by Anisah Muhammad and Nisa Islam Muhammad
Final Call Staff Writers | @MuhammadAnisah @nisaislam
Student Minister Rasul Hakim Muhammad touched people all over the country. His love was felt in Detroit, Miami, and by Muslims in various regions of the Nation of Islam.
A beloved son of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Mother Tynnetta Muhammad, Bro. Rasul returned to Allah (God) on March 13. Messages of reflection, stories and sentiments were also expressed and shared on social media on various platforms by believers he impacted.
In the early 1990s, Sister Betty T. Muhammad was responsible for helping with cooking for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan when he traveled to the Nation of Islam’s Southwest Region. “As a result of that, anytime anyone came through, that was my responsibility,” she said.
“I cooked for Rasul when he came.” She developed a familial relationship with Bro. Rasul. “He was a brother, a straight-up brother. Very versatile. Very loving. He exuded the love of the believers,” she said.
Student Min. Abdul Halim Muhammad of Mosque No. 32 in Phoenix, Arizona, was impressed with Bro. Rasul’s commitment to the believers. “He was just a very, very genuine, authentic person,” he said. “It was infectious, and you couldn’t help but be positively impacted by him.”
He shared how Bro. Rasul was always sincere and always himself. “Clearly our Nation has lost one of our giants, one of those precious souls who made a profound impact not only on the little Nation, but he made it on the bigger nation, too,” he said.
Sis. Najah Saabirah Muhammad, 22, from Jackson, Mississippi, said Bro. Rasul was the one who taught her that Allah loves her, personally. “Hearing him speak about our relationship with Master Fard Muhammad in such a close and intimate way helped me to further humanize Him.
In truth, he opened me up to having a much deeper and intentional relationship with my own Creator,” she wrote to The Final Call via an Instagram message.
“He helped to bring me closer to The One that made me, chose me and truly loves me. To remind us that we are somebody to (Master Fard Muhammad), we matter to Him and we, in an individual sense, are on His mind.”
“Oh Allah. I thank Allah for Bro. Rasul’s contribution. To me, it is truly a work of love,” she added.
Student Min. Abdul Sabur Muhammad of Mosque No. 26 in Oakland, Calif., fell in love with Bro. Rasul due to his example. “Our Nation has been blessed with a man who, of course, loves Islam, loves his father.
Every time I was in his presence, he was always acting as a top soldier,” he said. “I fell in love with a man who was a Muslim, and Islam was always coming out of his mouth and in his example. For me, I was blessed to meet the man, Rasul Muhammad, the Muslim, Rasul Muhammad, and the brother, Rasul Muhammad.”
Student Min. Abdul Sabur Muhammad recalled Bro. Rasul visited northern California and served as a keynote speaker for Cinco de Mayo on multiple occasions. Bro. Rasul was raised in Mexico with his siblings and was fluent in Spanish.
“I witnessed him entertain with the truth to Spanish-speaking audiences. He won them over with such great love that he and Mother Tynnetta made regular visits to the area to address the Spanish-speaking community,” he said. “They fell deeply in love with him.”
His service
Georgia-born Desmond Muhammad moved to Miami in 1994. He had served as a lieutenant and first officer at the then-Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Study Group for two years when circumstances led to a new student minister in 1997.
Student Min. Desmond, the father of Final Call Staff Writer Sister Anisah Muhammad, shared that he did not know that Bro. Rasul had been watching and observing him regarding the ministry. “He elevated me to that position to be the minister of Ft. Lauderdale Study Group,” he said.
“And then one year later, under his charge and his guidance, it became Mosque No. 82.” He described Bro. Rasul as someone who promoted a healthy competition among the student ministers and taught on how to care for and love Black people.
Student Min. Desmond Defoe-Muhammad of Mosque No. 15B in College Park, Georgia, born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, remembered teaching on the rostrum after becoming a registered Muslim in the Nation. He became the student minister in Ft. Lauderdale after Desmond Muhammad in 2000.
He recalled Bro. Rasul’s strong command of the English language when speaking publicly and his competitive spirit. “That’s in everything. That’s in bowling, … that’s in checkers, that’s in basketball. Everything. Music. Everything he laid his hands on, he was very competitive,” he said. “I can say that’s somebody I loved being around.”
Many believers also described Bro. Rasul’s unconditional love.
