05/00/2003
IWDM Study Library
Detroit MI

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
It is so wonderful to be here on this occasion and in Detroit, Michigan. I was born, well, I say Detroit, Michigan, Hamtramck, Michigan. And the history is what's more important then what's happening in a single day. And the history started right here in this city, Detroit, Michigan, which was named Temple number one. Peace be unto you all Asalaam Alaikum. With G-d's name, the Merciful benefactor, the Merciful redeemer. We worship Him and worship Him alone. The creator cherisher of the world. Lord sustainer of the life without and the life within. We praise Him and worship Him and associate no G-d with Him. And we witness that Muhammad to whom was revealed the Qur'an upon his heart G-d said, He revealed it upon his heart is the seal of the Prophet's mission in the Old Testament and in the gospel, Jesus Christ, Torah and Injil properly called in Islam, is the seal of the Prophets, that he is the seal of the Prophets and the last of the Prophets. G-d's Messenger to all the world and His servant and a mercy as G-d says in our Holy Book, to all the worlds. Muhammad, Sala-lahu Alahi Wa Salaam- the prayers and the peace be upon him. We are here on this occasion to observe Saviors Day, to stay in touch with the best of our life, to stay in touch with the best of our history, of our history. It is said that the people who forget their history will have to repeat it.
And we know in Islam history is very important and the history of Islam, if we really knew it, it would keep us strong in our hearts and keep us enthusiastic. Lively, lively for Islam and for life of the Muslim in the society, the history of Islam. I have read books on the history of Islam and I don't see how anyone can read the history of Islam and not believe that the revelation of Qur'an, the book of the Muslims and Muhammad, the recipient who received that book, is not exactly what Muslims know the word of G-d to be, the Qur'an to be and what we know Muhammad to be. The word of G-d, the Qur'an and Muhammad, the Messenger of G-d and a mercy to all the worlds.
We want to recall this history and we hope to yearly have this occasion to recall our best life. Our life alone is enough to support us, to keep our spirits strong and to keep us looking forward and making progress our life alone. I live with my life. I live with an awareness of my life, my whole life. I don't want to forget anything great in my history. And my history began right here in this city. I was born in the year that that great man there no exaggeration, that great man Raymond Sharif was a teenager when joining the Honorable Elijah Muhammad or Nation of Islam, I was born about that time. I was born in 1933, the last of 1933, the 10th month, October of 1933.
And what can I remember of that time? Nothing. Too young, just born. So until maybe forty, forty one. What happened? I can't recall back further than that, hardly anything. But I know what happened back then because it was the talk. Not of the town, but it was the talk of the Temple of Islam. It was the talk of my father and mother's house. I would hear them tell, say what happened, what occurred. The great things, the big things, the important things. Sometimes sad things. But they didn't leave sadness on us because even in the sad thing, there was joy because we were victorious.
We were victorious. I don't know how many of us today I know the pioneers, especially Raymond Sharif and few others like him, males and females. I know they know like John Muhammad, my uncle here on that point, leader of the Nation of Islam in Detroit, Michigan here. I know they know. They know what occurred back there. And as I said, it was a talk, it was a conversation piece and it was a testimony on their lips all the time. They were testifying, witnessing to the great strength of that message. And the man that innovated the vision or the idea for the Nation of Islam, Mr. Fard Muhammad, also called WD Fard, also called Wallace Fard, also called Wallace D. How do you know all that? I had a mother that wanted me to know that, she saw that I knew that. In fact, I got postcards that she gave me right now in my possession at home. And the postcards came to her from Mr. Fard. And on one card he just signed his name, Wallace D. That's all, Wallace D. That's all on the card. Wallace D. One he signed it WD Fard. That's how he signed his name. But I also recall my mother having me recite from little pamphlets called problem books, lesson C number one, English lesson C number one, the 40 questions and answers. And these publications, actual facts, actual facts, problem book. Don't you get a message?
