[Editor’s note: The following article contains edited excerpts from the words delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at Mosque Maryam in Chicago, Illinois, on Friday, March 27, 2026, during the Janazah Service for his beloved brother, friend and helper in the Cause of Islam, Minister Abdul Akbar Muhammad, International Representative of the Nation of Islam.]
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Al-Hamdu Lillahi Rabb il-’Alamin. (In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of all Worlds.) O Allah! We thank You for this, Your servant, who walked among us, who showed us how to live a righteous life. Thank You, Allah. Thank You for him, thank You for his wife, his beautiful family. And thank you all for coming to give your respect and honor to one who has earned a place of honor with us all.
I don’t have much to say; our time is short. But I am so honored to have heard from members of the family reading the beautiful obituary. Thank you, sons and daughters. Thank you, family. I thank the beautiful, wonderful family of Brother Akbar.
A testament of when brothers become friends
You know, beloved, it is a wonderful thing to be a brother, and an even greater thing to be a friend. Allah paid special recognition to brotherhood, but even greater recognition when brothers become friends.
I strive in all my life to be the Friend of God, and I found in Akbar a friend. We’ve been together for 61 years; never had a cross word with each other, a negative word with each other. It was work, travel, and more work. (Smile) But you know, I could not thank Allah more for such a man. I just want to say a few words about a friend. All of us need friendship. And we never had a friend until Master Fard Muhammad showed up and became our Friend. We are not “losers” because Akbar is gone! How could he ever “go” with the word that he spoke, and the work that he did, and the sacrifice that he made?!
[To Brother Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad:] I want to thank you, son. You spoke so beautifully, so full of love and life. And I see you helping your Father and helping our Nation to keep going.
***
Akbar, I met him 61 years ago. After my brother, Malcolm, had become one who went astray, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad sent me to New York; the city of my birth, but I never lived there. There was a lot of talk going on about me, a “little upstart” from Boston: “What is he gonna do? How can he fill the shoes of the greatest helper that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad had up till that time? What is he gonna do?” And when I got to New York, one of the ministers came to me and said, “Louis X, do you think you can ride this horse?”
I told the brother: “As long as I sit in the saddle and let Elijah Muhammad hold the reins, I will do the work that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad sent me here to do”—and my life is a witness I have done it! I have done it better! I have done it greater! And I am His chief helper! I am not boasting! I don’t have that ugly spirit to boast. But I can only tell you what He said: “You are the best minister that I ever had.” I didn’t say it. I could never say it. But He said it! He said to me: “You have no equal!” I didn’t say it! He said it! Now you think about that!
But let me tell you about Brother Akbar as a helper: When I showed up in New York, I was almost like a little baby boy, and Akbar came out from behind the curtain and said, “Brother Minister, I will help you.” He had been made a minister by Brother Malcolm, and he was doing a good job, and Brother Akbar came by my side [even though] he heard the talk that was going on (“What is he gonna say?” “That little upstart from Boston …”).
The Messenger, when He sent me there, He said: “Now, New York is either going to make you a man or leave you as a little boy. You decide.” I decided to be a man. But I’ll tell you, I could not have made it if it wasn’t for “Brother Larry.” I couldn’t have made it by myself! I needed a friend, somebody who could show me things that I didn’t know as a young boy. I’m a great preacher, but when it comes down to knowing how to govern a mosque, I wasn’t in that yet. But Akbar came by my side, and Akbar had experience in many different ways.
It’s true! His children know it! And oh, you did so good today. You did so good today; you had us shoutin’ about that great man that is your father! But I want to say a word, or two, about your mother. Because Akbar wasn’t in this by himself, he had a woman by his side who loved him. And it wasn’t a “one-way street”; it was a “two-way street,” Maryam and him. I couldn’t even get Akbar to come out: “Have dinner with me, brother. We’ll go downtown and have a steak or something.” He said, “I’m sorry, Brother Minister. My wife has cooked some bean soup, and I’m going home!” I had to say, “OK Akh (brother)!”
The ‘Big Name’ for a Dutiful Helper: ‘Abdul Akbar’ (Servant of The Greatest)
You know, I gave him a name. I want you to know where that name came from. He had a great name, “Aziz,” beautiful name. But we say, “Allahu Akbar.” Oh, I just want to make it clear! “Allahu Akbar,” that means Allah is “Great” or “The Greatest.” And Elijah Muhammad told me that The Saviour told him, “Why don’t you take the big name?”
