GOD PASSES BY
(U.S., Second Printing 1979)
FILENAME: GPB
FILEDATE: 08-06-94
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FOREWORD
On the 23rd of May of this auspicious year the &Baha'i world will
celebrate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah. It will commemorate at once the hundreth anniversary
of the inception of the &Babi Dispensation, of the inauguration of the
&Baha'i Era, of the commencement of the &Baha'i Cycle, and of the
birth of &Abdu'l-Baha. The weight of the potentialities with which
this Faith, possessing no peer or equal in the world's spiritual history,
and marking the culmination of a universal prophetic cycle, has been
endowed, staggers our imagination. The brightness of the millennial
glory which it must shed in the fullness of time dazzles our eyes. The
magnitude of the shadow which its Author will continue to cast on
successive Prophets destined to be raised up after Him eludes our
calculation.
Already in the space of less than a century the operation of the
mysterious processes generated by its creative spirit has provoked a
tumult in human society such as no mind can fathom. Itself undergoing
a period of incubation during its primitive age, it has, through
the emergence of its slowly-crystallizing system, induced a fermentation
in the general life of mankind designed to shake the very foundations
of a disordered society, to purify its life-blood, to reorientate
and reconstruct its institutions, and shape its final destiny.
To what else can the observant eye or the unprejudiced mind,
acquainted with the signs and portents heralding the birth, and
accompanying the rise, of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah ascribe this dire,
this planetary upheaval, with its attendant destruction, misery and
fear, if not to the emergence of His embryonic World Order, which,
as He Himself has unequivocally proclaimed, has "deranged the
equilibrium of the world and revolutionized mankind's ordered life"?
To what agency, if not to the irresistible diffusion of that world-shaking,
world-energizing, world-redeeming spirit, which the &Bab has
affirmed is "vibrating in the innermost realities of all created things"
can the origins of this portentous crisis, incomprehensible to man,
and admittedly unprecedented in the annals of the human race, be
attributed? In the convulsions of contemporary society, in the
frenzied, world-wide ebullitions of men's thoughts, in the fierce
antagonisms inflaming races, creeds and classes, in the shipwreck of
nations, in the downfall of kings, in the dismemberment of empires,
in the extinction of dynasties, in the collapse of ecclesiastical hierarchies,
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in the deterioration of time-honored institutions, in the dissolution
of ties, secular as well as religious, that had for so long held
together the members of the human race--all manifesting themselves
with ever-increasing gravity since the outbreak of the first World War
that immediately preceded the opening years of the Formative Age
of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah--in these we can readily recognize the
evidences of the travail of an age that has sustained the impact of
His Revelation, that has ignored His summons, and is now laboring
to be delivered of its burden, as a direct consequence of the impulse
communicated to it by the generative, the purifying, the transmuting
influence of His Spirit.
It is my purpose, on the occasion of an anniversary of such profound
significance, to attempt in the succeeding pages a survey of
the outstanding events of the century that has seen this Spirit burst
forth upon the world, as well as the initial stages of its subsequent
incarnation in a System that must evolve into an Order designed to
embrace the whole of mankind, and capable of fulfilling the high
destiny that awaits man on this planet. I shall endeavor to review,
in their proper perspective and despite the comparatively brief space
of time which separates us from them, the events which the revolution
of a hundred years, unique alike in glory and tribulation, has unrolled
before our eyes. I shall seek to represent and correlate, in however
cursory a manner, those momentous happenings which have insensibly,
relentlessly, and under the very eyes of successive generations, perverse,
indifferent or hostile, transformed a heterodox and seemingly
negligible offshoot of the &Shaykhi school of the &Ithna-'Ashariyyih sect
of &Shi'ah &Islam into a world religion whose unnumbered followers are
organically and indissolubly united; whose light has overspread the
earth as far as Iceland in the North and Magellanes in the South;
whose ramifications have spread to no less than sixty countries of the
world; whose literature has been translated and disseminated in no
less than forty languages; whose endowments in the five continents
of the globe, whether local, national or international, already run
into several million dollars; whose incorporated elective bodies have
secured the official recognition of a number of governments in East
and West; whose adherents are recruited from the diversified races
and chief religions of mankind; whose representatives are to be found
in hundreds of cities in both Persia and the United States of America;
to whose verities royalty has publicly and repeatedly testified; whose
independent status its enemies, from the ranks of its parent religion
and in the leading center of both the Arab and Muslim worlds, have
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proclaimed and demonstrated; and whose claims have been virtually
recognized, entitling it to rank as the fourth religion of a Land in
which its world spiritual center has been established, and which is
at once the heart of Christendom, the holiest shrine of the Jewish
people, and, save Mecca alone, the most sacred spot in &Islam.
It is not my purpose--nor does the occasion demand it,--to write
a detailed history of the last hundred years of the &Baha'i Faith, nor
do I intend to trace the origins of so tremendous a Movement, or to
portray the conditions under which it was born, or to examine the
character of the religion from which it has sprung, or to arrive at an
estimate of the effects which its impact upon the fortunes of mankind
has produced. I shall rather content myself with a review of the
salient features of its birth and rise, as well as of the initial stages in the
establishment of its administrative institutions--institutions which
must be regarded as the nucleus and herald of that World Order
that must incarnate the soul, execute the laws, and fulfill the purpose
of the Faith of God in this day.
Nor will it be my intention to ignore, whilst surveying the
panorama which the revolution of a hundred years spreads before our
gaze, the swift interweaving of seeming reverses with evident victories,
out of which the hand of an inscrutable Providence has chosen
to form the pattern of the Faith from its earliest days, or to minimize
those disasters that have so often proved themselves to be the prelude
to fresh triumphs which have, in turn, stimulated its growth and
consolidated its past achievements. Indeed, the history of the first
hundred years of its evolution resolves itself into a series of internal
and external crises, of varying severity, devastating in their immediate
effects, but each mysteriously releasing a corresponding measure of
divine power, lending thereby a fresh impulse to its unfoldment, this
further unfoldment engendering in its turn a still graver calamity,
followed by a still more liberal effusion of celestial grace enabling its
upholders to accelerate still further its march and win in its service
still more compelling victories.
In its broadest outline the first century of the &Baha'i Era may be
said to comprise the Heroic, the Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah, and also the initial stages of the Formative, the
Transitional, the Iron Age which is to witness the crystallization and
shaping of the creative energies released by His Revelation. The first
eighty years of this century may roughly be said to have covered the
entire period of the first age, while the last two decades may be
regarded as having witnessed the beginnings of the second. The
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former commences with the Declaration of the &Bab, includes the
mission of &Baha'u'llah, and terminates with the passing of &Abdu'l-Baha.
The latter is ushered in by His Will and Testament, which
defines its character and establishes its foundation.
The century under our review may therefore be considered as
falling into four distinct periods, of unequal duration, each of specific
import and of tremendous and indeed unappraisable significance.
These four periods are closely interrelated, and constitute successive
acts of one, indivisible, stupendous and sublime drama, whose
mystery no intellect can fathom, whose climax no eye can even
dimly perceive, whose conclusion no mind can adequately foreshadow.
Each of these acts revolves around its own theme, boasts of its own
heroes, registers its own tragedies, records its own triumphs, and contributes
its own share to the execution of one common, immutable
Purpose. To isolate any one of them from the others, to dissociate the
later manifestations of one universal, all-embracing Revelation from
the pristine purpose that animated it in its earliest days, would be
tantamount to a mutilation of the structure on which it rests, and
to a lamentable perversion of its truth and of its history.
The first period (1844-1853), centers around the gentle, the
youthful and irresistible person of the &Bab, matchless in His meekness,
imperturbable in His serenity, magnetic in His utterance, unrivaled
in the dramatic episodes of His swift and tragic ministry. It begins
with the Declaration of His Mission, culminates in His martyrdom,
and ends in a veritable orgy of religious massacre revolting in its
hideousness. It is characterized by nine years of fierce and relentless
contest, whose theatre was the whole of Persia, in which above ten
thousand heroes laid down their lives, in which two sovereigns of the
&Qajar dynasty and their wicked ministers participated, and which
was supported by the entire &Shi'ah ecclesiastical hierarchy, by the
military resources of the state, and by the implacable hostility of the
masses. The second period (1853-1892) derives its inspiration from
the august figure of &Baha'u'llah, preeminent in holiness, awesome in
the majesty of His strength and power, unapproachable in the transcendent
brightness of His glory. It opens with the first stirrings,
in the soul of &Baha'u'llah while in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran, of the
Revelation anticipated by the &Bab, attains its plenitude in the
proclamation of that Revelation to the kings and ecclesiastical leaders
of the earth, and terminates in the ascension of its Author in the
vicinity of the prison-town of &Akka. It extends over thirty-nine
years of continuous, of unprecedented and overpowering Revelation,
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is marked by the propagation of the Faith to the neighboring territories
of Turkey, of Russia, of &Iraq, of Syria, of Egypt and of India,
and is distinguished by a corresponding aggravation of hostility,
represented by the united attacks launched by the &Shah of Persia and
the &Sultan of Turkey, the two admittedly most powerful potentates
of the East, as well as by the opposition of the twin sacerdotal orders
of &Shi'ah and &Sunni &Islam. The third period (1892-1921) revolves
around the vibrant personality of &Abdu'l-Baha, mysterious in His
essence, unique in His station, astoundingly potent in both the charm
and strength of His character. It commences with the announcement
of the Covenant of &Baha'u'llah, a document without parallel in the
history of any earlier Dispensation, attains its climax in the emphatic
assertion by the Center of that Covenant, in the City of the Covenant,
of the unique character and far-reaching implications of that Document,
and closes with His passing and the interment of His remains
on Mt. Carmel. It will go down in history as a period of almost thirty
years' duration, in which tragedies and triumphs have been so intertwined
as to eclipse at one time the Orb of the Covenant, and at
another time to pour forth its light over the continent of Europe,
and as far as Australasia, the Far East and the North American continent.
The fourth period (1921-1944) is motivated by the forces
radiating from the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha, that Charter
of &Baha'u'llah's New World Order, the offspring resulting from the
mystic intercourse between Him Who is the Source of the Law of
God and the mind of the One Who is the vehicle and interpreter of
that Law. The inception of this fourth, this last period of the first
&Baha'i century synchronizes with the birth of the Formative Age of
the &Baha'i Era, with the founding of the Administrative Order of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah--a system which is at once the harbinger, the
nucleus and pattern of His World Order. This period, covering the
first twenty-three years of this Formative Age, has already been distinguished
by an outburst of further hostility, of a different character,
accelerating on the one hand the diffusion of the Faith over a still
wider area in each of the five continents of the globe, and resulting
on the other in the emancipation and the recognition of the independent
status of several communities within its pale.
These four periods are to be regarded not only as the component,
the inseparable parts of one stupendous whole, but as progressive stages
in a single evolutionary process, vast, steady and irresistible. For as
we survey the entire range which the operation of a century-old Faith
has unfolded before us, we cannot escape the conclusion that from
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whatever angle we view this colossal scene, the events associated with
these periods present to us unmistakable evidences of a slowly maturing
process, of an orderly development, of internal consolidation, of
external expansion, of a gradual emancipation from the fetters of
religious orthodoxy, and of a corresponding diminution of civil disabilities
and restrictions.
Viewing these periods of &Baha'i history as the constituents of a
single entity, we note the chain of events proclaiming successfully the
rise of a Forerunner, the Mission of One Whose advent that Forerunner
had promised, the establishment of a Covenant generated
through the direct authority of the Promised One Himself, and lastly
the birth of a System which is the child sprung from both the Author
of the Covenant and its appointed Center. We observe how the &Bab,
the Forerunner, announced the impending inception of a divinely-conceived
Order, how &Baha'u'llah, the Promised One, formulated its
laws and ordinances, how &Abdu'l-Baha, the appointed Center, delineated
its features, and how the present generation of their followers
have commenced to erect the framework of its institutions. We
watch, through these periods, the infant light of the Faith diffuse itself
from its cradle, eastward to India and the Far East, westward to the
neighboring territories of &Iraq, of Turkey, of Russia, and of Egypt,
travel as far as the North American continent, illuminate subsequently
the major countries of Europe, envelop with its radiance,
at a later stage, the Antipodes, brighten the fringes of the Arctic,
and finally set aglow the Central and South American horizons. We
witness a corresponding increase in the diversity of the elements
within its fellowship, which from being confined, in the first period of
its history, to an obscure body of followers chiefly recruited from the
ranks of the masses in &Shi'ah Persia, has expanded into a fraternity
representative of the leading religious systems of the world, of almost
every caste and color, from the humblest worker and peasant to
royalty itself. We notice a similar development in the extent of its
literature--a literature which, restricted at first to the narrow range
of hurriedly transcribed, often corrupted, secretly circulated, manuscripts,
so furtively perused, so frequently effaced, and at times even
eaten by the terrorized members of a proscribed sect, has, within the
space of a century, swelled into innumerable editions, comprising tens
of thousands of printed volumes, in diverse scripts, and in no less than
forty languages, some elaborately reproduced, others profusely illustrated,
all methodically and vigorously disseminated through the
agency of world-wide, properly constituted and specially organized
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committees and Assemblies. We perceive a no less apparent evolution
in the scope of its teachings, at first designedly rigid, complex and
severe, subsequently recast, expanded, and liberalized under the succeeding
Dispensation, later expounded, reaffirmed and amplified by an
appointed Interpreter, and lastly systematized and universally applied
to both individuals and institutions. We can discover a no less distinct
gradation in the character of the opposition it has had to encounter--
an opposition, at first kindled in the bosom of &Shi'ah &Islam, which, at a
later stage, gathered momentum with the banishment of &Baha'u'llah
to the domains of the Turkish &Sultan and the consequent hostility of
the more powerful &Sunni hierarchy and its Caliph, the head of the vast
majority of the followers of &Muhammad--an opposition which, now,
through the rise of a divinely appointed Order in the Christian West,
and its initial impact on civil and ecclesiastical institutions, bids fair
to include among its supporters established governments and systems
associated with the most ancient, the most deeply entrenched sacerdotal
hierarchies in Christendom. We can, at the same time, recognize,
through the haze of an ever-widening hostility, the progress, painful
yet persistent, of certain communities within its pale through the
stages of obscurity, of proscription, of emancipation, and of recognition
--stages that must needs culminate in the course of succeeding
centuries, in the establishment of the Faith, and the founding, in the
plenitude of its power and authority, of the world-embracing &Baha'i
Commonwealth. We can likewise discern a no less appreciable
advance in the rise of its institutions, whether as administrative
centers or places of worship--institutions, clandestine and subterrene
in their earliest beginnings, emerging imperceptibly into the broad
daylight of public recognition, legally protected, enriched by pious
endowments, ennobled at first by the erection of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar
of &Ishqabad, the first &Baha'i House of Worship, and more
recently immortalized, through the rise in the heart of the North
American continent of the Mother Temple of the West, the forerunner
of a divine, a slowly maturing civilization. And finally, we
can even bear witness to the marked improvement in the conditions
surrounding the pilgrimages performed by its devoted adherents to
its consecrated shrines at its world center--pilgrimages originally
arduous, perilous, tediously long, often made on foot, at times ending
in disappointment, and confined to a handful of harassed Oriental
followers, gradually attracting, under steadily improving circumstances
of security and comfort, an ever swelling number of new
converts converging from the four corners of the globe, and culminating
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in the widely publicized yet sadly frustrated visit of a noble
Queen, who, at the very threshold of the city of her heart's desire,
was compelled, according to her own written testimony, to divert her
steps, and forego the privilege of so priceless a benefit.
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FIRST PERIOD
THE MINISTRY OF THE &BAB
1844-1853
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CHAPTER I
The Birth of the &Babi Revelation
May 23, 1844, signalizes the commencement of the most turbulent
period of the Heroic Age of the &Baha'i Era, an age which marks the
opening of the most glorious epoch in the greatest cycle which the
spiritual history of mankind has yet witnessed. No more than a
span of nine short years marks the duration of this most spectacular,
this most tragic, this most eventful period of the first &Baha'i century.
It was ushered in by the birth of a Revelation whose Bearer posterity
will acclaim as the "Point round Whom the realities of the Prophets
and Messengers revolve," and terminated with the first stirrings of a
still more potent Revelation, "whose day," &Baha'u'llah Himself affirms,
"every Prophet hath announced," for which "the soul of every Divine
Messenger hath thirsted," and through which "God hath proved the
hearts of the entire company of His Messengers and Prophets." Little
wonder that the immortal chronicler of the events associated with
the birth and rise of the &Baha'i Revelation has seen fit to devote no
less than half of his moving narrative to the description of those
happenings that have during such a brief space of time so greatly
enriched, through their tragedy and heroism, the religious annals of
mankind. In sheer dramatic power, in the rapidity with which events
of momentous importance succeeded each other, in the holocaust
which baptized its birth, in the miraculous circumstances attending
the martyrdom of the One Who had ushered it in, in the potentialities
with which it had been from the outset so thoroughly impregnated,
in the forces to which it eventually gave birth, this nine-year
period may well rank as unique in the whole range of man's religious
experience. We behold, as we survey the episodes of this first act of a
sublime drama, the figure of its Master Hero, the &Bab, arise meteor-like
above the horizon of &Shiraz, traverse the sombre sky of Persia
from south to north, decline with tragic swiftness, and perish in a
blaze of glory. We see His satellites, a galaxy of God-intoxicated
heroes, mount above that same horizon, irradiate that same incandescent
light, burn themselves out with that self-same swiftness, and
impart in their turn an added impetus to the steadily gathering
momentum of God's nascent Faith.
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He Who communicated the original impulse to so incalculable a
Movement was none other than the promised &Qa'im (He who
ariseth), the &Sahibu'z-Zaman (the Lord of the Age), Who assumed
the exclusive right of annulling the whole &Qur'anic Dispensation,
Who styled Himself "the Primal Point from which have been generated
all created things ... the Countenance of God Whose splendor can
never be obscured, the Light of God Whose radiance can never fade."
The people among whom He appeared were the most decadent race
in the civilized world, grossly ignorant, savage, cruel, steeped in
prejudice, servile in their submission to an almost deified hierarchy,
recalling in their abjectness the Israelites of Egypt in the days of
Moses, in their fanaticism the Jews in the days of Jesus, and in their
perversity the idolators of Arabia in the days of &Muhammad. The
arch-enemy who repudiated His claim, challenged His authority,
persecuted His Cause, succeeded in almost quenching His light, and
who eventually became disintegrated under the impact of His Revelation
was the &Shi'ah priesthood. Fiercely fanatic, unspeakably corrupt,
enjoying unlimited ascendancy over the masses, jealous of their
position, and irreconcilably opposed to all liberal ideas, the members
of this caste had for one thousand years invoked the name of the
Hidden &Imam, their breasts had glowed with the expectation of His
advent, their pulpits had rung with the praises of His world-embracing
dominion, their lips were still devoutly and perpetually murmuring
prayers for the hastening of His coming. The willing tools
who prostituted their high office for the accomplishment of the
enemy's designs were no less than the sovereigns of the &Qajar dynasty,
first, the bigoted, the sickly, the vacillating &Muhammad &Shah, who
at the last moment cancelled the &Bab's imminent visit to the capital,
and, second, the youthful and inexperienced &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, who
gave his ready assent to the sentence of his Captive's death. The
arch villains who joined hands with the prime movers of so wicked a
conspiracy were the two grand vizirs, &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, the idolized
tutor of &Muhammad &Shah, a vulgar, false-hearted and fickle-minded
schemer, and the arbitrary, bloodthirsty, reckless &Amir-Nizam, &Mirza
&Taqi &Khan, the first of whom exiled the &Bab to the mountain fastnesses
of &Adhirbayjan, and the latter decreed His death in &Tabriz.
Their accomplice in these and other heinous crimes was a government
bolstered up by a flock of idle, parasitical princelings and governors,
corrupt, incompetent, tenaciously holding to their ill-gotten privileges,
and utterly subservient to a notoriously degraded clerical order.
