Our Vision For The Future Part 1 of 2

Building A Community

Speaker: Khalid Yasin

Venue: The Islamic Center of Tennessee

Opening Remarks

Brothers and sisters, I want to just remind us that even in gathering to hear a lecture, there is a Sunnah to that. Now I understand this is your local mosque, and you come here every day, and you have your own places you like to sit. However, if you want to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, this is what he said.

When he entered a masjid like this one, his masjid, and he saw people sitting in different places, he didn't like that. He said, why you don't draw yourselves up in rows, as the angels draw themselves up in front of the throne of Allah.

So brothers, I'm advising you, just for the few minutes, me, I will be in and out. You know, one hour, 45 minutes, in and out. The operation is through.

For the energy, for the Sunnah, for the discipline, we should try our best to sit together as brothers. And even the sisters, if there's some sisters, sit together.

The Analogy of the Brain

You know, if you ask the surgeons who work on the brain, the micro surgeons, they will tell you the structure of the brain. Remember, the brain is made up of different cells. And energy is passing through those cells to create thought. The process is called synapse.

This is the process. In scientific terminology, it's called synapse. How the energy travels from one part of the brain to another and forms thought.

Without this here synapse, there would be no energy, there would be no complete thought, and the human being would not have the distinction above animals. When Allah ordered us, Allah is telling us to line up the same way the cells inside the brain is lined up. To carry the energy.

Brothers, me, I'm not an important person. And it doesn't matter who I am. What matters is what we're going to talk about.

This is a session. It's like brain surgery. Heart surgery. Something to keep you alive. Something to bring you back to life. Something that makes the difference.

The State of Mosques in America

Because there are masjids, now, according to the most recent study, there are 5,336 masjids in America. Now, okay, they're not all this size, but it doesn't matter. Allah does not look to the size and the amount. He's looking to the ikhlas and the benefit which comes from it.

But 5,336 masjids, when I became a Muslim, there was only 15 masjids in the whole United States. Fifteen. Seven of them was in New York.

So where's the rest of them? We don't need all of them. 5,336 now. When I became a Muslim, there was about 1.9 or maybe 2 million immigrant Muslims who came from Yemen, who came from Lebanon, who came from Palestine, who came from Egypt, who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, like that, Turkish.

Now, there is over 4.2 million Muslims who is either first or second generation immigrants. These are statistics which you can, you know, the Homeland Security, they're always stopping me and bothering me. So I've been checking on their statistics because you know they're watching us more than we watch ourselves.

So they said now 4.3 million immigrant Muslims and 3.2 million new Muslims, Muslimun Judud, reverts like myself. When I became a Muslim, there was only 85,000 reverts in the whole country.

And they don't even know nothing about Aqeedah. They don't know nothing about, you know, Sunnah. They don't know nothing about, you know, Mustalahat of Hadith. They don't know no Fiqh. They don't know no Tafsir. They didn't speak the Arabic language.

Just they know Allah, Muhammad, Quran, Mecca, five pillars and they didn't even get that right. But there was 85,000. One of them was Malcolm X and he was only Muslim.

The Legacy of Malcolm X

Oh, one of those reverts was Malcolm X. And you know he become a Muslim in Mecca in order to make Hajj. You know that, right? So when he wrote his letter, he was only Muslim 12 days. When he came back to America, two and a half months later, they killed him.

But most of the revert Muslims who's in this country today, they came through his word. Subhanallah, look at that. Somebody who's only Muslim, what? 12 days? Before he wrote a letter? Somebody, you know, he was only Muslim for two and a half months and then they assassinated him.

Maybe he didn't even, I made Hajj with his daughter. She said, maybe my father didn't even know the whole Fatiha. Maybe she don't know.

But see how many people from his example and his words, how many people are into Islam? Subhanallah, still coming. So now brother, we have 6.89, close to 7 million Muslims in North America. 6 million, United States of America.

Where is the Community?

5,336 Masajids. My question is, where is the community? A building is not a community. Just like if you go in a hospital, you say hospital, but when you go in there, ain't no doctors there, there ain't no organization there, nobody's at the desk, there's no machines there, no nothing there, but because it's a hospital, you just gonna sit there all night and wait for somebody or not? Would you?

You go to a supermarket and say, there ain't no food on the shelf or nothing like that, you gonna still be walking up and down the aisles? I'm asking you.

No. So then, where is the community? Where are the families who make up the unit of the community? And where are the individuals who themselves is in charge of those families? And those families, with those individuals who form the units of the community, who's the leader?

I didn't say who's the imam, we already know who's the imam. All the masjids, all 5,336 masjids, you know they have imam, right? Probably some of them, they got like four imams.

You know, they got imam, backup imam, backup, backup, backup, backup, backup, big imam, small imam, imam with big turban, small turban, special imam khususi, they got this imam, that imam, they got plenty imams. But who is the leader?

That means the one that take the full responsibility of the community. The one who can command the community. The one who can say, sit down, stand up, move out. Where's the leader?

