In the Land of Refuge

Appendix 5
The Paternal Genealogy of the Báb

In this appendix a brief biography of the paternal members of the Báb’s family will be given. Few of the Báb’s paternal relatives became Bábís or believed in Bahá’u’lláh. However, several of His relatives played significant roles in Bábí and Bahá’í history.

Siyyid Mírzá Muhammad-Ridá: The father of the Báb was the son and grandson of retail merchants.⁴³⁴ He owned a dry goods shop in the Bazaar Vakíl, a family business that had existed since the eighteenth century, and he had a house in the Bazaar Murgh district, the neighborhood where most of the Shíráz merchants lived. He married well, into the family of established wholesale import/export merchants. He had several children prior to the Báb, but none survived. His only surviving child was the Báb. He was forty-nine when he died. The Báb was probably nine at the time, although other accounts say that He was still an infant. Siyyid Muhammad-Ridá left a large enough inheritance to provide for his Son and widow.
Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-Hasan: Known as Mírzáy-i Shírází, he was the greatest mujtahid of his day, considered the sole Marja‘ Taqlíd [the source of emulation] for the Shi‘ih world, which meant he was turned to as the guide and exemplar in all matters concerning the application of Islamic law. His father was Mírzá Mahmúd Khúshnivís, a resident of Shíráz famed for his calligraphy in the Nasta‘líq style. Mírzáy-i Shírází was born on 5 May 1815 in Shíráz and received his initial education there at the age of four. Though originally destined to follow his father’s career as a local official, at the age of 18 he was sent to Isfahán, Iran’s foremost city of learning at the time. It was in this city that he met the Báb on several occasions and became an ardent believer, though he concealed his faith. In 1843 he traveled to Najaf, and at first used to return frequently to Isfahán, until he began to attend the classes of Shaykh Murtidá Ansárí (1799–1864). It was then that he decided to settle in ‘Iraq permanently. Gradually, he became known as the most prominent student of Shaykh Murtidá, who was acknowledged as the leading mujtahid of the Shi‘ih world.

When Shaykh Murtidá died, Mírzáy-i Shírází succeeded him as teacher of his circle of students. He went on pilgrimage to Mecca in 1871. Over the next few years, his stature among the other ‘ulamá increased to the point that when Siyyid Husayn Turk died in 1882, Mírzáy-i Shírází became acknowledged as the sole Marja‘ Taqlíd. He is also called Hujjatu’l-Islám [the Proof of Islam], Ayatu’lláh [the Sign of God], and Mujaddid [Renewer] by his biographers. In 1875, Mírzáy-i Shírází transferred his residence to Samarrá and remained there until his death, making this provincial shrine city for a time a center of scholarship.⁴³⁵

In 1891–92 there occurred the famous protest against the Tobacco Régie. As a result of a fatwá,⁴³⁶ first written and circulated by Hájí Mírzá Hasan Áshtiyání, but in December 1891 endorsed by Mírzáy-i Shírází, the Government of Iran and the foreign diplomatic establishment were amazed to observe an almost complete cessation of the use of tobacco. The Sháh was forced to capitulate, and the tobacco concession was cancelled. This incident proved to be a forerunner of the Constitutional Revolt of a decade later.

Mírzáy-i Shírází died on 20 February 1895, and his body was carried from Samarrá to Najaf, where it was buried. Subsequent to his passing, prayer vigils were held for him throughout Iran, and Násiri’d-Dín Sháh attended the one held in Tihrán.⁴³⁷

Hájí Siyyid Javád Shirází: He was a paternal relative of the Báb’s father and studied in ‘Iraq and returned to Shíráz in the 1820s. In about 1832 he was sent to Kirmán by Fath-‘Alí Sháh to act as a balance to the brutal regime of that province’s governor. Soon he became the Imám-Jum‘ih. He was noted for his interest in mysticism. His lectures on the first two verses of Rúmí’s Mathnaví, a somewhat daring subject for a man of his class, attracted many students, including Shaykh Hádí Sabzivarí, the foremost Iranian philosopher of the nineteenth century.⁴³⁸

His chief rival in Kirmán was the Shaykhí leader, Hájí Muhammad-Karím Khán. When Quddús came to Kirmán in 1845 to announce the religion of the Báb to the Shaykhí leader, he stayed with Hájí Siyyid Javád who readily embraced the new Faith.⁴³⁹ Later he intervened on behalf of two Bábí teachers, Mullá Sádiq Khurásání and Mullá Yúsuf Ardabilí, when they were attacked in Kirmán. He passed away in AH 1287 [1870].

