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 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, _Kh_ajih 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 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 Man_sh_iyyih.