I'm not asking you to answer that question here. You all men, and you know, dealing with men is like difficult and I'm just coming and then I'm leaving.

So, you know, on the way out, you don't like what I said, talk to me outside in the parking lot. But for right now, I'm asking some questions, then I'm going to answer some. You like it, take the medicine.

You don't like it, do like you do, the dentist say. Just leave your teeth alone, they just go away. So just don't even answer the questions.

White Elephants: A Warning

Just keep going like this, going and you see, white elephants. You ever seen a white elephant? I'm asking you, did you ever see a white elephant? This means very strange if you see one, right?

20 years from now, if we don't form a community, these places will become white elephants. Nobody's going to make this masjid into a dance hall. It used to be movie theater before, right? Now it is a waqf. It's not going to become dance hall or something like that. It just will not have anybody here.

Because the young kids, they ain't going to be sitting up in here like the OGs be sitting up in here. I know OGs mean old generation, in case you guys don't know. Old generation, old gangsters, old guys, old girls, old generation, the kids in the street, they call you what? OG.

So don't be getting no attitude if they say, hey, excuse me, sheikh, OG. Don't be saying, what are you calling me? This is respect. That's a respectful name, but it's just from some, you know, slang.

You know, the Egyptians, you understand slang. If you go to Egypt and you're trying to talk in some classical Arabic, they be thinking something's wrong with you because they don't talk no classical Arabic. They do, they have some knowledge, but in the street, they say, it's indigenous, whatever they're talking, like that.

So in the street here, the kids, they also have their own vernacular, and if they say OG, it's respect, meaning that you old generation.

The Reality of Fajr Prayer

So if you go to most of the masjids today, for Fajr, there ain't nobody there but the OGs. Big masjids, filled up for Juma, from wall to wall, front to back, over here, upstairs, all that, Juma.

But for Asr, after they say, Yom Juma, you know, Friday, Asr prayer, how many people do you think is there? Maybe 10, 15 people, it's khalas, it's done. Juma, 200 cars in the parking lot. Asr, it's just five, six cars there.

Fajr, how many people do you think is there? 10, 15, 20, maybe. Because America is a big dunya, and people have many excuses. Shaytan, he have a lot of excuses at Fajr time.

Or it's too far, I ain't got no gas, or I got to be at work, or I pray right here, or it's warm, or it's cold, or it's raining. You know what I'm saying? I got a little place over here, my friend, or I go around the corner. Shaytan, he got a lot of stuff for you at Fajr time.

You looking for an excuse? Shaytan, he got at least 15 of them for you. See, but if there's community, if there's discipline, there's accountability, there's commitment, there's investment, if you open up, if you have a business, and it's supposed to be open up at 8 o'clock in the morning, it's your business, and you're going to make sure somebody have it open or not. It's right or wrong.

McDonald's say they open up at 7 o'clock, there's people inside McDonald's at 6 o'clock, they cleaning up and putting all the machines on and at 7 o'clock in the morning, McDonald's is open. You ever been to a McDonald's that's not open the time they say? I'm asking you. No, they're open.

Walmart, McDonald's, Starbucks, all the places, hospitals, schools, they open the time they say. Because it's business. So, Muslim, our first business is the prayer.

And most of you, you got cars, you ain't catching no bus, so why you not here at Fajr? Because you ain't accountable. Ain't nobody to tell you, look in your eyes and look in your face and say, hey, Abdullah, what's up with you, man? When you see you at Fajr, man, for three mornings, what's going on with you?

You can't get no attitude, not if we got a, you know, we got some guys that got bigger attitude than you. You can't get no attitude.

Say, oh, don't be asking me no question. What you mean don't ask you no question, man? You made a commitment here. You're supposed to be here.

You're a man, you got a family, you made a commitment here. We want to see you here for the Fajr prayer.

The Hadith About Fajr

You know, this is America, so we can't tell you what the Prophet ﷺ said.

One day, Prophet ﷺ made the prayer. After he turned around, he looked and see, there was some people wasn't there. He said he would have.

He said if it was not for the women and the children who's inside the homes, I would have, meaning that he said he would. He did, he never did this. I would have ordered the men to get some wood, and I'd burn down the houses of the people who ain't here for Fajr.

You know that Hadith, right? You heard that before, right? This means he was very angry that he don't see the people. This is Medina. He know where everybody lives.

So, if the Prophet ﷺ, and he's a prophet of mercy. He's a prophet of mercy, but he get angry when he don't see the men visit the Fajr prayer. So, if there is an Amir here, he have the right also to be angry.

Why you not here for the Fajr prayer? You ain't got no excuse. But the problem is that the Muslims, they really don't want discipline. So, they want a building, they want Jummah, they want Eid, they want to call it Salatul Jummah, or they want to call it the prayer, but they don't want Jamaah.

Jamaah is Accountability

Because Jamaah is accountability. Jamaah is a responsibility. Jamaah is a discipline.

