STUDY GUIDE
12
FOUR GREAT IMPEDIMENTS
TO SELF-DEVELOPMENT
READING MATERIAL
Holy Qur'an
Surah 3 "The Family of Amran"
Section 1 "Rule of
Interpretation"
Surah 13 "The Thunder"
Section 1 "Truth of Revelation"
Section 2 "Fall & Rise of
Nations"
Self-Improvement
Pages 21-27(end)
Message To The Blackman
Who is the Original Man? Page 52
The Making of Devil Page 103
FACT (S)
(THESE ARE BUT A FEW VERSES FROM
THE HOLY QUR'AN THAT HELP US
UNDERSTAND THAT WE SEE THINGS
CORRECTLY WHEN WE TAKE ALLAH'S
VIEW AS OUR OWN)
"WE TAKE ALLAH'S COLOUR, AND WHO
IS BETTER THAN ALLAH AT
COLOURING, AND WE ARE HIS
WORSHIPPERS." (2:138)
"SAY: ALLAH GUIDES TO THE TRUTH.
IS HE THEN WHO GUIDES TO THE
TRUTH MORE WORTHY TO BE
FOLLOWED, OR HE WHO FINDS NOT
THE WAY UNLESS HE IS GUIDED?
WI-FAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?
HOW DO YOU JUDGE? AND MOST OF
THEM FOLLOW AUGHT BUT
CONJECTURE. SURELY CONJECTURE
WILL NOT AVAIL AUGHT AGAINST THE
TRUTH. TRULY ALLAH IS KNOWER OF
WHAT THEY DO."(10:35,36)
"SEEST THOU NOT THAT ALLAH SENDS
DOWN WATER FROM THE CLOUDS, THEN
WE BRING FORTH THEREWITH FRUITS
OF VARIOUS HUES? AND IN THE
MOUNTAINS ARE STREAKS, WHITE AND
RED, OF VARIOUS HUES AND
(OTHERS) INTENSELY BLACK ... AND
OF MEN AND BEASTS AND CATTLE
THERE VARIOUS COLOURS LIKEWISE.
THOSE OF HIS SERVANTS ONLY WHO
ARE POSSESSED OF KNOWLEDGE FEAR
ALLAH. SURELY ALLAH IS MIGHTY,
FORGIVING." (35:27,28)
DISCUSSION
LAW OFTTIMES IS A COVER FOR
HYPOCRISY, IT CAN MAKE US APPEAR
RIGHT, THOUGH WE MAY BE
INTERNALLY EVIL. SUCH WAS THE
RELIGIOUS CLASS WHO OPPOSED
JESUS. THEY WERE OUTWARDLY
RIGHT, BUT INWARDLY HYPOCRITES.
JESUS SAID TO THEM, "WOE UNTO
YOU, SCRIBES AND PHARISEES,
HYPOCRITES! FOR YE ARE LIKE
WHITED SEPULCHERS (TOMBS), WHICH
INDEED APPEAR BEAUTIFUL OUTWARD,
BUT ARE WITHIN FULL OF DEAD
MEN'S BONES, AND OF ALL
UNCLEANNESS. EVEN SO YE ALSO
OUTWARDLY APPEAR RIGHTEOUS UNTO
MEN, BUT WITHIN YE ARE FULL OF
HYPOCRISY AND INIQUITY." MATTHEW
23:27,28
JESUS WAS INTERESTED IN
PURIFYING MAN FROM THE INSIDE
AND THE LAW OF ITSELF CANNOT DO
THAT. SOMEONE HAS TO GROW MAN
OUT OF THIS CHILDLIKE STAGE. (I
USE THE TERM "CHILDLIKE" BECAUSE
CHILDREN ACT FOR THEIR PARENTS'
SAKE, BUT THE REAL CHILD IS SEEN
WHEN THE PARENTS ARE NOT
AROUND.) WHAT IS THE FORCE THAT
GROWS, EVOLVES, FEEDS, NURTURES,
NOURISHES? THE NEW TESTAMENT IS
CALLED; THE "TESTAMENT OF LOVE".
LOVE FULFILLS THE LAW. MAN GETS
A PERIOD OF GRACE AND IN THAT
GRACE THERE IS LOVE. IF THAT IS
REJECTED, THEN COMES
DESTRUCTION.
FOUR (4) GREAT IMPEDIMENTS TO
SELF-IMPROVEMENT ARE: RACISM,
SEXISM, NATIONALISM AND
MATERIALISM.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW THESE
TERMS AND OTHERS IN THE GLOSSARY
ON THE NEXT PAGE BEFORE
DISCUSSING THE SUBJECT MATTER
CONTAINED IN THIS STUDY GUIDE.
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GLOSSARY
ATTITUDE Manner,
disposition, feeling, position,
etc., with regard to a thing or
a person; tendency or
orientation of the mind;
position or posture of the body
appropriate to or expressive of
an action or emotion. The
tendency of an individual to act
in response to specific social
situations resulting from his or
her innate biological and
psychological characteristics of
from the environmental factors
which condition his or her
existence.
INFERIORITY COMPLEX
(Psychiatry). Intense
feeling of inferiority,
producing a personality
characterized either by extreme
reticence or, as a result of
overcompensation, by extreme
aggressiveness. Lack of self
esteem; feeling of inadequacy;
lack of self-confidence.
SUPERIORITY COMPLEX
(Psychiatry). Exaggerated
feeling of being better than or
above others; not yielding or
susceptible; showing a
consciousness of being above the
average in place, position,
excellence, merit, intelligence,
station, rank, degree, etc.
Often the mark of an overly
assertive personality.
PERCEPTION The act or
faculty of apprehending by means
of the senses or the mind;
cognition; understanding.
Immediate or intuitive
recognition, as of moral or
aesthetic qualities; the result
of perceiving as opposed to the
act of perceiving; a single
unified awareness derived from
sensory processes while a
stimulus is present
(psychiatry). Comprehension.
INTERPRET To set forth
the meaning of; explain;
explicate; elucidate. To
construe or understand in a
particular way; to render
according to one's own
understanding or sensitivity; to
translate. An interpretation is
an understanding or conception
of another's words or deeds.
