Dr Hackenslash 25 Posted January 3, 2007 I don't think that there is much information about her available. I have not been able to find a source with more than a paragraph on her anywhere. May have just solved that problem. Here's an interview with her. http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A69975 The life of a matriarch Ruby Muhammad By Sonia K. Saini Ruby Muhammad lives comfortably with family in Rancho Cordova, but it wasn’t always that way. She grew up in Americus, Ga., not knowing any family. Her mother passed away when she was young; she didn’t know her father until she met him by chance as a teenager. Raised by a woman whom she knew to be her aunt--though she now doubts that she was--Muhammad spent her childhood working in the fields. She has since lived through World Wars, the sinking of the Titanic, the Great Depression, various social movements--basically, the entire 20th century. And at 109, she’s still going strong. One highlight of her life was joining the Nation of Islam in 1946; she credits it with giving her the internal strength to live for so long. In 1986, minister Louis Farrakhan named her the “Mother of the Nation of Islam.” Sixty years after joining it, she is still a devoted member. She now lives with her granddaughter and grandchildren, and proudly said, “I live with the family I created.” Is Sacramento a good place to grow old? It is. I've had no problems here. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to live here and get old. What has been the best part of your life so far? 1969, when I met my second husband. My second husband was the type of person who gave me everything that I needed and some of the things that I wanted. After he left me, I found myself going back into the condition that I came out of. I had no one to tell me what was right and what was wrong. Then, when I met this man who gave me everything that I needed, my life changed. I had what I wanted, and I thought I was living in another world. Then when he left me, I felt my world went back to the beginning of my life, and I went into a depression. My family thought that I was going to lose my mind. I shut myself out of my family's life; he was gone, and he was my life. I decided to come out of the house about three months after my husband passed and take a walk. I stepped on a little seed, and the next couple of days when I came out of my house to sit in the yard, I happened to step on that same little seed. And I picked it up, I put it in my pocket, and I took it in the house. The thing that broke me out of that period was the poem I wrote about that seed. I began to write poems from that, and I'm back to myself again. You joined the Nation of Islam in 1946. Are you still very active with it? Islam is not a religion; it's a way of life. As a black person, not having anything, being abused from the beginning of my life by the white man, by the people who had control of my life, I couldn't take care of myself. I couldn't defend myself. Islam came into my life to tell me who I actually was. Who am I? Not someone who wants to be beat up. You have a mind, and your mind controls you. You can do what you want to do. You can be what you want to be. That's the way I see Islam. The Lord came and gave me the mind to take care of myself, a free mind. I can do what I want to without anybody telling me anything. I got control of my own life. Farrakhan named you the “Mother of the Nation of Islam." How does that feel? Wonderful! This is the best thing that ever happened to me. Coming from where I came from, not knowing any member of my family, not even knowing any member of my father's family until I was a mother myself, I was out there by myself. Here I am now, the Mother for the Nation of Islam, traveling, talking to people, doing things that I want to do. I did it myself. See? You can do anything that you want to for yourself. I don't care what you want to be--if you make it up in your mind that that's what you want, then that's what you'll do. I came from nothing to something. I know this is a popular question for people over 100, but what’s your secret for a long life? I don't really have secrets for a long life. I'm just blessed by Allah to be 109 years old. I've never drank, never smoked, and I've always taken care of myself. I don't drink soda, and I don't eat pork. I get up in the morning and have a cup of coffee and a piece of toast. I eat salad and rice and string beans. People judge me by my age. I don't know anyone else that can do the things I do at 109. I don't know anyone else who can get up and fix a meal at 109. I swim. I exercise. I don't need a walking stick or a wheelchair. This is something that blows everyone's mind. You'll probably come back and interview me two years from now. My goal is to be the oldest black woman that ever walked the planet without a wheelchair. I'm going to make it because I'm determined to do that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth in Asia 1,086 Posted January 3, 2007 Has anyone yet suggested that perhaps the "Mother of Islam" should have had an abortion? An early contender for the Monkeys 2007 post of the year??? Thanks - very kind. Is that a good award to get? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olveres 8 Posted January 3, 2007 Has anyone yet suggested that perhaps the "Mother of Islam" should have had an abortion? An early contender for the Monkeys 2007 post of the year??? Thanks - very kind. Is that a good award to get? A very good one, just hope you can survive the death sentence some mullah will issue for said post.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomb raider 9 Posted January 4, 2007 Hmm how disapointing that she has made the list. A boring choice whose age almost certainly guarantees a success for the list. Over half of the top ten are over a hundred with two being over 105 (Brooke Astor). Anyone else think it reads like a bit of a cop out? (...) There were four centenarians on last year's list, and only one of them (25 %) snuffed it. The succes ratio on the entire list was 26 %, so picking the extremely old is actually decreasing the odds, though only slightly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Real Madron 6 Posted January 4, 2007 Hmm how disapointing that she has made the list. A boring choice whose age almost certainly guarantees a success for the list. Over half of the top ten are over a hundred with two being over 105 (Brooke Astor). Anyone else think it reads like a bit of a cop out? (...) There were four centenarians on last year's list, and only one of them (25 %) snuffed it. The succes ratio on the entire list was 26 %, so picking the extremely old is actually decreasing the odds, though only slightly. don't be stupid... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomb raider 9 Posted January 4, 2007 Hmm how disapointing that she has made the list. A boring choice whose age almost certainly guarantees a success for the list. Over half of the top ten are over a hundred with two being over 105 (Brooke Astor). Anyone else think it reads like a bit of a cop out? (...) There were four centenarians on last year's list, and only one of them (25 %) snuffed it. The succes ratio on the entire list was 26 %, so picking the extremely old is actually decreasing the odds, though only slightly. don't be stupid... I won't, thank you. You obviously did not get my point, so I'll give it another try. Picking a 100-year-old celebrity just because of his age has not proved to be a 'guarantee for succes' as Mr Macabre stated. In fact, if we take last years' list, the odds of a centenarian dying have turned out to be even slimmer than those of the list as a whole. This is, of course, not because centenarians can not be expected to die soon, but because most of the other picks were selected because of their frail health, life-threatening diseases or specific habits that tend to shorten their life-expectancy. The examples of Ruby Muhammad and Brooke Astor prove that some centenarians might still have some years to go. They must have been quite strong and healthy just to have made it to their impressive age, after all. Edit: Of the seventeen centenarians that were picked on the last ten lists, seven died in that particular year. Quite a good score, you might say, but we only scored heavily with them in 2003 and 2004, with 5 hundred-years-olds dying in that particular two years (out of 8 picks). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kain 0 Posted January 4, 2007 Hmm how disapointing that she has made the list. A boring choice whose age almost certainly guarantees a success for the list. Over half of the top ten are over a hundred with two being over 105 (Brooke Astor). Anyone else think it reads like a bit of a cop out? (...) There were four centenarians on last year's list, and only one of them (25 %) snuffed it. The succes ratio on the entire list was 26 %, so picking the extremely old is actually decreasing the odds, though only slightly. don't be stupid... I won't, thank you. You obviously did not get my point, so I'll give it another try. Picking a 100-year-old celebrity just because of his age has not proved to be a 'guarantee for succes' as Mr Macabre stated. In fact, if we take last years' list, the odds of a centenarian dying have turned out to be even slimmer than those of the list as a whole. This is, of course, not because centenarians can not be expected to die soon, but because most of the other picks were selected because of their frail health, life-threatening diseases or specific habits that tend to shorten their life-expectancy. The examples of Ruby Muhammad and Brooke Astor prove that some centenarians might still have some years to go. They must have been quite strong and healthy just to have made it to their impressive age, after all. Edit: Of the seventeen centenarians that were picked on the last ten lists, seven died in that particular year. Quite a good score, you might say, but we only scored heavily with them in 2003 and 2004, with 5 hundred-years-old dying in that particular two years (out of 8 picks). Age must be a factor, as must no. of appearances - Clive Dunn is heading towards a very precarious number of appearances (think 13 is most?). I reckon, over 100, over 10 appearances and a recent serious illness would put someone in the Dead Cert category. Perhaps there is a formula that applies - e.g. Age + (2 x appearances) + bonus if recently serious ill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vinegar Tits 606 Posted January 5, 2007 It's a bit sobering when someone who's nearly 110 has fewer forehead wrinkles than yourself, and I'm fairly wrinkle free for 34 too... She looks and sounds in fine fettle. Always worth a punt due to her age but I bet the seemingly immortal Brooke Astor goes before she does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,645 Posted January 5, 2007 She's got wrinkles on the rest of her face, mind. I reckon she's been bangin' in some ill-advised Botox. Might be a serious shock to the system at her age. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy 21 Posted January 5, 2007 Always possible that her skin has been pulled back and gathered in a bunch underneath her headscarf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
