Rúhíyyih Khanum

Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum was an American-born Canadian Hand of the Cause of the Baháʼí Faith. She was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, who, in accordance with the Will and Testament of his grandfather ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, was appointed to the station of Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. He become the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith between 1921 and 1957. Appointed as a Hand of the Cause in 1952, her primary responsibility was to expand and protect the global Baháʼí community. In this capacity, she was among the leading Hands of the Cause who, following Effendi's death in 1957, took on the role of ensuring the transfer of the religion's supreme legal authority to the Universal House of Justice, which has governed out of Haifa, Israel, since 1963.