Memorials of the Faithful

MEMORIALS OF THE FAITHFUL
(U.S., 1971)
Filename: MF.ZIP (FN)
Filedate: 02/19/94

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&Nabil-i-Akbar

There was, in the city of
Najaf, among the disciples
of the widely known mujtahid, &Shaykh &Murtada, a man
without likeness or peer. His name was &Aqa &Muhammad-i-Qa'ini,
and later on he would receive, from the Manifestation,
the title of &Nabil-i-Akbar.+F1 This eminent soul
became the leading member of the mujtahid's company of
disciples. Singled out from among them all, he alone was
given the rank of mujtahid--for the late &Shaykh &Murtada
was never wont to confer this degree.
He excelled not only in theology but in other branches
of knowledge, such as the humanities, the philosophy of
the Illuminati, the teachings of the mystics and of the
&Shaykhi School. He was a universal man, in himself alone
a convincing proof. When his eyes were opened to the
light of Divine guidance, and he breathed in the fragrances
of Heaven, he became a flame of God. Then his heart
leapt within him, and in an ecstasy of joy and love, he
roared out like leviathan in the deep.
With praises showered upon him, he received his new
rank from the mujtahid. He then left Najaf and came to
&Baghdad, and here he was honored with meeting &Baha'u'llah.
Here he beheld the light that blazed on Sinai in the
Holy Tree. Soon he was in such a state that he could rest
neither day nor night.

+F1 For the author of The Dawn-Breakers, see &Nabil-i-Zarandi.

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One day, on the floor of the outer apartments reserved
for the men, the honored &Nabil was reverently kneeling
in the presence of &Baha'u'llah. At that moment &Haji
&Mirza &Hasan-'Amu, a trusted associate of the mujtahids of
&Karbila, came in with &Zaynu'l-'Abidin &Khan, the &Fakhru'd-Dawlih.
Observing how humbly and deferentially &Nabil
was kneeling there, the &Haji was astonished.
"Sir," he murmured, "what are you doing in this place?"
&Nabil answered, "I came here for the same reason you
did."
The two visitors could not recover from their surprise,
for it was widely known that this personage was unique
among mujtahids and was the most favored disciple of the
renowned &Shaykh &Murtada.
Later, &Nabil-i-Akbar left for Persia and went on to &Khurasan.
The &Amir of &Qa'in--&Mir &Alam &Khan--showed him
every courtesy at first, and greatly valued his company. So
marked was this that people felt the &Amir was captivated
by him, and indeed he was spellbound at the scholar's eloquence,
knowledge, and accomplishments. One can judge,
from this, what honors were accorded to &Nabil by the rest,
for "men follow the faith of their kings."
&Nabil spent some time thus esteemed and in high favor,
but the love he had for God was past all concealing. It
burst from his heart, flamed out and consumed its coverings.

A thousand ways I tried
My love to hide--
But how could I, upon that blazing pyre
Not catch fire!

He brought light to the &Qa'in area and converted a
great number of people. And when he had become known
far and wide by this new name, the clergy, envious and

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malevolent, arose, and informed against him, sending their
calumnies on to &Tihran, so that &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah rose
up in wrath. Terrified of the &Shah, the &Amir attacked
&Nabil with all his might. Soon the whole city was in an uproar,
and the populace, lashed to fury, turned upon him.
That enraptured lover of God never gave way, but withstood
them all. At last, however, they drove him out--
drove out that man who saw what they did not--and he
went up to &Tihran, where he was a fugitive, and homeless.
Here, his enemies struck at him again. He was pursued
by the watchmen; guards looked everywhere for him,
asking after him in every street and alley, hunting him
down to catch and torture him. Hiding, he would pass by
them like the sigh of the oppressed, and rise to the hills;
or again, like the tears of the wronged, he would slip down
into the valleys. He could no longer wear the turban denoting
his rank; he disguised himself, putting on a layman's
hat, so that they would fail to recognize him and
would let him be.
In secret, with all his powers he kept on spreading the
Faith and setting forth its proofs, and was a guiding lamp
to many souls. He was exposed to danger at all times, always
vigilant and on his guard. The Government never
gave up its search for him, nor did the people cease from
discussing his case.
He left, then, for &Bukhara and &Ishqabad, continuously
teaching the Faith in those regions. Like a candle, he was
using up his life; but in spite of his sufferings he was never
dispirited, rather his joy and ardor increased with every
passing day. He was eloquent of speech; he was a skilled
physician, a remedy for every ill, a balm to every sore.
He would guide the Illuminati by their own philosophical
principles, and with the mystics he would prove the Divine
Advent in terms of "inspiration" and the "celestial

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vision." He would convince the &Shaykhi leaders by quoting
the very words of their late Founders, &Shaykh &Ahmad
and Siyyid &Kazim, and would convert Islamic theologians
with texts from the &Qur'an and traditions from the &Imams,
who guide mankind aright. Thus he was an instant medicine
to the ailing, and a rich bestowal to the poor.
He became penniless in &Bukhara and a prey to many
troubles, until at the last, far from his homeland, he died,
hastening away to the Kingdom where no poverty exists.
&Nabil-i-Akbar was the author of a masterly essay demonstrating
the truth of the Cause, but the friends do not
have it in hand at the present time. I hope that it will come
to light, and will serve as an admonition to the learned. It
is true that in this swiftly passing world he was the target
of countless woes; and yet, all those generations of powerful
clerics, those &shaykhs like &Murtada and &Mirza &Habibu'llah
and &Ayatu'llah-i-Khurasani and &Mulla &Asadu'llah-i-Mazandarani--
all of them will disappear without a trace.
They will leave no name behind them, no sign, no fruit.
No word will be passed down from any of them; no man
will tell of them again. But because he stood steadfast in
this holy Faith, because he guided souls and served this
Cause and spread its fame, that star, &Nabil, will shine forever
from the horizon of abiding light.
It is clear that whatever glory is gained outside the Cause
of God turns to abasement at the end; and ease and comfort
not met with on the path of God are finally but care
and sorrow; and all such wealth is penury, and nothing
more.
A sign of guidance, he was, an emblem of the fear of
God. For this Faith, he laid down his life, and in dying,
triumphed. He passed by the world and its rewards; he
closed his eyes to rank and wealth; he loosed himself from
all such chains and fetters, and put every worldly thought
aside. Of wide learning, at once a mujtahid, a philosopher,

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a mystic, and gifted with intuitive sight, he was also an accomplished
man of letters and an orator without a peer. He
had a great and universal mind.
Praise be to God, at the end he was made the recipient
of heavenly grace. Upon him be the glory of God, the All-Glorious.
May God shed the brightness of the &Abha Kingdom
upon his resting-place. May God welcome him into
the Paradise of reunion, and shelter him forever in the
realm of the righteous, submerged in an ocean of lights.


&Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq

Among the Hands of the
Cause of God who have
departed this life and ascended to the Supreme Horizon
was &Jinab-i-Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq. Another was &Jinab-i-Nabil-i-Akbar.
Still others were &Jinab-i-Mulla &Ali-Akbar and
&Jinab-i-Shaykh &Muhammad-Riday-i-Yazdi. Again, among
others, was the revered martyr, &Aqa &Mirza &Varqa.
&Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq was truly a servant of the Lord from
the beginning of life till his last breath. When young, he
joined the circle of the late Siyyid &Kazim and became one
of his disciples. He was known in Persia for his purity of
life, winning fame as &Mulla &Sadiq the saintly. He was a
blessed individual, a man accomplished, learned, and much
honored. The people of &Khurasan were strongly attached
to him, for he was a great scholar and among the most renowned

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of matchless and unique divines. As a teacher of
the Faith, he spoke with such eloquence, such extraordinary
power, that his hearers were won over with great ease.
After he had come to &Baghdad and attained the presence
of &Baha'u'llah, he was seated one day in the courtyard of
the men's apartments, by the little garden. I was in one of
the rooms just above, that gave onto the courtyard. At that
moment a Persian prince, a grandson of &Fath-'Ali &Shah, arrived
at the house. The prince said to him, "Who are you?"
&Ismu'llah answered, "I am a servant of this Threshhold. I
am one of the keepers of this door." And as I listened from
above, he began to teach the Faith. The prince at first objected
violently; and yet, in a quarter of an hour, gently
and benignly, &Jinab-i-Ismu'llah had quieted him down.
After the prince had so sharply denied what was said, and
his face had so clearly reflected his fury, now his wrath
was changed to smiles and he expressed the greatest satisfaction
at having encountered &Ismu'llah and heard what
he had to say.
He always taught cheerfully and with gaiety, and would
respond gently and with good humor, no matter how much
passionate anger might be turned against him by the one
with whom he spoke. His way of teaching was excellent.
He was truly &Ismu'llah, the Name of God, not for his
fame but because he was a chosen soul.
&Ismu'llah had memorized a great number of &Islamic traditions
and had mastered the teachings of &Shaykh &Ahmad
and Siyyid &Kazim. He became a believer in &Shiraz, in the
early days of the Faith, and was soon widely known as
such. And because he began to teach openly and boldly,
they hung a halter on him and led him about the streets
and &bazars of the city. Even in that condition, composed
and smiling, he kept on speaking to the people. He did
not yield; he was not silenced. When they freed him he
left &Shiraz and went to &Khurasan, and there, too, began

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to spread the Faith, following which he traveled on, in
the company of &Babu'l-Bab, to Fort &Tabarsi. Here he endured
intense sufferings as a member of that band of sacrificial
victims. They took him prisoner at the Fort and delivered
him over to the chiefs of &Mazindaran, to lead him
about and finally kill him in a certain district of that province.
When, bound with chains, &Ismu'llah was brought to
the appointed place, God put it into one man's heart to
free him from prison in the middle of the night and guide
him to a place where he was safe. Throughout all these
agonizing trials he remained staunch in his faith.
Think, for example, how the enemy had completely
hemmed in the Fort, and were endlessly pouring in cannon
balls from their siege guns. The believers, among them
&Ismu'llah, went eighteen days without food. They lived on
the leather of their shoes. This too was soon consumed,
and they had nothing left but water. They drank a mouthful
every morning, and lay famished and exhausted in
their Fort. When attacked, however, they would instantly
spring to their feet, and manifest in the face of the enemy
a magnificent courage and astonishing resistance, and drive
the army back from their walls. The hunger lasted eighteen
days. It was a terrible ordeal. To begin with, they
were far from home, surrounded and cut off by the foe;
again, they were starving; and then there were the army's
sudden onslaughts and the bombshells raining down and
bursting in the heart of the Fort. Under such circumstances
to maintain an unwavering faith and patience is
extremely difficult, and to endure such dire afflictions a rare
phenomenon.+F1
&Ismu'llah did not slacken under fire. Once freed, he
taught more widely than ever. He spent every waking
breath in calling the people to the Kingdom of God. In

+F1 Cf. &Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 395, note 1.

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&Iraq, he attained the presence of &Baha'u'llah, and again in
the Most Great Prison, receiving from Him grace and
favor.
He was like a surging sea, a falcon that soared high. His
visage shone, his tongue was eloquent, his strength and
steadfastness astounding. When he opened his lips to
teach, the proofs would stream out; when he chanted or
prayed, his eyes shed tears like a spring cloud. His face
was luminous, his life spiritual, his knowledge both acquired
and innate; and celestial was his ardor, his detachment
from the world, his righteousness, his piety and fear
of God.
&Ismu'llah's tomb is in &Hamadan. Many a Tablet was
revealed for him by the Supreme Pen of &Baha'u'llah, including
a special Visitation Tablet after his passing. He
was a great personage, perfect in all things.
Such blessed beings have now left this world. Thank
God, they did not linger on, to witness the agonies that
followed the ascension of &Baha'u'llah--the intense afflictions;
for firmly rooted mountains will shake and tremble
at these, and the high-towering hills bow down.
He was truly &Ismu'llah, the Name of God. Fortunate is
the one who circumambulates that tomb, who blesses himself
with the dust of that grave. Upon him be salutations
and praise in the &Abha Realm.

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&Mulla &Ali-Akbar

Yet another Hand of the
Cause was the revered
&Mulla &Ali-Akbar, upon him be the glory of God, the All-Glorious.
Early in life, this illustrious man attended institutions
of higher learning and labored diligently, by day
and night, until he became thoroughly conversant with the
learning of the day, with secular studies, philosophy, and
religious jurisprudence. He frequented the gatherings of
philosophers, mystics, and &Shaykhis, thoughtfully traversing
those areas of knowledge, intuitive wisdom, and illumination;
but he thirsted after the wellspring of truth, and
hungered for the bread that comes down from Heaven. No
matter how he strove to perfect himself in those regions of
the mind, he was never satisfied; he never reached the
goal of his desires; his lips stayed parched; he was confused,
perplexed, and felt that he had wandered from his
path. The reason was that in all those circles he had found
no passion; no joy, no ecstasy; no faintest scent of love.
And as he went deeper into the core of those manifold beliefs,
he discovered that from the day of the Prophet &Muhammad's
advent until our own times, innumerable sects
have arisen: creeds differing among themselves; disparate
opinions, divergent goals, uncounted roads and ways. And
he found each one, under some plea or other, claiming to

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reveal spiritual truth; each one believing that it alone followed
the true path--this although the &Muhammedic sea
could rise in one great tide, and carry all those sects away
to the ocean floor. "No cry shalt thou hear from them, nor
a whisper even."+F1
Whoso ponders the lessons of history will learn that
this sea has lifted up innumerable waves, yet in the end
each has dissolved and vanished, like a shadow drifting by.
The waves have perished, but the sea lives on. This is why
&Ali Qabl-i-Akbar could never quench his thirst, till the day
when he stood on the shore of Truth and cried:

Here is a sea with treasure to the brim;
Its waves toss pearls under the great wind's thong.
Throw off your robe and plunge, nor try to swim,
Pride not yourself on swimming--dive headlong.

Like a fountain, his heart welled and jetted forth; meaning
and truth, like soft-flowing crystal waters, began to
stream from his lips. At first, with humility, with spiritual
poverty, he garnered the new light, and only then he proceeded
to shed it abroad. For how well has it been said,

Shall he the gift of life to others bear
Who of life's gift has never had a share?

A teacher must proceed in this way: he must first teach
himself, and then others. If he himself still walks the path
of carnal appetites and lusts, how can he guide another to
the "evident signs"+F2 of God?
This honored man was successful in converting a multitude.
For the sake of God he cast all caution aside, as he
hastened along the ways of love. He became as one frenzied,

+F1 Cf. &Qur'an 19:98
+F2 &Qur'an 3:91

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as a vagrant and one known to be mad. Because of
his new Faith, he was mocked at in &Tihran by high and
low. When he walked through the streets and &bazars, the
people pointed their fingers at him, calling him a &Baha'i.
Whenever trouble broke out, he was the one to be arrested
first. He was always ready and waiting for this, since
it never failed.
Again and again he was bound with chains, jailed, and
threatened with the sword. The photograph of this blessed
individual, together with that of the great &Amin, taken of
them in their chains, will serve as an example to whoever
has eyes to see. There they sit, those two distinguished
men, hung with chains, shackled, yet composed, acquiescent,
undisturbed.
Things came to such a pass that in the end whenever
there was an uproar &Mulla &Ali would put on his turban,
wrap himself in his &aba and sit waiting, for his enemies to
rouse and the &farrashes to break in and the guards to carry
him off to prison. But observe the power of God! In spite
of all this, he was kept safe. "The sign of a knower and
lover is this, that you will find him dry in the sea." That
is how he was. His life hung by a thread from one moment
to the next; the malevolent lay in wait for him; he
was known everywhere as a &Baha'i--and still he was protected
from all harm. He stayed dry in the depths of the
sea, cool and safe in the heart of the fire, until the day he
died.
After the ascension of &Baha'u'llah, &Mulla &Ali continued
on, loyal to the Testament of the Light of the World,
staunch in the Covenant which he served and heralded.
During the lifetime of the Manifestation, his yearning
made him hasten to &Baha'u'llah, Who received him with
grace and favor, and showered blessings upon him. He returned,
then, to &Iran, where he devoted all his time to
serving the Cause. Openly at odds with his tyrannical oppressors,

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no matter how often they threatened him, he defied
them. He was never vanquished. Whatever he had to
say, he said. He was one of the Hands of the Cause of
God, steadfast, unshakable, not to be moved.
I loved him very much, for he was delightful to converse
with, and as a companion second to none. One night,
not long ago, I saw him in the world of dreams. Although
his frame had always been massive, in the dream world he
appeared larger and more corpulent than ever. It seemed
as if he had returned from a journey. I said to him, "&Jinab,
you have grown good and stout." "Yes," he answered,
"praise be to God! I have been in places where the air was
fresh and sweet, and the water crystal pure; the landscapes
were beautiful to look upon, the foods delectable. It all
agreed with me, of course, so I am stronger than ever now,
and I have recovered the zest of my early youth. The
breaths of the All-Merciful blew over me and all my time
was spent in telling of God. I have been setting forth His
proofs, and teaching His Faith." (The meaning of teaching
the Faith in the next world is spreading the sweet
savors of holiness; that action is the same as teaching.) We
spoke together a little more, and then some people arrived
and he disappeared.
His last resting-place is in &Tihran. Although his body
lies under the earth, his pure spirit lives on, "in the seat of
truth, in the presence of the potent King."+F3 I long to visit
the graves of the friends of God, could this be possible.
These are the servants of the Blessed Beauty; in His path
they were afflicted; they met with toil and sorrow; they
sustained injuries and suffered harm. Upon them be the
glory of God, the All-Glorious. Unto them be salutation
and praise. Upon them be God's tender mercy, and forgiveness.

+F3 &Qur'an 54:55

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&Shaykh &Salman

In 1266 A.H.+F1 the trusted
messenger, &Shaykh &Salman,
first heard the summons of God, and his heart leapt for
joy. He was then in &Hindiyan. Irresistibly attracted, he
walked all the way to &Tihran, where with ardent love he
secretly joined the believers. On a certain day he was passing
through the &bazar with &Aqa &Muhammad &Taqiy-i-Kashani,
and the &farrashes followed him and discovered
where he lived. The next day, police and &farrashes came
looking for him and took him to the chief of police.
"Who are you?" the chief asked.
"I am from &Hindiyan," replied &Salman. "I have come to
&Tihran and am on my way to &Khurasan, for a pilgrimage
to the Shrine of &Imam &Rida."
"What were you doing yesterday," the chief asked,
"with that man in the white robe?"
&Salman answered, "I had sold him an &aba the day before,
and yesterday he was to pay me."
"You are a stranger here," the chief said. "How could
you trust him?"
"A money-changer guaranteed the payment," &Salman
replied. He had in mind the respected believer, &Aqa &Muhammad-i-Sarraf
(money-changer).

+F1 1849-1850.

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The chief turned to one of his &farrashes and said, "Take
him to the money-changer's and look into it."
When they reached there the &farrash went on ahead.
"What was all this," he said, "about the sale of an &aba
and your vouching for the payment? Explain yourself."
"I know nothing about it," the money-changer replied.
"Come along," said the &farrash to &Salman. "All is clear
at last. You are a &Babi."
It happened that the turban which &Salman had on his
head was similar to those worn in &Shushtar. As they were
passing a crossroads, a man from &Shushtar came out of his
shop. He embraced &Salman and cried: "Where have you
been, &Khajih &Muhammad-'Ali? When did you arrive?
Welcome!"
&Salman replied, "I came here a few days ago and now
the police have arrested me."
"What do you want with him?" the merchant asked the
&farrash. "What are you after?"
"He is a &Babi," was the answer.
"God forbid!" cried the man from &Shushtar. "I know
him well. &Khajih &Muhammad-'Ali is a God-fearing Muslim,
a &Shi'ih, a devout follower of the &Imam &Ali." With
this he gave the &farrash a sum of money and &Salman was
freed.
They went into the shop and the merchant began to
ask &Salman how he was faring. &Salman told him: "I am
not &Khajih &Muhammad-'Ali."
The man from &Shushtar was dumbfounded. "You look
exactly like him!" he exclaimed. "You two are identical.
However, since you are not he, give me back the money I
paid the &farrash."
&Salman immediately handed him the money, left, went
out through the city gate and made for &Hindiyan.
When &Baha'u'llah arrived in &Iraq, the first messenger
to reach His holy presence was &Salman, who then returned

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with Tablets addressed to the friends in &Hindiyan. Once
each year, this blessed individual would set out on foot to
see his Well-Beloved, after which he would retrace his
steps, carrying Tablets to many cities, &Isfahan, &Shiraz, &Kashan,
&Tihran, and the rest.
From the year 69 until the ascension of &Baha'u'llah in
1309 A.H.,+F2 &Salman would arrive once a year, bringing
letters, leaving with the Tablets, faithfully delivering each
one to him for whom it was intended. Every single year
throughout that long period, he came on foot from Persia
to &Iraq, or to Adrianople, or to the Most Great Prison at
&Akka; came with the greatest eagerness and love, and then
went back again.
He had remarkable powers of endurance. He traveled
on foot, as a rule eating nothing but onions and bread; and
in all that time, he moved about in such a way that he was
never once held up and never once lost a letter or a Tablet.
Every letter was safely delivered; every Tablet reached its
intended recipient. Over and over again, in &Isfahan, he
was subjected to severe trials, but he remained patient and
thankful under all conditions, and earned from &non-Baha'is
the title of "the &Babis' Angel Gabriel."
Throughout his entire life, &Salman rendered this momentous
service to the Cause of God, becoming the means
of its spread and contributing to the happiness of the believers,
annually bringing Divine glad tidings to the cities
and villages of Persia. He was close to the heart of &Baha'u'llah,
Who looked upon him with especial favor and grace.
Among the Holy Scriptures, there are Tablets revealed in
his name.
After the ascension of &Baha'u'llah, &Salman remained
faithful to the Covenant, serving the Cause with all his
powers. Then, as before, he would come to the Most Great

+F2 1853; 1892.

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Prison every year, delivering mail from the believers, and
returning with the answers to Persia. At last, in &Shiraz, he
winged his way to the Kingdom of glory.
From the dawn of history until the present day, there
has never been a messenger so worthy of trust; there has
never been a courier to compare with &Salman. He has left
respected survivors in &Isfahan who, because of the troubles
in Persia, are presently in distress. It is certain that the
friends will see to their needs. Upon him be the glory of
God, the All-Glorious; unto him be salutations and praise.


&Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, the &Afnan

In the days of &Baha'u'llah,
during the worst times in
the Most Great Prison, they would not permit any of the
friends either to leave the Fortress or to come in from the
outside. "Skew-Cap"+F1 and the Siyyid+F2 lived by the second
gate of the city, and watched there at all times, day and
night. Whenever they spied a &Baha'i traveler they would
hurry away to the Governor and tell him that the traveler
was bringing in letters and would carry the answers back.
The Governor would then arrest the traveler, seize his papers,
jail him, and drive him out. This became an established

+F1 &Aqa &Jan. Cf. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 189.
+F2 Siyyid &Muhammad, the Antichrist of the &Baha'i Revelation. Cf.
+F2 Ibid., pp. 164 and 189.

+P17
custom with the authorities and went on for a long
time--indeed, for nine years until, little by little, the practice
was abandoned.
It was at such a period that the &Afnan, &Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali--
that great bough of the Holy Tree+F3--journeyed
to &Akka, coming from India to Egypt, and from
Egypt to Marseilles. One day I was up on the roof of the
caravanserai. Some of the friends were with me and I was
walking up and down. It was sunset. At that moment,
glancing at the distant seashore, I observed that a carriage
was approaching. "Gentlemen," I said, "I feel that a holy
being is in that carriage." It was still far away, hardly
within sight.
"Let us go to the gate," I told them. "Although they
will not allow us to pass through, we can stand there till
he comes." I took one or two people with me and we left.
At the city gate I called to the guard, privately gave him
something and said: "A carriage is coming in and I think
it is bringing one of our friends. When it reaches here, do
not hold it up, and do not refer the matter to the Governor."
He put out a chair for me and I sat down.
By this time the sun had set. They had shut the main
gate, too, but the little door was open. The gatekeeper
stayed outside, the carriage drew up, the gentleman had
arrived. What a radiant face he had! He was nothing but
light from head to foot. Just to look at that face made one
happy; he was so confident, so assured, so rooted in his
faith, and his expression so joyous. He was truly a blessed
being. He was a man who made progress day by day, who
added, every day, to his certitude and faith, his luminous
quality, his ardent love. He made extraordinary progress
during the few days that he spent in the Most Great
Prison. The point is that when his carriage had come only

+F3 The &Afnan are the kindred of the &Bab. Ibid., pp. 239; 328.

+P18
part of the way from Haifa to &Akka, one could already
perceive his spirit, his light.
After he had received the endless bounties showered on
him by &Baha'u'llah, he was given leave to go, and he
traveled to China. There, over a considerable period, he
spent his days mindful of God and in a manner conformable
to Divine good pleasure. Later he went on to India,
where he died.
The other revered &Afnan and the friends in India felt
it advisable to send his blessed remains to &Iraq, ostensibly
to Najaf, to be buried near the Holy City; for the Muslims
had refused to let him lie in their graveyard, and his
body had been lodged in a temporary repository for safekeeping.
&Aqa Siyyid &Asadu'llah, who was in Bombay at
the time, was deputized to transport the remains with all
due reverence to &Iraq. There were hostile Persians on the
steamship and these people, once they reached &Bushihr,
reported that the coffin of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali the
&Babi was being carried to Najaf for burial in the Vale of
Peace, near the sacred precincts of the Shrine, and that
such a thing was intolerable. They tried to take his blessed
remains off the ship, but they failed; see what the hidden
Divine decrees can bring about.
His body came as far as &Basra. And since that was a
period when the friends had to remain in concealment,
Siyyid &Asadu'llah was obliged to proceed as if he were going
on with the burial in Najaf, meanwhile hoping in one
way or another to effect the interment near &Baghdad. Because,
although Najaf is a holy city and always shall be,
still the friends had chosen another place. God, therefore,
stirred up our enemies to prevent the Najaf burial. They
swarmed in, attacking the quarantine station to lay hold of
the body and either bury it in &Basra or throw it into the
sea or out on the desert sands.
The case took on such importance that in the end it

+P19
proved impossible to bring the remains to Najaf, and Siyyid
&Asadu'llah had to carry them on to &Baghdad. Here,
too, there was no burial place where the &Afnan's body
would be safe from molestation at enemy hands. Finally
the Siyyid decided to carry it to the shrine of Persia's &Salman
the Pure,+F4 about five &farsakhs out of &Baghdad, and
bury it in Ctesiphon, close to the grave of &Salman, beside
the palace of the &Sasaniyan kings. The body was taken
there and that trust of God was, with all reverence, laid
down in a safe resting-place by the palace of &Nawshiravan.
And this was destiny, that after a lapse of thirteen hundred
years, from the time when the throne city of Persia's
ancient kings was trampled down, and no trace of it was
left, except for rubble and hills of sand, and the very palace
roof itself had cracked and split so that half of it toppled to
the ground--this edifice should win back the kingly pomp
and splendor of its former days. It is indeed a mighty arch.
The width of its entry-way is fifty-two paces and it towers
very high.
Thus did God's grace and favor encompass the Persians
of an age long gone, in order that their ruined capital
should be rebuilt and flourish once again. To this end,
with the help of God, events were brought about which
led to the &Afnan's being buried here; and there is no doubt
that a proud city will rise up on this site. I wrote many letters
about it, until at last the holy dust could be laid to rest
in this place. Siyyid &Asadu'llah would write me from
&Basra and I would answer him. One of the public functionaries
there was completely devoted to us, and I directed
him to do all he could. Siyyid &Asadu'llah informed me
from &Baghdad that he was at his wits' end, and had no
idea where he could consign this body to the grave. "Wherever

+F4 Herald of the Prophet &Muhammad.

+P20
I might bury it," he wrote, "they will dig it up again."
At last, praised be God, it was laid down in the very
spot to which time and again the Blessed Beauty had repaired;
in that place honored by His footsteps, where He
had revealed Tablets, where the believers of &Baghdad had
been in His company; that very place where the Most
Great Name was wont to stroll. How did this come about?
It was due to the &Afnan's purity of heart. Lacking this, all
those ways and means could never have been brought to
bear. Verily, God is the Mover of heaven and earth.
I loved the &Afnan very much. Because of him, I rejoiced.
I wrote a long Visitation Tablet for him and sent
it with other papers to Persia. His burial site is one of the
holy places where a magnificent &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar must
be raised up. If possible, the actual arch of the royal
palace should be restored and become the House of Worship.
The auxiliary buildings of the House of Worship
should likewise be erected there: the hospital, the schools
and university, the elementary school, the refuge for the
poor and indigent; also the haven for orphans and the
helpless, and the travelers' hospice.
Gracious God! That royal edifice was once splendidly
decked forth and fair. But there are spiders' webs today,
where hung the curtains of gold brocade, and where the
king's drums beat and his musicians played, the only
sound is the harsh cries of kites and crows. "This is verily
the capital of the owl's realm, where thou wilt hear no
sound, save only the echo of his repeated calls." That is
how the barracks were, when we came to &Akka. There
were a few trees inside the walls, and on their branches,
as well as up on the battlements, the owls cried all night
long. How disquieting is the hoot of an owl; how it saddens
the heart.
From earliest youth until he grew helpless and old, that
sacred bough of the Holy Tree, with his smiling face,

+P21
shone out like a lamp in the midst of all. Then he leapt
and soared to undying glory, and plunged into the ocean
of light. Upon him be the breathings of his Lord, the All-Merciful.
Upon him, lapped in the waters of grace and
forgiveness, be the mercy and favor of God.


&Haji &Mirza &Hasan, the &Afnan

Among the most eminent of
those who left their homeland
to join &Baha'u'llah was &Mirza &Hasan, the great
&Afnan, who during the latter days won the honor of emigrating
and of receiving the favor and companionship of
his Lord. The &Afnan, related to the &Bab, was specifically
named by the Supreme Pen as an offshoot of the Holy
Tree. When still a small child, he received his portion of
bounty from the &Bab, and showed forth an extraordinary
attachment to that dazzling Beauty. Not yet adolescent, he
frequented the society of the learned, and began to study
sciences and arts. He reflected day and night on the most
abstruse of spiritual questions, and gazed in wonderment
at the mighty signs of God as written in the Book of Life.
He became thoroughly versed even in such material sciences
as mathematics, geometry, and geography; in brief,
he was well grounded in many fields, thoroughly conversant
with the thought of ancient and modern times.
A merchant by profession, he spent only a short period

+P22
of the day and evening at his business, devoting most of
his time to discussion and research. He was truly erudite,
a great credit to the Cause of God amongst leading men of
learning. With a few concise phrases, he could solve perplexing
questions. His speech was laconic, but in itself a
kind of miracle.
Although he first became a believer in the days of the
&Bab, it was during the days of &Baha'u'llah that he caught
fire. Then his love of God burned away every obstructing
veil and idle thought. He did all he could to spread the
Faith of God, becoming known far and wide for his ardent
love of &Baha'u'llah.

I am lost, O Love, possessed and dazed,
Love's fool am I, in all the earth.
They call me first among the crazed,
Though I once came first for wit and worth...

After the ascension of the &Bab, he had the high honor of
serving and watching over the revered and saintly consort
of the blessed Lord. He was in Persia, mourning his separation
from &Baha'u'llah, when his distinguished son became,
by marriage, a member of the Holy Household. At this,
the &Afnan rejoiced. He left Persia and hastened to the
sheltering favor of his Well-Beloved. He was a man amazing
to behold, his face so luminous that even those who
were not believers used to say that a heavenly light shone
from his forehead.
He went away for a time and sojourned in Beirut, where
he met the noted scholar, &Khajih &Findik. This personage
warmly praised the erudition of the great &Afnan in various
circles, affirming that an individual of such wide and diverse
learning was rare throughout the East. Later on, the
&Afnan returned to the Holy Land, settling near the Mansion
of &Bahji and directing all his thoughts toward aspects

+P23
of human culture. Much of the time he would occupy
himself with uncovering the secrets of the heavens, contemplating
in their detail the movements of the stars. He
had a telescope with which he would make his observations
every night. He lived a happy life, carefree and light
of heart. In the neighborhood of &Baha'u'llah his days were
blissful, his nights bright as the first morning in spring.
But then came the Beloved's departure from this world.
The &Afnan's peace was shattered, his joy was changed to
grief. The Supreme Affliction was upon us, separation consumed
us, the once bright days turned black as night, and
all those roses of other hours were dust and rubble now.
He lived on for a little while, his heart smoldering, his eyes
shedding their tears. But he could not bear the longing for
his Well-Beloved, and in a little while his soul gave up this
life and fled to the eternal one; passed into the Heaven of
abiding reunion and was immersed beneath an ocean of
light. Upon him be most great mercy, plenteous bounty,
and every blessing, as the ages and cycles roll on. His
honored tomb is in &Akka at the &Manshiyyih.


&Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Isfahani

&Muhammad-'Ali of &Isfahan
was among the
earliest of believers, guided to the Faith from its very beginning.
He was one of the mystics; his house was a gathering

+P24
place for them, and the philosophers. Noble, high-minded,
he was one of &Isfahan's most respected citizens, and served
as a host and sanctuary for every stranger, rich or poor. He
had verve, an excellent disposition, was forbearing, affable,
generous, a boon companion; and it was known throughout
the city that he enjoyed a good time.
Then he was led to embrace the Faith and caught fire
from the Sinaitic Tree. His house became a teaching center,
dedicated to the glory of God. Day and night the believers
flocked there, as to a lamp lit by heavenly love.
Over a long period, the sacred verses were chanted in that
house and the clear proofs set forth. Although this was
widely known, &Muhammad-'Ali was not molested, because
he was a kinsman of the &Imam-Jum'ih of &Isfahan.
Finally, however, things came to such a pass that the
&Imam-Jum'ih himself sent him away, telling him: "I can
protect you no longer. You are in grave danger. The best
thing for you is to leave here, and go on a journey."
He left his home then, went to &Iraq, and entered the
presence of the world's Desired One. He spent some time
there, progressing every day; he had little to live on, but
was happy and content. A man of excellent disposition, he
was congenial to believers and others alike.
When &Baha'u'llah and His retinue left &Baghdad for
Constantinople, &Muhammad-'Ali was in His company, and
continued on with Him to the Land of Mystery, Adrianople.
Not one to be inconstant, he maintained his characteristic
immutability of heart. Whatever happened, he
remained the same. In Adrianople as well, his days passed
happily, under the protection of &Baha'u'llah. He would
carry on some business which, however trifling, would
bring in surprisingly abundant returns.
From Adrianople, &Muhammad-'Ali accompanied &Baha'u'llah
to the fortress of &Akka, was put in jail there, and
was numbered among &Baha'u'llah's fellow captives for the

+P25
rest of his life, achieving that greatest of all distinctions, to
be in prison with the Blessed Beauty.
He spent his days in utter bliss. Here, too, he carried on
a small business, which occupied him from morning till
noon. In the afternoons he would take his samovar, wrap
it in a dark-colored pouch made from a saddlebag, and go
off somewhere to a garden or meadow, or out in a field, and
have his tea. Sometimes he would be found at the farm of
&Mazra'ih, or again in the &Ridvan Garden; or, at the Mansion,
he would have the honor of attending upon &Baha'u'llah.
&Muhammad-'Ali would carefully consider every blessing
that came his way. "How delicious my tea is today," he
would comment. "What perfume, what color! How lovely
this meadow is, and the flowers so bright!" He used to say
that everything, even air and water, had its own special
fragrance. For him the days passed in indescribable delight.
Even kings were not so happy as this old man, the people
said. "He is completely free of the world," they would declare.
"He lives in joy." It also happened that his food was
of the very best, and that his home was situated in the very
best part of &Akka. Gracious God! Here he was, a prisoner,
and yet experiencing comfort, peace and joy.
&Muhammad-'Ali was past eighty when he finally departed
to eternal light. He had been the recipient of many
Tablets from &Baha'u'llah, and of endless bounty, under
all conditions. Upon him be the glory of God the Most
Glorious. Upon him be myriads of heavenly blessings; may
God favor him with gladness forever and ever. His luminous
grave is in &Akka.

+P26
&Abdu's-Salih, the Gardener

Among those who emigrated
and were companions
in the Most Great Prison was &Aqa &Abdu's-Salih. This
excellent soul, a child of early believers, came from &Isfahan.
His noble-hearted father died, and this child grew up an
orphan. There was none to rear or care for him and he was
the prey of anyone who chose to do him harm. At last he
became adolescent, and older now, sought out his Well-Beloved.
He emigrated to the Most Great Prison and here,
at the &Ridvan, achieved the honor of being appointed gardener.
At this task he was second to none. In his faith, too,
he was staunch, loyal, worthy of trust; as to his character, he
was an embodiment of the sacred verse, "Of a noble nature
art thou."+F1 That is how he won the distinction of being
gardener at the &Ridvan, and of thus receiving the greatest
bounty of all: almost daily, he entered the presence of
&Baha'u'llah.
For the Most Great Name was held prisoner and confined
nine years in the fortress-town of &Akka; and at all
times, both in the barracks and afterward, from without
the house, the police and &farrashes had Him under constant
guard. The Blessed Beauty lived in a very small house,

+F1 &Qur'an 68:4.

