How I remember Amatul-baha Ruhiyyih khanun

How I remember Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum-- Written by kaveh hassankhani

It was an early month of 1980. I was a student and a pioneer in the city of Puebla, close to Mexico City. It was only 2 years I had come to Mexico from Iran. 
One of the professors of the university was an old American lady whose name was Dr. Edris Roshan Rice Wray. When I asked her how come she had a Persian name in the middle of her name, she said that the name was given to her by Abdul Baha when she was a little girl, in His visit to the United States.
So that’s how I learned that she was a Baha’i. Her father was Howard Colby Ives.
We became close friends and she offered to help me and other Baha’is in Puebla to run a fire side. We held those fire sides for 3 years almost, 3 nights a week in my house.
I did not know much Spanish then so she was the one who talked in those meetings.

One day Dr. Edris told me that a close friend of hers, a friend from early childhood was going to come to Mexico to visit the Baha'i Friends, and she would love to go a few hours earlier to see and chat with her before the conference began, Her childhood friend was Rouhiyye Khanum. She asked me if I could drive her car to go to Mexico city a few hours before the conference began. I was more than happy to do that as I could have more time to see Ruhiyyeh Khanum.
So I drove the 2 hours trip to Mexico City and reached the hotel where Amat’u’lbaha was staying.
Mexico city was a big giant city and I had no idea how to get there,but Dr. Edris Roshan knew it well and guided me over. I parked by the hotel and I went with Dr. Edris to the room which was on the 4th or 5th floor.
Dr. Knocked and Mrs. Nakhjavani who accompanied Ruhiyyeh Khanum opened the door. Dr. Edris went in and hugged and kissed her old friend, and I was left at the door speechless. She noticed I could not speak and in sweet Persian called me and asked me to get in . All I could say was Allah’u’abha and could not say anything else.
Then I noticed that the friends wanted to chat and talk about old times, and I told Dr. Edris that I would wait downstairs by the car.
When I got to the car, I saw a police officer around the car figuring whose car was it.
“What seems to be the problem officer?”, I asked. He told me that the car could not be there and needed to be parked somewhere else. I told him that the owner was upstairs with Ruhiyye khanum and they would soon come down to go to a place where Ruhiyye khanum could hold a conference for the Baha’is of Mexico.
He looked curious and said who Ruhiyye khanum was and what was ‘Baha’is’?
Through the fire sides I had had in my house I had learned how to introduce the Faith in Spanish so gave him a brief introduction of the Faith and he was listening. But he said that he had to give a ticket or tow the car if I did not move it. I told him that Ruhiyye Khanum was a very prominent person of the Baha’i Faith and is coming from the Holy land just for this conference and if he did that his name would go in the history as a policeman who gave a ticket to the car carrying her.
We were in that discussion when suddenly the 3 ladies apeared and I told him. Look there she comes. This is Ruhiyye khanum. She was wearing an Indian Sari, and looked so beautiful and gorgeous in that outfit.
The police man who was writing the ticket just closed his book and remained surprised and stunned of her presence. He asked me where was she going to hold the confernce? I went to ask Dr. Edris about the conference address. She gave it to me and she asked what was with the Police officer? What was he saying? I told her I would explain on the way to the conference site.
The policeman called on his radio for another police man to go with a motorcycle to help him to escort us because an international personality was there and he wanted to help her out.
In a minute another motorcycle with an officer showed up and the officer told me to follow them because it was far and we might get lost.
So I followed them who were riding ahead of us with their sirens on, opening the dense traffic and I drove fast behind them.Everybody was looking at us, thinking "who were those people that the police was escorting?"
Then Ruhiyye khanum asked me what had happened and I told her that "we were going to get a ticket for bad parking but when the cop saw her he refrained and instead, decided to escort us. It must have been the impression of your presence." She said that it was a help from Baha’u’llah.
On our arrival to the site of the conference, both officers got out of their bikes and gave a military salute to Ruhiyye khanum and bade farewell. Ruhiyye khanum waved at them and said Thank you and good bye.
This is a story I can never forget when I first met Ruhiyye khanum, and I was thinking “what else could it have been but help from Baha’u’llah? You get it when you less expecte it?”