WHERE THE ARAS FLOWS
Over the banks of Aras shouldst thou, O Zephyr, pass,
Kiss the earth of that vale and refreshen thy breath thereby.
--Ḥáfiẓ
Máh-Kú,[CY] a town of the province of Á[_dh_]arbáyján, is in the
extreme north-west of Írán, close to the point where the Russo-Turkish
frontiers meet. Within a short distance of the town of Máh-Kú and its
bleak fortress perched on a mountain peak above, the Aras flows, the
Araxes of the Greeks. Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí contrived to have the Báb
banished to this remote corner of the land, well away from the
capital, and well away from the areas where His Faith was born and
nurtured. But the road to Máh-Kú was through Tabríz, the second city
of the realm and the seat of the Crown Prince.
[Footnote CY: Also Mákú or Má-Kúh.]
The same horsemen, still under the command of Muḥammad Big, were
given the task of escorting the Báb to Tabríz. They had, by then,
become greatly devoted to Him. His utter kindness coupled with His
majesty of bearing had totally captivated them. Two of the followers
of the Báb were allowed to remain with Him: Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí
and his brother, Siyyid Ḥasan.
On the road north, one of the halting-places was the village of
Síyáh-Dihán, close by Qazvín. There the Báb addressed a letter to the
Grand Vizier, and also wrote to some of the leading divines of Qazvín,
including the father and the uncle of Qurratu'l-`Ayn. A number of the
Bábís attained His presence in the village of Síyáh-Dihán during His
one night there, and among these was Mullá Iskandar of Zanján, the
same man who had visited [_Sh_]íráz as Ḥujjat's emissary to learn
what he could about the Báb. Now the Báb entrusted to him a letter for
Ḥájí Sulaymán [_Kh_]án-i-Af[_sh_]ár, who happened to be in Zanján;
he had been a fervent supporter of Siyyid Káẓim-i-Ra[_sh_]tí. To
him the Báb wrote:
He whose virtues the late siyyid unceasingly extolled, and
to the approach of whose Revelation he continually alluded,
is now revealed. I am that promised One. Arise and deliver
Me from the hand of the oppressor.[1]
Ḥájí Sulaymán [_Kh_]án received the letter within three days, but
did not heed it and left for the capital.
At that time Hujjat[CZ] was in Ṭihrán, kept there under
surveillance. But the moment he heard of the Báb's letter to Sulaymán
[_Kh_]án, he sent a message to the Bábís of Zanján to march out and
rescue the Báb. A sizable number of Bábís from Ḥujjat's native town
and from Qazvín and Ṭihrán came together and made a concerted
effort to carry out their daring scheme. At midnight they reached the
spot where the Báb and His escort were bivouacked. The guards were
asleep and there was every opportunity to escape. But the Báb told His
would-be rescuers that He would not run away. 'The mountains of
A[_dh_]irbáyján too have their claims.'[2]
[Footnote CZ: See pp. 100-102.]
Before His mission reached its end Muḥammad Big came to believe in the
Báb.[DA] Grief-stricken he went to the Báb and asked to be forgiven:
'The journey from Iṣfahán has been long and arduous. I have failed to do
my duty and to serve You as I ought. I crave Your forgiveness, and pray
You to vouchsafe me Your blessings.' To this the Báb replied: 'Be
assured. I account you a member of My fold. They who embrace My Cause
will eternally bless and glorify you, will extol your conduct and exalt
your name.'[3] Later, Muḥammad Big met Ḥájí Mírzá Jání once again, and
recounted for him the story of that journey to Tabríz. The Ká[_sh_]ání
merchant included Muḥammad Big's story in his chronicle, and Mírzá
Ḥusayn-i-Hamadání, the author of the _Táríkh-i-Jadíd_ (_The New
History_) in turn made use of it in his own work:
... we proceeded to Mílán,[DB] where many of the inhabitants
came to see His Holiness, and were filled with wonder at the
majesty and dignity of that Lord of mankind. In the morning,
as we were setting out from Mílán, an old woman brought a
scald-headed child, whose head was so covered with scabs
that it was white down to the neck, and entreated His
Holiness to heal him. The guards would have forbidden her,
but His Holiness prevented them, and called the child to
him. Then he drew a handkerchief over its head and repeated
certain words; which he had no sooner done than the child
was healed. And in that place about two hundred persons
believed and underwent a true and sincere conversion ... on
leaving Mílán, while we were on the road His Holiness
suddenly urged his horse into so swift a gallop that all the
horsemen composing the escort were filled with amazement,
seeing that his steed was the leanest of all. We galloped
after him as hard as we could, but were unable to come up
with him, though the horsemen were filled with apprehension
lest he should effect his escape. Presently he reined in his
horse of his own accord, and, so soon as we came up to him,
said with a smile, 'Were I desirous of escaping, you could
not prevent me.' And indeed it was even as he said; had he
desired in the least degree to escape, none could have
prevented him, and under all circumstances he shewed himself
endowed with more than human strength. For example, we were
all practised horsemen inured to travel, yet, by reason of
the cold and our weariness, we were at times hardly able to
keep our saddles, while he, on the other hand, during all
this period shewed no sign of faintness or weariness, but,
from the time when he mounted till he alighted at the end of
the stage, would not so much as change his posture or shift
his seat.[4]
[Footnote DA: Muḥammad Big's son, named `Alí-Akbar Big,
became, in future years, a follower of Bahá'u'lláh. Mírzá
Abu'l-Faḍl met him in Ṭihrán and heard from him how it
happened that his father came to accept the Báb.]
[Footnote DB: A village in the vicinity of Tabríz.]
The stage beyond the village of Mílán was the city of Tabríz itself.
As the news spread that the Báb was approaching the city, the Bábís
there tried to go out to meet him, but they were stopped and sent
back. Only a youth managed to break through the cordon of guards and
soldiers. Barefooted, he ran more than a mile till he reached the Báb
and His escort. Such was the state of his ecstasy that he flung
himself forward in the path of one of the horsemen, caught the hem of
his cloak and eagerly and fervently kissed his stirrup. Addressing
them all, he cried out: 'Ye are the companions of my Well-Beloved. I
cherish you as the apple of my eye.'[5] And when he came into the
presence of the Báb, he fell prostrate on the ground and
unrestrainedly wept. The Báb dismounted, raised him up, embraced him
and wiped his tears.
The Báb's entry into Tabríz, the scene three years later of His
martyrdom in its public square, bears close resemblance to the entry
of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, less than a week before He was
led to Golgotha to be crucified.
And they that went before, and they that followed, cried,
saying, Hosanna! Blessed _is_ he that cometh in the name of
the Lord!
Blessed _be_ the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in
the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest![DC]
[Footnote DC: Mark xi, 9-10.]
That is how St. Mark recounts the joy of the people who gave Jesus a
regal welcome into Jerusalem.
When the Báb was brought into Tabríz the streets were crowded, and
amongst the surging mass were Bábís who had been deprived of coming
close to their Master; but vast numbers were there who were not His
followers. Those narrow thoroughfares echoed with the cry of
`Alláh-u-Akbar'--God is the Greatest--the opening line of the
A[_dh_]án, the call to prayer which every devout Muslim repeats time
and again in the course of his devotions. Officials were alarmed by
this wonderful and unprecedented reception, and sent town criers to
warn the people against attempting to gain access to the Siyyid-i-Báb.
`Abdu'l-Bahá states that the Báb was kept for forty days in Tabríz.[6]
During that time He was strictly secluded, and His only visitors were
Ḥájí Muḥammad-Taqíy-i-Mílání, a well-known merchant, and Ḥájí
`Alí-`Askar.[DD] When they first approached the house where the Báb
was lodged, guards stopped them, but Siyyid Hasan asserted the
authority of the Báb and gained them admittance. After that no one
ever tried to bar their way, and they attained the presence of the Báb
several times.
[Footnote DD: Persecution forced him to abandon Tabríz. With
his family he went to Adrianople and was exiled in the
company of Bahá'u'lláh to `Akká. He features in the
_Memorials of the Faithful_ by `Abdu'l-Bahá (pp. 161-4).]
At last came the orders for the removal of the Báb to Máh-Kú. That
town was the birthplace of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, although he is
generally known as Íravání[DE] because his family originated there.
The vast majority of the inhabitants of Máh-Kú and its environs were
Kurds who were Sunní by persuasion. `Alí [_Kh_]án, the warden of the
castle, was a Kurd, simple, rough and uncouth. He was arrogantly
unbending at the start of the Báb's incarceration, and would not allow
any follower of the Báb to stay in the town, even for one night. When
[_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí reached Máh-Kú he found that the only
shelter available to him was a mosque outside the town. But he was
able to meet and exchange letters and messages with Siyyid Ḥasan,
who came into the town each day with a guard to buy provisions, and
thus for a while he maintained a link between the Báb and His people.
[Footnote DE: From Íraván. See p. 117 and note.]
But one day the Báb advised Siyyid Ḥasan that these secret contacts
with [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan were to end; He Himself would tell `Ali
[_Kh_]án to permit visitors to come and go in peace. Both men were
greatly astonished, since they knew well the character and attitude of
the warden, who had even tried to prevent the people of Máh-Kú from
coming to the foot of the mountain to obtain a glimpse of the Báb. By
now the Báb had won the love and esteem of these hardened
frontiersmen, who had shown such marked hostility when He was first
brought to their fortress, nor could `Ali [_Kh_]án prevent their
gathering daily at the mountain's base to gaze upwards in the hope of
receiving His blessing.
At an early hour on the morning following the Báb's advice to Siyyid
Ḥasan, the inmates of the castle were startled by an incessant and
agitated knocking. It was `Ali [_Kh_]án, peremptorily pounding the gate
and shouting at the guardsmen for admittance. A guard rushed in to say
that the warden wished to come immediately into the presence of the Báb.
Siyyid Ḥusayn presented the request, and the Báb replied that He would
receive `Ali [_Kh_]án at once. The warden was visibly shaking, obviously
caught up by some tremendous emotion. He threw himself at the feet of
the Báb and begged to be relieved of his misery:
'Deliver me from my perplexity. I adjure You, by the Prophet
of God, Your illustrious Ancestor, to dissipate my doubts,
for their weight has well-nigh crushed my heart. I was
riding through the wilderness and was approaching the gate
of the town, when, it being the hour of dawn, my eyes
suddenly beheld You standing by the side of the river
engaged in offering Your prayer. With outstretched arms and
upraised eyes, You were invoking the name of God. I stood
still and watched You. I was waiting for You to terminate
Your devotions that I might approach and rebuke You for
having ventured to leave the castle without my leave. In
Your communion with God, You seemed so wrapt in worship that
You were utterly forgetful of Yourself. I quietly approached
You; in Your state of rapture, You remained wholly unaware
of my presence. I was suddenly seized with great fear and
recoiled at the thought of awakening You from Your ecstasy.
I decided to leave You, to proceed to the guards and to
reprove them for their negligent conduct. I soon found out,
to my amazement, that both the outer and inner gates were
closed. They were opened at my request, I was ushered into
Your presence, and now find You, to my wonder, seated before
me. I am utterly confounded. I know not whether my reason
has deserted me.' The Báb answered and said: 'What you have
witnessed is true and undeniable. You belittled this
Revelation and have contemptuously disdained its Author.
God, the All-Merciful, desiring not to afflict you with His
punishment, has willed to reveal to your eyes the Truth. By
His Divine interposition, He has instilled into your heart
the love of His chosen One, and caused you to recognise the
unconquerable power of His Faith.'[7]
All the arrogance of the warden left him. He was totally conquered. He
became humble. The first words that he uttered were:
A poor man, a [_sh_]ay[_kh_], is yearning to attain Your
presence. He lives in a masjid [mosque] outside the gate of
Máh-Kú. I pray You that I myself be allowed to bring him to
this place that he may meet You. By this act I hope that my
evil deeds may be forgiven, that I may be enabled to wash
away the stains of my cruel behaviour toward Your
friends.[8]
He went away and returned with [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí.
`Alí [_Kh_]án's change of heart and attitude radically altered the
situation. The prison gates no longer barred the Báb from His
followers. Bábís came from everywhere to attain the presence of their
Lord, among them Mullá Ḥusayn, the Bábu'l-Báb. The Báb received him
at the gate of the castle and celebrated the Feast of Naw-Rúz with
him. Ere his departure, the Báb directed him to visit Tabríz and other
towns of the province of Á[_dh_]arbáyján, and then proceed to Zanján,
Qazvín, Ṭihrán, and finally to the province of Mázindarán.
`Alí [_Kh_]án's devotion to the person of the Báb increased day by
day. He did everything possible to mitigate the rigours of prison
life. Every Friday he came up the mountain to offer his homage.
Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí was alarmed by the news reaching him from Máh-Kú,
and so was the Russian Minister in Ṭihrán, Prince Dimitri Ivanovich
Dolgorukov. In dispatches to Count Nesselrode, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, dated February 4th and December 24th 1848, he mentions that,
in the previous year, the Báb had been removed from the vicinity of
the Russian border by his demand.[9] This assertion is borne out by a
letter of Mullá Aḥmad-i-Ibdál, one of the Letters of the Living,
written when he was in Káẓimayn, close to Ba[_gh_]dád. It is not
clear to whom the letter is addressed, most probably to one of the
uncles of the Báb.[10] Mullá Aḥmad writes:
These days, God willing, I intend to go and attain the
presence of my Lord.... These days pilgrims arrived here
from Urúmíyyih. I sought the news of my Lord from them. They
said that He was in a district of Urúmíyyih, called
[_Ch_]ihrúm [[_Ch_]ihríq?]. The Governor of Urúmíyyih
wished, at first, to keep Him in the town itself, but the
clerics had taken fright lest disturbances might arise, and
had refused their consent; curses of God rest upon them. It
is said that the Governor is acting with kindness, and from
the towns of A[_dh_]arbáyján people come in large groups,
attain His presence and return believers. According to what
has been related there is a tremendous upsurge, that is to
say, many, many people have become devoted to Him.... And as
to the reason for the departure of [_Dh_]ikr, on Him be
peace from Máh-Kú, it is this, that the Russian Envoy had
heard that He was in Máh-Kú, and, being afraid of
disturbance, told the Vizier, Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí: 'Send the
[_Dh_]ikr, on whom be peace, to some other area of your
realms, because Máh-Kú is on the frontier and close to our
territory, and we are afraid of disturbances; a few years
ago, a certain Mullá Ṣádiq claimed to be the deputy [of
the Imám] and within a month gathered 30,000 followers round
him.' Russians had witnessed that and had taken fright.
`Abdu'l-Bahá states that the Báb's incarceration in the castle of
Máh-Kú lasted nine months. According to Nabíl-i-A`ẓam, on the
twentieth day after Naw-Rúz (April 9th 1848), He left that mountain
fastness on the Russian and Turkish frontiers.[11]
At Máh-Kú the Báb revealed the _Dalá'il-i-Sab`ih_ (The Seven Proofs)
and began the composition of the Persian _Bayán_[DF] (Exposition or
Utterance). Nabíl-i-A`ẓam writes:
I have heard [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí bear witness
to the following: 'The voice of the Báb, as He dictated the
teachings and principles of His Faith, could be clearly
heard by those who were dwelling at the foot of the
mountain. The melody of His chanting, the rhythmic flow of
the verses which streamed from His lips caught our ears and
penetrated into our very souls. Mountain and valley
re-echoed the majesty of His voice. Our hearts vibrated in
their depths to the appeal of His utterance.'[12]
[Footnote DF: A copy of the Persian _Bayán_, in the
handwriting of Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí, to whom He dictated
it, exists in the International Archives of the Bahá'í
Faith.]