The return of Baha'u'llah from Sulaymaniyyih to Ba_gh_dad marks a turning
point of the utmost significance in the history of the first Baha'i
century. The tide of the fortunes of the Faith, having reached its lowest
ebb, was now beginning to surge back, and was destined to roll on,
steadily and mightily, to a new high water-mark, associated this time with
the Declaration of His Mission, on the eve of His banishment to
Constantinople. With His return to Ba_gh_dad a firm anchorage was now
being established, an anchorage such as the Faith had never known in its
history. Never before, except during the first three years of its life,
could that Faith claim to have possessed a fixed and accessible center to
which its adherents could turn for guidance, and from which they could
derive continuous and unobstructed inspiration. No less than half of the
Bab's short-lived ministry was spent on the remotest border of His native
country, where He was concealed and virtually cut off from the vast
majority of His disciples. The period immediately after His martyrdom was
marked by a confusion that was even more deplorable than the isolation
caused by His enforced captivity. Nor when the Revelation which He had
foretold made its appearance was it succeeded by an immediate declaration
that could enable the members of a distracted community to rally round the
person of their expected Deliverer. The prolonged self-concealment of
Mirza Yahya, the center provisionally appointed pending the manifestation
of the Promised One; the nine months' absence of Baha'u'llah from His
native land, while on a visit to Karbila, followed swiftly by His
imprisonment in the Siyah-_Ch_al, by His banishment to 'Iraq, and
afterwards by His retirement to Kurdistan--all combined to prolong the
phase of instability and suspense through which the Babi community had to
pass.
Now at last, in spite of Baha'u'llah's reluctance to unravel the mystery
surrounding His own position, the Babis found themselves able to center
both their hopes and their movements round One Whom they believed
(whatever their views as to His station) capable of insuring the stability
and integrity of their Faith. The orientation which the Faith had thus
acquired and the fixity of the center towards which it now gravitated
continued, in one form or another, to be its outstanding features, of
which it was never again to be deprived.
The Faith of the Bab, as already observed, had, in consequence of the
successive and formidable blows it had received, reached the verge of
extinction. Nor was the momentous Revelation vouchsafed to Baha'u'llah in
the Siyah-_Ch_al productive at once of any tangible results of a nature
that would exercise a stabilizing influence on a well-nigh disrupted
community. Baha'u'llah's unexpected banishment had been a further blow to
its members, who had learned to place their reliance upon Him. Mirza
Yahya's seclusion and inactivity further accelerated the process of
disintegration that had set in. Baha'u'llah's prolonged retirement to
Kurdistan seemed to have set the seal on its complete dissolution.
Now, however, the tide that had ebbed in so alarming a measure was
turning, bearing with it, as it rose to flood point, those inestimable
benefits that were to herald the announcement of the Revelation already
secretly disclosed to Baha'u'llah.
During the seven years that elapsed between the resumption of His labors
and the declaration of His prophetic mission--years to which we now direct
our attention--it would be no exaggeration to say that the Baha'i
community, under the name and in the shape of a re-arisen Babi community
was born and was slowly taking shape, though its Creator still appeared in
the guise of, and continued to labor as, one of the foremost disciples of
the Bab. It was a period during which the prestige of the community's
nominal head steadily faded from the scene, paling before the rising
splendor of Him Who was its actual Leader and Deliverer. It was a period
in the course of which the first fruits of an exile, endowed with
incalculable potentialities, ripened and were garnered. It was a period
that will go down in history as one during which the prestige of a
recreated community was immensely enhanced, its morals entirely reformed,
its recognition of Him who rehabilitated its fortunes enthusiastically
affirmed, its literature enormously enriched, and its victories over its
new adversaries universally acknowledged.
The prestige of the community, and particularly that of Baha'u'llah, now
began from its first inception in Kurdistan to mount in a steadily rising
crescendo. Baha'u'llah had scarcely gathered up again the reins of the
authority he had relinquished when the devout admirers He had left behind
in Sulaymaniyyih started to flock to Ba_gh_dad, with the name of
"Darvi_sh_ Muhammad" on their lips, and the "house of Mirza Musa the Babi"
as their goal. Astonished at the sight of so many 'ulamas and Sufis of
Kurdish origin, of both the Qadiriyyih and _Kh_alidiyyih Orders, thronging
the house of Baha'u'llah, and impelled by racial and sectarian rivalry,
the religious leaders of the city, such as the renowned Ibn-i-Alusi, the
Mufti of Ba_gh_dad, together with _Sh_ay_kh_ 'Abdu's-Salam, _Sh_ay_kh_
'Abdu'l-Qadir and Siyyid Dawudi, began to seek His presence, and, having
obtained completely satisfying answers to their several queries, enrolled
themselves among the band of His earliest admirers. The unqualified
recognition by these outstanding leaders of those traits that
distinguished the character and conduct of Baha'u'llah stimulated the
curiosity, and later evoked the unstinted praise, of a great many
observers of less conspicuous position, among whom figured poets, mystics
and notables, who either resided in, or visited, the city. Government
officials, foremost among whom were 'Abdu'llah Pa_sh_a and his lieutenant
Mahmud Aqa, and Mulla 'Ali Mardan, a Kurd well-known in those circles,
were gradually brought into contact with Him, and lent their share in
noising abroad His fast-spreading fame. Nor could those distinguished
Persians, who either lived in Ba_gh_dad and its environs or visited as
pilgrims the holy places, remain impervious to the spell of His charm.
Princes of the royal blood, amongst whom were such personages as the
Na'ibu'l-Iyalih, the _Sh_uja'u'd-Dawlih, the Sayfu'd-Dawlih, and
Zaynu'l-Abidin _Kh_an, the Fa_kh_ru'd-Dawlih, were, likewise, irresistibly
drawn into the ever-widening circle of His associates and acquaintances.
Those who, during Baha'u'llah's two years' absence from Ba_gh_dad, had so
persistently reviled and loudly derided His companions and kindred were,
by now, for the most part, silenced. Not an inconsiderable number among
them feigned respect and esteem for Him, a few claimed to be His defenders
and supporters, while others professed to share His beliefs, and actually
joined the ranks of the community to which He belonged. Such was the
extent of the reaction that had set in that one of them was even heard to
boast that, as far back as the year 1250 A.H.--a decade before the Bab's
Declaration--he had already perceived and embraced the truth of His Faith!
Within a few years after Baha'u'llah's return from Sulaymaniyyih the
situation had been completely reversed. The house of Sulayman-i-_Gh_annam,
on which the official designation of the Bayt-i-'Azam (the Most Great
House) was later conferred, known, at that time, as the house of Mirza
Musa, the Babi, an extremely modest residence, situated in the Kar_kh_
quarter, in the neighborhood of the western bank of the river, to which
Baha'u'llah's family had moved prior to His return from Kurdistan, had now
become the focal center of a great number of seekers, visitors and
pilgrims, including Kurds, Persians, Arabs and Turks, and derived from the
Muslim, the Jewish and Christian Faiths. It had, moreover, become a
veritable sanctuary to which the victims of the injustice of the official
representative of the Persian government were wont to flee, in the hope of
securing redress for the wrongs they had suffered.
