December 4, 2024 • 46 mins
Hosts Frank and Farida delve into the importance of discipline, obedience to the Creator, and the role of family in achieving true freedom. They discuss the implications of hookup culture, the significance of family life, and managing human resources responsibly. Historical and religious contexts, such as the African American experience and Islamic teachings, are explored to underline the necessity of moral strength, disciplined living, and community-focused resource management as pathways to fulfilling human potential.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:37 Fitness and New Beginnings
02:58 The Concept of Freedom and Obedience
07:26 The Salt and Pepper Shaker Analogy
15:04 The African American Experience and True Freedom
25:15 The Role of Family in Society
43:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
This podcast is about family life as a means to address current problems in American society. A scripture based African American perspective.
Welcome to The Family Ties, a Prescription for Society.
Through this experience we invite you to join us in an exploration of the concept of family ties as a prescription for society.
YOUR HOSTS: Frank Abdul Shaheed &
Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown
This episode was edited by Darryl D Anderson of AMG - Ambassador Media Group visit https://www.ambassador-mediagroup.com/
__________________________________
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Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Copyright 2024
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Frank (00:16):
Peace be upon the family, as we welcome you to another
experience of The Family Ties, aprescription for society.
I am your co host, Frank AbdulShahid.
Faridah (00:27):
And I am your co host, Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Before we get started, don'tforget to subscribe so you can
stay up to date and get all thelatest episodes.
Frank (00:37):
Welcome back to our Second part of our conversation,
talking about our moving forwardwith purpose.
You know, we want to continue todiscuss whether or not we are
fit to handle the responsibilityof carrying the burden of living
up to our promise of ourcreator.
And using these resources thatwe were greatly benefited with
(01:01):
to able to lead our society in away that takes us to our best.
Expression and our bestconclusion.
So in a previous episode, wewere talking about what are the
influences that have come in andhave disrupted us or taken us
away from our understanding ofwhat being fit meant.
(01:22):
To be able to handle theseresources and you mentioned
fitness and which makes me thinkabout something very quickly was
as we going into this fall,winter season, this holiday
season, oftentimes people areTrying to reconstitute
themselves to understand thatI'm coming to an end of
(01:42):
something and a new beginning iscoming.
January 1st for us is the newyear.
So oftentimes gym memberships gothrough the roof.
We try to physically putourselves back in a good,
healthy situation.
We try to make our bodies ableto carry the burden of, of life.
And, you know, and we just, youknow, want to, Have a better
existence for the new year, thenew existence, the new start the
(02:06):
Genesis, if you want to want touse that term for our dedication
and our declaration for our selfdetermination to be the best
form of ourselves.
So I know as we're coming up onthese holidays and people
decide, this is my last hurrah.
I'm just going to go out, youknow, in a flame of glory.
And then at the, at the end ofthat, I want to.
Start fresh again and say, hey,you know, I'm ready.
(02:28):
I'm ready to discipline myselfand handle these levels of
responsibility.
So you know, we look at thistime of year as that time to
really recalculate andrecalibrate.
So welcome back, sister Florida.
Thank you.
I am wonderfully appreciative ofbeing here.
And you may hear some of thesounds of nature in my
background.
We have some type of whoopinganimal bird or something.
(02:50):
It's making its presence knownand felt.
So you know, he or she is partof this conversation as well, if
you hear.
But what, what I, I, I thinkyou're, your anecdote about the
holidays and the new year andthis idea of, of getting fit.
And when we have thisconversation about fitness, I
(03:10):
think that's pretty apropos,especially because we left off
in our previous conversationaround the idea of, of, of
freedom, meaning obedience andin particular obedience to, to
God, obedience to the creator.
And for those who have our stillseeking and are on a path to
understanding who the creator isand what one's relationship
(03:32):
should be with him.
I think that the term fitnessis, is kind of appropriate here
because what we're looking at iswhen you look at the design of
the human being, And I, I thinkit's wonderful that you brought
up you know, the, the fitnessaspect because there are things
that create a healthyenvironment in which the, the
(03:52):
human body can fulfill thepurpose for which it was
designed.
And if it cannot fulfill thepurpose for which it is
designed, then that creates sometype of of imbalance.
or you know, a lack of abilityto completely fully function as
a human being.
And so when we look back at theidea of fitness to carry this
(04:14):
heavy responsibility of freedom,and whether or not freedom
entails obedience, I thinklooking back at the creation and
the design of the human bodyleads us to our answer.
And that is that the, We willnot be free to use our muscles
if we don't obey the principlesupon which muscles are designed.
If we don't put stress upon themin a, in a, in a balanced way so
(04:39):
that they can grow.
If we put too much food in ourbodies, then we develop an
excess or we increase our, ourfat cells.
And we put other stressors onour bodies, you know, such as
diabetes and, you know,influence and impact on the
pancreas and, and blood pressureand other things of that nature.
So the freedom to reach the fullpotential can only be found in
(05:04):
obedience to the design or thedesigner.
So when so obeying the designerrequires a certain amount of
discipline and knowledge inunderstanding what is the design
and what are the principles bywhich this design is going to
allow me to to reach my fullpotential.
(05:25):
And so that's what, what I wouldsay in response to the question,
you know, I, I raised the, thethe question that some of our
listeners may have had when yousaid that freedom is obedience
to God or is obedience.
And I said, that may soundoxymoronic or even paradoxical
to some, but I think it's in therecognition.
We speak a lot about Thedestination excellence.
And we have a destination thatthe human being is trying to
(05:48):
strive to, to arrive at.
And that involves fulfilling ourpotential as human beings.
But the only way to fulfillpotential is to obey the
designer of that potential.
And in therein, is the freedom.
So once we make the choice,there's always freedom to
acknowledge that designer, toobey that designer, to obey the
(06:11):
principles that the designer haswritten into the creation,
including ourselves.
And so in that there's anultimate freedom to choose that.
But once we do choose that it'sin following the guidance from
that creator that we areultimately able to fulfill our
potential.
Absolutely.
You know, I like to use a lot ofexamples that are not
(06:35):
necessarily readily in front ofus to draw the parallels to show
that the concept is a veryuniversal concept.
So I like, I like drawing a lotof pictures, you know, and I've
even had a little bit of, ofart.
In my background as well, neverpursued it to the way I really
wanted to, but you know, art anddrawing was something that was
already naturally had a naturalinfinity for I worked for a
(06:58):
company who revolutionized theconcept of processes.
An industry and they were soimpactful that every other
company in that same industrytook what they had to use it as
a model for them, for theirlevels of success.
(07:20):
So I've raised this question oreven painted this picture or
gave it given this example.
And I said this, imagine youcreated salt and pepper shakers.
And that was the design that youcreated them for, and they
worked completely how youdesigned them to work and they
gave great benefit and, and itwas perfect.
(07:43):
Now, imagine you emptying outthe salt and pepper shakers,
boxing them up and shipping themto a place where no one has ever
seen salt and salt and peppershakers before.
And they now have to engage thesalt and pepper shaker to find
his benefit in this use, whetherthey follow the plan of the
original inventor of the saltand pepper shaker and get the
(08:06):
most out of that salt and peppershaker, or will they not?
Reach its completion orfulfillment of what the purpose
of that salt and pepper shaker.
And the answer would be no, theywon't get the most benefit out
of it because they didn't designit.
So they have no idea what thatis.
So even if it's an intentionalor unintentional use of the salt
(08:29):
and pepper shaker, still, theydon't have the knowledge of what
the design of the salt andpepper shaker was.
So I use that as a, as aparallel to us.
As a human existence and ourdesigner, our fashion, our
creator, having a design for us.
And in that design, it gives usthe optimal performance of what
(08:50):
we're designed to do and to takeus to our logical conclusion.
So anything outside of that.
will diminish our optimalpurpose in life.
You know, if we guess there's apossibility, we may hit that
target, but it's really only aguess, which means that it's not
even in our determination,conscious determination to take
(09:13):
us to the destiny.
So we have to use outside forcesand we hope it helps us get to
the destiny.
But if we follow the instructionof our creator, then that frees
us to have the optimalexpression that we want.
So Discipline is one of theprinciples of staying fit.
You have to be fit to bedisciplined and the discipline
(09:37):
is a pathway for us to get towhere we want to go in our
processes.
So so once again, our Obedienceto our creator opens up our
greatest freedom and in thatfreedom, we're able to be self
determined and in that, the selfdetermination, we're able to
understand what freedom lookslike in our self determination.
(09:59):
So that way in that picture, wehave the most freedom.
So is freedom built upon otherfreedoms built upon other
freedoms with the same interestof freedom from the beginning,
from the beginning of ourprocesses.
