JABRIL.MUHAMMAD
“Surely We have created man from sperm mixed (with ovum), to try him, so We have made him hearing, seeing. We have truly shown him the way; he may be thankful or unthankful.” (Holy Qur’an 76:2,3)
“O you who believe, respond to Allah and His Messenger, when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah comes in between a man and his heart…” (8:24)
“If you go not forth, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement, and bring in your place a people other than you, and you can do Him no harm…” (9:39)
According to Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms, the word “grateful is more commonly employed to express a proper sense of favors received from another person or other persons. Thankful is often employed … to express one’s acknowledgment of divine favor.”
Choose the Right Word states: “Grateful and thankful are close in meaning, but one distinction is commonly observed in that grateful is used to describe our feelings of gratitude to another person, and thankful refers to similar feelings toward divine providence.”
These distinctions apply in English.
I saw a TV movie titled Piranha in which many died due to selfish greedy people who violated the laws of nature. Piranhas are usually small South American fish with very sharp teeth. Some species have attacked and inflicted dangerous wounds upon humans and large animals. Death has resulted from these attacks. As I watched, I thought, this is a world that says, “No thank you, Allah.”
Now, in the parable called The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus said that a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him and beat him. They went away, leaving him half dead.
A priest went down that road and saw him. So did a lawyer. Both passed by him, leaving him where he was. But a Samaritan traveling on that same road saw him and was moved with compassion. He went to him, bandaged his wounds and brought him to an inn. He took care of him. The next day, he gave money to the innkeeper and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever you spend and more.”
Jesus then asked the narrow-minded and self-righteous lawyer: “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught that this parable is a prophecy of the coming of Master Fard Muhammad and His work of saving us from the grip of mental death through the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. This compassionate work continues today through the work of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. At the root of God’s choice and use of these two men is that their hearts are like His.
Should we not say to Allah, for His coming and for these two men, “thank you.” It’s written that the number of those who would voluntarily say to the Almighty, “thank you” for the modern Moses and Aaron, just before this world’s end, would be but a few. But from that few would come all.
Those who voluntarily submit their wills to do the will of Allah are described in many ways throughout the scriptures. One word that’s often used is that they are the “sent.” Both Minister Farrakhan and his teacher use the same term, “sent” of those who were/are “sent.” You’ve been sent. You did not come to Islam on your own. You were helped to believe the truth that God’s man preached. You’re blessed!
In Minister Farrakhan’s assignment is your assignment. His assignment is a part of his teacher’s assignment–which is the work of Allah to create heaven on earth. So, you were born, in this time, to serve Allah, by helping the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Farrakhan with your knowledge, understanding, talents and skills, to build the kingdom of God on earth.
Even if you are presently ignorant of your innate gifts, you’re yet obligated to discover them and, in the proper spirit, develop them, with Allah’s help. Not to discover and develop our gifts and to refuse to help Minister Farrakhan to help you and our Nation makes us unthankful ingrates!
Before asking others what were you born to do, answer this: what have you done to learn the answer for yourself? I hope to contribute to the answer, next article, Allah willing.
By now, we all ought to know that what Aaron was to Moses and the God with whom Moses met, so is Minister Farrakhan to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the God with whom he met. Regardless to the disapproval of others, by now we all should have a strong grip on the truth of Minister Farrakhan’s mission. We all should already be of some service to this Black man, who is the visible champion of the rise of the oppressed.
You say you’re being held back? Before blaming others, let’s first look in the mirror (which Minister Farrakhan’s study guides help us to do) and see if, in some way, you’re blocking yourself. If others have really blocked you, God wants you to become stronger than you are right now and overcome, through the intelligent use of His wisdom. Then you’ll serve His cause in a superior way. It’s better to be wood than sandpaper.
None of us can be happy without sufficient food, clothing and shelter. None of us can be happy while oppressed by the unjust. None of us can be happy in an unforgiving and crude society, where the poor, the needy, the elderly, the young and the sick are trampled every day.
None of the “sent” can be satisfied with ourselves, if we’re not really helping Minister Farrakhan with what the Almighty has given us of talents, which includes helping others improve their lives that they may become one with Allah.
Use Minister Farrakhan’s teachings to speed up the process of removing blocks to our development, such as envy and jealousy; gossip and slander; narrow and spooky-mindedness; sexism and racism–while never forgetting the truth of Satan. Keep up on the truth of events, from the local to the international, which constantly demonstrates the fulfillment of divine prophecy. Even this can increase our responsiveness to him.
On our way to the productive use of our God-given powers–in cooperation with Allah–look for opportunities to help others help themselves to the realization and use of their God-given potential.
As I looked at the news today about my Brother, Mike Tyson, and his bankruptcy move, I decided to mention him in this column. He has been on my mind for a long time. I don’t say that there haven’t been good people around Brother Mike, from time to time. I don’t know the details of his circumstances. But I do know that he is one of the chosen of Allah.
Contrary to the self-righteous, this Brother–like the rest of us–is, by no means, beyond redemption, as Minister Farrakhan has stated on God’s authority. I’ve often thought that my Brother needs strong people with him who are unselfish and want nothing from him except that he becomes successful. This success includes money, but really it is the full use of all of the excellent gifts Allah gave him at birth.
Study the verses above from the Holy Qur’an. Have you heard of the gasoline shortage here in Phoenix? Why not? Long car lines. Gas is selling at very high prices per gallon. It’s hot. Anger rising.
More next issue, Allah willing.