+P27
and He never set foot outside that narrow lodging, because
His oppressors kept continual watch at the door. When,
however, nine years had elapsed, the fixed and predetermined
length of days was over; and at that time, against
the rancorous will of the tyrant, &Abdu'l-Hamid, and all
his minions, &Baha'u'llah proceeded out of the fortress with
authority and might, and in a kingly mansion beyond the
city, made His home.
Although the policy of &Sultan &Abdu'l-Hamid was
harsher than ever; although he constantly insisted on his
Captive's strict confinement--still, the Blessed Beauty now
lived, as everyone knows, with all power and glory. Some
of the time &Baha'u'llah would spend at the Mansion, and
again, at the farm village of &Mazra'ih; for a while He
would sojourn in Haifa, and occasionally His tent would
be pitched on the heights of Mount Carmel. Friends from
everywhere presented themselves and gained an audience.
The people and the government authorities witnessed it
all, yet no one so much as breathed a word. And this is one
of &Baha'u'llah's greatest miracles: that He, a captive, surrounded
Himself with panoply and He wielded power.
The prison changed into a palace, the jail itself became a
Garden of Eden. Such a thing has not occurred in history
before; no former age has seen its like: that a man confined
to a prison should move about with authority and might;
that one in chains should carry the fame of the Cause of
God to the high heavens, should win splendid victories in
both East and West, and should, by His almighty pen,
subdue the world. Such is the distinguishing feature of
this supreme Theophany.
One day the government leaders, pillars of the country,
the city's &ulamas, leading mystics and intellectuals came
out to the Mansion. The Blessed Beauty paid them no attention
whatever. They were not admitted to His presence,
nor did He inquire after any of them. I sat down with them

+P28
and kept them company for some hours, after which they
returned whence they had come. Although the royal &farman
specifically decreed that &Baha'u'llah was to be held in
solitary confinement within the &Akka fortress, in a cell,
under perpetual guard; that He was never to set foot outside;
that He was never even to see any of the believers--
notwithstanding such a &farman, such a drastic order, His
tent was raised in majesty on the heights of Mount Carmel.
What greater display of power could there be than
this, that from the very prison, the banner of the Lord was
raised aloft, and rippled out for all the world to see!
Praised be the Possessor of such majesty and might; praised
be He, weaponed with the power and the glory; praised be
He, Who defeated His foes when He lay captive in the
&Akka prison!
To resume: &Abdu's-Salih lived under a fortunate star,
for he regularly came into the presence of &Baha'u'llah. He
enjoyed the distinction of serving as gardener for many
years, and he was at all times loyal, true, and strong in
faith. He was humble in the presence of every one of the
believers; in all that time he never hurt nor offended any
one. And at the last he left his garden and hastened to the
encompassing mercy of God.
The Ancient Beauty was well pleased with &Abdu's-Salih,
and after his ascension revealed a Visitation Tablet in
his honor, also delivering an address concerning him,
which was taken down and published together with other
Scriptures.
Upon him be the glory of the All-Glorious! Upon him
be God's gentleness and favor in the Exalted Realm.

+P29
&Ustad &Isma'il

Yet another from amongst
that blessed company was
&Ustad &Isma'il, the builder. He was the construction overseer
of &Farrukh &Khan (&Aminu'd-Dawlih) in &Tihran, living
happily and prosperously, a man of high standing, well
regarded by all. But he lost his heart to the Faith, and
was enraptured by it, till his holy passion consumed every
intervening veil. Then he cast caution aside, and became
known throughout &Tihran as a pillar of the &Baha'is.
&Farrukh &Khan ably defended him at first. But as time
went on, he summoned him and said, "&Ustad, you are very
dear to me and I have given you my protection and have
stood by you as best I could. But the &Shah has found out
about you and you know what a bloodthirsty tyrant he is.
I am afraid that he will seize you without warning, and he
will hang you. The best thing for you is to go on a journey.
Leave this country, go somewhere else, and escape from
this peril."
Composed, happy, &Ustad gave up his work, closed his
eyes to his possessions, and left for &Iraq, where he lived in
poverty. He had recently taken a bride, and loved her beyond
measure. Her mother arrived, and by subterfuge, obtained
his permission to conduct the daughter back to
&Tihran, supposedly for a visit. As soon as she reached

+P30
&Kirmanshah, she went to the mujtahid, and told him that
because her son-in-law had abandoned his religion, her
daughter could not remain his lawful wife. The mujtahid
arranged a divorce, and wedded the girl to another man.
When word of this reached &Baghdad, &Isma'il, steadfast as
ever, only laughed. "God be praised!" he said. "Nothing is
left me on this pathway. I have lost everything, including
my bride. I have been able to give Him all I possessed."
When &Baha'u'llah departed from &Baghdad, and traveled
to Rumelia, the friends remained behind. The inhabitants
of &Baghdad then rose up against those helpless believers,
sending them away as captives to Mosul. &Ustad was old
and feeble, but he left on foot, with no provisions for his
journey, crossed over mountains and deserts, valleys and
hills, and in the end arrived at the Most Great Prison. At
one time, &Baha'u'llah had written down an ode of &Rumi's
for him, and had told him to turn his face toward the &Bab
and sing the words, set to a melody. And so as he wandered
through the long dark nights, &Ustad would sing these
lines:

I am lost, O Love, possessed and dazed,
Love's fool am I, in all the earth.
They call me first among the crazed,
Though I once came first for wit and worth.

O Love, who sellest me this wine,+F1
O Love, for whom I burn and bleed,
Love, for whom I cry and pine--
Thou the Piper, I the reed.

+F1 This wine, &Rumi says elsewhere, comes from the jar of "Yea verily."
+F1 That is, it symbolizes the Primal Covenant established between
+F1 God and man on the day of "Am I not your Lord?" On that day, the
+F1 Creator summoned posterity out of the loins of Adam and said to the
+F1 generations unborn, "Am I not your Lord?" Whereupon they answered,
+F1 "Yea, verily, Thou art." Cf. &Qur'an 7:171.

+P31
If Thou wishest me to live,
Through me blow Thy holy breath.
The touch of Jesus Thou wilt give
To me, who've lain an age in death.

Thou, both End and Origin,
Thou without and Thou within--
From every eye Thou hidest well,
And yet in every eye dost dwell.

He was like a bird with broken wings but he had the
song and it kept him going onward to his one true Love.
By stealth, he approached the Fortress and went in, but
he was exhausted, spent. He remained for some days, and
came into the presence of &Baha'u'llah, after which he was
directed to look for a lodging in Haifa. He got himself to
Haifa, but he found no haven there, no nest or hole, no
water, no grain of corn. Finally he made his home in a cave
outside the town. He acquired a little tray and on this he
set out rings of earthenware, and some thimbles, pins and
other trinkets. Every day, from morning till noon, he peddled
these, wandering about. Some days his earnings
would amount to twenty paras,+F2 some days thirty; and forty
on his best days. Then he would go home to the cave and
content himself with a piece of bread. He was always voicing
his thanks, always saying, "Praise be to God that I have
attained such favor and grace; that I have been separated
from friend and stranger alike, and have taken refuge in
this cave. Now I am of those who gave their all, to buy the
Divine Joseph in the market place. What bounty could be
any greater than this!"
Such was his condition, when he died. Many and many
a time, &Baha'u'llah was heard to express His satisfaction

+F2 The Turkish para was one-ninth of a cent. Cf. Webster, New International
+F2 Dictionary.

+P32
with &Ustad &Isma'il. Blessings hemmed him round, and the
eye of God was on him. Salutations be unto him, and
praise. Upon him be the glory of the All-Glorious.


&Nabil-i-Zarandi

Still another of those who
emigrated from their native
land to be near &Baha'u'llah was the great &Nabil.+F1 In the
flower of youth he bade farewell to his family in Zarand
and with Divine aid began to teach the Faith. He became
a chief of the army of lovers, and on his quest he left Persian
&Iraq for Mesopotamia, but could not find the One he
sought. For the Well-Beloved was then in &Kurdistan, living
in a cave at &Sar-Galu; and there, entirely alone in that wasteland,
with no companion, no friend, no listening soul, He
was communing with the beauty that dwelt in His own
heart. All news of Him was completely cut off; &Iraq was
eclipsed, and in mourning.
When &Nabil discovered that the flame which had once
been kindled and tended there was almost out, that the
believers were few, that &Yahya+F2 had crawled into a secret

+F1 &Nabil, author of The Dawn-Breakers, is &Baha'u'llah's "Poet-Laureate,
+F1 His chronicler and His indefatigable disciple." Cf. God Passes
+F1 By, p. 130.
+F2 &Mirza &Yahya, the community's "nominal head," was the "center
+F2 provisionally appointed pending the manifestation of the Promised
+F2 One." Ibid., p. 127-28.

+P33
hole where he lay torpid and inert, and that a wintry cold
had taken over--he found himself obliged to leave, bitterly
grieving, for &Karbila. There he stayed until the Blessed
Beauty returned from &Kurdistan, making His way to
&Baghdad. At that time there was boundless joy; every believer
in the country sprang to life; among them was &Nabil,
who hastened to the presence of &Baha'u'llah, and became
the recipient of great bestowals. He spent his days in gladness
now, writing odes to celebrate the praises of his Lord.
He was a gifted poet, and his tongue most eloquent; a man
of mettle, and on fire with passionate love.
After a time he returned to &Karbila, then came back to
&Baghdad and from there went on to Persia. Because he
associated with Siyyid &Muhammad he was led into error
and sorely afflicted and tried; but like the shooting stars,
he became as a missile to drive off satanic imaginings,+F3 and
he repulsed the evil whisperers and went back to &Baghdad,
where he found rest in the shade of the Holy Tree. He was
later directed to visit &Kirmanshah. He returned again, and
on every journey was enabled to render a service.
&Baha'u'llah and His retinue then left &Baghdad, the
"Abode of Peace," for Constantinople, the "City of &Islam."
After His departure, &Nabil put on the dress of a dervish,
and set out on foot, catching up with the convoy along the
way. In Constantinople he was directed to return to Persia
and there teach the Cause of God; also to travel throughout
the country, and acquaint the believers in its cities and
villages with all that had taken place. When this mission
was accomplished, and the drums of "Am I not your
Lord?" were rolling out--for it was the "year eighty"+F4--

+F3 A reference to &Islamic symbolism, according to which good is protected
+F3 from evil: the angels repel such evil spirits as attempt to spy on
+F3 Paradise, by hurling shooting stars at them. Cf. &Qur'an 15:18, 37:10
+F3 and 67:5.
+F4 A reference to the declaration of &Baha'u'llah's advent in 1863, as
+F4 the Promised One of the &Bab. The &Bab's own advent had taken place
+F4 in the "year sixty"--1844.

+P34
&Nabil hurried to Adrianople, crying as he went, "Yea
verily Thou art! Yea verily!" and "Lord, Lord, here am I!"
He entered &Baha'u'llah's presence and drank of the red
wine of allegiance and homage. He was then given specific
orders to travel everywhere, and in every region to
raise the call that God was now made manifest: to spread
the blissful tidings that the Sun of Truth had risen. He
was truly on fire, driven by restive love. With great fervor
he would pass through a country, bringing this best of all
messages and reviving the hearts. He flamed like a torch in
every company, he was the star of every assemblage, to all
who came he held out the intoxicating cup. He journeyed
as to the beat of drums and at last he reached the &Akka
fortress.
In those days the restrictions were exceptionally severe.
The gates were shut, the roads closed off. Wearing a disguise,
&Nabil arrived at the &Akka gate. Siyyid &Muhammad
and his wretched accomplice immediately hurried to the
Governorate and informed against the traveler. "He is a
Persian," they reported. "He is not, as he seems, a man of
&Bukhara. He has come here to seek for news of &Baha'u'llah."
The authorities expelled him at once.
&Nabil, despairing, withdrew to the town of &Safad. Later
he came on to Haifa, where he made his home in a cave
on Mount Carmel. He lived apart from friend and stranger
alike, lamenting night and day, moaning and chanting
prayers. There he remained as a recluse, and waited for
the doors to open. When the predestined time of captivity
was over, and the gates were flung wide, and the Wronged
One issued forth in beauty, in majesty and glory, &Nabil
hastened to Him with a joyful heart. Then he used himself
up like a candle, burning away with the love of God.
Day and night he sang the praises of the one Beloved of
both worlds and of those about His threshold, writing
verses in the pentameter and hexameter forms, composing

+P35
lyrics and long odes. Almost daily, he was admitted to the
presence of the Manifestation.+F5
This went on until the day &Baha'u'llah ascended. At that
supreme affliction, that shattering calamity, &Nabil sobbed
and trembled and cried out to Heaven. He found that the
numerical value of the word "&shidad"--year of stress--was
309, and it thus became evident that &Baha'u'llah foretold
what had now come to pass.+F6
Utterly cast down, hopeless at being separated from
&Baha'u'llah, fevered, shedding tears, &Nabil was in such
anguish that anyone seeing him was bewildered. He struggled
on, but the only desire he had was to lay down his
life. He could suffer no longer; his longing was aflame in
him; he could stand the fiery pain no more. And so he became
king of the cohorts of love, and he rushed into the
sea.
Before that day when he offered himself up, he wrote
out the year of his death in the one word: "Drowned."+F7
Then he threw down his life for the Well-Beloved, and
was released from his despair, and no longer shut away.
This distinguished man was erudite, wise, and eloquent
of speech. His native genius was pure inspiration, his
poetic gift like a crystal stream. In particular his ode "&Baha,
&Baha!" was written in sheer ecstasy. Throughout all his
life, from earliest youth till he was feeble and old, he spent

+F5 &Baha'i writings emphasize that the "divinity attributed to so great
+F5 a Being and the complete incarnation of the names and attributes of
+F5 God in so exalted a Person should, under no circumstances, be misconceived
+F5 or misinterpreted ... that invisible yet rational God ...
+F5 however much we extol the divinity of His Manifestations on earth,
+F5 can in no wise incarnate His infinite, His unknowable, His incorruptible
+F5 and all-embracing Reality in ... a mortal being." Cf. Shoghi
+F5 Effendi, The Dispensation of &Baha'u'llah.
+F6 According to the abjad reckoning, the letters of "&shidad" total
+F6 309. 1892, the date of &Baha'u'llah's ascension, was 1309 A.H.
+F7 &Ghariq. The letters composing this word total 1310, which Hijra
+F7 year began July 26, 1892.

+P36
his time serving and worshiping the Lord. He bore hardships,
he lived through misfortunes, he suffered afflictions.
From the lips of the Manifestation he heard marvelous
things. He was shown the lights of Paradise; he won his
dearest wish. And at the end, when the Daystar of the
world had set, he could endure no more, and flung himself
into the sea. The waters of sacrifice closed over him;
he was drowned, and he came, at last, to the Most High.
Upon him be abundant blessings; upon him be tender
mercies. May he win a great victory, and a manifest grace
in the Kingdom of God.


&Darvish &Sidq-'Ali

&Aqa &Sidq-'Ali was yet one
more of those who left
their native land, journeyed to &Baha'u'llah and were put
in the Prison. He was a dervish; a man who lived free and
detached from friend and stranger alike. He belonged to
the mystic element and was a man of letters. He spent
some time wearing the dress of poverty, drinking the wine
of the Rule and traveling the Path,+F1 but unlike the other
&Sufis he did not devote his life to dusty &hashish; on the
contrary, he cleansed himself of their vain imaginings and
only searched for God, spoke of God, and followed the
path of God.

+F1 Terms used by the &Sufis.

+P37
He had a fine poetic gift and wrote odes to sing the
praises of Him Whom the world has wronged and rejected.
Among them is a poem written while he was a
prisoner in the barracks at &Akka, the chief couplet of
which reads:

A hundred hearts Thy curling locks ensnare,
And it rains hearts when Thou dost toss Thy hair.

That free and independent soul discovered, in &Baghdad,
a trace of the untraceable Beloved. He witnessed the dawning
of the Daystar above the horizon of &Iraq, and received
the bounty of that sunrise. He came under the spell of
&Baha'u'llah, and was enraptured by that tender Companion.
Although he was a quiet man, one who held his peace,
his very limbs were like so many tongues crying out their
message. When the retinue of &Baha'u'llah was about to
leave &Baghdad he implored permission to go along as a
groom. All day, he walked beside the convoy, and when
night came he would attend to the horses. He worked with
all his heart. Only after midnight would he seek his bed
and lie down to rest; the bed, however, was his mantle,
and the pillow a sun-dried brick.
As he journeyed, filled with yearning love, he would
sing poems. He greatly pleased the friends. In him the
name+F2 bespoke the man: he was pure candor and truth;
he was love itself; he was chaste of heart, and enamored
of &Baha'u'llah. In his high station, that of groom, he
reigned like a king; indeed he gloried over the sovereigns
of the earth. He was assiduous in attendance upon &Baha'u'llah;
in all things, upright and true.
The convoy of the lovers went on; it reached Constantinople;
it passed to Adrianople, and finally to the &Akka

+F2 &Sidq, truth.

+P38
prison. &Sidq-'Ali was present throughout, faithfully serving
its Commander.
While in the barracks, &Baha'u'llah set apart a special
night and He dedicated it to &Darvish &Sidq-'Ali. He wrote
that every year on that night the dervishes should bedeck
a meeting place, which should be in a flower garden, and
gather there to make mention of God. He went on to say
that "dervish" does not denote those persons who wander
about, spending their nights and days in fighting and folly;
rather, He said, the term designates those who are completely
severed from all but God, who cleave to His laws,
are firm in His Faith, loyal to His Covenant, and constant
in worship. It is not a name for those who, as the Persians
say, tramp about like vagrants, are confused, unsettled in
mind, a burden to others, and of all mankind the most
coarse and rude.
This eminent dervish spent his whole life-span under
the sheltering favor of God. He was completely detached
from worldly things. He was attentive in service, and
waited upon the believers with all his heart. He was a
servant to all of them, and faithful at the Holy Threshold.
Then came that hour when, not far from his Lord, he
stripped off the cloak of life, and to physical eyes passed
into the shadows, but to the mind's eye betook himself to
what is plain as day; and he was seated there on a throne
of lasting glory. He escaped from the prison of this world,
and pitched his tent in a wide and spacious land. May
God ever keep him close and bless him in that mystic
realm with perpetual reunion and the beatific vision; may
he be wrapped in tiers of light. Upon him be the glory of
God, the All-Glorious. His grave is in &Akka.

+P39
&Aqa &Mirza &Mahmud and &Aqa &Rida

These two blessed souls,
&Mirza &Mahmud of &Kashan
and &Aqa &Rida of &Shiraz, were like two lamps lit with God's
love from the oil of His knowledge. Encompassed by Divine
bestowals from childhood on, they succeeded in rendering
every kind of service for fifty-five years. Their services
were countless, beyond recording.
When the retinue of &Baha'u'llah left &Baghdad for Constantinople,
He was accompanied by a great crowd of people.
Along the way, they met with famine conditions.
These two souls strode along on foot, ahead of the howdah
in which &Baha'u'llah was riding, and covered a distance
of seven or eight &farsakhs every day. Wayworn and faint,
they would reach the halting-place; and yet, weary as they
were, they would immediately set about preparing and
cooking the food, and seeing to the comfort of the believers.
The efforts they made were truly more than flesh can
bear. There were times when they had not more than two
or three hours sleep out of the twenty-four; because, once
the friends had eaten their meal, these two would be busy
collecting and washing up the dishes and cooking utensils;
this would take them till midnight, and only then
would they rest. At daybreak they would rise, pack everything,
and set out again, in front of the howdah of &Baha'u'llah.

+P40
See what a vital service they were able to render, and
for what bounty they were singled out: from the start of
the journey, at &Baghdad, to the arrival in Constantinople,
they walked close beside &Baha'u'llah; they made every one
of the friends happy; they brought rest and comfort to all;
they prepared whatever anyone asked.
&Aqa &Rida and &Mirza &Mahmud were the very essence of
God's love, utterly detached from all but God. In all that
time no one ever heard either of them raise his voice. They
never hurt nor offended anyone. They were trustworthy,
loyal, true. &Baha'u'llah showered blessings upon them.
They were continually entering His presence and He
would be expressing His satisfaction with them.
&Mirza &Mahmud was a youth when he arrived in &Baghdad
from &Kashan. &Aqa &Rida became a believer in &Baghdad.
The spiritual condition of the two was indescribable.
There was in &Baghdad a company of seven leading believers
who lived in a single, small room, because they were
destitute. They could hardly keep body and soul together,
but they were so spiritual, so blissful, that they thought
themselves in Heaven. Sometimes they would chant prayers
all night long, until the day broke. Days, they would
go out to work, and by nightfall one would have earned
ten paras, another perhaps twenty paras, others forty or
fifty. These sums would be spent for the evening meal. On
a certain day one of them made twenty paras, while the
rest had nothing at all. The one with the money bought
some dates, and shared them with the others; that was
dinner, for seven people. They were perfectly content
with their frugal life, supremely happy.
These two honored men devoted their days to all that
is best in human life: they had seeing eyes; they were
mindful and aware; they had hearing ears, and were fair
of speech. Their sole desire was to please &Baha'u'llah. To
them, nothing was a bounty at all, except service at His

+P41
Holy Threshold. After the time of the Supreme Affliction,
they were consumed with sorrow, like candles flickering
away; they longed for death, and stayed firm in the
Covenant and labored hard and well to spread that Daystar's
Faith. They were close and trusted companions of
&Abdu'l-Baha, and could be relied on in all things. They
were always lowly, humble, unassuming, evanescent. In all
that long period, they never uttered a word which had to
do with self.
And at the last, during the absence of &Abdu'l-Baha, they
took their flight to the Kingdom of unfading glory. I sorrowed
much because I was not with them when they
died. Although absent in body, I was there in my heart,
and mourning over them; but to outward seeming I did not
bid them good-by; this is why I grieve.
Unto them both be salutations and praise; upon them
be compassion and glory. May God give them a home in
Paradise, under the Lote-Tree's shade. May they be immersed
in tiers of light, close beside their Lord, the
Mighty, the All-Powerful.


&Pidar-Jan of &Qazvin

The late &Pidar-Jan was
among those believers who
emigrated to &Baghdad. He was a godly old man, enamored
of the Well-Beloved; in the garden of Divine love, he was

+P42
like a rose full-blown. He arrived there, in &Baghdad, and
spent his days and nights communing with God and chanting
prayers; and although he walked the earth, he traveled
the heights of Heaven.
To obey the law of God, he took up a trade, for he had
nothing. He would bundle a few pairs of socks under his
arm and peddle them as he wandered through the streets
and &bazars, and thieves would rob him of his merchandise.
Finally he was obliged to lay the socks across his outstretched
palms as he went along. But he would get to
chanting a prayer, and one day he was surprised to find
that they had stolen the socks, laid out on his two hands,
from before his eyes. His awareness of this world was
clouded, for he journeyed through another. He dwelt in
ecstasy; he was a man drunken, bedazzled.
For some time, that is how he lived in &Iraq. Almost daily
he was admitted to the presence of &Baha'u'llah. His name
was &Abdu'llah but the friends bestowed on him the title of
&Pidar-Jan--Father Dear--for he was a loving father to
them all. At last, under the sheltering care of &Baha'u'llah,
he took flight to the "seat of truth, in the presence of the
potent king."+F1
May God make fragrant his sepulcher with the outpouring
rains of His mercy and cast upon him the eye of
Divine compassion. Salutations be unto him, and praise.

+F1 &Qur'an 54:55

+P43
&Shaykh &Sadiq-i-Yazdi

Another of those who emigrated
to &Baghdad was
&Shaykh &Sadiq of Yazd, a man esteemed, and righteous as
his name, &Sadiq.+F1 He was a towering palm in the groves of
Heaven, a star flaming in the skies of the love of God.
It was during the &Iraq period that he hastened to the
presence of &Baha'u'llah. His detachment from the things
of this world and his attachment to the life of the spirit
are indescribable. He was love embodied, tenderness personified.
Day and night, he commemorated God. Utterly
unconscious of this world and all that is therein, he dwelt
continually on God, remaining submerged in supplications
and prayers. Most of the time, tears poured from his
eyes. The Blessed Beauty singled him out for special favor,
and whenever He turned His attention toward &Sadiq,
His loving-kindness was clear to see.
On a certain day they brought word that &Sadiq was at
the point of death. I went to his bedside and found him
breathing his last. He was suffering from ileus, an abdominal
pain and swelling. I hurried to &Baha'u'llah and
described his condition.

+F1 This word has a number of meanings, including truthful, loyal
+F1 and just.

+P44
"Go," He said. "Place your hand on the distended area
and speak the words: `O Thou the Healer!'"+F2
I went back. I saw that the affected part had swollen up
to the size of an apple; it was hard as stone, in constant
motion, twisting, and coiling about itself like a snake. I
placed my hand upon it; I turned toward God and, humbly
beseeching Him, I repeated the words, "O Thou the
Healer!" Instantly the sick man rose up. The ileus vanished;
the swelling was carried off.
This personified spirit lived contentedly in &Iraq until
the day when &Baha'u'llah's convoy wended its way out of
&Baghdad. As bidden, &Sadiq remained behind in that city.
But his longing beat so passionately within him that after
the arrival of &Baha'u'llah at Mosul, he could endure the
separation no more. Shoeless, hatless, he ran out alongside
the courier going to Mosul; ran and ran until, on that
barren plain, with mercy all about him, he fell to his rest.
May God give him to drink from "a wine cup tempered
at the camphor fountain,"+F3 and send down crystal waters
on his grave; may God perfume his dust in that desert
place with musk, and cause to descend there range on
range of light.

+F2 &Ya &Shafi.
+F3 &Qur'an 76:5.

+P45
&Shah-Muhammad-Amin

&Shah-Muhammad, who had
the title of &Amin, the
Trusted One, was among the earliest of believers, and most
deeply enamored. He had listened to the Divine summons
in the flower of his youth, and set his face toward the
Kingdom. He had ripped from his gaze the veils of idle
suppositions and had won his heart's desire; neither the
fancies current among the people nor the reproaches of
which he was the target turned him back. Unshaken, he
stood and faced a sea of troubles; staunch with the
strength of the Advent day, he confronted those who tried
to thwart him and block his path. The more they sought
to instill doubts in his mind, the stronger he became; the
more they tormented him, the more progress he made. He
was a captive of the face of God, enslaved by the beauty
of the All-Glorious; a flame of God's love, a jetting fountain
of the knowledge of Him.
Love smoldered in his heart, so that he had no peace;
and when he could bear the absence of the Beloved One
no more, he left his native home, the province of Yazd.
He found the desert sands like silk under his feet; light
as the wind's breath, he passed over the mountains and
across the endless plains, until he stood at the door of his

+P46
Love. He had freed himself from the snare of separation,
and in &Iraq, he entered the presence of &Baha'u'llah.
Once he made his way into the home of the Darling of
mankind, he was emptied of every thought, released from
every concern, and became the recipient of boundless
favor and grace. He passed some days in &Iraq and was directed
to return to Persia. There he remained for a time,
frequenting the believers; and his pure breathings stirred
each one of them anew, so that each one yearned over the
Faith, and became more restless, more impatient than before.
Later he arrived at the Most Great Prison with &Mirza
&Abu'l-Hasan, the second &Amin. On this journey he met
with severe hardships, for it was extremely difficult to find
a way into the prison. Finally he was received by &Baha'u'llah
in the public baths. &Mirza &Abu'l-Hasan was so overwhelmed
at the majestic presence of his Lord that he
shook, stumbled, and fell to the floor; his head was injured
and the blood flowed out.
&Amin, that is &Shah-Muhammad, was honored with the
title of the Trusted One, and bounties were showered upon
him. Full of eagerness and love, taking with him Tablets
from &Baha'u'llah, he hastened back to Persia, where, at all
times worthy of trust, he labored for the Cause. His services
were outstanding, and he was a consolation to the believers'
hearts. There was none to compare with him for
energy, enthusiasm and zeal, and no man's services could
equal his. He was a haven amidst the people, known everywhere
for devotion to the Holy Threshold, widely acclaimed
by the friends.
He never rested for a moment. Not one night did he
spend on a bed of ease, never did he lay down his head on
comfort's pillow. He was continuously in flight, soaring as
the birds do, running like a deer, guesting in the desert of
oneness, alone and swift. He brought joy to all the believers;

+P47
to all, his coming was good news; to every seeker, he
was a sign and token. He was enamored of God, a vagrant
in the desert of God's love. Like the wind, he traveled over
the face of the plains, and he was restive on the heights
of the hills. He was in a different country every day, and
in yet another land by nightfall. Never did he rest, never
was he still. He was forever rising up to serve.
But then they took him prisoner in &Adhirbayjan, in the
town of &Miyandu'ab. He fell a prey to some ruthless
Kurds, a hostile band who asked no questions of the innocent,
defenseless man. Believing that this stranger, like
other foreigners, wished ill to the Kurdish people, and
taking him for worthless, they killed him.
When news of his martyrdom reached the Prison, all
the captives grieved, and they shed tears for him, resigned
to God and undefended as he was in his last hour. Even
on the countenance of &Baha'u'llah, there were visible tokens
of grief. A Tablet, infinitely tender, was revealed by
the Supreme Pen, commemorating the man who died on
that calamitous plain, and many other Tablets were sent
down concerning him.
Today, under the shadowing mercy of God, he dwells
in the bright Heavens. He communes with the birds of
holiness, and in the assemblage of splendors he is immersed
in light. The memory and praise of him shall remain, till
the end of time, in the pages of books and on the tongues
and lips of men.
Unto him be salutations and praise; upon him be the
glory of the All-Glorious; upon him be the most great
mercy of God.

+P48
&Mashhadi &Fattah

&Mashhadi &Fattah was
personified spirit. He
was devotion itself. Brother to &Haji &Ali-'Askar--of the same
pure lineage--through the latter he came into the Faith.
Like the twins, Castor and Pollux, the two kept together in
one spot, and both were illumined with the light of belief.
In all things, the two were united as a pair; they shared
the same certitude and faith, the same conscience, and
made their way out of &Adhirbayjan to Adrianople, emigrating
at the same time. In every circumstance of their
life, they lived as one individual; their disposition, their
aims, their religion, character, behavior, faith, certitude,
knowledge--all were one. Even in the Most Great Prison,
they were constantly together.
&Mashhadi &Fattah possessed some merchandise; this was
all he owned in the world. He had entrusted it to persons
in Adrianople, and later on those unrighteous people did
away with the goods. Thus, in the pathway of God, he
lost whatever he possessed. He passed his days, perfectly
content, in the Most Great Prison. He was utter selflessness;
from him, no one ever heard a syllable to indicate
that he existed. He was always in a certain corner of the
prison, silently meditating, occupied with the remembrance

+P49
of God; at all times spiritually alert and mindful,
in a state of supplication.
Then came the Supreme Affliction. He could not tolerate
the anguish of parting with &Baha'u'llah, and after
&Baha'u'llah's passing, he died of grief. Blessed is he; again,
blessed is he. Glad tidings to him; again, glad tidings to
him. Upon him be the glory of the All-Glorious.


&Nabil of &Qa'in

This distinguished man,
&Mulla &Muhammad-'Ali,+F1
was one of those whose hearts were drawn to &Baha'u'llah
before the Declaration of the &Bab; it was then that he
drank the red wine of knowledge from the hands of the
Cupbearer of grace. It happened that a prince, who was
the son of &Mir &Asadu'llah &Khan, prince of &Qa'in, was commanded
to remain as a political hostage in &Tihran. He was
young, far away from his loving father, and &Mulla &Muhammad-'Ali
was his tutor and guardian. Since the youth
was a stranger in &Tihran, the Blessed Beauty showed him
special kindness. Many a night the young prince was
&Baha'u'llah's guest at the mansion, and &Mulla &Muhammad-'Ali
would accompany him. This was prior to the Declaration
of the &Bab.

+F1 &Nabil of &Qa'in was his title.

+P50
It was then that this chief of all trusted friends was
captivated by &Baha'u'llah, and wherever he went, spread
loving praise of Him. After the way of &Islam, he also related
the great miracles which he had, with his own eyes,
seen &Baha'u'llah perform, and the marvels he had heard.
He was in ecstasy, burning up with love. In that condition,
he returned to &Qa'in with the prince.
Later on that eminent scholar, &Aqa &Muhammad of
&Qa'in (whose title was &Nabil-i-Akbar) was made a mujtahid,
a doctor of religious law, by the late &Shaykh &Murtada;
he left, then, for &Baghdad, became an ardent follower of
&Baha'u'llah, and hastened back to Persia. The leading divines
and mujtahids were well aware of and acknowledged
his vast scholarly accomplishments, the breadth of
his learning, and his high rank. When he reached &Qa'in,
he began openly to spread the new Faith. The moment
&Mulla &Muhammad-'Ali heard the name of the Blessed
Beauty, he immediately accepted the &Bab. "I had the
honor," he said, "of meeting the Blessed Beauty in &Tihran.
The instant I saw Him, I became His slave."
In his village of &Sar-Chah, this gifted, high-minded man
began to teach the Faith. He guided in his own family and
saw to the others as well, bringing a great multitude under
the law of the love of God, leading each one to the path
of salvation.
Up to that time he had always been a close companion
of &Mir &Alam &Khan, the Governor of &Qa'in, had rendered
him important services, and had enjoyed the Governor's
respect and trust. Now that shameless prince turned
against him in a rage on account of his religion, seized his
property and plundered it; for the &Amir was terrified of
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah. He banished &Nabil-i-Akbar and ruined
&Nabil of &Qa'in. After throwing him in prison and torturing
him, he drove him out as a homeless vagrant.
To &Nabil, the sudden calamity was a blessing, the sacking

+P51
of his earthly goods, the expulsion into the desert, was
a kingly crown and the greatest favor God could grant
him. For some time he remained in &Tihran, to outward
seeming a pauper of no fixed abode, but inwardly rejoicing;
for this is the characteristic of every soul who is firm
in the Covenant.
He had access to the society of the great and knew the
condition of the various princes. He would, therefore,
frequent some of them and give them the message. He was
a consolation to the hearts of the believers and as a drawn
sword to the enemies of &Baha'u'llah. He was one of those
of whom we read in the &Qur'an: "For the Cause of God
shall they strive hard; the blame of the blamer shall they
not fear."+F2 Day and night he toiled to promote the Faith,
and with all his might to spread abroad the clear signs of
God. He would drink and drink again of the wine of God's
love, was clamorous as the storm clouds, restless as the
waves of the sea.
Permission came, then, for him to visit the Most Great
Prison; for in &Tihran, as a believer, he had become a
marked man. They all knew of his conversion; he had no
caution, no patience, no reserve; he cared nothing for
reticence, nothing for dissimulation. He was utterly fearless
and in terrible danger.
When he arrived at the Most Great Prison, the hostile
watchers drove him off, and try as he might he found no
way to enter. He was obliged to leave for Nazareth, where
he lived for some time as a stranger, alone with his two
sons, &Aqa &Qulam-Husayn and &Aqa &Ali-Akbar, grieving and
praying. At last a plan was devised to introduce him into
the fortress and he was summoned to the prison where they
had immured the innocent. He came in such ecstasy as
cannot be described, and was admitted to the presence of

+F2 &Qur'an 5:59.

+P52
&Baha'u'llah. When he entered there and lifted his eyes to
the Blessed Beauty he shook and trembled and fell unconscious
to the floor. &Baha'u'llah spoke words of loving-kindness
to him and he rose again. He spent some days
hidden in the barracks, after which he returned to Nazareth.
The inhabitants of Nazareth wondered much about
him. They told one another that he was obviously a great
and distinguished man in his own country, a notable and
of high rank; and they asked themselves why he should
have chosen such an out-of-the-way corner of the world
as Nazareth and how he could be contented with such
poverty and hardship.
When, in fulfillment of the promise of the Most Great
Name, the gates of the Prison were flung wide, and all the
friends and travelers could enter and leave the fortress-town
in peace and with respect, &Nabil of &Qa'in would
journey to see &Baha'u'llah once in every month. However,
as commanded by Him, he continued to live in Nazareth,
where he converted a number of Christians to the Faith;
and there he would weep, by day and night, over the
wrongs that were done to &Baha'u'llah.
His means of livelihood was his business partnership
with me. That is, I provided him with a capital of three
krans;+F3 with it he bought needles, and this was his stock-in-trade.
The women of Nazareth gave him eggs in exchange
for his needles and in this way he would obtain
thirty or forty eggs a day: three needles per egg. Then he
would sell the eggs and live on the proceeds. Since there
was a daily caravan between &Akka and Nazareth, he
would refer to &Aqa &Rida each day, for more needles. Glory
be to God! He survived two years on that initial outlay of
capital; and he returned thanks at all times. You can tell

+F3 The kran was 20 &shahis, or almost 8 cents. Cf. Webster, op. cit.