So the oxymoronic.
Picture of freedom beingobedience in our world today,
specifically when we're talkingabout the hookup culture and
(10:21):
being able to just haveunbridled freedom.
Of course, people look when Ilook, look on that and say, Hey,
that doesn't make sense to me.
And one of my favorite quotesfrom one of my favorite movies,
I would say Uncle Ben, Uncle Bensaid to Peter with great
(10:42):
responsibility, but greatfreedoms come great
responsibilities.
Thank you, uncle.
Be well Thank you Uncle Bette.
So I'm assuming that'sSpider-Man.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
So no, but in, in allseriousness, mm-Hmm, you, you
hit the nail on the head.
And I think as you said we areliving in a time when the, the
(11:07):
mere mention of obedience.
discipline outside of thecontext of the securing of
material wealth, right?
So we will hear a lot ofconversation about discipline
when it comes to hustling,making money, getting out there,
being on your grind, getting upevery day at a certain time,
(11:28):
working on your physicalfitness, as we've referenced
earlier, working on yourfinancial fitness.
But that same concept becomes anundesirable one.
When it comes to reining in theimpulses, the, the lower urges
or the desires that bringtogether human beings at the
physical level which is justreflective of a greater
(11:51):
responsibility and a greaterfulfillment of purpose that
comes in productivity of themeeting of, of two complementary
beings so that they can beproductive or and creation so
that he or she can beproductive.
And so that that idea of themoral compass, the moral
(12:12):
strength, the moral imperative,of being alive and well in our
community is inextricably linkedwith the the ability to
discipline oneself according tothe design and the guidance of
the creator.
So going back again to thehookup culture, we're going back
again to the basics.
(12:32):
This is going somewhere.
This conversation for ourlisteners we may be beginning
with this, but this is about howwe discipline ourselves and make
ourselves, or as Frank issaying, we are already fit, but
we are maintaining that fitnessor nurturing that fitness, or as
I would, you know, promote,we're making ourselves fit for
(12:52):
the responsibilities of freedomand self determination.
We have to accept discipline andobedience.
And so going back to the idea ofhookup culture, which threatens
you mentioned a word you know,whether or not this benefits or
works toward the, the ultimategoal.
Well, the freedom is in its veryessence.
(13:13):
the ability to reach one'sfullest potential.
And what we're talking aboutboth on an individual level and
as the human family to reach thepotential for which we were
designed.
If, if we can accept that thatis an aim of freedom or a a
function of freedom, then Iwould say that looking at hookup
(13:37):
culture, this weakens the, itweakens the human being and the
human family by taking theresources, the human resources
that are, that are meant to becoalesced around a common
purpose and to produce with acommon and shared purpose.
It's taking that that functionand it's, it's, it's it's dis
(14:01):
it's dispersing it outside ofthat unified, common, shared.
responsibility.
And so we have to begin toaccept.
moral responsibility for our ownpersonal lives and for the
impact that it has on thecommunity around us.
We will not be successful aslong as we are accepting the
(14:24):
prevailing ideas of the time.
And so I would say that if wewant to move with purpose, if we
want to accept that the worldmay not look the way we want it
to, and that we are charged withremaking that world as part of
our essential function as humanbeings.
Then we have to acceptresponsibility for obeying the,
(14:45):
the principles.
Which take our resources andmake them beneficial and, and
make them efficient as opposedto wasting them and dispersing
them where they won't bebeneficial.
Yes.
And I want to kind of go back alittle bit to add a little bit
more context to what you justsaid.
You mentioned in the previouspodcast about a group of people
(15:07):
being stripped.
And taken away from their goodnature, their humanity, in a
sense and, and oppressed andsuppressed and, and just
completely almost eliminatedfrom the existence of man on
this earth, but yet out of that.
Experience comes a new mindbecomes a new people.
(15:29):
It's a rejuvenation.
It's a rebirth is a resurrectionin a sense for mankind to see
its purpose once again, and thatthis is the pathway to take us
to the conclusion that we werecreated to be, you know, we were
denied material existence.
We were denied spiritualexistence.
We were denied everything.
But yet all of that was restoredback to us.
(15:51):
for joining us.
In the freedom of the mind beingproduced.
And then that mind is not themind of a man just, just
wandering around and in societyand creation, and all of a
sudden come into a conclusion.
It was the nature of thatparticular body that was
introduced to, to scriptureitself.
(16:13):
It, it fit itself.
It put itself in a positionwhere it was ready to accept the
compliment To guide it to itsconclusion.
And we see the African Americansituation, especially through
the Peculiar Institute ofchattel slavery, how that has
fit made us fit to be able tohandle the responsibility
(16:37):
ultimately with a moral footholdthat the world has lost morally,
because in an immoral act.
We were slaves through to do animmoral act, and it was even
degraded even further bystripping us of our humanity.
(16:58):
So when we come back and wetalking about being able to
handle this freedom andunderstand what freedom truly
looks like, then the AfricanAmerican is an example of that
true freedom.
So now.
What is the goal of the AfricanAmerican in that freedom?
What does that look like for us?
What are the steps that we needto take on that pathway for the
(17:20):
world to see that this is thesign of true freedom for man on
the, on this earth?
As I said, it's, it's a moraldisposition towards engaging
relationships, engaging theenvironment and engaging our own
best selves.
To be able to produce, and wetalked about that mind and that
(17:42):
mind is designed to managesociety, manage these resources.
So for those who want to studyhumanity, you cannot come to
this logical conclusion that.
God does not favor his servantwithout looking at the African
(18:02):
American, which should suggestto you that God does favor the
servant and makes the servanthave a a natural urge for him to
seek God himself, which meansthat you are opening yourself to
levels of obedience.
So so yes, this circumstancethat we see in the world today,
we play a major role in theremedy.
(18:25):
Of, of getting rid of thislevels of confusion and anxiety
and frustration and, and, andbeing able to discern when an
influence comes into ourenvironment, that we have a
remedy for the concern versusgiving ourselves to that that
influence and ultimately thedestruction of mankind himself.
(18:47):
You're making me think and, and.
What I'm thinking about now isthe help.
Yes.
Right.
What, what is the help?
We, I, we've identified that wehave to be free from prevailing
thinking ideas that, that takeus out of or, or distort the
best picture.
And you, you spoke specificallyabout the, the promise of God
(19:09):
and what he will do and what hehas done in, in light of the
experience of the AfricanAmerican people.
And so I would say that part of.
The help that we're given aresigns, you know, in scripture,
we're told to look at signs.
They're the signs in Revelationitself and also the signs in the
creation around us.
And one of the helps that we'regiven is in the Qur'an, we're
(19:31):
told to go and study Thecivilizations that came before
us study what has happened.
We are there.
There's a very heavy emphasisplaced on understanding and
knowledge and knowing the, the,the history and the stories that
form societies.
And so.
One of the things I would say isthat we've and we're also
(19:53):
exhorted to look at our owncreation.
And so here, not only are welooking at our own creation in
terms of the design of thephysical human body and the
individual human being, but alsolooking at the design of a
people themselves.
And so we're looking at a storyof a people up from slavery.
We're looking at a story and wesay, where is the help in that?
Well, the help is in recognizingthat coming up from slavery Our
(20:18):
ancestors, those men and womenwho were freed from chattel
slavery they went to scripture.
They went to guidance to say,how do I secure this freedom?
How do I secure this ability toto be self determinative.
How do I secure this ability tofulfill my purpose
(20:41):
intellectually, materially,spiritually emotionally?
How do I do that?
Well, they went to scripture.
These are, they looked and theywent to reunite their families.
They went to establish theirrelationships as, as married
couples.
They went and did that.
They wanted it to be officiallyrecognized that they were
(21:03):
obeying God and Securing theinterest not only of themselves
But of their offspring to havethe best chance at fulfilling
their potential and you'll seeexamples of that over and over
and over Again in human historyand in particular in the story
of our people and so even beforethe Emancipation came
(21:25):
officially.
If we look at, there is a apersonality who is well known in
Al Islam.
And this was at the verybeginning of the establishment
of the religion.
And this is a person, his namewas Bilal ibn Rabba.
And he was a companion of theProphet Muhammad.
Prayers and peace be upon him.
This man was an Abyssinian todayknown as Ethiopian.
(21:48):
He was a slave.
They are in the society amongthe Quraysh and he heard the
message of one God and thatMuhammad prayers and peace be
upon him was his messenger.
He heard the resounding andfundamental, fundamental message
of, of human oneness and ofhuman excellence and of the
nobility and dignity of man thatwas given through our father
(22:10):
Adam.
