Towards Empowermentresources Solidarity Institutions Discipline
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Channel: Khalid Yasin
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AI Generated Summary ©
The speakers address the challenges faced by the minority population in the United States, including racism and addiction, drug abuse, and the need for people to focus on their own happiness and joy. They emphasize the importance of laws and values, avoiding racist behavior, and the need for people to act with faith and be prepared to pay for the cost of living. They also emphasize the need for Muslims to promote prosperity and empowerment, promote Islam in media, and make a commitment towards empowerment. They share their experiences with Islam and share stories about their brother, emphasizing the importance of personal growth and embracing Islam for personal growth.AI Generated Transcript ©
I want to remind all of us that
the work that we are engaged in
is just as serious
as a heart transplant
or just as serious as
brain surgery.
Because we are attempting,
through this work, to transform the thinking
and a pathology
our people
and in trying to do so,
we find that human beings are like a drowning man.
Sometimes when you go out to drive to go out swimming, to save a drowning man, you have to understand that in his panic,
in his desperation, he will grab for you and pull you down and drown you too.
Because part of the pathology
of despair
is like the pathology of crabs in the basket.
misery loves company.
People are resistant to change.
They say they want to change, but when they see the cost of change,
then they become resistant. They become recalcitrant. They become rebellious, and then they become seditious.
So, each one of us should know
that the devil or the evil or the darkness inside of us, our hearts, our homes, our communities and our society, the darkness
inside of us is resistant to change.
But if we don't change,
there will be no empowerment.
The Messenger of Allah.
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
there is a treasure among the treasures of Almighty God, which I'd like to share with you.
It is the same of
that Hola, wala quwata illa Billah that there is no power, and there is no strength, no one can cause any benefit. And no one can cause any harm except Almighty God, the Creator, this is the treasure.
So
saying that we need to understand that empowerment comes from having inside of the heart,
the consciousness
that God is the worry.
Almighty God is the one he
The Guardian, the representative of those who believe
and he will take them out of darkness into light.
But the patron and guardian of the wicked and the rebellious is not only is only their
idols
and their desires, which take them from the guidance into darkness.
They are the people
who will inevitably be the inhabitants
of hell and despair.
And they will dwell in that condition forever.
This evening, we are trying to continue our discussion.
The discussion that began a week ago
on the topic,
community
leadership
and empowerment. We have put forward
mm alameen and myself, we have put forward in different places on different evenings our proposition
about community.
And we have done our best to address the issue of community. From a social point of view for Muslims and non Muslims, we have tried to address the issue of leadership on the basis of the non Muslims, as well as the Muslims. And this evening, we are attempting to address the issue of empowerment in the same way. Because it would be fruitless for us, as Muslims, to discuss the issue of empowerment, from our perspective, when we are a minority living among a majority of non Muslims. And secondly, we are a group of Muslims, who ought to be under organized leadership
that are living inside of a organized government.
So we want to continue that same methodology,
the non Muslims that are with us this evening, and we hope that they are 10, or 20, or 40, or 50, or 100, or 200, we wish.
In fact, I think
that there ought to be in our gatherings, a proportionate number of non Muslims, who are our neighbors,
our colleagues, our co workers, who are the fellow citizens of this country, and whom has the right to receive whatever it is that we are distributing. In fact, I wish. And I think that it would serve the prudence of government, if the government itself sent out representatives from its various agencies, just to listen, just to reflect and see if some words
of some advice that we are offering, it may be beneficial to the government of Trinidad, because government should and must necessarily rely upon the inspiration and the constructive contribution of all of its citizens. And they should necessarily, listen carefully to those people who come from abroad, whose aim and objective it is to deliver deliver good,
virtuous advice and to make
a good and noble contribution to the people of Trinidad.
I think we should begin by defining
the word empowerment.
I would ask the ushers, the security, the Muslims themselves,
to get your seats and tell the people to get their seats. Because
if the people came
to view an operation, if the people came and understood what is being spoken about, then they should get their seats.
They should develop the ability to control themselves.
And they should not become a distraction by their moving about because of their restlessness and their inability to concentrate or just stay brothers moving around to be seen by sisters or sisters moving around to be seen by brothers. So please, ushers security as the people who are moving around to get their seats and parents put your children under control.
Otherwise, we're not going to be able to concentrate and benefit from this serious operation.
The meaning of empowerment
from many different dictionaries
It comes
as the ability for an individual or a community to rise towards their highest potential, using all the resources and capabilities at their disposal.
Now, we could say more, but I think for the wise
for those listening
for the Muslim or the non Muslim,
you could benefit from that meaning.
Now, in order for us to rise towards empowerment,
to reach for empowerment,
to develop and pursue the ambition, towards empowerment, there are certain challenges and certain obstacles and the challenges and obstacles in front of us.
They are equally challenges and obstacles for non Muslims, the general society as well as Muslims themselves. So, before I deal with the minority population,
the
population that I represent, in the world,
the small population of people in Trinidad, who are Muslims,
I want to first address the population of the country itself, the generality of the people, and talk about the issue of empowerment as it applies to your nation, to society, to every single one of us, whoever we are,
and in what I have to say, because some of it is my own perspective, as an individual, as a father,
as a teacher,
academically as a sociologist, it is my perspective.
You don't have to accept it, it is not the
it is not the end all.
It has nothing absolute, but it is after doing research, and diagnosing our condition, and after visiting and listening and looking and evaluating your society as I see it.
This is my advice.
And I am one of you.
Whether it is for a couple of weeks, I am one of you part of your humanity. And my feeling is objective. I am not coming with some kind of foreign criticism. No, I am one of you.
So, in whatever statements that I make, I don't want anyone to take it personal. I don't want any leader to take it personal. I don't want any group to take it personal, because when you come inside that operating room for that serious operation, what we have to do to correct your condition, it is not personal.
The challenges.
The first and foremost
is ignorance and illiteracy.
The first challenge that we have to overcome is ignorance. Now, ignorance is different from illiteracy. illiteracy is when people do not have fair access to the educational resources of the society and there are human beings because they are socially dysfunctional, and they are kept in a social dysfunctional situation. They do not have fair access to the educational resources. Yes, the universities are there. Yes, the colleges and high schools are there, but they have not been given the social nutrition and guidance and balance for them to even have access to that so they remain illiterate. But now, ignorance is something different.
And the greatest amount of ignorance
we find it among the rich and the educated.
Ignorant segments. It means to ignore blatant truths
to ignore that which is a
blatant truth, fact, to ignore it, either for yourself benefit, or to ignore it to the detriment of others. And so the first challenge of your society, and you're not by yourself, your society is a microcosm of the rest of the world.
And we people who are
exploited
and oppressed, which is the next
challenge, we are usually exploited. And we are oppressed, because of our ignorance, the blatant ignoring, of facts and truth.
