Khadijih Khanum's family belonged to the Namadsab tribe.
Members of this tribe occupied areas in close proximity to Takur in the
district of Núr in Mazandaran where Bahá'u'lláh's father and paternal ancestors
came from. It is not known who Khadijih Khanum's parents were or whether she
had any siblings. There is also no information available about Khadijih Khanum's
childhood or early life. All aspects of her life before she married Mirza
Buzurg, Bahá'u'lláh's father, remain unexplored. The date and place of her
birth are also unknown. She was likely born in one of the villages in the
vicinity of the village of Takur.
Following the traditional pattern, Khadijih Khanum married probably
very young to a certain Aqa Sultan. He died sometime after the birth of their
third child. They had two daughters and one son and were probably residing in
Tihran. Sometime after his death, Khadijih Khanum married Mirza Buzurg.
Khadijih Khanum’s family had preexisting ties to the family
of Mirza Buzurg since an older sister of Mirza Buzurg was already married into
the family. It is estimated that their wedding took place between 1810 and
1812. They had five children. The first-born of that marriage was a daughter,
Sarih Khanum: she is generally known as 'Ukht’, Arabic for sister, because Baha’u’llah
has thus referred to her. The next was a son, Mirza Mihdi, who died in his
father's lifetime. Bahá'u'lláh was their third-born. The fourth was another
son, Mirza Musa, entitled Aqay-i-Kalim in later years, and the fifth was
another daughter, Nisa Khanum, who was married to Mirza Majid-i-Ahi, a
secretary of the Russian Legation. It was the Custom of the family to spend the
winter months in Tehran, where Mirza Buzurg would attend to his government
duties, and the summer in the family home in Takur. It is not clear exactly when Khadijih Khanum passed away and
where she has been buried.
When Khadijih Khanum passed away, Bahá'u'lláh revealed a
visitation prayer in her honour. The prayer bears no date and there is no
indication as to where it was revealed. Here is a provisional translation
approved by the Baha’i World Center:
The most honoured, esteemed and respected mother.
He is God!
Praised be Thou O Lord, My God! This is My mother who hath acknowledged
Thy oneness, confessed Thy unity, attained the honour of meeting Thy
Manifestations in Thy days, reached the station of recognition and entered the
tabernacle of Heaven, for she loved Thyself and Thy Servant and held fast to
the cord of Thy love through the sanctified Temples of Thy Sovereignty.
I beseech Thee, therefore, O My God, to grant her the honour
of beholding Thy Beauty, and vouchsafe unto her the gift of Thy Presence. Give
her to drink then from the ocean of Thy mercy and the chalice of Thy forgiveness.
Make her to dwell, O My God, in the precincts of Thy mercy in the Heaven of
eternity. Grant her to hear Thy holy melodies that she may cast the veil from
her head in her eagerness to meet Thee and speed through the domains of Thy
nearness and union.
Thou art verily powerful over all that Thou desirest, and
Thou art verily the Mighty, the Most Luminous.
(Adapted from ‘Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees’, by Baharieh
Rouhani-Ma’ani, ‘Baha’u’llah, A Short Biography’, by Moojan Momen, and ‘Baha’u’llah,
The King of Glory’, by H.M. Baluzi)