You know in the Quran, you know how many times Allah say the word Ummah? You know when you say the word Jamaah, Ummah is a bigger word, but Jamaah is a descriptive noun for the Ummah. You know the

Ummah could be the earth, the Ummah could be everyone on the earth, the Ummah could be those who follow Muhammad, it could be all the human beings, the Ummah could be the Ummah of Ibrahim (AS), could be the Ummah of a prophet or a nabi, it could be this Ummah or that Ummah, but the word Ummah in the Quran, it comes 62 times. Allah, He used the word Ummah, 62 times.

That means it's a very important word. He describing the human beings, the followers of Muhammad.

Quranic Verse: The Best Ummah

Arabic:

"You are the best nation produced for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah."

This is the ayah we can discuss. Description Allah has given directly to us, the followers of Muhammad.

He said, You, plural, You are, Kuntum Khaira You are the best Ummatan You are the best Ummah Ukhrijat Evolved out of, taken out of. So that means Allah, He snatched the Ummah of Muhammad out of the entire Ummah. He snatched this part of the Ummah out, and He says, You are the best Ummah.

Why? Did He give the reason why? What's the reason why? Ta'maruna Bil Ma'ruf Because you command what is right.

And you, and you forbid with your power, you prevent what is evil or wrong. And lastly, because you believe in Allah, because you have a covenant with Allah. Right? Because you use your power to do what? Command what's good.

And you use your power, your resources to do what? To prevent what's evil. And what's the third reason? Because you honor your Iman. You honor your contract with Allah.

This is what Iman is. Iman is the honoring of the contract you have with Allah. Because, what does it mean? Amanah. Amanah means what? Trust, right? Amanah is trust. And Iman comes from the same verb. So to trust, to have a covenant, to keep the covenant, to have the honor, to maintain, this is Iman.

This is Amanah. So when Allah says, it means all of that too. As Muslims, those are the three reasons why Allah made us the preferred Ummah.

And we don't have to go into all the other ayats. I'm not trying here to discuss all of this sebab of the ayats. I'm not trying to give tafsir on the ayats.

I'm discussing the issue of community.

Hold Fast to the Rope of Allah

Now, Allah also said:

Arabic:

"And hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah and be not divided among yourselves."

How many people, they hear ayah before? Oh, you don't hear that? You don't hear the ayah before? So I ask the question. If I say how many people here like money? How many men here, they like women? How many people here like to have a nice house? How many here would like to have a hundred dollars right now? Because I just came with some money.

How many people like that? Everybody still like that? But now I'm asking you, did you hear the ayah before? Yes. Good. Because nobody who can hear, even if they are only seven years old, they heard this ayah.

Because it is one of the central ayah in dealing with the discipline of the Muslims.

Allah said, you know in the Quran when Allah says when he says that, like that? This is a command. It's a command. You don't have no choice. It's not like please, think about this. No, this is like an order.

So hold on to the rope which Allah extends to you and do not be divided among yourselves. Let's discuss that for a minute. Because he's talking about what? What are we talking about again? What's the subject today? Community.

So Allah says hold on to the rope that Allah extends to you. Now, there is a general consensus among all the scholars past and present that the حَبْلِ اللَّهِ means the Quran and the Sunnah. We ain't talking about all the different groups who is recognizing the Quran and the Sunnah.

What it means? حَبْلِ اللَّهِ What does it mean? Quran and Sunnah. So whoever is claiming to love Muhammad, whoever is claiming to love Allah, whoever is claiming to follow the Quran, whoever is claiming to follow his Sunnah, whoever is claiming that this is the حَبْلِ اللَّهِ and regarding those who follow the حَبْلِ اللَّهِ what's the next order?

وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا

Now, you know people who think they in the right way, people who think they are very religious, they are very disciplined, they have the knowledge, they have the discipline, they got the right school, they got the right scholars, they got this, they got that, then they say we the ones that Allah is talking about, we the ones, you guys, you don't look like us, you ain't talking like us, you ain't following like us, you ain't reading our books, you own something else, you guys is mubtadi, you guys is khawarij, you guys is this, you guys is that.

You heard those names, right? You heard those names, right? So the Salafis they don't like the Sufis, the Sufis they don't like the Salafis, and the Salafis and the Sufis they don't like the Shi'is, and the Shi'is they don't like the Sunnis, and the Sunnis they don't like the Shi'is, and the Ahlul Hadithis they don't like this one and then we keep going on and on and on but what they've got to do with the Qur'an and the Sunnah and what that has to do with the word Allah says?

So if you say I'm not praying with those guys, don't sit and eat with those guys, you violating this word right here because Allah said what? And this verse here, this verse here is irreversible, you cannot put some walla wallau, it doesn't even say wallau, what he said? Walla tafarraku, this la in this verse here is absolute, it is absolute, you cannot change it at all. Do not cause any division among the Qur'an and the Sunnah and the people of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, don't make no divisions.

