In the name of the Rose

MATA SALAMAT

1906 - 2000

In the serenity she loved and for which she be remembered, Om Habibeh, the Begum Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan

May Allah Rest her soul in Eternal Peace, Ameen.

The Begum, Om HabibehThe Last Legend of Love in the 20th Century

Mata Salamat was born on February 15, 1906

The eternal story of love between the Begum and Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah began and ended on the banks of the Nile.

The Begum first caught Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah's eye at a party hosted by an Egyptian aristocratic lady. The first smile exchanged between the Prince and Miss France was the first spark and letter in the most beautiful and last legend of love and faithfulness in the 20th century.

Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah conferred on the Begum the title of Mata Salamat or the Spiritual Mother. It is a holy title, bestowed only upon three Begums in 13 centuries.

Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah wrote: "If a perfectly happy marriage be one in which there is a genuine and complete union and understanding, on the spiritual, mental and emotional planes, ours is such."

On July 1st, 2000 at age of 94, Om Habibeh, the queen of beauty, love and hearts passed away. With her death, one of the most beautiful and delicate stories of love and passion in the 20th century came to an end, along with it one of the most noble story of endless giving, human compassion and kindness ever known by mankind in modern times.

Mata Salamat was buried beside Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah on whose tomb she had had a red rose laid daily for 43 years. The fresh red rose was laid at her tomb to be the best witness of the end of the most beautiful story of love in thetwentieth century.