What’s the “big name”? The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad already had the [last] name “Karriem.” He had a big name, but “Abdul Muhammad,” he said that was the biggest name. So, he said, “Well, dear Saviour, could I just hold the name ‘Elijah’? Because I like that name.” The Saviour laughed and said, “Yes. You can keep that name,” and He became “Elijah Muhammad.”
But the big name, “Abdul”: When I took this work on, I started naming people with the big name. They didn’t know what I was doing, but I put “Abdul” in front, then the “Attribute of Allah.” And since he was my best helper—yes, he was. My most faithful helper; yes, he was! My most loving brother; yes, he was! And we traveled this Earth together! Akbar was the historian, and he knew all the places we were going, and told the believers what they were going to see and what they were going to find, and what they should do. There is nothing that happened in New York that this man was not the main actor. …
Brother Akbar was a wonderful helper, a beautiful friend, and I thank Allah so much for him. There is nothing that I did of greatness in the city of New York that he was not the backbone of. You say, “I didn’t know, Farrakhan! We thought it was all you!” It ain’t never no “one man”! It’s always a group of men and women who believe that get the job done!
Akbar always had people that respected him and loved him! And he didn’t have “associates,” he made people friends. Everywhere he went, he made friends. So, I thank Allah. I am here, standing at his casket, but I am not “looking down” on a man that looked up to me, and I looked up to him.
***
If you are not willing to give your life for this Cause, you’re wasting your life away by not living for this Cause. So, may Allah forever bless this man’s memory, bless his children. I know it hurt to have sacrificed your father; you didn’t know you had to do that. The Messenger asked me one day, “Brother, will you take this Mission upon yourself?” I said, “Yes Sir, Dear Apostle.” He said, “Well, don’t worry about your children. Allah will take care of them.”
I accepted a Mission. Your father and your mother accepted a Mission. And sometimes, as a child, we need mommy, we need daddy (“Where is he today?” “I don’t know. He’s out there preaching somewhere, doing something.”). Yes, that’s exactly what Akbar was doing. Every day, he is teaching somewhere. And he is remembered because he sacrificed his life, and you. I sacrificed my life and my family, but I had by my side a brother who became a friend. Lift his name. Honor his name.
To The Family of Abdul Akbar Muhammad
To the beautiful children—Lord, this is a heck of a family here! Each of you has something directly for you from your Creator; each one of you. Don’t get carried away with what somebody else got; that you think you were left out of this. See, the more you are envious of what somebody else has, the more you lose a grip on what is yours. You are blessed! Find your gift, and then use it for the glory of God, and you will see yourself at peace and joy even though you suffer.
I want us to lift this man, this champion, to whom I gave the name “Abdul Akbar Muhammad.” … And family, I thank you so much for giving us something about our brother that we may not have had a chance to know; [private moments] between him and his daughters having a good time together. But that man was special. And now that he is absent from us, you are going to see how special he really not “was,” is.
Screenshot: NOI.org
So, to you, my beloved family: Eight beautiful sisters, I think it is. Is it eight? Nine?! Good gracious! And every one of these sisters is a fireball! And I mean, it’s difficult, now, because you are brothers and sisters, and sometimes you “lock into each other.” You know how that [discord] happens sometimes? But let me tell you, when you come out on the other end, you are an unbeatable, unbreakable [bond of relationship], hardly able to fathom the majesty of who you are as Akbar’s Family.
And your mother, Maryam, always remember her with honor. As I leave you: Your dad took her back to New York. Did she tell you about it? She did? He was taking her back to all the places that they knew in their growing up. Whatever happened that brought pain, God happened, and it brought joy. And even though there was pain, [they experienced] the joy of coming back. … Because that was an unbeatable couple, Maryam and Akbar.
And to others, don’t be upset. Because Prophet Muhammad, he loved Khadijah; and even though he had other wives … you know, you can’t ask no woman, “Sweetheart, I have to have another wife. Would you give me permission?” Do you think any woman, any one of you would ever give permission? The prophets don’t do that; when it is time for them to do that, they do that, and that becomes a trial for the wife, a trial for the children, a trial for the family, and the messenger and his wife. But if you’ve been through it—and I’m going to close with you, son (Brother Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad).
This young man, he was eight years old, or nine, and you came out to speak, and you were talking about “The Judgment.” And I was listening, and nobody seems to remember what The Messenger said (“No, I didn’t hear him say that.”) But I heard him! The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “Wait till you hear him when he’s a grown man.”
Here he is! He is the proof that it was not an evil thing! It was divinely given that this man and others would be the sons and daughters of Mother Tynnetta and others. Don’t be small-minded! God loves you all; and wants more of you—in a righteous way.