THAT MIDSUMMER NOON
Transcendent Star, past mortal ken
The glory of your Life through all the spheres
Bathes the unending vista of the years.
The radiance of the Light you brought to men
Has purified the planet's heart anew!
Your blood was poured upon its dearth like dew,
Ichor of God's decree, let each drop shed
Raise up the nations, and the living dead,
Revive the vision of the spirit's youth:
Auroral is the fountain of your Truth.
--Beatrice Irwin
The death of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh and the downfall of Ḥájí Mírzá
Áqásí were events of far-reaching consequence. The new monarch was
very young and inexperienced, while the man who now occupied the seat
left vacant by the disappearance of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí was capable
and uncorrupted, but self-willed and headstrong. Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án,
the Amír-Niẓám (better known by his later title Amír-i-Kabír) had
by sheer force of his abilities raised himself from humble origins to
a position of power. His father had been a cook in the employment of
the illustrious Qá'im-Maqám. And it had been that great minister who
had first noticed high promise in the young Taqí. Although
Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh now reigned over Írán, it was Mírzá Taqí
[_Kh_]án who ruled it.
* * * * *
Once again, within the confines of [_Ch_]ihríq, the Báb had
uninterrupted communication with His followers. Mullá Ádí Guzal, a
native of Mará[_gh_]ih (Á[_dh_]-rbáyján), acted as a courier, often
traversing vast distances on foot. Decades later `Abdu'l-Bahá recalled
a day when this indefatigable man arrived at Ṭihrán, dressed as a
dervish and much travel-stained. Vaḥíd, on learning who he was and
from whence he had come, bent low and kissed the mud-encrusted feet of
the courier, for he had been in the presence of the Beloved.
One of this courier's journeys took him to Quddús, with the gift of a
valuable pen-case and a silk turban sent by the Báb. And when Quddús
and Mullá Ḥusayn and their companions died as martyrs in
Mázindarán, the Báb chose this same faithful courier to go on
pilgrimage in His stead to the land drenched with their blood. Thus
Mullá Ádí Guzal was the first Bábí to set eyes on the scenes of that
carnage. He was also, for two months, the Báb's personal attendant in
the castle of [_Ch_]ihríq.[1]
Sulaymán [_Kh_]án, the son of Yaḥyá [_Kh_]án of Tabríz, was one of
the prominent followers of the Báb who attained His presence in this
castle, after making the journey in disguise.[DY] He had no liking for
service at court, and had gone to `Iráq, to live under the shadow of
the Shrine of Imám Ḥusayn. There he found himself attracted to the
teachings of Siyyid Káẓim and, hearing later of the advent of the
Báb, gave Him his allegiance. The news of the plight of his
fellow-believers, who were hounded and besieged in Mázindarán, drew
him back to his native land. He reached Ṭihrán dressed as a cleric.
Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án, however, made him discard his turban and long
cloak, and forced him to wear a military uniform. But he could not
prevail upon him to enter the service of the Government. Sulaymán
[_Kh_]án's primary purpose remained unfulfilled: to give aid to Quddús
and the Bábu'l-Báb proved impossible, but his sudden departure from
Karbilá was not to be in vain, or barren of significant result.
[Footnote DY: The father of Sulaymán [_Kh_]án was an
attendant of `Abbás Mírzá, and then of his son, Muḥammad
[_Sh_]áh.]
Another visitor to [_Ch_]ihríq during the closing months of the life
of the Báb was His uncle, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí. His life too was
nearing its end, to be laid down in the path of his Nephew. Two years
had passed since the day his Nephew bade him farewell in [_Sh_]íráz,
and Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí could no longer bear the pangs of
separation. He settled his accounts, closed his books and took the
road to Á[_dh_]arbáyján. Having attained his heart's desire, he wrote
to his brother, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Muḥammad, to help him see the
truth of their Nephew's mission. His letter was written on the fifth
day of Jamádíu'l-Úlá--the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb.
