Contents Introduction Acknowledgements
xv xxi
I Prominent Women Closely Related to the Báb 1 Fátimih Bagum, the Mother of the Báb, Titled the Most Virtuous of All Women Family Background 3 Birth and Early Life 3 Marriage, Motherhood and Widowhood 4 Temporary Separation 7 The Báb’s Return to Shíráz and Subsequent Developments 8 Fátimih Bagum’s Life Undergoes Permanent Change 9 The Báb’s Exile from Shíráz 14 Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí’s Visit to the Báb and Martyrdom 16 The Martyrdom of the Báb 17 Disclosure of the News of the Martyrdom of the Báb 18 Fátimih Bagum’s Departure from Shíráz and Iran 20 Life in Iraq and Recognition of the Báb’s Station 21 The Passing of Fátimih Bagum and Her Resting-Place 23 Fátimih Bagum’s Station and Her Place in History 24 2 Khadíjih Bagum, the Wife of the Báb Family Background 26 Birth and Early Life 27 Marriage 28 The Birth and Death of the Child of the Báb and Khadíjih Bagum 31 Khadíjih Bagum’s Recognition of the Station of the Báb 33 Khadíjih Bagum’s Response to the Declaration of the Báb 35 The Báb’s Pilgrimage to Mecca 36 The Báb’s Return to Shíráz and Subsequent Developments 37 The Martyrdom of Jináb-i-Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí, the Báb’s Uncle 38 The Martyrdom of the Báb and Its Aftermath 40 The Effect of Fátimih Bagum’s Departure from Shíráz 41
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Khadíjih Bagum’s Teaching Activities Khadíjih Bagum’s Recognition of the Station of Bahá’u’lláh Seeking Advice about Joining Fátimih Bagum Khadíjih Bagum’s Petitions to Bahá’u’lláh The Passing of Khadíjih Bagum Khadíjih Bagum’s Station and Her Place in History Khadíjih Bagum’s Resting-Place
41 43 44 45 50 55 59
3 Zahrá Bagum, the Sister of the Wife of the Báb Family Background Birth and Early Life Marriage and Subsequent Developments The Custodianship of the House of the Báb The Passing of Zahrá Bagum Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings Revealed in Honour of Zahrá Bagum
61 61 61 62 63 63
4. Fátimih Khánum, the Second Wife of the Báb Family Background, Birth and Early Life Marriage After the Báb’s Departure from Isfahán After the Martyrdom of the Báb Fátimih Khánum’s Passing and a Brief Review of Her Life
65 65 66 67 70
II Prominent Women Closely Related to Bahá’u’lláh 5 Khadíjih Khánum, the Mother of Bahá’u’lláh Family Background Birth and Early Life Marriage to Mírzá Buzurg Khadíjih Khánum as the Mother of the Supreme Manifestation of God The Marriage of Bahá’u’lláh and Ásíyih Khánum Khadíjih Khánum’s Life from 1835 to the Time She Passed Away The Passing of Khadíjih Khánum and Her Place in History The Treatment in History of the Mothers of the Twin Manifestations of God
vi
73 73 74 75 77 78 80 82
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6 Ásíyih Khánum, the Most Exalted Leaf, Titled Navváb, the Wife of Bahá’u’lláh Family Background 85 Birth, Childhood and Early Life 85 Marriage 87 The First Decade of Ásíyih Khánum’s Married Life 89 The Báb’s Advent and Subsequent Developments 91 Departure from Iran and Journey to Baghdád 100 Life in Exile: The Baghdád Period 101 Banishment to Constantinople (Istanbul) and Adrianople (Edirne) 105 ‘Akká, the Final Place of Exile 107 The Martyrdom of the Purest Branch 109 Life inside the Prison-City 111 The Passing of Ásíyih Khánum, Her Station and Place in History 114 Ásíyih Khánum’s Distinguishing Characteristics 119 Ásíyih Khánum’s Resting-Place 120 The Focal Point of the World Administrative Centre of the Future Bahá’í Commonwealth 124 7 Bahá’íyyih Khánum, the Most Outstanding Heroine of the Bahá’í Dispensation Family Background 127 Birth, Childhood and Early Life 127 Life in Baghdád (April 1853 to April 1863) 132 Departure from Baghdád, Journey to and Short Stay in Istanbul 137 Life in Adrianople (1863–8) 140 Departure from Adrianople and Journey to ‘Akká 145 Arrival in ‘Akká and Incarceration in the Army Barracks 146 Life Inside the Prison-City 152 The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh and Its Aftermath 156 Bahá’íyyih Khánum during ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ministry 159 Journey to Egypt 160 During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Short Stay in Tiberias 162 Change of Residence in ‘Akká 163 The Covenant-breakers’ New Intrigues 165 Supporting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Undertakings 167 Move to Haifa 167 The Interment of the Remains of the Báb 170 Deputizing for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 171
