A woman chaste and holy, a sign and token of surpassing beauty, a burning
brand of the love of God, a lamp of His bestowal, was
Jinab-i-Tahirih.(116) She was called Umm-Salma; she was the daughter of
Haji Mulla Salih, a mujtahid of Qazvin, and her paternal uncle was Mulla
Taqi, the Imam-Jum'ih or leader of prayers in the cathedral mosque of that
city. They married her to Mulla Muhammad, the son of Mulla Taqi, and she
gave birth to three children, two sons and a daughter; all three were
bereft of the grace that encompassed their mother, and all failed to
recognize the truth of the Cause.
When she was still a child her father selected a teacher for her and she
studied various branches of knowledge and the arts, achieving remarkable
ability in literary pursuits. Such was the degree of her scholarship and
attainments that her father would often express his regret, saying, "Would
that she had been a boy, for he would have shed illumination upon my
household, and would have succeeded me!"(117)
One day she was a guest in the home of Mulla Javad, a cousin on her
mother's side, and there in her cousin's library she came upon some of the
writings of _Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i.(118) Delighted with what he had to
say, Tahirih asked to borrow the writings and take them home. Mulla Javad
violently objected, telling her: "Your father is an enemy of the Twin
Luminous Lights, _Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim. If he should even
dream that any words of those two great beings, any fragrance from the
garden of those realities, had come your way, he would make an attempt
against my life, and you too would become the target of his wrath."
Tahirih answered: "For a long time now, I have thirsted after this; I have
yearned for these explanations, these inner truths. Give me whatever you
have of these books. Never mind if it angers my father." Accordingly,
Mulla Javad sent over the writings of the _Sh_ay_kh_ and the Siyyid.
One night, Tahirih sought out her father in his library, and began to
speak of _Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad's teachings. The very moment he learned that his
daughter knew of the _Sh_ay_kh_i doctrines, Mulla Salih's denunciations
rang out, and he cried: "Javad has made you a lost soul!" Tahirih
answered, "The late _Sh_ay_kh_ was a true scholar of God, and I have
learned an infinity of spiritual truths from reading his books.
Furthermore, he bases whatever he says on the traditions of the Holy
Imams. You call yourself a mystic knower and a man of God, you consider
your respected uncle to be a scholar as well, and most pious--yet in
neither of you do I find a trace of those qualities!"
For some time, she carried on heated discussions with her father, debating
such questions as the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment, the
Night-Ascent of Muhammad to Heaven, the Promise and the Threat, and the
Advent of the Promised One.(119) Lacking arguments, her father would
resort to curses and abuse. Then one night, in support of her contention,
Tahirih quoted a holy tradition from the Imam Ja'far-i-Sadiq;(120) and
since it confirmed what she was saying, her father burst out laughing,
mocking the tradition. Tahirih said, "Oh my father, these are the words of
the Holy Imam. How can you mock and deny them?"
From that time on, she ceased to debate and contend with her father.
Meanwhile she entered into secret correspondence with Siyyid Kazim,
regarding the solution of complex theological problems, and thus it came
about that the Siyyid conferred on her the name "Solace of the Eyes"
(Qurratu'l-'Ayn); as for the title Tahirih ("The Pure One"), it was first
associated with her in Bada_sh_t, and was subsequently approved by the
Bab, and recorded in Tablets.
Tahirih had caught fire. She set out for Karbila, hoping to meet Siyyid
Kazim, but she arrived too late: ten days before she reached that city, he
passed away. Not long before his death the Siyyid had shared with his
disciples the good news that the promised Advent was at hand. "Go forth,"
he repeatedly told them, "and seek out your Lord." Thus the most
distinguished of his followers gathered for retirement and prayer, for
fasts and vigils, in the Masjid-i-Kufih, while some awaited the Advent in
Karbila. Among these was Tahirih, fasting by day, practicing religious
disciplines, and spending the night in vigils, and chanting prayers. One
night when it was getting along toward dawn she laid her head on her
pillow, lost all awareness of this earthly life, and dreamed a dream; in
her vision a youth, a Siyyid, wearing a black cloak and a green turban,
appeared to her in the heavens; he was standing in the air, reciting
verses and praying with his hands upraised. At once, she memorized one of
those verses, and wrote it down in her notebook when she awoke. After the
Bab had declared His mission, and His first book, "The Best of
Stories,"(121) was circulated, Tahirih was reading a section of the text
one day, and she came upon that same verse, which she had noted down from
the dream. Instantly offering thanks, she fell to her knees and bowed her
forehead to the ground, convinced that the Bab's message was truth.
