IWDM COMMENTS - on Ablution

With the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Compassionate

Performing Ablution:

"Before making ablution we must mentally confirm our intention so that our minds and hearts will not be influenced by the false values of society. Make your ablution with the Name of Allah, knowing that when we become attentive with both heart and mind, we can better answer the call to obey Allah and His Messenger."

"We state our intention to give reverence, respect, humility, and obedience to Allah, The Most High, so that the physical action of ablution becomes a conscious one, and not just a routine exercise."

"We begin our ablution by washing the right hand three times to remind us of our duty to uphold that which is right. We are not to act physically, mentally, or spiritually in a corrupt way. The hands are used to symbolize action, and the right hand is symbolic of our conscious acts. In order to correct our unconscious actions we must first discipline our conscious actions. We depend upon our hands to help us be productive in business, defense, literature, and many other areas.

Next we wash the left hand three times. The left hand is symbolic of our impulsive or unconscious acts. These acts are subject to negative influences when our conscious acts are not rightly oriented. Washing the left hand reminds us of our responsibility to give help to those who are oppressed and culturally blind. Prophet Muhammad [(Peace be upon him)] said to his followers, "Help your brother whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one." When the people asked Prophet Muhammad how they could help their brother if he were an oppressor, he answered, "By preventing him from oppressing others." [Through appealing to his conscience.] We should be positively influenced by people who have more strength or understanding than ourselves. Those with less moral and spiritual knowledge should voluntarily support those with greater knowledge; those who have good moral characters, stronger faith, and who courageously resist injustices and corrupt influences.

After cleaning our hands we wash out our mouths three times. The mouth symbolizes moral discernment. Even if you do no harm to others with your hands, you may still hurt them with your tongue. With our mouths we can injure others mentally, morally, and spiritually. A person cannot do shameful, filthy acts and not be affected by them. The corrupt influences we allow to come into our lives affect us psychologically. When a man restrains himself from doing harmful things, his words will begin to reflect restraint and thoughtfulness.

Prophet Muhammad [(Peace be upon him)] taught that the thing which gets a person into hell or paradise quickest is his tongue. The Muslim who protects the honor and safety of his brothers and sisters with his hand and his tongue can receive salvation."

"After cleaning the mouth, we clean the nostrils three times. The nose is also symbolically represents desires and aspirations. If we work on our actions and our speech to discipline them, we will force our desires to come under control. If we force ourselves to speak the truth we deny our negative desires a medium of expression.

The nose is also symbolic of the intuitive spirit of the human being. You have heard the common expressions, "I can smell it in the air," and "I can smell something cooking." These expressions do not refer to the physical sense of smell. They relate to a kind of intuitive awareness. This intuitive awareness is not something on which we can fully rely. Intuition means that which comes to us through feeling or instinct. Intuitive awareness comes automatically, without our minds perceiving the process. it will not, however, guarantee intellectual enlightenment unless it is rationally assisted by the signs of Allah.

Throughout the ages of millions of misinformed people have looked for magical ways to solve their problems, and they have been victimized by occultists and soothsayers. Over-dependence on intuition can lead to superstition. Superstition comes into our lives when we do not get a proper understanding of reality. When we get enough true answers to our questions about life we will not be interested in fantasy."

"Thus far we have checked our actions by washing of the hands. We then gave our intention to our mouths in speaking the truth and in keeping our words and thoughts clean. Next, we washed the nose to symbolize the removal of superstitions and unclean desires. When we clean up our actions and desires, and also develop our spiritual awareness, we become conscious that we are not perfect and that we are ever in need of Allah's Help.

After washing the nose, we wash our face three times. The face symbolizes a person's character. Just as an evil can be created by our mouths or our hands, a facial expression can also start an evil to work. When we say, "Do not pay any attention to him, there is another face that he is not showing you," we mean that his real character is hidden. A two-faced person can never make himself presentable to Allah.

After washing the face, we wash the arms three times up to the elbows, starting with the right arm. The arm is symbolic of power. We are not to use our power to force others to our way of thinking. Some people are unable to discipline themselves, yet they are ready to use their power to force others to submit to their wills. By the same token, nations and communities are sometimes guilty of using their power in the form of wealth, or knowledge or warfare, science, psychology, religion, etc., to dominate and exploit others.

In washing the arms three times we are reminded that power is given in three ways: physically, mentally, and spiritually. Power can interrupt, corrupt, and disrupt our physical, mental, and spiritual lives. After washing the right arm, we wash our left to reinforce the principle so that it will become habit for us.