Now, oppression and exploitation
is
acquired, it is executed by the sophisticated
crime, by the most educated, and by the most endowed human beings who wish to remain so therefore, they use every means they can to exploit every opportunity to stay in this situation, irregardless of the pain, the despair of the people whom they harm, because historically, oppressors have always been
the greatest exploiters. And this is why prophets of God always came to address inevitably the oppressors. And this is why the prophets of God will always sit to sit among the poor and the oppressed.
Because
the greatest crime, after associating partners with God, is the oppression and the exploitation of the human beings who themselves have been called towards God. So what the oppressors do is they blocked the avenues of that call. Because if people respond to that call, they will have a way to come out of that exploitation, and they will have a way to remove that oppression.
The next challenge.
And I might say,
that this particular challenge is greater for you here in Trinidad than it is for me as a black man in America.
You know, in America, when I became a Muslim, one of the greatest challenges for us was the disparity of race,
the disease, of prejudice and race.
But Alhamdulillah, I can say to you, that although prejudice and race in America still exists, it is existing on a different level, it has become a sophisticated level, it is no longer blatant. But in your society, as I see, and I'm gonna call a spade, as I call it, I don't care who's holding the cards. I don't care who's thinking how they thinking, I don't care what you feel about it. I'm telling you, trinidadians, and especially the Muslims, one of the greatest diseases and challenges of your society is blatant prejudice, and racism.
Now, there are those of you who will play the racist card.
And there are those of you who will also use prejudice as a justification to overthrow.
So I'm telling you, who want to play the race card, who want to use prejudice, you see as the justification to overthrow to rebel, I say, it's a crime that you are doing, and you are among the greatest of the criminals
and alone will never bless a hypocrite criminal Muslim who uses race and prejudice in order to distinguish themselves from others.
Those of us
who understand this, who can admit this, who is not in denial of this, we need to address it. The mothers and the fathers,
the sisters and the brothers, the individual
And we need to address it from the top, from the top,
all the way to the bottom.
Because when we address it, we're going to remove one of the greatest impediments for Islam to move through this country. And Islam is ready to move to this country, like a hot knife moving through butter
farms ready to move to this country. And nobody can stop it wants to get the movement.
No one can stop a tsunami. Only thing they can do is forecast it.
And Islam when it starts moving, it's like a tsunami.
And nobody can blame the Muslims. And nobody can stop it, because a tsunami is sent by the hand of God.
But Muslims, if you don't remove the impediment in the bowels of your actions, you will die a miserable death, like anyone else that has impacted bowels, because the poison which is inside your bowels will back up into your heart and your brain your whole body.
So we have to arrest this blatant
prejudice and racism, which is a part of the embodiment of this society. People brought it from somewhere else, people planted it when they got here. People are benefiting it and picking it from the tree just like mango, you are picking it, pushing it from the tree and peel it and eating it every single day. Because you are beneficiaries of the crime.
And you had
and you disguise.
You disguise it and you hide it with empty words with rituals. And with cultural attire. I say it's still a criminal. It's a smooth criminal, but it's still a criminal.
Another challenge is crime and corruption.
Now,
I was told when before I got here, shake, you got to be careful moving around Trinidad.
You got to be careful, because you got people that do kidnapping karjakin you got people that be robbing and stealing in, you know, and check most of them that do that, you know, they from certain areas like Daigo Martin, you know, they from certain areas like Levin teeling, you know, down this Spanish up what you call a Port of Spain areas and, you know, they from those accounts, so say be careful, you know, like, you know, be careful.
But I say that what I have seen,
which is no different than America, the biggest criminals
are smooth, sophisticated criminals.
You know, in certain areas where crime and you know, street crime, we're talking about prostitution and gambling and
robbing and stealing in
drugs and alcohol, it is just in front of you. It is like a scab with the post coming out of it, so you can see it. But our cancer, which is affecting you inside that you can't see is just as lethal as the one that's on the outside.
And I say to you brothers and sisters, that crime and corruption from the highest levels, people don't take envelopes.
People don't take bribes. People that turn the eye
people that deny certain people in order that they can favor others. People that collaborate in order to allow drugs and prostitution and gambling and, and interests to prevail. They also criminals and many of us Muslims. We are beneficiaries.
And we don't say anything. In fact,
the crime and the corruption of this wonderful Island.
It is not
the major disease because we just this amount of people here tonight
2000 3000 whatever amount of people, we we Muslims, we handful of the handful of non Muslims here. Just this amount of people could themselves if they were willing, if they were brave enough, if they were courageous enough, if they were conscious enough, if they were sincere enough, we ourselves could stop and reduce most of the open blatant crime of this country but we
Because most of us, we don't go beyond the comfort zones of lala land,
our living rooms, our televisions, addresses, our mosques, our businesses, because we don't want to be bothered. We don't want to be inconvenienced. We don't want to be contaminated. We don't want to be stained.
Because we enjoy what we have. And I say that from looking at the Muslims in this country,
you Muslims, you are enjoying.
It seems to me,
the Muslims have
the most enjoyable life.
Of all the people in this country. Yes, I know, some of the people in government got bigger houses in you.
And some of us, we only want to change government because we want bigger houses.
Some of us we want to change government, because we don't like the government.
Because we think that us and some of our people should be there rather than who's there not because we would do anything different when we get there.
And I say that the crime and corruption
is in the people turning away from it and leaving it alone. And law, he said to the Muslims, so they understand
that when you fail to enjoin the right,
when you fail, to forbid the wrong,
then Allah
will replace you with another people whom he will love, and they will love him.
And also, he will put in your hearts or disease.
So that
when you are all pressed,
and you ask for help, a lot doesn't give you any help.
When you are in despair, and you ask for help, a lot doesn't answer.
Because the law says never will Allah help people who are themselves value mean, value mean is the ones who are the promoters and also those who are the silent beneficiaries of crime and corruption.
Another challenge is despair and godlessness
despair.
When people despair, it means they give up hope.
They no longer have any confidence in government. They have no confidence in their leadership. They have no confidence in their families, they got no confidence in their parents.
They have no confidence inside themselves. And they become a people of despair. And therefore, when people are in despair, they also become what's called desperate, see the words despair, and desperate.
When people give up hope,
they become at the lowest,
the lowest echelon of life is when you give up hope.
Think about this.
What do you think be the condition of a human being
who sees no hope, no chance, no benefit to life itself. And they get to a stage where they're prepared to take their own lives, or to take the lives of others regardless as a reprisal. Think about that. This is despair.
Because despair is when a person has no inspiration inside of themselves. They don't even understand their purpose in life. And because of that, they don't even understand the value of life. There's are others.
You have people in this society who are in that state of despair. And some of us are going to become the victims of that despair. Because the law sometimes causes people like that, to take our lives for us to become statistics for us to become aware.
And the other thing is godlessness. Now, I know that most of the people in this country claim to believe in God.