FACT That which actually
exists; reality; truth; that
which has happened. The actual
event or circumstance as
distinguished from its effect or
consequence.
DEVIATE To turn aside, as
from a way, course, etc. To
depart or swerve, as from a
procedure, course of action or
acceptable norm. To digress, as
from a line of thought or
reasoning. To wander from the
most direct or desirable
approach to a given moral,
intellectual or physical end. To
go aside from a path.
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EGOCENTRIC Having or
regarding the self as the center
of all things; having little or
no regard for interests, beliefs
or attitudes other than one's
own; self-centered.
IMPEDIMENT Obstruction;
hindrance; obstacle. That which
retards in movement or progress
by means of obstacles.
NOTE: In Study Guide Number 1 0,
we defined "ISM", which is a
productive suffix in the
formation of nouns denoting
action or practice, state or
condition, principles,
doctrines, a usage or
characteristic. Below are just a
few such terms.
EGOISM (EGOTISM) The
habit of valuing everything only
in reference to one's own
personal interest; self-conceit;
regarding one's own welfare as
the supreme end of his or her
actions. Excessive and
objectionable reference to
oneself in conversation or in
writing; obtrusive emphasis upon
one's own importance, often to
the extent of monopolizing
attention and showing disregard
for other's opinions.
RACISM A belief that
human races have distinctive
characteristics that determine
their respective cultures,
usually involving the idea that
one's own race is superior and
has the right to rule others; a
policy of enforcing such
asserted right; a system of
government and society based
upon it.
SEXISM Discrimination
against a group of persons
because of the fact or character
of being male or female.
NATIONALISM Devotion to
the interests of one's own
nation; policy of asserting the
interests of one's own nation,
viewed as separate from the
interests of other nations or
the common interests of all
nations. A desire for national
advancement or independence. An
idiom or trait peculiar to a
nation.
MATERIALISM The
philosophical theory that
regards matter and its motions
as constituting the universe and
all phenomena, including those
of mind, as due to material
agencies; attention to or
emphasis on material objects,
needs and considerations, with a
disinterest in or rejection of
spiritual values.
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CAPITALISM An economic
system in which investment in
and ownership of the means of
production, distribution and
exchange of wealth is made and
maintained chiefly by private
individuals or corporations,
especially as contrasted to
cooperatively or state-owned
means of wealth.
COMMUNISM A theory of
system or social organization
based on the holding of all
property in common, actual
ownership being ascribed to the
community as a whole or to the
state; all economic and social
activity controlled by a
totalitarian state dominated by
a single and self-perpetuated
political party.
SOCIALISM A theory or
system advocating the vesting of
ownership and control of the
means of production, capital,
land, etc., in the community as
a whole; in Marxist theory, the
stage following capitalism in
the transition of a society to
communism, characterized by the
imperfect implementation of
collectivist principles.
QUESTIONS
THE STUDENT ENROLLMENT STATES
THAT:
The Original Man is the Asiatic
Black Man, the Maker, the Owner,
the Cream of the Planet Earth,
God of the Universe.
The Colored Man is the Caucasian
(white man), or Yakub's grafted
devil, the Skunk of the Planet
Earth.
1 What is a fact?
2) Is the first statement a
fact? Why or why not?
3) Is the second statement a
fact? Why or why not?
4) Is there a difference between
a "fact" and an "actual fact"?
If so, what is the difference?
Are the above facts 'actual"?
5) What is an interpretation?
What is a perception?
6) Is there any danger in
treating a fact and our
interpretation of a fact as one
and the same? If so, what is the
danger?
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7) If you accept the first
statement in the student
enrollment as a fact, what is
your interpretation of it as it
relates to your attitude about
yourself? What are your feelings
about it?
8) If you accept the second
statement in the student
enrollment as a fact, what is
your interpretation of it as it
relates to your attitude towards
Caucasian people? What are your
feelings about it?
9) What actions on your part
flow from your attitude about
yourself and others as it
relates to these statements?
That is, in what way does your
attitude determine the manner in
which you conduct yourself in
your daily life?
10) The statements we are
discussing are the answers given
by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad
to questions presented to him by
Master Fard Muhammad:
1. Who is the Original Man?
2. Who is the Colored Man?
Why does Master Fard Muhammad
introduce these facts, in this
time, in this manner, to this
people? Is he desirous of
producing a racist mind?
11) Have you ever misinterpreted
a fact?
12) What were the results of
your misinterpretation?
13) How can we best avoid
misinterpretation?
14) If we are in fact better
(more suitable) in some respects
than another, then what is our
duty by that which is less than
ourselves?
COMMENTARY
Consult the GLOSSARY. A
"fact" is truth, reality, what
exists. An "interpretation" is
our own understanding or
conception of another's words or
deeds.
There are those who have accused
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad of
racism and point to the STUDENT
ENROLLMENT as evidence of that
charge. In doing so, they are
projecting their own
interpretation onto the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The
words are the words of the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad, but
their meaning is affected by the
understanding of the person
reading, repeating or acting
upon them.
As spiritual children, it was
inevitable that we would go
through a phase of development
where we might make mischief
with the facts we were given.
"And
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when thy Lord said to the
angels, I am going to place a
ruler in the earth, they said,
wilt Thou place in it such as
make mischief in it and shed
blood?" Holy Qur'an 2:30
The balance we were given by the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad was in
his declaration to us: "You are
the righteous and you must treat
every man with respect and do
justice by all men."
Attitude when they harden,
become beliefs. From beliefs, we
get laws.
A prevailing attitude among
whites says that Black people
are inferior, doomed to be
servants of theirs. From that
attitude, there is a belief
system: 'I believe that God
created them to serve us...l
believe that I am superior."
Based upon these beliefs a
constitution is developed that
embodies them. "I believe they
are subhuman. I am codifying my
belief into a law that says they
are 3/5 of a person, which will
forever determine the way in
which we deal with them."
Religion sanctifies what we do.
We read the scriptures to
facilitate and feed our
colouring. Once religion is used
to justify beliefs and laws, an
educational system is developed
to facilitate the belief system.