Áqá Mírzá Zaynu’l-‘Abidín: A paternal relative of the Báb’s father, he was married to Zahrá Bagum<8>. Their son was Áqá Mírzá Áqá, known as Núri’d-Dín. He became a Bábí after the martyrdom of the Báb and received a Tablet from Bahá’u’lláh prior to his own passing in AH 1276 [1859]. He was a merchant but later retired to become a farmer.
Mírzá ‘Alí-Akbar: A second cousin of the Báb, he was a devoted believer and a close companion of Mírzá Asadu’lláh Khú’í, surnamed Dayyán. Mírzá ‘Alí-Akbar (and Dayyán) was murdered in Baghdad at the instigation of Mírzá Yahyá Azal, and Bahá’u’lláh makes a reference to him in His Epistle to the Son of the Wolf and in yet another Tablet.⁴⁴⁰

Appendix 6
The Afnán Family:

Some Biographical Notes

In the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the term ‘Afnán’ is used to refer to the maternal family of the Báb. A definition is given in the following Tablet, revealed in honor of the martyred Mírzá ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá (d. 1896):

In response to your question about the meaning of the terms ‘Aghsán’ and ‘Afnán’, when the Supreme Pen hath mentioned the Afnán, We have intended the descendants of the Primal Point. Verily, in this Dispensation, all have been summoned to the Most Exalted Horizon and guided to the Most Great Ocean. At the beginning of Our Days, a special prayer was revealed for the Afnán, which ordained that they would be faithful to the Manifestation of God and recognize Him. God willing, they will arise to fulfil what hath been decreed for them and will remain firm and steadfast in the Cause of God. Blessed are those whom We have called by this name, Afnán. Verily, the sweet fragrance of the All-Merciful hath been wafted from them. Moreover, We have established them as twigs of Our own Tree. Verily, this is Our favor upon them. We beseech God to protect them from the traces of the pen and the veils of knowledge. We have bestowed this gift on some in the Book, the contents of which are concealed from all save the Lord of Creation. Soon what hath been ordained for them by the Almighty, the All-knowing, will appear.⁴⁴¹
The term ‘Afnán’ is the plural of the word fanán, which in Arabic refers to a straight and verdant branch. In the Qur’án’s Surih of Rahmán (the Merciful), the term was used to describe the celestial dwelling of the righteous. This dwelling has two heavenly trees, one of which is called ‘the Afnán.’⁴⁴² Similarly, Islamic Traditions refer to a firm branch.⁴⁴³

The first genealogy of the Báb’s family was offered at the beginning of The Dawn-Breakers by Shoghi Effendi. The following table provides an extension of that genealogy for the Afnán family. It is followed by a biographical outline. I am grateful to Abú’l-Qasim Afnán, Hasan Afnán, Firdaws Afnán, and Maryam Rabbani for their generous help in preparing it.

Descendants of Áqá Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad
Note:

The individual designation number given in pointed brackets, < >. If the spouse was also a member of the Afnán family, then their designation number follows “m”, as in, m<24>.

The following is a brief biographical sketch of the consanguineous members of the Afnán family who are mentioned in this volume or are of some other historical interest.⁴⁴⁴ The notes are in numerical order and use the same numbering system as the genealogy chart.