The heroes whose deeds shine upon the record of this fierce spiritual
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contest, involving at once people, clergy, monarch and government,
were the &Bab's chosen disciples, the Letters of the Living, and their
companions, the trail-breakers of the New Day, who to so much
intrigue, ignorance, depravity, cruelty, superstition and cowardice
opposed a spirit exalted, unquenchable and awe-inspiring, a knowledge
surprisingly profound, an eloquence sweeping in its force, a piety
unexcelled in fervor, a courage leonine in its fierceness, a self-abnegation
saintly in its purity, a resolve granite-like in its firmness, a
vision stupendous in its range, a veneration for the Prophet and His
&Imams disconcerting to their adversaries, a power of persuasion alarming
to their antagonists, a standard of faith and a code of conduct
that challenged and revolutionized the lives of their countrymen.
The opening scene of the initial act of this great drama was laid
in the upper chamber of the modest residence of the son of a mercer
of &Shiraz, in an obscure corner of that city. The time was the hour
before sunset, on the 22nd day of May, 1844. The participants were
the &Bab, a twenty-five year old siyyid, of pure and holy lineage, and
the young &Mulla &Husayn, the first to believe in Him. Their meeting
immediately before that interview seemed to be purely fortuitous.
The interview itself was protracted till the hour of dawn. The Host
remained closeted alone with His guest, nor was the sleeping city
remotely aware of the import of the conversation they held with
each other. No record has passed to posterity of that unique night
save the fragmentary but highly illuminating account that fell from
the lips of &Mulla &Husayn.
"I sat spellbound by His utterance, oblivious of time and of those
who awaited me," he himself has testified, after describing the nature
of the questions he had put to his Host and the conclusive replies he
had received from Him, replies which had established beyond the
shadow of a doubt the validity of His claim to be the promised &Qa'im.
"Suddenly the call of the &Mu'adhdhin, summoning the faithful to
their morning prayer, awakened me from the state of ecstasy into
which I seemed to have fallen. All the delights, all the ineffable
glories, which the Almighty has recounted in His Book as the priceless
possessions of the people of Paradise--these I seemed to be experiencing
that night. Methinks I was in a place of which it could be
truly said: `Therein no toil shall reach us, and therein no weariness
shall touch us;' `no vain discourse shall they hear therein, nor any
falsehood, but only the cry, "Peace! Peace!"'; `their cry therein shall
be, "Glory to Thee, O God!" and their salutation therein, "Peace!",
and the close of their cry, "Praise be to God, Lord of all creatures!"'
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Sleep had departed from me that night. I was enthralled by the
music of that voice which rose and fell as He chanted; now swelling
forth as He revealed verses of the &Qayyumu'l-Asma', again acquiring
ethereal, subtle harmonies as He uttered the prayers He was revealing.
At the end of each invocation, He would repeat this verse: `Far from
the glory of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, be that which His creatures
affirm of Him! And peace be upon His Messengers! And praise be
to God, the Lord of all beings!'"
"This Revelation," &Mulla &Husayn has further testified, "so suddenly
and impetuously thrust upon me, came as a thunderbolt which,
for a time, seemed to have benumbed my faculties. I was blinded by
its dazzling splendor and overwhelmed by its crushing force. Excitement,
joy, awe, and wonder stirred the depths of my soul. Predominant
among these emotions was a sense of gladness and strength
which seemed to have transfigured me. How feeble and impotent,
how dejected and timid, I had felt previously! Then I could neither
write nor walk, so tremulous were my hands and feet. Now, however,
the knowledge of His Revelation had galvanized my being. I
felt possessed of such courage and power that were the world, all its
peoples and its potentates, to rise against me, I would, alone and
undaunted, withstand their onslaught. The universe seemed but a
handful of dust in my grasp. I seemed to be the voice of Gabriel
personified, calling unto all mankind: `Awake, for, lo! the morning
Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal
of His grace is open wide; enter therein, O peoples of the world!
For He Who is your promised One is come!'"
A more significant light, however, is shed on this episode, marking
the Declaration of the Mission of the &Bab, by the perusal of that
"first, greatest and mightiest" of all books in the &Babi Dispensation,
the celebrated commentary on the &Surih of Joseph, the first chapter
of which, we are assured, proceeded, in its entirety, in the course of
that night of nights from the pen of its divine Revealer. The description
of this episode by &Mulla &Husayn, as well as the opening pages of
that Book attest the magnitude and force of that weighty Declaration.
A claim to be no less than the mouthpiece of God Himself,
promised by the Prophets of bygone ages; the assertion that He was,
at the same time, the Herald of One immeasurably greater than Himself;
the summons which He trumpeted forth to the kings and princes
of the earth; the dire warnings directed to the Chief Magistrate of
the realm, &Muhammad &Shah; the counsel imparted to &Haji &Mirza
&Aqasi to fear God, and the peremptory command to abdicate his
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authority as grand vizir of the &Shah and submit to the One Who is
the "Inheritor of the earth and all that is therein"; the challenge
issued to the rulers of the world proclaiming the self-sufficiency of
His Cause, denouncing the vanity of their ephemeral power, and
calling upon them to "lay aside, one and all, their dominion," and
deliver His Message to "lands in both the East and the West"--these
constitute the dominant features of that initial contact that marked
the birth, and fixed the date, of the inception of the most glorious
era in the spiritual life of mankind.
With this historic Declaration the dawn of an Age that signalizes
the consummation of all ages had broken. The first impulse of a
momentous Revelation had been communicated to the one "but for
whom," according to the testimony of the &Kitab-i-Iqan, "God would
not have been established upon the seat of His mercy, nor ascended
the throne of eternal glory." Not until forty days had elapsed, however,
did the enrollment of the seventeen remaining Letters of the
Living commence. Gradually, spontaneously, some in sleep, others
while awake, some through fasting and prayer, others through dreams
and visions, they discovered the Object of their quest, and were
enlisted under the banner of the new-born Faith. The last, but in
rank the first, of these Letters to be inscribed on the Preserved Tablet
was the erudite, the twenty-two year old &Quddus, a direct descendant
of the &Imam &Hasan and the most esteemed disciple of Siyyid &Kazim.
Immediately preceding him, a woman, the only one of her sex, who,
unlike her fellow-disciples, never attained the presence of the &Bab,
was invested with the rank of apostleship in the new Dispensation.
A poetess, less than thirty years of age, of distinguished birth, of
bewitching charm, of captivating eloquence, indomitable in spirit,
unorthodox in her views, audacious in her acts, immortalized as
&Tahirih (the Pure One) by the "Tongue of Glory," and surnamed
&Qurratu'l-'Ayn (Solace of the Eyes) by Siyyid &Kazim, her teacher,
she had, in consequence of the appearance of the &Bab to her in a
dream, received the first intimation of a Cause which was destined
to exalt her to the fairest heights of fame, and on which she, through
her bold heroism, was to shed such imperishable luster.
These "first Letters generated from the Primal Point," this "company
of angels arrayed before God on the Day of His coming," these
"Repositories of His Mystery," these "Springs that have welled out
from the Source of His Revelation," these first companions who, in
the words of the Persian &Bayan, "enjoy nearest access to God," these
"Luminaries that have, from everlasting, bowed down, and will everlastingly
+P8
continue to bow down, before the Celestial Throne," and
lastly these "elders" mentioned in the Book of Revelation as "sitting
before God on their seats," "clothed in white raiment" and wearing
on their heads "crowns of gold"--these were, ere their dispersal,
summoned to the &Bab's presence, Who addressed to them His parting
words, entrusted to each a specific task, and assigned to some of them
as the proper field of their activities their native provinces. He
enjoined them to observe the utmost caution and moderation in their
behavior, unveiled the loftiness of their rank, and stressed the magnitude
of their responsibilities. He recalled the words addressed by
Jesus to His disciples, and emphasized the superlative greatness of
the New Day. He warned them lest by turning back they forfeit
the Kingdom of God, and assured them that if they did God's bidding,
God would make them His heirs and spiritual leaders among men.
He hinted at the secret, and announced the approach, of a still
mightier Day, and bade them prepare themselves for its advent.
He called to remembrance the triumph of Abraham over Nimrod,
of Moses over Pharaoh, of Jesus over the Jewish people, and of
&Muhammad over the tribes of Arabia, and asserted the inevitability
and ultimate ascendancy of His own Revelation. To the care of
&Mulla &Husayn He committed a mission, more specific in character
and mightier in import. He affirmed that His covenant with him had
been established, cautioned him to be forbearing with the divines he
would encounter, directed him to proceed to &Tihran, and alluded, in
the most glowing terms, to the as yet unrevealed Mystery enshrined
in that city--a Mystery that would, He affirmed, transcend the light
shed by both &Hijaz and &Shiraz.
Galvanized into action by the mandate conferred upon them,
launched on their perilous and revolutionizing mission, these lesser
luminaries who, together with the &Bab, constitute the First &Vahid
(Unity) of the Dispensation of the &Bayan, scattered far and wide
through the provinces of their native land, where, with matchless
heroism, they resisted the savage and concerted onslaught of the forces
arrayed against them, and immortalized their Faith by their own
exploits and those of their co-religionists, raising thereby a tumult
that convulsed their country and sent its echoes reverberating as far
as the capitals of Western Europe.
It was not until, however, the &Bab had received the eagerly anticipated
letter of &Mulla &Husayn, His trusted and beloved lieutenant,
communicating the joyful tidings of his interview with &Baha'u'llah,
that He decided to undertake His long and arduous pilgrimage to the
+P9
Tombs of His ancestors. In the month of &Sha'ban, of the year 1260
A.H. (September, 1844) He Who, both on His father's and mother's
side, was of the seed of the illustrious &Fatimih, and Who was a
descendant of the &Imam &Husayn, the most eminent among the lawful
successors of the Prophet of &Islam, proceeded, in fulfillment of Islamic
traditions, to visit the Kaaba. He embarked from &Bushihr on the
19th of &Ramadan (October, 1844) on a sailing vessel, accompanied
by &Quddus whom He was assiduously preparing for the assumption of
his future office. Landing at Jaddih after a stormy voyage of over a
month's duration, He donned the pilgrim's garb, mounted a camel,
and set out for Mecca, arriving on the first of &Dhi'l-Hajjih (December
12). &Quddus, holding the bridle in his hands, accompanied his
Master on foot to that holy Shrine. On the day of &Arafih, the
Prophet-pilgrim of &Shiraz, His chronicler relates, devoted His whole
time to prayer. On the day of Nahr He proceeded to &Muna, where
He sacrificed according to custom nineteen lambs, nine in His own
name, seven in the name of &Quddus, and three in the name of the
Ethiopian servant who attended Him. He afterwards, in company
with the other pilgrims, encompassed the Kaaba and performed the
rites prescribed for the pilgrimage.
His visit to &Hijaz was marked by two episodes of particular importance.
The first was the declaration of His mission and His open
challenge to the haughty &Mirza &Muhit-i-Kirmani, one of the most
outstanding exponents of the &Shaykhi school, who at times went so
far as to assert his independence of the leadership of that school
assumed after the death of Siyyid &Kazim by &Haji &Muhammad &Karim
&Khan, a redoubtable enemy of the &Babi Faith. The second was the
invitation, in the form of an Epistle, conveyed by &Quddus, to the
Sherif of Mecca, in which the custodian of the House of God was
called upon to embrace the truth of the new Revelation. Absorbed
in his own pursuits the Sherif however failed to respond. Seven years
later, when in the course of a conversation with a certain &Haji
&Niyaz-i-Baghdadi, this same Sherif was informed of the circumstances
attending the mission and martyrdom of the Prophet of
&Shiraz, he listened attentively to the description of those events and
expressed his indignation at the tragic fate that had overtaken Him.
The &Bab's visit to Medina marked the conclusion of His pilgrimage.
Regaining Jaddih, He returned to &Bushihr, where one of His first acts
was to bid His last farewell to His fellow-traveler and disciple, and
to assure him that he would meet the Beloved of their hearts. He,
moreover, announced to him that he would be crowned with a
+P10
martyr's death, and that He Himself would subsequently suffer a
similar fate at the hands of their common foe.
The &Bab's return to His native land (&Safar 1261) (February-
March, 1845) was the signal for a commotion that rocked the entire
country. The fire which the declaration of His mission had lit was
being fanned into flame through the dispersal and activities of His
appointed disciples. Already within the space of less than two years
it had kindled the passions of friend and foe alike. The outbreak of
the conflagration did not even await the return to His native city of
the One Who had generated it. The implications of a Revelation,
thrust so dramatically upon a race so degenerate, so inflammable in
temper, could indeed have had no other consequence than to excite
within men's bosoms the fiercest passions of fear, of hate, of rage
and envy. A Faith Whose Founder did not content Himself with
the claim to be the Gate of the Hidden &Imam, Who assumed a rank
that excelled even that of the &Sahibu'z-Zaman, Who regarded Himself
as the precursor of one incomparably greater than Himself, Who
peremptorily commanded not only the subjects of the &Shah, but the
monarch himself, and even the kings and princes of the earth, to
forsake their all and follow Him, Who claimed to be the inheritor of
the earth and all that is therein--a Faith Whose religious doctrines,
Whose ethical standards, social principles and religious laws challenged
the whole structure of the society in which it was born, soon
ranged, with startling unanimity, the mass of the people behind their
priests, and behind their chief magistrate, with his ministers and his
government, and welded them into an opposition sworn to destroy,
root and branch, the movement initiated by One Whom they regarded
as an impious and presumptuous pretender.
With the &Bab's return to &Shiraz the initial collision of irreconcilable
forces may be said to have commenced. Already the energetic
and audacious &Mulla &Aliy-i-Bastami, one of the Letters of the Living,
"the first to leave the House of God (&Shiraz) and the first to
suffer for His sake," who, in the presence of one of the leading exponents
of &Shi'ah &Islam, the far-famed &Shaykh &Muhammad &Hasan,
had audaciously asserted that from the pen of his new-found Master
within the space of forty-eight hours, verses had streamed that
equalled in number those of the &Qur'an, which it took its Author
twenty-three years to reveal, had been excommunicated, chained,
disgraced, imprisoned, and, in all probability, done to death. &Mulla
&Sadiq-i-Khurasani, impelled by the injunction of the &Bab in the
&Khasa'il-i-Sab'ih to alter the sacrosanct formula of the &adhan, sounded
+P11
it in its amended form before a scandalized congregation in &Shiraz,
and was instantly arrested, reviled, stripped of his garments, and
scourged with a thousand lashes. The villainous &Husayn &Khan, the
&Nizamu'd-Dawlih, the governor of &Fars, who had read the challenge
thrown out in the &Qayyumu'l-Asma', having ordered that &Mulla
&Sadiq together with &Quddus and another believer be summarily and
publicly punished, caused their beards to be burned, their noses
pierced, and threaded with halters; then, having been led through
the streets in this disgraceful condition, they were expelled from
the city.
The people of &Shiraz were by that time wild with excitement. A
violent controversy was raging in the masjids, the madrisihs, the
bazaars, and other public places. Peace and security were gravely
imperiled. Fearful, envious, thoroughly angered, the &mullas were
beginning to perceive the seriousness of their position. The governor,
greatly alarmed, ordered the &Bab to be arrested. He was brought to
&Shiraz under escort, and, in the presence of &Husayn &Khan, was
severely rebuked, and so violently struck in the face that His turban
fell to the ground. Upon the intervention of the &Imam-Jum'ih He
was released on parole, and entrusted to the custody of His maternal
uncle &Haji &Mirza Siyyid &Ali. A brief lull ensued, enabling the
captive Youth to celebrate the &Naw-Ruz of that and the succeeding
year in an atmosphere of relative tranquillity in the company of His
mother, His wife, and His uncle. Meanwhile the fever that had
seized His followers was communicating itself to the members of the
clergy and to the merchant classes, and was invading the higher circles
of society. Indeed, a wave of passionate inquiry had swept the whole
country, and unnumbered congregations were listening with wonder
to the testimonies eloquently and fearlessly related by the &Bab's
itinerant messengers.
The commotion had assumed such proportions that the &Shah,
unable any longer to ignore the situation, delegated the trusted
Siyyid &Yahyay-i-Darabi, surnamed &Vahid, one of the most erudite,
eloquent and influential of his subjects--a man who had committed
to memory no less than thirty thousand traditions--to investigate
and report to him the true situation. Broad-minded, highly imaginative,
zealous by nature, intimately associated with the court, he, in
the course of three interviews, was completely won over by the
arguments and personality of the &Bab. Their first interview centered
around the metaphysical teachings of &Islam, the most obscure passages
of the &Qur'an, and the traditions and prophecies of the &Imams. In
+P12
the course of the second interview &Vahid was astounded to find that
the questions which he had intended to submit for elucidation had
been effaced from his retentive memory, and yet, to his utter amazement,
he discovered that the &Bab was answering the very questions
he had forgotten. During the third interview the circumstances
attending the revelation of the &Bab's commentary on the &surih of
&Kawthar, comprising no less than two thousand verses, so overpowered
the delegate of the &Shah that he, contenting himself with a
mere written report to the Court Chamberlain, arose forthwith to
dedicate his entire life and resources to the service of a Faith that
was to requite him with the crown of martyrdom during the &Nayriz
upheaval. He who had firmly resolved to confute the arguments of
an obscure siyyid of &Shiraz, to induce Him to abandon His ideas,
and to conduct Him to &Tihran as an evidence of the ascendancy he
had achieved over Him, was made to feel, as he himself later acknowledged,
as "lowly as the dust beneath His feet." Even &Husayn
&Khan, who had been &Vahid's host during his stay in &Shiraz, was
compelled to write to the &Shah and express the conviction that his
Majesty's illustrious delegate had become a &Babi.
Another famous advocate of the Cause of the &Bab, even fiercer
in zeal than &Vahid, and almost as eminent in rank, was &Mulla
&Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Zanjani, surnamed &Hujjat. An &Akhbari, a vehement
controversialist, of a bold and independent temper of mind, impatient
of restraint, a man who had dared condemn the whole
ecclesiastical hierarchy from the &Abvab-i-Arba'ih down to the humblest
&mulla, he had more than once, through his superior talents and
fervid eloquence, publicly confounded his orthodox &Shi'ah adversaries.
Such a person could not remain indifferent to a Cause that was
producing so grave a cleavage among his countrymen. The disciple
he sent to &Shiraz to investigate the matter fell immediately under the
spell of the &Bab. The perusal of but a page of the &Qayyumu'l-Asma',
brought by that messenger to &Hujjat, sufficed to effect such a transformation
within him that he declared, before the assembled &ulamas
of his native city, that should the Author of that work pronounce
day to be night and the sun to be a shadow he would unhesitatingly
uphold his verdict.
Yet another recruit to the ever-swelling army of the new Faith
was the eminent scholar, &Mirza &Ahmad-i-Azghandi, the most learned,
the wisest and the most outstanding among the &ulamas of &Khurasan,
who, in anticipation of the advent of the promised &Qa'im, had compiled
above twelve thousand traditions and prophecies concerning the
+P13
time and character of the expected Revelation, had circulated them
among His fellow-disciples, and had encouraged them to quote them
extensively to all congregations and in all meetings.
While the situation was steadily deteriorating in the provinces,
the bitter hostility of the people of &Shiraz was rapidly moving towards
a climax. &Husayn &Khan, vindictive, relentless, exasperated by the
reports of his sleepless agents that his Captive's power and fame were
hourly growing, decided to take immediate action. It is even reported
that his accomplice, &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, had ordered him to
kill secretly the would-be disrupter of the state and the wrecker of
its established religion. By order of the governor the chief constable,
&Abdu'l-Hamid &Khan, scaled, in the dead of night, the wall and
entered the house of &Haji &Mirza Siyyid &Ali, where the &Bab was
confined, arrested Him, and confiscated all His books and documents.
