THE GRIEVOUS MOUNTAIN
Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they.
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The man chosen by Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí to take the Báb away from the
castle of Máh-Kú was Riḍá-Qulí [_Kh_]án-i-Af[_sh_]ár, an officer
with the rank of Sartíp (brigadier, in today's usage). He was the son
of Ḥájí Sulaymán [_Kh_]án, the official who, in Zanján, failed to
heed the Báb's message to him. Ḥájí Sulaymán [_Kh_]án was intensely
devoted to Siyyid Káẓim-i-Ra[_sh_]tí, who had told him that he
would live to see the advent of the Qá'im; he often expressed surprise
that the Qá'im had not appeared for him to recognize, despite this
unequivocal promise. Although he met the Báb in Mecca, he attached
himself to Ḥájí Muḥammad-Karím [_Kh_]án-i-Kirmání and refused to
listen to the Bábís. His devotion to Siyyid Káẓim was of such a
character that, having obtained the hand of a daughter of Siyyid
Káẓim for his son, he began his day by paying his respects in
person to his daughter-in-law. It was this son who was entrusted with
the task of moving the Báb from Máh-Kú to Urúmíyyih and
[_Ch_]ihríq.[DG] And soon he too became captivated by the Prisoner in
his charge. Eventually, Riḍá-Qulí [_Kh_]án became an avowed,
zealous Bábí, and broke away from his father, who persisted in his
hostility to the Báb.
[Footnote DG: The Báb named [_Ch_]ihríq
`Jabal-i-[_Sh_]adíd'--the Grievous Mountain. '[_Sh_]adíd' is
numerically equal to [_Ch_]ihríq. He called Máh-Kú
'Jabal-i-Básiṭ'--the Open Mountain. 'Básiṭ' is
numerically equal to Máh-Kú.]
The castle of [_Ch_]ihríq is in the neighbourhood of Urúmíyyih, known
today as Riḍá'íyyih. Its warden, Yaḥyá [_Kh_]án, was a Kurdish
chieftain, whose sister was married to Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh. The son of
this union was called `Abbás Mírzá, after the [_Sh_]áh's own father, and
bore also his title, Náyibu's-Salṭanih (Viceroy or Regent). Because this
child was such a favourite of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh, the mother of the heir
to the throne, Náṣiri'd-Dín Mírzá, was exceedingly jealous of him. Her
jealousy put his life in jeopardy after the death of his father, but
Colonel Farrant's intervention saved him.[DH] He was exiled to Qum, but
even then he was not secure, for he was accused of being in league with
the Bábís. Mírzá Ḥusayn-i-Mutavallí (Custodian) of Qum was forced, under
torture, to sign a confession implicating `Abbás Mírzá in faked Bábí
plots.[DI] This unfortunate prince spent many years of his life in
exile, mostly in `Iráq. He was eventually allowed to return to Írán and
was given the title of Mulk-Árá; but he was always close to misfortune
and danger.
[Footnote DH: `Abbás Mírzá was then nine years old. Farrant
was the British chargé d'affaires in the absence of Sheil.]
[Footnote DI: This man was in the fortress of [_Sh_]ay[_kh_]
Ṭabarsí and betrayed his fellow-believers. Some years
later in Ba[_gh_]dád he fell on evil days and Bahá'u'lláh
gave him a monthly allowance.]
Yaḥyá [_Kh_]án, the warden of [_Ch_]ihríq, was harsh and unpredictable,
but before long he too felt unable to keep the gates of his castle
closed against the Bábís. The same power, which had held `Alí [_Kh_]án
of Máh-Kú spellbound, captured the heart of Yaḥyá [_Kh_]án. So many
Bábís came to [_Ch_]ihríq that it was impossible to house them and rooms
had to be found for them in Iskí-[_Sh_]ahr, which was not far away. Food
and all other necessities were purchased in Iskí-[_Sh_]ahr. Once some
honey was bought there for the Báb, but He found the quality to be
inferior and the price exorbitant and had it returned.
Honey of a superior quality [He said] could no doubt have
been purchased at a lower price. I who am your example have
been a merchant by profession. It behoves you in all your
transactions to follow in My way. You must neither defraud
your neighbour nor allow him to defraud you. Such was the
way of your Master. The shrewdest and ablest of men were
unable to deceive Him, nor did He on His part choose to act
ungenerously towards the meanest and most helpless of
creatures.[1]
[_Kh_]uy was another town of Á[_dh_]arbáyján which was not far from
[_Ch_]ihríq. Not long had passed since the Báb's arrival at
[_Ch_]ihríq when [_Kh_]uy became aware that a number of its prominent
citizens among the siyyids, divines and officials had become Bábís.