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Reunion in Egypt 175 Return to the Holy Land 176 World War I 177 Life After the War 178 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ascension: Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s Role During Shoghi Effendi’s Absence, 28 November to 29 December 1921 180 During the Ministry of Shoghi Effendi 185 Legal Challenge to Shoghi Effendi’s Authority: The Question of the Custodianship of the Most Holy Tomb 186 Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s Role During Shoghi Effendi’s Absence 188 Dealing with the Incessant Activities of Covenant-breakers 193 The Eruption of Hostilities in Iran 195 Concern for Shoghi Effendi’s Well-being 197 Dealing with Matters at Home 199 An Exhilarating Experience 202 The Expected Visit of Queen Marie of Romania 204 The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár Fund 206 The Passing of Bahá’íyyih Khánum 207 Bahá’íyyih Khánum, the Most Outstanding Heroine of the Bahá’í Dispensation 211 Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s Station and Place in History 215 Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s Distinguishing Characteristics 220 Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s Writings 224 Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s Monument Symbolic of Her Station and Personality 225 Sacred Writings Revealed in Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s Honour 228 8 Fátimih Khánum, Titled Mahd-i-‘Ulyá, the Second Wife of Bahá’u’lláh Family Background 229 Birth and Early Life 229 Marriage 229 Life in Exile 232 After the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh 237 The Passing of Fátimih Khánum and a Brief Review of Her Life 246 Fátimih Khánum from the Eye of a Westerner 248 The Fate of Fátimih Khánum’s Children 249 Writings Revealed in Honour of Fátimih Khánum 249 9 Gawhar Khánum, the Third Wife of Bahá’u’lláh Family Background Birth and Early Life
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Journey to Baghdád and Marriage 252 Life in the Holy Land 253 Furúghíyyih Khánum’s Marriage and Subsequent Developments 254 After Bahá’u’lláh’s Ascension 256 The Passing of Gawhar Khánum and a Brief Review of Her Life 258 10 The Sisters of Bahá’u’lláh Family Background 259 The Full Sisters of Bahá’u’lláh Sárih Khánum, Titled Ukht Birth and Early Life 261 Marriage 261 Conversion 262 After Bahá’u’lláh’s Departure from Iran 263 The Passing of Sárih Khánum 269 Sárih Khánum’s Station and Her Place in History 269 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Sárih Khánum 272 Nisá’ Khánum Birth and Early Life 273 Marriage 273 During Bahá’u’lláh’s Arrest, Imprisonment and Exile 274 The Passing of Nisá’ Khánum 275 The Half Sisters of Bahá’u’lláh Sakínih Khánum Birth and Early Life 276 Marriage 276 Reaction to Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation 278 Sakínih Khánum’s Passing and a Brief Review of Her Life 278 Fátimih Sultán Khánum Birth and Early Life 279 Marriage 280 Fátimih Sultán Khánum’s Standing in the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh 280 The Passing of Fátimih Sultán Khánum and a Brief Review of Her Life 280 Writings Revealed in Honour of Fátimih Sultán Khánum 281 Sháh Sultán Khánum (‘Izzíyyih) Birth and Early Life 282 Adulthood and Later Years 283 The Passing of Sháh Sultán Khánum and a Brief Review
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of Her Life
292
11 Jináb-i-Maryam, Titled the Crimson Leaf, Bahá’u’lláh’s Cousin and Sister-in-law Family Background 293 Birth and Early Life 293 Marriage 294 Conversion 294 Offering Hospitality to Bahá’u’lláh after His Release from the Síyáh Chál 295 After Bahá’u’lláh’s Departure from Iran 296 The Planned Trip to Baghdád 297 The Passing of Maryam 297 Writings Revealed in Honour of Maryam 299 Maryam’s Daughter 305 Maryam’s Writings 307 Maryam’s Station and Place in History 308 12 Munírih Khánum (Fátimih Khánum), the Wife of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Family Background 309 Birth and Early Life 310 Journey to the Holy Land 312 Marriage 315 From Marriage to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Bahá’u’lláh’s Ascension (1873–92) 321 Bahá’u’lláh’s Ascension and Its Aftermath 328 Marriage of Díyá’íyyih Khánum and Áqá Mírzá Hádí 331 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Trip to Beirut 335 The Arrival of the First Group of Western Pilgrims 335 Mírzá Badí‘u’lláh’s Intrigues 335 Munírih Khánum in Egypt 336 The Construction of the Shrine of the Báb and the Interment of His Remains 338 Change of Residence from ‘Akká to Haifa and the Easing of Restrictions 339 Munírih Khánum in Samaríyá and Nuqayb 341 During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Extensive Travels 342 Life in the Holy Land during World War I 347 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ascension 349 The Passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf 351 The Passing of Munírih Khánum 354 Munírih Khánum’s Resting-Place 355 x
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Munírih Khánum’s Station and Place in History The Fate of Munírih Khánum’s Children
356 360
Appendix Outstanding Heroines in Religious Dispensations Introduction 363 The Dispensation of Adam 364 The Dispensation of Abraham 364 The Dispensation of Moses 365 The Dispensation of Christ 365 The Dispensation of Muhammad 367 The Dispensation of the Báb 369 The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh 375 Bibliography References and Notes Index
377 381 415
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7