And while he was still enslaved.
He witnessed that there was onlyone God.
He accepted that his purpose inlife was to serve the Creator,
and through that, and thatalone, would he find the freedom
to pursue and fulfill his, hispotential as a human being.
He did that while stillenslaved.
(22:32):
And it's a story that, thatyoung Muslim children learn all
over the world.
There's a scene where Bilal'sowner, his master, places a rock
on his head.
his chest in the hot desert sun,and he's, he puts up one finger,
one God, he will not worshipthe, the, the, the many gods of
his master.
He chooses for himself, nomatter the consequences, he
(22:55):
chooses for himself the worshipof the one God.
And, and.
following in that, recognizinghis freedom and his ability to
act fundamentally.
And so I would say we look atour ancestors hundreds of years
later, and we look at even whenthey were enslaved, they were
going into the earth, going intotheir limited knowledge of
scripture.
(23:15):
They're going into theirrecognition of the human
entitlement to family andconnection and and excellence
and teaching themselves to readand worship together and to
build connections when theirfamilies were torn apart.
These things were done in thebowels of slavery.
So what I'm saying is, if welook back at that history, we
(23:36):
will find the help that we needin this confused and anxious
time to say, obey The signs thatthe creator has put in both our
material reality and in the helpthat he's given us in
revelation.
If we want to have strongfamilies, if we want to have
young people who are confidentin their ability to make change
(24:00):
in the world, that starts firstwithin the confidence they find
in a home of two parents thatare committed to them, of an
extended family network thatgives them a sense of self and a
legacy upon which to build and aconcerted concentration of human
potential.
That means by.
(24:20):
man and woman committing to oneanother and producing within
that union.
Nothing short of that is worthyof the goal of fulfilling human
potential.
We have to do that.
If we don't do that, we aresuccumbing to forces that weaken
ourselves.
They put a strain on, onrelationships between men and
(24:42):
women that we are seeing rightnow.
We are reaping what we've sownby embracing an ideology that
the world has given us.
So I, I say that the, the helplies in obedience to God, the
freedom lies in obedience toGod.
And with specific regard to thishookup culture, we have to deny
it.
We have to reclaim the thingthat reaffirms and strengthens
(25:06):
our discipline, our ability toconcentrate our resources where
they belong so that they canlive on and on for generations.
Yes.
You know, one of the things thatwe struggle with in this podcast
is to introduce language thatWhen you hear it, you know,
it's, it's talking about levels,many levels.
(25:28):
It's not just talking about onething.
And that's, and that is bydefinition, what universality
means.
It means that it can be appliedon many levels and many
applications.
And that's something that we, wehave definitely struggled on
this podcast to make sure thatwe use the best language to.
Paint these pictures to ouraudience, to let them know that
(25:48):
we don't want to just take onething and just keep it to
itself.
It has to be universally appliedbecause that is the measure of
whether or not it is true.
So when we look at the societythat we're living in today,
where it is so chaotic, we don'tknow what tomorrow looks like.
We don't have any securities orany assurances that tomorrow.
(26:08):
Will guarantee us a good future.
We're at that point now insociety, in America and
throughout the world.
So the question would, would beasked to the person who's
thinking, who's reflecting andtaking a moment to want to
assess their environment.
How do I exist in a worldtomorrow that looks like it may
(26:31):
end today.
And if this new world comes in,well, I have some level of
influence or foothold or sometype of anchoring to be able to
live in a new existence.
And this, and this is the mindof the person who was, who was
reflective.
This is the sensitivity of areflective person.
So, so having this, thesethoughts, you have to now.
(26:54):
Reassess the influences of theworld today.
So we mentioned this hookupculture that pretty much cuts
you off at your knees.
If you want to use that termfrom your future, it cuts you
off for the desire of havingunbridled freedom, this
influence of freedom isundisciplined, unchecked,
(27:15):
unbridled, because you, becausein that expression, you're
thinking you're having your bestlife, but it doesn't, it cuts
you off from a good tomorrow.
And as I mentioned.
The circumstances of the worldtoday, give us the picture that
they won't be a secure tomorrow.
So, so what does the intelligentperson do exactly what you said?
(27:38):
We, we should do family life.
That's what secures us inchattel slavery in America.
That's what secured them familylife, having the sensitivity to
understand that that was themost important thing.
That was a recognition in themthat opened themselves up to
qualify themselves to have you.
(27:58):
Guidance come to them at momentswhen they had no knowledge how
were they able to get out of thecircumstances to run to the
North to escape, escape slavery?
That was a disposition for theirlife to be free because they
understood that our slavemasters weren't giving us our
freedom, this innate andinherent freedom.
(28:18):
So guidance was given to them ina way that they understood that
the mosque grew on the Northside of the tree.
How would they know that?
Does that, does that even existin Africa?
Does that exist in Africa atall?
That the moss grows on the northside of the tree.
So how does a people taken outof a land and brought to a new
existence know that this is helpfor them?
Because their disposition opensthemselves up for continuity and
(28:41):
continuation of this particularexistence.
So in this society today, it'sfamily life.
Once again, back to family life,back to providing the resources
for a healthy existence to befit today, in order for us to
carry the burden so that we cansecure tomorrow, it is family
(29:02):
life.
It is making sure that my wifeis secure in her femininity.
To give her the expressions thatshe has to have to give to our
children.
So there's family, there's male,female relationships, there's
parental and childrelationships.
She has to feel that her husbandis getting the support he needs
(29:23):
to get these resources.
And that's what we have to getback to.
We never left, we never leftthat by design.
We were influenced away fromthat, but that's, We have to get
back to that, to those picturesof our best life and our best
family life.
And that's only in family.
So I concur with the conclusionas to what.
(29:47):
The help should look like forus.
And from that, we get theseguidance come to us in the ways
that our creator deems he needsto provide us the guidance.
But until we have thatdisposition of a good moral
disposition, then we're going tocontinue to suffer and have
chaotic.
Existence in a time where thereneeds to be someone who calls to
(30:10):
the people back to the moralpicture of what man's
establishment needs to be.
And that's freedom in its purestform, which is obedience.
Well said.
And I, I would only, I mean, Ican only add on to that, that
what you said about moving fromthis, this family picture or
(30:31):
particular picture and for thisto be applicable on every level
means that it's, and for it tobe universal is how you can
recognize its truth.
Yes.
That this is a claim to truth.
And so, what I would say aboutthat is that the commitment, the
disposition, which youreferenced, this disposition
(30:53):
that our ancestors had whilethey were enslaved, that that
are.
Our great great grandmothers andgrandfathers had during
reconstruction and during JimCrow and the days that many of
their rights were circumscribed.
That it's this disposition thatshould lead us to be committed
to securing family life in themanner that what, what, what is
(31:17):
the.
What is the pathway that canhelp us to to live and establish
our lives in a way that rebukesthe prevalent, the prevailing
thinking in our society?
Well, we can be committed tobeing family units that promote
and support youth, youngmarriage.
(31:39):
You know, a lot of times what weare, Asking people to consider
what we're asking you and ourlistening audience to consider
is that we are given not onlyideas about hookup culture that,
that make it, that influence usaway from those Systems and
behaviors that allow us to be atour most fit and be strong
(32:03):
enough to carry out theresponsibilities that we have.
But there are also I would saycomplimentary ideas.
within our society that alsosupport this?
What do I mean by that?
We have ideas that are verypopular about how and when we
are to gain our education whatour timeline should be like for
(32:24):
securing material wealth andestablishing ourselves in a I
guess financially independent,you know, that would be the
terminology that we use veryoften.
But I think that what we have todo is be firm and committed in
the very much the same way thatour ancestors were when they
read that moss on the north sideof the tree and they followed
(32:46):
that and they followed thatnorth star and they followed it
until they got to a place wherethey could establish themselves
free from the threat of beingyou know re, re retaken into
slavery, whether that wasgetting to Canada or, or, or one
of the free states.
But what I would say is that thecommitment has to be strong
enough that we are able to, tosay no to a timeline that is
(33:10):
forced upon us that says well,you know, you don't want to have
children young and you don'twant to, you know get educated
and then maybe take some time toraise Children and then go back
to the workforce.
No, the most important, thefruit of our labors, the purpose
for going to college andeducating ourselves as men and
women is the only acceptable.
(33:33):
fruit of that labor thatdisplays for our society that we
have been successful is toestablish ourselves in a career
and to show evidence of successand matriculation in that.
And I say that we have to fightback against that notion by
establishing a norm that isbased upon God's plan.
(33:54):
And what that what that whatdoes that mean?
