And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, with sincerity and under discipline.

He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the faith of your father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this Revelation; that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witnesses for man ind! "o establish regular prayer, give regular charity, and hold fast to Allah! He is your #rotector $ the best protection and the best helper! "ura %%&'( )ur *eloved #rophet +oble ,rew informed us that as the fallen sons and daughters of the Asiatic +ation of +orth America, we need to learn to love instead of hate; and to now of our higher self and lower self. And if we consider ourselves parents, the importance of our trust; the being-s. that we have produced, it is our duty to support. And it also depends upon us whether the child of our bosom be a blessing or a curse; a useful or a worthless member of our Moorish /ommunity as well as the larger Islamic /ommunity. We are to prepare them early with instruction, and season their mind with the ma0ims of truth so that they are sincere in their duty towards A11AH. We are to watch the bent ways of their inclinations, set them right in their youth and let no evil habit gain strength with their years. )ur prophet also informed us that we are to unite our teachings with the Holy 2oran of Mecca, for teaching and instructing our nation. "o let us draw off of "ura 34&%567% to establish a level of certainty and understanding about A11AH, Iblis -"atan. and the sincere servants of A11AH8 We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape; and the 9inn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind. *ehold! :he 1ord said to the angels& ;I am about to create man, from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape; when I have fashioned him -in due proportion. and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him.< "o the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together, not so Iblis& he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves. -Allah. said& ;) Iblis! What is your reason for not being among those who prostrated themselves=< -Iblis. said& ;I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom >ou did create from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape.< -Allah. said& ;:hen get thee out from here; for thou art re?ected, accursed. ;And the curse shall be on you till the ,ay of 9udgment.< -Iblis. said& ;) my 1ord! @ive me then respite till the day the -dead. are raised.< -Allah. said& ;Respite is granted thee till the ,ay of the :ime appointed.< -Iblis. said& ;) my 1ord! *ecause :hou hast put me in the wrong, I will ma e -wrong. fair6seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong, all e0cept >our servants among them, sincere and purified -by >our @race..< -Allah. said& ;:his -way of My sincere servants. is indeed a way that leads straight to Me. Aor over My servants no authority shall thou have, e0cept such as put themselves in the wrong and follow thee.< "ura 34&%567% After reflecting on the above suras, I immediately thought about when our beloved #rophet instructed us to, ;teach your children sincerity, and their own heart shall not reproach them<; because ;blessed are the pure in heart; for they will love and not demand love in return.< :he basic teaching during the burial and death of BliCabeth allowed us to understand that a crisis had occurred in 9ohnDs life when his mother changed form and he was told that he must have a clear conception of the wor that he has been called to do as the harbinger; because he is to go before the MessiahDs face to pave His way, and ma e the people ready to receive their 2ing. We are told that, ;this readiness is purity of heart and that none but the pure in heart can recogniCe the ing.< And, ;to teach men to be pure in heart, you must yourself be pure in heart and word and deed.< In the not so distant past there came a forerunner of our #rophet, who was divinely prepared by the great @od6Allah ?ust li e 9ohn the *aptist and his name is Marcus @arvey, who taught and warned the nations of the earth to prepare to meet the coming #rophet; who was to bring the true and divine creed of Islam. It is this #rophet -+oble ,rew Ali. who was prepared and sent to earth by Allah, to teach the

old time religion and the everlasting gospel to the sons of men. "o that every nation shall and must worship under their own vine and fig tree, and return to their own and be one with their Aather @od6 Allah. +oble ,rew Ali wanted us to learn of our Aorefathers Ancient and ,ivine /reed -1ove, :ruth, #eace, Areedom and 9ustice., so that we learn to love instead of hate and start to uplift fallen humanity. He taught us that, the Holy *reath cannot be seen with mortal eyes; nor can men see the spirits of the Holy )ne. *ut in their image man was made, and he who loo s into the face of man, loo s at the image of the Allah who spea s within. And when man honors man, he honors Allah, and what man does for man he does for Allah. And we must bear in mind that when man harms in thought or word or deed another man, he does a wrong to Allah. If we would serve the Allah who spea s within the heart, ?ust serve our nearest of in, and those that are no in, the stranger at your gates, the foe who see s to do you harm. Assist the poor, and help the wea ; do harm to none, and do not covet what is not yours. :hen, with our tongue the Holy )ne will spea ; and he will smile behind our tears, will light our countenance with ?oy, and fill our hearts with peace. Men need a pattern for their lives; because they love to follow, not to lead. We now that the man which stands upon the corners of the paths and points the way, but does not go, is ?ust a pointer and a bloc of wood can do ?ust the same as them by pointing. "o as