Khadíjih-Bagum

Khadíjih Bagum (1822-September 15, 1882) was the wife of the Báb. In Bahá'í literature she is sometimes referred to as Khadíjih-Sultán Bagum, Khadíjih Bigum or Khadíjih Khánum.

The second daughter of her parents, Khadíjih Bagum was born with the name of Khadíjih-Sultán Shírází in 1822 in Shiraz. The appellation given to her Bagum ("Bagum" signifies "Lady") is seen as a sign of respect, and should not be mistaken for part of her name. Her father Áqá Mír `Alí was a merchant importing goods from Bushehr. He worked in the family’s mercantile business and was the least successful member of the family. Her mother, Ḥájíyyih Bíbí of Jahrum, had been widowed when she married Khadíjih’s father. From her mother’s first marriage Khadíjih had one half brother named Muhammad-Mihdí, a noted poet, and a half sister known as `Ammih Ḥájí, who when grown married Hájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí, the guardian of the Báb in his childhood. She had three full siblings: two brothers, Ḥájí Mírzá Abu'l-Qasim, who followed the family occupancy of commerce, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Hasan, who became a teacher of medicine and studied theology, and one sister named Zahrá.

In childhood she was acquainted with the Báb, being his second cousin once removed, and the two were playmates. As the two grew older however, following custom, they did not see each other. In his young manhood the Báb was wont to go on pilgrimage to Karbila for long periods of time. This distressed his mother, causing her to search for something to keep the 23-year-old Báb in Shiraz – a wife. This resulted in the marriage of Khadíjih Bagum and the Báb, arranged swiftly, perhaps to dissuade him from leaving Shiraz. The 20-year-old Khadíjih Bagum married the Báb on August 25, 1842 in Shiraz, the ceremony being conducted by the imam of the city, Shaykh Abú-Turáb. The young couple moved into a modest compound with the Báb's mother, Fátimih Bagum.

In 1843 she gave birth to the couple’s only child, a boy named Ahmad, who died a few months later. Ahmad was buried in the vicinity of Bíbí-Dukhtarán in Shiraz, but his body was later removed. The birth was a difficult one, with the life of Khadíjih at stake, and she never conceived again. The death of her only child was very hard for her to bear, and the Báb consoled her, assuring her that their son was in heaven. She later recalled how the earliest days of her marriage were some of the happiest times of her life. Following the sojourn of her husband to Isfahan for his safety she lived a lonely life with the mother of the Báb and her closest companion, an African servant named Fiddih. Anguished at separation from her husband, she consoled herself with letters he sent her, revealing a loving relationship the two had. News concerning the Báb reached her and Fátimih Bagum only sporadically. Family members were often resentful and embarrassed about connection to the Báb, and distanced themselves from Khadíjih, with only her sister Zahrá dressing herself as a peasant to come to tell her sister news of the Báb.

...
Wikipedia