<1> Mírzá ‘Abid: A son of Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad. He was known as Mírzá Zaynu’l-‘Abidín.
<2> Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad Husayn: The Báb’s maternal grandfather.
<3> Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí: He was a wholesale merchant involved in importing and exporting through Shíráz and its port of Búshihr. He was married to Hájíyyih Bíbí.
<4> Fátimih Bagum: The mother of the Báb. She came from a well-known and highly respected cloth merchant family in Shíráz that traced its ancestry to Imám Husayn. She married Siyyid Muhammad-Ridá, a member of another merchant family from Shíráz. They had several children who did not survive. The only child to live to adulthood was Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, the Báb<12>, who was born on 20 October 1819. When Fátimih Bagum’s husband died a few years later, she went to live in the house of her brother, Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí<7>, who acted as her Son’s guardian. In 1842, she arranged for the marriage of her Son to Khadíjih Bagum<9> and lived with them in their House.

When the Báb first put forward His claim in 1844, Fátimih Bagum did not immediately become a believer, although her brother, Hájí Siyyid Mírzá Muhammad, influenced her to hold a sympathetic view of the movement.⁴⁴⁵ She was greatly distressed by the way Husayn Khán, the governor of Shíráz, treated her Son and by the raid that officials made on their House. When the Báb left Shíráz for Isfahán in October 1846, the people and government officials of the city continued to harass the family.

According to Nabíl A‘zam, before the Báb left Shíráz, He prepared His will and bequeathed the estate to His mother and His wife, with the whole reverting to His wife, Khadíjih Bagum, when His mother died.⁴⁴⁶

News of her Son reached Fátimih Bagum only sporadically. When He was executed in Tabríz in 1850, the family kept the news from her for more than a year. The grief of the news and the hostility of friends and some family members finally caused her to move to Karbalá in Rabí‘u’l-Avval AH 1268 [December 1851]. She took with her: Hájí Mubárak, the Ethiopian servant of the Báb purchased in Búshihr; Bíbí Gawhar, aunt of the Múvaqqari’d-Dawlih<99>; and her own mother.⁴⁴⁷ Later, Hájí ‘Abdu’l-Majíd and his wife, who were both Bábís, joined her. During this period, the family worried about her living in the ‘Atabát and, on at least one occasion, Khajídih Bagum considered visiting her. When she consulted Bahá’u’lláh about this, He said: “In response to your note stating that the mother of the Exalted One, may the spirit of all be a sacrifice to Him, wants you to travel to that land [Karbalá], know that this is most pleasing. Should you undertake this journey, it will assuredly be a source of happiness for her.”⁴⁴⁸

Up to this time, Fátimih Bagum was not a Bábí. Mírzá Habíbu’lláh<71> reports Bahá’u’lláh’s stating that Mírzá Yahyá Azal’s action in marrying the Báb’s second wife drove Fátimih Bagum away from accepting the Faith. While Bahá’u’lláh was in Baghdad, He arranged for the wife of Hájí ‘Abdu’l-Majíd and for Hájí Siyyid Javád Karbalá’í, an old friend of Fátimih Bagum’s family, to speak to her about the Faith.⁴⁴⁹ Eventually, she became a believer. She continued to live in Karbalá until her death in about 1881.

In the Qayyumu’l-Asmá’, Surih 28, the Báb refers to Fátimih Bagum as Ummu’l-Mu’minin [mother of the believers] and Ummu’dh-Dhikr [mother of the Remembrance]. Bahá’u’lláh refers to her as Khayru’n-Nisa [the best of women] and forbids all others, except Khadíjih Bagum, from adopting this title.⁴⁵⁰

One of the objectives of the Ten Year Crusade was to locate the grave of Fátimih Bagum. Thus far, the Iraq Bahá’ís have not been able to do so.
<5> Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad: The oldest of the Báb’s maternal uncles and the recipient of the Kitáb-i Íqán. He was also known as Khál Akbar [great uncle].

Khál Akbar was born in 1798 and was a merchant. His wife, Hájíyyih Bíbí Fátimih-Sáhib, was a daughter of Hájí Muhammad-Muhsin and a member of another prominent merchant family trading in Shíráz and Búshihr. Khál Akbar ran the family office in Búshihr. The Báb was closely associated with him during the first four years He worked as a merchant there.