parents and teachers we are not to point but tread the way; and on every span of ground we are to leave our footprints, clearly cut, so that the children of our nation can see and be assured that we are following the way of our master. "ince men comprehend the inner life by what they see and do; they come to Allah through forms and ceremonies. "o, when men learn that sins are washed away by purity in life and that the lower self is confined by our sincerity two symbolic rites may be introduced $ the rite of purification and the rite of sincerity. :he rite of purification with water was understood to be the purification of the soul from our last discussion and it is here that we will focus on the rite of sincerity which incorporates the obtaining of the science of ethics -a hlaE. for the attainment of virtues and morality which lead us towards noble conductFcharacter -adab. which results in purity in life, purity in word and purity in deed. In this rite we utiliCe and practice applying the tools in the wor shop of the mind where things were made of thought and where we build up character through the science of ethics. 2now that science and its practice are two invaluable ?ewels that generate happiness in both the physical plane and the plane of the soul. "o, we use the& G "Euare to straighten out the croo ed ways, and ma e the corners of our conduct sEuare. G /ompass to draw circles around our profane passions and desires to eep them within the bounds of righteousness. G A0e to cut away the notty, useless and ungainly parts and ma e the character symmetrical. G Hammer to drive home the truth, and pound it in until it is a part of every part. G #lane to smooth the rough, uneven surfaces of ?oint, and bloc , and board that go to build the temple for the truth. G /hisel, line, plummet and the saw are all used in this wor shop. G H step ladder with its trinity of steps -faith, hope and love.; upon which we ascend to the dome of purity in life. G And on the twelve step ladder, we ascend until we reach the pinnacle of that which life is spent to build the :emple of #erfected Man. We ascend by demonstrating and teaching the twelve steps of the 3% step ladder& 3. )bedience $ so that our children may bless us %. Modesty $ so that they shall not be ashamed

H. @ratitude $ so that they receive benefits 7. /harity $ so that they may gain love 4. :emperance $ so that they have health 5. #rudence $ so that fortune shall attend them '. 9ustice $ so that they are honored by the world (. "incerity $ so that their own heart shall not reproach them I. ,iligence $ so that their wealth shall increase 3J. *enevolence $ so that their mind shall be e0alted 33. "cience $ so that their life shall be useful 3%. Religion $ so that their death shall be happy. And we now that salvation is a ladder reaching from the heart of man to heart of Allah. And that AllahDs meeting place with man is in the heart, and in a still small voice he spea s; and he who hears is still. He will lead them by science and adoration, to abandon the negative habitual practices over time. And when man meets A11AH in the heart, this creates a condition and circumstances where the pure in heart out of fear and reverence of A11AH will not accuse; so if it is purity that you see , always spea in sincerity so that you may hear as instructions, the words of A11AH -7J Hadith Kudsi is a set of 7J hadiths in which the #rophet Mohammad narrates statements directly from A11AH.. ;Whoever bears enmity to My saintly servant I will proclaim war on him. :he thing that I li e most among the acts that bring My servant closer to me is his performance of the acts that I en?oined on him. At the same time, My servant eeps coming closer to Me through optional worship. In the end he attains My 1ove. And when I love him I become the ears that he hears with; I become the eyes he sees with, I become the hands that he holds with, I become the feet that he wal s with -I become the heart that he reasons with, and I become the tongue that he spea s with.. When he as s for anything from Me, I immediately grant it to him. When he see s refuge in Me, I safeguard him. I never hesitate about anything as I do in ta ing the life of a believing servant& He disli es death, and I do not li e anything he disli es8< Hadith Kudsi %4 )ur ancient forefathers distinguish three organs related to spiritual communication& the heart -Ealb., which nows @od; the spirit -ruh., which loves Him; and the innermost aspect of the soul -sirr., which contemplates Him. :he heart or Ealb, though connected in some mysterious way with the physical heart, is not a thing of flesh and blood. Lnli e the physical Mheart,D its nature is intellectual rather than emotional, but whereas the intellect cannot gain real nowledge of @od, the Ealb is capable of nowing the essences of all things, and when illumined by sincerity, faith and nowledge it reflects the whole of the divine mind; therefore the #rophet Mohammad reminded us that A11AH said, ;My earth and My heaven contain Me not, but the heart of My faithful servant contains Me.< 2now that when we have been overwhelmed and overcome by the carnal world, carnal self, profane passions and "atan -Iblis., the heart is Mveiled,D blac ened by sin, tarnished by sensual impressions and images, pulled to and fro between reason and passion& a battlefield on which the armies of @od and "atan contend for victory. :hrough one gate, the heart receives immediate nowledge of @od; through another, it lets in the illusions of the senses. :herefore man is potentially lower than the brutes and higher than the angels, but his ascension depends on his purity and his sincerity8 *y the +ight as it conceals -the light.; *y the ,ay as it appears in glory; *y -the mystery of. the creation of male and female;6 Nerily, -the ends. ye strive for are diverse.