Because there are Christians as the majority.
Then there are Hindus as the second majority and then there are Muslims as
Another major as a minority, so between Christians and Hindus and Muslims, you have most of the people of Trinidad, then you have others who themselves outwardly have denied God altogether.
They may be communist, they may be atheists, they may be socialists, and therefore, the principle of God is not even in their lives.
But they're also human beings.
But what is godlessness is godlessness. The lack of God on one's tongue, no.
godlessness is when people talk about God, people go to church, people go to the temple, people go to the mosque, but you do not find their spirituality, you do not find the evidence of their faith in the society itself. That is godlessness.
As a result of that.
When some people
promote
the drinking of alcohol, which you know, you know, this cleanse day,
you know, that almost, and this is a statistic I want to share with you.
93% of every person that takes a sip of alcohol will become one level of alcoholic within three years.
Every person in the world that takes a sip of alcohol, and continues to sip alcohol, whatever kind of alcohol, within three years time, they will become one of the three levels of alcoholism,
they could become
a functional alcoholic.
That is they drink every day. And they're able to function. And their colleagues and their co workers and neighbors and everything. don't even really say that, you know.
And for the functional alcoholics, the signs on the highways, selling beer and selling wine and alcohol and inside the books when you get on the planes and you know, Johnnie Walker, red and Hennessy and all that. That's where the functional alcoholics
but for the people who themselves are not functional alcoholics, these are people who themselves are clearly engaged in alcoholism, they are dependent alcoholics, then you got the clubs and the ports and places where they go drink every single day. And they have to go there, because it's the socialization process. And then you got people who are themselves
chronic alcoholics, they no longer drink for social purposes.
Then just dependent alcoholics, their chronic, which means
there's more alcohol content in their blood.
And alcoholism and the drinking of alcohol has pervaded all their sensory perceptions.
And alcoholism is responsible, alcohol related deaths in this society, and the Western world kills more people than all the diseases combined, and kills more people than all the wars in the past, the present and the future. But we and our tax dollars, we don't say anything. And we Muslims, we know about that. And God had told us about that. But we don't say nothing.
Because to say something is to offend. I say we have to offend people.
What about drug abuse?
I'm not talking about the drugs that you buy in the pharmacy.
There's a lot of people here are dependent on those drugs.
I'm talking about the drugs
that are brought into your country from South America, brought into your country from China,
brought into your country from France from Cambodia,
brought into your country by
sophisticated criminals. People who have planes and boats and people who have
people who have political
influence
where they can bring certain things contraband in the cause their bags are not even searched. You feel me.
Drug Abuse. That's the end product
of the drug trafficking in the Western world. And I say
how in the world
are governments in the Western world going to fight against what they call terrorism when they themselves have been
never won a war against alcohol or drugs.
The Western world, my country, they had an experiment called prohibition. Do y'all remember that?
prohibition, when alcohol was forbidden, and the country fought a war against alcohol, and the use of alcohol for five years,
they killed a lot of people, they put a lot of people in jail, they spent billions of dollars. And after five years, the government said, Look, we can't stop it, let's just join it, what we do is this, we just put a seal on every bottle, and the government just get part of the taxes and just let people drink.
So the government, all the governments of the Western world, they gave up on the war on alcohol, because the people in government was the biggest alcoholics.
Then gambling, you know, that used to be, this used to be a great morality, for the Christians, you know, that in your Bible, you know that gambling is one of the diseases of the society, and God forbid,
in your scripture,
you Hindus know that gambling is a disease of the society. And of course, we Muslims know,
but they are building casinos, with our tax dollars everywhere.
And we say nothing.
And we understand that that is a great exploitation of the weak, the oppressed, the elderly, and others, who if the government didn't make it available, they wouldn't gamble. Well, there was a time in western civilization, where the government used to fake and arrest people who were involved in organized crime of gambling. But they saw so much profit involved that they said, Look, let's set it up and call it lotto.
Let's just give it a different name, call it sweepstakes.
Let's take, let's take the gambling out of the street. Let's take it away from the small person. Let's take it away from the shopkeeper let the government do the gambling, let the government control the gambling. And then we'll just tell the people listen, if y'all gamble with the government, we're gonna build some schools for y'all.
Now you notice a lot, how the government is gonna do something that's immoral, and then they're gonna take and do something that's moral with something that's immoral. That means they're gonna do something filthy to the people, but they're gonna do something pure to help them out. Now, what kind of thinking is that?
I could go on. But you know, just I know that the pathology is not just among the masses, and then just those this Gamblin. It's not just those this prostituting because in Washington DC, I just give you this here in Washington, DC, where the White House is like, right over there with a billboard. The White House is right there.
The greatest horse, the greatest host Oh, the greatest strip of prostitutes. The most prolific area of prostitution is only a quarter mile from the White House, who you think who you think is the ones that is subscribing to those prostitutes? You think those is the black folks, you think those are the dirty folks, you think those are the poor folks of Washington, DC? No, that's the people that's coming down on Capitol Hill.
The greatest subscribers to prostitution is those up on Capitol Hill. Everybody knows that.
Now know where your Capitol Hill is that.
But I would venture to say that in the Western world today,
the pro generation
and the support
and the
apathy towards prostitution, the institution of prostitution
is part of a government program. In fact, in Europe, in Europe, they are not so apologetic about it as a matter of fact, they say prostitution is a healthy institution.
So in Denmark and Sweden and Norway, prostitutes ride up on you with Mercedes Benz
with a blue light in it with a sticker to say that they have been to the health department they clean
and they get a license from the government to prostitute and in Europe alone. My statistic tells me that
Out of nine countries in Europe, there are more than 86,000 licensed prostitutes.
So we can see, this is the world that we're living in. People who call themselves Christians, people who call themselves Muslims, people who call themselves Hindus, Buddhists, whatever they themselves are allowing and promoting the greatest crimes
and the greatest corruption. Now what are some of the obstacles?
greed and selfishness,
anxiety and grief,
lack of strength and laziness.
negatively this
cowardice, the burden of debt,
personal desires, moral transgression,
polarization of classes, and polarization of groups.
These are obstacles in front of us.
And I'm talking to the Muslims and non Muslims. A wise man said, Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from anxiety and grief,
from
lack of strength and laziness, from cowardice, from neighborliness, from being overpowered by debt, and the oppression of men, Oh Allah, I seek
empowerment from you.
In order to empowerment from you from what is lawful in order to keep away from what is unlawful, and I seek from you, oh God, independence from anyone and everything except you. That wise man who made that prayer was the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him.