That very night, however, took place an event which, in its dramatic
suddenness, was no doubt providentially designed to confound the
schemes of the plotters, and enable the Object of their hatred to
prolong His ministry and consummate His Revelation. An outbreak
of cholera, devastating in its virulence, had, since midnight, already
smitten above a hundred people. The dread of the plague had entered
every heart, and the inhabitants of the stricken city were, amid
shrieks of pain and grief, fleeing in confusion. Three of the governor's
domestics had already died. Members of his family were lying dangerously
ill. In his despair he, leaving the dead unburied, had fled to a
garden in the outskirts of the city. &Abdu'l-Hamid &Khan, confronted
by this unexpected development, decided to conduct the &Bab to His
own home. He was appalled, upon his arrival, to learn that his son
lay in the death-throes of the plague. In his despair he threw himself
at the feet of the &Bab, begged to be forgiven, adjured Him not to
visit upon the son the sins of the father, and pledged his word to
resign his post, and never again to accept such a position. Finding
that his prayer had been answered, he addressed a plea to the governor
begging him to release his Captive, and thereby deflect the fatal
course of this dire visitation. &Husayn &Khan acceded to his request,
and released his Prisoner on condition of His quitting the city.
Miraculously preserved by an almighty and watchful Providence,
the &Bab proceeded to &Isfahan (September, 1846), accompanied by
Siyyid &Kazim-i-Zanjani. Another lull ensued, a brief period of
comparative tranquillity during which the Divine processes which
had been set in motion gathered further momentum, precipitating a
series of events leading to the imprisonment of the &Bab in the
+P14
fortresses of &Mah-Ku and &Chihriq, and culminating in His martyrdom
in the barrack-square of &Tabriz. Well aware of the impending trials
that were to afflict Him, the &Bab had, ere His final separation from
His family, bequeathed to His mother and His wife all His possessions,
had confided to the latter the secret of what was to befall Him,
and revealed for her a special prayer the reading of which, He assured
her, would resolve her perplexities and allay her sorrows. The first
forty days of His sojourn in &Isfahan were spent as the guest of &Mirza
Siyyid &Muhammad, the &Sultanu'l-'Ulama, the &Imam-Jum'ih, one of
the principal ecclesiastical dignitaries of the realm, in accordance with
the instructions of the governor of the city, &Manuchihr &Khan, the
Mu &Tamidu'd-Dawlih, who had received from the &Bab a letter requesting
him to appoint the place where He should dwell. He was
ceremoniously received, and such was the spell He cast over the
people of that city that, on one occasion, after His return from the
public bath, an eager multitude clamored for the water that had
been used for His ablutions. So magic was His charm that His host,
forgetful of the dignity of his high rank, was wont to wait personally
upon Him. It was at the request of this same prelate that the &Bab,
one night, after supper, revealed His well-known commentary on
the &surih of &Va'l-'Asr. Writing with astonishing rapidity, He, in a
few hours, had devoted to the exposition of the significance of only
the first letter of that &surih--a letter which &Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i
had stressed, and which &Baha'u'llah refers to in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas--
verses that equalled in number a third of the &Qur'an, a feat that called
forth such an outburst of reverent astonishment from those who
witnessed it that they arose and kissed the hem of His robe.
The tumultuous enthusiasm of the people of &Isfahan was meanwhile
visibly increasing. Crowds of people, some impelled by curiosity,
others eager to discover the truth, still others anxious to be
healed of their infirmities, flocked from every quarter of the city to
the house of the &Imam-Jum'ih. The wise and judicious &Manuchihr
&Khan could not resist the temptation of visiting so strange, so intriguing
a Personage. Before a brilliant assemblage of the most accomplished
divines he, a Georgian by origin and a Christian by birth,
requested the &Bab to expound and demonstrate the truth of &Muhammad's
specific mission. To this request, which those present had felt
compelled to decline, the &Bab readily responded. In less than two
hours, and in the space of fifty pages, He had not only revealed a
minute, a vigorous and original dissertation on this noble theme, but
had also linked it with both the coming of the &Qa'im and the return
+P15
of the &Imam &Husayn--an exposition that prompted &Manuchihr &Khan
to declare before that gathering his faith in the Prophet of &Islam, as
well as his recognition of the supernatural gifts with which the
Author of so convincing a treatise was endowed.
These evidences of the growing ascendancy exercised by an unlearned
Youth on the governor and the people of a city rightly
regarded as one of the strongholds of &Shi'ah &Islam, alarmed the
ecclesiastical authorities. Refraining from any act of open hostility which
they knew full well would defeat their purpose, they sought, by
encouraging the circulation of the wildest rumors, to induce the
Grand Vizir of the &Shah to save a situation that was growing hourly
more acute and menacing. The popularity enjoyed by the &Bab, His
personal prestige, and the honors accorded Him by His countrymen,
had now reached their high watermark. The shadows of an impending
doom began to fast gather about Him. A series of tragedies from then
on followed in rapid sequence destined to culminate in His own death
and the apparent extinction of the influence of His Faith.
The overbearing and crafty &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, fearful lest the
sway of the &Bab encompass his sovereign and thus seal his own doom,
was aroused as never before. Prompted by a suspicion that the &Bab
possessed the secret sympathies of the &Mu'tamid, and well aware of
the confidence reposed in him by the &Shah, he severely upbraided the
&Imam-Jum'ih for the neglect of his sacred duty. He, at the same
time, lavished, in several letters, his favors upon the &ulamas of
&Isfahan, whom he had hitherto ignored. From the pulpits of that
city an incited clergy began to hurl vituperation and calumny upon
the Author of what was to them a hateful and much to be feared
heresy. The &Shah himself was induced to summon the &Bab to his
capital. &Manuchihr &Khan, bidden to arrange for His departure,
decided to transfer His residence temporarily to his own home.
Meanwhile the mujtahids and &ulamas, dismayed at the signs of so
pervasive an influence, summoned a gathering which issued an abusive
document signed and sealed by the ecclesiastical leaders of the city,
denouncing the &Bab as a heretic and condemning Him to death.
Even the &Imam-Jum'ih was constrained to add his written testimony
that the Accused was devoid of reason and judgment. The &Mu'tamid,
in his great embarrassment, and in order to appease the rising tumult,
conceived a plan whereby an increasingly restive populace were made
to believe that the &Bab had left for &Tihran, while he succeeded in
insuring for Him a brief respite of four months in the privacy of the
&Imarat-i-Khurshid, the governor's private residence in &Isfahan. It
+P16
was in those days that the host expressed the desire to consecrate all
his possessions, evaluated by his contemporaries at no less than forty
million francs, to the furtherance of the interests of the new Faith,
declared his intention of converting &Muhammad &Shah, of inducing
him to rid himself of a shameful and profligate minister, and of
obtaining his royal assent to the marriage of one of his sisters with the
&Bab. The sudden death of the &Mu'tamid, however, foretold by the
&Bab Himself, accelerated the course of the approaching crisis. The
ruthless and rapacious &Gurgin &Khan, the deputy governor, induced
the &Shah to issue a second summons ordering that the captive Youth
be sent in disguise to &Tihran, accompanied by a mounted escort. To
this written mandate of the sovereign the vile &Gurgin &Khan, who
had previously discovered and destroyed the will of his uncle, the
&Mu'tamid, and seized his property, unhesitatingly responded. At the
distance of less than thirty miles from the capital, however, in the
fortress of &Kinar-Gird, a messenger delivered to &Muhammad Big,
who headed the escort, a written order from &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi instructing
him to proceed to Kulayn, and there await further instructions.
This was, shortly after, followed by a letter which the &Shah
had himself addressed to the &Bab, dated &Rabi'u'th-thani 1263 (March
19-April 17, 1847), and which, though couched in courteous terms,
clearly indicated the extent of the baneful influence exercised by the
Grand Vizir on his sovereign. The plans so fondly cherished by
&Manuchihr &Khan were now utterly undone. The fortress of &Mah-Ku,
not far from the village of that same name, whose inhabitants had
long enjoyed the patronage of the Grand Vizir, situated in the remotest
northwestern corner of &Adhirbayjan, was the place of incarceration
assigned by &Muhammad &Shah, on the advice of his perfidious
minister, for the &Bab. No more than one companion and
one attendant from among His followers were allowed to keep Him
company in those bleak and inhospitable surroundings. All-powerful
and crafty, that minister had, on the pretext of the necessity of his
master's concentrating his immediate attention on a recent rebellion
in &Khurasan and a revolt in &Kirman, succeeded in foiling a plan,
which, had it materialized, would have had the most serious repercussions
on his own fortunes, as well as on the immediate destinies of his
government, its ruler and its people.
+P17
CHAPTER II
The &Bab's Captivity in &Adhirbayjan
The period of the &Bab's banishment to the mountains of &Adhirbayjan,
lasting no less than three years, constitutes the saddest,
the most dramatic, and in a sense the most pregnant phase of His six
year ministry. It comprises His nine months' unbroken confinement
in the fortress of &Mah-Ku, and His subsequent incarceration in the
fortress of &Chihriq, which was interrupted only by a brief yet
memorable visit to &Tabriz. It was overshadowed throughout by the
implacable and mounting hostility of the two most powerful adversaries
of the Faith, the Grand Vizir of &Muhammad &Shah, &Haji &Mirza
&Aqasi, and the &Amir-Nizam, the Grand Vizir of &Nasiri'd-Din
&Shah. It corresponds to the most critical stage of the mission of
&Baha'u'llah, during His exile to Adrianople, when confronted with
the despotic &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz and his ministers, &Ali &Pasha and
&Fu'ad &Pasha, and is paralleled by the darkest days of &Abdu'l-Baha's
ministry in the Holy Land, under the oppressive rule of the tyrannical
&Abdu'l-Hamid and the equally tyrannical &Jamal &Pasha. &Shiraz had
been the memorable scene of the &Bab's historic Declaration; &Isfahan
had provided Him, however briefly, with a haven of relative peace
and security; whilst &Adhirbayjan was destined to become the theatre
of His agony and martyrdom. These concluding years of His earthly
life will go down in history as the time when the new Dispensation
attained its full stature, when the claim of its Founder was fully and
publicly asserted, when its laws were formulated, when the Covenant
of its Author was firmly established, when its independence was proclaimed,
and when the heroism of its champions blazed forth in
immortal glory. For it was during these intensely dramatic, fate-laden
years that the full implications of the station of the &Bab were
disclosed to His disciples, and formally announced by Him in the
capital of &Adhirbayjan, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne;
that the Persian &Bayan, the repository of the laws ordained by the
&Bab, was revealed; that the time and character of the Dispensation of
"the One Whom God will make manifest" were unmistakably determined;
that the Conference of &Badasht proclaimed the annulment
of the old order; and that the great conflagrations of &Mazindaran,
of &Nayriz and of &Zanjan were kindled.
+P18
And yet, the foolish and short-sighted &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi fondly
imagined that by confounding the plan of the &Bab to meet the &Shah
face to face in the capital, and by relegating Him to the farthest
corner of the realm, he had stifled the Movement at its birth, and
would soon conclusively triumph over its Founder. Little did he
imagine that the very isolation he was forcing upon his Prisoner
would enable Him to evolve the System designed to incarnate the
soul of His Faith, and would afford Him the opportunity of safeguarding
it from disintegration and schism, and of proclaiming
formally and unreservedly His mission. Little did he imagine that
this very confinement would induce that Prisoner's exasperated
disciples and companions to cast off the shackles of an antiquated
theology, and precipitate happenings that would call forth from them
a prowess, a courage, a self-renunciation unexampled in their country's
history. Little did he imagine that by this very act he would be
instrumental in fulfilling the authentic tradition ascribed to the
Prophet of &Islam regarding the inevitability of that which should
come to pass in &Adhirbayjan. Untaught by the example of the
governor of &Shiraz, who, with fear and trembling, had, at the first
taste of God's avenging wrath, fled ignominiously and relaxed his
hold on his Captive, the Grand Vizir of &Muhammad &Shah was, in
his turn, through the orders he had issued, storing up for himself
severe and inevitable disappointment, and paving the way for his own
ultimate downfall.
His orders to &Ali &Khan, the warden of the fortress of &Mah-Ku,
were stringent and explicit. On His way to that fortress the &Bab
passed a number of days in &Tabriz, days that were marked by such an
intense excitement on the part of the populace that, except for a few
persons, neither the public nor His followers were allowed to meet
Him. As He was escorted through the streets of the city the shout
of "&Allah-u-Akbar" resounded on every side. So great, indeed,
became the clamor that the town crier was ordered to warn the
inhabitants that any one who ventured to seek the &Bab's presence
would forfeit all his possessions and be imprisoned. Upon His arrival
in &Mah-Ku, surnamed by Him &Jabal-i-Basit (the Open Mountain)
no one was allowed to see Him for the first two weeks except His
amanuensis, Siyyid &Husayn, and his brother. So grievous was His
plight while in that fortress that, in the Persian &Bayan, He Himself
has stated that at night-time He did not even have a lighted lamp,
and that His solitary chamber, constructed of sun-baked bricks,
lacked even a door, while, in His Tablet to &Muhammad &Shah, He
+P19
has complained that the inmates of the fortress were confined to two
guards and four dogs.
Secluded on the heights of a remote and dangerously situated
mountain on the frontiers of the Ottoman and Russian empires;
imprisoned within the solid walls of a four-towered fortress; cut off
from His family, His kindred and His disciples; living in the vicinity
of a bigoted and turbulent community who, by race, tradition,
language and creed, differed from the vast majority of the inhabitants
of Persia; guarded by the people of a district which, as the birthplace
of the Grand Vizir, had been made the recipient of the special
favors of his administration, the Prisoner of &Mah-Ku seemed in the
eyes of His adversary to be doomed to languish away the flower of
His youth, and witness, at no distant date, the complete annihilation
of His hopes. That adversary was soon to realize, however, how
gravely he had misjudged both his Prisoner and those on whom he
had lavished his favors. An unruly, a proud and unreasoning people
were gradually subdued by the gentleness of the &Bab, were chastened
by His modesty, were edified by His counsels, and instructed by His
wisdom. They were so carried away by their love for Him that their
first act every morning, notwithstanding the remonstrations of the
domineering &Ali &Khan, and the repeated threats of disciplinary measures
received from &Tihran, was to seek a place where they could
catch a glimpse of His face, and beseech from afar His benediction
upon their daily work. In cases of dispute it was their wont to
hasten to the foot of the fortress, and, with their eyes fixed upon His
abode, invoke His name, and adjure one another to speak the truth.
&Ali &Khan himself, under the influence of a strange vision, felt such
mortification that he was impelled to relax the severity of his discipline,
as an atonement for his past behavior. Such became his leniency
that an increasing stream of eager and devout pilgrims began to be
admitted at the gates of the fortress. Among them was the dauntless
and indefatigable &Mulla &Husayn, who had walked on foot the entire
way from &Mashad in the east of Persia to &Mah-Ku, the westernmost
outpost of the realm, and was able, after so arduous a journey, to
celebrate the festival of &Naw-Ruz (1848) in the company of his
Beloved.
Secret agents, however, charged to watch &Ali &Khan, informed &Haji
&Mirza &Aqasi of the turn events were taking, whereupon he immediately
decided to transfer the &Bab to the fortress of &Chihriq (about
April 10, 1848), surnamed by Him the &Jabal-i-Shadid (the Grievous
Mountain). There He was consigned to the keeping of &Yahya &Khan,
+P20
a brother-in-law of &Muhammad &Shah. Though at the outset he acted
with the utmost severity, he was eventually compelled to yield to
the fascination of his Prisoner. Nor were the kurds, who lived in the
village of &Chihriq, and whose hatred of the &Shi'ahs exceeded even
that of the inhabitants of &Mah-Ku, able to resist the pervasive power
of the Prisoner's influence. They too were to be seen every morning,
ere they started for their daily work, to approach the fortress and
prostrate themselves in adoration before its holy Inmate. "So great
was the confluence of the people," is the testimony of a European
eye-witness, writing in his memoirs of the &Bab, "that the courtyard,
not being large enough to contain His hearers, the majority remained
in the street and listened with rapt attention to the verses of the
new &Qur'an."
Indeed the turmoil raised in &Chihriq eclipsed the scenes which
&Mah-Ku had witnessed. Siyyids of distinguished merit, eminent
&ulamas, and even government officials were boldly and rapidly
espousing the Cause of the Prisoner. The conversion of the zealous,
the famous &Mirza &Asadu'llah, surnamed &Dayyan, a prominent official
of high literary repute, who was endowed by the &Bab with the
"hidden and preserved knowledge," and extolled as the "repository
of the trust of the one true God," and the arrival of a dervish, a
former &navvab, from India, whom the &Bab in a vision had bidden
renounce wealth and position, and hasten on foot to meet Him in
&Adhirbayjan, brought the situation to a head. Accounts of these
startling events reached &Tabriz, were thence communicated to &Tihran,
and forced &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi again to intervene. &Dayyan's father, an
intimate friend of that minister, had already expressed to him his
grave apprehension at the manner in which the able functionaries of
the state were being won over to the new Faith. To allay the rising
excitement the &Bab was summoned to &Tabriz. Fearful of the enthusiasm
of the people of &Adhirbayjan, those into whose custody He had
been delivered decided to deflect their route, and avoid the town of
&Khuy, passing instead through &Urumiyyih. On His arrival in that
town Prince Malik &Qasim &Mirza ceremoniously received Him, and
was even seen, on a certain Friday, when his Guest was riding on His
way to the public bath, to accompany Him on foot, while the
Prince's footmen endeavored to restrain the people who, in their
overflowing enthusiasm, were pressing to catch a glimpse of so
marvelous a Prisoner. &Tabriz, in its turn in the throes of wild excitement,
joyously hailed His arrival. Such was the fervor of popular
feeling that the &Bab was assigned a place outside the gates of the city.
+P21
This, however, failed to allay the prevailing emotion. Precautions,
warnings and restrictions served only to aggravate a situation that
had already become critical. It was at this juncture that the Grand
Vizir issued his historic order for the immediate convocation of the
ecclesiastical dignitaries of &Tabriz to consider the most effectual
measures which would, once and for all, extinguish the flames of so
devouring a conflagration.
The circumstances attending the examination of the &Bab, as a
result of so precipitate an act, may well rank as one of the chief
landmarks of His dramatic career. The avowed purpose of that convocation
was to arraign the Prisoner, and deliberate on the steps to
be taken for the extirpation of His so-called heresy. It instead
afforded Him the supreme opportunity of His mission to assert in
public, formally and without any reservation, the claims inherent in
His Revelation. In the official residence, and in the presence, of the
governor of &Adhirbayjan, &Nasiri'd-Din &Mirza, the heir to the throne;
under the presidency of &Haji &Mulla &Mahmud, the &Nizamu'l-'Ulama,
the Prince's tutor; before the assembled ecclesiastical dignitaries of
&Tabriz, the leaders of the &Shaykhi community, the &Shaykhu'l-Islam,
and the &Imam-Jum'ih, the &Bab, having seated Himself in the chief
place which had been reserved for the &Vali-'Ahd (the heir to the
throne), gave, in ringing tones, His celebrated answer to the question
put to Him by the President of that assembly. "I am," He exclaimed,
"I am, I am the Promised One! I am the One Whose name
you have for a thousand years invoked, at Whose mention you have
risen, Whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of
Whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily, I say, it is
incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey
My word, and to pledge allegiance to My person."
Awe-struck, those present momentarily dropped their heads in
silent confusion. Then &Mulla &Muhammad-i-Mamaqani, that one-eyed
white-bearded renegade, summoning sufficient courage, with characteristic
insolence, reprimanded Him as a perverse and contemptible
follower of Satan; to which the undaunted Youth retorted that He
maintained what He had already asserted. To the query subsequently
addressed to Him by the &Nizamu'l-'Ulama the &Bab affirmed that His
words constituted the most incontrovertible evidence of His mission,
adduced verses from the &Qur'an to establish the truth of His assertion,
and claimed to be able to reveal, within the space of two days
and two nights, verses equal to the whole of that Book. In answer to a
criticism calling His attention to an infraction by Him of the rules
+P22
of grammar, He cited certain passages from the &Qur'an as corroborative
evidence, and, turning aside, with firmness and dignity, a
frivolous and irrelevant remark thrown at Him by one of those who
were present, summarily disbanded that gathering by Himself rising
and quitting the room. The convocation thereupon dispersed, its
members confused, divided among themselves, bitterly resentful and
humiliated through their failure to achieve their purpose. Far from
daunting the spirit of their Captive, far from inducing Him to
recant or abandon His mission, that gathering was productive of no
other result than the decision, arrived at after considerable argument
and discussion, to inflict the bastinado on Him, at the hands, and in
the prayer-house of the heartless and avaricious &Mirza &Ali-Asghar,
the &Shaykhu'l-Islam of that city. Confounded in his schemes &Haji
&Mirza &Aqasi was forced to order the &Bab to be taken back to
&Chihriq.