At the same time an influx of Persian Babis, whose sole object was to
attain the presence of Baha'u'llah, swelled the stream of visitors that
poured through His hospitable doors. Carrying back, on their return to
their native country, innumerable testimonies, both oral and written, to
His steadily rising power and glory, they could not fail to contribute, in
a vast measure, to the expansion and progress of a newly-reborn Faith.
Four of the Bab's cousins and His maternal uncle, Haji Mirza Siyyid
Muhammad; a grand-daughter of Fath-'Ali _Sh_ah and fervent admirer of
Tahirih, surnamed Varaqatu'r-Ridvan; the erudite Mulla Muhammad-i-Qa'ini,
surnamed Nabil-i-Akbar; the already famous Mulla Sadiq-i-_Kh_urasani,
surnamed Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq, who with Quddus had been ignominiously
persecuted in _Sh_iraz; Mulla Baqir, one of the Letters of the Living;
Siyyid Asadu'llah, surnamed Dayyan; the revered Siyyid Javad-i-Karbila'i;
Mirza Muhammad-Hasan and Mirza Muhammad-Husayn, later immortalized by the
titles of Sultanu'_sh_-_Sh_uhuda and Mahbubu'_sh_-_Sh_uhada (King of
Martyrs and Beloved of Martyrs) respectively; Mirza
Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Nahri, whose daughter, at a later date, was joined in
wedlock to 'Abdu'l-Baha; the immortal Siyyid Isma'il-i-Zavari'i; Haji
_Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad, surnamed Nabil by the Bab; the accomplished Mirza
Aqay-i-Munir, surnamed Ismu'llahu'l-Munib; the long-suffering Haji
Muhammad-Taqi, surnamed Ayyub; Mulla Zaynu'l-Abidin, surnamed
Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin, who had ranked as a highly esteemed mujtahid--all these
were numbered among the visitors and fellow-disciples who crossed His
threshold, caught a glimpse of the splendor of His majesty, and
communicated far and wide the creative influences instilled into them
through their contact with His spirit. Mulla Muhammad-i-Zarandi, surnamed
Nabil-i-'Azam, who may well rank as His Poet-Laureate, His chronicler and
His indefatigable disciple, had already joined the exiles, and had
launched out on his long and arduous series of journeys to Persia in
furtherance of the Cause of his Beloved.
Even those who, in their folly and temerity had, in Ba_gh_dad, in Karbila,
in Qum, in Ka_sh_an, in Tabriz and in Tihran, arrogated to themselves the
rights, and assumed the title of "Him Whom God shall make manifest" were
for the most part instinctively led to seek His presence, confess their
error and supplicate His forgiveness. As time went on, fugitives, driven
by the ever-present fear of persecution, sought, with their wives and
children, the relative security afforded them by close proximity to One
who had already become the rallying point for the members of a
sorely-vexed community. Persians of high eminence, living in exile,
rejecting, in the face of the mounting prestige of Baha'u'llah, the
dictates of moderation and prudence, sat, forgetful of their pride, at His
feet, and imbibed, each according to his capacity, a measure of His spirit
and wisdom. Some of the more ambitious among them, such as Abbas Mirza, a
son of Muhammad _Sh_ah, the Vazir-Nizam, and Mirza Malkam _Kh_an, as well
as certain functionaries of foreign governments, attempted, in their
short-sightedness, to secure His support and assistance for the
furtherance of the designs they cherished, designs which He unhesitatingly
and severely condemned. Nor was the then representative of the British
government, Colonel Sir Arnold Burrows Kemball, consul-general in
Ba_gh_dad, insensible of the position which Baha'u'llah now occupied.
Entering into friendly correspondence with Him, he, as testified by
Baha'u'llah Himself, offered Him the protection of British citizenship,
called on Him in person, and undertook to transmit to Queen Victoria any
communication He might wish to forward to her. He even expressed his
readiness to arrange for the transfer of His residence to India, or to any
place agreeable to Him. This suggestion Baha'u'llah declined, choosing to
abide in the dominions of the Sultan of Turkey. And finally, during the
last year of His sojourn in Ba_gh_dad the governor Namiq-Pa_sh_a,
impressed by the many signs of esteem and veneration in which He was held,
called upon Him to pay his personal tribute to One Who had already
achieved so conspicuous a victory over the hearts and souls of those who
had met Him. So profound was the respect the governor entertained for Him,
Whom he regarded as one of the Lights of the Age, that it was not until
the end of three months, during which he had received five successive
commands from 'Ali Pa_sh_a, that he could bring himself to inform
Baha'u'llah that it was the wish of the Turkish government that He should
proceed to the capital. On one occasion, when 'Abdu'l-Baha and
Aqay-i-Kalim had been delegated by Baha'u'llah to visit him, he
entertained them with such elaborate ceremonial that the Deputy-Governor
stated that so far as he knew no notable of the city had ever been
accorded by any governor so warm and courteous a reception. So struck,
indeed, had the Sultan 'Abdu'l-Majid been by the favorable reports
received about Baha'u'llah from successive governors of Ba_gh_dad (this is
the personal testimony given by the Governor's deputy to Baha'u'llah
himself) that he consistently refused to countenance the requests of the
Persian government either to deliver Him to their representative or to
order His expulsion from Turkish territory.
On no previous occasion, since the inception of the Faith, not even during
the days when the Bab in Isfahan, in Tabriz and in _Ch_ihriq was acclaimed
by the ovations of an enthusiastic populace, had any of its exponents
risen to such high eminence in the public mind, or exercised over so
diversified a circle of admirers an influence so far reaching and so
potent. Yet unprecedented as was the sway which Baha'u'llah held while, in
that primitive age of the Faith, He was dwelling in Ba_gh_dad, its range
at that time was modest when compared with the magnitude of the fame
which, at the close of that same age, and through the immediate
inspiration of the Center of His Covenant, the Faith acquired in both the
European and American continents.
The ascendancy achieved by Baha'u'llah was nowhere better demonstrated
than in His ability to broaden the outlook and transform the character of
the community to which He belonged. Though Himself nominally a Babi,
though the provisions of the Bayan were still regarded as binding and
inviolable, He was able to inculcate a standard which, while not
incompatible with its tenets, was ethically superior to the loftiest
principles which the Babi Dispensation had established. The salutary and
fundamental truths advocated by the Bab, that had either been obscured,
neglected or misrepresented, were moreover elucidated by Baha'u'llah,
reaffirmed and instilled afresh into the corporate life of the community,
and into the souls of the individuals who comprised it. The dissociation
of the Babi Faith from every form of political activity and from all
secret associations and factions; the emphasis placed on the principle of
non-violence; the necessity of strict obedience to established authority;
the ban imposed on all forms of sedition, on back-biting, retaliation, and
dispute; the stress laid on godliness, kindliness, humility and piety, on
honesty and truthfulness, chastity and fidelity, on justice, toleration,
sociability, amity and concord, on the acquisition of arts and sciences,
on self-sacrifice and detachment, on patience, steadfastness and
resignation to the will of God--all these constitute the salient features
of a code of ethical conduct to which the books, treatises and epistles,
revealed during those years, by the indefatigable pen of Baha'u'llah,
unmistakably bear witness.
