This honored man, Mirza Mihdi, was from Ka_sh_an. 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 _sh_ikastih.(54) 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 Ka_sh_an, 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, 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 Ka_sh_an. But again, he was plagued
by yearning love, and could bear the separation no more. He returned,
therefore, to Ba_gh_dad, bringing with him his respected sister, the third
consort(55) .
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 Ba_gh_dad
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 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.(56) Unto him be salutations and praise. His fragrant
tomb is in Akka.