Don't say you better than the other one even those people if somebody commits sins you ain't better than them if they commit sins what we supposed to do regarding them what we do? If we convict them what we do? No we punish, if they do kabbalah they get punished right or did we tell them make tawbah but you don't say you better than them, the judge ain't better the one who make the judgment he's not better he don't say I'm better than you I'll put you in the jail I'm gonna punish you because I'm better than you, no he don't say that he just bring the law right the law does not mean that the one who put the law is better than you.

Excellence in Taqwa

In Islam no one better:

Arabic:

"Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you."

He made you male and female, nations and tribes, different colors, different languages but verily the best of you is the best in what? In the fear of Allah.

So today the Muslims is take out the word la they say wa'tasimu bihablillahi jamee'an wa tafarrakum, they take out the la, wa farrakum why they say you know why we we make farrakum with those guys because they this and they that, Allah he said wa la tafarrakum, so the Muslims they change it to wa farrakum.

Islam as a System

Brothers and sisters, Islam is a system. You know some scholars years ago they were asked to define Islam and they did it in a very nice way. I'm saying this is the only definition but it is the definition easy for everybody to remember. The definition they gave is it like a poem they said:

Arabic:

Islam is submission to Allah through Tawheed, yielding to Him in obedience, and rejecting shirk, kufr, and its people.

How many people here is Arabs or speak the Arabic language? So you understood what that is right but it's the definition: al-islamu istislamu lillah, al-islam is submission to Allah because he's the Rabb, we submit whatever he ordered us we say ati Allah wa ati Rasul, al-islamu lillahi bi-tawheed and the way we surrender to Allah bi- tawheed not any way you feel bi-tawheed wal inqiyadu lehu bi-ta'ati and to surrender to him completely to surrender to his orders what he told us what he ordered us what he give to us to Muhammad, wal inqiyadu lehu bi-ta'ati, wa ruddu sh-shirk and to reject all forms of paganism shirk, wa l-kufr, rebellion and disbelief, wa ahlihi and ahlihi means and all things that come from it its relatives.

This is Islam.

Three Elements of Islamic Civilization

Brothers and sisters, Islam is a system of faith which flourishes and depends upon three things on the earth. Islam as a faith depends on no one except the Qadr of Allah but Islam on the earth as a civilization as a society requires three elements:

1. Family
2. Community
3. Nation

What's the three elements brothers? This is interactive. You ain't paying me nothing so I'm just telling you this is my setting. I'm just interactive. If you want to pay me then you ain't even got to participate just pay but if you're

not paying me at least you got to participate because what I'm sitting up here doing I'm wasting my time I've come all the way from Philadelphia just to be fooling around listening to some people looking at me smiling like I'm crazy.

So how many elements? What's the elements? Family, community, nation.

Throughout the years since Islam came into this world it relied upon those three elements. When Allah sent a prophet he's an individual right but can he do something by himself? No he cannot do nothing by himself. Allah sent the Prophet with a what? Family.

And even see how Allah sent Prophet Muhammad one of the people that's in his family that helped him the most never became a Muslim is that correct? Abu Talib right? He never become a Muslim right? But subhanAllah who helped the Prophet like Abu Talib? This is to show you that even a prophet he needs to have a family even if the family don't become Muslim still Allah sent him with a family right?

Individual cannot do nothing, nothing by themselves. If I ask anybody here would you like to have your own island? Not your own house, your own island with your own everything. You got everything, you got house, you got cars, you got everything but it's your own island but and it's all paid for, we fly you out there with a helicopter, we drop you there, all the food is there, everything you need is there, the only thing you will not get while you're there is people. Nobody else is there. They say this is your island, stay there as long as you want, it's your island, just enjoy yourself.

Even you can, you want a sweetheart, you want your wife be with you? Okay then we still get your wife, the lady give her husband, so the two of you is just out there together. How long you think you will stay on that island with no other people? I'm asking what do you think? This experiment they did that, how long? Maximum after 40 days, 45 days, 50 days, if you buy yourself, you don't have somebody to talk to, you go crazy. That's it, you just go crazy.

The human being requires what? Other human beings. So this Deen is sent as a social religion not an individual religion. So those three elements start with family, then units of family become what? Community. Then when you have a community that's well disciplined, you have a community that's well endowed, you have a community that has good resources, you have a community that is very well disciplined, you have a community that they attract people and they have power, they establish institutions, now you have something.

The Example of the Mormons

Like the Mormons have in Utah. Anybody have been to Utah? Utah? That's not on the moon guys. Utah, where's it brother? You've been there? It's the only state in the United States of America which is under the control of a religion. There is no other state.

People Talking

People talking about the Yahudis this and the Yahudis that. Yahudis ain't controlling no state in the United States of America. They got money, they doctors, they lawyers, they this, they that, some of them married, all of that there, but they ain't controlling no state. You ain't got no state that's the Jewish state. Do you notice any state? I'm not talking about people talking. I'm talking about a state where the universities, the highways, the colleges, the institutions, nobody can become a governor there except that religion.