"By the aid of God and His divine grace and mercy," He Himself has written
with reference to the character and consequences of His own labors during
that period, "We revealed, as a copious rain, Our verses, and sent them to
various parts of the world. We exhorted all men, and particularly this
people, through Our wise counsels and loving admonitions, and forbade them
to engage in sedition, quarrels, disputes or conflict. As a result of
this, and by the grace of God, waywardness and folly were changed into
piety and understanding, and weapons of war converted into instruments of
peace." "Baha'u'llah," 'Abdu'l-Baha affirmed, "after His return (from
Sulaymaniyyih) made such strenuous efforts in educating and training this
community, in reforming its manners, in regulating its affairs and in
rehabilitating its fortunes, that in a short while all these troubles and
mischiefs were quenched, and the utmost peace and tranquillity reigned in
men's hearts." And again: "When these fundamentals were established in the
hearts of this people, they everywhere acted in such wise that, in the
estimation of those in authority, they became famous for the integrity of
their character, the steadfastness of their hearts, the purity of their
motives, the praiseworthiness of their deeds, and the excellence of their
conduct."
The exalted character of the teachings of Baha'u'llah propounded during
that period is perhaps best illustrated by the following statement made by
Him in those days to an official who had reported to Him that, because of
the devotion to His person which an evildoer had professed, he had
hesitated to inflict upon that criminal the punishment he deserved: "Tell
him, no one in this world can claim any relationship to Me except those
who, in all their deeds and in their conduct, follow My example, in such
wise that all the peoples of the earth would be powerless to prevent them
from doing and saying that which is meet and seemly." "This brother of
Mine," He further declared to that official, "this Mirza Musa, who is from
the same mother and father as Myself, and who from his earliest childhood
has kept Me company, should he perpetrate an act contrary to the interests
of either the state or religion, and his guilt be established in your
sight, I would be pleased and appreciate your action were you to bind his
hands and cast him into the river to drown, and refuse to consider the
intercession of any one on his behalf." In another connection He, wishing
to stress His strong condemnation of all acts of violence, had written:
"It would be more acceptable in My sight for a person to harm one of My
own sons or relatives rather than inflict injury upon any soul."
"Most of those who surrounded Baha'u'llah," wrote Nabil, describing the
spirit that animated the reformed Babi community in Ba_gh_dad, "exercised
such care in sanctifying and purifying their souls, that they would suffer
no word to cross their lips that might not conform to the will of God, nor
would they take a single step that might be contrary to His
good-pleasure." "Each one," he relates, "had entered into a pact with one
of his fellow-disciples, in which they agreed to admonish one another,
and, if necessary, chastise one another with a number of blows on the
soles of the feet, proportioning the number of strokes to the gravity of
the offense against the lofty standards they had sworn to observe."
Describing the fervor of their zeal, he states that "not until the
offender had suffered the punishment he had solicited, would he consent to
either eat or drink."
The complete transformation which the written and spoken word of
Baha'u'llah had effected in the outlook and character of His companions
was equalled by the burning devotion which His love had kindled in their
souls. A passionate zeal and fervor, that rivalled the enthusiasm that had
glowed so fiercely in the breasts of the Bab's disciples in their moments
of greatest exaltation, had now seized the hearts of the exiles of
Ba_gh_dad and galvanized their entire beings. "So inebriated," Nabil,
describing the fecundity of this tremendously dynamic spiritual revival,
has written, "so carried away was every one by the sweet savors of the
Morn of Divine Revelation that, methinks, out of every thorn sprang forth
heaps of blossoms, and every seed yielded innumerable harvests." "The room
of the Most Great House," that same chronicler has recorded, "set apart
for the reception of Baha'u'llah's visitors, though dilapidated, and
having long since outgrown its usefulness, vied, through having been
trodden by the blessed footsteps of the Well Beloved, with the Most
Exalted Paradise. Low-roofed, it yet seemed to reach to the stars, and
though it boasted but a single couch, fashioned from the branches of
palms, whereon He Who is the King of Names was wont to sit, it drew to
itself, even as a loadstone, the hearts of the princes."
It was this same reception room which, in spite of its rude simplicity,
had so charmed the _Sh_uja'u'd-Dawlih that he had expressed to his
fellow-princes his intention of building a duplicate of it in his home in
Kazimayn. "He may well succeed," Baha'u'llah is reported to have smilingly
remarked when apprized of this intention, "in reproducing outwardly the
exact counterpart of this low-roofed room made of mud and straw with its
diminutive garden. What of his ability to open onto it the spiritual doors
leading to the hidden worlds of God?" "I know not how to explain it,"
another prince, Zaynu'l-Abidin _Kh_an, the Fa_kh_ru'd-Dawlih, describing
the atmosphere which pervaded that reception-room, had affirmed, "were all
the sorrows of the world to be crowded into my heart they would, I feel,
all vanish, when in the presence of Baha'u'llah. It is as if I had entered
Paradise itself."
The joyous feasts which these companions, despite their extremely modest
earnings, continually offered in honor of their Beloved; the gatherings,
lasting far into the night, in which they loudly celebrated, with prayers,
poetry and song, the praises of the Bab, of Quddus and of Baha'u'llah; the
fasts they observed; the vigils they kept; the dreams and visions which
fired their souls, and which they recounted to each other with feelings of
unbounded enthusiasm; the eagerness with which those who served
Baha'u'llah performed His errands, waited upon His needs, and carried
heavy skins of water for His ablutions and other domestic purposes; the
acts of imprudence which, in moments of rapture, they occasionally
committed; the expressions of wonder and admiration which their words and
acts evoked in a populace that had seldom witnessed such demonstrations of
religious transport and personal devotion--these, and many others, will
forever remain associated with the history of that immortal period,
intervening between the birth hour of Baha'u'llah's Revelation and its
announcement on the eve of His departure from 'Iraq.
Numerous and striking are the anecdotes which have been recounted by those
whom duty, accident, or inclination had, in the course of these poignant
years, brought into direct contact with Baha'u'llah. Many and moving are
the testimonies of bystanders who were privileged to gaze on His
countenance, observe His gait, or overhear His remarks, as He moved
through the lanes and streets of the city, or paced the banks of the
river; of the worshippers who watched Him pray in their mosques; of the
mendicant, the sick, the aged, and the unfortunate whom He succored,
healed, supported and comforted; of the visitors, from the haughtiest
prince to the meanest beggar, who crossed His threshold and sat at His
feet; of the merchant, the artisan, and the shopkeeper who waited upon Him
and supplied His daily needs; of His devotees who had perceived the signs
of His hidden glory; of His adversaries who were confounded or disarmed by
the power of His utterance and the warmth of His love; of the priests and
laymen, the noble and learned, who besought Him with the intention of
either challenging His authority, or testing His knowledge, or
investigating His claims, or confessing their shortcomings, or declaring
their conversion to the Cause He had espoused.
