I am a student. A student knows he has lessons to learn, therefore, the student does not act as though he is the Teacher. The student always knows he has more to learn. That is the way we come into the Nation of Islam.

What does the Bible have to say about this? What does the Holv Our'an have to say about this? Both books agree. Jesus said, "except that you become as a little child, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples were rebuking the children, he said, "suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God."

What was he saying to his rather foolish disciples? He was saying to them. Give me the children, you are making a mess of things with you silliness. You are acting foolish; look at you. Peter and James and John are arguing over who is going to sit at my right and my left in the Kingdom. What is the matter with you? Give me the children, give me the babies, for of such is the Kingdom. It seems to me, that you hear me, but it is going in one ear and out of the other, because you mind is so filled with the education and civilization of this world, you do not recognize that Jesus the Christ brings a totally new civilization. He wants to make you a new people, but you cannot be made new if you hold on to the way of foolishness of the old world. You must become as a child. A child is one that has to be nurtured an when you are thinking of yourself as a child, you become humble to your Teacher, then your Teacher can reshape, remodel and make you new.

What should the attitude of the student be? We cannot come to Allah(God) arrogant, we cannot come to Allah(God) proud, we come to Allah(God) humble. Look at he scriptures: "Naked came I into the world, naked go I out of the world." I brought nothing in, I can take nothing out. When one is naked, one is fully exposed. When one's knowledge has been so completely exposed, one is naked and then one needs to be clothed again.

Easter, in the Christian way of looking at it, and in the old symbolism of pagan rites, represented the putting on of a new garment. Even as the Earth looks like it is covered with a new garment in the spring, we must pull off the old garment of this world's knowledge, wisdom, understanding and way of civilization. Pull it off an become "naked" and then let Almighty God, Allah, through His Apostle, make a new garment for you. Put on the new man, take off the old man. This is the WiU of Allah(God). There must be a transformation in our lives.

Brother and Sister, if AUah(God) wants to bring and establish His Will in the world, He has chosen the United States of America: the most powerful adversary of His Will in the world. Though America claims to be a Christian country, she is not "new." Her way is the way of the world; her way is the way of evil. When you measure the way of America, when you measure the way of the government, when you measure the deeds of the government and her record against the law and Will of Allah(God), then the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is absolutely correct — she is the habitation of devils. And if she is such, and she is, then to follow her is to go down into Hell with her.

Allah(God) has said to the Black people of America, "You are the descendants of the original Adam. You are a people who are an original people of the Earth. You are by nature a righteous people." You have the same nature as God Himself; you were born by nature of the righteous. Accept you own and be yourself. If you would accept that call to be yourself, which is a righteous Muslim, then you will come into a degree of power that you have never known before. If you will come into a degree of power that you have never known before, how will this sit with those who I have made you slaves and" want to keep you grovelling at their feet? Will they want you to have any power? Of course not!

The Will of Allah(God), whenever it is revealed through a prophet or an apostle, must go out and find people, transform their lives and then organize them for the establishment of His Will in that location. Brothers and Sisters, it is one thing to tell the truth, but if the truth is not organized, if the people who believe in the truth are not organized for the work of establishing the truth, then telling the truth is of no value at all. We need organization as much as we need truth.

In 1977, at a police convention here in the city of Chicago, I spoke to some highly-placed Black policemen. A man that worked very closely with the police told me that the denial objective of the United States government for Black people was that we must never be allowed to truly organize. Have you noticed that no matter how much truth we know, we can never seem to organize effectively; to move ahead with our own aims, plans and purpose? Why?

Revlon says, "In two (2) years, we are going to take over all Black hair care companies — buy them out. They will not even be in existence in a few years." I am very happy to see the stir among our people, but if it is an emotional reaction to Revlon, Revlon is not making an emotional statement. Revlon is making a statement based upon plans, organization and strategy that is already in the works. But you cannot get members of the same Black hair care products into the same room; some of them literally hate each other. How, then, can we stave off organized Revlon with disorganized emotionalism in response to Revlon's challenge?

We are silly and it is only when we start acting like mature people; when we come into a new way of thinking; a new mind with new ideas, we will overpower the Revlons of this world. And whether you know it or not, you are destined to overpower not only Revlon, but General Motors, Ford, ITT, IBM, etc. You are destined to overpower all of them.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that Master Fard Muhammad, the Great Mahdi, is at work right now, tearing down this world. Why can't they (powers of this world) get their act together? Because another Power is tearing them down. Why can't they, with all of their knowledge, balance their budget? Another Power is tearing them down. When is the dollar falling? When is General Motors closing? Why are more and more jobs being lost to the American market? It is all because another Power is interfering with their power. They cannot put their Will over His Will, He is forcing His Will and His Will is the end of this world. Behold! He makes all thing new!

Black Brothers and Sisters, Muslims, we must organize. We must see ourselves as students. We must be of the mind an spirit of a student. We must have the mind and spirit of a child, for a child knows that it must be nurtured: A student knows that he or she must be taught. We cannot come to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad like we know; we must come humble, because the Honorable Elijah Muhammad proved in his forty (40) years among us that he knows better than anyone among us, for His Word stands.

If we know that we carry the Will of Allah(God) to transform the lives or our people for His sake and righteousness, then we know that we cannot transform our people without organization. This is War. Let me say it again:

THIS IS WAR. Do you think that you will put Allah's (God's) Will over and the Will of this world is not going to oppose it? There is bound to be opposition, severe opposition. THIS IS WAR. It is not a bloody battle, because we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness that is in high places — but it ii War!

In Economics, when Black people go into business, it is another form of war; when you begin to take money out of white companies and bring it back into the Black community, it is an act of war. That is the way they see it. So why don't you get into the mind of war, the frame of war, the spirit of war — and don't lay down your weapon until the war is over and the victory is won!

This world is not giving up; this world is not going out like a lamb with a sweet lullaby; this world is going out with a great noise. So we must be ready for the battle. And I say to those with the title of Muslim, those in the Nation of Islam — and that means all Black people in North American — We must be organized.

The moment we start to talk about organization, people think, "Now here's what I want to be, I want to be this in that structure." Hold on a minute. To organize means to form into a whole, consisting of interdependent or coordinated parts, especially for harmonious and united action. Now let us think about that. I hope that you will follow me carefully in what I am about to say.

If "to organize" means "to form as or into a whole, consisting of interdependent or coordinated parts, especially for harmonious and united action," then there can be no organization without interdependent relationships. There can be no organization without coordinating the different functions. There can be no organization without harmony. There can be no organization without common cause that is above the function of each part that makes up the whole. If that is true, and it is, then let us look at the organization of this world. This world is sick to death over titles, for titles distinguish us from others. And then we take the title and we make mischief with it.

In the Bible. Paul gives the example of the supreme organization of the body. This is a magnificent structure and a magnificent example of organization, coordination, harmony, interdependent relationships and united action; because there is one cause that is above all things and that is the life of this organism. So all the parts work to sustain life.

Imagine the "I am" principle coning into the body: "I am the Brain"; "I am the Heart"; "I am the liver"; "I am the Kidney." You may laugh, but that is what has destroyed every organization and now it is threatening the government itself. It is the "I am." "I am the President." Who are you? Why does that make you special? Are you better than another functioning part of a whole?

The object is the maintenance, the preservation of the Republic, and that is why you serve it. You are not greater than the Republic, you are not the Republic. You are just a servant of the Republic. But we make so much over who the Head is, who the Chairman of the Board is, who the President is, who the Secretary is, who the Vice-Chairman and the Potentate is. We destroy the organization by building up one against the value of another, when that one cannot function without the other. Think over that.

What does the head look like without a foot? I saw a man in the Marathon. He had hit a mine in one of the wars and it blew off part of his hands and his feet. He finished the marathon four (4) days later. He had the Will. He had a great head, but he did not have the legs. But that man struggled against those odds to make it and whatever he had left was working together, united in action harmoniously for the sustenance of that man's life. And even though he could not compete in that race, he well can compete in the race of life.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters, in this world, men and women study many years to qualify themselves to wear a title: Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher, Priest, Father, Reverend, The Right Reverend, The Most Worshipful Master. And ofttimes, these titles are used to motivate men and women to strive for these positions of influence and power, but the very means by which men and women ascend to titles ofttimes is the destruction of the organization which the titles were meant to serve.

Who wants to be the foot? Someone should want to be the foot; it is very important. So Paul says, "suppose all members were eyes," If the body were just one big eye, where would the hearing be? Somebody has got to be eyes, somebody has got to be ears, someone has to be a tongue, someone has to be a brains, but each must recognize that they are nothing without the other. And it is only when they work interdependently and coordinated in a way that produces harmony, that there will be success of that organization.

Beloved, the striving of men and women for position of influence in power over others does not serve the need for organization. "We're Number One!" Look at the Chicago Bears. Last year they were "Number One." This year everybody is after them. It is very difficult to be Number One two times in a row. Everybody is after them. It is this madness of competition in a negative way. We strive to be the best: "And he rose through the ranks to become General." As though whatever he was before meant nothing. And so "He rose." How did he rise? He cheated, he robbed, he played politics, he was a bootlicker, whatever he was he did all of that to get where he is and now he is Chairman of the Board. What kind of organization will that be with a fool like that at the helm?

Brothers and Sisters, I do not mean to make light of this world's order, but you know that this world's order is closing down. Men and women have titles and functions, but these persons of title and function are devoid of character.

Men are called "Your Eminence, Your Grace, Your Lordship, The Right Reverend, The Most Honorable, Your Excellency." And they are none of that. But the title gives them the appearance of what in character they are not. So they are themselves the means of the destruction of their nations, their governments, their cities, their states, their towns.

Allah(God) has set His Hand against this world and its leaders for that very reason and this is why the scriptures foretell the fall of kings and rulers, the destruction of governments and nations — because there is not integrity in their character and their function has proved to be alien to the Nature of Allah(God) and the nature in which He created things.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters, we need organization. We need organization, but we first must understand that we are common to organization and without us, no organization survives. It does not exist for the person of the leader, or the chairman, or the rulers, but it exists for the purpose for which the organization was set up.

May Allah(God) bless us all with the light of understanding. AS-SALAAM ALAIKUM!

STUDY GUIDE 1
MIXED FEELINGS AND
CONTROVERSY, HOW DO WE HANDLE IT?

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
7:59-141

Self-Improvement
Paragraphs 1-3

FACTS

Both the Holy Qur'an and the Bible place great emphasis upon the lives of the prophets of Allah (God) and the mixed feelings and controversy surrounding them and their message. Both books make consistent reference to the chiefs or leaders of the people and their attitude toward the prophets.

DISCUSSION

1) Let us focus upon the views of the chiefs/leaders of the people concerning some of the prophets: Noah, Hud, Salih, Lot, Shu'aib, Moses and Jesus.

The Holy Qur'an mentions prophets that are not named in the Bible and the Bible mentions prophets that are not named in the Holy Qur'an. Some prophets, such as Moses and Jesus, are named in both books. The Holy Qur'an teaches us, "And (We sent) messengers We have mentioned to thee before and messengers We have not mentioned to thee ..." 4:1 64

The prophets who are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an are named because they have a specific bearing on the life of Muhammad and his life touches an aspect of all of their lives. Consequently, to know the lives of the prophets is to know Muhammad and to know what we will face as followers of Muhammad.

What did the leaders think of their prophets? What did they say of them? What action did they take concerning them?

Supplement

2) How did the view of the leaders affect the view of others? How did the view of the leaders affect the view of the followers of the prophets?

Supplement

3) Who were those who had a proper view of the prophet? Why did they have a proper view? What is the significance of the Qur'anic references to the attitudes of the opponents of the prophets with such adjectives as blind, arrogant, haughty, guilty, transgressors, mischief-makers, etc.?

Supplement

4) Let us look at the prophet himself. What effect did the attitude of the leadership in power have on him? What emotion did he experience on receiving his call from Allah (God)? How was he affected by the overwhelming power of the opponents of his message? How did he deal with opposition? With being despised and rejected?

Supplement

5) How was the Honorable Elijah Muhammad received by the chiefs/leaders? How did their views affect the people? How did he handle the way he was received?

Supplement

6) How is Minister Farrakhan being received today? How does the view of the chiefs/leaders affect the people? How does it affect you? How does Minister Farrakhan handle the mixed feelings and controversy surrounding him and his message?

Supplement

7) How do you handle mixed feelings and controversy surrounding your belief, when it is directed at you? By what method or process will you produce a change in others?

Supplement

8) Give an example of mixed feelings or controversy surrounding yourself. How did you handle it? Looking back, how could you have done it better?

Supplement

1) What the leaders thought of the prophets, what they said of them and the actions they took concerning them are to be extracted directly from the Scriptures.

2) A definition of "View": Manner of looking at things; opinion; judgment; belief; power of seeing; range of vision.

Persecution manifests weakness in people. Go to the scriptures to demonstrate that the view of the opponents prevailed over the people. Noah, Lot, Hud, Salih, were unable to convert a significant number of people.

It is through affecting the view of the follower of the prophet that the opponent of the prophet is able to inject his own thinking into the midst of the prophets' followers. When a believer can be made to doubt, to entertain evil thoughts about the prophet, to ultimately disbelieve, yet remain in the ranks, then a hypocrite has been produced in the midst of the followers.

3) Those who had a proper view of the prophet are called "Believers." What distinguishes the Believer from the opponents of the prophet?

The answer lies in the review of the Qur'anic descriptions of the attitudes of the opponents.

What is the relationship of "arrogance" "haughtiness", to "blindness"? Noah's people are called "blind". What attitude did they possess that rendered them blind?

Here is an excerpt from THE WILL OF GOD (PART 1) to guide analysis of the attitude of the opponents:

Attitude is the manner, the disposition, the feeling, the position, with which we regard a thing. It is a tendency or orientation, especially of the Mind. Think of these words. It is a tendency or orientation of the Mind. In fact, Attitude can give you -- or damage --- your ability to perceive reality...

Vanity is excessive pride in one's appearance, one's qualities, one's abilities and one's achievements. It is Conceit. Vanity can lead to Arrogance. And of course, anything that is done with the spirit of conceit lacks real value. Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit or superiority ... we become Blinded by Pride, to the Will of God.

In the discussion, we want to bring out the fact that arrogance, pride, haughtiness, etc. are states of mind which lead to blindness, or the inability to see the truth of the message the prophet brings from Allah (God).

Since Arrogance led the opponents of the prophets to blindness and resulted in their becoming transgressors and mischief-makers, the converse is true. That is, the Attitude of those who had a proper view, the Believers, had to be the opposite of Pride, which is Humility.

The Holy Qur'an teaches that you will know the -righteous; they walk the earth in Humbleness.

Another excerpt from THE WILL OF GOD:

... So Humility is the state of mind that each one of us must be in, in order for God to continue His Plan of exaltation for any of us ... Jesus said, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. "Now, no man that is poor is blessed. I want you to get out of it, that your poverty is a blessing...But God is going to give you someone that will give you all that you have been deprived of that has made you poor..."

The poor man is humble; he is open to a message, a word of hope, for he is searching for the light to bring him up out of his condition. He is receptive to the prophet or messenger. He is joyful to hear the message.

Jesus said come as a little child. The child is open to be taught, open to instruction, open to correction. The child knows he is vulnerable and in need and is happy to receive guidance and help.

A definition of "humble": "Lowly in condition; unpretending; submissive, meek."

4) We are looking at the development of the prophets.

The first emotion we experience at birth is Fear. The first emotion the prophet feels on being called is Fear. But the prophet does not remain afraid very long. Allah gives him assurances that there is a Power with him infinitely greater than the powers opposing him. He gives comfort and encouragement to the prophet when no one else can, strengthening His servant in the knowledge that "There is no God but Allah".

Because of his great love for his people, the prophet experiences grief, sometimes despair, over their rejection of the message, for he knows that their destruction is inevitable unless they accept the Truth. Allah relieves him of his pain and sorrow, brings him out of his depression.

The prophet deals with opposition, rejection, by seeking refuge in his Lord, in Allah (God). He is refreshed and rejuvenated by his communication with the God and he stands firm, resolute, in the face of opposition and rejection.

5) Clearly, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was received with bitterness, hostility and vehement opposition. The attitude of the opponents did affect people greatly.

He would always say, "Flee to Allah" and he practiced what he preached. He always sought refuge in Allah. He did not go to the bottle, to drugs, to the things of the world to escape his pain; he drew comfort from the only True Source of Comfort there is: Allah (God).

6) Analyze the reaction of the Jews, the government, the Negro leadership, etc. to Minister Farrakhan. This must have some effect on those of us who say we are with him. The study group should be asked whether they have encountered opposition from family, friends, people they respect, who tell them they are fools, mad, in error, etc. because they are with the Minister. In fact, they say the very same things that were said to the prophets.

Minister Farrakhan is dealing with the mixed controversy around him the same way the Honorable Elijah Muhammad did. He seeks refuge in Allah. How else could he withstand the pressure, were there not an infinitely greater Power with him than the powers that are against him?

7) What we want to do here is arrive at the conclusion that the way to produce a change in people is by setting an example. You cannot change people by force. You cannot change people simply by talking. You must be a living example of the principles you enunciate, if you truly want to produce a change in the thinking of our people.

8) The study group coordinator should be first to give an example. Choose a situation where you mishandled the situation as a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, under Minister Louis Farrakhan, with the intention of handling the situation properly, but you failed because of the manner in which you dealt with the situation. Then briefly explain how in retrospect you see where you could have done it better. Then have the members of the group give examples.

STUDY GUIDE 2
BUILDING HUMAN POTENTIAL

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surahs 22:5-7
23:12-14
32:6-9
14:32-34
86:5-12
96:1-5

Self-Improvement
Page 2
Page 4 Para. 3-6
Page 5 Para. 5,6
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8, Para. 1,2

FACTS

The Bible and The Holy Qur'an both teach us that man's beginnings are in mere "dust". Yet, both books also teach us that Allah (God), the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, has created us from dust and given us dominion over His Creation.

QUESTIONS

Would Allah (God) give us power and dominion over His Creation if we lacked the potential to rule it?

What does this signify concerning what is in you?

DISCUSSION

1 First, let us review some key words and their definitions. Please look at the GLOSSARY.

2) Read Surah 22:5-7. This Surah is called "The Pilgrimage". Why, in this chapter, does Allah speak to us of our creation from dust? In his opening letter to us, how did the Minister define "Resurrection"? Is the process of Resurrection similar to the Pilgrimage? If yes, why is it similar?

3) Read Surah 23:12-14. This Surah is called "The Believer". The same process described in the previous chapter is repeated. What is the significance of mentioning this process in a surah of this name, "Believer"?

4) Read Surah 32:6-9. This Surah is called "The Adoration". What is the significance of this word, "Adoration", in the process of resurrection?

In the same chapter, Allah (God) declares that He created man from "dust" and made him of "...an extract, or worthless water." What is the "extract" referred to here? What makes it worthless? Does the Black man have worth in the eyes of Civilization? Did he ever have respect and worth? Can he have it again?

What parables are we given in the Holy Qur'an to assure us our own potential to be consequential?

Supplement

5) Read Surah 14: 32-34. This Surah is called "Abraham." In it, we see that Allah (God) has made the Sun, Moon, Heavens, Earth, all "subservient" to us. What is the meaning of "subservient"? Are we being served by nature now? Are we in control of nature? Do we have the potential to gain mastery of the forces of nature? What evidence is there that we have such potential?

What is the connection between the man Abraham and the mastery of man over the forces of nature?

Supplement

6) Read Surah 96:1-5. Have you ever seen a blood clot? Was it beautiful to behold? Is a Nation of unlearned people a beautiful sight in the eyes of civilization? By what means does a clot develop into a complete human being? By what means must a people evolve into its beauty?

Supplement

7) Read Surah 86:5-12. What is the significance of the process of man's development from sperm being described in this surah, called "The Comer By Night"?

Supplement

8) What is the significance of the life of Jesus to one who is studying and seeking to build human potential in himself and others? What is the significance of the life of Muhammad in the study of building human potential?

What is the significance of studying the life of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as an example for us in building our own potential?

Supplement

SUPPLEMENT

4) The "extract" is sperm. Sperm issues from the same part of man's body as waste fluid, therefore it is lowly, even despicable in man's sight. But the sperm is the quintessence of every part of the human body. In the act of conception, the essence of man is extracted from him; his being, his genetic make-up. Sperm is only worthless because of the state that it is in.

The Holy Qur'an repeatedly speaks of a barren, dry Earth, that appears dead, but when Allah causes clouds to come over it and water falls from those clouds, the life that is in the earth swells and blossoms.

Sperm must be placed in the right environment, i.e., the womb. What is the proper environment for spiritual development to take place? The Mosque. Review what Minister Farrakhan said of the mosque in his letter.

The Qur'an says: "Then He made him complete and breathed into him of His spirit." What makes us complete is the Spirit of God. This is manifested in the language of the Holy Qur'an. Once Allah has breathed His spirit into man, He ceases to refer to him in the third person, "him" and begins to refer to him in the second person, "you". He says, "...and gave you ears, and eyes and hearts; little it is that you give thanks!" Man is thus addressed as a spiritual counterpart to whom the Creator has given ears, so that he can hear the Message; eyes to see clearly with the vision of a Divine being; a heart for love and understanding and compassion. Yet, with all of these divine gifts, we are ungrateful.

5) Abraham is the example for us of what we must do in order to be given dominion over the world as -Allah planned for us. Abraham represents belief in ONE GOD and total submission to His Will and His Alone. Review the Minister's letter where he gives us excerpts from the Muslim opening prayer.

6) Allah says, "complete in make and incomplete, that We may make clear to you..." When you and I come forth we are complete yet incomplete. How do we become complete? By being fed and nourished. Food develops the body. Words develop the mind. Just as we must eat the right food to grow right physically; we must read right, from right material, to grow our minds properly.

7) The 86th Surah, "Al-Tariq" contains an invaluable lesson. The Comer by Night signifies that we must never give in to the darkness of despair and hopelessness. Remember the Minister's words last Sunday: "In the darkest mind there is a spark of light", There is a Being --- the same Being that delivered Moses, Jesus, Noah; He will deliver you and me.

If you even think of being in despair, then do what the 86th Surah says, "let man consider of what he is created." The same God Who brought that sperm through that tortuous journey to meet the egg and become you and me; that same God will deliver us.

Master Fard Muhammad came "unobserved", and in the darkness He gave the Word to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Word is symbolized by Water. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, filled with the Word, became as a "cloud giving rain" to you and me. He built men and women from nothing into that which the world had never before known.

And so this Surah says "It is a decisive Word ... and not a joke". This means we must not play with the teachings of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

8) Review the statements made by Minister Farrakhan in SELF-IMPROVEMENT, pertaining to Jesus. Be ever mindful in the discussions, of the potential for complete harmony with those who profess Christianity, through our own understanding of the man Jesus.

There are profound statements made by Minister Farrakhan and Jesus in this speech. For example,

"...in Jesus is a witness, not that God is coming, but that God is present...Jesus gives man a glimpse of his potential. Jesus is not here for you to worship him; he is here for you to follow his example, that where he is, you may be...Because if you follow that example, Jesus is only manifesting what is really in yourself ... He is the perfect example of human potential ... he was born of a woman and came through the vicissitudes of life, just like you."

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad accomplished what he accomplished through the guidance of Master Fard Muhammad. The Holy Qur'an and many, many books. Though he had only completed the 4th grade, he followed the first command from His Teacher: "Read." For 7 years, while on the run from the hypocrites, he managed to go back and forth to the library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) reading 104 books as assigned to him by Master Fard Muhammad.

If Malcolm X, with an 8th grade education, accomplished what he accomplished under the guidance of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, read every book in the prison library, beginning with the dictionary; if individuals and people can manifest hidden beauty and potential through reading, then each one of us must challenge our aversion to reading and begin to: READ, READ. "READ IN THE NAME OF THY LORD WHO CREATES, CREATES MAN FROM A CLOT. READ AND THY LORD IS MOST GENEROUS, WHO TAUGHT MAN BY PEN, TAUGHT MAN WHAT MAN KNEW NOT..."

These are the 2 lost arts among our people: Reading and Writing (use of the pen). If there is one among us who cannot read, that is one too many. If one of you is unable to read, then we shall establish a Mosque reading class.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Your assignment (to be completed by December 26, 1986) is as follows:

1) Re-read the Holy Qur'an references from Study Session #1 and the references from Study Session #2.

2) Continue to read SELF-IMPROVEMENT.

3) Read newspaper each and every day. Read the Chicago Tribune and/or The Sun Times. In addition to one of these two newspapers, read the Chicago Defender.

Do not read the sports section, leisure, etc. Read the NEWS.

4) Read the article entitled "ONE MEAL A DAY" from HOW TO EAT TO LIVE (Book One) by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Be prepared to discuss this article next Friday in your study circle.

GLOSSARY

BUILD (verb) To frame, construct, mold, form or create. To establish, increase, strengthen, prepare in stages.

HUMAN (adj) Pertaining to or characterizing man. From "humus": a dark, organic material in soil, produced by the decomposition of animal or vegetable matter essential to the fertility of the Earth.

POTENTIAL A Latent excellence or ability that may or may not be developed; capable of being or becoming; possible but not actual; having capacity for existence but not yet existing. (Potent: Powerful).

EXCELLENCE Possession of eminently good qualities; great merit; superiority in worth or value.

PILGRIMAGE A journey, especially a long one, to a sacred place as an action of devotion. A long journey undertaken in quest of something for a particular purpose.

EXTRACT "To get, pull or draw out. To obtain, derive or elicit. A concentrated form."

DUST A particle of matter with no use or function. Powdery earth or matter in bits fine enough to be easily suspended in air; anything worthless.

SUBSERVIENT "That which is useful, helpful, of service, especially in an inferior or subordinate capacity."

STUDY GUIDE 3
OVERCOMING DIFFICULTY

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 21 "The Prophets"
Surah 93 "The Brightness of the Day"
Surah 94 "The Expansion"

Self-Improvement

Page 3; Page 4, Para. 1,2;
Page 5, Para.1-4

FACTS

Allah has said in the Holy Qur'an that He has created man (and woman) to face difficulty.

It is a general law of nature, that as night follows day, likewise, ease follows difficulty.

Both the Bible and Holy Qur'an teach us that struggle is ordained for man by Allah (God).

QUESTION

What evidence is there in nature that proves Allah (God) has ordained struggle for man?

DISCUSSION

1) First, let us review some key words and their definitions. Please look at the GLOSSARY.

2) Why has Allah (God) ordained struggle for you and me? What is our ultimate goal in life? Is a struggle necessary to obtain that goal? Is there any life form that comes into existence without a struggle?

Supplement

3) Minister Farrakhan has said that, "if Allah (God) has created man to face difficulty, then a 'Difficulty Factor' is present that intensifies as man moves closer to the goal ... the 'Difficulty Factor' is attached to everything of value."

Is your life valuable? Was there a Difficulty Factor attached to our coming into existence? What was it?

Does the Earth contain valuable resources? Name some of them. Knowing what is in the Earth is one thing. Is there a Difficulty Factor attached getting the resources out of the Earth? What is it?

Is Marriage (the desire to unite) valuable? Is there a Difficulty Factor attached to Marriage? What is it?

Supplement

4) Read Surah 21:1-10. In these verses there is an example of the Difficulty Factor encountered by the Apostle. What is it?

Is there a difference between the rejection encountered by the Apostle in these verses and the rejection encountered by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Farrakhan from our own people today? Are our people valuable? Are they difficult to reach?

If our people are resisting the Message as did people before them, then will they not be destroyed for rejecting knowledge? If they are going to be destroyed, then why should Minister Farrakhan continue with his mission? Shouldn't he just give up and go home? If he should not give up, why not?

Supplement

5) Is there a Difficulty Factor attached to following a man with a message? Why?

Supplement

6) Read Surah 21:16-18. Who is the "WE" who did not create the heaven and earth for sport; who did not take a "Pastime"; who "hurl the Truth against falsehood, so it knocks out its brains, and lo! It vanishes..."?

What is the significance of Falsehood having "brains"? Is it difficult to hurl the Truth at the brains of Falsehood?

Have you watched Minister Farrakhan 'hurl' Truth at Falsehood from the rostrum? What happens to the false concepts we carry when the Truth is hurled at them? Has Minister Farrakhan encountered any difficulty as a result of hurling Truth at Falsehood? Describe the difficulty. Has he turned away from the mission as a result of the difficulty factor?

What is your duty when you encounter Falsehood? Do you think it will be difficult? Will you turn away from the difficulty? Why or why not?

Supplement

7) Read Surah 21:51-58. Abraham took an action. What was it? Why did he do it?

Supplement

8) Read Surah 21:59-68. What was the response of the people to what Abraham did? Why did they react in the manner that they did? What was the response of the Jews to minister Farrakhan when he spoke the Truth about them'? Why did they react in the manner that they did?

Supplement

9) Read Surah 21:69-71. What did Allah (God) do when the opposition attempted to kill His servant?

Read Surah 21:74-91. What do we see in these verses concerning the prophets of Allah (God) when they find themselves in distress? What is the response of Allah (God) to their calls for help? In what situation did He fail His servant (s)?

What does this tell us concerning what we should expect in times of distress if we call on Allah (God) in sincerity?

Who or what did the prophets call on besides Allah?'

Supplement

10) Have you ever faced a difficulty and turned away from it? How did that make you feel? What caused you to turn away? Was it a Fear of some kind, perhaps (loss of job, loss of income, loss of friendship, etc.)?

Supplement

After tonight's session, who do you consider the source of your security?

Have you ever faced difficulty and overcome it? How did you feel afterwards?

SUPPLEMENT

1) Explained in GLOSSARY.

2) The Holy Qur'an teaches us that Allah does not desire hardship for us, 2:185. Further, it is His desire to please us, 93:5. Even so, we can find no life form that came into existence without a struggle. Whether it is the lowest form of insect or man himself, we see that overcoming adversity is a necessary part of life, since life cannot come into being without it.

We must struggle in order to obtain our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is to meet with Allah (God). Difficulty is an essential factor in the journey from being a speck of dust to being one with Allah (God).

We know struggle must take place by understanding what struggle causes us to do. Review SELF-IMPROVEMENT, Page 3, para. 5, "...without struggle, you cannot bring out of yourself that which God has deposited within you. It is something that has to be brought out and it is a struggle overcoming difficulties that manifest your own gifts and your own sublime qualities..."

What God has deposited in us, as seen in our previous study sessions, is the potential to be one with Him.

When we face difficulty, we struggle; we are forced to turn to the One God for help. On Him alone must we rely.

3) Of course your life is valuable. It is invaluable. It was not obtained without intense suffering. The journey of the sperm to the egg is beset with difficulty. It is a tortuous journey. While many sperm are killed, many just give up and die. Their tragic end, lying dead in the middle passage, serves as a lesson to us that we cannot even come into existence without overcoming difficulty, since each and every one of us represents the resolve of a tiny sperm who overcame difficulty.

Gold, Oil, Uranium, Diamonds, are valuable to us. They are in the ground. There is tremendous difficulty involved in getting them out of the ground before we can benefit from their value.

Marriage is the desire to unite. The marriage vow is the statement of intention to unite. Immediately thereafter, difficulties arise. The difficulties are generated by our desire to unite in that they bring the man and woman together in a trying situation. Because while God created man and woman to incline toward one another and to seek unity with one another, He also made it a difficult thing to do. The process of uniting through marriage is a replication of the process of uniting with God. If we run away from the difficulties of marriage, we diminish our ability to face the difficulties of seeking to become one with Allah (God).

Why do people get divorced? Why do people join an organization to unite, only to leave?

"The desire to attain a goal brings us face to face with difficulty. When we undergo the trial of difficulty, the trial may be so intense that it extinguishes the light of the desire to attain the goal."

4) A man brings a people a beautiful message. But, the Holy Qur'an says, -the message comes "while they sport" and "their hearts (are) trifling." Trifling- does this sound familiar? Are there not many of our people who are more interested in the football game on Sunday afternoon than hearing the Minister lecture? Are they not more interested in sport and play than in a word which might help them up out of their condition?

So in this state of mind and heart, what do the people do? They "counsel in secret". They come together and talk about him. They say, "He is a poet". Compare this to what is said of Minister Farrakhan: charmer, skillful, magician, etc.

The Minister should not give up and neither should we who say we are with him. Why not? Remember last weeks lesson. We came from dust. Look again at 22:5-7. If you are in doubt about the Resurrection, know that "Allah will raise up those who are in the graves."

5) Yes. Because we encounter constant attempts by people to try and diminish our intelligence: "What are you doing following him? I know he's trying to take your money ... He's a charlatan ... etc., etc."

Remember, the Human Potential. We have difficulty seeing divinity in a man or a woman because in this world we are so far beneath the thoughts and ways of Allah (God) that we don't know what a complete man or woman looks like, therefore, we don't recognize a man or woman with a message and mission from God right in our midst.

6) The WE is YOU and ME. We would like to know that we are unanimous in agreement that each of us has the potential to be included in the WE. But there is a journey we must undergo in order for that to happen.

Falsehood has brains. That is, LIES are conceived of and perpetrated by THINKING MEN & WOMEN.

Sunday (1 2/21/86) was an example of Truth (There is no such thing as a big fat white man coming down your chimney and leaving gifts) being hurled at Falsehood. When forced by Minister Farrakhan to find logic in one man going to every house in the world in one night, in a sled, through the air, carried by reindeer, what happened to the myth? IT VANISHED. Why? Because it never existed. It was a FANTASY to begin with.

7) Abraham destroyed the idols to help his people see the error of their ways; that these man-made 'things' could not be Lord of the Worlds.

8) The leadership was angry and hostile. They had been exposed as fools. They were humiliated and they hated Abraham for it. The Minister exposed the myth perpetrated by the Jews that they are the chosen people of God and immune to criticism, free to engage in evil. The Minister showed the world that this is a lie. Their reaction was vile hatred and just as Abraham's people said, "Burn him!", the Jews cried, "Death to Farrakhan!" This is not over yet. They continue to plan against him.

9) Allah always delivers His servants. The prophets are examples to us that on Him and Him alone must we rely.

10) The exertion of energy in facing and overcoming' difficulty strengthens character. Each time we face Difficulty and use our faith in our Lord to overcome it, there is a reward. This reward gives us the incentive to try and try again.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

When you leave tonight, we want you to purchase and take with you a product. You are to sell the product before you come back next Friday.

There is a Difficulty Factor in sales. Selling is accompanied by a certain degree of rejection. Do you fear the possibility that someone will tell you "No."? How do you handle that?

You know that you have a good product. There is someone out there who wants the product. Will you be successful in getting to the many people who will say "Yes" if you are immobilized by fear of the "No"?

What is the reward of overcoming the difficulty? Is there an immediate reward? What is it? Is there a lasting reward? What is it?

NEXT WEEK

Please come prepared to discuss your experience with the product you have chosen.

GLOSSARY

DIFFICULTY The condition or fact of being difficult. Something that is difficult, as a hard problem or an obstacle or objection. Trouble, distress, etc. or a cause of this.

EMINENCE A high or lofty place, thing, etc., as a hill. Superiority in rank, position, character, achievement, etc.; greatness; celebrity. A person of eminence.

FACTOR Any of the circumstances, conditions, etc. that bring about a result; element or constituent that makes a thing what it is. Any of two or more quantities which form a product when multiplied together.

PASTIME A way of spending spare time pleasantly; anything done for recreation or diversion.

OVERCOME To get the better of in competition, struggle, etc.; conquer. To master, prevail over, or surmount (to overcome obstacles).

EASE Freedom from pain, worry, or trouble; comfort. Freedom from difficulty; facility. Freedom from poverty; state of being financially secure; affluence. Rest; leisure; relaxation.

RELIANCE The act of relying. Trust, dependence, or confidence. A thing relied on.

SUBLIME Noble; exalted; majestic. Inspiring awe or admiration through grandeur, beauty, etc.

INVALUABLE Extremely valuable; having value too great to measure; priceless.

ADVERSITY A condition of hardship or affliction; misfortune.

DESIRE An earnest wishing for something; longing; yearning. A request or prayer.

TRIFLE (TRIFLING) To pass, as time, in an idle and purposeless way. To act without dignity or seriousness.

STUDY GUIDE 4
THE STRUGGLE FOR BALANCE

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an

Surah 55 "The Beneficent"

Self-Improvement

Page 4, Paragraph 1

FACTS

In our scriptural reading assignment last week (Study Session 3: Overcoming Difficulty) we saw that Allah (God) created the entire Solar System, including the great symmetry of its arrangement and the motions of the various planets, placing each in its own orbit. Holy Qur'an 21:30-33.

The Planet earth is inclined on its axis at approximately 23 degrees, 30 minutes, to the plane of its own orbit. This inclination, along with its rotation on its axis and its revolution around the Sun, makes life forms as we know them here. If the Earth were to alter its motion, it would lose its balance and leave its orbit.

Question: What is the meaning of Balance to you as an individual?

DISCUSSION

1) First, let us review some key words and their definitions. Please look at the Glossary.

2) Read Page 4, Paragraph 1 of Self-Improvement. What is the first struggle the bird experiences after overcoming the difficulty of pecking its way out of the shell? What is the significance of the bird's experience to you and me?

Supplement

3) Read Surah 55:1-9. Why is this surah called "The Beneficent"? What is Allah's (God's) intention for us concerning "balance"? Has He taken any actions to help us to attain it? What does He say He has done for you and me?

Supplement

4) Are you in a state of balance today? Why or why not? If asked to evaluate your marriage, or any interpersonal relationship you are currently in (parent/child; brother; sister; friendship), would you say that it is balanced? If not, why not?

Supplement

5) By what means can balance be restored to you personally and in your interpersonal relationships? What is the source for balance?

Supplement

6) When each of us achieves balance in our individual lives, what effect do you think it will have on the community we live in, if any?

Supplement

FACTS

Approximately 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water. It travels around the Sun at 1,037 1/3 m.p.h. 'The Sun draws this water up into the Earth's rotation (which is called gravitation) in a fine mist that the naked eye can hardly detect ... as this mist ascends higher it increases with other mists of water in different currents of the atmosphere until it becomes heavier and the gravitational pull causes it to distill back to the Earth in the form of drops of water (or drops of ice, depending upon how heavy the mist was in the current of air it was moving in) ... the reason it rains (down) on our Planet is because it (water) cannot get out of the Earth's sphere with its high speed of revolution around the Sun..."

The Earth is not perfectly round; it has a wobble. Allah (God compensates for this imbalance by the imposition of a law regulating motion. Pursuant to that law, the Earth possesses a natural inclination to the plane of its own orbit. This enables us to live on the Earth's surface without being disturbed by its imbalance.

Thus, we see in Creation that in order to achieve balance, it is not necessary that the weight of a thing be equal on each side; Allah (God) shows us that balance can be achieved or brought about by placing the fulcrum (support) at that point which will bring it about. That is, the center of gravity can be placed in such a way as to make a balance where imbalance previously existed.

SUPPLEMENT

1) See Glossary.

2) The bird must obtain its balance before it can fly. This is a sign to us in nature that part of the ordained struggle for us includes overcoming the difficulty we must encounter in order to achieve balance; this difficulty must be faced and overcome in order to proceed on the journey to meet with Allah (God).

3) Allah (God) brought things into existence for the sustenance of man before his creation. That is, we did not earn the things we need and use to sustain life, but out of His Beneficence, Allah gave them to us. Out of His Beneficence, He has taught the Qur'an, taught us expression, for this is necessary to our spiritual development. Our ability to read, write and speak is a Divine Gift to each one of us for spiritual and mental sustenance, just as the vegetation of the Planet is for our physical sustenance.

We see in verses 5-9 that even as the Sun and Moon follow a reckoning, Allah has set up the measure "that you (speaking of you and I) may not exceed the measure, and keep up the balance with equity, nor fall short in the measure."

Also, read Footnote 2407 in the Maulana Muhammad Ali Translation of the Holy Qur'an for the meaning of the Arabic word, "mizan", which means 'a measure" and also signifies "justice".

4) Allah (God) placed in male and female, a natural inclination towards one another (biologically, physiologically, spiritually). He also placed this inclination, in another way, between mother and child. The power or force that is the source of the inclination is a need in the two (man and woman; mother and baby) for one another. The need causes us to incline toward that which will fulfill the need. The baby needs the milk in the breast of the mother and she needs to give the baby the milk, in order for each of them to be in a balanced state of health.

Let us each reflect on the emotion of Love. When we love someone, really love them, what does that feeling generate in us regarding that person? We think about the object of our love and affection. We think about them, we speak of them often, and whenever possible, we communicate with them and most of all, want to be with them. We give them symbols of love (cards, gifts, etc.).

If we fall in love with a man or a woman because a need we have is fulfilled through creating a bond, then what should our feelings be about the One Who has provided for all of our needs--Who, indeed, is the Creator and Sustainer of the man or woman we love, as well as ourselves? If we call our loved one on the telephone at every opportunity, how often should we call on The One Who brought us into existence from a speck of dust out of His love for Himself and us? We should think of Him not only once a day, or even 5 times a day, but moment to moment.

5) Let us analyze this situation: why do our relationships in life invariably bring discontentment, dissatisfaction, and in most instances, dissolve?

It is because our inclination towards other human beings is not a primary inclination; it is secondary. We cannot find fulfillment in any secondary need if we ignore the primary need. Our primary need is for Allah (God). Though He is the true Center of our existence, we have replaced Him with secondary needs, which cannot be successfully done. When we put our personal relationships ahead of our relationship with Allah (God), we are guilty of "shirk", which is the Arabic word for belief in more than one God. When we set up gods besides Allah, not only do we bring about the degeneration and destruction of those relationships, but we destroy any hope of a relationship with Him.

Then what is the means by which we learn to love our Lord the way we should? How is any true love created, nurtured and brought to fruition? By repetition of those actions which increase the bond that is Love.

The child sucks from the breast over and over again. Each time the child draws the milk and the satisfaction that comes with it, the child's love for its mother grows; her love for the child grows as she draws satisfaction from giving him the milk.

Our love for Allah (God) is nurtured from repetition of acts of devotion to Him. Each time we pray and draw the incredible feeling of happiness and satisfaction that comes from prayer, our love for Him grows. Each thing we do in His way increases our Love. And as our love for Him grows, we recognize Him as the True Center of Our existence and the source of balance for our lives. Once we are right with Him, and only when we are right with Him, do we have a hope of right relations with others.

(Note on imbalance)

Each of us has experienced overcompensation. e.g., the human body needs iron. When the iron supply in the body is depleted due to one thing or another, the result is a condition known as anemia. In order to correct this imbalance, or iron deficiency, we ingest certain foods which are particularly rich or abundant in iron in order to restore balance.

Mental imbalance results from the taking away of some component necessary to mental stability. In order to restore that imbalance, the missing component must be restored or compensated for.

6) Black people are not balanced; nor is humanity in general. Allah (God) created us with a-natural inclination towards Him. That inclination causes us to move in His direction from the very beginning of life to the end. But the journey to Allah (God) has been aborted because of Falsehood and the acceptance of Falsehood.

Our brains were created to think right. Falsehood, which is untruth or deception, produces a spiritual and chemical imbalance in the brain. And since the nine (9) systems of the human body all rely upon the brain, its imbalance results in a malfunctioning of the entire health system. Even though there may still be a regular heartbeat, normal blood pressure, etc., there is a very real dysfunction that ultimately shortens life--because Allah (God) intended for us not to be nearly balanced, but we are made to achieve exquisite balance.

The proof that humanity is imbalanced is the absence of the three (3) essentials of balance: Freedom, Justice and Equality. This is due to the oppression and mistreatment of people by one another. It is reflected in our speech, our walk, our personal habits, our interpersonal relationships and our relationship with Self.

It is a pitiful sight to see humanity trying to compensate for the imbalance, each in his or her own way and not Allah's Way. We have failed to recognize Him as the center of our existence, so we are doomed for dissatisfaction and disappointment.

And so, marriage is not rewarding. It does not provide contentment because the marriage consists of two imbalanced parts instead of one belief and faith in Allah (God). And so the husband tries to compensate by working in his career day and night; the wife pours herself into her art and music, etc. Our job, our pastimes, etc., become the source of balance and of course are incapable of providing balance, so frustration builds. So the restoration of balance to the individual is the key to the balance of the society.

GLOSSARY

PLANET One of the non-luminous bodies of the Solar System that revolve around the Sun as their center of motion and their source of light and life.

ORBIT The path in space along which a body moves about its center of attraction. The course of one's life or range of one's activities.

BALANCE The state of being in equilibrium; equipoise; equality; also, mental stability, sanity. An instrument for weighing; the scale by which deeds and principles are weighed and destinies are determined; a symbol of Justice. To bring into, keep or be in equilibrium; to keep in due proportion.

MEASURE The extent or dimensions of anything. See footnote 2407 in the Maulana Muhammad Ali translation of the Holy Qur'an. The Arabic word "mizan' (measure) signifies justice...the giving of their due to those who deserve it.

FULCRUM The support on or against which a lever rests. Any prop or support.

GRAVITATION (GRAVITY) The force of mutual attraction between all bodies, equal to a constant times the quotient of the product of the masses of the bodies divided by the square of the distance between them; an act or process caused by this force. The force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the Earth. From the Latin word "gravis", meaning "heavy".

AXIS The central part of anything. A line on which something rotates or around which something is symmetrically arranged.

SYMMETRY The balance or beauty of form or proportion resulting from the correspondence of opposite parts in size, shape and position.

INCLINATION (INCLINE) A set or bent, especially of the mind or will, a liking or preference, a tendency toward a certain condition. To have a preference of be disposed towards; to deviate from the vertical by slanting, bowing or bending in a certain direction. To listen with favor or willingness.

RECKONING Count or computation; calculation; a measuring for the future; the settlement of rewards or penalties for any action (day of reckoning).

STUDY GUIDE 5: BUILDING THE WILL - PART I

READING MATERIAL
Holy Qur'an
Surah 11 "HUD"

The Will of God Part I

Self-Improvement

Page 3; Paragraphs 4 & 5
Page 7; Paragraphs 1 & 2

FACT (S)
Both the Bible and the Holy Qur'an teach us that the Will of Allah (God) is the Power behind the Universe: its creation, its maintenance and its sustenance.

WILL is the faculty of conscious and especially of deliberate action.

Both books teach us that Allah (God) has given each of us a FREE WILL. This faculty of divine power distinguishes man from all other life forms in Creation.

"Brothers and Sisters, each time we turn away from the struggle to overcome difficulty, there then is deterioration of character and there is destruction of the Will -- and the Will that is within you is God's gift. It is His Essence that He gives to man and anything that deteriorates your Will destroys your ability to cope with the problems of life. Struggle is ordained." (SELF-IMPROVEMENT Page 3)

DISCUSSION

1) First, let us review some key words and their definitions. Please look at the GLOSSARY.

2) You have read Surah 11, "Hud", in preparation for this session. In the lives of the prophets, we see examples of strong Will, or, "conscious and deliberate action." Just as the physical body requires food (nourishment) to stimulate and sustain it, there is a primary source of nourishment required to build the Will. What is it?

Supplement

3) Let us review 11:36-49. The Prophet Noah obviously had a strong Will. By what means or method was his Will strengthened? Did he attain his objective? What happened to his opposition?

Supplement

4) Let us review the "MAKE YOUR WORD BOND" Pledge Card which is attached to this guide. What is a "pledge"? Why would the Honorable Elijah Muhammad ask us to strive to build schools, housing, businesses, when there are already a multitude of these things already in existence around us?

Supplement

5) Please give some examples of the prophet's encounters with opposition as given in Surah 11. Why are we given these histories to study throughout the Holy Qur'an?

Supplement

6) Has Minister Farrakhan encountered any opposition? Why do you think he has been singled out of the thousands of men who claim to carry the Word of Allah (God), and is the subject of such vicious attacks? Do you encounter any opposition as one who believes with him and supports him in our mission? What do you do when you encounter opposition? After completing this study session, including the reading of the 11th Surah, what should you do when you are opposed in your mission?

Supplement

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Select one bad habit that you DESIRE to break. Beginning tonight, you are to focus your WILL on overcoming that habit. Whether it is smoking, drinking, gossip, excessive eating, oversleeping, too much television --- whatever it is, you are to stop it as of NOW.-

At our next session, BUILDING THE WILL PART II, be prepared to speak on your progress in overcoming the habit (it is not necessary to state exactly what the habit is, but you may do so if you wish).

May Allah (God) bless us all with success and the Will to do HIS WILL for ourselves and others.

SUPPLEMENT

1) See GLOSSARY.

2) Before He said "Be!", Allah (God) had the DESIRE to BE. DESIRE is the food that builds the Will. Desire causes us to strive to achieve whatever the object of our desire is. You will recall that Desire was defined in the GLOSSARY in Session #3, "Overcoming Difficulty". Remember Minister Farrakhan's words from SELF-IMPROVEMENT:

As we embark upon the course of building the Will, we see the importance of keeping alive the light of Desire. For the Will is exercised only as long as there is a Desire. Continuing, perpetual desire generates continuing, perpetual exercise of the Will.

Without Desire, we have lost the nourishment to strengthen our Will, which weakens and is ultimately starved to death. It is the absence of the Desire to read that makes it impossible to achieve literacy; we must have the Will to read so that when difficulties are encountered in learning how to read, we will be able to overcome those difficulties and accomplish the goal.

A child who is crawling does not realize that he has the ability to walk until he performs the act. What triggers his conscious and deliberate action of walking? Desire. His mother or father may call him, "Come to Mommy" or "Come to Daddy" and out of his desire to do so, he stands; he wobbles; he achieves his balance; he walks. Or, a brightly-colored ball is placed in his range of vision. He is delighted; he wants to touch it; he wants to pick it up and handle it. His desire for the object leads him to exercise his will to overcome whatever difficulty he must overcome in order to walk.

We learned in Session 4, "The Struggle For Balance", that our primary inclination is to Allah (God). In our nature is the ultimate desire for Allah (God). But because we have been made other than ourselves, or other than the nature in which we were created, we may not realize our ultimate desire, but, - as the Holy Qur'an teaches, we take our low desires as our God. Before we can build our Will our balance must be achieved, so that we move forward with Allah (God) as the center of our existence in our conscious mind and in our hearts.

3) In the history of Noah, we find the definitive portrayal of a man with a strong Will to do the Will of Allah (God). The nourishment for his Will was his Desire to please Allah (God, While his Knowledge was limited, his Faith was not. His Faith in his lord was manifested in his constancy at his task. His ultimate objective Was Allah (God); his specific objective was to build the ark. His Desire set the path of the direction of his efforts.

There was opposition to Noah and those with him. The chiefs of the people mocked him and caused the people to mock him. But the mockery actually strengthened his Will. Will is Power. In the physical body, it is the muscle that is power. As we exercise muscles and develop them by lifting weights, we exercise the Will in the same way: by overcoming resistance. If we don't meet and overcome resistance, our Will cannot develop.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." Though the ark was built on dry land, Allah (God) knew He would inevitably destroy the wicked with a flood. The water came just after Noah finished the ark. He achieved his objective; he and those who believed with him. His opposition was destroyed in the flood. Allah (God) had told him long before, "Surely they will be drowned." Holy Qur'an 11:37.

We see in these verses that Noah was not weak and equivocal in his Faith; contrary to the misconception of many of us, men of God have always been and must be, strong-willed. The opposition, on the other hand, is always self willed. Noah prevailed and did not yield, for he had submitted his Will to the Will of Allah (God) and therefore could not be defeated.

When the chiefs of his people laughed at him, the Holy Qur'an tells us that he returned their contempt for the making of the ark with his contempt for their opposition and their plans to destroy him: "He said: If you laugh at us, surely we, too, laugh at you as you laugh at us." Holy Qur'an 11:38. The "us" and the "we" means those who were with Noah. They were vastly outnumbered by the disbelievers, as the Holy Qur'an teaches, "...and there believed not with him but a few." 11:40.

4) Here, our pledge (security) that we put up is our word. This act of giving our word is our first step toward overcoming the resistance we meet in the inertia of self. This is necessary because we cannot build a Nation without improving self for the benefit of ourselves and others.

There is no point in the consistent reference to the prophets and their struggle to overcome difficulties, unless these references serve to motivate and inspire us to say, "I will do exactly that; I will achieve my objective." And so, when Allah (God) asked Noah to build the ark on dry land, this is symbolic of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad asking us to build in the midst of buildings. That is, to the disbelievers, it appeared that Noah's work was not only unnecessary and useless, but foolish,

Noah, by faith, was certain that water was coming. What did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, by faith, know was coming? He knew that the schools would fall, that housing would deteriorate and businesses would close down.

Allah (God) told Noah to build the ark (a place of security) under Our eyes. We are not IBM, we are just a group of Black people, putting together that which to this world seems no more than planks and nails; we are ridiculed for our efforts, but we who believe know what the disbelievers know not --- that what we build, no matter how crude compared to this world -- will provide us with safety and security in a world that is coming down around us. Just as Allah (God) told Noah, "Surely they will be drowned", we see the signs that in 1987, this world will go under.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad called us to build a Nation. In accordance with this call, Minister Farrakhan said he is determined to develop a Mosque to the glory of God. And he is doing it through building human potential. We said we want to help him. We gave our word (pledge). By working to build the ark each day, Noah's will was strengthened. Every nail he drove in took him closer to his goal. Every newspaper you sell, every thing you do in the way of this work, takes us all a step closer to our goal. Every one and every action counts. Every prayer we say every day, every good deed, is a nail in the plank and the sound of building drowns out the sound of the mockery from our opposition.

There is no such thing as a member of a nation who does not count. That is why they take a census in this country. They want to count the human potential, the human resources available. We must build self to build a community.

5) After discussing Hud, Abraham and Lot, Salih, Shu'aib, Noah, review the accompanying letter to us from Minister Farrakhan.

6) We know that our Brother is encountering not only opposition, but vehement opposition, which grows as his words manifest as true at a rapid pace. If we are even minimally active in the work of the resurrection of the mentally and spiritually dead, we too are encountering opposition. But Allah has ordained struggle. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad says that you cannot be a champion without an opponent. That is, we can all think we are determined, but how determined we are cannot be determined until opposition comes.

Allah (God) is set to prove that He is the One God. In order for Him to manifest His Power, He allows His enemies to attempt to destroy His servants, to destroy His Plan, so that He can show them He is with us and His backing of us will cause us to prevail over the most powerful enemies that He has.

Opposition is vital, necessary. Without opposition, it cannot be proved that a tender plant cannot just be plucked up out of the ground. When we go to pull on it, we find out it is rooted in the ground; it has a strength that is not apparent just looking at it. This shows us that Allah (God) is with the plant, which is of His Creation.

Until we have tasted the fierceness of opposition, the depth of our roots in the Faith will not be manifested.

Study the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:18-23. The seed aptly stands for the Word of Allah (God), that is, the Truth, because when implanted in the heart and conscience, it grows, develops and brings forth spiritual fruit. The ground, but on the bad, as a sower scatters the seed not only on good example to those who would preach, not to neglect the unreceptive or even the wicked in their ministrations. The seed falling by the wayside, or rather on a hard, beaten track across the field, is the case of those of us whose attention on our business, social and other worldly affairs, renders us unreceptive to the Word; even while the word is being preached, our minds are elsewhere, so when the message is finished, we immediately return to our usual affairs and contact with the world sweeps away any recollection of what we did hear. "Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts" (Mark).

The seed falling upon the rocky places, where there is a thin layer of soil above and hard rock beneath, is the case of those who are quickly susceptible to religious influence, but wanting in spiritual depth, so no permanent impression can be made. Some of us start out enthusiastic but tire easily and fade away.

The seed falling among thorns is the case of those of us who have every capacity for developing the highest spiritual gifts; but we fail because we deliberately attempt to serve two masters, which is impossible.

The seed failing on good ground is the case of those of us who are not only receptive to being taught, corrected and renewed, but who respond to the teachings in proportion to the spiritual capacity and unique insight which Allah (God) has blessed us with individually.

Look over the statements the prophets made to their opposition about their complete trust in Allah (God). Look over the fact that Minister Farrakhan invited the Jews and the entire government of America, in the midst of their persecution of him, to come against him With all of their persecution of him ' to come against him with all of their power and then to double it. These are the strongest indicators we will ever receive that we must call on Allah (God), for on Him and Him alone, can we rely.

We are powerless without Allah. Noah was able to build the ark because he submitted his Will to Allah's Will. He bent (arc) his own will so that God's Will could be done through him. What makes us stand upright and strong is the power of Allah (God), so to Him we must submit. This is a true state of balance.

GLOSSARY

FULFILLER (FULFILL) One who fills the requirements of; satisfies a condition, or answers a purpose. (To bring to an end; complete; perform; realize one's ambitions and potentialities; to carry out something desired, promised, expected or predicted.

ARK A refuge or place of security.

ARC The part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body; any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line; a bowlike curved line or object; a curved structure that supports the weight of material over an open space; any part of a curve, especially a circle.

ASCENT Movement upward from a lower to a higher state, degree or status; advancement; act of climbing or traveling up; a procedure toward a source or beginning.

INERTIA Inactivity; sluggishness. The property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force. That which is inert, having no inherent power of action.

INFINITE Unbounded, unlimited; endless; inexhaustible; immeasurably great.

ENDEAVOR To exert oneself to do or effect something; make an effort or strive.

EXTREMITY (EXTREME) Of a character or kind farthest removed from the ordinary or average; exceeding the bounds of moderation; the terminal point, limit or part of something.

CONSTANT Not changing or varying; uniform; regular; continuing without pause or letup; recurrent; persistent; faithful, unswerving in love or devotion; steady.

CONSEQUENTIAL Following as an effect, result or outcome; resultant; following as a logical conclusion or inference; of importance.

PLEDGE A solemn promise or agreement to do or refrain from doing something. To stake, as one's honor; security for the fulfillment of a promise, as one's word; an assurance of support or good will.

PLAN A scheme of action or procedure; a design; a definite purpose; a formula or system; a method of doing something.

OPPOSITION The action of resisting or combating; antagonism or hostility; the state or position of being placed opposite. Set against.

OBJECTIVE Something that one's efforts are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target.