Bro. Rasul always felt “that we should be more loving, more open, and more kind,” said Student Min. Desmond Muhammad. “He wanted to see all of the Aboriginal and Original people together,” he added.
Stu. Min. Abdul Malik Sayyid Muhammad, Western Regional Minister of the Nation of Islam, based in Los Angeles at Mosque No. 27, joined the Nation in 1985. He remembers meeting Bro. Rasul in Chicago shortly after.
“My God, when he saw me and a couple of other brothers, he walked over to us with this big smile that he has and his way to invite you in. And I was blown away at his brotherhood, at his love, at his care for me as a new convert,” he said.
“He asked, ‘Brother, how long you been in the Nation?’ And I just told him, less than 90 days. And oh my God, he gave me the greatest acknowledgment.” At the time, Bro. Rasul told him to not allow anyone or anything stop him from helping the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. “And I never forgot that,” he said.
Student Min. Abdul Haleem Muhammad, Southwest Regional Minister of the Nation, based at Mosque No. 45 in Houston, had also known Bro. Rasul since the mid-80s.
“I will always remember him as a dedicated worker in the reestablishment and rebuilding of the Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,” he said.
Establishment of the 7th Region
In 1995, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan reassigned Bro. Rasul from Mosque No. 1 in Detroit to lead Mosque No. 29 in Miami, Florida, which soon became the headquarters for the newly created 7th Region of the Nation of Islam.
This region included the Caribbean and Central and South America. Bro. Rasul was instrumental in setting up international N.O.I. Study Groups in Jamaica, Belize, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Bermuda, and Guyana.
Student Min. James Muhammad served as Student Min. Rasul’s Assistant 7th Regional Minister. They worked closely together. He told The Final Call, “I remember his guidance and he would say some very profound things to me.
One of which I will never forget. He told me ‘Brother James, the man that you are trying to be or want to be, is on the other side of the trial that you are trying to avoid.’”
Sister Janiah Muhammad was eight when her family moved to Miami. Her father went to the mosque first to pave the way for his family. She grew up in the mosque under the tutelage of Student Minister Rasul. She’s now an adult with a family.
“He was there for our family during some difficult times, and I’ll always remember him truly being an uncle for me and my sisters. He showed us so much love, so much love. He invited us into his own family. I will always remember just how much he loved us, how much he expressed that love and how much love he showed to us,” said Sis. Janiah.
“He strived to be a representation of his father, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. That’s just who he was.
He had so much love for us, not just for us, but for the believers, for our people, for his family. He was just so full of love and I’ll always forever be grateful for that. I’ll always carry that love with me.”
Today, Student Min. Patrick Muhammad is the 7th Regional Student Minister. He recalled spending a week in Haiti in 2011 with a Nation of Islam delegation team that included Bro.
Rasul. The delegation was sent to assist with a water purification system Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam donated to help the Haitian people combat cholera, a waterborne disease.
“That brother (Rasul) connected with so many people in the community on an island that he had never been before. He spoke that language, a universal language of the love that he had for our people,” Student Min. Patrick Muhammad, who is of Haitian descent, told The Final Call.
After the trip, Student Min. Patrick Muhammad moved from Phoenix to Miami. When Bro. Rasul became ill in 2013, he was asked to assist in an interim position.
“I was walking into some heavy shoes of the type of work that he did and had been doing in the 7th Region,” Student Min. Patrick Muhammad said. He began transitioning into the position of 7th Regional Student Minister after Bro. Rasul about a year and a half later.
He described Bro. Rasul as a very jovial, loving person who always wanted to inquire and know more about a person, who loved doing outdoor activities and whose gift of music “evolved into a ministry.”
His music
Many described Bro. Rasul’s music as a part of his ministry. “Music always transcends. Music knows no boundaries, and he certainly used his skills on the piano to reach as many people and permeate their minds and hearts as far as he could,” Student Min. Desmond Muhammad said.
Student Min. Abdul Malik Sayyid Muhammad shared words on Bro. Rasul’s unique voice. “When he would sing, you could feel his love for his father, his mother, his siblings, the believers, Black people. And not just that, but our Mexican family. … He made everybody smile,” he said. “His music had a healing effect on us.”