And his wife, Aisha radiallahu anha. She said, Never did the prophet SAW some end his prayer, many of the five daily prayers but that he made this draft allow me as we go honey was the was actually where Cassie was you know, Gibney was in the car, but they never allow mfine behala alika unheroic was the needy before LIC and men see why
it would be good
if the Muslims themselves made this law after every prayer, because then you will begin to break down the barriers. And you will begin to dissolve some of the obstacles that we are a part of, and it would be good. If the non Muslims, if you don't have a prayer like that, in your Bible, if you don't have a prayer like that, in your Hindu scripture, if you ain't got a prayer like that, or some words like that, and Karl Marx has a thesis or whatever you read, and if you don't have one, I say take that trap and use it. Because medicine, if it is good for me, it's good for you.
Because the obstacles of greed.
The obstacle of selfishness
is part of the flaws of the personality. It's a stain on the character. When there's anxiety and grief in a society, and we don't seek to remove it, we become guilty. And we become people that are involved in promoting it.
Human beings that do not have the guts.
They just can't bring inside of themselves the courage to stand up. They don't want to be harmed. They don't want to be inconvenience. They're not going to say what's wrong. They ain't gonna say what's right. They're not gonna stand up. They're gonna be silent. Somebody could be killed right in front of them. Somebody could be robbed right in front of them. They can see drugs taking place in prostitution, they can see corruption right inside the government. They can see it inside their houses and see it in their children. But they won't say nothing I say they're cowards,
and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon them. prayer was against cowardice.
And the burden of debt
is one of the greatest burdens in our society and our age today. Did you know
Did you know that the
the human being in western civilization.
This statistics more popular is more applicable for America and Europe. But I'll just say get a statistic because maybe, you know, we can compute it by T and T dollars and it might be the same. Did you know that based upon the the national debt of the United States to gross national debt. That means what the American Society owes to the international central banks.
It's called the gross national debt. If
You divide the gross national debt by the population of the country, every human being every child is born in America is born with $47,000 of debt.
You think about that
for a second $7,000 of debt, because somebody's got to share that burden, either through tax dollars
or through compounded interest.
It's got to be shared, it's got to be spread out. And the government got sophisticated, slick programs on how they distribute this debt to every one of us. Then we compound that with our desires, we go get credit cards, and we buy houses, and we buy cars, and we buy jewelry, and we buy furniture, and we bought this and vacations and so and so and we know when we buy it, chances are you will never pay that debt.
So you compound it. And as a result of that people living in anxiety, people are living under the burden of debt. And people lose everything, all values they have, and we begin become slaves of debt. There are people sitting here today, you've got more debt than you can pay in your whole lifetime. Matter of fact, you got more debt than you and your children can pay. But somehow or another, you think because you laid back but you hit on some cushions. You think you got the air conditioner on you? You think because you got all the little clothes and little car and all that that you act like you middle class, you're just a slave to oppression, because that is an
oppression, just like overtaxation.
And debt usually comes about
from greed, personal desires, wanting more than you need.
And then we have moral transgression. What is moral transgression? moral transgression is transgression against God, it's not transgression From me to you, or you to me. It's not robbing and stealing, most transgression is violations of the 10 commandments, whether the 10 commandments of Moses, or Abraham, or some pundit or the Bhagavad Gita, or the Quran, or the Bible, or any other book of God that laid out the commandments, how human beings are supposed to interact with each other, and violation of the first commandment, thou shalt have no other God except Almighty God, the Creator, that's a moral transgression.
When there is the polarization, of classes and groups, polarization of classes and groups, y'all know what I'm talking about, you know, people want to be in the upper class. And to be an upper class, you got to put your feet on the next on the necks of people that's under you. And you got to ignore this situation, because they're the ones to keep you propped up
the upper class them to stay in the upper class, you got to polarize yourself, you got to distinguish yourself, because you know, when you own that upper class, you don't want to be like mixing with dumb people down low.
So you see that in your society, you don't say that, but you see it. And that's how you act. And that's how you cultivate. That's the idea that you promote among your children, don't be mixing with them kind of people.
polarization of class, it was more blatant in India, it was more blatant. In South Africa, it was more blatant in America 75 years ago, it was more blatant in other places. But now it has just become a little more sophisticated. But there's still a caste system here. And there's still a caste system in South Africa. And there's still a caste system in America, because there are people who desire to remain a part of a certain class, whether it is the Brahmins, or whether it is somebody else. It is a class system. And we might change the name, but we still desirous of being a part of a class system. And when you're part of a class system, automatically, you have an opposition to the
other class. It just like the opposition party. People say, you know, the government that's in there. Now, if you don't like that government, you become a part of the what the opposition parties are tricky.
But what if I want to if I want to change government, if I want to influence government, why do I have to become an opposition party?
Why can't I advise the government? Why can't I solicit help from the government? Why can't I cooperate with the government? Why can't I make the existing government better? Why do I have to be part of an opera
decision to tear down to backbite, to slander, to condemn, to vote down and to tear the pants off. Why do I have to be like that? Because you have been conditioned
that if you don't agree with those that's in government,
you have to be an opposition, and you got to tear them down. So what does that do? When whoever it is gets to that position, and there's a different government, when the opposition party gets in government? What do they do different than those they was opposing? Now, y'all been in this country longer than me? I've only been here a couple of weeks. y'all been here? 20 years, 30 years, 40 years? You tell me?
What difference? Did the opposition do? When they oppose, and they got to the position, they enjoyed the benefits of that position like the others did? And they did they share of exploitation, corruption, or whatever, or negligence, but
they started out, saying that they will make a change, that they will do something better. I say, listen to their constructive intentions. Join the government.
I say all the Muslims, your prime minister, find out what is his vision. If he's got a good vision, help him do it. Help him accomplish it. If he does something you think is wrong, collectively and individually. Write to him, appeal to him, advise him through your representatives, any way that you can. But don't tear down your government simply because you oppose Islam. Don't tell us that.
And if you think that you can bring better government to this country, Muslims, or non Muslims, if you think so, work towards making your platform, appealing, clear, transparent to the people through your behavior, to your reform programs, through your institutions, and then get your people who support you to vote for you and your party. But don't call it the opposition party. Just call it maybe a new thinking, a new vision, a party for new Trinidad, and then say to the existing government, that if they were to accept your cooperation, you don't need to replace them. You just like to join with them. And if you happen to arrive there, tell that government that just went out,
there's a place for you in our new government. Because that's what Islam supports. Islam don't support rebellion. It doesn't support undermining. It doesn't support slandering. It doesn't support that.
I say their steps towards empowerment.
Seek to be open minded.
If we want to, if we want to empower this country, power ourselves, open your mind. Open your heart. Open your arms, open your houses.
Relax, remain open minded, open hearted.
remain open your doors
so that people can see people can hear
and be tolerant.
Educate yourself and your family.
Not just academic education, but educate yourself about the world. Educate yourself about other people's ideas, other people's religions, other people's values, educate yourself so that you can become tolerant and patient with other people.
cultivate the idea of good citizenship and social responsibility. That's the kind of people that we are we Muslims, have been told to cultivate the idea
of good citizenship
and social responsibility.
