Khadíjih Bagum
Khadíjih Bagum خديجه بیگم)) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1820 Shíráz, Persia |
| Declared | 1844 |
| Died | September, 1882 (aged 62) |
| Nationality | Persian |
| Spouse(s) | The Báb (1842-1850) |
| Children | Ahmad (b.1843-d.1843) |
| Parent(s) | Father: Áqá Mírzá ‘Alí Mother: Hájíyyih Bíbí Fátimih |
Khadíjih Bagum (1820-1882) was the wife of the Báb. Throughout Bahá'í literature she is sometimes referred to as Khadíjih-Sultán Bagum, Khadíjih Bigum or Khadíjih Khánum[1][2]. Her father was named Siyyid Mírzá `Alí, a merchant.[3] She was the Báb's second cousin, a niece of the Báb's mother's father [4] and playmate during their childhoods.[2] She had two brothers, Hájí Mírzá Abú'l-Qásim and Hají Mírzá Siyyid Hasan, and one sister.[4] The descendants of these two brothers-in-law of the Báb, along with the descendants of His maternal uncles, are known as the Afnán.[4] In August 1842 the Báb and Khadíjih Bagum married; they had one son, Ahmad, who sadly died in infancy in 1843.[2]
According to her own later account, she had recognized the Báb's special station before He had declared His mission to Mulla Husayn, relating these events that took place which confirmed her belief in Him:
…she saw the upper chamber of the House immersed in light. What was the source of all this light, and where had the lamps come from, she asked herself? But this was not tangible light; it was divine light, and she did not see it with her outward eyes but with her inner sight… There she saw that world-illuminating Sun and light-shedding Moon standing in the middle of the room with His hands raised heavenward. While her eyes were fixed upon the dazzling light emanating from His being, a feeling of awe and fright came over her. She wanted to return but was unable to move. Her awe grew to such intensity that she felt stupefied.[5]
The Báb explained to her the next morning: Know thou that the Almighty God is manifested in Me. I am the One whose advent the people of Islam have expected for over a thousand years. God has created Me for a great Cause, and you witnessed the divine revelation. Although I had not wished that you see Me in that state, yet God had so willed that there may not be any place in your heart for doubt and hesitation.[6]
Khadijih Bagum said as soon as she heard The Bab speak those words, she believed in Him. She prostrated herself before Him and her heart became calm and assured.
From that moment I lived only to serve Him, evanescent and self-effacing before Him, no thought of self ever intruding.[7]
At the age of 30, after the Báb was martyred by a firing squad, she went to live with her sister's family. Before His execution, the Báb revealed a special prayer for Khadijih Bagum, knowing the trials and tribulations which awaited her, and this prayer has become one of the most memorized and beloved of all prayers in the Baha'i Faith: the Remover of Difficulties.
When she received the message that Bahá'u'lláh was the one foretold by the Báb [8], "Him Whom God shall make manifest", she became a Bahá'í.[2] "I did not hesitate for a moment and my submission was instantaneous and total."[9]
She kept in correspondence with Bahá'u'lláh while she had returned to Shiraz and lived in the same home [[Bahá'í pilgrimage#House of the Báb, home|]]during marriage to the Báb. In 1882, Bahá'u'lláh invited her to come to the Holy Land and live with His family after He had accepted her request that her nephew marry one of Baha'u'llah's daughters. That fickle nephew, however, made excuses that he could not travel to Shiraz from Yazd and went straight to Palestine himself; Khadijih Bagum was heartbroken, as women could not travel alone.[10] She died only two months later, on September 15, 1882, and was buried in Shiraz in the Shah Chiragh.[2][11] In the Kitáb-i-Badí, Bahá'u'lláh gives her the title of Khayru'n Nisa (The Most Virtuous of Women)[12].
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway, p. 13
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Smith, Peter (2000). "Khadíjih Bagum". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 217. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ↑ Balyuzi 1981
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Smith, Peter (2000). "Báb, family of". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 59. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ↑ Arbab, Akhtaran-i-Taban, vol 1, pp. 9-11 (as quoted by Baharieh Rouhani Ma’ani, Twin Divine Trees p. 34)
- ↑ Arbab, Akhtaran-i-Taban, vol 1, pp. 9-11 (as quoted by Baharieh Rouhani Ma’ani, Twin Divine Trees p. 35)
- ↑ H.M. Balyuzi, Khadijih Bagum
- ↑ Taherzadeh 1977, p. 382
- ↑ H.M.Balyuzi, Khadijih Bagum p. 31
- ↑ Balyuzi 1981, p. 34
- ↑ Balyuzi 1981, p. 35
- ↑ Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 2, p. 381
References[edit]
- Balyuzi, Hasan (1981). Khadijih Bagum, the Wife of the Báb. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-100-0.
- Taherzadeh, Adib (1977). The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 2: Adrianople 1863-68. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853980713.