Thus, when a prophet or
messenger comes to give the
people Allah's colouring (view),
he is charged with heresy,
because he is not just attacking
laws, but the belief system the
unjust laws grew out of. Martin
Luther King attacked the laws of
the government of America; the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad
attacked the belief system the
laws grew out of. In so doing,
he was breaking up what was the
root of this world.
"NAY, WE HURL THE TRUTH AGAINST
FALSEHOOD, SO IT KNOCKS OUT ITS
BRAINS, AND LO! IT VANISHES..."
HOLY QUR'AN 21:18
By changing laws, we do not
affect conditions, because
changing a law does not change
attitudes or systems of belief.
Pharaoh feared that Moses would
change the religion, which means
he feared the drastic altering
of the belief system which his
world, was built upon.
This world is based upon a
belief in the superiority of
white over Black. There can be
no new world until the
destruction of inferiority in
one and superiority in the
other.
At the same time that the
attitude of white superiority
hardened into beliefs that grew
into laws, the Caucasian people
produced an attitude in Black
people toward ourselves. What
was that attitude? "We are
niggers ... I believe niggers
will never be nothin'." Out of
this attitude grew a system of
belief, and from that a set of
actions. It is an unwritten law
that Black people disrespect and
destroy one another.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
stands between the two
attitudes, a written law of
white superiority and unwritten
law of Black inferiority. He
must expose the condition for
what it is and then break up the
mental attitudes that brought it
about.
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In the definition of
"inferiority complex" we see
aggressive behavior is a form of
compensation for feelings of
inadequacy.
The Self needs feeding. When the
physical stomach is unfed it
produces discomfort in the
person. Likewise, when
self-esteem is not fed, it also
causes discomfort Hunger,
whether physical or emotional,
causes the hungry person to
engage in extreme forms of
behavior, sometimes unlawful, in
order to satisfy the need.
The Self comes from Allah (God).
How does He feel? In His view,
polytheism is the gravest sin.
What about the Self of God being
fed by nothing? How do we
respond ? We develop an overly
aggressive, belligerent, hostile
attitude, mostly toward members
of our own group. Because we
lack self-esteem and self-worth,
we have developed an unwritten
law that says if you get rid of
a member of your own group, you
have done nothing wrong. You
have done something good in
getting rid of this object of
disapproval.
On the other hand, "the
superiority complex" of the
Caucasians is a mind set in
which the person becomes God.
Thus, they want worship,
adulation and service. Not only
are they the center of their own
existence, they want to be the
center of everyone's existence.
Their attitude of superiority
has so hardened, they will do
anything to force submission of
others to themselves.
The attitudes and beliefs which
produces these complexes result
in damage to the faculty of
perception. Now the mind is
colored by attitude and projects
that colouring onto reality,
making us spiritually blind,
deaf and dumb.
"THE VILEST OF BEASTS IN ALLAH'S
SIGHT ARE THE DEAF, THE DUMB,
WHO UNDERSTAND NOT. " HOLY
QUR'AN 8:22
"THEY HAVE HEARTS WHEREWITH THEY
UNDERSTAND NOT AND THEY HAVE
EYES WHEREWITH THEY SEE NOT, AND
THEY HAVE EARS WITH WHEREWITH
THEY HEART NOT. THEY ARE AS
CATTLE: NAY, THEY ARE MORE
ASTRAY." (7:179)
We cannot interpret anything
outside of our ability to see
it. We create a set of facts
that reflects our own perception
and is limited by our own
perception.
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Our lessons called "actual"
facts are so named because they
are real; they are that which
actually exists. We can create a
contrary fact by damaging the
individual's perception of what
really is. In order to destroy
the present reality, we must get
to the root reality.
The Black man is the Original
Man. Why does Master Fard
Muhammad introduce that fact, in
this time, this manner, to this
people? Is He desirous of
producing a racist mind? Or, is
He confronting both the Black
man and the Caucasian with
Truth, that there be balance
(justice) in the Earth?
The Caucasian people have taken
the fact of their own rule to an
extreme position that is
detrimental to themselves and
humanity, fact that the dark
people of the Earth are asleep
has enabled them to rule. They
have interpreted this fact to
mean, "God has made you (dark
people) to be our footstool."
For example Rep. Alexander H.
Stephens, in an 1861 address at
Savannah, Ga., declared that
"the cornerstone of the
Confederacy rests upon the great
truth, that the Negro is not
equal to the white man; that
slavery is his natural and
normal condition."
This selfishness produces
race-consciousness to the
extreme and it becomes racism.
This interpretation of the fact
of being in rulership avoids the
question, "By Whose permission
are you exalted?" Since Allah
(God) is the Possessor of power
over all things, He is the Giver
and when He makes us excel in
any way, He lays greater duty,
greater responsibility, greater
work on us. But it is His
Greatness, not our own, that
causes us to be exalted, for His
Purpose and His Glory.
The Holy Qur'an opens in the
first surah (chapter): "Praise
belongs to God!" The Believer
repeats this over and over until
he or she understands that a
greater degree of excellence is
a trial for the individual and a
trial for a nation. We pass the
test by not becoming Satan when
we are given power.
How do we not become Satan?
The Muslim says, "I seek refuge
in Allah from the accursed
Satan." If we see Satan as a
force of Self that can damage
our perception as a result of
some desire or uncontrolled
need, then we realize that we
must always have God with us in
order to perceive properly. We
always run the risk of
perception being coloured by our
own mood, attitude or limited
knowledge.
By becoming Satan, we mean
adopting an attitude that we are
better. The Honorable Elijah
Muhammad says, that in one
thousand (1,000) years, all of
the races will disappear. As a
Black person, what does this
mean to you? What is your
interpretation of this
statement? Does it mean kill all
of the brown, yellow, red, until
no one is left but the Black
man? If you believe that, then
how do you perceive the Holy
Qur'an verses which say that
Allah produces various hues and
colours?
In making this statement, could
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad
mean that when Truth is present
and there is understanding,
colour will not be a reality,
but all human beings will take
the colouring of Allah? Could
this mean that colours will no
longer clash when we outgrow our
focus on colour and focus on
that which really makes man
superior --- duty to God?
