Bahíyyih Khánum (1846 – 15 July 1932) was the only daughter of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greatest Holy Leaf". Brought up through the trying times her family lived through, in adulthood she served the interests of the religion and was even quite often entrusted with running the affairs of the religion. Greatly favoured by Bahá'u'lláh, she is seen within the Baháʼí Faith as one of the greatest women to have lived. According to Baháʼís, every dispensation has one particular holy woman or "immortal heroine". In the time of Jesus it was the Virgin Mary, the time of Muhammad it was his daughter Fatima Zahra and during the Báb's dispensation it was Táhirih. Baháʼís believe that Bahíyyih Khánum is the outstanding heroine of the Baháʼí dispensation.
During the lifetime of her father
Tehran, 1846−1852 Born into a family of means in Tehran, she recalls her parents being admired for their service to the poor.Khánum is a Persian term meaning lady or madam Baháʼí scholar Baharieh Ma'ani writes that Bahíyyih Khánum was born in probably late 1846 or early 1847.
Bahíyyih Khánum's early years were filled with happiness, as she fondly recalled the joy of playing in the beautiful gardens alongside her brother `Abdu'l-Bahá. Bahíyyih Khánum spent her early years in an environment of privilege, wealth, and love. Raised in an atmosphere of affluence, her family's Tehran residence and country houses were not only comfortable but also beautifully decorated. Bahíyyih Khánum, along with her brothers ʻAbbás and Mihdí, enjoyed the privileges that came with their social status. Their idyllic life took a turn when her father was arrested in 1852 and confined to the infamous Síyáh-Chál. At the age of five, Bahíyyih witnessed the confiscation of their family home and the plundering of its furnishings. Hearing the Bábís being rounded up left an indelible mark on her, as she vividly remembered the shrieks of the mobs.
Baghdad, 1852−1863 In January 1853, Baháʼu'lláh faced banishment to Baghdad, and the journey from Tehran to Baghdad proved arduous, navigating through snow-covered mountains. Upon their arrival in Baghdad, Bahíyyih Khánum recalled her father actively participating in household chores. During Baháʼu'lláh's temporary absence from Baghdad, her uncle Mirza Yahya, the nominal head of the Bábí religion, assumed the role of household head. According to her own account, Mirza Yahya imposed strict restrictions on her, prohibiting her from playing with other children and preventing a doctor from attending to her newly born brother, who desperately needed medical attention — ultimately resulting in his death. The mutual grief and sorrow which ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, her mother and she felt led them to be constant companions of each other: "I remember so clearly the sorrow of those days" she later remarked. When Baháʼu'lláh arrived after nearly two years of seclusion the family were overjoyed. Bahíyyih Khánum reflected how she was in a "breathless state of expectancy" waiting to see Baháʼu'lláh.
In Baghdad Bahíyyih blossomed into a young woman, known for her dignity, gentleness, decorum, kindness, and reserved demeanor in public. Shoghi Effendi, reflecting on her teenage years, remarked that she was entrusted with missions that "no girl of her age could, or would be willing to, perform." Giving a rare glimpse into the circumstances of her father's declaration of being a messenger of God in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad, Bahíyyih Khánum is reported to have said that Baháʼu'lláh stated his claim to his son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and four others.
Constantinople/Adrianople, 1863−1868 By May 1863 Baháʼu'lláh was exiled next to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and his family went with him. After arriving in Constantinople,The Baháʼí World vol. XVIII, A Tribute to the Greatest Holy Leaf - Ruhiyyih Khánum pp. 50 Bahíyyih Khánum renounced the idea of marriage. This was very strange for a woman of her rank and era, however it was a request which Baháʼu'lláh willingly accepted. After a short while in Constantinople the family was again exiled to Adrianople. Bahíyyih Khánum describes how she was a strong young woman until the journey to Adrianople. Adrianople proved a very unhappy period for the young Bahíyyih Khánum.
She was 20 at the time of Baháʼu'lláh's poisoning. She was well aware of the fact that she could be separated from her father and Bahíyyih Khánum comforted her mother and brother when the family heard they were to be exiled separately. Remarking on her role in the 1868 split between Mirza Yahya and Baháʼu'lláh, Shoghi Effendi notes Bahíyyih Khánum was among the most active in encouraging the Bábís to accept the claims of her father.
Acre, 1868−1870
In July 1868 the Ottoman government further banished Baháʼu'lláh and his family to the prison-city of Acre, then part of the Syrian segment of the Ottoman Empire. As a young woman of 21, Bahíyyih Khánum entered into Acre as a prisoner. This was her fourth place of exile, and her last. Despite being in her early 20s — she was still determined to remain unmarried. Arriving on the bay of Acre, the exiles were disorientated and demoralized. The populace spoke Arabic, which Bahíyyih Khánum understood, and she overheard them mocking and jeering how the family were to be thrown into the sea or imprisoned in chains. She later explained the impact this had on her: "imagine, if you can, the overpowering impression made by all this upon the mind of a young girl, such as I was then. Can you wonder that I am serious, and that my life is different from those of my countrywomen?".