After washing the arms, we wipe the hair once. The hair is a symbolic of sub-skin intelligence, and wiping it is symbolic of keeping our emotional senses clean. Emotions are subject to the influence of instinctive intelligence. Once a society develops to a civilized level, the most important things for its leaders to do are to preserve its knowledge and to safeguard it from distortions and impurities. Once its knowledge is corrupted, a society on the path of growth and development.

After wiping the hair, we wipe the ears simultaneously, cleaning them only once. The ear is an open door to our minds and hearts. It is symbolic of another form of desire, the desire, if the intellect and the heart to know. When cleaning the ears we should be conscious that we are to protect ourselves against suggestions and influences which could corrupt our minds. If something is not in agreement with the Holy Qur'an and Hadith, we want to stop it right at the door.

Our ears are not interpreters; they only receive information under the influences of sentiment and logic. When we listen, it is because we desire to know something in order to satisfy our minds and hearts. Sometimes people may plant things in the ear which can disrupt and unseat the mind and heart. Once something comes into our ears, it is up to us to use our intelligence to see if it is good or evil, logical, or illogical. Once we recognize evil, we must fight its influence in all forms.

According to the Holy Qur'an and the Bible, Adam and Eve lost their place in the Garden of Eden because they were tempted to listen to the deceiving whispers of Satan. In ignorance, they let their hearts and intellects take diverging paths, and the attention of their ears became imbalanced between the requirements of logic and sentiment. Most people are impulse-directed-burden-bearers without skill. That which comes into our ears must be consciously examined. This is something to which we have to devote our entire being.

We clean the feet after cleaning the hair and ears. Symbolically speaking, the body represents the structure of society, and the feet represent the innate spiritual intelligence of the people or masses. Society stands upon the emotional stability of the people. You cannot tell the masses to be clean and upright, and to fight evil influences in all forms before involving both heart and intellect in the cause of truth and justice.

For the individual the feet represent habit-formed convictions and morals. Think of the expressions, "I stand on my faith and convictions," Walk of life," and "What road do you follow?" Your walk of life, or the road you follow, forms your habits. You do not have to think consciously about your habits in order to form them. You speak a certain way, walk a certain way and perform certain social functions because they have become your way of life. Society has passed these habits on to you. They are both emotionally and rationally based.

It is essential that we understand and live in accordance with the symbolic meaning associated with the ritual of ablution. The constant repetition of its steps should reinforce our awareness of the way Allah directs us toward the life He intends for us, and it should remind us of our need to constantly reorient ourselves in accordance with the principles it illustrates. The symbolism of ablution shows us that no matter what the situation is, we are required to maintain a clean, rational attitude.

In order for our unconscious actions to be properly oriented, our thoughts and conscious actions must first be disciplined to uphold that which is right. Once we have disciplined ourselves physically we become able to practice moral discernment and clean, creditable speech. When we reach this point in our development we hope that our character is acceptable to Allah. Through these steps we learn to understand our own potential and how to use it properly, so that we can protect the purity of our knowledge and wisdom. Next we learn to protect our minds and hearts from evil influences and suggestions, and to correct our personal habits so that they will conform to Al-Islam. Once we have progressed in this endeavor, we can better live the lives of upright Muslims in a continuous state of mental and spiritual ablution."



Excerpts from the Book - "Prayer and Al-Islam" By Imam W. Deen Mohammed © 1982

CARRYING THE LOGIC TO IT’S LOGICAL CONCLUSION

Imam W. D. Mohammed

2003 Annual Islamic Convention – (excerpt)

Jumah  8-29-03

Chicago ,  IL

 

Now!

CARRYING THE LOGIC TO IT’S LOGICAL CONCLUSION.   Should Not WE Plan Our Life in these United Sates of America?  Where We’re living, among, mostly Christians, Non Muslims.  Our Neighbor most likely, will be, a   Christian.   Should Not WE Plan Our Life, so that Our Life, not only,  contribute to Our, well being and Good future.  But, also to Their,  well being?!  And, Their Good future?!   Since, G-d has told Us, that Mohammad, is a Mercy, to all the worlds.  Rahama til ala-meen.  And, He has also told us, that WE are to give to the needy!   To the poor!  To the suffering!   And, that WE are to give to Those Who  Ask,  and, also to Those Who, Don’t Ask.   

Thank You, very much.  I think You are with me.  

 

And, That’s what WE have to do.  Let’s, Plan OUR Future in the, United States of America.  So, that WE ESTABLISH A MODEL.  In this, New, part of the world.  WE ESTABLISH A MODEL that all Muslims Will Be Happy With.  That All Muslims will be HAPPY WITH.  And, if WE can ESTABLISH it here, in Quote, the Wilderness of North America, end Quote, it will be Seen By The Whole World.