Stand up for what is right. No matter what cost it is. Stand up for what's right, and speak and act against what is wrong. I say speak. act right against what's wrong and be prepared to pay the cost.
Bring a positive spirit. Bring a positive word, being a positive idea.
Do something different? show people and alternative. That's part of the stage of empowerment.
Put your scripture into practice questions. Hindus, Muslims. Put your scripture into practice. Put your faith
where people can see it.
Be prepared to make sacrifices,
oppose a morality at every level.
Set up an example, for inspiration for the younger generations.
Now to my fellow Muslims of Trinidad, I want to be a little bit more particular.
I have spoke generally, to the people of Trinidad. Now I want to talk more specifically to the Muslims.
Remember what the law said to you Muslims of the Villa himanshi tanto. Jean Walton, the owner in Ohio, well, yamamura roof, Allah says, and you are a nation of people, a global body of people who have been ordered to call to what, goodness higher
roof and to order.
What is good and righteous. That's our mission, to bring prosperity, to bring goodness, to bring hope
to bring constructive example to this nation to this world. That's our mission and also, to enjoy what's right to speak was right and to bring inspiration to the people and relief to the people.
Allah says quantum higher on mutton
rigidness tomuu Maru
Mancha.
He says you Muslims, you have you are the best nation evolved for the whole of humanity.
Why? Because you enjoy most right
and you forbid was wrong. And also you fulfill your covenant with God.
To know that, you believe in Allah, you keep your Amanda with Allah. You keep your covenant your trust with Allah.
Allah calls us Muslims on Mattoon wardsauto
the balanced nation, a nation of no extremes.
Nobody can justifiably call us extremists. No one can justifiably call us fanatics. Nobody can justifiably call us terrorists. They can put that word out there to prejudice people, but they cannot justifiably do that. Not if we are that Allah described. We are the balanced nation, we bring balance into every formula, we bring balance into every scenario, we bring balance into our lives into the lives of others, and people rely upon us to balance and to arbitrate. That's who we are.
We must become an example of goodness, prosperity, and social justice. I say goodness,
prosperity, social justice. People want to be in our company. People want to live in our neighborhoods. People want to benefit work with us what for us, because they can see the benefit in doing so.
We Muslims are supposed to provide hope and inspiration and guidance for the nation and for humanity. I said, hope, inspiration and guidance. We are the champions of social equity, through brotherhood, between races, and removing the poverty and despair from society. All Muslims, listen to that. Well, we are the champions of social equity. That is bringing equity between the classes of people sharing our food, sharing our clothes, sharing our comforts, sharing our concern, involving ourselves with the people and removing the disparity between the classes, establishing true brotherhood between the races, the black, white, tall, the short, the Hindu, the Muslim,
the male and the female, those are the east from the west, those of Indian descent, those of African descent and those of European descent or any other set or those of Spanish South American descent. We are the people that set the balance. We are the people that establish the equity between the races because a law says in Nakuru I'ma come and Allah ikkaku the best of you is the people that have Taqwa
or Muslims. We are supposed to be the champions and the guardians of the oppressed and the disenfranchised. We are their spokesman
We are the ones that speak for them,
the oppressed and the disenfranchised. We are ordered to use our wealth and our influence to reduce the broad gap between the rich and the poor. We are supposed to make regular and consistent appeals towards the government with dignified speech and constructive advice. What should I say? dignified speech and constructive advice. When Allah said, Abraham,
to Pharaoh who lost it, Moses to Pharaoh, Allah told him to speak of speak which is dignified.
These people that was killing people, big old presses, calling themselves God. Still God told that Prophet speak a speech which is dignified.
We are ordered to oppose every form of corruption, transgression, or oppression, or exploitation in our society and the world. We Muslims, that's our mandate.
We are expected to be the most courageous, the most vigilant and the most fearless in our representation of virtue at God consciousness.
We Muslims are the possessors of the answers, we have the answers, and we have the solutions that this society and human beings all over the world of seeking.
We have the Quran. And we have the Sunnah, the illustrious example of the most prestigious, most profound human being in the annals of history. We, we have that book, we have that human example.
But we have it in our homes. We have it in our mosques. We have it in our madrassas, we have it in our neck tabs, but we have been ordered by Allah to deliver the message of Islam, through our speech and through our actions and allow human beings to see Islam crystal clear, with no impediments and no distortions. To do this, we have to move beyond lip service, we have to move beyond empty rituals inside of buildings, we have to move beyond cultural self righteousness. We Muslims are the guardians of the greatest treasure for this society and for the world. But unfortunately, we are holding it for ourselves. We are keeping the treasure buried for ourselves. Because we have become a
selfish people. We don't really want other people to be Muslim.
We want other people to be Muslim right now. Because we have been trashed. And we have been trashed. And you know, we don't been kicked around so much that our self esteem is so low that if anybody become a Muslim, we love like, but
but we don't really want Islam for the society. Otherwise, all of us would spend at least an hour a week trying to promote Islam, sharing that treasure, because anybody that thinks you have a treasure that's Unlimited, if I got an unlimited bank account, if I was if I was sponsored by some kind of, you know, a billionaire, and he told me, I'm gonna put a million dollars into your account, as fast as you spin it, I'm gonna put some more in there, because it's for the people just keep spending it. I would spend it as fast as I could, because I would know that the one who's sponsoring me got more, but we Muslims are not convinced of that. So that's why we hold ourselves
almost Muslims.
We are blocking the people from fair access to the Islamic inspiration, the Islamic treasure, through our divisiveness and our religious isolation and our leadership arrogance.
Through our historical pathology, we are in many cases, the ones who distort the Islamic message and prevent the people from the beauty and the fragrance of Islam or Muslims. Look at your wonderful opportunity here in this country to promote prosperity to promote peace between all of the people you have that ability are Muslims, look beyond yourselves. Look beyond your homes, look beyond your personal culture, look beyond your religious rituals. Look beyond your particular leaders and your particular groups of Muslims. It is the responsibility of the Muslim scholars, the Muslim leaders of the
organizations and the business community, it is their responsibility to rise above their petty and their pathetic differences.
There are petty and pathetic differences because you're petty and pathetic differences, you yourselves.
You are promoting
the greatest divisiveness among the people and preventing this great opportunity of Islam to permeate this country.
Those leaders
must look to the welfare of the nation, and its people and not their own self interest.
We the followers must not be blind beneficiaries of religious prejudice and leadership fixation, we should not want to be blind followers. No, we should be people who can see and who can advise and who are willing, we must advise our leaders, regardless of what it may cost, we must respect them, we must support them, we must follow them, but not if they disobey Allah and not if they turn away from their moral responsibility.
We have to cultivate a commitment to change and a commitment towards empowerment for ourselves and our families, our community and our society are Muslims. Remember, Allah he says to me, he does not change the condition of a people until people change the condition inside of themselves. These are the steps I believe, towards our empowerment.