This good news reached her in Karbila and she at once began to teach. She
translated and expounded "The Best of Stories," also writing in Persian
and Arabic, composing odes and lyrics, and humbly practicing her
devotions, performing even those that were optional and supernumerary.
When the evil 'ulamas in Karbila got wind of all this, and learned that a
woman was summoning the people to a new religion and had already
influenced a considerable number, they went to the Governor and lodged a
complaint. Their charges, to be brief, led to violent attacks on Tahirih,
and sufferings, which she accepted and for which she offered praise and
thanks. When the authorities came hunting for her they first assaulted
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha, mistaking her for Tahirih. As soon, however, as they
heard that Tahirih had been arrested they let _Sh_ams go--for Tahirih had
sent a message to the Governor saying, "I am at your disposal. Do not harm
any other."
The Governor set guards over her house and shut her away, writing
Ba_gh_dad for instructions as to how he should proceed. For three months,
she lived in a state of siege, completely isolated, with the guards
surrounding her house. Since the local authorities had still received no
reply from Ba_gh_dad, Tahirih referred her case to the Governor, saying:
"No word has come from either Ba_gh_dad or Constantinople. Accordingly, we
will ourselves proceed to Ba_gh_dad and await the answer there." The
Governor gave her leave to go, and she set out, accompanied by
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha and the Leaf of Paradise (the sister of Mulla Husayn) and
her mother. In Ba_gh_dad she stayed first in the house of _Sh_ay_kh_
Muhammad, the distinguished father of Aqa Muhammad-Mustafa. But so great
was the press of people around her that she transferred her residence to
another quarter, engaged night and day in spreading the Faith, and freely
associated with the inhabitants of Ba_gh_dad. She thus became celebrated
throughout the city and there was a great uproar.
Tahirih also maintained a correspondence with the 'ulamas of Kazimayn; she
presented them with unanswerable proofs, and when one or another appeared
before her she offered him convincing arguments. Finally she sent a
message to the _Sh_i'ih divines, saying to them: "If you are not satisfied
with these conclusive proofs, I challenge you to a trial by ordeal."(122)
Then there was a great outcry from the divines, and the Governor was
obliged to send Tahirih and her women companions to the house of
Ibn-i-Alusi, who was mufti of Ba_gh_dad. Here she remained about three
months, waiting for word and directions from Constantinople. Ibn-i-Alusi
would engage her in learned dialogues, questions would be asked and
answers given, and he would not deny what she had to say.
On a certain day the mufti related one of his dreams, and asked her to
tell him what it meant. He said: "In my dream I saw the _Sh_i'ih 'ulamas
arriving at the holy tomb of Imam Husayn, the Prince of Martyrs. They took
away the barrier that encloses the tomb, and they broke open the
resplendent grave, so that the immaculate body lay revealed to their gaze.
They sought to take up the holy form, but I cast myself down on the corpse
and I warded them off." Tahirih answered: "This is the meaning of your
dream: you are about to deliver me from the hands of the _Sh_i'ih
divines." "I too had interpreted it thus," said Ibn-i-Alusi.
Since he had discovered that she was well versed in learned questions and
in sacred commentaries and Texts, the two often carried on debates; she
would speak on such themes as the Day of Resurrection, the Balance, and
the Sirat,(123) and he would not turn away.
Then came a night when the father of Ibn-i-Alusi called at the house of
his son. He had a meeting with Tahirih and abruptly, without asking a
single question, began to curse, mock and revile her. Embarrassed at his
father's behavior, Ibn-i-Alusi apologized. Then he said: "The answer has
come from Constantinople. The King has commanded that you be set free, but
only on condition that you leave his realms. Go then, tomorrow, make your
preparations for the journey, and hasten away from this land."
Accordingly Tahirih, with her women companions, left the mufti's house,
saw to arranging for their travel gear, and went out of Ba_gh_dad. When
they left the city, a number of Arab believers, carrying arms, walked
along beside their convoy. Among the escort were _Sh_ay_kh_ Sultan,
_Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad and his distinguished son Muhammad-Mustafa, and
_Sh_ay_kh_ Salih, and these were mounted. It was _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad who
defrayed the expenses of the journey.
When they reached Kirman_sh_ah the women alighted at one house, the men at
another, and the inhabitants arrived in a continuous stream to seek
information as to the new Faith. Here as elsewhere the 'ulamas were soon
in a state of frenzy and they commanded that the newcomers be expelled. As
a result the kad-_kh_uda or chief officer of that quarter, with a band of
people, laid siege to the house where Tahirih was, and sacked it. Then
they placed Tahirih and her companions in an uncovered howdah and carried
them from the town to an open field, where they put the captives out. The
drivers then took their animals and returned to the city. The victims were
left on the bare ground, with no food, no shelter, and no means of
traveling on.
Tahirih at once wrote a letter to the prince of that territory, in which
she told him: "O thou just Governor! We were guests in your city. Is this
the way you treat your guests?" When her letter was brought to the
Governor of Kirman_sh_ah he said: "I knew nothing of this injustice. This
mischief was kindled by the divines." He immediately commanded the
kad-_kh_uda to return all the travelers' belongings. That official duly
surrendered the stolen goods, the drivers with their animals came back out
of the city, the travelers took their places and resumed the journey.
They arrived in Hamadan and here their stay was a happy one. The most
illustrious ladies of that city, even the princesses, would come to visit,
seeking the benefits of Tahirih's teaching. In Hamadan she dismissed a
part of her escort and sent them back to Ba_gh_dad, while she brought some
of them, including _Sh_amsu'd-Duha and _Sh_ay_kh_-Salih, along with her to
Qazvin.
As they traveled, some riders advanced to meet them, kinsmen of Tahirih's
from Qazvin, and they wished to lead her away alone, unescorted by the
others, to her father's house. Tahirih refused, saying: "These are in my
company." In this way they entered Qazvin. Tahirih proceeded to her
father's house, while the Arabs who had formed her escort alighted at a
caravanserai. Tahirih soon left her father and went to live with her
brother, and there the great ladies of the city would come to visit her;
all this until the murder of Mulla Taqi,(124) when every Babi in Qazvin
was taken prisoner. Some were sent to Tihran and then returned to Qazvin
and martyred.
Mulla Taqi's murder came about in this way: One day, when that besotted
tyrant had mounted his pulpit, he began to mock and revile the great
_Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i. Shamelessly, grossly, screaming obscenities, he
cried out: "That _Sh_ay_kh_ is the one who has kindled this fire of evil,
and subjected the whole world to this ordeal!" There was an inquirer in
the audience, a native of _Sh_iraz. He found the taunts, jeers and
indecencies to be more than he could bear. Under cover of darkness he
betook himself to the mosque, plunged a spearhead between the lips of
Mulla Taqi and fled. The next morning they arrested the defenseless
believers and thereupon subjected them to agonizing torture, though all
were innocent and knew nothing of what had come to pass. There was never
any question of investigating the case; the believers repeatedly declared
their innocence but no one paid them any heed. When a few days had passed
the killer gave himself up; he confessed to the authorities, informing
them that he had committed the murder because Mulla Taqi had vilified
_Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad. "I deliver myself into your hands," he told them, "so
that you will set these innocent people free." They arrested him as well,
put him in the stocks, chained him, and sent him in chains, along with the
others, to Tihran.
Once there he observed that despite his confession, the others were not
released. By night, he made his escape from the prison and went to the
house of Rida _Kh_an--that rare and precious man, that star-sacrifice among
the lovers of God--the son of Muhammad _Kh_an, Master of the Horse to
Muhammad _Sh_ah. He stayed there for a time, after which he and Rida
_Kh_an secretly rode away to the Fort of _Sh_ay_kh_ Tabarsi in
Mazindaran.(125) Muhammad _Kh_an sent riders after them to track them
down, but try as they might, no one could find them. Those two horsemen
got to the Fort of Tabarsi, where both of them won a martyr's death. As
for the other friends who were in the prison at Tihran, some of these were
returned to Qazvin and they too suffered martyrdom.
One day the administrator of finance, Mirza _Sh_afi, called in the
murderer and addressed him, saying: "Jinab, do you belong to a dervish
order, or do you follow the Law? If you are a follower of the Law, why did
you deal that learned mujtahid a cruel, a fatal blow in the mouth? If you
are a dervish and follow the Path, one of the rules of the Path is to harm
no man. How, then, could you slaughter that zealous divine?" "Sir," he
replied, "besides the Law, and besides the Path, we also have the Truth.
It was in serving the Truth that I paid him for his deed."(126)
These things would take place before the reality of this Cause was
revealed and all was made plain. For in those days no one knew that the
Manifestation of the Bab would culminate in the Manifestation of the
Blessed Beauty and that the law of retaliation would be done away with,
and the foundation-principle of the Law of God would be this, that "It is
better for you to be killed than to kill"; that discord and contention
would cease, and the rule of war and butchery would fall away. In those
days, that sort of thing would happen. But praised be God, with the advent
of the Blessed Beauty such a splendor of harmony and peace shone forth,
such a spirit of meekness and long-suffering, that when in Yazd men, women
and children were made the targets of enemy fire or were put to the sword,
when the leaders and the evil 'ulamas and their followers joined together
and unitedly assaulted those defenseless victims and spilled out their
blood--hacking at and rending apart the bodies of chaste women, with their
daggers slashing the throats of children they had orphaned, then setting
the torn and mangled limbs on fire--not one of the friends of God lifted a
hand against them. Indeed, among those martyrs, those real companions of
the ones who died, long gone, at Karbila--was a man who, when he saw the
drawn sword flashing over him, thrust sugar candy into his murderer's
mouth and cried, "With a sweet taste on your lips, put me to death--for you
bring me martyrdom, my dearest wish!"
Let us return to our theme. After the murder of her impious uncle, Mulla
Taqi, in Qazvin, Tahirih fell into dire straits. She was a prisoner and
heavy of heart, grieving over the painful events that had come to pass.
She was watched on every side, by attendants, guards, the farra_sh_es, and
her foes. While she languished thus, Baha'u'llah dispatched
Hadiy-i-Qazvini, husband of the celebrated _Kh_atun-Jan, from the capital,
and they managed, by a stratagem, to free her from that embroilment and
got her to Tihran in the night. She alighted at the mansion of Baha'u'llah
and was lodged in an upper apartment.
When word of this spread throughout Tihran, the Government hunted for her
high and low; nevertheless, the friends kept arriving to see her, in a
steady stream, and Tahirih, seated behind a curtain, would converse with
them. One day the great Siyyid Yahya, surnamed Vahid, was present there.
As he sat without, Tahirih listened to him from behind the veil. I was
then a child, and was sitting on her lap. With eloquence and fervor, Vahid
was discoursing on the signs and verses that bore witness to the advent of
the new Manifestation. She suddenly interrupted him and, raising her
voice, vehemently declared: "O Yahya! Let deeds, not words, testify to thy
faith, if thou art a man of true learning. Cease idly repeating the
traditions of the past, for the day of service, of steadfast action, is
come. Now is the time to show forth the true signs of God, to rend asunder
the veils of idle fancy, to promote the Word of God, and to sacrifice
ourselves in His path. Let deeds, not words, be our adorning!"
The Blessed Beauty made elaborate arrangements for Tahirih's journey to
Bada_sh_t and sent her off with an equipage and retinue. His own party
left for that region some days afterward.
In Bada_sh_t, there was a great open field. Through its center a stream
flowed, and to its right, left, and rear there were three gardens, the
envy of Paradise. One of those gardens was assigned to Quddus,(127) but
this was kept a secret. Another was set apart for Tahirih, and in a third
was raised the pavilion of Baha'u'llah. On the field amidst the three
gardens, the believers pitched their tents. Evenings, Baha'u'llah, Quddus
and Tahirih would come together. In those days the fact that the Bab was
the Qa'im had not yet been proclaimed; it was the Blessed Beauty, with
Quddus, Who arranged for the proclamation of a universal Advent and the
abrogation and repudiation of the ancient laws.
Then one day, and there was a wisdom in it, Baha'u'llah fell ill; that is,
the indisposition was to serve a vital purpose. On a sudden, in the sight
of all, Quddus came out of his garden, and entered the pavilion of
Baha'u'llah. But Tahirih sent him a message, to say that their Host being
ill, Quddus should visit her garden instead. His answer was: "This garden
is preferable. Come, then, to this one." Tahirih, with her face unveiled,
stepped from her garden, advancing to the pavilion of Baha'u'llah; and as
she came, she shouted aloud these words: "The Trumpet is sounding! The
great Trump is blown! The universal Advent is now proclaimed!"(128) The
believers gathered in that tent were panic struck, and each one asked
himself, "How can the Law be abrogated? How is it that this woman stands
here without her veil?"
"Read the Surih of the Inevitable,"(129) said Baha'u'llah; and the reader
began: "When the Day that must come shall have come suddenly... Day that
shall abase! Day that shall exalt!..." and thus was the new Dispensation
announced and the great Resurrection made manifest. At the start, those
who were present fled away, and some forsook their Faith, while some fell
a prey to suspicion and doubt, and a number, after wavering, returned to
the presence of Baha'u'llah. The Conference of Bada_sh_t broke up, but the
universal Advent had been proclaimed.
Afterward, Quddus hastened away to the Fort of Tabarsi(130) and the
Blessed Beauty, with provisions and equipment, journeyed to Niyala, having
the intention of going on from there by night, making His way through the
enemy encampment and entering the Fort. But Mirza Taqi, the Governor of
Amul, got word of this, and with seven hundred riflemen arrived in Niyala.
Surrounding the village by night, he sent Baha'u'llah with eleven riders
back to Amul, and those calamities and tribulations, told of before, came
to pass.
As for Tahirih, after the breakup at Bada_sh_t she was captured, and the
oppressors sent her back under guard to Tihran. There she was imprisoned
in the house of Mahmud _Kh_an, the Kalantar. But she was aflame, enamored,
restless, and could not be still. The ladies of Tihran, on one pretext or
another, crowded to see and listen to her. It happened that there was a
celebration at the Mayor's house for the marriage of his son; a nuptial
banquet was prepared, and the house adorned. The flower of Tihran's ladies
were invited, the princesses, the wives of vazirs and other great. A
splendid wedding it was, with instrumental music and vocal melodies--by day
and night the lute, the bells and songs. Then Tahirih began to speak; and
so bewitched were the great ladies that they forsook the cithern and the
drum and all the pleasures of the wedding feast, to crowd about Tahirih
and listen to the sweet words of her mouth.
Thus she remained, a helpless captive. Then came the attempt on the life
of the _Sh_ah;(131) a farman was issued; she was sentenced to death.
Saying she was summoned to the Prime Minister's, they arrived to lead her
away from the Kalantar's house. She bathed her face and hands, arrayed
herself in a costly dress, and scented with attar of roses she came out of
the house.
They brought her into a garden, where the headsmen waited; but these
wavered and then refused to end her life. A slave was found, far gone in
drunkenness; besotted, vicious, black of heart. And he strangled Tahirih.
He forced a scarf between her lips and rammed it down her throat. Then
they lifted up her unsullied body and flung it in a well, there in the
garden, and over it threw down earth and stones. But Tahirih rejoiced; she
had heard with a light heart the tidings of her martyrdom; she set her
eyes on the supernal Kingdom and offered up her life.
Salutations be unto her, and praise. Holy be her dust, as the tiers of
light come down on it from Heaven.