When the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad said that America is to
be destroyed by God for her
treatment of the Black man and
woman is this a racist
statement?
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America is impeded in her
judgment because of extreme
consciousness of her whiteness.
The America that was envisioned
by the "founding fathers" and
the one that it is actually
becoming are two (2) different
things. The vision was of a
privileged, white society. There
was no vision of an America
where justice was rendered to
Black people or where every
colour of human being would live
together with freedom, justice
and equality.
The 13th and 14th Amendments
sentenced the old America to
death and signaled the beginning
of a new one. Legally, the death
of old America came with the
Civil War. But the real death of
old America could never come
until the system of belief it
was based upon was destroyed.
That destruction takes place
only with the Coming of Master
Fard Muhammad.
The Truth of the teachings of
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is
setting America on fire. Fire
destroys everything it touches
and turns it back into dust. The
fire in His Message caused the
awakening of Black people and a
clear perception of the reality
we have lived under. This is
bringing a new America to birth.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
said that Allah (God) was to
make us a nation of Gods, as the
Sun is to the Solar System. As
the Kabah sits in Mecca and the
people circumambulate, He will
allow us to be the reference
point that the nations of the
world revolve around, while we
revolve around Him.
It is alright to love and be
loyal to our own nation. But we
must recognize that we are in a
world with other nations. If one
nation misuses or abuses other
nations for its own exaltation,
then we have mass
self-centeredness and mass
vanity.
Throughout the world, we see
Black nationalism, white
nationalism, Arab nationalism,
etc. In striving to assert a
national identity and impose it
on others, we instill a false
sense of patriotism in the
people of that nation. This is
manifested in the refusal of the
Arab world to stand up with Imam
Khomeni. Nationalism has been
placed above the Universal Truth
of Islam.
We are taught, "SELF FIRST, THEN
OTHERS." Development of self and
devotion to self has its place,
but it is not confined to self
and no one else.
The struggle is in conquering
selfishness. Whether
individually or nationally, we
must get away from being
self-centered and make Allah
(God) the Center. When He is the
Center of our thinking, then we
have room in our thoughts for
all of His Creation.
Some of us say, "I am Black and
I am better", yet we go to the
Caucasian seeking a job.
Have you ever seen one
exceedingly gifted, who would
not train or practice to develop
his gifts, and ultimately one
with inferior capability
excelled over him?
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In God's eyes, it is he who
keeps his duty who is better. So
even though the objective fact
makes one better in physical
form or otherwise, the Bible
tells us that Allah (God) is no
respecter of persons. (Acts
10:34)
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
said that Allah (God) did not
reveal the Truth to us to make
us mockers of one another. The
Holy Qur'an sounds the death
knell to mockers. It gives us
the yardstick by which we are
measured: performance of our
duty, willingly and correctly.
"For unto whomsoever much is
given, of him shall be much
required; and to whom men have
committed much, of him they will
ask the more." (Luke 12:48)
"My dear beloved brothers and
sisters, your identity is not
your color, your identity is not
the landmass from which you come
or originated. Your identity is
the nature in which you are
created. Since your nature is to
obey the Will of Allah (God),
your nature is Islam. You are by
nature a Muslim and any name
other than that is not a proper
name for you. You are a Muslim.
"Accept your own and be
yourself." of God - Part III)
In the lessons given to us from
Master Fard Muhammad, we are
taught that the duty of a
civilized person is to "teach
the uncivilized people who are
savage, civilization,
righteousness, the knowledge of
himself, the science of
everything in life, love, peace
and happiness." We are also
taught that "If a civilized
person does not perform his
duty, which is teaching
civilization to others, they
should be punished with a severe
punishment."
The Black man is in fact the
Original man. We are more suited
to the requirements of nature
and in that sense we are
"better". But it is how we
interpret that fact that
produces self-worth in a
positive way, or racism, which
is negative. We negate the
consequences or effect of facts
in our own lives by what we
bring to them.
It is Allah (God) Who made
superior and inferior; all
things are not created equal,
but all things are created
equally. Allah (God) loves he
who is most careful of his duty.
"And Allah delivers those who
keep their duty with their
achievement -- evil touches them
not, nor do they grieve ...
Allah is the Creator of all
things and He has charge over
everything ... His are the
treasures of the heavens and the
earth. And those who disbelieve
in the messages of Allah, such
are the losers." Holy Qur'an
39:61
The Holy Qur'an provides an
example of misinterpretation
resulting from a damaged
perception of reality:
"And We indeed created you, then
We fashioned you, then We said
to the angels: Make submission
to Adam. So they submitted,
except Iblis: he was not of
those who submitted...He said:
What hindered thee that thou
didst not submit when I
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commanded thee? He said: I am
better than he; Thou hast
created me of fire, while him
Thou didst create of dust."
(7:11,12)
Satan is produced by a mind
which says, "I am better"; a
mind that contains false pride.
But fire and dust were both
created by Allah. In giving us
this dialogue, He is showing us
the attitude and expression we
must not use. We must not take
our excellence to be from
ourselves, or Allah may use
"dust" to put out our "fire".
Misinterpretation of fact
(reality) can produce very
negative results.
Racism is produced by
misinterpretation. A "race" has
a beginning and an ending It is
finite. If the Caucasian people
hold on to their view of
themselves as a "superior race"
and all that implies, they are
actually assigning an eventual
end to their own existence.
Anyone interested in eternal
life must give up "race". Do not
stop being what we are, but give
up glorifying it, based upon
some contemporary advantage
associated with it. People and
nations occupy positions of
rulership in turns.
The effort of the current
government of America is to
return to the original intent of
the "founding fathers", which is
limited to their ability to
perceive the future. The legacy
of their will, however, is being
overshadowed by the
establishment of an enlightened,
stronger will. But to return to
the original intent of the
"founding fathers" is to return
to a mind that is not fully
illuminated.
We can best avoid
misinterpretation by taking
guidance from the Best Knower:
"And upon Allah it rests to show
the right way, and there are
some deviating ways And if He
please, He would guide you all
aright...And He has cast firm
mountains in the Earth lest it
quake with you, and rivers and
roads that you may go aright,
and landmarks. And by the stars
they find the right way. Is He
then Who creates like him who
creates not? Do you not then
mind? And if you would count
Allah's favours you would not be
able to number them. Surely
Allah is forgiving, merciful.