Several years before the Báb’s declaration, Khál Akbar was concerned that the Báb’s preoccupation with religious matters would create problems. Later, he met Mullá ‘Alí Bastámí, whom the Báb had sent as a messenger, and began to have a change of heart. The Báb stayed with him when He passed through Búshihr on His pilgrimage journey. On His return, the Báb stayed with him once more, arriving on 15 May 1845 and staying for 10 days before leaving for Shíráz. It seems that during this time the uncle recognized in the Báb unrivalled spiritual powers. When Khál Akbar returned to Shíráz, he fell under the suspicion attached to all members of the Báb’s family, despite his outward protestations of orthodoxy.

In the late 1850s, the young Áqá Mírzá Áqá<24> began urging Khál Akbar to renew his commitment to the Bábí Faith and accept the Báb as the promised Qá’im. Since his sister, the Báb’s mother, was living in Karbalá, he agreed to visit Bahá’u’lláh while passing through Baghdad. He was received by Bahá’u’lláh in early January 1861. At Bahá’u’lláh’s request, he wrote out the questions that disturbed him about why the Báb had not literally fulfilled Islamic prophecies.⁴⁵¹ Over the next two days and nights, Bahá’u’lláh revealed the Kitáb-i Íqán in reply. After this, Khál Akbar became fully aware of the Báb’s station.

He became a Bahá’í in 1867 when Nabíl came to Shíráz with news of Bahá’u’lláh’s claim to be “Him Whom God will make manifest.” He passed away in Shíráz in 1876 and was immortalized with a Tablet of Visitation revealed by Bahá’u’lláh.⁴⁵²
<6> Hájí Mírzá Hasan-‘Alí: The youngest of the Báb’s maternal uncles. He was known as Khál Asghar [youngest uncle]. He lived in Yazd and traded on the family’s behalf in eastern Iran. He married Hájíyyih Bíbí Gawhar, the daughter of Hájí ‘Abdu’r-Rasul Shírází,⁴⁵³ another Shíráz merchant.

He remained unsympathetic to his Nephew’s movement for many years. Although he accompanied his brother to Iraq, he refused to meet Bahá’u’lláh. He was finally converted in the late 1860s through the concerted efforts of several famous Bahá’í teachers: Muhammad-Ibráhím Muballigh, Nabíl Akbar, and Mullá Sádiq Khurásání. He died in Yazd but was buried in Karbalá. The location of his grave is not known.

<7> Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí: The second of the Báb’s maternal uncles. He was born at the turn of the 19th century. Although in terms of age he was the second of the maternal uncles, he was referred to as Khál A‘zam [most great uncle]. This was because of his devotion to the Báb and spiritual attainments. He is best known for being the Báb’s guardian and one of the Seven Martyrs of Tihrán.

He was a well-traveled merchant, prominent in the business community, and respected for his piety. He and his two brothers carried on a business importing from and exporting to India. He was married to a maternal half-sister of Khadíjih Bagum, who was known in the family as ‘Ammih Hájí.⁴⁵⁴ When the Báb’s father died, Khál A‘zam assumed the guardianship of the Báb and His mother. He was very attached to his Nephew and reared Him in his own home with a great deal of attention. Seeing that his Nephew had no particular interest in formal studies, he put Him in charge of the family’s trading office in Búshihr. He later traveled to Karbalá to try to persuade the Báb to return home.

Vakílu’d-Dawlih<13> notes that around 1840, Siyyid ‘Alí retired from the business world and joined the messianic rank of those who anticipated the appearance of the Qá’im. This may well have been due to his Shaykhí proclivities. However, there is also evidence that he continued his trading activities into 1845.

Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí became a Bábí in June 1845 through the efforts of Quddús, whom the Báb had sent ahead of Him to Shíráz after His pilgrimage. When the Báb returned to Shíráz under arrest, Khál A‘zam approached the governor and stood as surety for the Báb to obtain His release. During the remainder of the Báb’s stay in Shíráz, He sometimes lived in His uncle’s house. When the Báb was arrested in October 1846, Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí was beaten so severely that he was bedridden for three months.