ULTIMATE Last, furthest, farthest; ending a process or series. Maximum, decisive, conclusive; representing a limit beyond, which further progress is impossible; the final result.

WAY A method, plan or means for attaining a goal; passage or progress on a course; a path leading from one place to another; course or mode of procedure that one chooses or wills; range or extent of experience or notice; condition, as to health, prosperity or the like; a road, route, passage or channel.

STUDY GUIDE 6
BUILDING THE WILL
PART II,

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 70 "The Ways of Ascent"
Surah 90 "The City"

Self-Improvement
Pages 10 and 11
Page 12 (to end of Par. 2)

The Will of God (Part I)
Pages 4-7
Page 8 (to end of Par. 6)

FACT (S)

The Bible says, when you speak, say "I will do thus and so, if it be the will of God." The Holy Qur'an says, when you speak, say, 'I will do thus and so, Insh Allah (if it be the Will of Allah).' Holy Qur'an 18:23. Because between today and tomorrow, there are forces that you know nothing of, that can interfere with all of our plans. So our plans must be contingent upon whether God will permit it, or whether Allah will permit it, or Grandfather (Native American expression of the One God) will permit it, so we must acknowledge Him, lest we make a serious mistake and abort our own progressive development and improvement in character. SELF-IMPROVEMENT - Page

DISCUSSION

1) First, let us review some key words and their definitions. Please look at the GLOSSARY (Also continue to refer to the GLOSSARY for STUDY SESSION 5). SPECIAL NOTE: Begin to incorporate the terms from the study guides into your conversation, so that as they are woven into the pattern of language we use, the intellectual and spiritual level of our communication will rise.

2) Please read Surah 70, verses 22-35. Desire is the food source of the Will (See, STUDY SESSION 5). In addition to nourishment, the Will needs direction and support. What are the principles of action which direct and support our Will in the Way of Allah (God)?

Supplement

3) Why is Allah (God) called, in Surah 70, verse 3, "Lord of the ways of Ascent"?

Supplement

4) In Session 5, we discussed the exercise of the Will by overcoming resistance. We studied examples of external opposition that we must face and overcome.

Please read Surah 70, verses 17-21. What internal resistance (opposition) must or Will overcome in order to attain the goal of meeting with Allah (God)?

Supplement

5) Please read Surah 90, verses 4-11. What insight does this give us into the relationship between hard struggle and our personal spiritual advancement?

Please read verses 12-18. What actions are we to take which will support and direct our Will in the way of Allah (God)?

Supplement

6) Please read pages 4-6 of The Will of God (Part 1). What are some of the emotional forces that adversely affect the Will?

Please discuss a personal experience where you desired something vain and/or destructive and you used the power of your Will to obtain it. What were the results? How did you feel afterwards? Discuss an experience where you used the power of your Will to obtain something positive. How did you feel afterwards.

Supplement

PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENT

At the end of Session 5 last week, you were asked to break a habit which was destructive to your Will. This is a continuing assignment. Please report on your progress tonight.

Tonight, please resolve to develop a habit which is constructive to your Will. Come to next week's class prepared to discuss your experience in your effort to be consistent in performing a positive action.

May Allah (God) bless us all with success!

SUPPLEMENT

1) See GLOSSARY (Session 5 and 6)

2) Five (5) "pillars" support the Will of one who desires to completely submit his or her Will to the Will of Allah (God). When we consciously desire to do His Will, we are acting in accordance with the nature in which we were created, therefore, He has provided the means by which we may attain nearness to Him until we reach the goal of becoming one with Him.

These principles of action which direct and support the essence of our being are: Prayer; Zakat (Charity); Fasting; Hajj (Pilgrimage); Jihad (using one's utmost efforts in contending with an object of disapprobation).

While each of these pillars is necessary to our balance, it is Prayer that is given the greatest prominence in the Holy Qur'an, followed closely by Charity, which is often mentioned together with Prayer.

This course, SELF-IMPROVEMENT, is centered around the action of Prayer as the root of our success or failure in fulfilling our purpose in life. Prayer is the most humble and the most exalted state of man at the same time.

We are engaged in the development of SELF; we will each attain what we individually strive for. Allah (God) has given us a man from among ourselves as a Guide, to show us the way; but in the end, our personal success will depend upon our personal effort.

"And that man can have nothing but what he strives for; and that his striving will soon be seen. Then he will be rewarded for it with the fullest reward: And to thy Lord is the goal." (Holy Qur'an 53:39-42)

Allah (God) has given the place of Prayer such prominence in the self improvement of man and woman, that in the Call to Prayer, the words, "Hayya ala-salah" (Come to Prayer), are immediately followed by the words, "Hayya ala-l-falah" (Come to Success)

Please reflect upon the divine relationship between Prayer and Success.

In Prayer lies the root of that which leads a man or woman to give his or her life in the Cause of Allah (God). The realization of His Essence within our hearts makes us think as He thinks; feel what He feels.

But there is an emotional force that gives direction to the Will. And the emotional force -- which is the Creative Force upon which the entire Universe is constructed -- is Love. And it is out of this awesome power of Love that the Will springs up; it springs up out of this emotion and it is directed and guided by this emotion..." [The Will of God (Part 1) Page 7]

Note carefully the fact that Prayer is mentioned first and last in verses 22-35 of Surah 70, for it is Prayer which generates the Desire to perform the other principles of action, out of Love and Adoration for the Creator.

For example, the second principle of action. after Prayer is Charity. The Arabic word for Charity is "Zakat", which originally means "Purity"; "li-l-zakat" means "for the sake of purity", or "to attain purity". So constant Prayer feeds, directs and elevates Desire so that our, Desire is to do the Will of Allah (God), the Beneficent. Thus, we become one "in whose wealth there is a known right for the beggar and the destitute."

Acceptance of the Truth; Fear of Chastisement of our Lord; Restraint of our sexual passions outside of the sanctity of marriage; Keeping our Word and making good on our Promises (Covenant); Uprightness in our Testimony; these attributes are generated by Prayer; thus, verse 35 tells us to keep a Guard on our Prayer.

There is no such thing as personal success without Prayer, if our conscious Desire is to build our Will that we may do His Will. In previous study guides, you were asked to read Surah 23, "The Believers", where, in verses 1,2 it reads: "Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers." The Arabic word used for successful is "alfaha", which signified the achievement of complete development; "faliheen", which means "farmer", or "one who cultivates", signifies the divine method of achieving success: we must cultivate our own souls as the farmer cultivates land. And, even as we cultivate self, we must remember that in the study of the prophets, in the study of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in witnessing the life experiences of Minister Farrakhan, we know that without exception, they relied (rely) upon Allah (God) for guidance, direction and power to overcome the opposition. They submitted (submit) their Will to His Will.

Since we gave it (power of our being) to you and you say, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away", then if Allah (God) has given you a bit of His own Power, which is His Will, then He asks you will you give it back in surrender, what should our word to Almighty God be? Of course, we should say "yes". "I submit my Will to do Your Will. Not by force, but willingly." [The Will of God (Part 1) Page 7]

On February 26, 1957, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad published a small book entitled, "Muslim Daily Prayers". If you do not have a copy of this booklet, you will receive one in the near future. He says: "The knowledge and practice of these prayers will earn you great reward with Allah and bring about great spiritual advancement in you."

Please study pages 135-160 (PRAYER SERVICE) in MESSAGE TO THE BLACKMAN.

3) "Lord" means nourisher unto perfection". It signifies "the fostering of a thing in such a manner as to make it attain one condition after another until it reaches its goal of completion."

Lord of the ways of Ascent indicates that Allah (God), the Author of all existence, has given to the whole creation its means of nourishment and has even ordained for every single one of us, a sphere of capacity. Within that sphere, He has already provided us the means or ways by which each of us attains to our goal of perfection in that which He has given us.

Every human being has a unique combination of sublime qualities which he or she is capable of becoming absolutely perfect in manifesting. There is a precise way in which that divinity is to be developed in order to be brought into the perfected state; Allah (God) is the Lord over that way. He is Lord over every way of ascent.

Look up the word "WAY" in the GLOSSARY (Study Guide 5).

4) Discuss verse 17-21 of Surah 70. These are forces which battle us from within. We must overcome the force from within that would cause us to retreat and turn our backs on the difficulties we must overcome; we must resist the internal force that causes us to hoard and withhold; we are created impatient, that is, we are fretful when under stress and niggardly when we receive the benefits of life (from the Beneficent). The Holy Qur'an tells us plainly, that we possess these traits, whether we admit it or not, and we will continue to walk under the weight of them, "EXCEPT THOSE WHO PRAY ... WHO ARE CONSTANT AT THEIR PRAYER..." and proceeds to list the qualities of the Believer.

5) Study footnote 2736. Review Study Session 3, "Overcoming Difficulty". Our personal advancement, not only spiritually, but physically, lies along a path of hard struggle. We have never made a serious conquest of any obstacle without overcoming difficulty.

We are told in verse 11, that we "attempt (s) not the uphill road." Thus, we must overcome that within us which causes us to seek the path of least resistance, that we may be successful in our journey to meet with Allah (God).

The path of least resistance will lead us away from the goal of meeting Allah (God). He is not tie Lord of the ways of Descent. We cannot get to Him without going up. This is an uphill climb; it is not an overnight experience. This is the effort to save our souls.

"...The Scripture is right in teaching, 'What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?' What would it profit us to build magnificent structures, beautiful buildings, magnificent bridges, built with magnificent technology and the soul of those human beings are wretched and deprived and underdeveloped and rottening from within? How does one lose one's soul? What is so important about the soul, or the essence of our being, that if we lose it, we lose everything?..."

Prayer is necessary, but Prayer alone will not improve us. We must engage in acts of kindness and work in the Cause of Allah (God). Verses 12-16 tell us that to free a slave; to feed the hungry; to care for the orphan and the poor man; these are actions which will cause us to actually understand the struggle, not just be intellectually aware of it. Comprehension is understanding and understanding only comes through trials.

6) Please conduct discussion of personal experiences with the forces described in the selected reading material.

GLOSSARY

PILLAR A long, slender, vertical structure used to support a superstructure; a support in form and function.

GUARD To keep from harm; watch over and protect; defend; shield; to hold in check; keep from escape or trouble.

CHASTISEMENT (CHASTISE) To discipline, especially by corporal punishment. To inflict suffering upon for purposes of moral improvement.

PASSION strong amorous feeling or desire; extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, desire for anything; violent anger; any emotion or feeling, as love, anger, hate, fear, grief, joy, hope, etc., when of a powerful or compelling nature.

PATIENCE The bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, pain, etc. without complaint, loss of temper, irritation or the like; an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance in waiting; quiet perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence; composure; stability; self-possession; submissiveness. Denotes the ability to bear exertion, hardship or suffering without implication of moral qualities required or shown.

GUARD To accumulate for preservation, future use, etc., in a hidden
(verb) or carefully guarded place.

NIGGARDLY Reluctant to give or spend; stingy; meanly small or scanty; miserly.

SUNDRY Various or diverse. Akin to "sunder", which means "to separate".

CITY A large or important town. Collective of citizens. (a "citizen" is a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection).

CIRCUMVENT To avoid by artfulness or deception.

REPOSITORY A person to whom something is entrusted or confided; that in which something is placed.

COMPREHEND (COMPREHENSION) To catch hold of; seize. (The act of grasping with the mind.)

STUDY GUIDE 7
BUILDING THE WILL
PART III

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 58 "The Pleading Woman"
(Verses 14-22)
Surah 70 "The Ways of Ascent"
(Verses 19-35)

Self-Improvement
Pages 12-16

The Will of God (Part 1)
Pages 8-12

FACT (S)

Again, I am quoting from the Holy Qur'an; the Holy Qur'an says the "Jinn" was created before Man. (15 -.27) Some scholars say that 'Jinn' means a being of fiery nature and temperament. "If the "Jinn" comes before the Man, you must come through the Fire of Emotion before; you can become a developed human being. You have to learn to control these forces within your own being that come from Allah (God) Himself, before you can,/become a human being...

"Man can be an animal or Man can reflect Allah (God). You start in this world, like a fish, swimming in a bag of water. You evolve out of that and you come forth crawling; like other crawling things on the Earth. Allah (God) never intended for you to be an animal. He wanted you to be a perfect reflection of Himself. (11:7) But, there must be a coming out of the animal stage of development into a moral consciousness, where you have (a spirit in you that accuses you for what you do, based on that which you know instinctively is right." (75:2)

SELF-IMPROVEMENT (Excerpts: Pages 14-16)

DISCUSSION

1) Please review the GLOSSARY. Remember to make an effort to incorporate terms from the study guides into your "functional vocabulary" (conversation).

2) In Study Session 6, we looked at some of the ways Allah (God) has given us to support and direct us in the ultimate goal of our meeting with Him. We also looked briefly at some of the forces that impede us in our journey.

Please read Surah 58, verses 14-22. What is the significance of these verses as they relate to our struggle to overcome the internal impediments to obtaining our desire (s)?

Supplement

3) (a) Read verse 19 of Surah 70. Now read verse 5. What is the natural force within that has the ability to extinguish the light of our desire (s)?

(b) Why does Allah (God) create us impatient, then exhort us to be patient?
What relationship does this struggle within have to building the Will?

(d) Read verse 21. What does "niggardly" mean? In what way does this force adversely affect the Will?

Supplement

4) In view of tonight's lesson, why must we be "constant" at our prayer? Discuss some of the natural forces which are impediments to prayer. Why are we told to 'guard' our prayer?

Supplement

5) Read verse 26 of Surah 70. What are the impediments within us that may cause us to reject the truth of the Day of Judgment?

Supplement

6) Read verses 27 and 28. What are the natural impediments to our need to remain fearful of the chastisement of our Lord?

Supplement

7) Read verses 29-31. In what way does the force of sexual passion adversely affect the Will?

Supplement

8) Read verse 32. What impediments within us cause us not to be faithful to our trusts and our covenants, or upright in our testimonies?

Supplement

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

This week we want to test impatience.

1 Each morning, let us rise and pray at 5:00a.m. Let us resist the power of sleep and pray with Allah (God) on our minds instead of sleep. During the day, no matter how busy or involved we are in our work, let us excuse ourselves after the noon hour to remember our Lord.

2) Let us take some of the money from our pockets and regardless of the forces which press us to withhold our money and be niggardly, let us think of the right that the poor have in what Allah has given us and give to the Cause of Truth.

3) When something happens to annoy us and make us irritated, let us be calm and remember patience. Allah will help us resist the powerful emotional force of Anger.

MAY ALLAH (GOD) BLESS US ALL WITH SUCCESS!

DISCUSSION

SUPPLEMENT

1) See GLOSSARY.

2) In these verses, Allah (God) is describing an enemy which moves among the Believers, taking "shelter under their oaths, so they turn (men) from Allah's way..."

In this way, Allah gives us a picture of what is taking place inside of ourselves. Just as He is "wroth" with our taking the "devil's party" for friends, He is displeased with our following our low desires, which make us "forget the remembrance of Allah.'

The correlation here is that we must guard against the internal enemy that moves within the circle of Believers and we must guard against the internal enemy that moves within the individual Self.

3) (a) "Impatience" is defined as an "eager desire for relief or change; intolerance of anything that thwarts or hinders." Thus we see that it is a force which is natural and which is characterized as a desire. Desire feeds the Will, therefore, the desire to be relieved from the irritation of waiting over a protracted period of time comes into conflict with the desire for any goal which requires patience to obtain. One force must win over the other.

There is a law in physics which says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In creating us impatient, Allah (God) has insured that the struggle he has ordained for us in order to achieve anything of consequence or acquire anything of value, takes place.

In Study Session 3, we saw that the ever-present difficulty factor increases as we grow closer to our desire (s). In overcoming the natural forces of resistance within us, we develop the discipline necessary to obtain what we want.

(b) Through the natural friction between our desired goal (s) and the conflicting desire for relief from waiting which is impatience, Allah (God) has provided each of us with a means of building the Will. In Study Session 5, we saw that the Will (Power) is developed by overcoming resistance, just as the muscles of the physical body are working against resistance.

In our study of the prophets, we saw that patience was a pervasive virtue. They were mocked and ridiculed by the disbelievers for long periods of time, but were instructed by Allah (God) to bear patiently what they say. In overcoming the natural force of impatience and developing the attribute of patience, they were rewarded with vision, or the ability to see beyond the present. They could "see", through their patience, that the ends for which would ultimately come about.

Impatience, or the desire for relief or change, may be removed from us, not by yielding to this natural force, but by seeking refuge in Allah (God).

Whenever impatience threatens to cause us to turn away from a desired goal, we must go to Allah (God), the Lord of the ways of Ascent, in prayer. Prayer will give us the security and peace of mind that will relieve our irritation. It is in that frame of mind that we then must re-identify with our desired goal. The desire (and the willingness to be patient in order to obtain it) will then return.

Prayer is the re-affirmation of desire. We endure by reaffirming and reidentifying our desire until we reach the goal.

(c) Verse 20 of Surah 70 says that we are 'fretful' when evil afflicts us. That is, there is a natural force within us that brings about suffering from disturbing thoughts and torment of ourselves with worry when we are afflicted with evil.

Persecution is an evil which afflicts the righteous in the struggle for justice. When this evil is practiced against us, it stimulates this force, "fretfulness", which suggests to us that we retreat and turn our back from our goal in order to obtain relief from our mental anguish.

Remember these words form page 3 of Self-improvement: "Brothers and Sisters, each time we turn away from the struggle to overcome difficulty, there is deterioration of character and there is destruction of the Will."

(d) In Study Session 6, we defined the word "niggardly" as meaning "reluctant to give or spend; stingy." It is natural for us to attempt to hold on to whatever good we obtain, that we might not relive the suffering we have undergone when we were without.

However, the natural base inclination to hoard things becomes an enemy to us when it impedes the fulfillment of our duty to give charity, in the Cause of Allah. We must keep uppermost in our minds that the beggar and the destitute have a right to a wealth. That right is fulfilled when we give charity.

The Holy Qur'an teaches us that we "cannot attain to righteousness unless you spend out of what you love." So hoarding and niggardliness are natural forces which have the power to actually bar us from a state of righteousness altogether, unless they are overcome.

4) In Study Session 5, we defined the word "constant" as "not changing or varying; continuing without pause or letup; recurrent; faithful, unswerving in love or devotion; steady." Throughout the Holy Qur'an, Allah tells us that He loves the "steadfast".

Constancy is required in order to overcome the natural forces which keep us from prayer. Sleep is necessary and good for us in its place. but it is such a powerful force that it will hold us in its embrace far beyond its normal function until it impedes us from prayer, the first pillar of Islam which supports our belief in the One God.

Another powerful force within us is the inclination to do that which gives us personal satisfaction. We generally love what we do best and do best what we love; and what we love to do most is what we were most likely born to do. When we are doing what we love: business, writing, music etc., whatever we love, we do not want to stop doing it for anything, even the remembrance of Allah (God).

Whatever we feel we are born to do, we must never put that above remembrance of Allah (God). For it is only the remembrance of Him, the Lord of the ways of Ascent, that empowers us to attain excellence in that which we are born to do.

This is why we must not only be constant in our prayer, but we must "guard" our prayer. We must shield it from that which would usurp its place of prominence in our nature and in our behavior patterns.

At the end of the day, we are naturally tired from hours of exerting physical and mental energy. As this natural force, tiredness, can keep us from remembrance of Allah (God) as we go to bed, we must summon the strength to praise Him before retiring.

5) Verse 26 exhorts us to be of "those who accept the truth of the day of Judgment." The natural forces within which may impede us from the acceptance of the truth of judgment are our personal desires.

Judgment takes place each and every time the Truth comes to us, in that its Light shines on our motives, secret desires and actions; which ofttimes, we don't want to see illuminated before ourselves and others.

There is nothing between a man and his heart (desires) but Allah (God). To accept the truth of Judgment is to accept the Truth He gives us which aids us in correcting our behavior when it is contrary to what is right. Each time we reject the truth that illuminates our faults, we reject and deny the truth of the day of Judgment.

6) We are warned in verses 27 and 28 that chastisement of our Lord is "a thing not to be felt secure from". We must always keep in mind the Power of Allah (God) and His ability to punish. We cannot secure ourselves from His Displeasure by isolated acts of righteousness.

An illustration of our relationship with Allah (God) is that of the child to the father.

There is the child who loves his father and knows his father loves him; the child also knows of the awesome power of the father to chastise him when the father is displeased with acts of disobedience. This awareness serves to facilitate goodness for the child does not wish to engage in conduct which will bring punishment.

On the other hand, the child may become spoiled in the security and comfort of parental love. Even though he witnesses the chastisement of a brother or sister, he may think to himself, "I am his favorite, he won't whip me." This thinking causes the child to do something in the way of disobedience and that brings about the chastisement that he thought he was secure from.

So we must strive daily to act in the way of righteousness, for we are always susceptible to incurring the displeasure of our Lord if we -act contrary to what is right.

7) In verses 29 and 30, we are told to restrain our sexual passions (a natural drive). In its place, this force is a good force that serves the procreation of man, but it also conflicts with the desire for self-improvement; it demands satisfaction "now".

The desire to satisfy the sex drive conflicts with the desire to go forward in the way of righteousness. It is powerful enough to actually use the Will to serve a low desire. Though Allah tells us that if we are patient, He will satisfy us out of His Grace, the sex drive tells us to ignore our unmarried state or ignore the fact that we are married to someone other than the one we are about to engage in this activity with; it says, "Go ahead. Why should you wait on God?"

And so the Holy Qur'an asks the question, Have you seen him who takes his low desires for God besides Allah?

8) Verses 33 and 34 exhort us to be faithful to our trusts and covenants and to be upright in our testimonies.

There is a natural force within us which causes us to do and say that which will facilitate obtaining the object (s) of our desire (s). This results in making false promises in order to lead others to give us things, even though we may have no intention of fulfilling the promise. Or, we may intend to fulfill our promises at the time we make them, but when the time of fulfillment comes, we ignore the promise if it conflicts with the immediate personal desire. We borrow money; promising to pay it back; when the due date comes, there is something else we would prefer to do with the money.

We must overcome the forces within which impede us from keeping our word.

9) As the guidance in the ways of ascent opened with the exhortation to pray (verse 22), it closes with an exhortation to guard our prayers (verse 34).

Remember, Prayer is the Alpha and Omega of all success.

STUDY GUIDE 8
BUILDING THE WILL
PART IV

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 1 "The Opening"
Surah 2 "The Cow" (Section 1)
Surah 16 "The Bee" (Verses 66,67)

Self-Improvement

Page 4, Page 18

The Will of God (Part II)

Page 1, Pages 6-9

FACT (S)

"And surely there is a lesson for you in the cattle: We give you to drink of what is in their bellies -- from betwixt the faeces and the blood -- pure milk, agreeable to the drinkers." Holy Qur'an 16:66

Pure milk is a, valuable and virtually complete source of nutrition to the physical body. It is the working of the divine natural laws set in motion by Allah (God) that produces such a valuable and agreeable diet, separating it from the blood and dung.

Just as divine laws work in the physical world to produce pure food by separating them from obnoxious elements and useless excrement, their working in the spiritual world produces the most sublime moral teachings, which afford us a pure, agreeable and complete spiritual diet.

DISCUSSION

1) Please review the GLOSSARY. Remember to make an effort to incorporate terms from the study guides into your functional vocabulary (conversation).

2) Discuss the significance of the title of Surah 2, "The Cow" as it relates to building the Will. Follow Section 1, verses 2-5 to guide the discussion.

Supplement

(a) By what means is physical milk obtained from a cow? How does this illustrate the significance of Surah 2?

Supplement

(b) In verse 2, Allah (God) says, "This Book, there is no doubt in it..." What does the ? Is doubt an emotion or a state of mind?

What affect does doubt have on desire? Why does the Author of the Book tell us it has no doubt in it?

Supplement

(c) Finish reading verses 2-4. Is the Holy Qur'an a book for everyone? Do you feel that it is a book that is for you? Why or why not?

Read verse 5. What is the reward for following the guidance of This Book? What evidence, if any, is there, that those who follow This Book are successful?

Supplement

3) Let us review the opening Surah of the Holy Qur'an: "Al-Fatihah", or, "The Opening". The heart of Surah 1 is verse 5. Why is this verse so important to us?

Supplement

4) The Believer who is steadfast in prayer repeats Surah 1 at least thirty-two (32) times a day in its entirety. It contains 4 Divine Attributes of Allah (God). Why do we pray to Him so frequently in these 4 attributes when He has 99 of them?

Supplement

5) What is the relationship between Surah 1 and Surah 2?

Supplement

6) Let us return to Surah 2, verses 2-3 and review the character traits and actions of those for whom the Holy Qur'an is a guide.

(a) What is meant by "those who keep their duty" (Maulana Muhammad Ali Translation) or "those who fear God" (Yusuf Ali Translation)?

Supplement

(b) What is meant by belief in the Unseen?

Why is constancy in prayer necessary? What is the meaning of "bonding"?
How does that relate to "constancy"? What are the benefits that flow from the "bonding"?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

This week we want to apply the principles of success. We can test these principles immediately, for they remain the same whether the desire is for something small and personal, such as a pair of shoes; or, the desire is on a lofty plane, such as the liberation of oppressed people.

Think of something you personally desire. Think of this object or achievement right now. Envision it in your mind.

Is it within the power of your God, Allah, to bring this desire about? Think of His Attributes: Beneficent, Merciful, Masterful... Does He have the Power to fulfill your desire? If He is the Nourisher unto perfection, would He want you to have it?

Do you truly desire it? How strong is your desire? Do you doubt that you can get it?

Will having this desire fulfilled help you in your faith in Allah (God) and your ability to solve your own problems?

Will money be required to fulfill the desire? Does that which you want cost more than what you have? Then you must obtain whatever financial resources are needed to fulfill the desire. You must not go into debt to obtain the object of your desire. -Debt Is a form of slavery. In our prayers we say to Allah (God): "I seek Thy Refuge from being overpowered by debt and the oppression of men." Do not obtain your desire by taking a step backward, obtain it by taking a step forward.

Here is what you must do to be successful. Follow the verses you have studied from the Book that has n doubt in it. Believe in the Unseen; Keep up Prayer; Spend out of what Allah (God) has blessed you with in the way of charity; Believe in the previous and present revelations; be sure of the Hereafter.

Do these things and you will be of the SUCCESSFUL!

SUPPLEMENT

1) See GLOSSARY.

2) "AS NEWBORN BABES, DESIRE THE PURE MILK OF THE WORD, THAT YE MAY GROW BY IT..." [1 Peter 2:21

(a) The term "milk" is both a noun and a verb. The noun describes the white liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals for suckling by their young. The verb describes the act of drawing, squeezing or extracting.

The Scriptures quoted above tell us to "desire" the pure milk of the Word. Milk may be obtained only by action on the part of the one seeking to obtain it. A baby draws milk from his mother by pulling on the breast. Milk is obtained from the cow by pulling on its mammary glands also.

In assigning the title "Cow" to this Surah, Allah (God) is indicating that there is something here to draw from in order to understand the Holy Qur'an.

This principle of drawing or extracting spiritual and physical nutrition is not limited to the breast or to a book. The Universe Itself is a giant mammary gland of Allah (God). It holds untold treasures for you and I. But nothing can be obtained from it without an activity on our part. We must engage in the actions set forth in Surah 2: Belief in the Unseen, Prayer, Charity, etc.

When we follow the principles of faith and action set forth for us in the Holy Qur'an, we thereby extract what the Universe holds for us. It cannot and will not hold back on You if you do these things. It is created to release its treasures to you.

It was never Allah's (God's) intention that we experience poverty. There is an abundance of everything we could possibly want or need in His Creation. Poverty is a condition rising up only in the absence of those principles which, when practiced, automatically bring about fulfillment of the need.

(b) "Doubt" is a state of uncertainty of the mind which casts a cloud over your Desire.

This statement ("no doubt in it"), if you believe it, creates a state of mind for you that will allow you to follow every word of guidance in This Book with confidence and trust in Allah (God). Doubt is the Mother of Hypocrisy and Allah (God) is removing it at the onset of the course.

Allah (God) is introducing the Formula for the proper relationship between Himself and the Believer. This formula was developed exclusively by Him and if we do not follow instructions and mix it correctly, we fail.

The Holy Qur'an is free from doubt and it can make you and I like itself, that is, with no doubt in us. This is important to our self-improvement, because Doubt threatens the light of Desire.

Doubt starts with a thought that is against your Desire. Your Desire (Affirmation) is extinguished (Negation) by Doubt. A hesitancy in believing has a chilling effect on movement towards the object of the Desire and ultimately extinguishes the Desire altogether. Doubt halts the process of decision-making and decisive action. It undermines Faith. When Faith is undermined long enough, it disappears. Hypocrisy is the absence of Faith. Doubt is its Mother. Please think on this carefully.

Look at John 20:24-29 for an illustration. The Apostle Thomas was a chronic skeptic who habitually doubted the Word. So he automatically was always the last one to move; unlike Peter, who acted on Faith and therefore moved readily, Thomas, had to have evidence of the physical senses in order to be satisfied. To this day, a person who is not willing to be convinced is called a "doubting Thomas".

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (24:29)

(c) The Holy Qur'an is only good for those who desire to do the Will of Allah (God) and who desire Self-Realization and Self-Mastery. All of these desires are in accordance with the nature in which we are created.

The nature in which we are created makes us want to be successful in our lives. It is not. natural to want to fail. Allah (God) assures us in verse 5 that those who believe and act in accordance with the fundamental principles enunciated in verses 2-4 are 'on a right course from their Lord and these it is that are successful.'

In Study Session 6, we looked at the true meaning of the word "successful" and learned that it is not measured by material things. In the Eyes of Allah (God), we are not successful unless we have mastered the forces that keep us from Him.

The acquisition of material things automatically comes to one who has cultivated and enveloped him or herself through belief and application of the principles of faith. It is the principles that Allah (God) uses to measure our success, not the results. And so Jesus said, "And seek not what ye shall eat, or what -ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after; and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you." Luke 12:29-31

The evidence that those who take this Book as a Guide will be successful is manifested in the life of Muhammad, who brought the book and the results brought about by him with the book. Throughout the world, scholars agree that the most productive man in recent (6,000 years) history was not Newton, not Boyle, not even Jesus. The man who singularly made the greatest impact upon his followers and the world was Muhammad ibn Abdullah (Peace Be Upon Him).

When fact, the transformation wrought by the Holy Qur'an is unparalleled, in the history of the world. No other reformer brought about such an entire change in the lives of a whole nation in his lifetime. The Qur'an found the Arabs worshippers of idols, stones, trees, heaps of sand, and yet, within less than a quarter of a century (25 years), the worship of The One God ruled the whole country, idolatry being wiped out from one end to the other ... the Qur'an welded together a nation, a united nation full of life and vigor, before whose onward march the greatest kingdoms of the world crumbled as if they were but toys before the reality of the new faith ... The Qur'an effected a transformation of humanity from the lowest depths of degradation to the highest pinnacle of civilization in an 'incredibly short time where centuries of reformation had proved fruitless....' [Maulana Muhammad Ali]

The Book remains without doubt. Then how are we justified in doubting what the principles set forth in This Book can do for us, under the guidance of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad?

3) Surah 1:5 reads, "Guide us on the right path." The very core of our being cries out to be guided rightly. The nature in which we are created yearns to be given direction and does not want to go astray. This yearning of the soul is so strong that Allah (God) has given us this oft-repeated prayer, "Al-Fatihah", which we say at least 32 times a day if we are steadfast in our prayers.

In this surah, we bear witness to our own nature, which is needy and sinful. We are in need of guidance on the "right path", for we want to be on "the path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favours..."

4) We recite the Attributes that we are most in need of every day. We say, "in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful." Maulana Muhammad Ali writes, "Rahman and Rahim are both derived from rahmat, signifying tenderness requiring the exercise of beneficence, and thus comprising the ideas of love and mercy."

We say, in verse 1, ""Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds...", because no matter what becomes of our lives, we bear witness that all praise is due to Allah (God). He is the Creator of our existence; He is the one who supplies the desire that feeds the Will to attain our goals in life; He is the Nourisher unto perfection who supplies the way and the means through which we may be brought to -the highest level of achievement.

He is not just a judge or a king, He is Master of the day of Requital (Judgment), so He may forgive whom He pleases and He may chastise whom He pleases.

5) Surah 1 states our need. Surah 2 supplies the answer to the need. The same Powerful God brings us the proper expression of the need and brings us the perfect fulfillment of it.

6) (a) The root of the Arabic word "muttaqi", which is often translated into
"God-fearing", signifies 'the guarding of a thing from that which harms or injures it. 0 The Holy Qur'an is a guide to those who guard themselves against evil.

In the law of success, the Caucasian is not mentioned as an obstacle. He is not mentioned as, consequential. Guarding against evil as a threat to spiritual advancement refers to anything that inspires doubt in our minds or keeps us from prayer, from charity, from any of the principles of faith or action essential to our development. Those threats come from forces that are within us.

We learned in Session 4 that we must struggle for and then maintain our Balance. So in studying the forces that work from within, we must not lose sight of the forces that work from without.

Here is an example: In Surah 70, a trait of the believer is that he or she is one in whose wealth the beggar and the destitute have a known right. That is, the true believer is charitable. When we do not actively work to develop this divine attribute of giving, then the internal force, Greed, rises up.

When Greed, an internal force, goes unchecked, then someone on the outside can manipulate us by using our Greed, or voracious appetite for things, to overpower our sense of moral correctness.

So constancy in recognition of the needs of the poor serves to neutralize the internal force within, thereby freeing us from any threat of being manipulated by outside forces; elimination of, the internal force deprives the external force of a connection to our mind and heart.

SUPPLEMENT

2) (b) "Unseen" is that which is unperceived by the physical eye. Note that "Unseen" is with a capital "U". "...the Unseen here stands for Allah, a belief in Whose existence is the cardinal principle of religion. A belief in God is thus the first duty of man, the first requisite of spiritual advancement."

Unseen does not mean Unreal. A terrible impediment to us in this world is that most of us only believe in what we can physically see, which is, of course, extremely limited in scope. This is primarily due to the fact that we only know ourselves as material beings; we do not know the spiritual self.

The Holy Qur'an tells us that everything is an illusion, that is, it will ultimately pass away, except Allah. He is the Real Power behind all that you see. The Will, is the Power behind your being, but the Will is Unseen. To deny the existence of what we cannot see is to deprive ourselves of access to the true Power behind the Universe. The physical things we see are mere variations in forms of manifestation of that Power. The 'things' come and go, but the Power that produces them is eternal.

A baby draws milk from his mother's breast. He can see the breast, but he cannot see the milk. The first time he pulls on the breast, he is acting not out of knowledge of what is contained therein, but out of faith that something is there.,- Again, as indicated in previous study guides, the scripture is true: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen.'

The baby's belief in the presence of the milk supply is strengthened each time he nurses, because his need is supplied. He draws this milk five (5) or more times a day, increasing in physical strength and emotional security each time he gets satisfaction. If he did not get satisfaction, his faith would be ultimately destroyed. A means of weaning a child off the breast is to dry up the milk supply. After several fruitless efforts, the baby is forced to look elsewhere. He no longer looks to his mother's breast for his nourishment.

The belief in Allah (God) MUST be supported by prayer. It is only through actually going to the Source and attempting to draw the spiritual milk of the Word that we can obtain the security and satisfaction it brings. The prayer is an act of faith as the baby's act of nursing is demonstrated faith. If no action is taken, no milk is obtained.

When baby nurses form mother's breast, there is satisfaction for the child, not only in the stomach, but in the mind. As the baby is physically fed, the act of nursing produces a chemical reaction in the brain of the child, resulting in contentment. This is manifested in the peaceful countenance you see on a nursing child as it drinks. There is also a chemical reaction in the mother's brain and satisfaction for her as she obtains both relief and pleasure as the milk that fills her breasts is drawn out.

When the mother has peace of mind, this is transferred to the child through the milk. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that 'we nursed the milk of fear from our mothers' breasts.' In slavery, the fear of the master that was, in our mothers, the fear for the future of the child, was passed on to us through the substances produced in their bodies due to the chemical reaction that Fear produces. Milk is capable of being the conduit of security or fear, due to the mental condition of the giver.

The constancy of nursing that produces a bond between mother and child is replicated in the bond produced between Creator and Believer through constant prayer. Since Allah has no fears or weaknesses, we can only draw strength and security from our sincere prayers to Him.

Though He is above need of us, our prayers have the wonderful effect bf earning us a qualitative care from Him through our submission. Though He provided for us before we came into existence, before we ever heard of "prayer", through prayer we earn His care.

"Say: My Lord would not care for you, were it not for your prayer..." Holy Qur'an 25:77

The Fear that is in us from the experience of our condition, can be removed by constant prayer and the doing of good.

" ... whoever submits himself entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good (to others), he has his reward from his Lord and there is no fear for such nor shall they grieve." -(2:112)

Prayer is the key to the evolution toward God and binds us to Him: 'Then We deliver Our messengers and those who believe --- even so (now); it is binding on Us to deliver the believers." (1 0: 1 03)

GLOSSARY

BIND To fasten or secure; to fix in place; to cause to cohere; to unite by spiritual, moral or legal ties; to stick fast; the act or process of binding.

BOND That which holds together; something, as an agreement, friendship, etc., that holds individuals together in a group; binding assurance or firm agreement (My word is bond).

BELIEVE To have confidence in the truth, existence or reliability of something without absolute proof; to have faith in the truth of a positive assertion; to have a conviction that a (person or thing) is, has been, or will be engaged in given action or involved in a given situation.

DOUBT To be uncertain in opinion about; hold questionable; hesitate to believe. To distrust. A feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality or nature of something.

DOUBTFUL Admitting of or causing doubt; uncertain, ambiguous. Of uncertain outcome or result. Of equivocal character. Reluctance or unwillingness to be convinced.

UNSEEN Not seen; unperceived; unobserved; hidden or withdrawn; not perceptible by the physical eye.

NEED A condition marked by the lack of something requisite; lack of something deemed necessary.

GUIDE To assist (a person) to travel through or reach a destination in, an area in which he does not know the way, by accompanying him or giving him directions; to supply with advice or counsel; to supervise in an advisory capacity; that which regulates progressive motion or action; to show the way.

Study Guide 9: Our Intimate Relationship With Rabbi-l'alamin

STUDY GUIDE 9
OUR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
WITH RABBI-L'ALAMIN

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an

Surah 64 "The Manifestation of Losses"
Surah 33 "The Allies" (Verses 45-47)
Surah 103 "The Time"

Will of God, Part II

Will of God Part III

Self-improvement Pages 7 and 8

FACTS (S)

"...Jesus wanted to take you a step further. In fact, he wanted to give you your degree, so that it would never be necessary for another Man of God (Prophet) to come to you. For you, in your own life, would be a Witness of Allah's (God's) Presence. And if Allah (God) is present in your life, in your being, manifested in your words and in your actions, then you have closed, the door on Prophethood ... by the fact of Allah's (God's) Presence in your life."

We live in that time. The man, Jesus, that came 2,000 years ago, did not come in the time of Redemption and Salvation and Healing ... But we are at the right time now. And a man has appeared in the world to Redeem Man; to Reconcile Man to God; to cause us to see and hear and know the Will of Allah (God) and then inspire us to willingly submit our Will to do the Will of Allah (God)." (Will of God Part 11 - page 8)

DISCUSSION

1) Please review the Glossary.

2) Continue to the next page for the meaning of the name Rabbi-L-'Alamin.

"READ IN THE NAME OF THY LORD WHO CREATES..." (96:1)

After the proper name, ALLAH, the Holy Qur'an has given the greatest prominence to the name RABB. The name RABB occurs approximately 960 times, no other attributive names being so frequently mentioned.

We are learning that the evolutionary process toward perfection cannot take place without RABB, the "Lord Who brings all that is in this Universe to a state of perfection through various stages of growth, (beginning with) nothingness..." Thus, RABB signifies the Author of a# existence.

This great attribute combines two (2) senses:

(1) Fostering, bringing up or nourishing; and

(2) Regulating, completing and accomplishing

Thus, the underlying idea is that of nourishing every part of His creation from the crudest state to that of highest perfection. Everything created by Allah (God) bears the impress of Divine creation. That is, there is no such thing as a life form that He is incapable of fostering in such a manner as to make it attain one condition after another until it reaches its goal of perfection.

"Glorify The Name of Thy Lord, The Most High!
Who Creates, Then Makes Complete,
And Who Measures, Then Guides..." (87:1-3)

The full meaning of RABB is explained in the above verses: He creates things and brings them to perfection; He makes things according to a measure and shows them the ways whereby they may attain to perfection. The true meaning of the evolutionary process is fully developed in the first two actions: Creation and Completion. Everything created by Allah (God) must attain to its destined completion. The last two actions show how the completion is brought about. He makes everything according to a measure, that is, with certain laws of development inherent in it; and it is also shown a way, that is, it knows the line along which it must proceed, so that it may reach its goal of completion.

(Reference: The Religion of Islam., Maulana Muhammad Ali. Pages 113-114, 128, 132, 307-308).

DISCUSSION

1) What is the purpose of prophets and messengers?

Supplement

2) Is there a pattern of evolutionary development in the lives and messages of the prophets? Explain.

Supplement

3) What makes Muhammad (PBUH), the Seal of the prophets? Why, in Christian theology, is Jesus the Seal? How, do you reconcile these two (2) views?

Supplement

4) If we fail to listen to the voice within, what are the results? What powers do we come under from within Self?

Supplement

5) If we fail to listen to the voice without that comes to quicken the voice within, what powers do we come under?

Supplement

6) If the whole of humanity, according to the Bible, is under the Power of a Beast, a Dragon, a Serpent, what do these characteristics represent in Self and in the powers of the world?

Supplement

7) If we remain under such powers, are we lost?

Supplement

8) How does this relate to the finding of 'lost sheep'?

Supplement

9) What does the Finder desire to do after finding that which was lost?

Supplement

10) Jesus is called The Restorer, Reconciler, Redeemer, Saviour, Healer, Eternal Guide, etc. The Holy Qur'an is called "al-Shifa" (10:57), "The Healer"; "al-Hijr" (l5: 9) "The Reminder; "al-Huda" (72:13) "The Guide", or, "That which makes one attain the goal"; "al-Nur" (7:157), "The Light" "al-Ruh", "The Spirit" (or, "That which, gives Life"); etc.

How does Jesus relate to the Holy Qur'an?

Supplement

11) In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we have an account of what Jesus did and parables that he spoke. But very little is said about the message he brought.

What is the relationship between the work of Jesus and the work of the Holy Qur'an? Are they compatible? If so, how?

Supplement

12) Return to the letter from Minister Farrakhan which introduced this course (page2). "Let this mind be in you..." What mind is that? How was that mind produced?

Supplement

13) Do we need a prophet or messenger at this point? What is it that makes a prophet unnecessary?

SUPPLEMENT

1) "Whenever a man loses the ability to read Allah's (God's) Will in that which is around him (or her), then it is incumbent upon Almighty God, Allah, out of the Abundance of His Love and Mercy for humanity, to raise a Prophet, a Messenger, an Apostle, to teach us the Will of Allah (God) and to give us the privilege and the opportunity to submit our Will to do the Will of Allah (God) and come into favor with Allah (God).

Prophets, Messengers and Apostles teach us Allah's (God's) Will; specifically, for a certain people and for a certain time period. Whenever Allah (God) sends a Prophet, he gives that man a temporary message; that temporary message is based upon an Eternal message. Both messages embody the Will of Allah (God)."

2) Yes. There is a pattern of evolutionary development both in the messages and in the people to whom the messages are brought.

"Prophets bring a temporary message for their contemporaries. And Prophets bring an Eternal Message. Whenever a new Prophet appears, he abrogates much of the temporary message of former Prophets. This, of course, is an abrogation of that temporal Will of Allah (God), for the curing of a particular disease at that time. We do not need the medicine after we have effected the cure...But no Prophet has ever come and abrogated the Eternal Will of Allah (God). All Prophets bear witness that God is One and His Eternal Will is One; all of the Prophets spoke to us out of that Eternal Will of God.'

"...in the" absence of God, prophets reflect the light of God to the people of the Earth. But, they do not see perfectly. They are not a witness of the fullness of God's Divine Presence; they are only a witness that God is interested in the affairs of men.

Prophets appeared in every nation, but their message was limited to that particular nation. Though their message was based upon an eternal message, their work was limited to the moral upliftment of the people from among whom they were raised. However, while national growth was of necessity the first step, the ultimate aim of Allah (God) is the spiritual regeneration of the whole of humanity and the making of humanity into one. Until then, we have not reached the fullness of Allah's (God's) Will.

In our, study of the lives of the Prophets, we saw that when mentioning the earlier Prophets, the Holy Qur'an says that Noah was sent "to his people"; Hud, Salih and Shu'aib - every one of them was sent "to his people." (7:59, 65, 73, 85).

Moses was "nationalistic". The Holy Qur'an speaks of him as having been commanded to "bring forth thy people from darkness into light." (1 4:5). He formed Israel into a nation from tribes. But Israel did not carry out her function. She made a covenant with God.,, She recognized her function, yet did not carry it out. She corrupted herself in not carrying out her function.

"According to the teachings of the Bible and the Holy Qur'an, Allah (God) chose Israel for exaltation. But He wanted them to submit. He made Israel above the nations of the Earth. But when she got to a certain stage in her development, she lost her humility. She became proud, self-centered, selfish; she became greedy. She became all of those things that corrupt and redirect the Will. So her Will was no longer the Will of Allah (God); it became the Selfish Will of Israel, with God's name added to that Selfish Will. So Allah (God) punished Israel and made her an example for us today."

Jesus starts out "nationalistic", to those whose view is limited to that period of time. The Holy Qur'an speaks of him as "a messenger to the children of Israel." (3:48). He said of himself, according to the Bible, that he was "not sent but unto the lost -sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24)

When Muhammad begins his mission, he is working among illiterate, disunited Arab tribes. The whole evolutionary process unfolds in his history.

From Abraham to Muhammad, we see the evolution of all of the principles of Islam. Prayer evolves. Charity evolves. Fasting evolves. Sacrifice evolves from the sacrifice-of animals in the time of Abraham, to the sacrifice of Allah's Servant, Jesus (Muhammad of the Resurrection), which represents the sacrifice of our own lives in the Cause of Truth.

There is even evolution in the way the message was revealed. The world did not know that a Messenger of Allah (God) had been raised among the Arabs. But at a certain point, Muhammad sent emissaries to Ethiopia. Persia and Rome. The Arabs, at the time, were not universal. They were concerned with tribal affairs and behaviors. They had not yet even evolved into a nation. The Holy Qur'an was revealed over a period of 23 years. The Arabs were then to be the witnesses of Allah (God) to the ends of the earth. This they did, until they confused conquering for Allah (God) with conquering to make themselves rulers over those whom they conquered.

When the aim and objective becomes the destruction of the culture of another people and the imposition of your own, that is not the teachings of the Holy Qur'an - the Holy Qur'an brings its own culture. When you impose your own culture, it ceases to be a Way of God and becomes your own traditions and practices; then the Way of God and the culture of the Holy Qur'an become obscure.

Nationalism is a necessary stage of evolutionary development. When carried to the extreme, however, nationalism is niggardliness, because there is no interest in others. Nations must overcome the forces which adversely affect the Will, just as the individual Self must do. The ways of ascent for the individual and the ways of ascent for a nation are one and the same.

The Eternal Will of Allah (God), (the Eternal Message that is the basis of all temporal messages), equals the Eternal Principles of Islam: Belief in the One God; Revelation; the Hereafter; Prayer; Charity; Fasting; Hajj (Pilgrimage); Jihad (using one's utmost efforts in contending with an object of disapprobation).

With this view of all of the Prophets (Peace Be Upon Them) and the evolutionary development of-the message they brought, we may look at the mission and Objective of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad with clarity, which gives us some comprehension of the difficulty of his task.

The Arabs were, not in slavery to another people. But Black people had been kidnapp6d from- their homeland and kept in a state of darkness by a powerful enemy.

When labeled. "Black Nationalist", the Honorable Elijah Muhammad never fought the term. He told me that "Black is not National, Black is Universal." So first, Black people must be made into a Nation, then a Witness of Allah (God) to the ends of the Earth. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad would simply say of his critics, "They don't have my mission."

Those who condemn the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as a teacher of Black Nationalism are not aware of the evolutionary development of the message. Though Muhammad brought a Universal Message, Black people could not get it until we evolved. We had to be brought through the stages of evolution. You cannot give the Black man and woman the Universal Knowledge before basic Self Knowledge, lest in giving him the Universal, he gets further lost to Self and the Identity of Self.

Yakub did not see the completion of the evolutionary development of that which he had initiated. We who follow the Honorable Elijah Muhammad may not live to see the completion of the evolutionary development of his teachings. But our duty, in every generation, is to keep the law and the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad until he abrogates them himself with something new.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to me, 'Do not change the teachings while I am gone. What I have given you is just a wake-up message. But if you are faithful, when I return, I will reveal the new teachings through you.'

Although I am accused by many of changing the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I must say they don't have my mission.

Each of the students of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad must extract all that we can from this wake-up message. In 1973, when I did a broadcast on the teachings of Jesus, repeating the exact words of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he whipped me (verbally); he told me, "I do not want you to give the people the same history as I taught it 40 years ago. I want you to give the meaning."

The Prophets struggled in the absence of God with light from God that is considered, in symbolic language, "Moonlight". Since the Moon represents the Sun, in the absence of the Sun, it has no light of its own; it borrows light from the Sun and reflects it to the Earth ... If you have a limited light, you have a limited sight. Therefore, you can only be a limited example.

If Prophets are Moonlight, Moonlight is not Perfect Light. It does not allow you to see with perfect clarity. In Moonlight, we can only see partly, but in Sunlight, we can see fully.

The Perfect Will of God abrogates the imperfect knowledge and even the imperfect perception of the Prophets.

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part ... But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." 11 Corinthians 13:9,101

Moonlight does not display color. You can only see the outline of things in the Moonlight. In the Sunlight, we can see not only the outline of a thing, we can see a thing as it is. Praise be to Allah.

"(We take) Allah's colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers." 2:138

When we see from Allah's view, we are taking His colour, His perception. It is the ending of Prophets.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, "What more is there for another Prophet to do if you get the Knowledge of Self and the Knowledge of God?"

To see in the Sunlight is to see from God's Perfect Sight, with His Perfect Perception. We do not have the tendency to make mistakes in the full light of His Revelation, because we see from His View of things.

The Message that Allah (God) revealed is a message that has evolved. It has reached a perfect state in this book, Holy Qur'an:

" ... This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour to you and chosen for you Islam as a religion.' 5:3

However, as with all things, we must grow into perfect understanding of this perfected Revelation. We must become perfect doers of the Perfect Will of Allah (God).

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, Who is in Heaven, is Perfect." Matthew 5:48

Allah (God) says in the Holy Qur'an, when He desires a thing, He only says, "Be!" and it is. Is it His Will that we be perfect? Yes. He has already arranged forces to bring this about. His Power is actively at work to perfect His Will that we be perfect human beings. And what does a perfect human being look like? A perfect human being looks like God.

The evolution to Sunlight is the ascension beyond the final aspect of Prophethood. This is described in the Holy Qur'an: "O Prophet, surely We have sent thee as a witness and a bearer of good news and a warner ... and as an inviter to Allah by His permission and as a light-giving sun..." 33:45-47

3) He is called the Universal Prophet because he brings a message that fits all people, all conditions, for all times, up to the Resurrection and the Judgment of the world. The Message that he brings makes it unnecessary for a Prophet ever to appear again. For that message will be internalized in the hearts and minds of the people.

The Prophets of the past were inspired and their inspiration was true, but since Muhammad (PBUH) is the Seal of the Prophets, he ends the Prophets.

Jesus represents Allah's (God's) full presence in Man. In the Book of Isaiah, it says that a child will be born; a virgin will conceive him and the child’s name will be called 'Emmanuel', meaning 'God is with us.' How will you know that God is with us? Because an ordinary human being, born of a woman, making the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the lame walk and raising the dead to life, is not ordinary. It is extraordinary. No Prophet ever did that."

The Seal of the Prophets is he who fulfills prophesy to a degree that he makes God real in your life.

4) We come under the powers of the Lower Self. The Holy Qur'an asks the questions, 'Have you seen those who take their low desires for god besides Allah?

The Fall of Adam represents man succumbing to the power of his lower nature, the underworld. Prior to eating the forbidden fruit, Adam had no knowledge that his lower nature even existed, because he was clothed in the Nature of God. His lower self was so much in control that he did not know it existed. The Serpent in Genesis told Adam that if he ate of the fruit, 'Ye shall not surely die ... your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil."

Adam did die, all in Adam die, in that his fall under the powers of the lower self resulted in ruin, disgrace and ultimately death. Spiritual death is followed by untimely physical death. This has passed on to all men and women who live in rebellion to the Will of God.

5) "I must respectfully say that 90% to 95% of the human family of this Earth have already nullified their existence. Allah (God) did not create Man to live on the plane of lower animals. If the aim and purpose of Allah (God) for Man is that Man be His Vicegerent; His Khalifa, His Successor in this realm; Man is to rule in this realm --- we are not doing that. We are living a life lower than the animals. And, therefore, in the bible, in the Book of Revelations, the Revelator is sayin6 that the Rulers of the Earth are titled, or given, the names "Beast', 'Dragon". These are not good characteristics. Great Beasts ruling humanity? A dragon ruling humanity? A Serpent ruling humanity? This is a nullification of who and what we are --- Human beings.'

6) We become like that which we submit to. We have no concern for moral law. One of the characteristics of a Dragon is that it "drags" you down. When we submit to the power and rule of a Beast, a Dragon, then we become a beast, we begin to "drag' others down. When someone else mounts up on Truth, we seek to pull them down to our level.

If a beast is our ruler, we take on the characteristics of the ruler. To take on the characteristics of a beast is to deny our own capacity to move from a lower state to a higher state.

7) If we remain under such powers, we are lost. By denying Allah, we nullify our own existence and we are practicing Self-Negation.

'And if that man who was working the Will of Allah (God) through the law of Moses was not willing to go one step further with Jesus, he was denying himself entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. At that point, even though he was practicing the law of Moses, he nullified his right to exist. He was practicing, then, Self-Negation, because he would not practice Self-Denial."

If Allah is Rabb, the Nourisher of all of us to perfection, then at any point we deny the Truth and halt our evolution, not only are we unable to complete the journey, but we cannot maintain our position. We go back to nothingness.

It is like a baby coming out of the womb and refusing to breathe in the breath of life. It does not just cease to grow, it degenerates all the way back to dust.

To follow the rule of a beast and deny Jesus is to return to dust. The Jews held ton to the law of Moses and refused to accept the principles brought by Jesus. This means they had never been in touch with the life force of the law of Moses.

The Christians accept Jesus, yet deny Muhammad. This denial means that they never were truly in touch with the life force of the teachings of Jesus.

The Muslims who accept Muhammad (PBUH), but deny the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, were never in touch with the life force of the Holy Qur'an. In accepting the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, but denying Brother Farrakhan, those who profess to follow the Honorable Elijah Muhammad manifest that they never were in touch with the life force in His Teachings.

The denial of Truth at any point in time negates the progress made up to that point. This is why the world is acting as though a prophet has never been here. It is because of the denial of the Eternal and Evolutionary Life Force that is in each stage of development. It is holding on to a name, but the substance is buried.

This is why in the lessons the question is asked, why did we take Jerusalem from the Devils? It is because one of our righteous brothers is buried there.

Delilah was a "drag" who pulled Samson down.

Under these powers, any one who is in a position of leadership and power may become overwhelmed by the forces coming into play: growth into fame and fortune. All of these are forces which have the capacity to pull us down.

Here is a man in a position of power. A young woman is in his church, if he is a minister; in his workplace, if he is an employer. She is striving to be upright. But he is like that he submits to. He finally catches her and pulls her down from the mountain of Truth, out of the light into the darkness that he is under. And through it al he uses righteousness as a cover for his evil. He is deceitful like the Serpent.

"This know, also, that in the last days perilous time shall come...For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good...'Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; from such turn away ... For of this sort are they who crept into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with various lusts ... Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." [2 Timothy 3:1-7]

The symbolic "fire-breathing" dragon refers to the passion of the lower self manifesting through language and conduct which pulls us down from the elevated plane of truth.

8) The "lost sheep" are a people. A good shepherd would make the sheep shepherds. But in this world, the rulers have the characteristics of beasts and reptiles. 85% of the population is being kept from guidance and evolution by 10% who know the truth and use it for evil and oppression. It is therefore on the shoulders of the 5% righteous to save the 85%.

"Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that feed -themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks ... and they were scattered, because there is no shepherd...My sheep wandered through all the mountains ... yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the Earth and none did search or seek after them ... Behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my flock at their hand and cause them to cease from feeding the flock, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore; FOR I WILL DELIVER MY FLOCK FROM THEIR MOUTH, THAT THEY MANY NOT BE FOOD FOR THEM...BEHOLD, 1, EVEN 1, WILL BOTH SEARCH MY SHEEP AND SEEK THEM OUT ... I WILL SEEK THAT WHICH WAS LOST AND BRING AGAIN THAT WHICH WAS DRIVEN AWAY AND WILL BIND UP THAT WHICH WAS BROKEN AND WILL STRENGTHEN THAT WHICH WAS SICK AND I WILL DESTROY THE FAT AND THE STRONG: I WILL FEED THEM WITH JUSTICE." Ezekiel 34:1 1-10

9) If a man is under a Beast or reptile, he needs a Reconciler. He needs a Redeemer. The One who comes to reconcile and redeem pays a price. He performs an awesome task. He reconciles Man to God and reconciles Man to Self.

The Finder comes to reconcile the lost sheep to the Shepherd.

"For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh ... that the righteous of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." Romans 8:3,4

The Finder comes to return the Original Man to his original state.

10) The Holy Qur'an contains the message which Jesus brought. It contains the principles, which applied, take man on a journey to perfection, which is the Plan of Allah (God).

Jesus was born of a woman and went through the vicissitudes of life and became a perfect reflection of God.

