One of the greatest relationships in all of human history is surely the relationship between Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, and Bahiyyih Khanum, his great-aunt, known as The Greatest Holy Leaf.
Bahiyyih Khanum, The Greatest Holy Leaf
Photograph © 2010 Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette
Used by permission
The beauty of this relationship is shown in this tribute which Shoghi Effendi wrote following her passing in 1932.
In addition, Marjory Morten wrote an essay about the Greatest Holy Leaf which was published in Volume V of The Baha'i World:
There are three excellent books about the Greatest Holy Leaf. The first is "Bahiyyih Khanum: The Greatest Holy Leaf," published by George Ronald and available from the US Baha'i Publishing Trust, and also available as a free download on the Baha'i Reference site at the Baha'i World Centre. This book contains the Writings of Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi about the Greatest Holy Leaf, and an extensive collection of her own letters and prayers. The second is "Prophet's Daughter: The Life and Legacy of Bahiyyih Khanum," by Janet Khan, available from the U.S. Baha'i Publishing Trust. It is a superb examination of the character and life of service of the Greatest Holy Leaf. The third is Marzieh Gail's monograph, "Khanum, the Greatest Holy Leaf," available from George Ronald. Mrs. Gail, an exceptional Baha'i author and translator (many of her translations are in the first book listed in this paragraph) had the advantage of meeting and spending time with the Greatest Holy Leaf.
Another wonderful book that includes a chapter about the Greatest Holy Leaf is Jacqueline Mehrabi's "Immortal Heroines" available from George Ronald.
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Thank you for this wonderful entry. Story telling is a strategy that is very near and dear to me, as I grew up at a time when Bahai books were rare and hard to come by, in the Middle East. For me and my siblings story telling was the bread of life which my parents used that not only sustained us, but it preserved a wonderful heritage for future generations; a heritage I have been recording for the past almost 4 years.
ReplyDeleteThanks again
hossein
THANK YOU Brent as always for yet another fantastic job; we truly love and appreciate all your wonderful services to The Blessed Beauty and humanity;
ReplyDeletehow blessed we are to have met you and be among your list of friends.
Yes, this was wonderful!
ReplyDeleteam falling in love with story telling and the Master's example of how to do it!! thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this wonderful and informative post!
ReplyDeleteI can't seem to get to the full size version of the final page of Marjory Morten's essay. Could you re-upload it?
Yes, I just noticed that myself, and have corrected it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. If you have any more problems contact me:
ReplyDeletepoirier dot brent at gmail dot com
Dear friend, it is very nice to learn about this great blog about the stories of the Faith! Do you have a FB page, which is maybe easy to get access? I tried to subscribe to your blog through yahoo, but it seems it is not working. With loving Bahai greetings from Mongolia, Erdenechimeg
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