And Allah knows what you conceal
and what you do openly. And
those whom they call on besides
Allah created naught, while they
themselves were created. Dead
are they, not living. And they
know not when they will be
raised." Holy Qur'an 16:9, 15-21
Four Great
Impediments to Self-Development
- Page 12
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Section 1: The Rule of
Interpretation
In the name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. I, Allah, am the best
Knower,
2. Allah, (there is) no god
but He, the Ever-living, the
Self-subsisting, by Whom all
subsist.
3. He has revealed to thee
the Book with truth, verifying
that which is before it, and He
revealed the Torah and the
Gospel
4. Aforetime, a guidance for
the people, and He sent the
Discrimination. Those who
disbelieve in the messages of
Allah – for them is a severe
chastisement. And Allah is
Mighty, the Lord of retribution.
5. Surely nothing in the
earth or in the heaven is hidden
from Allah.
6. He it is Who shapes you in
the wombs as He pleases. There
is no god but He, the Mighty,
the Wise.
7. He it is Who has revealed
the Book to thee; some of its
verses are decisive – they are
the basis of the Book – and
others are allegorical. Then
those in whose hearts is
perversity follow the part of it
which is allegorical, seeking to
mislead, and seeking to give it
(their own) interpretation. And
none knows its interpretation
save Allah, and those firmly
rooted in knowledge. They say:
We believe in it, it is all from
our Lord. And none mind except
men of understanding.
8. Our Lord, make not our
hearts to deviate after Thou
hast guided us and grant us
mercy from Thee; surely Thou art
the most liberal Giver.
9. Our Lord, surely Thou art
the Gatherer of men on a day
about which there is no doubt.
Surely Allah will not fail in
(His) promise.
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SECTION 1: Truth of
Revelation
In the name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful.
1 I, Allah, am the Best
Knower, the Seer. These are
verses of the Book. And that
which is revealed to thee from
thy Lord is the Truth, but most
people believe not.
2 Allah is He Who raised the
heavens without any pillars that
you can see, and He is
established on the Throne of
Power, and He made the sun and
the moon subservient (to you).
Each one runs to an appointed
term. He regulates the affair,
making clear the messages that
you may be certain of the
meeting with your Lord.
3 And He it is Who spread the
earth, and made in it firm
mountains and rivers. And of all
fruits He has made in it pairs,
two (of every kind). He makes
the night cover the day. Surely
there are signs in this for
people who reflect.
4 And in the earth are tracts
side by side, and gardens of
vines, and corn, and palm-trees
growing from one root and
distinct roots —they are watered
with one water; and We make some
of them to excel others in
fruit. Surely there are signs in
this for a people who
understand.
5 And if thou wonderest, then
wondrous is their saying: When
we are dust, shall we then be
raised in a new creation? These
are they who disbelieve in their
Lord, and these have chains on
their necks, and they are the
companions of the Fire; in it
they will abide.
6 And they ask thee to hasten
on the evil before the good, and
indeed there have been exemplary
punishments a before them. And
surely thy Lord is full of
forgiveness for mankind
notwithstanding their iniquity.
And surely thy Lord is Severe in
requiting.
7 And those who disbelieve
say: Why has not a sign been
sent down to him from his Lord?
Thou art only a warner and for
every people a guide.
SECTION 2:Fall and Rise of
Nations
8 Allah knows what every
female bears, and that of which
the wombs fall short of
completion and that which they
grow. And everything with Him
has a measure.
9 The Knower of the unseen
and the seen, the Great, the
Most High.
10 Alike (to Him) among you
is he who conceals (the) word
and he who speaks openly, and he
who hides himself by night and
(who) goes forth by day.
11 For him are (angels)
guarding the consequences (of
his deeds), before him and
behind him, who guard him by
Allah’s command. Surely Allah
changes not the condition of a
people, until they change their
own condition. And when Allah
intends evil to a people, there
is no averting it, and besides
Him they have no protector.
12 He it is Who shows you the
lightning causing fear and hope
and (Who) brings up the heavy
cloud.
13 And the thunder celebrates
His praise, and the angels too
for awe of Him. And He sends the
thunderbolts and smites with
them whom He pleases, yet they
dispute concerning Allah, and He
is Mighty in prowess.
14 To Him is due the true
prayer. And those to whom they
pray besides Him give them no
answer, but (they’re)like one
who stretches forth his two
hands towards water that it may
reach his mouth, but it will not
reach it. And the prayer of the
disbelievers is only wasted.
15 And whoever is in the
heavens and the earth makes
obeisance to Allah only,
willingly and unwillingly, and
their shadows, too, at morn and
eve.
16 Say: Who is the Lord of
the heavens and the earth? Say:
Allah. Say: Do you then take
besides Him, guardians who
control no benefit or harm even
for themselves? Say: Are the
blind and the seeing alike? Or,
are darkness and light equal?
Or, have they set up with Allah
associates who have created
creation like His, so that what
is created became confused to
them? Say: Allah is the Creator
of all things, and He is the
One, the Supreme.
17 He sends down water from
the clouds, then watercourses
flow according to their measure,
and the torrent bears along the
swelling foam. And from that
which they melt in the fire for
the sake of making ornaments or
apparatus a arises a scum like
it. Thus does Allah compare
truth and falsehood. Then as for
the scum, it passes away as a
worthless thing; and as for that
which does good to men, it
tarries in the earth. Thus does
Allah set forth parables.
18 For those who respond to
their Lord is good. And as for
those who respond not to Him,
even if they had all that is in
the earth and the like thereof
with it, they would certainly
offer it for a ransom. As for
those, theirs is an evil
reckoning and their abode is
hell; and evil is the
resting-place.