11) The Holy Qur'an and the work of Jesus are compatible, in that the man came with a message and the message is form Allah. That message is contained in the Holy Qur'an. The Bible does not contain the total message of Jesus, it focuses on his life and times. The Holy Qur'an is the Word of Allah (God) that Jesus spoke, direct from the Source it came from.

The life of Jesus was one of suffering and the Holy Qur'an tells us that we must suffer pain, we must overcome difficulty, to become one with Allah (God) as Jesus is the example of.

Study the effects of the work of Jesus: a man who made the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak. This is a Healer. The Holy Qur'an is a book which calls itself the "Healer". Then what message could the Jesus bring but that which is contained in the Holy Qur'an. The Holy Qur'an was revealed 1400 years ago. Therefore, the Jesus of 2,000 years ago was a sign of the one who would come with this revealed word and its power to heal, guide, remind and make one attain the goal of meeting with Allah (God).

Even his detractors acknowledged the fact that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad worked the "impossible". He cured the drug addict of his addiction; he made men and women productive when the whole world said they could not produce.

The book Master Fard Muhammad gave the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was the Holy Qur'an. This book is the means by which the Honorable Elijah Muhammad made the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak. It is the means by which he raises the dead to life. Though He gave him 104 books to read, He told the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that the Holy Qur'an is the 'only book you need to carry."

12) The scriptures say that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word 'was God. [Gospel of ST. John] Therefore, the Mind of God is expressed in His Word.

Therefore, the Holy Qur'an, which is directly out of the mouth of Allah (God), is of His Mind. One who reads this book, who studies this book constantly, assimilates and absorbs it, becomes one with the Mind of Christ, which comes from the Mind of God.

GLOSSARY

WITNESS To see or know by personal presence and perception; to be present at an occurrence as a witness, spectator, bystander, etc. To testify, give or afford evidence of.

WARN To give notice, advice or intimation to a person, group, etc., of danger, impending evil, harm or anything else unfavorable; to admonish or exhort, as to action or conduct; to give authoritative or formal notice to; to speak plainly and in strong terms about danger and penalties.

BEARER A person or thing that carries, upholds or brings. A tree or plant that yields fruit or flowers. The holder of rank or
office: incumbent.

BEAR To bring forth; to produce by natural growth; to hold up, support or remain firm under; to be capable of; to suffer, endure, undergo; to carry in the mind or heart; to transmit or spread (gospel).

INVITE To ask or request the presence or participation of in a kindly, courteous or complimentary way, especially to ask or request to come or to go to some place, or to do something; to attract, allure, bid, solicit.

SUN The star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat; a self-luminous heavenly body.

RECONCILE To render no longer opposed; bring to acquiescence or acceptance; to win over to friendliness; to compose or settle a quarrel or dispute; to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent.

REDEEM To buy or pay off; to clear by payment; to recover by payment or other satisfaction; to discharge or fulfill a pledge or promise; to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity; to regain possession, or improve the condition of anything, as by endeavor, devotions sacrifice or the like. REDEEMER: One who redeems.

REFORM The improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. To change to a better state, form, etc; improve by alteration, substitution, abolition, etc. To cause a person to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or conduct; to put an end to abuses, disorders and error.

FIND To learn, obtain or attain, by search or effort; to recover something lost; to regain the use of; to discover or confirm the truth of something; to discover the true nature of someone or something.

EVOLVE To develop gradually; to develop by a process of evolution to a more highly organized state or condition; to come forth gradually into being. To make motion incomplete in itself, but combining with coordinated motions to produce a single action.

BEAST Any animal other than man, especially a large, four-footed mammal. The crude animal nature common to humans and nonhumans; a cruel, coarse, filthy or otherwise beastlike person.

DRAGON A monster represented generally as a huge, winged reptile, with crested head and terrible claws and teeth, often spouting fire. A fierce, violent person.

SERPENT A snake. A wily, treacherous, or malicious person. An insidious enemy. One who makes one's course or way in a crooked or winding manner.

SEAL Anything that tightly or completely closes or secures a thing.

ABROGATE To cancel, repeal or annul by authority. To abolish.

TEMPORAL Lasting only for a time; transitory; temporary, not eternal.

MEANING What is meant; what is intended to be expressed or understood by something; the total implication of something said or done, including the subtle connotations.

Study Guide 10: The God Within

STUDY GUIDE 10
THE GOD WITHIN

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 2 Section 4:
"Greatness of Man and Need
of Revelation" (Read footnotes)
Surah 6 Verse 166
(footnote 852)
Surah 14 Verses 32-33

Self-Improvement
Pages 12-18
(to end of paragraph 4)

Will of God Part III
Review entire lecture

FACT (S)

ALLAH (GOD) SHARES HIMSELF WITH HUMAN BEINGS. HOWEVER, WHEN GOD SHARES HIMSELF WITH US, HE GIVES US A DIFFICULTY TO OVERCOME. WE HAVE TO STRUGGLE WITH THE LIFE FORCE THAT IS WITHIN US, WHICH IS THE ONLY FORCE THERE IS, THERE IS NO OTHER FORCE BUT GOD. THERE IS BUT ONE LIFE THAT IS GIVEN TO US AND THAT IS DIVINE LIFE.

(HOLY QUR'AN READING: 'AND WHEN THY LORD SAID TO THE ANGELS, I AM GOING TO PLACE A RULER IN THE EARTH, THEY SAID, WILT THOU PLACE IN IT SUCH AS MAKE MISCHIEF IN IT AND SHED BLOOD? AND WE CELEBRATE THY PRAISE AND EXTOL THY HOLINESS. HE SAID: SURELY I KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW NOT.")

DISCUSSION

A. PREPARATION

Please read and review the terms in the GLOSSARY on the next page before discussing the subject matter contained in this study guide. Please feel free to make comments and ask questions about these definitions as your circle goes over them with the coordinator.

GLOSSARY

SELF The uniting principle, underlying all subjective experience. That which knows, remembers, desires, suffers. Being the same throughout; being of one with the rest. "Oneself".

I The first self; the nominative singular pronoun used by a speaker in referring to himself. The ninth letter of the alphabet.

EGO The "1" or "Self" of any person; a person of thinking, feeling and willing, distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from the objects of its thought. The enduring and conscious element that knows experience.

In psychoanalysis (not a pure science), "ego" refers to the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.

The "ego" has a tendency to centralize all. action around itself.

ID The part of the psyche residing in the unconscious that is the source of instinctive energy. The primal urge and impulse which seeks self preservation and self-satisfaction in accordance with need and pleasure. It is modified by the "ego" before given overt expression, unless it is uncontrolled.

RULER One who rules. One who exercises dominating power, authority, or influence over; governs; decides or declares judicially; exercises authoritative guidance or direction. (From the Latin word "regul", meaning "by a straight stick" or "pattern".)

"The original word Khalifah (from khalafa, meaning "he came after or succeeded another that had perished or died"), means primarily a successor and hence, the supreme or the greatest ruler who supplies the place of him who has been before him ... one who judges among or rules, the Creatures of Allah by His command."

"This ('I am going to place a ruler in the earth') shows the high place that man was destined to hold in the whole of creation. What is stated here in an allegorical description of the preference of man above the whole of creation on earth and then of the election of those righteous servants of Allah from among men themselves who lead others into the right path." (Footnote 48 Holy Qur'an, Maulana Muhammad Ali Translation)

"The early Islamic state organization, which combined the offices of the spiritual and the temporal head of the community, was ... the most perfect which the history of statecraft can show. The head of state considered himself responsible to God, in the first place, for the exercise of his temporal authority.

There exists a misconception in some quarters that the Islamic state was a theocracy. The head of the Muslim state never considered himself a representative of God on earth, but as a representative of men who had chosen him to serve them; nonetheless, he certainly considered himself responsible to God for every act he did in the exercise of his authority. All people, including the ruler, had equal rights and obligations and were subject to the same law." (The Religion of Islam, Maulana Muhammad Ali. Page 626)

"In Hebrew, 'ruler' means 'Elohim', or 'God', 'Divine Essence', 'Will', 'Divine Force'." (Self-lmprovement, D. 13

"Elohim" (English form 'God'), the first of the names of Deity, is a plural noun in form, but is singular in meaning when it refers to the True God ... Genesis 1:26-27 gives the general account of the creation of man, and Genesis 2:7, the particular. The revealed facts are: Man was created ... there is an unbridgeable chasm between man and beast; the highest beast has no God-consciousness (spiritual nature) ... Man was made in the 'image and likeness' of God. This image is found chiefly in the fact that man is a personal, rational and moral being. While God is infinite and man is finite, nevertheless, man possesses the elements of personality similar to those of the Divine Person: thinking, feeling, willing...a moral nature ... made up of body, mind and soul ... The purpose of God is one. Man created in God's image was placed in sovereignty over the earth, crowned with glory and honor, yet subject to his Creator. The Divine Intention was and is that man should have fellowship with God in obedience." (Schofield Reference Bible, p. 1, footnote 3; p-3, footnote 2)

SUPER-EGO Psychological term for the Self-Accusing Spirit. "A great change takes place only when the authority is internalized through the establishment of the super-ego. The phenomena of conscience then reach a higher stage. Actually, it is not until now that we should speak of conscience or a sense of guilt. At this point, the fear of being found out come to an end; the distinction between doing something bad and wishing to do it disappears, since nothing can be hidden from the super-ego, even thoughts ... The super-ego torments the sinful ego with feelings of anxiety and is on the watch for opportunities of getting it Punished by the external world ... As long as things go well with a man, his conscience is lenient and lets the ego do all sorts of things; but when misfortune befalls him, he searches his soul, acknowledges his sinfulness, heightens the demands of his conscience, imposes abstinence on himself and punishes himself with penances..."

B. QUESTIONS

1) The Holy Qur'an teaches us that Allah says "Be!" and it is. He does not desire or need permission to execute His Will. Who are the angels? Why did He inform them of His intentions beforehand?

2) What is meant by placing "a ruler in the earth"?

3) Why did the angels express anxiety and doubt over the decision made by the Lord of the worlds?

4) Even after expressing their concern, the angels said "we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness". Why was His holiness recognized by the angels in this exchange with Allah (God)?

5) Did Allah (God) do as He intended and place a ruler in the earth? What evidence is there that He did so?

6) Is there a connection between this action on the part of Allah (God) and our personal development? If so, what is it?

7) What was His purpose in placing a ruler in you and me?

8) By what means is He achieving His purpose?

9) What role, if any, do we have in the methodology Allah (God) uses to achieve this purpose?

10) We know that the Sun is not the center of the Universe; it is very near the center. How- do we know it is not the Center? What spiritual significance does this natural phenomenon have for us?

DISCUSSION

1) There is but one force: the Life Force. Each of the 99 attributes of Allah (God) is a force. Beneficence is guided by a force; Mercy is guided by a force. Retribution is guided by a force. In sharing Himself with man, God has placed these same forces or powers in the human being.

These forces may be used for negative ends or positive ends. In order to serve positive ends, the forces must be controlled. Allah (God) is the uniting principle bringing these forces into submission to His singular Will, to accomplish a certain objective. The dialogue taking place in Holy Qur'an 2:30 is actually the God, the Ruler, reasoning with the forces within Himself. He says, "I", for He is the uniting principle, "am going to place a ruler in the earth.' Then He allows the contrariness of the various forces (angels) to come up. Through reasoning with them, He unites them behind His Will; He unites His own Self-Community that He may go on with His Plan.

This same process occurs within us, as He has placed some of Himself within us. When we think to do a thing, other thoughts come up within us, questioning the move, or objecting to the move. We must then reason with ourselves to reach a conclusion, for confusion within Self has a chilling effect on movement. When we are confused, unsure, we cannot take action. So here, Allah (God), says to the questioning forces within Himself, 'I know what you know not."

The Arabic word for "angel" is "malak". It is said to be derived from "malaka", meaning "he controlled", and refers to the angels function of controlling the forces of nature on the physical side of life, or from "alk", which means "to send", referring to their function of acting as intermediaries between God and Man.

2) "I am going to place a ruler in the Earth." Not on the Earth, but in the Earth. Where did you come from? Your flesh is from ... the vegetation of the Earth. Your bone is from ... the stone of the Earth. Your blood is from ... the water of the Earth. This lump of flesh and blood and bone has to have a ruler in it. Something that commands it; something that dominates it.

"...God is going to form this body and He knows that you are supreme above the Sun, Moon and Stars; above all the creatures. You are the Supreme Existence --- Man and Woman. He is going to place in you a ruler."

"In Hebrew, 'ruler' means 'Elohim' or 'God', 'Divine Essence', 'Will', 'Divine Force'. God shares Himself with Man and Woman. The only reason you can say I is because the True I has shared a part of His I AM with you, that you may be… He, Allah, God, places in you a Power Himself...."

3) Look at the time and the source of the revelation of His intentions. The Holy Qur'an was revealed 1400 years ago, bringing this declaration, pot in past occurring now. In giving His wisdom and knowledge to man, God is breaking the circle of 24 scientists who have kept this divine power among itself. This decision causes great distress, because the angels, observing man's behavior, which is already degenerating, are certain that when he is given the power of

God, he will do nothing but create mischief and shed blood (kill). They already know what the God of Moon did 66 trillion years ago through misuse of Divine Power, so they are shocked that God would consider placing that same power in such an ill-equipped creature as Man.

"The Angels say, 'You are Holy. Why would you do a thing like this?' And God says, 'I know what you know not.' (Self-improvement, p. 12)

"God declares His Will to the angels, the controlling forces of nature, to create Man, who is meant to rule the forces of nature, and to whom, therefore, power to rule is to be delegated. Being entrusted with such great powers, man could use them rightly or wrongly, and it is to this fear of abuse of power that the angels give expression ... The whole history of man is briefly written in this one verse.

Man is the greatest killer on Earth, but he also turns the gifts of God to the best use ... to God was known the brighter side as well as the darker side of this picture. Hence the words, 'I know what you know not." Holy Qur'an Footnotes 48-50, Maulana Muhammad Ali Translation

4) While giving expression to their concern over the darker side of humanity (mischief-making and bloodshedding), the angels still declare that they realize this is not the Divine purpose for placing His Power in man, because Allah (God) is Holy; he is "free from all imperfections". (See footnote 51, Holy Qur'an, Maulana Muhammad Ali)

5) "God is a man and we just cannot make Him other than man, lest we make Him an inferior one; for man's intelligence has no equal in other than man. His wisdom is infinite; capable of accomplishing anything that His brain can conceive. A spirit is subjected to us and not we to the spirit." (Message To The Blackman, p. 6)

"Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth and sent down water from the clouds, then brought forth with it fruits as a sustenance for you, and He has made the ships subservient to you to run their course in the sea by His command, and He has made the rivers subservient to you ... And He has made subservient to you the night and the day ... And He gives you all you ask of Him. And if you count Allah's favours, you will not be able to number them. Surely man is very unjust, very ungrateful." (Holy Qur'an 14:32,33)

"...Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the Earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28)

Many people perceive the setting up of a ruler and the establishment of a kingdom as a man sitting on a gold chair, wearing flowing robes and a crown.

The true meaning is that Allah (God) is settling Himself on the brain (throne) of Man, by placing His own depth of Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding within us.

"And He is Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods; and His Throne of Power is ever on water that He might manifest (the good qualities in) you whoever of you is best in deeds." (Holy Qur'an 11:7).

6) When he placed a ruler in us, He placed something inside to lead us and give us guidance by which we may be successful.

There are things that you instinctively know are gifts; you don't have to be taught that. The nature of you is created that way. There are other things that you have to learn, but most of us know right from wrong. It is an instinctive thing that God puts right in the nature of you.

So when there is a moral consciousness, your mind says: "I shouldn't do that. I am wrong." Then you are coming awake. And, when you are condemning your own- actions, then there is an awakening of moral consciousness. You are coming out of an animal stage into a moral stage of development; that is a very good sign. But when you can do evil with impunity and don't feel anything, you are dead morally, dead spiritually and you are an animal in your so-called human existence.

We lived, in a world that is spiritually and morally underdeveloped and man's potential to become human has not been realized..."

Allah (God) is evolving us through the Holy Qur'an. Throughout this 6,000 year period, starting with the prophets, He has slowly but surely prepared us for the position of His vicegerent. During this time, we have become lower and lower in our expression, so it appears we are regressing rather than progressing. But it is only when we reach our lowest state that He may lift us up. Only when we are prostrate in submission, may we be used to serve His purpose. This year, 1987, we see men falling in every area of life. The 87th Surah, "The Most High" tells us that through glorification of God, man can rise to the highest place He is capable of rising. .

7) Prophet Muhammad is reported to have attributed these words to Allah (God): "I loved that I should be known, so I created man." (See footnote 2770, Holy Qur'an, Maulana Muhammad Ali Translation)

It is Allah's (God's purpose to bring us to perfection through the struggle to overcome difficulty.

"And We shall certainly try you with something of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient, who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: 'Surely we are Allah's and to Him we shall return.' Those are the on whom are blessings and mercy from their Lord and those are the followers of the right course." (Holy Qur'an, 2:155-1 57)

"Nothing will afflict us save what Allah has ordained for us." (9:51), is in reference to Allah's (God's) Will, which is that we are made to suffer for our own perfection.

8) "He (God) is going to place in you a ruler. But, the ruler that He puts in you has got to come through stages of development and on its way it is going to create mischief and cause the shedding of blood ..." (Self-Improvement, p. 1 3)

"The universal law is fully explained in (87:1-3): 'Glorify the name of thy Lord, the Most High, Who creates, then makes complete, and Who measures, then guides'. Four things are mentioned regarding every object of creation, including man: its creation, its completion, its measure and its guidance to its goal." (Religion of Islam, p. 263 Maulana Muhammad Ali)

"Man can be an animal or man can reflect Allah (God). You start in this world, like a fish, swimming in a bag of water. You evolve out of that and you come forth crawling; like other crawling things on Earth. Allah (God) never intended for you to be an animal. He wanted you to be a perfect reflection of Himself (Holy Qur'an, 11:7). But, there must be a coming out of the animal stage of development into a moral consciousness, where you have a spirit in you that accuses you for what you do, based on that which you know instinctively is right." (Holy Qur'an 75:2) (Self-improvement, pages 14-16).

9) When God shares Himself with us, he gives us a problem to overcome ... We have to struggle with the only force that is in us, which is the Life Force. There is no other force but God.

There is but one life and that is Divine Life. All life comes from water ... H20 has three... forms, depending upon the condition of the atmosphere ... Solid (ice)... Liquid ... Gas (steam) ... Ice is the opposite of steam. God is the opposite of the Devil. There is but one life. God gives you life ... How do we live it? ... If we live it in a negative way, under the influence of our own Life Force and will not struggle to master it, then we become a devil in our person. We become an opposer to the Will of God in our person. There is no devil outside of us giving us hell, it is the devil of ourselves raising hell with Self and on the Earth.

What role do we have in achieving God's purpose? "The more we struggle to gain mastery over Self, the closer we come to God. It is faith in God that stretches us towards Him. It is our faith in Him that makes us move closer to Him to connect with Him. And when we connect with Him, Heaven and Earth meet."

10) If the Sun were the center of the Universe, it would remain in its central position with all things revolving around it. But the Sun itself revolves around the Unseen Reality that makes it move.

What is it in us (human beings) that cause us to seek to be the center of attention? Why do we actually feel pain when we see another human being receive attention?

It is the God Force within us. Allah knows He is the center, so the God within us is reaching for Allah, but in reaching, we don't realize that the God within us is not the Lord of the worlds. The true center of the Universe, the true center of Power is not the power itself, but the author of the power, but in the search we get misled by the power itself.

The pain we feel when someone else gets attention is the God Force inside saying "I am God and besides Me there is no other god." This is our struggle. We must wrestle with this force, otherwise we make mischief with it.

The various means that the God has allowed to check that force. Fear; Reward (delayed gratification); Religion. This is allowed so that the Force does not wreak havoc on the planet while the person is struggling to overcome it.

God has placed His Essence in man. He has 99 attributes, including Destroyer (Killer). But His Attributes are in balance. In nature, all things kill to live, a snake kills and eats a rat. You can't blame the snake for eating the rat or the rat for being eaten. This is in accordance with the nature of both and therefore it is in line with the Law of Justice.

But here is a man, a human being, who is a killer and doesn't even know why he is killing people. This is result of misuse or unable to control the God Force.

Satan told God, "I will come in the straight path", meaning I will come right through their nature.

The most profound statement the Honorable Elijah Muhammad made, "God is a Man."

STUDY GUIDE 11
ALLAH (GOD) IS THE TRUE CENTER OF EVERYTHING

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 5 "The Food", Section 2,"Duty of Uprightness"

Surah 57 "The Iron"

Self-Improvement
Pages 18-21

FACT (S)

"ME, ME ALONE, SHOULD YOU FEAR...AND KEEP YOUR DUTY TO ME, ME ALONE." HOLY QUR'AN 2:40,41

"THEE (ALONE) DO WE SERVE AND THEE (ALONE) DO WE BESEECH FOR HELP." HOLY QUR'AN 1:4

"SAY: HE, ALLAH, IS ONE. ALLAH IS HE ON WHOM ALL DEPEND. HE BEGETS NOT, NOR IS HE BEGOTTEN; AND NONE IS LIKE HIM." HOLY QUR'AN SURAH 112

"THAT IS ALLAH, YOUR LORD. THERE IS NO GOD BUT HE; THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS; THEREFORE SERVE HIM, AND HE HAS CHARGE OF ALL THINGS.' HOLY QUR'AN 6:103

"JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD, THY GOD, WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND. THAT IS THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT." MATTHEW 22:37,38

DISCUSSION

Subject Matter

... In The Book (Genesis 32:24), Jacob Wrestled With An Angel All Night Long, Until His Life Was Preserved. We Have To Wrestle With The God Force in Our Own Selves in Order To Advance. If We Do Not Wrestle And Overcome It With An Intelligent, Enlightened, Mature Mind, We Can Become A Devil.' Self-improvement p. 18

"You Can Turn Devil Overnight." HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD

"We Have Reached The Point, Or Place In Time, Where The Childlike, Mischievous, Bloodshedding Nature Of Man Is Threatening His Own Existence. Man's Desire To Become The Center Has Ruined His Own World." Self-Improvement p. 18

PREPARATION

Please read and review the terms in the Glossary on the next page before discussing the subject matter contained in this study guide.

GLOSSARY

CENTER A point, pivot, axis, etc. around which anything rotates or revolves; the source of an influence, action, force; a person upon which interest or emotion focuses; the core or middle of anything."

BEST Of the most excellent sort; surpassing all others; most desirable, most favorable, most profitable; in the highest degree; to the greatest extent; under the most favorable conditions of interpretation; to outdo, overcome, do as well as one can do with; the thing, condition, circumstance, action, that is most suitable."

INSTITUTION An established law, custom, practice, system, etc. An organization having a social, educational or religious purpose, as a school, church, hospital, reformatory, etc.

To institute: "To set up, erect, establish, found, introduce, start or initiate."

STEWARD "One who acts as a supervisor or administrator, as of finances and property, for another. A person put in charge of the affairs of a large household or estate; a keeper; a ward."

"The act, practice or result of (terrorism). The condition of being (pauperism). The action, conduct or qualities characteristic of (patriotism). The doctrine, school, theory or principle of (socialism). Devotion to (nationalism, racism, sexism). An abnormal condition caused by (alcoholism)."

MISCHIEF "Harm or trouble, especially as a result of an agent or cause. An injury caused by a person or other agent, or an evil due to some cause. A source of harm, evil or annoyance."

DUTY "That which one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation. The binding or obligatory force of that which is right; action required by one's position; an act or expression of respect."

QUESTIONS

1) In the Holy Qur'an, Allah (God) introduces Himself as the Best Knower. (2:1) What significance is there in His choice of this Attribute?

Supplement

2) In Surah 5, "The Food", Allah (God) asks Jesus, "...didst thou say to men, Take me and my mother for two (2) gods besides Allah?" Allah (God) obviously already knew the answer to this question. Why did He ask it? (5:116)

Supplement

3) Allah (God) also questions Jesus about his mother being taken for a god besides Himself. What is the significance of this inquiry?

Supplement

4) In Surah 9, "The Immunity", Allah (God) says, "They take their doctors of law and their monks for Lords besides Allah and also the Messiah, son of Mary. And they were enjoined that they should serve one God only..." 9:31. How does this verse relate to us today?

Supplement

5) What relationship is there between the problems with the Caucasian-ruled world and the subject matter of this study guide?

Supplement

SUPPLEMENT

1) What significance is there in Allah's (God's) introduction of Himself as the Best Knower?

We are looking at "I".

In the Book of Proverbs 3:5,6, we are told: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

Note the plural "ways" and "paths". In Surah 70 of the Holy -Qur'an He is called "Lord of the ways of ascent".

He tells us He is the Best Knower that we may recognize that He, Allah (God), must become the True Center of everything that we think and do.

In each one of us He has placed a certain gift, the fulfillment of which causes us to make our contribution to the whole. Since Allah (God) is the Giver of all gifts and the Nourisher of us all unto perfection, it is only proper that He be acknowledged as the True Center of our existence.

If He directs a path, then it will ultimately lead to Him. His Attributes are Perfect, His are the Best of names. This means that with His direction, we achieve excellence in whatever field we choose.

"You are the center of nothing. And you are deluding yourself if you think you are. There is always a True Center and you are not it; neither am I." Self Improvement p.14)

I say that we delude ourselves because in perceiving ourselves as the center, we lose the benefits of the only One Who has absolute power to bring our desires to fruition.

This is verified by the Holy Qur'an, where Allah (God) asks the question:

"What is the matter with you that you hope not for greatness from Allah? And indeed He has created you by various stages. See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens alike and made the moon therein a light and made the sun a lamp? And Allah has caused you to grow out of the earth as a growth, then He returns you to it, then will He bring you forth a new bringing forth. And Allah has made the earth a wide expanse for you that you may go along therein in spacious paths."(72:13-20)

In the Bible, we find Moses objecting to the Lord's command that he lead the children of Israel out of Egypt:

I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not 1, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say." (Exodus 4: 10, 11)

If you or I choose to pursue psychology, the study of the mind, we should ask, "Who made man's mind?" It is the Originator and the Maker Who will lead us to new discoveries; to perfection in our respective fields. If He is the Center of our thinking to new discoveries; we will transcend the understanding of those before us.

"And certainly We created man, and We know what his mind suggests to him and we are nearer than his life-vein." (50:16)

Allah (God) keeps us from ever being slaves to the writers of books and the scholars whose knowledge of their own field is not absolute.

It is only Allah (God) Who knows best about all things. He is the Best Guide, Best Teacher, Best Director.

2) Why does Allah (God) question Jesus concerning that which he taught the people?

The false teachers of Christianity have deceived a great number of people all over the Planet Earth into believing that Jesus and his mother, Mary, are equals with the Creator. This has served to expand and perpetuate -polytheism, the gravest of sins.

"Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could He have a son when He has no consort? And He created everything and He is the knower of all things...That is Allah, your Lord. There is no God but He; the Creator of all things ... Vision comprehends Him not and He comprehends all vision; and He is the Subtle, the Aware." Holy Qur'an 6:102

Jesus never taught the people to worship him, he taught the people to worship Allah (God) alone. Both the Bible and the Holy Qur'an attest to his complete and perfect devotion to a Power greater than himself.

"I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." John 8:28

Jesus was able to deny guilt of setting himself up as a God besides Allah, both in the Holy Qur'an and the Bible.

"I said to them naught save as Thou didst command me: Serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord; and I was a witness of them so long as I was among them, but when Thou didst cause me to die Thou wast the Watcher over them. And Thou art Witness of all things." Holy Qur'an 5:117

"And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only True God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do." John 17:3

"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name." John 17:12

These scriptural passages plainly reject the false conception that Allah (God) has a son, partner or associate. But the false teachers of religion have misguided the thinking of the people.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but, after their own lusts, shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Timothy 4:3,4

A person who teaches people must make sure that he or she is clear of the thought of trying to become the center or focus of the Believer. -

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad always said that he wanted to be in his place and not in the place of his Sender. "I don't want to get out of my place."

If we have been guilty of teaching the people to make us the focus of their worship, then we must correct the wrong. It is painful to undo what we have done incorrectly. But it is a blessing to have the opportunity to correct the wrong; and in so doing, Allah (God) allows us a way to turn the people around and lead them aright.

"Surely I have turned myself, being upright, wholly to Him Who originated the heavens and the earth, and I am not of the polytheists." Holy Qur'an 6:80

The dialogue between Allah (God) and His servant, Jesus (Holy Qur'an 5:116,117) places teachers on notice as to how they will be questioned. The criterion of success in the eyes of Allah (God) is not the prophet or teacher's ability to excite the people, nor even to produce reform in the people; the criterion of success is whether he performs his duty correctly. His duty is to teach the oneness of Allah (God) and that nothing is worthy of worship besides Him.

"Yea, whoever fulfills his promise and keeps his duty -- then Allah surely loves the dutiful." Holy Qur'an 3:75

3) Why does Allah (God) question Jesus about his mother, Mary?

Note that Jesus, not Mary, is asked about the people setting her up as a God besides Allah. ,

Had Jesus been guilty of teaching the people to worship. Mary, it would have indicated that she'-, had failed in her duty as a mother.

An infant naturally centers his focus on his mother. It is she who should teach the child Who the True Center is.

"Train up a child in the way he should go and, when he is old, he will not he depart from it." Proverbs.2 22:6

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that 75% of His Work was with the woman. Her importance to the life of a nation cannot be overemphasized in the learning process of the human being.

The Holy Qur'an teaches us that Mary believed in the oneness of Allah (God) and glorified Him.

'Whenever Zacharias entered the sanctuary to see her, he found food with her. He said, 'O Mary, whence comes this to thee? She said, it is from Allah. Surely Allah gives to whom He pleases without measure.' (3:36)

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that a nation can rise no higher than its woman.

The false teachers of religion have conditioned the people to believe that Mary's exaltation was due to being a virgin mother. The belief in this myth causes men and women to become blinded to the fact that Mary, a human being and a female, conceived a child through a man, in accordance with the laws of nature. It was her belief and her righteous conduct that made her pleasing to Allah and an example for all women; a position that can be attained by all women who submit to Him.

And when the angels said: O Mary, surely Allah has chosen thee and purified thee and chosen thee above the women of the world. 0 Mary, be obedient to thy Lord and humble thyself and bow down with those who bow.' (3:41,42)

4) How does Surah 9, Verse 31 of the Holy Qur'an relate to us today?

We take our teachers, preachers, gurus, physicians, nutritionists, spiritual advisors, palm readers, political leaders, critics (art, literature, entertainment), astrologists, sports figures, meteorologists (weathermen), etc., as lords besides Allah.

The deception about Jesus has been of far-reaching impact, but it is not the only deception. Allah (God) warns us against worshipping anyone or anything besides Him.

Throughout the Holy Qur'an we are warned against setting up other human beings, as lords besides Allah:

"Say: Shall I take for a friend other than Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, and He feeds and is not fed? Say: I am command to be of the first, of those who submit. And be thou not of the polytheists." 6:14

"And He is the Supreme, above His servants. And He is the Wise, the Aware." 6:18

"And this world's life is naught but a play and an idle sport. And certainly the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who keep their duty. Do you not then understand?" 6:32

"And if Allah touch thee with affliction, there is none to remove it but He. And if He touch thee with good, He is Possessor of power over all things." 6:17

Only Allah possesses absolute knowledge, wisdom and understanding. None of us are his equal. We must respect one another's intelligence and recognize the limitations in one another. We are all from Him.

And in whatever you differ, the judgment thereof is with Allah. That is Allah, my Lord; on Him I rely and to Him I turn ... Nothing is like Him; and He is the Hearing, the Seeing ... His are the treasures of the heavens and the earth --- He amplifies and straitens subsistence for whom He pleases. Surely He is Knower of all things." Surah 42, "The Counsel". Verses 10-12.

If we make these persons our center because we study from them, then their limitations become our own limitations, for they become our reference point.

Since Allah (God) is the True Center of all existence, then He and He alone is the only True reference point. Any other reference point will take us off point.

In all of our studies, we should begin with a look at His Word. We are conditioned to seek and then recite the writings of teachers and scholars as authorities above Allah (God).

We should consult the Holy Qur'an, asking, "What does the Best Knower say about this?" Then we use the scholars and scientists as witness bearers of His Truth.

We don't take seriously the Holy Qur'an or site. There is a tendency for Muslims to exalt the Hadith (sayings) of Prophet Muhammad above the word of the Holy Qur'an. Some Christians focus more on Paul than on the revealed word through Jesus. A true follower of Jesus or Muhammad will keep the people focused on Allah (God).

5) Analyze the problems of the Caucasian's world in the context of this study guide.

In analyzing the problems of the Caucasian's world, recognize that the problem is that he is trying to make himself the focus of the people. He is trying to make the people take his way of thinking, living and civilization, not Allah's (God's).

America is not a nation in obedience to Allah (God), therefore she cannot be the true center of power.

The Caucasian people have set up institutions that reflect a damaged perception of reality.

The institutions of this world are the stewards of the Life Force; in charge of the people of Allah (God). Looking at the world, there is a need for a change. The world leaders and teachers have failed to bring in the righteous fruits of the vineyard; therefore, they have failed to produce from their wisdom that which is acceptable to Allah (God).

To "institute" means to -start or initiate". The institutions have failed precisely because they were not founded on Allah (God) as the center. Therefore, they have failed to assist the individual in becoming a master of Self, a controller of Self. They do not teach a God-centered chemistry, psychology, law, medicine, etc.

The children of the institutions ("alma mater") are bringing pain and suffering because they were not taught from a God-centered base. This has resulted in anarchy and complete and total rebellion.

In our lessons given to us by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad are our general orders. General Order Number 1 is "To take charge of this post and all temple property in view."

How can one take charge of "this post" (Self) when one knows nothing of Self and is neither cultivated nor developed in the proper way to take charge of Self?

The institutions are responsible for fostering the growth of the individual that he or she may take responsibility for Self. This they have failed to do.

A steward acts for another. The home, the school, the church, are only to be responsible for the individual for a certain period of time. But during that time, each one of these institutions is to feed the individual that the individual may recognize what life is, or the choices that he may make: heaven or hell, the two conditions of life.

The institutions have responsibility for feeding and nurturing the will that it be strengthened in the way of right; cultivate the natural desires and show those in its charge how to develop the desires that are proper and curb the desires that are improper; to develop their natural intelligence that they may distinguish between the proper and the improper and the will to bring into fruition what is right.

The failure of the institutions to perform their function renders them obsolete and justifies their removal by Allah (God) and He says, "Behold! I make all things new."

STUDY GUIDE 12
FOUR GREAT IMPEDIMENTS TO SELF-DEVELOPMENT

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 3 "The Family of Amran"
Section 1 "Rule of Interpretation"
Surah 13 "The Thunder"
Section 1 "Truth of Revelation"
Section 2 "Fall & Rise of Nations"

Self-Improvement

Pages 21-27(end)

Message To The Blackman
Who is the Original Man? Page 52
The Making of Devil Page 103

FACT (S)

(THESE ARE BUT A FEW VERSES FROM THE HOLY QUR'AN THAT HELP US UNDERSTAND THAT WE SEE THINGS CORRECTLY WHEN WE TAKE ALLAH'S VIEW AS OUR OWN)

"WE TAKE ALLAH'S COLOUR, AND WHO IS BETTER THAN ALLAH AT COLOURING, AND WE ARE HIS WORSHIPPERS." (2:138)

"SAY: ALLAH GUIDES TO THE TRUTH. IS HE THEN WHO GUIDES TO THE TRUTH MORE WORTHY TO BE FOLLOWED, OR HE WHO FINDS NOT THE WAY UNLESS HE IS GUIDED? WI-FAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? HOW DO YOU JUDGE? AND MOST OF THEM FOLLOW AUGHT BUT CONJECTURE. SURELY CONJECTURE WILL NOT AVAIL AUGHT AGAINST THE TRUTH. TRULY ALLAH IS KNOWER OF WHAT THEY DO."(10:35,36)

"SEEST THOU NOT THAT ALLAH SENDS DOWN WATER FROM THE CLOUDS, THEN WE BRING FORTH THEREWITH FRUITS OF VARIOUS HUES? AND IN THE MOUNTAINS ARE STREAKS, WHITE AND RED, OF VARIOUS HUES AND (OTHERS) INTENSELY BLACK ... AND OF MEN AND BEASTS AND CATTLE THERE VARIOUS COLOURS LIKEWISE. THOSE OF HIS SERVANTS ONLY WHO ARE POSSESSED OF KNOWLEDGE FEAR ALLAH. SURELY ALLAH IS MIGHTY, FORGIVING." (35:27,28)

DISCUSSION

LAW OFTTIMES IS A COVER FOR HYPOCRISY, IT CAN MAKE US APPEAR RIGHT, THOUGH WE MAY BE INTERNALLY EVIL. SUCH WAS THE RELIGIOUS CLASS WHO OPPOSED JESUS. THEY WERE OUTWARDLY RIGHT, BUT INWARDLY HYPOCRITES. JESUS SAID TO THEM, "WOE UNTO YOU, SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, HYPOCRITES! FOR YE ARE LIKE WHITED SEPULCHERS (TOMBS), WHICH INDEED APPEAR BEAUTIFUL OUTWARD, BUT ARE WITHIN FULL OF DEAD MEN'S BONES, AND OF ALL UNCLEANNESS. EVEN SO YE ALSO OUTWARDLY APPEAR RIGHTEOUS UNTO MEN, BUT WITHIN YE ARE FULL OF HYPOCRISY AND INIQUITY." MATTHEW 23:27,28

JESUS WAS INTERESTED IN PURIFYING MAN FROM THE INSIDE AND THE LAW OF ITSELF CANNOT DO THAT. SOMEONE HAS TO GROW MAN OUT OF THIS CHILDLIKE STAGE. (I USE THE TERM "CHILDLIKE" BECAUSE CHILDREN ACT FOR THEIR PARENTS' SAKE, BUT THE REAL CHILD IS SEEN WHEN THE PARENTS ARE NOT AROUND.) WHAT IS THE FORCE THAT GROWS, EVOLVES, FEEDS, NURTURES, NOURISHES? THE NEW TESTAMENT IS CALLED; THE "TESTAMENT OF LOVE". LOVE FULFILLS THE LAW. MAN GETS A PERIOD OF GRACE AND IN THAT GRACE THERE IS LOVE. IF THAT IS REJECTED, THEN COMES DESTRUCTION.

FOUR (4) GREAT IMPEDIMENTS TO SELF-IMPROVEMENT ARE: RACISM, SEXISM, NATIONALISM AND MATERIALISM.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW THESE TERMS AND OTHERS IN THE GLOSSARY ON THE NEXT PAGE BEFORE DISCUSSING THE SUBJECT MATTER CONTAINED IN THIS STUDY GUIDE.

GLOSSARY

ATTITUDE Manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a thing or a person; tendency or orientation of the mind; position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action or emotion. The tendency of an individual to act in response to specific social situations resulting from his or her innate biological and psychological characteristics of from the environmental factors which condition his or her existence.

INFERIORITY COMPLEX (Psychiatry). Intense feeling of inferiority, producing a personality characterized either by extreme reticence or, as a result of overcompensation, by extreme aggressiveness. Lack of self esteem; feeling of inadequacy; lack of self-confidence.

SUPERIORITY COMPLEX (Psychiatry). Exaggerated feeling of being better than or above others; not yielding or susceptible; showing a consciousness of being above the average in place, position, excellence, merit, intelligence, station, rank, degree, etc. Often the mark of an overly assertive personality.

PERCEPTION The act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or the mind; cognition; understanding. Immediate or intuitive recognition, as of moral or aesthetic qualities; the result of perceiving as opposed to the act of perceiving; a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present (psychiatry). Comprehension.

INTERPRET To set forth the meaning of; explain; explicate; elucidate. To construe or understand in a particular way; to render according to one's own understanding or sensitivity; to translate. An interpretation is an understanding or conception of another's words or deeds.

FACT That which actually exists; reality; truth; that which has happened. The actual event or circumstance as distinguished from its effect or consequence.

DEVIATE To turn aside, as from a way, course, etc. To depart or swerve, as from a procedure, course of action or acceptable norm. To digress, as from a line of thought or reasoning. To wander from the most direct or desirable approach to a given moral, intellectual or physical end. To go aside from a path.

EGOCENTRIC Having or regarding the self as the center of all things; having little or no regard for interests, beliefs or attitudes other than one's own; self-centered.

IMPEDIMENT Obstruction; hindrance; obstacle. That which retards in movement or progress by means of obstacles.

NOTE: In Study Guide Number 1 0, we defined "ISM", which is a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice, state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic. Below are just a few such terms.

EGOISM (EGOTISM) The habit of valuing everything only in reference to one's own personal interest; self-conceit; regarding one's own welfare as the supreme end of his or her actions. Excessive and objectionable reference to oneself in conversation or in writing; obtrusive emphasis upon one's own importance, often to the extent of monopolizing attention and showing disregard for other's opinions.

RACISM A belief that human races have distinctive characteristics that determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others; a policy of enforcing such asserted right; a system of government and society based upon it.

SEXISM Discrimination against a group of persons because of the fact or character of being male or female.

NATIONALISM Devotion to the interests of one's own nation; policy of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations. A desire for national advancement or independence. An idiom or trait peculiar to a nation.

MATERIALISM The philosophical theory that regards matter and its motions as constituting the universe and all phenomena, including those of mind, as due to material agencies; attention to or emphasis on material objects, needs and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual values.

CAPITALISM An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

COMMUNISM A theory of system or social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state; all economic and social activity controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuated political party.

SOCIALISM A theory or system advocating the vesting of ownership and control of the means of production, capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole; in Marxist theory, the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

QUESTIONS

THE STUDENT ENROLLMENT STATES THAT:

The Original Man is the Asiatic Black Man, the Maker, the Owner, the Cream of the Planet Earth, God of the Universe.

The Colored Man is the Caucasian (white man), or Yakub's grafted devil, the Skunk of the Planet Earth.

1 What is a fact?

2) Is the first statement a fact? Why or why not?

3) Is the second statement a fact? Why or why not?

4) Is there a difference between a "fact" and an "actual fact"? If so, what is the difference? Are the above facts 'actual"?

5) What is an interpretation? What is a perception?

6) Is there any danger in treating a fact and our interpretation of a fact as one and the same? If so, what is the danger?

7) If you accept the first statement in the student enrollment as a fact, what is your interpretation of it as it relates to your attitude about yourself? What are your feelings about it?

8) If you accept the second statement in the student enrollment as a fact, what is your interpretation of it as it relates to your attitude towards Caucasian people? What are your feelings about it?

9) What actions on your part flow from your attitude about yourself and others as it relates to these statements? That is, in what way does your attitude determine the manner in which you conduct yourself in your daily life?

10) The statements we are discussing are the answers given by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to questions presented to him by Master Fard Muhammad:

1. Who is the Original Man?

2. Who is the Colored Man?

Why does Master Fard Muhammad introduce these facts, in this time, in this manner, to this people? Is he desirous of producing a racist mind?

11) Have you ever misinterpreted a fact?

12) What were the results of your misinterpretation?

13) How can we best avoid misinterpretation?

14) If we are in fact better (more suitable) in some respects than another, then what is our duty by that which is less than ourselves?

COMMENTARY

Consult the GLOSSARY. A "fact" is truth, reality, what exists. An "interpretation" is our own understanding or conception of another's words or deeds.

There are those who have accused the Honorable Elijah Muhammad of racism and point to the STUDENT ENROLLMENT as evidence of that charge. In doing so, they are projecting their own interpretation onto the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The words are the words of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, but their meaning is affected by the understanding of the person reading, repeating or acting upon them.

As spiritual children, it was inevitable that we would go through a phase of development where we might make mischief with the facts we were given. "And when thy Lord said to the angels, I am going to place a ruler in the earth, they said, wilt Thou place in it such as make mischief in it and shed blood?" Holy Qur'an 2:30

The balance we were given by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was in his declaration to us: "You are the righteous and you must treat every man with respect and do justice by all men."

Attitude when they harden, become beliefs. From beliefs, we get laws.

A prevailing attitude among whites says that Black people are inferior, doomed to be servants of theirs. From that attitude, there is a belief system: 'I believe that God created them to serve us...l believe that I am superior." Based upon these beliefs a constitution is developed that embodies them. "I believe they are subhuman. I am codifying my belief into a law that says they are 3/5 of a person, which will forever determine the way in which we deal with them."

Religion sanctifies what we do. We read the scriptures to facilitate and feed our colouring. Once religion is used to justify beliefs and laws, an educational system is developed to facilitate the belief system.

Thus, when a prophet or messenger comes to give the people Allah's colouring (view), he is charged with heresy, because he is not just attacking laws, but the belief system the unjust laws grew out of. Martin Luther King attacked the laws of the government of America; the Honorable Elijah Muhammad attacked the belief system the laws grew out of. In so doing, he was breaking up what was the root of this world.

"NAY, WE HURL THE TRUTH AGAINST FALSEHOOD, SO IT KNOCKS OUT ITS BRAINS, AND LO! IT VANISHES..." HOLY QUR'AN 21:18

By changing laws, we do not affect conditions, because changing a law does not change attitudes or systems of belief. Pharaoh feared that Moses would change the religion, which means he feared the drastic altering of the belief system which his world, was built upon.

This world is based upon a belief in the superiority of white over Black. There can be no new world until the destruction of inferiority in one and superiority in the other.

At the same time that the attitude of white superiority hardened into beliefs that grew into laws, the Caucasian people produced an attitude in Black people toward ourselves. What was that attitude? "We are niggers ... I believe niggers will never be nothin'." Out of this attitude grew a system of belief, and from that a set of actions. It is an unwritten law that Black people disrespect and destroy one another.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad stands between the two attitudes, a written law of white superiority and unwritten law of Black inferiority. He must expose the condition for what it is and then break up the mental attitudes that brought it about.

In the definition of "inferiority complex" we see aggressive behavior is a form of compensation for feelings of inadequacy.

The Self needs feeding. When the physical stomach is unfed it produces discomfort in the person. Likewise, when self-esteem is not fed, it also causes discomfort Hunger, whether physical or emotional, causes the hungry person to engage in extreme forms of behavior, sometimes unlawful, in order to satisfy the need.

The Self comes from Allah (God). How does He feel? In His view, polytheism is the gravest sin. What about the Self of God being fed by nothing? How do we respond ? We develop an overly aggressive, belligerent, hostile attitude, mostly toward members of our own group. Because we lack self-esteem and self-worth, we have developed an unwritten law that says if you get rid of a member of your own group, you have done nothing wrong. You have done something good in getting rid of this object of disapproval.

On the other hand, "the superiority complex" of the Caucasians is a mind set in which the person becomes God. Thus, they want worship, adulation and service. Not only are they the center of their own existence, they want to be the center of everyone's existence. Their attitude of superiority has so hardened, they will do anything to force submission of others to themselves.

The attitudes and beliefs which produces these complexes result in damage to the faculty of perception. Now the mind is colored by attitude and projects that colouring onto reality, making us spiritually blind, deaf and dumb.

"THE VILEST OF BEASTS IN ALLAH'S SIGHT ARE THE DEAF, THE DUMB, WHO UNDERSTAND NOT. " HOLY QUR'AN 8:22

"THEY HAVE HEARTS WHEREWITH THEY UNDERSTAND NOT AND THEY HAVE EYES WHEREWITH THEY SEE NOT, AND THEY HAVE EARS WITH WHEREWITH THEY HEART NOT. THEY ARE AS CATTLE: NAY, THEY ARE MORE ASTRAY." (7:179)

We cannot interpret anything outside of our ability to see it. We create a set of facts that reflects our own perception and is limited by our own perception.

Our lessons called "actual" facts are so named because they are real; they are that which actually exists. We can create a contrary fact by damaging the individual's perception of what really is. In order to destroy the present reality, we must get to the root reality.

The Black man is the Original Man. Why does Master Fard Muhammad introduce that fact, in this time, this manner, to this people? Is He desirous of producing a racist mind? Or, is He confronting both the Black man and the Caucasian with Truth, that there be balance (justice) in the Earth?

The Caucasian people have taken the fact of their own rule to an extreme position that is detrimental to themselves and humanity, fact that the dark people of the Earth are asleep has enabled them to rule. They have interpreted this fact to mean, "God has made you (dark people) to be our footstool."

For example Rep. Alexander H. Stephens, in an 1861 address at Savannah, Ga., declared that "the cornerstone of the Confederacy rests upon the great truth, that the Negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery is his natural and normal condition."

This selfishness produces race-consciousness to the extreme and it becomes racism. This interpretation of the fact of being in rulership avoids the question, "By Whose permission are you exalted?" Since Allah (God) is the Possessor of power over all things, He is the Giver and when He makes us excel in any way, He lays greater duty, greater responsibility, greater work on us. But it is His Greatness, not our own, that causes us to be exalted, for His Purpose and His Glory.

The Holy Qur'an opens in the first surah (chapter): "Praise belongs to God!" The Believer repeats this over and over until he or she understands that a greater degree of excellence is a trial for the individual and a trial for a nation. We pass the test by not becoming Satan when we are given power.

How do we not become Satan?

The Muslim says, "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan." If we see Satan as a force of Self that can damage our perception as a result of some desire or uncontrolled need, then we realize that we must always have God with us in order to perceive properly. We always run the risk of perception being coloured by our own mood, attitude or limited knowledge.

By becoming Satan, we mean adopting an attitude that we are better. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad says, that in one thousand (1,000) years, all of the races will disappear. As a Black person, what does this mean to you? What is your interpretation of this statement? Does it mean kill all of the brown, yellow, red, until no one is left but the Black man? If you believe that, then how do you perceive the Holy Qur'an verses which say that Allah produces various hues and colours?

In making this statement, could the Honorable Elijah Muhammad mean that when Truth is present and there is understanding, colour will not be a reality, but all human beings will take the colouring of Allah? Could this mean that colours will no longer clash when we outgrow our focus on colour and focus on that which really makes man superior --- duty to God?

When the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that America is to be destroyed by God for her treatment of the Black man and woman is this a racist statement?

America is impeded in her judgment because of extreme consciousness of her whiteness. The America that was envisioned by the "founding fathers" and the one that it is actually becoming are two (2) different things. The vision was of a privileged, white society. There was no vision of an America where justice was rendered to Black people or where every colour of human being would live together with freedom, justice and equality.

The 13th and 14th Amendments sentenced the old America to death and signaled the beginning of a new one. Legally, the death of old America came with the Civil War. But the real death of old America could never come until the system of belief it was based upon was destroyed. That destruction takes place only with the Coming of Master Fard Muhammad.

The Truth of the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is setting America on fire. Fire destroys everything it touches and turns it back into dust. The fire in His Message caused the awakening of Black people and a clear perception of the reality we have lived under. This is bringing a new America to birth.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that Allah (God) was to make us a nation of Gods, as the Sun is to the Solar System. As the Kabah sits in Mecca and the people circumambulate, He will allow us to be the reference point that the nations of the world revolve around, while we revolve around Him.

It is alright to love and be loyal to our own nation. But we must recognize that we are in a world with other nations. If one nation misuses or abuses other nations for its own exaltation, then we have mass self-centeredness and mass vanity.

Throughout the world, we see Black nationalism, white nationalism, Arab nationalism, etc. In striving to assert a national identity and impose it on others, we instill a false sense of patriotism in the people of that nation. This is manifested in the refusal of the Arab world to stand up with Imam Khomeni. Nationalism has been placed above the Universal Truth of Islam.

We are taught, "SELF FIRST, THEN OTHERS." Development of self and devotion to self has its place, but it is not confined to self and no one else.

The struggle is in conquering selfishness. Whether individually or nationally, we must get away from being self-centered and make Allah (God) the Center. When He is the Center of our thinking, then we have room in our thoughts for all of His Creation.

Some of us say, "I am Black and I am better", yet we go to the Caucasian seeking a job.

Have you ever seen one exceedingly gifted, who would not train or practice to develop his gifts, and ultimately one with inferior capability excelled over him?

In God's eyes, it is he who keeps his duty who is better. So even though the objective fact makes one better in physical form or otherwise, the Bible tells us that Allah (God) is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34)

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that Allah (God) did not reveal the Truth to us to make us mockers of one another. The Holy Qur'an sounds the death knell to mockers. It gives us the yardstick by which we are measured: performance of our duty, willingly and correctly.

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:48)

"My dear beloved brothers and sisters, your identity is not your color, your identity is not the landmass from which you come or originated. Your identity is the nature in which you are created. Since your nature is to obey the Will of Allah (God), your nature is Islam. You are by nature a Muslim and any name other than that is not a proper name for you. You are a Muslim. "Accept your own and be yourself." of God - Part III)

In the lessons given to us from Master Fard Muhammad, we are taught that the duty of a civilized person is to "teach the uncivilized people who are savage, civilization, righteousness, the knowledge of himself, the science of everything in life, love, peace and happiness." We are also taught that "If a civilized person does not perform his duty, which is teaching civilization to others, they should be punished with a severe punishment."

The Black man is in fact the Original man. We are more suited to the requirements of nature and in that sense we are "better". But it is how we interpret that fact that produces self-worth in a positive way, or racism, which is negative. We negate the consequences or effect of facts in our own lives by what we bring to them.

It is Allah (God) Who made superior and inferior; all things are not created equal, but all things are created equally. Allah (God) loves he who is most careful of his duty.

"And Allah delivers those who keep their duty with their achievement -- evil touches them not, nor do they grieve ... Allah is the Creator of all things and He has charge over everything ... His are the treasures of the heavens and the earth. And those who disbelieve in the messages of Allah, such are the losers." Holy Qur'an 39:61

The Holy Qur'an provides an example of misinterpretation resulting from a damaged perception of reality:

"And We indeed created you, then We fashioned you, then We said to the angels: Make submission to Adam. So they submitted, except Iblis: he was not of those who submitted...He said: What hindered thee that thou didst not submit when I commanded thee? He said: I am better than he; Thou hast created me of fire, while him Thou didst create of dust." (7:11,12)

Satan is produced by a mind which says, "I am better"; a mind that contains false pride. But fire and dust were both created by Allah. In giving us this dialogue, He is showing us the attitude and expression we must not use. We must not take our excellence to be from ourselves, or Allah may use "dust" to put out our "fire".

Misinterpretation of fact (reality) can produce very negative results.

Racism is produced by misinterpretation. A "race" has a beginning and an ending It is finite. If the Caucasian people hold on to their view of themselves as a "superior race" and all that implies, they are actually assigning an eventual end to their own existence. Anyone interested in eternal life must give up "race". Do not stop being what we are, but give up glorifying it, based upon some contemporary advantage associated with it. People and nations occupy positions of rulership in turns.

The effort of the current government of America is to return to the original intent of the "founding fathers", which is limited to their ability to perceive the future. The legacy of their will, however, is being overshadowed by the establishment of an enlightened, stronger will. But to return to the original intent of the "founding fathers" is to return to a mind that is not fully illuminated.

We can best avoid misinterpretation by taking guidance from the Best Knower:

"And upon Allah it rests to show the right way, and there are some deviating ways And if He please, He would guide you all aright...And He has cast firm mountains in the Earth lest it quake with you, and rivers and roads that you may go aright, and landmarks. And by the stars they find the right way. Is He then Who creates like him who creates not? Do you not then mind? And if you would count Allah's favours you would not be able to number them. Surely Allah is forgiving, merciful. And Allah knows what you conceal and what you do openly. And those whom they call on besides Allah created naught, while they themselves were created. Dead are they, not living. And they know not when they will be raised." Holy Qur'an 16:9, 15-21

STUDY GUIDE 13
THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION

READING MATERIAL

Holy Qur'an
Surah 12 "Joseph"

Bible
1 Kings, 2 Kings
1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles

"To 'redeem' means to 'buy back'. This suggests that the item being bought back was once owned by the buyer and for some reason he had temporarily lost possession of it. Thus, a price has to be paid for the object to be returned.

What is the price of the redemption of a people who belong to Allah (God) but have become captive in the hands of strangers; who have gone astray from the path of Allah (God) and are living a life contrary to Allah (God) and contrary to the nature of themselves?"

(From: "The Price of Redemption", Final Call, October 3, 1988)

INSTRUCTIONS AND DISCUSSION

1 Read and discuss the Instructions to the Believers.

2) Read and discuss the five (5) words defined in this study guide.

3) What are the qualities of a Redeemer?

4) I included in the above-referenced article, the statement "Our Redeemer liveth, the price of Redemption has been paid." Do you agree with this statement? (Note that it has two parts) What is the basis for your agreement?

5) If the price of Redemption has been paid, is the object of Redemption relieved of obligation? What is the duty of the one who is the object of Redemption?

6) What is the value of obedience to the laws, rules and regulations of Allah (God)?

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE BELIEVERS

1) PRAYER

It takes 21 days, according to scholars, to break old habits and make new ones. Let the Nation of Islam get into the habit of prayer, 5 times a day at the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner.

"Recite that which has been revealed to thee of the Book and keep up prayer. Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil; and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest (force). And Allah knows what you do." Holy Qur'an 29:45

Prayer will give us the strength to resist the impediments to our development. Start immediately, beginning with the dawn prayer.

"Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night, and the recital of the Qur'an at dawn. Surely the recital of the Qur'an at dawn is witnessed." 17:78

"So when you have finished the prayer, remember Allah standing and sitting and reclining. But when you are secure from danger, keep up regular prayer. Prayer indeed has been enjoined on the believers at fixed times." HQ 4:105

"Successful indeed are the believers...Who are humble in their prayers ... And who shun what is vain ... And who act for the sake of purity ... And who restrain their sexual passions..." 23:1-5

From Self-Improvement Study Guide Number 7, "Building The Will (Part 111)".

"Each morning, let us rise and pray at 5:00a.m. Let us resist the power of sleep and pray with Allah on our minds instead of sleep. During the day, no matter how busy or involved we are in our work, let us excuse ourselves after the noon hour to remember Allah; then we may go right back to our activities. At the end of the day, let us resist tiredness and remember our Lord...