That means that the naturaldesires that that young men and
women that all men and women,most men and women have is to be
with each other.
There's attraction.
That's a powerful driving forceto promote life and to keep life
in a continuing on going on thecontinuum for success and the
(34:14):
trajectory of manifestation ofour of our ideas in our society.
Society and our civilization.
But what that means is we can'tput that desire on hold for 10
years and tell people well, youknow, daughter, son, you have to
restrict those desires.
Until you're well into yourtwenties, maybe even your
thirties.
(34:34):
You're responsible enough,you're positioned enough to now
take a wife or you know, to jointhis, this man in, in matrimony.
No, that's not the plan.
That's an idea that was given tous, and it also doesn't mean
that you have to limit orcircumscribe your ability to
reach your full potentialintellectually, academically in
(34:56):
terms of developing any skillsor talents that you have.
What it means is that you mustrecognize the moss on the tree
and what it's telling you,right?
If you, are you, are yousupposed to travel during the
day?
And, and sleep at night whenyou're trying to get to freedom,
or are you supposed to restduring the night at, I mean,
rest during the day and travelduring the night when you can
(35:18):
see the light of the, the, the,the, the heavenly lamps, right?
What does that mean?
It means that, yes, my ed,should women be educated?
Well, you just want ourdaughters to get married young
and not be educated.
Absolutely not.
What it's saying is that you areeducated.
So finish your education work onyour skills and your talents and
(35:40):
the, the blessings that God hasgiven you, but recognize that
there are also otherresponsibilities that may need a
certain time.
In which you have to takeadvantage of those and then
develop other skills at a latertime.
And one of those we addressed ona podcast episode many months
ago is the, the reality of the,the biological clock that exists
(36:02):
for women.
So we can't keep putting offhaving children because we're
establishing our career becauseultimately we're going to get to
the point where it's It's notgoing to be possible for us to
have those children.
So we're going to have to havevery open and frank
conversations about what itmeans to support younger
marriages, what does it mean forfamily units to do that
(36:24):
supporting, both financially andemotionally, for young couples,
and what that means when wesecure that interest.
The, the, the interest that,that men and women have in one
another, the drives that theyhave that are satisfied in one
another and the legacy that thatpromotes and produces for, for
the, the destination, reachingthe destination.
(36:44):
Yes.
And I, I want to conclude withthis because you mentioned
biology and, and I, and I loveit.
I love biology.
We, you know, we're all sciencescientists by nature.
So just looking at theconstruction of the human body,
the blood that flows through ourbodies.
Is a spirit of communitydevelopment because it touches
(37:06):
everything in the body that is aspiritual development, a
community development thatexists in our body.
The heart itself is a valve thatpumps this blood, which is a
spirit.
For community development.
Now, the endocrine system, thelymphatic system, the nervous
system, the skeletal system, theand all these systems that exist
(37:31):
independent of every othersystem, but yet dependent on
this community development.
So you can have your ownestablishment.
You can have your own freedoms.
But unless these freedoms are,are moved in a spiritual and a
community development system,then you don't have existence in
(37:52):
that particular entity.
So look at the human body andsee how great the human body
works.
Because there's a collectivecommunity development that it
goes on.
Although each community looksdifferent and have a different
responsibility, but they'rebrought together by a community
spirit.
And it brought together by thecommunity purpose to be work to
work as one.
(38:12):
So in these freedoms that we aresearching for in these freedoms
that we believe we need to haveAnd in these freedoms that were
given to us by our creator.
What is our disposition and ourbody gives us a sign?
That in our own biology, thatthis is the way these freedoms
need to operate.
And this is the expression inwhich they should present
(38:34):
themselves.
So biology and creation, onceagain, here is revelation upon
our nature again, that it'salways been there, but our
disposition just hasn't beencorrect.
Informing and us an opportunityto understand what the, what the
revelation in nature on ournature has been for our, our
(38:54):
success as people.
So once again, God has, ourcreator has put right in our
midst the answer to our, oursituation.
Yes.
Yes.
And you know, I, I just want toadd on to that, you know, you
were speaking about, we bothspoke of the the applicability
of a principle that its truth isuniversal.
(39:15):
And so, you know, what we'retalking about as you introduced
in the beginning of thisconversation was the management
of resources.
as an essential aspect of ofaccepting responsibility and,
and having the freedom tofulfill our potential.
And I think that one of thosethings is you were talking about
how this was human resources.
So we're talking right now, howdo we manage human resources?
(39:36):
Well, we manage themresponsibly.
We manage them with discipline,and we manage them with an eye
toward the collective.
The good of the collective, thefamily unit, right?
My sexual desires are not therejust to serve my individual
needs or my own individualpurpose.
They're part of a largerpurpose.
(39:57):
So while they, they, do youunderstand what I'm saying?
So we're talking about, yeah, sowe're, we're, we're, we have to
see ourselves in, in a largerpicture.
And so you can take the sameidea about management of
resources.
What does that look like on acommunity level?
We always talk very frequentlyabout the, the, the circulation
of the dollar.
For example, in, in differentcommunities and how many times
(40:19):
it circulates in differentcommunities and one of the one
of the the, the to the dismayof, of many African Americans,
we're, we're told that thedollar doesn't even circulate
once in our community.
So again, we're talking about,do we waste that?
Do we disseminate, do wedisperse our resources, or do we
concentrate them in a way thattakes into consideration the
(40:39):
well being of the collective?
If we have independent wealth,if we have individuals who have
the, the, the disposition again,going back to the disposition,
what is it that we need?
that allows us when we're in afamily to say, well, you know,
my interest is not just my own.
I have to discipline myself toput these resources at the, the
(41:00):
the use of my family.
Well, in the same way, we haveto look at our material
resources are also our humanresources, our time, our energy,
our talents, our skills.
And we have to, Think about thecollective.
How is this going to bebeneficial to my community?
And then when we look at thefamily of man, even looking at
the national level or the globallevel, we're looking at what our
(41:23):
economic principles are.
We be holding to principles ofjust capitalism or communism or
socialism, or are we guided by adiscipline that says, no, we're
looking at the balance, right?
That, that the charity spent ona family, the charity spent on
the community the collectiveinterest it.
This is what drives our pursuitof individual wealth, right?
(41:46):
We have to, we haveresponsibilities and concentric
levels, layers of responsibilityto ourselves, our families, our
neighborhoods, our communities,our country, but all of that,
that the drive is not for, formy, own individual self to be
wealthy.
The drive is so that I haveenough excess to be able to feed
it back into the well being ofthe community.
(42:08):
So this disposition is alive andwell in both the sexual
interest, it's alive and well onthe interest at the family
level, the community level, andeven the level of designing
ideas for society like economicpolicy.
So this is, this is a profoundlyimportant conversation that I
hope we'll be able to revisitagain during the duration.
(42:29):
And I, and, and we're alsotalking about the pathways.
So those are just some of thethings that I mentioned.
Pathways support our, our, our,our young, our children getting
married.
At a younger ages and, and makesure that we're there to support
them utilize our resources at acommunity level where we're not
spending it outside on manydifferent things, but we
(42:50):
concentrate our resources and wespend them within our community,
building up our community as webuild ourselves.
And then at the national levelor societal level, we go and we
look up and we come up withpolicies that meet the needs of
the collective that don't justmeet the needs of the
individual, but they meet theneeds of the collective.
(43:11):
Well said, well said you know,these, these types of
conversations are.
There, there can go on for the,for the duration of man's
existence with this podcast, wejust want to make sure that we
are addressing these, thesesensitive issues and want to
give pathways and give solutionsand give, you know, steps
(43:32):
towards us addressing these,these circumstances in man's
life.
That's troubled man all over theworld.
At all periods of time, but,but, but none like the times
that we're living in today.
So I would say farther that inour expression today, in this
particular episode of podcasts,you know, we, we've given a lot
(43:52):
of information and we hope thatthe our listening audience will,
you know, take it consider.
Consider this seriously and lookfor ways that they can create
pathways where they are.
And ultimately, as we mentionedbefore, to be able to come back
together and we can discuss whathas worked and what are the
things that we need to give alittle bit more emphasis on and
(44:13):
how we can create thoseopportunities for others to be
able to step in and show theirlevels of value from where their
levels of sensitivity for us tohave a better expression.
So we hoping that this podcastwill reach that goal for us.
That's our aim.
For the family ties, theprescription for society
podcast.
So I just want to thank ourlistening audience and thank my
(44:33):
cohost for having such aprofound love for the best of
what our creator has created usfor, and to keep us in that
vision and keep us in that lensto make sure that we are working
our way to destinationexcellence.
Absolutely.
(44:54):
Yes.