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Self Improvement: The Basis of
Community Development - Page 21
In my conclusion: Adam fell
and Adam's fall is only a
picture of man's fall from his
Divine position with God. Adam
was no shallow creature. Adam
was a man who had power over
angels. He was born to take
God's place in the rulership
over this domain; born with that
potential. But he disobeyed; he
transgressed and he fell. 'Fall'
does not mean he fell out of the
heaven onto the Earth. 'Fall
means when you fall from your
spiritual power, your moral
make-up. You become and animal
in human form. That is a fall,
Brothers and Sisters. And I
suggest to you, with deep
respect, that Humanity has
fallen and become cheap, base
animals in human form.
You could not do the things
that you do, if you were not an
animal in human form. You don't
steal from another human being.
You don't beat up an old man or
hit an old woman in the head.
This is not white people doing
this; this is you, Black man,
doing this to yourself. You
don't take a young girl and
throw her down in an alley and
rape her. She is not offering
herself to you; that is the act
of an animal, a sick, depraved
mind. You are a sick people and
you need a doctor. This 'Black
and proud' stuff is not where
it's at anymore, Brothers. You
are sick and you need a doctor.,
You need to come up out of that
condition because you have
become an enemy to yourself.
The Old Testament is a testament
of Law. Moses brought a law. You
don't give laws to a righteous
people. Look at his law: 'Thou
shalt not steal. Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy
neighbor. Thou shalt not kill.'
What kind of people is this?
God gave Moses a law for this
world. As long as that law
existed, the wickedness of man
was kept under the wrap of a
righteous law. But, when Nimrod
broke the civilization of Moses,
he broke the law. Once there was
no law, wickedness rushed out of
the people's souls, because they
were wicked and the law made
them look right.
Jesus came into the world and
the people said 'He doesn't come
preaching the law.' They were so
dark in their minds, they killed
him. Now, we are 6,000 years
from Adam. We are at the end of
the law. God doesn't come to
control you with law. Law is
only a cover for your
wickedness, it does not make you
better. Listen!
Self
Improvement: The Basis of
Community Development - Page 22
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I just came from Mecca, in
Arabia. If you fornicate, they
will cut your head off. If you
steal, they will chop your hand
off. They don't have a lot of
stealing and there is not a lot
of fornication and adultery.
That doesn't mean that people
don't want to do it, though. It
is just that the price is too
high. So, they think about it
all night long. And when they
get on that plane going to
London and Paris, they take off
those holy garments and put on
their jeans. The sheiks are in
the disco; they fornicate,
commit adultery, do anything
that they are big enough to do.
Then, when they return to Saudi
Arabia, they are
'holier-than-thou'.
You see, law is a cover for
hypocrisy. It makes you look
right when you are wrong. It is
hell on the inside. This is why
Jesus said that he that lusts
after a woman in his heart has
already committed the act; Jesus
was not interested in you
looking good on the outside, he
was interested in purifying man
from the inside and the law will
never do that. Some one has to
grow a man out of this childlike
stage. And what is the Force
that grows, evolves, feeds,
nurtures, nourishes?
The New Testament is called
the testament of Love. And so,
Love replaces Law. Man gets a
period of Grace and in that
Grace there is Love. If that is
rejected, then comes
Destruction.
Now, what I am saying to you,
when I speak to the Jews, is not
hatred. I am concerned that you
do not end up being destroyed by
God. I am saying to you, that
what you have done to the
Palestinians is wrong. You don't
like me. What did I do? I say,
'You're wrong.' I didn't do
anything against you. I am like
your mother. A good Jewish
mother will spank you when you
are wrong. A good Jewish mother
does not care whether you desire
a thing; if it is wrong, she
will speak against it. You may
dislike her for a while, but you
will get over it. But Brother
Farrakhan is Black. I don't look
like your Jewish mother, but I
am better than she is by you,
because you are wrong, and I
must tell you that! Whether you
like me or not is irrelevant and
immaterial. But, if you will
come back from your wicked ways
and grow up, you can return to
God. You cannot force yourself
on Him as the chosen people! God
chooses whom He pleases and He
doesn't choose you today! That
is all that I am saying. Unless
you choose Him! If you choose
Him and will submit and return
and repent, then alright, come
on in! But don't attack
Farrakhan! 'Death to Farrakhan!'
Death to me? For what?!
You don't want me in the
Valley. What is so precious in
the Valley that you don't want
me here? You are, according to
what I heard on the news, ranked
Number 5 in the country in dope.
You should want me all over the
Valley.
Self
Improvement: The Basis of
Community Development - Page 23
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You think that man is
physical, so you feed him
physical things and you think
that he is satisfied. You
cheapen women. You give them a
fur coat: 'Here, baby. Wear this
fur coat, darling. Here is a
diamond ring, put it on,
sweetheart. Bless your heart.
Honey, what else do you want?'
And you walk away and tell your
friends, 'I know that she loves
me.' Then you find her in bed
with someone else and you wonder
why. It wasn't the diamond ring;
it wasn't' the fur coat. You
have misjudged reality.
When you get away from God, you
misperceive. You think she is a
thing, so you give her things.
But her essence is the Essence
of God. She cannot be satisfied
with 'things'. You have to give
her what her soul is born and
created to feed on, and it
cannot feed on 'things'; it
feeds on the spiritual essence
in a man that is made by the
nature of "God to complement
what is in her nature. Listen,
Black man, and listen, all men!
You are not a thing and she
is not a thing; therefore,
material things cannot satisfy
us. When I look at the mountain,
it is a 'thing'. But it is a
thing of magnificence, because I
see beautiful trees; look at the
insects; look at the life here.
This is magnificent. So what
does it do? It feeds something
in you that makes you want to go
behind the veil of the mountain,
the veil of the valley, the veil
of the flower, to see the
reality behind the veil; and the
Reality is God.
And so, Beloved, 'Babylon is
fallen, is fallen; for she has
become a habitation of devils; a
hole of every foul spirit and a
cage for every unclean and
hateful bird. 'Babylon' is
talking about America,
specifically, but the condition
of the whole world generally. It
is a habitation of devils and a
cage for every hateful bird and
a hole for every foul spirit.
Go out in the street. There are
people drunk, filled with drugs;
they hate you because you are
Black, you hate them because
they are white, or Mexican or
Indian. I listen to the cheap
remarks that one passes against
another. It is wrong to degrade
another human being who is
already degraded. You can't call
him a nigger and degrade him;
you can't call a Mexican a
'spic' and degrade him; he is
already degraded. He is a devil.