So, WE ask Allah to help, us.  Befriend us always, Our Lord.  And, give us Mercy.  For without Your Mercy we will not have Guidance.  We ask You to help us win Your Friendship. Not, the friendship of the world. But, to win Your Friendship.  And, to help us keep it. And, to give us in this life, Good, and, in the next Good.  And, to save us from the punishment of the fire. (Prayer) Raba na atin na fiduna has na ta  wa  kil at ti has san a tan wak I na   ah tha bin naah. 

 

THE GROWTH OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS

THE GROWTH OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
Lecture by Imam W. Deen Mohammed

"Let us move on now to the concept of prophet. We have now a quick picture of Allah, that is a quick, real brief, idea of the unity of allah, His oneness, His uniqueness, His independence. Now, let us come to the prophet, or concept of the prophet, and see the precious light of Al-Islam. On the concept of Prophet Muhammad, Prophet Muhammad is not an ordinary Prophet.  Prophet Muhammad is the major Prophet, extraordinary Prophet, and thelast of the prophets, last of the Major Prophets. The Major Prophets are those prophets who bare a direct relationship to our individual growth as a human being, as a conscious creature. There are Minor Prophets who dealt with social problems, political problems, different problems--those are Minor Prophets. They don't bear directly their meaning. Their role does not bear directly on the natural evolution of me as a person. How do we know this? Allah says in the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad has taught it--that in you are seven grades and above you are seven corresponding grades. The seven in us refers to the natural steps of growth that takes place in the conscience of the individual to reach the fullness of growth that Allah has ordained for us, in creating us, our natural forms, our nature-biological nature, our spiritual nature, our political nature.

Do you know that you have a political nature. My political nature, all of it has already been clocked and designed by Allah who created it. In creating it, he designed it and clocked it. And He designed and clocked it, so that, it moves up along certain planes of elevation. Each plane of elevation gets broader. The first plane is more narrower and it not as broad as the second one. The second one is broader than the first one. The third one is broader the second one. And the fourth is broader the third one. The fifth one is broader than the fourth. The sixth is broader than the fifth. The seventh is broader than the sixth. So, if you see this going up, it looks like a cone so to speak. It gets bigger as we go up into the grades.

Now, where does Prophet Muhammad stand? Where is he placed? Since Allah says, correspondedly there are seven above you. The word in Arabic clearly tells us that the seven above us are not different than the seven in us. It clearly tells that the seven above us are the same as the seven in us. Oh, is he saying that the seven prophets, the Major Prohets are in us? Yes! But they are asleep in us. The average one of us cannot reach the potential that the great Prophets achieved. Because we have not earned the blessings that they earned. But if we had been upright and G-d chose us for the blessings, there is already the resources in her for G-d to bring out. The resources of the Major Prophets are in me, in every human being. And G-d has to bring it out. He brought it out with each major Prophet. He brought a plane or elevation of that until it reached seven. And we know, according to hadith, if the hadith is correct and we must agree that it is correct whether we know the hadith is correct or not because the ummah is the ummah after the millah of Ibrahim--the Prophet Hanifah--peace be on him.

...Dear believers, sometimes I don't feel like talking to you this way because most of you are doubters. And it is not justice to give precious knowledge to doubters. It is not justice. That is not right--you see.  But if you understood this, you would understand how your self, as a person, is a type of the great Prophet. And G-d has not sent us leaders that we can't follow. Because the leader that he has sent represent what is inherent in us, or inborn, or innate in us.  So, Prophet represents the consistency, the logic that connects them all--also it is in us."IWDM (THE GROWTH OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS)

Question your own creation...

Reflecting a little deeper on Laylatul Qadr

Take a moment....

Take a moment to reflect a little deeper on Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power). The importance of this night is a direct result of the revelation of the Qur'an. This brings the blessings (it is a Blessed Night), Power, and eventually spiritual enlightenment.

We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: -(Holy Qur'an 97:1)

By the Book that makes things clear; We sent it down during a Blessed Night: for, verily, We have always been warning [man]... -(Holy Qur'an 44:1-3)

So, the revelation came in the night...Night is significant because in the day or in the light, there is no need for spiritual enlightenment. Revelation came in the night because the people were in a time of ignorance.

In the Qur'an, Darkness/night is synonymous to ignorance/spiritual misunderstanding. And light is synonymous to spiritual understanding/revelation.

The revelation of the Qur’an, symbolized by that "blessed night" of its beginning, provides man with a standard in which to distinguish between good and evil, or "between all that leads to spiritual growth through an ever-deepening realization (ma’rifah) of God’s existence, on the one hand, and all that results in spiritual blindness and self-destruction, on the other." The magnatude of revelation and spirutal guidance upon man is as the magnitude between life and death!

Take another moment....

