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-_Sh_ay_kh_ 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 _Kh_urasan were strongly attached to him, for he was a great
scholar and among the most renowned 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 Ba_gh_dad 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
_Sh_ah, 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 _Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim. He became a
believer in _Sh_iraz, 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
_Sh_iraz and went to _Kh_urasan, and there, too, began 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.(2)
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 '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.