In our study of the prophets, we saw that patience was a pervasive virtue. They were mocked and ridiculed by the disbelievers for long periods of time, but were instructed by Allah to "bear patiently what they say." In overcoming the natural force of impatience, they were rewarded with vision, or the ability to see beyond the present. They could "see" through their patience, that the ends for which they were striving would ultimately come about.

Impatience, or the desire for relief or change, may be removed from us, not by yielding to this natural force, but by seeking refuge in Allah.

Whenever impatience threatens to cause us to turn away from a desired goal, we must go to Allah, the Lord of the ways of ascent, in prayer. Prayer will give us the security and peace of mind that will relieve our irritation. It is in that frame of mind that we then must re-identify with our desired goal. The desire (and the willingness to be patient in order to obtain it) will then return.

Prayer is the re-affirmation of desire. We endure by reaffirming and reidentifying our desire until we reach the goal."

"Let us recite in earnest the following prayer as taught to us by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad:

"O Allah! I seek Thy refuge from anxiety and grief and I seek Thy refuge from lack of strength and laziness and I seek Thy refuge from cowardice and niggardliness and I seek Thy refuge from being overpowered by debt and the oppression of men. 0 Allah! Suffice Thou me with what is lawful to keep me away from what is prohibited and with Thy grace make me free from want of what is besides Thee."

"We, the lost-founds, should repeat the above prayer seven (7) times a day. For it sums up our greatest hindrance to freedom and self-independence." Message To The Blackman p. 152

"Order your children to say the state prayers when they are seven years of age and beat them if they do not do so when they are ten years old." Message To The Blackman p. 143

Prayer is a pillar of Islam and is to be enforced in the home. With respect to the instructions above, do not be harsh or extreme. You are only now enforcing this rule, therefore allow some time for your children to adjust to it. Set the good example and your children will follow it.

2) FASTING

Let the Nation of Islam institute a monthly three-day fast, beginning with the month of October, 1988. After October, the fast will begin on the first Friday of each month.

"O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil." Holy Qur'an 2:183

In Islam, fasting is an institution of the improvement of the moral and spiritual condition of human beings. Fasting, abstention from food in obedience to

Allah (God), helps us build the will to resist the impediments to self development.

Fasting in the right spirit helps us display repentance. We must be of humble spirit that we may show Allah (God) that we are sick/sorry over all that we have done to offend Him.

Here are the dates of our monthly fasts, beginning in October. (The first Thursday in October has passed, therefore we will fast the second week this month).

THURSDAY SUNDAY

(Fast begins after evening meal) (Fast ends with evening meal)

October 13                                  October 16
November 3                                 November 6
December 1                                 December 4
January 5                                    January 8
February 2                                   February 5

We will observe Ramadan in December as taught to us by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. During the first 3 days of December, we will fast, taking water, coffee or tea in the evening. Afterwards, we will resume the abstention from liquids and food between dawn and sunset).

3) ONE MEAL A DAY

"Eat one meal a day or one meal every other day, and it will prolong your life. Do not think that you will starve. On the contrary, you will be treating yourself to life, and a life filled with sickless days. You can hardly get sick eating this way.

In eating once a day or once every other day, you must not eat between meals. And, you should try to eat at the same hour tomorrow as you eat today. Do not change your meal hours if you can help it. Do not even drink juices, milk, or soft drinks between meals.

And, do not eat candies or fruits between meals. You are welcome to drink water, but I know you will not want too much water between meals since your stomach will not call for it. You may drink coffee between meals, but do not fill your cup with half sugar and half cream and pour coffee on top of that (smile).

This (that I am trying to teach you) is the way that He (Almighty Allah) has taught me for you. I have given to you in this book the type of food that you should eat as Allah has given it to me."

(From, How To Eat To Live, by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad)

4) CHARITY AND SACRIFICE

"And the parable of those who spend their wealth to seek Allah's pleasure and for the strengthening of their souls is as the parable of a garden on elevated ground, upon which heavy rain falls, so it brings forth its fruit twofold: but if heavy rain falls not on it, light rain suffices. And Allah is Seer of what you do." Holy Qur'an 2:265

Charity is a principle of action which is necessary for the spiritual advancement of man. The advancement we make through charity is towards Allah.

The Arabic word for Sacrifice is "Qurban", which means "To draw near". We must give of what we need, that is, we must sacrifice, to draw closer to Allah.

To give only of that which we feel comfortable parting with is charity. We receive credit for this act of kindness. But what we are after is not just credit, but purification. Establishment of Truth requires sacrifice.

"O you who believe, shall I lead you to a merchandise which will deliver you from a painful chastisement? You should believe in Allah and His Messenger, and strive hard in Allah's way with your wealth and your lives. That is better for you, did you but know!" Holy Qur'an 61:10,11

Sacrifice means "the surrender of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim." It is from the word "Sacer", meaning "holy". The significance of this is that the more we sacrifice, the closer we become to Allah.

"Nay, whoever submits himself entirely to Allah, and he is the doer of good to others, he has his reward from his Lord, and there is no fear for such nor shall they grieve." 2:112

In the 9th Surah of the Holy Qur'an, "The Immunity", verses 38-42, it speaks of the Tabuk Expedition, when the Muslims had to confront the strength and opposition of the Roman army. They had to overcome many hindrances to raising an army, including drought, heat and a long journey. This effort required great sacrifice on the part of the believers. Indeed, the sacrifice required was so great that it drove the hypocrites from among the believers.

"Had it been a near gain and a short journey, they would certainly have followed thee, but the hard journey was too long for them. And they will swear by Allah: If we had been able, we would have gone forth with you. They cause their own souls to perish; and Allah knows that they are liars." 9:42

5) WORK

What is "work"? IT is Force X Distance; the exertion of energy on an object that is not moving on its own, resulting in the movement of that object. No matter how much force is applied, if the result is not motion, there has been no work.

In the April 10, 1988 issue of the Final Call, I wrote an article entitled, "We Must Depend On Allah and Ourselves". In it I reminded the Believers that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has warned us against sitting at home waiting on a mystery god! He has said we can't sit down; we can't lay down. We must get up and go to work doing something for ourselves!

In the Lessons given to us by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, we are given the following question and answer:

"Will you sit at home and wait for that mystery god to bring you food?"

"Emphatically, No. Me and my people have been lost from home for three hundred and seventy-nine years, have tried this so-called mystery god for bread, clothing and a home, and we receive nothing but hard times, hunger, naked and out of doors; also we were beat and killed by the ones who advocated that kind of god and no relief came to us until the Son of Man came to our aid, by the name of our Prophet, W. D. Fard."

The National Center Drive to repurchase our mosque and school began in earnest on February 26, 1988, when laborers from around the country gathered here in Chicago.

In order to complete our mosque and school, additional funds are necessary. More funds will be required to complete the Salaam Restaurant Complex. February 27, 1988 will represent a full year, within which we were able to redeem what was lost. We know that we worked because we made motion. We were successful because of work. We applied force to an object (our own inertia) and made motion.

In order to restore what we have redeemed and retire the bank note which was necessary to close the transaction, every Believer is hereby requested to pledge to raise $1,000 over the next four (4) months.

2) PURIFICATION

"Surely Allah loves those who turn much to Him and He loves those who purify themselves." Holy Qur'an 2:222

PURE Being that and nothing else. Freed from anything of an inferior or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter. Clear, free from blemishes; untainted, unaffected; chaste; immaculate; genuine.

Noun Clarification, distillation, refinement; sanctification. Purifier, cleanser. Purity, innocence, virtue, immaculance.

Adjective Clean, pristine, taintless, uncontaminated, unpolluted, unadulterated, unmixed, single, sheer; undefiled, unstained, impeccable, untarnished, unblemished.

Adverb Purely, solely, simply, barely, merely, only (unity).

Arabic meaning, "pure": 'to make sincere, devoted, chosen, single-minded, single hearted, exclusive, entirely.

SINCERE Free from deceit, hypocrisy or falseness. Earnest, genuine, real. Truthful, candid, honest, clean, unmixed.

See also, Cleanness, Improvement, Innocence, Morality. Antonyms; impurity, wickedness.

IMPROVEMENT: Enrichment, advancement, elevation, increase, recovery. Cultivation, refinement, polish; reformation, progress, correction, development, elaboration, purification, reconstruction, reclamation.

"O thou who wrappest thyself up, Arise and Warn, And thy Lord do magnify and thy garments do purify..." 74:1-4

"But all things commending ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned..." 2 Corinthians 6:6

"Then Paul took the men and the next day, purifying himself with them, entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until an offering should be offered for every one of them." Acts 21:26

3) RESTORATION

"FOR THE SON OF MAN IS COME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST' Luke 19:10

"And I will restore to you the years that the locusts hath eaten... And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord, your God, Who hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be ashamed..." Joel 2:25,26

The act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment. A return of something to a former, original, normal or unimpaired condition. A representation or reconstruction of an ancient building, extinct animal or the like, showing it in its original state. Restitution of something taken away or lost. A putting back into a former position, dignity, etc. To rebuild, renew, replace, reinstate. To rescue. To save.

Noun - Replacement, reinstatement, resurrection, rehabilitation, reconstitution, reparation, redemption, reorganization, recovery.

Verb - Put back, give back, reclaim, recover, correct, remedy, right. Cure.

Arabic: "Restore": "Adda": "To deliver".

"Radda": "To return something to someone"

"For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for Many". Matthew 20:28

"And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things ... But I say unto you that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they desired. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them." Matthew 17:10-12

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual restore such and one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Acts 6:1

"I pray you, let us cease this exacting of interest ... Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive yards, and their house ... We will restore them, and will require nothing of them, that they should do according to this promise." Nehemiah 5:10-12

The sale of the Nation's products, including the Final Call Newspaper and ads and subscriptions to the newspaper, our tapes, books and records, and the Clean -N- Fresh personal care products is not only a source of income to the Nation and to the Believer who actively engages in these sales, but it also serves as an effective means of making contact with our people. We should continue to host victory parties and to seek donations to the National Center. In the near future, you will receive information on the implementation of the 5 year Plan.

The ultimate goal is the resurrection of our people. Fill the mosques! The great Mahdi, Master Fard Muhammad, to Whom praise is due forever, told us to "Work cheerfully and fear not. You are the Best, the Righteous, the Powerful."

FIVE MEANINGFUL WORDS

1) PREPARATION

A measure by which one prepares for something. The act of preparing; to put in proper condition or readiness. Planning and making ready for something expected or thought possible.

Noun Preparation, arrangement, provision, rehearsal; anticipation, expectation, precaution; groundwork, substructure, base, basis, foundation, scaffold, scaffolding.

Verb Prepare, arrange, provide, ready, roughhew, make ready, lay foundation of, prime, groom, rehearse; forearm; clear for action; equip, arm, man; fit out, fit up, array, outfit, appoint, furnish, dress. Mature, ripen, mellow, season, bring to maturity, elaborate, perfect, complete, develop. Prepare oneself, get ready, be on guard, foresee.

Adjective Available, ready, primed, groomed, armed, on guard, foresighted.

Antonyms Suddenness, surprise, unexpected, incomplete, unprepared.

Holy Qur'an

"But the Messenger and those who believe with him strive hard with their property and their persons. And it is these for whom are the good things and these it is who are successful ... Allah has prepared for them Gardens wherein flow rivers, to abide therein. That is the great achievement." 9:88,89

"And if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the bode of the Hereafter, then surely Allah has prepared for the doers of good among you a mighty reward." 33:29

"He it is Who sends blessings on you, and so do His angels, that He may bring you forth out of darkness into light. And He is ever Merciful to the believers. Their salutation on the day they meet Him will be Peace! And He has prepared for them an honorable reward." 33:43-44

"Vie with one another for forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden the extensiveness of which is as the extensiveness of the heaven and the earth - it is prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers. That is the Grace of Allah; He gives it to whom He pleases. And Allah is the Lord of Mighty Grace." 57:21

Bible

"BEHOLD! I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before Me..." Malachi 3:1

"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Isaiah 40:3

"And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought there, so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building." 1 Kings 6:7

"They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready, but none goeth to the battle; for my wrath is upon all their multitude." Ezekiel 7:14

"And Samuel spoke unto all of the house of Israel, saying, if ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods ... from among you and prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him only; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 1 Samuel 7:3

"Be ye, therefore, ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Luke 12:40

"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry...For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand..." 2 Timothy 4:5,6

"O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own." 1 Chronicles 29:16

"He Who has made the Qur'an binding on thee will surely bring thee back to the Place of Return. Say My Lord knows best him who has brought the guidance and him who is in manifest error ... And call not with Allah any other god. There is no God but He. Everything will perish but He. His is the judgment and to Him you will be brought back." Holy Qur'an 28:85, 88

"And certainly We tried before them Pharoah's people and a noble messenger came to them, Saying: Deliver to me the servants of Allah. Surely I am a faithful messenger to you. And exalt not yourselves against Allah. Surely I bring to you a clear authority." 44:17-19

"And We indeed delivered the Children of Israel from the abasing chastisement, from Pharaoh. Surely he was haughty, prodigal. And certainly We chose them above the nations, having knowledge. And We gave them signs wherein was clear blessing." 44:30-33

4) CONSECRATION

The act of consecrating; dedication to the service and worship of God. To consecrate is to make or declare sacred; to set apart; devote, dedicate to a purpose; make something an object of honor or veneration. From "secr": "sacred, holy"

Verb. Sanctify, hallow, enshrine, anoint, bless

"And who, then, is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?" 1 Chronicles 29:5

"For the law maketh men high priests who have infirmity, but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore." Hebrews 7:28

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus...By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, Through the veil, that is to say, his flesh ... And having a high priest over the house of God, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of laith, having our hearts spr4nkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:20

5) DEDICATION

Devotion, adherence, loyalty.

Dedicate: To set apart and consecrate to a sacred purpose; to devote wholly and earnestly, as to a person or purpose.

"Behold, I build a house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths and on the new moons and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel." 2 Chronicles 2:4

"And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly; for they kept the of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days." 2 Chronicles 7:9

LAW, RULES AND REGULATIONS - THE VALUE OF OBEDIENCE

Beloved, there is much that we have yet to learn about Allah's (God's) Will and our suffering for the sake of purification.

Allah (God), the Sovereign of the Universe, has established rules and laws governing everything in His Creation. Nothing in this Creation disobeys the laws under which it is created, governed and controlled, from the tiniest insect to the huge planets and stars, except Man.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that the so-called Indians were exiled from that part of the Earth, Asia, to this wilderness, for breaking the Laws of Islam. "Islam" means "Obedience to the Will of God." "Exile" means "prolonged separation from one's country or home, as by stress of circumstances; expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree." Breaking the Law of Islam means we rebelled against obeying our Sovereign Lord.

The fall of the so-called Indians, members of the Aboriginal People of the Earth, was due ' to rebellion; the fall of the Black Man, member of the Aboriginal People of the Earth, was due to rebellion. The Caucasian was made in the nature of rebellion. So, our rebellion, white, red and black, has earned us all a place here in America, where in our rebellion we can heap punishment and evil upon each other.

Allah (God) permitted the Caucasian (so-called white man) to take this country from the so-called Indian and bring millions of Black people into slavery in the Western Hemisphere. This was to be a prison for all of us until we learned. the price of rebellion and decided we had enough and were willing to submit to Allah (God) that He might get us out of the condition that our rebellion against Him has placed us in -- Death-- spiritually, mentally, morally, politically and economically.

The Bible depicts us as stiff-necked, hard-hearted and rebellious people, lost sheep who follow the devices and desires of our own hearts and who refuse to submit to the Will of Allah (God). It is this rebellion, dear Brothers and Sisters, that has reduced humanity to the level of the beasts of the field and even below.

I of the Native American rituals of traditional religion that I know of, inflict suffering for the sake of purification, that they might once again gain the Allah, Whom they call "Grandfather".

The Caucasian people have set up rules, laws and regulations governing this society and its institutions. Most of these laws, called "common law", spring from their (Caucasians) understanding of Divine Law. Many of these laws, rules and regulations are made to insure the safety and security of people and property from the evil intentions and actions of others.

Of course, there are many laws that are unjust and these laws are changed by our protest against these unjust laws. Civil disobedience in the civil rights movement was not designed to create chaos in the society, but to rid society of unjust laws, thereby making a better and healthier society for us all.

When we act outside of the parameters of the laws of this society, we may find ourselves incarcerated (imprisoned). At that point, yet another, even more restrictive set of rules and regulations is activated in our lives, governing the relationship between those confined and those who are the guards and overseers of those confined. There are rules concerning what we should say or do, when we can say or do it, how we should act and dress. Some of these rules may seem stringent and some even foolish, however, they are designed to train the inmate to recognize and respect rules and regulations.

Allah (God) says to us in the Holy Qur'an, "obey Allah and His Messenger and those in authority over you", whether they are of your faith or not. We are admonished to respect authority, because that is the way to Peace.

Respect for authority and rules and regulations governing our daily activities, whether developed by Caucasian people or Original people, would serve us better than rebelling against those rules because they are against some of our personal desires. Is this not what led to our being there in the first place? Was it not the violation of Divine Laws governing our relationship with Allah (God) that gave our enemies the chance to kidnap and enslave us, depriving us of our freedom, our name, our religion, our language, our family and loved ones? Should not our suffering serve to make us better able to handle ourselves and the Divine Laws governing every: respect of life?

What would we think of a person who would enter into our home, knowing the rules of behavior we have established, yet would try to get around them, disrespecting the sacredness of the home? How do we feel when someone disregards our privacy without thought or consideration? Does this not anger us?

We must learn to be respectful of the laws, rules and regulations of people and their societies and cultures, otherwise, we will not be able to build good relationships them or enter into their societies. This may be the lesson that we most need to learn to secure our freedom permanently.

In the Bible, Jonah rebelled against the Will of Allah (God) in running away from that which he was commanded to do. He was swallowed by a whale and imprisoned in-its belly, which the writers describe as "Hell". It was in this time of need that he cried out to God and in crying out to God he realized that it was God Who permitted him to fall into adverse circumstances that he would know the price of rebellion and rejection of his duty. It was when he cried out to God, or submitted that he would do what God commanded him, that the whale spat him out.

We must learn to obey Allah's (God's) Will. We do this by learning how to respect little laws, for when we take liberties with small laws that are designed for our safety and security, it leads to breaking Divine Laws which are designed for our safety and security spiritually with Allah (God).

When we are driving down the street, we should stop at the stop sign; we should proceed with caution where the sign directs us to proceed with caution; we should not go down a one way street in the wrong direction; we should stop at railroad crossings. Don't excuse yourself from the rules that are for your own protection and the protection of others. As we take chances, we do not rain ourselves to obey. 'We feed the spirit of rebellion until we become hardened in the way of rebellion; then it is easy to rebel against Allah (God) Himself. In excusing ourselves from rules and regulations, we make ourselves the criterion by which we judge the veracity or goodness of the rules and regulations, thereby setting ourselves up as judges.

In our prayers, we ask Allah to "make Muhammad successful" as He did make Abraham successful. We pray the prayer of Abraham, who said, "I am the first of those who submit." It is through our submission that we come up out of the condition of hell that our rebellion has placed us in.

Even if we do not fully understand why we must submit, we must submit until understanding comes. 'The dwellers of the desert say: We believe. Say: You believe not, but say, We submit; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts. And if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not diminish (anything) of your deeds. Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.' Holy Qur'an 49:14.

STUDY GUIDE 14
RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY

READING ASSIGNMENT

Holy Qur'an
Surah 4 "The Women", Section 9
Surah 39 "The Companies" Sections 1 and 2

INTRODUCTION

In both the Bible and the Holy Qur'an, we are enjoined to respect those in authority over us. Allah demands of His servants such respect for authority that order, rather than chaos, may exist, for "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:33)

"O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is best and more suitable to achieve the end." Holy Qur'an 4:59

"Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you." Hebrews 13:17

Allah (God) send servants with authority over us, to guide us to obedience to His Will. That authority is often expressed through teaching. The servants of Allah (God) have always been challenged and opposed by the authorities over the people to whom they are sent.

"For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." Matthew 7:29

"And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the leaders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, 'By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority?"

GLOSSARY

ABJECT Utterly hopeless, humiliating or wretched; contemptible, despicable, cast aside, thrown down.

AUTHOR The maker of anything; creator; originator; designer; (Latin root: "auctor"-"progenitors; mauctus" --- "magnified".

AUTHORITY The power to determine; the right to control or command; having the power to make and enforce the law; having force, rule, power sway, influence, over others; applied to the complete and successful direction or manipulation of persons and things; also power derived from deference of others to one's character, ability or position.

The right, because of office or position, to issue commands and punish violations.

GOVERN To rule by right; hold in check; control, supervise.

HINDER To cause delay, interruption or difficulty in; to prevent from doing, happening or acting; to hold back.

RESPECT Esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a quality or trait, or something considered as a manifestation of quality or trait; deference to a right, privilege or position, or to someone having a right, privilege or position.- to refrain from interfering with; to express esteem or deference toward someone; the result of admiration and approbation.

OBEDIENCE The state or quality of being obedient. The act or practice of obeying; dutiful or submissive compliance; submission to authority. (TO OBEY): To comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of; to respond conformably in action to.

PERSECUTION (TO PERSECUTE) To pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment; harass persistently; to annoy persistently; importune; trouble; drive away. Worry, badger, pester, bother; to subjugate because of beliefs or practices.

SLAUGHTER Brutal, violent killing of a person; killing of great numbers of people indiscriminately; carnage.

TOLERANCE (TOLERANT) A fair and objective attitude toward those whose opinions and practices differ from one's own; the act or capacity of enduring; endurance; allowance; patience; suffering; forbearing; to put up with; to undergo or sustain pain or hardship.

TYRANT (TYRANNY) Any person in a position of authority over someone else who exercises power oppressively; arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; undue severity or harshness; cruelty.

QUESTIONS

1) Should we obey authority if the authority is unjust or even wicked?

2) Is there a difference between "respect" and "obedience"? If so, what is it?

3) Is there a difference between "producing" and "creating"? If so, what is it?

4) The Holy Qur'an teaches that "persecution is worse than slaughter." How could this be so?

5) Each of us has the responsibility of governing and the responsibility of being governed. We have experienced such dual roles as being parent and child, teacher and student, employer and employee. What difficulties do we encounter in each of these situations? What are some principles to follow in handling these situations?

DISCUSSION

1. ALLAH HAS THE RIGHT TO BE OBEYED

"Now surely sincere obedience is due to Allah Alone ... He is Allah, the One, the Subduer of all. He has created the heavens and the earth with truth; He makes the night cover the day and makes the day overtake the night and He has made the sun and the moon subservient; each one moves on to an assigned term. Now surely He is the Mighty, the Forgiver ... He creates you in the wombs of your mothers --- creation after creation---in triple darkness. That is Allah, your Lord; His is the Kingdom. There is no God but He. How are you then turned away? If you are ungrateful, then surely Allah is above need of you ... " 39:1-7

"This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5:3

If we look at the word 'authority', its root is in the word "author". The "author" of anything is usually the maker or creator of that thing. Allah (God) is referred to as the Author of all existence, therefore, Allah is He Who has the greatest right to be obeyed.

However, there are lesser beings that have been given the privilege of exercising authority over what they did not create and Allah demands of us respect for those lesser authorities and even obedience to those lesser authorities out of respect for Him, the Supreme Authority by Whom all authority has authority.

We must remember, if we are Believers, that nothing happens except by the Permission or Active Will of Allah (God). So whoever is in authority is there for a reason and also for a season.

The servants of Allah (God) are tested by those persons that are in authority over him or her.

Allah teaches in the Holy Qur'an, that He made Adam from the dust of the Earth, or Black mud, and fashioned into shape. And when He made Adam complete He breathed into him of His Inspiration (Wisdom) and commanded the angels to bow to what He had made and placed in authority over them. All the angels submitted, except Iblis. Allah questioned him, asking:

"What hindered thee that thou didst not submit when I commanded thee? He said: I am better than he; Thou hast created me of fire, while him Thou didst create of dust"

Iblis did not look deep enough into Who commanded him.

He was blinded by his pride and/or arrogance of who he thought he was in relationship to who he was asked to submit to. He gave no weight at all to Who commanded him--that the One Who commanded him was Creator of both the fire and the dust.

As a result of his failure to respect Allah (God) by bowing to what He had put in authority over him, Allah (God) then drove him forth from the circle of peace that he was in:

"He said: Then go forth from this (state), for it is not for thee to behave proudly therein. Go forth, therefore, surely thou art of the abject ones."

How often do we reject respect and obedience to authority because we think ourselves better than those who commanded us?

Suppose the ruler is wicked. Should we respect that rule?

Again, Allah says in the Holy Qur'an, "I am going to place a ruler in the earth" and the angels respond, "Wilt Thou place in it such as make mischief in it and shed blood?" And Allah answers, "I know what you know not."

Even if the ruler is wicked, he could not come to power except by Allah's Permission for reasons we may or may not be acquainted with.

Respect for authority does not necessarily imply obedience in all things the -authority says. We can respect authority, but Allah says obey those in authority over you except when it is against your religion (Will of God). Then you are commanded to disobey, but still in a respectful way.

II. THE EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY

"And He it is Who has made you successors in the land and exalted some of you in rank above others, that He may try you by what He has given you. Surely thy Lord is Quick in requiting (evil) and He is surely the Forgiving, the Merciful." Holy Qur'an 6:166

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." Proverbs 29:2

Any human being who exercises authority has, along with that authority, powers to enforce his or her authority. Our lack of respect for authority can cause authorities to use force to enforce that authority.

By virtue of the fact that a father and mother are the agents of procreation gives them authority over what they produce. However, they must be mindful that they have been given authority over what they produced, but did not create.

"And We have enjoined on man goodness to his parents. But if they contend with thee to associate others with Me, of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not. To Me is your return and I will inform you of what you did." 29:8

"And if they strive with thee to make thee associate with Me that of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not, and keep kindly company with them in this world and follow the way of him who turns to Me; then to Me is your return, then I shall inform you of what you did." 31:15

Parents, kings, rulers, judges --- are never the sole authority for they are not the Author of existence. The Author of existence is also the Watcher of how we execute authority over what He creates.

How we handle authority manifests the quality of our faith, knowledge, wisdom and understanding, and, deeper, it manifests the level of our respect for Him Who created what we have authority over.

Child abuse is not just the abuse of children. It is also abuse of the privilege of exercising authority over Allah's (God's) creatures, therefore it is also abuse of Him.

Abusive parents produce hatred in the hearts of the abused child for them. Abusive authority, no matter on what level, creates hostility and the lack of desire, will or spirit to cooperate, ultimately leading to rebellion.

History is replete with examples of abusive rulers, what happened to them and their authority whenever their disrespect of what they ruled exceeded the limits.

"Surely Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into parties, weakening one party from among them; he slaughtered their sons and let their women live. Surely he was one of the mischief makers ... And we desired to bestow a favour upon those who were deemed weak and to make them the leaders and to make them the heirs. And to grant them power in the land and to make Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts see from them what they feared." 28:4-6

"Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron with Our messages and a clear authority ... To Pharaoh and his chiefs, but hey behaved haughtily and they were an insolent people. So they said: Shall We believe in two mortals like ourselves while their people serve us? So they rejected them and became of those who were destroyed." 23: 45-48

Everything in creation has a tolerance level beyond which it cannot endure. When authority exceeds the limits in its abuse, of the people, the people reach a level of tolerance beyond which they cannot go. The Holy Qur'an teaches that "persecution is worse than slaughter."

When the people reach a level beyond which they cannot tolerate further abuse, they actually prefer slaughter to persecution, so they rise up against that authority that is persecuting them and generally, it is the same God Who permitted that authority to come into power Who stirs the people to rise up and destroy it.

"They said: We were persecuted before thou camest to us and since thou hast come to us. He said: It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you rulers in the land, then He will see how you act." Holy Qur'an 7:129

III. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOSE WHO GOVERN AND THE GOVERNED

In order for any authority to be successful in carrying out its authority, that authority needs the good will of the governed and the way to obtain good will is to govern with justice and equity.

One the other hand, those who are the governed, as we all are under some authority, have the duty and the obligation to respect and obey those in authority among us, whether they are of our own race, religion or not.

There are times when I have been stopped by abusive authority who appeared to be bent on provoking an incident to justify their misuse of the power they possess to enforce their authority. But by following the Guidance of Allah (God) found in the Holy Qur'an and the Bible as given by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I handled that abusive authority with such respect, that it forced them to act in a way that they did not intend by me.

I am not saying that this method works on every occasion, but 90% of the time, if we show respect for those in authority over us, no matter how they come, we will find that we can spare ourselves and others undue and unnecessary harm.

Each of us who is governed also governs and the best rule to use to protect both those who govern and those who are governed is:

"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you"

STUDY GUIDE 15
THE CHARACTERISTIC OF HUMILITY

READING ASSIGNMENT

Holy Qur'an
Surah 16: "The Bee" 16:77-83
Surah 40 "The Believer"40:61-68
Surah 25: "Discrimination" (Section 6)

Bible:
Mark 9:33-37 (Lesson: "Humility, The Secret of Greatness")

Scriptural References:

"And he it is who made the night and the day to follow each other, for him who desires to be mindful or desires to be thankful ... And the servants of the beneficent are they who walk- on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, peace!" 25:63

"Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers and who shun what is vain." 23:1-3

"O you who believe, should any one of you turn back from his religion, then Allah will bring a people, whom he loves and who love him, humble towards believers, mighty against the disbelievers, striving hard in Allah's way and not fearing the censure of any censurer. This is Allah's grace --- he gives it to whom he pleases. And Allah is ample-giving. Knowing." 5:54

"Say: Who is it that delivers you from the calamities of the land and the sea? (When) you call upon him, in humility and in secret: If he deliver us from this, we will certainly be of the grateful ones. Say: Allah delivers you from this and from every distress. Yet you set up others (with him)." 6:65

INTRODUCTION TO STUDY GUIDE #15

Humility is the quality or condition of being humble.
One who is humble is modest, unpretentious, unassuming and submissive.
At the core of his thinking. The humble man does not think grand things of himself that exalt him above others. It is not a feeling that he is undeserving, but it is a quality that a leader must have to lift up the weight of the people. The power of strength is in placing it under the weight. The leader cannot pull the people from above. The leader must get under and lift them up.

The idea of Humility is that it is the opposite of pride. We must all, particularly those who are leaders, become more and more humble.

"Let nothing be done through strife vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others ... Let this mind be in you. Which was also in Christ Jesus. Who ... Made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and, being found in a fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross...Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him..."
Philippians 2:3-9

"Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind. Meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you. So also do ye. And above all these things, put on Love. Which is the bond of perfectness."
Colossians 3:12-14

QUESTIONS

1. How does one get a true perspective on oneself?

2. What harmful effects are the result of the disease of pride?

3. What value is there for the individual self in acquiring the Quality of Humility?

4. What is it that causes@ most of us to dislike the Quality of Humility?

GLOSSARY

HUMILITY "Not given to vain discourse; Modest sense of one's own importance submissiveness."

HUMBLE "Not proud or arrogant; having a feeling of insignificance; lowly, courteously respectful; To lower in condition. Importance or dignity; marked by the absence of self-assertion or self -exaltation. To remove the independence, power or will of; unpretending, unpretentious."

HEART "The center of vital functions; the essential part; the seat of life. The seat of One's innermost thoughts and secret feelings: Intent; will; purpose; desire. The feeling or sentiment one has in regard to a thing. The seat of love and affection. The seat of moral conscience and courage."

CHARACTERISTIC (CHARACTER) Characteristics are features and traits. The aggregate of which form the apparent nature of a person. Moral or ethical quality; an account of the habits and behavior of a person; a particular virtue or vice.

QUALITY An attribute that belongs to and distinguishes a person; character with respect to excellence, fineness, superiority; a fundamental or innate characteristic.

EXALTATION Elation of mind or feeling; the state of being exalted; elevated in rank, honor power, character, quality; to praise, extol stimulate intensify, rapturously excited.

ABASED Humiliated; to be reduced or lowered, as in rank office, reputation or estimation. To be brought down.

DISCUSSION

"And Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers -- You know nothing - and He gave you hearing and sight and hearts that you might give thanks." 16:78

Humility is that quality or characteristic of the heart that causes one to see oneself in true perspective. It is one of the qualities that we MUST gain in order to bring about a better world and become redeemers of self and others.

Conversely, Pride is a disease of the heart that causes one to see oneself totally out of focus.

The only way to gain a true perspective on oneself is through a proper relationship with Allah (God). In that relationship, He is the center and He it is to whom sincere obedience is due. Without that relationship, we will see ourselves out of focus; we will see ourselves bigger than we actually are.

Pride is a disease that causes blindness. When we are blind, we cannot see. Then we make fatal mistakes in dealing with people and things around us and in dealing with our Creator.

If we fail to acquire the Quality of Humility through our own efforts, Allah (God) will force it upon us.

"And your Lord says: Pray to me, I will answer you. Those who disdain my service will surely enter hell, abased." 40:60

"And faces shall be humbled before the Living, the Self subsistent. And He who bears iniquity is indeed undone. And whoever does good works and he is a believer, he has no fear of injustice, nor of the withholding of his due." 20:1 11

"And to Allah makes obeisance every living creature that is in the heavens and that is in the earth. And the angels too and they are not proud. They fear their Lord above them and do what they are commanded." (Prostration). 16:49-50

Acquiring the quality of humility is a sure means of salvation. Without it, we may find ourselves unable to follow instructions that will save our lives.

"He that hath an Ear, let him hear..." Rev. 2:7

The Holy Qur'an teaches that "Only they who listen accept." It is difficult to listen to someone when we think we are better than they are.

An example. Those who were in the class with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad refused to accept the instructions of Master Fard Muhammad to hear him because of the disease of pride. Today, the impediment that hinders those who were students and followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad from obeying his command concerning Minister Farrakhan, is pride.

Review Study Guide 14. Allah (God) asked Iblis what hindered him from obeying his command and Iblis responded, "I am better than he." Iblis gave no weight to Who it was that gave the command.

Some may ask, "Why, then, Brother Farrakhan, did you obey Warith Deen Muhammad?" My response is that I respected the authority he took by Allah's permission and respected it even though I disagreed with it. When what I was asked to do so conflicted with what I was taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that I could not obey, I went another way.

Another crucial way in which humility benefits us is that it allows us to patiently endure the difficulties we encounter in the struggle to become a Redeemer of self and others. In fact, without humility, we cannot make it.

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 1 1:29

Master Fard Muhammad commissioned the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in these
words: "TAKE PLENTY."

We cannot be long-suffering to redeem a people, unless we feel in our hearts that the people we serve are greater than ourselves. The arrogant simply cannot take much. The arrogant are swift in bringing out the sword of contention. The arrogant cannot do the work of redemption.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad took much abuse. He knew who he was in relation to Allah (God). But He said that in comparison to his sender, "I felt like a filthy worm."

Study the mountains. If they could speak, they would say, "I have seen many generations." The mountain has greater longevity than we do, yet it submits. The earth we must return to has greater longevity than we do. Yet it submits.

If, by the grace of Allah (God), you are exalted to a position of power, authority and eminence, then know that this is his grace upon you. Give praise to him and walk humbly.

Luqman admonished his son in this way:

"...Keep up prayer and enjoin good and forbid evil and bear patiently that which befalls thee. Surely this is an affair of great resolution. And turn not thy face away from people in contempt, nor go about in the land exultingly. Surely Allah loves not any self-conceited boaster. And pursue the right course in going about and lower thy voice. Surely the most hateful of voices in the braying of asses." Holy Qur'an 31:18,19

Our experience as slaves has made us look at humility and meekness as weakness. As a protective measure. We feigned humility in slavery, so that today, when we see actual meekness, we do not like it.

This is the meaning of the scriptures, that "He came unto his own and his own received him not."

Jesus possessed humility and a way that his own people hated. But today, we must have the courage to say, as he said, "I can of myself do nothing."

We must subordinate our mind to the spirit of Allah (God) that we may have infinite endurance. As long as our mind is subordinated to the flesh, our endurance is finite.

Humility raises our level of tolerance so that when we are tried with the ignorance of others, when we are insulted and disrespected by others, we will not give up. When our level of tolerance is reached, we say, "I have to leave. I give up. I am through with this."

Through patience and prayer, we are given a word. A thought that humbles us beyond the pain; we see the objective or goal as bigger than ourselves; we realize that the people who inflict suffering and the people who are ignorant are being used by Allah (God) to prepare us for the work of Redemption.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Let us begin right now to work diligently to acquire humility. The more we surrender to God the more it increases our ability to endure. For our own sake and the sake of our people.

At our next meeting, we will report back on our experience in applying the above principles in actual relationships with others.

STUDY GUIDE 16 - THE LAW OF GOD

READING ASSIGNMENT

Holy Qur'an
Surah 58: "The Pleading Woman" (Read entire surah)
Surah 45 "The Kneeling" (Read entire surah)
Surah 6: "The Cattle", Section 19:
"Guiding Rules of Life"

INTRODUCTION

The Law of Allah (God) is the Ladder by which we climb up into Oneness with Him, becoming possessors of His Spirit.

"La ilaha illa Allah" - "There is no God but Allah"

"This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5:3

"You are the best nation raised up for men: you enjoin good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah." Holy Qur'an:109

"And know that this is My path, the right one, so follow it and follow not other ways, for they will lead you away from His Way. This He enjoins on you that you may keep your duty ... Again, We gave the Book to Moses to complete Our blessings on him who would do good and making plain all things and a Guidance and a Mercy, so that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord." Holy Qur'an 6:154,155

QUESTION

Why did Allah (God) give us Law?

GLOSSARY

The Arabic word for 'Divine Law' is "al-Shari'ah". By "al-Shari'ah" is meant everything legislated by Allah (God) for ordering man's life; it includes principles of belief, principles of administration and justice, principles of morality and human relationships and principles of knowledge.

The root meaning of the word "Islam" is to "enter into peace" and a "Muslim" is "one who makes his peace with God" through complete submission to His Will and makes peace with his fellow man by refraining from evil or injury to another and also by doing good to him.

1. LAW OF GOD

A. The body of commandments which express the Will of God with regard to the conduct of His intelligent creatures. Also, any of His specific commandments.

B. The Will of God as expressed through Revelation, including the Scriptures, Messengers and Prophets.

C. The Will of God as implanted by nature in the human mind, or as
capable of being demonstrated by Reason.

D. A system of Divine commands and the penalties imposed for disobedience. A religious system, including Christian, Jewish or Islamic faith.

E. That which the Deity (God) imposed upon matter. e.g., the Law of Motion:

(1) A body at rest will remain at rest or, if in motion, will continue in the direction it started in, unless acted upon by some external force;

(2) A change of motion takes place in the direction of the impressed force and is proportional to it;

(3) Action and reaction are equal and in contrary directions.

II. LAW OF MEN

A. That which is established and has binding force.

B. What is considered just, right or proper.

C. A rule of action or procedure.

D. A manner of life.

(Sources of preceding definitions include Milestones, by Sayed Qutb, The Religion of Islam, by Maulana Muhammad Ali, The Oxford Dictionary and Black's Law Dictionary

DISCUSSION

1. Why Allah (God) Gave Us, Law

"I will write My Law in their hearts. I will put My Fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me." (Jeremiah 31:33)

Allah spoke to the angels, "I am going to place a ruler in the Earth.' The angels asked, "That will create mischief and cause the shedding of blood?" He replied, "I know what you know not."

Allah (God) knew that placing a certain type of ruler in the Earth would result in disorder. He knew that His Divine Presence would not be felt as much under such a ruler, because the people would obey that ruler by His Permission. Allah's Rule is based upon the Spirit, while this ruler would base his world on the flesh, the carnal (material).

Out of His Mercy, Allah (God) determined to send prophets who would be examples of His Law and they would give His Law to those who still wished to obey Allah (God). Those who obeyed God, even while the world was under the rule of the carnal, would receive the Fruit of the Spirit.

There is no way a savage who has lost the way of civilization can be civilized, except by law and just and equitable law enforcement. There is no way we can produce Love for one another in our present condition, except by law and just and equitable law enforcement.

The nature of Law is such that it must be applied with equity and fairness; otherwise, in its misapplication, it produces rebellion.

When the Law is given and a reason for the Law is given with it, there is more longevity in the obedience of the people to the Law because they understand it. Understanding gives the people the Will to obey, the Power to obey, because they are informed why they should do what they are ordered to do.

II. History of the Use of Divine Law

"Let the history of Israel serve as an example for us."
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

"I spake not unto your fathers concerning sacrifices: but this thing I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice and I will be your God." Jeremiah 7:22,23

There is no way for a savage people to learn love until that people sees Love demonstrated through the proper administration of the Law. This is consistent in the history of His methods in dealing with those who have deviated from His path.

In the Bible, as early as Genesis 2:16, there is Divine Law and obedience to that Law in order for Adam (man) to remain in the Garden of Eden (state of peace). -it is disobedience to the Will of Allah (God) that causes Adam to fall.

At the close of the Bible, in Revelations 22, we read, "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life."

In the Old Testament, Israel is made an exalted nation through obedience to Divine Law and ultimately destroyed through rebellion to Divine Law. All communications to the people of Israel are in the form of Divine Commands.

"If you will obey My voice indeed...you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people." Exodus 19:5.

In the last 3 chapters of Exodus, the following expression appears 19 times:

"According to all the Lord commanded Moses, so did he." Exodus 40

"I set before you blessing, if you obey, and a curse if you will not obey." Deut. 1 1:26

There is no way that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) could have brought about such a complete change in the lives and conduct of a whole people within his own lifetime without the revelation of Divine Law (contained in the Holy Qur'an) and obedience to that which was revealed.

In less than 25 years, a people who were ignorant, immoral, worshippers of idols had been transformed from the lowest depths to the highest pinnacle of civilization.

The transformation of the people of Arabia 1400 years ago was a sign of the force and power of Divine Law, which has the ultimate goal of bringing man to perfection through submission to the Will of Allah (God).

Yakub set up a Law. The reason for his success and the success of his followers was obedience to his law. Obedience to his law facilitated the process of grafting the brown, yellow and white out of Black. Obedience to the Restrictive Laws of Islam will facilitate the process of grafting us back to ourselves.

III. The Ultimate Goal

The Essence of Divine Law is Love. The goal to which the Law leads, if properly applied, is Love.

The apparent harshness of the Law is actually the greater Love for the preservation of peace in the community rather than to secure the individuals in wrong. individuals are never greater than the Nation and individual sacrifice their lives for the preservation and defense of their Nation. The execution of Just Law is for the preservation of the Nation.

Jesus appeared to be at variance with Moses, but he was not. Jesus was the Fulfiller of the Law and the Fulfillment of the Law is Love. When one gains Love for Allah (God), and for His Creation, then in that Love is contained the Law. One willingly obeys Divine Law out of Love.

We need Love, but not without Law. Again, we need to see Love demonstrated through the proper administration of the Law.

A savage can only be restrained from savage actions by good law enforcement. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us a Law that forbid us from even quarrelling with each other (Holy Qur'an). He taught us we should not break our word; we should not invade our brother's home; we should not disturb our brother's property; our brother's life is sacred.

Once we learn to respect the Law and carry it into practice, this will cause us to grow into love for one another.

We have not yet grown sufficiently to act in the Spirit of Love, therefore we must walk up the Ladder of Law to reach that goal.

Many Muslims, under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, felt oppressed; but what they felt was not oppression. What they felt was the pain of the struggle to restrict the low desires by means of the Law. Oppression does not emanate from Law; it emanates- from improper administration of the Law.

When the Honorable Elijah Muhammad departed, Imam Warith Deen Muhammad literally cast the Law aside and Love went with it, because without the Law, we lost the Power of Unity essential to the life of the Nation.

"Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savor, with what shall it be salted? It is thereafter good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." Matthew 5:13

In our fall, many of us thought it was the Law that was our enemy, while in reality, the Law was our best friend. Our enemy was in fact our unwillingness to live by the Law and our rebelliousness against the Law.

In my effort to rebuild the Nation of Islam, I had to come to the people in a way that would attract and not frighten them by holding the Law in front of them. I gradually taught the people and to a degree we have done well. From teaching alone, most people straightened up to a degree. However, teaching is not enough. Along with teaching, there must be the Ladder of Law to reach the Love that will produce the Unity and the Power to liberate ourselves and our people completely from the grip of our enemies.

When we grow up in the Law, then we will no longer need the ladder of the Law, as it is written, "Love God with all of your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."

On these two (2) commandments hang the Law and the Prophets; on these two (2) commandments we are above Law and have Power in the Spirit to bring about a New World Order. The Spirit of God is Love. When we are in the Spirit of Love, we will no longer have any use for the ladder we had to climb up to reach the goal. There will be no more need for Law or Prophets, for Love has answered it all.

There is a song, "Love lift us up where we belong..." It is His Law that will lift us up where we belong. And it is Love that will keep us there that we will never fall from Grace.

"And now abideth Faith, Hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love." 1 Corinthians 13:13.

STUDY GUIDE 17
HYPOCRISY AND CONSPIRACY

READING ASSIGNMENT

Holy Qur'an
Surah 9, Section 7 "The Hypocrites"
Surah 110 "The Help"
Surah 111 "The Flame"
Surah 112 "The Unity"
Surah 113 "The Dawn"
Surah 114 "The Men"

Bible

Book of Esther
Exodusl:10

Glossary

INTRODUCTION

"AND THE JEWS PLANNED AND ALLAH ALSO PLANNED. AND ALLAH IS THE BEST
OF PLANNERS." Holy Qur'an 3:53

QUESTIONS

1) What is the plan of the Jews referred to in the above verse?

2) What is the motive behind the plan?

3) Who are the "Jews"?

4) What is the difference between a "plan" and a "conspiracy"?

5) Discuss historical accounts of plans and conspiracies in the Bible and the Holy Qur'an relevance do they have to current events?

6) Can a person be part of a conspiracy and not know it? If so, how (by what means) does this happen?

7) What does "facilitation" mean?

8) What is the attitude of the U.S. Government toward Black people? What is the plan of the U.S. Government concerning Black people?

9) How can we protect ourselves in such a time as this?

DISCUSSION

PART I

The Holy Qur'an contains an account of a plan by the Jews to put Jesus to death. But even as the Jews planned, Allah made a plan which frustrated their plans.

"And for their saying: We have killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah, and they killed him not, nor did they cause his death on the cross, but he was made to appear to them as such. And certainly those who differ therein are in doubt about it, but only follow conjecture, and they killed him not for certain.

"Nay, Allah exalted him in His presence. And Allah is ever Mighty, Wise." Holy Qur'an 4:157, 158

It is important that we understand the word "plan" in the context of the statement, "And the Jews planned...". The Arabic word "makara" signifies something underhanded (See Glossary).

The Jews did what they did, not openly, but in secret. This is also demonstrated in the biblical account:

"Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, 'It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."

Thus, not only did they plan the murder of Jesus, but they set up Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, as a front for their plan that they might escape detection.

Compare the relationship between Pontius Pilate and the Jews in the New Testament, to the relationship between the Executive Branch (President and Staff) of the U.S. Government and the Jews today.

The term "Jew" is not exclusively limited to describing a people who call themselves "Jews". This term also describes a certain orientation of the mind and spirit. While the person may not be a "Jew" in the religious sense, a person may be that by definition of his or her thinking and planned action (s) against the Apostle of God.

PART II

When one feels that one has the exclusive right to something, because that exclusivity feeds the ego and gives that person a sense of being more important than others, then that person will oppose anyone who may cause him or her to lose that position of exclusivity. The length to which one will go to protect a position of exclusivity depends upon the degree to which the ego is dependent upon that position. The length can extend to murder.

The Jews, during the time of Jesus, felt that spirit of exclusivity as the "chosen of God". Jesus represented the ultimate threat to their exclusivity both in this condemnation of them by identifying them as the children of Satan and his declaration that God was his Father.

"You are of your Father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the Truth, because there is no Truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the Father of it." John 8:44

"But Jesus- answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." John 5:17,18

At the root of the lies and murder plots against Jesus, Paul, Peter, Muhammad, was Envy. Envy arose in the hearts of the political and spiritual leadership because one was coming to replace their rule; one more favoured in the sight of Allah (God); one more pleasing and acceptable in the public eye.

When one is an Envier, he or she always sees oneself as more worthy of the benefit or favour than the person or persons to whom the benefit or favour has been given. The hatred that the Envier feels, knowingly or unknowingly, extends to the Giver of Gifts, the Grantor of Benefits, the Bestower of Favour: Allah (God).

Since the Envier cannot climb up to heaven to the Grantor of gifts and benefits, his of her anger is focused on the recipient of Divine Favour. Though their efforts (lies, murder) are directed at the recipient, their actions are in fact a challenge against Allah (God) Himself to warfare.

"And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door and unto you shall be his desire and you shall rule over him.

"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him." Genesis 4:5-7

Again, in Genesis (27), is the story of Isaac, who desired to give his blessings to his eldest son, Esau, but was deceived by another son, Jacob, and gave Jacob what was intended for Esau.

Later, Jacob had 12 sons, one of whom was named Joseph.

"Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream and he told it to his brothers and they hated him yet the more ... And his brothers envied him ... And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to kill him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh." Genesis 37

In the Book of Samuel, there is the story of Saul and David:

"And David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved himself wisely; and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul ... And the women spoke to one another, 'Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands."

And Saul was very angry and the saying displeased him...And Saul watched enviously David, from that day and onward."

All of the examples above come to crystallization in the New Testament with the focus of the wicked against the Messiah, foretold in the Second Psalm.

PART III

Why do I write a Study Guide on Hypocrisy and Conspiracy at this juncture?

Even as the rod of Aaron budded and the rods of the pretenders did not, creating more intense hatred in them of Aaron; even as Jesus did what the leadership of the day was not unable to do, but were prevented from doing by the envious condition of their hearts and minds, I write this Study Guide at this time to warn the followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Black people in general, that the plot thickens, the conspiracy broadens, the secret counsels are taking place.

People are being drawn into the conspiracy through ignorance and others are drawing them into the conspiracy knowingly and deliberately.

The Sin of Ignorance is the dissatisfaction with the apparent slowness of Allah's (God's) reward for faithful service.

I have put forth this Study Guide that we may not fall victim to History. Dispelling Ignorance with Knowledge can save the unwitting, dissatisfied from becoming part of the conspiracy. But those moved by Envy and Hatred cannot be turned aside with knowledge.

In the case of Judas, it was not the 30 pieces of silver that were important, it was the envy and hatred of the one he betrayed that moved him.

Disappointment and dissatisfaction precede treachery. Very few persons can even imagine themselves in the place of such a wretched individual as Judas. But envy and hatred grew over a period of time. No one is beyond the capacity to become a Judas; everyone experiences disappointment and/or dissatisfaction at some time or another. It is how we handle it that determines our direction.

"But by what process, we may ask, was the mercenary disposition of Judas converted into hatred against Jesus? The process was that of disappointment. When Judas became convinced that all the years of his connection with (Jesus and the disciples) had been lost, his will became embittered and his resentment was aroused . In the denseness of his ignorance and the baseness of his soul he probably thought that Jesus had deceived His followers as to His true mission and he felt enraged because he had been duped. He had looked forward to worldly promotion and success. He had fondly hoped that the eloquence of Jesus would call around him (revolutionaries) who would drive the Romans from Judea and establish the long looked-for Kingdom...

"At the Last Supper, he became convinced that his worst fears were true. Jesus was sincere in His resolution to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sake of a principle which Judas did not approve of because he did not understand. The 30 pieces of silver were not the real or leading inducement to this monumental betrayal. He made haste to vent his wrath upon the author of his disappointment."
The Trial of Jesus (Walter M. Chandler), 1976, The Harrison Company, Norcross, GA

PART IV

The Government of the United States is envious of our rise in terms of numbers, growth and the future that Allah has promised us through the mouths of his prophets. As the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us, they desire to rob us of that future.

One year ago, the FBI promised one of its informants that by September (1989), if they did not have me in court they would have "blown" me "out of the water". The wicked plot did not succeed, however, they have never stopped trying. Since then, they have been made to realize that their Courts, which have historically been trees upon which strong Black men and woman have been lynched, are not what they used to be. This is because of the heightened level of consciousness of the people as a direct result of the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and His Servant, Minister Louis Farrakhan.

In the white American judicial system's failure to convict Mayor Marion Barry of anything more than a misdemeanor; its failure to convict Reverend Al Sharpton, Congressman Harold Ford, Imelda Marcos and Adnan Kashoggi and others, it has been made manifest that with the preponderance of Black people in major urban areas, one sophisticated Black person has the power to hang a jury. This is happening all over the nation.

At their wits end, high officials in the U.S. government plan. If they cannot win in a court of law, they must exacerbate tensions within organizations and among leaders, creating mischief and causing the shedding of blood. But, "The Jews planned. And Allah also planned."

"And thus We made in every town the leaders of its guilty ones, that they may make plans therein. And they plan not but against themselves, and they perceive not." Holy Qur'an 6:124

"And they have indeed planned their plan, and their plan is with Allah, though their plan is such that the mountains should be moved thereby. So think not that Allah will fail in His promise to His messengers. Surely Allah is Mighty, the Lord of Retribution." Holy Qur'an 14:46,47

Again, it is with this regard that I have put forward this Study Guide that we may not fall victim to History.

Silas Muhammad, through his National Spokesman, is reported to have said, "Our focus and main purpose is to discredit Minister Farrakhan." If this is so, then they have discarded the previously-claimed objective of nation building to devote their energies to the destruction of my reputation. What is the motive? Is it righteousness? Is it love of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad? Is it love of Black people? Is it love of Allah (God)? It is the same motive as that which the U.S. Government has: Envy.

"But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming." Acts 13:

"But the Jews who believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city in an uproar..." Acts 17:5

"And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. And they were more than 40 who had made this conspiracy." Acts 23:12

CONCLUSION

Envy is going to plummet the Nation into darkness. But day follows night and if we can hold out through the night, we will see the daylight once again.

"Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn, From the evil of that which He has created, And from the evil of intense darkness when it comes, And from the evil of those who cast (evil suggestions) in firm resolutions, And from the evil of the envier when he envies." Holy Qur'an 1 13

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27

GLOSSARY

PLAN The Arabic word for the verb "plan" is "makara", meaning to devise, scheme, plot. (n.vb.), devising, a device, sly whispers or talk. (people. act.) a planner, deviser, plotter.

CONSPIRACY The action of conspiring; a combination of persons for an evil or unlawful purpose.

"Conspire" is from a Latin word meaning, "To breathe together". Accord, harmonize, agree, combine or unite in a purpose, plot mischief together and secretly. It especially applies to Treason and Murder.

The legal definition of "Conspiracy" is as follows: "A combination or confederacy between 2 or more persons formed for the purpose of committing, by their joint efforts, some unlawful or criminal act; or, some act which is lawful in itself, but becomes unlawful when done by the concerted action of the conspirators; or, for the purpose of using criminal or unlawful means to the commission of an act not in itself unlawful."

A person is guilty of Conspiracy with another person or persons to commit a crime if with the purpose of promoting or facilitating its commission, he or she:

a) Agrees with such other person (s) that they or one or more of them will engage in conduct which constitutes such crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime; or,

b) Agrees to aid such other person or persons in the planning or commission of such crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime.

Conspiracy is a crime in itself and is distinct from the crime it contemplates (the target crime). In some jurisdictions an overt act is required, in some it is not.

A Conspiracy may be a continuing one; actors may drop out and others may drop in; the details of operation may change from time to time; the members need not know each other or the part played by others; a member need not know all the details of the plan or operations; a member need not know that the target crime is a crime; to be a Conspirator or Co-Conspirator, one only need to agree to become a party to a plan to effectuate the purpose of the conspiracy.

FACILITATION FACILITATE. To make easier or less difficult. Help forward an
action or process. In Physiology, the lowering of resistance in a neural pathway to an impulse, resulting from previous or simultaneous stimulation. From the word "facile", meaning easily done, performed, used. Easy or unconstrained, as manners or person; affable, agreeable or complaisant; easily influenced. A "facility" is something designed, built or installed to serve a specific function affording a convenience or service. When something is "facilitated" it is made free from difficulty.

SOLICITATION SOLICIT. Enticement or allurement. To seek for by entreaty, earnest or respectful request, formal application; to petition someone to do something; to urge, importune, seek to influence or incite to action; to lure someone with immoral intentions.

COVERT Covered, sheltered. Concealed, secret, disguised. Hidden, clandestine, surreptitious, furtive.

OVERT Open to view or knowledge; not concealed or secret. Plain, manifest, apparent, public.

BETRAY To deliver of expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty. To be unfaithful in guarding or maintaining; to be disloyal to; disappoint the hopes or expectations of; to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence; to reveal unconsciously; to deceive, mislead, desert.

ACCOMPLICE A person who helps another in a crime or wrongdoing, often as a subordinate.

INFORMANT One who gives or supplies information.

Study Guide 18

Rising Above Emotion Into The Thinking of God

MINSTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
AND
THE NATION OF ISLAM

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.
I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH AND I BEAR
WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS SERVANT.

March 29, 1991

As-Salaam Alaikum

Dear Students:

I have prepared this Study Guide for you, “Rising Above Emotion Into The Thinking of God”, for a specific reason. I wish to share that reason with you to increase your chances of success in handling this subject matter properly and passing the test that the Nation of Islam failed in the past.

The devastating effect of the, Domestic Life of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is at the root of the fall of His family and the fall of the Nation of Islam.

In a situation like this, it was natural for His family and followers to focus on the pain of Sister Clara Muhammad and ourselves. However, we allowed ourselves to succumb to the pain of the moment --- a pain so overwhelming that it would not permit us to ask the question, “Why did Allah (God) order His Servant to enter this aspect (wives) of his Domestic Life”?

If we had succeeded in moving beyond Emotion, we would have been able to get up into the mind of Allah (God), where we would see the Domestic Life of Muhammad as Allah (God) sees it and ultimately judge it as Allah (God) judges it, then we could move on to higher ground.

Our focus on pain and the resulting failure to question Allah (God) caused us to question the Servant; it caused us to forget all the good the Servant brought into our lives. Thus, we threw the Servant away as unworthy and cast aside the Body of Knowledge revealed to Him as the means of our Salvation.