Bahá’íyyih Khánum, the Most Outstanding Heroine of the Bahá’í Dispensation Family Background Bahá’íyyih Khánum was born to Mírzá Husayn-‘Alí, later known as Bahá’u’lláh, and Ásíyih Khánum, titled Navváb and the Most Exalted Leaf. Bahá’u’lláh and Navváb came from prominent families in the district of Núr in Mázandarán, Iran. Bahá’u’lláh’s father, Mírzá ‘Abbás-i-Núrí, entitled Mírzá Buzurg, was a celebrated calligrapher. Both he and Ásíyih Khánum’s father, Mírzá Ismá‘íl-i-Yálrúdí, held high-ranking positions in the government and were known as viziers. Almost nothing is known about Ásíyih Khánum’s mother. For information about Bahá’u’lláh’s mother, see the chapter on Khadíjih Khánum. Four sons of Bahá’u’lláh and Ásíyih Khánum died in infancy and childhood. Two of them, Kázim and Mihdí, were probably dead before Bahá’íyyih Khánum was born. Of the other two, one lived to be several years old. His name was ‘Alí-Muhammad. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks of him as a very clever, friendly and sociable child. The other, also named ‘Alí-Muhammad, died in Baghdád in 1854. He was then about one year old. Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s surviving brothers were Mírzá ‘Abbás and Mírzá Mihdí. Mírzá ‘Abbás, later known as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was about three years older than Bahá’íyyih Khánum; Mírzá Mihdí, entitled the Purest Branch, was about three years younger. He died at the age of 22 when he fell through an unguarded skylight in the roof of a section of the army barracks in ‘Akká, where Bahá’u’lláh and His family were imprisoned for two years. Birth, Childhood and Early Life Shoghi Effendi gives 1846 as the year of Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s birth. When exactly during that year she was born is uncertain but she was born in Tihrán. The name given her at birth was Fátimih. Later, Bahá’u’lláh bestowed upon her the feminine form of His appellation ‘Bahá’, meaning glory. Confirming this in a Tablet revealed in her honour, He says: ‘She hath revealed herself in My name and tasted of the sweet savours of My holy, My wondrous pleasure.’1 The full text of that Tablet is inscribed in golden letters around the base of the circular dome of her monument. She sealed the letters
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that she wrote to Bahá’í institutions and individuals with a seal bearing the name Bahá’íyyih. The seal is on display in the International Archives Building. Bahá’u’lláh also bestowed upon her, after her mother passed away, the title of Greatest Holy Leaf. Bahá’íyyih Khánum is the name used predominantly throughout this account. We have considerable information in English about Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s early life which is owed to Madam Canavarro, who interviewed her in December 1902. The information she obtained through a translator was recorded and passed on to Myron Phelps for his book Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi, published in 1903. Another source, widely quoted in this chapter and in the chapter on Ásíyih Khánum, is The Chosen Highway by Lady Blomfield, who spoke with Bahá’íyyih Khánum many years later through a translator, who was one of the younger daughters of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and recorded her recollections. The writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed in Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s honour and the tributes of Shoghi Effendi contain valuable insights into different stages of her life. Bahá’íyyih Khánum spoke to Lady Blomfield about her childhood memories: I remember dimly very happy days with my beloved father and mother, and my brother ‘Abbás, who was two years my senior . . . We used to go to our house in the country sometimes; my brother ‘Abbás and I loved to play in the beautiful gardens, where grew many kinds of wonderful fruits and flowers and flowering trees; but this part of my early life is a very dim memory.2
She remembers her beloved Father being arrested after an attempt on the life of the Sháh ‘by a half-crazy young Bábí’.3 When the assassination attempt took place, Bahá’u’lláh was ‘temporarily in the country’; Bahá’íyyih Khánum, then five years old, her older brother, eight, her baby brother and their mother were in Tihrán. Her mother learned of the horrifying news from a servant who was with Bahá’u’lláh when He was arrested.4 Bahá’u’lláh was subsequently imprisoned in the Síyáh Chál (Black Pit) of Tihrán. On hearing the news of His arrest, Bahá’íyyih Khánum witnessed her mother’s face grow whiter and whiter. Speaking of her own reaction, she says, ‘We children were terribly frightened and could only weep bitterly.’5 She also witnessed the effect of that event on their relatives, friends and servants who, she says, all fled in terror, ‘only one man-servant, Isfandíyár, remained, and one woman’.6 She explains that their ‘palace, and the smaller houses belonging to it were very soon stripped of everything; furniture, treasures, all were stolen by the people’.7 Referring to that inci-
