Elijah Muhammad, the son of a sharecropper, was born into poverty in Sandersville, Georgia on October 7, 1897 (biography.com). After moving to Detroit in 1923, he met WD Fard, founder of the black separatist movement Nation of Islam (biography.com). Muhammad became Fard's successor from 1934 to 1975 and was known for his controversial preaching (biography.com). Muhammad faced many challenges during his life. He declared that Fard had been an incarnation of Allah and was now himself the messenger of Allah (biography.com). For forty-one years, Muhammad spread the word about the Nation of Islam, slowly but steadily attracting new members (biography.com). Muhammad built the religion from a small, fringe group into a vast and complex organization that sparked controversy because of its new prominence (biography.com). Elijah Muhammad was born Elijah Robert Poole in Sandersville, Georgia on October 7, 1897, the son of William and Mariah. Poole (biography.com). One of thirteen children, he received only a third-grade education before being forced to contribute to the needs of his large family through sharecropping (discovertheetworks.org). From a young age, Muhammad witnessed extreme prejudice and violence against African Americans (biography.com). After a friend was lynched in 1912, Muhammad fled his parents' home a year later (danielpipes.org). In 1917, Muhammad met Cara Evans and married her in 1919. Together they had eight children between 1921 and 1939 (danielpipes.org). In 1923, seeking better employment and a more tolerant environment, Muhammad moved his own family, parents, and siblings to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked in an automobile factory (biography .com). In 1931, Muhammad met Wallace D. Fard, a former salesman preaching a new...... middle of paper ...... on intact Islam, Muhammad, or simply "The Prophet", is widely known for having transformed a small temple into a national movement with hundreds of thousands of devoted followers, which resulted in an irrevocable effect on black culture and American history (blackhistorynow.com). For forty-one years, Muhammad spread the word of the Nation of Islam, slowly but steadily attracting new members (biography.com). Muhammad took the religion from a small fringe group to a large and complex organization that sparked controversy because of its new prominence (biography.com). His legacy intact within the Nation of Islam, Muhammad, or simply "The Prophet", is widely known for transforming a small temple into a national movement with hundreds of thousands of devoted followers, resulting in an irrevocable effect on black culture and American history. blackhistorynow.com).