Student Min. Abdul Haleem Muhammad loved hearing him sing. “He had a voice similar to Stevie Wonder, but it wasn’t the same. And he was just a brilliant musician. I remember (him) playing piano and singing, and he would love to entertain us whenever we were together in certain settings, and I really appreciated that about him,” he said.
Sis. Betty Muhammad reflected on Bro. Rasul playing the piano in a hotel lobby. “He’s just sitting there just singing. Very informal with believers around him. And it was like he was in a phase of heaven, because he was doing what he loved, and it just flowed so naturally,” she said.
Bro. Rasul composed pieces in honor of his father and Minister Farrakhan, which promoted love and unity. He released several albums. Growing up in Mexico, he was immensely popular in Cuernavaca, where people were in awe of his singing and playing, which were both beautiful to listen to and soothing to the soul.
In 1993, he was awarded the prestigious Palms of Gold Award by the National Association of Press in Mexico City for his all-Spanish album, “Rasul.”
Student Min. Jamil Muhammad also knew and loved Bro. Rasul. He is the host of Yardbird Sweets on WPFW Radio. He told The Final Call, “Brother Rasul told me the story of how in the moment of particular trial and difficulty in the history of his family, the stress was something he could hardly bear.
He went to a piano as a place where nobody was there, but the piano is there. He went over to the piano without having any lessons. He reached out his hands and literally started playing. That’s very unusual.”
“When he grew older and became more adept at music from an academic standpoint, he always checked the soul, the spontaneity and checked the deeply emotional aspects of his music. That’s why I believe his music touched so many people. His love was inherent in his music,” he added.
‘Uncle Rasul’
Bro. Rasul was affectionately known as “Uncle Rasul” or “Uncle Ra Ra” by the children of the Nation of Islam.
“He absolutely loved children,” Student Min. Desmond Muhammad said. “If he saw a child that he knew, he would stop on that rostrum, greet that child, hug that child. He was never too formal in his interaction with children. And he was always ‘Uncle Ra.’”
Bro. Kareem Muhammad, 31, remembers crawling around “Uncle Rasul’s” office in Miami.
“One of my favorite memories was the night that I got registered and they came out and announced it. I walked straight up to him. Of course, I saluted, but then we both laughed and we slapped hands and hugged and he said how proud he was of me, and it was a beautiful moment,” he said. “He was just a wonderful representation of Islam being fun and Islam being shown correctly.”
He described Bro. Rasul as a great uncle, a beacon of light and a ball of positive energy. “We always affectionately called him Uncle Rasul or Uncle ‘Ra Ra.’ He was just a beautiful example of these Teachings, and I believe that’s the best way to carry on a legacy, that same example and just being a loving believer to our brothers and sisters in the Nation of Islam and in the world,” he said.
His humor and legacy of love
Student Min. Desmond Muhammad remembered Bro. Rasul for his humor. “He had a great sense of humor. Anybody could tell you, that Brother Rasul had a great sense of humor. He loved laughing,” he said.
“He would just laugh and laugh and laugh but always with the mission on his mind. The mission never slipped his mind. No matter how jovial, no matter how casual, no matter how marginal he could be in his approach, the mission was always on his mind.”
Student Min. Abdul Haleem Muhammad recalled his relationship with Bro. Rasul as “one that was very warm and loving and very jovial.”
“We always shared a laugh and a joke with one another,” he said.
Sis. Betty Muhammad described Bro. Rasul as magnetic and down to earth. He loved being around the believers, interacting, entertaining, and joking, she explained. “But he was always on post. … He commanded that type of respect from everyone and that type of behavior from everyone.”
Student Minister Rasul Muhammad’s legacy is one of love and duty. “You can continue his legacy by serving that which he gave his life to, the resurrection of our people and taking care of the believers,” Student Min. Abdul Malik Sayyid Muhammad said. “We could sit here and say we love Brother Rasul, he was a great guy. Well, are you dutiful to that which he gave his life to?”
To continue his legacy, Student Min. Abdul Sabur Muhammad expressed the importance of following the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and loving one another. “The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan desires that we love one another as Allah loves us,” he said.
“We have to continue to build on the (work) both in Detroit, in Miami and throughout the country and even down to Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean to spread these Teachings and to be able to present it in its universal form,” said Student Min. Abdul Haleem Muhammad said. “Let us be found building the kingdom.”