From such a treasury of precious memories it will suffice my purpose to
cite but a single instance, that of one of His ardent lovers, a native of
Zavarih, Siyyid Isma'il by name, surnamed _Dh_abih (the Sacrifice),
formerly a noted divine, taciturn, meditative and wholly severed from
every earthly tie, whose self-appointed task, on which he prided himself,
was to sweep the approaches of the house in which Baha'u'llah was
dwelling. Unwinding his green turban, the ensign of his holy lineage, from
his head, he would, at the hour of dawn, gather up, with infinite
patience, the rubble which the footsteps of his Beloved had trodden, would
blow the dust from the crannies of the wall adjacent to the door of that
house, would collect the sweepings in the folds of his own cloak, and,
scorning to cast his burden for the feet of others to tread upon, would
carry it as far as the banks of the river and throw it into its waters.
Unable, at length, to contain the ocean of love that surged within his
soul, he, after having denied himself for forty days both sleep and
sustenance, and rendering for the last time the service so dear to his
heart, betook himself, one day, to the banks of the river, on the road to
Kazimayn, performed his ablutions, lay down on his back, with his face
turned towards Ba_gh_dad, severed his throat with a razor, laid the razor
upon his breast, and expired. (1275 A.H.)
Nor was he the only one who had meditated such an act and was determined
to carry it out. Others were ready to follow suit, had not Baha'u'llah
promptly intervened, and ordered the refugees living in Ba_gh_dad to
return immediately to their native land. Nor could the authorities, when
it was definitely established that _Dh_abih had died by his own hand,
remain indifferent to a Cause whose Leader could inspire so rare a
devotion in, and hold such absolute sway over, the hearts of His lovers.
Apprized of the apprehensions that episode had evoked in certain quarters
in Ba_gh_dad, Baha'u'llah is reported to have remarked: "Siyyid Isma'il
was possessed of such power and might that were he to be confronted by all
the peoples of the earth, he would, without doubt, be able to establish
his ascendancy over them." "No blood," He is reported to have said with
reference to this same _Dh_abih, whom He extolled as "King and Beloved of
Martyrs," "has, till now, been poured upon the earth as pure as the blood
he shed."
"So intoxicated were those who had quaffed from the cup of Baha'u'llah's
presence," is yet another testimony from the pen of Nabil, who was himself
an eye-witness of most of these stirring episodes, "that in their eyes the
palaces of kings appeared more ephemeral than a spider's web.... The
celebrations and festivities that were theirs were such as the kings of
the earth had never dreamt of." "I, myself with two others," he relates,
"lived in a room which was devoid of furniture. Baha'u'llah entered it one
day, and, looking about Him, remarked: 'Its emptiness pleases Me. In My
estimation it is preferable to many a spacious palace, inasmuch as the
beloved of God are occupied in it with the remembrance of the Incomparable
Friend, with hearts that are wholly emptied of the dross of this world.'"
His own life was characterized by that same austerity, and evinced that
same simplicity which marked the lives of His beloved companions. "There
was a time in 'Iraq," He Himself affirms, in one of His Tablets, "when the
Ancient Beauty ... had no change of linen. The one shirt He possessed
would be washed, dried and worn again."
"Many a night," continues Nabil, depicting the lives of those
self-oblivious companions, "no less than ten persons subsisted on no more
than a pennyworth of dates. No one knew to whom actually belonged the
shoes, the cloaks, or the robes that were to be found in their houses.
Whoever went to the bazaar could claim that the shoes upon his feet were
his own, and each one who entered the presence of Baha'u'llah could affirm
that the cloak and robe he then wore belonged to him. Their own names they
had forgotten, their hearts were emptied of aught else except adoration
for their Beloved.... O, for the joy of those days, and the gladness and
wonder of those hours!"
The enormous expansion in the scope and volume of Baha'u'llah's writings,
after His return from Sulaymaniyyih, is yet another distinguishing feature
of the period under review. The verses that streamed during those years
from His pen, described as "a copious rain" by Himself, whether in the
form of epistles, exhortations, commentaries, apologies, dissertations,
prophecies, prayers, odes or specific Tablets, contributed, to a marked
degree, to the reformation and progressive unfoldment of the Babi
community, to the broadening of its outlook, to the expansion of its
activities and to the enlightenment of the minds of its members. So
prolific was this period, that during the first two years after His return
from His retirement, according to the testimony of Nabil, who was at that
time living in Ba_gh_dad, the unrecorded verses that streamed from His
lips averaged, in a single day and night, the equivalent of the Qur'an! As
to those verses which He either dictated or wrote Himself, their number
was no less remarkable than either the wealth of material they contained,
or the diversity of subjects to which they referred. A vast, and indeed
the greater, proportion of these writings were, alas, lost irretrievably
to posterity. No less an authority than Mirza Aqa Jan, Baha'u'llah's
amanuensis, affirms, as reported by Nabil, that by the express order of
Baha'u'llah, hundreds of thousands of verses, mostly written by His own
hand, were obliterated and cast into the river. "Finding me reluctant to
execute His orders," Mirza Aqa Jan has related to Nabil, "Baha'u'llah
would reassure me saying: 'None is to be found at this time worthy to hear
these melodies.' ...Not once, or twice, but innumerable times, was I
commanded to repeat this act." A certain Muhammad Karim, a native of
_Sh_iraz, who had been a witness to the rapidity and the manner in which
the Bab had penned the verses with which He was inspired, has left the
following testimony to posterity, after attaining, during those days, the
presence of Baha'u'llah, and beholding with his own eyes what he himself
had considered to be the only proof of the mission of the Promised One: "I
bear witness that the verses revealed by Baha'u'llah were superior, in the
rapidity with which they were penned, in the ease with which they flowed,
in their lucidity, their profundity and sweetness to those which I, myself
saw pour from the pen of the Bab when in His presence. Had Baha'u'llah no
other claim to greatness, this were sufficient, in the eyes of the world
and its people, that He produced such verses as have streamed this day
from His pen."
Foremost among the priceless treasures cast forth from the billowing ocean
of Baha'u'llah's Revelation ranks the Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude),
revealed within the space of two days and two nights, in the closing years
of that period (1278 A.H.--1862 A.D.). It was written in fulfillment of the
prophecy of the Bab, Who had specifically stated that the Promised One
would complete the text of the unfinished Persian Bayan, and in reply to
the questions addressed to Baha'u'llah by the as yet unconverted maternal
uncle of the Bab, Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, while on a visit, with his
brother, Haji Mirza Hasan-'Ali, to Karbila. A model of Persian prose, of a
style at once original, chaste and vigorous, and remarkably lucid, both
cogent in argument and matchless in its irresistible eloquence, this Book,
setting forth in outline the Grand Redemptive Scheme of God, occupies a
position unequalled by any work in the entire range of Baha'i literature,
except the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah's Most Holy Book. Revealed on the
eve of the declaration of His Mission, it proffered to mankind the "Choice
Sealed Wine," whose seal is of "musk," and broke the "seals" of the "Book"
referred to by Daniel, and disclosed the meaning of the "words" destined
to remain "closed up" till the "time of the end."