'On such a day,' he told his brother, 'the resplendent Light of God
shone forth.... This is the day of Resurrection ... the day to behold
the Visage of God.'[2] The One promised, expected and awaited had
indeed come, he asserted, and come with verses constituting the primal
proof of all the Manifestations of God. He desired all the members of
his family to see his letter. One cannot but marvel at the quality of
devotion and certainty that this letter reveals.
To meet, after such a long interval, the uncle who had stood _in loco
parentis_ to Him when He was orphaned, must have given the Báb intense
joy. But within a few months[DZ] of His uncle's visit, news came that
brought Him unbearable sorrow. At [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ṭabarsí in
Mázindarán a large number of His followers had been massacred,
including nine of His first disciples, the Letters of the Living;
amongst them were the Bábu'l-Báb who had first believed in Him, and
Quddús, His companion on the journey to Ḥijáz, the beloved disciple
whose primacy was unquestioned.
[Footnote DZ: Towards the end of June 1849.]
According to His amanuensis:
The Báb was heart-broken at the receipt of this unexpected
intelligence. He was crushed with grief, a grief that
stilled His voice and silenced His pen. For nine days He
refused to meet any of His friends. I myself, though His
close and constant attendant, was refused admittance.
Whatever meat or drink we offered Him, He was disinclined to
touch. Tears rained continually from His eyes, and
expressions of anguish dropped unceasingly from His lips. I
could hear Him, from behind the curtain, give vent to His
feelings of sadness as He communed, in the privacy of His
cell, with His Beloved. I attempted to jot down the
effusions of His sorrow as they poured forth from His
wounded heart. Suspecting that I was attempting to preserve
the lamentations He uttered, He bade me destroy whatever I
had recorded. Nothing remains of the moans and cries with
which that heavy-laden heart sought to relieve itself of the
pangs that had seized it. For a period of five months He
languished, immersed in an ocean of despondency and
sorrow.[3]
Conscious that His own life was fast approaching its end, the Báb put
all His Writings, His pen-case, His seals and rings in a box which He
entrusted to Mullá Báqir-i-Tabrízí, one of the Letters of the Living,
with instructions to deliver it, together with a letter, to Mírzá
Aḥmad-i-Kátib (Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Qazvíní). Nabíl-i-A`ẓam writes:
Mullá Báqir departed forthwith for Qazvín. Within eighteen
days he reached that town and was informed that Mírzá
Aḥmad had departed for Qum. He left immediately for that
destination and arrived towards the middle of the month of
[_Sh_]a`bán.[EA] I was then in Qum.... I was living in the
same house with Mírzá Aḥmad.... In those days
[_Sh_]ay[_kh_] `Aẓím, Siyyid Ismá`íl, and a number of
other companions likewise were dwelling with us. Mullá Báqir
delivered the trust into the hands of Mírzá Aḥmad, who,
at the insistence of [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] `Aẓím, opened it
before us. We marvelled when we beheld, among the things
which that coffer contained, a scroll of blue paper, of the
most delicate texture, on which the Báb, in His own
exquisite handwriting, which was a fine [_sh_]ikastih
script, had penned, in the form of a pentacle, what numbered
about five hundred verses, all consisting of derivatives
from the word 'Bahá'.[EB] That scroll was in a state of
perfect preservation, was spotlessly clean.... So fine and
intricate was the penmanship that, viewed at a distance, the
writing appeared as a single wash of ink on the paper. We
were overcome with admiration as we gazed upon a masterpiece
which no calligraphist, we believed, could rival. That
scroll was replaced in the coffer and handed back to Mírzá
Aḥmad, who, on the very day he received it, proceeded to
Ṭihrán. Ere he departed, he informed us that all he could
divulge of that letter was the injunction that the trust was
to be delivered into the hands of Jináb-i-Bahá[EC] in
Ṭihrán.[4]
[Footnote EA: Towards the end of June 1850.]
[Footnote EB: There were 360 derivatives. (Browne, ed., _A
Traveller's Narrative_, Vol. II, p. 42.)]
[Footnote EC: Bahá'u'lláh.]