"o he who gives -in charity. and fears -Allah., And -in all sincerity. testifies to the best,6 We will indeed ma e smooth for him the path to *liss. *ut he who is a greedy miser and thin s himself self6sufficient, And gives the lie to the best,6 We will indeed ma e smooth for him the path to Misery; +or will his wealth profit him when he falls headlong -into the #it.. Nerily We ta e upon )urselves to guide, And verily unto Ls -belong. the Bnd and the *eginning. :herefore do I warn you of a Aire blaCing fiercely; +one shall reach it but those most unfortunate ones Who give the lie to :ruth and turn their bac s. *ut those most devoted to Allah shall be removed far from it,6 :hose who spend their wealth for increase in self6purification, And have in their minds no favor from anyone for which a reward is e0pected in return, *ut only the desire to see for the /ountenance of their 1ord Most High; And soon will they attain -complete. satisfaction. "ura I% "o be aware my brothers and sisters that to attain complete satisfaction and rise above the station of the angels, we must overcome the 7 enemies $ the carnal soulFlower self -nafs., the carnal world -dunya., the accursed "atan -Iblis. and the profane passions. :hese enemies prohibit us from obtaining sincerity, purity and ?unction with A11AH in our heart. *ut through purity and the attainment of virtues that our ancient forefathers taught us the science of overcoming each of these enemies and the weapons that each of them uses against man. "o now that we must defeat each one of the enemies by being released from their prison and overcoming their weapon; conseEuently, if we ta e control of their weapons and imprison them, we will be saved. As for the carnal soul, it is imprisoned by lengthily endured hunger, and it does not have an additional obstacle nown apart from this one. In regards to the weapon with which it diverts a worshiper from the proper way, it is the appeasing of hunger. :he dungeon of this carnal world is sealed and loc ed by retiring in science and religious practices. In regards to its weapon with which it harms, it is doing things out of habit that do not bring any profit -materially or spiritually.. And the prison of "atan without divergence is the repetition of the most beautiful names of A11AH, specifically those that protect and bring about peace and protection. In regards to the weapon with which he attac s a worshiper, it is negligence. And as for the prison cell of the profane passions, it is to be in a state of silence while in seclusion from those things that are neither profitable, nor beneficial. In regards to the weapon with which it sub?ugates a person, it is chattering about vain things. "o it is with sincerity and discipline that we approach our duty to A11AH as we strive to overcome the 7 enemies of man and remove them from our circle as we wor on manifesting the ' attributes of perfection that were given to us directly from A11AH& 1ife from the Bver61iving, Will from the All6 Willing, #ower from the All6#owerful, 2nowledge from the All62nowing, "ight from the All6"eeing, "peech from the All6"pea ing and Hearing from the All6Hearing. "o shall the fortunes of our father contribute to the support of our whole race; and his care be continued to us all, in our love to each other8 >our brother in 1ove, :ruth, #eace, Areedom and 9ustice!!! "hiloh "haeed Bl, Adept Indianapolis, Indiana L.".A. Medina of #eace -Madinatul "alaam.