_Kh_ur_sh_id Begum, who was given the title of _Sh_amsu'd-Duha,(105) the
Morning Sun, was mother-in-law to the King of Martyrs. This eloquent,
ardent handmaid of God was the cousin on her father's side of the famous
Muhammad-Baqir of Isfahan, widely celebrated as chief of the 'ulamas in
that city. When still a child she lost both her parents, and was reared by
her grandmother in the home of that famed and learned mujtahid, and well
trained in various branches of knowledge, in theology, sciences and the
arts.
Once she was grown, she was married to Mirza Hadiy-i-Nahri; and since she
and her husband were both strongly attracted to the mystical teachings of
that great luminary, the excellent and distinguished Siyyid
Kazim-i-Ra_sh_ti,(106) they left for Karbila, accompanied by Mirza Hadi's
brother, Mirza Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Nahri.(107) Here they used to attend the
Siyyid's classes, imbibing his knowledge, so that this handmaid became
thoroughly informed on subjects relating to Divinity, on the Scriptures
and on their inner meanings. The couple had two children, a girl and a
boy. They called their son Siyyid 'Ali and their daughter Fatimih Begum,
she being the one who, when she reached adolescence, was married to the
King of Martyrs.
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha was there in Karbila when the cry of the exalted Lord was
raised in _Sh_iraz, and she shouted back, "Yea, verily!" As for her
husband and his brother, they immediately set out for _Sh_iraz; for both
of them, when visiting the Shrine of Imam Husayn, had looked upon the
beauty of the Primal Point, the Bab; both had been astonished at what they
saw in that transplendent face, in those heavenly attributes and ways, and
had agreed that One such as this must indeed be some very great being.
Accordingly, the moment they learned of His Divine summons, they answered:
"Yea, verily!" and they burst into flame with yearning love for God.
Besides, they had been present every day in that holy place where the late
Siyyid taught, and had clearly heard him say: "The Advent is nigh, the
affair most subtle, most elusive. It behoves each one to search, to
inquire, for it may be that the Promised One is even now present among
men, even now visible, while all about Him are heedless, unmindful, with
bandaged eyes, even as the sacred traditions have foretold."
When the two brothers arrived in Persia they heard that the Bab had gone
to Mecca on a pilgrimage. Siyyid Muhammad-'Ali therefore left for Isfahan
and Mirza Hadi returned to Karbila. Meanwhile _Sh_amsu'd-Duha had become
friends with the "Leaf of Paradise," sister to Mulla Husayn, the
Babu'l-Bab.(108) Through that lady she had met Tahirih,
Qurratu'l-'Ayn,(109) and had begun to spend most of her time in close
companionship with them both, occupied in teaching the Faith. Since this
was in the early days of the Cause, the people were not yet afraid of it.
From being with Tahirih, _Sh_ams profited immeasurably, and was more on
fire with the Faith than ever. She spent three years in close association
with Tahirih in Karbila. Day and night, she was stirred like the sea by
the gales of the All-Merciful, and she taught with an eloquent tongue.
As Tahirih became celebrated throughout Karbila, and the Cause of His
Supreme Holiness, the Bab, spread all over Persia, the latter-day 'ulamas
arose to deny, to heap scorn upon, and to destroy it. They issued a fatva
or judgment that called for a general massacre. Tahirih was one of those
designated by the evil 'ulamas of the city as an unbeliever, and they
mistakenly thought her to be in the home of _Sh_amsu'd-Duha. They broke
into _Sh_ams's house, hemmed her in, abused and vilified her, and
inflicted grievous bodily harm. They dragged her out of the house and
through the streets to the bazar; they beat her with clubs; they stoned
her, they denounced her in foul language, repeatedly assaulting her. While
this was going on, Haji Siyyid Mihdi, the father of her distinguished
husband, reached the scene. "This woman is not Tahirih!" he shouted at
them. But he had no witness to prove it,(110) and the farra_sh_es, the
police and the mob would not let up. Then, through the uproar, a voice
screamed out: "They have arrested Qurratu'l-'Ayn!" At this, the people
abandoned _Sh_amsu'd-Duha.
