CHICAGO, United States — Khadijah Farrakhan, the wife of Louis Farrakhan and a longtime figure in the Nation of Islam, has died at 90, the organisation announced.
The Nation of Islam said Mrs Farrakhan died on Saturday, describing her as the “first lady of the Nation of Islam” and the wife of Mr Farrakhan for 72 years.
The organisation did not state the cause of death. Funeral arrangements, it said, would be announced later.
“The Honorable Minister @LouisFarrakhan 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),” the Shura Executive Council said in a statement.
The announcement came about seven months after followers marked Mrs Farrakhan’s 90th birthday.
A Long Role in the Nation of Islam
Born Betsy Ross, Mrs Farrakhan married Mr Farrakhan, then known as Louis Walcott, in Boston on September 12, 1953.
The couple had nine children.
Their eldest son, Louis Farrakhan Jr., died in 2018, and another son, Joshua Farrakhan, died in 2023.
Mrs Farrakhan converted to Islam in 1955, the same year Mr Farrakhan joined the Chicago-based Nation of Islam. Around that period, the couple changed their names.
Mr Farrakhan later rose within the movement after the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965.
He became one of the organisation’s most prominent figures and led the Million Man March in Washington in 1995.
Mrs Farrakhan was also visible at major gatherings linked to the movement. In 1997, she addressed the Million Woman March in Philadelphia, where she spoke about women, family and communal responsibility.
“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.”
Tributes From the Movement
The Nation of Islam described Mrs Farrakhan as a devoted wife, mother and follower of Elijah Muhammad, the former leader of the movement.
“We thank Allah for the precious life of a loving wife, mother, a faithful, devoted follower of The Honourable Elijah Muhammad. Mother Khadijah will forever be cherished and remembered,” the organisation said.
Mosque Maryam, the Nation of Islam’s base on the South Side of Chicago, also paid tribute to Mrs Farrakhan, describing her as “a devoted follower” with “a precious soul, a sweet heart.”
ZaRio Son Rise, an R&B artist, wrote on Facebook that Mrs Farrakhan was “a true queen, a righteous woman, and one of the greatest examples of dignity, faith, loyalty, and grace our generation has ever witnessed.”