He has degraded himself; he has
become an animal. You can't call
a white man a 'honky' and
degrade him; he is already
degraded. He is a devil. He
deprived you of what God wanted
you to have; therefore, in
depriving you, he deprived
himself. He is an enemy to God
and he is an enemy to himself.
You have become an enemy to God
and an enemy to yourself. No one
is holding you back; it is you.
You are in your own way.
Self
Improvement: The Basis of
Community Development - Page 24
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'A habitation of devils.' I
did not come to Phoenix to add
to these problems, but to use
the teachings of the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad to help solve
these problems. And so, until we
can face ourselves, until we
struggle for self-improvement,
self-development, then we cannot
see the good in ourselves;
therefore, we will not see the
good in others. And it is only
when you can see the good in
yourself, see the good in one
another, that you can start
building a true community.
You will start building
better homes when you
understand, parent, that you
have a duty. You can hardly
fulfill your duty, because you
have to work. Who is watching
your children? You are working,
man; she is working. What are
the babies doing? What of those
children? Who is guiding them?
Who is helping them and
nurturing them; fostering them?
The street!
Send them to school, and what
do they find there? A racist
school! A white-centered school!
I cannot send my babies to
school and you are going to
extol your race over all other
people as though we are just
'also rans' on the Planet! How
is that good for your babies'
minds? We ought to either change
the schools or take our children
out of them, because the more
your children get a racists,
sexist, materialist education,
their ability to run the race of
life will fail them. Their
teachers have failed in the race
of life, the government has
failed in the race of life;
therefore, they are unfit for
the stewardship of the Life
Force in human beings.
Beloved, economic development
must become a reality and we
cannot look to the government to
do it for us.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
started welfare and welfare was
alright, but when you keep a
medicine going beyond the time
it begins to kill the patient.
Welfare has grown to mean
'farewell' to productive living.
No human being can be
self-gratified waiting for a
check to come on the first of
the month. This is degrading to
the human spirit. It robs us of
the ability to struggle to
attain our own potential. We are
only self-gratified when we earn
our own way. So we must develop
to the point where we can say
'Farewell' to welfare.
With 206 billion dollars
coming to Black people every
year, there is no reason why we
cannot say 'farewell' to
welfare. But we don't produce
any of the things we consume. So
we sit around and laugh and make
mockery of the Arabs, the Jews,
the Chinese, the Koreans and
others who are in our
neighborhood, serving our needs;
but we refuse to serve our own
needs. Therefore, they take the
money out of our community into
their communities. They live in
Paradise Valley while you live
in South Phoenix, in a terrible
condition. We have got to turn
this around.
Self
Improvement: The Basis of
Community Development - Page 25
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We have decided that we are
going to produce some products
that we spend money for every
day. We have got to get some of
that money back into our own
hands to build institutions that
serve our people's needs.
Indian, Mexican, Chicano,
Black---we must serve our own
community.
I was on the Indian
reservation and they said to me,
'Brother Farrakhan, why don't
you come and set up businesses
on the reservations?' I said,
'No.' And they said, 'Why not?'
I said, 'If I did that, I would
be no better than any other
exploiter. I said, 'What we will
do is come and help you set up
your own businesses; then you
make the money from your people
because that is what we will be
doing for our people.' We cannot
condemn exploitation and then
become exploiters.
You know, you must wash and
clean if you are going to come
out of this condition. Bad
smelling and bad acting people,
nasty and dirty, is not going to
make it. You must clean up.
Jesus said, 'Wash and be clean.'
So, we have come out with a
new product called 'Clean N
Fresh'. Brand-spanking new.
'Herbal Essence Shampoo.' Clean
your hair; keep it clean. Don't
have you hair in the condition
where lice like you, stay with
you, cling to you, because you
are unclean. And when you put
the shampoo on, you must get the
conditioner. You must keep your
hair in good condition. This is
a 'one-two punch'. And it will
knock out the dandruff and all
that bad conditioning of your
hair and make it soft and easy
to manage. It is as good
product, Brother and Sister. And
we are coming into the Valley
with a line of products. We want
to offer you a chance to sell
these products and earn a living
and make some money to better
your condition. Self-improvement
must also men economic
advancement.
Here is a wonderful roll-on
deodorant; a beautiful shower
and bath liquid soap; a
beautiful hand and body lotion.
Here is a conditioner and hair
dress. Brothers and Sisters,
this is the first of a line of
products.
Within the next few months,
we are coming out with a 'Power
Plus' line of detergents for
household use. Our brothers and
sisters who are out of a job; we
want to create a job for you. We
will teach you how to sell and
you go. And the commissions you
make on selling these products
will begin to add to your own
life. This is only the
beginning. It is a humble
beginning. It is not what we
want, but we must start
someplace. When we start, can
you imagine the money coming
from this?
We want to help the school
system in Phoenix, but we also
want to build a school system
that is a model for the school
system that we desire to help.
We must build our own hospitals.
The Mexicans, the Indians, the
Blacks; we must have our own
hospitals. We cannot let others
experiment on us. We must care
for ourselves, then God will
bless the child that has his
own.
Self
Improvement: The Basis of
Community Development - Page 26
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And so, dear beloved Brothers
and Sisters, I conclude by
saying to each of you---you and
I---we must come out of an
animal or carnal existence. We
must become moral and act upon
that which is morally right.
Community development is not
building buildings. Community
development is building people
and linking people with people.
'The strife is o'er and the
battle done. The victory of life
is won. All glory to that risen
Son, Allelujah!' What strife is
o'er? The struggle to meet with
God. That struggle is o'er, the
ascendant child of the Creator.
Now, we can say, 'Praise be to
God! We have come from being
animals and little demons and we
have become godly and godlike.'
The challenge to Chicano people
is not to look for the enemy
elsewhere. Conquer the enemy
within. When you conquer the
enemy within, no enemy outside
of you is more powerful, or is
able to weaken you.
Native Americans, it is not
the white man that made you
fall. It is you who fell from
Grandfather. And, in your fall,
according to Indian tradition,
the man---the two-legged
man---is weaker than the
four-legged, creeping things.