+P53
how detached he was from worldly things by this one fact:
the Nazarenes used to say it was plain to see from the old
man's manner and behavior that he was very rich, and
that if he lived so modestly it was only because he was a
stranger in a strange place--hiding his wealth by setting up
as a peddler of needles.
Whenever he came into the presence of &Baha'u'llah he
received still more evidences of favor and love. For all seasons,
he was a close friend and companion to me. When
sorrows attacked me I would send for him, and then I
would rejoice just to see him again. How wonderful his
talk was, how attractive his society. Bright of face he was;
free of heart; loosed from every earthly tie, always on the
wing. Toward the end he made his home in the Most
Great Prison, and every day he entered the presence of
&Baha'u'llah.
On a certain day, walking through the &bazar with his
friends, he met a gravedigger named &Haji &Ahmad. Although
in the best of health, he addressed the gravedigger
and laughingly told him: "Come along with me." Accompanied
by the believers and the gravedigger he made for
&Nabiyu'llah &Salih. Here he said: "O &Haji &Ahmad, I have
a request to make of you: when I move on, out of this
world and into the next, dig my grave here, beside the
Purest Branch.+F4 This is the favor I ask." So saying, he gave
the man a gift of money.
That very evening, not long after sunset, word came that
&Nabil of &Qa'in had been taken ill. I went to his home at
once. He was sitting up, and conversing. He was radiant,
laughing, joking, but for no apparent reason the sweat was
pouring off his face--it was rushing down. Except for this

+F4 &Mirza &Mihdi, the son of &Baha'u'llah who, praying one evening on
+F4 the barracks roof, fell to his death. Cf. God Passes By, p. 188.

+P54
he had nothing the matter with him. The perspiring went
on and on; he weakened, lay in his bed, and toward morning,
died.
&Baha'u'llah would refer to him with infinite grace and
loving-kindness, and revealed a number of Tablets in his
name. The Blessed Beauty was wont, after &Nabil's passing,
to recall that ardor, the power of that faith, and to comment
that here was a man who had recognized Him, prior
to the advent of the &Bab.
All hail to him for this wondrous bestowal. "Blessedness
awaiteth him and a goodly home... And God will single
out for His mercy whomsoever He willeth."+F5


Siyyid &Muhammad-Taqi &Manshadi

&Muhammad-Taqi came
from the village of
&Manshad. When still young, he learned of the Faith of
God. In holy ecstasy, his mind turned Heavenward, and his
heart was flooded with light. Divine grace descended upon
him; the summons of God so enraptured him that he
threw the peace of &Manshad to the winds. Leaving his
kinsfolk and children, he set out over mountains and desert
plains, passed from one halting-place to the next, came to
the seashore, crossed over the sea and at last reached the

+F5 Cf. &Qur'an 13:28; 2:99; 3:67.

+P55
city of Haifa. From there he hastened on to &Akka and entered
the presence of &Baha'u'llah.
In the early days he opened a small shop in Haifa and
carried on some trifling business. God's blessing descended
upon it, and it prospered. That little corner became the
haven of the pilgrims. When they arrived, and again at
their departure, they were guests of the high-minded and
generous &Muhammad-Taqi. He also helped to manage the
affairs of the believers, and would get together their means
of travel. He proved unfailingly reliable, loyal, worthy of
trust. Ultimately he became the intermediary through
whom Tablets could be sent away and mail from the believers
could come in. He performed this service with perfect
dependability, accomplishing it in a most pleasing way,
scrupulously despatching and receiving the correspondence
at all times. Trusted by everyone, he became known in
many parts of the world, and received unnumbered bounties
from &Baha'u'llah. He was a treasury of justice and
righteousness, entirely free from any attachment to worldly
things. He had accustomed himself to a very spare way of
life, caring nothing for food or sleep, comfort or peace. He
lived all alone in a single room, passed the nights on a
couch of palm branches, and slept in a corner. But to the
travelers, he was a spring in the desert; for them, he provided
the softest of pillows, and the best table he could afford.
He had a smiling face and by nature was spiritual
and serene.
After the Daystar of the Supreme Concourse had set,
Siyyid &Manshadi remained loyal to the Covenant, a sharp
sword confronting the violators. They tried every ruse,
every deceit, all their subtlest expedients; it is beyond imagining
how they showered favors on him and what honors
they paid him, what feasts they prepared, what pleasures
they offered, all this to make a breach in his faith.
Yet every day he grew stronger than before, continued to

+P56
be staunch and true, kept free from every unseemly
thought, and shunned whatever went contrary to the Covenant
of God. When they finally despaired of shaking his
resolve, they harassed him in every possible way, and
plotted his financial ruin. He remained, however, the
quintessence of constancy and trust.
When, at the instigation of the violators, &Abdu'l-Hamid
began his opposition to me, I was obliged to send &Manshadi
away to Port &Said, because he was widely known
among the people as the distributor of our mail. I then
had to relay the correspondence to him through intermediaries
who were unknown, and he would send the
letters on as before. In this way the treacherous and the
hostile were unable to take over the mail. During the latter
days of &Abdu'l-Hamid, when a commission of investigation
appeared and--urged on by those familiars-turned-strangers--
made plans to tear out the Holy Tree by the
roots; when they determined to cast me into the depths of
the sea or banish me to the Fezzan, and this was their settled
purpose; and when the commission accordingly tried
their utmost to get hold of some document or other, they
failed. In the thick of all that turmoil, with all the pressures
and restraints, and the foul attacks of those persons
who were pitiless as &Yazid,+F1 still the mail went through.
For many long years, Siyyid &Manshadi befittingly performed
this service in Port &Said. The friends were uniformly
pleased with him. In that city he earned the gratitude
of travelers, placed those who had emigrated in his
debt, brought joy to the local believers. Then the heavy
heat of Egypt proved too much for him; he took to his bed,

+F1 &Yazid (son of &Mu'aviyyih), &Ummayad Caliph by whose order the
+F1 &Imam &Husayn was martyred. Proverbial for cruelty. Cf. S. &Haim,
+F1 New Persian-English Dictionary, s.v.

+P57
and in a raging fever, cast off the robe of life. He abandoned
Port &Said for the Kingdom of Heaven, and rose up
to the mansions of the Lord.
Siyyid &Manshadi was the essence of virtue and intellect.
His qualities and attainments were such as to amaze the
most accomplished minds. He had no thought except of
God, no hope but to win the good pleasure of God. He was
the embodiment of "Keep all my words of prayer and praise
confined to one refrain; make all my life but servitude
to Thee."
May God cool his feverish pain with the grace of reunion
in the Kingdom, and heal his sickness with the balm
of nearness to Him in the Realm of the All-Beauteous.
Upon him be the glory of God the Most Glorious.


&Muhammad-'Ali &Sabbaq of Yazd

Early in youth, &Muhammad-'Ali
&Sabbaq became a
believer while in &Iraq. He tore away hindering veils and
doubts, escaped from his delusions and hastened to the
welcoming shelter of the Lord of Lords. A man to outward
seeming without education, for he could neither read nor
write, he was of sharp intelligence and a trustworthy
friend. Through one of the believers, he was brought into
the presence of &Baha'u'llah, and was soon widely known
to the public as a disciple. He found himself a corner to

+P58
live in, close beside the house of the Blessed Beauty, and
mornings and evenings would enter the presence of &Baha'u'llah.
For a time he was supremely happy.
When &Baha'u'llah and His retinue left &Baghdad for
Constantinople, &Aqa &Muhammad-'Ali was of that company,
and fevered with the love of God. We reached Constantinople;
and since the Government obliged us to settle
in Adrianople we left &Muhammad-'Ali in the Turkish capital
to assist the believers as they came and went through
that city. We then went on to Adrianople. This man remained
alone and he suffered intense distress for he had
no friend nor companion nor anyone to care for him.
After two years of this he came on to Adrianople, seeking
a haven in the loving-kindness of &Baha'u'llah. He went
to work as a peddler, and when the great rebellion+F1 began
and the oppressors drove the friends to the extreme of adversity,
he too was among the prisoners and was exiled
with us to the fortress at &Akka.
He spent a considerable time in the Most Great Prison,
after which &Baha'u'llah desired him to leave for Sidon,
where he engaged in trade. Sometimes he would return
and be received by &Baha'u'llah, but otherwise he stayed in
Sidon. He lived respected and trusted, a credit to all. When

+F1 The rebellion of &Mirza &Yahya, who had been named provisional
+F1 chief of the &Babi community. The &Bab had never appointed a successor
+F1 or viceregent, instead referring His disciples to the imminent advent
+F1 of His Promised One. In the interim a virtual unknown was, for
+F1 security reasons, made the ostensible leader. Following His declaration
+F1 in 1863 as the Promised One of the &Bab, &Baha'u'llah withdrew for a
+F1 time, in Adrianople, to allow the exiles a free choice as between Him
+F1 and this unworthy half brother, whose crimes and follies had threatened
+F1 to destroy the infant Faith. Terrified at being challenged to face
+F1 &Baha'u'llah in a public debate, &Mirza &Yahya refused, and was completely
+F1 discredited. As &Baha'i history has repeatedly demonstrated, this
+F1 crisis too, however grievous, resulted in still greater victories for the
+F1 Faith--including the rallying of prominent disciples to &Baha'u'llah,
+F1 and the global proclamation of &Baha'u'llah's mission, in His Tablets to
+F1 the Pope and Kings. Cf. God Passes By, p. 28, Chapter X and passim.

+P59
the Supreme Affliction came upon us, he returned to &Akka
and passed the remainder of his days near the Holy Tomb.
The friends, one and all, were pleased with him, and he
was cherished at the Holy Threshold; in this state he
soared to abiding glory, leaving his kin to mourn. He was
a kind man, an excellent one: content with God's will for
him, thankful, a man of dignity, long-suffering. Upon him
be the glory of the All-Glorious. May God send down,
upon his scented tomb in &Akka, tiers of celestial light.


&Abdu'l-Ghaffar of &Isfahan

Another of those who left
their homeland to become
our neighbors and fellow prisoners was &Abdu'l-Ghaffar of
&Isfahan. He was a highly perceptive individual who, on
commercial business, had traveled about Asia Minor for
many years. He made a journey to &Iraq, where &Aqa &Muhammad-'Ali
of &Sad (&Isfahan) brought him into the shelter
of the Faith. He soon ripped off the bandage of illusions
that had blinded his eyes before, and he rose up,
winging to salvation in the Heaven of Divine love. With
him, the veil had been thin, almost transparent, and that
is why, as the first word was imparted, he was immediately
released from the world of idle imaginings and attached
himself to the One Who is clear to see.
On the journey from &Iraq to the Great City, Constantinople,

+P60
&Abdu'l-Ghaffar was a close and agreeable companion.
He served as interpreter for the entire company,
for he spoke excellent Turkish, a language in which none
of the friends was proficient. The journey came peacefully
to an end and then, in the Great City, he continued on, as
a companion and friend. The same was true in Adrianople
and also when, as one of the prisoners, he accompanied us
to the city of Haifa.
Here, the oppressors determined to send him to Cyprus.
He was terrified and shouted for help, for he longed to be
with us in the Most Great Prison.+F1 When they held him
back by force, from high up on the ship he threw himself
into the sea. This had no effect whatever on the brutal officers.
After dragging him from the water they held him
prisoner on the ship, cruelly restraining him, and carrying
him away by force to Cyprus. He was jailed in Famagusta,
but one way or another managed to escape and hastened to
&Akka. Here, protecting himself from the malevolence of
our oppressors, he changed his name to &Abdu'llah. Sheltered
within the loving-kindness of &Baha'u'llah, he passed
his days at ease, and happy.
But when the world's great Light had set, to shine on
forever from the All-Luminous Horizon, &Abdu'l-Ghaffar
was beside himself and a prey to anguish. He no longer
had a home. He left for Damascus and spent some time
there, pent up in his sorrow, mourning by day and night.
He grew weaker and weaker. We despatched &Haji &Abbas
there, to nurse him and give him treatment and care, and
send back word of him every day. But &Abdu'l-Ghaffar
would do nothing but talk, unceasingly, at every hour,

+F1 &Mirza &Yahya had not been banished from Persia. Now, however,
+F1 he was being exiled from Adrianople to Cyprus, and &Abdu'l-Ghaffar
+F1 was one of the four companions condemned to go with him. Cf. &Baha'u'llah's
+F1 Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 166, and God Passes By,
+F1 p. 182.

+P61
with his nurse, and tell how he longed to go his way, into
the mysterious country beyond. And at the end, far from
home, exiled from his Love, he set out for the Holy
Threshold of &Baha'u'llah.
He was truly a man long-suffering, and mild; a man of
good character, good acts, and goodly words. Greetings and
praise be unto him, and the glory of the All-Glorious. His
sweet-scented tomb is in Damascus.


&Ali &Najaf-Abadi

Also among the emigrants
and near neighbors was
&Aqa &Ali &Najaf-Abadi. When this spiritual young man first
listened to the call of God he set his lips to the holy cup
and beheld the glory of the Speaker on the Mount. And
when, by grace of the light, he had attained positive knowledge,
he journeyed to the Most Great Prison, where he
witnessed the substance of knowledge itself, and arrived at
the high station of indubitable truth.
For a long time he remained in and about the sacred
city; he became the proverbial &Habibu'llah the Merchant,
and spent his days relying upon God, in supplication and
prayer. He was a man meek, quiet, uncomplaining, steadfast;
in all things pleasing, worthy of praise. He won the
approval of all the friends and was accepted and welcome
at the Holy Threshold. During his latter days, when he

+P62
felt that a happy end was in store for him, he again presented
himself at the holy city of the Most Great Prison.
Upon arrival he fell ill, weakened, passed his hours in supplicating
God. The breath of life ceased within him, the
gates of flight to the supreme Kingdom were flung wide,
he turned his eyes away from this world of dust and went
onward to the Holy Place.
&Ali &Najaf-Abadi was tender and sensitive of heart, at
all times mindful of God and remembering Him, and toward
the close of his life detached, without stain, free
from the contagion of this world. Sweetly, he gave up his
corner of the earth, and pitched his tent in the land beyond.
May God send upon him the pure savors of forgiveness,
brighten his eyes with beholding the Divine Beauty
in the Kingdom of Splendors, and refresh his spirit with
the musk-scented winds that blow from the &Abha Realm.
Unto him be salutation and praise. His sweet and holy
dust lies in &Akka.


&Mashhadi &Husayn and &Mashhadi
&Muhammad-i-Adhirbayjani

&Mashhadi &Husayn and
&Mashhadi &Muhammad
were both from the province of &Adhirbayjan. They were
pure souls who took the great step in their own country:

+P63
they freed themselves from friend and stranger alike, escaped
from the superstitions that had blinded them before,
strengthened their resolve, and bowed themselves down
before the grace of God, the Lord of Life. They were
blessed souls, loyal, unsullied in faith; evanescent, submissive,
poor, content with the will of God, in love with His
guiding Light, rejoicing over the great message. They left
their province and traveled to Adrianople. Here beside the
holy city they lived for quite a time in the village of &Qumruq-Kilisa.
By day, they supplicated God and communed
with Him; by night, they wept, bemoaning the plight of
Him Whom the world hath wronged.
When the exile to &Akka was under way, they were not
present in the city and thus were not arrested. Heavy of
heart, they continued on in that area, shedding their tears.
Once they had obtained a definite report from &Akka, they
left Rumelia and came here: two excellent souls, loyal
bondsmen of the Blessed Beauty. It is impossible to tell
how translucent they were of heart, how firm in faith.
They lived outside &Akka in &Bagh-i-Firdaws, worked as
farmers, and spent their days returning thanks to God because
once again they had won their way to the neighborhood
of grace and love. But they were natives of &Adhirbayjan,
accustomed to the cold, and they could not endure
the local heat. Furthermore, this was during our early days
in &Akka, when the air was noxious, and the water unwholesome
in the extreme. They both fell ill of a chronic,
high fever. They bore it cheerfully, with amazing patience.
During their days of illness, despite the assault of the fever,
the violence of their ailment, the raging thirst, the restlessness,
they remained inwardly at peace, rejoicing at the Divine
glad tidings. And at a time when they were offering
thanks with all their heart, they hurried away from this
world and entered the other; they escaped from this cage
and were released into the garden of immortality. Upon

+P64
them be the mercy of God, and may He be well pleased
with them. Unto them be salutations and praise. May God
bring them into the Realm that abides forever, to delight
in reunion with Him, to bask in the Kingdom of Splendors.
Their two luminous tombs are in &Akka.


&Haji &Abdu'r-Rahim-i-Yazdi

&Haji &Abdu'r-Rahim of
Yazd was a precious soul,
from his earliest years virtuous and God-fearing, and
known among the people as a holy man, peerless in observing
his religious duties, mindful as to his acts. His
strong religious faith was an indisputable fact. He served
and worshiped God by day and night, was sound, mild,
compassionate, a loyal friend.
Because he was fully prepared, at the very moment
when he heard the summons from the Supreme Horizon
--heard the drumbeats of "Am I not your Lord?"--he instantly
cried out, "Yea, verily!" With his whole being, he
became enamored of the splendors shed by the Light of the
World. Openly and boldly he began to confirm his family
and friends. This was soon known throughout the city; to
the eyes of the evil &ulamas, he was now an object of hate
and contempt. Incurring their wrath, he was despised by
those creatures of their own low passions. He was molested
and harassed; the inhabitants rioted, and the evil &ulamas

+P65
plotted his death. The government authorities turned on
him as well, hounded him, even subjected him to torture.
They beat him with clubs, and whipped him. All this went
on, by day and night.
He was forced, then, to abandon his home and go out of
the city, a vagrant, climbing the mountains, crossing over
the plains, until he came to the Holy Land. But so weak he
was, and wasted away, that whoever saw him thought he
was breathing his last; when he reached Haifa, &Nabil of
&Qa'in hurried to &Akka, and desired me to summon the
&Haji at once, because he was in his death agony and failing
fast.
"Let me go to the Mansion," I said, "and ask leave."
"It would take too long," he said. "And then &Abdu'r-Rahim
will never see &Akka. I long for him to have this
bounty; for him at least to see &Akka, and die. I beg of You,
send for him at once!"
Complying with his wish, I summoned &Abdu'r-Rahim.
When he came, I could hardly detect in him a whisper of
life. At times he would open his eyes, but he spoke no
word. Still, the sweet savors of the Most Great Prison restored
the vital spark, and his yearning to meet &Baha'u'llah
breathed life into him again. I looked in on him the next
morning and found him cheerful and refreshed. He asked
permission to attend upon &Baha'u'llah. "It all depends," I
answered, "on whether He grants you leave. God willing,
you shall be singled out for this cherished gift."
A few days later, permission came, and he hastened to
the presence of &Baha'u'llah. When &Abdu'r-Rahim entered
there, the spirit of life was wafted over him. On his return,
it was clear that this &Haji had become a different &Haji entirely:
he was in the bloom of health. &Nabil was dumbfounded,
and said: "How life-giving, to a true believer, is
this prison air!"
For some time, &Abdu'r-Rahim lived in the neighborhood.

+P66
He spent his hours remembering and praising God;
he chanted prayers, and carefully attended to his religious
duties. Thus he saw few people. This servant paid special
attention to his needs, and ordered a light diet for him.
But it all came to an end with the Supreme Affliction, the
ascension of &Baha'u'llah. There was anguish then, and the
noise of loud weeping. With his heart on fire, his eyes raining
tears, he struggled weakly to move about; so his days
went by, and always, he longed to make his exit from this
rubbish heap, the world. At last he broke away from the
torment of his loss, and hurried on to the Realm of God,
and came to the assemblage of Divine splendor in the
Kingdom of Lights.
Unto him be salutations and praise, and mercy ineffable.
May God scatter on his resting-place rays from the mysterious
Realm.


&Haji &Abdu'llah &Najaf-Abadi

Once he had become a believer,
&Haji &Abdu'llah
left his native Persia, hastened to the Holy Land, and under
the sheltering grace of &Baha'u'llah found peace of
heart. He was a man confident, steadfast and firm; certain
of the manifold bounties of God; of an excellent disposition
and character.
He spent his days in friendly association with the other

+P67
believers. Then for a while he went to &Ghawr, near Tiberias,
where he farmed, both tilling the soil and devoting
much of his time to supplicating and communing with
God. He was an excellent man, high-minded and unsullied.
Later he returned from &Ghawr, settled near &Baha'u'llah
in Junayna, and came often into His presence. His eyes
were fixed on the &Abha Kingdom; sometimes he would
shed tears and moan, again he would rejoice, glad because
he had achieved his supreme desire. He was completely
detached from all but God, happy in God's grace. He
would keep a vigil most of the night, remaining in a state
of prayer. Then death came at the appointed hour, and in
the shadowing care of &Baha'u'llah he ascended, hurried
away from this world of dust to the high Firmament,
soared upward to the secret land. Unto him be salutations,
mercy and praise, in the neighborhood of his exalted Lord.


&Muhammad-Hadiy-i-Sahhaf

Yet one more among those
who emigrated and came
to settle near &Baha'u'llah was the bookbinder, &Muhammad-Hadi.
This noted man was from &Isfahan, and as a
binder and illuminator of books he had no peer. When he
gave himself up to the love of God he was alert on the path
and fearless. He abandoned his home and began a dreadful

+P68
journey, passing with extreme hardship from one country
to another until he reached the Holy Land and became
a prisoner. He stationed himself by the Holy Threshold,
carefully sweeping it and keeping watch. Through his
constant efforts, the square in front of &Baha'u'llah's house
was at all times swept, sprinkled and immaculate.
&Baha'u'llah would often glance at that plot of ground,
and then He would smile and say: "&Muhammad-Hadi has
turned the square in front of this prison into the bridalbower
of a palace. He has brought pleasure to all the neighbors
and earned their thanks."
When his sweeping, sprinkling and tidying was done,
he would set to work illuminating and binding the various
books and Tablets. So his days went by, his heart happy in
the presence of the Beloved of mankind. He was an excellent
soul, righteous, true, worthy of the bounty of being
united with his Lord, and free of the world's contagion.
One day he came to me and complained of a chronic
ailment. "I have suffered from chills and fever for two
years," he said, "The doctors have prescribed a purgative,
and quinine. The fever stops a few days; then it returns.
They give me more quinine, but still the fever returns. I
am weary of this life, and can no longer do my work. Save
me!"
"What food would you most enjoy?" I asked him.
"What would you eat with great appetite?"
"I don't know," he said.
Jokingly, I named off the different dishes. When I came
to barley soup with whey (&ash-i-kashk), he said, "Very
good! But on condition there is braised garlic in it."
I directed them to prepare this for him, and I left. The
next day he presented himself and told me: "I ate a whole
bowlful of the soup. Then I laid my head on my pillow
and slept peacefully till morning."

+P69
In short, from then on he was perfectly well for about
two years.
One day a believer came to me and said: "&Muhammad-Hadi
is burning up with fever." I hurried to his bedside
and found him with a fever of 42 Centigrade. He was
barely conscious. "What has he done?" I asked. "When he
became feverish," was the reply, "he said that he knew
from experience what he should do. Then he ate his fill of
barley soup with whey and braised garlic; and this was the
result."
I was astounded at the workings of fate. I told them:
"Because, two years ago, he had been thoroughly purged
and his system was clear; because he had a hearty appetite
for it, and his ailment was fever and chills, I prescribed
the barley soup. But this time, with the different foods he
has had, with no appetite, and especially with a high fever,
there was no reason to diagnose the previous chronic condition.
How could he have eaten the soup!" They answered,
"It was fate." Things had gone too far; &Muhammad-Hadi
was past saving.
He was a man short of stature, lofty of station and mind.
His heart was pure, his soul luminous. During all those
days when he served the Holy Threshold, he was loved by
the friends and favored by God. From time to time, a smile
on His lips, the Blessed Beauty would speak to him, expressing
kindness and grace.
&Muhammad-Hadi was loyal always, and he accounted
all things other than God's good pleasure as fiction and
fable, nothing more. Blessed is he for this gift bestowed
upon him, glad tidings to him for the place to which he
shall be led; may it do him good, this wine-cup tempered
at the camphor fountain, and may all his strivings meet
with thanks and be acceptable to God.+F1

+F1 Cf. &Qur'an 11:101; 11:100; 76:5; 76:22; 17:20.

+P70
&Mirza &Muhammad-Quli

&Jinab-i-Mirza &Muhammad-Quli+F1
was a loyal brother
of the Blessed Beauty. This
great man was known even from his childhood for nobility
of soul. He was newly born when his distinguished father
passed away, and thus it came about that from the beginning
to the end of his days, he spent his life in the sheltering
arms of &Baha'u'llah. He was detached from every selfish
thought, averse to every mention except to whatever
concerned the Holy Cause. He was reared in Persia under
the care of &Baha'u'llah, and in &Iraq as well, especially favored
by Him. In the presence of &Baha'u'llah, it was he
who would pass around the tea; and he waited upon his
Brother at all times, by day and night. He was always silent.
He always held fast to the Covenant of "Am I not
your Lord?" He was encompassed by loving-kindness and
bounty; day and night he had access to the presence of
&Baha'u'llah; he was invariably patient and forbearing, until
in the end he reached the very heights of Divine favor
and acceptance.
He kept always to his own way of being. He traveled in
the company of &Baha'u'llah; from &Iraq to Constantinople

+F1 Cf. God Passes By, p. 108.

+P71
he was with the convoy and at the halting-places it was his
task to pitch the tents. He served with the greatest diligence,
and did not know the meaning of lethargy or fatigue.
In Constantinople as well, and later in the Land of
Mystery, Adrianople, he continued on, in one and the
same invariable condition.
With his peerless Lord, he then was exiled to the &Akka
fortress, condemned by order of the &Sultan to be imprisoned
forever.+F2 But he accepted in the same spirit all that
came his way--comfort and torment, hardship and respite,
sickness and health; eloquently, he would return thanks to
the Blessed Beauty for His bounties, uttering praise with a
free heart and a face that shone like the sun. Each morning
and evening he waited upon &Baha'u'llah, delighting in
and sustained by His presence; and mostly, he kept silent.
When the Beloved of all mankind ascended to the Kingdom
of Splendors, &Mirza &Muhammad-Quli remained firm
in the Covenant, shunning the craft, the malice and hypocrisy
which then appeared, devoting himself entirely to
God, supplicating and praying. To those who would listen
he gave wise advice; and he called to mind the days of the
Blessed Beauty and grieved over the fact that he himself
lived on. After the departure of &Baha'u'llah, he did not
draw an easeful breath; he kept company with no one, but
stayed by himself most of the time, alone in his small refuge,
burning with the fires of separation. Day by day he
grew feebler, more helpless, until at the last he soared away
to the world of God. Upon him be peace; upon him be
praise and mercy, in the gardens of Heaven. His luminous
grave is in &Naqib, by Tiberias.

+F2 Cf. God Passes By, pp. 186; 193; 196.

+P72
&Ustad &Baqir and &Ustad &Ahmad

And again among those who
left their homeland were
two carpenters, &Ustad &Baqir and &Ustad &Ahmad. These
two were brothers, of pure lineage, and natives of &Kashan.
From the time when both became believers each held the
other in his embrace. They harkened to the voice of God,
and to His cry of "Am I not your Lord?" they replied,
"Yea, verily!"
For a time they stayed on in their own country, occupied
with the remembrance of God, characterized by faith and
knowledge, respected by friend and stranger alike, known
to all for righteousness and trustworthiness, for austerity of
life and the fear of God. When the oppressor stretched
forth his hands against them, and tormented them beyond
endurance, they emigrated to &Iraq, to the sheltering care
of &Baha'u'llah. They were two most blessed souls. For
some time they remained in &Iraq, praying in all lowliness,
and supplicating God.
Then &Ustad &Ahmad departed for Adrianople, while
&Ustad &Baqir remained in &Iraq and was taken as a prisoner
to Mosul. &Ustad &Ahmad went on with the party of &Baha'u'llah
to the Most Great Prison, and &Ustad &Baqir emigrated
from Mosul to &Akka. Both of the brothers were
under the protection of God and free from every earthly
bond. In the prison, they worked at their craft, keeping to

+P73
themselves, away from friend and stranger alike. Tranquil,
dignified, confident, strong in faith, sheltered by the
All-Merciful, they happily spent their days. &Ustad &Baqir
was the first to die, and some time afterward his brother
followed him.
These two were firm believers, loyal, patient, at all
times thankful, at all times supplicating God in lowliness,
with their faces turned in His direction. During that long
stay in the prison they were never neglectful of duty, never
at fault. They were constantly joyful, for they had drunk
deep of the holy cup; and when they soared upward, out of
the world, the friends mourned over them and asked that
by the grace of &Baha'u'llah, they should be favored and
forgiven. These two were embosomed in bounty, and Divinely
sustained, and the Blessed Beauty was well pleased
with them both; with this provision for their journey, they
set out for the world to come. Upon them both be the glory
of God the All-Glorious; to each be a seat of truth+F1 in the
Kingdom of Splendors.


&Muhammad &Hana-Sab

This man of dignity and
rank, &Aqa &Muhammad,
was yet another among those who abandoned their homes,
and was one of the earliest believers. From the dawn tide,
he was widely known as a lover of the Most Great Light.

+F1 &Qur'an 54:55.

+P74
He was then in &Isfahan, and he shut his eyes to this world
and the next as well,+F1 and opened them to the beauty of
Him Who is the embodiment of all that is lovable.+F2
&Aqa &Muhammad could no longer find rest, for he had
come alive through the musk-laden breathings of God; his
heart was alight, he could inhale the holy fragrance, he
had an eye to see, an ear to hear. He guided a number of
souls, remaining true and loyal to the great Cause. He endured
terrible persecution and torment, but did not falter.
Then he found favor in the eyes of the King of Martyrs
and became a trusted attendant of the Beloved of Martyrs,+F3
serving them for some years. He was confirmed in
his work, so that on many occasions the King of Martyrs
expressed satisfaction with him, saying, "This man is one
of those souls who are at rest; he is indeed well-pleased
with his Lord, and well-pleasing unto Him.+F4 His faith is
unalloyed, he loves God, he has a good character, and
leads a good life. He is also an agreeable companion, and
an eloquent one."
After the King of Martyrs was put to death, &Aqa &Muhammad
stayed on for a time in &Isfahan, consumed with
mourning for him. Finally he emigrated to the Most Great
Prison, where he was received by &Baha'u'llah, and won
the high honor of sweeping the ground about the Threshold.
He was patient, forbearing, a true friend and companion.
Then the Supreme Affliction came upon us, and

+F1 This reference to two worlds, du &jihan, may indicate the saying:
+F1 &Isfahan is half the world--&Isfahan &nisf-i-jihan.
+F2 For this definition of the Manifestation of God, see God Passes By,
+F2 p. 119.
+F3 These "twin shining lights" were two brothers, famous merchants
+F3 of &Isfahan. Because he owed them a large sum of money, the leading
+F3 priest--&Imam &Jum'ih--of the city brought about their martyrdom. See
+F3 &Baha'u'llah's Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, and God Passes By, pp.
+F3 200-201 and 219.
+F4 &Qur'an 89:27-30.

+P75
&Aqa &Muhammad was in such anguish that he was unable
to rest for a moment. At every dawn he would rise and
would sweep the ground about the house of &Baha'u'llah,
his tears pouring down like rain, chanting prayers as he
worked.
What a holy being he was, how great a man! He could
not bear the separation very long, but died, and hastened
onward to the world of lights, to the assemblage where the
beauty of God is unveiled. May God shed upon his grave
rays from the realm of forgiveness, and lull his spirit in the
heart of Paradise. May God exalt his station in the gardens
above. His bright tomb is in &Akka.


&Haji &Faraju'llah &Tafrishi

Yet another of those who
came out of their homeland
to live in the neighborhood of &Baha'u'llah was &Faraju'llah
of &Tafrish. This blessed individual was from earliest
youth the servant of &Baha'u'llah, and with his esteemed
father, &Aqa &Lutfu'llah, he emigrated from Persia
to Adrianople. &Aqa &Lutfu'llah was a staunch believer, lovingly
devoted to the Blessed Beauty. Patient, long-suffering,
completely indifferent to this world and its vanities,
he lived content in the neighborhood of &Baha'u'llah; and
then humbly at the Threshold, with a contrite heart, he
abandoned this fleeting life and soared away to the boundless

+P76
realms beyond. His sweet-scented dust is in Adrianople.
As for &Haji &Faraju'llah, he lived on in that city, until
the day when merciless oppressors banished &Baha'u'llah to
&Akka, and in His company the &Haji came here to the
Most Great Prison. Later on, when hardship was changed
into ease, he engaged in trade, becoming a partner to &Muhammad-'Ali
of &Isfahan. For some time he prospered and
was happy. Then he was given leave to go, and journeyed
to India, where he spent a long period before he winged
his way into the gardens of forgiveness, and entered the
precincts of ineffable mercy.
This servant of the Blessed Beauty was one with the believers
in their afflictions and calamities; he had his share
of the anguish. The favors of &Baha'u'llah compassed him
about, and he rejoiced in that boundless grace. He was
among the companions, a close associate of the friends, and
he had a docile heart. Although his body was thin and
sickly, he was thankful, accepted it, was patient, and endured
the trials of God's path. Unto him be greetings and
praise; may he receive Heavenly gifts and blessings; upon
him be the glory of God the All-Glorious. His pure sepulcher
is in Bombay, India.

+P77
&Aqa &Ibrahim-i-Isfahani and His Brothers

And among those who emigrated
and came to settle
in the Holy Land was &Aqa &Ibrahim, one of four honored
brothers: &Muhammad-Sadiq; &Muhammad-Ibrahim; &Aqa
&Habibu'llah; and &Muhammad-'Ali. These four lived in
&Baghdad with their paternal uncle, &Aqa &Muhammad-Rida,
known as &Arid. They all lived in the same house,
and remained together day and night. Bird-like, they
shared the one nest; and they were always fresh and full of
grace, like flowers in a bed.
When the Ancient Beauty arrived in &Iraq their house
was in the neighborhood of His, and thus they had the joy
of watching Him as He came and went. Little by little the
manner of that Lord of hearts, what He did and what He
did not do, and the sight of His lovesome face, had its effect;
they began to thirst after the Faith and to seek His
grace and favor. They presented themselves at the door
of His house, as if they were flowers blooming there; and
they were soon enamored of the light that shone out from
His brow, captives of the beauty of that dear Companion.
They needed no teacher, then; by themselves, they saw
through the veils that had blinded them before, and won
the supreme desire of their hearts.
As commanded by the Blessed Beauty, &Mirza &Javad of

+P78
&Turshiz went to their house one night. &Mirza &Javad had
hardly opened his mouth when they accepted the Faith.
They did not hesitate for an instant, for they had amazing
receptivity. This is what is meant by the &Qur'anic verse:
"...whose oil would well nigh shine out, even though
fire touched it not! It is light upon light."+F1 That is, this oil
is so fully prepared, so ready to be lit, that it almost
catches fire of itself, though no flame be at hand; which
means that the capacity for faith, and the deserving it, can
be so great, that without the communication of a single
word the light shines forth. This is how it was with those
pure-hearted men; truly they were loyal, staunch, and devoted
to God.
The eldest brother, &Muhammad-Sadiq, accompanied
&Baha'u'llah from &Iraq to Constantinople, and from there
to Adrianople, where he lived happily for some time, close
to his Lord. He was humble, long-suffering, thankful;
there was always a smile on his lips; he was light of heart,
and his soul was in love with &Baha'u'llah. Later he was
given leave to return to &Iraq, for his family was there, and
he remained in that city for a while, dreaming and remembering.
Then a great calamity occurred in &Iraq, and all four
brothers with their noble uncle were taken prisoner. Victimized,
captive, they were brought to Mosul. The uncle,
&Aqa &Muhammad-Rida, was an old man, illumined of
mind, spiritual of heart, a man detached from all worldly
things. He had been extremely rich in &Iraq, enjoying comforts
and pleasures, but now in &Hadba--Mosul--he became
the chief victim among the prisoners, and suffered
dire need. He was destitute, but remained dignified, patient,
content, and thankful. Keeping to himself in an out-of-the-way
place, he praised God day and night until he

+F1 &Qur'an 24:35.