Guards were placed at the door of Tahirih's house and no one was allowed
to enter or leave, while the authorities waited for instructions from
Ba_gh_dad and Constantinople. As the interval of waiting lengthened out,
Tahirih asked for permission to leave for Ba_gh_dad. "Let us go there
ourselves," she told them. "We are resigned to everything. Whatever
happens to us is the best that can happen, and the most pleasing." With
government permission, Tahirih, the Leaf of Paradise, her mother and
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha all left Karbila and traveled to Ba_gh_dad, but the
snake-like mass of the populace followed them for some distance, stoning
them from a little way off.
When they reached Ba_gh_dad they went to live at the house of _Sh_ay_kh_
Muhammad-i-_Sh_ibl, the father of Muhammad-Mustafa; and since many crowded
the doors there was an uproar throughout that quarter, so that Tahirih
transferred her residence elsewhere, to a lodging of her own, where she
continually taught the Faith, and proclaimed the Word of God. Here the
'ulamas, _sh_ay_kh_s and others would come to listen to her, asking their
questions and receiving her replies, and she was soon remarkably well
known throughout Ba_gh_dad, expounding as she would the most recondite and
subtle of theological themes.
When word of this reached the government authorities, they conveyed
Tahirih, _Sh_amsu'd-Duha and the Leaf to the house of the Mufti, and here
they remained three months until word as to their case was received from
Constantinople. During Tahirih's stay at the Mufti's, much of the time was
spent in conversations with him, in producing convincing proofs as to the
Teachings, analyzing and expounding questions relative to the Lord God,
discoursing on the Resurrection Day, on the Balance and the
Reckoning,(111) unraveling the complexities of inner truths.
One day the Mufti's father came in and belabored them violently and at
length. This somewhat discomfited the Mufti and he began to apologize for
his father. Then he said: "Your answer has arrived from Constantinople.
The Sovereign has set you free, but on condition that you quit his
realms." The next morning they left the Mufti's house and proceeded to the
public baths. Meanwhile _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad-i-_Sh_ibl and _Sh_ay_kh_
Sultan-i-'Arab made the necessary preparations for their journey, and when
three days had passed, they left Ba_gh_dad; that is, Tahirih,
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha, the Leaf of Paradise, the mother of Mirza Hadi, and a
number of Siyyids from Yazd set out for Persia. Their travel expenses were
all provided by _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad.
They arrived at Kirman_sh_ah, where the women took up residence in one
house, the men in another. The work of teaching went on at all times, and
as soon as the 'ulamas became aware of it they ordered that the party be
expelled. At this the district head, with a crowd of people, broke into
the house and carried off their belongings; then they seated the travelers
in open howdahs and drove them from the city. When they came to a field,
the muleteers set them down on the bare ground and left, taking animals
and howdahs away, leaving them without food or luggage, and with no roof
over their heads.
Tahirih thereupon wrote a letter to the Governor of Kirman_sh_ah. "We were
travelers," she wrote, "guests in your city. 'Honor thy guest,' the
Prophet says, 'though he be an unbeliever.' Is it right that a guest
should be thus scorned and despoiled?" The Governor ordered that the
stolen goods be restored, and that all be returned to the owners.
Accordingly the muleteers came back as well, seated the travelers in the
howdahs again, and they went on to Hamadan. The ladies of Hamadan, even
the princesses, came every day to meet with Tahirih, who remained in that
city two months.(112) There she dismissed some of her traveling
companions, so that they could return to Ba_gh_dad; others, however,
accompanied her to Qazvin.
As they journeyed, some horsemen, kinsfolk of Tahirih's, that is, her
brothers, approached. "We have come," they said, "at our father's command,
to lead her away, alone." But Tahirih refused, and accordingly the whole
party remained together until they arrived in Qazvin. Here, Tahirih went
to her father's house and the friends, those who had ridden and those who
had traveled on foot, put up at a caravanserai. Mirza Hadi, the husband of
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha, had gone to Mah-Ku, seeking out the Bab. On his return,
he awaited the arrival of _Sh_ams in Qazvin, after which the couple left
for Isfahan, and when they reached there, Mirza Hadi journeyed on to
Bada_sh_t. In that hamlet and its vicinity he was attacked, tormented,
even stoned, and was subjected to such ordeals that finally, in a ruined
caravanserai, he died. His brother, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, buried him there,
along the roadside.