Take another moment to reflect a little deeper.

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, there are indeed messages for all who are endowed with insight, -(Holy Qur'an 3:190)

From the language of Imam W. D. Mohammed, the beginning of Man's creation is synonymous to the beginning of man's spiritual understanding and the beginning of revelation. Just as the night is brought to day by the light of the sun...Man's dawning (fajr) is only reached by the Light/revelation of Allah (swt).

"The night of power has more to do with the hunger in the soul for understanding, the hunger in the intellect for perception, than anything else." -Imam W. D. Mohammed

So, in odd nights of the last 10 days of Ramadan, we strive and search for the Night of Power. But what are we searching for? We are searching for spiritual understanding. Just as the Prophet Muhammad (saw) retreated to the cave of Hira' in the Jabal An-Nour (Mountain of Light) for PEACE from the world....we find ourselves in a peaceful night striving for the Mercy of Allah.... attempting to come close to the struggle for spiritual enlightenment.... just like our leader and best example, up until the fajr (dawning of spiritual enlightenment)!

Peace!...This until the rise of morn! -(Holy Qur'an 97:5)

Lailatul Qadr

Lailatul Qadr

Thoughts 1 year after the passing of Imam WD Mohammed

http://dawudwalid.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/thoughts-1-year-after-the-passing-of-imam-wd-mohammed/

Man's Shared Freedom Space

"Seek instead, by means of what God has granted thee, [the good of] the life to come, without forget­ting, withal, thine own [rightful] share in this world..." (Holy Qur'an 28:77)

Imam Mohammed said, " Those who use their freedom are strong enough to respect what's important. People avoiding their RESPONSIBILITY cannot be FREE. Freedom is the reward for hard work."

The term "shared freedom space" has a direct reference in the Qur'an. Allah says to seek the afterlife with your means and wealth, but do not forget (uphold your responsibility) to your SHARE in this world.


As Imam noted, the concept of freedom implies responsibility. Freedom is not to just be "free" in the sense that you can do whatever you want, when you want, how you want. That is insanity, not freedom. Even the creation that exhibits aspects of freedom has limits and responsibilities associated with that freedom.

AND HE it is who has given freedom of movement to the two great bodies of water the one sweet and thirst-allaying, and the other salty and bitter - and yet has wrought between them a barrier and a forbidding ban. (Holy Qur'an 25:53)

The suffix "-dom" means a "state of being" or a "place". So Free-dom is a state of being or a place where people are free.....free from what? Free from OPPRESSIVE RULE.


People who are already "free" do not desire freedom. Freedom is desired when people are being controlled or oppressed. But freedom is not devoid of Moral Law and Responsibility. Freedom space cannot be shared accept in dignity. Each person in that freedom space must know the value of their own self-worth.


Man's shared freedom space has another direct reference to community. Community life must operate under freedom and responsibility to your "shared" space. This was the example of the Prophet's (saw) Ummah and this is what we should seek if we choose to establish Islamic life in America.

Weekly Wisdom - 7/31

RAMADHAN SESSION 2004, pg. 70-71 of 75
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed

Sub-title: Quran 2.36: Get down from here
..."Concluding this, there were no people on earth and G_d said to the angels, "I'm about making khalifa in the earth. And when I have formed him you make your sajdah to him." You know we make sajda to G_d, don't we? Sajdah to Allah swt saying that He revealed His plan for the human family to the angels and He told the angels, "When I have made him, the father of the human family, the leader of the human family, the guide for the human family, when I have made him you angels do sajdah to him."

Then G_d questioned Iblis and those who refused asking, "What is the matter with you, what come into you? I didn't form you like that . I formed neither man nor jinn for any purpose except My worship. Now what has gotten you outside of what I created for you that has given you this mind to reject what I planned and to refuse to make sajdah to the man I created with My two hands? That is what G_d said.

Get you down from here, this is no place for you, get into the earth. Go back to the material realm, go back to the objective world. Get out of this heaven of spiritual existence and spiritual mind. Get out from here into the earth where you will have a chance to be organized again and be raised up, and you are going to die.

Sub-Title: The first sajdah is symbolic of your intelligence extracted from the earth.
...You will be put into the erth again but I promise a resurrection. So we do sajda with the head once and with the head twice. G_d puts us in the earth and if we're blessed to have His help we will come out of the earth. But what is coming out of the earth? Your intelligence. He put your intelligence in the earth, you bring it out, raise it up to a sitting position now he has set you up on your throne.

Sub-Title: {subtitled RAKAT FOUR, THE FOUR WINDS OF EZEKIEL}

...Don't forget the connection we are making. We are making connection with the biological life, with the material life, with the spiritual life and we're bringing the sciences from the material body to the spiritual life so that we can understand G_d's communication, praise be to Allah swt." IWDM RS 2004 pg.71 of 75.