I can add nothing more to end tothat statement.
Yes.
Well, Farda the praise is forGod, our Creator, our Evolver,
our Provider.
We have moved one step closer tothat destination excellence.
Until next time, let us remainconscious of our Creator, of the
(45:15):
sacred relationship of parentand child, and of the family
ties that That bind us all.
Subscribe to the podcast andcome back next time for a new
episode of The Family Ties fromFrank Abdul Shahid and Farida.
Abdul Tawa Brown.
Peace.
Peace be upon, be upon thefamily, the family.
Peace be upon the family, as we welcome you to another
experience of The Family Ties, aprescription for society.
I am your co host, Frank AbdulShahid.
Faridah (00:27):
And I am your co host, Farida Abdul Tawab Brown.
Before we get started, don'tforget to subscribe so you can
stay up to date and get all thelatest episodes.
Frank (00:37):
Welcome back to our Second part of our conversation,
talking about our moving forwardwith purpose.
You know, we want to continue todiscuss whether or not we are
fit to handle the responsibilityof carrying the burden of living
up to our promise of ourcreator.
And using these resources thatwe were greatly benefited with
(01:01):
to able to lead our society in away that takes us to our best.
Expression and our bestconclusion.
So in a previous episode, wewere talking about what are the
influences that have come in andhave disrupted us or taken us
away from our understanding ofwhat being fit meant.
(01:22):
To be able to handle theseresources and you mentioned
fitness and which makes me thinkabout something very quickly was
as we going into this fall,winter season, this holiday
season, oftentimes people areTrying to reconstitute
themselves to understand thatI'm coming to an end of
(01:42):
something and a new beginning iscoming.
January 1st for us is the newyear.
So oftentimes gym memberships gothrough the roof.
We try to physically putourselves back in a good,
healthy situation.
We try to make our bodies ableto carry the burden of, of life.
And, you know, and we just, youknow, want to, Have a better
existence for the new year, thenew existence, the new start the
(02:06):
Genesis, if you want to want touse that term for our dedication
and our declaration for our selfdetermination to be the best
form of ourselves.
So I know as we're coming up onthese holidays and people
decide, this is my last hurrah.
I'm just going to go out, youknow, in a flame of glory.
And then at the, at the end ofthat, I want to.
Start fresh again and say, hey,you know, I'm ready.
(02:28):
I'm ready to discipline myselfand handle these levels of
responsibility.
So you know, we look at thistime of year as that time to
really recalculate andrecalibrate.
So welcome back, sister Florida.
Thank you.
I am wonderfully appreciative ofbeing here.
And you may hear some of thesounds of nature in my
background.
We have some type of whoopinganimal bird or something.
(02:50):
It's making its presence knownand felt.
So you know, he or she is partof this conversation as well, if
you hear.
But what, what I, I, I thinkyou're, your anecdote about the
holidays and the new year andthis idea of, of getting fit.
And when we have thisconversation about fitness, I
(03:10):
think that's pretty apropos,especially because we left off
in our previous conversationaround the idea of, of, of
freedom, meaning obedience andin particular obedience to, to
God, obedience to the creator.
And for those who have our stillseeking and are on a path to
understanding who the creator isand what one's relationship
(03:32):
should be with him.
I think that the term fitnessis, is kind of appropriate here
because what we're looking at iswhen you look at the design of
the human being, And I, I thinkit's wonderful that you brought
up you know, the, the fitnessaspect because there are things
that create a healthyenvironment in which the, the
(03:52):
human body can fulfill thepurpose for which it was
designed.
And if it cannot fulfill thepurpose for which it is
designed, then that creates sometype of of imbalance.
or you know, a lack of abilityto completely fully function as
a human being.
And so when we look back at theidea of fitness to carry this
(04:14):
heavy responsibility of freedom,and whether or not freedom
entails obedience, I thinklooking back at the creation and
the design of the human bodyleads us to our answer.
And that is that the, We willnot be free to use our muscles
if we don't obey the principlesupon which muscles are designed.
If we don't put stress upon themin a, in a, in a balanced way so
(04:39):
that they can grow.
If we put too much food in ourbodies, then we develop an
excess or we increase our, ourfat cells.
And we put other stressors onour bodies, you know, such as
diabetes and, you know,influence and impact on the
pancreas and, and blood pressureand other things of that nature.
So the freedom to reach the fullpotential can only be found in
(05:04):
obedience to the design or thedesigner.
So when so obeying the designerrequires a certain amount of
discipline and knowledge inunderstanding what is the design
and what are the principles bywhich this design is going to
allow me to to reach my fullpotential.
(05:25):
And so that's what, what I wouldsay in response to the question,
you know, I, I raised the, thethe question that some of our
listeners may have had when yousaid that freedom is obedience
to God or is obedience.
And I said, that may soundoxymoronic or even paradoxical
to some, but I think it's in therecognition.
We speak a lot about Thedestination excellence.
And we have a destination thatthe human being is trying to
(05:48):
strive to, to arrive at.
And that involves fulfilling ourpotential as human beings.
But the only way to fulfillpotential is to obey the
designer of that potential.
And in therein, is the freedom.
So once we make the choice,there's always freedom to
acknowledge that designer, toobey that designer, to obey the
(06:11):
principles that the designer haswritten into the creation,
including ourselves.
And so in that there's anultimate freedom to choose that.
But once we do choose that it'sin following the guidance from
that creator that we areultimately able to fulfill our
potential.
Absolutely.
You know, I like to use a lot ofexamples that are not
(06:35):
necessarily readily in front ofus to draw the parallels to show
that the concept is a veryuniversal concept.
So I like, I like drawing a lotof pictures, you know, and I've
even had a little bit of, ofart.
In my background as well, neverpursued it to the way I really
wanted to, but you know, art anddrawing was something that was
already naturally had a naturalinfinity for I worked for a
(06:58):
company who revolutionized theconcept of processes.
An industry and they were soimpactful that every other
company in that same industrytook what they had to use it as
a model for them, for theirlevels of success.
(07:20):
So I've raised this question oreven painted this picture or
gave it given this example.
And I said this, imagine youcreated salt and pepper shakers.
And that was the design that youcreated them for, and they
worked completely how youdesigned them to work and they
gave great benefit and, and itwas perfect.
(07:43):
Now, imagine you emptying outthe salt and pepper shakers,
boxing them up and shipping themto a place where no one has ever
seen salt and salt and peppershakers before.
And they now have to engage thesalt and pepper shaker to find
his benefit in this use, whetherthey follow the plan of the
original inventor of the saltand pepper shaker and get the
(08:06):
most out of that salt and peppershaker, or will they not?
Reach its completion orfulfillment of what the purpose
of that salt and pepper shaker.
And the answer would be no, theywon't get the most benefit out
of it because they didn't designit.
So they have no idea what thatis.
So even if it's an intentionalor unintentional use of the salt
(08:29):
and pepper shaker, still, theydon't have the knowledge of what
the design of the salt andpepper shaker was.
So I use that as a, as aparallel to us.
As a human existence and ourdesigner, our fashion, our
creator, having a design for us.
And in that design, it gives usthe optimal performance of what
(08:50):
we're designed to do and to takeus to our logical conclusion.
So anything outside of that.
will diminish our optimalpurpose in life.
You know, if we guess there's apossibility, we may hit that
target, but it's really only aguess, which means that it's not
even in our determination,conscious determination to take
(09:13):
us to the destiny.
So we have to use outside forcesand we hope it helps us get to
the destiny.
But if we follow the instructionof our creator, then that frees
us to have the optimalexpression that we want.
So Discipline is one of theprinciples of staying fit.
You have to be fit to bedisciplined and the discipline
(09:37):
is a pathway for us to get towhere we want to go in our
processes.
So so once again, our Obedienceto our creator opens up our
greatest freedom and in thatfreedom, we're able to be self
determined and in that, the selfdetermination, we're able to
understand what freedom lookslike in our self determination.
(09:59):
So that way in that picture, wehave the most freedom.
So is freedom built upon otherfreedoms built upon other
freedoms with the same interestof freedom from the beginning,
from the beginning of ourprocesses.
So the oxymoronic.
Picture of freedom beingobedience in our world today,
specifically when we're talkingabout the hookup culture and
(10:21):
being able to just haveunbridled freedom.
Of course, people look when Ilook, look on that and say, Hey,
that doesn't make sense to me.
And one of my favorite quotesfrom one of my favorite movies,
I would say Uncle Ben, Uncle Bensaid to Peter with great
(10:42):
responsibility, but greatfreedoms come great
responsibilities.
Thank you, uncle.