+P79
died. He gave up his heart to his heart's Love, burst from
the shackles of this inconstant world and ascended to the
Kingdom that endures forever. May God immerse him in
the waters of forgiveness, make him to enter the garden of
His compassion and good pleasure, and keep him in Paradise
till the end of time.
As for &Muhammad-Sadiq, he too, in Mosul, was subjected
to hardships on God's path. He too was a soul at
rest, well-pleased with his Lord and well-pleasing unto
Him. In the end he too replied to the voice of the King of
Glory: "Lord, here am I!" and came to fulfill the verses:
"O thou soul who art well-assured, return unto thy Lord, well-pleased,
and well-pleasing unto Him. Enter thou among
My servants; enter Thou My Paradise."+F2
And &Muhammad-'Ali, once he was freed from captivity,
hastened from Mosul to the Holy Land, to the precincts of
inexhaustible grace. Here he still lives. Although he suffers
hardship, his heart is at peace. As for his brother &Ibrahim,
referred to above, he also came on from Mosul to &Akka,
but to a region close by. There with patience, calm, contentment,
but difficulty, he engaged in trade, meanwhile
mourning the ascension of &Baha'u'llah by day and night.
Lowly and contrite, with his face turned toward the mysterious
realms of God, he wore his life away. At the end,
consumed by the years, hardly able to move about, he came
to Haifa, where he found a corner of the travelers' hospice
to live in, and spent his time humbly calling upon God, entreating
Him, offering praise. Little by little, eaten away
with age, his person began its dissolution, and at the end he
stripped off the garment of flesh and with his unclothed
spirit took flight to the realm of the All-Merciful. He was
transported out of this dark life into the shining air, and
was plunged in a sea of lights. May God brighten his grave

+F2 &Qur'an 89:27-30.

+P80
with spreading rays, and lull his spirit with the fannings of
Divine compassion. Upon him be the mercy of God, and
His good pleasure.
As for &Aqa &Habibu'llah, he too was made a captive in
&Iraq and was banished away to Mosul. For a long time, he
lived in that city, subjected to hardships, but remaining
content, and his faith increasing day by day. When famine
came to Mosul life was harder than ever on the outsiders,
but in the remembrance of God their hearts were at rest,+F3
and their souls ate of food from Heaven. Thus they endured
it all with astonishing patience, and the people
wondered at those strangers in their midst who were
neither distressed nor terrified as the others were, and who
continued to offer praise day and night. "What amazing
trust," the people said, "they have in God!"
&Habib was a man with a great store of patience and a
joyous heart. He accustomed himself to exile and he lived
in a state of yearning love. After the departure from &Baghdad,
the prisoners of Mosul were constantly made mention
of by &Baha'u'llah; with regard to them, He expressed His
infinite favor. A few years afterward, &Habib hastened away
to the encompassing mercy of God, and found a nest and
refuge on the boughs of the celestial Tree. There, in the
Paradise of all delights, with wondrous songs he poured
out his praise of the bountiful Lord.

+F3 Cf. &Qur'an 13:28: "Truly in the remembrance of God are the
+F3 hearts set at rest."

+P81
&Aqa &Muhammad-Ibrahim

&Muhammad-Ibrahim,
who bore the title of
&Mansur--Victorious--was a coppersmith. This man of
God, yet another among the emigrants and settlers, was a
native of &Kashan. In the early flowering of his youth he
recognized the newborn Light and drank deep of the holy
cup that is "tempered at the camphor fountain."+F1 He was a
man of pleasing disposition, full of zest and the joy of life.
As soon as the light of faith was lit in his heart, he left
&Kashan, journeyed to &Baghdad, and was honored with
coming into the presence of &Baha'u'llah.
&Aqa &Muhammad had a fine poetic gift, and he would
create verses like stringed pearls. In &Zawra--that is, &Baghdad,
the Abode of Peace--he was on amicable terms with
friend and stranger alike, ever striving to show forth loving-kindness
to all. He brought his brothers from Persia to
&Baghdad, and opened a shop for arts and crafts, applying
himself to the welfare of others. He, too, was taken prisoner
and exiled from &Baghdad to Mosul, after which he
journeyed to Haifa, where day and night, lowly and humble,
he chanted prayers and supplications and centered his
thoughts on God.

+F1 &Qur'an 76:5.

+P82
He remained a long time in Haifa, successfully serving
the believers there, and most humbly and unobtrusively
seeing to the travelers' needs. He married in that city, and
fathered fine children. To him every day was a new life
and a new joy, and whatever money he made he spent on
strangers and friends. After the slaying of the King of
Martyrs, he wrote an elegy to memorialize that believer who
had fallen on the field of anguish, and recited his ode in
the presence of &Baha'u'llah; the lines were touching in the
extreme, so that all who were there shed tears, and voices
were raised in grief.
&Aqa &Muhammad continued to live out his life, high of
aim, unvarying as to his inner condition, with fervor and
love. Then he welcomed death, laughing like a rose suddenly
full-blown, and crying, "Here am I!" Thus he quitted
Haifa, exchanging it for the world above. From this narrow
slip of land he hastened upward to the Well-Beloved,
soared out of this dust heap to pitch his tent in a fair and
shining place. Blessings be unto him, and a goodly home.+F2
May God sheathe him in mercies; may he rest under the
tabernacles of forgiveness and be brought into the gardens
of Heaven.

+F2 &Qur'an 13:28.

+P83
&Zaynu'l-'Abidin &Yazdi

One of the emigrants who
died along the way to the
Holy Land was &Zaynu'l-'Abidin of Yazd. When, in &Manshad,
this devoted man first heard the cry of God, he was
awakened to restless life. A holy passion stirred him, his
soul was made new. The light of guidance flamed from
the lamp of his heart; the love of God sparked a revolution
in the country of his inner self. Carried away by love for the
Loved One's beauty, he left the home that was dear to him
and set out for the Desired Land.
As he traveled along with his two sons, gladdened by
hopes of the meeting that would be his, he paused on every
hilltop, in every plain, village and hamlet to visit with the
friends. But the great distance stretching out before him
changed to a sea of troubles, and although his spirit
yearned, his body weakened, and at the end he sickened
and turned helpless; all this when he was without a home.
Sick as he was, he did not renounce the journey, nor fail
in his resolve; he had amazing strength of will, and was
determined to keep on; but the illness worsened with every
passing day, until at last he winged his way to the mercy
of God, and yielded up his soul in a longing unfulfilled.
Although to outward eyes he never drained the cup of
meeting, never gazed upon the beauty of &Baha'u'llah, still

+P84
he achieved the very spirit of spiritual communion; he is
accounted as one of those who attained the Presence, and
for him the reward of those who reached that Presence is
fixed and ordained. He was a stainless soul, faithful, devoted
and true. He never drew a breath except in righteousness,
and his single desire was to worship his Lord. He
walked the ways of love; he was known to all for steadfast
loyalty and pure intent. May God fill up reunion's cup for
him in a fair country, make him to enter the everlasting
Kingdom, and console his eyes with beholding the lights
of that mysterious Realm.


&Haji &Mulla &Mihdiy-i-Yazdi

Yet another who left his
homeland was &Mulla
&Mihdi of Yazd. Although to all appearances this excellent
man was not of the learned class, he was an expert in the
field of Muslim sacred traditions and an eloquent interpreter
of orally transmitted texts. Persevering in his devotions,
known for holy practices and nightly communings
and vigils, his heart was illumined, and he was spiritual of
mind and soul. He spent most of his time repeating communes,
performing the obligatory prayers, confessing his
failings and supplicating the Lord. He was one of those
who penetrate mysteries, and was a confidant of the righteous.
As a teacher of the Faith he was never at a loss for

+P85
words, forgetting, as he taught, all restraint, pouring forth
one upon another sacred traditions and texts.
When news of him spread around the town and he was
everywhere charged, by prince and pauper alike, with
bearing this new name, he freely declared his adherence
and on this account was publicly disgraced. Then the evil
&ulamas of Yazd rose up, issuing a decree that he must die.
Since the mujtahid, &Mulla &Baqir of &Ardikan, refused to
confirm the sentence of those dark divines, &Mulla &Mihdi
lived on, but was forced to leave his native home. With his
two sons, one the great martyr-to-be, &Jinab-i-Varqa, and the
other &Jinab-i-Husayn, he set out for the country of his Well-Beloved.
In every town and village along the way, he ably
spread the Faith, adducing clear arguments and proofs,
quoting from and interpreting the sacred traditions and evident
signs.+F1 He did not rest for a moment; everywhere he
shed abroad the attar of the love of God, and diffused the
sweet breathings of holiness. And he inspired the friends,
making them eager to teach others in their turn, and to
excel in knowledge.
He was an eminent soul, with his heart fixed on the
beauty of God. From the day he was first created and came
into this world, he single-mindedly devoted all his efforts
to acquiring grace for the day he should be born into the
next.+F2 His heart was illumined, his mind spiritual, his soul
aspiring, his destination Heaven. He was imprisoned along
his way; and as he crossed the deserts and climbed and descended
the mountain slopes he endured terrible, uncounted
hardships. But the light of faith shone from his brow and
in his breast the longing was aflame, and thus he joyously,
gladly passed over the frontiers until at last he came to
Beirut. In that city, ill, restive, his patience gone, he spent

+F1 &Qur'an 3:91.
+F2 &Qur'an 29:19; 53:48; 56:62.

+P86
some days. His yearning grew, and his agitation was such
that weak and sick as he was, he could wait no more.
He set out on foot for the house of &Baha'u'llah. Because
he lacked proper shoes for the journey, his feet were
bruised and torn; his sickness worsened; he could hardly
move, but still he went on; somehow he reached the village
of &Mazra'ih and here, close by the Mansion, he died. His
heart found his Well-Beloved One, when he could bear
the separation no more. Let lovers be warned by his story;
let them know how he gambled away his life in his yearning
after the Light of the World. May God give him to
drink of a brimming cup in the everlasting gardens; in the
Supreme Assemblage, may God shed upon his face rays
of light. Upon him be the glory of the Lord. His sanctified
tomb is in &Mazra'ih, beside &Akka.


His Eminence &Kalim (&Mirza &Musa)

&Jinab-i-Mirza &Musa was the
true brother of &Baha'u'llah,
and from earliest childhood
he was reared in the sheltering embrace of the Most Great
Name. He drank in the love of God with his mother's
milk; when yet a suckling, he showed an extraordinary attachment
to the Blessed Beauty. At all times he was the
object of Divine grace, favor and loving-kindness. After
their distinguished father died, &Mirza &Musa was brought

+P87
up by &Baha'u'llah, growing to maturity in the haven of
His care. Day by day, the youth's servitude and devotion
increased. In all things, he lived according to the commandments,
and he was entirely severed from any thoughts of
this world.
Like a bright lamp, he shone out in that Household. He
wished neither rank nor office, and had no worldly aims
at all. His one supreme desire was to serve &Baha'u'llah, and
for this reason he was never separated from his Brother's
presence. No matter what torments the others inflicted, his
loyalty equaled the cruelty of the rest, for he had drunk
the wine of unadulterated love.
Then the voice was heard, crying out of &Shiraz, and from
a single utterance of &Baha'u'llah's his heart was filled with
light, and from a single gust that blew over the gardens of
faith, he caught the fragrance. At once, he began to serve
the friends. He had an extraordinary attachment to me,
and was at all times concerned for my well-being. In &Tihran
he occupied himself day and night with propagating the
Faith and gradually became well known to everyone; habitually
he spent his time in the company of blessed souls.
&Baha'u'llah then left &Tihran, journeying to &Iraq, and
of His brothers the two who were in His company were
&Aqay-i-Kalim+F1 and &Mirza &Muhammad-Quli. They turned
their faces away from Persia and the Persians, and closed
their eyes to comfort and peace; in the Beloved's path they
chose with all their hearts to bear whatever calamity
should be their lot.
Thus they arrived in &Iraq. During the days when &Baha'u'llah
had vanished from sight, that is, when He was on the
journey to &Kurdistan, &Aqay-i-Kalim lived on the edge of an
abyss; his life was constantly in danger, and each day that
passed was worse than the one before; still, he bore it all,

+F1 &Mirza &Musa.

+P88
and knew no fear. When at last the Blessed Beauty returned
out of &Kurdistan, &Aqay-i-Kalim resumed his post by
the Holy Threshold, rendering every service within his
power. For this he became known far and wide. At the
time when &Baha'u'llah left &Baghdad for Constantinople,
&Aqay-i-Kalim was with Him and continued to serve along
the way, as he did on the further journey from Constantinople
to Adrianople.
It was during the sojourn in this latter city that he detected
from &Mirza &Yahya the odor of rebellion. Day and
night he tried to make him mend his ways, but all to
no avail. On the contrary, it was astonishing how, like a
deadly poison, the temptings and satanic suggestions of
Siyyid &Muhammad worked on &Mirza &Yahya, so that &Aqay-i-Kalim
finally abandoned hope. Even then he never ceased
trying, thinking that somehow, perhaps, he could still the
tempest and rescue &Mirza &Yahya from the gulf. His heart
was worn away with despair and grief. He tried everything
he knew. At last he had to admit the truth of these words of
&Sana'i:

If to the fool my lore you'd bring,
Or think my secrets can be told
To him who is not wise--
Then to the deaf go harp and sing,
Or stand before the blind and hold
A mirror to his eyes.

When all hope was gone, he ended the relationship,
saying: "O my brother, if others are in doubt as to this
affair, you and I both know the truth. Have you forgotten
the loving-kindness of &Baha'u'llah, and how He trained us
both? What care He took with your lessons and your penmanship;
how constantly He saw to your spelling and your
composition, and encouraged you to practice the different
calligraphic styles; He even guided your copy with His own

+P89
blessed fingers. Who does not know how He showered
favors on you, how He brought you up in the haven of
His embrace. Is this your thanks for all His tenderness--
that you plot with Siyyid &Muhammad and desert the shelter
of &Baha'u'llah? Is this your loyalty? Is this the right return
for all His love?" The words had no effect whatever; on the
contrary, with each passing day, &Mirza &Yahya disclosed a
greater measure of his concealed intent. Then at the end,
the final rupture took place.
From Adrianople, &Aqay-i-Kalim went on with the convoy
of &Baha'u'llah, to the fortress of &Akka. His name was
specifically listed in the &Sultan's decree, and he was condemned
to perpetual banishment.+F2 He devoted all his time
in the Most Great Prison to serving &Baha'u'llah, and had
the honor of being continually in his Brother's presence,
also keeping company with the believers; until at last he
left this world of dust and hastened to the holy world
above, dying with lowliness and contrition, as he supplicated
his Lord.
It happened that during the &Baghdad period, the well-known
&Ilkhani, son of &Musa &Khan-i-Qazvini, received
through Siyyid &Javad-i-Tabataba'i an audience with &Baha'u'llah.
Siyyid &Javad on that occasion made a plea in the
&Ilkhani's behalf, saying: "This &Ilkhani, &Ali-Quli &Khan,
although a sinner and a lifelong creature of his passions,
has now repented. He stands before You with regret as to
his former ways, and from this day forward he will not so
much as draw a breath that might be contrary to Your good
pleasure. I beg of You, accept his repentance; make him the
object of Your grace and favor."
&Baha'u'llah replied: "Because he has chosen you as intercessor,
I will hide away his sins, and I will take steps to
bring him comfort and peace of mind."

+F2 Cf. God Passes By, p. 186.

+P90
The &Ilkhani had been a man of unlimited wealth, but he
had wasted it all on the desires of the flesh. He was now
destitute, to such a point that he did not even dare to step
outside his house, because of the creditors waiting there to
fall upon him. &Baha'u'llah directed him to go to &Umar
&Pasha, the Governor of Damascus, and obtain from him a
letter of recommendation to Constantinople. The &Ilkhani
complied, and he received every assistance from the Governor
of &Baghdad. After utter despair, he began to hope
again, and left for Constantinople. When he arrived at
&Diyarbakr+F3 he penned a letter on behalf of two Armenian
merchants. "These two are about to leave for &Baghdad,"
his letter said. "They have shown me every courtesy, and
have also asked me for an introduction. I had no refuge
or shelter except Your bounty; thus I beg of You to show
them favor." The superscription, that is, the address he
had written on the envelope was: "To His Eminence
&Baha'u'llah, Leader of the &Babis." The merchants presented
this letter to &Baha'u'llah at the head of the bridge,
and when He inquired about it their reply was: "In &Diyarbakr,
the &Ilkhani gave us particulars as to this Cause."
Then they accompanied Him to His house.
When the Blessed Beauty entered the family apartments,
&Aqay-i-Kalim was there to meet Him. &Baha'u'llah
cried out, "&Kalim, &Kalim! The fame of the Cause of God
has reached as far as &Diyarbakr!" And He was smiling,
jubilant.
&Mirza &Musa was indeed a true brother to the Blessed
Beauty; this is why he remained steadfast, under all conditions,
to the very end. Unto him be praise and salutations,
and the breath of life, and glory; upon him be mercy and
grace.

+F3 Some four hundred miles northwest of &Baghdad.

+P91
&Haji &Muhammad &Khan

Another of those who left
their homes and came to
settle in the neighborhood of &Baha'u'llah was &Haji &Muhammad
&Khan. This distinguished man, a native of &Sistan,
was a &Baluch. When he was very young, he caught fire and
became a mystic--an &arif, or adept. As a wandering dervish,
completely selfless, he went out from his home and,
following the dervish rule, traveled about in search of his
&murshid, his perfect leader. For he yearned, as the Qalandar
dervishes would say, to discover that "priest of the
Magi," or spiritual guide.
Far and wide, he carried on his search. He would speak
to everyone he met. But what he longed for was the sweet
scent of the love of God, and this he was unable to detect
in anyone, whether Gnostic or philosopher, or member of
the &Shaykhi sect. All he could see in the dervishes was
their tufted beards, and their palms-up religion of beggary.
They were "dervish"--poor in all save God--in name only;
all they cared about, it seemed to him, was whatever came
to hand. Nor did he find illumination among the Illuminati;
he heard nothing from them but idle argument. He
observed that their grandiloquence was not eloquence and
that their subtleties were but windy figures of speech.
Truth was not there; the core of inner meaning was absent.

+P92
For true philosophy is that which produces rewards
of excellence, and among these learned men there was no
such fruit to be found; at the peak of their accomplishment,
they became the slaves of vice, led an unconcerned
life and were given over to personal characteristics that
were deserving of blame. To him, of all that constitutes
the high, distinguishing quality of humankind, they were
devoid.
As for the &Shaykhi group, their essence was gone, only
the dregs remained; the kernel of them had vanished,
leaving the shell behind; most of their dialectics was lumber
and superfluities by now.
Thus at the very moment when he heard the call from
the Kingdom of God, he shouted, "Yea, verily!" and he
was off like the desert wind. He traveled over vast distances,
arrived at the Most Great Prison and attained the
presence of &Baha'u'llah. When his eyes fell upon that
bright Countenance he was instantly enslaved. He returned
to Persia so that he could meet with those people
who professed to be following the Path, those friends of
other days who were seeking out the Truth, and deal with
them as his loyalty and duty required.
Both going and returning, the &Haji betook himself to
each one of his friends, foregathered with them, and let
each one hear the new song from Heaven. He reached
his homeland and set his family's affairs in order, providing
for all, seeing to the security, happiness and comfort
of each one. After that he bade them all goodby. To his
relatives, his wife, children, kin, he said: "Do not look for
me again; do not wait for my return."
He took up a staff and wandered away; over the mountains
he went, across the plains, seeking and finding the
mystics, his friends. On his first journey, he went to the
late &Mirza &Yusuf &Khan (&Mustawfiyu'l-Mamalik), in &Tihran.
When he had said his say, &Yusuf &Khan expressed a

+P93
wish, and declared that should it be fulfilled, he would believe;
the wish was to be given a son. Should such a bounty
become his, &Yusuf &Khan would be won over. The &Haji
reported this to &Baha'u'llah, and received a firm promise
in reply. Accordingly, when the &Haji met with &Yusuf
&Khan on his second journey, he found him with a child
in his arms. "&Mirza," the &Haji cried, "praise be to God!
Your test has demonstrated the Truth. You snared your
bird of joy." "Yes," answered &Yusuf &Khan, "the proof is
clear. I am convinced. This year, when you go to &Baha'u'llah,
say that I implore His grace and favor for this child,
so that it may be kept safe in the sheltering care of God."
&Haji &Muhammad then went to the blissful future martyr,
the King of Martyrs, and asked him to intercede, so
that he, the &Haji, might be allowed to keep watch at the
doorway of &Baha'u'llah. The King of Martyrs sent in this
request by letter, after which &Haji &Khan duly arrived at
the Most Great Prison and made his home in the neighborhood
of his loving Friend. He enjoyed this honor for
a long time, and later, in the &Mazra'ih garden as well, he
was very frequently in &Baha'u'llah's presence. After the
Beloved had ascended, &Haji &Khan remained faithful to
the Covenant and Testament, shunning the hypocrites. At
last, when this servant was absent on the journeys to Europe
and America, the &Haji made his way to the travelers'
hospice at the &Haziratu'l-Quds; and here, beside the Shrine
of the &Bab, he took his flight to the world above.
May God refresh his spirit with the musk-scented air
of the &Abha Paradise, and the sweet savors of holiness
that blow from the highest Heaven. Unto him be greetings
and praise. His bright tomb is in Haifa.

+P94
&Aqa &Muhammad-Ibrahim &Amir

&Muhammad-Ibrahim
&Amir came from &Nayriz.
He was a blessed person; he was like a cup filled with
the red wine of faith. At the time when he was first made
captive by the tender Loved One, he was in the flower of his
youth. Then he fell a prey to the oppressors, and following
the upheaval in &Nayriz and all the suffering, his persecutors
laid hold of him. Three &farrashes pinned his arms and
tied his hands behind him; but the &Amir by main strength
burst his bonds, snatched a dagger from a &farrash's belt,
saved himself and ran away to &Iraq. There he engaged in
writing down the sacred verses and later won the honor of
serving at the Holy Threshold. Constant and steadfast, he
remained on duty day and night. During the journey from
&Baghdad to Constantinople, from there to Adrianople, and
from there to the Most Great Prison, he was always at
hand to serve. He married the handmaid of God, &Habibih,
who also served at the Threshold, and his daughter &Badi'ih
became the helpmeet of the late &Husayn-Aqa &Qahvih-chi.
Thus the &Amir was steadfast in service throughout his
life; but after the ascension of &Baha'u'llah his health
steadily declined, and at last he left this world of dust behind
him and hastened away to the unsullied world above.
May God illumine the place where he rests with rays from
the all-highest Realm. Unto him be salutations and praise.
His bright shrine is in &Akka.

+P95
&Mirza &Mihdiy-i-Kashani

This honored man, &Mirza
&Mihdi, was from &Kashan.
In early youth, under his father's tutelage, he had studied
sciences and arts, and had become skilled in composing
both prose and verse, as well as in producing calligraphy
in the style known as &shikastih.+F1 He was singled out from
his fellows, head and shoulders above the rest. When still
a child, he learned of the Lord's Advent, caught fire with
love, and became one of those who "gave their all to purchase
Joseph." He was chief of the yearning seekers, lord
of lovers; eloquently, he began to teach the Faith, and to
prove the validity of the Manifestation.
He made converts; and because he yearned after God,
he became a laughingstock in &Kashan, disparaged by
friend and stranger alike, exposed to the taunts of his faithless
companions. One of them said: "He has lost his mind."
And another: "He is a public disgrace. Fortune has turned
against him. He is done for." The bullies mocked him, and
spared him nothing. When life became untenable, and
open war broke out, he left his homeland and journeyed
to &Iraq, the focal center of the new Light, where he
gained the presence of all mankind's Beloved.
He spent some time here, in the friends' company,

+F1 &Shikastih--broken--a cursive or half-shorthand script, is thought
+F1 to have been invented at the close of the seventeenth century, in
+F1 &Hirat.

+P96
composing verses that sang the praises of &Baha'u'llah. Later
he was given leave to return home, and went back to live
for a while in &Kashan. But again, he was plagued by yearning
love, and could bear the separation no more. He returned,
therefore, to &Baghdad, bringing with him his respected
sister, the third consort+F2.
Here he remained, under the bountiful protection of
&Baha'u'llah, until the convoy left &Iraq for Constantinople,
at which time &Mirza &Mihdi was directed to remain behind
and guard the Holy House. Restless, consumed with longing,
he stayed on. When the friends were banished from
&Baghdad to Mosul, he was among the prisoners, a victim
along with the others. With the greatest hardship, he got
to Mosul, and here fresh calamities awaited him; he was
ill almost all the time, he was an outcast, and destitute.
Still he endured it for a considerable period, was patient,
retained his dignity, and continually offered thanks. Finally
he could bear the absence of &Baha'u'llah no longer.
He sought permission, was granted leave to come, and set
out for the Most Great Prison.
Because the way was long and hard, and he suffered
cruelly on the journey, when he finally reached the &Akka
prison he was almost helpless, and worn to the bone. It
was during the time when the Blessed Beauty was imprisoned
within the citadel, at the center of the barracks.
Despite the terrible hardships, &Mirza &Mihdi spent some
days here, in great joy. To him, the calamities were favors,
the tribulations were Divine Providence, the chastisement

+F2 Gawhar &Khanum's marriage to &Baha'u'llah took place in &Baghdad.
+F2 She remained with her brother in that city when &Baha'u'llah left
+F2 &Iraq and later proceeded to &Akka at His instruction. While
+F2 traveling from &Baghdad to Mosul, she was made captive together
+F2 with other believers, among them &Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin. &Baha'u'llah
+F2 makes reference to this captivity in His Tablet to the &Shah.
+F2 Gawhar &Khanum broke the Covenant of &Baha'u'llah following His
+F2 passing. She passed away during the ministry of &Abdu'l-Baha.

+P97
abounding grace; for he was enduring all this on the pathway
of God, and seeking to win His good pleasure. His
illness worsened; from day to day he failed; then at the
last, under sheltering grace, he took his flight to the inexhaustible
mercy of the Lord.
This noble personage had been honored among men,
but for God's love he lost both name and fame. He bore
manifold misfortunes with never a complaint. He was content
with God's decrees, and walked the ways of resignation.
The glance of &Baha'u'llah's favor was upon him; he
was close to the Divine Threshold. Thus, from the beginning
of his life till the end, he remained in one and the
same inner state: immersed in an ocean of submission and
consent. "O my Lord, take me, take me!" he would cry,
until at last he soared away to the world that no man sees.
May God cause him to inhale the sweet scent of holiness
in the highest Paradise, and refresh him with the
crystalline wine cup, tempered at the camphor fountain.+F3
Unto him be salutations and praise. His fragrant tomb is
in &Akka.


&Mishkin-Qalam

Among the exiles, neighbors,
and prisoners there
was also a second &Mir &Imad,+F1 the eminent calligrapher,

+F3 &Qur'an 76:9.
+F1 A famed calligrapher who lived and wrote at the court of &Shah-'Abbas,
+F1 the &Safavi (1557-1628).

+P98
&Mishkin-Qalam.+F2 He wielded a musk-black pen, and his
brows shone with faith. He was among the most noted of
mystics, and had a witty and subtle mind. The fame of this
spiritual wayfarer reached out to every land. He was the
leading calligrapher of Persia and well known to all the
great; he enjoyed a special position among the court ministers
of &Tihran, and with them he was solidly established.+F3
He was famed throughout Asia Minor; his pen was the
wonder of all calligraphers, for he was adept at every calligraphic
style. He was besides, for human virtues, a bright star.
This highly accomplished man first heard of the Cause
of God in &Isfahan, and the result was that he set out to
find &Baha'u'llah. He crossed the great distances, measured
out the miles, climbing mountains, passing over deserts
and over the sea, until at last he came to Adrianople. Here
he reached the heights of faith and assurance; here he
drank the wine of certitude. He responded to the summons
of God, he attained the presence of &Baha'u'llah, he ascended
to that apogee where he was received and accepted.
By now he was reeling to and fro like a drunkard
in his love for God, and because of his violent desire and
yearning, his mind seemed to wander. He would be
raised up, and then cast down again; he was as one distracted.
He spent some time under the sheltering grace
of &Baha'u'llah, and every day new blessings were showered
upon him. Meanwhile he produced his splendid calligraphs;
he would write out the Most Great Name, &Ya
&Baha'u'l-Abha, O Thou Glory of the All-Glorious, with
marvelous skill, in many different forms, and would send
them everywhere.+F4

+F2 &Mishk is musk. &Mishkin-Qalam means either musk-scented pen, or
+F2 jet black pen.
+F3 &Qur'an 61:4.
+F4 In some of this artist's productions, the writing was so arranged as
+F4 to take the forms of birds. When E. G. Browne was in Persia, he was

+P99
He was then directed to go on a journey to Constantinople,
and set out with &Jinab-i-Sayyah. When he
reached that Great City, the leading Persians and Turks
received him with every honor at first, and they were
captivated by his jet black, calligraphic art. He, however,
began boldly and eloquently to teach the Faith. The Persian
ambassador lurked in ambush; betaking himself to
the &Sultan's &vazirs he slandered &Mishkin-Qalam. "This
man is an agitator," the ambassador told them, "sent here
by &Baha'u'llah to stir up trouble and make mischief in this
Great City. He has already won over a large company, and
he intends to subdue still more. These &Baha'is turned
Persia upside down; now they have started in on the capital
of Turkey. The Persian Government put 20,000 of
them to the sword, hoping by this tactic to quench the fires
of sedition. You should awaken to the danger; soon this
perverse thing will blaze up here as well. It will consume
the harvest of your life; it will burn up the whole world.
Then you can do nothing, for it will be too late."
Actually that mild and submissive man, in that throne
city of Asia Minor, was occupied solely with his calligraphy
and his worship of God. He was striving to bring about
not sedition but fellowship and peace. He was seeking to
reconcile the followers of different faiths, not to drive them

+F4 told that "these would be eagerly sought after by Persians of all classes,
+F4 were it not that they all bore, as the signature of the penman, the
+F4 following verse:
+F4 Dar &diyar-i-khatt &shah-i-sahib-'alam
+F4 &Bandiy-i-bab-i-Baha, &Mishkin-Qalam."
+F4 Cf. A Year Amongst the Persians, p. 227. The verse might be translated:
+F4 Lord of calligraphy, my banner goes before;
+F4 But to &Baha'u'llah, a bondsman at the door,
+F4 Naught else I am,
+F4 &Mishkin-Qalam.
+F4 Note the wordplay on door, which makes possible the inclusion of the
+F4 &Bab's name as well as &Baha'u'llah's.

+P100
still further apart. He was of service to strangers and was
helping to educate the native people. He was a refuge to
the hapless and a horn of plenty to the poor. He invited all
comers to the oneness of humankind; he shunned hostility
and malice.
The Persian ambassador, however, wielded enormous
power, and he had maintained close ties with the ministers
for a very long time. He prevailed on a number of persons
to insinuate themselves into various gatherings and there
to make every kind of false charge against the believers.
Urged on by the oppressors, spies began to surround &Mishkin-Qalam.
Then, as instructed by the ambassador, they
carried reports to the Prime Minister, stating that the individual
in question was stirring up mischief day and night,
that he was a trouble maker, a rebel and a criminal. The
result was, they jailed him and they sent him away to
Gallipoli, where he joined our own company of victims.
They despatched him to Cyprus and ourselves to the &Akka
prison. On the island of Cyprus, &Jinab-i-Mishkin was held
prisoner in the citadel at Famagusta, and in this city he
remained, a captive, from the year 85 till 94.
When Cyprus passed out of Turkish hands, &Mishkin-Qalam
was freed and betook himself to his Well-Beloved
in the city of &Akka, and here he lived encompassed by the
grace of &Baha'u'llah, producing his marvelous calligraphs
and sending them about. He was at all times joyous of
spirit, ashine with the love of God, like a candle burning
its life away, and he was a consolation to all the believers.
After the ascension of &Baha'u'llah, &Mishkin-Qalam remained
loyal, solidly established in the Covenant. He
stood before the violators like a brandished sword. He
would never go half way with them; he feared no one but
God; not for a moment did he falter, nor ever fail in
service.
Following the ascension he made a journey to India,

+P101
where he associated with the lovers of truth. He spent some
time there, making fresh efforts every day. When I learned
that he was getting helpless, I sent for him at once and he
came back to this Most Great Prison, to the joy of the believers,
who felt blessed to have him here again. He was
at all times my close companion. He had amazing verve,
intense love. He was a compendium of perfections: believing,
confident, serene, detached from the world, a peerless
companion, a wit--and his character like a garden in full
bloom. For the love of God, he left all good things behind;
he closed his eyes to success, he wanted neither comfort
nor rest, he sought no wealth, he wished only to be free
from the defilement of the world. He had no ties to this
life, but spent his days and nights supplicating and communing
with God. He was always smiling, effervescing;
he was spirit personified, love embodied. For sincerity and
loyalty he had no match, nor for patience and inner calm.
He was selflessness itself, living on the breaths of the
spirit.
If he had not been in love with the Blessed Beauty, if
he had not set his heart on the Realm of Glory, every
worldly pleasure could have been his. Wherever he went,
his many calligraphic styles were a substantial capital, and
his great accomplishment brought him attention and respect
from rich and poor alike. But he was hopelessly
enamored of man's one true Love, and thus he was free of
all those other bonds, and could float and soar in the spirit's
endless sky.
Finally, when I was absent, he left this darksome, narrow
world and hastened away to the land of lights. There,
in the haven of God's boundless mercy, he found infinite
rewards. Unto him be praise and salutations, and the Supreme
Companion's tender grace.

+P102
&Ustad &Ali-Akbar-i-Najjar

&Ustad &Ali-Akbar, the
Cabinet-Maker,+F1 was
numbered among the just, a prince of the righteous. He
was one of Persia's earliest believers and a leading member
of that company. From the beginning of the Cause a trusted
confidant, he loosed his tongue to proclaim the Faith. He
informed himself as to its proofs, and went deep into its
Scriptures. He was also a gifted poet, writing odes in eulogy
of &Baha'u'llah.
Exceptionally skilled in his craft, &Ustad produced highly
ingenious work, fashioning carpentry that, for intricacy
and precision, resembled mosaic inlay. He was expert in
mathematics as well, solving and explaining difficult problems.
From Yazd, this revered man traveled to &Iraq, where he
achieved the honor of entering the presence of &Baha'u'llah,
and received abundant grace. The Blessed Beauty showered
favors upon &Ustad &Ali, who entered His presence almost
every day. He was one of those who were exiled from
&Baghdad to Mosul, and he endured severe hardships there.
He remained a long time in Mosul, in extremely straitened

+F1 &Ustad is a master, one who is skilled in an art or profession.

+P103
circumstances but resigned to the will of God, always in
prayer and supplication, and with a thankful tongue.
Finally he came from Mosul to the Holy Shrine and
here by the tomb of &Baha'u'llah he would meditate and
pray. In the dark of the night, restless and uneasy, he
would lament and cry out; when he was supplicating God
his heart burned within him; his eyes would shed their
tears, and he would lift up his voice and chant. He was
completely cut off from this dust heap, this mortal world.
He shunned it, he asked but one thing--to soar away; and
he hoped for the promised recompense to come. He could
not bear for the Light of the World to have disappeared,
and what he sought was the paradise of reunion with Him,
and what his eyes hungered to behold was the glory of the
&Abha Realm. At last his prayer was answered and he rose
upward into the world of God, to the gathering-place of
the splendors of the Lord of Lords.
Upon him be God's benediction and praise, and may
God bring him into the abode of peace, as He has written
in His book: "For them is an abode of peace with their
Lord."+F2 "And to those who serve Him, is God full of kindness."+F3

+F2 &Qur'an 6:127.
+F3 &Qur'an 3:28.