The Mosque Cares: 2009 Annual Muslim Convention and Ramadan Session

See Full ad HERE

Tribute to Imam WD Mohammed at ISNA 46th Annual Convention

M.A.L.I.’s Qur’anic Conference Raises the Bar

M.A.L.I.’s Qur’anic Conference Raises the Bar

by Q. Daawud Greym

In holding its first Qur’anic Conference from June 19^th – 21^st, the Muslim American Logic Institute (M.A.L.I.) set a new standard for conferences, whose focus is the study of the Qur’an.

With such presentations as “The Qur’an as User-Friendly” and a “Conceptual Analysis of the Qur’an,” as well as a number of public exercises displaying the grammatical expertise of the M.A.L.I. students, the bar for Qur’anic conferences was raised to the next level for the supporters of Imam W. D. Mohammed (IWDM).

According to its website, M.A.L.I. is “an institution devoted to the study and preservation of Imam W. Deen Mohammed’s Qur’anic logic and teachings of Al-Islam in America.”

The three-day conference, held at Masjid Ash-Shaheed in Charlotte NC, featured four main addresses, all presented on Saturday, June 20^th. A fifth address by Imam Abdullah Yahya of Dallas, TX was cancelled because of his inability to attend. The topics of the four addresses, which were presented in this order, were: (1) “The Impact of the Usage and the Loss of the Classical Arabic Language on the Muslim World;” (2) “Consonantal Connections in the Qur’an;” (3) “The Qur’an as User-Friendly;” and (4) a “Conceptual Analysis of the Qur’an.”

(Unfortunately, this reporter was unable to attend the shorter presentations on education, business, health and the prison system, scheduled for Sunday.)

In the June 19^th Jumah khutbah, Imam Qasim Ahmed, founder and director of the traveling Islamic Learning Institute, Inc and the Mercy Community Center in Tampa FL, set the tone for the conference. “Are you going to learn to read the Qur’an (in Arabic) this weekend? No!” he emphasized. But what he hoped the conference would achieve, was to “build an appetite” for reading it.

And this “appetite for the Qur’an” is natural and inborn. He related a conversation with an estranged Muslim relative who recently died and had “a different mindset.” Imam Qasim said the uncle told him that his own written material reminded the uncle of stories about his “great-grandfather” who used to sit in circles with other slaves and write Arabic in the ground. “There is an innate nature in the souls of our people (African-Americans) for Qur’anic Arabic,” Imam Qasim declared.

A stronger proof of this “innate” connection was given in the fact that the Qur’an was revealed upon Prophet Muhammad’s heart. “And surely this is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. The Faithful Spirit has descended with it upon your heart…” 26:192 -194. Imam Qasim stressed to the audience that Allah has not created two hearts in anyone’s body (33:4). “The heart was created by Allah to love him,” and therefore, the Glorious Qur’an, he concluded.

But he asked the rhetorical question: “Why is it that you don’t have a strong appetite for this Qur’an, where you are knocking down the doors (to learn the Qur’anic Arabic)? Who has destroyed that appetite?” The explanation for the African-American’s motivational coma was given in a quote from IWDM: “We live in an oppressive word-environment.”

Then, Imam Qasim reminded the Muslims about the first commercial book that IWDM recommended to the community,“Subliminal Seduction,” in 1975. The book described the subtle techniques used by the advertising industry “to cause havoc in your subconscious and create an appetite for the unG-dly,” he said. “The designers (of this society) arrested our innate nature to love and respect G-d,” he added.

In his Saturday lecture, Imam Qasim proposed a “powerful” strategy to counteract this motivational coma for
reading the Qur’an. He proposed that the Believer read the Qur’an with just her/his subconscious mind.

HOW? By speed-reading a portion of the Qur’an every day. “Don’t worry about trying to understand the Arabic. Just go as fast as you can, because the subconscious is taking an automatic picture of every word,” he said. He pointed out that 90 % of the power of the mind is in the subconscious which controls all of the vital systems in the body, i.e. circulatory, respiratory, nervous, etc. The consistent activity of speed-reading the Qur’an will enter the subconscious and provide a protection - “hafeez” - against the corrupt words and negative influences that enter the mind from society.

But, Imam Faheem Shuaibe of Masjudul-Waritheen in Oakland CA, who is also founder and director of Muslim American Research Institute Advocating Marriage, gave the first major address on Saturday. However, he approached the Qur’an from a different perspective. His topic - “The Impact of the Usage and the Loss of the Classical Arabic Language on the Muslim World,” offered a more panoramic view. Reading mostly from an 11-page prepared text, Imam Faheem covered a lot of ground, starting with Adam and the origins of language and ending with the language of the Qur’an.