This dramatic, this unqualified and formal declaration of the
&Bab's prophetic mission was not the sole consequence of the foolish
act which condemned the Author of so weighty a Revelation to a
three years' confinement in the mountains of &Adhirbayjan. This
period of captivity, in a remote corner of the realm, far removed
from the storm centers of &Shiraz, &Isfahan, and &Tihran, afforded Him
the necessary leisure to launch upon His most monumental work, as
well as to engage on other subsidiary compositions designed to unfold
the whole range, and impart the full force, of His short-lived yet
momentous Dispensation. Alike in the magnitude of the writings
emanating from His pen, and in the diversity of the subjects treated
in those writings, His Revelation stands wholly unparalleled in the
annals of any previous religion. He Himself affirms, while confined
in &Mah-Ku, that up to that time His writings, embracing highly
diversified subjects, had amounted to more than five hundred thousand
verses. "The verses which have rained from this Cloud of Divine
mercy," is &Baha'u'llah's testimony in the &Kitab-i-Iqan, "have been so
abundant that none hath yet been able to estimate their number. A
score of volumes are now available. How many still remain beyond
our reach! How many have been plundered and have fallen into the
hands of the enemy, the fate of which none knoweth!" No less
arresting is the variety of themes presented by these voluminous
writings, such as prayers, homilies, orations, Tablets of visitation,
scientific treatises, doctrinal dissertations, exhortations, commentaries
on the &Qur'an and on various traditions, epistles to the highest religious
and ecclesiastical dignitaries of the realm, and laws and
+P23
ordinances for the consolidation of His Faith and the direction of
its activities.
Already in &Shiraz, at the earliest stage of His ministry, He had
revealed what &Baha'u'llah has characterized as "the first, the greatest,
and mightiest of all books" in the &Babi Dispensation, the celebrated
commentary on the &surih of Joseph, entitled the &Qayyumu'l-Asma',
whose fundamental purpose was to forecast what the true Joseph
(&Baha'u'llah) would, in a succeeding Dispensation, endure at the
hands of one who was at once His arch-enemy and blood brother.
This work, comprising above nine thousand three hundred verses,
and divided into one hundred and eleven chapters, each chapter a
commentary on one verse of the above-mentioned &surih, opens with
the &Bab's clarion-call and dire warnings addressed to the "concourse
of kings and of the sons of kings;" forecasts the doom of &Muhammad
&Shah; commands his Grand Vizir, &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, to abdicate his
authority; admonishes the entire Muslim ecclesiastical order; cautions
more specifically the members of the &Shi'ah community; extols the
virtues, and anticipates the coming, of &Baha'u'llah, the "Remnant of
God," the "Most Great Master;" and proclaims, in unequivocal language,
the independence and universality of the &Babi Revelation,
unveils its import, and affirms the inevitable triumph of its Author.
It, moreover, directs the "people of the West" to "issue forth from
your cities and aid the Cause of God;" warns the peoples of the earth
of the "terrible, the most grievous vengeance of God;" threatens the
whole Islamic world with "the Most Great Fire" were they to turn
aside from the newly-revealed Law; foreshadows the Author's
martyrdom; eulogizes the high station ordained for the people of
&Baha, the "Companions of the crimson-colored ruby Ark;" prophesies
the fading out and utter obliteration of some of the greatest luminaries
in the firmament of the &Babi Dispensation; and even predicts "afflictive
torment," in both the "Day of Our Return" and in "the world
which is to come," for the usurpers of the Imamate, who "waged war
against &Husayn (&Imam &Husayn) in the Land of the Euphrates."
It was this Book which the &Babis universally regarded, during
almost the entire ministry of the &Bab, as the &Qur'an of the people of
the &Bayan; whose first and most challenging chapter was revealed in
the presence of &Mulla &Husayn, on the night of its Author's Declaration;
some of whose pages were borne, by that same disciple, to
&Baha'u'llah, as the first fruits of a Revelation which instantly won
His enthusiastic allegiance; whose entire text was translated into
Persian by the brilliant and gifted &Tahirih; whose passages inflamed
+P24
the hostility of &Husayn &Khan and precipitated the initial outbreak
of persecution in &Shiraz; a single page of which had captured the
imagination and entranced the soul of &Hujjat; and whose contents
had set afire the intrepid defenders of the Fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi
and the heroes of &Nayriz and &Zanjan.
This work, of such exalted merit, of such far-reaching influence,
was followed by the revelation of the &Bab's first Tablet to &Muhammad
&Shah; of His Tablets to &Sultan &Abdu'l-Majid and to &Najib &Pasha,
the &Vali of &Baghdad; of the &Sahifiy-i-baynu'l-Haramayn, revealed
between Mecca and Medina, in answer to questions posed by &Mirza
&Muhit-i-Kirmani; of the Epistle to the &Sherif of Mecca; of the
&Kitabu'r-Ruh, comprising seven hundred &surihs; of the &Khasa'il-i-Sab'ih,
which enjoined the alteration of the formula of the &adhan;
of the &Risaliy-i-Furu'-i-'Adliyyih, rendered into Persian by &Mulla
&Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Harati; of the commentary on the &surih of
&Kawthar, which effected such a transformation in the soul of &Vahid;
of the commentary on the &surih of &Va'l-'Asr, in the house of the
&Imam-Jum'ih of &Isfahan; of the dissertation on the Specific Mission
of &Muhammad, written at the request of &Manuchihr &Khan; of the
second Tablet to &Muhammad &Shah, craving an audience in which to
set forth the truths of the new Revelation, and dissipate his doubts;
and of the Tablets sent from the village of &Siyah-Dihan to the &ulamas
of &Qasvin and to &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, inquiring from him as to the
cause of the sudden change in his decision.
The great bulk of the writings emanating from the &Bab's prolific
mind was, however, reserved for the period of His confinement in
&Mah-Ku and &Chihriq. To this period must probably belong the
unnumbered Epistles which, as attested by no less an authority than
&Baha'u'llah, the &Bab specifically addressed to the divines of every city
in Persia, as well as to those residing in Najaf and &Karbila, wherein
He set forth in detail the errors committed by each one of them. It
was during His incarceration in the fortress of &Mah-Ku that He,
according to the testimony of &Shaykh &Hasan-i-Zunuzi, who transcribed
during those nine months the verses dictated by the &Bab to
His amanuensis, revealed no less than nine commentaries on the whole
of the &Qur'an--commentaries whose fate, alas, is unknown, and one
of which, at least the Author Himself affirmed, surpassed in some
respects a book as deservedly famous as the &Qayyumu'l-Asma.
Within the walls of that same fortress the &Bayan (Exposition)--
that monumental repository of the laws and precepts of the new
Dispensation and the treasury enshrining most of the &Bab's references
+P25
and tributes to, as well as His warning regarding, "Him Whom
God will make manifest"--was revealed. Peerless among the doctrinal
works of the Founder of the &Babi Dispensation; consisting of nine
&Vahids (Unities) of nineteen chapters each, except the last &Vahid
comprising only ten chapters; not to be confounded with the
smaller and less weighty Arabic &Bayan, revealed during the same
period; fulfilling the &Muhammadan prophecy that "a Youth from
&Bani-Hashim ... will reveal a new Book and promulgate a new
Law;" wholly safeguarded from the interpolation and corruption
which has been the fate of so many of the &Bab's lesser works, this
Book, of about eight thousand verses, occupying a pivotal position
in &Babi literature, should be regarded primarily as a eulogy of the
Promised One rather than a code of laws and ordinances designed
to be a permanent guide to future generations. This Book at once
abrogated the laws and ceremonials enjoined by the &Qur'an regarding
prayer, fasting, marriage, divorce and inheritance, and upheld, in its
integrity, the belief in the prophetic mission of &Muhammad, even as
the Prophet of &Islam before Him had annulled the ordinances of
the Gospel and yet recognized the Divine origin of the Faith of Jesus
Christ. It moreover interpreted in a masterly fashion the meaning of
certain terms frequently occurring in the sacred Books of previous
Dispensations such as Paradise, Hell, Death, Resurrection, the Return,
the Balance, the Hour, the Last Judgment, and the like. Designedly
severe in the rules and regulations it imposed, revolutionizing in the
principles it instilled, calculated to awaken from their age-long torpor
the clergy and the people, and to administer a sudden and fatal blow
to obsolete and corrupt institutions, it proclaimed, through its drastic
provisions, the advent of the anticipated Day, the Day when "the
Summoner shall summon to a stern business," when He will "demolish
whatever hath been before Him, even as the Apostle of God demolished
the ways of those that preceded Him."
It should be noted, in this connection, that in the third &Vahid of
this Book there occurs a passage which, alike in its explicit reference
to the name of the Promised One, and in its anticipation of the
Order which, in a later age, was to be identified with His Revelation,
deserves to rank as one of the most significant statements recorded in
any of the &Bab's writings. "Well is it with him," is His prophetic
announcement, "who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of &Baha'u'llah,
and rendereth thanks unto his Lord. For He will assuredly be made
manifest. God hath indeed irrevocably ordained it in the &Bayan."
It is with that self-same Order that the Founder of the promised
+P26
Revelation, twenty years later--incorporating that same term in His
&Kitab-i-Aqdas--identified the System envisaged in that Book, affirming
that "this most great Order" had deranged the world's equilibrium,
and revolutionized mankind's ordered life. It is the features of that
self-same Order which, at a later stage in the evolution of the Faith,
the Center of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant and the appointed Interpreter
of His teachings, delineated through the provisions of His Will and
Testament. It is the structural basis of that self-same Order which,
in the Formative Age of that same Faith, the stewards of that same
Covenant, the elected representatives of the world-wide &Baha'i community,
are now laboriously and unitedly establishing. It is the
superstructure of that self-same Order, attaining its full stature
through the emergence of the &Baha'i World Commonwealth--the
Kingdom of God on earth--which the Golden Age of that same
Dispensation must, in the fullness of time, ultimately witness.
The &Bab was still in &Mah-Ku when He wrote the most detailed
and illuminating of His Tablets to &Muhammad &Shah. Prefaced by a
laudatory reference to the unity of God, to His Apostles and to the
twelve &Imams; unequivocal in its assertion of the divinity of its
Author and of the supernatural powers with which His Revelation
had been invested; precise in the verses and traditions it cites in
confirmation of so audacious a claim; severe in its condemnation of
some of the officials and representatives of the &Shah's administration,
particularly of the "wicked and accursed" &Husayn &Khan; moving in
its description of the humiliation and hardships to which its writer
had been subjected, this historic document resembles, in many of its
features, the &Lawh-i-Sultan, the Tablet addressed, under similar
circumstances, from the prison-fortress of &Akka by &Baha'u'llah to
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, and constituting His lengthiest epistle to any
single sovereign.
The &Dala'il-i-Sab'ih (Seven Proofs), the most important of the
polemical works of the &Bab, was revealed during that same period.
Remarkably lucid, admirable in its precision, original in conception,
unanswerable in its argument, this work, apart from the many and
divers proofs of His mission which it adduces, is noteworthy for the
blame it assigns to the "seven powerful sovereigns ruling the world"
in His day, as well as for the manner in which it stresses the
responsibilities, and censures the conduct, of the Christian divines of a
former age who, had they recognized the truth of &Muhammad's
mission, He contends, would have been followed by the mass of their
co-religionists.
+P27
During the &Bab's confinement in the fortress of &Chihriq, where
He spent almost the whole of the two remaining years of His life,
the &Lawh-i-Huru'fat (Tablet of the Letters) was revealed, in honor
of &Dayyan--a Tablet which, however misconstrued at first as an
exposition of the science of divination, was later recognized to have
unravelled, on the one hand, the mystery of the &Mustaghath, and to
have abstrusely alluded, on the other, to the nineteen years which
must needs elapse between the Declaration of the &Bab and that of
&Baha'u'llah. It was during these years--years darkened throughout
by the rigors of the &Bab's captivity, by the severe indignities inflicted
upon Him, and by the news of the disasters that overtook the heroes
of &Mazindaran and &Nayriz--that He revealed, soon after His return
from &Tabriz, His denunciatory Tablet to &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi. Couched
in bold and moving language, unsparing in its condemnation, this
epistle was forwarded to the intrepid &Hujjat who, as corroborated
by &Baha'u'llah, delivered it to that wicked minister.
To this period of incarceration in the fortresses of &Mah-Ku and
&Chihriq--a period of unsurpassed fecundity, yet bitter in its humiliations
and ever-deepening sorrows--belong almost all the written
references, whether in the form of warnings, appeals or exhortations,
which the &Bab, in anticipation of the approaching hour of His
supreme affliction, felt it necessary to make to the Author of a
Revelation that was soon to supersede His own. Conscious from the
very beginning of His twofold mission, as the Bearer of a wholly
independent Revelation and the Herald of One still greater than His
own, He could not content Himself with the vast number of commentaries,
of prayers, of laws and ordinances, of dissertations and
epistles, of homilies and orations that had incessantly streamed from
His pen. The Greater Covenant into which, as affirmed in His writings,
God had, from time immemorial, entered, through the Prophets
of all ages, with the whole of mankind, regarding the newborn
Revelation, had already been fulfilled. It had now to be supplemented
by a Lesser Covenant which He felt bound to make with the entire
body of His followers concerning the One Whose advent He characterized
as the fruit and ultimate purpose of His Dispensation.
Such a Covenant had invariably been the feature of every previous
religion. It had existed, under various forms, with varying degrees
of emphasis, had always been couched in veiled language, and had
been alluded to in cryptic prophecies, in abstruse allegories, in
unauthenticated traditions, and in the fragmentary and obscure
passages of the sacred Scriptures. In the &Babi Dispensation, however,
+P28
it was destined to be established in clear and unequivocal language,
though not embodied in a separate document. Unlike the Prophets
gone before Him, Whose Covenants were shrouded in mystery, unlike
&Baha'u'llah, Whose clearly defined Covenant was incorporated in a
specially written Testament, and designated by Him as "the Book
of My Covenant," the &Bab chose to intersperse His Book of Laws,
the Persian &Bayan, with unnumbered passages, some designedly
obscure, mostly indubitably clear and conclusive, in which He fixes
the date of the promised Revelation, extols its virtues, asserts its
pre-eminent character, assigns to it unlimited powers and prerogatives,
and tears down every barrier that might be an obstacle to its
recognition. "He, verily," &Baha'u'llah, referring to the &Bab in His
&Kitab-i-Badi', has stated, "hath not fallen short of His duty to
exhort the people of the &Bayan and to deliver unto them His Message.
In no age or dispensation hath any Manifestation made mention, in
such detail and in such explicit language, of the Manifestation
destined to succeed Him."
Some of His disciples the &Bab assiduously prepared to expect the
imminent Revelation. Others He orally assured would live to see its
day. To &Mulla &Baqir, one of the Letters of the Living, He actually
prophesied, in a Tablet addressed to him, that he would meet the
Promised One face to face. To &Sayyah, another disciple, He gave
verbally a similar assurance. &Mulla &Husayn He directed to &Tihran,
assuring him that in that city was enshrined a Mystery Whose light
neither &Hijaz nor &Shiraz could rival. &Quddus, on the eve of his
final separation from Him, was promised that he would attain the
presence of the One Who was the sole Object of their adoration and
love. To &Shaykh &Hasan-i-Zunuzi He declared while in &Mah-Ku that
he would behold in &Karbila the countenance of the promised &Husayn.
On &Dayyan He conferred the title of "the third Letter to believe in
Him Whom God shall make manifest," while to &Azim He divulged,
in the &Kitab-i-Panj-Sha'n, the name, and announced the approaching
advent, of Him Who was to consummate His own Revelation.
A successor or vicegerent the &Bab never named, an interpreter of
His teachings He refrained from appointing. So transparently clear
were His references to the Promised One, so brief was to be the
duration of His own Dispensation, that neither the one nor the other
was deemed necessary. All He did was, according to the testimony of
&Abdu'l-Baha in "A Traveller's Narrative," to nominate, on the
advice of &Baha'u'llah and of another disciple, &Mirza &Yahya, who
would act solely as a figure-head pending the manifestation of the
+P29
Promised One, thus enabling &Baha'u'llah to promote, in relative
security, the Cause so dear to His heart.
"The &Bayan," the &Bab in that Book, referring to the Promised
One, affirms, "is, from beginning to end, the repository of all of His
attributes, and the treasury of both His fire and His light." "If thou
attainest unto His Revelation," He, in another connection declares,
"and obeyest Him, thou wilt have revealed the fruit of the &Bayan;
if not, thou art unworthy of mention before God." "O people of
the &Bayan!" He, in that same Book, thus warns the entire company
of His followers, "act not as the people of the &Qur'an have acted,
for if ye do so, the fruits of your night will come to naught." "Suffer
not the &Bayan," is His emphatic injunction, "and all that hath been
revealed therein to withhold you from that Essence of Being and
Lord of the visible and invisible." "Beware, beware," is His significant
warning addressed to &Vahid, "lest in the days of His Revelation the
&Vahid of the &Bayan (eighteen Letters of the Living and the &Bab)
shut thee out as by a veil from Him, inasmuch as this &Vahid is but a
creature in His sight." And again: "O congregation of the &Bayan,
and all who are therein! Recognize ye the limits imposed upon you,
for such a One as the Point of the &Bayan Himself hath believed in
Him Whom God shall make manifest before all things were created.
Therein, verily, do I glory before all who are in the kingdom of
heaven and earth."
"In the year nine," He, referring to the date of the advent of the
promised Revelation, has explicitly written, "ye shall attain unto all
good." "In the year nine, ye will attain unto the presence of God."
And again: "After &Hin (68) a Cause shall be given unto you which
ye shall come to know." "Ere nine will have elapsed from the inception
of this Cause," He more particularly has stated, "the realities of
the created things will not be made manifest. All that thou hast as
yet seen is but the stage from the moist germ until We clothed it
with flesh. Be patient, until thou beholdest a new creation. Say:
`Blessed, therefore, be God, the most excellent of Makers!'" "Wait
thou," is His statement to &Azim, "until nine will have elapsed from
the time of the &Bayan. Then exclaim: `Blessed, therefore, be God,
the most excellent of Makers!'" "Be attentive," He, referring in a
remarkable passage to the year nineteen, has admonished, "from the
inception of the Revelation till the number of &Vahid (19)." "The
Lord of the Day of Reckoning," He, even more explicitly, has stated,
"will be manifested at the end of &Vahid (19) and the beginning of
eighty (1280 A.H.)." "Were He to appear this very moment," He,
+P30
in His eagerness to insure that the proximity of the promised Revelation
should not withhold men from the Promised One, has revealed,
"I would be the first to adore Him, and the first to bow down
before Him."
"I have written down in My mention of Him," He thus extols
the Author of the anticipated Revelation, "these gem-like words: `No
allusion of Mine can allude unto Him, neither anything mentioned in
the &Bayan.'" "I, Myself, am but the first servant to believe in Him
and in His signs...." "The year-old germ," He significantly affirms,
"that holdeth within itself the potentialities of the Revelation that is
to come is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces
of the whole of the &Bayan." And again: "The whole of the &Bayan is
only a leaf amongst the leaves of His Paradise." "Better is it for thee,"
He similarly asserts, "to recite but one of the verses of Him Whom
God shall make manifest than to set down the whole of the &Bayan,
for on that Day that one verse can save thee, whereas the entire &Bayan
cannot save thee." "Today the &Bayan is in the stage of seed; at the
beginning of the manifestation of Him Whom God shall make manifest
its ultimate perfection will become apparent." "The &Bayan
deriveth all its glory from Him Whom God shall make manifest."
