Elijah Muhammad (born: Elijah Poole; also: Elijah Karriem) (1897-1975) was the founder and leader of the Nation of Islam.

He claimed to have received the word of Allah, in 1931, from Wallace Fard Muhammad. This teaching became the basis of the Nation's politically radical theology.

Muhammad aroused controversy when it was alleged that he had had affairs with several young women in the Nation, a charge that eventually led to his split with his protégé; Malcolm X.

Muhammad was succeeded following his death by his son Warith Deen Muhammad, who brought about many reforms bringing the Nation of Islam closer to mainstream Sunni Islam, and eventually renamed the organization. Louis Farrakhan later broke away to head his own organization closer to the original teachings of Elijah Muhammad, and he also named his splinter group the Nation of Islam.

See also: Malcolm X, Nation of Islam