Many references to the Qur’an and the commentary of IWDM were made in his presentation, too. His first quote from IWDM was: “Human beings were on the earth a long time before Adam was on the earth…it was not until man became conscious of himself as a creation of G-d…that the biological person became Adam,” according to IWDM.

Then, Imam Faheem referred the audience to 30:30: “(Establish) Allah’s handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind.” The “pattern on which He has made mankind” is Al-Insaan, the “completed” human form, Imam Faheem explained.

In order to build, maintain and restore this “human form” he made reference to 55:1- 4 (Allah) Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur’an. He has created man. He has taught him speech (and intelligence).

Imam Faheem said it’s the technical language that really makes the professional. “Take them before they acquired the (technical) language and you don’t have the named professional,” he said. Likewise, “the language that constructs Al-Insaan (the complete human) is the language of Al-Qur’an.”

As he began to explain the origins of language and grammar, reference was made again to the commentary of IWDM. “People in the beginning used animals as a model for language, then the intellect took over,” Imam Faheem quoted IWDM as having said.

“When the intelligence took over, they started to refine that language. But as they had to face the job of refining their language, they had to use their intellect to study matter – the language in G-d’s creation. Then…they took words from G-d’s creation and built their language up...Not only did they take words and concepts from G-d’s creation, they took the logic for those concepts and used them for connecting. From the connection of the concepts, they gave the logic to their language and call it grammar…” according to Imam Faheem’s quote of IWDM.

In referring to the role of classical Arabic, Imam Faheem said that it was designed for the Qur’an. “The original Arabic language was grown specifically to be the vessel for the last revelation of Allah,” he said.

He compared the process Allah used to produce classical Arabic to the methodology that scientists employ “to culture” or grow certain micro-organisms in the laboratory for experimental purposes. “Allah used the Arab people as the soil out of which a special language was grown. Allah created Arabic for containing divine ideas, concepts and logic. It was His plan.” Imam Faheem concluded.

While Imam Faheem had a broad, comprehensive approach to Qur’anic Arabic, the second presenter, Imam Benjamin Bilal of the Human Restoration Center of Queens NY, took a minimalist and elementary approach to the language.

Imam Benjamin’s topic was the “Consonantal Connections in the Qur’an. However, even with the study of just the letters of the Arabic alphabet, he was still able to arrive at the same conclusion as Imam Faheem – the completed human form is Al-Insaan or “the social man.”

English is known to be a “bastard language,” Imam Benjamin said. It is “an extracted language from the Germanic tribes and it was invented by the Benedictine monks for the purpose of satire,” he explained

For this type of understanding of language and words, he encouraged the audience to start using an etymological dictionary which traces the origins and development of words.

“Every letter has its own meaning; therefore every letter is a word. And every word is a sentence,” Imam Benjamin declared.

He also mentioned that every letter has “a phonetic value” and “a pictograph” associated with it. For example, the letter “alif” means “strong or to protect ,” while the letter “baa” means “house.” Thus, the Arabic word “abu” means “the strength or protector of the house,” which “is really the father,” Imam Benjamin revealed..

Another example was the letter “lam,” whose pictograph is a “shepherd’s staff or hook.” Its meaning, according to Imam Benjamin, is “to teach,” which is seen when the shepherd points the sheep in the right direction with the staff (a form of teaching) and when he holds them back from danger with the hook (another form of teaching that protects the animal).

Imam Benjamin apologized for the lack of a “power-point” projector for his presentation, as was originally planned. But he more than made up for it when he emphasized to the audience that the real “power” was in “the point” that was being made during his lecture.

Last, but not least, was the presentation by Muslim Journal columnist and the director of M.A.L.I., Imam Salim MuMin of Detroit, MI. It was entitled “Conceptual Analysis of the Qur’an.”

For his presentation, Imam Salim used an overhead-projector to display five groups of words on the masjid’s side wall. Each group formed an imaginary-square with a “focus-word” in the center and four “key-words” at the corners of the square.

“What I did, was take a word from the Qur‘an and find other verses that contain the same word. Then, I took key words that surrounded it and looked at their contextual meanings,” Imam Salim told the audience. As he positioned the key-words around the focus-word, a “conceptual field” of meanings emerged from them, he said.

In the last word-group, Imam Salim took the focus-words of the first four groups and used them as key-words for his last focus-word – “furqaan.” These converted key-words (with Imam Salim’s definitions) were: “futuur (original pattern) tafaawut (surface, passing, perishable); mutashaabihaat (facsimile) muhkamaat (plain, everyday logic without interpretation). Their collective effect on “furqaan” pushed its meaning from “to split, separate or divide” to a conceptual-meaning of “having the ability to tell the difference between a facsimile and the original,” Imam Salim said.