These were the publications that held the original teachings of the Nation of Islam. Problem book. Actual facts. That tells me that something ain't actual facts. If you got something called actual fact that tells me that something else he gave us is not actual facts. Their problems that has to be solved, worked out. And he even offered prize. Their prizes for the neatest and best workers of these problems, prizes were often offered. There's a lot to understand and I don't know if I, but a few of you all, even the young ones will see a great day here in America on this planet that's coming to us. Well, I'm going to tell you what I know has coming one day on this earth and on the land we call this America, the United States of America. So much progress for you who stay with this tradition of progress, change, evolution, birth and rebirth.
If you stay with it, there is going to be a strong and large following that's going to have Institutions of learning par excellence, going to have beautiful mosque, beautiful community life with all the institutions, facilities, businesses, et cetera that are expected to be in the beautiful picture of a progressive society. That's coming. Praise be to Allah. Nothing can stop it because G-d started it. G-d is the one who started it. Nothing can stop it. That's what I know. I could have many more friends, big friends from the Islamic world backing us with their finances and supporting us with their presence here and everywhere we would go if I would be there man and not a man for this life tradition that G-d started in America. They don't want me to talk about these things.
Well I know what made me. I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be important to you or anybody else. I would just be an ordinary fella somewhere working in a factory or self-employed having a small life if it had not been for Mr Fard. And the pioneers who embraced him and his message and accepted a new life. Yes. Among them and the leader of many who stayed with it, my father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I used to be a minister for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as many of you know. I see faces out there that knew me way back in Chicago and here too, I see faces. You've known me since I was a boy, a baby maybe. You knew me perhaps before I knew myself some of you like my Uncle John. He knew me when I was a child before I was aware of myself. Let me tell you all something else. All this is good for history.
I was told from as far as back as I can remember and they would remind me, they wanted me to stay aware of it. You know the Savior gave you his name. That's what they would say. You know the Savior gave you his name. Every now and then one would say before you were born, he wrote your name on the wall, the back of the door in chalk. And then he told us children, that's my brother and sister, children of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad who were back there, not the younger one Akbar, he came later. And he told us that whenever it began to wear off, they would trace over his writing with chalk to keep it fresh and bright. Now why would a man want to leave that kind of impression on the minds of the brothers and sisters that would have me as their new member or new member to the family, Wallace D Muhammad. Before I was born, my mother was carrying me.
And why was he so sure that it was going to be a boy? He didn't say, well, I'm going to put Wallace and Walina or something or Willa May. No, he just put Wallace, so sure of himself. He put Wallace on the wall behind the door. My sister corrected me. I recall them telling me it was written on the door, on the door. But she said no, it wasn't on the door. Raya, she recalls everything. She's our recorder and historian in the family. My brothers and sisters, they know Raya. They would say "Well Raya know everything that happened back there." She kept it up here in her head. She said, no Wallace, she heard me give a address like I'm giving today. And she said, "No Wallace it wasn't written on the door. it was written on the wall behind the door." She said, when you opened the door, the door would go back to the wall and the name was behind the door. But when you close the door, the name would show. So these are things that were important to me, but this is what I want to share with you. G-d is my witness. I never really gave a lot of thought to that at all. I would just hear it. In fact, I didn't give any thought to it. They were just talking to me. You know how children are. Some children, they're different. You talk about them, they're interested in knowing what you're saying about them. Me, far back as I can go, you're talking about me. If there's nothing bad, I'm not too interested in hearing it.
It's nice, but I'm not going to give my attention to it that much. And I'm still the same person today. I don't want you telling me I'm great and special. I don't want to hear that. That doesn't make me comfortable. Because whatever I am, it's because of something else. And the credit goes more to the something else than it does to me. Yes. I was a welder once welding on this job and my supervisor who was training me, I was new just right out of welding school and working at this fabricating plant. And my welder, I mean my welder instructor, pardon me, on this job supervisor. We were about to start the work. I had been there any morning and we were waiting for the time come to start work. The time come to start the work. Before the exact time he walked over to the bench, the work bench, and I followed him over there. I knew to follow him over there. So we standing at the work bench waiting on the time to start and he looked at me. He was taller than I was, kind of big guy and a European American, maybe Irish, I'm not sure. He was red in the face, kind of reddish colored big guy, looked like a Irish. He looked at me and he said, "Delaney" I had changed my name to Wallace Delaney.
