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 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 A_dh_irbayjan, 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 _Sh_ay_kh_
Ahmad-i-_Kh_urasani, came to A_dh_irbayjan 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 farra_sh_es 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 _Sh_ay_kh_ 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 _Sh_ay_kh_ 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 of his
Lord. Blessedness be his, and a goodly home.(86) To him be tidings of
great joy, from the Lord of Lords. May God grant him an exalted station,
in that high Company.