Mírzá Asadu'lláh, on whom the Báb conferred the designation of
Dayyán,[2] was one of them. Dayyán means the conqueror or the judge.
Mírzá Asadu'lláh, a proud man, high in the service of the government,
and a man of vast learning who wielded a fluent pen,[DJ] had for long
withstood the attempts of the Bábís to convert him. Not only did he
refuse to yield any ground to them, he also proved a vociferous
antagonist. Then he had a dream which induced him to write to the Báb.
And when he received the answer to his letter he gave the Báb his
allegiance with a zeal and fervour that thoroughly alarmed his father,
who was a personal friend of the Grand Vizier. He wrote to Ḥájí
Mírzá Áqásí, expatiating on his son's bewitchment and deploring his
grave aberrations.[DK]
[Footnote DJ: He was a master of Persian, Arabic, Turkish,
Hebrew and Syriac.]
[Footnote DK: The Báb revealed the _Lawḥ-i-Ḥurúfát_
(Tablet of the Letters) in honour of Mírzá Asadu'lláh. 'Had
the Point of the Bayán [Nuqṭiy-i-Bayán] no other testimony
with which to establish His truth,' He states, 'this were
sufficient--that He revealed a Tablet such as this, a Tablet
such as no amount of learning could produce.'[3]]
Once again Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí found himself thwarted. The Faith of
the Báb was spreading and he could not contain it. And now the Grand
Vizier had the additional anxiety of watching the rapid deterioration
of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh's health. The monarch was only forty years
old, but as a sufferer from gout his malady was wearing him down.
At [_Ch_]ihríq itself a dervish arrived from India. Who he truly was,
no one knew and no one knows even now. The Báb gave him the name
Qahru'lláh (the Wrath of God). All that this dervish would say about
himself was:
In the days when I occupied the exalted position of a navváb
in India, the Báb appeared to me in a vision. He gazed at me
and won my heart completely. I arose, and had started to
follow Him, when He looked at me intently and said: 'Divest
yourself of your gorgeous attire, depart from your native
land, and hasten on foot to meet Me in Á[_dh_]irbáyján. In
[_Ch_]ihríq you will attain your heart's desire.' I followed
His directions and have now reached my goal.[4]
The Báb instructed him to go back to his native land, the same way he
had come, as a dervish and on foot. Qahru'lláh would have no companion
on that long journey back. His fate remains a mystery, just as does
the fate of [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Sa`íd, the Indian Letter of the Living.
The Báb had been in [_Ch_]ihríq for three months when Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí
decided He should be taken, once more, to Tabríz. Before the summons
came, the Báb sent away those Bábís who had congregated in and around
[_Ch_]ihríq; among them was the redoubtable `Aẓím.[DL] At the same time,
He commissioned [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí to collect the Writings
He had revealed in the two castles, and hand them for safe-keeping to
Siyyid Ibráhím-i-[_Kh_]alíl, who resided in Tabríz.
[Footnote DL: See p. 103.]
When the Báb reached Urúmíyyih, on his way to Tabríz, the Governor,
Malik Qásim Mírzá, a descendant of Faṭh-`Alí [_Sh_]áh, received Him
reverently. Nevertheless, he decided to pose a test for his Guest. On
a Friday, when the Báb planned to go to the public bath, he directed
that a particularly unruly horse be brought to convey Him. Those who
knew of his plan awaited the outcome with bated breath. Miraculously,
the horse stood quietly for the Báb, who mounted and rode it to the
bath with perfect control. The Prince-Governor, ashamed and abashed,
walked on foot beside the Báb's steed nearly to His destination, until
the Báb asked him to return to his house. The news spread and stunned
the town. When the Báb came out of the bath and mounted the same horse
again, men, women and children rushed in to take away every drop of
the water He had used.
From now on the Governor's residence was thronged daily by people who
wished to meet the Báb or just to catch a glimpse of Him. During this
time, Áqá-Bálá Big, the Naqqá[_sh_]-Bá[_sh_]í (Chief Painter) made a
portrait of the Báb, the only one ever drawn of Him; its story is of
tremendous interest.