+P104

&Shaykh &Ali-Akbar-i-Mazgani

This chief of free souls, of
wanderers for the love of
God, was only an infant when, in &Mazgan, he was suckled
at the breast of grace. He was a child of the eminent
scholar, &Shaykh-i-Mazgani; his noble father was one of the
leading citizens of &Qamsar, near &Kashan, and for piety,
holiness, and the fear of God he had no peer. This father
embodied all the qualities that are worthy of praise; moreover
his ways were pleasing, his disposition good, he was
an excellent companion, and for all these things he was
well known. When he threw off restraint and openly declared
himself a believer, the faithless, whether friend or
stranger, turned their backs on him and began to plot his
death. But he continued to further the Cause, to alert the
people's hearts, and to welcome the newcomers as generously
as ever. Thus in &Kashan the fame of his strong faith
reached as high as the Milky Way. Then the pitiless aggressors
rose up, plundered his possessions and killed him.
&Ali-Akbar, the son of him who had laid down his life in
the pathway of God, could live in that place no longer.
Had he remained, he too, like his father, would have been
put to the sword. He passed some time in &Iraq, and received
the honor of being in the presence of &Baha'u'llah.
Then he went back to Persia, but again he longed to look

+P105
upon &Baha'u'llah, and with his wife he set out over the
deserts and mountains, sometimes riding, sometimes on
foot, measuring off the miles, passing from one shore to the
other, reaching the Holy Place at last and in the shade
of the Divine Lote-Tree finding safety and peace.
When the beauty of the Desired One had vanished
from this world, &Ali-Akbar remained loyal to the Covenant
and prospered under the grace of God. By disposition
and because of the intense love in his heart, he
yearned to write poetry, to fashion odes and &ghazals, but
he lacked both meter and rhyme:

I planned a poem, but my Beloved told me,
"Plan only this, that thine eyes should behold Me."

With rapturous longing, his heart desired the realms of
his compassionate Lord; consumed by burning love, he left
this world at last, and pitched his tent in the world above.
May God send down upon his grave, from the Kingdom
of His forgiveness, a heavy rain+F1 of blessings, bestow a
great victory upon him, and grant him mercies, pressed
down and running over, in the retreats of Heaven.

+F1 &Qur'an 2:266, 267.

+P106
&Mirza &Muhammad, the Servant at the
Travelers' Hospice

This youth of God was
from &Isfahan, and from an
early age was known to its leading divines for his excellent
mind. He was of gentle birth, his family was known and
respected, and he was an accomplished scholar. He had
profited from philosophy and history alike, from sciences
and arts, but he thirsted after the secret of reality, and
longed for knowledge of God. His feverish thirst was not
allayed by the arts and sciences, however limpid those
waters. He kept on seeking, seeking, carrying on debates
in gatherings of learned men until at last he discovered
the meaning of his longing dream, and the enigma, the
inviolable secret, lay open before him. Suddenly he caught
the scent of fresh flowers from the gardens of the splendor
of God, and his heart was ashine with a ray from the Sun
of Truth. Whereas before, he was like a fish taken from
the water, now he had come to the wellspring of eternal
life; before, he was a questing moth; now he had found
the candle flame. A true seeker after truth, he was instantly
revived by the supreme Glad Tidings; his heart's eye was
brightened by the new dawn of guidance. So blinding was
the fire of Divine love that he turned his face away from
his life, its peace, its blessings, and set out for the Most
Great Prison.

+P107
In &Isfahan he had enjoyed every comfort, and the world
was good to him. Now his yearning for &Baha'u'llah freed
him from all other bonds. He passed over the long miles,
suffered intense hardships, exchanged a palace for a prison,
and in the &Akka fortress assisted the believers and attended
upon and served &Baha'u'llah. He who had been
waited upon, now waited on others; he who had been the
master was now the servant, he who had once been a
leader was now a captive. He had no rest, no leisure, day
or night. To the travelers he was a trusted refuge; to the
settlers, a companion without peer. He served beyond his
strength, for he was filled with love of the friends. The
travelers were devoted to him, and the settlers grateful.
And because he was continuously busy, he kept silent at
all times.
Then the Supreme Affliction came upon us and the absence
of &Baha'u'llah was not to be endured. &Mirza &Muhammad
could not stay quiet, day or night. He wasted
away, like a candle burning down; from the fiery anguish,
his liver and heart were inflamed, and his body could bear
no more. He wept and supplicated day and night, yearning
to soar away to that undiscovered country. "Lord, free
me, free me from this absence," he would cry, "let me
drink of reunion's cup, find me a lodging in the shelter of
Thy mercy, Lord of Lords!"
At last he quit this dust heap, the earth, and took his
flight to the world that has no end. May it do him good,
that cup brimming with the grace of God, may he eat
with healthy relish of that food which gives life to heart
and soul. May God lead him to that happy journey's end
and grant him an abundant share in the gifts which shall
then be bestowed.+F1

+F1 For some of these Arabic phrases, see &Qur'an 3:170; 4:12, 175;
+F1 5:16, 17; 11:100, 101; 28:79; 41:35.

+P108
&Mirza &Muhammad-i-Vakil

One of the captives who
were sent on from &Baghdad
to Mosul was &Mirza &Muhammad-i-Vakil. This righteous
soul was among those who became believers in &Baghdad.
It was there he drank from the cup of resignation to
the will of God and sought his rest in the shade of the
celestial Tree. He was a man high-minded and worthy of
trust. He was also an extremely capable and energetic administrator
of important affairs, famous in &Iraq for his
wise counsel. After he became a believer, he was distinguished
by the title of &Vakil--deputy. It happened in this
way:
There was a notable in &Baghdad by the name of &Haji
&Mirza &Hadi, the jeweler. He had a distinguished son, &Aqa
&Mirza &Musa, who had received from &Baha'u'llah the title
"Letter of Eternity." This son had become a staunch believer.
As for his father, the &Haji, he was a princely individual
known for his lavish open-handedness not only in
Persia and &Iraq but as far away as India. To begin with
he had been a Persian &vazir; but when he saw how the
late &Fath-'Ali &Shah eyed worldly riches, particularly the
worldly riches of Persian &vazirs, and how he snatched
whatever they had accumulated, and how, not content

+P109
with confiscating their costly vanities and lumber, he punished
and tortured them right and left, calling it a legal
penalty--the &Haji dreaded that he too might be catapulted
into the abyss. He abandoned his position as &vazir, and his
mansion, and fled to &Baghdad. &Fath-'Ali &Shah demanded
that the Governor of &Baghdad, &Davud &Pasha, send him
back, but the &Pasha was a man of courage and the &Haji
was widely known for his able mind. Accordingly, the
&Pasha respected and helped him and the &Haji set up in
business as a jeweler. He lived with pomp and splendor,
like a great prince. He was one of the most remarkable
men of his time, for within his palace he carried on a life
of gratification and opulence, but he left his pomp, style
and retinue behind, occupied himself with his business
affairs and realized great profits.
The door of his house was always open. Turks and Persians,
neighbors, strangers from far places, all were his
honored guests. Most of Persia's great, when they came
on pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines, would stop at his
house, where they would find a banquet laid out, and
every luxury ready to hand. The &Haji was, indeed, more
distinguished than Persia's Grand &Vazir; he outshone all
the &vazirs for magnificence, and as the days passed by he
dispensed ever more largesse to all who came and went.
He was the pride of the Persians throughout &Iraq, the
glory of his fellow nationals. Even on the Turkish &vazirs
and ministers and the grandees of &Baghdad he bestowed
gifts and favors; and for intelligence and perceptivity he
had no equal.
Because of the &Haji's advancing years, toward the end
of his days his business affairs declined. Still, he made no
change in his way of life. Exactly as before, he continued
to live with elegance. The prominent would borrow heavily
from him, and never pay him back. One of them, the
mother of &Aqa &Khan &Mahallati, borrowed 100,000 &tumans+F1

+F1 The &Baghdad period in &Baha'i history was from April 8, 1853 to
+F1 May 3, 1863. According to various estimates the &tuman of the day
+F1 ranged from $1.08 to $1.60.

+P110
from him and did not repay one penny, for she
died soon after. The &Il-Khan, &Ali-Quli &Khan, was another
debtor; another was Sayfu'd-Dawlih, a son of &Fath-'Ali
&Shah; another, &Valiyyih, a daughter of &Fath-'Ali &Shah;
these are only a few examples out of many, from among
the Turkish &amirs and the great of Persia and &Iraq. All
these debts remained unpaid and irrecoverable. Nevertheless,
that eminent and princely man continued to live
exactly as before.
Toward the close of his life he conceived a remarkable
love for &Baha'u'llah, and most humbly, would enter His
presence. I remember him saying one day, to the Blessed
Beauty, that in the year 1250 and something over, &Mirza
Mawkab the famed astrologer visited the Shrines. "One
day he said to me," the &Haji continued, "`&Mirza, I see a
strange, a unique conjunction in the stars. It has never
occurred before. It proves that a momentous event is about
to take place, and I am certain that this event can be nothing
less than the Advent of the promised &Qa'im.'"
Such was the situation of that illustrious prince when
he passed away, leaving as heirs a son and two daughters.
Thinking him to be as wealthy as ever, the people believed
that his heirs would inherit millions, for everyone knew
his way of life. The Persian diplomatic representative, the
latter-day mujtahids, and the faithless judge all sharpened
their teeth. They started a quarrel among the heirs, so that
in the resulting turmoil they themselves would make substantial
gains. With this in view they did whatever they
could to ruin the heirs, the idea being to strip the inheritors
bare, while the Persian diplomat, the mujtahids,
and the judge would accumulate the spoils.
&Mirza &Musa was a staunch believer; his sisters, however,

+P111
were from a different mother, and they knew nothing
of the Cause. One day the two sisters, accompanied
by the son-in-law of the late &Mirza Siyyid &Rida, came to
the house of &Baha'u'llah. The two sisters entered the family
apartments while the son-in-law settled down in the
public reception rooms. The two girls then said to &Baha'u'llah:
"The Persian envoy, the judge, and the faithless
mujtahids have destroyed us. Toward the close of his life,
the late &Haji trusted no one but Yourself. We ourselves
have been remiss and we should have sought Your protection
before; in any case we come now to implore Your
pardon and help. Our hope is that You will not send us
away despairing, and that through Your favor and support
we shall be saved. Deign, then, to look into this affair,
and to overlook our past mistakes."
Replying, the Blessed Beauty declared with finality that
intervention in affairs of this kind was abhorrent to Him.
They kept on pleading with Him, however. They remained
a whole week in the family apartments, clamoring
every morning and evening for favor and grace. "We will
not lift our heads from off this Threshold," they said. "We
will seek sanctuary here in this house; we will remain
here, by the door of Him Who guards the angels, until
He shall deign to look into our concerns and to save us
from our oppressors."
Each day, &Baha'u'llah would counsel them, saying,
"Matters of this kind are in the hands of the mujtahids
and the government authorities. We do not interfere in
such affairs." But they kept on with their importunities,
insisting, imploring, begging for help. It happened that the
house of &Baha'u'llah was bare of worldly goods, and these
ladies, accustomed to the best of everything, could hardly
be satisfied with bread and water. Food had to be procured
for them on credit. Briefly, from every direction,
there were problems.

+P112
Finally one day &Baha'u'llah summoned me to His presence.
"These esteemed ladies," He said, "with all their exactions,
have put Us to considerable inconvenience. There
is no help for it--you will have to see to this case. But you
must solve this entire, complicated matter in a single day."
The next morning, accompanied by &Aqay-i-Kalim, I
went to the house of the late &Haji. We called in appraisers
and they collected all the jewels in an upper apartment;
the ledgers and account books having to do with the properties
were placed in a second room; the costly furnishings
and art objects of the house in a third. A number of jewelers
then went to work and set a value on the gems. Other
experts appraised the house, the shops, the gardens, the
baths. As soon as they began their work I came out and
posted someone in each room so that the appraisers could
duly complete their tasks. By this time it was nearly noon.
We then had luncheon, after which the appraisers were
directed to divide everything into two equal parts, so that
lots could be cast; one part would be that of the daughters,
and one that of the son, &Mirza &Musa.+F2 I then went to bed,
for I was ill. In the afternoon I rose, had tea, and repaired
to the family apartments of the mansion. Here I observed
that the goods had been divided into three parts. I said to
them: "My instructions were that everything should be
divided into two parts. How is it that there are three?" The
heirs and other relatives answered as one: "A third must
certainly be set aside. That is why we have divided everything
into three. One share is for &Mirza &Musa, one for the
two daughters, and the third we place at Your disposal;
this third is the portion of the deceased and You are to
expend it in any way You see fit."
Greatly disturbed, we told them, "Such a thing is out
of the question. This you must not require, for it cannot

+F2 This was in accord with the law of &Islam. Cf. &Qur'an 4:12.

+P113
be complied with. We gave our word to &Baha'u'llah that
not so much as a copper coin would be accepted." But
they, too, swore upon oath that it must be as they wished,
that they would agree to nothing else. This servant answered:
"Let us leave this matter for the present. Is there
any further disagreement among you?" "Yes," said &Mirza
&Musa, "what has become of the money that was left?"
Asked the amount, he answered: "Three hundred thousand
&tumans." The daughters said: "There are two possibilities:
either this money is here in the house, in some
coffer, or buried hereabouts--or else it is in other hands.
We will give over the house and all its contents to &Mirza
&Musa. We two will leave the house, with nothing but our
veils. If anything turns up we, as of now, freely accord it
to him. If the money is elsewhere, it has no doubt been
deposited in someone's care; and that person, well aware
of the breach of trust, will hardly come forward, deal
honorably by us, and return it--rather, he will make off
with it all. &Mirza &Musa must establish a satisfactory proof
of what he says; his claim alone is not evidence." &Mirza
&Musa replied: "All the property was in their hands; I
knew nothing of what was going on--I had no hint of it.
They did whatever they pleased."
In short, &Mirza &Musa had no clear proof of his claim.
He could only ask, "Is such a thing possible, that the late
&Haji had no ready funds?" Since the claim was unsupported,
I felt that pursuing it further would lead to a scandal
and produce nothing of value. Accordingly I bade
them: "Cast the lots." As for the third share, I had them
put it in a separate apartment, close it off, and affix a seal
to the door. The key I brought to &Baha'u'llah. "The task
is done," I said. "It was accomplished only through Your
confirmations. Otherwise it could not have been completed
in a year. However, a difficulty has arisen." I described in
detail the claim of &Mirza &Musa and the absence of any

+P114
proof. Then I said, "&Mirza &Musa is heavily in debt. Even
should he expend all he has, still he could not pay off his
creditors. It is best, therefore, if You Yourself will accept
the heirs' request, since they persist in their offer, and bestow
that share on &Mirza &Musa. Then he could at least
free himself from his debts and still have something left
over."
On the following day the heirs appeared and implored
the Blessed Beauty to have me accept the third share.
"This is out of the question," He told them. Then they
begged and entreated Him to accept that share Himself
and expend it for charitable purposes of His own choice.
He answered: "There is only one purpose for which I
might expend that sum." They said, "That is no concern
of ours, even if You have it thrown into the sea. We will
not loose our hold from the hem of Your garment and we
will not cease our importunities until You accede to our
request." Then He told them, "I have now accepted this
third share; and I have given it to &Mirza &Musa, your
brother, but on the condition that, from this day forward,
he will speak no more of any claim against yourselves."
The heirs were profuse in their thanks. And so this
weighty and difficult case was settled in a single day. It
left no residue of complaints, no uproar, no further quarrels.
&Mirza &Musa did his best to urge some of the jewels on
me, but I refused. Finally he requested that I accept a
single ring. It was a precious ring, set with a costly pomegranate
ruby, a flawless sphere, and unique. All around
the central stone, it was gemmed with diamonds. This too
I refused, although I had no &aba to my back and nothing
to wear but a cotton tunic that bespoke the antiquity of
the world, nor did I own a copper coin. As &Hafiz would
say: "An empty purse, but in our sleeve a hoard."
Grateful for the bounty he had received, &Mirza &Musa

+P115
offered &Baha'u'llah everything he possessed: orchards,
lands, estates--but it was refused. Then he appointed the
&ulamas of &Iraq to intercede for him. They hastened to
&Baha'u'llah in a body and begged Him to accept the proffered
gifts. He categorically refused. They respectfully told
Him: "Unless You accept, in a very short time &Mirza
&Musa will scatter it all to the winds. For his own good, he
should not have access to this wealth."
Then in his own hand, &Mirza &Musa penned deeds of
gift, made out according to each of the five creeds, in Arabic
and Persian; two copies he made, and chose the &ulamas
as his witnesses. Through certain &ulamas of &Baghdad,
among them the famed scholar &Abdu's-Salam Effendi, and
the erudite and widely known Siyyid &Davud Effendi, he
presented the deed of gift to &Baha'u'llah. The Blessed
Beauty told them: "We are appointing &Mirza &Musa himself
as Our deputy."
After &Baha'u'llah's departure for Rumelia, &Mirza &Musa,
with a promissory note, purchased from the Government
the tithes of &Hindiyyih, a district near &Karbila, and suffered
a terrible loss, close to 100,000 &tumans. The Government
confiscated his properties and sold them for next to
nothing. When told of the matter, &Baha'u'llah said, "Do
not speak of this, ever again. Do not so much as utter a
word about those estates." Meanwhile the exile from Adrianople
to &Akka took place. &Mirza &Muhammad went to
the Government authorities and said to them: "I am the
deputy (&vakil) of &Baha'u'llah. These properties do not belong
to &Mirza &Musa. How is it that you have taken them
over?" But he had no documents to support him, for the
title deeds were in &Akka, and on this account the Government
rejected his claim. However, in the process, he became
known to all as &Mirza &Muhammad the Deputy.
This is how he received the title.
When we were in Adrianople, &Mirza &Musa sent on the

+P116
ruby ring, through Siyyid &Ali-Akbar, and the Blessed
Beauty directed us to accept it. After we reached &Akka
the believers fell ill, and lay suffering in their beds. I sent
the ring to India, to one of the friends, asking him to sell
it with all possible speed and forward the proceeds to us
in &Akka to be expended on the sick. That blessed individual
never sent us a penny. Two years later he wrote to
say that he had sold the ring for twenty-five pounds and
had spent that sum on the pilgrims. This, when the ring
was of such great value. I made no complaint. Rather, I
praised God, thanking Him that out of all that wealth not
a fleck of dust had settled on my robe.
&Mirza &Muhammad was taken prisoner and sent away
from &Baghdad to Mosul, where he fell a prey to fearful
ills. He had been rich; in God's path he was now poor. He
had enjoyed his ease and comfort; now, for the love of
God, he suffered pain and toil. He lived on for a time in
Mosul, suppliant, resigned, and lowly. And then, severed
from all save God, irresistibly drawn by the gentle gales
of the Lord, he rose out of this dark world to the land of
light. Unto him be salutations and praise. May God shed
down upon him the waters of forgiveness, and open before
his grave the gates of Heaven.

+P117
&Haji &Muhammad-Riday-i-Shirazi

&Haji &Muhammad-Rida
came from &Shiraz. He
was a man spiritually minded, lowly, contrite, the embodiment
of serenity and faith. When the call of God was
lifted up, that needy soul hurried into the shelter of heavenly
grace. As soon as he heard the summons, "Am I not
your Lord?" he cried out: "Yea, verily!"+F1 and became as a
lamp to the people's feet.
For a long time he served the &Afnan, &Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali,
and was his loyal and close companion,
trusted in all things. Later, following a journey to distant
countries, he went to the Holy Land, and there in utter
submission and lowliness bowed his head before the Sacred
Threshold and was honored with entering the presence
of &Baha'u'llah, where he drank in endless bounties
from cupped hands. For quite a time he remained there,
attending upon &Baha'u'llah almost every day, encompassed
by holy favor and grace. He was outstanding as to
character, and lived after the commandments of God:
tranquil and long-suffering, in his surrender to God's will
he was selflessness itself. He had no personal aims whatever,
no feeling of attachment to this fleeting world. His

+F1 &Qur'an 7:171.

+P118
one desire was to please his Lord, his one hope, to walk
the holy path.
He went on, then, to Beirut, serving the honored &Afnan
in that city. He spent a long time in this wise, returning
again and again to enter the presence of &Baha'u'llah and
gaze upon that Most Great Beauty. Later, in Sidon, he
fell ill. Unable to make the journey to &Akka, in perfect
acquiescence and contentment he ascended to the &Abha
Kingdom, and was plunged in the ocean of lights. By the
Supreme Pen, endless bounty was bestowed upon his
memory. He was indeed one of the loyal, the steadfast, a
solid pillar of servitude to &Baha'u'llah. Many and many a
time, from the lips of the Blessed Beauty, we heard his
praise.
Unto him be greetings and praise, and the glory of the
All-Glorious. Upon him be compassion and most great
mercy from the Lord of the High Heavens. His shining
grave is in Sidon, near the place called the Station of
John the Holy.


&Husayn Effendi &Tabrizi

This youth was from &Tabriz,
and he was filled with
the love of God like a cup flowing and brimming over
with red wine. In the flower of his youth he left Persia
and traveled to Greece, making his living as a merchant
there; till a day came when, guided by Divine bounty, he

+P119
went from Greece to Smyrna, and there he was given the
glad tidings of a new Manifestation on earth. He shouted
aloud, was frenzied, was drunk with the music of the new
message. He escaped from his debits and credits, set out to
meet the Lord of his heart, and entered the presence of
&Baha'u'llah. For some time, a trusted attendant and companion,
he served the Blessed Beauty. He was then directed
to seek a lodging in the city of Haifa.
Here he faithfully waited upon the believers, and his
home was a way station for &Baha'i travelers. He had an
excellent disposition, a wonderful character, and high,
spiritual aims. He was friendly with friend and stranger
alike; he was kind to people of every nation and wished
them well.
When the Most Great Light ascended to the Concourse
above, &Husayn Effendi remained faithful to Him, steadfast
and firm; and as before, he continued to be a close
friend to the friends. Thus he lived for a considerable period,
and felt himself better off than the kings of the earth.
He became the son-in-law of &Mirza &Muhammad-Quli,
brother of the Blessed Beauty, and remained for a time
peaceful and serene. He carefully avoided any occasion of
being seduced into error, for he dreaded that the tempest
of afflictions might mount in fury, surge ever higher, and
sweep many a soul into the fathomless gulf.+F1 He would
sigh and mourn, for this fear was with him at all times. At
last he could bear the world no longer, and with his own
hands stripped off the garment of life.
Praise be unto him, and salutations, and the mercy of
God, and Divine acceptance. May God pardon him and
make him to enter the highest Heaven, the Paradise that
towers above all the rest. His sweet-scented grave is in
Haifa.

+F1 For the tribulations following &Baha'u'llah's departure see God Passes
+F1 By, chapter XV.

+P120
&Jamshid-i-Gurji

Yet another of the emigrants
and settlers was the
valiant &Jamshid-i-Gurji, who came from Georgia, but grew
up in the city of &Kashan. He was a fine youth, faithful,
trustworthy, with a high sense of honor. When he heard
of a new Faith dawning, and awoke to the tidings that on
Persia's horizons the Sun of Truth had risen, he was filled
with holy ecstasy, and he longed and loved. The new fire
burned away those veils of uncertainty and doubt that had
closed him round; the light of Truth shed down its rays,
the lamp of guidance burned before him.
He remained in Persia for a time, then left for Rumelia,
which was Ottoman territory, and in the Land of Mystery,
Adrianople, won the honor of entering the presence of
&Baha'u'llah; it was there that his meeting took place. His
joy and fervor were boundless. Later, at &Baha'u'llah's
command he made a journey to Constantinople, with &Aqa
&Muhammad-Baqir and &Aqa &Abdu'l-Ghaffar. In that city,
the tyrannous imprisoned him and put him in chains.
The Persian ambassador informed against &Jamshid and
&Ustad &Muhammad-'Ali-i-Dallak as enemy leaders and
fighters. &Jamshid he described as a latter-day Rustam+F1

+F1 Persia's Hercules.

+P121
while &Muhammad-'Ali, according to the envoy, was a
ravening lion. These two respected men were first imprisoned
and caged; then they were sent out of Turkish
territory, under guard to the Persian frontier. They were
to be delivered over to the Persian Government and crucified,
and the guards were threatened with terrible punishments
should they once relax their vigilance and let the
prisoners escape. For this reason, at every stopping place
the victims were kept in some almost inaccessible spot.
Once they were thrown into a pit, a kind of well, and
suffered agonies all through the night. The next morning
&Jamshid cried out: "O you who oppress us! Are we Joseph
the Prophet that you have thrown us in this well? Remember
how He rose out of the well as high as the full moon?
We too walk the pathway of God, we too are down here
for His sake, and we know that these depths are the
heights of the Lord."
Once arrived at the Persian frontier, &Jamshid and &Muhammad-'Ali
were handed over to Kurdish chiefs to be
sent on to &Tihran. The Kurdish chiefs could see that the
prisoners were innocent men, kindly and well-disposed,
who had fallen a prey to their enemies. Instead of dispatching
them to the capital, they set them free. Joyfully,
the two hastened away on foot, went back to &Baha'u'llah
and found a home close by Him in the Most Great Prison.
&Jamshid spent some time in utter bliss, receiving the
grace and favor of &Baha'u'llah and ever and again being
admitted to His presence. He was tranquil and at peace.
The believers were well-pleased with him, and he was
well-pleased with God. It was in this condition that he
hearkened to the celestial bidding: "O thou soul who art
well-assured, return unto thy Lord, well-pleased with Him, and
well-pleasing unto Him."+F2 And to God's cry: "Return!"

+F2 &Qur'an 89:27.

+P122
he replied, "Yea, verily!" He rose out of the Most Great
Prison to the highest Heaven; he soared away to a pure
and gleaming Kingdom, out of this world of dust. May
God succor him in the celestial company,+F3 bring him into
the Paradise of Splendors, and safe in the Divine gardens,
make him to live forevermore.
Salutations be unto him, and praise. His grave, sweet
as musk, is in &Akka.


&Haji &Ja'far-i-Tabrizi and His Brothers

There were three brothers,
all from &Tabriz: &Haji
&Hasan, &Haji &Ja'far, and &Haji &Taqi. These three were like
eagles soaring; they were three stars of the Faith, pulsing
with the light of the love of God.
&Haji &Hasan was of the earlier day; he had believed
from the new Luminary's first dawning. He was full of
ardor, keen of mind. After his conversion he traveled
everywhere, through the cities and villages of Persia, and
his breath moved the hearts of longing souls. Then he left
for &Iraq, and on the Beloved's first journey, attained His
presence there. Once he beheld that beauteous Light he
was carried away to the Kingdom of Splendors; he was
incandescent, he became a thrall of yearning love. At this

+F3 &Qur'an 4:71.

+P123
time he was directed to go back to Persia. He was a peddler,
a vendor of small wares, and would travel from city
to city.
On &Baha'u'llah's second journey to &Iraq, &Haji &Hasan
longed to behold Him again, and there in &Baghdad was
once more bedazzled by His presence. Every so often he
would journey to Persia and then return, his thoughts
centered on teaching and furthering the Cause. His business
fell apart. His merchandise was carried away by
thieves, and thus, as he put it, his load was lifted from
him--he was disencumbered. He shunned every worldly
tie. He was held fast as by a magnet; he fell hopelessly,
madly in love with the tender Companion, with Him
Who is the Well-Beloved of both worlds. He was known
everywhere for the ecstasy he was in, and experienced
strange states of being; sometimes, with utmost eloquence,
he would teach the Faith, adducing as proofs many a
sacred verse and holy tradition, and bringing sound and
reasonable arguments to bear. Then his hearers would
comment on the power of his mind, on his wisdom and
his self-possession. But there were other times when love
suddenly flamed within him, and then he could not remain
still for an instant. At those times he would skip, and
dance, or again in a loud voice he would cry out a verse
from the poets, or a song. Toward the end of his days he
became a close friend of &Jinab-i-Munib; the two exchanged
many a recondite confidence, and each carried many a
melody in his breast.
On the friends' final journey he went to &Adhirbayjan,
and there, throwing caution to the winds, he roared out
the Greatest Name: "&Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha!" The unbelievers
there joined forces with his relatives, and they lured that
innocent, that man in his ecstasy, away to a garden. Here,
they first put questions to him and listened to his answers.
He spoke out; he expounded the secret verities of the

+P124
Faith, and set forth conclusive proofs that the Advent had
indeed come to pass. He recited verses from the &Qur'an,
and traditions handed down from the Prophet &Muhammad
and the Holy &Imams. Following that, in a frenzy of
love and longing rapture, he began to sing. It was a
&shahnaz melody he sang; the words were from the poets,
to say that the Lord had come. And they killed him; they
shed his blood. They wrenched and hacked his limbs apart
and hid his body underneath the dust.
As for &Haji &Muhammad-Ja'far, the gently born, he too,
like his brother, was bewitched by the Blessed Beauty. It
was in &Iraq that he entered the presence of the Light of
the World, and he too caught fire with Divine love and
was carried away by the gentle gales of God. Like his
brother, he was a vendor of small wares, always on a journey
from one place to the next. When &Baha'u'llah left
&Baghdad for the capital of &Islam, &Haji &Ja'far was in Persia,
and when the Blessed Beauty and His retinue came to a
halt in Adrianople, &Ja'far and &Haji &Taqi, his brother, arrived
there from &Adhirbayjan. They found a corner somewhere
and settled down. Our oppressors then stretched
out arrogant hands to send &Baha'u'llah forth to the Most
Great Prison, and they forbade the believers to accompany
the true Beloved, for it was their purpose to bring the
Blessed Beauty to this prison with but a few of His people.
When &Haji &Ja'far saw that they had excluded him from
the band of exiles, he seized a razor and slashed his throat.+F1
The crowds expressed their grief and horror and the authorities
then permitted all the believers to leave in company
with &Baha'u'llah--this because of the blessing that
came from &Ja'far's act of love.
They stitched up his wound but no one thought he
would recover. They told him, "For the time being, you

+F1 Cf. God Passes By, p. 180.

+P125
will have to stay where you are. If your throat heals, you
will be sent on, along with your brother. Be sure of this."
&Baha'u'llah also directed that this be done. Accordingly,
we left &Ja'far in the hospital and went on to the &Akka
prison. Two months later, he and his brother &Haji &Taqi
arrived at the fortress, and joined the other prisoners. The
safely delivered &Haji grew more loving, more ardent with
every passing day. From dusk till dawn he would stay
awake, chanting prayers, shedding his tears. Then one
night he fell from the roof of the caravanserai and ascended
to the Kingdom of miracles and signs.
&Haji &Taqi, born under a fortunate star, was in every
sense a true brother to &Haji &Ja'far. He lived in the same
spiritual condition, but he was calmer. After &Haji &Ja'far's
death, he would stay in one room, all alone. He was silence
itself. He would sit there, all alone, properly and courteously,
even during the night. One midnight he climbed
up to the roof to chant prayers. The next morning they
found him where he had fallen, on the ground by the
wall. He was unconscious, and they could not tell whether
this was an accident or whether he had thrown himself
down. When he came to himself he said: "I was weary of
this life, and I tried to die. Not for a moment do I wish to
linger in this world. Pray that I may go on."
This, then, is the life story of those three brothers. All
three were souls well-assured; all three were pleased,
and pleasing unto God.+F2 They were
flames; they were captives of the Faith; they were pure
and holy. And therefore, cut off from the world, turning
their faces toward the Most High Kingdom, they ascended.
May God wrap them in the garment of His grace
in the realm of forgiveness, and immerse them in the waters
of His mercy forever and ever. Greetings be unto
them, and praise.

+F2 &Qur'an 89:27-30.

+P126
&Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqi, the &Afnan

Among those souls that are
righteous, that are luminous
entities and Divine reflections, was &Jinab-i-Muhammad-Taqi,
the &Afnan.+F1 His title was &Vakilu'd-Dawlih.
This eminent Bough was an offshoot of the Holy Tree; in
him an excellent character was allied to a noble lineage.
His kinship was a true kinship. He was among those souls
who, after one reading of the Book of &Iqan, became believers,
bewitched by the sweet savors of God, rejoicing
at the recital of His verses. His agitation was such that he
cried out, "Lord, Lord, here am I!" Joyously, he left Persia
and hurried away to &Iraq. Because he was filled with longing
love, he sped over the mountains and across the desert
wastes, not pausing to rest until he came to &Baghdad.
He entered the presence of &Baha'u'llah, and achieved
acceptance in His sight. What holy ecstasy he had, what
fervor, what detachment from the world! It was beyond
description. His blessed face was so comely, so luminous
that the friends in &Iraq gave him a name: they called him
"the &Afnan of all delights." He was truly a blessed soul, a
man worthy to be revered. He never failed in his duty,
from the beginning of life till his last breath. As his days

+F1 The &Afnan are the &Bab's kindred.

+P127
began, he became enamored of the sweet savors of God,
and as they closed, he rendered a supreme service to the
Cause of God. His life was righteous, his speech agreeable,
his deeds worthy. Never did he fail in servitude, in devotion,
and he would set about a major undertaking with
alacrity and joy. His life, his behavior, what he did, what
he left undone, his dealings with others--were all a way
of teaching the Faith, and served as an example, an admonishment
to the rest.
After he had achieved the honor, in &Baghdad, of meeting
&Baha'u'llah, he returned to Persia, where he proceeded
to teach the Faith with an eloquent tongue. And this is
how to teach: with an eloquent tongue, a ready pen, a
goodly character, pleasing words, and righteous ways and
deeds. Even enemies bore witness to his high-mindedness
and his spiritual qualities, and they would way: "There is
none to compare with this man for his words and acts, his
righteousness, trustworthiness, and strong faith; in all
things he is unique; what a pity that he is a &Baha'i!" That
is: "What a pity that he is not as we are, perverse, uncaring,
committing sins, engrossed in sensuality, the creatures
of our passions!" Gracious God! They saw with their own
eyes that the moment he learned of the Faith he was transformed,
he was severed from the world, he began to emit
rays from the Sun of Truth; and still, they failed to profit
by the example he set.
During his days in Yazd he was, outwardly, engaged in
commercial pursuits, but actually teaching the Faith. His
only aim was to exalt the Word of God, his only wish, to
spread the Divine sweet savors, his only thought, to come
nearer and ever nearer to the mansions of the Lord. There
was no remembrance on his lips but the verses of God. He
was an embodiment of the good pleasure of &Baha'u'llah; a
dawning-point of the grace of the Greatest Name. Many
and many a time, &Baha'u'llah expressed to those about

+P128
Him, His extreme satisfaction with the &Afnan; and consequently,
everyone was certain that he would in future
initiate some highly important task.
After the ascension of &Baha'u'llah, the &Afnan, loyal and
staunch in the Covenant, rendered even more services
than he had before; this in spite of many obstacles, and an
overwhelming load of work, and an infinite variety of matters
all claiming his attention. He gave up his comfort, his
business, his properties, estates, lands, hastened away to
&Ishqabad and set about building the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar;
this was a service of very great magnitude, for he thus became
the first individual to erect a &Baha'i House of Worship,
the first builder of a House to unify man. With the
believers in &Ishqabad assisting him, he succeeded in carrying
off the palm. For a long period in &Ishqabad, he had no
rest. Day and night, he urged the believers on. Then they
too exerted their efforts, and made sacrifices above and beyond
their power; and God's edifice arose, and word of it
spread throughout East and West. The &Afnan expended
everything he possessed to rear this building, except for a
trifling sum. This is the way to make a sacrifice. This is
what it means to be faithful.
Afterward he journeyed to the Holy Land, and there
beside that place where the chosen angels circle, in the
shelter of the Shrine of the &Bab, he passed his days, holy
and pure, supplicating and entreating the Lord. God's
praise was always on his lips, and he chanted prayers with
both his tongue and heart. He was wonderfully spiritual,
strangely ashine. He is one of those souls who, before ever
the drumbeat of "Am I not your Lord?" was sounded,
drummed back: "Yea, verily Thou art!"+F2 It was in the
&Iraq period, during the years between the seventies and
the eighties of the Hijra, that he first caught fire and loved

+F2 &Qur'an 7:171.

+P129
the Light of the World, beheld the glory dawning in &Baha'u'llah
and witnessed the fulfillment of the words, "I am He
that liveth in the &Abha Realm of Glory!"
The &Afnan was an uncommonly happy man. Whenever
I was saddened, I would meet with him, and on the
instant, joy would return again. Praise be to God, at the
last, close by the Shrine of the &Bab, he hastened away in
light to the &Abha Realm; but the loss of him deeply
grieved &Abdu'l-Baha.
His bright grave is in Haifa, beside the &Haziratu'l-Quds,
near Elijah's Cave. A tomb must be erected there, and
built solidly and well. May God shed upon his resting-place
rays from the Paradise of Splendors, and lave that
holy dust with the rains that beat down from the retreats
of the Exalted Companion. Upon him be the glory of the
All-Glorious.


&Abdu'llah &Baghdadi

When he was very young,
people thought of &Abdu'llah
&Baghdadi as a libertine, solely devoted to pleasure.
He was regarded by all as the sport of inordinate desires,
mired down in his physical passions. But the moment he
became a believer, he was carried away by the sweet savors
of God, and was changed into a new creation. He
found himself in a strange rapture, completely transformed.