"All that hath been revealed in the &Bayan is but a ring upon My hand,
and I Myself am, verily, but a ring upon the hand of Him Whom
God shall make manifest... He turneth it as He pleaseth, for whatsoever
He pleaseth, and through whatsoever He pleaseth. He, verily,
is the Help in Peril, the Most High." "Certitude itself," He, in reply
to &Vahid and to one of the Letters of the Living who had inquired
regarding the promised One, had declared, "is ashamed to be called
upon to certify His truth ... and Testimony itself is ashamed to
testify unto Him." Addressing this same &Vahid, He moreover had
stated: "Were I to be assured that in the day of His manifestation
thou wilt deny Him, I would unhesitatingly disown thee... If, on
the other hand, I be told that a Christian, who beareth no allegiance
to My Faith, will believe in Him, the same will I regard as the apple
of My eye."
And finally is this, His moving invocation to God: "Bear Thou
witness that, through this Book, I have covenanted with all created
things concerning the mission of Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest,
ere the covenant concerning My own mission had been established.
Sufficient witness art Thou and they that have believed in Thy
signs." "I, verily, have not fallen short of My duty to admonish that
people," is yet another testimony from His pen, "...If on the day of
+P31
His Revelation all that are on earth bear Him allegiance, Mine inmost
being will rejoice, inasmuch as all will have attained the summit of
their existence.... If not, My soul will be saddened. I truly have
nurtured all things for this purpose. How, then, can any one be
veiled from Him?"
The last three and most eventful years of the &Bab's ministry had,
as we have observed in the preceding pages, witnessed not only the
formal and public declaration of His mission, but also an unprecedented
effusion of His inspired writings, including both the revelation
of the fundamental laws of His Dispensation and also the establishment
of that Lesser Covenant which was to safeguard the unity of
His followers and pave the way for the advent of an incomparably
mightier Revelation. It was during this same period, in the early
days of His incarceration in the fortress of &Chihriq, that the independence
of the new-born Faith was openly recognized and asserted
by His disciples. The laws underlying the new Dispensation had
been revealed by its Author in a prison-fortress in the mountains of
&Adhirbayjan, while the Dispensation itself was now to be inaugurated
in a plain on the border of &Mazindaran, at a conference of His
assembled followers.
&Baha'u'llah, maintaining through continual correspondence close
contact with the &Bab, and Himself the directing force behind the
manifold activities of His struggling fellow-disciples, unobtrusively
yet effectually presided over that conference, and guided and controlled
its proceedings. &Quddus, regarded as the exponent of the
conservative element within it, affected, in pursuance of a pre-conceived
plan designed to mitigate the alarm and consternation which
such a conference was sure to arouse, to oppose the seemingly
extremist views advocated by the impetuous &Tahirih. The primary
purpose of that gathering was to implement the revelation of the
&Bayan by a sudden, a complete and dramatic break with the past--
with its order, its ecclesiasticism, its traditions, and ceremonials. The
subsidiary purpose of the conference was to consider the means of
emancipating the &Bab from His cruel confinement in &Chihriq. The
first was eminently successful; the second was destined from the
outset to fail.
The scene of such a challenging and far-reaching proclamation
was the hamlet of &Badasht, where &Baha'u'llah had rented, amidst
pleasant surroundings, three gardens, one of which He assigned to
&Quddus, another to &Tahirih, whilst the third He reserved for Himself.
The eighty-one disciples who had gathered from various provinces
+P32
were His guests from the day of their arrival to the day they dispersed.
On each of the twenty-two days of His sojourn in that
hamlet He revealed a Tablet, which was chanted in the presence of
the assembled believers. On every believer He conferred a new name,
without, however, disclosing the identity of the one who had bestowed
it. He Himself was henceforth designated by the name &Baha. Upon
the Last Letter of the Living was conferred the appellation of
&Quddus, while &Qurratu'l-'Ayn was given the title of &Tahirih. By
these names they were all subsequently addressed by the &Bab in the
Tablets He revealed for each one of them.
It was &Baha'u'llah Who steadily, unerringly, yet unsuspectedly,
steered the course of that memorable episode, and it was &Baha'u'llah
Who brought the meeting to its final and dramatic climax. One day
in His presence, when illness had confined Him to bed, &Tahirih, regarded
as the fair and spotless emblem of chastity and the incarnation
of the holy &Fatimih, appeared suddenly, adorned yet unveiled, before
the assembled companions, seated herself on the right-hand of the
affrighted and infuriated &Quddus, and, tearing through her fiery
words the veils guarding the sanctity of the ordinances of &Islam,
sounded the clarion-call, and proclaimed the inauguration, of a new
Dispensation. The effect was electric and instantaneous. She, of such
stainless purity, so reverenced that even to gaze at her shadow was
deemed an improper act, appeared for a moment, in the eyes of her
scandalized beholders, to have defamed herself, shamed the Faith
she had espoused, and sullied the immortal Countenance she symbolized.
Fear, anger, bewilderment, swept their inmost souls, and
stunned their faculties. &Abdu'l-Khaliq-i-Isfahani, aghast and deranged
at such a sight, cut his throat with his own hands. Spattered
with blood, and frantic with excitement, he fled away from her face.
A few, abandoning their companions, renounced their Faith. Others
stood mute and transfixed before her. Still others must have recalled
with throbbing hearts the Islamic tradition foreshadowing the appearance
of &Fatimih herself unveiled while crossing the Bridge (&Sirat)
on the promised Day of Judgment. &Quddus, mute with rage, seemed
to be only waiting for the moment when he could strike her down
with the sword he happened to be then holding in his hand.
Undeterred, unruffled, exultant with joy, &Tahirih arose, and,
without the least premeditation and in a language strikingly resembling
that of the &Qur'an, delivered a fervid and eloquent appeal
to the remnant of the assembly, ending it with this bold assertion:
"I am the Word which the &Qa'im is to utter, the Word which shall
+P33
put to flight the chiefs and nobles of the earth!" Thereupon, she
invited them to embrace each other and celebrate so great an occasion.
On that memorable day the "Bugle" mentioned in the &Qur'an was
sounded, the "stunning trumpet-blast" was loudly raised, and the
"Catastrophe" came to pass. The days immediately following so
startling a departure from the time-honored traditions of &Islam
witnessed a veritable revolution in the outlook, habits, ceremonials
and manner of worship of these hitherto zealous and devout upholders
of the &Muhammadan Law. Agitated as had been the Conference
from first to last, deplorable as was the secession of the few who
refused to countenance the annulment of the fundamental statutes
of the Islamic Faith, its purpose had been fully and gloriously
accomplished. Only four years earlier the Author of the &Babi Revelation
had declared His mission to &Mulla &Husayn in the privacy of His
home in &Shiraz. Three years after that Declaration, within the walls
of the prison-fortress of &Mah-Ku, He was dictating to His amanuensis
the fundamental and distinguishing precepts of His Dispensation.
A year later, His followers, under the actual leadership of &Baha'u'llah,
their fellow-disciple, were themselves, in the hamlet of &Badasht,
abrogating the &Qur'anic Law, repudiating both the divinely-ordained
and man-made precepts of the Faith of &Muhammad, and shaking off
the shackles of its antiquated system. Almost immediately after, the
&Bab Himself, still a prisoner, was vindicating the acts of His disciples
by asserting, formally and unreservedly, His claim to be the promised
&Qa'im, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne, the leading exponents
of the &Shaykhi community, and the most illustrious ecclesiastical
dignitaries assembled in the capital of &Adhirbayjan.
A little over four years had elapsed since the birth of the &Bab's
Revelation when the trumpet-blast announcing the formal extinction
of the old, and the inauguration of the new Dispensation was sounded.
No pomp, no pageantry marked so great a turning-point in the world's
religious history. Nor was its modest setting commensurate with
such a sudden, startling, complete emancipation from the dark and
embattled forces of fanaticism, of priestcraft, of religious orthodoxy
and superstition. The assembled host consisted of no more than a
single woman and a handful of men, mostly recruited from the very
ranks they were attacking, and devoid, with few exceptions, of wealth,
prestige and power. The Captain of the host was Himself an absentee,
a captive in the grip of His foes. The arena was a tiny hamlet in the
plain of &Badasht on the border of &Mazindaran. The trumpeter was a
lone woman, the noblest of her sex in that Dispensation, whom even
+P34
some of her co-religionists pronounced a heretic. The call she sounded
was the death-knell of the twelve hundred year old law of &Islam.
Accelerated, twenty years later, by another trumpet-blast, announcing
the formulation of the laws of yet another Dispensation,
this process of disintegration, associated with the declining fortunes
of a superannuated, though divinely revealed Law, gathered further
momentum, precipitated, in a later age, the annulment of the &Shari'ah
canonical Law in Turkey, led to the virtual abandonment of that
Law in &Shi'ah Persia, has, more recently, been responsible for the
dissociation of the System envisaged in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas from the
&Sunni ecclesiastical Law in Egypt, has paved the way for the recognition
of that System in the Holy Land itself, and is destined to
culminate in the secularization of the Muslim states, and in the
universal recognition of the Law of &Baha'u'llah by all the nations,
and its enthronement in the hearts of all the peoples, of the
Muslim world.
+P35
CHAPTER III
Upheavals in &Mazindaran, &Nayriz and &Zanjan
The &Bab's captivity in a remote corner of &Adhirbayjan, immortalized
by the proceedings of the Conference of &Badasht, and distinguished
by such notable developments as the public declaration of His
mission, the formulation of the laws of His Dispensation and the establishment
of His Covenant, was to acquire added significance through
the dire convulsions that sprang from the acts of both His adversaries
and His disciples. The commotions that ensued, as the years of that
captivity drew to a close, and that culminated in His own martyrdom,
called forth a degree of heroism on the part of His followers and a
fierceness of hostility on the part of His enemies which had never been
witnessed during the first three years of His ministry. Indeed, this
brief but most turbulent period may be rightly regarded as the
bloodiest and most dramatic of the Heroic Age of the &Baha'i Era.
The momentous happenings associated with the &Bab's incarceration
in &Mah-Ku and &Chihriq, constituting as they did the high watermark
of His Revelation, could have no other consequence than to
fan to fiercer flame both the fervor of His lovers and the fury of
His enemies. A persecution, grimmer, more odious, and more
shrewdly calculated than any which &Husayn &Khan, or even &Haji
&Mirza &Aqasi, had kindled was soon to be unchained, to be accompanied
by a corresponding manifestation of heroism unmatched by
any of the earliest outbursts of enthusiasm that had greeted the birth
of the Faith in either &Shiraz or &Isfahan. This period of ceaseless and
unprecedented commotion was to rob that Faith, in quick succession,
of its chief protagonists, was to attain its climax in the extinction
of the life of its Author, and was to be followed by a further and
this time an almost complete elimination of its eminent supporters,
with the sole exception of One Who, at its darkest hour, was entrusted,
through the dispensations of Providence, with the dual function
of saving a sorely-stricken Faith from annihilation, and of
ushering in the Dispensation destined to supersede it.
The formal assumption by the &Bab of the authority of the
promised &Qa'im, in such dramatic circumstances and in so challenging
a tone, before a distinguished gathering of eminent &Shi'ah
+P36
ecclesiastics, powerful, jealous, alarmed and hostile, was the explosive
force that loosed a veritable avalanche of calamities which swept
down upon the Faith and the people among whom it was born.
It raised to fervid heat the zeal that glowed in the souls of the &Bab's
scattered disciples, who were already incensed by the cruel captivity
of their Leader, and whose ardor was now further inflamed by the
outpourings of His pen which reached them unceasingly from the
place of His confinement. It provoked a heated and prolonged controversy
throughout the length and breadth of the land, in bazaars,
masjids, madrisihs and other public places, deepening thereby the
cleavage that had already sundered its people. &Muhammad &Shah, at
so perilous an hour, was meanwhile rapidly sinking under the weight
of his physical infirmities. The shallow-minded &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi,
now the pivot of state affairs, exhibited a vacillation and incompetence
that seemed to increase with every extension in the range of his grave
responsibilities. At one time he would feel inclined to support the
verdict of the &ulamas; at another he would censure their aggressiveness
and distrust their assertions; at yet another, he would relapse into
mysticism, and, wrapt in his reveries, lose sight of the gravity of the
emergency that confronted him.
So glaring a mismanagement of national affairs emboldened the
clerical order, whose members were now hurling with malignant zeal
anathemas from their pulpits, and were vociferously inciting superstitious
congregations to take up arms against the upholders of a
much hated creed, to insult the honor of their women folk, to plunder
their property and harass and injure their children. "What of the
signs and prodigies," they thundered before countless assemblies,
"that must needs usher in the advent of the &Qa'im? What of the
Major and Minor Occultations? What of the cities of &Jabulqa and
&Jabulsa? How are we to explain the sayings of &Husayn-ibn-Ruh,
and what interpretation should be given to the authenticated traditions
ascribed to &Ibn-i-Mihriyar? Where are the Men of the Unseen,
who are to traverse, in a week, the whole surface of the earth? What
of the conquest of the East and West which the &Qa'im is to effect on
His appearance? Where is the one-eyed Anti-Christ and the ass on
which he is to mount? What of &Sufyan and his dominion?" "Are
we," they noisily remonstrated, "are we to account as a dead letter
the indubitable, the unnumbered traditions of our holy &Imams, or
are we to extinguish with fire and sword this brazen heresy that has
dared to lift its head in our land?"
To these defamations, threats and protestations the learned and
+P37
resolute champions of a misrepresented Faith, following the example
of their Leader, opposed unhesitatingly treatises, commentaries and
refutations, assiduously written, cogent in their argument, replete
with testimonies, lucid, eloquent and convincing, affirming their
belief in the Prophethood of &Muhammad, in the legitimacy of the
&Imams, in the spiritual sovereignty of the &Sahibu'z-Zaman (the
Lord of the Age), interpreting in a masterly fashion the obscure, the
designedly allegorical and abstruse traditions, verses and prophecies
in the Islamic holy Writ, and adducing, in support of their contention,
the meekness and apparent helplessness of the &Imam &Husayn
who, despite his defeat, his discomfiture and ignominious martyrdom,
had been hailed by their antagonists as the very embodiment and the
matchless symbol of God's all-conquering sovereignty and power.
This fierce, nation-wide controversy had assumed alarming proportions
when &Muhammad &Shah finally succumbed to his illness, precipitating
by his death the downfall of his favorite and all-powerful
minister, &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, who, soon stripped of the treasures he
had amassed, fell into disgrace, was expelled from the capital, and
sought refuge in &Karbila. The seventeen year old &Nasiri'd-Din &Mirza
ascended the throne, leaving the direction of affairs to the obdurate,
the iron-hearted &Amir-Nizam, &Mirza &Taqi &Khan, who, without
consulting his fellow-ministers, decreed that immediate and condign
punishment be inflicted on the hapless &Babis. Governors, magistrates
and civil servants, throughout the provinces, instigated by the
monstrous campaign of vilification conducted by the clergy, and
prompted by their lust for pecuniary rewards, vied in their respective
spheres with each other in hounding and heaping indignities on the
adherents of an outlawed Faith. For the first time in the Faith's
history a systematic campaign in which the civil and ecclesiastical
powers were banded together was being launched against it, a campaign
that was to culminate in the horrors experienced by &Baha'u'llah
in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran and His subsequent banishment to &Iraq.
Government, clergy and people arose, as one man, to assault and
exterminate their common enemy. In remote and isolated centers
the scattered disciples of a persecuted community were pitilessly
struck down by the sword of their foes, while in centers where
large numbers had congregated measures were taken in self-defense,
which, misconstrued by a cunning and deceitful adversary, served in
their turn to inflame still further the hostility of the authorities, and
multiply the outrages perpetrated by the oppressor. In the East at
&Shaykh &Tabarsi, in the south in &Nayriz, in the west in &Zanjan, and
+P38
in the capital itself, massacres, upheavals, demonstrations, engagements,
sieges, acts of treachery proclaimed, in rapid succession, the
violence of the storm which had broken out, and exposed the bankruptcy,
and blackened the annals, of a proud yet degenerate people.
The audacity of &Mulla &Husayn who, at the command of the
&Bab, had attired his head with the green turban worn and sent to
him by his Master, who had hoisted the Black Standard, the unfurling
of which would, according to the Prophet &Muhammad, herald the
advent of the vicegerent of God on earth, and who, mounted on
his steed, was marching at the head of two hundred and two of his
fellow-disciples to meet and lend his assistance to &Quddus in the
&Jaziriy-i-Khadra (Verdant Isle)--his audacity was the signal for a
clash the reverberations of which were to resound throughout the
entire country. The contest lasted no less than eleven months. Its
theatre was for the most part the forest of &Mazindaran. Its heroes
were the flower of the &Bab's disciples. Its martyrs comprised no less
than half of the Letters of the Living, not excluding &Quddus and
&Mulla &Husayn, respectively the last and the first of these Letters.
The directive force which however unobtrusively sustained it was
none other than that which flowed from the mind of &Baha'u'llah.
It was caused by the unconcealed determination of the dawn-breakers
of a new Age to proclaim, fearlessly and befittingly, its advent, and
by a no less unyielding resolve, should persuasion prove a failure, to
resist and defend themselves against the onslaughts of malicious and
unreasoning assailants. It demonstrated beyond the shadow of a
doubt what the indomitable spirit of a band of three hundred and
thirteen untrained, unequipped yet God-intoxicated students, mostly
sedentary recluses of the college and cloister, could achieve when
pitted in self-defense against a trained army, well equipped, supported
by the masses of the people, blessed by the clergy, headed by a prince
of the royal blood, backed by the resources of the state, acting with
the enthusiastic approval of its sovereign, and animated by the unfailing
counsels of a resolute and all-powerful minister. Its outcome
was a heinous betrayal ending in an orgy of slaughter, staining with
everlasting infamy its perpetrators, investing its victims with a halo
of imperishable glory, and generating the very seeds which, in a
later age, were to blossom into world-wide administrative institutions,
and which must, in the fullness of time, yield their golden fruit in
the shape of a world-redeeming, earth-encircling Order.