No wonder the Honorable Elijah Muhammad asked the question, 'How strong is the Foundation? Can we survive?" The Foundation is the forty-four (44) years of the Work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam and its successes.

If only we were mature enough to put our emotions in check, our focus would not have been on our pain and the pain of Sister Clara Muhammad and the Muhammad family; our focus would have been on asking Allah (God) why He ordered His Servant to have what others did not have (wives); then we would have grown into the Wise Thinking of the God and been more prepared for this reality in our own lives when or if it became necessary.

The improper handling of Emotion does not allow us to grow beyond Self. It makes our reasoning subjective and clouds our judgment of individuals, circumstances and events. It makes us judge individuals, circumstances and events by how we are affected personally, thus we never see the bigger picture. Improper handling of Emotion makes us judge selfishly.

Our great test today will be whether we can rise above Emotion to begin to think and act more like Allah (God). We are in His classroom. What kind of test has He devised to see if we are ready to think and act on a higher level?

It is written in the Holy Qur’an:

“See they not that they are tried once or twice in every year? ... Yet they repent not, nor do they mind.” 9:126

In this Study Guide, we will take under critical analysis, the subject of Emotion, which is “intense feeling”. As you study and analyze every word of this Study Guide, I want you to step into the many shoes of the many different people whose names and circumstances bf their lives will be mentioned, with particular focus on Sister Clara Muhammad, that you may know something of her sorrow, grief and pain over this aspect of her husband’s life.

Most of all, I want you to step into the shoes of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, whom we are attempting to follow, who loved his wife, Sister Clara Muhammad, who was with him when he was considered nothing and aided him in his growth from nothing; yet he had to carry the tremendous weight of his Mission even while he was in anguish over the knowledge of his Domestic Life which was tearing his family apart.

If we are to survive our test, we must see beyond the view of the onlooker who sees with limited knowledge, understanding and a lack of faith. We must be careful, lest we become one whose emotions cause us to judge this situation as a grievous one and end up sentenced to death by virtue of our own judgment.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad was not the cause, he was the agent of that which Allah (God) ordered and which he obeyed. The Best Knower set this in motion and it would benefit us greatly to grow into seeing through His eyes.

It is written in the Holy Qur'an:

“We take Allah's colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers.” 2:138

Best wishes for your successful growth through the study of this subject matter,

I am, Your Brother and Servant,

LOUIS FARRAKHAN
Minister Louis Farrakhan
Servant to the Lost Found Nation of Islam in the West

LFM/am

RISING ABOVE EMOTION INTO THE THINKING OF GOD

INTRODUCTION TO STUDY GUIDE #18

“I AM THE LORD: THAT IS MY NAME; AND MY GLORY WILL I NOT GIVE TO ANOTHER, NEITHER MY PRAISE TO CARVED IMAGES ... I HAVE FOR A LONG TIME HELD MY PEACE; I HAVE BEEN STILL, AND RESTRAINED MYSELF. NOW WILL I CRY LIKE A TRAVAILING WOMAN; I WILL DESTROY AND DEVOUR AT ONCE.”

Isaiah 42:8,14

Allah (God) experiences Emotion. According to the Scriptures, He Loves, He Hates, He Grieves, He Sorrows. He is referred to by some writers as a Jealous God. However, He rises above all emotions in the decisions He makes. His decisions are based upon how the temporal affects generations eons into the future.

The Domestic Life of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave rise to such great emotion that it clouded our vision of a man of God. We were taught to live according to the Restrictive Laws of Islam. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us that Law and He Himself was the example of perfect obedience' to it. When He grew, through obedience, to master the law, He was given a superior law to function from; one that was unknown to us at our level of development.

When we learned of His Reality, many of us became corrupted in our reality and laid the blame for our corruption at his doorstep. Rather than accept and master our own reality until guided otherwise, we desired to be in His Reality and then imposed upon His Reality our shame and filth; we encroached on a Reality that we were not ready spiritually, morally or economically, to embrace.

Proof of this encroachment can be seen in the way in which Malcolm X handled the knowledge of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's Domestic Life. Although Malcolm knew the proper language with which to describe the Domestic Life of Muhammad, he chose to call the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's relationship to his wives, having sex with his teen-aged secretaries.' This was to conjure up emotion and cause us to paint the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in the light of a dirty old man, blinding us to the practical reality of God's Judgment with regard to His Nation, as well as His Servant.

In this emotional state, some called the Honorable Elijah Muhammad immoral, even though many were well able to defend the fact that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was allowed by Allah (God) nine (9) wives. At one point, the Prophet had eleven (11) wives, then Allah caused him to reduce that number to nine (9). It is written in some accounts that he possessed concubines as well. His youngest wife, Aishah, was eleven (l1) years old when given to him, although he did not have conjugal relations with her until she reached the age of fourteen (14).

Being overwhelmed by Emotion sent us failing backwards, causing the destruction of all that we had sacrificed to build., making it necessary, out of Allah's (God's) Mercy, for me, with His Help and Guidance, to bring us up again. Now we face a test of a similar nature to determine if we are mature enough, spiritually, emotionally and morally, to get over the hurdle that the Nation stumbled over yesterday, without its corrupting our own reality, leading us to encroach upon a reality not ours at this time.

There is a saying among the Native Americans, “You cannot judge a man until you have walked in his moccasins (shoes).” The object of this Study is to try on the shoes of the persons whose lives are used as examples of proper or improper handling of Emotion and analyze how we might act in that situation.

Every actor, when reading a script, must determine if he or she is able to "feel" the part of the character to be played. We are not actors---the Bible and the Holy Qur'an are giving us characteristics of persons that we are going to fulfill in this time; righteous or wicked, believer or disbeliever, helper or opposer. We will find ourselves in one category or the other.

As we step into the shoes of each character, both those who were successful and those who failed, we want to try and “feel” what that person must have felt when Allah (God) tried them with certain commands. In order to be successful in such an effort, we must summon up the same emotional reaction to the command that was theirs and then see by what means we can overcome the emotional reaction to God's command.

From my vantage point, Sister Clara Muhammad was a wonderful, faithful wife and follower of Master Fard Muhammad and her husband, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. She was a person of stern bearing, sharp of tongue, truthful in expression and faithful to the Teachings she received directly from the mouth of Mater Fard Muhammad and her husband.

I remember one day she came to me, saying, “Brother Farrakhan, I notice that every time you look at me your eyes settle full of water and I asked my husband why you do this. He said, 'why don't you ask him', so, I am asking you.” I said to her, “Every time I look -at you, I think of the sacrifice you have made of your husband so that thousands like me might have a Leader, Teacher, Guide and Father. Every time I see you, I think of your sacrifice and my eyes fill up with tears.” She said, 'Thank you very much" and turned and walked away.

Sister Clara Muhammad told me there was one part of the Holy Qur'an she hated, and that was the part that allowed a man more than one wife. This is not hearsay, this is what she told me directly from her mouth. She also told me that in the 40 years that she followed Master Fard Muhammad, she knew of nothing she had done that would make her ashamed to stand before Allah.

Master Fard Muhammad warned Sister Muhammad, according to her words to me, not to let Him catch her weighing other than herself, in regards to living the life and weighing properly (1 20 pounds). Even though she gave her husband 8 children, she kept her weight at 120 pounds and worried when it went above that. Whenever it did, she told me she fasted to keep her weight constant. Sister Clara Muhammad passed from this Earth in her 70's with the youthful figure she had as a very young girl. What an example for every member of the Muslim Girls Training and General Civilization Class.

When Sister Muhammad was on her deathbed at Mercy Hospital, she sent for me. She lamented, on at least 2 occasions, over her sons not being a help to their Father. She began to weep and I took a tissue and wiped her eyes. She looked at me and said, several times, whelp my husband. Help my husband. Help my husband. He is getting old now, and he cannot do as he used to do. Help my husband. He won't let you help him; but, you help him anyway, because that's nothing but jealousy. You help him anyway." I promised her that I would help her husband.

I never saw her alive again after that day, and I am proud to say that I am keeping the promise that I made to her. I am helping her husband, my Spiritual Father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

I love Sister Muhammad with a deep, indescribable love and I have been made by Allah (God) to understand her pain. If Sister Clara Muhammad hated what Allah (God) had ordered for her husband for the development of our future and our Nation, then that intense dislike for an aspect of her husband's life, which painfully affected hers, would ultimately lead to a dimming of the light of her faith, both in Master Fard Muhammad and in her husband.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad asked her, “Do you mean to say that you hate what Allah has written in this book Holy Qur’an)?” According to what I heard, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave his wife time out of the Temple for making that statement. This has not been corroborated to me by close family members, but I believe it to be true.

In her hating what Allah (God) ordained, there is an underlying sense of being betrayed. There is the thought, 'I have been faithful to God and to my husband and His Mission; but-Master Fard Muhammad and my husband have rewarded me with pain. What a way to be rewarded for my faithfulness."

Would that Sister Clara Muhammad had grappled at that moment with her emotions. I believe, however, with all my heart, that in the end, she did. But she had suffered so much torment, pain and mental anguish over this aspect of her husband's life, that it brought on a sickness she had conquered in the beginning of her Husband's Mission that ultimately led to her demise.

Whether we are male or female, we must try and step into the shoes of Sister Clara Muhammad. If you were she, how might you have handled your emotions in this situation?

It is easy to handle a situation intellectually as long as the situation is dealing with some one other than ourselves in some other period in time. But in our own lives, would our emotional reaction to what Allah (God) ordained uproot our intellect and impair our judgment? Let everyone who earnestly desires to rise above emotion and achieve understanding of how Allah (God) thinks, begin by trying on the shoes o Sister Clara Muhammad.

I believe that f have tried to be a faithful witness to Allah (God) in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I have suffered much as a result of my witness.

In 1975, when it appeared to me that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was dead and the Nation of Islam had turned in a completely opposite direction and all seemed lost and my faith was broken; 1, like Sister Clara Muhammad, wondered, “What was MY faith for?” Why had I worked so hard and sacrificed so much --- my family, my music, my career? What for? To be an outcast, rejected and despised? To have the very people for whom I worked, seeking my death?

In my pain and frustration, I became bitter, and in my bitterness, I became livid with anger. I resented religion. I resented, indirectly, the God Who brought the religion and I looked narrowly on the Messenger of God who taught the religion.

It was at this low point in my life that I had to wrestle with my emotions by questioning Allah (God). Emotion had caused me to view events, circumstances and persons subjectively and improperly. It was questioning Allah (God), asking Him, in the right spirit, “Why?”, that saved me. Only after I was able, with the Help of Allah (God) and others, to rise above my pain and anguish to see the bigger picture, was I able to get a grip on my life and come back from the pain of death.

I know something of the pain of Sister Clara Muhammad. I know something of the pain of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as well as some of the pain of the women who were involved in his life. These women did not come into the Nation of Islam to be a part of that aspect of his life, for they knew nothing of it; but time and destiny called them to be a part of his life in a way that brought pain to them, as well as Sister Clara Muhammad and her children, and, ultimately, the Nation of Islam. That pain still lingers.

There are many broken men and women who have not yet gotten over this aspect of the Life of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Blinded by pain, bitterness and emotional reaction to God's Will, they cannot and do not see Him, His God, events circumstances or the persons involved in His Domestic Life properly, nor do they see the children who were born as a result of His Domestic Life, properly.

Brothers and Sisters, when we do not learn the Lessons of History, we then have to repeat it. It is clear that we failed the first part of the First Term Examination of Mr. Elijah Muhammad, and in failing, we lost ourselves and what came from ourselves as a result of our Faith: virtue, righteousness, schools, businesses, farms, banks ... Shall we lose again?

I repeat, if we can rise above Emotion to see the bigger picture, which is Allah’s (God's) Will, Aim and Purpose, we shall never have to repeat this History again. We can close the book on this aspect of our History and move on to higher ground: “the Elevated Places.

“And as for those who believe and do good - We impose not on any soul a duty beyond its scope -- they are the owners of the Garden; therein they abide.” Holy Qur’an, 7:42, “The Elevated Places”. And We shall remove whatever of ill-feeling is in their hearts - rivers flow beneath them. And they say: All praise is due to Allah, Who guided us to this! And we would not have found the way if Allah had not guided us.” Holy Qur’an, 7:43, “The Elevated Places”.

EMOTION: AN INTENSIFIED FEELING

The dictionary defines “Emotion” as “an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness. Any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, etc, and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat, respiration, or the like and often overt manifestation, such as Trying or shaking.”
Emotion is intensified feeling. It can become so strong and overpowering that it masters the mind or judgment.

Though “love”is generally defined as an emotion, I would say that Love is not an emotion; Love is the Mother of Emotion. Love is the Creative Force out of which all things come. Love can be broken down into 4 principles: Freedom, Justice, Equality and Obedience to the Will of Allah (God). We call our intense feeling of like or dislike “Love” and “Hate”. But Love is not just an intense feeling. That is a limitation that this world has placed on it, making it our emotional reaction to something.

The Creative Force is separate from the intense feeling that we have toward the created thing. Allah (God) created the jackass, yet He states in the Holy Qur'an that the most hateful sound to Him is the braying of the jackass He created. He created the hog, yet He has an intense dislike for it. The Devil is made out of the Creative Force, and He certainly has an intense dislike for the Devil.

The jackass, the hog, the Devil, all serve as a means to facilitate the Creative Act of Love, Beneficence, Mercy. Allah (God) does not desire disease on His planet. So He makes a detestable thing, the Hog, which is used to extract a medicine to remedy some of the effects of a diseased thing that He has allowed to run wild and loose on the Earth; its presence facilitates a Divine Purpose.

We must not narrow Love to an emotional reaction. But when we say, “God is Love”, the word “is” is represented by the symbol, then Love has to be complete, because God is not an emotion. All of His Attributes are embodied in the Creative Force we call Love; an intense like for something is only one of its manifestations.

WHERE EMOTION COMES FROM

The Brain is not only an organ of intellect and logic; it is also the source of Emotion. Emotions are brought to life in what is known as the “limbic system”. The limbic system is a collection of parts that constitute approximately 20% of the brain's area. The forces of pride, fear, joy, grief, anger, lust, hatred, envy, jealousy, arise from this region of the brain.

The limbic system is found surrounding the most primitive part of the brain and is found in almost the same form in all mammals. It is that part of man that is hardly distinguishable from beast.

God says, in the Bible, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. For 83 the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts- than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:7

The limbic system works with both the cerebrum above and the brainstem below. Its connections with the brainstem help maintain a state of emotional balance and alertness. Its connections with the cerebrum allows a person to temper emotion with reason. The goal is for the two processes to work in harmony, but the balance can be easily upset. The limbic system can become so highly activated that it overwhelms rational thought, making a person speechless with anger or joy. On the other hand, through conscious effort, a person can resist the natural urge to eat or drink, can fight back tears, or suppress sexual desire.

There are nerve pathways interwoven throughout the limbic system which send a continuous flow of electrochemical impulses that direct human drives and emotions. The “hippocampus” converts information from short-term to long-term memory. It constantly checks information relayed to the brain by the senses and compares it to experience. The “thalamus” serves as a major relay station, passing information from sensory and motor nerves to the brain.

Nestled between the thalamus above and the brainstem below, there is a small cluster of nerve cells called the “hypothalamus”. It has one of the richest blood supplies in the entire body, though it is only the size of a thumb tip. From the “hypothalamus” arise intense feelings, or emotions. Pleasure and pain, sexual arousal, aggression, rage, as well as hunger and thirst, all emanate from this point.

The hypothalamus is also a complex thermostat system that reacts to messages from skin receptors and heat-sensitive nerve cells, as it maintains the body's internal balance, holding the temperature at approximately 98.6 degrees. For this reason, our emotional reactions cause a change in temperature. The phrase "heat of passion" refers to the climb in temperature.

Hunger and thirst- centers in the hypothalamus track glucose levels in the blood. When supplies of glucose (energy food) are too low, the brain, not the stomach, generates hunger pangs. The sensation of thirst does not originate in the throat, but here in the brain, when receptors indicate the salt level in the blood is too high.

Above the hypothalamus is the “amygdala”, a mass of nerve cells that is specifically related to feelings of outrage and aggression. The “septum”, linked to the hypothalamus at the front of the limbic ring, contains a pleasure center.

They hypothalamus has connections to the pituitary gland so it has an effect on growth and sexual behavior. It actually orders the pituitary to organize the endocrine glands' release of hormones into the blood.

Our response to fear in times of emergency is also controlled by the hypothalamus. If a gun is pointed in someone's face, the emotional stress is of such magnitude that his body undergoes immediate changes. First to react is the hypothalamus, which organizes a chain reaction of defenses with a single purpose: to place the body in maximum condition to survive the impending threat.

The chain of command is as follows:

1) Hypothalamic chemicals signal the pituitary gland of danger, possibly fatal.

2) Pituitary signals one of its endocrine gates to bolster defenses. It does this by flashing a message, secreting a stress hormone which finds its way through the bloodstream to important stations.

3) The stress hormone, ACTH (adrenocorticotropic), first travels to the fighting adrenal glands on the kidneys. Another adrenal chemical begins converting fats and proteins into sugar.

4) The adrenals spew out adrenalin and noradrenalin, causing the heart to pump faster, blood pressure to rise and the pupils of the eyes to dilate wildly for improved vision.

b) The combined surge of hormones relaxes the bronchial tubes for deeper breathing; increases the blood sugar to supply maximum energy; slows down the digestive process to conserve muscular energy; shifts blood supplies so they are able to clot more easily on an open wound.

In a matter of seconds, a threatened body becomes a tight coil of altered substances, prepared to meet the challenge. In this state it can perform feats of strength and endurance far beyond normal capacity.

It is important to note that what triggers this chain of reactions is the brain's interpretation of external forces as life-threatening. It is not a question of whether we are actually threatened, but whether we think we are threatened.

According to Western scientists, individual neuronal circuits are just as unique as fingerprints. This means that the same situation may activate different clusters of nerve cells in different people.

Every biological act of the physical body is directed to one predominate goal: to stay alive. To do this, every organism must preserve itself in the face of external forces which threaten its existence; and when it ceases to work energetically on its ownbehalf, something finally will destroy it. There are many forms of disaster: poisons in the environment, temperatures beyond limit, food supplies fail, competing organisms move in and take over its living space.

As part of the defense against external forces, the organism walls itself off from alien elements. The skin is such a wall, forming a natural barrier between the individual and the environment. But no barrier is completely effective, and the human body, which is a large community of cells, is vulnerable to attack like any other community. Foreign substances sneak in and attack the internal systems, endangering the body.

There is a second line of defense which stands ready to repel any invaders which breach the protective barriers. Manning this line is a certain type of white blood cell called the lymphoid. These defenders swim through the blood ready for action when trouble occurs. They respond aggressively to invaders, producing a different weapon or countermeasure for each type of intruder.

When antigens get into the bloodstream the body is alerted to the presence of invaders. Each antigen stimulates the lymphoid cells to manufacture proteins on a large scale and dump them into the bloodstream. It is these proteins that lead the defense against invaders.

During the period of war, there is activity inside the lymphoid cells. Some of these cells manufacture molecules which form a match with the contours of germ antigens. These substances, called antibodies, pour into the bloodstream, attach themselves to the germs and cause a chemical change in the germs making them vulnerable to the next step. The next step is carried out by a crew of wandering scavenger cells called phagocytes. They attack specific types of germs which have been tagged by the antigen-antibody interaction and eliminate the invaders by swallowing them whole. The combined offensive by the antibodies and phagocytes continues until the disease or illness subsides, or, until the body's defenses prove inadequate and death results.

In the same context, there is a defense mechanism which serves to protect the peace of the community of our beliefs. Our beliefs support us in our actions and overall approach to life. Any principle or fact, whether real or imagined, that we encounter in life, either supports our beliefs or threatens them.

Once something is perceived as a threat to our accepted beliefs, there is a reaction in the brain similar to the body's antigen-antibody reaction, and instead of lymph cells, it is our emotions which rush to the defense of our threatened belief.

Thus, the emotional reactions to persons, events and circumstances are a defense mechanism which quickly surrounds the accepted belief to protect it from succumbing to a new one. We may react with one of many different emotions, depending upon the nature of the threat -- fear, anger, pride, etc. - but in any case, the emotion rises with great speed to ward off that which disturbs the community of beliefs. This is what is meant by the phrase, “rush of emotion”. It requires great and concentrated effort to take control over our emotions.

APPROACH TO SUBJECT MATTER

In the study of Emotion and its impact on our responses to the expressed Will of Allah (God), let us begin with the following verse from Surah (Chapter) 3, Verse 6, of the Holy Qur’an:

“He it is Who has revealed the Book to thee; some of its verses are decisive -- they are the basis of the Book -- and others are allegorical. Then those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead, and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. And none knows its interpretation save Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say: we believe in it, it is all from our Lord. And none mind except men of understanding.”

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that He would not give two cents for the combined work of all of the scholars and what they have written as their interpretation of the verses of the Holy Qur’an. That is a powerful statement.

In the above-cited verse, Allah (God) tells those seeking to give the Book their own interpretation that none knows except Him. So even if they claim to be scholars, Allah (God) has already overruled their scholarship, in these words, “None knows its interpretation except Allah”.

Those “firmly rooted in knowledge” are the Believers who submit to it because it is all from Allah. What they understand is that they do not comprehend Allah's Book in totality. They await the One Whom Allah will teach the Interpretation of the Book to directly. That One is the Messiah, the Mahdi, the Christ. That One is the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

“Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou did set thy heart to understand and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard: and I am come for thy word"3 sake." Daniel 10:12

“And lean not upon thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6

The first step toward growing into the Mind of God is to desire to do His Will. Then, we must learn to obey His Commands. Allah (God) tests and tries His Servant to see how well he will obey Commands that he does not understand. He gradually brings the servant into understanding of what he has obeyed, but only after obedience. Through the suffering that accompanies obeying Allah (God) comes understanding and the Servant gradually grows into the Thinking of Allah (God).

“Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” Hebrews 5:8

Allah (God) may try a servant with a certain command. Since a servant of God is always desirous of doing His Will, giving such a person a command can only be a trial if that person believes that the command is against what he or she has been taught is right, fair, just or in keeping with our understanding of Revelation.

Through the command of the expressed Will of God, the servant's level of understanding up to that point in time causes an emotional reaction that could result in disobedience if it is not put in check. In this manner, Allah (God) helps us climb above Emotion, using our own desire to obey Him for sustenance during the steep climb.

“For this cause also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Colossians 1:9

In order to obey Allah’s (God's) command (s), we must overcome our emotional reaction to His command (s). At the root of the emotional reaction is frustration over something we personally desire, think, or believe. He challenges us where we are most comfortable with a command calculated to disturb our comfort. Thus, He says in the Holy Qur’an, “none comes between a man and his heart, except Allah”.

When He says, in Isaiah 55, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways”, His ways are higher than our ways as the "heavens are higher than the earth", He is speaking on many levels of mind.

The Original Man is from Allah’s Thinking, which is above, while the made man is made from the testicles, found in the lower region of the Original Man, Allah (God) produced Himself, not from testicles, but from His own Thinking; then He formed what we call the “testicle”, that there might be the physical reproduction of the form. It is from the lower portion, or weaker germ of the Original Black Man, that the devil was made manifest.

To get into the Thinking of God, we must rise above our present level of thought, which emanates-from beneath.

There is a gulf between the thinking of man and God and the ways of man and God. The process by which we cross that gulf is called Resurrection.

The way to think like Allah (God) is to be exposed to His Thinking. In our Lessons, we are given the Actual Facts as a beginner and as a start in thinking mathematically rather than emotionally.

Jesus said, “I and my Father are One”. How was he able to become one with the Father? Jesus was born of a woman and came through the vicissitudes of life. In time, through obedience, he became the interpreter of God's Will. You cannot serve as the interpreter of the Will of God unless you know God and what He thinks and what gave rise to His thoughts. And we cannot get up into the mind of Allah (God) except by His Permission.

When we are able to see beyond the effect to the Cause that produced the effect, then our decisions are no longer emotional, they are made with precision. This does not mean we will act without intense feeling, it means that we will be in such complete control of our feelings that our decisions will be completely rational.

In “The Theology of Time”, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated that Allah (God) “went to War with the Darkness”, using sunlight to manifest all that the darkness was hiding. It is evident that He had an intense dislike for the darkness, and that intense dislike manifested in the fact that though we were once in complete darkness we are now in a Universe of Light.

In going to war, Allah (God) was not acting irrationally. He made a rational judgment based upon His Idea of what He wanted in terms of a Universe. That Idea stimulated an intense dislike for the darkness because it stood in the way of His Idea, so He banished it.

Today, Allah (God) is bringing about the destruction of the present world order. His intense dislike for this contrary world and the one who made it is the result of a mathematical understanding of what He desires for His creation. His precise understanding of what he Wills and what stands in the way of His Will summons an intense dislike for the impediment. When He says, “Away with you”, this is not an emotional reaction; though there is intense feeling in it, it is the result of reasoning.

We, on the other hand, are just the opposite in our approach to a problem. Instead of being guided by reason, our emotional reaction clouds our reasoning and distorts our judgment. We react to things emotionally first, and the power of passion dominates over reason instead of being called into service by means of reason.

The propagandist-summons the passion of the people by giving them a reason to dislike a person, a thing, a nation. The elite, or those in authority, supply the people with the reason that summons the passion against the object of the authority's disapproval. There must always be a reason to like and a reason to dislike. He who supplies the reason directs the passion.

If I were to speak against many in the manner they have spoken against me, I could summon the passion of this Community against any object of my disapproval. But I have Never chosen to do so; I have directed the passion of the people toward Allah (God). I have given the people a reason to love Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad while the Caucasian has worked tirelessly in supplying reasons to dislike them.

Thus, the reason the devil accuses both myself and my Father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, of teaching Hate, is actually because I point out the wickedness of the devil. By pointing out his evil, I give the people a reason to summon their passion against that evil.

PORTRAITS OF EMOTIONAL REACTION

In the very beginning of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, we get a portrait of emotional reaction (intense feeling in response to someone or something) and the destructive power of Emotion when it is unchecked. Whenever Emotion overpowers Reason, it covers Reason and replaces it with a new rationale; the new rationale then leads us to disobey a command of God.

“Pride” is an emotion. It is an intense feeling of self-importance and superiority; an inordinate opinion of one's own merit.

God gave both Adam and Eve clear instructions not to eat of the tree in the midst of the garden. The Serpent (subtle suggestion in the mind) led them both into disobedience by appealing to the feeling of Pride:

“For God knows that when you eat the fruit, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Satan's suggestion incited Pride; the feeling that Adam and Eve were entitled to something that God was actually attempting to keep them from having, out of fear that it would threaten His position. Adam and Eve did not envy God, nor did they feel hatred or jealousy toward Him. But they had an intense feeling of pride which overpowered reason, so that they placed themselves directly in opposition to the Will of God. The consequence was the Fall of Adam.

“Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
Most of us are familiar with the story of Adam's sons, Cain and Abel. We know that God accepted an offering from Abel and rejected an offering from Cain and that Cain killed Abel over God's selection.

How many of us ever asked, “Why did God accept the offering of Abel and reject the offering of Cain?” Have we ever considered the effect of God's choice on both men and on the future? Have we ever stopped to reflect on whether God cared how they felt?

Is it possible that He had a Purpose that was not perceived by either Cain or Abel at the time?

The Bible describes Abel as a “keeper of sheep” and Cain as a “tiller of the ground”. And, “in process of time, it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof”.

In making a comparison of the actual effort each man put into his offering, there is much to reflect upon. Remember, we are trying to walk in Cain's shoes; to feel what he felt when his offering was not accepted. We must look into Cain's efforts in order to know something of the level of his expectation.

The word “till” means “to labor, as by plowing”. “Labor” means to “work to the point of exhaustion”. Cain worked the field to produce his offering. His time, sweat and pride were tied up in his work. In his mind, the rejection of his offering was tantamount to a rejection of him.

Abel sacrificed a sheep. In reality, Abel had nothing to do with the creation, development and growth of the sheep; Allah (God) was responsible for the process by which the sheep came into existence, as well as for producing the grass the sheep took its nourishment from. Abel offered that which grazed on the grass and his offer was accepted.

In understanding Cain's feelings, we must ask ourselves how we feel about something we work diligently to produce and what our reaction is when what we produce is turned down. His ego was crushed by the rejection of his offering and in applying the rejection to himself, he then began to sense a feeling of being lesser; now there is remorse over this apparent lowering of self. God is abasing him, in his mind, in rejecting his offering.

At this point, what would have saved Cain from being overpowered by his emotional reaction would have been to question God in the right spirit: “Did you reject me in rejecting my offering, and if so, why?” The emotion of pride connected to his work and suffering clouded his ability to get into the mind of God. The first mistake that God would have-been Able to correct was Cain's misperception that God was rejecting him. He took it personally and in doing so, his emotions clouded his ability to get into the mind of God. He made himself and his offering the center, rather than what God wanted as the center.

Once his ego was deflated, Cain began feeling a dislike for God. Unable to act effectively against God Himself, he focused his feeling of dislike on the person he believed God had chosen over him.

The nature of the sheep is humbleness. What God rejected in Cain was his pride over his work that gave him the exaggerated feeling of worth. It is only the humble at heart that will be able to obey God. God will ask you to do things against the pride of' yourself.

“Say: My prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.”

Many in the last days would offer money, substance from the ground. But Allah does not asks us to give money alone; our charity is but a symbol of our willingness to give Him our lives. He asks us for the very essence of our being: the Will. That is why in the last days, the only religion that will be accepted is Islam, the complete surrender of our will to His Will.

His acceptance of the sheep was a symbol of His lost sheep, a people, among them a lamb, who would be willing to give his life for the salvation of the whole.

We cannot buy our way into the Kingdom of God. This is not the sale of indulgences. We cannot even work our way into the Kingdom of God, if we are not willing to offer Him the essence of our being. Our charity, our service, our acts of kindness, could be turned down unless we surrender our will to His Will. That is the best of all sacrifices.

THE EXORCISM OF MAN

There is another, perhaps even more profound dimension to the portrait of Cain and his emotional reaction to God's expressed Will.

The emotional reaction that stirred within him was complex: disappointment, frustration, anger, envy and eventually, he grew to hate his brother. From the depths of his being, the turbulence of hatred produced the thought of Murder.

In the Book of Psalms, David speaks of a sea monster that dwells in the depths of the ocean. It is called Leviathan and it is a frightening thing.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad explained to me that his sea monster is actually a reference to the devil's submarines. He said that we can bring the submarines up out of the water by using the force of Wind in a circular motion. This powerful motion forces a submarine up on its end; once forced up, the waters part and the power of the Wind causes the water to slam against it, crushing it to pieces.

There are monsters in the bottom of our consciousness. God brings these things up with Winds (Trials) that He sends to stir up the Waters of Emotion. These monsters rest beneath the surface of our being, unseen and undetected in our daily interactions.

Cain and Abel were from the same womb. On the surface, they looked alike. But they were not the same beneath. The Holy Qur’an says that Allah brings us forth from the womb and “one of you is a Believer, the other a disbeliever”.

To force that which is hidden beneath to come forth, Allah creates a Test that will stir the emotions and dislodge and bring up that hidden monster.

“Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, We believe and will not be tried?...and indeed We tried some before them, so Allah will certainly know those who are true and He will know the liars. Or do they who work evil think that they will escape Us? Evil is it that they judge! Whoever hopes to meet with Allah, the term of Allah is then surely coming. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” Holy Qur’an 29:2-5

THROUGH QUESTIONING ALLAH (GOD] IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT, WE MAY BE SAVED

In the Story of Cain, there is failure. In the Story of Job, there is success. Job, in the midst of extreme duress, still did not curse his God, rather, he questioned Him. In questioning Allah (God), we are able to rise above the emotional reaction to our stress to think as He thinks.

Allah is not obligated to present trials one at a time, nor is He required to allow some minimal time lapse between them so that we can recover. He may confront us with many trials together, or one particularly long, grievous and painful trial.

At the peak of our trial, He may create circumstances that will cause us to be, or at least feel, completely deserted or abandoned. In the experience of abandonment by friends, family, even fellow believers, there is a sense of hopelessness; nothing to be thankful for. The. Emotion usually associated with this condition is Depression.

“Why art thou cast down O My soul? Why art thou disquieted in me? ... My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, ‘Where is your God?’ Thou didst hide Thy face, and I was troubled.” Psalms 42:11

The situation can become almost unbearable:

“Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me...my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Psalms 22:1

When he speaks the exact words spoken by Jesus in the New Testament as Jesus is undergoing torture and death, David is describing his own living experience. Yet, David is described as having a heart after God's heart. But he was not only a prototype of Christ in God's Love for him, he was also a prototype in his suffering. He was a prophet and a king, yet he suffered.

Perhaps the most oft-repeated Psalm of David is the 23rd, 'The Lord is MY Shepherd, I shall not want".

The Lord is our Shepherd, but this does not mean that for reasons we may not perceive on our level, He will withdraw His Presence and diminish the Help he affords. He will chastise the Believer and He will put the Believer through severe trials.

Walk a moment in the shoes of Job, who lost everything he had. When Job, in the midst of his suffering, called on Allah (God) for a reason for his overwhelming losses, the Scriptures say "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind”. Job 38:1

This -means He responded right out of the core of Job's swirling emotions and confusion. And when He answered Job, it was not with specific explanation, it was with Declarations of His Power and Glory. This increased Job's humility and dependence and in the end he was once again blessed.

THE STORY OF HAGAR

One of the greatest Scriptural displays of patience and humility during times of trial and suffering is in the story of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael by Abraham.

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. From whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121

“The Safa and the Marwah are truly among the signs of Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or pays a visit to it, there is no blame on him if he goes round, them. And whoever does good spontaneously--surely Allah is bountiful in rewarding, Knowing.” Holy Qur’an 2:158

Of the more than one billion Muslims on Earth, many millions have made Umrah and/or Hajj in Mecca. In this ritual, each pilgrim, male and female, must follow the path of Hagar and run between the two hills named in the above verse.

Why must we, as Muslims, follow the path of Hagar? What lesson is in her life that Allah (God) desires to ingrain into the life of every Muslim?

Hagar was the handmaiden of Abraham's wife, Sarah. A “maiden” is defined as a young, unmarried female, usually a virgin". It is a term "relating to or befitting a girl".

Here we have the opportunity to look into the Domestic Life of a man whom Muslims, Christian and Jews honor as a great prophet, whom the Qur'an refers to as a “model of virtue”. In this instance, Abraham was a man in his 80's; an “elderly” man by today's standards, going into his wife's handmaiden, Hagar, who is by definition hardly more than a child. The act which produced Ishmael took place at Sarah's request, she herself an elderly woman having been unable to bear children up to that time.

When Hagar became pregnant, with Ishmael, Sarah caused Abraham to put the woman and her baby out of the house. Put yourself in Sarah's shoes. Was there an emotional reaction to the fact that while she had been unable to give a child to the man she loved and had been with for so long, this young girl had succeeded where she had failed? Did her emotions overpower her reason to the point she lost sight of the fact that the child had been conceived at her behest?

Banished from the home of her child's father, Hagar found herself in the wilderness without food or shelter. Although these essentials were in the house of Abraham, the baby's father, apparently none would be forthcoming for Hagar or the child.

She ran to and fro in quest of water, between the two hills, Safa and Marwah, until she was exhausted. Finally she decided to give up the effort and die. She bent to lay the baby down on the ground when there at his foot a well suddenly sprang up. This was the place now known as Zamzam. Water flows from it today, 5,000 years later.

What is the lesson in this?

Every servant of Allah (God) has at some time been expelled from home, or put out from the protection of family, clan or tribe, running from persecution with no one to rely upon except -Him. If, in the distress of the moment, we are overpowered by our emotions, we may react improperly and lose a great reward.

Hagar did not succumb to the common emotion of bitterness caused by deprivation; she did not curse Abraham or Sarah. She looked to her God; she looked to the hills, from whence her help came: the Lord.

Every Muslim is made to walk after this young woman, Hagar, who was an outcast for bearing a child that would become a Prophet of Allah (God). Some of the wives of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, when they became pregnant, left the city and went running into the wilderness. Some accepted the death of banishment, disgrace and evil talk, so that the Messenger of Allah could be covered and we, in our infancy, could be covered, because we had not the proper foundation to bear the Truth.

Pain and deprivation are severe trials. Distress may be so intense that the sufferer is too distracted to be able to concentrate; unable to pray, except in a very emotional way. The Holy Qur'an says that when we are in distress we are “sincere in prayer” and “lengthy in supplication”.

If we can keep the presence of mind and summon up the necessary strength to seek the solution to the problem from Allah (God), then we may be upheld until we reach understanding.

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Isaiah 43:2

To each that overcomes the Emotion of bitterness because of pain and deprivation, there is a great reward.

FAITH: THE ESSENTIAL QUALITY

“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ... But without Faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarded of them that diligently seek him.”

The Bible & and the Holy Qur’an tell us that our faith will be tried and tested. They also tell us that Allah (God) will not allow us to be tried beyond our ability to endure, though it is difficult to remember this in the throes of the trial.

“There is no temptation before you but such as is common to all men; but God is Faithful and will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able; but He will, with the temptation, also make a way that you may be able to bear it ...” I Corinthian10: 13

The Holy Qur’an states that no soul will have imposed on it a “duty beyond its scope”. However, Allah (God) may test us right up to the limit of our ability to endure.

Faith is necessary to endure the trial long enough to rise above our emotional reaction that we may obtain understanding through knowing Allah’s (God's) view of the situation.

The word “suffer” means to “experience pain in soul or body”. The word translated “affliction” in the New Testament means “pressure”. To suffer affliction is to suffer pressure, or to be “pressed down”. Peter refers to “heaviness" through many trials.

If we just attempt to obey Allah (God) we undergo suffering; or being brought low through the pressure and weight that is placed upon us. Jeremiah was lowered into a pit.

The word “tribulation” means “straitness or distress”. Tribulations and afflictions bring suffering in their wake. The Holy Qur'an states that we will “surely” be tried with deprivation: “Loss of life and property”.

When a man or woman is spiritually sensitive and any Servant of Allah (God) is, then he or she can experience acute suffering through temptations, relationships and attachments to persons who are not interested in God's Will; anxiety, debt and the oppression of men.

Unlike the disbeliever, the sincere believer does not find any real relief in worldly pursuits. Though he or she may enjoy lawful recreation, these offer no permanent solutions to the peculiar problems of the Believer.

The Believer takes pleasure from living according to the Law of Allah (God) and fears deviation from it. So when Allah (God) issues a command that is contrary to His own Divine Law according to the Believer's understanding of it, there is a trial for the Believer.

MARY AND JOSEPH

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When, as his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, -she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18-20

Joseph loved Mary since they were children, however, her father would not permit her to marry him. Out of respect for the law that prohibits intimate relations outside of marriage, Joseph suppressed his love for Mary and took another for a wife. He had six (6) children by the woman he married and it appeared that he had succeeded in completely suppressing his desire for Mary.

But there came a time when Mary called to him for assistance and he responded. In the 3 days they were together, Jesus was conceived.

In the context of their understanding of the Law of Moses which governed the society, Joseph, Mary and Mary's father all suffered the Emotion of Fear and great Distress. Joseph was absolutely certain, in his mind, that he had offended the law and that he and Mary would suffer a terrible price.

What Joseph did not know was that there was a Superior Law working. That Superior Law conformed to Allah’s (God's) plan to make a sign that would not be fulfilled until 2,000 years later.

Meanwhile, relief from fear came to Joseph only when an old prophetess informed him that the child Mary was carrying was to be the last prophet to the Jews. Joseph then informed Mary's father of what he was told by a servant functioning from a higher law.

The religious legalists of the day were unaware of this and they functioned according to their understanding. Thus, Mary's pregnancy could not be spoken of publicly. It was a secret to be kept that authorities would not kill the baby and its parents.

“And she brought forth her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes”.
Luke 2:8

Jesus is referred to as her firstborn because Joseph already had children. Joseph did not have the mind of an adulterer; he was not a lustful man. Mary called him to assist her during a dust storm (an Act of God). Allah (God) having ordained the birth of Jesus, there were no existing circumstances that could prevent it, even the fact that the child's father was married to another woman.

“She said, How can I have a son and no mortal has yet touched me, nor have I been unchaste? He said: So It will be. Thy Lord says: It is easy for Me; and that We may make him a sign to men and a mercy from Us. And it is a-matter decreed...Then she conceived him; and withdrew him to a remote place.”
She suffered the pain of labor as any flesh and blood woman delivering a flesh and blood child must suffer:

“And the throes of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died before this and had been a thing quite forgotten So a voice came to her from beneath her: Grieve not, surely thy Lord has provided 8 stream beneath thee. And shake towards thee the trunk of the palm-tree, it will drop on thee fresh ripe dates.” Holy Qur'an 19:23

Like Hagar, Mary depended upon her Lord for relief.

Consider the series of emotions that Joseph, Mary and Mary's father went through over the conception and birth of Jesus. Also consider the emotional reaction of the family, not seeing beyond their embarrassment and shame, to ask, “Why did Allah (God) permit this to happen this chaste young girl?”

“Then she came to her people with him, carrying him. They said: 0 Mary, thou hast indeed brought a strange thing! O sister of Aaron, thy father was not a wicked man, nor was thy mother an unchaste woman!”

How did Mary feel, knowing she was not an unrighteous person while being treated as though she was?

There is no record of Joseph and Mary ever Living together as husband and wife; the actual existence of a family unit was not necessary to effectuate God's Will, which was to produce a particular child; to do so, he needed the seed of David and Joseph carried that seed. He was of the lineage of David. Once he provided the life-germ, he had performed his service for Allah (God) insofar as this child was concerned.

RELATIONSHIPS
When Noah was commanded to build the ark to save himself and the believers from destruction, naturally he desired to save his own wife and son. In the Holy Qur'an, we read:

“At length when Our command came and water gushed forth from the valley, We said: Carry in it two of all things, a pair, and thine own family--except those against whom the Word has already gone forth-and those who believe. And there believed not with him but a few ... And it moved on with them amid waves like mountains. And Noah called out to his son, and he was aloof. O my son, embark with us and be not with the disbelievers.”

How would it feel to be told by Allah (God) that His Word has already gone forth against one of our loved ones? Shock, bewilderment? Certainly your child has faults, but to be condemned to destruction by the God you are working so hard to serve? How many years did Noah devote to building the ark? How long did he endure the scorn and mockery of the community he was a part of? At the end of his suffering for the sake of Allah (God), could not Allah excuse his son's aloofness?

“And Noah cried to his Lord and said: My Lord, surely my son is of my family, and Thy promise is true and Thou art the Justest of the judges. He said: O Noah, he is not of thy family; he is an embodiment of unrighteous conduct. So ask not of Me that of which thou hast no knowledge. I admonish thee lest thou be of the ignorant.”

No parent wants to see their child destroyed, no matter what the child has done. We petition the teacher on behalf of the child; even after maturity, we may petition the child's employer for consideration; when he or she goes astray, we petition the judge for leniency. How painful it must have been for Noah to be denied his humble petition on behalf of his son And yet, he obeyed his Lord.

Lot loved his wife, but “We ordained her to be of those who remained behind ... So We delivered him and his followers, except his wife --- she was of those who remained behind.”

Allah (God) ordained something adverse to the emotional attachments of the prophet.
The wife of Lot looked back because what she was leaving behind in Sodom and

Gomorrah was dearer to her than what Allah (God) was calling her to through her husband.

Both Noah and Lot were faithful servants of Allah (God), but neither of them was able to save his family members when the family member (s) went against the Message the prophet brought.

“Allah sets forth an example for those who disbelieve --- the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They were under two of our righteous servants, but they acted treacherously towards them, so they availed them naught against Allah (God), and it was said, Enter the Fire with those who enter.” Holy Qur’an 66:9

Just as Noah had to part with a disbelieving son, Abraham had to cease his quest for forgiveness on behalf of a disbelieving father. Apparently, Abraham was close to his family, but had to disassociate himself from them. This must have been very painful. However, because of his faith, he was blessed with two sons who were prophets.

“Your relationships and your children would not profit you on the day of Resurrection--He will decide between you. And Allah is the Seer of what you do.

Indeed, there is for you a good example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people, We are clear of you and of that which you serve besides Allah. We disbelieve in you and there has arisen enmity and hatred between Us and you forever until you believe in Allah alone--except Abraham's saying to his 3ire: I would ask forgiveness for thee and I control naught for thee from Allah.” 60:3

Yet, after blessing Abraham with his beautiful son, Ishmael, Allah (God) commanded him to give his son's life as a sacrifice.

What must Abraham have felt upon receiving this instruction? To kill any child, but especially his own, whom he had been blessed with as an answer to a prayer; a righteous child -- How could the same God Who gave him the son now ask him to
kill it?

“So when they both submitted and he had thrown him down upon his forehead, And We called out to him saying, 0 Abraham, thou hast indeed fulfilled the vision. Thus do We reward the doers of good. Surely this is a manifest trial.” Holy Qur'an 37:1 00

How was Abraham able to overcome the emotional reaction to the command?

“By faith Abraham ... obeyed.”-Hebrews_11:7

JOSEPH'S FIRMNESS UNDER TEMPTATION
Joseph, the son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his envious brothers. This act of treachery set off a series of trials that he was forced to undergo.

Purchased for “a small price”, he found himself in the home of an Egyptian couple. Study the emotional conflict that took place in this instance. How would you have handled your emotions in that situation?

“And she in whose house he Was, sought to seduce him, and made fast the doors and said: Come. He said: Allah forbid! Surely my Lord made good my abode. The wrongdoers never prosper.

“And certainly she desired him, and he would have desired her, were it not that he had seen the manifest evidence of his Lord. Thus (it was) that We might turn away from him evil and indecency. Surely he was one of Our chosen servants.” Holy Qur’an 12:23,24

It was only through the direct intervention of Allah (God) that Joseph was able to resist the efforts of the seductress to lead him into evil and indecency.

The Holy Qur'an states that after word traveled that the wife of a dignitary had been so attracted to Joseph that she was willing to commit adultery, the other women in the city were critical of her actions:

“And women in the city said: The chief's Wife seeks to seduce her slave. He has indeed affected her deeply with his love. Truly we see her in manifest error...So when she hear of their device, she sent for them and prepared for them a repast, and gave each of them a knife and said to Joseph: Come out to them. So when they saw him, they deemed him great and cut their hands in amazement and said: Holy Allah! This is not a mortal!, This is but a noble angel.” 12:31

What was it about this Servant of Allah (God) that the women actually cut their hands at the sight of him? How do you think you might react in that situation?

Joseph turned to his Lord: “My Lord, the prison is dearer to me than that to which they invite me ... So his Lord accepted his prayer and turned away their device from him. Surely He is the Hearer, the Knower.”

DOMESTIC LIFE OF MUHAMMAD
The Domestic Life of Prophet Muhammad was a source of emotional conflict in the community of Believers as well as within his household.

There are principles inherent in the marriages of Prophet Muhammad that remain hidden to this day, covered by emotional reactions to his Domestic Life. The question must be answered, “What did Allah (God) want us to learn?”

His first marriage was to Khadijah, whom he was devoted to for 25 years of marriage until her death at the age of 65. She was 1 5 years older than he. She was to him, as Sister Clara Muhammad would be to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, his wife, friend, companion and among the first to accept Islam when he was called to the Mission. Her loss caused him great pain and suffering.

After the loss of his beloved Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad married Aishah, the daughter of Abu Bakr. Aishah was only 11 years old when the marriage ceremony took place and she remained in her parents home another 3 years before the marriage was consummated.

In all the marriages that followed, Muhammad's wives were women who had been previously married. Only Aishah came to him a virgin. She was actually brought up, shaped and fashioned under his care. Thus she acquired a spiritual radiance that made her ultimately stand out in history as a guide, for not only Muslim women, but for all of the Believers.

It was on the return from an important expedition in the 5th year of the Hijrah, that Aishah, who had accompanied the Prophet, went away from the caravan in search of a lost necklace. The bearers of her litter, thinking she was still inside, marched off leaving her behind. One of her husband's soldiers who was coming in from the rear, came upon her and brought her safely to Madinah.

A hypocrite learned of the incident and in it found a pretext to slander the Prophet an his family and erode the love and admiration of the Believers, so he started a campaign of vilification and several gullible Muslims gave ear to the slander.

What thoughts had those Muslims harbored, that they would respond to slander against a wife of Allah's Servant with such enthusiasm? Were there some hidden feelings toward his marriage to Aishah that were brought to surface by this incident? Why did Allah (God) Himself attach such importance to the matter that He would issue such a Revelation as the one which follows?

“Surely they who concocted the lie are a party from among you. Deem it not an evil to you. Nay, it is good for you. For every man of them is what he has earned of sin; and as for him among them who took upon himself the main part thereof, he shall have a grievous punishment.

“Why did not the believing men and the believing women, when you heard it, think well of their own people, and say: This is an evident falsehood?...

“And were it not for Allah's Grace upon you and His Mercy in this world and the Hereafter, a grievous chastisement would certainly have touched you on account of the talk you indulged in.

When you received it on your tongues and spoke with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge, and you deemed it a trifle, while with Allah it was serious.

And why did you not, when you heard it, say: It beseems us not to talk of it. Glory be to Thee! This is a great calumny.

Allah admonishes you that you return not to the like of it ever again, if you are believers... Those who love that scandal should circulate respecting those who believe, for them is a grievous chastisement in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows, while you know not.” Holy Qur’an 24:11-19

One of the Prophet's marriages was to Zainab, his cousin. Her parents wanted him to take her as a wife, but he expressed a desire that she be given in marriage to Zaid, his own freed slave whom he adopted as a son. The Prophet wanted to abolish the barriers of class and economic status and felt that the marriage between a former slave and a women of high birth would facilitate bringing equality within the community. The marriage was not happy and eventually ended in divorce. Once the marriage he had arranged proved to be a failure, the Prophet consented to the wishes of Zainab's parents and married her himself.

Had he been a man just interested in having wives for his personal gratification, it would seem that he would have accepted Zainab's hand when it was offered to him while she was a virgin. Yet, he took her in marriage after she became a divorced woman. Study the status of women, particularly divorced women, at the time. What effect did this action of Allah's Servant have on the social standing of divorced females in the community? What emotional reactions did it create among the class-conscious people of the community?

There was great consternation among the Prophet's wives when the Ruler of Egypt sent Mariyah as a gift to Him. She accepted Islam and became his wife. This Black woman bore him Ibrahim, his only son. The child died in infancy. What emotional effect did the birth of a son by one wife have on the others? How did Aishah, who enjoyed the position of being the 'favorite', feel toward Mariyah? What effect did the child's death have on the Prophet himself? What effect did it have on the child's mother?

One of the Prophet's wives was Maimunah, a widow, who offered her hand to him and he accepted. Historical accounts relate that some wives did not desire to see him enter any more marriages after they themselves were accepted. What effect did his marriage to Maimunah have on his other wives, when there was no apparent reason for marrying her, other than the fact that she offered herself to him?

The giving of wives to Muhammad was not done merely for sexual gratification, it was that Allah (God) might give His Servant deeper insight into the woman through women he married, as well as deeper insight into himself by virtue of what each woman brought out of him; to confer a greater reverence for the womb.

In the Holy Qur'an, a Servant of Allah pleads with Him:

“My Lord, expand my breast for me and ease my affair for me; and loose the knot from my tongue, that they may understand my word.” 20:25-27

The expansion of the breast may be compared to the enlargement of the womb when a woman carries a child. In the womb is the capacity of the female to produce children. As her womb expands and she feels the growing life within her, her breast expands also. She grows to love more than herself and her husband.

With every child, her breast expands to love that child. The test she faces is not to make distinctions between them, but to be just and equitable in her treatment of her children. Allah (God) has given mothers an inexhaustible love for their own children as well as the children of others. They are sympathetic to other mothers who have experienced the pain and suffering of birth.

Allah (God) gave wives to Muhammad, among whom were women from tribes that were hostile to the Quraish. Through the marriage of the Prophet to one member of a tribe, the entire tribe was embraced. This is the meaning of the expansion of the breast: Allah (God) expands the heart of His Servant for the Salvation of Nations.

IN CONCLUSION
There are many Servants of Allah (God) in the Bible and the Holy Qur'an whose names and the circumstances of their lives could be mentioned for further study and analysis. However, if we just try to walk in the shoes of the Servants of Allah (God) presented in this Study Guide, we will have experienced the full range of Emotion. Hopefully, this Study Guide will have prepared us for the onslaught of the devil:

“And when the dragon saw that he was Cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the male child...And the serpent cast out of his mouth water like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood ... And the earth helped the woman and the earth opened her mouth and, swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth ... And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God...” Revelations 12:13-17

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to us that the flood represents propaganda. As the enemy in his attack on Saddam Hussein went to the air with such a terrific bombardment that the ground war ended in less than a week, the enemy of Allah (God) and our enemy may take to the air in a vicious barrage of propaganda, like a flood. Floods uproot strong trees; floods bring snakes Out of their hiding places. Floods undermine the foundations of buildings and railroad tracks.

How strong is your Foundation in the face of a flood of propaganda?

The Earth helped the woman by swallowing the water. With this study guide, properly digested and acted upon, we may be able, with the Help of Allah (God), to make the enemy's evil slander of no effect.

Our prayer is that the Nation of Islam will be seen like Noah's Ark: “A Mercy floating on before our eyes”!

May Allah (God) bless each and every student to master the Wisdom contained herein.

WARNING

This Study Guide is in no way intended to inspire, in any brother or sister, a movement toward polygamous relationships.

The Black male must qualify himself spiritually, morally, emotionally and certainly economically, to even approach this subject matter intelligently in terms of its practical reality.

The Black man's view of the Black woman at this time is so underdeveloped that it must be characterized as filthy. Because of this, the practice of polygamy today would constitute the disrespect of the Black woman through sexual promiscuity in the Name of Allah (God).

The Holy Qur’an teaches that one wife for one husband is better for us, if we but knew. If and or when', certain aspects of the Holy Qur'an will be fulfilled by us, we will be guided into this. At this time, however, I warn you: No one is to enter into this practice, lost we fall victim to the Restrictive Law which is the Reality that Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah have imposed upon the Believers.

The Aim of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is the Reformation of both the Black man and the Black woman, with special attention on the Black woman, because, as He has said, “Where there are no decent women, there are no decent men, for the Black woman i3 the Mother of Civilization.”

The Reformation of the Black man must include a reformation of his view of himself and the Black woman, who is his second self. His reformation must include the removal of any and all tendencies to abuse the Black woman and/or to use her as an instrument of sexual pleasure without accepting the responsibilities imposed upon us by Allah (God) when in our relationships with the female.

It is out of the Desire and Will of Allah (God) for the Reformation of the male and female that He set up two independent classes for their instruction: The Fruit of Islam and the Muslim Girls Training and General Civilization Class.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad threatened me and all of His ministers with expulsion from the Nation of Islam if any minister interfered with the MGT Class. No male member of the Nation of Islam is qualified to teach the Black woman what Allah (God) Desires for her.

Therefore, we are to be by the MGT Class and the Black woman in general, as Zacharias was by Mary, knowing fully well that we will be judged by Allah (God) by how we treat any female placed in our care and under our charge. Zacharias was a righteous caretaker of a righteous young girl who grew up in the Mosque. Every Minister, every FOI, Must strive to be a righteous caretaker of the MGT. Until there is such righteousness in his attitude and actions toward the female, the Black man is not yet reformed.

Allah (God) will punish us severely for violation of these principles of conduct concerning the treatment of the woman. Where there is disrespect for the woman, there is disrespect for Allah (God), for in the secret of the womb is the secret of His Work that is taking place within the womb. When this reverence is displayed, only then will the Kingdom of God be Established.

Study Guide 19A: Who Is God?

A BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE COURSE
Sister Minister Ava Muhammad

In "The Will of God (Part I)", the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan writes.

"Everything in Creation is the manifestation of the Will of God...when He says 'Be!' He summons the Power of His own Being, His Creative Mind and Will, to bring about that which He Wills."

In light of these words, we can attribute nothing to coincidence (mere chance). The Course he wrote, entitled "Self-Improvement: The Basis for Community Development", was first a lecture, delivered in the city of Phoenix, Arizona, September 21, 1986, by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. "Phoenix" is the name given to a legendary bird of extraordinary beauty. Reputedly the only one of its kind, it lives more than 500 years in the Arabian wilderness. At the end of that time, the bird burns itself completely, then rises from its own ashes, brand new, to live another cycle of centuries. It's image is a symbol of immortality. Three months after that historic speech, the Minister introduced an entire course centered around the study of self. Here are two brief excerpts from his letter of introduction:

"The rising to life of the spiritually dead and the Great Resurrection are one and the same. And the first stage of in our spiritual resurrection occurs through the stimulation of our self-accusing spirit; that is, when the inner voice speaks, guides, warns, reproves, exhorts and accuses us of going contrary to what is right... This phase of our development is designed, by the Help of Allah (God), to bring about a transformation or complete change in our lives. This is done by stimulating self-analysis and self-correction in us. Our self-improvement actually brings into fruition the awesome power of Allah (God) to 'make complete his (our) whole make'; {H.Q. 75:4}" (special emphasis added)

The image of the phoenix burning itself and rising from its own ashes is a mere illustration of something even more extraordinary. Those who submit themselves to "this process of heeding truth and right guidance" are destined to be transformed. i It is critical for us to realize that the Course is inspired. As its title indicates, the Course is a teaching device; however, it is not an academic exercise conceived by the Minister to impress us with his range of knowledge. Those who perceive it as that, fall off the mountain before the climb begins, because they immediately begin to compare it with the work of various intellectuals among us. When that happens, they become bored and abandon the Course for something more "challenging". Alexander the Great wept because he had no more worlds to conquer, but he died an alcoholic at the age of 32. When people are allowed to have power and authority with no self-awareness, we all suffer.

