Fatimih Bagum

Fáṭimih Bagum (d.1881) was the mother of the Báb. Herself from a prominent Shírází merchant family; she could trace her background back to the Imám Husayn. The daughter of Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad Husayn, she married Siyyid Muhammad Ridá, and had several children with him, however only one survived; ‘Alí-Muhammad. Widowed shortly after, she went to live with her brother Hájí Mirzá Siyyid 'Ali who served as a father figure to Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad. On hearing that Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad was making a pilgrimage to the holy city of Karbilá, she was distressed and arranged the marriage between Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad to His second cousin once removed: Khadíjih Bagum.

Originally, Fáṭimih Bagum did not accept her Son’s cause unlike her brother, however kept an open mind. She was devastated on hearing the news of the treatment of her Son, and after His martyrdom her family kept it a secret from her for nearly a whole year. After hearing the news, the distraught Fáṭimih Bagum moved to Karbilá with her closest companions in December of 1851. She did not become a believer until later on and died in Karbilá in 1881. Shoghí Effendí persued in trying to locate her grave, alas it has not yet been found. The Báb refers to Fáṭimih Bagum as Ummu’l-Mu’minin (mother of the believers) and Ummu’dh-Dhikr (mother of the Remembrance). Bahá’u’lláh refers to her as Khayru’n-Nisa (the best of women) and forbids all others, except Khadíjih Bagum, from adopting this title.