Áqá-Bálá Big was a native of [_Sh_]íshván, a village on the banks of
Lake Urúmíyyih. Like scores of others, he was attracted to Government
House to see the Báb. Years later he related his experience to Varqá,
the Bahá'í martyr-poet. He had noticed that as soon as the Báb's eyes
alighted on him He arranged His `abá neatly and looked at him
intently. This happened again the next day, and Áqá-Bálá Big realized
that the Báb was giving him a sign that he might draw His portrait.
The painter made a rough sketch there and then. Later, he composed the
portrait in black and white. When Varqá informed Bahá'u'lláh of this,
he was instructed to ask the painter to make two copies of the
portrait in water colour, one to be sent to the Holy Land and one to
be kept by Varqá himself. The copy taken to the Holy Land is in the
International Archives of the Bahá'í Faith. The copy which the
martyr-poet held was among his possessions, looted at the time of his
arrest. The original black and white portrait was discovered years
later by Siyyid Asadu'lláh-i-Qumí, who conveyed it to the Holy Land
and presented it to `Abdu'l-Bahá.[DM]
[Footnote DM: The present writer heard this account from
Valíyu'lláh Varqá, the son of the martyr-poet, who had the
rank of a Hand of the Cause by appointment of the Guardian of
the Bahá'í Faith.]
The Báb must have reached Tabríz in the last week of July 1848.
Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh's illness was, by then, giving concern to Ḥájí
Mírzá Áqásí, and the wily old Grand Vizier, conscious of his
approaching downfall, was already seeking ways and means of softening
the blow. Over the course of years he had grown to be a very rich man,
owning villages and farmlands and urban property. He knew that with
the death of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh he would lose not only his position
and power, but also his enormous wealth. When Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh was
dying, Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí was no longer to be seen within the
precincts of the palace, for his powerful enemies in the Court, whom
he had not been able to destroy,[DN] were ready to pounce on him. He
retired to his village of `Abbásábád. There his body-guard, recruited
from his home town of Máh-Kú, disintegrated. The people of Ṭihrán
who had suffered so much at their hands now found opportunities to
avenge themselves, and Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí found himself in such
straits that he felt constrained to write to the boy-prince, `Abbás
Mírzá, and a number of prominent courtiers, to plead for harmony and
friendship. As no response was forthcoming from these quarters, he
put on a bold face and tried to regain his residence in Ṭihrán. But
the artillery General, who commanded the royal guard at the citadel,
let him know that his stay in Ṭihrán was undesirable. So he tried
to reach Á[_dh_]arbáyján, the province to which he had exiled the Báb,
to take refuge with the inhabitants of his native town. He had not
gone far from the capital when he was turned back. Deserted and
mocked, he had no course open but to seek sanctuary in the shrine of
[_Sh_]áh `Abdu'l-`Aẓím. Such was the end of all power for Ḥájí
Mírzá Áqásí, the Antichrist of the Bábí Revelation.
[Footnote DN: They included men such as Mírzá Yúsuf, the
Mustawfíu'l-Mamálik and `Abbás-Qulí
[_Kh_]án-i-Javán[_sh_]ír.]
In Tabríz the Báb was brought before the Crown Prince, Náṣiri'd-Dín
Mírzá, who was only seventeen years old and had recently been given
the governorship of Á[_dh_]arbáyján. A panel of the prominent divines
of Tabríz gathered to examine the Báb. The leading men of that panel
were: Ḥájí Mírzá Maḥmúd, the Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá, who was the
chief tutor of the Crown Prince; Mullá Muḥammad-i-Mámaqání, a
disciple of Siyyid Káẓim and an outstanding figure among
the [_Sh_]ay[_kh_]ís; Ḥájí Murtiḍá-Qulíy-i-Marandí,
the `Alamu'l-Hudá; Ḥájí Mírzá `Alí-Aṣ[_gh_]ar, the
[_Sh_]ay[_kh_]u'l-Islám;[DO] and Mírzá Aḥmad, the Imám-Jum`ih. The
procedures of that high tribunal were frivolous from beginning to end.
Here were the shining lights of the religious hierarchy of Tabríz,
assembled to learn from a young Siyyid, who claimed to be the bearer
of a Message from God, what the nature of His claim was and what
proofs He could adduce to substantiate it. That they failed miserably
to be just and to apply themselves to the problem before them need not
be sought in the evidence of the followers of the Báb. Two of the best
known Persian histories of the time plentifully provide that
evidence. These are the _Nási[_kh_]u't-Tavárí[_kh_]_ by
Muḥammad-Taqí [_Kh_]án of Ká[_sh_]án[5] and the Supplement to the
_Rawḍatu'ṣ-Ṣafá_ of Mír[_kh_]und[DP] by Riḍá-Qulí
[_Kh_]án-i-Hidáyat; both works were written during the reign of
Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh. From these two histories, Edward Granville
Browne prepared a version of the procès-verbal of that infamous
tribunal for the Appendices to his translation of _A Traveller's
Narrative_. He also used another book, the _Qiṣaṣu'l-`Ulamá_
(Chronicles of the Divines) written in 1873. Typical are these two
questions, said to have been put to the Báb by Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá:
'As the Prophet or some other wise man hath said "Knowledge
is twofold--knowledge of bodies, and knowledge of
religions"; I ask, then, in Medicine, what occurs in the
stomach when a person suffers from indigestion? Why are some
cases amenable to treatment? And why do some go on to
permanent dyspepsia or syncope [swooning], or terminate in
hypochondriasis?'
* * * * *
'The science of "Applications" is elucidated from the Book
and the Code, and the understanding of the Book and the Code
[the Qur'án and the Traditions] depends on many sciences,
such as Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic. Do you who are the Báb
conjugate _Ḳála_?'[DQ]
[Footnote DO: Like the Imám-Jum`ih, the
[_Sh_]ay[_kh_]u'l-Islám was a leading divine of a city, who
enjoyed certain privileges. Although the sovereign appointed
the [_Sh_]ay[_kh_]u'l-Islám, there were many instances when
the position passed from father to son.]
[Footnote DP: Also, Mír[_kh_]wand. He died A.H. 903, A.D.
1497-8.]
[Footnote DQ: Qála, the third person singular of 'to say'.]
The Báb is alleged to have replied that He had learned to conjugate
Arabic words in His childhood, but had forgotten the rules. This is
supposed to have been the answer of a Person who had revealed the
_Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'_, the _Commentary on the Súrih of Kaw[_th_]ar_, the
_Commentary on the Súrih of V'al-`Aṣr_--all in Arabic.
When the Báb stated clearly: 'I am that person for whose appearance
ye have waited a thousand years,' Nizámu'l-`Ulamá retorted:
'That is to say you are the Mahdí, the Lord of Religion?'
'Yes,' answered the Báb.
'The same in person, or generically?'
'In person.'
'What is your name, and what are the names of your father and mother?
Where is your birthplace? And how old are you?'
'My name is `Alí Muḥammad,' answered the Báb. 'My mother was named
Khadíja and my father Mírzá Riẓá the cloth-seller; my birth-place is
Shíráz; and of my life, behold, thirty-five years have elapsed.'[DR]
[Footnote DR: Critics such as Mírzá Káẓim Big (Kazem-Beg)
have observed that giving the age of the Báb as thirty-five
indicates that the whole account is spurious. Furthermore, it
was not the mother of the Báb who was named [_Kh_]adíjih, but
His wife.]
'The name of the Lord of Religion is Muḥammad; his father was named
Ḥasan and his mother Narjis; his birthplace was Surra-man-Ra'a; and
his age is more than a thousand years. There is the most complete
variance. And besides I did not send you.'
'Do you claim to be God?' asked the Báb.
'Such an Imám is worthy of such a God,' replied Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá.
'I can in one day write two thousand verses. Who else can do this?'
'When I resided at the Supreme Shrines I had a secretary who used to
write two thousand verses a day. Eventually he became blind. You must
certainly give up this occupation, or else you too will go blind.'[6]
Even from these few quotations the absurdity of the trial may be seen.
The authors of _Nási[_kh_]u't-Tavárí[_kh_]_, the Supplement to
_Rawḍatu'ṣ-Ṣafá and Qiṣaṣu'l-`Ulamá_ took their
material from a tract written by the same Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá who
presided over the tribunal in Tabríz. But [_Sh_]ay[_kh_]
Muḥammad-Taqí, the son of Mullá Muḥammad-i-Mámaqání, and no less
an opponent of the Faith of the Báb than his father, in a book written
specifically to refute that Faith, took Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá to task for
having perverted the truth. [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Muḥammad-Taqí was
himself present at the tribunal; in his book he underlined, one by
one, Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá's misrepresentations. His testimony to
the powers of the Báb, which he recorded despite his avowed,
unrelenting antagonism, has recently been reprinted. Eventually,
Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá collected as many copies as he could of his own
tract and destroyed them.
