This continues excerpts from Closing The Gap, Part Two, which contains the magnificent answers of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, to questions from me.

Minister Farrakhan: Well if you only know the teachings and know it well, but you lack the character, to bear the burden, then you�re not the one that the teacher was looking for.

So, any great master has an idiosyncrasy, if you will, or ways that the student may not understand. If you love the teacher and the instruction, then you will absolutely look pass the things that you don�t understand and one day you will come to understand, that what the teacher appeared to be doing to you, he or she was actually doing for you.

You know, Brother Jabril, one of the hardest things for a student to take is a severe rebuke by the teacher. There�s a proverb that says, "The fool despises correction. The wise man changes often but the fool will not." Well what would make the fool change? It will be when he/she comes into a greater knowledge or understanding.

Well how did you come into a greater knowledge? You had to be humble enough to recognize it when it came. So, the scriptures says, "Whom the Lord loveth he chastens much." Why? Because it is only through the chastening that the process of learning and growing is being refined [in the student]. So if you cannot accept chastening, you cannot become refined in the [field], which you chose to become great.

Now some of us are so gifted that we seem to do with ease what it takes others real hard work to manifest. The supremely gifted one finds things so easily, that ofttimes the supremely gifted one is careless with the gift and never works as hard as he or she should because they accomplish so much with so little. So the gift then becomes the supreme trial for the supremely gifted one. And sometimes you think you know so much till you don�t wish to be taught any more. You want to teach the teacher. As a result, you really become a fool.

And the Holy Qur�an teaches that, "He who rejects the religion of Abraham is he who makes a fool of himself." What is the religion of Abraham? It is found in these words: "Surely I have turn myself to Thee Oh Allah, [My Teacher. That word Teacher is not there] to Him Who originated the heavens and the earth and I am not of the polytheist. [I (ultimately) have no other Teacher to focus on but you.]

Oh Allah, Thou art the King [Thou art the Master Teacher] there is no God but Thee. Thou art my Lord, [my Nourished, my Evolver, my Sustainer, my Grower into perfection. You�re the only one] and I am of those who submit."

That is the heart, mind and soul of Abraham. That�s what made him the friend of God. And that�s what will make any good student the friend of the Master.

I submit. I surrender. I yield my self over to your mastery of that which I hope to become. Now put your self in me. I tell you, that is love to the 19th power.

[We laughed.]

Brother Jabril: Brother Minister, you have been "ill" for the last couple of years. What are just some of the immediate lessons you would like to share with others about going through such an experience? What comes immediately to your mind about how to help them get through such an experience as illness?

Minister Farrakhan: Allah says in the Holy Qur�an, "He created man and woman to face difficulty." In another place it says, "Allah has ordained struggle." I�ve never read it in the Qur�an, but it�s there in other words, that Allah has ordained pain as the mother of new realities. So we cannot go through life without pain. We cannot go through life without difficulty. We cannot go through life without struggle. God has ordained this because these are the circumstances of life that manifest the quality of our character, our heart, the core of our being. If the heart is diseased, the person is indeed ill.

When a misfortune befalls the Believer, the Holy Qur�an says, "Allah is my patron and to Him is my eventual return." What beautiful words. He�s my patron. He�s my backer. He�s my support. He�s my friend.

Well if my eventual return is to Him, what are the events that come up in my life that might bring me to the point of return? And if I am ugly over an event in my life that suggests return, then I�m not really a true Believer in God. And, if I go through that difficulty with an improper attitude, then this makes manifest a core sickness in my self, as an individual.

So whatever your lot is in life, the attitude that you take toward the thing that God has permitted in our life, that you may have brought about, or that God brought about or permitted to be brought about, however you look at it, the Holy Qur�an says, "Good is from Allah, misfortune is from Allah. It is all from Allah."

Even though sometimes we have a hand in producing our misfortune, yet, it could not happen unless Allah permits it. So He takes full responsibility. So now, what is your attitude? How do you like that? OK, I�m going to let your own foolishness bring something on you. How do you like that?

"God, why me? I always knew you didn�t love me. I always knew you didn�t care about me. I hate you God. I love my daughter. I love my son. Why did you take my son? Why did you take my daughter? Oh, my God I served you well. I prayed. I did all of this. Now, I find I got cancer. I got multiple sclerosis. I got this disease or that disease."

Hush. Hush. Hush. Yes. But the worse disease you could have is a disease of the heart, which the manifestation of physical illness has brought about or made manifest in you.

So I thanked Allah, that when I was at the doorway of death I never asked Him to spare my life. I thanked Him for my life. I thanked Him for allowing me the privilege of living in the majesty of His universe and beholding His greatness. I thanked Him for allowing me to serve and I thanked Him for the pain that I was suffering and it was excruciating. And it was my attitude that even further purified my heart for greater service for God.

So because of my attitude, though I�m not completely healed yet, I�m not worried about it, because my eventual return is to Allah. And if this is the means by which I return, well that�s the highway that I�m on.

My return is to Allah. Maybe you�ll take one highway, It�s called tuberculosis. Another one is called AIDS. Another one is just called old age. Another one is called an accident that just happened. Well this is life. Welcome to the planet.

More next issue, Allah willing.