Be well Thank you Uncle Bette.
So I'm assuming that'sSpider-Man.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
So no, but in, in allseriousness, mm-Hmm, you, you
hit the nail on the head.
And I think as you said we areliving in a time when the, the
(11:07):
mere mention of obedience.
discipline outside of thecontext of the securing of
material wealth, right?
So we will hear a lot ofconversation about discipline
when it comes to hustling,making money, getting out there,
being on your grind, getting upevery day at a certain time,
(11:28):
working on your physicalfitness, as we've referenced
earlier, working on yourfinancial fitness.
But that same concept becomes anundesirable one.
When it comes to reining in theimpulses, the, the lower urges
or the desires that bringtogether human beings at the
physical level which is justreflective of a greater
(11:51):
responsibility and a greaterfulfillment of purpose that
comes in productivity of themeeting of, of two complementary
beings so that they can beproductive or and creation so
that he or she can beproductive.
And so that that idea of themoral compass, the moral
(12:12):
strength, the moral imperative,of being alive and well in our
community is inextricably linkedwith the the ability to
discipline oneself according tothe design and the guidance of
the creator.
So going back again to thehookup culture, we're going back
again to the basics.
(12:32):
This is going somewhere.
This conversation for ourlisteners we may be beginning
with this, but this is about howwe discipline ourselves and make
ourselves, or as Frank issaying, we are already fit, but
we are maintaining that fitnessor nurturing that fitness, or as
I would, you know, promote,we're making ourselves fit for
(12:52):
the responsibilities of freedomand self determination.
We have to accept discipline andobedience.
And so going back to the idea ofhookup culture, which threatens
you mentioned a word you know,whether or not this benefits or
works toward the, the ultimategoal.
Well, the freedom is in its veryessence.
(13:13):
the ability to reach one'sfullest potential.
And what we're talking aboutboth on an individual level and
as the human family to reach thepotential for which we were
designed.
If, if we can accept that thatis an aim of freedom or a a
function of freedom, then Iwould say that looking at hookup
(13:37):
culture, this weakens the, itweakens the human being and the
human family by taking theresources, the human resources
that are, that are meant to becoalesced around a common
purpose and to produce with acommon and shared purpose.
It's taking that that functionand it's, it's, it's it's dis
(14:01):
it's dispersing it outside ofthat unified, common, shared.
responsibility.
And so we have to begin toaccept.
moral responsibility for our ownpersonal lives and for the
impact that it has on thecommunity around us.
We will not be successful aslong as we are accepting the
(14:24):
prevailing ideas of the time.
And so I would say that if wewant to move with purpose, if we
want to accept that the worldmay not look the way we want it
to, and that we are charged withremaking that world as part of
our essential function as humanbeings.
Then we have to acceptresponsibility for obeying the,
(14:45):
the principles.
Which take our resources andmake them beneficial and, and
make them efficient as opposedto wasting them and dispersing
them where they won't bebeneficial.
Yes.
And I want to kind of go back alittle bit to add a little bit
more context to what you justsaid.
You mentioned in the previouspodcast about a group of people
(15:07):
being stripped.
And taken away from their goodnature, their humanity, in a
sense and, and oppressed andsuppressed and, and just
completely almost eliminatedfrom the existence of man on
this earth, but yet out of that.
Experience comes a new mindbecomes a new people.
(15:29):
It's a rejuvenation.
It's a rebirth is a resurrectionin a sense for mankind to see
its purpose once again, and thatthis is the pathway to take us
to the conclusion that we werecreated to be, you know, we were
denied material existence.
We were denied spiritualexistence.
We were denied everything.
But yet all of that was restoredback to us.
(15:51):
for joining us.
In the freedom of the mind beingproduced.
And then that mind is not themind of a man just, just
wandering around and in societyand creation, and all of a
sudden come into a conclusion.
It was the nature of thatparticular body that was
introduced to, to scriptureitself.
(16:13):
It, it fit itself.
It put itself in a positionwhere it was ready to accept the
compliment To guide it to itsconclusion.
And we see the African Americansituation, especially through
the Peculiar Institute ofchattel slavery, how that has
fit made us fit to be able tohandle the responsibility
(16:37):
ultimately with a moral footholdthat the world has lost morally,
because in an immoral act.
We were slaves through to do animmoral act, and it was even
degraded even further bystripping us of our humanity.
(16:58):
So when we come back and wetalking about being able to
handle this freedom andunderstand what freedom truly
looks like, then the AfricanAmerican is an example of that
true freedom.
So now.
What is the goal of the AfricanAmerican in that freedom?
What does that look like for us?
What are the steps that we needto take on that pathway for the
(17:20):
world to see that this is thesign of true freedom for man on
the, on this earth?
As I said, it's, it's a moraldisposition towards engaging
relationships, engaging theenvironment and engaging our own
best selves.
To be able to produce, and wetalked about that mind and that
(17:42):
mind is designed to managesociety, manage these resources.
So for those who want to studyhumanity, you cannot come to
this logical conclusion that.
God does not favor his servantwithout looking at the African
(18:02):
American, which should suggestto you that God does favor the
servant and makes the servanthave a a natural urge for him to
seek God himself, which meansthat you are opening yourself to
levels of obedience.
So so yes, this circumstancethat we see in the world today,
we play a major role in theremedy.
(18:25):
Of, of getting rid of thislevels of confusion and anxiety
and frustration and, and, andbeing able to discern when an
influence comes into ourenvironment, that we have a
remedy for the concern versusgiving ourselves to that that
influence and ultimately thedestruction of mankind himself.
(18:47):
You're making me think and, and.
What I'm thinking about now isthe help.
Yes.
Right.
What, what is the help?
We, I, we've identified that wehave to be free from prevailing
thinking ideas that, that takeus out of or, or distort the
best picture.
And you, you spoke specificallyabout the, the promise of God
(19:09):
and what he will do and what hehas done in, in light of the
experience of the AfricanAmerican people.
And so I would say that part of.
The help that we're given aresigns, you know, in scripture,
we're told to look at signs.
They're the signs in Revelationitself and also the signs in the
creation around us.
And one of the helps that we'regiven is in the Qur'an, we're
(19:31):
told to go and study Thecivilizations that came before
us study what has happened.
We are there.
There's a very heavy emphasisplaced on understanding and
knowledge and knowing the, the,the history and the stories that
form societies.
And so.
One of the things I would say isthat we've and we're also
(19:53):
exhorted to look at our owncreation.
And so here, not only are welooking at our own creation in
terms of the design of thephysical human body and the
individual human being, but alsolooking at the design of a
people themselves.
And so we're looking at a storyof a people up from slavery.
We're looking at a story and wesay, where is the help in that?
Well, the help is in recognizingthat coming up from slavery Our
(20:18):
ancestors, those men and womenwho were freed from chattel
slavery they went to scripture.
They went to guidance to say,how do I secure this freedom?
How do I secure this ability toto be self determinative.
How do I secure this ability tofulfill my purpose
(20:41):
intellectually, materially,spiritually emotionally?
How do I do that?
Well, they went to scripture.
These are, they looked and theywent to reunite their families.
They went to establish theirrelationships as, as married
couples.
They went and did that.
They wanted it to be officiallyrecognized that they were
(21:03):
obeying God and Securing theinterest not only of themselves
But of their offspring to havethe best chance at fulfilling
their potential and you'll seeexamples of that over and over
and over Again in human historyand in particular in the story
of our people and so even beforethe Emancipation came
(21:25):
officially.
If we look at, there is a apersonality who is well known in
Al Islam.
And this was at the verybeginning of the establishment
of the religion.
And this is a person, his namewas Bilal ibn Rabba.
And he was a companion of theProphet Muhammad.
Prayers and peace be upon him.
This man was an Abyssinian todayknown as Ethiopian.
(21:48):
He was a slave.
They are in the society amongthe Quraysh and he heard the
message of one God and thatMuhammad prayers and peace be
upon him was his messenger.
He heard the resounding andfundamental, fundamental message
of, of human oneness and ofhuman excellence and of the
nobility and dignity of man thatwas given through our father
(22:10):
Adam.
And while he was still enslaved.
He witnessed that there was onlyone God.
He accepted that his purpose inlife was to serve the Creator,
and through that, and thatalone, would he find the freedom
to pursue and fulfill his, hispotential as a human being.
He did that while stillenslaved.
(22:32):
And it's a story that, thatyoung Muslim children learn all
over the world.
There's a scene where Bilal'sowner, his master, places a rock
on his head.
his chest in the hot desert sun,and he's, he puts up one finger,
one God, he will not worshipthe, the, the, the many gods of
his master.
