Wallace Fard Muhammad

This article is about the founder of the Nation of Islam. Not to be confused with Warith Deen Mohammed.

Wallace Fard Muhammad
Official portrait from the Nation of Islam
Leader of the Nation of Islam
In office
1930–1934
Succeeded byElijah Muhammad
Personal details
BornUncertain, tradition claims February 26, c. 1877[a][1][2]
OccupationReligious and political activist
Disappeared1934
^ a. Birth dates attributed to Fard include 1877, 1891, and 1893; the Nation of Islam celebrates February 26, 1877.
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Wallace Fard Muhammad, also known as W. F. Muhammad, Wallace D. Fard or Master Fard Muhammad[3] (/fəˈrɑːd/;[citation needed] reportedly born February 26, c. 1877[4][a] – disappeared c. 1934), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. He arrived in Detroit in 1930 with an ambiguous background and several aliases, and proselytized syncretic Islamic teachings to the city's black population. In 1934, he disappeared from public record, and Elijah Muhammad succeeded him as leader of the Nation of Islam.[7]

The Islamic scholar John Andrew Morrow summarizes Fard's teachings as rooted in "a wide variety of (Islamic) ideas from both East and West" including "Twelver Shi'ism, Sevener Shi'ism, Druzism, and Shi'ite Extremism, as well as Babism, Baha'ism, Yezidism, Ahmadism, and Sufism."[8]

  1. ^ "N.O.I. Founder, Wallace D. Fard born". African American Registry.
  2. ^ "Wallace D. Fard – American religious leader". Encyclopedia Britannica. March 2024.
  3. ^ Knight, Michael Muhammad (February 26, 2013). Dubuc, Nancy; Smith, Shane (eds.). "Remembering Master Fard Muhammad". Vice News. New York City, New York, United States: Vice Media. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bowen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Fanusie, Fatimah Abdul-Tawwab (2008). Fard Muhammad in historical context: An Islamic thread in the American religious and cultural quilt (PhD). Washington, D.C., United States: Howard University. OCLC 488985857.
  6. ^ Morrow 2019, pp. 1–35, Chapter 1. Issues of Origin.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference kavanaugh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Morrow 2019, pp. 36–37, Chapter 2. W.D. Fard: Religious Roots.


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