in eternum+ 22 Posted January 5, 2007 It's a bit sobering when someone who's nearly 110 has fewer forehead wrinkles than yourself, and I'm fairly wrinkle free for 34 too... She looks and sounds in fine fettle. True, but do we know how long ago this picture of her was taken? It might have been snapped when she was a sprightly 50 years old. And if that's how she looked when she was 50, can you imagine what that chin must be like now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kain 0 Posted January 5, 2007 It's a bit sobering when someone who's nearly 110 has fewer forehead wrinkles than yourself, and I'm fairly wrinkle free for 34 too... She looks and sounds in fine fettle. True, but do we know how long ago this picture of her was taken? It might have been snapped when she was a sprightly 50 years old. And if that's how she looked when she was 50, can you imagine what that chin must be like now? a scrotum? (sorry - answering rhetorical questions is a major fault of mine) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,645 Posted January 5, 2007 Maybe, she's 109 in the picture but staring into a 70 mph wind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kain 0 Posted January 5, 2007 Maybe, she's 109 in the picture but staring into a 70 mph wind. maybe she's got such saggy t!ts that it has pulled the skin on her forehead tight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godot 149 Posted January 5, 2007 I assume she smokes Silk Cut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
in eternum+ 22 Posted January 5, 2007 Maybe, she's 109 in the picture but staring into a 70 mph wind. maybe she's got such saggy t!ts that it has pulled the skin on her forehead tight That's vulgar, and doesn't even make any sense. If it made sense (or was at all humorous or witty) it might be passable, but it doesn't and so it's just vulgar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth in Asia 1,086 Posted January 7, 2007 I assume she smokes Silk Cut. Isn't that the Bishop of York? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olveres 8 Posted January 8, 2007 I assume she smokes Silk Cut. Isn't that the Bishop of York? Is she sponsored by Cadburys Dairy Milk?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kain 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Maybe, she's 109 in the picture but staring into a 70 mph wind. maybe she's got such saggy t!ts that it has pulled the skin on her forehead tight That's vulgar, and doesn't even make any sense. If it made sense (or was at all humorous or witty) it might be passable, but it doesn't and so it's just vulgar. In that case I can only apologise and throw myself on the mercy of the court. (Though I'd like to remind the court that the death penalty has been widely criticised recently). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarolAnn 926 Posted January 8, 2007 In that case I can only apologise and throw myself on the mercy of the court. (Though I'd like to remind the court that the death penalty has been widely criticised recently). Yeah, but there's at least one member here from Texas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pondlife 0 Posted January 9, 2007 I agree, being famous for being old is not fair to all the unfamous people that die when only in their seventies. She is just an oxygen thief, and should be kicked out of the list and only allowed in over her dead body. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigtimedead 0 Posted January 17, 2007 she's too old to die. once you pass that certain mark, god forgets about you, and there's nothing left to do but live eternally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ize 3 Posted January 20, 2007 Must now be getting quite high up the oldest people in the world lits with all the recent deaths. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banshees Scream 110 Posted January 20, 2007 So ghostly and crooked old to hear you she might need ear phones, to see you she may need manually designed glasses, made from magnifying glass. If Elijah Muhammad is looked upon as a godly figure in Islam, and his widow is still living (If Ruby is his widow) the world may not see anything similar for many long dark years to come. Here is a preview of much bullshit by Louis Farrakhan. Elijah Muhammad informing him that the President was planning a war and instructed him to "announce their plan and say to the world that you got the information from me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canadian Paul 97 Posted January 30, 2007 Apparently, this thread is one of the best sources for Ruby Muhammad information - at least according to Wikipedia. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites