My Memories of Bahá'u'lláh
by Ustád Muhammad-Alíy Salmání the barber
with a selection of his poems, translated by M.Gail.
Kalimát Press, U.S.A. 1982, ISBN: 0-933770-21-9.
Translation of his manuscript with a foreward by A. Banani, Selected Love Poems, Biographical Notes, Appendixes, Reference and Bibliography. His memoirs are direct, colloquial and informative.
"...I was about eleven when His Holiness the Primal Point [The Báb] came to Isfahan... the Imám Jum'ih was a highly esteemed man, and that Lord Supreme arrived at this person's house. In the beginning, there was not much of an uproar about it: the word went out that ... [The Báb] could handle his pen with amazing speed-to such a degree that when he would take hold of a corner of paper he would cover it so rapidly with script that when he got to the end of the page the first part of it was not yet dry..."

From the chapter: Remembering Edirne "For about two months [in 1866] the Blessed Beauty shut His doors, and His purpose was that all those who were loyal should stand by Him, and all who wished to leave Him should go their way... Then the doors were flung open...that afternoon we gathered in a body at the House... He Himself was seated by the samovar and poured out the tea. Such a thing had never happened before or since, that He Himself would pour the tea. As for us, as soon as we laid eyes on that blessed Form we cried...afterward He Himself rented a house for us, near to His own, and we believers settled there, and all was bliss..."

Ásíyih Khánum - The Most Exalted Leaf (entitled Navváb)
by Baharieh Rouchani Ma'ani,
George Ronald, Oxford, U.K. 1993, ISBN: 0-85398-353-4. This biography includes memories by her children along with some background information.".. Suddenly and hurriedly a servant came rushing in great distress to my mother. 'The master, the master, he is arrested - I have seen him! He has walked many miles! Oh they have beaten him! They say he has suffered the torture of the bastinado! His feet are bleeding! ... There are chains uponhis neck!'
My poor mother's face grew whiter and white.. all our relations and friends and servants fled from our house in terror only one manservant, Isfandíyár remained, and one woman... furniture, treasures all were stolen by the people... " To protect Isfandíyár from the wrath... to forestall any unforeseen consequences... Ásíyih Khánum sent him away... "...My noble father was hurled into this black hole, loaded with heavy chains... No food was provided and it was with the utmost difficulty that my mother was able to arrange to get any food or drink taken into that prison..." pages 26 -28.

In His Presence - Visits to `Abdu'l-Bahá
Memoirs of Roy Wilhem, Stanwood Cobb and Genevieve L. Coy. Kalimát Press, U.S.A., 1989. ISBN: 0-933770-71-5
Memories from 1907- 20 of their visits to Haifa and of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit in the U.S. in 1912.

KHÁNUM - The Greatest Holy Leaf
as remembered by Marzieh Gail,
George Ronald, Oxford, U.K. 1982, ISBN: 0-85398-113-2. Snipbits of her life. "When she was only a teenager, He [Bahá'u'lláh] entrusted important missions to her... What particularly remains in memory about Khánum is her quiet, brief sentences, voiced as if in confidence and shared with you as a friend..."

Munírih Khánum - Memoirs and Letters
translated by Sammireh Anwar Smith,
Kalimát Press, U.S.A., 1986, ISBN: 0-933770-51-0. Some anecdotes from her father, her uncle, the widow of the Bab, and her own memories of daily life up until 1871, then a collection of her letters from 1921 onwards.

Táhirih - Born Fátimih Zarrin Taj Baraghani Umm-Salamih in Qazvin in 1814. Under her father and uncles, she completed elementary studies in theology, jurisprudence, and literary sciences, surpassing many of her father’s students. In spite of her promising literary and poetic talent she was married, as was the custom, at 14 years to a cousin. She then lived with him in Karbala (now Iraq) for almost 13 years, giving birth to four children. She continued to read and to study privately and came into contact with Shaykhi writings, which created a rift between herself and her husband. The marriage deteriorated further on their move back to Qazvin, where she had some support for her Shaykhi views from some uncles, and her father objected but did not stop her from leaving her husband and two of her children in 1843. She travelled to Karbala with her sister arriving in 1844 where on reading the writings of the Báb, immediately declared her belief that he was a prophet of God. "Holding regular gatherings... she spoke to large audiences from behind a curtain. In the inner quarters she also held classes for women. Her personality, theological knowledge, and mastery of Arabic impressed Arabs and Persians alike… The Qurratiya, as her followers came to be known in Iraq, were successful in transmitting her message to the Shi'ite public beyond Karbala, thus causing excitement... and anxiety for the Shaykhi and Usuli leaders alike... (Her) debate was based on Shaykhi ideas, but with a distinct messianic overtone... The fact that she had her own views contradictory to the Islamic law and legal injunctions, combined with the fact that she adopted certain ascetic practices like devotional prayers, and eschewing meat and cooked food, underscores her independent religious stance. Clearly, her commitment to the Báb provided her with a framework... The surviving examples of Qurrat al-Ayn's works from this period testify to her skill in making use of the Qur'an and hadith for arguing the theme of progressive revelations..." (Resurrection and Renewal, by Abbas Amanat, Cornell University Press, U.S.A., 1989, pages 300 - 303, ISBN: 0-8014-2098-9)

Her progressive spirit and actions upset a number of the Bábís "December 1845, the annual month of mourning for Shi'ite martyrs... Ignoring the custom of wearing black... she herself dressed in color and appeared at the feast without wearing a veil. The open disregard for the Shi'ite mourning rites, even through performed at a gathering of Bábís, enraged some Bábí 'ulama... who still tended to see the Báb ... as the continuation of Shi'ite traditions... The Báb defended Qurrat al-'Ayn and her positions publicaly and unequivocally, entitling her Táhirih (the pure) to emphasize his disapproval of the charges of immorality. He not only approved of Qurrat al-'Ayn and her leadership over the Bábís of the 'Atabat but significantly aknowledged the progressive tendency in the movement even at the expense of losing some of the more traditionalist followers..." (ibid, pages 305 - 307)
She invited the Usuli mujtahids to an open debate and a mob attacks the house she is staying, resulting in her arrest in 1845. The Ottoman government releases her on the condition that she leaves Karbalá, which is a victory for the Shaykhis, Bábí conservatives and Usulis. She is in Baghdad until 1847, when she is ordered to travel to father's house in Qazvin. Her journey with her followers takes 3 months. She travels through Khurdish Iraq where villagers respond enthusiastically to her talks.
"The arrival of Qurrat al-'Ayn in Qazvin, accompanied by her brothers, after three years of residence in Iraq, again exposed her to family tensions and doctrinal conflicts, which had sharpened since her departure. She left as a Shaykhi devotee and had returnd as a Bábí leader... she was drawn into a series of events that led ultimately to the assassination of her uncle Mulla Muhammad Taqi by a militant Bábí and her subsequent flight from Qazvin - events that had their roots not only in the quarrels within the Baraghani family, but also in the ongoing factional disputes in Qazvin..." (ibid, page 316)
"The heightening of tension seems to have been related to rumours of Qurrat al-'Ayn 's alleged unchastity and immoral conduct. The stories originated in Qurrat al-'Ayn 's strong views on the need for abrogation of Islamic law particularly on the issue of unveiling in public... Her conversations with men were often conducted from behind a screen..." (ibid, page 320)
But in Bábí gatherings "...she felt secure in casting off her facial veil. Such an act, or even hints of its desirability, was considered an anathema of the gravest nature... the court chronicler, Sipihr...rendered a wildly ficticious account of "moonfaced" Qurrat al-'Ayn and her relations with the "wandering Bábís" long deprived of their homes and wives... Such allegations obviously were damaging to the Baraghanis' reputation... Nevertheless her father does not seem to have believed the rumours... In response to the sarcastic... "No glory remains in that house/From which the hens crow like cocks." Mulla Salih remained silent, tears running into his beard... "
(ibid, page 321 - 322)
But there were real fears from other family members and so in 1848 Bahá'u'lláh arranges her rescue to Tehran and then she travels to Badasht for the Bábí gathering in June-July. "The assembly of Badasht was the culmination of Qurrat al-'Ayn's Bábí career. Convinced of her own mission and free from family ties, she was more than ever determined to press home to the Bábí audience of her vision of religious independence and political revolt... she removed her veil in the middle of her speech to the Badasht gathering... One Isfahani zealot cut his own throat. Unrepenting, Qurrat al-'Ayn proclaimed to the gathering: "...Today all religious obligations are abrogated... "
(ibid, pages 324 - 326)
She lived in hiding in the Nur region for about a year until she was arrested. She was kept in the upper chamber of the house of Tehran's chief of police, until she was sentenced to death and strangled in Bagh Ilkhani in 1852.

• Táhirih A portrait in Poetry -original poems and translations and interpretations.
  Kalimat Press, 2004.
• Táhirih by Martha Root, -an eulogy to her life.
  re-published by Kalimat Press, 2001.
• Resurrection and Renewal, by Abbas Amanat, Cornell University Press, U.S.A., 1989. -has a chapter summarizing her life and her acts in their historical.
• A chapter by Moojan Momen in the 2003 issue of the U.K. published Bahá´í Studies Review examines Táhirih's family and background.