Within a compass of two hundred pages it proclaims unequivocally the
existence and oneness of a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the
source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty;
asserts the relativity of religious truth and the continuity of Divine
Revelation; affirms the unity of the Prophets, the universality of their
Message, the identity of their fundamental teachings, the sanctity of
their scriptures, and the twofold character of their stations; denounces
the blindness and perversity of the divines and doctors of every age;
cites and elucidates the allegorical passages of the New Testament, the
abstruse verses of the Qur'an, and the cryptic Muhammadan traditions which
have bred those age-long misunderstandings, doubts and animosities that
have sundered and kept apart the followers of the world's leading
religious systems; enumerates the essential prerequisites for the
attainment by every true seeker of the object of his quest; demonstrates
the validity, the sublimity and significance of the Bab's Revelation;
acclaims the heroism and detachment of His disciples; foreshadows, and
prophesies the world-wide triumph of the Revelation promised to the people
of the Bayan; upholds the purity and innocence of the Virgin Mary;
glorifies the Imams of the Faith of Muhammad; celebrates the martyrdom,
and lauds the spiritual sovereignty, of the Imam Husayn; unfolds the
meaning of such symbolic terms as "Return," "Resurrection," "Seal of the
Prophets" and "Day of Judgment"; adumbrates and distinguishes between the
three stages of Divine Revelation; and expatiates, in glowing terms, upon
the glories and wonders of the "City of God," renewed, at fixed intervals,
by the dispensation of Providence, for the guidance, the benefit and
salvation of all mankind. Well may it be claimed that of all the books
revealed by the Author of the Baha'i Revelation, this Book alone, by
sweeping away the age-long barriers that have so insurmountably separated
the great religions of the world, has laid down a broad and unassailable
foundation for the complete and permanent reconciliation of their
followers.
Next to this unique repository of inestimable treasures must rank that
marvelous collection of gem-like utterances, the "Hidden Words" with which
Baha'u'llah was inspired, as He paced, wrapped in His meditations, the
banks of the Tigris. Revealed in the year 1274 A.H., partly in Persian,
partly in Arabic, it was originally designated the "Hidden Book of
Fatimih," and was identified by its Author with the Book of that same
name, believed by _Sh_i'ah Islam to be in the possession of the promised
Qa'im, and to consist of words of consolation addressed by the angel
Gabriel, at God's command, to Fatimih, and dictated to the Imam 'Ali, for
the sole purpose of comforting her in her hour of bitter anguish after the
death of her illustrious Father. The significance of this dynamic
spiritual leaven cast into the life of the world for the reorientation of
the minds of men, the edification of their souls and the rectification of
their conduct can best be judged by the description of its character given
in the opening passage by its Author: "This is that which hath descended
from the Realm of Glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and
revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof
and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the
righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may
fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the
gem of Divine virtue."
To these two outstanding contributions to the world's religious
literature, occupying respectively, positions of unsurpassed preeminence
among the doctrinal and ethical writings of the Author of the Baha'i
Dispensation, was added, during that same period, a treatise that may well
be regarded as His greatest mystical composition, designated as the "Seven
Valleys," which He wrote in answer to the questions of _Sh_ay_kh_
Muhyi'd-Din, the Qadi of _Kh_aniqayn, in which He describes the seven
stages which the soul of the seeker must needs traverse ere it can attain
the object of its existence.
The "Four Valleys," an epistle addressed to the learned _Sh_ay_kh_
'Abdu'r-Rahman-i-Karkuti; the "Tablet of the Holy Mariner," in which
Baha'u'llah prophesies the severe afflictions that are to befall Him; the
"Lawh-i-Huriyyih" (Tablet of the Maiden), in which events of a far remoter
future are foreshadowed; the "Suriy-i-Sabr" (Surih of Patience), revealed
on the first day of Ridvan which extols Vahid and his fellow-sufferers in
Nayriz; the commentary on the Letters prefixed to the Surihs of the
Qur'an; His interpretation of the letter Vav, mentioned in the writings of
_Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i, and of other abstruse passages in the works of
Siyyid Kazim-i-Ra_sh_ti; the "Lawh-i-Madinatu't-Tawhid" (Tablet of the
City of Unity); the "Sahifiy-i-_Sh_attiyyih"; the
"Musibat-i-Hurufat-i-'Aliyat"; the "Tafsir-i-Hu"; the "Javahiru'l-'Asrar"
and a host of other writings, in the form of epistles, odes, homilies,
specific Tablets, commentaries and prayers, contributed, each in its own
way, to swell the "rivers of everlasting life" which poured forth from the
"Abode of Peace" and lent a mighty impetus to the expansion of the Bab's
Faith in both Persia and 'Iraq, quickening the souls and transforming the
character of its adherents.
The undeniable evidences of the range and magnificence of Baha'u'llah's
rising power; His rapidly waxing prestige; the miraculous transformation
which, by precept and example, He had effected in the outlook and
character of His companions from Ba_gh_dad to the remotest towns and
hamlets in Persia; the consuming love for Him that glowed in their bosoms;
the prodigious volume of writings that streamed day and night from His
pen, could not fail to fan into flame the animosity which smouldered in
the breasts of His _Sh_i'ah and Sunni enemies. Now that His residence was
transferred to the vicinity of the strongholds of _Sh_i'ah Islam, and He
Himself brought into direct and almost daily contact with the fanatical
pilgrims who thronged the holy places of Najaf, Karbila and Kazimayn, a
trial of strength between the growing brilliance of His glory and the dark
and embattled forces of religious fanaticism could no longer be delayed. A
spark was all that was required to ignite this combustible material of all
the accumulated hatreds, fears and jealousies which the revived activities
of the Babis had inspired. This was provided by a certain _Sh_ay_kh_
'Abdu'l-Husayn, a crafty and obstinate priest, whose consuming jealousy of
Baha'u'llah was surpassed only by his capacity to stir up mischief both
among those of high degree and also amongst the lowest of the low, Arab or
Persian, who thronged the streets and markets of Kazimayn, Karbila and
Ba_gh_dad. He it was whom Baha'u'llah had stigmatized in His Tablets by
such epithets as the "scoundrel," the "schemer," the "wicked one," who
"drew the sword of his self against the face of God," "in whose soul Satan
hath whispered," and "from whose impiety Satan flies," the "depraved one,"
"from whom originated and to whom will return all infidelity, cruelty and
crime." Largely through the efforts of the Grand Vizir, who wished to get
rid of him, this troublesome mujtahid had been commissioned by the _Sh_ah
to proceed to Karbila to repair the holy sites in that city. Watching for
his opportunity, he allied himself with Mirza Buzurg _Kh_an, a
newly-appointed Persian consul-general, who being of the same iniquitous
turn of mind as himself, a man of mean intelligence, insincere, without
foresight or honor, and a confirmed drunkard, soon fell a prey to the
influence of that vicious plotter, and became the willing instrument of
his designs.
