THE NATION OF ISLAM S T U D Y C O U R S E WEDNESDAY CLASS WEEK 38 SELF-IMPROVEMENT The Will of God (Part II) Sections 1-45 Muhammad University of Islam 2011
Study Course Instructions This study course is designed to be done both in a course room, mosque, study-group or self-paced at home. Certain parts of this course (Key Word Study) will be done with a partner. Other parts will be done independently (by yourself). When its time to partner, you and your partner (twin) are to follow the steps provided in this guide. The study course is laid out in the order you do them. It is important not to skip any steps of the guide. THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE TO BE FOLLOWED IN OUR CLASSES. Purpose of this Study Course Guide: The purpose of this study course guide is to guide you through this course of study. Time to Complete: Although the hour and a half that we have for study this evening will hopefully allow you to progress through most of this study, however it is strongly recommend that you continue to work on this study course at home at your own pace. Important Note: During the study course session, if you have any questions raise your hand for assistance. Each believer (student) should have a copy of this handout and its instructions to take home and continue studying on their own. All steps may not be completed in the class sessions in its entirety. Study Course Steps Step 1: Key Word Clearing Key words are important words related to key concepts found in the reading. Having a good understanding of the meanings of these words will help each student better understand the important concepts and ideas of the study, as well as eliminate misunderstandings that come with misunderstood words. Use the key word list and definitions found in this packet to do the drill (exercise) a and b. 1.) Select a partner (closest to you) and study the Key Words together, through reviewing the questions and answers to master. (If done in course room or mosque/study group the time allotted is 30-45 minutes) 2.) First time through: The student has the questions and answers in front of him or her. The partner asks the student the question, and the student answers it. He/She can look at the answer if needed. The answer does not have to be word-for-word or memorized; just the concept must be correct. 3.) Second time through: Once finished with the drill the first time, you start again from the beginning, this time without the answers in front of you. Your partner asks the question and you answers. If the answer is incorrect, your partner shows you the answer. Look at the answer again and repeat until you have grasped the concept, then continue to the next one. Step 2: Independent Reading After completing step one, you may begin to read the selected reading materials. Step 3: Check Your Understanding Questions: Time Frame: 30 min Review the lists of questions. Each question is formulated to check your understanding of the key concepts and ideas found in the reading. Answer each question on a sheet of paper and be prepared to discuss your answers at the conclusion of this session. Sufficient time may not be given during class session to answer all of the questions. If you do not finish in class, please continue this step at home. 2
What is the meaning of definitive? Definitive means serving to decide or settle finally; conclusive; most reliable, complete, or authoritative. What is an aim? An aim is a purpose or intention; a desired outcome; something intended or desired to be attained by one s efforts. What is purpose? Purpose is an intended or desired result; end. It is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. What is the meaning of incumbent? Incumbent means necessary for (someone) as a duty or responsibility. KEY WORD CLEARING What does it mean to intervene? To intervene means to come between so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events. It is to come between disputing people, groups, etc.; intercede; mediate. What does right-directed mean? Right-directed means to be guided, regulated, or managed in accordance with what is good, proper, or just. What is contravention? Contravention is an action that violates a law, treaty, or other ruling. It is an action counter to something. What is the meaning of permanent? Permanent means lasting or intended to last or remain unchanged indefinitely; existing perpetually; everlasting. What does immutable mean? To be immutable means to be unchanging over time or unable to be changed. What does it mean to abrogate? To abrogate means to abolish by formal or official means; annul by an authoritative act; repeal. It means to put aside; put an end to. What is a vicegerent? A vicegerent is a person exercising delegated power on behalf of a sovereign or ruler. What does it mean to nullify? To nullify is to deprive (something) of value or effectiveness; make futile or of no consequence. What is meant by self-negation? Self-negation is to nullify our existence; to deny that which exists, therefore making ourselves nonexistent. What is meant by self-denial? Self-denial is the sacrifice of one s own desires; unselfishness. 3
THE WILL OF GOD (PART II) A Message From The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan The National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad 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. As-Salaam Alaikum. 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. This week, we would like to discuss PART II of THE WILL OF GOD and those impediments that keep us from practicing Allah s (God s) Will. 4. 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? 5. 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 purpose. 6. 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. 7. 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). 8. 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; and an Apostle to teach us the Will of Allah (God) and to give us the privilege and opportunity to submit our Will to do the Will of Allah (God) and come into favor with Allah (God). 9. 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 Allah (God) and humanity, but their knowledge is destructive to them and to humanity. 10. 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 Allah (God). So Allah (God) must intervene in our affairs, lest all of us be destroyed! 11. 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 Allah s (God s) Will. Pharaoh s Will was not righteous; Pharaoh s Will was not right-directing Pharaoh s Will was Evil! 12. 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. 13. 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. 14. 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, 4