He chooses for himself, nomatter the consequences, he
(22:55):
chooses for himself the worshipof the one God.
And, and.
following in that, recognizinghis freedom and his ability to
act fundamentally.
And so I would say we look atour ancestors hundreds of years
later, and we look at even whenthey were enslaved, they were
going into the earth, going intotheir limited knowledge of
scripture.
(23:15):
They're going into theirrecognition of the human
entitlement to family andconnection and and excellence
and teaching themselves to readand worship together and to
build connections when theirfamilies were torn apart.
These things were done in thebowels of slavery.
So what I'm saying is, if welook back at that history, we
(23:36):
will find the help that we needin this confused and anxious
time to say, obey The signs thatthe creator has put in both our
material reality and in the helpthat he's given us in
revelation.
If we want to have strongfamilies, if we want to have
young people who are confidentin their ability to make change
(24:00):
in the world, that starts firstwithin the confidence they find
in a home of two parents thatare committed to them, of an
extended family network thatgives them a sense of self and a
legacy upon which to build and aconcerted concentration of human
potential.
That means by.
(24:20):
man and woman committing to oneanother and producing within
that union.
Nothing short of that is worthyof the goal of fulfilling human
potential.
We have to do that.
If we don't do that, we aresuccumbing to forces that weaken
ourselves.
They put a strain on, onrelationships between men and
(24:42):
women that we are seeing rightnow.
We are reaping what we've sownby embracing an ideology that
the world has given us.
So I, I say that the, the helplies in obedience to God, the
freedom lies in obedience toGod.
And with specific regard to thishookup culture, we have to deny
it.
We have to reclaim the thingthat reaffirms and strengthens
(25:06):
our discipline, our ability toconcentrate our resources where
they belong so that they canlive on and on for generations.
Yes.
You know, one of the things thatwe struggle with in this podcast
is to introduce language thatWhen you hear it, you know,
it's, it's talking about levels,many levels.
(25:28):
It's not just talking about onething.
And that's, and that is bydefinition, what universality
means.
It means that it can be appliedon many levels and many
applications.
And that's something that we, wehave definitely struggled on
this podcast to make sure thatwe use the best language to.
Paint these pictures to ouraudience, to let them know that
(25:48):
we don't want to just take onething and just keep it to
itself.
It has to be universally appliedbecause that is the measure of
whether or not it is true.
So when we look at the societythat we're living in today,
where it is so chaotic, we don'tknow what tomorrow looks like.
We don't have any securities orany assurances that tomorrow.
(26:08):
Will guarantee us a good future.
We're at that point now insociety, in America and
throughout the world.
So the question would, would beasked to the person who's
thinking, who's reflecting andtaking a moment to want to
assess their environment.
How do I exist in a worldtomorrow that looks like it may
(26:31):
end today.
And if this new world comes in,well, I have some level of
influence or foothold or sometype of anchoring to be able to
live in a new existence.
And this, and this is the mindof the person who was, who was
reflective.
This is the sensitivity of areflective person.
So, so having this, thesethoughts, you have to now.
(26:54):
Reassess the influences of theworld today.
So we mentioned this hookupculture that pretty much cuts
you off at your knees.
If you want to use that termfrom your future, it cuts you
off for the desire of havingunbridled freedom, this
influence of freedom isundisciplined, unchecked,
(27:15):
unbridled, because you, becausein that expression, you're
thinking you're having your bestlife, but it doesn't, it cuts
you off from a good tomorrow.
And as I mentioned.
The circumstances of the worldtoday, give us the picture that
they won't be a secure tomorrow.
So, so what does the intelligentperson do exactly what you said?
(27:38):
We, we should do family life.
That's what secures us inchattel slavery in America.
That's what secured them familylife, having the sensitivity to
understand that that was themost important thing.
That was a recognition in themthat opened themselves up to
qualify themselves to have you.
(27:58):
Guidance come to them at momentswhen they had no knowledge how
were they able to get out of thecircumstances to run to the
North to escape, escape slavery?
That was a disposition for theirlife to be free because they
understood that our slavemasters weren't giving us our
freedom, this innate andinherent freedom.
(28:18):
So guidance was given to them ina way that they understood that
the mosque grew on the Northside of the tree.
How would they know that?
Does that, does that even existin Africa?
Does that exist in Africa atall?
That the moss grows on the northside of the tree.
So how does a people taken outof a land and brought to a new
existence know that this is helpfor them?
Because their disposition opensthemselves up for continuity and
(28:41):
continuation of this particularexistence.
So in this society today, it'sfamily life.
Once again, back to family life,back to providing the resources
for a healthy existence to befit today, in order for us to
carry the burden so that we cansecure tomorrow, it is family
(29:02):
life.
It is making sure that my wifeis secure in her femininity.
To give her the expressions thatshe has to have to give to our
children.
So there's family, there's male,female relationships, there's
parental and childrelationships.
She has to feel that her husbandis getting the support he needs
(29:23):
to get these resources.
And that's what we have to getback to.
We never left, we never leftthat by design.
We were influenced away fromthat, but that's, We have to get
back to that, to those picturesof our best life and our best
family life.
And that's only in family.
So I concur with the conclusionas to what.
(29:47):
The help should look like forus.
And from that, we get theseguidance come to us in the ways
that our creator deems he needsto provide us the guidance.
But until we have thatdisposition of a good moral
disposition, then we're going tocontinue to suffer and have
chaotic.
Existence in a time where thereneeds to be someone who calls to
(30:10):
the people back to the moralpicture of what man's
establishment needs to be.
And that's freedom in its purestform, which is obedience.
Well said.
And I, I would only, I mean, Ican only add on to that, that
what you said about moving fromthis, this family picture or
(30:31):
particular picture and for thisto be applicable on every level
means that it's, and for it tobe universal is how you can
recognize its truth.
Yes.
That this is a claim to truth.
And so, what I would say aboutthat is that the commitment, the
disposition, which youreferenced, this disposition
(30:53):
that our ancestors had whilethey were enslaved, that that
are.
Our great great grandmothers andgrandfathers had during
reconstruction and during JimCrow and the days that many of
their rights were circumscribed.
That it's this disposition thatshould lead us to be committed
to securing family life in themanner that what, what, what is
(31:17):
the.
What is the pathway that canhelp us to to live and establish
our lives in a way that rebukesthe prevalent, the prevailing
thinking in our society?
Well, we can be committed tobeing family units that promote
and support youth, youngmarriage.
(31:39):
You know, a lot of times what weare, Asking people to consider
what we're asking you and ourlistening audience to consider
is that we are given not onlyideas about hookup culture that,
that make it, that influence usaway from those Systems and
behaviors that allow us to be atour most fit and be strong
(32:03):
enough to carry out theresponsibilities that we have.
But there are also I would saycomplimentary ideas.
within our society that alsosupport this?
What do I mean by that?
We have ideas that are verypopular about how and when we
are to gain our education whatour timeline should be like for
(32:24):
securing material wealth andestablishing ourselves in a I
guess financially independent,you know, that would be the
terminology that we use veryoften.
But I think that what we have todo is be firm and committed in
the very much the same way thatour ancestors were when they
read that moss on the north sideof the tree and they followed
(32:46):
that and they followed thatnorth star and they followed it
until they got to a place wherethey could establish themselves
free from the threat of beingyou know re, re retaken into
slavery, whether that wasgetting to Canada or, or, or one
of the free states.
But what I would say is that thecommitment has to be strong
enough that we are able to, tosay no to a timeline that is
(33:10):
forced upon us that says well,you know, you don't want to have
children young and you don'twant to, you know get educated
and then maybe take some time toraise Children and then go back
to the workforce.
No, the most important, thefruit of our labors, the purpose
for going to college andeducating ourselves as men and
women is the only acceptable.
(33:33):
fruit of that labor thatdisplays for our society that we
have been successful is toestablish ourselves in a career
and to show evidence of successand matriculation in that.
And I say that we have to fightback against that notion by
establishing a norm that isbased upon God's plan.
(33:54):
And what that what that whatdoes that mean?
That means that the naturaldesires that that young men and
women that all men and women,most men and women have is to be
with each other.
There's attraction.
That's a powerful driving forceto promote life and to keep life
in a continuing on going on thecontinuum for success and the
(34:14):
trajectory of manifestation ofour of our ideas in our society.
Society and our civilization.
But what that means is we can'tput that desire on hold for 10
years and tell people well, youknow, daughter, son, you have to
restrict those desires.
Until you're well into yourtwenties, maybe even your
thirties.
(34:34):
You're responsible enough,you're positioned enough to now
take a wife or you know, to jointhis, this man in, in matrimony.