_Sh_ams-i-Duha remained in Isfahan. She spent her days and nights in the
remembrance of God and in teaching His Cause to the women of that city.
She was gifted with an eloquent tongue; her utterance was wonderful to
hear. She was highly honored by the leading women of Isfahan, celebrated
for piety, for godliness, and the purity of her life. She was chastity
embodied; all her hours were spent in reciting Holy Writ, or expounding
the Texts, or unraveling the most complex of spiritual themes, or
spreading abroad the sweet savors of God.
It was for these reasons that the King of Martyrs married her respected
daughter and became her son-in-law. And when _Sh_ams went to live in his
princely house, day and night the people thronged its doors, for the
leading women of the city, whether friends or strangers, whether close to
her or not, would come and go. For she was a fire lit by the love of God,
and she proclaimed the Word of God with great ardor and verve, so that she
became known among the non-believers as Fatimih, the Baha'is' Lady of
Light.(113)
And so time passed, until the day when the "She-Serpent" and the "Wolf"
conspired together and issued a decree, a fatva, that sentenced the King
of Martyrs to death. They plotted as well with the Governor of the city so
that among them they could sack and plunder and carry off all that vast
treasure he possessed. Then the _Sh_ah joined forces with those two wild
animals; and he commanded that the blood of both brothers, the King of
Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs, be spilled out. Without warning, those
ruthless men: the She-Serpent, the Wolf, and their brutal farra_sh_es and
constabulary--attacked; they chained the two brothers and led them off to
prison, looted their richly furnished houses, wrested away all their
possessions, and spared no one, not even infants at the breast. They
tortured, cursed, reviled, mocked, beat the kin and others of the victims'
household, and would not stay their hands.
In Paris, Zillu's-Sultan(114) related the following, swearing to the truth
of it upon his oath: "Many and many a time I warned those two great scions
of the Prophet's House, but all to no avail. At the last I summoned them
one night, and with extreme urgency I told them in so many words:
'Gentlemen, the _Sh_ah has three times condemned you to death. His farmans
keep on coming. The decree is absolute and there is only one course open
to you now: you must, in the presence of the 'ulamas, clear yourselves and
curse your Faith.' Their answer was: 'Ya Baha'u'l-Abha! O Thou Glory of
the All-Glorious! May our lives be offered up!' Finally I agreed to their
not cursing their Faith. I told them all they had to say was, 'We are not
Baha'is.' 'Just those few words,' I said, 'will be enough; then I can
write out my report for the _Sh_ah, and you will be saved.' 'That is
impossible,' they answered, 'because we are Baha'is. O Thou Glory of the
All-Glorious, our hearts hunger for martyrdom! Ya Baha'u'l-Abha!' I was
enraged, then, and I tried, by being harsh with them, to force them to
renounce their Faith, but it was hopeless. The decree of the rapacious
She-Serpent and Wolf, and the _Sh_ah's commands, were carried out."
After those two were martyred, _Sh_amsu'd-Duha was hunted down, and had to
seek a refuge in her brother's house. Although he was not a believer, he
was known in Isfahan as an upright, pious and godly man, a man of
learning, an ascetic who, hermit-like, kept to himself, and for these
reasons he was highly regarded and trusted by all. She stayed there with
him, but the Government did not abandon its search, finally discovered her
whereabouts and summoned her to appear; the evil 'ulamas had a hand in
this, joining forces with the civil authorities. Her brother was therefore
obliged to accompany _Sh_amsu'd-Duha to the Governor's house. He remained
without, while they sent his sister into the women's apartments; the
Governor came there, to the door, and he kicked and trampled her so
savagely that she fainted away. Then the Governor shouted to his wife:
"Princess! Princess! Come here and take a look at the Baha'is' Lady of
Light!"