Review the Minister's letter of introduction. The curriculum is explained "study sessions" on both theoretical and practical levels. It is not a treatise written by a theologian sharing his thoughts. It is Revelation to a servant of Allah (God) for the salvation of a people. This is a man who is speaking through life's experiences. When he says, "there is a difficulty factor attached to everything of value:, he knows what he is talking about. Without practical application --- if the student does not use the principles in daily life --- the Course will not produce thought reversal and we will not experience a change.

However, if the student does apply the theory to life, then upon completion of the units currently available, he or she will begin a new cycle but on a higher plane, at a quicker vibratory rate.

Let us take, as an example, the very first study guide, entitled, "Mixed Feelings & Controversy: How Do We Handle It?". When Minister Farrakhan went to Phoenix in 1986, mixed feelings and controversy surrounded his presence. At that time, he spoke in Plaza Symphony Hall.

In 1995, he was again surrounded by mixed feelings and controversy, within a whole new reality. He stood in front of the nation's capitol and addressed a gathering of nearly 2 million Black men. Obviously, some growth had occurred in that 9-year period. He was back to Study Guide Number 1, but this time the journey through the Course was measured in months instead of years. Immediately thereafter, he embarked upon his World Friendship Tour, creating another storm of controversy and moving at yet a faster vibratory rate. The time within which he was able to execute it.

Allah's (God's) Plan decreased even further, measured in weeks instead of months.

The only request the Minister makes is that the student apply the principles; use them. It is only their use that will give them real meaning and confirm their truth.

More than one study guide grew out of a serious difficulty encountered by an individual. It will come as a surprise to you that Study Guide 16, "The Law of God", evolved from a letter written to a Laborer. Study Guide 14, "Respect for Authority", began as a letter the Minister wrote to a young woman who had been wrongfully imprisoned. As I recall, she was in such conflict with the prison officials, her sentence could have been lengthened. As a direct result of the Divine Guidance she received through our Leader, she was able to successfully complete the time and has rejoined our struggle for liberation.

Similarly, Study Guide 13, "The Price of Redemption" was written for a particular event in the Nation's history: the repurchase of our Mosque, which the Minister named "Maryam".

I simply cannot overemphasize the power that is contained in this Course. Perhaps the Minister's generosity in giving this Divine Wisdom away so freely has been misinterpreted. Is it possible to make someone recognize the value of what he or she has deliberately thrown away? It is not easy; the person obviously threw it away because he placed no value in it. Perhaps if he is shown that his miserable condition is directly related to being without it, then he is allowed to see it one more time, he may be able to change his mind about its worth.

More than a decade has passed since the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan presented us with the first of the 18 units of study we have received thus far. It is known throughout the world that Allah (God) gave the Minister the gift of teaching. However, I am not sure if we all realize he first and always maintains the attitude and posture of a student:

"I met a man who taught me and I am not the same old Negro I once was. I am a man now with healing in my wings and yet I am a student of another man... We have got to give credit where credit is due. I met a man and that man is a doctor. He doctored on me, so that I could doctor on you. That man is Elijah Muhammad." (Saviours' Day, October 9, 1993)

Many people love to teach, but care little for learning. Over the years, I have watched the Minister as he listened intently to clergymen, physicians, lawyers, educators, politicians, businessmen, artists and athletes while they answered his sincere questions about the details of their field or profession. Long after others have become bored or distracted, he remains alert. He loves to learn. He does not envy achievement, he admires it.

Those who desire to be successful should also take note of yet another rare attribute the Minister possesses. I have been in the Nation of Islam for 16 years and have worked closely with Minister Farrakhan for 11 of those years. I have never, ever, known him to engage in idle conversation of any sort. Yes, he is pleasant and he has a sense of humor. But he is committed to the Work of his Father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Time is never wasted in his company. He is completely devoted to Allah and His Messenger. I have spent hours at a time, alone with the Minister in his office, and he has always been the most excellent example of proper conduct -- in speech as well as manners. This is a man who not only respects women, he teaches women to respect themselves. I can declare without fear of contradiction: anyone who would ever charge this man with indecency can only belong to Satan.

If asked to describe the Minister's 'aura', in one word, I would choose "serene". Even in the heat of battle with the most vicious enemies of our liberation, the serenity remains. The Peace of God cannot be shattered. The question for us is, how do we achieve the peace and tranquility our Minister possesses?

Beloved, we marvel at the Works our Minister performs but where is the "complete change" in our lives? Can't we see that he teaches us only to make us greater than himself? Yet, we lag so far behind, we have become a burden to him as well as ourselves. How long will we be permitted to ask for what we already have? The study guides are the means of our transformation! iv

What will finally bring an end to the long, dark winter of our disappointment with life? Where, when, how will we find real love, spiritual fulfillment, success and recognition? The gravitational pull of "what is" makes it very hard to implement "what ought to be". Moving out of the darkness of ignorance into the Light of Knowledge is not just a step, it is an odyssey.

After engaging in this study, we should want to "rise above Emotion into the Thinking of God". Emotion will not change our circumstances. When all is said and done, only faith, hard work, and the Holy Qur'an's assurance that "Allah is with the steadfast:, will get us to our goal.

The Thinking of God is unbound by space or time and embraces an appreciation of the value in each and every one of us. Never underestimate the power in your own ability to perceive worth in every human being --- particularly yourself. It will absolutely determine the extent of your success in life. This can be proven in no limit of time.

In the aftermath of the Million Man March, the most blind among us can see it was Divinely-inspired. Nearly two million Black men came together in nearly perfect love and peace. Many of our most virulent enemies have acknowledged that were it not for Minister Louis Farrakhan, the Million Man March simply would never have happened. Just as the number of persons who argue that Jesus was a Caucasian has steadily dwindled, only the insane will fight against the self-evident.

Even more significant for us is the reality that no one else could have thought of the Million Man March. How do we know this? Because there is nothing within the framework of the white man's world that would allow any of us to have such a thought. Therefore, we know that it was the Thinking of Allah (God). In order for Allah (God) to use us as a conveyor of His Thinking, we have to have the kind of thoughts He has.

One way we can measure our progress in life is by calculating how long it takes to complete our various goals and objectives on a daily weekly, monthly, yearly basis. A spiritually and intellectually developed person is effective in dealing with people and getting things done.

Again, as pointed out in the beginning of this Commentary, look at how long it took Minister Farrakhan to carry out Allah's Idea for the Million Man March. Two years? Five years? It was accomplished in a matter of months. His World Friendship Tour was accomplished in a matter of weeks.

What are your thoughts and feelings about your future? What are your plans for tomorrow? Next week? Next year? Are you struggling with painful personal problems? Are your relationships (spouse, parent, child, friends, etc.) what you want them to be? Is there drug addiction, illness or disease to contend with? Financial instability? Now expand your mind to include the concerns of our community, our Nation, the world, It is difficult and confusing to even acknowledge the existence of these problems, so most of us don't.

We depend upon Minister Farrakhan to lead us, guide us, teach us, think for us, singlehandedly protect us from the enemies of our liberation. Is it rational to expect our blessings to flow from him or are we guilty of being unjust? Many of us will not even make the effort to develop spiritually, intellectually and materially, though he has given us the resources we need directly from Allah Himself.

We are like a man in a house where another has brought in good food and cooked it, but the man still starves to death because he is too lazy to eat. Many of us have been exposed to the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad for years, without any improvement whatsoever in ourselves or our circumstances. Some of us are actually a burden to our Minister and the Nation. How long do we think Allah will permit it?

"And the judging on that day will be just, so as for those whose good deeds are heavy, they are successful. And for those whose good deeds are light, those are they who ruined their souls because they disbelieved in our messages. And certainly We have established you in the Earth and made therein means of livelihood for you; little it is that you give thanks!" Holy Qur'an 7:8-10

INTRODUCTION

(by Minister Ava Muhammad)

"The Knowledge of God has Power to separate and manifest the Believer and the Disbeliever. It is the Key to all other knowledge." - Minister Louis Farrakhan-

It has been more than a decade since our Leader, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, introduced "Self-Improvement: The Basis for Community Development." Between 1986 and 1991, he gave us eighteen (18) units of study, in a course which he described in his letter of introduction:

"...Each study session is designed on the Guidance of Allah to produce: self-examination, self-analysis, self-correction and, to quicken in each of us the Self-accusing Spirit. For it is only when we are awakened morally that we have to face the Self-accusing Spirit which leads to our Resurrection. Resurrection is that process that begins with the Self-accusing Spirit and does not end until we become one in perfect harmony with Allah and His Creation."

To demonstrate the profound Wisdom that Allah has given us, not only from the lips, but from the pen of Minister Louis Farrakhan, let us choose just one word contained in the above paragraph --- quicken -- and examine it. "Quicken" means "to accelerate, to give or restore vigor or activity; to rouse or stimulate, revive, or restore life to; to become alive, receive life; for a child in the womb to begin to manifest signs of life."

To be "quickened" by the Self-accusing Spirit is to have our vibrations increased from the slow tempo of the physical plane to the fast tempo of the spiritual plane, increasing more and more until we are able to comprehend even God Himself. Minister Farrakhan has taught us that while this quickening comes from within, when the inner light has been turned off, we need someone from the Original Power Source to reactivate conscious awareness of God. After completing this Unit, "Who Is God?", you may conclude that Minister Farrakhan himself is such a person among us today.

Study Guide 19A is a magnificent revelation which will come as a surprise to those who have clamored, "When is Study Guide 19 coming out?" The power of "19" alone has made this study guide the Nation's "most wanted". But, like Hagar, we have been looking for that which has already been given to us. The substance of Study Guide 19 actually preceded Study Guide 18 in existence.

Beloved, even if we saw and heard Minister Farrakhan deliver the Message, "Who Is God?" on February 24, 1991, it can be proven in no limit of time that we missed the "essence" of it. Just look at what he has done since 1991 and look at what you and I have done since 1991. To say he has accomplished that which no one else has done is an understatement. He has accomplished that which no one else has thought of doing.

There are no words to express the sensation of seeing and hearing our Minister in person. And there is nothing wrong with audio and video tapes. Indeed, their value is almost immeasurable. However, there is no substitute for the written word. If you desire to grow into power and influence in this life; if you are serious about knowing the Mind of God, you must become proficient in reading.

I feel compelled to emphasize the need to read at this point, because it is only through reading and discussing Study Guide 19A that you will learn it contains the precise solution to any problem which plagues you at this moment. Furthermore, upon completion of it, there will be no doubt that Minister Farrakhan is a Divinely-Guided man. It will confirm the faith of the Believer and inspire the Believer---once and for all--to translate that faith into action.

As you read, you will see that central to Study Guide 19A is the number 12, beginning with the meaning of "Point Number 12" of "What the Muslims Believe". {The speech contains approximately 12,000 words} Minister Farrakhan teaches us the spiritual and historical significance of the Number 12.

In Study Guide 19A, Minister Farrakhan takes us into the "Rules of Interpretation" set forth in Surah 3 of the Holy Qur'an. He discusses the Making of History (Bible, Holy Qur'an, 25,000-year cycle); the Transmission of the Wisdom of God through human beings; the Great Trial (mishandling of knowledge); the 66-Trillion Year Fast and the Feast at its end; how and why the Knowledge of God became a Secret; the Self-Creation of the Originator, His Law of Life and Death and how He escapes His own Law. The Minister identifies the "most mysterious force" in the Universe; explains the important difference between the Brain of God and the Mind of God; describes the origin of Thought that gave rise to the Brain. He asks and answers the question, "Why is Jesus called the Son of God?" He explains the name, "Adam".

He teaches of the Infinite Power of the Mind of the Creator and explains why the Universe itself cannot contain the Mind of the Creator forever; why we do not bow to or make physical images of worship; the awesome declaration of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that "God is a man"; the meaning of "Messiah" and "Mahdi"; the meaning of "everlasting life"; the making of devil and why devil was made.

He teaches of the Secret of God found in the woman; of the relationship between Revelations 12 and Surah 19; of the pivotal role of the woman in the closing of one world and the bringing in of another; the meaning of the biblical words, "and a virgin shall conceive".

He teaches us of the birth of Master Fard Muhammad and proves Who He is; he proves Who the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is and tells us of his own Mission as a Witness Bearer of the Messiah.

Do you think this Study Guide might be of some interest to you? One thing is certain: It is time to end this introduction, because it is keeping you from your studies (smile).

May Allah bless you with the Light of Understanding as you drink the pure words of Study Guide 19A.

Sister Minister Ava Muhammad February 23 1997

LETTER TO STUDENTS

Minister Louis Farrakhan

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD AND THE NATION OF ISLAM
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.

February 23, 1997

As-Salaam Alaikum.

Dear Believers and Students:

I am writing this letter to introduce you to Study Guide 19A, entitled, "WHO IS GOD?"

The most controversial aspect of the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhamad with respect to the world of religion, is the fact that He claimed to have met with God in Person and to have been taught by God in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad.

This critical point of belief of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (and those of us who believe as He believes), was the cardinal point around which the Nation of Islam had its demise.

There were those who said the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was deceived; others said there was an error of interpretation on His part. But the Honorable Elijah Muhammad steadfastly held the position He states in Point Number 12 of "What The Muslims Believe": "We believe that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long awaited 'Messiah' of the Christians and the 'Mahdi' of the Muslims. We believe further and lastly that Allah is God and besides HIM there is no God and He will bring about a universal government of peace wherein we all can live in peace together."

Some have said that near the end of His time among us, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad expressed something different with respect to Master Fard Muhammad. To my knowledge, He never changed this cardinal point. The belief in Master Fard Muhammad was critical with Him and it became the reason for the dismissal of His son, Warith Deen Muhammad, from the mosque, the Nation and the early rejection by the family.

There is no way one can be a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and dismiss this cardinal principle, for if Master Fard Muhammad is not Who the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said He is, then the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is not Who we believe Him to be, and the body of knowledge He brought should not be taken as seriously as we have taken it.

Those of us who dismissed this cardinal point of belief have seen the effect of that dismissal almost instantly: the loss of moral strength, organization, direction, guidance, health, well-being, beautiful appearance and the honor and prestige we gained from our own people as a result of our belief in this cardinal principle and the actions that followed.

Certainly, the "orthodox" Islamic world does not believe as we, but the Honorable Elijah Muhammad respects it and so do we. The knowledge in the orthodox Islamic world is a great knowledge that should and must be respected by all; however, Allah cannot be said to have completed His Favour on us until He gives us complete understanding of His Favour. Allah has given us a marvelous book, the Holy Qur'an, wherein He tells us plainly, "And none knows its interpretation save Allah. And those firmly rooted in knowledge they say: 'We believe in it, it is all from our Lord'" (3:6)

We could not have complete understanding until He sent a Messenger with the true interpretation of the book. Only then could we say that He completed His Favour upon us. I may give you a beautiful automobile, but if you do not know how to drive, you might run into a brick wall and hurt yourself as well as others. In order for my gift to be complete, I must see to it that you know how to properly us what I have given you.

Certainly there is power in the book, for with the Holy Qur'an alone, the Muslims were able to conquer the known world and lay the base of a new world order as a sign of what was to come 1400 years later. However, we have to admit that Satan has the better hand over the world that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was bringing in for the betterment of all human beings.

How could Allah's Favour be complete while we cannot keep Satan from overrunning the House of Islam?

The Muslim world needs to be guided back to the path that Prophet Muhammad placed it on 1400 years ago. Thirty-two (32) times a day, we say the "Al-Fatihah", asking Allah to guide us to the straight path, though He has already guided us there once. Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) spoke of The Mahdi, because he knew that the time would come when we would need guidance back to the straight path.

The duty of The Mahdi is to guide a people who have lost their way. Not only are we in North America lost, but the people who first received Divine Favour through the revelation of the Holy Qur'an are lost. They, too, are looking for The Mahdi.

Who is The Mahdi? He is a man, a human being, yet in Him is the Guidance, Knowledge, Wisdom and Power to bring religion back to its right state; to destroy the enemies of the True Path of God; and to lay the base for the Kingdom of Islam, which Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was appointed to give a sign of.

The very ritual of Hajj is a sign of what the world will be like in totality when The Mahdi establishes the Kingdom of Islam. In that day, there will be no racism to corrupt the Spirit of Islam. There will be no sexism, there will be no materialism and there will be no nationalism. All of the corrupters of the True Spirit of Islam will be completely destroyed.

The Holy Qur'an, in its application, is preparation to live in the Hereafter. The "Hereafter" is here, on Earth, after the destruction of the power of the wicked to interfere with the establishment of the Kingdom of Islam. In that new world, there will be no need for a law that punishes adultery, homosexuality, rape, murder, theft or any offense, because there will be no lawbreakers.

The Holy Qur'an teaches that in the Hereafter, there will be "no vain discourse", only peace. This implies a place where there is only righteousness and complete submission to the Will of Allah, for there is no peace without submission to His Will.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that Islam as we know it will not be in the Hereafter. The principles will remain, but there will be a totally new knowledge. He said that the hereafter is a continuation of this life on the highest plane of existence. It is the life we knew before the Fall of Adam. The One who brings about this Reality is not a prophet, He is the Manifestation of God.

We know that flesh and blood is finite, therefore we cannot worship it; we also know that flesh contains wisdom that can live far beyond the container. According to the Bible, when the body of Prophet Elisha was set down in a grave, the bones of a long-dead soul began to move. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad asked me, "Do you know what that means, Brother?" I answered, "No, Sir." He explained, "It means he ruled the hearts and minds of men from beyond the grave." Can anyone say, with truth, that Prophet Muhammad is dead? The grave holds his remains, but he rules the hearts and minds of men from beyond the grave.

The Wisdom that The Mahdi brings has no time limit on it. It is Eternal. The Holy Qur'an is not eternal; it carries us to the door of the Hereafter, but does not admit us in. The Holy Qur'an bears witness of its own limitation, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered the hearts of men to conceive of what lies ahead."

The Holy Qur'an cannot and does not give us that Guidance. The Mahdi brings that Guidance with Him. He raises a Messenger and gives him Knowledge, Wisdom and the True Interpretation of the Book that will confer Power to overcome the polytheists, no matter who is averse. All Praise is due to Allah.

We are commanded, in the Bible, not to bow down to images or make images of God. How is it possible to make an image of God? When we worship the flesh of a person, which is finite, we are making an image of God. The flesh is the clothing that the Earth puts on the Spirit as the Spirit moves through Eternity. The Earth itself will abide until Allah makes a new one.

In Surah 19 of the Holy Qur'an, we read of the Spirit of Allah (God) embodied in flesh, appearing to Mary, inspiring Mary to produce a child called the "Messiah": Then We sent to her Our Spirit and it appeared to her as a well-made man." (19:17)

Is this not what Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) saw in the cave of Hirah? He heard a voice commanding him, "Read.", but there was no book! He said, "I cannot read." The voice spoke again, "Read." The words commanding him to read were a sign of the book that was coming. Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) looked in four directions and saw the form of a man. He recognized the form to be Jabril, the Messenger of Allah (God). And though it was Jabril who brought the Message, Muhammad never referred to himself as the Messenger of Jabril--he referred to himself as the Messenger of Allah.

Once a man dressed in white came to Muhammad asking questions about religion. When Muhamad answered the questions correctly, the man walked away. Muhammad turned to his companions and asked, "Do you know who that was? That was Jabril." Jabril was a man who walked and talked and sat, but he was also a man who carried a Message direct from the Lord of the worlds.

It is within this context that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad speaks of Master Fard Muhammad, The Great Mahdi. Master Fard Muhammad is a man born of a woman; a man who studies and prays. He is a man with Divine Wisdom, Divine Power and Divine Guidance.

Every man is born of a woman, but the Spirit of Allah (God) is Everlasting to Everlasting, and the flesh and blood man who receives the Spirit is the Chosen One-- The Anointed One.

Master Fard Muhammad, The Great Mahdi, came to North America by Himself. He is a Master with the Knowledge and Understanding of the root of this world. His Knowledge enables Him to uproot this world and begin a new one. His complete understanding of our illness and the illness of the entire human family enabled Him to design a medicine to heal us. Master Fard Muhammad is the Conduit through Whom the Message from the Lord of the worlds came to us. He is Alive and has Absolute Power to bring His Will into fruition because His Will is in complete harmony with the Eternal Will of the Originator of the Heavens and the Earth.

If Master Fard Muhammad is so Powerful, why does He pray? He would not have such Power if He did not pray. Through His prayer, He draws from the Power and Creation of The Originator at the point of its origination.

In the only picture we have of Master Fard Muhammad, we see Him reading. He gave the Honorable Elijah Muhammad an Arabic Qur'an and said, "Read." The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, "I can't." Master Fard Muhammad then said, "When you can read Arabic, I will give you a Qur'an written by My own hand."

Allah came to us in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad. Before Him, all we knew of Allah was His Mercy, which we could see in His Creation, but had never experienced in our lives. Allah, in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, intervened in our lives. After the Coming of the Saviour, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad never said, "I am the Messenger of Master Fard Muhammad." He said, "I am the Messenger of Allah."

May Allah bless each of you with the light of understanding.

As-Salaam Alaikum

I Am your Brother and Servant.

Louis Farrakhan

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

Servant to the Lost Found Nation of Islam in the West

Study Guide 19A – Who Is God?

This message was delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at Christ Universal Temple, Chicago, Illinois on February 24, 1991.

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, for 44 years, taught us that God is not a mystery. He is not a spirit, He is not a spook, God is real. He is a real live human being, differing from you and me only in that he is Supreme in Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding and Power. This is what The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us.

Of course, this upset the Muslim world and it upset many of our Christian brothers and sisters: that a Black man, born in America, born in Georgia, said that he met with God and God taught him night and day for three and one-half years. He then went away and left him here with a Mission to raise the Black man and woman of America up from the grave of mental death and ignorance.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad was laughed at, mocked, scorned and ridiculed----but not by white people. They did not laugh at him, they knew better. When war broke out in 1941, the President of the United States (Franklin Roosevelt) had the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taken off of he streets because they did not want a Black man teaching Black people the proper use of themselves. America wanted to use our bodies to prosecute a war that was not in our interests, even as President Bush is using the bodies of Black boys and girls to prosecute a war that is not in our best interests.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad made may ministers and sent them into the cities of America. He produced the most disciplined, organized and progressive group of Black people ever to be seen in the Western Hemisphere, yet he only had a fourth grade education. He taught Malcolm X, who had an eighth grade education. With the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X confounded the scholars of the world.

Cassius Clay was just another great fighter until he met with and was taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Then he burst onto the scene as Muhammad Ali. He was one of the greatest fighters that ever lived, but he was a different kind of fighter; he had a message in his mind and heart. He stood for a principle. He fought the government of the United States against the war in Vietnam, and he prevailed. Even though he was stripped of his title, he came back to win the championship two more times.

My point is, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad had to know something to teach what he taught, to do what he did, to live in America when Black men lost their lives for just thinking what he was bold enough to speak.

Louis Farrakhan is known throughout the Earth and is honored and respected in many circles of our people, but I was just a common musician. I never graduated from college, but the Honorable Elijah Muhammad took me from there and taught me.

He is not an ordinary man, but an extraordinary man. How do you know? Wisdom is known of its children. If you are wise, you do not produce a fool. I am the child of my father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I know no other father but him. My biological father died when I was quite young and even before he died, I did not know him.

When I met the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I met my father. He fathered me in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. He brought out of me what The Creator had put in me for the service of my people. If I am anything of value today, it is because I had a good father, a good example and a good teacher. And so I stand before the world today, to challenge the scholarship of the world on the most important of all subjects: "WHO IS GOD?"

We all talk about Him, certainly we love Him and we bear witness that He is the Greatest. We live in His Universe. There is nothing to compare with it, so there is nothing to compare with Him. But Who is He? We want to know our Creator, we want to know God.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated on the back page of our newspaper (then "Muhammad Speaks", now "The Final Call") in Point Number 12 of "What the Muslims Believe":

12. We believe that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited "Messiah" of the Christians and the "Mahdi" of the Muslims. We believe further and lastly that Allah is God and besides HIM there is no God and He will bring about a universal government of peace wherein we all can live in peace together."

Many of the scholars of Islam have said to me, "Brother Farrakhan, why don't you take that off of the back page?" Many of my Muslim brothers and sisters who love Allah and love Prophet Muhammad and love the Holy Qur'an, find this unIslamic. They say, "Take it away, because Allah has never appeared in the form of any man". They say Allah is not a man, but they cannot tell us what He is.

The Scholars of the world of religion-- Jews, Christians, Muslims, whatever your religious persuasion may be-- we have to know today Who God is that we not make a mistake and serve other than Him.

The Bible teaches us that God made man in His own image and His own likeness. It teaches us that He breathes, sorrows, sees and hears, loves and hates. The stench of wickedness reaches His nostrils. The Bible teaches us that Abraham met Him in the plains of Mamre. Three men came to Abraham and the Bible declares that one of them was the Lord. Sarah came out of her tent and said, "Lord, if I found favour, pass not away. Lord, if you are hungry, I will feed you. Sit down, Lord, it you are tired." How can you feed a spirit? How can you sit down if you have nothing to sit down on? I am not finished with the Bible. It says that Enoch walked with God. Moses walked with Him and spoke with Him face to face as a man speaketh to his friend. All throughout the Bible, we are taught of a man, not some spook or formless spirit.

What about the Holy Qur'an? The Holy Qur'an uses the personal pronoun "I". The "I" belongs to whom? It uses the soft pronoun "We". Does God have associates? Does He have partners? Why say "We"? God Himself revealed the book and knows best the language. Why did He use the language of a human being?

Who is God? The Attributes in the Holy Qur'an are not the Attributes of a Spirit, they are the Attributes of man in whom the Spirit dwells. Allah is the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Powerful, the Life-Giver, the Sustainer, the Securer, the Destroyer.

I shall never take that point from the back page of the newspaper, regardless to how many scholars don't like it. I visited Mecca and sat with the scholars. This (Point Number 12) was the main issue we wrangled over. When we finished, the scholars shut their mouths. They never had heard an exposition like that. What I gave to them, I am giving to you. Mecca could not defeat the argument I presented, though I am born in America and have never been taught in any Islamic school by scholars or scientists. I was taught by the unlearned one, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Look at "Point Number 12" of "What the Muslims Believe". Why did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad make it Number 12? Why not Number 10 or Number 11? Why did he have the word "Messiah" in quotes and bold? What is "Messiah"? Who is "Messiah"? Why did He have the word "Mahdi" in quotes and bold? What is "Mahdi"? Who is "Mahdi"?

The word "Messiah" is well-known to Christians and Jews. The word "Mahdi" is well-known to Muslims. Why did he us those words? When you place quotations marks around a word, you sometimes do that to draw particular attention to that word. If you italicize it or make it bold, you want it to stand out because you are trying to suggest something to the reader. The world is looking for the return of Jesus Christ. The Jews are looking for the "Messiah" and the Muslim world awaits the appearance of the "Mahdi". They are all looking for a man.

If the "Messiah" comes, are you looking for a spirit to come out of a closet? You are looking for a man. If Jesus Christ is to return, you are looking for the return of a man if flesh and blood. If you are looking for the "Mahdi", you are looking for the coming of a man. What kind of man is He? He is an extraordinary man, but he is a man.

Why should "Mahdi" and "Messiah" come in the form of a man? It is because man and woman have been degraded. Man and woman have become beasts in human form. Man and woman have degenerated. Man and woman have fallen. You don't know the resurrected man, the elevated man, the man made in the likeness of God, the Original man. You do not know yourself, therefore, you have to become acquainted with yourself. God sends One to you in your own form, but Mighty in Power and Wisdom; One who not only carries Light, but is the Light.

The Bible reads, in the Book of Revelations, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished." (10:7)

"Mystery" means "that which is unknown". The Bible also declares, "God will come." Where has He been? The Holy Qur'an speaks of the "days of Allah". Where has Allah been for all the other days? Isn't every day His? Why is there a specific and particular reference to "days" of God?

Beloved Muslims, Surah (or Chapter) 3 of the Holy Qur'an is called "Al 'Imran": "The Family of Amran". In Verse 6 of Surah 3, Allah reveals to us the rules of interpretation for His book. Every person who has some degree of love and scholarship will want to read the Bible and the Holy Qur'an and will try to interpret such magnificent books. Allah (God) does not want you to be one to mislead yourself or mislead the people, so He gives us rules governing the interpretation of His Word:

"He it is Who has revealed the Book to thee; some of its verses are decisive --- they are the basis of the Book --- and others are allegorical. Then those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead, and seeking to give it (their own interpretation). And none knows its interpretation save Allah. And those firmly rooted in knowledge {They say:} We believe in it, it is all from our Lord. And none mind except men of understanding."

Allah (God) does not want us to give His Word our own interpretation. We who study the word have to restrain ourselves from trying to give His Word our own interpretation. Why?

It takes more than just going to theology school to interpret the Word of God. To interpret God's Word, you have to get up into His Mind and you cannot get there, except by His Permission. You cannot play Beethoven well if you do not study Beethoven. Before attempting to play Beethoven's Fifth Symphony", it would be wise to study the man who wrote it. When you study the composer, you study the condition he was in when he wrote. You become one with his mind, one with his spirit, every nuance in it; you can feel it and then you can make Beethoven live, even though Beethoven is dead.

You cannot interpret the Wisdom of God until God brings you into oneness with Him. Only then will you begin to know Him in a hint; know Him in a sign; but how many of us are like that? Of course, the vain among us will think and say, "I am" and the foolish among us will say, "Me, too." But "fools rush in where wise men fear to tread" and interpreting the Word of God is a fool's paradise. A wise man will step back from that because it is dangerous to play with God or with His Word. To deceive people and mislead people in the Name of God is a dangerous thing to do.

After Allah (God) gives us rules for interpretation, He says, "And none knows its interpretation save Allah." Allah is the Only One Who knows the hidden meaning of His own Word. {The scholar says} "those firmly rooted in knowledge say, 'We believe in it, it is all from our Lord.' And non mind except men of understanding."

When I was in Mecca, the scholars, in their closing statement to me, said, "Brother Farrakhan, when you get sick, you go to a doctor. You do not tell the doctor what is wrong with you, you ask the doctor to tell you what is wrong. When you are not knowledgeable, you come to the scholars and ask the scholars, that they may teach you." And I responded, "Who are the scholars?... The doctors don't live any longer than their patients. I cannot trust the doctors' advice. It appears to me the scholars of religion are the ones who have ruined the world of religion. It seems to me, from my understanding of the Book---and you must bear with me, because I am just a child in this, but I am not a foolish child":

"Satan said to Allah, 'Because you have caused me to remain disappointed, I am going to come after them (meaning your people) in Your straight path. I will come from before them, behind them, from their left side and from their right side. You will not find most of them thankful. I will make all of them deviate.' Allah said to Satan, 'Whosoever follows you, I will certainly fill hell with you all.' In another place in the Holy Qur'an, Allah says, 'You will get all except my purified ones.'"

I know we all think we are the purified ones. We would not like to believe that Satan has us in his hip pocket right now, with our crosses around our necks and our Bibles in our hands; our crescents and stars on our shoulders and our bow ties or long white robes. We would not like to believe that Satan got us.

I said to the scholars, "Every time the prophet of God came, when that prophet left, Satan came and divided the prophet's community. Is the Muslim community divided? Are you at odds among yourselves? Why, then, should I follow you? Show me the proof of your scholarship." That is the way we left it.

I did not go to Mecca to follow them. I did not go there looking for an agenda; I had one when I left. I had one when I came back. Allah (God) does not want us following anyone today but Him. He does not want us worshipping anyone today but Him. God and God Alone has come to be our Leader, Teacher and Guide. Only those who submit their will entirely to do the Will of God will be successful teachers of the people. Only those who bow down and humble themselves and refrain from trying to make themselves more than they really are would be successful teachers of the people today.

God is setting down all false leaders--- no, not setting them down, hurling them down, throwing them down. Everybody you want to worship as a god beside Him--- He will destroy them to show you that none today is worthy of worship but God. That brings us back to the question, Who is He?

He answered the question in "Point Number 12". Earlier I asked, "Why 'Point Number 12?'" It is a very significant number. We have twelve (12) signs in the Universe. There are twelve (12) inches on a ruler and the ruler enables us to draw a straight line. We want to go straight today. We have been crooked so long, but we cannot go straight until we have a ruler that will give us a straight line to follow.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad chose "Point Number 12" to introduce the New Ruler. The white man is not going to be a permanent ruler. He will be set down by God. All of the rulers of the world are to be set down. Isn't that what your Bible teaches? Why put your trust in Bush? Don't put your trust in Saddam Hussein. Don't put your trust in King Fahd. Don't put your trust in Don Xi Ping.

You had better look for the New Ruler and make a straight way to Him, because all the others are going to be set down. In fact, America is boasting now---you notice how chesty she's become. America says, "In just a matter of days, we'll knock off Saddam and we are going to set up a New World Order." Not you, Mr. Bush. You are not the one to set up the New World Order; you are so ingrained in the old order and if you do not make a change quickly, you are going out with the old order. But you do not see it. You are just like Pharaoh, proud and arrogant. Your arrogance has blinded you to your own destruction. You have been pulled into something that is bigger than yourself, so be careful, Mr. Bush. It looks easy, doesn't it, Mr. Bush? Keep going---keep going.

"Who do you think you are, Mr. Farrakhan, talking like that to the President of the United States?" I am just one who has met with One bigger than the President of the United States, and if he isn't careful, we will be here, but he don't. "Are you threatening?" No, no, no. I am saying no more than Moses and Aaron said to Pharaoh.

There is another Power on the scene today. I am here today to acquaint you with that New Power, so you don't have to quake when Mr. Bush calls. You can tell him, "I am not answering my phone today." When he calls for you to send your sons and daughters into the (Persian) Gulf, tell him, "Not now. This is not my war." The white man taught us, "thou shall not kill when we were thinking about killing him. "Thou shall not kill" is all right in Mississippi, where we can't kill the lynchers, the burners, the rapers and robbers of our mothers and fathers. Then "thou shall not kill" is fine in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, because Saddam Hussein never called me "nigger".

Saddam Hussein hasn't done anything to me or you and he has not harmed one American. All he did was try to take back what was originally his. President Bush knows he (Bush) was wrong when he said his cause was just and morally right. This is only phase one of a battle of a war that has started, which is the War of Armageddon. The war you see going on in the East will engulf the whole Earth. You will see it--it will not be long-how he loves to bomb the cities.

I want to acquaint you with the New Ruler. A new world is coming, a better world is coming. You have been praying for it, my Christian brothers and sisters: "Thy Kingdom come, They Will be done, on Earth even as it is in Heaven." It is on its way now and Bush is not the head of it. The Messiah, The Mahdi--God is the Head of the new government.

The Holy Qur'an and the Bible are two wonderful and magnificent books. The Bible is the base of the Christian and Jewish world. The Holy Qur'an is the base of the world of Islam. These books are called "scripture". Moses and Jesus brought a 'scripture'. The Holy Qur'an is a 'scripture', although it is called a 'book'.

The word scripture means it is part of a great writing that is bigger than the book. The book is just a part of it revealed by chosen servants of God. They did not write it, they revealed it and there is a difference.

Muhammad had nothing to do with writing the Qur'an and Moses had nothing to do with writing the Torah, nor did Jesus have anything to do with writing the Gospel. These are men to whom God revealed His Word; the Word He revealed to these great men were a part of a big book--written by whom?

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has pointed out to us the Book of Revelation, Chapter 5. There was a man sitting on a throne-- not a spook, a man. There were twenty-four (24) elders seated around that throne and the twenty-four (24) were lamenting. They were weeping because the one who sat on the throne had a book in his hand, but no one in the heavens or earth was worthy to come and take the book out of his hand.

They were searching for who would come when there came a Lamb as though it had been slain from the foundation of the world. The Lamb took the book out of the hand of him that sat on the throne and opened it. The book had seven seals and he began to break the seals. As he began to loose the seals of the book, the twenty-four (24) began to praise God. The twenty-four (24) then took off their crowns and cast them at the foot of the Lamb, saying,

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." (5:12)

Who is the Lamb and what kind of book was that he took from him that sat on the throne, when even the twenty-four (24) that attended the throne could not receive? Who are the twenty-four (24) elders found in the Book of Revelation? How do the twenty-four (24) elders square with "Us" in the Bible and "We" in the Holy Qur'an? Who is the "us" and who is the "we"? Since God is One and has no associates or partners, who is "we"?

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that there are twenty-four (24) wise men (scientists) who do the work of producing Bible and Qur'an. He said we make History {or Bible or Qur'an} to equal the circumference of our home (Earth): one year for each mile. So the book that is written contains twenty-five thousand (25,000) years of history written in advance.

There are twelve (12) major scientists and twelve (12) minor scientists. Back to the Number 12 again. Whenever the time comes for a certain part of the writing to be fulfilled, one of the major scientists will speak to someone among the people. He will reveal to that person a part of the writing (scripture) and give him an assignment or mission. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that He Who rules that cycle of History is called"The Supreme Being". "Supreme" means "highest"; "being" means "that which is".

Anything that exists, exists in one of three stages: liquid, solid or gas. We do not see God as liquid and we do not see Him as gas. Some of the old writers called Him, "The Rock of Ages". You can stand on Him, depend upon Him. He is solid. If He is solid, He must be animate or inanimate. We do not look at God as an inanimate object. We see Him full of life and spirit: A Life-Giver. We have to say He is animate. "Animate" means He is either animal, plant or human. We do not speak of God as a plant, even though some describe Him as the "Rose of Sharon" and the "Lilly of the valley". We do not speak of God as vegetable, but we do speak of Him in terms of the animal kingdom.

In the animal kingdom, we have the lowest form and the highest manifestation. The highest manifestation in the animal kingdom is man or woman, male and female. Why is God a "he"? Why can't God be "she"?

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that before the making of Moon, we used to write history every thirty-five thousand (35,000) years, for the Moon at that time was a part of the Earth. Those who sent their contraption up to the Moon brought back samples of rock and they smelled an odor that smelled like gunpowder.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that the Earth and the Moon was once one planet; but, one of our scientists wanted the entire planet to speak the same dialect. He could not enforce his will, so he drilled a shaft into the part of Earth then called Moon; filled it with high explosives and set if off. It proved to be a great test of wisdom, for the part called Moon was shot out twelve thousand (12,000) miles into space and fell thirty-six thousand (36,000) miles from its original pocket. As it was turning over, all the water on Moon fell to this part of Earth.

We now have an Earth that is three-quarters (3/4) water and one-quarter (1/4) land, and a Moon with craters that once held water. There is no water on the Moon but the Moon is constantly trying to get back what it lost, so it pulls on the waters of the Earth. The woman's cycle is like the Moon. We will get to this in a second; I want to talk about the woman.

Brothers and sisters, this may sound strange to you, but the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that it has been sixty-six trillion (66,000,000,000,000) years since the knowledge of God was made known to the public. Before that, the public knew God and knew the Reality of God. But since that time, God hid His Face from humanity and has remained a secret. It is the most carefully guarded of all secrets: The Knowledge of God. Why would God hide Himself from human beings?

Long before there was a white man on this Earth, we had problems with ourselves. I do not want you to think the white man is the source of all of our problems. The source of all our problems is a problem within Self. The problem within Self is the negative side of the original life and it became manifest when one of our own scientists became frustrated that he could not force his will on the people and decided to destroy the whole human family. It was then that God hid Himself from man until the proper time. The scripture says, "in the fullness of time, He came." The scripture says, "After the workings of Satan, God comes."

There is a problem in us, original people, and God would not come and show Himself and make Himself manifest until everything in us was fully exposed to us. Then, when we are fully exposed and all of our weaknesses made manifest, the human being could be perfected. Only then can you make a perfect human being. In the scriptures, Jesus says, "Be ye perfect as I am perfect." But there was no perfection until the Coming of this Person that the Bible calls Jesus and the Qur'an calls Muhammad. Allah says, in the Holy Qur'an,

"This day have I perfected for you your religion" {your nature, your being}" and I have chosen for you Islam as your religion."

The Muslims say to the Christians, "If you don't accept Islam, we are through with you, because the Qur'an says you have to accept Islam." Muslims, it means that all of us must accept religion, not in name, but we must all bow down and submit our will to do the Will of God, or we will never be accepted by God. You and I are not equal to God; we don't know what He knows, therefore He demands of us obedience.

Dear brothers and sisters, the Muslims and Christians have been at odds with each other over Jesus and the concept of God. We want to try and straighten all of this out with the Help of God.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that God Himself is not begotten. The Christians say, "God had a son from a virgin." Don't be angry with me. This is our teaching, but do we understand it? Virgins do not conceive. If a virgin conceives, she is no longer a virgin.

But the scriptures say, "And a virgin shall conceive." How did she conceive? The scriptures say, "The Holy Ghost came upon her." It uses the word, "upon". Who is the Holy Ghost? Your daughter better not come home to you and tell you she was walking by the church and a ghost came out and that is why she is pregnant, some body caused it. You don't say something caused it, you say somebody, because in order to create life there must be the germ and the sperm of life. The sperm of life is always carried in the male.

God, in the beginning, allowed everything to create after its own kind. If a ghost had a baby, the baby would have to be a ghost. Since the baby was a human being of flesh and blood, and the mother carried it in the womb, with fainting and pain for nine months, you have to bear witness there was a father there, It is written in your Bible, but very subtly:

"Concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness" {Romans 1: 2,3}

Joseph was of the lineage of David. Any father can produce flesh and blood, but only God can make a prophet. Only God can father the mind into the spirit of righteousness. No earthly father can give you that. No earthly father can pass that on; that comes from your growth into the Mind, Wisdom and Will of God. Jesus is called the "Son of God", but not because God was in Palestine getting little virgin girls pregnant. Reverend, that is the wrong way to understand the scriptures.

The Jews knew Jesus and the Jews asked, "Is this the carpenter's son?" God is not a carpenter. He is the Master Builder. They said to Jesus, "We are not born of fornication." There were some extenuating circumstances around the birth of Jesus, like there are extenuating circumstances around most of our births. The Bible says, "Can any good come out of Nazareth?" The world is asking today, "Can anything good come up out of Black people?" The world is going to be shocked when it finds out what is coming up out of this Nazareth. I am trying to keep these points tied together.

I want to go back to God being "not begotten." The Holy Qur'an says, "He begets not, nor is He begotten." The Muslims say this is why God could never be a human being, because all human beings are "begotten".

I want you to follow this very carefully. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that before there was a sun, moon and star, before there was light, God was Self-Created. God created Himself out of the material of darkness. Before there was anything there was darkness, but it was a substantive darkness. What we see at night is not real darkness--it is called the absence of light because we are just in the shadow of the Earth. We live in a Universe of Light, where once there was total darkness. But matter was in the darkness. Even though matter was in the darkness, it is considered nothing, because it was without aim and purpose, Anything without aim and purpose is considered nothing.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that electricity is the most mysterious force because no one knows its origin. When you have electricity and matter in the darkness, you can produce the first germ of life. Whatever happened with electricity and matter, the first atom of life sparked in the darkness. There is intelligence in the life-germ. Our own beginning bears witness to the beginning of the Universe. The very secret of how the Universe began is wrapped up in how you and I began.

You don't know the Universe, because you don't know God, because you don't know yourself.

Look at the sperm. There is intelligence in the sperm; it knows exactly what it want to do: it goes straight for the egg; that is intelligence. The sperm does not have a brain, but it has a head and a tail. When the sperm makes contact, it's the first cell of life. That cell starts looking for a firm resting place, then it builds a clot. There is intelligence in that clot. Then the cells produce brain. That's the firs thing formed in the new life. Without a head, you don't need arms. The thing that is going to direct the arms has to be first. It is the head that calls the arms and feet into existence.

This is why the white man works to destroy your leaders. Without a head, you cannot call a body into existence. That is why you are always without organization: you never have leadership. Your leadership comes up and when they spot it as good leadership, they wipe it out.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that God had to develop brain in order to think through darkness. It took pain and eons of time for God to build Himself up in the darkness. He was Light of Himself and had Light in Himself. Since the basis of His Life is electricity, He had Light in Himself. From His own Brain, He envisioned Sun and then called it into existence.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said Allah formed Himself--not from a mother, but out of the dark womb of space. Space and the darkness of it became His womb and He came out of that darkness.

Then, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said before there was Sun, there was a Woman. Allah came out of the womb of darkness with a womb within Himself. Every man has a woman in him. If you notice, the male has the X and Y chromosome, which has the male and female part. The female has the X chromosome. As Allah came out of that womb--the Holy Qur'an calls it "triple darkness"--He had a womb within Himself. He studied Himself and from Himself He fashioned Woman. She is His First Act of Creation.

This is why you don't understand the woman and you cannot deal with a woman; you think she is a man's woman. She is the Woman of God.

Women are fascinated with men who are doing things; men who are going places; because they are born from a God Who did things. Women do not like to be saddled down with a man who is going nowhere and doing nothing and is without an aim and a purpose.

The Holy Qur'an teaches, "From a single essence, He created the male and the female and from them, many men and women." The "single essence" is God Himself. You are born out of the very Nature of God.

The woman is made after the womb out of which God created Himself, and in the woman is the Secret of God.

The reason you are far away from God is because of your attitude toward women. You will never find God and you will never grow to honor God, as long as you are a mistreater and disrespecter of women. The woman is the secret and she contains the secret. In the Bible, Sampson put it in crude language, saying, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have learned the secret of my riddle." The riddle has been with God, but the secret of the riddle is in woman, and unless and until we become better acquainted with who she is, you may never see who you are.

In the 12th Chapter of the Book of Revelation, there is an extraordinary woman:

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven -- a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." (12:1)

John the Revelator saw her running in the wilderness; he saw the dragon standing before the woman as she was about to give birth to a man-child---a child who would rule the nations with a rod of iron. But the dragon stood ready to devour the baby as soon as it was born.

In the Gospels, King Herod stood ready to devour Jesus as soon as he was born, forcing Jesus' mother, Mary, to flee with her baby out of Palestine into Egypt, Africa. The mother of Jesus was an African woman. I don't know why you are looking for a white Jesus when his mother was an African woman. The Bible describes Jesus as having "hair like lamb's wool" and "feet like brass burned in an oven". You are looking for the wrong Jesus.

There are three (3) points I would like to make and the first point is that God made Himself up out of matter, so He is material, yet spiritual. Allah (God) says in the Holy Qur'an, "I give life and I cause death." God Himself set up the Law of Life and Death. How, then, did He escape the law He set up for everything? He is called the "Ever-Living"; no death comes to God. How could that be?

You who are electricians, you put copper wire in as a transmitter of current, or electricity. The current is greater than that which is transmitting it. The copper can wear out. When the copper wears out, the electricity is suspended until you get another transmitter to transmit that current.

God conveys His Spirit in the human form. This is the best form. There is no form better that the human form. It is not perfect, but its is a good conveyer of the Spirit of God.

This Universe is material, but the essence of the Universe is spiritual. The core of the Sun is not fire; the core of the Sun is the thought projected by the Will of God which forms the Sun. When you look at the Sun and are warmed by the Sun; that is a blessing. But to understand why God made Sun, you have to go into the Mind of God, for His Mind is at the core of what He created. But if you do not pierce the veil of the physical, you will never find the essence.

This is why we don't know each other until we are gone. You did not know Dr. Martin Luther King or the Honorable Marcus Garvey until they were gone. You didn't know Jesus until he was gone. Why? The physical is a veil that covers the essence of the person, but when the veil is taken away, you can come to grips with the essence of what makes that person who and what he is.

I am not Louis, that is the name my mother gave me. I am a vessel. I was not made by my mother, I came through my mother. My origination is God. You know what I look like, but you don't know me. I know what you look like, but I don't know you. In order to know me, you have to look beyond the way I am fashioned. You have to look into me and when you look into me, you will find the same that is in you and that is God.

He is called the "Ever-Living", Who never dies. The body goes back to the Earth, but God never dies. There is always another form coming up that will allow Him to transmit His Knowledge, Wisdom and Power through that physical form. He is not a spook or a spirit; He looks like you and me. But we are not allowed to have His picture and Moses taught that we should not make any images or statues of God. Why? Because the image will change, but the Wisdom of God will never change.

So you must never have a picture of God, because the body will only last so long, but God is Forever. Don't make any images or statues and don't bow down to any image, because no image or likeness of God is worthy to be worshipped-- not the flesh, because the flesh is finite. The flesh is not God, but it is of God. God can dwell in this house. Don't get excited, Muslims; the Ka'bah at Mecca is made of stone and it is called the House of God, but God doesn't live there. You call Christ Universal Temple the House of God, but God doesn't live here. The human body is God's House.

Allah (God) can dwell in you, if you will open up and let Him come in. If you will let His Wisdom come in, then act on that Wisdom and grow into Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding until you are able to exercise Power in His Name, that is God walking in you, God talking through you, God living in you; then there is nothing in existence but God.

Where, then, did the Devil come from? If God created everything, did He create the Devil? Since nothing has been in existence except what God brought into existence, where did the Devil come from? God brought the Devil into existence!" You say, "I can't see a Good God bringing a devil into existence!" You re being emotional. God knows more than you.

Why did God let it happen? Let's question Him; He can speak. "God, why did you make a devil?" Ask Him, He will tell you. You want to know, "Why are You letting this man drop bombs and kill so many people and do all these things? Don't You have power to stop this?" He says, "Yes, I do. But I am working out your Salvation. The Devil is part of your Salvation."

Are you surprised? You will remember that I spoke about the original scientist who tried to blow up the planet Earth. That is the way white people think right now. Those who are in power---if they are unable to stay in power-- will kill everybody. Why would they have enough atomic weapons to kill every person on Earth a hundred times over? It is because they are thinking, "If I am going to be taken out of power, I am going to take everybody out of here." They won't be able to do it, but that's their thinking. Some of you are like that.

Some of you become possessed with power. Some of you get possessed of a man or a woman. "If I can't have him, I ain't gonna let nobody get him. I'll kill him first." Or, "She ain't leaving me. I will kill her, then kill myself." What makes you like that? What drives you like that?

You become frustrated and disappointed and in that disappointment, you don't handle it well. It drives you to insanity, then you want to kill somebody. That's how a devil is made. It starts with a wrong thought coming up in your brain. God took the wrong thing in the original Man and gave it form and expression and power to rule. "Oh, Brother Farrakhan, I can't believe that." Then open the Holy Qur'an.

Allah says, in the second chapter, "I am going to place a ruler in the Earth", and the angels say, "What will you place in it, except that which will create mischief and cause the shedding of blood?" Allah said, "I know what you know not."

Some scholars take the writing and say that God is going to place a temporary God into power, but one that will create mischief and cause the shedding of blood. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that it represents the Caucasian rulership. It has been a mischiefmaking rulership that has shed the blood of every member of the human family. It has destroyed not only human life, but animal, plant, sea and all life. He is called the blood-shedder in the Book of Revelation, but God gave him that right. For what purpose? So you could see all that is in yourselves. You are your own worst enemy.

Did you know that the Caucasian only brought out of us what was in us? You cannot say the Caucasian made you a homosexual. He brought out of you what was in you. All of the trouble we are in, that is the trouble that was in us and he drew it out with his contrary way of civilization. We have a problem and that problem means we have to be saved.

That is why Jesus is so important in the Bible; because he is born to save the people from their sins. He is born of a woman; a virgin.

Let us return to Revelation 12 -- a woman clothed in the Sun. It could mean that she is pregnant, but it could also mean that she is wrapped in Divine Light. She has twelve (12) stars in her crown. It could mean that the twelve (12) major scientists have approved of this woman being in heaven. Standing on the Moon means that she is standing on the word of the prophets. A woman would come forward, and through that woman a child would be born and that child would be Messiah; that child would be Mahdi. That child would manifest the Presence of God coming from a woman. That woman is styled in the Holy Qur'an as Maryam, or Mary.

The Holy Qur'an says of Mary, she was honored "above all women". A whole surah (chapter) is given in honor of her name. Not the mother of Prophet Muhammad, not the mother of Abraham, not the mother of David, but the mother of Jesus. Sisters, Mary is a prototype of you. If you look at the "Marys" that were around Jesus when he went to the cross, there were six (6) women around him. The women never failed Jesus, but all the men except John walked out on Jesus. When he went to the cross, women ministered to him all the way.

What is there in a woman when she knows and recognizes a man of God? That woman will move heaven or hell to back that man of God. What is it in woman that makes her so faithful? What is it in men that makes them so fickle?

Brothers, as men, we are creatures of power. God put it in our essence that we demand power and rule. Even when there is another man exercising power, we will walk with that man, but sometimes with the mindset, "I am better than he is, if I could just overthrow him, I'll be the one." You don't ever read of women walking with divine men plotting to overthrow them. When they recognize God in the man, they have found what they are looking for and they walk with God in that man. But a man wants to be on the same level with another man, therefore he will betray you. He will undermine, plot and scheme on you.

The disciples of Jesus argued among themselves about who would be uppermost in the Kingdom: "Will I sit at the right? Will I sit at the left?" The women said nothing. All they wanted to know was where the Master walked.

There were several named Mary who walked with him. Each one of those Marys is a "type" of you (Black woman). There was a Mary who was a "low-life" woman and there are some like that in here. But when you meet Jesus, like that Mary met the Master, she came up out of that low life and walked with that Divine man. There was Mary, his mother, a holy woman, and there are some of you like that in this audience. Every one of those Marys is a type of the different qualities and characteristics in women. The woman is the key to a new world order. The woman is the Key to the Kingdom of God.

The whole world is looking for Jesus, the Messiah and the Muslim world is looking for the Mahdi. Where will they show up?

Beloved, Master Fard Muhammad was born February 26, 1877 in the Holy City of Mecca. His father was one of the twelve (12) majors scientists and His mother was a woman from the Caucasus mountains. He was a specially made man to go after the lost sheep. The lost sheep were Black people lost among white people.

To all white people who are listening via satellite and who may be here in this audience, you must be made to understand your nature. You are made from the opposite side of God to manifest what is in all of us. You were to serve a Divine Purpose. Now that purpose which the evil in white people was to serve is over, because the evil in them manifested fully the range of evil in us.

Jesus said you cannot put new wine in an old wine skin, lest the skin break and the wine spill out. You cannot put the Wisdom that God wants to put in you until you undergo something that will make you a perfected vessel for His Glory.

Master Fard Muhammad had to have a color that would allow Him to get in among white people and not be discovered. The scripture says He came "as a thief in the night". He came "without observation". He came "in sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh". His mother was a Caucasian woman. Why a white woman? Now, don't you Black men get crazy and run out of here and get a white woman; the purpose has already been fulfilled.

You remember the story of Jesus casting seven (7) devils out of a Woman. This was a "wonder in heaven", this woman from the Caucasus mountains. She was approved by the scientists to give birth to a son. The father would anoint the son, but the son would grow to be greater than the one who anointed him. The father would send the son, but the son would be greater than the one that sent him.

Master Fard Muhammad was born with the capacity to understand the mysteries of the Universe. How is He born to understand the mysteries of the Universe? He was called into existence by The Originator. When The Originator wanted to perfect His Universe, its perfection had to wait until one was born with a perfect knowledge of how to perfect the imperfect.

This young child was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He grew in Wisdom and Power. At the age of six (6), He saw Himself pushing the Fords, the DuPonts and the Rockefellers into a lake of fire. At six (6) years of age, He came into the Knowledge of Who He was.

Today, they start your little children in school at six (6), but if you train them right from the cradle, at six (6) they will know exactly what they are born to do. You train your children all wrong, feeding them lies instead of Truth. Feeding them foolish fairy tales, making them think bunnies talk; that rats and pigs and wolves talk. You are killing your babies' minds with fairy tales. Feed your baby on truth and one day your baby will become a Master of Truth.

We are not born into the Brain of God, we are born into the Mind of God. Mind is not brain and brain is not mind. Brain is the source of mind. Brain is the root of mind. Brain is the repository of electrical energy. Brain is a transmitter and a receiver. If it receives right, it will transmit right. What you see out here is not the Brain of God. You are born into God's Mind. Everything you see came out of His Mind, therefore, if you feed on His Mind you can grow into His Mind.

In the Holy Qur'an, the name given to the temporary ruler, called Adam, is "Khalif". The word "Khalif" means "he who supplies the place of another who has perished or died. The successor to and the deputy of." Man is the deputy of God.

Does God die? Only the physical. When the physical goes, another one stands and the Wisdom comes right through that one; that one is deputized to carry out the Wisdom of the Originator. The Will of the Originator is carried out by men who live and die. You don't know their names. You don't know their faces. Their names and faces are irrelevant. There is only one Do-er in this Universe and that is God. He is the Only Reality. There is no other Reality but God.

You say, "Satan is a reality." Yes, but it is God acting through the left side. The scriptures say that God has a right hand, but He also has a left hand. Satan is a left-handed expression. He is the negative side of the original nature. He is the misuse of power, knowledge, sex, water, air and fire. He uses power from God on the negative side. God's Coming is after the workings of Satan. This child born in Mecca was born to overturn Satan's world. He was born to destroy it. He was born to discover it at the foundation, expose it and uproot it, leaving neither root nor branch. He was born of woman, but born to rule:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government of peace there shall be not end." (Isaiah 9:6,7)

How is He going to make Himself manifest? He grows and He becomes the Power. He knows how to destroy. He knows how to govern creation. He can give life and cause death. He is Beneficent and Merciful, but He is a human being.

The scriptures say He came "without observation". In Habakkuk, it reads, "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran." (3:3) Mount Paran is in Arabia. Teman is in Arabia. "Teman" is a man from man. Teman was one of the sons of Adah. So if He came from Teman, one of the sons of Adah, then He is the son of a man. Any your Bible reads, "And the Son of Man will come." Not son of spirit, the Son of man.

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." (Matthew 24:27,28)

The symbol of America is the eagle. She has flown higher than any other bird. She has ascended above the clouds yet the scriptures say "I will bring you down to the sides of the pit to hell." This enemy has become more powerful than any other nation on the Earth in the annals of the last six thousand (6,000) years of history. She is powerful. How did she become powerful? She killed off the Native Americans; she brought our fathers out of Africa and robbed us totally of the knowledge of self. She sold the people of God---not for a decade, not for a century, but for four centuries. God said, "I, even I, will search the Earth for my sheep that is lost and I will bring my sheep again." Here we are, the lost people, the lost sheep, the lost tribe. Lost in America, lost in the way of white people.

All in Adam died and we died in the way of white people. You are not a living Black man and woman, you are considered a dead Black man and a dead Black woman. You are no longer what you once were and you need to be raised to life. But who can give you life? He said, 'I am the Resurrection and the life. If you believe in me, even though you are dead, yet shall you live'---I am a human being. I am the 'Light of the world' -- I am a human being. I am the 'Good Shepherd' --- a human being. I am the 'Bread of Life'-- a human being.

Messiah, Mahdi -- He came to North America by Himself. He had no associates. He came alone. He came to seek and to save what was lost. He found one man among us. He was like a ghost. People saw him but did not know who he was. You sing it in the church, "Sweet little Jesus boy, born in a manger. Sweet little Jesus boy, I didn't know who you were." The Bible puts it like this, "And the light shined in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not. He came unto his own, but his own received him not." We did not know, but He came. God came to you --- to visit you.

Who are we that God would visit us? We are the people of His choice. We are the stone that the builder rejected. God now wants to make us the headstone of the corner. Who are we? We are that foolish people God would make into the wisest that ever lived. God said, "I have come to be your God and you My people and I will put My Mind and My Spirit and My Will into you. When the people want to find God, they will have to find Me among you.; Yes, you are the people that are going to produce the Jesus the whole world is looking for. It's you.

You ask, "How do you mean we are going to produce the Jesus?" He was born of a virgin and you are a virgin people. You know that "virgin" territory is territory not cultivated, not developed. You are the most uncultivated, undeveloped, wild and crazy people in the world today. You are a virgin {you can never say you met a man}. If you met a man, where are your men? If you meet a man, he will make a man.

The reason we are in this condition is because we are not men. A man does not beg another man for a job. A man will get up and make a job for himself. A man doesn't beg another man to give him rights. A man will take the rights that God has given him. The white man cannot give you rights, God has already given us rights. Stand up like a man and let us take the rights that belong to us.

You (Black people) are a virgin. If you met a man, you could produce one. The "Holy Ghost" came under the cover of darkness and you became pregnant with a Servant of God.

That little man, Elijah Muhammad, frightened all of us. He was a man of God, made, fashioned, taught, molded and shaped by God. Now he is gone, but he would not leave you comfortless. To prove that he is exactly who we say he is, he made one. I am not of his physical bloodline, I am from his mind and heartline. He made me for you and there is no doubt about it. There is not another Black man on Earth today that is confronting this beast like Louis Farrakhan. Who made me like this?

I do not say the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is dead, if He is the Messiah and I believe He is. I am a witness that He is the Messiah. I don't say He is dead. The Messiah escaped death. They thought they got him. You say, "Well, there was a funeral." Sure, there was, and there is a death certificate. There is a coffin and a body in it. Sure there is. It is easy for God to fool a fool. You ask, "Why would God do a thing like that?"

The Holy Qur'an said he was made to appear as though He was dead, but Allah (God) raised him to Himself, exalted him to Himself. When he was seen, he looked like he was slain from the foundation of the world, because he was in bad shape when he got to the throne. But he was able to take the book out of the hand to Him that sat on the throne.

That which you call "Unidentified Flying Objects"; that which you and white people put "Above Top Secret": that is real. There is a plane out there made like a wheel. Ezekiel saw it five hundred and fifty (550) years before Jesus was born. A wheel in the middle of the air, run by the Grace of God, with "eyes" all around it, meaning with people in it. It is not from another planet. It is made by the Son of man to destroy this world. It is up there now, forty (40) miles above us. It is like a city in the sky. "And I saw as it was a city come down from heaven." It has 1500 little planes on it. They follow me everywhere I go. You can take it or leave it. I am not trying to impress you.

I know the Power that is behind that wheel and the Power of the wheel is the Power that Guides me. I am not before you of myself. I am a Guided man. That's why the white man is tearing his hair out, because he has plotted against me at every turn, but he can't seem to get me. Maybe God will deliver me into your hands to deliver me from your hands.

Brothers and sisters, don't you fear this man. There is a Power today bigger than Bush. There is a Power today on the scene. He is not to come, He is Real, He is Alive and He is in Power. It is not Saddam Hussein or Bush, it's God.

God has it locked up. He is controlling it all. Don't be afraid, because the white man's day to rule is over. God has come to end his rule and He is going to make you into a giant and give you the Kingdom. That is what they know and what they are trying to keep from you. They are tricking you night and day; filling our young people with drugs and alcohol and foolishness, so that you will blow your Salvation.

Wake up, Black man and woman. I don't have long to be among you. I don't see death coming, but a time has come now for me to stop talking, because I have been a Faithful Warner to you and I will not stop talking because I don't love you. It's just that the Power that is behind me is pulling me in, because you have not acted like you should have acted. You have turned to be a vicious people against yourselves.

You have become your number one killers. You don't love your woman, you rape her. You make a cheap prostitute out of her. So, God is angry, because you know better. As it is written in the scriptures, God sent a Son of man down among the dry bones in the valley and the Son of man spoke the Word of God to the bones. The bones began rattling and shaking in the valley. The Word of God responds to your nature's call and need. Wherever Farrakhan goes, they come by the thousands. They hear and enjoy, but Farrakhan is not an entertainer.

I am not here for you to applaud and say things like, "Go head man, rap!" No. Jesus said it like this, "I piped to you all the day long, but you have not danced." I have mourned to you, but you have not lamented." You are not in harmony with God. You hear the word while you sport and play. You "boogie" and you party.

After this lecture is over, you will go and get your reefer. You will fade into the night and get some crack, snort some coke, chase some brother or sister. You liked the message, but did you like it enough to choose the New Ruler and draw a straight line with your life? He will make the crooked things straight and the rough places plain. He will exalt the valley. Will you allow God to exalt you? Will you allow Him to take the crookedness out of you and me? Will you allow God to purify you and make you a perfect vessel for that revealed word to come to you? Will you allow Him to make you what you once were, before your fall? Will you allow Him to do this?

When the Son of man could not get the bones to act right, He went back to the Lord and said, "Lord, they are not responding well." The Lord said {in words}, "Don't talk to them anymore, talk to the winds and let the winds blow on these slain of God." After the winds blew, they stood up.

My time to talk to you is just about over. It is time for the winds now to whip you and me into shape. It is not going to be pretty. The very white man you love is going to be the means of your total destruction. He is so powerful, now that Russia seems to have weakened. He can laugh in your face and won't even sign a civil rights bill, yet he has an army filled with Black men and women ready to die for him. He doesn't care anything about you. He has already enacted the Federal Emergency Management Act which gives the President extraordinary powers. As this war goes on, he may say, "I am sick and tired of Farrakhan." He may seek me, arrest me. It is written. I don't worry about that and I don't want you to worry.

The scriptures said, "Let not your heart be troubled over these things", because I am not troubled in the least. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. It is He Who maketh me to lie down in green pastures, not white folks. If it was up to my enemies, they would have stopped everything from coming to me, but my God spread a table for me in the presence of mine enemies. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear nothing. Not the arrow that comes by day, or the one that flies by night. I am wrapped up in the bosom of that New Ruler that I represent. He anointed by head with oil. My cup is running over. There is so much that I have to tell you that I could not even get to, because time just will not permit it, but my cup runneth over.

What I shared with you today is not for today alone. It is for you to take and feed on for years to come. So, my dear and beloved brothers and sisters, I thank Allah, Who begets not, for His Self-Creation. I thank Him for the Wisdom that He showed in creating Woman from Himself. I thank Him for His Majesty that made the Universe His Workshop and out of darkness He keeps on bringing new things forward. I thank Him. As the scriptures says, "I thank you, Father in Heaven, for keeping those things from the wise and prudent man and revealing them unto babes."

The fast is over and it is time for the feast. What is the Fast? The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, "When you are in the presence of God, you don't need to fast anymore." God hid His face from us for 66 trillion years. God has Arrived. Our Saviour has Arrived. The fast is over and it is time for the feast.

After Ramadan, we have the Id Feast and after Hajj, we have another Id Feast. We are pilgrims journeying through the darkness of the night to come back to the Light and the Face of God. It is time for us to feast. Feast on what? Manna from Heaven. Knowledge that has never been revealed in 66 trillion years. He is now giving it to you but that is a great trial on you; because if you do not act right by that Knowledge, God said He will punish us with a chastisement that he never gave a people before in history. He has not revealed Himself before and the burden is on you now. You have to decide who you are going to serve. I choose to serve the Mahdi. I choose to serve the Messiah.

I believe that God came in His Person. Not that the person is {God}, but what is in the person is {God}. The person is that which holds what it contains. I believe that the Messiah is God manifested in a human. The Messiah opens the eyes of the blind, makes the deaf hear, the dumb speak, fashions a bird out of dust and makes it fly, by Gods' Permission. He raises the dead by God's Permission.

Only God can give life to dust. Only God can make the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak and raise the dead to life. When you see a man doing that, it is not the man doing, it is God doing in the man. That is why when Elijah comes, it means "God is Present". God is in the world. "Emmanuel" means, "God is with us" and that is what I am trying to demonstrate.

When you listen to Farrakhan, your eyes come open. Your ears come open. If your eyes and ears come open, then your tongue begins to speak what you have seen and what you have heard. When you meet your Brother, you are on a dead level, but after he speaks to you, you find yourself being raised to Divine Life.

You are like fragments of dust, but God breathes on you and you are formed like a bird, meaning you lift your intelligence and fly above what used to hold you down. That is the Work of the Messiah. I am doing His Work. I am a Bearer of Witness of Him and what I am trying to tell you is the Messiah you have been looking for is The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The God, The Mahdi, you have been looking for is Master Fard Muhammad. You might as well come on now and unite with them and let us go and build a New World of Peace and Brotherhood.

Thank you for listening, as I greet you in Peace: As-Salaam-Alaikum.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

"All things should be known at the proper time." The Honorable Elijah Muhammad Messenger of Allah

SOURCE

Study Guide 19A is based upon a message delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on February 24, 1991 at Christ Universal Temple, Chicago, Illinois. It also takes its title from that message.

SCRIPTURE

Holy Qur'an 3:6 (also see, footnotes 387, 388, and 389) Book of Revelations 5 Book of Revelations 12

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Page 40 (Page 52 in original Study Guide)

GLOSSARY

Page 45 (Page 59 in original Study Guide

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

SECTION I: POINT NUMBER 12

1. Is it important to you that we answer the question, "Who is God?" Why or why not?

2. Do you remember when and/or how you first became aware of Point Number 12 of "What the Muslims Believe", which appears on the last page of the Final Call Newspaper? What was your reaction? Has your perception of God changed since that time? If so, how has it changed? What caused it to change?

3. Do you think it is absolutely necessary to believe Point Number 12 in order to be a Muslim Follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad? Why or why not?

4. Minister Farrakhan stated, "I shall never take that point from the back page of the paper, regardless to how many scholars don't like it."

Have you ever been questioned or challenged about Point Number 12 of "What the Muslims Believe" (which appears on the last page of the Final Call Newspaper)? What was the nature of question or challenge? How did you respond? What was the reaction to your response? Do you think you were effective in your explanation? Why or why not?

5. Why did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad choose the Number 12 to assign this cardinal principle? What is significant about the number 12?

6. Why did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad use the word "Messiah" and the word "Mahdi"? What do the words mean? Why did He place quotation marks around each word?

7. Discuss Revelations 5. Who are the 24 elders? Why are they 'lamenting'? What is the nature of the book? Who sealed the book? What is the relevance of this to the Number 12?

SECTION II:
RULES OF INTERPRETATION

1. What are the rules of interpretation revealed in Surah 3, Verse 6 of the Holy Qur'an?

2. Why are we given these rules of interpretation?

3. The Holy Qur'an warns of "those in whose hearts is perversity" who are "seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation." What kind of persons might be at a high risk of falling into this category? How does one avoid becoming such a person?

4. What enables a person to interpret the Word of Allah (God)?

5. What is "scripture"?

SECTION III:
THE MYSTERY OF GOD

1. Has the knowledge of God always been a secret?

2. How and why did knowledge of God become a secret?

3. What is the process by which a perfect world can be achieved?

SECTION IV:
THE BIRTH OF JESUS

1. Why is Jesus called the "Son of God"?

2. Why is it important to know the lineage of Jesus and the circumstances surrounding his birth?

SECTION V:
THE SELF-CREATION OF GOD

1. How do we unwrap the secret of how the Universe began?

2. Discuss the means by which God enabled Himself to "think through darkness". What resources did He have?

3. Discuss the statement, "Mind is not brain and brain is not mind." What is the difference between the two?

SECTION VI:
THE WOMAN

1. Discuss the significance of the following statement: "Every man has a woman in him."

2. How is understanding the woman relevant to finding out Who God is?

3. Who is the woman in Chapter 12 of Revelations? Discuss this "extraordinary woman". Discuss the significance of the Number 12 as it relates to this woman and to Point Number 12 of "What the Muslims Believe".

4. Where can the woman in Chapter 12 of Revelations be found in the Holy Qur'an? Who is this woman a prototype of?

5. How do you explain the fact that all the men except John walked out on Jesus in his time of trouble, but none of the women failed him?

SECTION VI:
THE ESSENCE OF GOD

1. Does God die? If not, how does He escape the Law of Life and Death which He Himself set up? 2. What is the real core of the Sun? 3. Why are we prohibited from making and bowing to images and statutes?

SECTION VII:
THE MAKING OF DEVIL

1. Who or what is the devil? Where did the devil come from? 2. Why did God allow the devil to be made? 3. What is the thinking of those who are currently in power? 4. Have you ever occupied a position of power or authority? What effect did it have on your view of others and the view of others toward you? Have you ever lost a position of power or authority? How did you handle it?

SECTION VIII:
MASTER FARD MUHAMMAD

1. Discuss the Birth of Master Fard Muhammad. Is His lineage troubling to you in any way? Why or why not? 2. Who called Master Fard Muhammad into existence? For what purpose? 3. At what age did Master Fard Muhammad come into the knowledge of His purpose? How can you insure that your own children will know what they are born to do by that age? 4. Use the Bible to demonstrate that God is a man and He would come to us from Mecca.

SECTION IX:
THE COMING OF GOD AND THE END OF FALSE LEADERSHIP

1. What qualifications are necessary to be a successful teacher of the people today? 2. Are there false leaders and teachers of the people today? Is Allah (God) doing anything about false leaders? If so, what? 3. Do you actually believe that God would visit us? Why would He choose Black people in America?

SECTION X:
THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD

1. Is the Honorable Elijah Muhammad alive? How do you know he is or is not alive?

2. Do you believe the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is the Messiah? How do you know he is or is not the Messiah? What is the Work of the Messiah?

3. Who is Minister Louis Farrakhan? What is his relationship--if any-- to the Messiah and the Mahdi? What is the nature of his Work among us? Discuss his statement, "I don't see death coming, but a time has come for me to stop talking."

4. What has Minister Farrakhan demonstrated to you in this Message, "WHO IS GOD?"

5. Has Minister Farrakhan accomplished anything since delivering the Message February 24, 1991, that would prove his statement on page 30, "I know the Power that is behind that wheel and the Power of the wheel is the Power that Guides me."?

6. Have you been inspired by studying this Message? In what way?

GLOSSARY

CARDINAL: "Of prime importance; chief; principal; fundamental; something on which all other things hinge.

INTERPRET: "To set forth the meaning of; explain; to construe or understand in a particular way."

MASTER: "One who commands; one eminently skilled; one who directs or controls; qualified to teach and carry on his work independently; one whose teachings are accepted and followed by others; a victor or conqueror.

SECRET: "Done, made or conducted without the knowledge of others; secluded, sheltered or withdrawn; designed or working to escape notice, knowledge or observation of others; a reason or explanation not apparent.

SUPREME: "Highest in authority; the highest quality, degree, character, importance."

TEACH: "To impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in; to enlighten; discipline; educate.

TRANSMIT: "(Physics). To cause light, heat or sound to pass through a medium. To convey or pass along an impulse, force or motion.

Study Guide 19B: The Key to the Kingdom of God

Introduction

By Minister Ava Muhammad

"My mother knew she was in trouble. She went to God. 'Lord, Help me.' The more she prayed, all of her supplications and prayers were going on down into the womb. She was making me a man of God without even knowing what she was making. It was uncertain circumstances -- do you hear what I am saying?.... I am here to tell you, if you do not have a man, remember God. My mother did not know that the circumstances around which I was conceived in her womb would make me that man that I am today. Now, she wanted a girl. What does that mean? It means that she would make a child with characteristics that represent the feminine side of the Nature of God: Mercy, Compassion, Forgiveness, Long-suffering. It takes that kind of person to redeem a people in the condition that we are in." -Minister Louis Farrakhan-

The only value of my introduction to this phase of the Course lies in the "moment" that it provides. The "moment" is that brief pause when the student recognizes the magnitude of what is being taught. I opened with the excerpt from Minister Farrakhan's historic address to women only (Atlanta, 1994), because in a few words it offers profound insight into the teacher as well as the subject.

After transcribing the message which forms the text of Study Guide 19B, I realized that we (male and female), in our ignorance, have relegated the words, "A Nation Can Rise No Higher than its Woman" to a motto. In reality, it is Divine Law. At the core of this Study Guide is Surah 19 of the Holy Qur'an, named "Maryam", after the Mother of Jesus. It is my sincere belief that the Minister's sensitive analysis of this exquisite woman--and his completion of the revelation concerning who and what she truly represents--will take us to a new level of thought. And from that new level of thought we will produce the new reality.

The willingness of each of us to understand, accept and live in accordance with this higher aspect of "self-improvement" will determine whether we can continue on the journey into Oneness with Allah (God). This advanced level of self-examination may prove to be difficult to handle, because it is in direct opposition to the white man's framework of exploitation.

What I am trying to point out is that this world, even in the so-called "God-fearing" societies, rejects the feminine side of the Nature of Allah (God). For centuries, both men and women have been taught to view the female as a lesser being.

The Minister summarily dismisses all time-honored labels of inferiority and demands that the Black woman reconnect with Allah (God) immediately. His challenge tests the emotional stability of men and women, because even in the Nation of Islam, many of us have remained comfortably immersed in the white man's concept of the Black female. This Message rejuvenates.

Beyond the physical and literal "virgin"--long lost to most women-- the Black woman can become the spiritual Virgin Mary: a truthful woman; a woman untouched by the need to be validated by a man; a woman who cannot be overpowered by emotion, seduced or humiliated; a woman who measures her self-worth through the Thinking of Allah (God). I sincerely hope that men, as well as women, will appreciate the wonderful opportunity for growth and change that is contained in this study.

We have been severely handicapped as a people because of the woman's absence from the deliberative process in government, business, education and especially religion. We have not been able to benefit from the intelligence and problem-solving skills of more than half of our population. The most insidious self-inflicted injury has been the resistance to hearing the Word of God through the female. We must take heed to the Minister's words:

"The world is in trouble because the world has no respect for woman. And if the world has no respect for woman, the world has no respect for God. When you respect God, you must respect woman, because the womb of the woman is a place of sacredness. Woman should be held in awe, because of the majesty of her womb. When God and woman cooperate, Jesus comes forth, Moses comes forth, Abraham comes forth. But when women are estranged from God, then the womb produces a bitter fruit. The woman must be reconnected to God, so that the fruit of her womb will once again be the kings, the rulers, the masters of every discipline, whether male or female. These are the fruits of God."

Sister Minister Ava Muhammad February 23, 1997

THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL, WHO CAME IN THE PERSON OF MASTER FARD MUHAMMAD TO WHOM PRAISE IS DUE FOREVER. WE GIVE HIM PRAISE AND THANKS FOR HIS COMING AND FOR HIS RAISING UP AMONG US THE GREATEST OF ALL OF THE TEACHERS AND GUIDES THAT HAVE EVER BEEN BEFORE THE HUMAN COMMUNITY. A MAN THE LIKE OF WHICH NEVER WAS BEFORE AND A MAN THE LIKE OF WHOM SHALL NEVER BE AGAIN, THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, THE MESSIAH, THE EXALTED CHRIST.

To Sister Charlene Muhammad, who is Chairman of the Board of the M.G.T. and G.C.C., to Sister Captain Aishah Muhammad, to all of the Laboring Staff, Officials of the M.G.T. and the Vanguard.

I am very thankful to Allah, to have this opportunity to be in your company. I have a lot on my mind and I am just getting back from a bout with the flu. But there is so much that I wish to share with you. I want you to pay very good attention to what I am about to say.

Most women look for and seem to need, the approval of a man to make them feel special to themselves. It is sad, because if you do not get approval from some male, does it mean that you are less? Mother Tynnetta Muhammad designed a garment that is called "Dress 19" and the 19th Surah of the Holy Qur'an is called "Maryam". That Surah is so important that I would like to call a few things to your attention, so that from this day forward, you will never again need the approval of a male to make you feel as God intends for you to feel. Once you feel dependent upon someone's approval, they can use that need to manipulate you and make you act or do other than how you should act or what you should do. For any female, in 1996, to be that weak mentally, is to say that we have a long way to go to get where God wants the woman to be.

(The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered this lecture November 16, 1996 to the women of the M.G.T./G.C.C., Chicago, Illinois, at the National Center of the Nation of Islam.)

I am very honored to be in this class this morning and very honored to have the privilege of sharing a few thoughts with you. Surah 19, which is a very important chapter, starts like this: "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Sufficient, Guide, Blessed, Knowing, Truthful God." Look at the words. "Sufficient". Sufficient for who? Sufficient for Maryam. Sufficient for you. But if you are weak in your connection to Allah (God), then you will be what any man wants to make you and there are not too many good men out here that want to make anything of you but what the devil has already made of you.

I am going to get as deep as time and circumstance will let me. I want you to take these words to heart. "Sufficient". Is He really? No, He is not. If your connection with Allah (God) is weak, then He is not sufficient for you. Therefore, you will be looking from pillar to post for some man. And if a man does not come along in a timely fashion, all of a sudden your world crumbles, because there is no "man" in your life. Then you are a victim. You are not the woman yet that Maryam was, because Allah (God) was sufficient for her. It is clear to me that a lot of the brothers do not want righteous women.

And it is clear to me that if you just want a "n....r", then you can find that anytime, anyplace, anywhere. But that is not what you are being trained for. Everybody needs companionship, but what kind of company is this that you want in your life? If it is the same company you have had in your life, then you need to stop right where you are and make Allah (God) sufficient for you. Naturally, you do not know how to do that. Therefore, you are victimized, daily, hourly, by the minute and by the second, because you have not found sufficiency in Allah(God.)

He is called "Guide". If He is "Sufficient" as a "Guide" for you, then who do you really need to talk over problems with? Look at the people you take for friends; look at the people you consult with when you have a problem. And Allah is usually last on the list. You do not confer with God. You look for some other female, whose condition is as bad or worse than your own; or you look for some man from your past life or present life and you end up with that feeling of emptiness on the inside, because you, as a female, have not recognized your value to Allah (God), your need for Allah (God) and His sufficiency for you in all circumstances.

You look at your children, saying, 'I have all these children. I need Joe (or John, or Henry, or Frank).' Wait a minute. You have a need all right, but Joe is not the Life-Giver. Neither is John, Henry or Frank. When Allah (God) decrees that life enters the womb, Allah (God) nurtures what is in the womb. Then if you and Allah (God) make life, who do you need above him who gave you the sperm? You need Allah (God) in you life. And there is no man who is an actual substitute for Allah (God). I don't care how good the man is, Allah (God) has no equal, no partners.

He is Unique, Incomparable. Neither I nor your husband can approach him, except as a servant. Who is your consort in this matter? What is this class all about? This is not just a group of women coming together to talk about white folks and what the devil has done to us. Is that what this is? Just learning how to cook a little bean soup and clean your house? If that is all this is about, then go and take a home economics course somewhere. That is not what 'M.G.T. and G.C.C.' is all about.

And if that is what your concept is of this class, then everybody needs to sit down and be taught all over again. "Blessed, Knowing, Truthful God." He is not a liar. A Husband will lie. A boyfriend will lie. Allah (God) is the Truth! What you need in your life is not mere lies and deceit. You need, first of all, to be a truthful woman. And the only way you can be a truthful woman is to be connected properly to the Truthful God. Surah 19 (Verses 2-6) continues, "A mention of your Lord to His servant Zacharias--When he called upon his Lord, crying in secret.

He said: My Lord, my bones are weakened and my head flares with hoariness, and I have never been unsuccessful in my prayer to (You), my Lord. And I fear my kinsfolk after me, and my wife is barren, so grant me from (Yourself) an heir." "Grant me from Yourself an heir." It all starts and ends with Allah (God) and our relationship to him "(Give) me from (Yourself) an heir...(who) should inherit me and inherit of the Children of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, acceptable (to You)."

You cannot even produce a child that is worthy, without the Help of Allah (God). Since you are the producer of the Nation, your relationship to Allah (God) has to be intact, otherwise your womb will produce your destruction. All of us want to be pleased with our children. And those of you who have not had children yet should consider yourself very fortunate, because at least you can prepare. This "hit and miss" that we have been involved in--maybe we will get it right.

We have produced from our own loins and wombs, Cain and Abel all over again, all over again, all over again, but Mary "hit it" the first time. You do not want Cain. You do not want to produce one good one and one no good one; one who will believe in Allah (God), one who won't believe in Allah (God). You don't want that in your life. But if you don't want that in your life, there is a change you have got to make and not tomorrow.

The problem is, you are in the world and the world exercises such a strong pull. Most of us do not really know how to ward off the pull of the world and a lot of us do not care to ward it off. We have one foot--maybe not even a foot--in the world of Allah (God), and all other members of the body dabbling in, wallowing in the world. It really looks nice to see everybody dressed in their uniforms. But Allah (God) doesn't care about anybody looking nice.

We all know how to look when we come to the Mosque. It is not how you look when you come here, it is how you look when you are not here. That is the real you. Surah 19 (Verses 7-9) continues: "O Zacharias, We give thee good news of a boy, whose name is John: We have not made before anyone his equal. He said: My Lord, how shall I have a son, and my wife is barren, and I have reached extreme old age? He said: So (it will be). Your Lord says: It is easy to Me, and indeed I created you before, when you were nothing."

That is an easy thing for Allah (God) to do: to decree that your womb will bear a beautiful life. Even if you are trying to have children and you do not have any, do not despair. Just keep on preparing yourself. So many did not even prepare--they just had one. And one is Cain, one is Abel. More Cain than Abel. Now look (Verse 16): "And mention Mary in the Book." Mary was a woman that screened herself from men. That is something very hard for a woman to do.

We dress for other women, but we dress for men. We get our hair done for other women, but we get our hair done for men. We like men to notice how nice we look and to even make a comment. Some of us don't know an insult from a compliment. Some of us take insult for compliment and compliment for insult, because we want to attract attention to ourselves in a manner that is not the best. We mentioned the number "19".

As the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught us, and you have heard Mother Tynnetta Muhammad say it many, many times, "9" is the number of completion. It represents, of course, our 9 planets and it represents the female, who is carrying life to term which is 9 months. If you look at the numbers from right to left, rather than left to right, the "1" is behind the "9", not in front of it. The "1" behind the "9" is generating itself through the "9". And that is why "19" could be called Maryam. She did not miss; she produced for Allah (God) the first time.

I do not know why they call you "Miss". Maybe the father "missed", because he was after a boy, and when you got here, he "missed". Think about it. How in the world could somebody have "missed", when they produced you? You see, even the language of the world is against the female. Usually all men want to see themselves first. If the baby is a girl, you see this look of disappointment. In some societies, they literally go off. But they never "missed" when you were born.

That was a "hit", if there ever was one, because Allah (God) has come to make Himself known to you, and through you, to the entire world. But you have got to give Him the chance to make Himself known. The class is supposed to be preparing you so that you can allow Allah (God) to make Himself known through you. Now, here (Surah19) is this woman, Maryam. She "Screened" herself from men. And then Allah (God) said, "We sent to her Our spirit and it appeared to her as a well-made man." (Verse 17) And when the man showed up, even though Allah sent him, she said, "I flee for refuge from (you) to the Beneficent, if (you) art one guarding against evil."(Verse 18).

She is taking no chance that this is the wrong man, so she is fleeing to Allah (God) to take refuge in Him. She says, "Even if you are one guarding against evil, I am still going to take refuge in Allah (God), because I do not need any evil in my life." "He said: I am only bearer of a message of your Lord: That I will give you a pure boy. She said, How can I have a son and no mortal has yet touched me, nor have I been unchaste?" (19, 20) Do you see how powerful that is? Here is a woman. She has a need.

She is a female--like you. She would need, I think, for a man to say, "Mary, you certainly are beautiful. Mary, you are so fine." But she is saying, "No. I am not for that." He tells her, "I came to give you a pure boy." But she is not convinced. "You can say that, but how can I have a son and no mortal has touched me, nor have I been unchaste." In other words, "and I do not intend to be unchaste now." Wouldn't it be something if you could be like that?

You would create a revolution! All of these men would absolutely get right. But they can get you too easy. And when it becomes easy to get you, they play with you. And when they finish playing with you, they play with somebody else. But if this was a class where there was no play at all; that if they ran into this one it was a stone wall--they ran into the next one, it was a stone wall-- then you would hear decent conversation among the FOI. "I tried, but she said she sought refuge in Allah.

The minute I approached her, I reached a stone wall. She froze me with a look on her face." But you don't freeze anybody; your look is inviting. You are just the opposite of what you are supposed to be; just the opposite. Don't smile at them; what are you smiling for? Until they become better, what do you look like being an invitational queen? You are not seeking refuge.

When you are seeking refuge in Allah, you get that firm look. He says, "Wait a minute, sister, I just came to ask you if you need a ride." "I have a ride. That's why I have that car outside." You have to look at what is out there, but you have to look within first. You will regret that you were not as strong as you should have been. Why bite your nails with intense regret, simply because you were weak and did not seek strength from the Source of strength; One Who was "Sufficient" for Mary; One Who can and will and wants to be sufficient for you--but you won't let Him.

When we named the Mosque "Maryam", it was because as Allah (God) helps us understand who we are and particularly who you are, then you must understand your value and you must not cheapen your value. Have you seen people who don't understand the value of what they have? What do you call a person like that? Somebody just said it: they are foolish. A foolish woman is not a good thing. And for you not to appreciate your own value, Sisters, is to make yourself foolish.

Allah (God) came to North America by Himself for you. Think about a God that has been in hiding--for 66 trillion years, the knowledge of God has not been out in the public. Just think about that. That is enough to blow our minds. People talk about God, but they don't know Him. They talk about Him and they see the marvelous handiwork of God, but they don't know Him. They sense and feel His Spirit and His Presence, but they don't know the Person Who carries that Spirit and is the Source of that Spirit. And then He decides He will make Himself known.

He chooses a people that are no people at all and He says, "I can sit on top of the mountain, and say that the most beautiful nation is in the wilderness of North America." He came for you, to make you special to Him. And He called you, "Muslim Girl". Girl. Some of the sisters got insulted, "I ain't no girl. I'm a woman." Be quiet. To Allah (God), you will always be a girl. To me, you are my sister. But to Allah (God), Who has come to be your Teacher, you are a girl to Him. He wants you in the spirit of a girl, so that He can shape you and mold you.

That is why the Bible teaches, "except you come as a little child, you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven." You are not just anybody's girl, you are His little girl. Do you know how a good father does over his little girl? The little girl can get anything she wants from the daddy. Just smile at him, talk sweet to him. I remember my daughter Khalliday when she was a year and a half. I was the minister in New York--I was troubled. Poor, raggedy and troubled.

I was laying in the bed, and she walked into the room. She knew something was bothering Daddy. All little girls are very very sensitive; not only to their fathers, but to their mothers as well. She came over and put her little hand on my chest, patted my chest and laid her head down on my chest. I just looked at her, and I thought, "The Messenger's Teachings are certainly right. These sisters are born to comfort and console the man." Now, you are the little girl of Allah (God). I want you to try what I am about to tell you.

If you jut try to be pleasing to Allah (God), anything you ask Him, He will give it to you. I want you to try this out. Here is a God that is so crazy about you--the Black Woman--that He comes 9,000 miles Alone. Even the scientists may not have agreed with Him. He said there was no one to uphold Him so His own right arm upheld Him. He came alone "to seek and to save that which was lost." And when you hear this taught, you say, "He came to save the man. He came to save the brothers."

You leave yourself out of this equation. But He cannot save the brothers, unless he saves you, because you produce the brothers. If we are ever going to have a great future, it is going to have to come through you. His aim was you. When He came, He threatened the Messenger--over you. "Set the class up. Let no man in that class." Why? Why not let men in here? If you let a man in a class like this, he will just go crazy. Most of them cannot take your love. It is really sad.

There are men who cannot take the love of their own daughters. If a man will try to sleep with his own daughter, who loves him, what chance do you have? So keep them out of here. Get them out of your affairs. Since the Minister is trying to be a good man, He will allow him in every now and then. And he doesn't stay long. [Response from audience]. Yes, I think you are right. You do need for me to stay longer than I do stay. Sisters, I think I can bring some closure to this.

Allah (God) sees you as so special to Him. You may not be special to Minister so-and-so, or Captain so-and-so or Lieutenant so-and-so. So what? To hell with them all! They are not important, except in their service of God. So because your captain doesn't like you, so what? You did not come here for her. You did not come to the Mosque for the minister or the captain. You came here for Allah (God), and don't you forget it!. At least, you are supposed to have come for Allah (God).

I don't know what your motive was, but we can clear that up today. Even if you came for the minister--away with that! You came for the captain--ahh, please! That's nothing! They come, they go, they're up today, down tonight, in today, out tonight! You don't come for any of them! Allah (God) is Eternal, and so is the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and don't forget it! My dear and beloved Sisters, Allah (God) loves you so well, He appreciates the least little thing you do.

Your husband may not even notice it. Your mother, your father, the sister captain, the brother captain, the brother minister, may not notice it. But Allah (God) notices every little thing you do to please Him! To some of my sisters who have gotten time out when they should have had time in: I just want to remind you of something. Here are people that can give you time out, but they can never take Allah (God) away from you. Nobody wants to get time out--not in your right mind.

But take it! If you notice, you were out there all by yourself, but there was a God right out there with you. You didn't have a whole lot of FOI around, but Allah was Sufficient, He was right there. And even though you were upset and angry, yet Allah (God) kept you in your right mind. "Yes, I did my time. I got fornication, I did my little time." Allah (God) sees all of that. He says, "Yes, that's My little servant. She's weak today but she's going to be strong tomorrow.

That's My little servant, I am going to get her strong." Any little thing you do. Just like going home and looking at your house. "Oh, it doesn't look like it is supposed to look, so I am going to clean it up." Why? For some man to knock on your door? No. Allah (God) has already knocked on your door. "Oh, Allah loves my house when it is clean!" Allah (God) says, "Look at my little servant, she is trying to please Me." When she goes into the kitchen, He is going to make that bean soup real special for her body, because she is trying to please Him.

When she goes to the mosque, tired, and meets a grumpy official, "Step over here, sister!" Allah (God) says, "Look at her. She takes this from a grumpy lieutenant. I am not going to let that lieutenant sleep well tonight. I will let my servant get in and get something out of the teachings, but that grumpy official will get nothing today!" Let me tell you something. You are so special to Him, that He rewards you double, triple and quadruple, for any little thing you do. That is why I want you, today, to make Him sufficient for you.

Not any man! God, in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, and His Servant. You make Them Number One in your life and see if you don't make a change! I just want you to try it so I can come back in a month or so and you can testify. "I tried what you said!" Think about something you want Allah (God) to do right now. Have you got it? Now to prove that He loves you, ask Him for what you want and ask Him to make it a blessing to you. Because sometimes you ask for things, and when you get it, it is not a blessing.

You know what I am talking about. It is the same way that a father is very hard pressed to deny his daughter. I remember one of my daughters was getting married and she wanted a big wedding, which cost big money. I was trying to squeeze pennies at that particular time, and she said, "Daddy, I have been obedient and I have not gone out in the street. I have been a decent person. The least you could do--" That was the end of that. She made her case.

It was so strong, so compelling, because she could have been out there, cheap and loose, but she strove mightily to be who she was. I said, "Go ahead and have the big wedding!" This is what Allah (God) wants to do for you. Not give you a big wedding, though maybe He will do that too, but He wants to show you how favoured you are in His sight. I don't care who says you are ugly. I don't know what that "ugliness" means. Some of you don't think you are too pretty; you have low self-esteem, don't you?

And when a so-called pretty sister comes in the mosque, you give her a hard time, don't you? "Who does she think she is?" Don't screw up your face because she "appears" a certain way. Allah (God) looks all the way in. While someone's outer appearance may please you or me, it may be ugly as sin in the sight of Allah (God). All of you that believe are beautiful to Allah (God). He has the Power to take your belief and turn it into absolutely indescribable beauty.

You can come here ugly, pimply-faced and hair so short you can't twist it with a tweezer. I don't care how people think you look, or how you think you look. The moment you say you believe in Allah (God) and start trying to be what Allah (God) has asked you to be, He turns the beauty of your faith into an indescribable charisma that makes you draw all people unto yourself. It is true, true, true! You can have the prettiest face, but if your faith is not there, you drive people away from you.

Now, Sisters. I would like for you, today, to take Allah (God) as your Principal Friend and make Him Sufficient in your life for you. Here is what I would like for you to do. You are a natural person, and you don't overcome this desire to be wanted, needed and appreciated by men overnight. But once you believe this is real--and it is-- and you say, "Allah (God) came for me and He is going to make a world from me and through me. The least I can do is try to please Him.

Now I am going to see if Allah (God) will be Sufficient for me." Then you try it. And when something comes up in your life that makes you a little weak, turn right to Allah (god) and say, "Allah, I know you are Sufficient for me. I don't need this, I need You in my life. I am going with You." Some of you are hanging on to bad relationships. Perhaps you should, because it might get better.

But when it gets to the point where it is going to make you other than yourself and destroy the Purpose of God's Own Coming for you, hold it. Allah is Sufficient. Stand on the Sufficiency of Allah (God), knowing that He will not forsake you. But you have to know this. Try Him; He tries you. Try Him; He is Sufficient. How do I know these things? Because if I didn't know it, I would be walking in total fear. This devil is angry, angry, angry with me and he wants me dead just as sure as I want to see you with Allah (God). But I do not care what he wants.

I am like Mary; I am the male Mary. All messengers of Allah (God) are styled as women in the symbolic language. Even in the Problem Book it says, "Ask your Teacher and she will teach you quickly." It is really talking about the Messenger, but He is given a feminine character, because Mary is to Allah (God) as the Messenger is to Allah (God). If Allah (God) was Sufficient for Mary, He has to be Sufficient for the Messenger.

If He is a Guide and He is the Blessed, and He is Truthful, then all of my blessings come from being close to Him and doing what I believe will please Him. Look at the prayer that Zacharias sent, "I have never been unsuccessful in my prayer to You." You want to be like that, whatever you ask for. The Messenger told me before He left, "Brother, ask for anything of Allah in my name and He will give it to you." Try that now.

You have tried everything else. You have tried all of the beauty tips. You have washed your face in this soap or that one, tried this cream or that one. You have tried all the hairstyles; added it on, pulled it off, straightened it out, curled it up, made it tough as steel. You have done it all, haven't you? Still dissatisfied, aren't you? You have put on nails, taken them off. You have dressed up your foot, dressed up your ankle, put several things in your ear, in your nose. You have done everything--trying to be pretty, I imagine. Try Allah (God).

As the woman of Allah (God), how wonderful you will feel today if you make that commitment. I have come home to spend my time now inside this house. I do not know how long Allah has for me, but I do know that I cannot leave you in the state that you are in Unless Allah says, "I am sorry, you have spent enough time with them, you come now." Then, that is on you. But I have taught you well. I have no regrets. I desire to clean up the house, with your help, of course. Only if we clean up, can we expect victory.

I saw the fight with Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. I was so hurt when Mike lost and I saw my brother stumbling around that ring. I knew he was being hurt by the blows raining down on him and at a certain point, he did not know where he was. He was literally almost senseless. I thought about how humble Mike was when he came out of prison. How humble he was.

He knocked people out so fast, he began to become full of his own powers and if you listened to his language as he spoke about Holyfield, "I'm gonna deal with you, etc.". Allah (God) was not in the conversation. On the other hand, here was Holyfield. The underdog. But don't you think for a moment that God doesn't answer Christian prayers. Allah is God and He answers the righteousness of your call. Holyfield knew he could not win, except the Spirit came with him. So while he was getting in shape, he was doing something else.

He was commanding the Holy Spirit to come with him. The Bible says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." When Holyfield came in the ring he had a little smile on his face. He was confident--not in himself--in the Power of God that he felt with him. And early on in the fight I saw Mike struggling to manhandle him, but when Holyfield hit him--boom!--I could see Mike stop.

It was almost like a bull, when you hit him in the head and he knows he has been hit with something. It wasn't just Holyfield's power, it was the Power of the Spirit behind the blow that was punishing the brother to make him humble. After the fight was over, in the press conference, Mike was very humble, the way he should have been before the fight. I say to Muslims don't you ever think that because you know God, that you can play with Him.

Don't you ever think that because you know what you know, God will be with you if you don't do what you are supposed to do with what you know. Allah will allow a disbeliever to beat you, to make you see why you need to be more in tune with your God. There is work that has to be done on the inside of this House and I thought that it is fitting and proper that it start with you.

Try today to make Allah Sufficient for you. Will you just try it? In the little thing where you are weak, resist it now. When you are "hit on", as you will be, just gird up yourself. "Allah, I am calling on You. I seek refuge in You from this that is coming in my face." When you are able to resist successfully, you will produce a slight change in the heart of the person that has been victimizing you to this point. A slight change.

They will be back, because they don't believe it. "I'll try tomorrow." And they will sweeten the pot a little. If you are just as strong tomorrow as you are today, and as strong the day after tomorrow as you are today and will be tomorrow, then all of a sudden, the brother will say, "God has come into her life." Then you tell the brother, "Now go and get God into your life." After a while, the whole mosque will take on a different feel. It will start with you. You are the key.

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REFERENCE MATERIAL

"The woman is the Key to the Kingdom of God."

SOURCE

Study Guide 19B is based upon a message delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on November 16, 1996 to the women of the M.G.T./G.C.C, Chicago, Illinois, at the National Center of the Nation of Islam.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCE
Holy Qur'an, Surah 19

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Page 62 (Page 83 in the original Study Guide)

GLOSSARY
Page 64 (Page 86 in the original Study Guide)

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Surah 19 is named after a woman: Maryam, the mother of Jesus. Yet it opens with a narrative about a man: Zacharias, the father of John. Who is John? What lesson do you see in the early reference to Zacharias? Is this narrative relevant to understanding relationships between the male and the female as we near the year 2000? In what way?

2. Do you agree that most women seem to have a need for the approval of a man in order to feel special to themselves? Why or why not? If you agree, to what do you attribute this apparent need?

3. Is there a so-called "accepted" standard of dress and behavior for women in America? If so, how would you identify and explain it to a first time visitor to this country? In your opinion, does the appearance of a woman have any effect on how she is treated by men in this society? Explain your answer.

4. Recently, a six-year old girl was brutally raped and murdered in Colorado, apparently in her own home. In the wake of this heinous crime, numerous photographs of the child wearing heavy make-up and seductive costumes were released to the public. The mother acknowledges entering her child in "beauty pageants" since the age of 3. Beyond the pathology of the actual killer, does society have any role or responsibility in creating an environment where such an act is possible? Explain your answer.

5. Why is it so difficult for women to dress modestly in this society?

6. When Minister Farrakhan tells women, "You are victimized daily, hourly, by the minute and by the second", what does he mean? Do you agree with his position? What solution does he offer? Do you agree with the solution? Does his solution create any difficulties? What are they? Are the difficulties worthwhile? Why or why not?

7. Minister Farrakhan says that some women "don't know an insult from a compliment." Can you give an example? What is the cause of this confusion?

8. (a) What is the first step a woman must take to overcome dependency on someone's approval? How long does it take to overcome this dependency?

(b) Why did Minister Farrakhan give this lesson to women? Why is he exposing this lesson to men? Will this study guide make men and women cold, even hostile toward one another? Explain your answer.

9. How do you (male or female) know when it is time to end a relationship with someone? How do you (male or female) know you have met the right person for you; what criterion should you use?

10. Would Allah (God) ever allow a disbeliever to have victory over a believer? Explain your answer.

11. Minister Farrakhan writes, "If Allah (God) was Sufficient for Mary, He has to be Sufficient for the Messenger." Mary is very special, but doesn't the Messenger of Allah (God) have such unique, complex needs that his requirements would be greater? Explain your answer.

12. Why are messengers of Allah (God) styled as women in the symbolic language?

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GLOSSARY

CHARISMA: A divinely conferred gift or power. Special spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.

CONSOLE: To give solace or comfort. To alleviate or lessen the grief, sorrow or disappointment of. To cheer up.

GIRL: [OE gyrl - (in gyrlgyden-virgin goddess)]; Female child or young person; a daughter.

SCREEN: (verb); To shelter, protect or conceal. To select, reject or consider (people, objects or ideas).

SEDUCTIVE: (SEDUCE); Enticing, captivating, beguiling. To lead astray, as from duty, rectitude; to corrupt.

SUFFICIENT: Enough. Able to satisfy the need or purpose.

VICTIM: A person who suffers from a destructive or injurious action; a person who is deceived or cheated, as by his (or her) own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal agency.

Study Guide 20 – Closing the Gap

Introduction

Among the fascinating aspects of my experiences in interviewing the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is that every one I have ever done with him is thoroughly extemporaneous-they are never rehearsed. He never knows what I am going to ask him. Oftentimes I don't either, beyond the first or second question.

This little book is comprised of Minister Farrakhan's answers to; questions I asked him about a number of subjects.

My motive was to present the reader with certain insights into the mind and heart of a very significant Black man.

A few days ago, when Minister Farrakhan saw a draft of this work, he immediately said he wanted to give it to the Believers as a Saviours' Day Gift. He hoped I would have been able to include my comments in this volume. However, there was simply not enough time. It is my intention however, to present those comments as soon as I am able. Meanwhile, this is a Saviours' Day Gift to you from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

May this little book stimulate the reader to think deeper than ever before into the significance of this wonderful Black man - a real Brother and friend to humanity - the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Jabril Muhammad

Phoenix, AZ

February 14, 1999

CLOSING THE GAP

PART I: THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF GAPS

MAY 17, 1998

Phoenix, Arizona

Brother Jabril Muhammad: Brother Minister, this first question concerns a universal phenomenon which affects the relationship between a leader and his staff and followers - divine leaders in particular.

From time to time, gaps develop as the leader moves ahead and the followers work to keep pace. There has been a degree of misunderstanding among some with respect to certain moves Allah (God) has directed you to make in the fulfillment of the Mission of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Among them involves the way you have come to relate to the broad community, including the Caucasian race. Please comment.

Minister Louis Farrakhan: The first thing I shall do is analyze why gaps appear between leaders of consequence - particularly Divine Leaders - and their followers at given times in the growth and development of them in their mission.

Whenever a leader is chosen by Allah (God), he is chosen oft-times thousands of years before he comes to birth. He is formed in his mother’s womb under certain circumstances which make him for the specific job he is to do, by equipping him with the basic material at birth. As he comes into the knowledge of his assignment, or mission, the next and greatest need for him is to find the adequate and proper help to fulfill the mission that Allah (God) has given him. This is where the problem begins.

First, he has to grow to understand his mission. In the course of his growth, persons come to help him at every stage of his evolution. As' people do not always evolve with the leader, some fall off when the leader is in the seminal stage. Some fall off when the leader is a clot. Some fall off when the leader is embryonic. Some fall off when the leader is in the fetus stage, and, some fall off when the leader is a child in understanding. Some others fall off as he begins to mature.

There are those who think they fully know him and his teachings when they became acquainted with him in the clot stage. However, such people lose sight of him, as he evolves, and they go out thinking they fully know him and his teachings. They teach what they know, but, a gap develops and widens between them and the leader, as he goes through the “clot stage; the embryonic stage; the fetus stage; the child stage; and finally becomes the mature man.

What can prevent this? His help has to evolve with him. All of his help may not necessarily have been formed under the unique circumstances that led to his evolutionary development from before he was actually in physical form, even while that which produced him was being formed. So, now he comes into the world constitutionally fit for his mission, but his helpers may or may not have that base; that brilliance; that insight; that foresight which comes from being Divinely Prepared.

So, his helpers, at best, come according to their own understanding of this man, his mission, and his teachings, at the moment in time when they first encounter him. But as he continues to grow and evolve, change and mature, perhaps they will not see him in the same way in the next phase of his development as they saw him in the stage when they first came to help him. Why? Because he sufficed a particular need that was very personal and individual for them. When that need is met, they claim him as their leader. As he evolves more and more, if they do not grow with him, a gap develops. therefore, Allah (God), gives His servant helpers from Himself. That help is the best help because these persons grow along the same lines [the servant] grew. They are formed in the same way he is formed; their hearts are formed in the same way his heart is formed. Therefore, these helpers see into this man what other helpers may not see, because the latter were not made from Allah (God) to be his helpers, in the same way or degree, as the former.

However, they (the latter) accept the role of a helper. Nevertheless, if they don't stay in constant submission; in constant obedience; in constant study; and in constant growth then gaps will develop between the teacher and the student that will lead the student (sometimes) to be critical of the teacher when the teacher grows beyond the particular need of that helper that motivated that helper to first want to help. That is the way I would answer that question.

PART II: EVOLUTION OF THE DIVINE MESSAGE

Minister Louis Farrakhan: With respect to your question about changing attitudes toward the Caucasian people: In the 1970s, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad advised me, as His National Representative, to stop using the term 'devil' but to use the term "Satan"; "the enemy"; or the "slave- master's children", in describing Caucasian people-at least in describing some aspects of Caucasian people and their work.

I never asked the Honorable Elijah Muhammad why he would ask me, as his National Representative, to stop using the term "devil", since that term had been used from the '30s into the '70s. His directive to me comes now, 40 years into his work, and he is telling me don't use that term anymore.

Well, I never asked him why. But as I matured in the Teaching, I saw this:

First, Master Fard Muhammad, the Great Mahdi, was born from a white mother and a Black father. We were taught that Master Fard Muhammad's father "cleaned up" or "purified" His wife from the Caucasus Mountains so that she could give birth to this very special human being.

What means and methods did He use to accomplish the 'cleaning up', or as the Bible puts it, the "casting out of seven devils"? Did He alter the nature of this human being? Or did He destroy the inclination toward the teachings of Yacub that was responsible for the making of "devil"? The Holy Qur'an teaches us that "evil" is a bad name after faith-if the mother believed in Allah and submitted her will to do His Will, then, in her obedience to Allah, how could she be given a nickname or an evil name after faith?

Then I looked again and deeper at the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's Teaching that white people could be our brothers and sisters in faith, though not by nature. I then compared that way of life-of the descendants of the whites who were in the Middle-Eastern area and did not go into the hills and cavesides of Europe 6,000 years ago-to the descendants of the whites who were rounded up and driven out of that part of the world.

The Lessons teach us that we rounded up all we could find, which, means there were some we could not find, as they were hidden by some of our people. Those whom we could not find married into the original family, grew up under Islam, and knew nothing of Yacub and his teaching of lying, stealing and how to master the original man. So these are white people, or Caucasian people, who grew up under the influence of the nature of Islam.

Well, if that is so, and it is, why did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad tell me not to use the term 'devil'?

Secondly, as I studied more, I learned that the term 'devil' applied to them (Caucasian people) all right enough, but it also applies to any human being who devotes the essence of his or her life to rebellion against God, and leading others in that rebellion. This makes any person who does that a devil.

Of course, we learned from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that the essence of 'devil' is in the nature of the Original Man. If the original man, gives in to the weakness of self; or the rebelliousness of self; then that person - no matter what the color - that gives into the weakness and rebelliousness of self, against the Wisdom and Will of the Eternal God- they make themselves not only fools by rejecting and rebelling, but they make themselves' devils' as well.

He told me to use the term 'Satan'. 'Satan' is a devil maker. 'Satan' is an arch-deceiver who uses the skill and wisdom of right in a way to lead those who would seek right into the doing of wrong. This is much different than a 'devil'.

A devil is a person that can give in to the weakness of themselves and rebel and do acts in rebellion against Allah (God). But Satan is an enemy that is a sworn enemy; a knowing enemy. Satan is a wise enemy who not only started as a little devil, but grew up in devilishment to become a master of evil and then leads others into evil and rebellion against Allah (God).

So now who are these? Who is the Satan? The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us Lessons outlining the 85%, the 10% and the 5%. What does this have to do with devil, Satan, enemy, slavemaster's children? As I studied that, it means to me that the 85% are the ignorant who are poison-animal eaters; who don't know the Living God; who are unaware of the law of cause and effect; and who have been made to believe in a mystery god.

He deals with 85% because this has nothing to do with color. It has to do with Satan's reach to master the entire planet and its people and he has gotten 85% of them. So, this Satan has to be the 10% who know the Living God and teach the contrary. Satan is a knowing arch-deceiver who is mastering the 85%, by keeping them in ignorance and fighting against anyone who would bring them knowledge; that he might continue his wicked rule over them; that he might live in luxury by sucking the blood of the poor and ignorant.

The 5 % are those poor righteous teachers who also know the Living God, but do not wish to be satanic or devilish, and desire to take the 85% out of the control of the 10% by making manifest the wickedness of the 10%.

As I grew into this kind of knowledge - you cannot reform a devil, therefore, devil must be destroyed - I began to gain a deeper understanding of what was meant by: "Why does Muhammad and any Muslim murder the devil?"If Allah (God) is to survive in us, we have to murder that in ourselves which sets up associate gods with Allah, which would lead us contrary to the Will of Allah (God).

In my increased understanding of this, I began to see that the devilis not only a product of physical grafting, but a product of spiritual grafting. This altered my thoughts, not concerning the nature of white people as they are, but deepened my understanding of the nature of human beings. The question of how to murder the devil effectively - whether that devilis in a White man, a Yellow man, a Brown man, a Black man, a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or Buddhist - the devil is a universal factor. Therefore, if the devil is to be slain, he must be slain by a universal knowledge of God, a universal knowledge of self, and a universal knowledge of the devil.

A knowledge of the devil must not just be the rudimentary knowledge that we learned of the grafting of White people or the birth control methodology that was used to bring White out of Black, but we also must understand how a devilis made by grafting - on all levels - and what does that mean? By knowing how to make a devil, in the deepest sense, you also know how to kill the devil.

Brother Jabril: Please comment on the response you made to Brother Rodney in Boston, many years ago, when you first heard the concept from him, that the white man was the devil. What is the relationship between that and the very wide mission the Honorable Elijah Muhammad put you on before He left, when He said, 'Through you, I will get all of my people.'

Minister Farrakhan: While I knew that white people were evil, and I hated the evil that they had done to all of us, I was not ready to concede that they were the source of all evil actions. So I raised this question to the Brother: If I came home and found another man in bed with my wife; both of them have committed adultery, and, if I, in passion, murdered my wife and the strange man, then, I committed murder. So I asked him where was the white man in that sin? He could not answer.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that Master Fard Muhammad was born of the two people that He could give justice to both people. So it is not only that the Mahdihas to give justice to Black; He has to give justice to White. Well, then, what is justice for Black, and, what is justice for White?

Many of us would feel that justice for [white people] is the complete slaughter of them; and justice for us is paradise. In a simplistic sense, in a very infantile look at justice, we might think that. But as we mature in the principle of justice, we would better understand the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. In His last speech to us, He gave us a more mature look at the principle of justice. He said, "Allah didn't raise us up to be mockers of anybody. You can call him the devil, but he could easily say, '1 didn't make myself, you made me.' "

So, who is responsible, the clay or the potter? That is another mature aspect of growth into the principle of justice for both. Unless we mature in the process of understanding the root of devil and the root of evil, we will never be able to give justice to ourselves, our people and we will never be able to give justice to the Caucasian.

Brother Jabril: How does this apply to the statement of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, that through you he would get all of people, especially now, in the light of your three world tours.

Minister Farrakhan: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad signed off on His articles, "Elijah Muhammad, Messenger of Allah to you all." Well, who is "you all?" Since the book is titled; Message to the Blackman in America, does "you all" mean all Black people in America? Why then did He plant a part of His family in Mexico? When they asked what teaching would He give to the Mexicans, He answered that Mexicans should be given the same teachings that He gave us.

Messenger to "you all"then, has to mean to the whole human family. If I am answering your question correctly, all of His people are certainly Black people. But all of His people are certainly the righteous - wherever they are, and from whatever people they come, they belong to Allah, and they belong to the Messenger of Allah, or the Christ, or the Messianic figure.

This is why understanding the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as Messiah, or as Christ; understanding the Body of Christ, or the Messianic Mission makes you outgrow looking for all of God's people to come out of one people. You look for all of God's people to come out of the human family that exists on earth.

Brother Jabril: So there is a relationship between that and the Biblical statement, or words from the mouth of Jesus, "I have other sheep that are not of this fold."

Minister Farrakhan: Yes, and it also relates to Joseph's coat of many colors; "Come and see, they, all will come to thee."And "Surely I will clothe you with them all."All who? Who is this all?

Brother Jabril: "And even the Gentiles shall come... "

Minister Farrakhan: "... to the brightness of thy rising.”

Brother Jabril: There are those who have criticized your moves with respect to this world’s political system. How would you respond?

Minister Farrakhan: My answer will be based on a natural law and scripture. Daniel prophesied that a stone would be hewed out of a mountain without hands, and it would roll down a mountain, and it smote an image, and then became a mountain that would fill the entire earth.

When a baby is conceived, it is conceived in a system that is already working. It feeds from that system as it is developing an independent system. It takes from a system already in existence. Through the placenta, it purifies as much as it can to feed on to grow itself into a new creation coming from that system. But now, it is developing an independent system that will take on a life of its own. I believe we are to grow like that.

We live in America. We have no other nation to go to. We live in the world leader. We pull whatever we can and filter it through the placenta, or the blood of The Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, that forms around us as a protection for us. What we draw from this satanic mother is filtered through this screening system called Actual Facts; Student Enrollment; Lesson No.1; Lesson No.2; the Problem Book and English Lesson #C1. The wisdom in these Lessons is the filter, so that through this filter we can take what we need from the larger system, as we develop our own system, hopefully somewhat free of that which is corrupting and destroying the larger system or body.