It will be unnecessary to attempt even an abbreviated narrative
of this tragic episode, however grave its import, however much misconstrued
+P39
by adverse chroniclers and historians. A glance over its
salient features will suffice for the purpose of these pages. We note,
as we conjure up the events of this great tragedy, the fortitude, the
intrepidity, the discipline and the resourcefulness of its heroes, contrasting
sharply with the turpitude, the cowardice, the disorderliness
and the inconstancy of their opponents. We observe the sublime
patience, the noble restraint exercised by one of its principal actors,
the lion-hearted &Mulla &Husayn, who persistently refused to unsheathe
his sword until an armed and angry multitude, uttering the foulest
invectives, had gathered at a farsang's distance from &Barfurush to
block his way, and had mortally struck down seven of his innocent
and staunch companions. We are filled with admiration for the
tenacity of faith of that same &Mulla &Husayn, demonstrated by his
resolve to persevere in sounding the &adhan, while besieged in the caravanserai
of &Sabsih-Maydan, though three of his companions, who had
successively ascended to the roof of the inn, with the express purpose
of performing that sacred rite, had been instantly killed by the bullets
of the enemy. We marvel at the spirit of renunciation that prompted
those sore pressed sufferers to contemptuously ignore the possessions
left behind by their fleeing enemy; that led them to discard their own
belongings, and content themselves with their steeds and swords; that
induced the father of &Badi', one of that gallant company, to fling
unhesitatingly by the roadside the satchel, full of turquoises which
he had brought from his father's mine in &Nishapur; that led &Mirza
&Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Juvayni to cast away a sum equivalent in value in
silver and gold; and impelled those same companions to disdain, and
refuse even to touch, the costly furnishings and the coffers of gold
and silver which the demoralized and shame-laden Prince &Mihdi-Quli
&Mirza, the commander of the army of &Mazindaran and a brother of
&Muhammad &Shah, had left behind in his headlong flight from his
camp. We cannot but esteem the passionate sincerity with which
&Mulla &Husayn pleaded with the Prince, and the formal assurance he
gave him, disclaiming, in no uncertain terms, any intention on his
part or that of his fellow-disciples of usurping the authority of the
&Shah or of subverting the foundations of his state. We cannot but view
with contempt the conduct of that arch-villain, the hysterical, the
cruel and overbearing &Sa'idu'l-'Ulama, who, alarmed at the approach
of those same companions, flung, in a frenzy of excitement, and
before an immense crowd of men and women, his turban to the
ground, tore open the neck of his shirt, and, bewailing the plight
into which &Islam had fallen, implored his congregation to fly to arms
+P40
and cut down the approaching band. We are struck with wonder as
we contemplate the super-human prowess of &Mulla &Husayn which
enabled him, notwithstanding his fragile frame and trembling hand,
to slay a treacherous foe who had taken shelter behind a tree, by
cleaving with a single stroke of his sword the tree, the man and his
musket in twain. We are stirred, moreover, by the scene of the
arrival of &Baha'u'llah at the Fort, and the indefinable joy it imparted
to &Mulla &Husayn, the reverent reception accorded Him by His
fellow-disciples, His inspection of the fortifications which they had
hurriedly erected for their protection, and the advice He gave them,
which resulted in the miraculous deliverance of &Quddus, in his subsequent
and close association with the defenders of that Fort, and in
his effective participation in the exploits connected with its siege
and eventual destruction. We are amazed at the serenity and sagacity
of that same &Quddus, the confidence he instilled on his arrival, the
resourcefulness he displayed, the fervor and gladness with which the
besieged listened, at morn and at even-tide, to the voice intoning the
verses of his celebrated commentary on the &Sad of &Samad, to which
he had already, while in &Sari, devoted a treatise thrice as voluminous
as the &Qur'an itself, and which he was now, despite the tumultuary
attacks of the enemy and the privations he and his companions were
enduring, further elucidating by adding to that interpretation as
many verses as he had previously written. We remember with
thrilling hearts that memorable encounter when, at the cry "Mount
your steeds, O heroes of God!" &Mulla &Husayn, accompanied by two
hundred and two of the beleaguered and sorely-distressed companions,
and preceded by &Quddus, emerged before daybreak from the Fort,
and, raising the shout of "&Ya &Sahibu'z-Zaman!", rushed at full charge
towards the stronghold of the Prince, and penetrated to his private
apartments, only to find that, in his consternation, he had thrown
himself from a back window into the moat, and escaped bare-footed,
leaving his host confounded and routed. We see relived in poignant
memory that last day of &Mulla &Husayn's earthly life, when, soon after
midnight, having performed his ablutions, clothed himself in new
garments, and attired his head with the &Bab's turban, he mounted his
charger, ordered the gate of the Fort to be opened, rode out at the
head of three hundred and thirteen of his companions, shouting aloud
"&Ya &Sahibu'z-Zaman!", charged successively the seven barricades
erected by the enemy, captured every one of them, notwithstanding
the bullets that were raining upon him, swiftly dispatched their
defenders, and had scattered their forces when, in the ensuing tumult,
+P41
his steed became suddenly entangled in the rope of a tent, and before
he could extricate himself he was struck in the breast by a bullet
which the cowardly &Abbas-Quli &Khan-i-Larijani had discharged,
while lying in ambush in the branches of a neighboring tree. We
acclaim the magnificent courage that, in a subsequent encounter,
inspired nineteen of those stout-hearted companions to plunge headlong
into the camp of an enemy that consisted of no less than two
regiments of infantry and cavalry, and to cause such consternation
that one of their leaders, the same &Abbas-Quli &Khan, falling from
his horse, and leaving in his distress one of his boots hanging from the
stirrup, ran away, half-shod and bewildered, to the Prince, and confessed
the ignominious reverse he had suffered. Nor can we fail to
note the superb fortitude with which these heroic souls bore the load
of their severe trials; when their food was at first reduced to the flesh
of horses brought away from the deserted camp of the enemy; when
later they had to content themselves with such grass as they could
snatch from the fields whenever they obtained a respite from their
besiegers; when they were forced, at a later stage, to consume the
bark of the trees and the leather of their saddles, of their belts, of
their scabbards and of their shoes; when during eighteen days they
had nothing but water of which they drank a mouthful every morning;
when the cannon fire of the enemy compelled them to dig
subterranean passages within the Fort, where, dwelling amid mud
and water, with garments rotting away with damp, they had to
subsist on ground up bones; and when, at last, oppressed by gnawing
hunger, they, as attested by a contemporary chronicler, were driven
to disinter the steed of their venerated leader, &Mulla &Husayn, cut it
into pieces, grind into dust its bones, mix it with the putrified meat,
and, making it into a stew, avidly devour it.
Nor can reference be omitted to the abject treachery to which the
impotent and discredited Prince eventually resorted, and his violation
of his so-called irrevocable oath, inscribed and sealed by him on the
margin of the opening &surih of the &Qur'an, whereby he, swearing by
that holy Book, undertook to set free all the defenders of the Fort,
pledged his honor that no man in his army or in the neighborhood
would molest them, and that he would himself, at his own expense,
arrange for their safe departure to their homes. And lastly, we call
to remembrance, the final scene of that sombre tragedy, when, as a
result of the Prince's violation of his sacred engagement, a number
of the betrayed companions of &Quddus were assembled in the camp
of the enemy, were stripped of their possessions, and sold as slaves,
+P42
the rest being either killed by the spears and swords of the officers, or
torn asunder, or bound to trees and riddled with bullets, or blown
from the mouths of cannon and consigned to the flames, or else being
disemboweled and having their heads impaled on spears and lances.
&Quddus, their beloved leader, was by yet another shameful act of the
intimidated Prince surrendered into the hands of the diabolical
&Sa'idu'l-'Ulama who, in his unquenchable hostility and aided by
the mob whose passions he had sedulously inflamed, stripped his
victim of his garments, loaded him with chains, paraded him through
the streets of &Barfurush, and incited the scum of its female inhabitants
to execrate and spit upon him, assail him with knives and
axes, mutilate his body, and throw the tattered fragments into a fire.
This stirring episode, so glorious for the Faith, so blackening to
the reputation of its enemies--an episode which must be regarded as a
rare phenomenon in the history of modern times--was soon succeeded
by a parallel upheaval, strikingly similar in its essential features.
The scene of woeful tribulations was now shifted to the south, to the
province of &Fars, not far from the city where the dawning light of
the Faith had broken. &Nayriz and its environs were made to sustain
the impact of this fresh ordeal in all its fury. The Fort of &Khajih, in
the vicinity of the &Chinar-Sukhtih quarter of that hotly agitated
village became the storm-center of the new conflagration. The hero
who towered above his fellows, valiantly struggled, and fell a victim
to its devouring flames was that "unique and peerless figure of his
age," the far-famed Siyyid &Yahyay-i-Darabi, better known as &Vahid.
Foremost among his perfidious adversaries, who kindled and fed the
fire of this conflagration was the base and fanatical governor of
&Nayriz, &Zaynu'l-'Abidin &Khan, seconded by &Abdu'llah &Khan, the
&Shuja'u'l-Mulk, and reinforced by Prince &Firuz &Mirza, the governor
of &Shiraz. Of a much briefer duration than the &Mazindaran upheaval,
which lasted no less than eleven months, the atrocities that
marked its closing stage were no less devastating in their consequences.
Once again a handful of men, innocent, law-abiding, peace-loving,
yet high-spirited and indomitable, consisting partly, in this case, of
untrained lads and men of advanced age, were surprised, challenged,
encompassed and assaulted by the superior force of a cruel and
crafty enemy, an innumerable host of able-bodied men who, though
well-trained, adequately equipped and continually reinforced, were
impotent to coerce into submission, or subdue, the spirit of their
adversaries.
This fresh commotion originated in declarations of faith as fearless
+P43
and impassioned, and in demonstrations of religious enthusiasm
almost as vehement and dramatic, as those which had ushered in the
&Mazindaran upheaval. It was instigated by a no less sustained and
violent outburst of uncompromising ecclesiastical hostility. It was
accompanied by corresponding manifestations of blind religious
fanaticism. It was provoked by similar acts of naked aggression on
the part of both clergy and people. It demonstrated afresh the same
purpose, was animated throughout by the same spirit, and rose to
almost the same height of superhuman heroism, of fortitude, courage,
and renunciation. It revealed a no less shrewdly calculated coordination
of plans and efforts between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities
designed to challenge and overthrow a common enemy. It was preceded
by a similar categorical repudiation, on the part of the &Babis,
of any intention of interfering with the civil jurisdiction of the
realm, or of undermining the legitimate authority of its sovereign.
It provided a no less convincing testimony to the restraint and forbearance
of the victims, in the face of the ruthless and unprovoked
aggression of the oppressor. It exposed, as it moved toward its
climax, and in hardly less striking a manner, the cowardice, the want
of discipline and the degradation of a spiritually bankrupt foe. It
was marked, as it approached its conclusion, by a treachery as vile
and shameful. It ended in a massacre even more revolting in the horrors
it evoked and the miseries it engendered. It sealed the fate
of &Vahid who, by his green turban, the emblem of his proud lineage,
was bound to a horse and dragged ignominiously through the streets,
after which his head was cut off, was stuffed with straw, and sent
as a trophy to the feasting Prince in &Shiraz, while his body was
abandoned to the mercy of the infuriated women of &Nayriz, who,
intoxicated with barbarous joy by the shouts of exultation raised by
a triumphant enemy, danced, to the accompaniment of drums and
cymbals, around it. And finally, it brought in its wake, with the aid
of no less than five thousand men, specially commissioned for this
purpose, a general and fierce onslaught on the defenseless &Babis,
whose possessions were confiscated, whose houses were destroyed,
whose stronghold was burned to the ground, whose women and
children were captured, and some of whom, stripped almost naked,
were mounted on donkeys, mules and camels, and led through rows
of heads hewn from the lifeless bodies of their fathers, brothers, sons
and husbands, who previously had been either branded, or had their
nails torn out, or had been lashed to death, or had spikes hammered
into their hands and feet, or had incisions made in their noses through
+P44
which strings were passed, and by which they were led through the
streets before the gaze of an irate and derisive multitude.
This turmoil, so ravaging, so distressing, had hardly subsided
when another conflagration, even more devastating than the two
previous upheavals, was kindled in &Zanjan and its immediate surroundings.
Unprecedented in both its duration and in the number of
those who were swept away by its fury, this violent tempest that
broke out in the west of Persia, and in which &Mulla &Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Zanjani,
surnamed &Hujjat, one of the ablest and most formidable
champions of the Faith, together with no less than eighteen
hundred of his fellow-disciples, drained the cup of martyrdom, defined
more sharply than ever the unbridgeable gulf that separated
the torchbearers of the newborn Faith from the civil and ecclesiastical
exponents of a gravely shaken Order. The chief figures
mainly responsible for, and immediately concerned with, this ghastly
tragedy were the envious and hypocritical &Amir &Arslan &Khan, the
&Majdu'd-Dawlih, a maternal uncle of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, and his
associates, the &Sadru'd-Dawliy-i-Isfahani and &Muhammad &Khan, the
&Amir-Tuman, who were assisted, on the one hand, by substantial
military reinforcements dispatched by order of the &Amir-Nizam,
and aided, on the other, by the enthusiastic moral support of the
entire ecclesiastical body in &Zanjan. The spot that became the theatre
of heroic exertions, the scene of intense sufferings, and the target for
furious and repeated assaults, was the Fort of &Ali-Mardan &Khan,
which at one time sheltered no less than three thousand &Babis, including
men, women and children, the tale of whose agonies is unsurpassed
in the annals of a whole century.
A brief reference to certain outstanding features of this mournful
episode, endowing the Faith, in its infancy, with measureless potentialities,
will suffice to reveal its distinctive character. The pathetic
scenes following upon the division of the inhabitants of &Zanjan into
two distinct camps, by the order of its governor--a decision dramatically
proclaimed by a crier, and which dissolved ties of worldly
interest and affection in favor of a mightier loyalty; the reiterated
exhortations addressed by &Hujjat to the besieged to refrain from
aggression and acts of violence; his affirmation, as he recalled the
tragedy of &Mazindaran, that their victory consisted solely in sacrificing
their all on the altar of the Cause of the &Sahibu'z-Zaman, and
his declaration of the unalterable intention of his companions to serve
their sovereign loyally and to be the well-wishers of his people; the
astounding intrepidity with which these same companions repelled
+P45
the ferocious onslaught launched by the &Sadru'd-Dawlih, who eventually
was obliged to confess his abject failure, was reprimanded by the
&Shah and was degraded from his rank; the contempt with which the
occupants of the Fort met the appeals of the crier seeking on behalf
of an exasperated enemy to inveigle them into renouncing their Cause
and to beguile them by the generous offers and promises of the
sovereign; the resourcefulness and incredible audacity of Zaynab, a
village maiden, who, fired with an irrepressible yearning to throw in
her lot with the defenders of the Fort, disguised herself in male
attire, cut off her locks, girt a sword about her waist, and, raising
the cry of &Ya &Sahibu'z-Zaman!" rushed headlong in pursuit of the
assailants, and who, disdainful of food and sleep, continued, during a
period of five months, in the thick of the turmoil, to animate the
zeal and to rush to the rescue of her men companions; the stupendous
uproar raised by the guards who manned the barricades as they
shouted the five invocations prescribed by the &Bab, on the very night
on which His instructions had been received--an uproar which
precipitated the death of a few persons in the camp of the enemy,
caused the dissolute officers to drop instantly their wine-glasses to
the ground and to overthrow the gambling-tables, and hurry forth
bare-footed, and induced others to run half-dressed into the wilderness,
or flee panic-stricken to the homes of the &ulamas--these stand
out as the high lights of this bloody contest. We recall, likewise, the
contrast between the disorder, the cursing, the ribald laughter, the
debauchery and shame that characterized the camp of the enemy,
and the atmosphere of reverent devotion that filled the Fort, from
which anthems of praise and hymns of joy were continually ascending.
Nor can we fail to note the appeal addressed by &Hujjat and his chief
supporters to the &Shah, repudiating the malicious assertions of their
foes, assuring him of their loyalty to him and his government, and
of their readiness to establish in his presence the soundness of their
Cause; the interception of these messages by the governor and the
substitution by him of forged letters loaded with abuse which he
dispatched in their stead to &Tihran; the enthusiastic support extended
by the female occupants of the Fort, the shouts of exultation which
they raised, the eagerness with which some of them, disguised in the
garb of men, rushed to reinforce its defences and to supplant their
fallen brethren, while others ministered to the sick, and carried on
their shoulders skins of water for the wounded, and still others, like
the Carthaginian women of old, cut off their long hair and bound
the thick coils around the guns to reinforce them; the foul treachery
+P46
of the besiegers, who, on the very day they had drawn up and written
out an appeal for peace and, enclosing with it a sealed copy of the
&Qur'an as a testimony of their pledge, had sent it to &Hujjat, did not
shrink from throwing into a dungeon the members of the delegation,
including the children, which had been sent by him to treat with
them, from tearing out the beard of the venerated leader of that
delegation, and from savagely mutilating one of his fellow-disciples.
We call to mind, moreover, the magnanimity of &Hujjat who, though
afflicted with the sudden loss of both his wife and child, continued
with unruffled calm in exhorting his companions to exercise forbearance
and to resign themselves to the will of God, until he himself
succumbed to a wound he had received from the enemy; the barbarous
revenge which an adversary incomparably superior in numbers
and equipment wreaked upon its victims, giving them over to a
massacre and pillage, unexampled in scope and ferocity, in which
a rapacious army, a greedy populace and an unappeasable clergy
freely indulged; the exposure of the captives, of either sex, hungry
and ill-clad, during no less than fifteen days and nights, to the
biting cold of an exceptionally severe winter, while crowds of women
danced merrily around them, spat in their faces and insulted them
with the foulest invectives; the savage cruelty that condemned
others to be blown from guns, to be plunged into ice-cold water and
lashed severely, to have their skulls soaked in boiling oil, to be
smeared with treacle and left to perish in the snow; and finally, the
insatiable hatred that impelled the crafty governor to induce through
his insinuations the seven year old son of &Hujjat to disclose the
burial-place of his father, that drove him to violate the grave,
disinter the corpse, order it to be dragged to the sound of drums
and trumpets through the streets of &Zanjan, and be exposed, for
three days and three nights, to unspeakable injuries. These, and other
similar incidents connected with the epic story of the &Zanjan upheaval,
characterized by Lord Curzon as a "terrific siege and
slaughter," combine to invest it with a sombre glory unsurpassed
by any episode of a like nature in the records of the Heroic Age of
the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
To the tide of calamity which, during the concluding years of
the &Bab's ministry, was sweeping with such ominous fury the
provinces of Persia, whether in the East, in the South, or in the
West, the heart and center of the realm itself could not remain
impervious. Four months before the &Bab's martyrdom &Tihran in its
turn was to participate, to a lesser degree and under less dramatic
+P47
circumstances, in the carnage that was besmirching the face of the
country. A tragedy was being enacted in that city which was to
prove but a prelude to the orgy of massacre which, after the &Bab's
execution, convulsed its inhabitants and sowed consternation as far
as the outlying provinces. It originated in the orders and was perpetrated
under the very eyes of the irate and murderous &Amir-Nizam,
supported by &Mahmud &Khan-i-Kalantar, and aided by a certain
&Husayn, one of the &ulamas of &Kashan. The heroes of that tragedy
were the Seven Martyrs of &Tihran, who represented the more important
classes among their countrymen, and who deliberately refused
to purchase life by that mere lip-denial which, under the name
of &taqiyyih, &Shi'ah &Islam had for centuries recognized as a wholly
justifiable and indeed commendable subterfuge in the hour of peril.
Neither the repeated and vigorous intercessions of highly placed
members of the professions to which these martyrs belonged, nor the
considerable sums which, in the case of one of them--the noble and
serene &Haji &Mirza Siyyid &Ali, the &Bab's maternal uncle--affluent
merchants of &Shiraz and &Tihran were eager to offer as ransom, nor
the impassioned pleas of state officials on behalf of another--the
pious and highly esteemed dervish, &Mirza &Qurban-'Ali--nor even
the personal intervention of the &Amir-Nizam, who endeavored to
induce both of these brave men to recant, could succeed in persuading
any of the seven to forego the coveted laurels of martyrdom. The
defiant answers which they flung at their persecutors; the ecstatic
joy which seized them as they drew near the scene of their death;
the jubilant shouts they raised as they faced their executioner; the
poignancy of the verses which, in their last moments, some of them
recited; the appeals and challenges they addressed to the multitude
of onlookers who gazed with stupefaction upon them; the eagerness
with which the last three victims strove to precede one another in
sealing their faith with their blood; and lastly, the atrocities which a
bloodthirsty foe degraded itself by inflicting upon their dead bodies
which lay unburied for three days and three nights in the &Sabzih-Maydan,
during which time thousands of so-called devout &Shi'ahs
kicked their corpses, spat upon their faces, pelted, cursed, derided,
and heaped refuse upon them--these were the chief features of the
tragedy of the Seven Martyrs of &Tihran, a tragedy which stands out
as one of the grimmest scenes witnessed in the course of the early
unfoldment of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. Little wonder that the &Bab,
bowed down by the weight of His accumulated sorrows in the Fortress
of &Chihriq, should have acclaimed and glorified them, in the pages
+P48
of a lengthy eulogy which immortalized their fidelity to His Cause,
as those same "Seven Goats" who, according to Islamic tradition,
should, on the Day of Judgment, "walk in front" of the promised
&Qa'im, and whose death was to precede the impending martyrdom
of their true Shepherd.