Now do Muslims and non Muslims.
I want to address
one other issue. Before I leave this podium.
I want to take five minutes
to talk to you about
the work
that we are engaged in,
in Islamic multimedia
to build a platform of Dawa and teaching so the world can see what Islam is. And that we can compete with others who are dominating the big screen. Those who are dominating the computers, those who are dominating the TVs, those who are dominating the magazines, those who are dominating your minds, and infiltrating your living rooms in your heart. We want to compete with them.
But to do so
it costs resources.
Now, since I've been here, I've heard some very disturbing things.
I've heard people say
that, listen, every time the Shaykh comes, and he talks, he asked for money. But then don't come.
Because every time you come on more so money
don't come. I don't need no popularity. I don't need no exposure. And I don't need no stingy, greedy people to come pat me on the back for free.
But you should also know I didn't arrive in a limousine. And I didn't leave in a limousine. I didn't fly here first class. And I don't leave first class. And I don't live like that.
I am a servant to the best of my ability of Allah subhanaw taala. And I am trying my best along with others to set up a platform so that the tower can be known globally, all over the world. Yes, we intend to compete with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, whoever.
Why not? The only thing they have that we don't have is a commitment of money.
They have a dedicated audience. people that buy their products, people that buy their services, people that pay for the cable people that pay for their programs, but we Muslims, our problem is we want everything free. What kind of people are you?
How in the world can we bring to you? high definition television? How can we bring to you universal broadcast? How can we send a signal up to a satellite? How can we send it back down from the satellite? How can we send our program to another country? How can our message compete with the message
of the Christian channels of the Hindu channels of the Bollywood of the Hollywood of the of the filth and the for why his and the poor not
How can we compete when they spend money? They spend time and we spend nothing?
How can it happen?
So I figured it out
that you gotta ask the people, when the people are in front, you got to strike the end while it's hot.
You get to become unpopular. You got to do something that people don't normally do.
See, I see those Christian preachers, I see them asking every five minutes for some money.
You see, when you go downtown, or uptown, or to those malls, and you do your shopping,
there, you got nothing in there for free.
Your cable is not free. And he was paying for cable before IBM came along.
So if you were paying for cable before IBM came along,
you ain't paying nothing else. Now.
If you want to go satellite, what you want, you want somebody to come out of their pocket and spend that money for you. And you don't want to share it. But you want to buy more clothes, more shoes, more furniture, you want to eat more food, you want all more benefits, you want more cars, you want more discs, you want more of that, but for it's not for Islamic teaching, to set up a media institution, you say, to shake he come. And he asked for money.
As if somebody is trying to infer that the shake is asking for money for himself. Well, I wish one of you liars.
I was want to use sophisticated, self righteous liars. I wish you'd meet me out in bed.
I wish you come and talk to me and my wife.
I wish you just come out in front and say what you want to say, instead of waiting like a coward and say that through email and send it in the back. Just come out and ask me. What do I own. I'll tell you, I don't own a house. I do not own a car.
I don't own what you own. But I spend my time to the best of my ability.
And I say 60% of my time, I spend it away from my family,
away from my 12 children, away from my 27 grandchildren. Because that's what a warrior is supposed to do. He's out in the field on the frontiers. I'm doing this to earn the pleasure of Allah, not the pleasure of the people, the Messenger of Allah. So last time when he was going out in jihad, to fight the unbelievers, to face the corruption to face the police he is he had to gather people together and say, I have been ordered by Allah to fight against oppression and corruption. And we are going out on a we're going out on an excursion right now. But I need help. So if the message of Allah so last time used to call on people, and ask them for help, I'm calling on you, and asking you
for help.
Don't make me into a criminal. Don't make me into some kind of a goddess asking you for some money for his self. I went no jewelry.
Why do you want to say that? Because you're greedy, because you're selfish. And because you want to justify your greed and your selfishness.
And you want to pimp somebody
what is a pimp? a pimp is a pimple and a pimple on your skin as a sign of some kind of pests and disease underneath.
That's why they call a pimp a pimp because he reiden he is an immoral pimple on society and people who want to exploit and ride for free. You are social pimps.
I see all these sis men dressed in all the beautiful clothes. I see all the brothers man, you know, dressed nice clothes and all that. But I see the cars out there. I see the messages are up. You know, oh, this is a no Muslims here got no flat bellies? Ain't nobody here been hungry in a long time. Everybody got whatever they need, and you got more than what you need. But when it comes time for dour, when it comes time to promote Islam, all of a sudden, your hands get close to the chest.
Then somebody who asked you are you looking for some faults in me?
You're looking for some false you're digging for some dirt
when a check come from, but he really represent what he really doing. Let me get on the internet and find out what other people saying. Oh, look what we found over here. Some people said this and some people
said that. Now you see, that's why we shouldn't give.
That's why your children are Mary
Kaffirs.
That's why your daughters are imitating Bling, bling prostitutes.
That's right, your daughters are going into those malls into those stores. And they want to wear those styles, those blouses, those distant that your daughters see, because you don't want to promote and you don't want to support what's yours. So they wind up a lot crush you by dim following somebody else's called
IBM
has not done its best.
What I mean by that, the best is yet to come.
Because it just started out. Of course, they have problems.
They got problems. But we have to think the best we have to say to ourselves, this is what we got.
For the insurance is a businessman.
He didn't know nothing about no TV, nothing. But he had the courage and he spent his money. May Allah bless him. If his intentions were pure, that Allah will bless him.
His staff, they didn't know this. They just jumped up one day got a license. And two months later, they just opened up shop bam.
Here we are.
But Shame on you. Shame on you, for you to criticize for you to condemn for you to find fault for you to slander for you to backbite hold your hand back from an opportunity that Muslims never had in this country before.
What will you have?
I say you must support I say you have to help.
I say you must subscribe.
Even if I the end said we cannot broadcast any further. Unless you give us $50 a month, you must give $50 a month even if you don't have a television.
Because by doing that, you are promoting something that belongs to you.
And if you don't give it now those who can't give it, they can do other things. If you don't have no money do something else.
Just like a man told me today he said shake.
It's not fair.
for IBM, to have dinner, and charge $200 for a dinner. I mean who can afford all the people can afford to and we invite all the people.
Man all the people can't buy no car.
Oh, people can't get no furniture. All the people ain't got no jobs. All the people ain't got no sense. We've invited everybody. We can't feed everybody. We want to feed those who can afford $200 now for those that can't afford $200 I mean, listen, we have already talked in four stadiums for free. So all the people that can't afford 200 you already been here. But you want
Look how stupid the people are.
This is like going up inside the mall and telling oleum stores up in the mall. Y'all Oh presses because you're charging all this money for this stuff up in here. Man, if you can't afford nothing, what you're doing up in the mall.