Nabíl-i-A`ẓam states, on the authority of [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí,
that the person most insolent in the course of that mock trial was Mullá
Muḥammad-i-Mámaqání.[DS] The Báb was sitting between him and the Crown
Prince, and when He affirmed that He was the Qá'im, whose advent they
expected, Mullá Muḥammad called out in anger:
[Footnote DS: It is of interest that another son of Mullá
Muḥammad, named Mírzá Ismá`íl, embraced the new
Revelation.]
'You wretched and immature lad of [_Sh_]íráz! You have already
convulsed and subverted `Iráq; do you now wish to arouse a like
turmoil in Á[_dh_]irbáyján?'
The Báb's answer to his outburst was only this: 'Your Honour, I have
not come hither of My own accord. I have been summoned to this place.'
Mullá Muḥammad, yet more haughty and disdainful, shouted back:
'Hold your peace, you perverse and contemptible follower of Satan!'
And the Báb replied serenely: 'Your Honour, I maintain what I have
already declared.'
Then, according to Nabíl-i-A`ẓam, Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá posed this
challenge:
'The claim which you have advanced is a stupendous one; it must needs
be supported by the most incontrovertible evidence.'
'His own word,' said the Báb, 'is the most convincing evidence of the
truth of the Mission of the Prophet of God.' And He quoted from the
Qur'án a verse in support of His argument: '"Is it not enough for them
that We have sent down to Thee the Book?"'[DT]
[Footnote DT: Qur'án xxix, 51.]
Niẓámu'l-`Ulamá rejoined: 'Describe orally, if you speak the truth,
the proceedings of this gathering in language that will resemble the
phraseology of the verses of the Qur'án so that the Valí-`Ahd [Crown
Prince] and the assembled divines may bear witness to the truth of
your claim.'
The Báb had spoken no more than a few words in response to this
request when Mullá Muḥammad rudely intervened:
'This self-appointed Qá'im of ours has at the very start of his
address betrayed his ignorance of the most rudimentary rules of
grammar!'
'The Qur'án itself does in no wise accord with the rules and
conventions current amongst men,' said the Báb. 'The Word of God can
never be subject to the limitations of His creatures. Nay, the rules
and canons which men have adopted have been deduced from the text of
the Word of God and are based upon it. These men have, in the very
texts of that holy Book, discovered no less than three hundred
instances of grammatical error, such as the one you now criticise.
Inasmuch as it was the Word of God, they had no other alternative
except to resign themselves to His will.'
But Mullá Muḥammad turned a deaf ear to the Báb, and another divine
interrupted with an absurd question about the tense of a verb. Then the
Báb spoke this verse of the Qur'án: 'Far be the glory of thy Lord, the
Lord of all greatness, from what they impute to Him, and peace be upon
His Apostles!' And He rose up from His seat and walked out.[DU][7]
[Footnote DU: An undated letter has come to light in the
handwriting of Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh, written during the
Ministry of Bahá'u'lláh, and addressed to `Aláu'd-Dawlih, a
governor of Ṭihrán. The [_Sh_]áh instructed the Governor
to put certain questions to the 'Bábís' arrested by
Amínu's-Sulṭán, including Áqá Jamál-i-Burújirdí, the only
one he mentions by name. Only Amínu's-Sulṭán and Ḥájí
Áqá Muḥammad, a divine, should be present for the
questioning, he instructed, and the replies of the Bábís were
to be recorded and presented to him. He himself, he said,
might then have to meet these 'Bábís', to determine exactly
what their aims and purposes were.
Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh's language was abusive, but two
points are particularly worth noting in this long tirade:
first, his admission that, before the tribunal in Tabríz, the
Báb stood firmly by His claim that He was the Qá'im; second,
his insistence that he wanted to know what were the beliefs
and intentions of the 'Bábís'.
During the governorship of `Aláu'd-Dawlih, Áqá Najaf-`Alí, a
Bahá'í of Tabríz, was arrested, resulting in the apprehension
of a number of Bahá'ís in Ṭihrán. Áqá Najaf-`Alí had
recently returned from `Akká and was the bearer of a number
of Tablets. He lost his life but the other Bahá'ís were
eventually freed.]
Shortly after these proceedings, it was decided to inflict corporal
punishment upon the Báb, and He was taken to the house of
Muḥammad-Káẓim [_Kh_]án, the farrá[_sh_]-bá[_sh_]í.[DV] As the
guards refused to carry out the sentence, Mírzá `Alí-Aṣ[_gh_]ar,
the [_Sh_]ay[_kh_]u'l-Islám, personally administered the bastinado.
When the news reached Urúmíyyih that the Báb had been subjected to
such indignity, many of those who had been attracted to His Faith
abandoned it. In Tabríz, the Báb was seen by Dr. Cormick, an English
physician, the only Westerner ever to have met Him. The Reverend
Benjamin Labaree, D.D., of the American Presbyterian Mission at
Urúmíyyih, asked Dr. Cormick for the particulars of his visit. The
English physician wrote in answer:
You ask me for some particulars of my interview with the
founder of the sect known as Bábís. Nothing of any
importance transpired in this interview, as the Báb was
aware of my having been sent with two other Persian doctors
to see whether he was of sane mind or merely a madman, to
decide the question whether to put him to death or not. With
this knowledge he was loth to answer any questions put to
him. To all enquiries he merely regarded us with a mild
look, chanting in a low melodious voice some hymns, I
suppose. Two other _Sayyids_, his intimate friends, were
also present, who subsequently were put to death with
him,[DW] besides a couple of government officials. He only
once deigned to answer me, on my saying that I was not a
Musulmán and was willing to know something about his
religion, as I might perhaps be inclined to adopt it. He
regarded me very intently on my saying this, and replied
that he had no doubt of all Europeans coming over to his
religion. Our report to the [_Sh_]áh at that time was of a
nature to spare his life. He was put to death some time
after by the order of the _Amír-i-Niẓám_ Mírzá Taqí Khán.
On our report he merely got the bastinado, in which
operation a _farrásh_, whether intentionally or not, struck
him across the face with the stick destined for his feet,
which produced a great wound and swelling of the face. On
being asked whether a Persian surgeon should be brought to
treat him, he expressed a desire that I should be sent for,
and I accordingly treated him for a few days, but in the
interviews consequent on this I could never get him to have
a confidential chat with me, as some Government people were
always present, he being a prisoner.
He was very thankful for my attentions to him. He was a
very mild and delicate-looking man, rather small in stature
and very fair for a Persian, with a melodious soft voice,
which struck me much. Being a Sayyid, he was dressed in the
habits of that sect, as were also his two companions. In
fact his whole look and deportment went far to dispose one
in his favour. Of his doctrine I heard nothing from his own
lips, although the idea was that there existed in his
religion a certain approach to Christianity. He was seen by
some Armenian carpenters, who were sent to make some repairs
in his prison, reading the Bible, and he took no pains to
conceal it, but on the contrary told them of it. Most
assuredly the Musulmán fanaticism does not exist in his
religion, as applied to Christians, nor is there that
restraint of females that now exists.[8]
[Footnote DV: Literally, 'chief-lictor', a Roman officer who
executed sentences on offenders.]
[Footnote DW: This is a mistake. The two brothers, Siyyid
Ḥasan and Siyyid Ḥusayn, were not put to death with the
Báb, contrary to Browne's note accompanying this account.]
It must have been sometime in the first days of August 1848 that the
Báb was restored to [_Ch_]ihríq. From there, He addressed a letter to
Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí:
O thou who hast disbelieved in God, and hast turned thy face
away from His signs![9]
That letter, stern and unsparing, is known as the
_[_Kh_]uṭbiy-i-Qahríyyih_ (Sermon of Wrath). The Báb sent it to
Ḥujjat, who was still in Ṭihrán unable to return to his native
town, to give it in person to the Grand Vizier. Hujjat carried out the
task entrusted to him. By then Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí had fallen from
power, to end his days in obscurity in `Iráq.
Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh died on September 4th 1848.[DX] Less than a year
later, Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí followed him to the grave.
[Footnote DX: There was a certain Ḥájí Riḍáy-i-Qásí[10]
in [_Sh_]íráz, always ready to start a riot or head a revolt.
The present writer recalls being told by his paternal
grandmother that one day, at dawn, Ḥájí Qásí came
galloping past their door, rattling a long stick (or a lance)
in a hole in the wall, shouting: 'O house of the Siyyids, may
you rest in safety, Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh has gone to hell.'
She remembered that incident very well, although at the time
she was no more than seven or eight years old.]