Not because by nature you are
made that way, but because in
your fall you are less than
that. So, take on the wings of
the eagle. Do not look to the
eagle to carry your prayers to
God alone, look at the eagle as
symbol of where you can fly if
you mount up on the wings of
knowledge and power and conquer
the weakness of yourself that
cause you to fall in the
beginning.
White people. You must
struggle against this
self-centered thing. You must
struggle---please
listen---against this thing that
makes you feel that 'white' must
always be on top and it is
somehow degrading if someone of
another race ascends to a
position of glory. This is
wrong. If you refuse to
struggle, your whole world will
come down as it is coming down
around you and it will never
rise again. While there is time,
why not admit your fault? Repent
of it. Struggle against the
weakness of your self, because
you do not have an excuse; God
has raised a prophet in every
nation, and you Caucasians, have
had prophets. So, you have had
examples of moral conduct of
what you could become if you
would struggle. If you do not
struggle, then God will end your
world.
Self
Improvement: The Basis of
Community Development - Page 28
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Black man and Black woman,
there is nobody to blame. Yes,
the white people brought us into
slavery. Very good. But, who
ordained it? See, if you want to
blame somebody, why not blame
God? You don't have the heart,
do you? Because God is good,
isn't He? He wouldn't let white
folks do this to you---but He
did. What did they do it to us
for? You have to struggle to
prove there is character in you,
Black man. And that is why the
last will be the first. And that
is why the stone that the
builders rejected is going to be
the headstone of the corner. 'It
is the Lord's doing and it is
marvelous in our sight.' You
have no excuse, Black people
Nobody to blame; look within and
conquer the enemy of self that
makes you an opposer of your own
journey toward God. And you put
that internal enemy to flight.
There is no external enemy that
could handle you.
The challenge now is yours
and mine. I hope that you and I
will be able to say like Jesus,
'the strife is o'er...'. The
battle is done, man. The victory
of life is won; I got it. I made
it. Not number one in football,
not number one in singing,
dancing and clowning, not number
one in this and that, but the
victory of life, meaning that
the Divine Life that God gave
you, you finally have connected
to the Source of it.
And now you have become one
with God, so there is no more
struggle, no more strife, the
battle is over, the victory is
won and you have become a risen
child of that Creator that has
ascended to the heights. Then we
can say, Allelujah, for Praise
belongs to God!
Thank you all for listening
and may God bless you as I greet
you in peace, As-Salaam Alaikum!
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WHO IS THE ORIGINAL MAN?
The
above question is now answered
from the mouth of Allah to us,
the so-called Negroes, for the
first time since our straying
away from our own nation.
This
secret of who is God and who is
the devil has been a mystery to
the average one of mankind, to
be revealed in all of its
clearness to one who was so
ignorant that he know not even
himself - born blind, deaf and
dumb in the wilderness of North
America.
All
praise is due to the Great
Mahdi, who was to come and has
come, the sole master of the
worlds. I ask myself at times,
What can I do to repay Allah
(the Great Mahdi, Fard Muhammad)
for His coming, wisdom,
knowledge and understanding?
Most
of us having been born in the
southern part of this wilderness
of sin, where the member of
white race (man of sin) has
always manifested himself to us
(the so-called Negroes), should
have known that he was really
the evil one by the way he
treated us. Yet, we were made so
dumb that we still could not
recognize him.
The
truth of him is now being told
and taught throughout the world,
to his anger and sorrow. He is
losing no time trying to hinder
the truth of the above question,
who is the original man?
He is
setting watchers and listeners
around me and my followers to
see if he can find some other
charge to put against us to
satisfy his anger of the truth
that we preach from the mouth of
Allah, who is with us in person.
The
original man, Allah has
declared, is none other than the
black man. The black man is the
first and the last, maker and
owner of the universe. From him
came all brown, yellow, red and
white people. By using a special
method of birth control law the
black man was able to produce
the white race.
The
true nature of the Black and
white mankind should be enough
to awaken the so-call Negroes
and put them on their feet and
on the road to
self-independence. Yet, they are
so afraid of the slave-masters
that they even love them to
their destruction and wish that
the bearer of truth would not
tell the truth even if he knows
it.
The
time has arrived when it must be
told the world over. There are
millions who do not know who is
the original man. Why should
this question be put before the
world today? Because it is the
time of judgment between the
black and white and the
knowledge of the rightful owners
of the earth.
Allah
is now pointing out to the
nations of earth their rightful
places, and this judgment will
bring an end to war over it. Now
it is so easy to recognize the
original man, the real owner of
the earth, by the history of the
two (black and white). We have
an unending past history of the
black nation and a limited one
of the white race.
We
find that history teaches that
the earth was populated by the
black nation ever since it was
created, but the history of the
white race does not take us
beyond 6,000 years.
Everywhere the white race has
gone on our planet, they have
either found the original man or
a sign that he had been there
previously. Allah is proving to
the world of black men that the
white race actually does not own
any part of our planet.
The
Bible and the Holy Qur'an bears
witness to the above, if you are
able to understand it. The Holy
Qur'an, the beauty of
Scriptures, repeatedly
challenges the white race to
point out the part of the
heavens and the earth that they
created.
It
further teaches that they are
not even their own creators. We
created white man from a small
life germ, the soft pronoun "we"
used nearly throughout the Holy
Qur'an makes the knowledge of
the original man much clearer
and more intelligent of how the
white race's creation took
place.
In
the Bible, referring to their
creation, we have
US (Gen. 1:26)
creating, or rather making the
race; the US and WE used show
beyond a shadow of a doubt that
they came from another people.
A
knowledge of the white race
removes once and for all times
the mistakes that would be made
in dealing with them. My
followers and I can and are
getting along with them in a
more understandable way than
ever because we know them.
You
cannot blame one for the way he
or she was born, for they had
nothing to do with that. Can we
say to them why don’t you do the
righteousness when nature did
not give righteousness to them?
Or say to them, why are you such
a wicked devil? Who is
responsible, the made or the
maker? Yet we are not excused
for following and practicing his
evil or accepting him for a
righteous guide just because he
is not his maker.
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