Brother Jabril: How would you react to those who still criticize you for teaching in the Christian churches?

Minister Farrakhan: I say to them, as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to the Arabs who criticized him, "You don't have my Mission. You don't have my assignment."

I believe that Master Fard Muhammad's coming and work is the initial fulfillment of what was prophesied of the coming of the Messiah of the Jews, and the Christ of the Christians. I believe His coming was the fulfillment of the coming of the Mahdi of the Muslims.

Master Fard Muhammad gave a demonstration of the first phase of the Messianic, or the Jesus Mission, which the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was to fulfill. Ifall these churches are named after Our Man, Jesus, and, have His Title on their door, should I not go into a house that represents such a man, and help them to understand Him, and truly live by His Eternal Message?

Any house that has the name of Jesus or Christ on it, I feel is my house. I have every right to enter and give its inhabitants, or congregation a better understanding of the Jesus Christ that they have come to love and now improperly worship.

Brother Jabril: What would be your response to those who criticize you for holding out an olive branch to Jews?

Minister Farrakhan: First, as a student of the Bible and the Holy Qur'an-particularly the Holy Qur'an-Allah Himself holds out an olive branch to the members of the Jewish community when He says, Those who are Jews, and those who are Sabians, those who believe in Allah and the Last day, they have their reward from their Lord.”

He, Allah (God), holds out an olive branch to a community that He sent prophet after prophet after prophet to, and, our Father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, told us to study Israel, for they are a sign of us; should I , not respect the sign of us and appeal to that sign to come into the wisdom and behavior that would bless them and their children? Of course I should.

Regardless of what people think of me, I am doing exactly what Allah (God) would want me to do-not what the emotional instability of our people would have me to do. I must offer them the olive branch; as time goes on, they will come to see that I am the representative of the Messiah, and a little messiah myself. They have been looking for me for a long, long time. I am here now, and through me they can access the Big Messiah, Allah's (God's) Forgiveness and a place with Allah (God). Why should I not then offer them a way that Allah (God) has made me to offer?

Brother Jabril: Where are we now with respect to our relation to the Jewish people?

Minister Farrakhan: I think it is moving as Allah (God) would have it to move. Slowly, but gradually, they are beginning to see me more, and more, and more. As they see me more, and more, and more, they are going to become more and more divided over me. Some say, "Kill him," others say, "Leave him alone. He is our passport to heaven. "

Brother Jabril: How would you summarize the response of the Muslim world to you, during your last world tour and since?

Minister Farrakhan: The response of the Muslim world has beenmarvelous. I was well received everywhere I went, as a son of Islam, s-o-n - and a sun of Islam, s-u-n - or a star in the jeweled crown of Islam; a hope for our brothers and sisters in the Islamic world.

They see Brother Farrakhan in a spiritual sense like they saw Muhammad Ali years ago in a physical sense. They take pride in my strong stand and fight for Islam, and for justice in America against the wickedness of the U.S. Government, and against Zionist manipulation of the Government, and they praise Allah (God) for me.

I believe as time goes on, their arms will open wide, as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to us, "at a certain point, we will flee out of America into the open arms of the Muslim world."I do not know how those arms could open for us, unless they came ultimately to see us as true Muslims and lovers of Prophet Muhammad (peace Be Upon Him). Also, they would come to see the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, not as a prophet, but as one whom Allah (God) has raised up to establish Islam in America, and, to revive the faith of Islam in the hearts of Muslims throughout the world.

Brother Jabril: In your speech during this past Saviours' Day Convention (1998), you made it very plain that you would seek to unite Imam Warith Deen Muhammad, a long time critic of yours. How would you respond to critics of your stand with respect to the Imam -- that you would seek to unite with him for the cause of Islam?

Minister Farrakhan: One of the prophets said: "Look and see. They will come to thee."

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, before his departure "You all will leave me."And when that sunk in, great pain came into our hearts, and into the expression on our faces. "But,"he then said, "You all will return."He said, "All the bones will live."

One night, in the 1960s, at his table, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad accused me of stealing a play written by Mother Tynnetta Muhammad and putting my name on her play to steal credit from her. He beat me, and beat me, and beat me, and beat me, and I bowed to my Messenger. Finally, He exonerated me. However, He did this after He tried me. At the end of the evening, He pulled me off to the side and said to me, "You and my son, Wallace, go and mop up the wilderness."

We must consider this carefully.

I believe, Insha' Allah, that ultimately we will be together for the good of Islam; for the rise of our people, and, for the Universal Truth of Islam.

PART III: THE PROCESS TOWARD PERFECTION

June 21, 1998

Phoenix, Arizona

Brother Jabril: Brother Minister, this is three points, or (three) questions in one. It is based on what you said yesterday in response to my most recent articles [Final Call Newspaper, Vol. 17, No. 35 and 36]. It is about your forward motion; the need for the believers to keep pace with you; forward motion is designed and directed by Allah (God) Himself. It is also about the crucial need for patience among the believers - with yourself in particular, and with themselves, in general.

The third part of this question is integrated into the above part of this compound question. As you already know, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that it takes 75 years to learn how to live. What is your response to all of this and to His words?

Minister Farrakhan: A period of transition is the most difficult period in human development, for during periods of transition the life that is in transition is not where it was, and it is not where it is intended to be. So such periods of time are always very dangerous for the life that is in transition.

When we speak of Messengers of Allah (God) or men and women who are involved in a Divine Work guided by Allah (God), we must always keep in mind that the first verse of the Holy Qur'an is, "Praise belongs only to Allah, the Lord, Nourisher, Sustainer, and Evolver of all of the worlds."

Some of the scholars of language say "Rabb" or "Lord" means "He who makes a thing attain stage after stage until it reaches its eventual perfection.”

Whenever a life is in transition from imperfection toward perfection, there is a constant process of change, growth and transition; stage two, change and growth and transition; stage three, change, growth and transition. We are constantly in stages of growth, and between each stage is a transitional stage. This is the most dangerous part of the journey, because many things can get lost in transition.

This life we are living during the last 6,000 years is called a transitory life. This is a life which gets us from the infinity of time before this limited time period to the infinity of time after this life. This time period-a transitory life-is a life that is dangerous for those who are involved in it, and it could be dangerous for those who judge life that is in this transitory stage.

Now, I say that to say, the Minister and the Nation are evolving toward perfection. Jesus said, “Be ye perfect, even as I am perfect." If Jesus is telling a disciple to be perfect, it means He is Lord and Master of the evolutionary process that will lead the disciple to where the Master is. When the disciple is in transition, and the Master is hidden, but, the Master's hand is on the disciple, then, the disciple is in a period that is considered dangerous.

Peter started to evolve the message of Jesus and feed it to the Gentiles, while before, the message was exclusively toward the Jews. The Jews felt that Peter was stepping out of line of where he should go, but Peter was the transition to Paul. Praise Be to Allah.

So it is with Brother Farrakhan. I am not what I was. I am not yet what Allah (God) desires me to be. The Nation, in following me, is not what it was, and it is not what it is destined to be. So the Minister and the Nation are in transition. During this period of transition, those who watch the man in transition may have a tendency to be judgmental. They are not sure of where he is. They are not sure of where he is going.

The only thing they understand is where they' were, and the level of comfort they had where they were. This can sentence them to stand where they were, then misjudge the man in transition before he gets to where Allah (God) wants him to go. This disallows them to travel with the man who is in transition. Therefore, they stop in the process of growth toward perfection and the process of death begins for the individual or the group.

Therefore, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, during his Theology of Timelecture series, when I was sitting in the audience, looked directly in my face, and quoted these words from the Holy Qur'an: "Seek assistance through patience and prayer."Why patience? Because if we are impatient with a man in transition, we will make a judgment, and if we are locked into that judgment by our emotional attachment to our own sense of what is correct, or what is right, based upon what we believe we understand of the Divine Message, then, our judgment will sentence us to death.

With reference to what is in the 18th Surah of the Holy Qur'an, about Moses traveling with the wise man, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, "this is not Moses-it is a type of the way His followers follow Him. They follow Him in doubt and with suspicion.” These two things - doubt and suspicion - are the enemies of faith and the mother of hypocrisy.

Faith will allow you to have patience where you do not understand exactly what you are looking at, or are not aware of what you are looking at, which is in transition.

The demand by Allah (God) for the believer is that the believer acquire the virtue, and, the characteristic of patience. The only thing that will give us patience is greater and greater faith.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad openly started the process of transition in 1974 with His Last Message to us. Imam Warith Deen took the Message of transition and did what he thought was in sync with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's guidance toward the perfection that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad desired for His Nation. Unfortunately, the Nation fell. Fulfilling the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's words that the Nation would fall, but, it would rise and never to fall again.

Now, we picked up from the Message before 1974 then, bringing us to the Message of 1974, that set the process of transition toward the Message that would ultimately take us into the Hereafter. So, the command that the wise man gave to Moses, according to the Holy Qur'an, was "You cannot have patience with me because you do not have a comprehensive knowledge."

If a person does not have a comprehensive knowledge, yet is full of faith, he or she can make the journey with the wise man. But, not having comprehensive knowledge, and then not having faith - following in doubt - and in suspicion - there had to be an eventual parting of the ways between the follower and the Leader and Teacher.

The teacher told the student: “You cannot have patience with me." So what ever the wise man did, the student made a judgment. The student never questioned the wise man in the proper spirit: "Why did you do this?" To seek a greater understanding. Instead, he made a judgment. "This is terrible what you have done. This is awful.”

Once he made the judgment, his mind and whole being were wrapped up in this judgment, which came out of his own sense of morality, his sense of what is proper, his sense of what is correct, his sense of what he understood of life. Therefore, it was difficult for him to have patience with that of which he had no comprehensive knowledge. In the end, after three failures, which came after three serious misjudgments that he made of the wise man, there had to be a parting of the way.

I am under the control, by the Grace of Allah (God), of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I cannot say I know tomorrow. I only understand to the degree that Allah (God) gives me leave to understand the day I have come through. I know where I am. I know it is connected to where we were. I know that it is definitely the link to lead us where Allah (God) wants us to go.

But those who are watching me in transition - if they are following in doubt and in suspicion and have not faith nor patience - then they will judge me based upon their misunderstanding, or their thought or idea of their understanding of the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. They will judge me based upon their understanding of morality; their understanding of what is good; based upon their life experiences; based upon what they were taught and based upon what they understand of what they were taught.

So, the Holy Qur'an says, "Do not malign me as you maligned Moses."The journey in the wilderness was a 40 day journey that took the- children of Israel 40 years because they followed in doubt and suspicion.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in The Theology of Timelecture series, said, "I have done nothing wrong or improper. You just do not understand what a Fulfiller looks like."

People were judging this and that aspect of His life. But they judged improperly because they did not have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of that out of which He acted; that out of which He acted was that which was written of Him thousands and thousands of years before He came onto this planet.

Therefore, if we who claim to be Muslims will not study the scriptures; will not study the Holy Qur'an; will not study the Bible;and, will not study our Lessonsthat will give us keys to the past, present and future - then, we will misjudge the transitional stage, and end up wrapped up in our egos; or judgment made by what we perceive of knowledge; what we perceive of reality; what we perceive of morality, based upon our limited knowledge, and our limited life experience. We will then find a parting of the ways with us and Allah (God), and the man that we claim to follow to Allah (God) and His Christ.

Remember, it is written in the Bible, "I will lead them by a way that they know not."Again, it is written, "My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not your thoughts. I am from above while you are from beneath. "

PART IV: CHARACTERISTICS OF A REDEEMER

December 12, 1998

Brother Jabril: Brother Minister, several times in the 1960s and the early 1970s, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, at His table - both in Chicago and in Phoenix - spoke about mud. Sometimes He would talk about mud as that which the wicked put on him. On other occasions He would talk like Allah (God) was putting the mud on Him.

He would use the word mud in very interesting ways. He said and wrote that he was to live, for a time, the life that we live and he explained the reasons why this had to be.

The implications of his words are that certainly after he met Allah (God), he would live a life seemingly like us, in some respects, but with Wisdom Allah (God) would have by then brought to him and would later lift him up from this life. Please comment.

Minister Farrakhan: When the Honorable Elijah Muhammad met with Master Fard Muhammad, he said he was so deep in the mud that only his eyeballs were out of the mud. This means to me that he was covered with mud.

He talked about his people being in the mud of civilization. Well, what is mud? Mud is earth that is full of water, it is not firm. If you stand on it, you will sink.

He said the people threw mud at him, then you said he said sometimes Allah (God) put mud on him. The thought that came to me was an ayat of the Holy Qur'an, "Betake yourself to the mud." In that state, when you place mud on your skin, allow it to dry and then take it off, it becomes a means of purification. That means to me, enemies who look for things to muddy your reputation - if they throw enough mud on you and you survive it - it will be a means of your own purification. So mudslinging-in the cheap sense-is when people throw things at each other that they know of one another's weakness or fault or sin. That is called mud-slinging

Why did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad say, "if they took out full-page ads and cursed Him out, word for word and line by line, they would only be helping Him?His whole attitude toward mud was different from one who is like a child playing in mud. The child comes in and gets mud allover the floor and allover the furniture. This enrages the mother because she has to clean it up. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad's attitude toward mud was that no matter what they slung at him, it only ended up being a means of his purification, which was also a means of his elevation.

Since that was his attitude, what should our attitude be? It should be the same as his; for He is taking us from the mud and if mud is slung at us there has to be truth in it, because water is in the mud. So, whenever somebody is throwing mud, there is truth in it that is a means of purification.

Brother Jabril: The other night you talked about gross blindness and you spoke on the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's words about certain kinds of minds that were so dark no light would get in. Then we discussed this in relation to a certain history and a certain phenomenon in nature. Please comment.

Minister Farrakhan: I think I was talking about the law that Moses brought; a law that disciplined the members of the body, but did not necessarily discipline the mind.

If the law is that a person is guilty of fornication, or adultery and that person should be stoned to death, then in carrying out that law, we take up a stone and throw it at the person who is guilty of this act. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. By our stoning the person who is guilty of that act, we are, in effect, stoning the thought in ourselves to commit such an act, which then is a preparatory stage for helping us to deal with the origin of sin.

Now, some of the people who followed Moses, loved The Law. David said, "The Law is a lamp unto my feet. I delight in That Law." But, there are others who do not delight in The Law; their minds are against The Law, but, they fear to break The Law because of. the consequences.

Seventeen hundred years from the birth of Moses, Nimrod was born.

Nimrod gave freedom to those who were rebellious and those whose hatred of The Law was in their hearts. Evidently, the majority of the people who were living under That Law hated That Law. So, when Nimrod freed them from The Law, which is light, they could only go into darkness. As they reveled in their rebellion against the law, they added darkness upon darkness; the darkness of their thoughts; the darkness of their deeds; the darkness of consequences and all that it goes for - lying and trying to get around consequences - they added darkness to darkness.

Jesus was born into the world to take Israel out of their fall to a level of spiritual growth, never before attained, by trying to get the people to see that sin starts in the mind. They were in gross darkness and He came with light but they were so in love with the darkness, they hated the light. So that poor man who carried the light had to suffer because of the gross darkness of the people's minds.

What I was attempting to say the other night, was that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us a Law. Oft-times we obeyed The Law, not out of love for The Law, but, out of fear of the consequences of being put out of society and being rejected by our peers. But, that did not stop us from lusting after a female or fantasizing to do this or that which was against The Law.

When the Nation fell, The Law was literally vacated and this gave rise to all of the evil of our hearts The Law appeared to suppress. Then, this evil was free to burst forth. The Law was like a dam holding back the torrent of evil that was in the hearts of the people, but, when the dam was removed the torrent broke forth. It was destructive of the house; destructive of the families; destructive of our marriages and, ultimately, destructive of our lives. So the process of rebuilding or resurrecting starts with enticing people to come to The Truth, and, to have love and respect for The Law.

In The Truth is The Law. But, in The Truth is not necessarily the Love of The Law. That has to come from the heart when it is connected to Allah (God). When the heart is connected to Allah (God) it sees The Law as a Blessing from Allah (God), to give order and regularity to our lives and to discipline our affairs, then, we grow in Love with Allah (God) and in Love with The Law. When we Love Allah (God), and Love The Law, we outgrow the need for The Law. So, then, LOVEis the end of The Law.

Brother Jabril: The next question is based on a few verses from both the Bibleand the Holy Qur'an. It all deals with the same subject you just touched on.

The Holy Qur'ansays, "Repel evil with what is best."Then it teaches that you can return the like of that with which you've been treated, but it would be better if you were patient.

2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise"- some say the word "slack" also means dull of mind - "but is long suffering to us and not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

Psalms 32:1 says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered.”

Proverbs 10:12reads: "Hatred stirs up strife but love covers all sins."Of course, this is put in various ways in different translations.

And in 1Peter 4:8 is this: "And above all things have fervent charity [love] among yourself for charity [love] shall cover a multitude of sins."

And then of this last part, I want to give more of the context because of how it involves the name Elijah. It is from the Book of James 5:16-20: "Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And it rained not on earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit.

"Brethren if any of you do error from the truth and one converts him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins."

Of course, these passages impact many, many aspects of our duties including our going out 'fishing' (bringing people to the Mosque) and helping us gain strength, as well as the selling of The Final Call. These passages revolve around the same point you made earlier, and with what you just said, as well as what you said the other night, about the process and the price of redemption. Please comment.

Minister Farrakhan: The person who is given the task of redemption is a person who is willing to pay the price of redemption.

What is the price of redemption? The price is that your love must approach the Love of Allah (God), that you may be long suffering. Because without long suffering, you interrupt the process by which people are redeemed.

Consider the quality of being slow to anger. Well, you could return like for like. But, if you are a redeemer, or if you are following a redeemer, returning like for like would not be sin, but, it would injure the process by which the sinner would eventually come to redemption.

Since the sinner is by nature of God, but the nature of God in the sinner is thoroughly impacted with evil, we have to get past the layers of evil to contact the nature of God in the human being to affect redemption.

Master Fard Muhammad, in His coming, made a demonstration for His servant for three years and four months of long suffering; of taking abuse to show him the price of redemption. Then, on leaving, He tells His servant, "Take plenty." He wanted him to be long-suffering so that all may come to life.

He did not want one to perish. We may think that one is so ugly, so terrible, we would want that one to die, because in our judgment, he has earned death. Yet, He said He would pull some out of the fire that have done no good at all. My Lord!

In the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthiansare these words: "Though I speak with the tongue of angels, though I have the gift of prophecy, though I give my body to be burned, if I have not charity or love, I am nothing.”

In this dispensation, it is love that makes you something in the eyes of Allah (God). Because it is only love of Allah (God) and love of the truth and love of the purpose for His coming and love of the people for whom He came that would cause you to have value in His sight. Love is not proud. Loveis long suffering. Loveendures all. It hopeth all. This to be the spirit, the attitude of a person that has been called by Allah (God) to act as a redeemer. The' price he must pay is to be all but completely selfless. Because, wherever the self is, the ego is, and the desire to retaliate is, and the nature of vindictiveness is, and the unwillingness to suffer is.

Allah (God) has to make you selfless, and, only when you are selfless, are you not offended by the wickedness of those whom you have come to save. I do not say you are unaffected in that it does not hurt you, but, you cannot respond as a natural man/woman, you must respond according to the nature of love and the nature of yourself as a redeemer.

"For Allah (God) so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son."He Gave. He sacrificed him, and, the son was willing to be sacrificed. I have no life of my own. My life is for the redemption of a people, and, that is pretty hard. However, that is the necessary requirement to affect resurrection: redemption; restoration and reconciliation of the soul that is lost.

In concluding, when a person is like that, he has no sin. He has shortcomings, for sure, and he may commit sin, but by his long-suffering and continuing to pull on the good nature of Allah (God) in the people to make them better and better and better, Allah (God) just wipes away sin that he has and throws it in the sea of forgetfulness and covers his sin, because of the work that he does of redemption. This is why Jesus is looked at as absolutely perfect and sinless.

PART V: SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

Brother Jabril: Here we have President Clinton. We were talking the other day about the hearings involving President Clinton. Among the points you brought up, one had to do with the general self-righteousness of the Republicans, and their staffs, and how they are tearing up the country and are blinded by the bent of their minds - bent on going in that direction - how this was ill-affecting the country and at the same time they were ignoring the will of the majority.

Your observances were different than those of the reporters and the commentators. It has a direct bearing on us - the Nation of Islam. It included the source of the spirit of these people and their alienation from the Mind of Allah (God). I don't remember all the details of what you said at this moment.

Minister Farrakhan: I don't either, Brother (Both laugh).

Brother Jabril: I know you dealt with the bent of their minds. It is a blindness rooted in self-righteousness. I think that may have been a factor leading to the blindness and the gross darkness of the minds of the people, which the prophets spoke of coming to a people, at a certain time.

Minister Farrakhan: I think I was talking about the United States “Constitution and the founding fathers and words on pages written by men who loved this country and wanted to preserve and protect this country from the things they knew historically and had, themselves, experienced in Europe.

They wanted to make a new nation that was free of the ills that caused the continuous rise and fall of the nations in Europe.

So they wrestled with each other, with themselves, with history and with wisdom, to formulate a constitution that I literally believe was guided by Allah (God). But to look on words and the intent of the writer, those words are now subjected to the interpretation of the intention of the writer and the words he wrote.

If the intent is different from the intent of the writer, yet, the person believes in his or her own heart and mind that he or she are in sync with the writer, then, in their blindness, they persist on a course that could be destructive to the very thing that they say they desire to uphold.

Now, I am looking at the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, a man who wrote hundreds of thousands of words and spoke millions of words- some of which we know, some of which we don't know-but enough of what he wrote and said, we do know. When that man is no longer here, his words are subjected to how we evaluate, perceive, interpret and then carry into practice his words, based upon our perception.

The Holy Qur'anteaches, "We take Allah's colouring and Allah is best at colouring."That is a very powerful statement. But who is the "We"? If you take Allah's (God's) colouring, then you see things through His eyes. When you see things through the eyes of Allah (God), you cannot see wrongly, because you see as He sees. But, if you see things through the eyes of your vanity; if you see things through the eyes of your perversity; if you see things through the eyes of desire; then, you can misperceive what you are looking at. Because you feel you are right, and believe you are right, you go forward with power in a wrong direction, thinking you are right, and you end up possibly destroying the very thing you say you desire to uphold.

Such is the case of those followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad who see his words through the eye of vanity. "I am this person. I am the son of man. I am this."

If you see yourself as that - more than what you really are - what does your self-perception do to your perception of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad; the words of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad; the intent and motivation of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad? From that you get a splintering. From that you get sects and parties. From that you get the destruction of the unity that was present when the principal party was present. From that you get variations on the Theme and Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, or Prophet Muhammad, Moses, or Jesus.

So it is today with the Constitution. I think you have 535 members of Congress - the Senate and the House of Representatives - all of whom are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Some are ill- prepared for such a task. Some ran for governmental office for the sake of vanity, not for the sake of being a protector of the real aim and intention of the founding fathers of this Republic. Some run for public office as a job. Some run for public office and spend inordinate sums of money so that through that office, and the corruption of that office, by big business, they can double, triple and quadruple what they spent to become that.

No one should run for public office in the United States of America without a profound understanding of the struggle of the founding fathers to write a constitution that they are going to take an oath to defend and protect against all enemies, foreign and domestic. No one should attempt to become a leader, on the basis of the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, without the willingness and the effort to enter into a profound study of the man, his message and his motives; and the history of the Nation -lest we get into a position where our sight is colored by desire or vanity or ego. Of course, every follower must enter into that study to effectively follow and benefit from following the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

And so, it appears to me that the Republicans-so bent on a narrow construction of the rule of law - have not really listened to the arguments of the Democrats, which have fundamental soundness, in that they are trying to interpret the will of the founding fathers on what they meant by high crimes and misdemeanors. But on the Republican side, they are looking at-it appears to me-a very narrow view of perjury; a narrow view of the President's lying. And it seems as though their desire to get Clinton is more important than what the intention of the founding fathers was and the will of the American people is. So their bent of mind is, "We must do this regardless!"

It appears to me they are oblivious to the damage it is doing-first, to the country, and second, to the party they represent. The anger of the people now grows greater and greater against the Congress, against the Government, and the militia movement gets stronger. The people's malaise and feeling that government does not represent them gets stronger. Dissatisfaction gets stronger.

So their honest perception - and I do not think they are all dishonest, they are just blinded by desire - should cause us to stop a moment and reflect on our Father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and His intent, to make sure that when we interpret His Word, our mind is in sync with His Mind and our mind is in sync with the Mind of Him Who Came and Raised the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Then, we know we are on a right course.

I believe that is why the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, "I want your mind. I want you to line your mind up with my mind that there be one mind."That is what I believe creates the value in the brother and what the brother is attempting to do for all of us and humanity. [Note: Minister Farrakhan is humbly referring to himself in the third person as 'the Brother. ']

I am seeing, by the help of Allah (God), not out of desire, but out of trying to understand the intent of our father that I may properly interpret him. This is what I meant in Washington (October 17, 1998) when I talked about Beethoven. I talked about being in sync with Beethoven's mind and spirit as he wrote, so that when you play Beethoven, every nuance is brought out because you have become one with his mind and spirit. Beethoven is on one level. Allah (God) is on another.

When you become one with Allah (God), then you know Him in a hint. You know Him in a sign. You hear His word. You see His word and you bring things out of the word that maybe others cannot see, because of the quality of your heart and its closeness to Allah (God).

Brother Jabril: The other night we dealt with the relationship between the attitude that certain congressmen and women have, which manifests self-righteousness, because that's obviously the blinding factor-

Minister Farrakhan: Well, that is the blinding factor.

Brother Jabril: Right. Exactly. Of course, that applies in our own overall situation, for as your book, A Torchlight for America,is written for them, it is also written for us. So here we have this huge study in front of us to further plumb.

Minister Farrakhan: They are showing us how to destroy our government in a few easy lessons. Some are talking falsely about Farrakhan wanting to overthrow the government. They are overthrowing their own house. "If satan cast out satan how then can his Kingdom stand?”

PART VI:DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF OUR PERCEPTION

Brother Jabril: Brother Minister, I want to begin with the concept of mood and how mood affects our perceptions and our understanding of the critical Word of Allah (God). You commented yesterday, on this subject, with reference to a recent Farrakhan the Traveler article, which included the bearing our moods have on our efforts to learn the Word of Allah (God). Please give us the benefit of your comments.

Minister Farrakhan: What we bring to whatever we look at is what gives us our perception of that which we are looking at. Knowledge influences perception. However, if we do not know what we are looking at, then, the perception we have of that at which we are looking is not as full or complete as it could be, or would be, if only we had knowledge and further understanding.

In the Holy Qur'an, there is a verse that reads, "We take Allah's colouring, and Allah is best at colouring."I believe it means we take Allah's (God's) view and how Allah (God) views His own creation is how the believer views Allah's (God's) creation. But we cannot see His creation without His help. His help comes by introducing the knowledge to us of that which He created, and, the deeper aspect of perception is understanding the purpose for which He created what He created. It is only when we understand the purpose for the creation of the thing at which we are looking, and the lessons He intended in it, that we can say we have taken fully Allah's (God's) coloring.

There is, however, something that alters perception. As you wrote in one of your articles (Vol. 17, No. 41) recently, mood can disallow one to perceive properly. Sometimes mood is not able to be controlled because of the things that happened in the course of a day that can alter one's mood. That altering of mood from happy to sad, from peaceful to agitated and irritated can cause us to misperceive the reality of that at which we are looking.

I was with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad one day, and he had just finished reading a letter from his nephew, the son of his brother, Kallatt. He said, the night before he was laying in his bed reading his nephew's letter, and he had a negative view of that letter and the person who wrote it. But the next morning he read it again, and he perceived that letter totally different than he did the night before. What altered his perception? It was that mood that was created by the daily work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The negatives of that day influenced his perception.

So I would imagine that in order to perceive anything correctly, we must first check the state of mind we are in, then ask ourselves, how much we do know about that at which we are looking or on which we are looking? How deep is our knowledge of this thing? How deep is our understanding of its purpose? And when we can answer those questions properly, then we can say whether we perceive or misperceive reality.

I do not know how anyone can perceive reality properly without Allah (God). The God-conscious individual is less likely to misperceive reality, than one who forsakes Allah (God). When we forsake Allah (God), we forsake Him who is the Only Reality and the Creator of that which we are trying to perceive.

So only through the eyes of The Only Reality can we really perceive reality. One must, therefore, study the Word of Allah (God) in order to perceive the reality of life better. One must study the Word of Allah (God) to come into the proper mood and attitude for understanding.

[Note: Minister Farrakhan went on to cite another occasion while he was at the dinner table of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad dismissed one of the believers who went to sleep at the table. Minister Farrakhan recalled the Honorable Elijah Muhammad then said: "If you are talking to someone, and they don't seem to be receptive to what you are trying to teach, it limits your will and desire to try to teach."

Minister Farrakhan continued, in our interview, with these words: "So, the attitude of receptivity is the precondition for perceiving and receiving the word.”

Brother Jabril: We know that one day the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to you that you did not have to study. You have said to some of us that this puzzled you. I bring this up in relation to your appointment of Sister Minister Ava Muhammad as a minister over a mosque in the Nation of Islam. Please comment.

Minister Farrakhan: As I came to understand the words of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I came to see, not that I should not study, but what he is going to bring through me and from me, is that which is revelation. If it is revelation, I cannot study it, because I have not knowledge of what it is until it comes. After it comes through, then we can study it more deeply to understand and interpret it for those who believe.

I said that with respect to the appointment of Sister Minister Ava Muhammad as minister of the mosque, it was an act of inspiration. I had another person in mind. As I was sitting at the table, knowing I was going to make a change in Atlanta, I looked at Sister Ava, and in an instant, it came to me that she should be the one.

In order to explain my moves to others who might not understand, I said I am not an individual who sits in contemplation and meditation in planning the next step for the Nation's development. Everything we have done has come from inspiration that comes in an instant. I do not know when its coming, or in what context it is going to come. I only know that it comes, and when it comes, I am convinced almost instantly that it is something I should do.

Sometimes after I say it or do it, there are some reservations, there are some 'misgivings', if that is a proper word. But they are quickly dispelled, because the reservations and the misgivings come out of a fear, sometimes, of a consequence for the revelation, an inspiration that has been acted upon. Then, Allah (God) confirms me, so that fear or anxiety over what He has inspired me to say or do goes away. Then, I go forward with zeal and strength and total commitment, knowing that Allah (God) is with me in what I am about to do.

Brother Jabril: That happened in the process of the idea of the Million Man March.

Minister Farrakhan: Absolutely. Absolutely. The Million Man March came as a moment of inspiration in the middle of a speech. After it left my lips, I looked at it. I could not believe that this was coming out of my mouth and that we were going to do such a thing. Then I had reservations, not just for a moment, but I had reservations for a little time; "Oh, maybe I should put it off for a year or two. May I should plan it better."

Then I came to realize, more deeply, that my life is already planned. The Best Planner has planned my life through to the end and the plan was written long before I was born. So I need not sit around and plan. I just have to wait for aspects of His Plan to be given to me to be carried out.

PART VII: THE WOMAN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Brother Jabril: At some point in your Atlanta speech, when you were installing Sister Minister Ava Muhammad, you spoke about the woman being kept in. Would you say that there is a connection between that fact and the woman coming out now? How does this relate to the fact that prior to 6,000 years ago, as we have been taught, there was no "mosque" as such. The establishment of "mosque" is a relatively recent development-where we have edifices here and there, throughout the earth-and that one day, the whole earth would be a Mosque. What is the relationship between these two sets of issues?

Minister Farrakhan: Before the coming of the wicked, our whole activity of life was an activity of worship. I am sure that prayer, as a principle, was always a part of our life. Charity, fasting, struggle against human weakness in order to be obedient to Allah (God), was always a part of the principles of our daily activity.

However, it was seen in the beginning of this 25,000 year cycle, that in the year 8400 one would be born from among us who would bring in a world contrary to the Nature of Allah (God) and the nature in which He created creation. The scientists agreed that such one should come, which they could have altered, or the Judge of that cycle could have altered. But He, in His wisdom, said, "Let it be." So this one was coming by the Permissive Will of Allah (God) to act as the god of this world.

In order to keep this new people from using our ancient wisdom to build his world, we started the process, then, of preparing for the arrival of the god of this world. Part of that act of preparation was to cover up the signs of the Wisdom of the Original man in the earth. We could not cover up the signs of the Original people in the heavens, and the new man would take many, many, many, years before he could even begin to read the Wisdom of the Originator in the heavens. But, we could keep him from reading our science in the earth by burying our ancient civilizations under the sea, under the sand and under forests. So the new man came to build his contrary world.

Knowing that the female is the critical part of the building process- that one cannot bring in a new civilization until and/or unless one affects the way the female thinks. So in the Wisdom of God, He pulled our women in, and part of the discipline of salvation for us was that our woman should be kept in the house. Not that this is permanent, but, this was an act of protection. The man would go out and meet the new people while his woman was kept behind the door.

We did not have churches. We did not have mosques, tabernacles or cloisters, because the Way of Allah (God) was practiced freely and naturally by the original people wherever they lived. But, when an enemy was coming, whose way of civilization would be so contrary to God, we had to set up a particular house where the people of God could go in remembrance of God, to be instructed in His Way, that they might struggle against the way of civilization that was to hold sway over humanity until the Coming of God at the end of their time of rule.

So Moses was commanded to build a tabernacle. Then we had, in the Christian era, churches and in the Muslim era, mosques. These are houses of repair. They are like an automobile repair shop that you go out of the world to mend what is broken that you may go out on the bumpy highway of life to see how well you do until you need a place of repair again. The mosques, the churches and the tabernacles were called places where we repair; we go to mend a broken spirit. We go to restore a soul. We go to be reminded of the way of God.

So the woman, generally, was kept out of the affairs to keep her from getting entangled in the wicked way of civilization that was to hold sway. She was kept out of government. She was kept out of Church affairs. She was kept out of everything but home affairs, because Satan was going to rule church affairs, government affairs, and all other affairs.

Allah (God) did not want her entangled in Satan's way, because the more she is entangled in such way, the more difficult it would be for Allah (God) to bring forth out of her a new civilization.

It is written of Mary in the Holy Qur'an that the angels argued over who would take charge of the life of Mary. If you look at Mary, she was put in a place where she could not be contaminated with the wickedness of the world. She grew up under the care of Zacharias, a righteous man, and grew up in the temple under the Law of God; she was a purified female through whom God would bring forth a manchild who would become the Power that would end the world of Satan. Allah (God) needed a good woman, uncontaminated by the world, through whom He could bring the Messiah.

This is why we kept women in the house, or we tried to (smile). Many of them got out, because they felt this was against the nature of the woman to not be involved. So they kept sneaking out, or being let out, and, of course, when the wicked conquered the man, then they could go in the house and take his woman out of the house and spoil her. But he never got to Mary. So it is through Mary that a new world would come.

One day Master Fard Muhammad told the sisters that a time would come when they would let the devil into their living rooms and entertain him. Little did we know that when the television was made and we put it in our living rooms that the wicked ideas of a satanic mind that governs this world would come into our homes and spoil our women and children.

Sister Minister Ava Muhammad's appointment as a minister over a mosque to head the mosque in teaching and administration is a' sign now of new rulership. This is a sign that it is becoming time now for the female to come out into Allah's (God's) new world, as well as to master the home to bring forth a brand new civilization. It is also a sign of the irreversible Will of Allah (God) - that nothing Satan can do will alter the establishment of Allah's (God's) Will. The woman can come out now because Satan's power over her is waning.

All over the world, women are crying out for freedom; crying out for justice. Allah (God) is inspiring their cry and He will answer their cry and make them a party to and a partner with the new Adam in bringing about a very functional family, and a very functional nation on the basis of proper male-female relationships and partnerships in serving the Will of Allah (God). She will be His helpmeet.

Brother Jabril: Brother Minister, would you say that warfare has had the effect of liberating the woman?

Minister Farrakhan: Yes. That has contributed toward her total liberation. In World War II, when the men were called to fight, the presence of women in factories to produce the weapons or ordinance of war showed that women could do effective work outside of the home. Women's suffrage in the last century has contributed to her coming out and becoming a partner in society. That push for her liberation has begun and it continues.

Brother Jabril: What is the relationship between a man honoring his mother and a man honoring women in general?

Minister Farrakhan: Mother is next to Allah (God) and the Messenger of Allah (God), who brings the Word of Allah (God) and is the example of how that word should be carried forth into life. Next to those two, nothing supersedes mother.

When a man learns to honor and respect his mother and perceives her in accordance with Allah's (God's) Will and Purpose for her creation, then it flows from that perception (of his mother) and understanding that all women who are mothers potentially should be given the same honor and respect that one would give to one's mother.

When you see your sister, a potential mother, you honor your sister. You protect your sister, as you would protect your mother, your aunt, your cousin. This flows from the proper perception of mother, from which comes the proper perception of women.

PART VIII: THE TIME WARP

Brother Jabril: How would you relate the fact that so many are in a "time warp," to the parable of Jesus, given in Matthew 25, about the talents? How, in your view, does this parable relate to helping us out of time warps, and coming fully into the present, to be in accord with Allah's (God's) Will for this time period-from 2975, or from whatever time period of the past?

Minister Farrakhan: There is a saying, “the only thing that is permanent in creation is change." As long as we live, we are engulfed in an eternal process of change. Sometimes, however, we get locked into an era of time that gives us great comfort, because in that era of time we became possessors of a certain knowledge that acquits us in that time period and we become successful.

Success, in any period of time, means the mastery of difficulty. The success that demonstrates the mastery of difficulty produces the ease that comes after difficulty. When the ease comes, we are in a position of danger - the Holy Qur'anwarns those of us who live the easy life, because the life of ease takes the struggle out of life.

When one does not have to struggle to know; when one does not have to struggle to become successful; when one does not have to struggle, then in that stage of development, one becomes comfortable. But another stage is coming which will cause us to face difficulty again. And, it is the refusal to face the difficulty that accompanies change that leaves those in ease unwilling to struggle again. They get involved or caught up in a time warp which then sentences them to death.

So it is when prophets come into the world bringing revelation. Every new aspect of knowledge produces a new challenge. Those in the older aspect of knowledge who have mastered that aspect of knowledge and have found ease, then, the struggle of life is gone for them, and they are more unwilling to accept the challenge of a new revelation which demands struggle, which demands change, which furthers their evolution toward perfection.

Ease makes a person not want perfection. They say: "I'm happy where I am; don’t disturb me." So when the new knowledge comes, the people that oppose it most are the people who live the easy lives, or who have become '; comfortable in their understanding of their revelation (Torah, Gospel, Qur' an). This is why Jesus said, "It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."

Why? Because the kingdom of God demanded a new knowledge. That new knowledge demanded of those who had previously acquitted themselves greatly with the old knowledge, that they become as a child to learn the new. That became difficult for the arrogant and the lofty. So they got lost in a time warp.

In order for us to continue the evolutionary journey toward perfection, we must remain humble and know that nature and life is critical. History shows that there is difficulty, and, after you've mastered the difficulty there is ease. When ease comes, a new challenge is going to be presented. If we can accept the discomfort of the new challenge and rise to that challenge to struggle to overcome the difficulties presented by that challenge, then we will have ease again. As the Holy Qur'anteaches, "In the alternation of the day and the night, in this are signs for those who reflect.”

Brother Jabril: The Holy Qur'ansays Allah (God) straightens in means whom He pleases. He's not trying to destroy the person. Please comment.

Minister Farrakhan: There are some of us whom God keeps in struggle, that He may teach them lessons through struggle and allow them to teach others through their struggle.

The Holy Qur' anteaches, "He straightens the means of subsistence for whom He pleases and He amplifies it for whom He pleases."In both instances, the human being is being tried. If your means are straightened, how would you react to that, where Allah (God) is concerned? If your means are amplified, how will you act toward Allah (God), Who has amplified your means? In both instances, the human being is under trial. How we react under both circumstances determine how Allah (God) will favor us in the next season.

Brother Jabril: So, in each instance He is advancing each person towards that which pleases Him and His pleasure is in bringing us closer to Himself.

Minister Farrakhan: Absolutely. Absolutely. His pleasure is really the pleasure of the faithful. This is why Job was so beloved of God. No matter what it pleased God to do to Job - which was really for Job - Job would never curse God. His words are there, according to the Bible, "I will wait until my change comes."

This meant that he was patient and long suffering. It meant that he knew his change was coming. It did come. Although the story ends with Job in great wealth, what he learned through the time of the straightening of his means of subsistence was complete reliance on Allah (God). So that when he came into wealth, the wealth never altered his perception of God and great became the character that was developed in him through the struggle to survive when he lost everything.

Brother Jabril: Now, Brother Minister, last night you shared with us information that provides us with deeper insight into the relationship between getting out of the 'time warp' and tying it in with the talent. Please comment.

Minister Farrakhan: To capsule it. It is a picture of The Day of Judgment. Each human being will be called to account for what that human being has done with what that human being has been given. In the parable of the talents, there is a man who was going away to a far country. At the time when that parable was spoken, the means of transportation were such that, if a man was going away into a far country, it would take that person an awfully long time to go and return from a far country.

I think the parable was trying to tell us that the person would be gone for a while. The absence of that person was a test for the servants of that person. So, he calls them before he goes and he gives to each talents. One he gives five; one he gives three; one he gives one.

In those days, a talent was money. The man that he gave five increased it to ten. The man that he gave three increased it to five. The man that he gave one, buried it. When the master returned, he called his servants. "To a Day of Judgment. He asked the question, "What did you do with what I gave you?"

One servant said, "You have given me five and I increased it to ten.” And the master said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful over a little, I will make you a ruler over much." Then he called the man that he had given two talents. That man also increased his talent to four. The Master was pleased with him because of the increase.

But the man that he had given one talent, buried it. He never put it to use. He wanted to give it back to the master the same way he received it. Needless to say, the master was greatly displeased with him and took from him his talent. He took that one talent and gave it to the man who brought about the biggest increase. The man with the one talent began accusing the master. "Ah, you're a hard man. You reap where you have not even sown. “He is making excuses for his lack of the proper use of his talent.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that the talent here represents faith. The greatest money a person has is their faith in Allah (God). But, faith counts for nothing except it is put to an exchange. As money should secure you some of the things that you need to make life more comfortable and the quality of life better for you and your family, it is putting faith to an exchange that will improve the quality of your life.

The man that buried his faith was in a time warp. He refused to grow. He was comfortable with the one talent that he had and did not see any need to improve on what the master had given him. He thought he would be accepted by giving back to the master what the master had given him.

He found himself cast into outer darkness and that which he had was taken from him.

[Note: Minister Farrakhan shuddered a bit as he paused and said: "My Lord! My Lord! "]

What I see in that, is everyone whom the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught, who claims belief in him, has to put their faith to an exchange. For as surely as the day follows the night, he will return. We will be called to account for our use of our faith; our use of our life; our use of our gifts, skills and talents. If we have not done properly, then we will suffer the judgment of our master, rather than the joy of having pleased him and being made governors and rulers over territory in his name.

So it would behoove all to come out of the comfortability of what you believed yesterday, because what you believed yesterday and the way you believed yesterday may not be acceptable in today's circumstances. However, you cannot come into today without a guide. So Allah (God) says, "I will not leave you comfortless. I am going to give you someone who will guide you in the absence of your Master- as a Comforter, but also as a Guide to a higher level of Comfort after the difficulty of change. "

Unfortunately, the rejection of that guide, as the continuation of the work of the Master (the Honorable Elijah Muhammad), is absolutely confining us to a stage and a period of time that sentences us to death.

Brother Jabril: You just reminded me of something I said to some of us the other day. We ofttimes refer to you as the Reminder. We ofttimes say this in our opening statements before an audience and sometimes in our prayers, thanking Allah for a "reminder" in yourself. But the Holy Qur'analso says, in more than one place, "If you reject this reminder then chastisement is coming."So, I want to bring up that point in this context.

Minister Farrakhan: Yes, they are not confident that he is guiding them aright, so they stay in that which they were sure of that was sanctioned by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad when he was among us. They do not realize that this new stage of their development was and is also sanctioned by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

When the Holy Qur'an teaches of Moses and Aaron it says, "Go you both to Pharaoh, I give you both a criteria and an authority."This tells us that as Moses was given a certain criteria and an authority, Aaron was also given the same. Those who came up under the man like Moses did not have the same trust in the man like Aaron. They were more comfortable teaching that which they didn't have to struggle to grow to understand.

Brother Jabril: Then we have that warning in the Bible, which tells us, in symbolic form, that all twenty years old and older were divinely done away with. So those nineteen years old and younger had the big chance to make it. The youthful or the childlike eager state of mind, to learn and move ahead, as you’ve mentioned, these are all interconnected and the keys to our salvation today.

PART IX: REFLECTIONS FROM A MAN WITH A MISSION

September, 1998

Brother Jabril: For those who didn't get a chance to see him or hear him or sit at his table, tell us about the sense of humor of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Minister Farrakhan: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad lived the majority of his life with a very heavy weight on his head. His heart was with the "weighty word" and the Mission that Allah (God) had given him. Those were great blessings, at his dinner table, where we were involved in discussions and in hearing him expound on the Wisdom of Allah (God), as found in the Bible and Holy Qur'an and methods of going after our people, to bring them into the light of a knowledge that had been kept from them. Our discussion with him at his table were of a serious nature. So, it was most refreshing to sit at his table sometimes and hear him tell a humorous anecdote and laugh.

When he laughed his cheeks became so rosy. For me it was joy to see him laugh and sometimes he would laugh until tears welled up in his eyes. His sense of humor was unique because one would not think a man of his station, of his tremendous wisdom, would even take the time to be humorous. But even in his humor he was always teaching lessons.

Brother Jabril: Now I am among the witnesses of the humor of both the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and of yourself - two men with the heaviest missions conceivable. I am among those who had the privilege of sitting at his table and now at your table there in Chicago. I have personally witnessed the same quality of humor in him as well as in you.

One of the fascinating experiences we have gone through was of course, the tremendous number and array of vicious attacks via the mass media of America, which often came through cartoons against yourself- especially beginning in 1984. You have shared with some of us the use you would like to one day make of those cartoons. Would you repeat what that was, if you had the opportunity to do that?

Minister Farrakhan: First, I am amazed at genius, no matter how genius is displayed. I marvel at genius. The way the cartoonists would depict me was literally hilarious. I saw the genius of these cartoonists used in a way to make light of me and the word. But I found them so funny that I wanted to devote a whole room in my house to gather all of these cartoons and make it into wall paper and just paper my wall with all of these cartoons. Then when I get in a depressed mood I could go and just look at these cartoons and laugh myself back into mental preparedness to do my job.

I can look at myself now, at my own sense of humor, and I realize that sometimes a funny story that makes a person laugh is something that makes a person comfortable in a situation where they might not be comfortable.

When people sat at the table of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, believing he was a man who met with Allah (God); believing he was a man who could read your thinking; well, it was very frightening to be sitting in the presence of a man of whom you believe such. So he would always say something humorous, to relax the persons that did not know him who were there at his table for the first time. That little joke, that little humorous word that he would say, would sort of take the edge off of those at the table, and set a friendly tone and open a person up for serious teaching and dialogue.

I have found in my own life that life is hard, but people love to laugh; especially when they are not the focus of the laughter. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad would make people laugh. Yet, there was wisdom in what he was saying and sometimes there was just folly. But it was hilarious even to hear the Honorable Elijah Muhammad say something that seemed like folly. However, he used folly for the foolish and he used folly to open the foolish up to wisdom.

So, I find myself, just naturally-not imitating our father-but naturally doing the same thing to make people to know that I am not a boogie man. I am their brother and I love them and I desire them to know the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I desire them to know the truth and you cannot always jump on the person with heavy truths. You have to be skillful to open their hearts and their minds to truth and nothing does it better than a humorous anecdote or something that causes laughter.

Brother Jabril: Would you say that the ability to laugh at ones self is related to selflessness rather than self-centeredness?

Minister Farrakhan: Of course. You know a person who is humble of heart can see things of self that are funny and laugh at self and laugh at what people do and think of self because they know that that is not the self. Just having a knowledge of yourself and who and what you really are; to be humble to recognize the Majesty of Allah (God), then what people write of you of evil, what people say of you of evil, what people plan against you of evil, never makes you evil.

It hurts you sometimes, to know it, to hear it, but, then you get over it. As far as my own self is concerned, I do not focus on those things at all. Sometimes I forget the evil that people say and the evil that people plan and do that I know of them. They could come in my presence and I will treat them just as well as I would treat a member of my own family or one of my helpers in this cause. I guess it takes people aback to know that I may know the evil that they have thought of me, that they have said of me, and yet, I am kind to them.

An example of that is that I gave a four or five-hour interview to Dr. Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University earlier this year. The article he wrote in The New Yorker hardly represented much of what I gave him. He said what he wanted to say and left out what he wanted to leave out. The article did not represent the truth of what I said nor me as I naturally would like to have been represented.

When I was in Africa, in the wonderful, wonderful country of Ethiopia, he was in the same hotel as I. He was working on a piece on Christianity and Islam and their origins in Africa. When he learned that I was in the hotel, he wanted to interview me for his documentary. Of course, I obliged him. When he came up in the suite, with his camera crew, I am sure he was somewhat shocked that I never showed displeasure toward him. I may have mentioned my displeasure with the way that he characterized our interview, but, I was kind to him and went on with him as though he and I were long lost friends. Why? Because no matter what people write or say in their misrepresentations of me, I am always thinking that one day, Allah (God) willing, I will win them for the cause of Islam.

Brother Jabril: This is a two part question. Would you say that your wonderful sense of humor has been a factor in your ability to persevere under this most difficult set of circumstances? And what are some of the other factors that have enabled you to so persevere?

Minister Farrakhan: Yes, and I also think the greatest factor in my being able to persevere is being blessed to be humble enough to see the Greatness of Allah (God). I know that I am just an atom in the Universe of billions and trillions and quadrillions of atoms. I know that I am so blessed to be able to serve Allah (God), in this time, and in this way.

In serving Allah (God), our people and humanity as best I can, and not taking myself seriously in terms of who I am and how people view me, I think, is the underpinning of my sense of humor. This is the underpinning of longevity and perseverance. This is the reason the evil that people do to me really does not affect me; it is because they never reach me. They cannot find me. I am so low to the ground that everything they shoot at me always goes above me; and they could only hit me if I began to think more of myself than I should.

Brother Jabril: Your wonderful sense of humor a factor in your ability to persevere under this tremendous pressure. The very source of the quality of your sense of humor, as I have had a chance to witness, is tremendously illustrated in the work of the cartoonist against you, which we have just discussed. The way you reacted and handled that entire episode is a perfect illustration of the truth of what you just said; the ability not to take oneself so seriously which is related to not making oneself at the center of reality, but to be God-centered. This is what I was driving at. Your sense of humor comes from a quality of character which the Honorable Elijah Muhammad demonstrated among us.

Brother Minister, it is a fact that any of us who had the privilege of working with you up close well knows; anyone who has observed you from a distance, but has knowledge of you will bear witness to the same. I am referring to your stupendous and the strenuous nature of your travels; which you have kept up non-stop, going on twenty-two years, in fulfillment of your assignment. It is a fact that you have a schedule which is practically unbelievable, especially the traveling schedule, which is "unreal". To what degree do you feel love motivates and fuels you to do what you do in the way that you do it?

Minister Farrakhan: That is the answer. Love is the power. Love is \ the force. Love is the gasoline or the fuel that allows one, such as myself, to do what I do and appear indefatigable, untired, not worn by what one does and it is precisely because I love so much of what I am doing.

I love to impart knowledge. I love to see the eyes of a human being come open to truths that mean something or can be a motivating factor to make their personal lives more meaningful. This is what gives meaning to my own life. As I give, I get; as I feed, I am fed; as I energize others, I too, am energized because I believe that is what I am born into this world to do.

Brother Jabril: Thank you, Minister Farrakhan.

Minister Farrakhan: You are welcome

CONCLUSION

What comes below grew out of a lengthy discussion between Minister Farrakhan and me one night last December, over the implications of points made in articles [Farrakhan: The Traveler, Vol. 18, No. 10 & Vol. 18, No. 11] about himself. In the course of that conversation, and in response to points respecting his identity, he attempted to describe how he saw himself. What he said was to me very interesting and highly significant. I was so moved by what he said to me, that I could not sleep that night. That discussion was not taped.

Two nights later, and again at dinner, with a few others present, including his wife, Mother Khadijah, Minister Farrakhan made a statement that seemed to me that he was going to include what he said of himself two nights earlier. This was to me a valuable opportunity to capture something of great value to share with you, by means of this little book. He permitted me to tape his statement, which he held up for the moment it took me to get my tape recorder.

One more thing. Usually there is only very minor editing to be done in final drafts of interviews I have done with Minister Farrakhan. This is due to the magnificently clear manner he has of expressing himself. However, in this instance, he was expressing himself on the core of himself. This is never easy for anyone to truly do. It wasn't for him that night either.

I hope you are not offended by my near verbatim transcription of his words, but I want the reader to get a sense of that scene as we experienced it. Again, it was that valuable, in my eyes. So, for the purposes of this little book, and the one to come, here is the relevant part of that dinner discussion. I hope you will find it as valuable as I did.

Here are his very touching, moving and stirring words.

"Any man who is made in haste is made of a fiery temperament. The creation of the universe and Allah's own Self-creation is not a hasty thing. He makes everything to go through stages and stages and it takes great time. He said He created the heavens and the earth in six periods of time. He does not say what those periods of time are, whether they are billions or trillions of years.

It takes time for a person to grow into the knowledge of self. And then the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, "After you grow into the knowledge of self, then you have to learn how to hold yourself down, lest you get carried away with yourself"

I was telling Brother Jabril [two nights earlier] that no matter what people say of me-and now people are saying things allover the world-I feel like a little boy inside of a mature man.

Now look at that picture: a little boy inside of a mature man. As the man is getting older and wiser, the people outside are relating to this mature man who is representing Allah (God), the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Prophet Muhammad and the Truth, but, on the inside there is this little boy who is almost oblivious to the kudos and the praise and all that is being said to the mature man on the outside.

The little fellow on the inside may want to play, he may want to do some little silly thing. He is not even aware of the greatness that Allah (God) is making of him. He is just happy being a little boy on the inside of this mature man.

I keep thinking, as I look at myself, no matter what people say, "how great he is," yet I see myself just like I was when we (looking at his wife) were back in Roxbury, Massachusetts and I am this little fellow respectful of my elders and always willing to do little things to help this one and that one; never taking myself seriously. That is my protection. The little boy on the inside is protected from all of the praise and the kudos - fame, popularity, adulation, acclamation – on the mature man growing on the outside.

The little fellow - if there is a cartoon that could be drawn of a man growing in stature and the lines in his face and the wisdom that he speaks and the audiences cheering, and on the inside there is this little boy playing hopscotch or playing with his marbles and he is oblivious to the people outside saying great and wonderful things about him. He is hitting that marble. He is just doing his "little boy" things.

So, no matter what people say; no matter how much they praise me; it does not affect me, because it only reaches the head of the old man, but the little fellow on the inside didn't hear it. He doesn't know it. You know? I don't know why I made that picture; but that's the way I feel inside.

Even though I know these words that you [Jabril] write are true and I know I am the representative of this Messianic dispensation; I know that I am that. I know that. I know that. But, then, I don't know it. Do you know what I mean? I know that I am becoming a very great man. But I am not aware to the point where I am carried away with myself, because the little boy on the inside does not allow it.

You know how old people can sit at a table and talk and the little boy is looking for a way to get away from table so he can do "little boy" things? Am I making sense? [We all laugh; for he is crystal clear and in a very touching and sensitive manner.] that's a heck of a picture, isn't it?

So I don't know what games people have on their minds, but little children do not [arrogantly] judge people. Little children have a way of looking at people - they may not go to everybody, but they are innocent. And because they are innocent, they have to be protected. That's that little fellow within. Now, the old guy might be wise enough to protect the little fellow within, but I think the little fellow within the old fellow outside just looks mature and sounds mature and affects the world as a mature man. But on the inside, he's just a little boy, innocent, and will never be affected by the praise of the people.

And when death overtakes him, he won't know anything of his so- called greatness. He will only know he is grateful that he was blessed to live to serve a Great God, Allah, and a Great Cause, Islam, and a Great Teacher, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

I was telling Brother Jabril how young people get fame and fortune quickly and lose it almost as quickly as they get it. It destroys them, because it really takes time to produce greatness. Real greatness-just takes time.

And so God, in allowing me to grow - I don't care if millions of people applaud me and cheer me, the little boy inside is oblivious to that. He hardly hears it and that is not his interest. His interest is in the game of marbles; not really marbles but, you know - I just don't know how to explain it.

Everyone there smiled and was moved by the beautiful and humble way Minister Farrakhan clearly expressed himself.

Thank you for reading this little book, your Saviours' Day Gift from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

More next volume, Allah willing.

Jabril Muhammad

February 14, 1999

Self Improvement Study Guides 1 - 20

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Self Improvement Study Guides 1 - 20

PART II: EVOLUTION OF THE DIVINE MESSAGE

PART III: THE PROCESS TOWARD PERFECTION

PART V: SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

PART VII: THE WOMAN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

PART IX: REFLECTIONS FROM A MAN WITH A MISSION

Study Guide 19A: Who Is God?

INTRODUCTION

LETTER TO STUDENTS

Minister Louis Farrakhan

Study Guide 19A – Who Is God?

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Study Guide 19B: The Key to the Kingdom of God

Introduction

THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

REFERENCE MATERIAL

GLOSSARY

Study Guide 20 – Closing the Gap

Introduction

PART II: EVOLUTION OF THE DIVINE MESSAGE

PART III: THE PROCESS TOWARD PERFECTION

PART V: SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

PART VII: THE WOMAN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

PART IX: REFLECTIONS FROM A MAN WITH A MISSION