Which one? Which one is Jewish? Which one is Christian? Mormons. Utah. Is that right? Did they do it loud or quiet? Quiet. No one can become governor in that state if he's not a Mormon. You understand that? And those states that around Utah, they controlling the economy of those states around Utah also. This means that those people is very powerful.

Do you know how many Mormons is in this country? I'll give you statistics now. In the whole world is only 15 million Mormons. In the United States maybe only five million. That means Muslims outnumber the Mormons. And how long the Mormon faith been in the earth? Like a hundred years? That's it. I mean before 150 years nobody know nothing about no Mormons.

They got their own book. If you go to any hotel in the United States now you find two books inside the drawer when you pull it out. Right? It's right or wrong? You open up the drawer in a hotel, they used to only have the Bible. Now what they got inside? The Book of Mormon. Why they ain't got no Quran in there? The Muslims ain't talking with nobody until you need to have a quarter and six million Muslims here. Why? Because we weak. The Mormons is strong.

So the Mormons have the capability to be able to use their faith as leverage in the society. And you know their candidate, his name is Mitt Romney. You know that right? He ran for president. But guess who he lost to? He lost to Obama. Black man. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.

Mitt Romney, very wealthy, come from a wealthy state, powerful people, but the way Allah structured it, he lost to a black man. Allahu Akbar. And not only that, not only did he lose to the black man, but the next year round he didn't even run no more because he already knew he gonna lose again. That's the way Allah did it.

Allah he structured it so what? To send a message to the American people that anybody can become president if he have enough votes. Is right or wrong? Is it right or wrong?

Why Trump Became President

So the next question is how in the world could Donald Trump become the president with six million Muslims in this country? You know why? You know how he became president?

The pious Muslims, the knowledgeable Muslims, the ones who are holding the Quran, the Sunnah, who wear the turbans and they got the sujud mark and they got this and they belong to this and they belong to that, they

stayed home, they didn't vote because they say, I ain't vote, I'm an American, I'm getting all the benefits of being an American but I ain't no American.

That's how Muslims be talking. I ain't no American. He's Catholic. What you in here for? If this is a Catholic country, why you here? Anybody forced you to get here? Nobody. Somebody forced you out of your home? Somebody forced you out of your country? But nobody forced you to come to America did they? And nobody forcing you to stay right or wrong?

So why you stay? Because there's benefit. And only stupid people will leave a place where there is benefit to go to some other place.

Even the Muslim who come here, he might be talking that, oh my Algeria, I'm from Al Jazeera, you know me I'm from Morocco, my shop, you know me I'm from Mecca, I'm from blah blah blah, but I guess what? If you get that green card and somebody tell you okay go back to your country, all of a sudden you said what? What? This is my country. What are you talking about? Now all of a sudden the Muslim he switch up now because no one will leave where there's benefit to go back to another place where he cannot or she cannot get the benefit.

Constitutional Privileges in America

I didn't say that America is the greatest country in the world. I didn't say that. I said it right now this country has the best constitutional privileges for Muslims in the world. I said what kind of privileges?

Because you don't see what I just said about Donald Trump? Donald Trump is a tramp. Donald Trump is a criminal. Donald Trump is crazy. He's like a baboon man going wild. I don't know how he get to the White House. But I'm on TV, I can talk like this here. Is anybody gonna come in here and arrest us? Huh? No. Nobody even think like that.

But if you was in Egypt, you say you don't want to see, he crazy, not Morsi, see what? Another guy, oh, CC, CC like, like yes yes in Spanish. CC, you know, so you know the guy CC, the guy is crazy man, he's majnoon. Well I can't, if you said something like that within 10 minutes I see you going to jail and your whole family going to jail. Right or wrong?

Even in Egypt now, if you're walking down the street with a Mushaf in the long beard, you might go to jail for that.

So here in America, if somebody want to travel, he want to run from New York to California with no clothes on, just a hat, there's a guy he ran across America with no clothes on, he just waving at the people, he got no clothes on, just a hat, and everybody's waving, he don't get arrested because there's what they call individual freedom. We don't agree with that right? We do not agree with that. However, he have his constitutional protection. It's right or wrong?

You know we got the people they call itself LGBTQ. I add a Z to it. Yeah, I'll tell you why I had the Z because you know I can't say nothing bad about them because you know you might go to jail because you know they under constitutional privileges too. You know that? People a man with men, men sleeping with men and women sleep with women and men sleep with boys and women sleeping with girls and men and women sleeping with dogs and I mean they got some crazy stuff man.

But they even call themselves LGBT. They said no we also queer. So they add a Q right? So LGBT the last year they added the Q to it right? They said no some of us is just queer. So I had a Z to it. When I had a discussion with them I said you guys is LGBTQZ. They said no we LGBTQ. I said no I said you Z too. So what is Z? I said well what you give to this country, its Constitution, its benefit, the family, the morality, the humanity, the benefit for the future is zero. So I add Z on the end of it. LGBTQZ anyway.