No, that's not the plan.
That's an idea that was given tous, and it also doesn't mean
that you have to limit orcircumscribe your ability to
reach your full potentialintellectually, academically in
(34:56):
terms of developing any skillsor talents that you have.
What it means is that you mustrecognize the moss on the tree
and what it's telling you,right?
If you, are you, are yousupposed to travel during the
day?
And, and sleep at night whenyou're trying to get to freedom,
or are you supposed to restduring the night at, I mean,
rest during the day and travelduring the night when you can
(35:18):
see the light of the, the, the,the, the heavenly lamps, right?
What does that mean?
It means that, yes, my ed,should women be educated?
Well, you just want ourdaughters to get married young
and not be educated.
Absolutely not.
What it's saying is that you areeducated.
So finish your education work onyour skills and your talents and
(35:40):
the, the blessings that God hasgiven you, but recognize that
there are also otherresponsibilities that may need a
certain time.
In which you have to takeadvantage of those and then
develop other skills at a latertime.
And one of those we addressed ona podcast episode many months
ago is the, the reality of the,the biological clock that exists
(36:02):
for women.
So we can't keep putting offhaving children because we're
establishing our career becauseultimately we're going to get to
the point where it's It's notgoing to be possible for us to
have those children.
So we're going to have to havevery open and frank
conversations about what itmeans to support younger
marriages, what does it mean forfamily units to do that
(36:24):
supporting, both financially andemotionally, for young couples,
and what that means when wesecure that interest.
The, the, the interest that,that men and women have in one
another, the drives that theyhave that are satisfied in one
another and the legacy that thatpromotes and produces for, for
the, the destination, reachingthe destination.
(36:44):
Yes.
And I, I want to conclude withthis because you mentioned
biology and, and I, and I loveit.
I love biology.
We, you know, we're all sciencescientists by nature.
So just looking at theconstruction of the human body,
the blood that flows through ourbodies.
Is a spirit of communitydevelopment because it touches
(37:06):
everything in the body that is aspiritual development, a
community development thatexists in our body.
The heart itself is a valve thatpumps this blood, which is a
spirit.
For community development.
Now, the endocrine system, thelymphatic system, the nervous
system, the skeletal system, theand all these systems that exist
(37:31):
independent of every othersystem, but yet dependent on
this community development.
So you can have your ownestablishment.
You can have your own freedoms.
But unless these freedoms are,are moved in a spiritual and a
community development system,then you don't have existence in
(37:52):
that particular entity.
So look at the human body andsee how great the human body
works.
Because there's a collectivecommunity development that it
goes on.
Although each community looksdifferent and have a different
responsibility, but they'rebrought together by a community
spirit.
And it brought together by thecommunity purpose to be work to
work as one.
(38:12):
So in these freedoms that we aresearching for in these freedoms
that we believe we need to haveAnd in these freedoms that were
given to us by our creator.
What is our disposition and ourbody gives us a sign?
That in our own biology, thatthis is the way these freedoms
need to operate.
And this is the expression inwhich they should present
(38:34):
themselves.
So biology and creation, onceagain, here is revelation upon
our nature again, that it'salways been there, but our
disposition just hasn't beencorrect.
Informing and us an opportunityto understand what the, what the
revelation in nature on ournature has been for our, our
(38:54):
success as people.
So once again, God has, ourcreator has put right in our
midst the answer to our, oursituation.
Yes.
Yes.
And you know, I, I just want toadd on to that, you know, you
were speaking about, we bothspoke of the the applicability
of a principle that its truth isuniversal.
(39:15):
And so, you know, what we'retalking about as you introduced
in the beginning of thisconversation was the management
of resources.
as an essential aspect of ofaccepting responsibility and,
and having the freedom tofulfill our potential.
And I think that one of thosethings is you were talking about
how this was human resources.
So we're talking right now, howdo we manage human resources?
(39:36):
Well, we manage themresponsibly.
We manage them with discipline,and we manage them with an eye
toward the collective.
The good of the collective, thefamily unit, right?
My sexual desires are not therejust to serve my individual
needs or my own individualpurpose.
They're part of a largerpurpose.
(39:57):
So while they, they, do youunderstand what I'm saying?
So we're talking about, yeah, sowe're, we're, we're, we have to
see ourselves in, in a largerpicture.
And so you can take the sameidea about management of
resources.
What does that look like on acommunity level?
We always talk very frequentlyabout the, the, the circulation
of the dollar.
For example, in, in differentcommunities and how many times
(40:19):
it circulates in differentcommunities and one of the one
of the the, the to the dismayof, of many African Americans,
we're, we're told that thedollar doesn't even circulate
once in our community.
So again, we're talking about,do we waste that?
Do we disseminate, do wedisperse our resources, or do we
concentrate them in a way thattakes into consideration the
(40:39):
well being of the collective?
If we have independent wealth,if we have individuals who have
the, the, the disposition again,going back to the disposition,
what is it that we need?
that allows us when we're in afamily to say, well, you know,
my interest is not just my own.
I have to discipline myself toput these resources at the, the
(41:00):
the use of my family.
Well, in the same way, we haveto look at our material
resources are also our humanresources, our time, our energy,
our talents, our skills.
And we have to, Think about thecollective.
How is this going to bebeneficial to my community?
And then when we look at thefamily of man, even looking at
the national level or the globallevel, we're looking at what our
(41:23):
economic principles are.
We be holding to principles ofjust capitalism or communism or
socialism, or are we guided by adiscipline that says, no, we're
looking at the balance, right?
That, that the charity spent ona family, the charity spent on
the community the collectiveinterest it.
This is what drives our pursuitof individual wealth, right?
(41:46):
We have to, we haveresponsibilities and concentric
levels, layers of responsibilityto ourselves, our families, our
neighborhoods, our communities,our country, but all of that,
that the drive is not for, formy, own individual self to be
wealthy.
The drive is so that I haveenough excess to be able to feed
it back into the well being ofthe community.
(42:08):
So this disposition is alive andwell in both the sexual
interest, it's alive and well onthe interest at the family
level, the community level, andeven the level of designing
ideas for society like economicpolicy.
So this is, this is a profoundlyimportant conversation that I
hope we'll be able to revisitagain during the duration.
(42:29):
And I, and, and we're alsotalking about the pathways.
So those are just some of thethings that I mentioned.
Pathways support our, our, our,our young, our children getting
married.
At a younger ages and, and makesure that we're there to support
them utilize our resources at acommunity level where we're not
spending it outside on manydifferent things, but we
(42:50):
concentrate our resources and wespend them within our community,
building up our community as webuild ourselves.
And then at the national levelor societal level, we go and we
look up and we come up withpolicies that meet the needs of
the collective that don't justmeet the needs of the
individual, but they meet theneeds of the collective.
(43:11):
Well said, well said you know,these, these types of
conversations are.
There, there can go on for the,for the duration of man's
existence with this podcast, wejust want to make sure that we
are addressing these, thesesensitive issues and want to
give pathways and give solutionsand give, you know, steps
(43:32):
towards us addressing these,these circumstances in man's
life.
That's troubled man all over theworld.
At all periods of time, but,but, but none like the times
that we're living in today.
So I would say farther that inour expression today, in this
particular episode of podcasts,you know, we, we've given a lot
(43:52):
of information and we hope thatthe our listening audience will,
you know, take it consider.
Consider this seriously and lookfor ways that they can create
pathways where they are.
And ultimately, as we mentionedbefore, to be able to come back
together and we can discuss whathas worked and what are the
things that we need to give alittle bit more emphasis on and
(44:13):
how we can create thoseopportunities for others to be
able to step in and show theirlevels of value from where their
levels of sensitivity for us tohave a better expression.
So we hoping that this podcastwill reach that goal for us.
That's our aim.
For the family ties, theprescription for society
podcast.
So I just want to thank ourlistening audience and thank my
(44:33):
cohost for having such aprofound love for the best of
what our creator has created usfor, and to keep us in that
vision and keep us in that lensto make sure that we are working
our way to destinationexcellence.
Absolutely.
(44:54):
Yes.
I can add nothing more to end tothat statement.
Yes.
Well, Farda the praise is forGod, our Creator, our Evolver,
our Provider.
We have moved one step closer tothat destination excellence.
Until next time, let us remainconscious of our Creator, of the
(45:15):
sacred relationship of parentand child, and of the family
ties that That bind us all.
Subscribe to the podcast andcome back next time for a new
episode of The Family Ties fromFrank Abdul Shahid and Farida.
Abdul Tawa Brown.
Peace.
Peace be upon, be upon thefamily, the family.
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