+P49
CHAPTER IV
The Execution of the &Bab
The waves of dire tribulation that violently battered at the Faith,
and eventually engulfed, in rapid succession, the ablest, the dearest
and most trusted disciples of the &Bab, plunged Him, as already
observed, into unutterable sorrow. For no less than six months the
Prisoner of &Chihriq, His chronicler has recorded, was unable to either
write or dictate. Crushed with grief by the evil tidings that came so
fast upon Him, of the endless trials that beset His ablest lieutenants,
by the agonies suffered by the besieged and the shameless betrayal of
the survivors, by the woeful afflictions endured by the captives and
the abominable butchery of men, women and children, as well as
the foul indignities heaped on their corpses, He, for nine days, His
amanuensis has affirmed, refused to meet any of His friends, and was
reluctant to touch the meat and drink that was offered Him. Tears
rained continually from His eyes, and profuse expressions of anguish
poured forth from His wounded heart, as He languished, for no less
than five months, solitary and disconsolate, in His prison.
The pillars of His infant Faith had, for the most part, been
hurled down at the first onset of the hurricane that had been loosed
upon it. &Quddus, immortalized by Him as &Ismu'llahi'l-Akhir (the
Last Name of God); on whom &Baha'u'llah's Tablet of &Kullu't-Ta'am
later conferred the sublime appellation of &Nuqtiy-i-Ukhra (the Last
Point); whom He elevated, in another Tablet, to a rank second to
none except that of the Herald of His Revelation; whom He identifies,
in still another Tablet, with one of the "Messengers charged
with imposture" mentioned in the &Qur'an; whom the Persian &Bayan
extolled as that fellow-pilgrim round whom mirrors to the number of
eight &Vahids revolve; on whose "detachment and the sincerity of whose
devotion to God's will God prideth Himself amidst the Concourse on
high;" whom &Abdu'l-Baha designated as the "Moon of Guidance;"
and whose appearance the Revelation of St. John the Divine anticipated
as one of the two "Witnesses" into whom, ere the "second woe
is past," the "spirit of life from God" must enter--such a man had,
in the full bloom of his youth, suffered, in the &Sabzih-Maydan of
&Barfurush, a death which even Jesus Christ, as attested by &Baha'u'llah,
+P50
had not faced in the hour of His greatest agony. &Mulla &Husayn, the
first Letter of the Living, surnamed the &Babu'l-Bab (the Gate of the
Gate); designated as the "Primal Mirror;" on whom eulogies, prayers
and visiting Tablets of a number equivalent to thrice the volume of
the &Qur'an had been lavished by the pen of the &Bab; referred to in
these eulogies as "beloved of My Heart;" the dust of whose grave,
that same Pen had declared, was so potent as to cheer the sorrowful
and heal the sick; whom "the creatures, raised in the beginning and
in the end" of the &Babi Dispensation, envy, and will continue to envy
till the "Day of Judgment;" whom the &Kitab-i-Iqan acclaimed as
the one but for whom "God would not have been established upon
the seat of His mercy, nor ascended the throne of eternal glory;" to
whom Siyyid &Kazim had paid such tribute that his disciples suspected
that the recipient of such praise might well be the promised One
Himself--such a one had likewise, in the prime of his manhood, died a
martyr's death at &Tabarsi. &Vahid, pronounced in the &Kitab-i-Iqan
to be the "unique and peerless figure of his age," a man of immense
erudition and the most preeminent figure to enlist under the banner
of the new Faith, to whose "talents and saintliness," to whose "high
attainments in the realm of science and philosophy" the &Bab had
testified in His &Dala'il-i-Sab'ih (Seven Proofs), had already, under
similar circumstances, been swept into the maelstrom of another
upheaval, and was soon to quaff in his turn the cup drained by the
heroic martyrs of &Mazindaran. &Hujjat, another champion of conspicuous
audacity, of unsubduable will, of remarkable originality and
vehement zeal, was being, swiftly and inevitably, drawn into the
fiery furnace whose flames had already enveloped &Zanjan and its
environs. The &Bab's maternal uncle, the only father He had known
since His childhood, His shield and support and the trusted guardian
of both His mother and His wife, had, moreover, been sundered from
Him by the axe of the executioner in &Tihran. No less than half of
His chosen disciples, the Letters of the Living, had already preceded
Him in the field of martyrdom. &Tahirih, though still alive, was
courageously pursuing a course that was to lead her inevitably to
her doom.
A fast ebbing life, so crowded with the accumulated anxieties,
disappointments, treacheries and sorrows of a tragic ministry, now
moved swiftly towards its climax. The most turbulent period of the
Heroic Age of the new Dispensation was rapidly attaining its culmination.
The cup of bitter woes which the Herald of that Dispensation
had tasted was now full to overflowing. Indeed, He Himself had
+P51
already foreshadowed His own approaching death. In the &Kitab-i-Panj-Sha'n,
one of His last works, He had alluded to the fact that
the sixth &Naw-Ruz after the declaration of His mission would be
the last He was destined to celebrate on earth. In His interpretation
of the letter &Ha, He had voiced His craving for martyrdom, while in
the &Qayyumu'l-Asma' He had actually prophesied the inevitability
of such a consummation of His glorious career. Forty days before
His final departure from &Chihriq He had even collected all the documents
in His possession, and placed them, together with His pen-case,
His seals and His rings, in the hands of &Mulla &Baqir, a Letter of the
Living, whom He instructed to entrust them to &Mulla &Abdu'l-Karim-i-Qazvini,
surnamed &Mirza &Ahmad, who was to deliver them to
&Baha'u'llah in &Tihran.
While the convulsions of &Mazindaran and &Nayriz were pursuing
their bloody course the Grand Vizir of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, anxiously
pondering the significance of these dire happenings, and apprehensive
of their repercussions on his countrymen, his government and his
sovereign, was feverishly revolving in his mind that fateful decision
which was not only destined to leave its indelible imprint on the
fortunes of his country, but was to be fraught with such incalculable
consequences for the destinies of the whole of mankind. The repressive
measures taken against the followers of the &Bab, he was by now fully
convinced, had but served to inflame their zeal, steel their resolution
and confirm their loyalty to their persecuted Faith. The &Bab's isolation
and captivity had produced the opposite effect to that which the
&Amir-Nizam had confidently anticipated. Gravely perturbed, he
bitterly condemned the disastrous leniency of his predecessor, &Haji
&Mirza &Aqasi, which had brought matters to such a pass. A more
drastic and still more exemplary punishment, he felt, must now be
administered to what he regarded as an abomination of heresy which
was polluting the civil and ecclesiastical institutions of the realm.
Nothing short, he believed, of the extinction of the life of Him Who
was the fountain-head of so odious a doctrine and the driving force
behind so dynamic a movement could stem the tide that had wrought
such havoc throughout the land.
The siege of &Zanjan was still in progress when he, dispensing with
an explicit order from his sovereign, and acting independently of his
counsellors and fellow-ministers, dispatched his order to Prince
&Hamzih &Mirza, the &Hishmatu'd-Dawlih, the governor of &Adhirbayjan,
instructing him to execute the &Bab. Fearing lest the infliction of such
condign punishment in the capital of the realm would set in motion
+P52
forces he might be powerless to control, he ordered that his Captive
be taken to &Tabriz, and there be done to death. Confronted with a
flat refusal by the indignant Prince to perform what he regarded as a
flagitious crime, the &Amir-Nizam commissioned his own brother,
&Mirza &Hasan &Khan, to execute his orders. The usual formalities designed
to secure the necessary authorization from the leading mujtahids
of &Tabriz were hastily and easily completed. Neither &Mulla
&Muhammad-i-Mamaqani, however, who had penned the &Bab's death-warrant
on the very day of His examination in &Tabriz, nor &Haji
&Mirza &Baqir, nor &Mulla &Murtada-Quli, to whose houses their Victim
was ignominiously led by the &farrash-bashi, by order of the Grand
Vizir, condescended to meet face to face their dreaded Opponent.
Immediately before and soon after this humiliating treatment
meted out to the &Bab two highly significant incidents occurred, incidents
that cast an illuminating light on the mysterious circumstances
surrounding the opening phase of His martyrdom. The &farrash-bashi
had abruptly interrupted the last conversation which the &Bab was
confidentially having in one of the rooms of the barracks with His
amanuensis Siyyid &Husayn, and was drawing the latter aside, and
severely rebuking him, when he was thus addressed by his Prisoner:
"Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish to say can
any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed against
Me, yet shall it be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last
word, My intention." To the Christian &Sam &Khan--the colonel of the
Armenian regiment ordered to carry out the execution--who, seized
with fear lest his act should provoke the wrath of God, had begged
to be released from the duty imposed upon him, the &Bab gave the
following assurance: "Follow your instructions, and if your intention
be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you of your
perplexity."
&Sam &Khan accordingly set out to discharge his duty. A spike was
driven into a pillar which separated two rooms of the barracks facing
the square. Two ropes were fastened to it from which the &Bab and
one of his disciples, the youthful and devout &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali-i-Zunuzi,
surnamed &Anis, who had previously flung himself at the
feet of his Master and implored that under no circumstances he be
sent away from Him, were separately suspended. The firing squad
ranged itself in three files, each of two hundred and fifty men. Each
file in turn opened fire until the whole detachment had discharged
its bullets. So dense was the smoke from the seven hundred and
fifty rifles that the sky was darkened. As soon as the smoke had
+P53
cleared away the astounded multitude of about ten thousand souls,
who had crowded onto the roof of the barracks, as well as the tops
of the adjoining houses, beheld a scene which their eyes could
scarcely believe.
The &Bab had vanished from their sight! Only his companion
remained, alive and unscathed, standing beside the wall on which
they had been suspended. The ropes by which they had been hung
alone were severed. "The &Siyyid-i-Bab has gone from our sight!"
cried out the bewildered spectators. A frenzied search immediately
ensued. He was found, unhurt and unruffled, in the very room He
had occupied the night before, engaged in completing His interrupted
conversation with His amanuensis. "I have finished My conversation
with Siyyid &Husayn" were the words with which the Prisoner, so
providentially preserved, greeted the appearance of the &farrash-bashi,
"Now you may proceed to fulfill your intention." Recalling the bold
assertion his Prisoner had previously made, and shaken by so stunning
a revelation, the &farrash-bashi quitted instantly the scene, and resigned
his post.
&Sam &Khan, likewise, remembering, with feelings of awe and
wonder, the reassuring words addressed to him by the &Bab, ordered
his men to leave the barracks immediately, and swore, as he left the
courtyard, never again, even at the cost of his life, to repeat that act.
&Aqa &Jan-i-Khamsih, colonel of the body-guard, volunteered to replace
him. On the same wall and in the same manner the &Bab and His companion
were again suspended, while the new regiment formed in line
and opened fire upon them. This time, however, their breasts were
riddled with bullets, and their bodies completely dissected, with the
exception of their faces which were but little marred. "O wayward
generation!" were the last words of the &Bab to the gazing multitude,
as the regiment prepared to fire its volley, "Had you believed in Me
every one of you would have followed the example of this youth, who
stood in rank above most of you, and would have willingly sacrificed
himself in My path. The day will come when you will have recognized
Me; that day I shall have ceased to be with you."
Nor was this all. The very moment the shots were fired a gale of
exceptional violence arose and swept over the city. From noon till
night a whirlwind of dust obscured the light of the sun, and blinded
the eyes of the people. In &Shiraz an "earthquake," foreshadowed in no
less weighty a Book than the Revelation of St. John, occurred in
1268 A.H. which threw the whole city into turmoil and wrought
havoc amongst its people, a havoc that was greatly aggravated by
+P54
the outbreak of cholera, by famine and other afflictions. In that same
year no less than two hundred and fifty of the firing squad, that had
replaced &Sam &Khan's regiment, met their death, together with their
officers, in a terrible earthquake, while the remaining five hundred
suffered, three years later, as a punishment for their mutiny, the same
fate as that which their hands had inflicted upon the &Bab. To insure
that none of them had survived, they were riddled with a second
volley, after which their bodies, pierced with spears and lances, were
exposed to the gaze of the people of &Tabriz. The prime instigator of
the &Bab's death, the implacable &Amir-Nizam, together with his
brother, his chief accomplice, met their death within two years of
that savage act.
On the evening of the very day of the &Bab's execution, which fell
on the ninth of July 1850 (28th of &Sha'ban 1266 A.H.), during the
thirty-first year of His age and the seventh of His ministry, the
mangled bodies were transferred from the courtyard of the barracks
to the edge of the moat outside the gate of the city. Four companies,
each consisting of ten sentinels, were ordered to keep watch in turn
over them. On the following morning the Russian Consul in
&Tabriz visited the spot, and ordered the artist who had accompanied
him to make a drawing of the remains as they lay beside the moat.
In the middle of the following night a follower of the &Bab, &Haji
&Sulayman &Khan, succeeded, through the instrumentality of a certain
&Haji &Allah-Yar, in removing the bodies to the silk factory owned by
one of the believers of &Milan, and laid them, the next day, in a
specially made wooden casket, which he later transferred to a place
of safety. Meanwhile the &mullas were boastfully proclaiming from
the pulpits that, whereas the holy body of the Immaculate &Imam
would be preserved from beasts of prey and from all creeping things,
this man's body had been devoured by wild animals. No sooner had
the news of the transfer of the remains of the &Bab and of His fellow-sufferer
been communicated to &Baha'u'llah than He ordered that
same &Sulayman &Khan to bring them to &Tihran, where they were
taken to the &Imam-Zadih-Hasan, from whence they were removed to
different places, until the time when, in pursuance of &Abdu'l-Baha's
instructions, they were transferred to the Holy Land, and were permanently
and ceremoniously laid to rest by Him in a specially erected
mausoleum on the slopes of Mt. Carmel.
Thus ended a life which posterity will recognize as standing at
the confluence of two universal prophetic cycles, the Adamic Cycle
stretching back as far as the first dawnings of the world's recorded
+P55
religious history and the &Baha'i Cycle destined to propel itself across
the unborn reaches of time for a period of no less than five thousand
centuries. The apotheosis in which such a life attained its consummation
marks, as already observed, the culmination of the most
heroic phase of the Heroic Age of the &Baha'i Dispensation. It can,
moreover, be regarded in no other light except as the most dramatic,
the most tragic event transpiring within the entire range of the first
&Baha'i century. Indeed it can be rightly acclaimed as unparalleled
in the annals of the lives of all the Founders of the world's existing
religious systems.
So momentous an event could hardly fail to arouse widespread
and keen interest even beyond the confines of the land in which it
had occurred. "C'est un des plus magnifiques exemples de courage
qu'il ait &ete &donne &a &l'humanite de contempler," is the testimony
recorded by a Christian scholar and government official, who had
lived in Persia and had familiarized himself with the life and teachings
of the &Bab, "et c'est aussi une admirable preuve de l'amour que
notre &heros portait &a ses concitoyens. Il s'est &sacrifie pour &l'humanite:
pour elle il a &donne son corps et son &ame, pour elle il a subi les
privations, les affronts, les injures, la torture et le martyre. Il a &scelle
de son sang le pacte de la &fraternite universelle, et comme &Jesus
il a &paye de sa vie l'annonce du ®ne de la concorde, de &l'equite et de
l'amour du prochain." "Un fait &etrange, unique dans les annales de
&l'humanite," is a further testimony from the pen of that same scholar
commenting on the circumstances attending the &Bab's martyrdom.
"A veritable miracle," is the pronouncement made by a noted French
Orientalist. "A true God-man," is the verdict of a famous British
traveler and writer. "The finest product of his country," is the tribute
paid Him by a noted French publicist. "That Jesus of the age ...
a prophet, and more than a prophet," is the judgment passed by a
distinguished English divine. "The most important religious movement
since the foundation of Christianity," is the possibility that was
envisaged for the Faith the &Bab had established by that far-famed
Oxford scholar, the late Master of Balliol.
"Many persons from all parts of the world," is &Abdu'l-Baha's
written assertion, "set out for Persia and began to investigate wholeheartedly
the matter." The Czar of Russia, a contemporary chronicler
has written, had even, shortly before the &Bab's martyrdom, instructed
the Russian Consul in &Tabriz to fully inquire into, and report the
circumstances of so startling a Movement, a commission that could
not be carried out in view of the &Bab's execution. In countries as
+P56
remote as those of Western Europe an interest no less profound was
kindled, and spread with great rapidity to literary, artistic, diplomatic
and intellectual circles. "All Europe," attests the above-mentioned
French publicist, "was stirred to pity and indignation...
Among the &litterateurs of my generation, in the Paris of 1890, the
martyrdom of the &Bab was still as fresh a topic as had been the first
news of His death. We wrote poems about Him. Sarah Bernhardt
entreated Catulle &Mendes for a play on the theme of this historic
tragedy." A Russian poetess, member of the Philosophic, Oriental
and Bibliological Societies of St. Petersburg, published in 1903 a
drama entitled "The &Bab," which a year later was played in one of
the principal theatres of that city, was subsequently given publicity
in London, was translated into French in Paris, and into German by
the poet Fiedler, was presented again, soon after the Russian Revolution,
in the Folk Theatre in Leningrad, and succeeded in arousing the
genuine sympathy and interest of the renowned Tolstoy, whose
eulogy of the poem was later published in the Russian press.
It would indeed be no exaggeration to say that nowhere in the
whole compass of the world's religious literature, except in the
Gospels, do we find any record relating to the death of any of the
religion-founders of the past comparable to the martyrdom suffered
by the Prophet of &Shiraz. So strange, so inexplicable a phenomenon,
attested by eye-witnesses, corroborated by men of recognized standing,
and acknowledged by government as well as unofficial historians
among the people who had sworn undying hostility to the &Babi Faith,
may be truly regarded as the most marvelous manifestation of the
unique potentialities with which a Dispensation promised by all the
Dispensations of the past had been endowed. The passion of Jesus
Christ, and indeed His whole public ministry, alone offer a parallel to
the Mission and death of the &Bab, a parallel which no student of comparative
religion can fail to perceive or ignore. In the youthfulness
and meekness of the Inaugurator of the &Babi Dispensation; in the
extreme brevity and turbulence of His public ministry; in the
dramatic swiftness with which that ministry moved towards its
climax; in the apostolic order which He instituted, and the primacy
which He conferred on one of its members; in the boldness of His
challenge to the time-honored conventions, rites and laws which had
been woven into the fabric of the religion He Himself had been born
into; in the &role which an officially recognized and firmly entrenched
religious hierarchy played as chief instigator of the outrages which He
was made to suffer; in the indignities heaped upon Him; in the
+P57
suddenness of His arrest; in the interrogation to which He was subjected;
in the derision poured, and the scourging inflicted, upon Him;
in the public affront He sustained; and, finally, in His ignominious
suspension before the gaze of a hostile multitude--in all these we
cannot fail to discern a remarkable similarity to the distinguishing
features of the career of Jesus Christ.
It should be remembered, however, that apart from the miracle
associated with the &Bab's execution, He, unlike the Founder of the
Christian religion, is not only to be regarded as the independent
Author of a divinely revealed Dispensation, but must also be recognized
as the Herald of a new Era and the Inaugurator of a great
universal prophetic cycle. Nor should the important fact be overlooked
that, whereas the chief adversaries of Jesus Christ, in His lifetime,
were the Jewish rabbis and their associates, the forces arrayed
against the &Bab represented the combined civil and ecclesiastical
powers of Persia, which, from the moment of His declaration to the
hour of His death, persisted, unitedly and by every means at their
disposal, in conspiring against the upholders and in vilifying the
tenets of His Revelation.
The &Bab, acclaimed by &Baha'u'llah as the "Essence of Essences,"
the "Sea of Seas," the "Point round Whom the realities of the Prophets
and Messengers revolve," "from Whom God hath caused to proceed
the knowledge of all that was and shall be," Whose "rank excelleth
that of all the Prophets," and Whose "Revelation transcendeth the
comprehension and understanding of all their chosen ones," had
delivered His Message and discharged His mission. He Who was, in
the words of &Abdu'l-Baha, the "Morn of Truth" and "Harbinger of
the Most Great Light," Whose advent at once signalized the termination
of the "Prophetic Cycle" and the inception of the "Cycle of
Fulfillment," had simultaneously through His Revelation banished the
shades of night that had descended upon His country, and proclaimed
the impending rise of that Incomparable Orb Whose radiance was to
envelop the whole of mankind. He, as affirmed by Himself, "the
Primal Point from which have been generated all created things,"
"one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God," the
"Mystic Fane," the "Great Announcement," the "Flame of that
supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai," the "Remembrance of God"
concerning Whom "a separate Covenant hath been established with
each and every Prophet" had, through His advent, at once fulfilled the
promise of all ages and ushered in the consummation of all Revelations.