And that's what the interviewer told me when I went to get a good job that would take care of myself, Shirley, my wife at the time and our first child, only child at that time, Layla, our daughter. So I had come from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad you know and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad took care of us pretty good. I could make the sacrifice, but Shirley wasn't prepared. I wasn't prepared to even have her make the sacrifice and try to survive off of putting my skills and my work history could bring in as an income. So I went to the Illinois State employment and they interviewed me and the lady said, "Well with the money you want you should go to welding school." So I did. So she said, "What about your name?" I said, I don't understand. She said, "Well, I don't think you're going to get too far with that name."
So I remembered my eldest brother, Nathaniel whose name changed to Ayman and really that was the name that he was given, but I don't know how it worked so funny like that. Mr. Fard called my brother Ayman. He didn't call him Emmanuel, but he wrote it Emmanuel. It was written, he wrote his name out Emmanuel Muhammad. No matter what your name was in the Temple of Islam right here in Detroit. Mr. Fard, when he would register you up as a member, he would write your name again. He would let you keep part of your name or maybe sometime all of the name. But he would write it and approve that name. And most likely something was added to your name. You were given a last name, like a Muslim name Muhammad or something. So anyway, he was Emmanuel Muhammad. But when we looked at the card where his name was, some of you remember those cards.
I was given a card. Now I was born in the year 1933. And really Mr. Fard left Detroit, went to Chicago and my mother had me here. So I'm still here. I never saw him, but I learned much later my mother said, yes, you have a card, a Nation of Islam card. And she showed it to me. There my name was Wallace D Muhammad on the card. Raise your hand. How many of you all remember those cards? I know I got some back here remember those cards. Yeah, ID cards. ID cards, yes. I'm going to get back to where I am in this presentation. But let me say something about this card that we also should recall. It's important in this history of our life in transition or in progress. This card said that the bearer of this card is a righteous Muslim.
If you find him otherwise, take the card and punish the said bearer. Now here is Mr. Fard telling us to separate ourselves. He came like John the Baptist announcing the pending doom of the wicked world. Now here he is telling us to separate from the world of the devil and authorizing the devil to punish us if he finds us wrong. That's something to remember I'm telling you. We still have some of those cards around. We owe it to generations to come of our own people. And we owe it to this world. We owe it to the world of Muslims. We owe it to the world of non-Muslims. We owe it to the government of the United States of America to write this history as best we can because we are not only a sign and others are saying this now, not just me and not just us. We are not only a sign to our own people, which I know we are. We a sign to all African Americans. But we are a sign to the international Ummah, the international nation of Islam. We a sign to them too called the Ummah. We are a sign to that great international community, a sign from G-d.
We are surely and definitely a sign to the learned in wisdom of the world, in the wisdom of the world. Some of you understand what I'm saying. And some of you understand a little bit, most of you understand a little bit, but that little bit can strengthen you. But some of you understand exactly what I'm saying. We a sign to the learned of the world and we a sign to the governments of the world. What sign? That G-d is present today as much as He's ever been. And G-d is working in man's life today as He worked in man's life before in the time of Moses and before Moses and after Moses. Yes, sign of the presence of G-d. So what are you trying to say about yourself? Nothing. I'm trying to say a lot about the presence and power of G-d, but nothing about myself.
Praise be to Allah. We thank G-d, we thank G-d. I'm not a Prophet. Mr. Fard let the people call him a Prophet. Mr. Fard let a few call him Savior. He let even a few call him G-d in the person. But the many, he didn't let them know that the many knew him only as Professor Fard their teacher and as a Prophet. And they called him a Prophet. How do I know these things? My mother, when I was being put out of the Nation of Islam for the second time by my father, it ain't funny. You have to change your name to get a job it ain't funny. No work history in the world. The only work history is in the Temple of Islam working for one of the businesses or something. No work history. You can't get a job. Your education is not accepted. I had a diploma from the University of Islam High School, University of Islam High School. And I took that with me looking for a job.
They looked at it and kept talking. I handed it to 'em and they didn't even stop talking. Just kept on talking. Do you have any experience? So it ain't funny. So anyway, I'm leaving the house. And going out of the house and my mother knew. My father had warned me too. My father loved me and I loved him. I loved him and he knew it. He was putting me out of the house and had the executor, had the executor walk me, make sure I got to the door okay. So it was such a touchy thing, they let my mother go to the door with me and he was so kind. He didn't even want to be at my back too close. He let my mother go to the door with me. And my mother went to the door with me. And as I walked out the door, she stepped outside too, a little bit outside. She said, Wallace, please go back in there and tell your father you'll comply. She said, he'll accept you. I said, mama, who did Mr. Fard tell you who he was?
Her face changed and the weight of the whole world dropped on her. And she looked at me and she said, he told us not to even call him Prophet. He said Prophet was too big a name, title for him. I didn't know that, she was telling me something I didn't know. This is the first time I'm hearing this, but now I'm surprised and a bit displeased with her. I said, mama, how can you ask me to go back in there and admit to daddy or tell daddy I believe he's G-d and he told you all Prophet was too big a title for him. And she had nothing to say to me. And both of us were hurt, hurt deeply. It hurt me to have to leave my mother. And it hurt my mother to see me leave again. And she said, son, you know it's going to be hard out there for you. I said, yes ma'am and I just left.
I left. My father, he tried to stop me by this. He had two suitcases and one was open full of money. I never seen the court open up a big suitcase of money to begin the trial. Big suitcase full of money. No, a briefcase, attaché case wasn't it? Yeah, attaché case. I mean it was full of money. I paid no attention to it. That's telling me something about myself. I know myself. I don't have that kind of power to look at all that money and not even want to look at it some more. I had no interest in the money, no interest at all. I saw it and that was it. No interest at all. My mind wasn't fixed on that. Didn't even look at it a second time. Didn't even spend two seconds looking at it.
So I know that's not me. That's the protection of G-d that was on me. Praise be to Allah. Yes, yes. So anyway, I went away, but I never accepted to obey the law for your excommunication or your being put out the Nation of Islam. The law is that when you was put out the Nation of Islam, you are not to contact anybody that's in good standing with the Nation of Islam. Your mother, nobody. I knew who the boss was. It was my father the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. So I never called and asked for my mother. I called and asked for him.
And I only would call him when it was very close to his Saviors Day annual address. And I would call him, I said, and I didn't know whether they were going to let me talk to him or not. I didn't know whether they were let me talk to him or not. Just speaking to my friend. All of you my friends, but I recognize a face there that's dear to me and distanced from us right now living two, about half dozen states away from us. But he is something. Volunteer, ready to work. Doesn't never ask me for a penny. He ain't expecting any money. That's how we all were, weren't we in those days? When the Nation of Islam was being built by these pioneers, that's how we all were. You asked us to do something, we didn't ask how we going to get paid. We expected our pay to pay was going to be the satisfaction that we had helped. That's our pay. Anyway. Yes, I'm trying to get back to where I was. Yes, yes, Saviors day.
Yes, yes. Every year I would call him just before Saviors day. And I called once and one of the secretaries answered the phone. I'm not sure, but this time I think it was Lenore Najid. She was a hard little secretary. But at times she would do the unexpected. So I called and she answered the phone, I said, may I speak to daddy? We stayed in the house. We knew each other. She'd be in the house every day working there. So it wasn't like I was speaking to somebody that didn't understand the closeness and the way we speak as a family to each other as family. So I said, I speak to daddy? She said, the Messenger is here. I said, you'll let him know I want to speak to him? She said, your son is on the phone dear holy apostle, your son Wallace. He came to the phone. I guess he said, well, maybe he's ready to confess and come back. So when he came to the phone. I said, daddy, Asalaam Alaikum. I said, I just wanted to speak to you and let you know that I'm wishing you a very successful Saviors day. Thank you son. As-Salaam Alaikum. That was the end of that phone call. And I had accomplished all I wanted to accomplish. And that was to work on his heart. See, I was the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I'm a medicine man too. So all I wanted to do is work on his heart, to make him feel good. And I wanted to know, I want to feel too in my spirit and heart that he wasn't going on to speak on Saviors day, the most important day for his address, with me on his mind as a hurt or burden. I knew I called him up and let him know I love him. That said I loved him. And that didn't only say I loved him. That said I wanted his work to be successful.
Praise be to Allah. I am sharing these things with you. This is what I hope that Saviors day will be for us. A day of observance to recall this history and to cherish the people that have been responsible for making us a beautiful and new people. Yes. So let me continue recalling this history, important, very important things that occurred. Some things were very small, but they left a huge imprint on my heart and spirit or soul. I recall all the able, the real productive brothers being locked up in World War II. Many of them too old to go to Army, but they were locked up because they refused to sign a draft card. They were told that if you just sign your name, you wouldn't, wouldn't be sentenced or locked up because they were obedient to the intent and obedient to the principle.
So what is the principle? The principle is more than I refuse to keep a gun or dress in your uniform and go fight the war. The principle includes more than that. I don't approve of this idea. I don't approve of you doing it. They didn't even sign the card. Men 58, some of them older than that, wasn't it Sharif? Some of them older than 58 years old, locked up, put in prison. One had a peg leg. You hear that? One had a peg leg. Because he wouldn't sign the card. World War II. So during that time when most of the men were in prison and sisters, a few sisters, were holding on. Strong sisters. I'll never forget those sisters. My mother, the one in the heavens of that time, Clara Muhammad. I'll never forget them. I have a aunt who passed, steadfast to the end. Passed here recently.
The wife of my uncle John Bernstein. Aunt Bernstein. Strong ladies and many more. Sister Marie. Sister Marie Joshua. I know the name real well. But right now my head is full of too many memories, of thoughts. I attended the service for her Janazah just very recently last month. Great, great ladies, great pioneers. One of them had an upper floor in a house. And it seemed to me that the first floor was just not usable. That's how the neighborhood was. This is a poor neighborhood. Unkempt property almost looked like an abandoned piece of property. But you wouldn't believe it. Back then, poor people really in the busy and populated sections of Chicago did not have light bulbs in the house. Kerosene lamps. Didn't have a regular stove, no. Old pot belly stove you put coal in or wood in and cook you food and eat your stuff right on top of the stove. And that's where we had Temple.
That's where we had Temple. I'm a little boy. I remember Savior day in a similar situation like that. I don't know if it was the same house or not, but it was very similar. You can recall the picture, but you can't be sure whether it was the same place or not as a boy, child, when you're trying to recall things. A youngster almost like an animal when it comes to the power of the sense of hearing, sight, smell, touch. Those are the things that we recall more than anything else. More than what we heard as a preaching of something. And I can even smell right now that house, the smell of that Kerosene and that stove pot, belly stove. I could smell it just like I'm there right now. I could smell that smell. I smelled the squash pie as she was baking on top of that stove. I can smell it right now. I can even tell you the name of it. Acorn squash.
I haven't heard of anybody making an acorn squash pie except back then when I was a boy. Must have been under 12 years old. Maybe about the age of my son, our son we have here today. Muhammad Shakir. He's somewhere out there sitting in here somewhere. I don't know exactly where he is. Anyway, I recall that and I recall a limited staff of people, mostly sisters. Ethan Bahar was an old hardworking brother. He was there. Ethan Bahar. And Marcellus Jordan, another great star at that time. He was there. But these are old, very up in age. They were the old ones.
But some went to prison, their ages now. Anyway, I recall them preaching like the ministers would on Saviors day. And when the preaching was over, passing out delicious apples. And look, we enjoyed and had as much fun and happiness talking with each other, a little boy watching, hearing the others talk and seeing my friends. A little pretty Mary May. We called her May for short. Maryam Kareem. Called her May for short. I just enjoyed looking at that pretty little girl. I enjoyed just looking at her on the celebration Saviors day.
I'd look at that little pretty light-skinned girl. I thought she was the prettiest girl on earth. But I remember, remember as vividly, as clearly smelling those apples. I can't talk about it without smelling them. See whatever I experienced with them, I recall that. So I'm recalling the smell of those delicious apples. Oh, the smell was so nice. And they would give us those big delicious apples and we'd sink our teeth into 'em. Now I know they were cheap, but for us back then, they weren't cheap. They were expensive. We couldn't get no big, nice delicious apple like that when we wanted them.
You'd be good to get just an apple every other week or so. And it might be one of those crab apples. Not a crab apple, but a pie apple. Apple they make pies with. Anyway, I recall that. And those that could afford it, they'd pass around little gifts and we would be so happy. Oh, the brotherhood was so beautiful and strong. The sisterhood, sisters just so happy to see one another. Asalaam Alaikum sister. How are you, how is your family doing? How are the children? Brothers greeting each other and just so happy to be in each other's presence. That was a strong time for us as far as our devotion and commitment and love for one another. Yes, it was a great time for us. Small people in number and certainly small in means. Poor, poverty stricken. Yes, you're talking about welfare. If we had one member of the temple with all those food stamps you all get, the whole temple would've been eating good.
So we only had about maybe 30 to 60 at the most, members in the temple. So with these two big carts I see these stamps buying. I saw a lady load two baskets up. And she had one basket pushing the other and a little child helping her keep the basket in front of her. And she pushed those two big baskets loaded to the gills up to the cash register with food stamps. That was enough to feed the whole temple. We had a brother called Dave, brother Dave. He used to drive cabs. Later on he became a field minister. Brother Dave. Remember Brother Dave? We called him Brother Dave.
He would come and bring some candy for us. He drove cabs. This is love. He knew my mother didn't have no money to get us candy, candy would be a treat. We ate bean soup as though it was a ritual. Holy ritual. And it still tastes good to eat. Still is a terrific dish. Put that good old wheat toast in it man. Lord have mercy. We ate bean soup. My mother would cook. I got witnesses here. My mother would cook us daily bean soup. We knew what the vegetables would be most likely. If it wasn't cabbage it was going to be string beans. There going to be string beans or cabbage and potatoes.
Now we didn't even see sweet peas hardly until the Honorable Elijah Muhammad from prison told us she could open the can. We didn't eat canned foods, right? No canned foods. So anyway, sometime in the week, you know that motherly love is something else. My mother would go out, go to the poultry market. Back then you didn't go and buy a piece of dead animal, a leg and a neck and a breast and stuff like that. That ain't the way you bought your meat. You go buy a live chicken whole and they would kill it while you looking at it.
And if you didn't ask for the feet, he might keep the feet and you'll see the feet in the showcase the next day. And the next day, he's selling them to somebody else. But those who knew it was going to happen and couldn't afford much, they would say, I want to keep my feet. So my mother would keep the feet until they got enough. But she went out, she didn't have enough obviously. She went out and bought some more feet. I remember this, I am smelling that right now.
And she cooked those feet, chicken feet. And she had celery and stuff in it, chopped up in it. Juice. It wasn't gravy, juice. And she brought us our plate. That juice poured over that rice. Wasn't it good man? Oooh Lordy, lordy. You're talking about some tasty stuff. And we enjoyed those chicken feet. I could see it. I could taste and feel those little finger toes or whatever crunching in my mouth and I'd keep working on 'em until I got everything off except the bone. All the little muscle and whatever. They were soft. All that goes down the throat.
And then you suck the bone, you take your teeth and you crack that bone and you sip on it. And that juice was so tasty. This modern generation of something, I don't know what they are. They don't know what good eating is. You can't have good eating unless you're hungry. And most of us, we eat, we ain't hungry. It's just time to eat. Habit. But Ramadan prepares us, right? Brings back the joy, reoccurring happiness. It brings back the joy because we without food all the daylight hours. And when it's time to eat, we ready. Especially if we work hard. Yes. So anyway, you're trying to recall these things. I think that these things are very important for us to recall. The people that they say was taught hate. I remember Mike Wallace putting on a special, it was called The Hate That Hate Produced. And the show was saying that we were a people. He was saying that, yes, they hate you, they hate us white folks. But he was also saying with the title that the hate of blacks had produced our hate for them. But I never identified with that. And I'm sure Sharif didn't. I'm sure Elijah didn't. We never hated anybody. We hated wrong.

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