Ásíyih K͟hánum (‎ 18201886) was the wife of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. She is also known by her titles of Navváb, the Most Exalted Leaf, Búyúk K͟hánum or Hadrat-i-K͟hánum. K͟hánum is a title usually given to a Persian lady and is equivalent to madam. Baháʼu'lláh and Ásíyih Khánum were known as the Father of the Poor and the Mother of Consolation for their extraordinary generosity and regard for the impoverished. Baháʼu'lláh, along with Ásíyih Khánum and her children, are regarded as the Baháʼí holy family. Background Ásíyih Khánum was born Ásíyih Yalrúdí the only daughter of Mírzá Ismáʼíl Yalrúdí, an aristocrat and minister in the Qajar court in the village of Yal Rud in Mazandaran. She had one brother Mírzá Mahmúd who did not become a follower of Bábism nor of the Baháʼí Faith. The Yalrúdí family were high-ranking nobility, and Ásíyih was raised in extraordinary privilege. As a girl she was well-educated and was able to read and write in her native Persian as well Arabic. Marriage 1832 her eldest brother, Mírzá Mahmúd, married an elder sister of Baháʼu'lláh; Sarah. Sarah was very close to Baháʼu'lláh and was gratified with evidence of young Ásíyih’s beauty, piety and kindness. She quickly devised a plan to marry the two together. Mírzá ʻAbbás Núrí accepted – perhaps enticed by the huge dowry which included three servants, large piece of land, property and a sum of money. The betrothal was then made official, but was delayed until Ásíyih came of age. In October 1835, the fifteen-year-old Ásíyih Khánum married Baháʼu'lláh in a grand and sumptuous ceremony with the buttons on Ásíyih Khánum's clothes as jewels. These jewels were later sold to provide for food for the family during the persecution of Bábís in 1852. According to Baháʼí sources, Ásíyih and Baháʼu'lláh occupied themselves with philanthropy. She was known as the “Mother of Consolation” for her charity work among the destitute of Tehran. The marriage resulted in seven children: Kázim, Sádiq, ʻAbbás, ʻAlí-Muhammad, Bahíyyih, Mihdí, and ʻAlí-Muhammad. Only three survived to adulthood all of whom were deeply loyal to their mother. Ásíyih Khánum was very close to her children, and took active participation in their upbringing especially that of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. The Núrí family lived in the capital Tehran and Mazandaran in the summer months – the norm of upper-class Persian families. As a Bábí In 1844, Baháʼu'lláh heard of a new