Building Community: Family First

Family, community and nation. You cannot build a nation without a community right? You cannot build the community without what? Family.

Brother and sisters, Islam encourages the individual, him or her, to use their God-given faith and resources to build their family, their community and the nation.

Now I want to talk about something that you guys should listen very carefully about in Nashville Tennessee. I'm going to use your city. Do you know how many churches is in this city? Over 2,000. Over 2,000 churches in this city, not the state, just the city.

Do you know that every church is the owner of property around the church? Do you know that? How many people know that? Every church, if they've been a church for like a hundred years, they probably own 50, 60, 70 properties all around the church. It's right or wrong? If they only a church for 10 years, they got 10, 15 properties.

You say how they get the money to buy them properties? They not going through the bank to buy the properties. How they get the money? You know how to get the money? There's something called tithing, t-i-t-h-i-n-g.

Who used to be a Christian in this room? Tell me what tithing is brother. 10% of whatever God gives to you, you got to give it back to God right? And the church is the representatives of God right? So if you don't pay the tithes, God will never answer your prayers and that means you are cursed, your money is cursed, your family is cursed, your prayers is not answered and you cannot be a legitimate Christian. Is that correct?

So you've got gay people, drunk people, drug people, all kind of crazy people, they still paying tithes. Right or wrong?

The Mathematics of Community Investment

So you've got a hundred people inside the church and the people make on average of $35,000 a year, $40,000 a year. You ain't got to be no rocket scientists to understand that 10% of $40,000 is how much? $4,000.

So if you got a hundred families paying $4,000, how much is that a month? How much is that a year? $400,000.

So you know to maintain a mosque this size you only need that maximum $100,000 right chef? Just to maintain it. We ain't say to build it up and do all the things you want to do but $100,000 you can pay the taxes and you ain't paying no taxes because you're 501c3 right? But for the gas and the electric and to have a place and keep it clean and you know all that then pay whatever you got to pay to buy the building and all that, $100,000 a year.

So that means you got a hundred families is paying $4,000 a year, you got $300,000 at the end of the year right? So in the course of ten years how much money did you collect? Three million right?

How many buildings can you buy, houses can you buy for three million in Nashville in ten years? So in ten years these mosques all over Nashville, what they bought? What they got?

If you come here and you say I need to have a house for my family, can the mosque offer you a house? If somebody's homeless, can the mosque say okay we got some 20 rooms over there for people just got out of prison, people who's in the hospital, people are senior citizens, here we got a room for them and the welfare will pay for it? Do the mosque have something like that? Why? Because we don't have what the Christians have.

YMCA and Community Infrastructure

The Christians they have something. Not just they have a church, they also have what? They got a community. The YMCA, what's that mean? They call it the Y now but it's the real name is YMCA. What it means? Young Men's, they have YWCA too. So Young Men's and Young Women's what? Christian Association.

So in order to get everybody in there and you don't be feeling like you're being Christianized, they just call it the Y. You know just like McDonald's, they only call it McDonald's. No money call it Mickey D's. So you don't think you supporting the McDonald family. And KFC, they don't even call it Kentucky Fried Chicken no more. What they call it? They call it KFC. See, you know America's like that. Get everybody involved but you don't feel like you supporting something in particular. Just give it a different name.

So the YMCA is the biggest human service organization in America. The Salvation Army, you heard that before right? Salvation Army and YMCA, they the biggest human service corporations in the United States of America.

Where do Muslims fit in it? Where the Muslims this? Because we don't have community.

Community Commitment Agreement

So I'm suggesting that the Muslims, the business people, do religious people, the concerned people, that you get together and you talk and you keep on talking until you come up with something that's like the tithes. Because somebody said, oh sheikh, isn't that bid'ah?

Come on man, don't be acting stupid. You talking about bid'ah? We ain't making no new religion. You know, you gotta come, you got a phone? Why are you using the phone? Ain't that bid'ah? Oh you got a microwave in your house? Ain't that bid'ah? Oh what else you got? Oh look at the sisters are looking at thing over there. We got the camels over there, is that bid'ah?

To do something that is progressive, something that is beneficial, something that harness our resources, something that we see other people is doing in America that give them benefit, give them resources, why we don't do it?

Somebody said, well you know our religion is perfect religion so we will be imitating other people. You know some Muslims they're gonna come like that right? You right? So I got something for them too.

The Example of Ashura

So I come back with them with this. I say oh brother or sister, did you read the seerah? Did you read the seerah very well? They said yeah yeah I read the seerah. What do you mean by that?

I said well you know one day the messenger of Allah, and the sheikh he's here so sheikh you correct me if I say something wrong right. So one day the messenger of Allah he was in Medina and he seen some people was celebrating something and you know he's a prophet but he don't know everything right? So he asked the people what they celebrate. They said, Oh messenger of Allah, they practically celebrating something called Ashura. He said what is that? He said they celebrating that when Musa and the Jewish people when they was victorious over Firaun. SubhanAllah, that's what they celebrate.