This work that we do is for workers. We asked him those who got money to spend. We asked him those that got energy and ideas come up with it. But everybody got to give up something. Now those who came in here, nobody was charged.
And so far, we have talked to
approximately
14,000 people.
And I don't even want to tell you brothers and sisters. The sad figure that we have come up with. We have talked to the people, you know, I'll be honest with you, brothers and sisters. If this was my program, I would never allow the people to walk up in here for free.
Me no difference. It was only 100 people up in here. We know that 100 people paid. Cuz I know that when people come up beside and watch a movie. They ain't gonna pay on the way out.
You ain't got no movie house in the world. That's got no honor system.
You won't pay coming inside. And when you get inside, you're gonna pay popcorn, peanuts, candy, for drinks. You're gonna pay more money for all that because they're gonna get you when you get inside but you pay
And you don't complain. And when you leave, you feel like a fool. Because you ain't seen nothing but a dream.
If this was my event, if I had something to do with it, everybody that came in here would have paid 20 or 30, or 40, or 50, or something.
Because they like you ain't got it.
Everybody got 2030 4050 to pay as support. But the brothers told me shake Look, I'll be honest. They say shake, look, people come free. I said, Okay, brother Bismillah, let him come free. But when they get up in there, and go ask them for some money.
So if y'all want to know the truth of it, that's the truth.
Because what kind of foods are we
to arrange all of this, pay for the stadium, pay for your equipment, pay for the promotion, pay everything, the people just come sit down and listen at us. And then after that, say Salaam Alaikum. You're going home.
Now, right now, right now, we're gonna do a five minute exercise. And I don't want nobody moving around and skipping and start and scratching. No, that just sit right where you are.
Lucky, please get them ashes in place with them bags or boxes, or whatever it is y'all got get them in place.
Don't nobody moves don't go nowhere.
Now, brothers and sisters, y'all know
that the best currency in this country, the color of it is blue.
And you sitting in blue seats.
So it ain't like you don't know what the color blue is.
So what we're asking you to do is not give the worst of your money, give the best of your money.
Take out a blue bill, or two or three of them.
And put them in dumb bags or boxes of whatever the brothers got. And let's do this right now. In five minutes, because that's all it takes.
See, that's all it takes. Give it up right now.
And brothers Look, just go through the whole row. You know, just go through the whole row, don't look at them in a face, look at them in a face and ask him what they're gonna give for a law and His Messenger for this deal. Support the dollar of Islam. That's what we got to do.
Somebody said, somebody said to a brother, I just repeat what the people said, you know,
somebody said to Brother, I keep
the shake.
He shouldn't ask the people putting people in a spotlight that because you know that people feel embarrassed. And so they they don't give because they feel embarrassed. I want you to feel embarrassed.
That's exactly what I want you to feel good. I want you to feel inspired. But if you got money in your pocket, and you just don't want to give it up, but because of what I said, you feel embarrassed, then that's good. Because a lot does that too. He said oh you believe why you say what you don't do.
grievious and hateful? Is it in the sight of a law that you say what you don't do? So I save for this? And let me tell you what a yahoodi wrote
to one of the Muslim leaders.
He wrote a letter to Hosni Mubarak.
This was about 20 years ago. It's what he said.
He said, Mr. Mubarak,
you
are the representative
of more Muslims.
You are
the leader of a country that outnumber the Jews in Israel and wall 11 to one.
That is he saying
that just Egypt by itself out numbers, all the Jews in the world 11 to one. So, Mr. Mubarak,
I want to tell you why you will never beat us.
You will never be victorious of us. Is that yahudi talking now let's see Muslims.
He said
we realize that we cannot beat you Muslims praying.
You must pray more than us.
And in arguments, we can't beat you Muslims saying, because y'all Muslims. Y'all talk good too.
But, Mr. President, we have the people of Zionism. We are committed to our vision. And we support our vision, and we pay for our vision. So Mr. President, you people can beat us saying, and you can beat us praying, but you can't beat us paying.
See Muslims, you see how they talk to us.
We have to be people that are willing to pay
and to smile, and to feel good, that we made a contribution for the upliftment of humanity and for the support of the Islamic world. We ask Allah subhanaw taala to bless us, we ask Allah subhanaw taala to guide us, we ask Allah to empower us, we asked the last one man who to Allah to make IBM successful beyond their own dreams. And we ask at the end, that if it has the feeling, and the sincere aspiration, to
collaborate with Iran and other Muslim multimedia platforms and organizations, that this dua be accepted by Allah subhanho wa Taala. Because when he said that we have the capacity, when he said, we have the license and the capacity to have 50 channels, he was not talking open. He was not talking just some empty speech.
The Islamic television Trust has two licenses to broadcast. And each of those licenses that we hold our licenses to broadcast, satellite television, and each of those licenses, it is not a channel, our license is not a license for a channel. Our license is a broadcasting license in the UK, that allows us 25 channels for every license, and we hold two licenses. That's what we bring to the table to collaborate with IDN.
But it means nothing. Without the support of the Muslims.
Next year, this time, it could very well be that IBM and I N could be webcasting all over the world. It could be in the next year or two that IBM or Iran is satellite broadcasting all over the world from your support.
Think about like that.
It's in your hands. It's your decision.
Brothers and sisters, these are the tickets for the dinner Saturday, is that Saturday, tomorrow.
What I understand is that
there are some of these tickets that are left. And the brothers are doing a special blowout. You know, you ladies know what a blowout sale is.
This is a 24 hour blowout sale. Now how much it is I don't know. But it's less than 200.
So if you want to come, they are not free.
Because even if we got 500 tickets left, at the end of the day, we're not gonna give it out free.
So don't wait to the last minute and just expect somebody to give you a free ticket. It ain't gonna happen.
But I say make the sacrifice. We got enough people in here right now that whatever tickets is left, you can buy them on the way out, I would suggest you do that. Because what we're trying to do is to get 4000 people together and feed them and show them and talk to them about what we're doing. And there won't be a lecture like this. We just gonna talk about AI and we're gonna talk about IBM. We're gonna talk about multimedia in the world. Today, we're gonna talk about the challenge and the prospect of Islamic media and we will eat together and drink together and we will raise some more money
in sha Allah say inshallah.
So we asked you on the way out, get your ticket. If you can't get it on the way out, get it tomorrow morning, or come to the dinner and pay for it at the door.
Thank you very much. Brothers and sisters. thank the organizers. Thank you.
vn, thank the people of this, who offered us the stadium here. Again, we always in all of our lectures.
In all of our lectures, we always want to say, We want to thank the prime minister and thank the the good president of your country, because they were very noble in receiving us and making sure that we will facilitate it at the airports. And I'm sure that they will be reviewing these broadcasts, and they have had good things to say about IBM, they've had good things to say, when we met them, we will thank the chief secretary of Tobago, who received us very warmly, and very generously, I want to thank them also, we want to thank all the non Muslims who may be here. And while we're here, Muslims, please sit just for a moment, please, a few more minutes, just a few minutes. We also want
to say that maybe, maybe there's a non Muslim here
who has been reading about Islam.
