[Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted from Volume 32, No. 2 and The Final Call will continue to reprint articles written by our late and dear Mother Tynnetta Muhammad.]
“Allah is He Who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six periods, and He is established on the Throne of Power. You have not besides Him a guardian or an intercessor. Will you not then mind? He orders the Affairs from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is a thousand years as you count.” –Holy Qur’an, Surah 32, verses 4-5
In my early training as a student of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I was guided by the spiritual knowledge base of his Teachings which I had never been exposed to before. I literally studied night and day as a young student in my senior year of high school to the best of my capacity. In those early years of the 1950’s, the Muslim Community of the Nation of Islam was far more focused and activated in the guiding principles of our Faith than perhaps we are, generally speaking today.
When I departed from Detroit, Michigan, following my centennial graduation at Central High School, I prepared, shortly thereafter, to go to Chicago with a determined idea to serve our community without any preconceived idea of what lay ahead for me in the path of my search for knowledge. During my senior year in high school, I spent much of my time visiting with a few Muslim families, among them, the Bogan Family who were related to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The name “Bogan,” was used by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad while traveling incognito for seven years, running up and down the East Coast after his flight from Detroit on the heels of a death plot in 1935.
I was fascinated by the many stories shared with me by some of the elders of Islam about the early days of Islam’s founding in Detroit, Michigan. I was enchanted with the powerful experience they had under Master Fard Muhammad’s Teachings, who was known as the “Saviour,” or the “Prophet.” I recall many stirring accounts concerning the ability of our “Saviour” to tap into the thinking of the people and his visionary gifts that he shared in public gatherings. He demonstrated through the medium of water his ability to produce live pictures of people in other parts of the world, and he would invite some in the audience to view these images in the water glass. I was also informed that the Master danced a waltz-like style while holding a glass filled with water on his head. He moved so smoothly in perfect balance so that the water glass never fell from his head.
When I arrived in Chicago, I had accumulated many fond memories of those early days in Islam from the Muslim families in Detroit, Michigan. I was so inspired by their testimonies that I made my decision to travel to Chicago to help the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in his work and Mission.
I never knew that I would ultimately be chosen to enter the personal circle of his domestic life as a wife. He began teaching me about the Life and History of Prophet Muhammad, (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah Be With Him). Through the writings of author, William Muir. He showed me personal aspects of that history that connected me to his domestic life. After coming through many trials and tribulations of that experience, I have never lost the objective of my deep craving and search for knowledge on the path of my soul’s desire to be united with God as One.
As a Student and Follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I entered the circle of his “Domestic Life” thinking that this could not be possible, but as I diligently studied and followed his direct guidance and teachings, I began to read many books on the life and history of Prophet Muhammad, (PBUH). He taught me this history from the Holy Qur’an and I read many other books of world history, combined with science and religion, and would oft times write passages down from these books on small index cards.
When I would meet with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I would share these notes with him which he enthusiastically received and placed them inside the vest pocket of his suit jacket. I studied everything in my new environment with a great focus on the Hyde Park area, the campus of the University of Chicago, the many museums on Lake Shore Drive, which included the famous Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium. I sometimes visited the north side to Evanston and the Bahai Temple in Wilmette, Illinois.
I remember that everything in my life was magnified as a great adventure of learning. I would oft times tell the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that it seemed like the very atoms themselves were communicating with me.
I was most interested in learning how to tune in, and I asked him one day, in the privacy of his first home in Hyde Park, to teach me how this was done. He instructed me to go to a quiet place in the house and remain silent and quiet my mind until I could send out a thought to the person I wished to contact and wait for the response or answer. He told me that it is far easier to send out a thought than it is to receive an answer.
I am sharing some of these memories with our readers in this interlude of my current article series to explain the further progression and evolution as students which may hopefully lead us to a greater understanding of aspects of his life, including that of his “Domestic Life.” The spirit and the heart must be combined with the physical to convey more deeper knowledge of our religious Faith, carrying our principles into right actions and behavior.
We may also learn through this intimate sharing of some of my life’s experiences how women are also chosen to play a significant role and part in the transmission of these hidden truths as we embark on our journey in the purification of the heart as we prepare for the Life of the Hereafter. It is the language of the heart that speaks and beckons us onward into the knowledge of these new worlds of reality, not necessarily our intellectual genius or university training alone.
The brain is the mechanical circuitry of all bodily functions, but it is the heart that is the true organ of sight and hearing leading us to advanced spiritual attainment. It is written in our Nation’s book of Lessons called, The Supreme Wisdom, the following words: “Each student should copy the answers of Lesson of Minister Elijah Muhammad, and study until the Student is able to memorize By Heart, all answers to of said Lesson Number 1.” This assignment is beckoning us, as students, to the purification of the heart in preparing for the Life of the Hereafter!
“Such is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Mighty, the Merciful. Who made beautiful everything that He created, and He began the creation of man from dust. Then He made his progeny of an extract, of worthless water. Then He made him complete and breathed into him of His spirit, and gave you ears and eyes and hearts; little it is that you give thanks.” —Holy Qur’an, Surah 32, verses 6-9
To be continued.
