In all these straits, Aqa Faraj was the companion of Abu'l-Qasim. When, in
Persian 'Iraq, he first heard the uproar caused by the Advent of the Most
Great Light, he shook and trembled, clapped his hands, cried out in
exultation and hastened off to 'Iraq. Overcome with delight, he entered
the presence of his holy Lord. He was gathered into the loving fellowship,
and blissfully received the honor of attending upon Baha'u'llah. Then he
returned, bearing glad tidings to Sultan-Abad.
Here the malevolent were lying in wait, and disturbances broke out, with
the result that the sainted Mulla-Ba_sh_i and some other believers who had
none to defend them were struck down and put to death. Aqa Faraj and
Abu'l-Qasim, who had gone into hiding, then hurried away to Adrianople, to
fall, ultimately, with the others and with their Well-Beloved, into the
Akka prison.
Aqa Faraj then won the honor of waiting upon the Ancient Beauty. He served
the Holy Threshold at all times and was a comfort to the friends. During
the days of Baha'u'llah he was His loyal servitor, and a close companion
to the believers, and so it was after Baha'u'llah's departure: he remained
true to the Covenant, and in the domain of servitude he stood like a
towering palm; a noble, superior man, patient in dire adversity, content
under all conditions.
Strong in faith, in devotion, he left this life and set his face toward
the Kingdom of God, to become the object of endless grace. Upon him be
God's mercy and good pleasure, in His Paradise. Greetings be unto him, and
praise, in the meadows of Heaven. The Consort of the King of Martyrs
Among the women who came out of their homeland was the sorrowing
Fatimih(100) Begum, widow of the King of Martyrs. She was a holy leaf of
the Tree of God. From her earliest youth she was beset with uncounted
ordeals. First was the disaster which overtook her noble father in the
environs of Bada_sh_t, when, after terrible suffering, he died in a desert
caravanserai, died hard--helpless and far from home.
The child was left an orphan, and in distress, until, by God's grace, she
became the wife of the King of Martyrs. But since he was known everywhere
as a Baha'i, was an impassioned lover of Baha'u'llah, a man distracted,
carried away, and since Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah thirsted for blood--the hostile
lurked in their ambush, and every day they informed against him and
slandered him afresh, started a new outcry and set new mischief afoot. For
this reason his family was never sure of his safety for a single day, but
lived from moment to moment in anguish, foreseeing and dreading the hour
of his martyrdom. Here was the family, everywhere known as Baha'is; their
enemies, stony-hearted tyrants; their government inflexibly, permanently
against them; their reigning Sovereign rabid for blood.
It is obvious how life would be for such a household. Every day there was
a new incident, more turmoil, another uproar, and they could not draw a
breath in peace. Then, he was martyred. The Government proved brutal and
savage to such a degree that the human race cried out and trembled. All
his possessions were stripped away and plundered, and his family lacked
even their daily bread.
Fatimih spent her nights in weeping; till dawn broke, her only companions
were tears. Whenever she gazed on her children, she would sigh, wearing
away like a candle in devouring grief. But then she would thank God, and
she would say: "Praised be the Lord, these agonies, these broken fortunes
are on Baha'u'llah's account, for His dear sake." She would call to mind
the defenseless family of the martyred Husayn, and what calamities they
were privileged to bear in the pathway of God. And as she pondered those
events, her heart would leap up, and she would cry, "Praise be to God! We
too have become companions of the Prophet's Household."(101)
Because the family was in such straits, Baha'u'llah directed them to come
to the Most Great Prison so that, sheltered in these precincts of
abounding grace, they might be compensated for all that had passed. Here
for a time she lived, joyful, thankful, and praising God. And although the
son of the King of Martyrs, Mirza 'Abdu'l-Husayn, died in the prison,
still his mother, Fatimih, accepted this, resigned herself to the will of
God, did not so much as sigh or cry out, and did not go into mourning. Not
a word did she utter to bespeak her grief.
This handmaid of God was infinitely patient, dignified and reserved, and
at all times thankful. But then Baha'u'llah left the world, and this was
the supreme affliction, the ultimate anguish, and she could endure no
more. The shock and alarm were such that like a fish taken from the water
she writhed on the ground, trembled and shook as if her whole being
quaked, until at last she took leave of her children and she died. She
rose up into the shadowing mercy of God and was plunged in an ocean of
light. Unto her be salutations and praise, compassion and glory. May God
make sweet her resting-place with the outpourings of His heavenly mercy;
in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree(102) may He honor her dwelling.