The women lifted her up and put her in one of the rooms. Meanwhile her
brother, dumbfounded, was waiting outside the mansion. Finally, trying to
plead with him, he said to the Governor: "This sister of mine has been
beaten so severely that she is at the point of death. What is the use of
keeping her here? There is no hope for her now. With your permission I can
get her back to my house. It would be better to have her die there, rather
than here, for after all, she is a descendant of the Prophet, she is of
Muhammad's noble line, and she has done no wrong. There is nothing against
her except her kinship to the son-in-law." The Governor answered: "She is
one of the great leaders and heroines of the Baha'is. She will simply
cause another uproar." The brother said: "I promise you that she will not
utter a word. It is certain that within a few days she will not even be
alive. Her body is frail, weak, almost lifeless, and she has suffered
terrible harm."
Since the brother was greatly respected and trusted by high and low alike,
the Governor released _Sh_amsu'd-Duha in his custody, letting her go. She
lived for a while in his house, crying out, grieving, shedding her tears,
mourning her dead. Neither was the brother at peace, nor would the hostile
leave them alone; there was some new turmoil every day, and public clamor.
The brother finally thought it best to take _Sh_ams away on a pilgrimage
to Ma_sh_had, hoping that the fire of civil disturbances would die down.
They went to Ma_sh_had and settled in a vacant house near the Shrine of
the Imam Rida.(115)
Because he was such a pious man the brother would leave every morning to
visit the Shrine, and there he would stay, busy with his devotions until
almost noon. In the afternoon as well, he would hasten away to the Holy
Place, and pray until evening. The house being empty, _Sh_amsu'd-Duha
managed to get in touch with various women believers and began to
associate with them; and because the love of God burned so brightly in her
heart she was unable to keep silent, so that during those hours when her
brother was absent the place came alive. The Baha'i women would flock
there and absorb her lucid and eloquent speech.
In those days life in Ma_sh_had was hard for the believers, with the
malevolent always on the alert; if they so much as suspected an
individual, they murdered him. There was no security of any kind, no
peace. But _Sh_amsu'd-Duha could not help herself: in spite of all the
terrible ordeals she had endured, she ignored the danger, and was capable
of flinging herself into flames, or into the sea. Since her brother
frequented no one, he knew nothing of what was going on. Day and night he
would only leave the house for the Shrine, the Shrine for the house; he
was a recluse, had no friends, and would not so much as speak to another
person. Nevertheless there came a day when he saw that trouble had broken
out in the city, and he knew it would end in serious harm. He was a man so
calm and silent that he did not reproach his sister; he simply took her
away from Ma_sh_had without warning, and they returned to Isfahan. Here,
he sent her to her daughter, the widow of the King of Martyrs, for he
would no longer shelter her under his roof.
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha was thus back in Isfahan, boldly teaching the Faith and
spreading abroad the sweet savors of God. So vehement was the fiery love
in her heart that it compelled her to speak out, whenever she found a
listening ear. And when it was observed that once again the household of
the King of Martyrs was about to be overtaken by calamities, and that they
were enduring severe afflictions there in Isfahan, Baha'u'llah desired
them to come to the Most Great Prison. _Sh_amsu'd-Duha, with the widow of
the King of Martyrs and the children, arrived in the Holy Land. Here they
were joyously spending their days when the son of the King of Martyrs,
Mirza 'Abdu'l-Husayn, as a result of the awful suffering he had been
subjected to in Isfahan, came down with tuberculosis and died in Akka.
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha was heavy of heart. She mourned his absence, she wasted
away with longing for him, and it was all much harder because then the
Supreme Affliction came upon us, the crowning anguish. The basis of her
life was undermined; candle-like, she was consumed with grieving. She grew
so feeble that she took to her bed, unable to move. Still, she did not
rest, nor keep silent for a moment. She would tell of days long gone, of
things that had come to pass in the Cause, or she would recite from Holy
Writ, or she would supplicate, and chant her prayers--until, out of the
Most Great Prison, she soared away to the world of God. She hastened away
from this dust gulf of perdition to an unsullied country; packed her gear
and journeyed to the land of lights. Unto her be salutations and praise,
and most great mercy, sheltered in the compassion of her omnipotent Lord.