Rúḥíyyih Khánum
From Bahaikipedia
| Rúhíyyih Khánum | |
 Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum
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| Born | Mary Sutherland Maxwell August 8, 1910 New York, United States of America |
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| Died | January 19, 2000 (aged 89) Haifa, Israel |
| Resting place | Haifa, Israel |
| Nationality | Canadian-American |
| Title(s) | 'Amatu'l-Bahá Hand of the Cause of God |
| Religion | Bahá’í Faith |
| Spouse(s) | Shoghi Effendi (1937-1957) |
| Children | No Issue |
| Parents | Father: William Sutherland Maxwell Mother: May Maxwell |
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum (August 8, 1910 - January 19, 2000), born Mary Maxwell, was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1921-1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957-1963. In 2004, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation viewers voted her number 44 on the list of "greatest Canadians" on the television show 'The Greatest Canadian. She is known amongst the Persians as Ḥadrat-i-Rúhíyyih Khánum or Ḥadrat-i-Khánum
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[edit] Background
Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the long awaited child of William Sutherland Maxwell the renowned Canadian architect and May Maxwell the famous Bahá’í teacher (née Bolles). May Maxwell was on her pilgrimage when 'Abdu’l-Bahá asked her if she would like a child. May answer that she would love a child and `Abdu’l-Bahá said He would pray for her. Forty-year-old May delivered Mary in New York one year later on August 8th 1910. Her parents moved to Montreal in Canada, her father’s country, and `Abdu’l-Bahá met little Mary when she was two years old.
This daughter was bought up in a loving home, however her school years where often rigid and authoritarian; for this May made sure that Mary’s education was wide-ranging. She attended a Montessori school opened by her mother, then attended McGill University in Montreal. She also began to write at an early age, working on various books, plays and poetry.
She made her first pilgrimage to the holy land accompanied by her mother when she was thirteen in 1923, and this was the first time that she met her future husband Shoghi Effendi. Mary then stayed in Montreal and when she was fifteen years old joined the Executive Committee of the Fellowship of Canadian Youth for Peace. In Montreal, Mary blossomed into a beautiful young woman and at sixteen-years-old made her second pilgrimage. The youthful Miss Maxwell devoted her life to Bahá’í youth activities and at the age of just twenty-one she was elected member of the LSA of Montreal. She made two more pilgrimages, one in 1936 accompanied by her relatives and one in early 1937 with her father and mother, this pilgrimage however, was unlike any other and would change the twenty-six-year old Mary’s life forever.
[edit] Marriage
She had met Shoghi Effendi a few times before her actually marriage. Mary, who would soon be known as Rúhiyyih Khánum, writes that when she arrived in the Holy Land in January of 1937, "it was not as strangers but as two people reaching the zenith of their love" During her pilgrimage in 1937, the Guardian surprised Mary by proposing to her after couple went through a discreet courtship. She accepted and the couple married in the Greatest Holy Leaf’s room in 7 Haparsim Street on March 24th 1937. The marriage was a pure and simple one, reminiscent of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's marriage to Munírih Khánum. Shoghi Effendi then renamed her Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum. The marriage surprised the Bahá’ís. Rúḥíyyih Khánum states that Shoghi Effendi was keen on the wedding being kept private. After Shoghi Effendi was married, it was seen as a symbol of the unity between the East and the West. A telegram was sent out to America stating:
“Announce Assemblies celebration marriage beloved Guardian. Inestimable honour conferred upon handmaiden of Bahá’u’lláh Rúhíyyih Khánum Miss Mary Maxwell. Union of East and West proclaimed by Bahá’í faith cemented. Ziaiyyih mother of the Guardian”
Rúḥíyyih Khánum and Shoghi Effendi never had children. She later reported that they in fact tried unsuccessfully. After consulting doctors, they were told that nothing was wrong with them physically, and nothing should prevent them from having children. After the Guardian died in 1957, she became for Bahá’ís the last remaining link to the family of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who headed the Faith from 1892 to 1921 and was the eldest son of the Faith's Founder, Bahá’u’lláh.
[edit] Ministry of the Custodians
In 1957 her husband, Shoghi Effendi, died without having appointed a successor. Rúḥíyyih Khánum was among the 27 Hands of the Cause who stewarded the religion for the six-year interim, before the Universal House of Justice was scheduled to be elected in 1963. The Hands voted among themselves for 9 individuals to work at the Bahá’í World Centre to run the administration of the Faith, a position to which Rúḥíyyih Khánum was elected. These 9 were designated the Custodians, and held the authority of excommunication.
[edit] Final years
From 1957 until her death Rúḥíyyih Khánum traveled to over 185 countries and territories helping integrate the world's several million Bahá’ís into a unified global community; she especially encouraged members of indigenous peoples to participate in the global Bahá’í community.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum died on January 19, 2000 at the age of 89 in Haifa, Israel and her resting place is at the Bahá’í World Centre.
[edit] References
- Harper, Barron (1997). Lights of Fortitude (Paperback ed.). Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984131.
- Nakhjavani, Violette (2000). Tribute to Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, A. Bahá’í Canada Publications & Nine Pines Publishing, Ottawa, Canada. ISBN 0888671059.
- Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 085398350X. http://bahai-library.com/published.uhj/ministry.custodians.toc.html.
- Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (1969). The Priceless Pearl (Hardcover ed.). London, UK: Bahá’í Publishing Trust: 2000. ISBN 1870989910.
- Rabbani, R. (1948). Twenty-Five Years of the Guardianship. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. http://bahai-library.com/?file=khanum_25_years_guardianship.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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