Guest Author - Lisa Schaffer-Harris

Amatu’l Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum: Hand of the Cause of God and Beloved Wife of the Guardian

Amatu’l Baha Ruhhiyih Khanum was born as Mary Sutherland Maxwell on August 8, 1910 in New York City. She was the long awaited child of May Bolles Maxwell and her husband, Sutherland Maxwell, prominent Baha’is in the newly emerging North American Baha’i Community. The Maxwells had been married for some time, but did not have any children. They had been instrumental in spreading the teachings of Baha’u’llah throughout the United States and Canada, and had been on pilgrimage to the Holy Land not long before little Mary’s birth. It was on their pilgrimage to the Holy Land that May Maxwell had been holding one of Abdul Baha’s infant grandchildren lovingly, and Abdul Baha, the son of Baha’u’llah and the Center of His Covenant, asked May Maxwell if she would like a child. Abdul Baha told her she had not had a child because she was chosen to be a handmaiden of God and to serve the Faith, but he also told her that it was her choice. May stated that she would love to have a child; however, ultimately she wanted whatever God chose for her. Abdul Baha replied that she had made the best choice and that he would pray for her. Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the answer to that prayer.

Mary’s parents moved to Montreal, Canada when she was still very young. She had some formal education, but she described it as patchy at best. Spiritual education is what her mother deemed to be the most important. In 1912, when Mary was about 2 years old, Abdul Baha visited the United States and Canada was able to meet May and Sutherland Maxwell’s precious child. When Mary was 12, she made her first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This would be the first time she would meet Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith. Many years later, in 1937, Shoghi Effendi would surprise her with a marriage proposal. She continued to serve the Baha’i Faith now in a completely new capacity as the consort of the Beloved Guardian.

In addition to her new role, Shoghi Effendi presented Mary Sutherland Maxwell with a new name: Amatu’l Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. Shoghi Effendi would later also give her the honored title of Hand of the Cause of God. Central figures of the Faith, have presented this title to Baha’is who had worked tirelessly and selflessly in service of the Faith.

Shoghi Effendi and Ruhiyyih Khanum did not have any children; therefore, when Shoghi Effendi passed away unexpectedly in 1957, Ruhiyyih Khanum not only had a personal crisis to manage, but also had to deal with the earth shattering devastation that occurred within the world wide Baha’i community. Shoghi Effendi had died without a will, and without a designated successor as Guardian of the Baha’i Faith. Ruhiyyih Khanum and the other Hands of the Cause of God also had to deal with the anxiety and confusion that this circumstance created. There was a risk of a schism because of what was happening, but Ruhiyyih Khanum was a true leader in these dark times, helping to steer the Baha’is toward a democratically elected governing institution, preordained by Baha’u’llah in the Kitab-i-aqdas, which represented the entire Baha’i community: the Universal House of Justice.

In 1963, more than 4 years after Shoghi Effendi’s passing, the first Universal House of Justice was elected. Ruhiyyih Khanum, rather than take a vacation continued to work often to the point of exhaustion in service to the Baha’i Faith. She visited communities in North America, Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia.

I had the privilege of a personal meeting with her outside the Shrine of Baha’u’llah during my pilgrimage in December of 1995. My inclination was to run up to her and give her a huge hug; however, she looked very delicate and fragile and needed help to ascend the stairs to the Shrine. She looked at me and smiled and said, “hello.” I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, and thank her for all her sacrifices she had made for the Baha’i Faith, but somehow, all I could manage, was “hello” back to her. I hope the smile on my eager young face revealed the thoughts I just could not seem to articulate at that particular moment.

Amatu’l Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum left this world, and was reunited with her beloved Shoghi Effendi, on January 19th, 2000. She was 89 years old. She passed away in the City of Haifa, Israel near the Shrine of the Bab.