It was also during the last few months of His life that the Báb
composed the Arabic _Bayán_, which, in the estimation of Nicolas, is
the epitome of the teachings of the Báb.
* * * * *
The man who took the decision to have the Báb executed was Mírzá Taqí
[_Kh_]án, the Grand Vizier of Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh. His obdurate
nature brooked no opposition. Mírzá Áqá [_Kh_]án-i-Núrí, who had a
ministerial post, made a faint protest, but his voice went unheeded.
Orders were sent to Ḥamzih Mírzá, the Ḥi[_sh_]matu'd-Dawlih,
Governor-General of Á[_dh_]arbáyján, to bring the Báb to Tabríz. When
these were carried out further orders came from the Grand Vizier,
brought by no less a person than his brother, Mírzá Ḥasan
[_Kh_]án, the Vazír Nizám. They were to the effect that the Báb
should be executed by a firing squad, in full public view.
Ḥi[_sh_]matu'd-Dawlih refused absolutely to be associated in any
way with such a dastardly action. His response was: 'I am neither
Ibn-i-Zíyád nor Ibn-i-Sa`d[ED] that he should call upon me to slay an
innocent descendant of the Prophet of God.'[5]
[Footnote ED: Men responsible for the tragedy of Karbilá, and
the martyrdom of Imám Ḥusayn.]
The Grand Vizier, on being informed by Mírzá Ḥasan [_Kh_]án of this
refusal, instructed his brother to carry out the orders under his own
authority. Divested of His turban and sash which indicated His lineage,
the Báb and His attendants were taken on foot to the barracks, from the
house which the Governor had put at their disposal. On the way to the
citadel, a youth, barefoot and dishevelled, threw himself at the feet of
the Báb, beseeching Him: 'Send me not from Thee, O Master. Wherever Thou
goest, suffer me to follow Thee.' To this the Báb replied:
'Muḥammad-`Alí, arise, and rest assured that you will be with Me.
Tomorrow you shall witness what God has decreed.'[6]
This youth, Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alíy-i-Zunúzí, had long been devoted to the
Báb, but his stepfather[EE] had used every subterfuge to prevent him
from meeting the Báb and voicing his allegiance, even going to the
length of locking him up in his own house. [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí
was related to the family, and thus had access to Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí.
Visiting him one day, [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan found the youth transformed,
no longer wretched and bemoaning his fate, but happy and at peace. 'The
eyes of my Beloved,' he told [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan, 'have beheld this
face, and these eyes have gazed upon His countenance.' He then recounted
an experience he had had:
Let me tell you the secret of my happiness. After the Báb
had been taken back to [_Ch_]ihríq,[EF] one day, as I lay
confined in my cell, I turned my heart to Him and besought
Him in these words: 'Thou beholdest, O my Best-Beloved, my
captivity and helplessness, and knowest how eagerly I yearn
to look upon Thy face. Dispel the gloom that oppresses my
heart, with the light of Thy countenance.' What tears of
agonising pain I shed that hour! I was so overcome with
emotion that I seemed to have lost consciousness. Suddenly I
heard the voice of the Báb, and, lo! He was calling me. He
bade me arise. I beheld the majesty of His countenance as He
appeared before me. He smiled as He looked into my eyes. I
rushed forward and flung myself at His feet. 'Rejoice,' He
said; 'the hour is approaching when, in this very city, I
shall be suspended before the eyes of the multitude and
shall fall a victim to the fire of the enemy. I shall choose
no one except you to share with Me the cup of martyrdom.
Rest assured that this promise which I give you shall be
fulfilled.'[7]
[Footnote EE: Siyyid `Alíy-i-Zunúzí.]
[Footnote EF: Following his examination in the summer of
1848.]
Now, two years later, in a thoroughfare of Tabríz, Mírzá
Muḥammad-`Alíy-i-Zunúzí received the same promise and assurance
from the Báb.