+P130
He had been of the world, now he was of
Heaven; he had lived by the flesh, now he lived by the
spirit; he had walked in darkness; now he walked in
light. He had been a slave to his senses, now he was a
thrall of God. He had been clay and earthenware before,
now he was a dear-bought pearl; a dull and lusterless stone
before, now a ruby glowing.
Even among the non-believers, people were astonished
at the change. What could have come over this youth,
they wanted to know; how did it happen that he was suddenly
detached from the world, eager and devoted? "He
was tainted, corrupted," they said; "today he is abstemious
and chaste. He was sunk in his appetites, but is now the
soul of purity, living a righteous life. He has left the
world behind him. He has broken up the feast, dismissed
the revelers, and folded the banquet cloth away. His mind
is distracted by love."
Briefly, he let go his pleasures and possessions, and
journeyed to &Akka on foot. His face had turned so bright,
his nature so luminous, that it was a joy to look at him. I
used to say: "&Aqa &Abdu'llah, what condition are you in?"
And he would answer to this effect: "I was in darkness;
now, by the favor of the Blessed Beauty, I am in light. I
was a heap of dust; He changed me to a fertile field. I
was in constant torment; I am now at peace. I was in love
with my chains; He has broken them. I was avid for this
one and that; now I cling to the Lord. I was a bird in a
cage; He let me out. Today, though I live in the desert,
and I have the bare ground for my bed and pillow, it feels
like silk. In the old time, my coverlet was satin, and my
soul was on the rack. Now I am homeless, and happy."
But his burning heart broke when he saw how victimized
was &Baha'u'llah, how patiently He suffered. &Abdu'llah
yearned to die for Him. And thus it came about
that he offered up his life for his tender Companion, and

+P131
hastened away, out of this dark world to the country of
light. His luminous grave is in &Akka. Upon him be the
glory of the All-Glorious; upon him be mercy, out of the
grace of the Lord.


&Muhammad-Mustafa &Baghdadi

&Muhammad-Mustafa
was a blazing light. He
was the son of the famous scholar &Shaykh &Muhammad-i-Shibl;
he lived in &Iraq, and from his earliest youth was
clearly unique and beyond compare; wise, brave, deserving
in every way, he was known far and wide. From
childhood, guided by his father, he had lit the light of
faith in the chapel of his heart. He had rid himself of the
hindering veils of illusion, gazed about with perceptive
eyes, witnessed great new signs of God and, regardless of
the consequences, had cried aloud: "The earth hath shone
out with the light of her Lord!"+F1
Gracious God! The opposition was powerful, the penalty
obvious, the friends, every one of them, terrified, and
off in some corner hiding their belief; at such a time this
intrepid personality boldly went about his business, and
like a man, faced up to every tyrant. The one individual
who, in the year seventy, was famed in &Iraq for his love

+F1 &Qur'an 39:69.

+P132
of &Baha'u'llah, was this honored person. A few other souls,
then in &Baghdad and its environs, had crept away into
nooks and crannies and, imprisoned in their own lethargy,
there they remained. But this admirable &Muhammad-Mustafa
would boldly, proudly come and go like a man,
and the hostile, because of his physical strength and his
courage, were afraid to attack him.
After &Baha'u'llah's return from His journey to &Kurdistan,
the virile strength and bearing of that gallant individual
was still further enhanced. Whenever leave was
granted, he would attend upon &Baha'u'llah, and would
hear from His lips expressions of favor and grace. He was
the leader, among all the friends in &Iraq, and after the
great separation, when the convoy of the Beloved left for
Constantinople, he remained loyal and staunch, and withstood
the foe. He girded himself for service and openly,
publicly, observed by all, taught the Faith.
As soon as &Baha'u'llah's declaration that He was "He
Whom God Shall Manifest"+F2 had become known far and
wide, &Muhammad-Mustafa--being among those souls
who had become believers prior to this Declaration, and
before the call was raised--cried out: "Verily, we believe!"
Because, even before this Declaration, the very
light itself pierced through the veils that had closed off
the peoples of the world, so that every seeing eye beheld
the splendor, and every longing soul could look upon its
Well-Beloved.
With all his strength, then, &Muhammad-Mustafa arose
to serve the Cause. He rested neither day nor night. After
the Ancient Beauty had departed to the Most Great
Prison; after the friends had been taken prisoner in &Baghdad
and sent away to Mosul; after the hostility of outstanding
enemies and the opposition of the populace of

+F2 The Promised One of the &Bab.

+P133
&Baghdad, he did not falter, but continued to stand his
ground. A long time passed in this way. But with his
yearning for &Baha'u'llah, the tumult in his heart was such
that he set out alone for the Most Great Prison. He
reached there during the period of extreme restrictions,
and had the honor of entering the presence of &Baha'u'llah.
He asked then for leave to find a lodging somewhere in
the neighborhood of &Akka, and was permitted to reside in
Beirut. There he went and faithfully served the Cause, assisting
all the pilgrims as they arrived and departed. He
was an excellent servitor, a generous and kindly host, and
he sacrificed himself to see to their affairs as they passed
through. For all this he became known everywhere.
When the Sun of Truth had set and the Light of the
Concourse on high had ascended, &Muhammad-Mustafa
remained loyal to the Covenant. He stood so firm against
the waverers that they dared not draw a breath. He was
like a shooting star, a missile hurled against the demons;+F3
against the violators, an avenging sword. Not one of the
violators so much as dared pass through the street where
he lived and if they chanced to meet him they were like
those described in the &Qur'an: "deaf, dumb, blind: therefore
they shall not retrace their steps from error!"+F4 He
was the very embodiment of: "The blame of the blamer
shall not deflect him from the path of God, and the terrible
might of the reviler shall not shake him."
Living in the same manner as before, he served the believers
with a free mind and pure intent. With all his
heart, he assisted the travelers to the Holy Land, those
who had come to circumambulate that place which is
ringed around by the Company on high. Later he moved

+F3 &Islamic symbolism: Satan is the "stoned one"; with shooting stars
+F3 for stones, the angels repel demons from Paradise. &Qur'an 3:31, 15:17,
+F3 34; 37:7; 67:5.
+F4 &Qur'an 2:17.

+P134
from Beirut to &Iskandarun, and there he spent some time,
until, drawn as if by a magnet to the Lord, detached from
all save Him, rejoicing in His glad tidings, holding fast to
the cord that none can sever--he ascended on the wings
of the spirit to his Exalted Companion.
May God lift him up to the highest Heaven, to the
fellowship of glory.+F5 May God bring him into the land of
lights, the mysterious Kingdom, the assemblage of the
splendors of the mighty, all powerful Lord. Upon him be
the glory of the All-Glorious.


&Sulayman &Khan-i-Tunukabani

&Sulayman &Khan was the
emigrant and settler who
was given the title of &Jamali'd-Din. He was born in &Tunukaban,
into an old family of that region. He was cradled
in wealth, bred to ease, reared in the comfortable ways of
luxury. From his early childhood he had high ambitions
and noble aims, and he was honor and aspiration personified.
At first he planned to outdistance all his fellows and
achieve some lofty rank. For this reason he left his birthplace
and went to the capital, &Tihran, where he hoped to
become a leader, surpassing the rest of his generation.

+F5 &Qur'an 4:71.

+P135
In &Tihran, however, the fragrance of God was borne
his way, and he listened to the summons of the Well-Beloved.
He was saved from the perturbations of high
rank; from all the din and clatter, the glory, the pomps
and palaces, of this heap of dust, the world. He threw off
his chains, and by God's grace, discovered peace. To him,
the seat of honor was now no different from the place
where people removed their slippers at the door, and high
office was a thing soon gone and forgotten. He was
cleansed from the stain of living, his heart was eased, for
he had burst the shackles that held him to this present
life.
Putting on the garments of a pilgrim, he set out to find
his loving Friend, and came to the Most Great Prison.
Here for a time he rested, under the protection of the
Ancient Beauty; here he gained the honor of entering the
presence of &Baha'u'llah, and listened to momentous teachings
from His holy lips. When he had breathed the
scented air, when his eyes were illumined and his ears attuned
to the words of the Lord, he was permitted to make
a journey to India, and bidden to teach the true seekers
after truth.
Resting his heart on God, in love with the sweet savors
of God, on fire with the love of God, he left for India.
There he wandered, and whenever he came to a city he
raised the call of the Great Kingdom and delivered the
good news that the Speaker of the Mount had come. He
became one of God's farmers, scattering the holy seed of
the Teachings. This sowing was fruitful. Through him a
considerable number found their way into the Ark of Salvation.
The light of Divine guidance was shed upon those
souls, and their eyes were brightened with beholding the
mighty signs of God. He became the focal point of every
gathering, the honored guest. To this day, in India, the

+P136
results of his auspicious presence are clear to see, and
those whom he taught are now, in their turn, guiding others
to the Faith.
Following his Indian journey, &Sulayman &Khan came
back to &Baha'u'llah, but when he arrived, the ascension
had taken place. Continuously, he shed his tears, and his
heart was a thurible for sorrow. But he remained loyal to
the Covenant, well rooted in Heaven.
Not long before His passing, &Baha'u'llah had said:
"Should someone go to Persia, and manage to convey it,
this message must be delivered to &Aminu's-Sultan:+F1 `You
took steps to help the prisoners; you freely rendered them
a befitting service; this service will not be forgotten. Rest
assured that it will bring you honor and call down a blessing
upon all your affairs. O &Aminu's-Sultan! Every house
that is raised up will one day fall to ruin, except the house
of God; that will grow more massive and be better guarded
day by day. Then serve the Court of God with all your
might, that you may discover the way to a home in
Heaven, and found an edifice that will endure forever.'"
After the departure of &Baha'u'llah, this message was conveyed
to &Aminu's-Sultan.
In &Adhirbayjan the Turkish clerics had brought down
&Aqa Siyyid &Asadu'llah, hunted him down in &Ardabil and
plotted to shed his blood; but the Governor, by a ruse,
managed to save him from being physically beaten and
then murdered: he sent the victim to &Tabriz in chains,
and from there had him conducted to &Tihran. &Aminu's-Sultan
came to the prisoner's assistance and, in his own
office, provided &Asadu'llah with a sanctuary. One day
when the Prime Minister was ill, &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah arrived
to visit him. The Minister then explained the situation,
and lavished praise upon his captive; so much so that

+F1 The Prime Minister.

+P137
the &Shah, as he left, showed great kindness to &Asadu'llah,
and spoke words of consolation. This, when at an earlier
time, the captive would have been strung up at once to
adorn some gallows-tree, and shot down with a gun.
After a time &Aminu's-Sultan lost the Sovereign's favor.
Hated, in disgrace, he was banished to the city of Qum.
Thereupon this servant dispatched &Sulayman &Khan to
Persia, carrying a prayer and a missive written by me. The
prayer besought God's aid and bounty and succor for the
fallen Minister, so that he might, from that corner of oblivion,
be recalled to favor. In the letter we clearly stated:
"Prepare to return to &Tihran. Soon will God's help arrive;
the light of grace will shine on you again; with full authority
again, you will find yourself free, and Prime Minister.
This is your reward for the efforts you exerted on behalf
of a man who was oppressed." That letter and that
prayer are today in the possession of the family of &Aminu's-Sultan.
From &Tihran, &Sulayman &Khan journeyed to Qum, and
according to his instructions went to live in a cell in the
shrine of the Immaculate.+F2 The relatives of &Aminu's-Sultan
came to visit there; &Sulayman &Khan inquired after the
fallen Minister and expressed the wish to meet him. When
the Minister learned of this, he sent for &Sulayman &Khan.
Placing all his trust in God, &Sulayman &Khan hastened to
the Minister's house and, meeting him in private, presented
the letter from &Abdu'l-Baha. The Minister rose,
and received the letter with extreme respect. Then addressing
the &Khan he said: "I had given up hope. If this
longing is fulfilled, I will arise to serve; I will preserve and
uphold the friends of God." Then he expressed his gratitude,
indebtedness and joy, and added, "Praise be to God,

+F2 Qum is the shrine city of &Fatimih, "the Immaculate." Sister of the
+F2 eighth &Imam, &Imam &Rida, she was buried here in 816 A.D.

+P138
I hope again; I feel that by His aid, my dream will come
true."
In brief, the Minister pledged himself to serve the
friends, and &Sulayman &Khan took his leave. The Minister
then desired to give him a sum of money to defray the expenses
of his journey, but &Sulayman &Khan refused, and
despite the Minister's insistence, would accept nothing.
The &Khan had not yet reached the Holy Land on his return
journey when &Aminu's-Sultan was recalled from exile
and immediately summoned to the Premiership again.
He assumed the position and functioned with full authority;
and at first he did indeed support the believers, but
toward the end, in the case of the Yazd martyrdoms, he
was neglectful. He neither helped nor protected the sufferers
in any way, nor would he listen to their repeated
pleas, until all of them were put to death. Accordingly he
too was dismissed, a ruined man; that flag which had
flown so proudly was reversed, and that hoping heart despaired.
&Sulayman &Khan lived on in the Holy Land, near the
Shrine which the Exalted Assembly circle about. He kept
company with the believers until the day of inescapable
death, when he set out for the mansions of Him Who
liveth, and dieth not. He turned his back on this heap of
dust, the world, and hurried away to the country of light.
He broke out of this cage of contingent being and soared
into the endless, placeless Realm. May God enfold him in
the waters of His mercy, cause His forgiveness to rain
down upon him, and bestow on him the wonders of
abounding grace. Salutations be unto him, and praise.

+P139
&Abdu'r-Rahman, the Coppersmith

This was a patient and long-enduring
man, a native of
&Kashan. He was one of the very earliest believers. The
down was not yet upon his cheek when he drank of the
love of God, saw with his own eyes the heavenly table
spread out before him, and received his faith and his portion
of abounding grace.
In a little while he left his home and set out for the
rose garden that was &Baghdad, where he achieved the
honor of entering the presence of &Baha'u'llah. He spent
some time in &Iraq, and won a crown of endless favor: he
would enter the presence of &Baha'u'llah and many a time
would accompany Him on foot to the Shrine of the Two
&Kazims; this was his great delight.
&Abdu'r-Rahman was among the prisoners exiled to
Mosul, and later he fairly dragged himself to the fortress
at &Akka. Here he lived, blessed by &Baha'u'llah. He carried
on a small business, trifling, but he was content with it,
happy and at peace. Thus, walking the path of righteousness,
he lived to be eighty years old, at which time, serenely
patient, he soared away to the Threshold of God.
May the Lord enfold him there with His bounty and
compassion, and clothe him in the garment of forgiveness.
His luminous grave is in &Akka.

+P140
&Muhammad-Ibrahim-i-Tabrizi

This man, noble and high-minded,
was the son of the
respected &Abdu'l-Fattah who was in the &Akka prison.
Learning that his father was a captive there, he came with
all speed to the fortress so that he too might have a share
of those dire afflictions. He was a man wise, understanding,
in a tumult from drinking the wine of the love of
God, but with a wonderful, basic serenity and calm.
He had inherited the nature of his father, and he exemplified
the saying that the child is the secret essence of
its sire. For this reason, over a long period, he found delight
in the neighborhood of the Divine Presence, enjoying
utter peace. Daytimes, he would carry on his trade,
and at night he would come in all haste to the door of the
house, to be with the friends. He was close to all those
who were staunch and true; he was full of courage; he
was grateful to God, abstemious and chaste, expectant of
and relying on the bounty and grace of the Lord. He
made his father's lamp to shine, brightened the household
of &Abdu'l-Fattah, and left descendants to remain behind
him in this swiftly passing world.
He always did what he could to provide for the happiness
of the believers; he always saw to their well-being.
He was sagacious, grave, and steadfast. By God's grace, he

+P141
stayed loyal to the end, and sound in faith. May God give
him to drink from the cup of forgiveness; may he sip from
the spring of God's bounty and good pleasure; may God
raise him up to the heights of Divine bestowal. His sweet-scented
tomb is in &Akka.


&Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Ardikani

In the flower of tender youth,
&Muhammad-'Ali, the illumined,
heard the cry of God, and lost his heart to heavenly
grace. He entered the service of the &Afnan, offshoot
of the Holy Tree, and lived happy and content. This was
how he came to the city of &Akka, and was for quite a time
present at the Sacred Threshold, winning a crown of lasting
glory. The eye of &Baha'u'llah's grace and favor was
upon him. He served with a loyal heart. He had a happy
nature, a comely face; he was a man believing, seeking,
tested and tried.
During the days of &Baha'u'llah, &Muhammad-'Ali remained
steadfast, and after the Supreme Affliction his heart
did not fail him, for he had drunk the wine of the Covenant
and his thoughts were fixed on the bounties of God. He
moved to Haifa and lived, a firm believer, near the &Haziratu'l-Quds
by the Holy Shrine on Mount Carmel till his
final breath, when death came and the carpet of his earthly
life was rolled up and put away.

+P142
This man was a true servant of the Threshold, a good
friend to the believers. All were pleased with him, finding
him an excellent companion, gentle and mild. May God
succor him in His exalted Kingdom, and give him a home
in the &Abha Realm, and send upon him abounding grace
from the gardens of Heaven--the place of meeting, the
place of the mystical contemplation of God. His amber-scented
dust is in Haifa.


&Haji &Aqay-i-Tabrizi

Early in his youth this spiritual
man, who came from
&Tabriz, had sensed the mystic knowledge and drunk the
heady wine of God, and he remained staunch as ever in
the Faith during his years of helpless age.
He lived for a time in &Adhirbayjan, enamored of the
Lord. When he became widely known thereabouts as one
bearing the name of God, the people ruined his life. His
relatives and friends turned against him, finding a new
excuse to hound him with every passing day. Finally he
broke up his home, took his family and fled to Adrianople.
He reached there during the close of the Adrianople period
and was taken prisoner by the oppressors.
Along with us homeless wanderers, and under the protection
of the Ancient Beauty, he came to the Most Great
Prison and was a confidant and companion, sharing with

+P143
us the calamities and tribulations, humble and long-enduring.
Afterward, when the restrictions were somewhat relaxed,
he engaged in trade, and through the bounty of
&Baha'u'llah was comfortable and at peace. But his body had
become enfeebled from the earlier hardships, and all the
suffering, and his faculties had deteriorated; so that ultimately
he fell ill, beyond hope of a remedy; and not far
from &Baha'u'llah, and shadowed by His protection, he
hastened away from this least of worlds to the high Heavens,
from this dark place to the land of lights. May God
immerse him in the waters of forgiveness; may He bring
him into the gardens of Paradise, and there keep him safe
forevermore. His pure dust rests in &Akka.


&Qulam-'Aliy-i-Najjar

This man, a carpenter and a
master craftsman, came
from &Kashan. For faith and certitude, he was like a sword
drawn from the scabbard. He was well known in his own
city as a man righteous, true and worthy of trust. He was
high-minded, abstemious and chaste. When he became a
believer, his urgent longing to meet &Baha'u'llah could not
be stilled; full of joyous love, he went out of the Land of
&Kaf (&Kashan) and traveled to &Iraq, where he beheld the
splendor of the rising Sun.
He was a mild man, patient, quiet, mostly keeping to

+P144
himself. In &Baghdad, he worked at his craft, was in touch
with the friends, and sustained by the presence of &Baha'u'llah.
For some time he lived in utter happiness and peace.
Then those who had been taken prisoner were sent away
to Mosul, and he was among the victims and like them exposed
to the wrath of the oppressors. He remained in captivity
for quite a while and when freed came to &Akka.
Here too he was a friend to the prisoners and in the Fortress
he continued to practice his skill. As usual he was inclined
to solitude, apt to stay apart from friend and stranger alike,
and much of the time lived by himself.
Then the supreme ordeal, the great desolation, came
upon us. &Qulam-'Ali took on the carpentry work of the
Holy Tomb, exerting all his sure powers. To this day, the
glass roof which is over the inner courtyard of the Shrine
of &Baha'u'llah remains as the product of his skill. He was
a man crystal clear of heart. His face shone; his inner condition
was constant; at no time was he changeable or unstable.
He was staunch, loving, and true till his last breath.
After some years in this neighborhood, he rose upward
to the neighborhood of the all-embracing mercy of God,
and became a friend to those who dwell in the high Heavens.
He had the honor of meeting &Baha'u'llah in both
worlds. This is the most precious bestowal, the costliest of
all gifts. To him be salutations and praise. His bright
grave is in &Akka.

+P145
&Jinab-i-Munib, upon him be the Glory of the
All-Glorious

His name was &Mirza &Aqa
and he was spirit itself.
He came from &Kashan. In the days of the &Bab, he was
drawn to the sweet savors of God; it was then he caught
fire. He was a fine youth, handsome, full of charm and
grace. He was a calligrapher second to none, a poet, and he
had as well a remarkable singing voice. He was wise and
perceptive; staunch in the Faith of God; a flame of God's
love, severed from all but God.
During the years when &Baha'u'llah resided in &Iraq,
&Jinab-i-Munib left &Kashan and hastened to His presence.
He went to live in a small and humble house, barely
managed to subsist, and set about committing to writing
the words of God. On his brow, the bestowals of the Manifestation
were clear to see. In all this mortal world he had
only one possession, his daughter; and even his daughter
he had left behind in Persia, as he hurried away to &Iraq.
At the time when, with all pomp and ceremony, &Baha'u'llah
and His retinue departed from &Baghdad, &Jinab-i-Munib
accompanied the party on foot. The young man
had been known in Persia for his easy and agreeable life
and his love of pleasure; also for being somewhat soft and
delicate, and used to having his own way. It is obvious what

+P146
a person of this type endured, going on foot from &Baghdad
to Constantinople. Still, he gladly measured out the desert
miles, and he spent his days and nights chanting prayers,
communing with God and calling upon Him.
He was a close companion of mine on that journey.
There were nights when we would walk, one to either
side of the howdah of &Baha'u'llah, and the joy we had
defies description. Some of those nights he would sing
poems; among them he would chant the odes of &Hafiz,
like the one that begins, "Come, let us scatter these roses,
let us pour out this wine,"+F1 and that other:

To our King though we bow the knee,
We are kings of the morning star.
No changeable colors have we--
Red lions, black dragons we are!

The Blessed Beauty, at the time of His departure from
Constantinople, directed &Jinab-i-Munib to return to Persia
and promulgate the Faith. Accordingly he went back, and
over a considerable period he rendered outstanding services,
especially in &Tihran. Then he came again, from Persia to
Adrianople, and entered the presence of &Baha'u'llah, enjoying
the privilege of attending upon Him. At the time
of the greatest catastrophe, that is, the exile to &Akka, he
was made a prisoner on this Pathway and traveled, by now
feeble and ill, with the party of &Baha'u'llah.
He had been stricken by a severe ailment and was pitifully
weak. Still, he would not agree to remaining behind
in Adrianople where he could receive treatment, because
he wanted to sacrifice his life and fall at the feet of his
Lord. We journeyed along till we reached the sea. He was
now so feeble that it took three men to lift him and carry

+F1 The remainder of the verse is: "Let us split the roof of Heaven and
+F1 draw a new design."

+P147
him onto the ship. Once he was on board, his condition
grew so much worse that the captain insisted we put him
off the ship, but because of our repeated pleas he waited
till we reached Smyrna. In Smyrna, the captain addressed
Colonel &Umar Bayk, the government agent who accompanied
us, and told him: "If you don't put him ashore, I
will do it by force, because the ship will not accept passengers
in this condition."
We were compelled, then, to take &Jinab-i-Munib to the
hospital at Smyrna. Weak as he was, unable to utter a
word, he dragged himself to &Baha'u'llah, lay down at His
feet, and wept. On the countenance of &Baha'u'llah as well,
there was intense pain.
We carried &Jinab-i-Munib to the hospital, but the functionaries
allowed us not more than one hour's time. We
laid him down on the bed; we laid his fair head on the
pillow; we held him and kissed him many times. Then
they forced us away. It is clear how we felt. Whenever I
think of that moment, the tears come; my heart is heavy
and I summon up the remembrance of what he was. A
great man; infinitely wise, he was, steadfast, modest and
grave; and there was no one like him for faith and certitude.
In him the inner and outer perfections, the spiritual
and physical, were joined together. That is why he could
receive endless bounty and grace.
His grave is in Smyrna, but it is off by itself, and deserted.
Whenever this can be done, the friends must search
for it, and that neglected dust must be changed into a
much-frequented shrine,+F2 so that pilgrims who visit there
may breathe in the sweet scent of his last resting-place.

+F2 &Qur'an 52:4.

+P148
&Mirza &Mustafa &Naraqi

Among that company of
pure and goodly souls was
&Mirza &Mustafa, a leading citizen of &Naraq and one of the
earliest believers. His face shone with the love of God. His
mind was concerned with the anemones of mystic meanings,
fair as meadows and beds of flowers.
It was in the days of the &Bab that he first set his lips to
the intoxicating cup of spiritual truth, and he had a strange
tumult in his brain, a fierce yearning in his heart. In the
path of God he threw down whatever he possessed; he
gambled everything away, gave up his home, his kin, his
physical well-being, his peace of mind. Like a fish on the
sand, he struggled to reach the water of life. He came to
&Iraq, joined the friends of his soul, and entered the presence
of &Baha'u'llah. For some time he lived there, joyful
and content, receiving endless bounty. Then he was sent
back to Persia, where, to the utmost of his capacity, he
served the Faith. He was a whole and accomplished man,
staunch, firmly rooted as the hills; sound, and worthy of
trust. To him, in all that turmoil and panic, the wild dogs
howling were only buzzing flies; tests and trials rested his
mind; when cast into the fire of afflictions that broke out,
he proved to be shining gold.
On the day when the convoy of &Baha'u'llah was leaving

+P149
Constantinople for Adrianople, &Mirza &Mustafa arrived from
Persia. There was no opportunity for him to reach &Baha'u'llah
except once; and he was thereupon directed to return
to Persia. At such a moment he had the honor of being
received.
When &Mirza &Mustafa reached &Adhirbayjan, he began
to spread the Faith. Day and night he remained in a state
of prayer, and there in &Tabriz he drank of a brimming cup.
His fervor increased, his teaching raised a tumult. Then
the eminent scholar, the renowned &Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Khurasani,
came to &Adhirbayjan and the two of them
joined forces. The result was such overwhelming spiritual
fire that they taught the Faith openly and publicly and the
people of &Tabriz rose up in wrath.
The &farrashes hunted them down, and caught &Mirza
&Mustafa. But then the oppressors said, "&Mirza &Mustafa
had two long locks of hair. This cannot be the right man."
At once, &Mirza &Mustafa took off his hat and down fell the
locks of hair. "Behold!" he told them. "I am the one." They
arrested him then. They tortured him and &Shaykh &Ahmad
until finally, in &Tabriz, those two great men drained the
cup of death and, martyred, hastened away to the Supreme
Horizon.
At the place where they were to be killed, &Mirza
&Mustafa cried out: "Kill me first, kill me before &Shaykh
&Ahmad, that I may not see them shed his blood!"
Their greatness has been recorded for all time in the
Writings of &Baha'u'llah. They received many a Tablet from
Him, and after their death He set down, with His exalted
pen, the anguish they endured.
From youth till old age, this illustrious man, &Mirza
&Mustafa, devoted his entire life to service on the pathway
of God. Today he dwells in the all-glorious Realm, in the
neighborhood of the ineffable mercy of God, and he rejoices
with exceeding gladness, and he celebrates the praise

+P150
of his Lord. Blessedness be his, and a goodly home.+F1 To
him be tidings of great joy, from the Lord of Lords. May
God grant him an exalted station, in that high Company.


&Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin

This distinguished man was
one of the greatest of all the
&Bab's companions and all the loved ones of &Baha'u'llah.
When he lived under &Islam, he was already famed for his
purity and holiness of life. He was talented and highly accomplished
in many directions. He was the leader and
spiritual exemplar of the entire population of &Najaf-Abad,
and the eminent of that area showed him unbounded respect.
When he spoke out, his was the deciding opinion;
when he passed judgment, it took effect; for he was known
to all as the standard, and the authority of last resort.
He had no sooner learned of the &Bab's Declaration than
he cried out from the depths of his heart, "O our Lord! we
have indeed heard the voice of one that called. He called
us to the Faith--`Believe ye on your Lord'--and we have
believed."+F1 He rid himself of all impeding veils; his doubts
dispelled, he began to extol and glorify the Beauty promised
from of old. In his own home, and at &Isfahan, he became

+F1 Cf. &Qur'an 13:28.
+F1 &Qur'an 3:190.

+P151
notorious for declaring far and wide that the advent
of the long-desired One had come to pass. By the hypocrites,
he was mocked, cursed and tormented. As for the
people, "the mass, as a snake in the grass," who had worshiped
him before, now rose up to do him harm. Every
day brought on a fresh cruelty, a new torment from his
oppressors. He endured it all, and went on teaching with
great eloquence. He remained staunch, unmoved, as their
wrath increased. In his hands he held out a full cup of
Divine glad tidings, offering to all who came that heady
draught of the knowledge of God. He was utterly without
fear, knew nothing of danger, and swiftly followed the
holy path of the Lord.
After the attempt on the &Shah, however, there was no
shelter anywhere; no evening, no morning, without intense
affliction. And since his staying on in &Najaf-Abad at
such a time was a great danger to the believers, he left
there and traveled to &Iraq. It was during the period when
the Blessed Beauty was in &Kurdistan, when He had gone
into seclusion and was living in the cave on &Sar-Galu,
that &Jinab-i-Zayn arrived in &Baghdad. But his hopes were
dashed, his heart grieved, for all was silence: there was no
word of the Cause of God, no name nor fame of it; there
were no gatherings, no call was being raised. &Yahya, terror
stricken, had vanished into some dark hiding place. Torpid,
flaccid, he had made himself invisible. Try as he might,
&Jinab-i-Zayn could find not one soul. He met on a single
occasion with His Eminence &Kalim. But it was a period
when great caution was being exercised by the believers,
and he went on to &Karbila. He spent some time there, and
occupied himself with copying out the Writings, after
which he returned home to &Najaf-Abad. Here the foul
persecutions and attacks of his relentless enemies could
hardly be endured.

+P152
But when the Trump had been sounded a second time,+F2
he was restored to life. To the tidings of &Baha'u'llah's advent
his soul replied; to the drum beat, "Am I not your
Lord?" his heart drummed back: "Yea, verily!"+F3 Eloquently,
he taught again, using both rational and historical
proofs to establish that He Whom God Shall Manifest--
the Promised One of the &Bab--had indeed appeared. He
was like refreshing waters to those who thirsted, and to
seekers, a clear answer from the Concourse on high. In
his writing and speaking, he was first among the righteous,
in his elucidations and commentaries a mighty sign of God.
In Persia his life was in imminent peril; and since remaining
at &Najaf-Abad would have stirred up the agitators
and brought on riots, he hastened away to Adrianople, seeking
sanctuary with God, and crying out as he went, "Lord,
Lord, here am I!" Wearing the lover's pilgrim dress, he
reached the Mecca of his longing. For some time he tarried
there, in the presence of &Baha'u'llah, after which he was
commanded to leave, with &Jinab-i-Mirza &Ja'far-i-Yazdi, and
promulgate the Faith. He returned to Persia and began to
teach most eloquently, so that the glad tidings of the Lord's
advent resounded to the high heavens. In the company of
&Mirza &Ja'far he traveled everywhere, through cities flourishing
and ruined, spreading the good news that the
Blessed Beauty was now manifest.
Once again, he returned to &Iraq, where he was the
center of every gathering, and rejoiced his hearers. At all
times, he gave wise counsel; at all times he was consumed
with the love of God.
When the believers were taken prisoner in &Iraq and
banished to Mosul, &Jinab-i-Zayn became their chief. He
remained for some time in Mosul, a consolation to the

+F2 Cf. &Qur'an 39:68.
+F3 &Qur'an 7:171.

+P153
rest, working to solve their many problems. He would
kindle love in people's hearts, and make them kind to one
another. Later he asked for permission to attend upon
&Baha'u'llah; when this was granted he arrived at the Prison
and had the honor of entering the presence of his Well-Beloved.
He then busied himself with writing down the
sacred verses, and encouraging the friends. He was love
itself to the emigrants, and warmed the travelers' hearts.
He never rested for a moment, and received new grace and
bounty every day, meanwhile taking down the &Baha'i
Scriptures with faultless care.
From his early years till his last breath, this eminent man
never failed in service to the Manifestation. After the ascension
he was consumed with such grieving, such constant
tears and anguish, that as the days passed by, he
wasted away. He remained faithful to the Covenant, and
was a close companion to this servant of the Light of the
World, but he longed to rise out of this life, and awaited
his departure from day to day. At last, serene and happy,
rejoicing in the tidings of the Kingdom, he soared away
to that mysterious land. There he was loosed from every
sorrow, and in the gathering-place of splendors he was immersed
in light.
Unto him be salutations and praise from the luminous
Realm, and the glory of the All-Glorious from the Concourse
on high, and great joy in that Kingdom which endures
forever. May God provide him with an exalted station
in the &Abha Paradise.

+P154
&Azim-i-Tafrishi

This man of God came from
the district of &Tafrish. He
was detached from the world, fearless, independent of
kindred and stranger alike. He was one of the earliest believers,
and belonged to the company of the faithful. It was
in Persia that he won the honor of belief, and began to
assist the friends; he was a servant to every believer, a
trusted helper to every traveler. With &Musay-i-Qumi, upon
whom be the glory of God, he came to &Iraq, received his
portion of bounty from the Light of the World, and was
honored with entering the presence of &Baha'u'llah, attending
upon Him and becoming the object of bestowals
and grace.
After a time, &Azim and &Haji &Mirza &Musa went back to
Persia, where he continued to render service to the friends,
purely for God's sake. Without wage or stipend he served
&Mirza &Nasru'llah of &Tafrish for a number of years, his faith
and certitude growing stronger with every passing day.
&Mirza &Nasru'llah then left Persia for Adrianople, and in
his company came &Jinab-i-'Azim, and entered the presence
of &Baha'u'llah. He kept on serving with love and loyalty,
purely for the sake of God; and when the convoy departed
for &Akka, &Azim received the distinction of accompanying
&Baha'u'llah, and he entered the Most Great Prison.

+P155
In the prison he was chosen to serve the Household; he
became the water carrier both within doors and on the outside.
He undertook many hard tasks in the barracks. He
had no rest at all, day or night. &Azim--"the great, the
magnificent"--was magnificent as to character. He was
patient, long-suffering, forbearing, shunning the stain of
this earth. And since he was the family water carrier, he
had the honor of coming into &Baha'u'llah's presence every
day.
He was a good companion to all the friends, a consolation
to their hearts; he brought happiness to all of them,
the present and the absent as well. Many and many a
time, &Baha'u'llah was heard to express His approval of this
man. He always maintained the same inner condition; he
was constant, never subject to change. He was always
happy-looking. He did not know the meaning of fatigue.
He was never despondent. When anyone asked a service
of him, he performed it at once. He was staunch and firm
in his faith, a tree that grew in the scented garden of God's
tenderness.
After he had served at the Holy Threshold for many
long years, he hastened away, tranquil, serene, rejoicing
in the tidings of the Kingdom, out of this swiftly fading
life to the world that does not die. The friends, all of them,
mourned his passing, but the Blessed Beauty eased their
hearts, for He lavished grace and praise on him who was
gone.
Mercies be upon &Azim from the Kingdom of Divine
compassion; God's glory be upon him, at nightfall and the
rising of the sun.

+P156
&Mirza &Ja'far-i-Yazdi

This knight of the battlefield
was one of the most
learned of seekers after truth, well versed in many branches
of knowledge. For a long time he was in the schools,
specializing in the fundamentals of religion and religious
jurisprudence, and making researches into philosophy and
metaphysics, logic and history, the contemplative and the
narrated sciences.+F1 He began, however, to note that his
fellows were arrogant and self-satisfied, and this repelled
him. It was then that he heard the cry out of the Supreme
Concourse, and without a moment's hesitation he raised
up his voice and shouted, "Yea, verily!"; and he repeated
the words, "O our Lord! We have heard the voice of one
that called. He called us to the Faith--`Believe ye on your
Lord'--and we have believed."+F2
When he saw the great tumult and the riots in Yazd, he
left his homeland and went to Najaf, the noble city; here
for safety's sake he mingled with the scholars of religion,
becoming renowned among them for his own wide knowledge.
Then, listening to the voice from &Baghdad, he hastened
there, and changed his mode of dress. That is, he put
a layman's hat on his head, and went to work as a carpenter

+F1 &Manqul va &ma'qul: "desumed" versus "excogitated" knowledge.
+F2 &Qur'an 3:190.