Maybe they have a Muslim friend, or Muslim neighbor, maybe they've been watching IPN. Maybe there's a non Muslim here, who wants to be a Muslim. If so I say, if you really brave, come here now. And we do that right now. It only takes a moment, it's only a word. So if there's a non Muslim, you want to be Muslim, Come now, if you don't want to come now, then come up to the VIP section where we can talk, we can do it in private, it's up to you get that money in public, or get it in private, it's up to you.
So if there's a non Muslim,
who wants to come down here, now, just walk down here now.
Just sorry to give three minutes of just silence. Muslims, please, just three minutes of silence. Let's see
if one or two
or three non Muslims may
come down here.
Now,
keep us in mind Muslims, we didn't really even, we didn't even talk about Islam. We didn't talk too much about the end. We didn't talk that much about the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu wasallam. But just to let you see how IBM is doing this job exposing to the people that because of the work that they're doing.
See,
because this is what media can do.
Yesterday,
I won't mention the lady's name, but a lady
who is a staunch Roman Catholic,
neither is she a
East Indian, or Asian or African. I mean, it seemed to me the lady is from either Spain or she's from Europe somewhere. But she's working in this country. And she came to a lecture that we gave yesterday at the university. And she said,
check. I've been watching IBM for the last three months.
And from what, from what I can understand
about Islam.
I want to be a Muslim.
Nobody ever talked to her. Nobody ever gave her a book. She just looking at IPN.
And she was convinced that she wants to be a Muslim. And we won't mention her name. Because she said her family, a staunch Roman Catholics and she might have some problems.
But I always say this to you. That lady took her Shahada yesterday.
And I think that there are 1000s of people in Trinidad
and Tobago, that are just like that woman. And just like these brothers that are here. This is something unusual. Most of the places I've been around the world where we have asked people to come down and become Muslim most of the time that women
most of the time
Women
because women got less ego than men.
But for young men to come down and take their Shahada and talk to them about know Islam, that's just whatever they've been watching. Have you read something about Islam brother? You have read nothing.
You believe in god
you know anything about the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings upon?
Nope, you know almost you know you got a Muslim friend, but you respect them
you read anything about the Quran buddy
Mashallah you've read something about Islam brother.
You've read something, the Quran, something about the Prophet Muhammad,
and you know, a Muslim, and they talk to you about Islam. What about yourself, Brother,
brother thing he read most of the Quran, you know about the Prophet Muhammad peace investment. So, look, what I want to do is, I just want to give you just, I want to make it clear.
I just want to make it clear.
That
to be Muslim, is to accept that there's nothing to be worshipped except for money, God, you accept that.
And you have no partners.
No mother, no father, no sister, no brothers, and nothing in the whole creation. like God. You accept that.
And the Prophet Muhammad is a prophet.
Who is like the other prophets, like Noah, like Abraham, like Moses, like David, like Solomon, like Isaac, and it's my al and john the baptist, and Jesus Christ, but he's just at the end, meaning that long line of profits the first Adam, last one, Muhammad, peace and blessings upon them, and as a prophet, he was sent by God with a message and what an example for humanity, you accept that? Okay. Then if you accept that, then you just need to say what I will say. I'm going to say it in Arabic.
After I finished saying it in Arabic, you can listen now. translate it for you. Now when I translate it, if you think I said something you didn't agree with, tell me say oh, no, I didn't agree to it.
But I think that when I translate it You see, it's nothing more than what you've already accepted. Okay.
Although
I although
Billahi
min ash
shaytaan Nero rajim
Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim
La ilaha
illAllah
Muhammad Rasulullah sallal laahu lahu alayhi wa sallam ash hadoo
and La ilaha illallah
wa de Who? La sharika lah who was wash hadou
and Mohammed bin Abdullah who wore a Zulu
salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam me? Did you used to be a Christian brother? Were you a Christian before? Were you a Christian before? Were you a Christian before? So you and yourself I want you to say and I bear witness. And I bear witness. And would you say I bear witness that Jesus Christ is a word and a spirit sent to marry from God who was chaste.
You accept that? that Jesus Christ is a word and a spirit that God sent to marry the hidden have no father. But Jesus is not God. Just God sent the spirit and the word to Mary and she was chased me and nobody never touched her. You believe that? Good. And as for you brothers, you have accepted that allows one without any partners. So you can't be mixing no kind of gods or spirits or holy men or nothing. What Oh, my God, you accept that? Huh? Okay, somebody, somebody.
Okay, brothers, look.
Today is a special day you should never forget.
Because everybody got something they Oh god. Right. Something you did wrong. Only God knows. But whatever you did before today,
You oh god is paid, start out clean, all sins forgiven, you can start your life over. It's not like being born again. Because you weren't born again you born right you've been born, it's just that you have a new opportunity in life, a new opportunity to you and God and humanity. If you owe somebody something, you still owe that. But as far as your relationship with God is brand new.
Now what we want to do is part of this money that we collected here today, for the work that we do, we're gonna give you all some of that.
Why? Because you might have some things that you need to take care of. And it's only fair. We also along with this blessing that we give to you that we get you some money for money, help, blessings don't see. So we got some books that we're gonna give you that will help you understand Islam, but I suggest for you find out who in this country that you can hold on to, to learn this religion, because you're not gonna learn it by yourself. You follow me? I'm going to provide you brothers, you come up to the room up there, I provide you some information. And so you can contact me and you can contact your mom and other people so you can begin your journey in Islam. May Allah bless you but
what's your name?
Jerome. What's your name?
Shin. Shin, the shin. What's your name brother.
Deal. I wish a brother
Mashallah Justin. We asked a law sponsor that you'd be wanting to just people. Yeah.
Okay. Mashallah. Brother is for tickets.
Here's four tickets for you brothers to come to the dinner.
So, you have to come, but the tickets paid for right? But until as we finish, you come upstairs so we can sit together some questions that you might have and some other things so you can meet the mom, his mother brothers, all these Muslims in here now as your brothers and sisters.
Your brothers and sisters
and say
Salaam Alaikum
Salaam Alaikum.
Salaam.
We ask Allah subhanaw taala to bless the brothers, we asked.
We asked the last panel data to bless these brothers guide them, preserve them and use them as an example and inspiration to other non Muslims and their families. We asked last month Allah to to bless this audience and for their generosity and for their patience. And we asked the last one to continue to bless the work of IBM and its staff and I would ask you inshallah, to relieve me of this responsibility. And I say panic alarm what the Hyundai Kona Chateau Illa illa Anta when a sock Fukunaga boulais was Salam alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh