“And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways … ”
Holy Qur’an, Chapter 22, Verse 27, Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation
For the global Islamic community, there is the beauty of the pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca as a once in a lifetime duty of every Muslim, if possible. It is an exhilarating experience of faith, love, brotherhood, sisterhood, and the beauty of standing in a singular place with fellow Believers in the majesty of Allah (God).
For the Nation of Islam in the West, those Lost-Founds who have come under the teaching and protection of the long Awaited Messiah of the Christians and the Mahdi of the Muslims, Master W. Fard Muhammad, this annual journey often to the capital of Islam in the West, Chicago, has brought great joy, happiness, demanded sacrifice and has never, ever failed to deliver more than what we as Believers have put into our joyful journey and annual convention.
That weekend celebration and commemoration is known as Saviours’ Day: “Saviours’ Day is an annual Nation of Islam commemoration of the birth of Master Fard Muhammad, the Great Mahdi of the Muslims and the Messiah of the Christians who appeared in North America on July 4, 1930 and declared that the 400 years of bondage Blacks served in America had ended. His Coming and Declaration fulfills many scriptures; however, perhaps most notable is the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham that his descendants would endure bondage in a strange land among a strange people—before God Himself would deliver Abraham’s seed and judge the nation they served.
Master Fard Muhammad was born February 26, 1877, in the Holy City of Mecca. He raised and taught the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who dedicated over 40 years of his life to the resurrection of the mentally, morally, spiritually and economically dead so-called American Negro. Each year he would convene Saviour’s Day and deliver a major address and expound on the divine wisdom given to him by Master Fard Muhammad.
“After the 1975 departure of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in September of 1977, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan made the decision to rebuild the work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and reestablish the Nation of Islam. Under Min. Farrakhan’s leadership, Saviour’s Day returned in 1981 in Chicago. In 1983, the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan changed the spelling of the commemoration from Saviour’s Day, as it had been, to the plural Saviours’ Day.
He explained during a message delivered in Gary, Ind., that the change meant that not only was Master Fard Muhammad the Saviour for the Black Man and Woman of America, but that the Muslims in the Nation of Islam had the mission of delivering the word and doing the work of resurrection as ‘little saviours’ for the suffering masses of Blacks in America and suffering people around the world.
“Thousands now attend the convention, which has grown to include workshops, plenary sessions, lively discussions, and entertainment, social and educational, activities for children and families, the Drill exhibition and closes with a major address delivered by Min. Farrakhan. It is a joyful and spirited occasion that is looked forward to by members of the Nation of Islam and the Black community,” as The Final Call has reported.
“Some of Black America’s leading political, social, business, sports and entertainment giants have participated in and supported Saviours’ Day conventions. International guests are featured and come to participate in its full schedule of activities. The advent of the Internet has provided another way for people around the globe to enjoy aspects of the convention and access information. Saviours’ Day has most often been held in Chicago, but previous gatherings have also been held in Gary, Ind., Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and an International Saviours’ Day was held in Accra, Ghana, in 1994, drawing thousands to the Motherland.”
Our last physical Saviours’ Day was an incredible gathering in 2020 in Detroit, the place where the Nation of Islam started. We return to our national headquarters city of Chicago this year awaiting a message that will be fit for the time and one that will outfit us for what is to come, by Allah’s (God’s) Permission.
There will not be workshops or activities, but there will be Believers. Those who gather from inside the city and those who travel across the country to capture and to make some history in a safe and secure way.
Minister Farrakhan’s keynote address, titled “The Swan Song,” will be delivered at the Nation’s headquarters, Mosque Maryam, on Feb. 27 and streamed live online at noi.org/sd2022.
We stand with Allah (God), we stand with Allah’s (God’s) divine servants, we stand in ranks like a solid wall—whether physically together or in a virtual space. We are cemented by our faith, our commitment, our joy, our mission, our shared sacrifice and our love. We stand together. Allah (God) is One. So are we. Happy Saviours’ Day 2022!
—Naba’a Muhammad, editor in chief
