Mother Khadijah Farrakhan was given a grand sendoff in Chicago, where dignitaries, celebrities and members of the Nation of Islam celebrated her life as the wife of Minister Louis Farrakhan during a nearly three-hour funeral at the Mosque Maryam.
Singers Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Stephanie Mills, Johnnie Gill, Reverend Otis Miss III, Mayor Brandon Johnson, former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., his mother Jacqueline and Father Michael Pfleger came to pay their respects. Minister Farrakhan, whose wife’s death was announced June 27 by the Nation of Islam, was 90.
Long lines of mourners waiting to enter Mosque began forming hours before the janazah service started at 11 a.m. A massive tent to serve as an overflow area for mourners was erected in the Mosque’s parking lot near the back of the facility.
Stony Island Avenue was reduced to just two traffic lanes as numerous limousines, funeral cars and many police and security vehicles sat parked outside the Mosque. Many people parked their cars on residential streets by many as four blocks away from the Mosque. Inside, Khadijah’s casket stood at the altar in the ornate facility.
During a rousing speech, Ismael Muhammad, student leader of the Nation of Islam, praised Khadijah’s virtuous character and faithfulness to her husband and God.
Muhammad said “God gave us the greatest helper to a man of greatest consequence. We have the Nation of Islam today because of the sacrifice and love of Mother Khadijah.
Also Read: Khadijah, wife of Louis Farrakhan dies at 90
“For 72 years she didn’t stand behind her husband She stood with her husband… She was a woman God called into existence to uplift her people and humanity.”
Dressed in all white, Minister Louis Farrakhan sat stoically near his wife casket throughout the service. At the end of the service, he briefly spoke.
“This is the hardest day of my life. Not to say goodbye, but to confess to Allah that this woman is the greatest gift I received except the coming of Allah.”
“I hope with all my heart that every man would be gifted with a woman like Khadijah.”
As Khadijah’s janazah service drew to a close, powerful winds and heavy rain began to fall as the massive funeral procession prepared to travel to Oak Woods Cemetery, her final resting place. Because of a severe thunderstorm watch in Chicago, mourners were briefly kept inside of the Mosque for safety reasons. Khadijah’s burial was delayed as organizers waited for the weather to clear up.
That happened about one hour after the funeral ended at 1:40 pm. Khadijah’s funeral procession of about 240 cars tied up traffic for nearly a mile on 67th Avenue, from Stony Island to Greenwood Avenue, the road that leads into the entrance of Oak Woods Cemetery. There, as thunderstorms threatened to return, Khadijah was finally laid to rest.
CHICAGOCRUSADER