After the Báb left Shíráz, Khál A‘zam tried to shield the Báb’s wife and mother from the news of His imprisonment and sufferings. When he received news of the Báb’s transfer to Chihríq and His trial and beating with the bastinado, he set out to see the Báb once more. He left in 1848, going first to Yazd, where he settled his business accounts with his brother, Hájí Mírzá Hasan-‘Alí, and entrusted the Báb’s business capital to him. He eventually reached Chihríq and stayed a short time with the Báb but was soon forced to leave. He went to Qazvín and then traveled to Mazandarán in order to join the Bábís at Shaykh Tabarsí.⁴⁵⁵ However, the Tabarsí conflict had ended by the time he reached Bárfurúsh, so he went to Tihrán.

Khál A‘zam lived in the capital for a time at the house of Muhammad Big Chápárchí. Muhammad Big had been the commander of the Báb’s escort from Kulayn to Adharbayjan and had now become a believer. Khál A‘zam associated freely with the Bábís of Tihrán. Bahá’u’lláh’s brother, Mírzá Músá, warned him to leave in order to avoid arrest, but he made no attempt to avoid the danger and was among the prominent Bábís arrested in February 1850.

Mírzá Taqí Khán, the prime minister, interrogated Siyyid ‘Alí himself. Khál A‘zam refused to recant, saying that he had seen the wonders of the Prophets of the past in his Nephew and was willing and eager to face martyrdom on His behalf. He also rejected other offers to save himself by recanting. Before his execution in the Sabzih-Maydán, he took God as his witness that he was to die only for his faith, not for having committed any transgression. He was beheaded before a large crowd and became the first of the Seven Martyrs of Tihrán to die that day. The burial site of the Seven Martyrs is known as Maydán Amínu’s-Saltanih and is situated between the two gates of the city, ‘Abdu’l-A‘zím and Naw.

Khál A‘zam’s house in Shíráz was designated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. It belonged to the Bahá’í community until Bahá’í properties were seized during the Iranian revolution of 1979.

<8> Zahrá Bagum: Referred to in the Writings as ‘Ukht Haram’ [sister of the wife of the Báb]. In 1838–39, she married Áqá Mírzá Zaynu’l-‘Abidín, a paternal cousin of the Báb. She became a Bábí in the 1850s, after the conversion of her son, Áqá Mírzá Áqá<24>, and a Bahá’í about a decade later. She was very close to the wife of the Báb and was one of the few who dared to visit her during the difficult days after the Báb’s arrest in 1846. During this time, she was known to dress as a beggar and visit her sister’s House to lend her support. After her sister’s death in 1882, she moved into the Báb’s House in Shíráz and lived there until her own death in October 1889. On Bahá’u’lláh’s instructions, the custodians of the House of the Báb are chosen from her descendants. She was buried near Khadíjih Bagum.

Zahrá Bagum received many Tablets from Bahá’u’lláh, two of which are quoted below.

Ukht Haram.
The Wondrous, the Most Great!

O leaf! God willing, through the bounties of the Lord of Creation, thou wilt be attached to the divine Lote-Tree in all the worlds. Heavenly favors have been decreed for each one of you and will continue to surround thee. Praise to the Lord of Eternity that thou hast attained the greatest bounty, the recognition of the Most Great Beauty. By God’s leave, may thou always be engaged in praising the Merciful with the utmost spirit and joy….⁴⁵⁶

A second Tablet by Bahá’u’lláh in honor of Zahrá Bagum reads:
Sh[íráz]. The sacred leaf, the mother of the Afnán, upon her be the glory of God, the Most Glorious.
He is Governor over the Supreme Horizon!

O My leaf and mother of My Afnán, upon him rest forever the glory of God, and His bounty and His mercy, in both the heavens and the earth!

You have endured in the path of God that which hath caused the hearts of the denizens of the cities of justice and equity to be filled with sorrow. Yet, since all that occurred was sustained in the path of God, then it is very important and best to be patient and forbearing.

The exalted leaf⁴⁵⁷—upon her rest the glory of God, His mercy, and His bounties—and thine esteemed self, have always been in our thoughts and will always remain so. I swear by the supreme Day-Star, Which is evident and manifest over the horizon of the Most Great Prison, that what hath been ordained for the Afnáns is such that naught besides can compare with it.