That night the Báb was joyous. He knew that on the following day He
would quaff the cup of martyrdom. He also knew that His Mission on
this earth was totally accomplished, despite fierce opposition mounted
by the divines and rulers of the land, and despite the tyrannies and
indignities to which He had been mercilessly subjected. No power had
succeeded in quenching the flame of faith which His Word had set
ablaze. He had knowingly sacrificed His life for the sake of the
Redeemer promised unto all Faiths. The near advent of 'Him Whom God
shall make manifest' (Man-Yuẓhiruhu'lláh) had been His constant
theme. He had made the acceptance of His own Book--the mighty
_Bayán_--dependent upon the good pleasure of 'Him Whom God shall make
manifest', Whom He had addressed in the early days of His Ministry:
O Thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for
Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned
for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love.[8]
And now on this night--His last on earth--He was happy and contented. He
told the faithful disciples who were with Him that He preferred to meet
His death at the hand of a friend rather than at the hands of enemies,
and invited them to fulfil His wish. Among those men who so dearly loved
Him, only Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí dared to undertake that fearsome task, but
his companions restrained him. 'This same youth who has risen to comply
with My wish,' the Báb said, 'will, together with Me, suffer martyrdom.
Him will I choose to share with Me its crown.' And He added: 'Verily
Muḥammad-`Alí will be with Us in Paradise.'[9]
Jesus was crucified with two criminals, and St. Luke tells us:
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him,
saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou
fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our
deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day
shalt thou be with me in paradise.[EG]
[Footnote EG: xxiii, 39-43.]
In the morning they took the Báb to the homes of the leading divines:
Mullá Muḥammad-i-Mámaqání, Mullá Murtiḍá-Qulíy-i-Marandí and
Mírzá Báqir, to obtain the death-warrants. These men needed no
inducement: they had the warrants written, signed and sealed, ready
to deliver to the farrá[_sh_]-bá[_sh_]í, and did not even deign to
show their faces to the Prisoner.
Again we are reminded of St. Luke:
And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote _him_.
And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the
face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote
thee?
And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.
And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the
chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him
into their council, saying,
Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I
tell you, ye will not believe:
And if I also ask _you_, ye will not answer me, nor let _me_
go.
Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the
power of God.
Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he
said unto them, Ye say that I am.
And they said, What need we any further witness? for we
ourselves have heard of his own mouth.[EH]
[Footnote EH: xxii, 63-71.]
The stepfather of Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí now made an attempt to save
him. Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí and his brother, at the instructions of
the Báb Himself, had recanted so that they could take to the followers
of the Báb His last words and wishes. Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí refused
all blandishments, declared his desire to die with his Master, and
told Mullá Muḥammad-i-Mámaqání to his face: 'I am not mad. Such a
charge should rather be brought against you who have sentenced to
death a man no less holy than the promised Qá'im. He is not a fool who
has embraced His Faith and is longing to shed his blood in His
path.'[10] His young child was brought to him. They thought that,
perchance, the sight of the boy might soften his heart. But Mírzá
Muḥammad-`Alí's resolve remained unshaken. God would provide for
his child and protect him.
So at noon they led the Báb and His disciple to the square in front of
the citadel of Tabríz. Sám [_Kh_]án, the commander of the Armenian
regiment detailed to execute them, was ill at ease. The Prisoner looked
kind and compassionate. For what crime was He to be put to death? Unable
to still the voice of his conscience, Sám [_Kh_]án approached the Báb:
'I profess the Christian Faith and entertain no ill will against you. If
your Cause be the Cause of Truth, enable me to free myself from the
obligation to shed your blood.' To this the Báb replied: 'Follow your
instructions, and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely
able to relieve you from your perplexity.'[11]
The Báb and His disciple were suspended by ropes from a nail in the
wall, the head of Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí resting on the breast of the
Báb. Seven hundred and fifty soldiers were positioned in three files.
Roofs of the buildings around teemed with spectators.
Each row of soldiers fired in turn. The smoke from so many rifles
clouded the scene. When it lifted the Báb was not there. Only His
disciple could be seen, standing under the nail in the wall, smiling
and unconcerned. Bullets had only severed the ropes with which they
were suspended. Cries rang out from the onlookers: 'The Siyyid-i-Báb
has gone from our sight!'
