*Khadijah Farrakhan, the wife of Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan and a respected figure within the organization for decades, has died. She was 90.
The Nation of Islam announced her passing Saturday in a statement shared on social media.
“The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan (93) 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,” the statement read.
“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. May Allah give His unequaled comfort to the family as we mourn this tremendous loss and lift the family in our prayers and thoughts.”
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No cause of death was announced. Funeral arrangements have not yet been released.
Born in 1935, Khadijah married Louis Farrakhan in 1953. Two years later, she converted to Islam as her husband continued his rise within the Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
Over the next seven decades, she became known simply as “Mother Khadijah,” serving as the family’s matriarch while supporting Minister Farrakhan throughout his ministry. Together, the couple raised nine children.
Although she generally maintained a lower public profile than her husband, Khadijah Farrakhan occasionally stepped into the national spotlight.
At the 1997 Million Woman March in Philadelphia, she addressed thousands gathered for the historic event, emphasizing the importance of strengthening families and communities.
“A nation can rise no higher than its women,” she told the crowd. “We focus on women but cannot lose sight that we must rise as a family — men, women, and children.”
Her death follows a series of personal tragedies for the Farrakhan family in recent years.
In 2018, the couple’s eldest son, Louis Farrakhan Jr., died from a heart condition at age 60. Another son, Joshua Farrakhan, died in 2023 at age 64.
News of Khadijah Farrakhan’s passing prompted an outpouring of condolences from supporters of the Nation of Islam and those who have followed the family’s decades of religious leadership and community activism.
For many within the Nation of Islam, Mother Khadijah represented steadfast faith, quiet strength and unwavering support throughout one of the longest and most visible partnerships in modern Black religious leadership.
She was 90.
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