The world testifies to its own evanescence. Every discerning person can readily and at all times see the world’s impermanence, and every ear can hear its cry and lamentation.

The station that the Supreme Pen hath decreed for the Afnáns is the remembrance of God, His praise, and teaching of His Cause to a prescribed degree. No other station is greater than this. What hath been revealed in the Tablets is such that the entire world cannot be compared to one word of it….⁴⁵⁸

<9> Khadíjih Bagum: The wife of the Báb. She is occasionally referred to as Khadíjih-Sultán Bagum.

Khadíjih Bagum was a cousin of the Báb’s mother. Marriages to cousins are common in many Muslim countries because they are believed to strengthen family ties. Khadíjih Bagum’s mother was Hájíyyih Bíbí, a native of Jahrum. Her first marriage was to Áqá Muhammad-Taqí and, from this marriage she had a son named Muhammad-Mihdí Hijjab and a daughter named Hájíyyih Bíbí Ján-Ján, who later married Khál A‘zam. Khadíjih Bagum’s father, Áqá Mírzá ‘Alí<3>, was a wholesale merchant involved in importing and exporting through Shíráz and its port of Búshihr. His residence was located in the Bazaar Murgh quarter.⁴⁵⁹

As explained in previous chapters, Bahá’u’lláh bestowed the custodianship of the House of the Báb on Khadíjih Bagum:
Bahá’u’lláh.
In the Name of God, the Ruler, the Wise, the Ever-present Fashioner of the heavens and the earth.

O you the near ones in Sh[íráz]! Under all conditions, the Supreme Pen hath testified and always will: God is Single, the One, the Almighty, the All-powerful, the All-conquering, the Omnipotent. He doeth as He pleaseth and ordaineth whatever He willeth. He is the Compassionate, the Generous!

We have bestowed the custodianship of the Blessed House upon the exalted leaf, the wife of the Primal Point, and her sister, upon them rest the glory of God and His mercy and His favor. God hath granted the custodianship for this House. Verily, He is adorned with the robe of generosity and hath fixed His seal on this command, for He is the Almighty, the Beloved. From her Lord, the Merciful, this honor and benevolence hath been bestowed upon the sister and her descendants. He is the Munificent and the Compassionate, and He is the Generous and the Bounteous.⁴⁶⁰
A Tablet was revealed shortly after the passing of Khadíjih Bagum.⁴⁶¹ It is dated 17 Muharram AH 1300 (28 November 1882) and is addressed to Núri’d-Dín.⁴⁶² It indicates that while Khadíjih Bagum was sending her final letter to Bahá’u’lláh, the Supreme Pen was in spiritual commune with her and was responding to her message:
…I beseech Thee, O Possessor of all names and Creator of the heavens, to ordain for Thy Afnán⁴⁶³ that which will protect him from all else besides Thee, and to bestow upon him a measure of Thy patience and to enable him to attain that which is worthy of Thy Days. Thou art the All-mighty, the All-knowing, the All-informed.

Even though the calamitous news of her passing hath set every limb and organ aflame, yet these days are the Days of the Manifestation, and patience must be observed in all situations. This hath been revealed by the One Who is to be obeyed. May the Almighty God adorn all with the robe of His patience. He is sufficient unto all creation.