+P157
to earn his living. He traveled once to &Tihran, returned,
and sheltered by the grace of &Baha'u'llah was patient and
content, rejoicing in his garb of poverty. In spite of his
great learning he was humble, self-effacing, lowly. He kept
silent at all times, and was a good companion to every sort
of man.
On the journey from &Iraq to Constantinople, &Mirza
&Ja'far was one of &Baha'u'llah's retinue, and in seeing to the
needs of the friends, he was a partner to this servant. When
we would come to a stopping-place the believers, exhausted
by the long hours of travel, would rest or sleep. &Mirza
&Ja'far and I would go here and there to the surrounding
villages to find oats, straw and other provisions for the
caravan.+F3 Since there was a famine in that area, it sometimes
happened that we would be roaming from village to
village from after the noon hour until half the night was
gone. As best we could, we could procure whatever was
available, then return to the convoy.
&Mirza &Ja'far was patient and long-suffering, a faithful
attendant at the Holy Threshold. He was a servant to all
the friends, working day and night. A quiet man, sparing
of speech, in all things relying entirely upon God. He
continued to serve in Adrianople until the banishment to
&Akka was brought about and he too was made a prisoner.
He was grateful for this, continually offering thanks, and
saying, "Praise be to God! I am in the fully-laden Ark!"+F4
The Prison was a garden of roses to him, and his narrow
cell a wide and fragrant place. At the time when we were
in the barracks he fell dangerously ill and was confined to

+F3 &Baha'u'llah was accompanied by members of His family and twenty-six
+F3 disciples. The convoy included a mounted guard of ten soldiers
+F3 with their officer, a train of fifty mules, and seven pairs of howdahs,
+F3 each pair surmounted by four parasols. The journey to Constantinople
+F3 lasted from May 3, 1863 to August 16. Cf. God Passes By, p. 156.
+F4 &Qur'an 26:119; 36:41.

+P158
his bed. He suffered many complications, until finally the
doctor gave him up and would visit him no more. Then the
sick man breathed his last. &Mirza &Aqa &Jan ran to &Baha'u'llah,
with word of the death. Not only had the patient
ceased to breathe, but his body was already going limp.
His family were gathered about him, mourning him, shedding
bitter tears. The Blessed Beauty said, "Go; chant the
prayer of &Ya &Shafi--O Thou, the Healer--and &Mirza
&Ja'far will come alive. Very rapidly, he will be as well as
ever." I reached his bedside. His body was cold and all the
signs of death were present. Slowly, he began to stir; soon
he could move his limbs, and before an hour had passed he
lifted his head, sat up, and proceeded to laugh and tell
jokes.
He lived for a long time after that, occupied as ever
with serving the friends. This giving service was a point of
pride with him: to all, he was a servant. He was always
modest and humble, calling God to mind, and to the highest
degree full of hope and faith. Finally, while in the
Most Great Prison, he abandoned this earthly life and
winged his way to the life beyond.
Greetings and praise be unto him; upon him be the
glory of the All-Glorious, and the favoring glances of the
Lord. His luminous grave is in &Akka.

+P159
&Husayn-Aqay-i-Tabrizi

This man who was close to
the Divine Threshold was
the respected son of &Ali-'Askar-i-Tabrizi. Full of yearning
love, he came with his father from &Tabriz to Adrianople,
and by his own wish, went on with joy and hope to the
Most Great Prison. From the day of his arrival at the
fortress of &Akka he took over the coffee service, and waited
upon the friends. This accomplished man was so patient,
so docile, that over a forty-year period, despite extreme
difficulties (for day and night, friend and stranger alike
thronged the doors), he attended upon each and every one
who came, faithfully helping them all. During all that
time &Husayn-Aqa never offended a soul, nor did anyone,
where he was concerned, utter a single complaint. This
was truly a miracle, and no one else could have established
such a record of service. He was always smiling, attentive
as to the tasks committed to his care, known as a man to
trust. In the Cause of God he was staunch, proud and
true; in times of calamity he was patient and long-suffering.
After the ascension of &Baha'u'llah the fires of tests leaped
up and a whirlwind of violation battered the edifice down.
This believer, in spite of a close tie of kinship, remained
loyal, showing such strength and firmness that he manifested

+P160
the words: "In the Cause of God, the blame of
the blamer shall he not fear."+F1 Not for a moment did he
hesitate, nor waver in his faith, but he stood firm as a
mountain, proud as an impregnable citadel, and rooted
deep.
The Covenant-breakers took his mother away to their
own place, where her daughter lived. They did everything
they could think of to unsettle her faith. To an extent beyond
belief, they lavished favors upon her, and plied her
with kindnesses, hiding the fact that they had broken the
Covenant. Finally, however, that respected handmaid of
&Baha'u'llah detected the odor of violation, whereupon she
instantly quit the Mansion of &Bahji and hurried back to
&Akka. "I am the handmaid of the Blessed Beauty," she
said, "and loyal to His Covenant and Testament. Though
my son-in-law were a prince of the realm, what would that
profit me? I am not to be won over by kinship and displays
of affection. I am not concerned with external tokens of
friendliness from those who are the very embodiment of
selfish desire. I stand by the Covenant, and I hold to the
Testament." She would not consent to meet with the
Covenant-breakers again; she freed herself completely from
them, and turned her face to God.
As for &Husayn-Aqa, never did he separate himself
from &Abdu'l-Baha. He had the utmost consideration for
me and was my constant companion, and it followed that
his passing was a formidable blow. Even now, whenever he
comes to mind I grieve, and mourn his loss. But God be
praised that this man of God, in the days of the Blessed
Beauty, remained at all times in close proximity to His
House, and was the object of His good pleasure. Time and
again, &Baha'u'llah was heard to comment that &Husayn-Aqa
had been created to perform this service.

+F1 Cf. &Qur'an 5:59.

+P161
After forty years of serving, he forsook this swiftly passing
world and soared away to the realms of God. Greetings
and praise be unto him, and mercy from his bountiful
Lord. May his grave be encircled with lights that stream
from the exalted Companion. His resting-place is in Haifa.


&Haji &Ali-'Askar-i-Tabrizi

The distinguished &Ali-'Askar
was a merchant from
&Tabriz. He was much respected in &Adhirbayjan by all who
knew him, and recognized for godliness and trustworthiness,
for piety and strong faith. The people of &Tabriz, one
and all, acknowledged his excellence and praised his character
and way of life, his qualities and talents. He was one
of the earliest believers, and one of the most notable.
When the Trumpet first sounded, he fainted away, and
at the second blast, he was awakened to new life.+F1 He became
a candle burning with the love of God, a goodly tree
in the &Abha gardens. He led all his household, his other
kindred and his friends to the Faith, and successfully
rendered many services; but the tyranny of the wicked

+F1 &Qur'an 39:68-69: "And there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and
+F1 all who are in the heavens and all who are in the earth shall swoon
+F1 away, save those whom God shall vouchsafe to live. Then shall there
+F1 be another blast on it, and lo! arising they shall gaze around them: and
+F1 the earth shall shine with the light of her Lord..."

+P162
brought him to an agonizing pass, and he was beset by new
afflictions every day. Still, he did not slacken and was not
dispirited; on the contrary, his faith, his certitude and self-sacrifice
increased. Finally he could endure his homeland no
more. Accompanied by his family, he arrived in Adrianople,
and here, in financial straits, but content, he spent his
days, with dignity, patience, acquiescence, and offering
thanks.
Then he took a little merchandise with him from
Adrianople, and left for the city of &Jum'ih-Bazar, to earn
his livelihood. What he had with him was trifling, but still,
it was carried off by thieves. When the Persian Consul
learned of this he presented a document to the Government,
naming an enormous sum as the value of the stolen
goods. By chance the thieves were caught and proved to
be in possession of considerable funds. It was decided to
investigate the case. The Consul called in &Haji &Ali-'Askar
and told him: "These thieves are very rich. In my report
to the Government, I wrote that the amount of the theft
was great. Therefore you must attend the trial and testify
conformably to what I wrote."
The &Haji replied: "Your Honor, &Khan, the stolen
goods amounted to very little. How can I report something
that is not true? When they question me, I will give the
facts exactly as they are. I consider this my duty, and only
this."
"&Haji," said the Consul, "We have a golden opportunity
here; you and I can both profit by it. Don't let such a once-in-a-lifetime
chance slip through your hands."
The &Haji answered: "&Khan, how would I square it with
God? Let me be. I shall tell the truth and nothing but the
truth."
The Consul was beside himself. He began to threaten
and belabor &Ali-'Askar. "Do you want to make me out a
liar?" he cried. "Do you want to make me a laughingstock?

+P163
I will jail you; I will have you banished; there is no
torment I will spare you. This very instant I will hand
you over to the police, and I will tell them that you are an
enemy of the state, and that you are to be manacled and
taken to the Persian frontier."
The &Haji only smiled. "&Jinab-i-Khan," he said. "I have
given up my life for the truth. I have nothing else. You
are telling me to lie and bear false witness. Do with me
as you please; I will not turn my back on what is right."
When the Consul saw that there was no way to make
&Ali-'Askar testify to a falsehood, he said: "It is better, then,
for you to leave this place, so that I can inform the Government
that the owner of the merchandise is no longer
available and has gone away. Otherwise I shall be disgraced."
The &Haji returned to Adrianople, and spoke not a word
as to his stolen goods, but the matter became public knowledge
and caused considerable surprise.
That fine and rare old man was taken captive in Adrianople
along with the rest, and he accompanied the Blessed
Beauty to the &Akka fortress, this prison-house of sorrows.
With all his family, he was jailed in the path of God for a
period of years; and he was always offering thanks, because
the prison was a palace to him, and captivity a reason
to rejoice. In all those years he was never known to express
himself except in thankfulness and praise. The greater the
tyranny of the oppressors, the happier he was. Time and
again &Baha'u'llah was heard to speak of him with loving
kindness, and He would say: "I am pleased with him."
This man, who was spirit personified, remained constant,
true, and joyful to the end. When some years had passed,
he exchanged this world of dust for the Kingdom that is
undefiled, and he left powerful influences behind.
As a rule, he was the close companion of &Abdu'l-Baha.
One day, at the beginning of our time in the Prison, I

+P164
hurried to the corner of the barracks where he lived--the
cell that was his shabby nest. He was lying there, running
a high fever, out of his head. On his right side lay his wife,
shaking and trembling with chills. To his left was his
daughter, &Fatimih, burning up with typhus. Beyond them
his son, &Husayn-Aqa, was down with scarlet fever; he had
forgotten how to speak Persian, and he kept crying out in
Turkish, "My insides are on fire!" At the father's feet lay
the other daughter, deep in her sickness, and along the
side of the wall was his brother, &Mashhadi &Fattah, raving
and delirious. In this condition, &Ali-'Askar's lips were moving:
he was returning thanks to God, and expressing joy.
Praise be to God! He died in the Most Great Prison, still
patient and thankful, still with dignity and firm in his
faith. He rose up to the retreats of the compassionate Lord.
Upon him be the glory of the All-Glorious; to him be
salutations and praise: upon him be mercy and forgiveness
forever and ever.


&Aqa &Aliy-i-Qazvini

This eminent man had high
ambitions and aims. He was
to a supreme degree constant, loyal and firmly rooted in
his faith, and he was among the earliest and greatest of the
believers. At the very dawn of the new Day of Guidance
he became enamored of the &Bab and began to teach. From

+P165
morning till dark he worked at his craft, and almost every
night he entertained the friends at supper. Being host in
this way to friends in the spirit, he guided many seekers to
the Faith, attracting them with the melody of the love of
God. He was amazingly constant, energetic, and persevering.
Then the perfume-laden air began to stir from over the
gardens of the All-Glorious, and he caught fire from the
newly kindled flame. His illusions and fancies were burned
away and he arose to proclaim the Cause of &Baha'u'llah.
Every night there was a meeting, a gathering that rivaled
the flowers in their beds. The verses were read, the prayers
chanted, the good news of the greatest of Advents was
shared. He spent most of his time in showing kindness to
friend and stranger alike; he was a magnanimous being,
with open hand and heart.
The day came when he set out for the Most Great
Prison, and arrived with his family at the &Akka fortress.
He had been afflicted with many a hardship on his journey,
but his longing to see &Baha'u'llah was such that he
found the calamities easy to endure; and so he measured
off the miles, looking for a home in God's sheltering grace.
At first he had means; life was comfortable and pleasant.
Later on, however, he was destitute and subjected to terrible
ordeals. Most of the time his food was bread, nothing
else; instead of tea, he drank from a running brook. Still,
he remained happy and content. His great joy was to enter
the presence of &Baha'u'llah; reunion with his Beloved was
bounty enough; his food was to look upon the beauty of
the Manifestation; his wine, to be with &Baha'u'llah. He was
always smiling, always silent; but at the same time, his
heart shouted, leapt and danced.
Often, he was in the company of &Abdu'l-Baha. He was
an excellent friend and comrade, happy, delightful; favored
by &Baha'u'llah, respected by the friends, shunning

+P166
the world, trusting in God. There was no fickleness in
him, his inner condition was always the same: stable, constant,
firmly rooted as the hills.
Whenever I call him to mind, and remember that
patience and serenity, that loyalty, that contentment, involuntarily
I find myself asking God to shed His bounties
upon &Aqa &Ali. Misfortunes and calamities were forever
descending on that estimable man. He was always ill,
continually subjected to unnumbered physical afflictions.
The reason was that when at home and serving the Faith
in &Qazvin, he was caught by the malevolent and they
beat him so brutally over the head that the effects stayed
with him till his dying hour. They abused and tormented
him in many ways and thought it permissible to inflict
every kind of cruelty upon him; yet his only crime was to
have become a believer, and his only sin, to have loved
God. As the poet has written, in lines that illustrate the
plight of &Aqa &Ali:

By owls the royal falcon is beset.
They rend his wings, though he is free of sin.
"Why"--so they mock--"do you remember yet
That royal wrist, that palace you were in?"
He is a kingly bird: this crime he did commit.
Except for beauty, what was Joseph's sin?

Briefly, that great man spent his time in the &Akka
prison, praying, supplicating, turning his face toward
God. Infinite bounty enfolded him; he was favored by
&Baha'u'llah, much of the time admitted to His presence
and showered with endless grace. This was his joy and
his delight, his great good fortune, his dearest wish.
Then the fixed hour was upon him, the daybreak of his
hopes, and it came his turn to soar away, into the invisible
realm. Sheltered under the protection of &Baha'u'llah, he

+P167
went swiftly forth to that mysterious land. To him be
salutations and praise and mercy from the Lord of this
world and the world to come. May God light up his resting-place
with rays from the Companion on high.


&Aqa &Muhammad-Baqir and &Aqa &Muhammad-Isma'il,
the Tailor

These were two brothers
who, in the path of God,
captives along with the rest, were shut in the &Akka fortress.
They were brothers of the late &Pahlavan &Rida. They
left Persia and emigrated to Adrianople, hastening to the
loving-kindness of &Baha'u'llah; and under His protection,
they came to &Akka.
&Pahlavan &Rida--God's mercy and blessings and splendors
be upon him; praise and salutations be unto him--
was a man to outward seeming untutored, devoid of learning.
He was a tradesman, and like the others who came
in at the start, he cast everything away out of love for God,
attaining in one leap the highest reaches of knowledge.
He is of those from the earlier time. So eloquent did he
suddenly become that the people of &Kashan were astounded.
For example this man, to all appearances unschooled,
betook himself to &Haji &Muhammad-Karim &Khan
in &Kashan and propounded this question:

+P168
"Sir, are you the Fourth Pillar? I am a man who thirsts
after spiritual truth and I yearn to know of the Fourth
Pillar."+F1
Since a number of political and military leaders were
present, the &Haji replied: "Perish the thought! I shun all
those who consider me the Fourth Pillar. Never have I
made such a claim. Whoever says I have, speaks falsehood;
may God's curse be on him!"
A few days later &Pahlavan &Rida again sought out the
&Haji and told him: "Sir, I have just finished your book,
&Irshadu'l-'Avam (Guidance unto the Ignorant); I have
read it from cover to cover; in it you say that one is obligated
to know the Fourth Pillar or Fourth Support; indeed,
you account him a fellow knight of the Lord of the Age.+F2
Therefore I long to recognize and know him. I am certain
that you are informed of him. Show him to me, I beg of
you."
The &Haji was wrathful. He said: "The Fourth Pillar is
no figment. He is a being plainly visible to all. Like me,
he has a turban on his head, he wears an &aba, and carries
a cane in his hand." &Pahlavan &Rida smiled at him. "Meaning
no discourtesy," he said, "there is, then, a contradiction
in Your Honor's teaching. First you say one thing,
then you say another."
Furious, the &Haji replied: "I am busy now. Let us discuss
this matter some other time. Today I must ask to be
excused."
The point is that &Rida, a man considered to be unlettered,
was able, in an argument, to best such an erudite

+F1 In &Shaykhi terminology, the Fourth Support or Fourth Pillar was
+F1 the perfect man or channel of grace, always to be sought. &Haji
+F1 &Muhammad-Karim &Khan regarded himself as such. Cf. &Baha'u'llah,
+F1 &Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude), p. 184, and &Abdu'l-Baha, A
+F1 Traveller's Narrative, p. 4.
+F2 The promised Twelfth &Imam.

+P169
"Fourth Pillar." In the phrase of &Allamiy-i-Hilli, he
downed him with the Fourth Support.+F3
Whenever that lionhearted champion of knowledge began
to speak, his listeners marveled; and he remained, till
his last breath, the protector and helper of all seekers after
truth. Ultimately he became known far and wide as a
&Baha'i, was turned into a vagrant, and ascended to the
&Abha Kingdom.
As for his two brothers: through the grace of the Blessed
Beauty, after they were taken captive by the tyrants, they
were shut in the Most Great Prison, where they shared the
lot of these homeless wanderers. Here, during the early
days at &Akka, with complete detachment, with ardent
love, they hastened away to the all-glorious Realm. For our
ruthless oppressors, as soon as we arrived, imprisoned all of
us inside the fortress in the soldiers' barracks, and they
closed up every issue, so that none could come and go. At
that time the air of &Akka was poisonous, and every
stranger, immediately following his arrival, would be taken
ill. &Muhammad-Baqir and &Muhammad-Isma'il came down
with a violent ailment and there was neither doctor nor
medicine to be had; and those two embodied lights died
on the same night, wrapped in each other's arms. They
rose up to the undying Kingdom, leaving the friends to
mourn them forever. There was none there but wept that
night.
When morning came we wished to carry their sanctified
bodies away. The oppressors told us: "You are forbidden
to go out of the fortress. You must hand over these two
corpses to us. We will wash them, shroud them and bury
them. But first you must pay for it." It happened that we
had no money. There was a prayer carpet which had been

+F3 &Allamiy-i-Hilli, "the Very Erudite Doctor," title of the famed
+F3 &Shi'ih theologian, &Jamalu'd-Din &Hasan &ibn-i-Yusuf &ibn-i-'Ali of Hilla
+F3 (1250-1325 A.D.).

+P170
placed under the feet of &Baha'u'llah. He took up this carpet
and said, "Sell it. Give the money to the guards." The
prayer carpet was sold for 170 piasters+F4 and that sum was
handed over. But the two were never washed for their
burial nor wrapped in their winding sheets; the guards
only dug a hole in the ground and thrust them in, as they
were, in the clothes they had on; so that even now, their
two graves are one, and just as their souls are joined in the
&Abha Realm, their bodies are together here, under the
earth, each holding the other in his close embrace.
The Blessed Beauty showered His blessings on these
two brothers. In life, they were encompassed by His grace
and favor; in death, they were memorialized in His Tablets.
Their grave is in &Akka. Greetings be unto them, and
praise. The glory of the All-Glorious be upon them, and
God's mercy, and His benediction.


&Abu'l-Qasim of &Sultan-Abad

Another among the prisoners
was &Abu'l-Qasim of
&Sultan-Abad, the traveling companion of &Aqa Faraj. These
two were unassuming, loyal and staunch. Once their souls
had come alive through the breathings of the Faithful
Spirit they hastened out of Persia to Adrianople, for such

+F4 The Turkish &ghurush or piaster of the time was forty paras, the
+F4 para one-ninth of a cent. These figures are approximate only.

+P171
was the unabating cruelty of the malevolent that they
could no longer remain in their own home. On foot, free
of every tie, they took to the plains and hills, seeking their
way across trackless waters and desert sands. How many
a night they could not sleep, staying in the open with no
place to lay their heads; with nothing to eat or drink, no
bed but the bare earth, no food but the desert grasses.
Somehow they dragged themselves along and managed to
reach Adrianople. It happened that they came during the
last days in that city, and were taken prisoner with the
rest, and in the company of &Baha'u'llah they traveled to
the Most Great Prison.
&Abu'l-Qasim fell violently ill with typhus. He died
about the same time as those two brothers, &Muhammad-Baqir
and &Muhammad-Isma'il, and his pure remains were
buried outside &Akka. The Blessed Beauty expressed approval
of him and the friends, all of them, wept over his
afflictions and mourned him. Upon him be the glory of the
All-Glorious.


&Aqa Faraj

In all these straits, &Aqa
Faraj was the companion of
&Abu'l-Qasim. When, in Persian &Iraq, he first heard the
uproar caused by the Advent of the Most Great Light, he
shook and trembled, clapped his hands, cried out in exultation

+P172
and hastened off to &Iraq. Overcome with delight, he
entered the presence of his holy Lord. He was gathered
into the loving fellowship, and blissfully received the honor
of attending upon &Baha'u'llah. Then he returned, bearing
glad tidings to &Sultan-Abad.
Here the malevolent were lying in wait, and disturbances
broke out, with the result that the sainted &Mulla-Bashi
and some other believers who had none to defend
them were struck down and put to death. &Aqa Faraj and
&Abu'l-Qasim, who had gone into hiding, then hurried
away to Adrianople, to fall, ultimately, with the others
and with their Well-Beloved, into the &Akka prison.
&Aqa Faraj then won the honor of waiting upon the Ancient
Beauty. He served the Holy Threshold at all times
and was a comfort to the friends. During the days of &Baha'u'llah
he was His loyal servitor, and a close companion to
the believers, and so it was after &Baha'u'llah's departure:
he remained true to the Covenant, and in the domain of
servitude he stood like a towering palm; a noble, superior
man, patient in dire adversity, content under all conditions.
Strong in faith, in devotion, he left this life and set his
face toward the Kingdom of God, to become the object
of endless grace. Upon him be God's mercy and good
pleasure, in His Paradise. Greetings be unto him, and
praise, in the meadows of Heaven.

+P173
The Consort of the King of Martyrs

Among the women who
came out of their homeland
was the sorrowing &Fatimih+F1 Begum, widow of the
King of Martyrs. She was a holy leaf of the Tree of God.
From her earliest youth she was beset with uncounted ordeals.
First was the disaster which overtook her noble
father in the environs of &Badasht, when, after terrible suffering,
he died in a desert caravanserai, died hard--helpless
and far from home.
The child was left an orphan, and in distress, until, by
God's grace, she became the wife of the King of Martyrs.
But since he was known everywhere as a &Baha'i, was an
impassioned lover of &Baha'u'llah, a man distracted, carried
away, and since &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah thirsted for blood
--the hostile lurked in their ambush, and every day they
informed against him and slandered him afresh, started
a new outcry and set new mischief afoot. For this reason
his family was never sure of his safety for a single day, but
lived from moment to moment in anguish, foreseeing and
dreading the hour of his martyrdom. Here was the family,
everywhere known as &Baha'is; their enemies, stony-hearted
tyrants; their government inflexibly, permanently against
them; their reigning Sovereign rabid for blood.

+F1 Accent the first syllable: &FA-teh-meh

+P174
It is obvious how life would be for such a household.
Every day there was a new incident, more turmoil, another
uproar, and they could not draw a breath in peace. Then,
he was martyred. The Government proved brutal and savage
to such a degree that the human race cried out and
trembled. All his possessions were stripped away and plundered,
and his family lacked even their daily bread.
&Fatimih spent her nights in weeping; till dawn broke,
her only companions were tears. Whenever she gazed on
her children, she would sigh, wearing away like a candle
in devouring grief. But then she would thank God, and
she would say: "Praised be the Lord, these agonies, these
broken fortunes are on &Baha'u'llah's account, for His dear
sake." She would call to mind the defenseless family of
the martyred &Husayn, and what calamities they were
privileged to bear in the pathway of God. And as she
pondered those events, her heart would leap up, and she
would cry, "Praise be to God! We too have become companions
of the Prophet's Household."+F2
Because the family was in such straits, &Baha'u'llah directed
them to come to the Most Great Prison so that,
sheltered in these precincts of abounding grace, they might
be compensated for all that had passed. Here for a time
she lived, joyful, thankful, and praising God. And although
the son of the King of Martyrs, &Mirza &Abdu'l-Husayn,
died in the prison, still his mother, &Fatimih, accepted
this, resigned herself to the will of God, did not so
much as sigh or cry out, and did not go into mourning.
Not a word did she utter to bespeak her grief.
This handmaid of God was infinitely patient, dignified
and reserved, and at all times thankful. But then &Baha'u'llah
left the world, and this was the supreme affliction, the

+F2 Gibbon writes of the &Imam &Husayn's martyrdom and the fate of
+F2 his Household, that "in a distant age and climate the tragic scene ...
+F2 will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader."

+P175
ultimate anguish, and she could endure no more. The
shock and alarm were such that like a fish taken from the
water she writhed on the ground, trembled and shook as
if her whole being quaked, until at last she took leave of
her children and she died. She rose up into the shadowing
mercy of God and was plunged in an ocean of light. Unto
her be salutations and praise, compassion and glory. May
God make sweet her resting-place with the outpourings of
His heavenly mercy; in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree+F3
may He honor her dwelling.


He is God!+F4

Thou seest, O my Lord, the assemblage of Thy loved
ones, the company of Thy friends, gathered by the precincts
of Thine all-sufficing Shrine, and in the neighborhood
of Thine exalted garden, on a day among the days of
Thy &Ridvan Feast--that blessed time when Thou didst
dawn upon the world, shedding thereon the lights of Thy
holiness, spreading abroad the bright rays of Thy oneness,
and didst issue forth from &Baghdad, with a majesty and
might that encompassed all mankind; with a glory that
made all to fall prostrate before Thee, all heads to bow,
every neck to bend low, and the gaze of every man to be
cast down. They are calling Thee to mind and making
mention of Thee, their breasts gladdened with the lights
of Thy bestowals, their souls restored by the evidences of
Thy gifts, speaking Thy praise, turning their faces toward

+F3 The &Sadratu'l-Muntaha, translated inter alia as the Sidrah Tree
+F3 which marks the boundary, and the Lote-Tree of the extremity. Cf.
+F3 &Qur'an 53:14. It is said to stand at the loftiest point in Paradise, and
+F3 to mark the place beyond which neither men nor angels can pass. In
+F3 &Baha'i terminology it refers to the Manifestation of God.
+F4 This prayer was revealed by &Abdu'l-Baha for the Consort of the King of
+F4 Martyrs.

+P176
Thy Kingdom, humbly supplicating Thy lofty Realms.
They are gathered here to commemorate Thy bright
and holy handmaid, a leaf of Thy green Tree of Heaven,
a luminous reality, a spiritual essence, who ever implores
Thy tender compassion. She was born into the arms of
Divine wisdom, and she suckled at the breast of certitude;
she flourished in the cradle of faith and rejoiced in the
bosom of Thy love, O merciful, O compassionate Lord!
And she grew to womanhood in a house from which the
sweet savors of oneness were spread abroad. But while she
was yet a girl, distress came upon her in Thy path, and
misfortune assailed her, O Thou the Bestower, and in her
defenseless youth she drank from the cups of sorrow and
pain, out of love for Thy beauty, O Thou the Forgiver!
Thou knowest, O my God, the calamities she joyfully
bore in Thy pathway, the trials she confronted in Thy
love, with a face that radiated delight. How many a night,
as others lay on their beds in soft repose, was she wakeful,
humbly entreating Thy heavenly Realm. How many a day
did Thy people spend, safe in the citadel of Thy sheltering
care, while her heart was harried from what had come
upon Thy holy ones.
O my Lord, her days and her years passed by, and whenever
she saw the morning light she wept over the sorrows
of Thy servants, and when the evening shadows fell she
cried and called out and burned in a fiery anguish for
what had befallen Thy bondsmen. And she arose with all
her strength to serve Thee, to beseech the Heaven of Thy
mercy, and in lowliness to entreat Thee and to rest her
heart upon Thee. And she came forth veiled in holiness,
her garments unspotted by the nature of Thy people, and
she entered into wedlock with Thy servant on whom
Thou didst confer Thy richest gifts, and in whom Thou
didst reveal the ensigns of Thine endless mercy, and whose
face, in Thine all-glorious Realm, Thou didst make to

+P177
shine with everlasting light. She married him whom Thou
didst lodge in the assemblage of reunion, one with the
Company on high; him whom Thou didst cause to eat of
all heavenly foods, him on whom Thou didst shower Thy
blessings, on whom Thou didst bestow the title: Martyrs'
King.
And she dwelt for some years under the protection of
that manifest Light; and with all her soul she served at
Thy Threshold, holy and luminous; preparing foods and
a place of rest and couches for all Thy loved ones that
came, and she had no other joy but this. Lowly and humble
she was before each of Thy handmaids, deferring to
each, serving each one with her heart and soul and her
whole being, out of love for Thy beauty, and seeking to
win Thy good pleasure. Until her house became known
by Thy name, and the fame of her husband was noised
abroad, as one belonging to Thee, and the Land of &Sad
(&Isfahan) shook and exulted for joy, because of continual
blessings from this mighty champion of Thine; and the
scented herbage of Thy knowledge and the roses of Thy
bounty began to burgeon out, and a great multitude was led
to the waters of Thy mercy.
Then the ignoble and the ignorant amongst Thy
creatures rose against him, and with tyranny and malice
they pronounced his death; and void of justice, with harsh
oppression, they shed his immaculate blood. Under the
glittering sword that noble personage cried out to Thee:
"Praised be Thou, O my God, that on the Promised Day,
Thou hast helped me to attain this manifest grace; that
Thou hast reddened the dust with my blood, spilled out
upon Thy path, so that it puts forth crimson flowers. Favor
and grace are Thine, to grant me this gift which in all
the world I longed for most. Thanks be unto Thee that
Thou didst succor me and confirm me and didst give me
to drink of this cup that was tempered at the camphor

+P178
fountain+F5--on the Day of Manifestation, at the hands of
the cupbearer of martyrdom, in the assemblage of delights.
Thou art verily the One full of grace, the Generous, the
Bestower."
And after they had killed him they invaded his princely
house. They attacked like preying wolves, like lions at the
hunt, and they sacked and plundered and pillaged, seizing
the rich furnishings, the ornaments and the jewels. She
was in dire peril then, left with the fragments of her
broken heart. This violent assault took place when the
news of his martyrdom was spread abroad, and the children
cried out as panic struck at their hearts; they wailed
and shed tears, and sounds of mourning rose from out of
that splendid home, but there was none to weep over
them, there was none to pity them. Rather was the night
of tyranny made to deepen about them, and the fiery Hell
of injustice blazed out hotter than before; nor was there
any torment but the evil doers brought it to bear, nor any
agony but they inflicted it. And this holy leaf remained,
she and her brood, in the grip of their oppressors, facing
the malice of the unmindful, with none to be their shield.
And the days passed by when tears were her only companions,
and her comrades were cries; when she was
mated to anguish, and had nothing but grief for a friend.
And yet in these sufferings, O my Lord, she did not cease
to love Thee; she did not fail Thee, O my Beloved, in
these fiery ordeals. Though disasters followed one upon
another, though tribulations compassed her about, she bore
them all, she patiently endured them all, to her they were
Thy gifts and favors, and in all her massive agony--O
Thou, Lord of most beauteous names--Thy praise was on
her lips.
Then she gave up her homeland, rest, refuge and shelter,

+F5 &Qur'an 76:5.

+P179
and taking her young, like the birds she winged her
way to this bright and holy Land--that here she might
nest and sing Thy praise as the birds do, and busy herself
in Thy love with all her powers, and serve Thee with all
her being, all her soul and heart. She was lowly before every
handmaid of Thine, humble before every leaf of the
garden of Thy Cause, occupied with Thy remembrance,
severed from all except Thyself.
And her cries were lifted up at dawntide, and the sweet
accents of her chanting would be heard in the night season
and at the bright noonday, until she returned unto
Thee, and winged her way to Thy Kingdom; went seeking
the shelter of Thy Threshold and soared upward to Thine
everlasting sky. O my Lord, reward her with the contemplation
of Thy beauty, feed her at the table of Thine eternity,
give her a home in Thy neighborhood, sustain her
in the gardens of Thy holiness as Thou willest and pleasest;
bless Thou her lodging, keep her safe in the shade of
Thy heavenly Tree; lead her, O Lord, into the pavilions
of Thy godhood, make her to be one of Thy signs, one
of Thy lights.
Verily Thou art the Generous, the Bestower, the Forgiver,
the All-Merciful.

+P180
&Shamsu'd-Duha

&Khurshid Begum, who was
given the title of &Shamsu'd-Duha,+F1
the Morning Sun, was mother-in-law to the King
of Martyrs. This eloquent, ardent handmaid of God was
the cousin on her father's side of the famous &Muhammad-Baqir
of &Isfahan, widely celebrated as chief of the &ulamas
in that city. When still a child she lost both her parents,
and was reared by her grandmother in the home of that
famed and learned mujtahid, and well trained in various
branches of knowledge, in theology, sciences and the arts.
Once she was grown, she was married to &Mirza &Hadiy-i-Nahri;
and since she and her husband were both strongly
attracted to the mystical teachings of that great luminary,
the excellent and distinguished Siyyid &Kazim-i-Rashti,+F2
they left for &Karbila, accompanied by &Mirza &Hadi's
brother, &Mirza &Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Nahri.+F3 Here they used
to attend the Siyyid's classes, imbibing his knowledge, so
that this handmaid became thoroughly informed on subjects
relating to Divinity, on the Scriptures and on their

+F1 Pronounced &Shams-oz-Zoha.
+F2 A forerunner of the &Bab, and co-founder of the &Shaykhi School.
+F2 See glossary.
+F3 His daughter, at a later date, became the consort of &Abdu'l-Baha.
+F3 Cf. God Passes By, p. 130, and The Dawn-Breakers, p. 461.

+P181
inner meanings. The couple had two children, a girl and
a boy. They called their son Siyyid &Ali and their daughter
&Fatimih Begum, she being the one who, when she
reached adolescence, was married to the King of Martyrs.
&Shamsu'd-Duha was there in &Karbila when the cry of the
exalted Lord was raised in &Shiraz, and she shouted back,
"Yea, verily!" As for her husband and his brother, they immediately
set out for &Shiraz; for both of them, when visiting
the Shrine of &Imam &Husayn, had looked upon the
beauty of the Primal Point, the &Bab; both had been astonished
at what they saw in that transplendent face, in
those heavenly attributes and ways, and had agreed that
One such as this must indeed be some very great being.
Accordingly, the moment they learned of His Divine summons,
they answered: "Yea, verily!" and they burst into
flame with yearning love for God. Besides, they had been
present every day in that holy place where the late Siyyid
taught, and had clearly heard him say: "The Advent is
nigh, the affair most subtle, most elusive. It behoves each
one to search, to inquire, for it may be that the Promised
One is even now present among men, even now visible,
while all about Him are heedless, unmindful, with bandaged
eyes, even as the sacred traditions have foretold."
When the two brothers arrived in Persia they heard
that the &Bab had gone to Mecca on a pilgrimage. Siyyid
&Muhammad-'Ali therefore left for &Isfahan and &Mirza &Hadi
returned to &Karbila. Meanwhile &Shamsu'd-Duha had become
friends with the "Leaf of Paradise," sister to
&Mulla Husayn, the &Babu'l-Bab.+F4 Through that lady she
had met &Tahirih, &Qurratu'l-'Ayn,+F5 and had begun to spend

+F4 "Gate of the Gate", a title of &Mulla &Husayn, the first to believe in
+F4 the &Bab. For an account of his sister, cf. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 383,
+F4 note.
+F5 "Solace of the Eyes."

+P182
most of her time in close companionship with them both,
occupied in teaching the Faith. Since this was in the early
days of the Cause, the people were not yet afraid of it.
From being with &Tahirih, &Shams profited immeasurably,
and was more on fire with the Faith than ever. She spent
three years in close association with &Tahirih in &Karbila.
Day and night, she was stirred like the sea by the gales of
the All-Merciful, and she taught with an eloquent tongue.
As &Tahirih became celebrated throughout &Karbila, and
the Cause of His Supreme Holiness, the &Bab, spread all
over Persia, the latter-day &ulamas arose to deny, to heap
scorn upon, and to destroy it. They issued a &fatva or judgment
that called for a general massacre. &Tahirih was one
of those designated by the evil &ulamas of the city as an
unbeliever, and they mistakenly thought her to be in the
home of &Shamsu'd-Duha. They broke into &Shams's house,
hemmed her in, abused and vilified her, and inflicted
grievous bodily harm. They dragged her out of the house
and through the streets to the &bazar; they beat her with
clubs; they stoned her, they denounced her in foul language,
repeatedly assaulting her. While this was going on,
&Haji Siyyid &Mihdi, the father of her distinguished husband,
reached the scene. "This woman is not &Tahirih!" he
shouted at them. But he had no witness to prove it,+F6 and
the &farrashes, the police and the mob would not let up.
Then, through the uproar, a voice screamed out: "They
have arrested &Qurratu'l-'Ayn!" At this, the people abandoned
&Shamsu'd-Duha.
Guards were placed at the door of &Tahirih's house and
no one was allowed to enter or leave, while the authorities
waited for instructions from &Baghdad and Constantinople.
As the interval of waiting lengthened out, &Tahirih asked
for permission to leave for &Baghdad. "Let us go there ourselves,"

+F6 Persian women of the day went heavily veiled in public.