So what the prophet say? We have more right to celebrate that tradition than they do. So today Ashura is a part of Islam. I'm asking.

So if the Christians, Allah says verily the Christians and the Jews, the Ahlul Kitab and the Jews, verily they friends and protectors of each other. Didn't Allah say that? They friends and protectors of each other. And all Muslims, unless you do this, meaning that unless you do what they do, that you stick together, you be friends of one another, you support one another, they'll be great fitnah and fitna in the earth. That mean it would not be good for us right?

So if they got tithes, we don't have to call it tithes. We can call it a community commitment. Say that word. So if somebody said let's make a community commitment agreement, let's make a community commitment

The Issue of Zakat

The other thing I just want to say to the brothers and sisters, and somebody will say, our chef is always, zakat already ordered us to pay zakat. Well guess what? You not living under no zakat system. There is no Amir, there is no dawla, there is no Amir to order the people to collect the zakat, there is no dawla that we know about where the people will be accountable to pay zakat.

And therefore if I ask the Imam of any masjid, how many people come give you the same thing they give to the IRS, chef? Anybody did that? Say chef, this what I paid the IRS and I'm giving the same report to you and I'm paying my zakat. Anybody do that? No.

You know why? Because they respect the IRS. Is anybody here don't know what the IRS is? Maybe I got to tell you. You don't know what the IRS is? You know, because if you don't pay, you go to jail. And that's why you pay.

And guess what? Abu Bakr (RA) he said the same thing. Whoever don't pay the zakat, he'll kill you, take you captive, and take the money. This is what I'm about to say right? So this means the zakat is a part of Islam and Muslims is not paying zakat and we'd be wondering too why are we not successful? Why Allah don't answer our prayers?

If we don't pay zakat at least minimally, maybe Allah will excuse us because we don't have no dawla, no Amir or whatever, but we paid a community commitment agreement. Maybe Allah he will accept that for us like it's

almost like zakat. It's not zakat but because there's no dawla, no Amir, nobody to collect, nobody to enforce. So at least the Muslims say, oh Allah I'm paying my community commitment and I'm doing, we paying like the Christians is paying because that's the system they using, it works here in America, it should work also for us.

So we have to come up with something. So somebody said oh yeah 10% is too much. Okay good, let's go down to seven. Oh that's too much. Okay let's go to five. The bottom line is the people keep making excuses because at the end of the day they don't want to pay what? Nothing. So nothing from nothing is what? Nothing. I mean when I went to school nothing for nothing there's nothing but I don't know maybe y'all went to a different school I don't know.

Muslim Americans: The Envy of the World

Okay so brothers and sisters, we Muslim Americans are the envy of every Muslim in the world. You know why we the envy of every Muslim in the world? Because we have the greatest faith system, that's number one. And we live in a country that gives us the constitutional privilege to implement our faith. That's why we are the envy of Muslims all over the world.

We have a lot of challenges. We need to make Islam relevant and functional in society where we live. We need to understand the dynamics. We need to make Islam relevant and functional to the society where we live. What's the two words I said? It says it's very important. You have to make Islam relevant and functional to the society where you live.

Understanding Constitutional Values

In that not relevant and functional, you don't submit to some backpack something back home. We need to understand the dynamics between Islam and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Now Islam, we got our own Constitution right? The Quran and the Sunnah. But this country have its own laws. Just like the Muslims that went to Habash, they was Muslims following the Quran, following the Sunnah, but in the society that they made hijra to, they also had to follow the law of that society. Is that correct or not? Is it correct or not?

So Muslims also have to understand that we have Islam and we have our constitutional values and they have to complement. We don't say they all have to agree but we have to make the best that bring the constitutional values into like this year so that minimally Muslims are known that we obey the law.

Now nobody told us that we have to live next to, nobody said that we have to work for, nobody have to say we have to marry, live with no LGBTQZ people. They didn't say that. They just said that they got rights like we got

rights. That's all they said right? I don't agree with it but guess what? I have to tolerate it because it's part of this society.

Culture vs. Islam

Next thing we need to know the difference between culture and Islam. If you don't know the difference between your culture and Islam then guess what? That's why you don't know the difference between McDonald's and halal food. Because culture doesn't mean Islam. Just because you say, you know.

So I'm going, brother told me the other day, he said, Sheikh I'm tired of this country, I'm leaving these Catholics, I'm going, I'm making hijra to an Islamic country. I said where were you going? He said I'm going to Islamic country. I said what country you going to? He said I'm making hijra to Saudi Arabia. And I said so where you gonna live? In the Haram? Where you gonna live? In the Haram in Medina? You're gonna live in a Haram in Mecca? So you're gonna leave your passport here? So I mean you tired of these Catholics? I know you ain't got no round-trip ticket if you make hijra. So you're gonna leave your passport here? Just you going hijra? Go through the airport and at the airport you leaving your passport there and you going? Is that what you're gonna do?

He said I didn't say that. What you doing? What are you talking about?

