Khalifatul-Masih IV — Page 2
hazrat rta 2 a half years old. The Promised Messiah as asked for Maryam’s hand in marriage with Mubarak Ahmad ra and Hazrat Dr Abdus-Sattar Shah ra happily accepted the proposal. Hence, the nikah or marriage cere- mony was held on 30 August 1907. Islamic law allows such a nikah or marriage in which the bride and groom are children. When they attain adulthood, they may proceed with the marriage or end it if they wish. 1 Hazrat Hakeem Maulana Noor-ud-Deen ra , who would later be elected as Khalifatul-Masih I, announced the nikah of Sayyadah Maryam and Mirza Mubarak Ahmad. However, God Almighty willed something else. A few days after the nikah on 16 September 1907, Mirza Mubarak Ahmad ra passed away and Sayyadah Maryam became a widow at the age of two and a half years. The Promised Messiah as expressed a desire for her to stay in his fam- ily. Praise God! How He fulfilled the words of the Promised Messiah as. About fourteen years later, on 7 February 1921, Hazrat Mirza Bashir- ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad ra , another son of the Promised Messiah as , married Hazrat Sayyadah Maryam and brought her into his home. Hazrat Sayyadah Maryam was once again given the great honour of