Their first concerted endeavor was to obtain from the governor of
Ba_gh_dad, Mustafa Pa_sh_a, through a gross distortion of the truth, an
order for the extradition of Baha'u'llah and His companions, an effort
which miserably failed. Recognizing the futility of any attempt to achieve
his purpose through the intervention of the local authorities, _Sh_ay_kh_
'Abdu'l-Husayn began, through the sedulous circulation of dreams which he
first invented and then interpreted, to excite the passions of a
superstitious and highly inflammable population. The resentment engendered
by the lack of response he met with was aggravated by his ignominious
failure to meet the challenge of an interview pre-arranged between himself
and Baha'u'llah. Mirza Buzurg _Kh_an, on his part, used his influence in
order to arouse the animosity of the lower elements of the population
against the common Adversary, by inciting them to affront Him in public,
in the hope of provoking some rash retaliatory act that could be used as a
ground for false charges through which the desired order for Baha'u'llah's
extradition might be procured. This attempt too proved abortive, as the
presence of Baha'u'llah, Who, despite the warnings and pleadings of His
friends, continued to walk unescorted, both by day and by night, through
the streets of the city, was enough to plunge His would-be molesters into
consternation and shame. Well aware of their motives, He would approach
them, rally them on their intentions, joke with them, and leave them
covered with confusion and firmly resolved to abandon whatever schemes
they had in mind. The consul-general had even gone so far as to hire a
ruffian, a Turk, named Rida, for the sum of one hundred tumans, provide
him with a horse and with two pistols, and order him to seek out and kill
Baha'u'llah, promising him that his own protection would be fully assured.
Rida, learning one day that his would-be-victim was attending the public
bath, eluded the vigilance of the Babis in attendance, entered the bath
with a pistol concealed in his cloak, and confronted Baha'u'llah in the
inner chamber, only to discover that he lacked the courage to accomplish
his task. He himself, years later, related that on another occasion he was
lying in wait for Baha'u'llah, pistol in hand, when, on Baha'u'llah's
approach, he was so overcome with fear that the pistol dropped from his
hand; whereupon Baha'u'llah bade Aqay-i-Kalim, who accompanied Him, to
hand it back to him, and show him the way to his home.
Balked in his repeated attempts to achieve his malevolent purpose,
_Sh_ay_kh_ 'Abdu'l-Husayn now diverted his energies into a new channel. He
promised his accomplice he would raise him to the rank of a minister of
the crown, if he succeeded in inducing the government to recall
Baha'u'llah to Tihran, and cast Him again into prison. He despatched
lengthy and almost daily reports to the immediate entourage of the _Sh_ah.
He painted extravagant pictures of the ascendancy enjoyed by Baha'u'llah
by representing Him as having won the allegiance of the nomadic tribes of
'Iraq. He claimed that He was in a position to muster, in a day, fully one
hundred thousand men ready to take up arms at His bidding. He accused Him
of meditating, in conjunction with various leaders in Persia, an
insurrection against the sovereign. By such means as these he succeeded in
bringing sufficient pressure on the authorities in Tihran to induce the
_Sh_ah to grant him a mandate, bestowing on him full powers, and enjoining
the Persian 'ulamas and functionaries to render him every assistance. This
mandate the _Sh_ay_kh_ instantly forwarded to the ecclesiastics of Najaf
and Karbila, asking them to convene a gathering in Kazimayn, the place of
his residence. A concourse of _sh_ay_kh_s, mullas and mujtahids, eager to
curry favor with the sovereign, promptly responded. Upon being informed of
the purpose for which they had been summoned, they determined to declare a
holy war against the colony of exiles, and by launching a sudden and
general assault on it to destroy the Faith at its heart. To their
amazement and disappointment, however, they found that the leading
mujtahid amongst them, the celebrated _Sh_ay_kh_ Murtaday-i-Ansari, a man
renowned for his tolerance, his wisdom, his undeviating justice, his piety
and nobility of character, refused, when apprized of their designs, to
pronounce the necessary sentence against the Babis. He it was whom
Baha'u'llah later extolled in the "Lawh-i-Sultan," and numbered among
"those doctors who have indeed drunk of the cup of renunciation," and
"never interfered with Him," and to whom 'Abdu'l-Baha referred as "the
illustrious and erudite doctor, the noble and celebrated scholar, the seal
of seekers after truth." Pleading insufficient knowledge of the tenets of
this community, and claiming to have witnessed no act on the part of its
members at variance with the Qur'an, he, disregarding the remonstrances of
his colleagues, abruptly left the gathering, and returned to Najaf, after
having expressed, through a messenger, his regret to Baha'u'llah for what
had happened, and his devout wish for His protection.
Frustrated in their designs, but unrelenting in their hostility, the
assembled divines delegated the learned and devout Haji Mulla
Hasan-i-'Ammu, recognized for his integrity and wisdom, to submit various
questions to Baha'u'llah for elucidation. When these were submitted, and
answers completely satisfactory to the messenger were given, Haji Mulla
Hasan, affirming the recognition by the 'ulamas of the vastness of the
knowledge of Baha'u'llah, asked, as an evidence of the truth of His
mission, for a miracle that would satisfy completely all concerned.
"Although you have no right to ask this," Baha'u'llah replied, "for God
should test His creatures, and they should not test God, still I allow and
accept this request.... The 'ulamas must assemble, and, with one accord,
choose one miracle, and write that, after the performance of this miracle
they will no longer entertain doubts about Me, and that all will
acknowledge and confess the truth of My Cause. Let them seal this paper,
and bring it to Me. This must be the accepted criterion: if the miracle is
performed, no doubt will remain for them; and if not, We shall be
convicted of imposture." This clear, challenging and courageous reply,
unexampled in the annals of any religion, and addressed to the most
illustrious _Sh_i'ah divines, assembled in their time-honored stronghold,
was so satisfactory to their envoy that he instantly arose, kissed the
knee of Baha'u'llah, and departed to deliver His message. Three days later
he sent word that that august assemblage had failed to arrive at a
decision, and had chosen to drop the matter, a decision to which he
himself later gave wide publicity, in the course of his visit to Persia,
and even communicated it in person to the then Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Mirza Sa'id _Kh_an. "We have," Baha'u'llah is reported to have
commented, when informed of their reaction to this challenge, "through
this all-satisfying, all-embracing message which We sent, revealed and
vindicated the miracles of all the Prophets, inasmuch as We left the
choice to the 'ulamas themselves, undertaking to reveal whatever they
would decide upon." "If we carefully examine the text of the Bible,"
'Abdu'l-Baha has written concerning a similar challenge made later by
Baha'u'llah in the "Lawh-i-Sultan," "we see that the Divine Manifestation
never said to those who denied Him, 'whatever miracle you desire, I am
ready to perform, and I will submit to whatever test you propose.' But in
the Epistle to the _Sh_ah Baha'u'llah said clearly, 'Gather the 'ulamas
and summon Me, that the evidences and proofs may be established.'"