+P183
she told them. "We are resigned to everything.
Whatever happens to us is the best that can happen, and
the most pleasing." With government permission, &Tahirih,
the Leaf of Paradise, her mother and &Shamsu'd-Duha
all left &Karbila and traveled to &Baghdad, but the
snake-like mass of the populace followed them for some
distance, stoning them from a little way off.
When they reached &Baghdad they went to live at the
house of &Shaykh &Muhammad-i-Shibl, the father of &Muhammad-Mustafa;
and since many crowded the doors there
was an uproar throughout that quarter, so that &Tahirih
transferred her residence elsewhere, to a lodging of her
own, where she continually taught the Faith, and proclaimed
the Word of God. Here the &ulamas, &shaykhs and
others would come to listen to her, asking their questions
and receiving her replies, and she was soon remarkably
well known throughout &Baghdad, expounding as she
would the most recondite and subtle of theological themes.
When word of this reached the government authorities,
they conveyed &Tahirih, &Shamsu'd-Duha and the Leaf
to the house of the &Mufti, and here they remained
three months until word as to their case was received from
Constantinople. During &Tahirih's stay at the &Mufti's,
much of the time was spent in conversations with him, in
producing convincing proofs as to the Teachings, analyzing
and expounding questions relative to the Lord God,
discoursing on the Resurrection Day, on the Balance and
the Reckoning,+F7 unraveling the complexities of inner
truths.
One day the &Mufti's father came in and belabored them
violently and at length. This somewhat discomfited the
&Mufti and he began to apologize for his father. Then he
said: "Your answer has arrived from Constantinople. The

+F7 &Qur'an 7:7; 14:42; 21:48; 57:25, etc.

+P184
Sovereign has set you free, but on condition that you quit
his realms." The next morning they left the &Mufti's house
and proceeded to the public baths. Meanwhile &Shaykh
&Muhammad-i-Shibl and &Shaykh &Sultan-i-'Arab made the
necessary preparations for their journey, and when three
days had passed, they left &Baghdad; that is, &Tahirih,
&Shamsu'd-Duha, the Leaf of Paradise, the mother of
&Mirza &Hadi, and a number of Siyyids from Yazd set out
for Persia. Their travel expenses were all provided by
&Shaykh &Muhammad.
They arrived at &Kirmanshah, where the women took up
residence in one house, the men in another. The work of
teaching went on at all times, and as soon as the &ulamas
became aware of it they ordered that the party be expelled.
At this the district head, with a crowd of people, broke into
the house and carried off their belongings; then they seated
the travelers in open howdahs and drove them from the
city. When they came to a field, the muleteers set them
down on the bare ground and left, taking animals and
howdahs away, leaving them without food or luggage, and
with no roof over their heads.
&Tahirih thereupon wrote a letter to the Governor of
&Kirmanshah. "We were travelers," she wrote, "guests in
your city. `Honor thy guest,' the Prophet says, `though he
be an unbeliever.' Is it right that a guest should be thus
scorned and despoiled?" The Governor ordered that the
stolen goods be restored, and that all be returned to the
owners. Accordingly the muleteers came back as well,
seated the travelers in the howdahs again, and they went
on to &Hamadan. The ladies of &Hamadan, even the princesses,
came every day to meet with &Tahirih, who remained
in that city two months.+F8 There she dismissed some of her

+F8 Cf. &Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, chapter XV.

+P185
traveling companions, so that they could return to &Baghdad;
others, however, accompanied her to &Qazvin.
As they journeyed, some horsemen, kinsfolk of &Tahirih's,
that is, her brothers, approached. "We have come,"
they said, "at our father's command, to lead her away,
alone." But &Tahirih refused, and accordingly the whole
party remained together until they arrived in &Qazvin.
Here, &Tahirih went to her father's house and the friends,
those who had ridden and those who had traveled on foot,
put up at a caravanserai. &Mirza &Hadi, the husband of
&Shamsu'd-Duha, had gone to &Mah-Ku, seeking out the &Bab.
On his return, he awaited the arrival of &Shams in &Qazvin,
after which the couple left for &Isfahan, and when they
reached there, &Mirza &Hadi journeyed on to &Badasht. In
that hamlet and its vicinity he was attacked, tormented,
even stoned, and was subjected to such ordeals that finally,
in a ruined caravanserai, he died. His brother, &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali,
buried him there, along the roadside.
&Shams-i-Duha remained in &Isfahan. She spent her days
and nights in the remembrance of God and in teaching
His Cause to the women of that city. She was gifted with
an eloquent tongue; her utterance was wonderful to hear.
She was highly honored by the leading women of &Isfahan,
celebrated for piety, for godliness, and the purity of her
life. She was chastity embodied; all her hours were spent
in reciting Holy Writ, or expounding the Texts, or unraveling
the most complex of spiritual themes, or spreading
abroad the sweet savors of God.
It was for these reasons that the King of Martyrs married
her respected daughter and became her son-in-law.
And when &Shams went to live in his princely house, day
and night the people thronged its doors, for the leading
women of the city, whether friends or strangers, whether
close to her or not, would come and go. For she was a fire
lit by the love of God, and she proclaimed the Word of

+P186
God with great ardor and verve, so that she became known
among the non-believers as &Fatimih, the &Baha'is' Lady of
Light.+F9
And so time passed, until the day when the "She-Serpent"
and the "Wolf" conspired together and issued a
decree, a &fatva, that sentenced the King of Martyrs to
death. They plotted as well with the Governor of the city
so that among them they could sack and plunder and carry
off all that vast treasure he possessed. Then the &Shah
joined forces with those two wild animals; and he commanded
that the blood of both brothers, the King of Martyrs
and the Beloved of Martyrs, be spilled out. Without
warning, those ruthless men: the She-Serpent, the Wolf,
and their brutal &farrashes and constabulary--attacked;
they chained the two brothers and led them off to prison,
looted their richly furnished houses, wrested away all their
possessions, and spared no one, not even infants at the
breast. They tortured, cursed, reviled, mocked, beat the
kin and others of the victims' household, and would not
stay their hands.
In Paris, &Zillu's-Sultan+F10 related the following, swearing
to the truth of it upon his oath: "Many and many a time
I warned those two great scions of the Prophet's House,
but all to no avail. At the last I summoned them one night,
and with extreme urgency I told them in so many words:
`Gentlemen, the &Shah has three times condemned you to
death. His &farmans keep on coming. The decree is absolute
and there is only one course open to you now: you
must, in the presence of the &ulamas, clear yourselves and
curse your Faith.' Their answer was: `&Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha!

+F9 The reference is to &Muhammad's daughter, &Fatimih, "the bright
+F9 and fair of face, the Lady of Light."
+F10 Eldest son of the &Shah and ruler over more than two-fifths of the
+F10 kingdom. He ratified the death sentence. Soon after these events, he
+F10 fell into disgrace. Cf. God Passes By, p. 200; 232.

+P187
O Thou Glory of the All-Glorious! May our lives be offered
up!' Finally I agreed to their not cursing their Faith.
I told them all they had to say was, `We are not &Baha'is.'
`Just those few words,' I said, `will be enough; then I can
write out my report for the &Shah, and you will be saved.'
`That is impossible,' they answered, `because we are
&Baha'is. O Thou Glory of the All-Glorious, our hearts
hunger for martyrdom! &Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha!' I was enraged,
then, and I tried, by being harsh with them, to force them
to renounce their Faith, but it was hopeless. The decree
of the rapacious She-Serpent and Wolf, and the &Shah's
commands, were carried out."
After those two were martyred, &Shamsu'd-Duha was
hunted down, and had to seek a refuge in her brother's
house. Although he was not a believer, he was known in
&Isfahan as an upright, pious and godly man, a man of
learning, an ascetic who, hermit-like, kept to himself, and
for these reasons he was highly regarded and trusted by
all. She stayed there with him, but the Government did
not abandon its search, finally discovered her whereabouts
and summoned her to appear; the evil &ulamas had a hand
in this, joining forces with the civil authorities. Her
brother was therefore obliged to accompany &Shamsu'd-Duha
to the Governor's house. He remained without, while they
sent his sister into the women's apartments; the Governor
came there, to the door, and he kicked and trampled her so
savagely that she fainted away. Then the Governor shouted
to his wife: "Princess! Princess! Come here and take a look
at the &Baha'is' Lady of Light!"
The women lifted her up and put her in one of the
rooms. Meanwhile her brother, dumbfounded, was waiting
outside the mansion. Finally, trying to plead with him,
he said to the Governor: "This sister of mine has been
beaten so severely that she is at the point of death. What
is the use of keeping her here? There is no hope for her

+P188
now. With your permission I can get her back to my
house. It would be better to have her die there, rather than
here, for after all, she is a descendant of the Prophet, she
is of &Muhammad's noble line, and she has done no wrong.
There is nothing against her except her kinship to the son-in-law."
The Governor answered: "She is one of the great
leaders and heroines of the &Baha'is. She will simply cause
another uproar." The brother said: "I promise you that
she will not utter a word. It is certain that within a few
days she will not even be alive. Her body is frail, weak,
almost lifeless, and she has suffered terrible harm."
Since the brother was greatly respected and trusted by
high and low alike, the Governor released &Shamsu'd-Duha
in his custody, letting her go. She lived for a while in his
house, crying out, grieving, shedding her tears, mourning
her dead. Neither was the brother at peace, nor would the
hostile leave them alone; there was some new turmoil
every day, and public clamor. The brother finally thought
it best to take &Shams away on a pilgrimage to &Mashhad,
hoping that the fire of civil disturbances would die down.
They went to &Mashhad and settled in a vacant house
near the Shrine of the &Imam &Rida.+F11
Because he was such a pious man the brother would
leave every morning to visit the Shrine, and there he
would stay, busy with his devotions until almost noon. In
the afternoon as well, he would hasten away to the Holy
Place, and pray until evening. The house being empty,
&Shamsu'd-Duha managed to get in touch with various
women believers and began to associate with them; and
because the love of God burned so brightly in her heart

+F11 The eighth &Imam, poisoned by order of the Caliph &Ma'mum, A.H.
+F11 203, after the &Imam had been officially designated as the Caliph's heir
+F11 apparent. His shrine, with its golden dome, has been called the glory
+F11 of the &Shi'ih world. "A part of My body is to be buried in &Khurasan",
+F11 the Prophet traditionally said.

+P189
she was unable to keep silent, so that during those hours
when her brother was absent the place came alive. The
&Baha'i women would flock there and absorb her lucid and
eloquent speech.
In those days life in &Mashhad was hard for the believers,
with the malevolent always on the alert; if they so
much as suspected an individual, they murdered him.
There was no security of any kind, no peace. But &Shamsu'd-Duha
could not help herself: in spite of all the terrible
ordeals she had endured, she ignored the danger, and was
capable of flinging herself into flames, or into the sea.
Since her brother frequented no one, he knew nothing of
what was going on. Day and night he would only leave
the house for the Shrine, the Shrine for the house; he was
a recluse, had no friends, and would not so much as speak
to another person. Nevertheless there came a day when
he saw that trouble had broken out in the city, and he
knew it would end in serious harm. He was a man so calm
and silent that he did not reproach his sister; he simply
took her away from &Mashhad without warning, and they
returned to &Isfahan. Here, he sent her to her daughter, the
widow of the King of Martyrs, for he would no longer
shelter her under his roof.
&Shamsu'd-Duha was thus back in &Isfahan, boldly teaching
the Faith and spreading abroad the sweet savors of God.
So vehement was the fiery love in her heart that it compelled
her to speak out, whenever she found a listening
ear. And when it was observed that once again the household
of the King of Martyrs was about to be overtaken by
calamities, and that they were enduring severe afflictions
there in &Isfahan, &Baha'u'llah desired them to come to the
Most Great Prison. &Shamsu'd-Duha, with the widow of the
King of Martyrs and the children, arrived in the Holy
Land. Here they were joyously spending their days when
the son of the King of Martyrs, &Mirza &Abdu'l-Husayn,

+P190
as a result of the awful suffering he had been subjected to
in &Isfahan, came down with tuberculosis and died in
&Akka.
&Shamsu'd-Duha was heavy of heart. She mourned his absence,
she wasted away with longing for him, and it was
all much harder because then the Supreme Affliction came
upon us, the crowning anguish. The basis of her life was
undermined; candle-like, she was consumed with grieving.
She grew so feeble that she took to her bed, unable to
move. Still, she did not rest, nor keep silent for a moment.
She would tell of days long gone, of things that had come
to pass in the Cause, or she would recite from Holy Writ,
or she would supplicate, and chant her prayers--until, out
of the Most Great Prison, she soared away to the world of
God. She hastened away from this dust gulf of perdition
to an unsullied country; packed her gear and journeyed to
the land of lights. Unto her be salutations and praise, and
most great mercy, sheltered in the compassion of her omnipotent
Lord.

+P191
&Tahirih

A woman chaste and holy,
a sign and token of surpassing
beauty, a burning brand of the love of God, a lamp
of His bestowal, was &Jinab-i-Tahirih.+F1 She was called
&Umm-Salma; she was the daughter of &Haji &Mulla &Salih, a
mujtahid of &Qazvin, and her paternal uncle was &Mulla
&Taqi, the &Imam-Jum'ih or leader of prayers in the cathedral
mosque of that city. They married her to &Mulla &Muhammad,
the son of &Mulla &Taqi, and she gave birth to three
children, two sons and a daughter; all three were bereft of
the grace that encompassed their mother, and all failed to
recognize the truth of the Cause.
When she was still a child her father selected a teacher
for her and she studied various branches of knowledge
and the arts, achieving remarkable ability in literary pursuits.
Such was the degree of her scholarship and attainments
that her father would often express his regret, saying,
"Would that she had been a boy, for he would have
shed illumination upon my household, and would have
succeeded me!"+F2

+F1 Pronounced &TA-heh-reh.
+F2 Cf. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 81, note 2, and p. 285, note 2. Certain
+F2 lines, there translated by Shoghi Effendi, are incorporated here.

+P192
One day she was a guest in the home of &Mulla &Javad,
a cousin on her mother's side, and there in her cousin's
library she came upon some of the writings of &Shaykh
&Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i.+F3 Delighted with what he had to say, &Tahirih
asked to borrow the writings and take them home.
&Mulla &Javad violently objected, telling her: "Your father
is an enemy of the Twin Luminous Lights, &Shaykh &Ahmad
and Siyyid &Kazim. If he should even dream that any
words of those two great beings, any fragrance from the
garden of those realities, had come your way, he would
make an attempt against my life, and you too would become
the target of his wrath." &Tahirih answered: "For a
long time now, I have thirsted after this; I have yearned
for these explanations, these inner truths. Give me whatever
you have of these books. Never mind if it angers my
father." Accordingly, &Mulla &Javad sent over the writings
of the &Shaykh and the Siyyid.
One night, &Tahirih sought out her father in his library,
and began to speak of &Shaykh &Ahmad's teachings. The
very moment he learned that his daughter knew of the
&Shaykhi doctrines, &Mulla &Salih's denunciations rang out,
and he cried: "&Javad has made you a lost soul!" &Tahirih
answered, "The late &Shaykh was a true scholar of God,
and I have learned an infinity of spiritual truths from
reading his books. Furthermore, he bases whatever he says
on the traditions of the Holy &Imams. You call yourself a
mystic knower and a man of God, you consider your respected
uncle to be a scholar as well, and most pious--
yet in neither of you do I find a trace of those qualities!"
For some time, she carried on heated discussions with
her father, debating such questions as the Resurrection
and the Day of Judgment, the Night-Ascent of &Muhammad
to Heaven, the Promise and the Threat, and the Advent

+F3 A forerunner of the &Bab, and first of the two founders of the
+F3 &Shaykhi School. See glossary.

+P193
of the Promised One.+F4 Lacking arguments, her father
would resort to curses and abuse. Then one night, in
support of her contention, &Tahirih quoted a holy tradition
from the &Imam &Ja'far-i-Sadiq;+F5 and since it confirmed what
she was saying, her father burst out laughing, mocking
the tradition. &Tahirih said, "Oh my father, these are the
words of the Holy &Imam. How can you mock and deny
them?"
From that time on, she ceased to debate and contend
with her father. Meanwhile she entered into secret correspondence
with Siyyid &Kazim, regarding the solution of
complex theological problems, and thus it came about
that the Siyyid conferred on her the name "Solace of the
Eyes" (&Qurratu'l-'Ayn); as for the title &Tahirih ("The
Pure One"), it was first associated with her in &Badasht,
and was subsequently approved by the &Bab, and recorded
in Tablets.
&Tahirih had caught fire. She set out for &Karbila, hoping
to meet Siyyid &Kazim, but she arrived too late: ten days
before she reached that city, he passed away. Not long
before his death the Siyyid had shared with his disciples
the good news that the promised Advent was at hand.
"Go forth," he repeatedly told them, "and seek out your
Lord." Thus the most distinguished of his followers gathered
for retirement and prayer, for fasts and vigils, in the
&Masjid-i-Kufih, while some awaited the Advent in &Karbila.
Among these was &Tahirih, fasting by day, practicing religious
disciplines, and spending the night in vigils, and
chanting prayers. One night when it was getting along
toward dawn she laid her head on her pillow, lost all
awareness of this earthly life, and dreamed a dream; in her
vision a youth, a Siyyid, wearing a black cloak and a green

+F4 &Qur'an 17:1; 30:56; 50:19; etc.
+F5 The sixth &Imam.

+P194
turban, appeared to her in the heavens; he was standing in
the air, reciting verses and praying with his hands upraised.
At once, she memorized one of those verses, and
wrote it down in her notebook when she awoke. After the
&Bab had declared His mission, and His first book, "The
Best of Stories,"+F6 was circulated, &Tahirih was reading a
section of the text one day, and she came upon that same
verse, which she had noted down from the dream. Instantly
offering thanks, she fell to her knees and bowed
her forehead to the ground, convinced that the &Bab's message
was truth.
This good news reached her in &Karbila and she at once
began to teach. She translated and expounded "The Best
of Stories," also writing in Persian and Arabic, composing
odes and lyrics, and humbly practicing her devotions, performing
even those that were optional and supernumerary.
When the evil &ulamas in &Karbila got wind of all this, and
learned that a woman was summoning the people to a
new religion and had already influenced a considerable
number, they went to the Governor and lodged a complaint.
Their charges, to be brief, led to violent attacks on
&Tahirih, and sufferings, which she accepted and for which
she offered praise and thanks. When the authorities came
hunting for her they first assaulted &Shamsu'd-Duha, mistaking
her for &Tahirih. As soon, however, as they heard
that &Tahirih had been arrested they let &Shams go--for
&Tahirih had sent a message to the Governor saying, "I am
at your disposal. Do not harm any other."
The Governor set guards over her house and shut her
away, writing &Baghdad for instructions as to how he
should proceed. For three months, she lived in a state of
siege, completely isolated, with the guards surrounding her

+F6 The "&Ahsanu'l-Qisas," the &Bab's commentary on the &Surih of
+F6 Joseph, was called the &Qur'an of the &Babis, and was translated from
+F6 Arabic into Persian by &Tahirih. Cf. God Passes By, p. 23.

+P195
house. Since the local authorities had still received no reply
from &Baghdad, &Tahirih referred her case to the Governor,
saying: "No word has come from either &Baghdad or
Constantinople. Accordingly, we will ourselves proceed to
&Baghdad and await the answer there." The Governor gave
her leave to go, and she set out, accompanied by &Shamsu'd-Duha
and the Leaf of Paradise (the sister of &Mulla
&Husayn) and her mother. In &Baghdad she stayed first in
the house of &Shaykh &Muhammad, the distinguished father
of &Aqa &Muhammad-Mustafa. But so great was the
press of people around her that she transferred her residence
to another quarter, engaged night and day in spreading
the Faith, and freely associated with the inhabitants of
&Baghdad. She thus became celebrated throughout the city
and there was a great uproar.
&Tahirih also maintained a correspondence with the &ulamas
of &Kazimayn; she presented them with unanswerable
proofs, and when one or another appeared before her she
offered him convincing arguments. Finally she sent a message
to the &Shi'ih divines, saying to them: "If you are not
satisfied with these conclusive proofs, I challenge you to
a trial by ordeal."+F7 Then there was a great outcry from the
divines, and the Governor was obliged to send &Tahirih and
her women companions to the house of &Ibn-i-Alusi, who
was &mufti of &Baghdad. Here she remained about three
months, waiting for word and directions from Constantinople.
&Ibn-i-Alusi would engage her in learned dialogues,
questions would be asked and answers given, and he
would not deny what she had to say.
On a certain day the &mufti related one of his dreams,
and asked her to tell him what it meant. He said: "In my
dream I saw the &Shi'ih &ulamas arriving at the holy tomb
of &Imam &Husayn, the Prince of Martyrs. They took away

+F7 &Qur'an 3:54: "Then will we invoke and lay the malison of God on
+F7 those that lie!" The ordeal was by imprecation.

+P196
the barrier that encloses the tomb, and they broke open
the resplendent grave, so that the immaculate body lay
revealed to their gaze. They sought to take up the holy
form, but I cast myself down on the corpse and I warded
them off." &Tahirih answered: "This is the meaning of
your dream: you are about to deliver me from the hands
of the &Shi'ih divines." "I too had interpreted it thus," said
&Ibn-i-Alusi.
Since he had discovered that she was well versed in
learned questions and in sacred commentaries and Texts,
the two often carried on debates; she would speak on such
themes as the Day of Resurrection, the Balance, and the
&Sirat,+F8 and he would not turn away.
Then came a night when the father of &Ibn-i-Alusi called
at the house of his son. He had a meeting with &Tahirih
and abruptly, without asking a single question, began to
curse, mock and revile her. Embarrassed at his father's behavior,
&Ibn-i-Alusi apologized. Then he said: "The answer
has come from Constantinople. The King has commanded
that you be set free, but only on condition that you leave
his realms. Go then, tomorrow, make your preparations for
the journey, and hasten away from this land."
Accordingly &Tahirih, with her women companions, left
the &mufti's house, saw to arranging for their travel gear,
and went out of &Baghdad. When they left the city, a number
of Arab believers, carrying arms, walked along beside
their convoy. Among the escort were &Shaykh &Sultan,
&Shaykh &Muhammad and his distinguished son &Muhammad-Mustafa,
and &Shaykh &Salih, and these were
mounted. It was &Shaykh &Muhammad who defrayed the
expenses of the journey.
When they reached &Kirmanshah the women alighted
at one house, the men at another, and the inhabitants arrived

+F8 &Qur'an 21:48; 19:37, etc. In &Islam the Bridge of &Sirat, sharp as a
+F8 sword and finer than a hair, stretches across Hell to Heaven.

+P197
in a continuous stream to seek information as to the
new Faith. Here as elsewhere the &ulamas were soon in a
state of frenzy and they commanded that the newcomers
be expelled. As a result the &kad-khuda or chief officer of
that quarter, with a band of people, laid siege to the house
where &Tahirih was, and sacked it. Then they placed
&Tahirih and her companions in an uncovered howdah and
carried them from the town to an open field, where they
put the captives out. The drivers then took their animals
and returned to the city. The victims were left on the bare
ground, with no food, no shelter, and no means of traveling
on.
&Tahirih at once wrote a letter to the prince of that territory,
in which she told him: "O thou just Governor! We
were guests in your city. Is this the way you treat your
guests?" When her letter was brought to the Governor of
&Kirmanshah he said: "I knew nothing of this injustice.
This mischief was kindled by the divines." He immediately
commanded the &kad-khuda to return all the travelers'
belongings. That official duly surrendered the stolen
goods, the drivers with their animals came back out of the
city, the travelers took their places and resumed the journey.
They arrived in &Hamadan and here their stay was a
happy one. The most illustrious ladies of that city, even
the princesses, would come to visit, seeking the benefits of
&Tahirih's teaching. In &Hamadan she dismissed a part of
her escort and sent them back to &Baghdad, while she
brought some of them, including &Shamsu'd-Duha and
&Shaykh-Salih, along with her to &Qazvin.
As they traveled, some riders advanced to meet them,
kinsmen of &Tahirih's from &Qazvin, and they wished to
lead her away alone, unescorted by the others, to her
father's house. &Tahirih refused, saying: "These are in my
company." In this way they entered &Qazvin. &Tahirih proceeded

+P198
to her father's house, while the Arabs who had
formed her escort alighted at a caravanserai. &Tahirih soon
left her father and went to live with her brother, and
there the great ladies of the city would come to visit her;
all this until the murder of &Mulla &Taqi,+F9 when every &Babi
in &Qazvin was taken prisoner. Some were sent to &Tihran
and then returned to &Qazvin and martyred.
&Mulla &Taqi's murder came about in this way: One day,
when that besotted tyrant had mounted his pulpit, he began
to mock and revile the great &Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i.
Shamelessly, grossly, screaming obscenities, he cried out:
"That &Shaykh is the one who has kindled this fire of evil,
and subjected the whole world to this ordeal!" There was
an inquirer in the audience, a native of &Shiraz. He found
the taunts, jeers and indecencies to be more than he could
bear. Under cover of darkness he betook himself to the
mosque, plunged a spearhead between the lips of &Mulla
&Taqi and fled. The next morning they arrested the defenseless
believers and thereupon subjected them to agonizing
torture, though all were innocent and knew nothing
of what had come to pass. There was never any question
of investigating the case; the believers repeatedly declared
their innocence but no one paid them any heed. When a
few days had passed the killer gave himself up; he confessed
to the authorities, informing them that he had
committed the murder because &Mulla &Taqi had vilified
&Shaykh &Ahmad. "I deliver myself into your hands," he
told them, "so that you will set these innocent people free."
They arrested him as well, put him in the stocks, chained
him, and sent him in chains, along with the others, to
&Tihran.
Once there he observed that despite his confession, the

+F9 Cf. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 276. The murderer was not a &Babi,
+F9 but a fervent admirer of the &Shaykhi leaders, the Twin Luminous
+F9 Lights.

+P199
others were not released. By night, he made his escape
from the prison and went to the house of &Rida &Khan--
that rare and precious man, that star-sacrifice among the
lovers of God--the son of &Muhammad &Khan, Master of
the Horse to &Muhammad &Shah. He stayed there for a
time, after which he and &Rida &Khan secretly rode away to
the Fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi in &Mazindaran.+F10 &Muhammad
&Khan sent riders after them to track them down, but try as
they might, no one could find them. Those two horsemen
got to the Fort of &Tabarsi, where both of them won a
martyr's death. As for the other friends who were in the
prison at &Tihran, some of these were returned to &Qazvin
and they too suffered martyrdom.
One day the administrator of finance, &Mirza &Shafi',
called in the murderer and addressed him, saying: "&Jinab,
do you belong to a dervish order, or do you follow the
Law? If you are a follower of the Law, why did you deal
that learned mujtahid a cruel, a fatal blow in the mouth?
If you are a dervish and follow the Path, one of the rules
of the Path is to harm no man. How, then, could you
slaughter that zealous divine?" "Sir," he replied, "besides
the Law, and besides the Path, we also have the Truth.
It was in serving the Truth that I paid him for his deed."+F11
These things would take place before the reality of this
Cause was revealed and all was made plain. For in those
days no one knew that the Manifestation of the &Bab
would culminate in the Manifestation of the Blessed
Beauty and that the law of retaliation would be done away
with, and the foundation-principle of the Law of God
would be this, that "It is better for you to be killed than to

+F10 Cf. The Dawn-Breakers, p. 278.
+F11 This refers to the doctrine that there are three ways to God: the
+F11 Law (&shari'at), the Path (&tariqat), and the Truth (&haqiqat). That is,
+F11 the law of the orthodox, the path of the dervish, and the truth. Cf.
+F11 R. A. Nicholson, Commentary on the &Mathnavi of &Rumi, s.v.

+P200
kill"; that discord and contention would cease, and the
rule of war and butchery would fall away. In those days,
that sort of thing would happen. But praised be God, with
the advent of the Blessed Beauty such a splendor of harmony
and peace shone forth, such a spirit of meekness and
long-suffering, that when in Yazd men, women and children
were made the targets of enemy fire or were put to
the sword, when the leaders and the evil &ulamas and their
followers joined together and unitedly assaulted those defenseless
victims and spilled out their blood--hacking at
and rending apart the bodies of chaste women, with their
daggers slashing the throats of children they had orphaned,
then setting the torn and mangled limbs on fire--not one
of the friends of God lifted a hand against them. Indeed,
among those martyrs, those real companions of the ones
who died, long gone, at &Karbila--was a man who, when
he saw the drawn sword flashing over him, thrust sugar
candy into his murderer's mouth and cried, "With a
sweet taste on your lips, put me to death--for you bring
me martyrdom, my dearest wish!"
Let us return to our theme. After the murder of her
impious uncle, &Mulla &Taqi, in &Qazvin, &Tahirih fell into
dire straits. She was a prisoner and heavy of heart, grieving
over the painful events that had come to pass. She
was watched on every side, by attendants, guards, the
&farrashes, and her foes. While she languished thus, &Baha'u'llah
dispatched &Hadiy-i-Qazvini, husband of the
celebrated &Khatun-Jan, from the capital, and they managed,
by a stratagem, to free her from that embroilment
and got her to &Tihran in the night. She alighted at the
mansion of &Baha'u'llah and was lodged in an upper apartment.
When word of this spread throughout &Tihran, the Government
hunted for her high and low; nevertheless, the
friends kept arriving to see her, in a steady stream, and

+P201
&Tahirih, seated behind a curtain, would converse with
them. One day the great Siyyid &Yahya, surnamed &Vahid,
was present there. As he sat without, &Tahirih listened to
him from behind the veil. I was then a child, and was sitting
on her lap. With eloquence and fervor, &Vahid was
discoursing on the signs and verses that bore witness to
the advent of the new Manifestation. She suddenly interrupted
him and, raising her voice, vehemently declared:
"O &Yahya! Let deeds, not words, testify to thy faith, if
thou art a man of true learning. Cease idly repeating the
traditions of the past, for the day of service, of steadfast
action, is come. Now is the time to show forth the true
signs of God, to rend asunder the veils of idle fancy, to
promote the Word of God, and to sacrifice ourselves in
His path. Let deeds, not words, be our adorning!"
The Blessed Beauty made elaborate arrangements for
&Tahirih's journey to &Badasht and sent her off with an
equipage and retinue. His own party left for that region
some days afterward.
In &Badasht, there was a great open field. Through its
center a stream flowed, and to its right, left, and rear there
were three gardens, the envy of Paradise. One of those
gardens was assigned to &Quddus,+F12 but this was kept a secret.
Another was set apart for &Tahirih, and in a third was
raised the pavilion of &Baha'u'llah. On the field amidst the
three gardens, the believers pitched their tents. Evenings,
&Baha'u'llah, &Quddus and &Tahirih would come together.
In those days the fact that the &Bab was the &Qa'im had not
yet been proclaimed; it was the Blessed Beauty, with &Quddus,
Who arranged for the proclamation of a universal Advent

+F12 The eighteenth Letter of the Living, martyred with unspeakable
+F12 cruelty in the market place at &Barfurush, when he was twenty-seven.
+F12 &Baha'u'llah conferred on him a station second only to that of the &Bab
+F12 Himself. Cf. The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 408-415.

+P202
and the abrogation and repudiation of the ancient
laws.
Then one day, and there was a wisdom in it, &Baha'u'llah
fell ill; that is, the indisposition was to serve a vital
purpose. On a sudden, in the sight of all, &Quddus came
out of his garden, and entered the pavilion of &Baha'u'llah.
But &Tahirih sent him a message, to say that their Host
being ill, &Quddus should visit her garden instead. His
answer was: "This garden is preferable. Come, then, to
this one." &Tahirih, with her face unveiled, stepped from
her garden, advancing to the pavilion of &Baha'u'llah; and
as she came, she shouted aloud these words: "The Trumpet
is sounding! The great Trump is blown! The universal
Advent is now proclaimed!"+F13 The believers gathered in
that tent were panic struck, and each one asked himself,
"How can the Law be abrogated? How is it that this
woman stands here without her veil?"
"Read the &Surih of the Inevitable,"+F14 said &Baha'u'llah;
and the reader began: "When the Day that must come
shall have come suddenly... Day that shall abase! Day
that shall exalt!..." and thus was the new Dispensation
announced and the great Resurrection made manifest. At
the start, those who were present fled away, and some forsook
their Faith, while some fell a prey to suspicion and
doubt, and a number, after wavering, returned to the
presence of &Baha'u'llah. The Conference of &Badasht broke
up, but the universal Advent had been proclaimed.
Afterward, &Quddus hastened away to the Fort of &Tabarsi+F15
and the Blessed Beauty, with provisions and equipment,

+F13 Cf. &Qur'an 74:8 and 6:73. Also Isaiah 27:13 and Zechariah 9:14.
+F14 &Qur'an, &Surih 56.
+F15 A systematic campaign against the new Faith had been launched
+F15 in Persia by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities combined. The
+F15 believers, cut down wherever they were isolated, banded together when
+F15 they could, for protection against the Government, the clergy, and the
+F15 people. Betrayed and surrounded as they passed through the forest of
+F15 &Mazindaran, some 300 believers, mostly students and recluses, built
+F15 the Fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi and held out against the armies of Persia
+F15 for eleven months. Cf. The Dawn-Breakers, chapters XIX and XX;
+F15 God Passes By, p. 37 et seq.

+P203
journeyed to &Niyala, having the intention of going
on from there by night, making His way through the
enemy encampment and entering the Fort. But &Mirza
&Taqi, the Governor of &Amul, got word of this, and with
seven hundred riflemen arrived in &Niyala. Surrounding
the village by night, he sent &Baha'u'llah with eleven riders
back to &Amul, and those calamities and tribulations, told
of before, came to pass.
As for &Tahirih, after the breakup at &Badasht she was
captured, and the oppressors sent her back under guard to
&Tihran. There she was imprisoned in the house of &Mahmud
&Khan, the &Kalantar. But she was aflame, enamored,
restless, and could not be still. The ladies of &Tihran, on
one pretext or another, crowded to see and listen to her.
It happened that there was a celebration at the Mayor's
house for the marriage of his son; a nuptial banquet was
prepared, and the house adorned. The flower of Tihran's
ladies were invited, the princesses, the wives of &vazirs and
other great. A splendid wedding it was, with instrumental
music and vocal melodies--by day and night the lute, the
bells and songs. Then &Tahirih began to speak; and so bewitched
were the great ladies that they forsook the cithern
and the drum and all the pleasures of the wedding feast,
to crowd about &Tahirih and listen to the sweet words of
her mouth.
Thus she remained, a helpless captive. Then came the
attempt on the life of the &Shah;+F16 a &farman was issued; she

+F16 On August 15, 1852, a half-crazed &Babi youth wounded the &Shah
+F16 with shot from a pistol. The assailant was instantly killed, and the
+F16 authorities carried out a wholesale massacre of the believers, its climax
+F16 described by Renan as "a day perhaps unparalleled in the history of
+F16 the world." Cf. Lord Curzon, Persia and the Persian Question, pp.
+F16 501-2, and God Passes By, p. 62 et seq.

+P204
was sentenced to death. Saying she was summoned to the
Prime Minister's, they arrived to lead her away from the
&Kalantar's house. She bathed her face and hands, arrayed
herself in a costly dress, and scented with attar of roses
she came out of the house.
They brought her into a garden, where the headsmen
waited; but these wavered and then refused to end her
life. A slave was found, far gone in drunkenness; besotted,
vicious, black of heart. And he strangled &Tahirih. He
forced a scarf between her lips and rammed it down her
throat. Then they lifted up her unsullied body and flung
it in a well, there in the garden, and over it threw down
earth and stones. But &Tahirih rejoiced; she had heard with
a light heart the tidings of her martyrdom; she set her eyes
on the supernal Kingdom and offered up her life.
Salutations be unto her, and praise. Holy be her dust,
as the tiers of light come down on it from Heaven.