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dent, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says: ‘In Tihrán, we possessed everything at a nightfall, and on the morrow we were shorn of it all, to the extent that we had no food to eat.’8 Of that episode in Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s life, Shoghi Effendi says: How well I remember her recall, at a time when her faculties were still unimpaired, the gnawing suspense that ate into the hearts of those who watched by her side, at the threshold of her pillaged house, expectant to hear at any moment the news of Bahá’u’lláh’s imminent execution! In those sinister hours, she often recounted, her parents had so suddenly lost their possessions that within the space of a single day from being the privileged member of one of the wealthiest families of Tihrán she had sunk to the state of a sufferer from unconcealed poverty. Deprived of the means of subsistence her illustrious mother, the famed Navváb, was constrained to place in the palm of her daughter’s hand a handful of flour and to induce her to accept it as a substitute for her daily bread.9
Bahá’íyyih Khánum spoke to Lady Blomfield about the destitution of her precious mother and how Mírzá Músá, Bahá’u’lláh’s brother, who was always very kind to them, helped her mother and her three children to escape into hiding.10 She related how her mother cared for her children and how with the sale of ‘some few of the marriage treasures, which were all of our vast possessions left to us’, she ‘was able to pay the gaolers to take food to my father in the prison, and to meet other expenses incurred later on’.11 Even in her old age Bahá’íyyih Khánum could still recall the horrible sounds she heard at five when, every day, some of those imprisoned with Bahá’u’lláh were removed from the prison to be tortured to the shouts of the crowd and the beating of drums.12 Her mother could not find out what had happened to her husband and so, despite the danger to herself, she ventured out late at night or very early in the morning to seek news.13 Bahá’íyyih Khánum describes her own feelings during those dark hours of uncertainty: How well I remember cowering in the dark, with my little brother, Mírzá Mihdí, the Purest Branch, at that time two years old, in my arms, which were not very strong, as I was only six. I was shivering with terror, for I knew of some of the horrible things that were happening, and was aware that they might have seized even my mother. So I waited and waited until she should come back. Then Mírzá
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Músá, my uncle, who was in hiding, would venture in to hear what tidings my mother had been able to gather. My brother ‘Abbás usually went with her on these sorrowful errands.14
Timely action taken by Mírzá Yúsuf, a Russian subject married to Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s great aunt and a friend of the Russian Consul in Tihrán, who addressed the court fearlessly threatening to avenge any wrong inflicted upon Bahá’u’lláh as a consequence of its decision, averted the passing of a death sentence on Him and forced the governor to give orders that He ‘should be permitted to come forth from that prison with his life. It was also decreed that he and his family were banished.’15 Bahá’u’lláh confirms the intervention of the Russian Consul in a Tablet revealed in honour of Tsar Alexander II, which says: ‘Whilst I lay, chained and fettered, in the prison of Tihrán, one of thy ministers extended Me his aid.’16 Recalling the feelings of joy evoked by the receipt of the wonderful news of Bahá’u’lláh’s imminent release from prison, Bahá’íyyih Khánum says: An account of this scene was given to my mother by Mírzá Yúsif that night, and told by her to my uncle, Mírzá Músá, when he came for tidings. Needless to say how eagerly my brother and I listened, and how we all wept for joy.17
Upon His release from prison, Bahá’u’lláh went to live in the two little rooms that Ásíyih Khánum had rented after their own house had been pillaged and its belongings plundered. The joy of His presence was beyond description, yet so was the sadness they felt for the sufferings He had endured. Although Bahá’u’lláh ‘spoke very little of the terrible sufferings of that time’, the children ‘saw the marks . . . where the chains had cut into the delicate skin, especially that of his neck, his wounded feet so long untended, evidence of the torture of the bastinado’ and they wept with their mother.18 Ásíyih Khánum and the children heard of ‘the steadfast faith of the friends, who had gone forth to meet their death at the hands of their torturers, with joy and gladness, to attain the crown of martyrdom’.19 They also heard that ‘Jamál-i-Mubárak [Bahá’u’lláh] had a marvellous divine experience whilst in that prison’. They ‘saw a new radiance seeming to enfold him like a shining vesture’, the significance of which, Bahá’íyyih Khánum says, ‘we were to learn years later. At that time we were only aware of the wonder of it, without understanding, or even being told the details of the