Seven years of uninterrupted, of patient and eminently successful
consolidation were now drawing to a close. A shepherdless community,
subjected to a prolonged and tremendous strain, from both within and
without, and threatened with obliteration, had been resuscitated, and
risen to an ascendancy without example in the course of its twenty years'
history. Its foundations reinforced, its spirit exalted, its outlook
transformed, its leadership safeguarded, its fundamentals restated, its
prestige enhanced, its enemies discomfited, the Hand of Destiny was
gradually preparing to launch it on a new phase in its checkered career,
in which weal and woe alike were to carry it through yet another stage in
its evolution. The Deliverer, the sole hope, and the virtually recognized
leader of this community, Who had consistently overawed the authors of so
many plots to assassinate Him, Who had scornfully rejected all the timid
advice that He should flee from the scene of danger, Who had firmly
declined repeated and generous offers made by friends and supporters to
insure His personal safety, Who had won so conspicuous a victory over His
antagonists--He was, at this auspicious hour, being impelled by the
resistless processes of His unfolding Mission, to transfer His residence
to the center of still greater preeminence, the capital city of the
Ottoman Empire, the seat of the Caliphate, the administrative center of
Sunni Islam, the abode of the most powerful potentate in the Islamic
world.
He had already flung a daring challenge to the sacerdotal order
represented by the eminent ecclesiastics residing in Najaf, Karbila and
Kazimayn. He was now, while in the vicinity of the court of His royal
adversary, to offer a similar challenge to the recognized head of Sunni
Islam, as well as to the sovereign of Persia, the trustee of the hidden
Imam. The entire company of the kings of the earth, and in particular the
Sultan and his ministers, were, moreover, to be addressed by Him, appealed
to and warned, while the kings of Christendom and the Sunni hierarchy were
to be severely admonished. Little wonder that the exiled Bearer of a
newly-announced Revelation should have, in anticipation of the future
splendor of the Lamp of His Faith, after its removal from 'Iraq, uttered
these prophetic words: "It will shine resplendently within another globe,
as predestined by Him who is the Omnipotent, the Ancient of Days. ...That
the Spirit should depart out of the body of 'Iraq is indeed a wondrous
sign unto all who are in heaven and all who are on earth. Erelong will ye
behold this Divine Youth riding upon the steed of victory. Then will the
hearts of the envious be seized with trembling."
The predestined hour of Baha'u'llah's departure from 'Iraq having now
struck, the process whereby it could be accomplished was set in motion.
The nine months of unremitting endeavor exerted by His enemies, and
particularly by _Sh_ay_kh_ 'Abdu'l-Husayn and his confederate Mirza Buzurg
_Kh_an, were about to yield their fruit. Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah and his
ministers, on the one hand, and the Persian Ambassador in Constantinople,
on the other, were incessantly urged to take immediate action to insure
Baha'u'llah's removal from Ba_gh_dad. Through gross misrepresentation of
the true situation and the dissemination of alarming reports a malignant
and energetic enemy finally succeeded in persuading the _Sh_ah to instruct
his foreign minister, Mirza Sa'id _Kh_an, to direct the Persian Ambassador
at the Sublime Porte, Mirza Husayn _Kh_an, a close friend of 'Ali Pa_sh_a,
the Grand Vizir of the Sultan, and of Fu'ad Pa_sh_a, the Minister of
foreign affairs, to induce Sultan 'Abdu'l-'Aziz to order the immediate
transfer of Baha'u'llah to a place remote from Ba_gh_dad, on the ground
that His continued residence in that city, adjacent to Persian territory
and close to so important a center of _Sh_i'ah pilgrimage, constituted a
direct menace to the security of Persia and its government.
Mirza Sa'id _Kh_an, in his communication to the Ambassador, stigmatized
the Faith as a "misguided and detestable sect," deplored Baha'u'llah's
release from the Siyah-_Ch_al, and denounced Him as one who did not cease
from "secretly corrupting and misleading foolish persons and ignorant
weaklings." "In accordance with the royal command," he wrote, "I, your
faithful friend, have been ordered ... to instruct you to seek, without
delay, an appointment with their Excellencies, the Sadr-i-'Azam and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs ... to request ... the removal of this source
of mischief from a center like Ba_gh_dad, which is the meeting-place of
many different peoples, and is situated near the frontiers of the
provinces of Persia." In that same letter, quoting a celebrated verse, he
writes: "'I see beneath the ashes the glow of fire, and it wants but
little to burst into a blaze,'" thus betraying his fears and seeking to
instill them into his correspondent.
Encouraged by the presence on the throne of a monarch who had delegated
much of his powers to his ministers, and aided by certain foreign
ambassadors and ministers in Constantinople, Mirza Husayn _Kh_an, by dint
of much persuasion and the friendly pressure he brought to bear on these
ministers, succeeded in securing the sanction of the Sultan for the
transfer of Baha'u'llah and His companions (who had in the meantime been
forced by circumstances to change their citizenship) to Constantinople. It
is even reported that the first request the Persian authorities made of a
friendly Power, after the accession of the new Sultan to the throne, was
for its active and prompt intervention in this matter.
It was on the fifth of Naw-Ruz (1863), while Baha'u'llah was celebrating
that festival in the Mazra'iy-i-Va_shsh_a_sh_, in the outskirts of
Ba_gh_dad, and had just revealed the "Tablet of the Holy Mariner," whose
gloomy prognostications had aroused the grave apprehensions of His
Companions, that an emissary of Namiq Pa_sh_a arrived and delivered into
His hands a communication requesting an interview between Him and the
governor.
Already, as Nabil has pointed out in his narrative, Baha'u'llah had, in
the course of His discourses, during the last years of His sojourn in
Ba_gh_dad, alluded to the period of trial and turmoil that was inexorably
approaching, exhibiting a sadness and heaviness of heart which greatly
perturbed those around Him. A dream which He had at that time, the ominous
character of which could not be mistaken, served to confirm the fears and
misgivings that had assailed His companions. "I saw," He wrote in a
Tablet, "the Prophets and the Messengers gather and seat themselves around
Me, moaning, weeping and loudly lamenting. Amazed, I inquired of them the
reason, whereupon their lamentation and weeping waxed greater, and they
said unto me: 'We weep for Thee, O Most Great Mystery, O Tabernacle of
Immortality!' They wept with such a weeping that I too wept with them.