In a private interview, he explained the object of his “conceptual analysis” approach. “The object is to develop a conceptual wholeness or world view. It allows you to go beyond the dictionary meanings and use the Qur’an to define itself. This is the key to studying the logic of Imam Mohammed.” Imam Salim concluded.

Co-facilitator, Sr. Hafeeza Muhammad of host Masjid Ash-Shaheed, who also composed a splendid dua for her son to read on Saturday, cited a conference-attendance of 220 Muslims. She said that the figure was “beyond” their expectations.

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Imam Mohammed on: Barack Obama

Here are a few statements that Imam Mohammed made about Barack Obama:

"G-d says your life and your resurrection is as that of one living soul. If we are to return to the good life, if we are to have a resurrection of our spirit, it has to happen in one person. G-d has given us great help. A new day is here. A bright day is here. Relief has come in one soul: Barack Obama.

This is not politicking. I have to keep this separate from his campaign. But I have to connect it with him, because G-d has blessed him to aspire for the presidency of these United States. The same G-d has blessed him with strong support from strong and rich White, European Americans.

Whether he gets there or not, the victory is already real. The spirit and souls of Black folks will never be the same again. G-d has permitted that one person whom we identify as a Black man or African American going with green lights in the road, no red lights in the road to the White House. This is the Day of Awakening for sure.

Some months ago, I said 'Goodness is on the rise.' Now look at the proof: Barack Obama. Goodness is on the rise. Here is a man who made himself known at the 2004 Democratic Convention. They are so impressed with him, because he is so clean and straight. Look where he is now.

If he loses everything from here on and gets no more support, and someone else gets in the White House, what he has done to sensitize African Americans, Hispanics, poor Whites, rich people, everybody high and low, cannot be erased or removed. G-d has enthused into the human world a power pack of energy for renewing this whole planet.

Whether you want it or not, you are going to get better because of the rise of Barack Omama. Whether you want it or not, you are going to become a better human being. Nobody will have to force you. You are going to become that just because of your being in touch as a human being with feelings. You have already been touched by him, and that is going to grow and grow.

Think about it. Think of how your children behaved before Obama was seen rising in the sky of the high Nation of the United States of America. Before he was seen rising and no acknowledgement of him, as it is now. He is supported by different races with their money backing him. Reflect back on the spirit and behavior of your children before that. Already there is a change for the better. Your children are more sensible and respect good sense now. Your children have started to grow anew under the new sun that is shining on the whole world from the United States of America: Barack Obama.

You say 'Oh you are lifting him up too high.' No, I am not! G-d has lifted him up that high. Isn't that what Scripture says: As the one man is falling who thought he could go it on his own, making decisions by himself, brought all of us down and causing all of us to lose sight on G-d's Plan in our lives, so will one man coming back into his innocent nature, and speaking from and acting from his innocent nature, can cause all of us to rise again. We live in the best times, perhaps, ever on this planet earth. I know in man's history, this is the best time ever. Jesus (peace be upon him) and Muhammed (peace be upon him), pointed to this time. They did not say the greatest things were happening in their time. They pointed to the future. Now we have come to that future... in this time where man is connected all over the planet earth."

Imam W. Deen Mohammed - Chicago Heights, Ill., May 4, 2008. From his book: "Life - The Final Battlefield" published May 2009. www.wdmpublications.com

Weekly Wisdom - 5/31

"We need to correct our thinking (like all others). We have been misinformed and we have followed ignorance and darkness. We have been influenced to move without thinking and to make major decisions that will affect our lives until we are dead without using the rational mind".

"We must rise above where the world places us. We have a shared purpose and we must make clear what our goals and objectives are, and set high standards for team or group performance,

Work with me with a sincere and unselfish heart while I unlock the doors to human excellence and dignity for all of us". -Imam WDM

Weekly Wisdom - 5/8

Superpowers are Responsible for Terrorism & Extremist; not Islam

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed

"….And people have been made to believe that our religion is a religion that condones extremism. We have terrorist that's put before us and they are called extremist. And we are made to believe that our religion is a religion that is giving birth to these extremist. That is wrong.

What gives birth to these extremist, these guerrilla fighters, or these freedom fighters, or liberators trying to liberate Palestine, or whatever they are trying to liberate. What gives birth to them is the evils that are put upon them by the superpowers.

The superpowers have taken away their life; have made it impossible for them to live the only life they know. They have taken away their land, their home and everything. And destroyed families, and killed their babies and their old people.

So, the superpowers that brought those evils upon those people in Palestine and in other parts of the third world or the Islamic world; they are responsible for the terrorist. They are the makers of terrorist. They are the makers of extremist. Not our religion…."

Weekly Wisdom - 4/24

In other words, educate the people regarding the natural makeup of mankind. Teach the people their natural life and natural makeup, how G-d has given them wonderful urges for their establishment - in their own nature. Teach them, so they will be enlightened regarding what is in them as a created being.

-Imam W. D. Mohammed

Weekly Wisdom - 4/17

Just a little history...in case you didn't know...

Weekly Wisdom - 4/10

... And they did not fail because they did not have guidance. They failed because they left guidance for their own interests."

-Imam WDM

Weekly Wisdom - 4/3

Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere --

Who say, when afflicted with calamity: ´To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return´ --

They are those on whom (descend) blessings from their Lord, and Mercy,

and they are the ones that receive guidance."

Al Qur´an - 2:153-157

"So when Allah says, “And to G_d you return, and to Allah you must return”, you don’t think that means dying in the graveyard? Let’s get away from these lesser of importance ideas and pictures we have in our minds.

‘Oh yeah, he returned to Allah.’ Who returned to Allah? ‘I saw him put in the ground and they put dirt over him.’ What are you talking about, (saying) ‘he returned to Allah.’? His earth returned to the earth. That’s what we did.

He was made of earth and we put him back in the earth, but what about his spirit? What about his soul? He left it with us and it is our obligation to return it to G_d. And the only way we can return it to G_d is to return it to the plan; the community plan that G_d wanted that life to be in. WHEW!!! Now, it has meaning!!!!!

Yes, I want to return to Allah. All of us have a spirit to return to Allah. And that spirit will never be satisfied until we have an ummatul Islameeyaah following this Qur’an and following the life of Muhammed as it is being open to us now!!!!!

Praise be to Allah! Allah-U-Akbar! That’s where we’re going! We were created to go there. We have got to go there!"

Imam W. D. Mohammed, October 14, 2006

Spotlight: Saafir Rabb

The article on Saafir Rabb appears in Issue #19 of Islamica Magazine.

The 4400 block of Park Heights Avenue sits in a dreary corner of northwest Baltimore characterized by boarded up buildings, dollar stores, and liquor shops. In a city known for its long stretches of neglected housing and dilapidated storefronts, this neighborhood offers nothing out of the ordinary. But all of that is about to change.

Saafir Rabb is working diligently to revitalize the area. Driven by a desire to serve humanity, he makes due with limited resources by leveraging the creative energy of people around him to turn dreams into tangible realities.

One such reality is “I Can’t We Can,” (ICWC) a non-profit addiction rehabilitation program created by Saafir’s uncle, Israel Cason, in 1997. Cason, who overcame thirty years of drug addiction, applied lessons he learned at a rehab program in Philadelphia to help people in his home community who faced similar challenges.

With ICWC he offers addicts a year long, 24-hour-a-day regimen that remedies not only the physical impact of substance abuse, but also its psychological and social effects. A spiritual message that moves effortlessly between the language of the Qur’an and the Bible underlies the program’s philosophy, recognizing that a connection to G-d is essential to giving meaning to a life coming out of addiction.

On this Saafir cites the story of the Prophet Adam, who after taking from which he had no business taking, was provided with a spiritual path that would lead him back to Paradise.

Round-the-clock treatment does not come cheap. This is why Cason relies on Saafir to raise funds and design the administrative apparatus that has made ICWC a sustainable institution.

One unlikely source of funding has come through ICWC’s role as an incubator for local businesses that employ, and in some cases are owned, by graduates of the program. Saafir also tapped the public sector, convincing stewards of the five-plus billion dollars allocated each year for development in Baltimore that Park Heights is worthy of a second look.

Treading where few Muslim community developers have gone before, Saafir has concrete plans to acquire the hundreds of millions of dollars necessary to rebuild the entire neighborhood one block at a time.

ICWC’s annual budget has grown from hundreds of thousand dollars to several million. Its programs now include facilities for youth mentoring, workforce training, assisting recently released inmates, and there are now over seventy housing units reserved for recovering addicts. Park Heights now has a new adult health and education center, $8 million in funding to renovate 48 low income housing units is now secured and a new office park is also in the works.

For Saafir, ICWC’s motto of saving lives and winning souls reflects the essence of what it means to be Muslim. Drawing from the teachings of Imam W.D. Muhammad, for whom he serves as an advisor, Saafir believes that working to restore a people’s humanity through spirituality and good works is precisely the mission of the Prophet Muhammad. “Doing good for the world and for your self is a delicate balance,” he admits. Given his efforts thus far, it looks like Saafir found that balance.