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sacred event.’20 She speaks of the great difficulty facing her mother who did her best to nurse Bahá’u’lláh ‘that he might have some strength to set out upon that journey’.21 At the same time she had to make preparations for the ‘terrible journey’ and ensure the safety and well-being of her three children. Bahá’íyyih Khánum recalls the hour of departure from Tihrán: ‘No one of all our friends and relations’, she says, ‘dared to come to our help, or even to say good-bye, but one old lady’ whom she identifies as her great grandmother (the grandmother of her mother).22 She also speaks affectionately of their ‘faithful servant, Isfandíyár, and the one negro woman’23 who stayed with them. What affected Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s tender heart the most was separation from her younger brother, Mírzá Mihdí, who was left behind. She speaks of his being ‘very delicate’ and says ‘my mother allowed herself to be persuaded to leave the little fellow, only two years old, with her grandmother, though the parting with him was very sad’.24 Describing the early stage of Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s life and the suffering she endured as a child, Shoghi Effendi says: From the beginning of her life, from her very childhood, she tasted sorrow’s cup; she drank down the afflictions and calamities of the earliest years of the great Cause of God. In the tumult of the Year of Hín [1268 ah/1851–2 ad] as a result of the sacking and plundering of her glorious Father’s wealth and holdings, she learned the bitterness of destitution and want. Then she shared the imprisonment, the grief, the banishment of the Abhá Beauty.25
Also, As far back as the concluding stage of the heroic age of the Cause, which witnessed the imprisonment of Bahá’u’lláh in the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán, the Greatest Holy Leaf, then still in her infancy, was privileged to taste of the cup of woe which the first believers of that Apostolic Age had quaffed.26
Shoghi Effendi confirms without the slightest trace of hesitation that Bahá’íyyih Khánum shared from childhood the suffering and hardships of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: From early childhood she had her share of the sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh, subjected even as He was to hardships and calamities, and she was as
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well the partner in sorrows and tribulations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.27
Bahá’íyyih Khánum was six when she accompanied her beloved parents on the arduous journey from Tihrán to Baghdád. Until then the only trips she had taken were from Tihrán to Tákur and Yalrúd, where members of her family on both her father’s and mother’s sides lived. Those were happy travels, for the joy of seeing her relatives and spending the summer months in the cool surroundings of those small towns in the mountains was immense. The journey that they were now embarking on was very different, a ‘fearful journey’: ‘the weather was bitterly cold, snow was upon the ground . . . the cold was intense’ and they ‘were not well prepared’.28 The journey from Tihrán to Baghdád was by mule or on horseback. The women travelled on what Bahá’íyyih Khánum calls ‘takht-i-raván’ (a palanquin) ‘borne on a jolting mule’.29 Recalling that journey, Bahá’íyyih Khánum says, It was bitterly cold, and the route lay over mountains . . . My father was very ill. The chains had left his neck galled, raw, and much swollen. My mother, who was pregnant, was unaccustomed to hardships, and was worried and harassed over our recent trials and the uncertainty of our fate . . . We were all insufficiently clothed, and suffered keenly from exposure.30
When they came to a city, they visited the public bath where they could also wash their clothes. They ‘sometimes stayed in a caravanserai – a sort of rough inn. Only one room was allowed for one family, and for one night – no longer. No light was permitted at night, and there were no beds.’31 Bahá’íyyih Khánum says: ‘Sometimes we were able to have tea, or again a few eggs, a little cheese, and some coarse bread.’32 When the exiles, escorted by Iranian soldiers, reached the border of Iraq, then within the Ottoman domain, they were met by Turkish soldiers and escorted to Baghdád.
Life in Baghdád (April 1853 to April 1863) Bahá’u’lláh, His family and companions arrived in Baghdád on 8 April 1853 ‘in a state of great misery, and also of almost utter destitution’. The few personal effects that Bahá’íyyih Khánum’s mother had collected before departure ‘were nearly exhausted by the time we reached our destination, having been bartered on the journey for necessaries’.33 In Baghdád, Bahá’íyyih Khánum spent the remaining years of her childhood and the
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