As the Nation of Islam prepares to celebrate the 90th birth anniversary of Nation of Islam First Lady, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, the wife of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, reflections of gratitude to Allah (God) for her service and sacrifice as a Mother of the Faithful poured in.
Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, was born November 26, 1935. She is the beloved life companion of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, who celebrated his 90th birth anniversary just two years before hers. Mother Khadijah accepted Islam in 1955, the same year as her husband.
“My wife has been with me throughout all of my striving. She knew me in the days of my ignorance, and she knows me in the days of my struggle. She stood by me. When I decided to rebuild the work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, she was the first in my family to say, ‘Go on with it. I’m with you,’” Minister Farrakhan said.
His words were shared in a personal video montage during a celebration of his 92nd birth anniversary at the Salaam Restaurant in May. The gathering was also in honor of Mother’s Day. Also shared on video was the moment Minister Farrakhan gave his wife the name “Khadijah.”
“I would like her to wear the name of wife of that servant of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, Khadijah. From this day forward, she will be known in this community and any other as Khadijah Farrakhan Muhammad,” said Minister Farrakhan.
Mother Khadijah has a pure heart, a heart of God, and she allowed people to be free, reflected their daughter, Sister Khallada. She said her mother always had a sense of community, having friends and family around, which is what brings her the most joy.
“No one is left out. So, if someone didn’t have a mother or father, she would call them daughter and take them in as family. … She has always been that kind of woman, to see the needs in others and tried her best to do whatever it was so that we could have those needs met,” Sister Khallada said.
Mother Khadijah exuded love for people, love for humanity, and her love of God, first and foremost, continued Sister Khallada, adding that she could not ask for a better mom. She likened Mother Khadijah to a saint, Mother Theresa, who took care of all people and children, and made sure their needs were met.
“That is my mom. No matter where she went in the world, she always looked out for the children or women who were there. She would give the shirt off her back,” she said. Sister Khallada is the youngest daughter of Minister Farrakhan and Mother Khadijah.
Their other children are: Sister Betsy Jean, Sister Maria, Sister Donna, Brother Louis Jr. (may Allah be pleased), Brother Joshua (may Allah be pleased), Student Supreme Captain Mustapha, Sister Fatima, and Brother Abnar.
Each Saviours’ Day convention, Mother Khadijah’s love extends to children through the establishment of Mother Khadijah’s Children’s Village.
Mother Khadijah Farrakhan may have grown up poor in Boston, but she did not realize it because she had food on the table, a roof over her head, an education, and her childhood upbringing in the Catholic Church, her daughter, Sister Khallada, reflected.
Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, whose birth anniversary will be honored at a special celebration on November 29 in Chicago, is very sociable and brings that type of community upbringing, along with her love for all children—not just her own—to her husband’s divine mission.
The Farrakhan family, the Nation of Islam and many across the world will gather in person and virtually to pay respects and honor to Mother Khadijah Farrakhan. Her unwavering faith as a Muslim follower of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and dedication to her husband, family and the Nation of Islam is a supreme example to all.
“She’s the heart of God, the woman that my father fell in love with over and over and over again,” Sister Khallada said.
Sister Medina Farrakhan, who was married to Minister Farrakhan’s late brother, Alvan, said she’s known Mother Khadijah since the late 1950s but first met her in Boston. They lived across the street from each other, and both went to New York’s historic Muhammad Mosque No. 7 (formerly Temple No. 7).
“She was the most hospitable person, very loving; made you feel like you knew her all of your life and all of her life, and she’s the same today,” Sister Medina said. She expressed that it is hard to talk about Mother Khadijah without becoming emotional and choking up. She has seen what Mother Khadijah has endured, seen her growth, and seen how she raised her children.
“I’m grateful and thankful at this 90th year of her birth to still be here, to give praise to Allah (God), His Messenger and the Messiah for her, because without her.
His success would not be as great because she stood by his side through thick and thin, when they had, when they didn’t have,” Sister Medina said. “She’s a great person, a phenomenal person. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
Cora Masters Barry, Washington, D.C.’s former first lady and wife of the late Mayor Marion Barry, told The Final Call that Mother Khadijah is a personal friend, both sharing the commonality of being married to powerful men.
“But we also found solace in our relationship. She’s gracious and she’s kind, but also, she is the prettiest Black woman I have ever seen in my entire life,” stated Ms. Barry. “I think not only has she lived a life of grace and love and kindness, but she’s also lived a life of purpose.”
Fredrica Bey, founder of Women in Support of the Million Man March, wished Mother Khadijah the very happiest of birthdays and thanked her for all of the work she has done, and for being such a shining example of womanhood.
Mother Khadijah Farrakhan is “the living proof of the value of the M.G.T. and G.C.C. training,” said Southern Regional M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain Dr. Nusaybah Muhammad.
“Mother Khadijah Farrakhan stands as one of the most luminous examples of what the M.G.T. and G.C.C. Training Units were divinely designed to produce.
Through her grace, her discipline, and her unwavering commitment to the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad as guided by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, she has shown generation after generation of Muslim women the beauty, dignity, and power of womanhood rooted in God,” she said.
“She has shown us how a clean, orderly, and spiritually charged household is not merely a domestic task, but a reflection of our value as women, wives, and mothers. Her example reveals that a clean home is a sanctuary for the woman who knows she is a queen.”
And her example extends far beyond the home, Sister Nusaybah continued. “Mother Farrakhan has stood beside the Messiah, traveling the world and sitting before heads of state and dignitaries.
In every setting, she represented the women of Islam with poise, intelligence, and unmatched refinement, each quality cultivated through the M.G.T. and G.C.C.
Final Call Staff contributed to this report.