A frantic search followed. The Báb was found, sitting in the same room
where He had been lodged the night before, in conversation with His
amanuensis. That conversation had been interrupted earlier in the day.
Now it was finished and He told the farrá[_sh_]-bá[_sh_]í to carry out
his duty. But the farrá[_sh_]-bá[_sh_]í was terror-stricken and ran
away, nor did he ever return to his post. Sám [_Kh_]án, for his part,
told his superiors that he had carried out the task given to him; he
would not attempt it a second time. So Áqá Ján [_Kh_]án-i-[_Kh_]amsih
and his Náṣirí regiment replaced the Armenians, and the Báb and His
disciple were suspended once again at the same spot.
Now the Báb addressed the multitude gathered to see Him die:
Had you believed in Me, O wayward generation, every one of
you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood
in rank above most of you, and willingly would have
sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you
will have recognised Me; that day I shall have ceased to be
with you.[12]
And St. Luke relates:
And there followed him a great company of people, and of
women, which also bewailed and lamented him.
But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your
children.
For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall
say, Blessed _are_ the barren, and the wombs that never
bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us;
and to the hills, Cover us.[EI]
[Footnote EI: xxiii, 27-30.]
The Náṣirí regiment fired. The bodies of the Báb and His disciple
were shattered, and their flesh was united. But the face of the Báb
was untouched. Then a storm descended upon Tabríz. Tempestuous winds
blew and dust darkened the skies, and the skies remained dark, until
the darkness of the day merged into the darkness of the night.
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness
over all the earth until the ninth hour.
And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was
rent in the midst.
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he
gave up the ghost.[EJ]
[Footnote EJ: Luke xxiii, 44-6.]
Thus at noon, one midsummer day--Sunday July 9th 1850[EK]--they put to
death a Manifestation of God, just as at noon, centuries before,
another Manifestation of God was slain.
[Footnote EK: [_Sh_]a`bán 28th, 1266 A.H.]
When night fell, they dragged the bodies through the streets of
Tabríz, and threw them on the edge of the moat surrounding the city.
Soldiers were stationed there to guard over them, lest the Bábís
attempt to retrieve the precious remains. Not far away, two Bábís,
feigning madness, kept vigil throughout the night.
Next morning the Russian Consul took an artist with him to make a
drawing of the remains of the Báb.
* * * * *
Sulaymán [_Kh_]án, that loyal disciple who attained the presence of
the Báb in [_Ch_]ihríq, reached Tabríz the day after His martyrdom. He
had intended to rescue his Master. But that was not to be. Now, he
went straightway to Ḥájí Mírzá Mihdí [_Kh_]án, the Kalántar (Mayor)
of Tabríz, who was a friend of long standing, and told him that he had
decided to dare everything that very night and carry the bodies away
by a surprise attack on the soldiers guarding them on the edge of the
moat. The Kalántar told Sulaymán [_Kh_]án to withdraw for the moment
and assured him that there was a much safer and more reliable way to
achieve his purpose.
There was in Tabríz a certain Ḥájí Alláh-Yár, a confidant of the
Kalántar, well-known for his exploits. Instructed by the Kalántar,
Ḥájí Alláh-Yár used such means as he knew best to take the bodies
away from under the eyes of the soldiers. He delivered the remains to
Sulaymán [_Kh_]án, who had them moved to the silk factory of Ḥájí
Aḥmad, a Bábí of Mílán. There they were enshrouded and hidden under
the bales of silk. Next day a casket was made to contain them, and
they were sent away to safety. Ḥájí Alláh-Yár refused to accept any
reward for his service.[13]
Soldiers reported the disappearance of the bodies. Wild beasts had
devoured the remains, they alleged, while they slept. And the divines
gave credence to that story and shouted for joy. What better proof
could there be to show how false the Siyyid-i-Báb was? Beasts do not,
cannot consume the remains of the Imám.[EL]
[Footnote EL: See Appendix 2 for extracts from British
official documents which report the execution and the
disposition of the bodies.]