Thereupon the Concourse on high addressed Me saying: '...Erelong shalt
Thou behold with Thine own eyes what no Prophet hath beheld.... Be
patient, be patient.'... They continued addressing Me the whole night
until the approach of dawn." "Oceans of sorrow," Nabil affirms, "surged in
the hearts of the listeners when the Tablet of the Holy Mariner was read
aloud to them.... It was evident to every one that the chapter of
Ba_gh_dad was about to be closed, and a new one opened, in its stead. No
sooner had that Tablet been chanted than Baha'u'llah ordered that the
tents which had been pitched should be folded up, and that all His
companions should return to the city. While the tents were being removed
He observed: 'These tents may be likened to the trappings of this world,
which no sooner are they spread out than the time cometh for them to be
rolled up.' From these words of His they who heard them perceived that
these tents would never again be pitched on that spot. They had not yet
been taken away when the messenger arrived from Ba_gh_dad to deliver the
afore-mentioned communication from the governor."
By the following day the Deputy-Governor had delivered to Baha'u'llah in a
mosque, in the neighborhood of the governor's house, 'Ali Pa_sh_a's
letter, addressed to Namiq Pa_sh_a, couched in courteous language,
inviting Baha'u'llah to proceed, as a guest of the Ottoman government, to
Constantinople, placing a sum of money at His disposal, and ordering a
mounted escort to accompany Him for His protection. To this request
Baha'u'llah gave His ready assent, but declined to accept the sum offered
Him. On the urgent representations of the Deputy that such a refusal would
offend the authorities, He reluctantly consented to receive the generous
allowance set aside for His use, and distributed it, that same day, among
the poor.
The effect upon the colony of exiles of this sudden intelligence was
instantaneous and overwhelming. "That day," wrote an eyewitness,
describing the reaction of the community to the news of Baha'u'llah's
approaching departure, "witnessed a commotion associated with the turmoil
of the Day of Resurrection. Methinks, the very gates and walls of the city
wept aloud at their imminent separation from the Abha Beloved. The first
night mention was made of His intended departure His loved ones, one and
all, renounced both sleep and food.... Not a soul amongst them could be
tranquillized. Many had resolved that in the event of their being deprived
of the bounty of accompanying Him, they would, without hesitation, kill
themselves.... Gradually, however, through the words which He addressed
them, and through His exhortations and His loving-kindness, they were
calmed and resigned themselves to His good-pleasure." For every one of
them, whether Arab or Persian, man or woman, child or adult, who lived in
Ba_gh_dad, He revealed during those days, in His own hand, a separate
Tablet. In most of these Tablets He predicted the appearance of the "Calf"
and of the "Birds of the Night," allusions to those who, as anticipated in
the Tablet of the Holy Mariner, and foreshadowed in the dream quoted
above, were to raise the standard of rebellion and precipitate the gravest
crisis in the history of the Faith.
Twenty-seven days after that mournful Tablet had been so unexpectedly
revealed by Baha'u'llah, and the fateful communication, presaging His
departure to Constantinople had been delivered into His hands, on a
Wednesday afternoon (April 22, 1863), thirty-one days after Naw-Ruz, on
the third of _Dh_i'l-Qadih, 1279 A.H., He set forth on the first stage of
His four months' journey to the capital of the Ottoman Empire. That
historic day, forever after designated as the first day of the Ridvan
Festival, the culmination of innumerable farewell visits which friends and
acquaintances of every class and denomination, had been paying him, was
one the like of which the inhabitants of Ba_gh_dad had rarely beheld. A
concourse of people of both sexes and of every age, comprising friends and
strangers Arabs, Kurds and Persians, notables and clerics, officials and
merchants, as well as many of the lower classes, the poor, the orphaned,
the outcast, some surprised, others heartbroken, many tearful and
apprehensive, a few impelled by curiosity or secret satisfaction, thronged
the approaches of His house, eager to catch a final glimpse of One Who,
for a decade, had, through precept and example, exercised so potent an
influence on so large a number of the heterogeneous inhabitants of their
city.
Leaving for the last time, amidst weeping and lamentation, His "Most Holy
Habitation," out of which had "gone forth the breath of the All-Glorious,"
and from which had poured forth, in "ceaseless strains," the "melody of
the All-Merciful," and dispensing on His way with a lavish hand a last
alms to the poor He had so faithfully befriended, and uttering words of
comfort to the disconsolate who besought Him on every side, He, at length,
reached the banks of the river, and was ferried across, accompanied by His
sons and amanuensis, to the Najibiyyih Garden, situated on the opposite
shore. "O My companions," He thus addressed the faithful band that
surrounded Him before He embarked, "I entrust to your keeping this city of
Ba_gh_dad, in the state ye now behold it, when from the eyes of friends
and strangers alike, crowding its housetops, its streets and markets,
tears like the rain of spring are flowing down, and I depart. With you it
now rests to watch lest your deeds and conduct dim the flame of love that
gloweth within the breasts of its inhabitants."
The muezzin had just raised the afternoon call to prayer when Baha'u'llah
entered the Najibiyyih Garden, where He tarried twelve days before His
final departure from the city. There His friends and companions, arriving
in successive waves, attained His presence and bade Him, with feelings of
profound sorrow, their last farewell. Outstanding among them was the
renowned Alusi, the Mufti of Ba_gh_dad, who, with eyes dimmed with tears,
execrated the name of Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah, whom he deemed to be primarily
responsible for so unmerited a banishment. "I have ceased to regard him,"
he openly asserted, "as Nasiri'd-Din (the helper of the Faith), but
consider him rather to be its wrecker." Another distinguished visitor was
the governor himself, Namiq Pa_sh_a, who, after expressing in the most
respectful terms his regret at the developments which had precipitated
Baha'u'llah's departure, and assuring Him of his readiness to aid Him in
any way he could, handed to the officer appointed to accompany Him a
written order, commanding the governors of the provinces through which the
exiles would be passing to extend to them the utmost consideration.
"Whatever you require," he, after profuse apologies, informed Baha'u'llah,
"you have but to command. We are ready to carry it out." "Extend thy
consideration to Our loved ones," was the reply to his insistent and
reiterated offers, "and deal with them with kindness"--a request to which
he gave his warm and unhesitating assent.
Small wonder that, in the face of so many evidences of deep-seated
devotion, sympathy and esteem, so strikingly manifested by high and low
alike, from the time Baha'u'llah announced His contemplated journey to the
day of His departure from the Najibiyyih Garden--small wonder that those
who had so tirelessly sought to secure the order for His banishment, and
had rejoiced at the success of their efforts, should now have bitterly
regretted their act. "Such hath been the interposition of God,"
'Abdu'l-Baha, in a letter written by Him from that garden, with reference
to these enemies, affirms, "that the joy evinced by them hath been turned
to chagrin and sorrow, so much so that the Persian consul-general in
Ba_gh_dad regrets exceedingly the plans and plots the schemers had
devised. Namiq Pa_sh_a himself, on the day he called on Him (Baha'u'llah)
stated: 'Formerly they insisted upon your departure. Now, however, they
are even more insistent that you should remain.'"