In Memoriam: Khadijah Farrakhan, Wife of Minister Louis Farrakhan

By Erick Johnson
Chicago Crusader

Black Press USA Wire

Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, the wife of Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, has died, the Nation of Islam announced Saturday, June 27. She was 90.

For decades, the Farrakhans led the Nation of Islam at the Mosque Maryam in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood.

In a statement, the Nation of Islam said, “The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan with deep sadness yet with profound gratitude to Allah informs you that his beloved wife of 72 years, the First Lady of the Nation of Islam, Mother Khadijah has returned to Allah (may Allah be pleased).

“We thank Allah for the precious life of a loving wife, mother, a faithful devoted follower of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Mother Khadijah will forever be cherished and remembered.”

Mother Khadijah was born in 1935. She and Louis Khadijah Farrakhan married in 1953. They have 9 children.  Their eldest son, Louis Farrakhan Jr., died at 60 in 2018. Another son, Joshua Farrakhan, died in 2023. He was  64.

Mother Khadijah converted to Islam in 1955. As Farrakhan rose to become the leader of the Nation of Islam, his wife was by his side, serving as a stabilizing force for their family.

According to The Grio, at the 1997 Million Woman March in Philadelphia, Khadijah took the stage after her husband organized the 1995 Million Man March in Washington D.C.

“A nation can rise no higher than its women,” Khadijah said. “We focus on women but cannot lose sight that we must rise as a family — men, women and children.” 

Based on reporting by Chicago Crusader.