Respectfully, kind sir, we must decline to obey Pharaoh or to submit to his bidding. 15. We now hear the Call of a Higher Calling. We hear the Will of Allah (God) being articulated to us through warmers, 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 rightdirecting. But, if your bidding is in contravention to the Will of Allah (God), then we have to respectfully say, Go to Hell! 16. 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). 17. 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). 18. 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. 19. 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. 20. The Muhammad of the Holy Qur 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. 21. Beloved Muslims, I ask you to reason with us. The Message of the Holy Qur 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. 22. Even among the nearly one billion (1,000,000,000) Muslims, the Will of Allah (God) is practiced, but it is practiced in a vain way. It is practiced in a 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. 23. And so the world of Islam is in convulsion today against itself. It is in revolt today, against itself. Why? Because 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. 24. 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 the opponents of Allah s (God s) Will, Allah (God) blessed him to prevail until the Muslims became corrupt. 25. 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 Shaitan (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. 26. 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. 27. 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. 28. 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 5
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 Allah (God). 29. 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. 30. 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 the Messiah; of the Christ. Jesus is called the Eternal Guide because he doesn t represent Allah (God) in the absence of Allah (God); Jesus is a Witness of Allah s (God s) Presence in the world in Man. 31. You say, But this is contrary to the teachings 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 teachings of the Holy Qur an. 32. 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. 33. But the Messiah, according to both the Bible and Holy Qur 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 Allah (God). Because then, Allah 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? 34. 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 independently. 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 freethinking 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 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 even 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. 35. So we must fight, too to obey Allah (God). Beloved Brothers and Sister, Allah (God) does not want to make us His slaves. But in obeying Allah (God), we are truly free. So many of us think that when we obey Allah (God), again, it is a negation of ourselves. That is not true. 36. 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. 37. 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 Khalifah, 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 an absolute denial of your own existence as a True Servant of Almighty God, Allah. 38. 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 6
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? 39. 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. 40. Yes, Reverend, you are preaching Self-Negation. Yes, Pope of Rome, you are preaching Self-Negation not Self-Denial. Any time 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. 41. 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. 42. 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. 43. 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. 44. 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? 45. Jesus said, I 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. 7
STEP 3: Check Your Understanding The following questions are for discussion at the conclusion of the study session. The remaining questions can be completed at your own pace as you continue your study at home. You can use your book if you need help answering the questions. Write your answers on a sheet of paper. Questions For Discussion: 1. List ways that a believer can know Allah's (God s) Will? 2. Why does Allah send prophets and messengers? What is His aim? 3. Explain how a prophet or messenger of God comes with a temporal message and an eternal message? Give an example. 4. Why is Muhammad called the universal prophet? 5. How is it that 90% to 95% of the human family of this Earth has already nullified their existence. Explain. 6. Did Jesus teach self-denial or self-negation? What is the difference between the two? 7. What did Jesus come into the world to do and how does this relate to the work & mission of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. What role do we play in this work? 8. Why is Jesus called the Eternal Guide? 9. List factors that have almost eliminated our ability to be free-thinkers. Questions For Further Study: 10. What does The Honorable Elijah Muhammad say is "absolutely our salvation"? 11. Why does the knowledge of this world be confused by Allah? 12. Name factors that have corrupted the spirit of Islam. 13. The Minister stated the Islamic world was in convulsion against itself. Explain why and give examples. 14. How can the Will of Allah be implemented? 15. Why is Jesus called the Eternal Guide? 16. What are the signs that Allah is present in man? 17. In what terms does Jesus represent Allah's Will? Muhammad University of Islam 2011 www.noi.org/gostudy 8