Food was scarce and Bahiyyih Khánum remembers Baháʼu'lláh giving up food for the feeding of children in the group. The family were locked in a small cluster of cells which were covered in dirt and sewage, so much so that Bahiyyih Khánum fainted a number of times, "of my own experience perhaps this is the most awful". The period was distressing for Bahiyyih Khánum, as it was for many of the Baháʼís, due to the death of three Baháʼís and hostile behaviour of the surrounding population; in particular the death of Mírzá Mihdí, Bahiyyih Khánum's youngest brother, destroyed any morale which was left. She gathered and kept his blood-stained clothes after he died in 1870.
Later in Acre, 1870−1892
After the death of her brother in 1870, the people of Acre started to respect the Baháʼís and in particular, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was able to arrange for houses to be rented for the family, and the family later moved to the Mansion of Bahjí around 1879 when an epidemic caused the inhabitants to flee. Bahíyyih was 23 when she left the harsh prison. Despite the unhappy start, Acre was the place of some of the happiest times of Bahíyyih Khánum's life. With ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's marriage to Munírih, she had a companion of the same age and the two became close friends of each other. The Baháʼís realised that it was unlikely Bahíyyih Khánum would ever marry and she was respected for her choice. Bahíyyih Khánum helped her mother and father with serving pilgrims who came and visited the family. Bahíyyih was very close to her father, and he wrote to her: "how sweet thy presence before Me; how sweet to gaze upon thy face, to bestow upon thee My loving-kindness, to favour thee with My tender care".
One of the heartaches of Bahíyyih Khánum was the death of her mother in 1886. She had been very close to her mother since childhood and the death left Bahíyyih with a void in her life. With the death of her mother, Navváb in 1886, Baháʼu'lláh gave her the title of "the Greatest Holy Leaf", and she took over the role of head of the household — managing the household and hosting events for the women pilgrims and other visitors — an arrangement that continued when ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was head of the religion. Six years passed when – in 1892 – her father died. Bahíyyih was distraught at the loss of her father. With her father's death in 1892 she was the only surviving member of her family to choose to support her brother when he was named head of the religion in 1892, though first she had to recover from severe mourning which caused her to become thin and feeble for a time. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani has characterized her as having a sleepless vigilance, a tact, courtesy, extreme patience and an heroic fortitude.
Religious role
First Western pilgrims It was in 1898 that the first Western pilgrims visited ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and Bahíyyih in Palestine, including Phoebe Hearst, Lua Getsinger, Ella Goodall Cooper, the first African-American Baháʼí Robert Turner, and May Maxwell, amongst others. Despite her poor health, Bahíyyih Khánum received these pilgrims. The pilgrimage profoundly affected Bahíyyih Khánum and was a source of happiness for ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's family in the penal colony. Due to cultural and religious attitudes in Acre, Bahíyyih spent more of her time with the female pilgrims rather than the male ones. Lady Blomfield writes that Bahíyyih Khánum was "passionately attached", to her brother and the memory of her parents. She describes her "sense of humour", and "remarkable" intelligence. Shortly after the pilgrimage, Bahíyyih wrote a letter to a Persian Baháʼí woman writing:
Freedom In 1908, the Young Turks freed all political prisoners under the Ottoman regime and Bahíyyih Khánum was declared free. She was only 21 when she entered the penal colony, and when freed was in her 60s. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá entrusted her with the remains of the Báb when they arrived in Acre on 31 January 1899, and were housed in her room in the house of ʻAbdu'lláh Páshá.Many Baháʼís might be familiar with the House of Abbúd and the House of ʻAbdu'llah Pasha - the former was occupied by the family of Baháʼu'lláh after the prison from which Baháʼu'lláh eventually moved to the Mansions at Bahji where he died. The house of ʻAbdu'lláh Páshá is the house where ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and his family, including the Greatest Holy Leaf, stayed before moving to Haifa.() The portraits of Baháʼu'lláh and the Báb and other relics were likewise kept by her except during World War I, when she along with the rest of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's family, and Americans Edith Sanderson and Lua Getsinger, stayed in the residence of the village head of Abu Sinan. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá also entrusted her with keeping his last will and testament.
With her newfound freedom, Bahíyyih publicly began her charitable endeavours. She opened up an orphanage in her home for non-Baháʼí and Baháʼí children, oversaw their education and taught them "prayers, reading and writing, home management, embroidery, sewing, cooking" amongst others. As "head of the household" Bahíyyih was in control of looking after the numerous pilgrims from the East and West who flocked to visit her and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. She also won the respect and affections of the locals. Women from Islamic background would ask Bahíyyih to cut the shrouds in which they would wear when they die so they could rest in peace. In her memoirs, Margaret Randall writes that "everyone turned [to her] for help and advice. She was gentle and loving, but strong, too."
In 1914 World War I began which affected the Palestine area. The communication between ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and the worldwide Baháʼí community came almost to a stand still. Furthermore, Haifa was gravely affected by the food shortage. It was through this that Bahíyyih further exercised her humanitarian services. She and her brother gave out their large store of grain to the poor and needy of the area. It was reported that the inhabitants flocked to the house of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá where Bahíyyih cooked for them and gave them rations. The humanitarian services that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and Bahíyyih gave during the war, won them admiration amongst the British government and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was knighted.
Headship