Praise be to God! Several months ago, a special Tablet was revealed from the heaven of the divine will in honor of the exalted leaf, the most esteemed lady and the most melodious song.⁴⁶⁴ This servant [Mírzá Áqá Ján] was lost in thought over what was revealed, yet asked no questions because of His manifest might and sovereignty. A while ago, instructions were issued for a clean copy of that sacred and most holy Tablet to be prepared and sent. Now, considering the content of her letter, it hath become clear that at the same time as she was writing her letter, a response was being revealed from the heaven of divine favor.
Bahá’u’lláh was greatly disappointed about what had led to Khadíjih Bagum’s untimely death. He revealed the following for Núri’d-Dín on 4 Rabí‘u’l-Avval AH 1301 (3 January 1884):
The honored Afnáns,⁴⁶⁵ upon them rest all My glory, the Most Glorious, arrived in Beirut and, afterwards, by Our leave, gradually and individually arrived here. Having entered the canopy of Our favors and might, one by one they returned. Regarding what had happened, they stated that their plan was that, after arriving in Beirut, Siyyid ‘Alí would return to Sh[íráz] to accompany the exalted leaf to this land of God. They stated that they had designed the plan in this way because they feared going to Sh[íráz] any earlier might provoke the foes and enemies to act and prevent all from attaining Our presence. It was even asserted that, despite such caution, the enemies caused disturbances along the way; but creation, protection, and liberty are all in the hands of God, and He is the All-bountiful, the All-generous. In short, such excuses were heard from one after another. But the Lord hath knowledge of all things; He is the All-knowing, the All-informed.

Nevertheless, it would have been best [if they had] carried out the wishes of the illustrious exalted leaf, as this was most pleasing and acceptable to God; but it was otherwise ordained. The One True God is My witness! Our heart hath melted in agony that she was deprived of this pilgrimage, and all the dwellers under the tabernacle of purity and might are most sorrowful and despondent. At one point, the Tongue of Grandeur spoke these exalted words: “O ‘Abd-i Hadir![ever-present servant] The effect of what hath happened may well appear on earth.” More recently, this utterance was spoken by His blessed Tongue: “Write to My Afnán [who had promised to escort the Báb’s wife] that we agreed and consented to the exalted leaf’s request. Currently, the honored persons continue to stand ready and prepared to fulfil that promise, though they have not spoken of it.” He further stated, “Write of this matter to the Afnán, upon him be the glory of God, as he was well aware of such a promise beforehand. We desired to fulfil what We had assured the exalted leaf.”⁴⁶⁶

It seems that there was considerable interest among certain Bahá’ís of Shíráz to serve as custodian of the resting-place of Khadíjih Bagum. In a Tablet dated 4 Rabí‘u’l-Avval AH 1301 (3 January 1884), Bahá’u’lláh informs Núri’d-Dín that a letter was recently received from Hájí Mírzá Haydar-‘Alí containing several requests that were all replied to. Bahá’u’lláh then states:
Further, he⁴⁶⁷ requested that the custodianship of the blessed shrine of the exalted leaf and the resting-place of the illustrious Afnán Kabír—that is, the celebrated Khál⁴⁶⁸—be given to Hájí Mírzá Fadlu’lláh. Hájí Mírzá Fadlu’lláh hath also petitioned for this, as have a few other near ones. After he attained Our presence and made the same request, the Tongue of the King of Creation uttered these sacred words: “All matters relating to the sacred leaf are to be referred to the honored Áqá Mírzá Áqá Afnán.”
In the following Tablet, the Master issued instructions about the sacredness of the resting-place of Khadíjih Bagum:
He is God.

Sh[íráz]. The illustrious Afnán of the sacred Lote-Tree planted on Sinai, upon him be the glory of God, the Most Glorious.

O Afnán of the Tree beyond which there is no passing and of the friends of the Blessed Beauty! The sacred House [of the Báb] and the point of adoration of the denizens of the Concourse on High must be protected and preserved with the greatest wisdom and looked after and cared for with exhaustive effort. This Servant is but one of the attendants of that Threshold. Therefore, consider how truly precious that pinnacle of divine veneration is in the Abhá Kingdom. All the inhabitants of Fars dwell under the shadow of that sanctified altar.

Concerning the sacred, fragrant, and resplendent sepulcher of the illustrious wife [of the Báb]—My spirit yearns to inhale the holy scent of that dust—you must protect it with the greatest care until the time when her shrine is built. On behalf of this Servant, the Afnán of the sacred Lote-Tree must circumambulate that sacred ground, where the spirit of the Sacred Ones circle in adoration, and visit that perfumed and sanctified resting-place.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás.⁴⁶⁹
When Khadíjih Bagum died, Bahá’u’lláh instructed Zahrá Bagum to live in the House of the Báb.