By the end of the conversation, what you think he really meant? First of all, I asked him, where is the Islamic country? Secondly, did you ask the Saudi Arabian Embassy or can you go there and live? Did you ask them that? No. So how you gonna just go somewhere and live? You ain't ask nobody. Then you got to get a visa for Hajj man. You got to get a visa to make Umrah. If you ain't got a hundred thousand dollars in the bank, you ain't get no visa for no business. So how you gonna make hijra there if that's an Islamic country?

So he had to rethink that out like most of us have to rethink it out. Just because you came from Muslim country doesn't mean that that country is Islamic and even if you say it is, there's a difference between the culture of that country and the culture and the rules of Islam. You know that right?

Social and Political Empowerment

Second thing we need to talk about social and political empowerment. Because you know these young kids, our children, as we speak here right now brothers and sisters, I'm gonna wrap this up in the next three minutes.

Your children are going to be taught in the schools, they're rewriting all the textbooks right now that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, queer people is good people. They good examples. You got to respect them. Even you can marry them. They good people and you should try. They some of them is our heroes.

They writing it now inside all the books. So now what you're going to tell little Fatima when she come home? What you're going to tell little Ahmed when he come home? And maybe the teacher who's teaching is a queer. They teaching her right now. Hey, what your father's telling you, you know, I mean you, it's okay, it's a good lifestyle. See me? I'm checking, this my husband, it's a man saying, it's my husband. And there's a ladies teacher says that's my wife. What? That's what they teach in Ahmed. They teach in Fatima.

So if you don't have your own schools, you ain't got no money, you don't got your own community, you ain't got your own hospitals, you ain't got your own place where you buy your food, you don't have your own apartments, you ain't got your own courts, you don't have just like the Jews, they got their own courts. You know that right? The ones that whether things like this here, they got their own courts. Used to be seeing them in the regular courts with us.

So this America, we have to be involved. If you're not involved, you're going to find out that other people that you don't like, that you have big difference with, they're going to be the ones that the teachers and the judges and the police and all the scientists and all that, they're going to be in charge. So where that leave us at?

The Companions Were Business People

The last thing, there was according to most books, there was 68 or 70 major companions. How many major, we talk about major companions? 68 or 70. And if you add the women also, more more than that of them.

How many of them do you think was business people and how many of them you think was people that was like poor, they had no money? Give me an answer somebody. How many? Excuse me? No no, the majority of them were business people. Out of the 70 you can say 60 of them were all business people.

So Allah, He did not start this deen with poor people. No, Allah he give honor to the poor people, he give a special status to this poor people. And the Prophet, he said he asked Allah to keep him among the poor people. He didn't say to keep him poor but he said to keep my honor among the poor people and that the poor people stay close to him. But it didn't mean that Allah sent this religion for the people to be poor.

Hadith: The Strong Believer

The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer.

You heard that hadith? This is what the Prophet ﷺ said. When the Prophet ﷺ had to ask for money to go out to make a journey for jihad, who is asking for money? What? Who is asking for money? Abu Huraira (RA), he's asking? Bilal (RA)? They ain't got no money. They got something else but they don't have money.

When the Prophet ﷺ got to Medina Munawwara, who's got the money? Abdur Rahman Ibn Awf, Talha Ibn Zubair, they got the money. Abu Talha, they got the money. So who the Prophet ﷺ is asking to help build or do this or that? He's asking the people who have what? Money.

So brothers and sisters, if you look at the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ, you see from the very beginning, the one that took care of the Prophet ﷺ first it was his grandfather right? What was his name? Abdul Muttalib. Was he poor or was he a businessman?

After that his son, Abu Talib, who took care of the Prophet ﷺ, was he poor or he's a businessman? Okay. And after he was working with Abu Talib, then he found the lady, Khadija. Say I want to hire him and she's what? She's a poor lady or she's an orphan or she's business? Which one? So that became his wife right?

So when he could no longer be a merchant, he can't be a businessman because he's receiving the wahy from Allah, Allah already give him somebody to be with him who got what? Money. Then his best friend, the first one that came to join him, who was that? Abu Bakr. He poor? He got money. After that, Uthman. He's poor? He got money. What?

So we just keep going on going on going on going on going on, you'll find that 60 of the major companions they was all business people because Allah, He want to support his people, you want to support this deen first with what? With people who have resources.

Hadith on Business (Weak Narration)

Imagine if Allah said, and this is some people said the majority of the scholars said it's a weak Hadith and so I'm not gonna you know say it's not a weak Hadith but I'm gonna say it anyway because it's a Hadith. He said teach your children business because business has 99% of the halal risk of the Bani Adam.

So business, teach your children business. Send them to school to go get a degree but before you do that teach them what? Business.

So Muslims have to learn the importance of doing business. We should have businesses all around this masjid. Businesses should be filling up all outside the space where we pray and ain't no classrooms. Business outside. We own business. All these shops, all everywhere business. The Muslims should be doing because if you're doing business you're not going to be the slaves of anybody. You understand that?