He the "&Qa'im" (He Who ariseth) promised to the &Shi'ahs,
+P58
the "&Mihdi" (One Who is guided) awaited by the &Sunnis, the
"Return of John the Baptist" expected by the Christians, the
"&Ushidar-Mah" referred to in the Zoroastrian scriptures, the "Return
of Elijah" anticipated by the Jews, Whose Revelation was to show
forth "the signs and tokens of all the Prophets", Who was to "manifest
the perfection of Moses, the radiance of Jesus and the patience of Job"
had appeared, proclaimed His Cause, been mercilessly persecuted and
died gloriously. The "Second Woe," spoken of in the Apocalypse of
St. John the Divine, had, at long last, appeared, and the first of the
two "Messengers," Whose appearance had been prophesied in the
&Qur'an, had been sent down. The first "Trumpet-Blast", destined
to smite the earth with extermination, announced in the latter Book,
had finally been sounded. "The Inevitable," "The Catastrophe," "The
Resurrection," "The Earthquake of the Last Hour," foretold by that
same Book, had all come to pass. The "clear tokens" had been "sent
down," and the "Spirit" had "breathed," and the "souls" had "waked
up," and the "heaven" had been "cleft," and the "angels" had "ranged
in order," and the "stars" had been "blotted out," and the "earth" had
"cast forth her burden," and "Paradise" had been "brought near,"
and "hell" had been "made to blaze," and the "Book" had been "set,"
and the "Bridge" had been "laid out," and the "Balance" had been
"set up," and the "mountains scattered in dust." The "cleansing of
the Sanctuary," prophesied by Daniel and confirmed by Jesus Christ
in His reference to "the abomination of desolation," had been accomplished.
The "day whose length shall be a thousand years," foretold by
the Apostle of God in His Book, had terminated. The "forty and
two months," during which the "Holy City," as predicted by St. John
the Divine, would be trodden under foot, had elapsed. The "time of
the end" had been ushered in, and the first of the "two Witnesses"
into Whom, "after three days and a half the Spirit of Life from God"
would enter, had arisen and had "ascended up to heaven in a cloud."
The "remaining twenty and five letters to be made manifest," according
to Islamic tradition, out of the "twenty and seven letters" of
which Knowledge has been declared to consist, had been revealed.
The "Man Child," mentioned in the Book of Revelation, destined to
"rule all nations with a rod of iron," had released, through His coming,
the creative energies which, reinforced by the effusions of a
swiftly succeeding and infinitely mightier Revelation, were to instill
into the entire human race the capacity to achieve its organic unification,
attain maturity and thereby reach the final stage in its age-long
evolution. The clarion-call addressed to the "concourse of kings and
+P59
of the sons of kings," marking the inception of a process which,
accelerated by &Baha'u'llah's subsequent warnings to the entire company
of the monarchs of East and West, was to produce so widespread
a revolution in the fortunes of royalty, had been raised in the
&Qayyumu'l-Asma'. The "Order," whose foundation the Promised One
was to establish in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, and the features of which the
Center of the Covenant was to delineate in His Testament, and whose
administrative framework the entire body of His followers are now
erecting, had been categorically announced in the Persian &Bayan.
The laws which were designed, on the one hand, to abolish at a stroke
the privileges and ceremonials, the ordinances and institutions of a
superannuated Dispensation, and to bridge, on the other, the gap
between an obsolete system and the institutions of a world-encompassing
Order destined to supersede it, had been clearly formulated
and proclaimed. The Covenant which, despite the determined assaults
launched against it, succeeded, unlike all previous Dispensations, in
preserving the integrity of the Faith of its Author, and in paving
the way for the advent of the One Who was to be its Center and
Object, had been firmly and irrevocably established. The light which,
throughout successive periods, was to propagate itself gradually from
its cradle as far as Vancouver in the West and the China Sea in the
East, and to diffuse its radiance as far as Iceland in the North and
the Tasman Sea in the South, had broken. The forces of darkness, at
first confined to the concerted hostility of the civil and ecclesiastical
powers of &Shi'ah Persia, gathering momentum, at a later stage,
through the avowed and persistent opposition of the Caliph of
&Islam and the &Sunni hierarchy in Turkey, and destined to culminate
in the fierce antagonism of the sacerdotal orders associated with other
and still more powerful religious systems, had launched their initial
assault. The nucleus of the divinely ordained, world-embracing Community--
a Community whose infant strength had already plucked
asunder the fetters of &Shi'ah orthodoxy, and which was, with every
expansion in the range of its fellowship, to seek and obtain a wider
and still more significant recognition of its claims to be the world
religion of the future, had been formed and was slowly crystallizing.
And, lastly, the seed, endowed by the Hand of Omnipotence with
such vast potentialities, though rudely trampled under foot and
seemingly perished from the face of the earth, had, through this very
process, been vouchsafed the opportunity to germinate and remanifest
itself, in the shape of a still more compelling Revelation--a Revelation
destined to blossom forth, in a later period into the flourishing
+P60
institutions of a world-wide administrative System, and to ripen,
in the Golden Age as yet unborn, into mighty agencies functioning
in consonance with the principles of a world-unifying, world-redeeming
Order.
+P61
CHAPTER V
The Attempt on the Life of the &Shah
and Its Consequences
The Faith that had stirred a whole nation to its depth, for whose
sake thousands of precious and heroic souls had been immolated and
on whose altar He Who had been its Author had sacrificed His life,
was now being subjected to the strain and stress of yet another crisis
of extreme violence and far-reaching consequences. It was one of
those periodic crises which, occurring throughout a whole century,
succeeded in momentarily eclipsing the splendor of the Faith and in
almost disrupting the structure of its organic institutions. Invariably
sudden, often unexpected, seemingly fatal to both its spirit and its
life, these inevitable manifestations of the mysterious evolution of a
world Religion, intensely alive, challenging in its claims, revolutionizing
in its tenets, struggling against overwhelming odds, have either
been externally precipitated by the malice of its avowed antagonists
or internally provoked by the unwisdom of its friends, the apostasy
of its supporters, or the defection of some of the most highly placed
amongst the kith and kin of its founders. No matter how disconcerting
to the great mass of its loyal adherents, however much trumpeted
by its adversaries as symptoms of its decline and impending dissolution,
these admitted setbacks and reverses, from which it has time
and again so tragically suffered, have, as we look back upon them,
failed to arrest its march or impair its unity. Heavy indeed has been
the toll which they exacted, unspeakable the agonies they engendered,
widespread and paralyzing for a time the consternation they provoked.
Yet, viewed in their proper perspective, each of them can be
confidently pronounced a blessing in disguise, affording a providential
means for the release of a fresh outpouring of celestial strength, a
miraculous escape from imminent and still more dreadful calamities,
an instrument for the fulfillment of age-old prophecies, an agency for
the purification and revitalization of the life of the community, an
impetus for the enlargement of its limits and the propagation of its
influence, and a compelling evidence of the indestructibility of its
cohesive strength. Sometimes at the height of the crisis itself, more
often when the crisis was past, the significance of these trials has
+P62
manifested itself to men's eyes, and the necessity of such experiences
has been demonstrated, far and wide and beyond the shadow of a
doubt, to both friend and foe. Seldom, if indeed at any time, has
the mystery underlying these portentous, God-sent upheavals remained
undisclosed, or the profound purpose and meaning of their
occurrence been left hidden from the minds of men.
Such a severe ordeal the Faith of the &Bab, still in the earliest
stages of its infancy, was now beginning to experience. Maligned and
hounded from the moment it was born, deprived in its earliest days
of the sustaining strength of the majority of its leading supporters,
stunned by the tragic and sudden removal of its Founder, reeling
under the cruel blows it had successively sustained in &Mazindaran,
&Tihran, &Nayriz and &Zanjan, a sorely persecuted Faith was about to
be subjected through the shameful act of a fanatical and irresponsible
&Babi, to a humiliation such as it had never before known. To the
trials it had undergone was now added the oppressive load of a fresh
calamity, unprecedented in its gravity, disgraceful in its character,
and devastating in its immediate consequences.
Obsessed by the bitter tragedy of the martyrdom of his beloved
Master, driven by a frenzy of despair to avenge that odious deed,
and believing the author and instigator of that crime to be none other
than the &Shah himself, a certain &Sadiq-i-Tabrizi, an assistant in a
confectioner's shop in &Tihran, proceeded on an August day (August
15, 1852), together with his accomplice, an equally obscure youth
named &Fathu'llah-i-Qumi, to &Niyavaran where the imperial army
had encamped and the sovereign was in residence, and there, waiting
by the roadside, in the guise of an innocent bystander, fired a round
of shot from his pistol at the &Shah, shortly after the latter had
emerged on horseback from the palace grounds for his morning
promenade. The weapon the assailant employed demonstrated beyond
the shadow of a doubt the folly of that half-demented youth, and
clearly indicated that no man of sound judgment could have possibly
instigated so senseless an act.
The whole of &Niyavaran where the imperial court and troops had
congregated was, as a result of this assault, plunged into an unimaginable
tumult. The ministers of the state, headed by &Mirza &Aqa
&Khan-i-Nuri, the &I'timadu'd-Dawlih, the successor of the &Amir-Nizam,
rushed horror-stricken to the side of their wounded sovereign.
The fanfare of the trumpets, the rolling of the drums and the shrill
piping of the fifes summoned the hosts of His Imperial Majesty on
all sides. The &Shah's attendants, some on horseback, others on foot,
+P63
poured into the palace grounds. Pandemonium reigned in which every
one issued orders, none listened, none obeyed, nor understood anything.
&Ardishir &Mirza, the governor of &Tihran, having in the meantime
already ordered his troops to patrol the deserted streets of the
capital, barred the gates of the citadel as well as of the city, charged
his batteries and feverishly dispatched a messenger to ascertain the
veracity of the wild rumors that were circulating amongst the
populace, and to ask for special instructions.
No sooner had this act been perpetrated than its shadow fell
across the entire body of the &Babi community. A storm of public
horror, disgust and resentment, heightened by the implacable hostility
of the mother of the youthful sovereign, swept the nation, casting
aside all possibility of even the most elementary inquiry into the
origins and the instigators of the attempt. A sign, a whisper, was
sufficient to implicate the innocent and loose upon him the most
abominable afflictions. An army of foes--ecclesiastics, state officials
and people, united in relentless hate, and watching for an opportunity
to discredit and annihilate a dreaded adversary--had, at long last,
been afforded the pretext for which it was longing. Now it could
achieve its malevolent purpose. Though the Faith had, from its inception,
disclaimed any intention of usurping the rights and prerogatives
of the state; though its exponents and disciples had sedulously
avoided any act that might arouse the slightest suspicion of a desire
to wage a holy war, or to evince an aggressive attitude, yet its enemies,
deliberately ignoring the numerous evidences of the marked restraint
exercised by the followers of a persecuted religion, proved themselves
capable of inflicting atrocities as barbarous as those which will ever
remain associated with the bloody episodes of &Mazindaran, &Nayriz
and &Zanjan. To what depths of infamy and cruelty would not this
same enemy be willing to descend now that an act so treasonable, so
audacious had been committed? What accusations would it not be
prompted to level at, and what treatment would it not mete out to,
those who, however unjustifiably, could be associated with so heinous
a crime against one who, in his person, combined the chief magistracy
of the realm and the trusteeship of the Hidden &Imam?
The reign of terror which ensued was revolting beyond description.
The spirit of revenge that animated those who had unleashed its
horrors seemed insatiable. Its repercussions echoed as far as the press
of Europe, branding with infamy its bloodthirsty participants. The
Grand Vizir, wishing to reduce the chances of blood revenge, divided
the work of executing those condemned to death among the princes
+P64
and nobles, his principal fellow-ministers, the generals and officers of
the Court, the representatives of the sacerdotal and merchant classes,
the artillery and the infantry. Even the &Shah himself had his allotted
victim, though, to save the dignity of the crown, he delegated the
steward of his household to fire the fatal shot on his behalf. &Ardishir
&Mirza, on his part, picketed the gates of the capital, and ordered the
guards to scrutinize the faces of all those who sought to leave it.
Summoning to his presence the kalantar, the &darughih and the &kadkhudas
he bade them search out and arrest every one suspected of
being a &Babi. A youth named &Abbas, a former servant of a well-known
adherent of the Faith, was, on threat of inhuman torture,
induced to walk the streets of &Tihran, and point out every one he
recognized as being a &Babi. He was even coerced into denouncing
any individual whom he thought would be willing and able to pay
a heavy bribe to secure his freedom.
The first to suffer on that calamitous day was the ill-fated &Sadiq,
who was instantly slain on the scene of his attempted crime. His
body was tied to the tail of a mule and dragged all the way to &Tihran,
where it was hewn into two halves, each of which was suspended and
exposed to the public view, while the &Tihranis were invited by the
city authorities to mount the ramparts and gaze upon the mutilated
corpse. Molten lead was poured down the throat of his accomplice,
after having subjected him to the torture of red-hot pincers and
limb-rending screws. A comrade of his, &Haji &Qasim, was stripped of
his clothes, lighted candles were thrust into holes made in his flesh,
and was paraded before the multitude who shouted and cursed him.
Others had their eyes gouged out, were sawn asunder, strangled, blown
from the mouths of cannons, chopped in pieces, hewn apart with
hatchets and maces, shod with horse shoes, bayoneted and stoned.
Torture-mongers vied with each other in running the gamut of
brutality, while the populace, into whose hands the bodies of the
hapless victims were delivered, would close in upon their prey, and
would so mutilate them as to leave no trace of their original form.
The executioners, though accustomed to their own gruesome task,
would themselves be amazed at the fiendish cruelty of the populace.
Women and children could be seen led down the streets by their
executioners, their flesh in ribbons, with candles burning in their
wounds, singing with ringing voices before the silent spectators:
"Verily from God we come, and unto Him we return!" As some of
the children expired on the way their tormentors would fling their
bodies under the feet of their fathers and sisters who, proudly treading
+P65
upon them, would not deign to give them a second glance. A
father, according to the testimony of a distinguished French writer,
rather than abjure his faith, preferred to have the throats of his two
young sons, both already covered with blood, slit upon his breast,
as he lay on the ground, whilst the elder of the two, a lad of fourteen,
vigorously pressing his right of seniority, demanded to be the first to
lay down his life.
An Austrian officer, Captain Von Goumoens, in the employ of
the &Shah at that time, was, it is reliably stated, so horrified at the
cruelties he was compelled to witness that he tendered his resignation.
"Follow me, my friend," is the Captain's own testimony in a letter
he wrote two weeks after the attempt in question, which was published
in the "Soldatenfreund," "you who lay claim to a heart and European
ethics, follow me to the unhappy ones who, with gouged-out eyes,
must eat, on the scene of the deed, without any sauce, their own
amputated ears; or whose teeth are torn out with inhuman violence
by the hand of the executioner; or whose bare skulls are simply
crushed by blows from a hammer; or where the bazaar is illuminated
with unhappy victims, because on right and left the people dig
deep holes in their breasts and shoulders, and insert burning wicks in
the wounds. I saw some dragged in chains through the bazaar, preceded
by a military band, in whom these wicks had burned so deep
that now the fat flickered convulsively in the wound like a newly
extinguished lamp. Not seldom it happens that the unwearying
ingenuity of the Oriental leads to fresh tortures. They will skin the
soles of the &Babi's feet, soak the wounds in boiling oil, shoe the foot
like the hoof of a horse, and compel the victim to run. No cry
escaped from the victim's breast; the torment is endured in dark
silence by the numbed sensation of the fanatic; now he must run;
the body cannot endure what the soul has endured; he falls. Give
him the coup de &grace! Put him out of his pain! No! The executioner
swings the whip, and--I myself have had to witness it--the unhappy
victim of hundredfold tortures runs! This is the beginning of the
end. As for the end itself, they hang the scorched and perforated
bodies by their hands and feet to a tree head downwards, and now
every Persian may try his marksmanship to his heart's content from a
fixed but not too proximate distance on the noble quarry placed at
his disposal. I saw corpses torn by nearly one hundred and fifty
bullets." "When I read over again," he continues, "what I have
written, I am overcome by the thought that those who are with you
in our dearly beloved Austria may doubt the full truth of the
+P66
picture, and accuse me of exaggeration. Would to God that I had
not lived to see it! But by the duties of my profession I was unhappily
often, only too often, a witness of these abominations. At present
I never leave my house, in order not to meet with fresh scenes of
horror... Since my whole soul revolts against such infamy ... I
will no longer maintain my connection with the scene of such crimes."
Little wonder that a man as far-famed as Renan should, in his "Les
&Apotres" have characterized the hideous butchery perpetrated in a
single day, during the great massacre of &Tihran, as "a day perhaps
unparalleled in the history of the world!"
The hand that was stretched to deal so grievous a blow to the
adherents of a sorely-tried Faith did not confine itself to the rank
and file of the &Bab's persecuted followers. It was raised with equal
fury and determination against, and struck down with equal force,
the few remaining leaders who had survived the winnowing winds of
adversity that had already laid low so vast a number of the supporters
of the Faith. &Tahirih, that immortal heroine who had already shed
imperishable luster alike on her sex and on the Cause she had espoused,
was swept into, and ultimately engulfed by, the raging storm. Siyyid
&Husayn, the amanuensis of the &Bab, the companion of His exile, the
trusted repository of His last wishes, and the witness of the prodigies
attendant upon His martyrdom, fell likewise a victim of its fury.
That hand had even the temerity to lift itself against the towering
figure of &Baha'u'llah. But though it laid hold of Him it failed to
strike Him down. It imperilled His life, it imprinted on His body
indelible marks of a pitiless cruelty, but was impotent to cut short a
career that was destined not only to keep alive the fire which
the Spirit of the &Bab had kindled, but to produce a conflagration
that would at once consummate and outshine the glories of His
Revelation.
During those somber and agonizing days when the &Bab was no
more, when the luminaries that had shone in the firmament of His
Faith had been successively extinguished, when His nominee, a
"bewildered fugitive, in the guise of a dervish, with &kashkul (alms-basket)
in hand" roamed the mountains and plains in the neighborhood
of &Rasht, &Baha'u'llah, by reason of the acts He had performed,
appeared in the eyes of a vigilant enemy as its most redoubtable adversary
and as the sole hope of an as yet unextirpated heresy. His seizure
and death had now become imperative. He it was Who, scarce three
months after the Faith was born, received, through the envoy of the
&Bab, &Mulla &Husayn, the scroll which bore to Him the first tidings
+P67
of a newly announced Revelation, Who instantly acclaimed its
truth, and arose to champion its cause. It was to His native city and
dwelling place that the steps of that envoy were first directed, as the
place which enshrined "a Mystery of such transcendent holiness as
neither &Hijaz nor &Shiraz can hope to rival." It was &Mulla &Husayn's
report of the contact thus established which had been received with
such exultant joy by the &Bab, and had brought such reassurance to
His heart as to finally decide Him to undertake His contemplated
pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. &Baha'u'llah alone was the object
and the center of the cryptic allusions, the glowing eulogies, the
fervid prayers, the joyful announcements and the dire warnings
recorded in both the &Qayyumu'l-Asma' and the &Bayan, designed to be
respectively the first and last written testimonials to the glory with
which God was soon to invest Him. It was He Who, through His
correspondence with the Author of the newly founded Faith, and
His intimate association with the most distinguished amongst its
disciples, such as &Vahid, &Hujjat, &Quddus, &Mulla &Husayn and &Tahirih,
was able to foster its growth, elucidate its principles, reinforce its
ethical foundations, fulfill its urgent requirements, avert some of the
immediate dangers threatening it and participate effectually in its
rise and consolidation. It was to Him, "the one Object of our adoration
and love" that the Prophet-pilgrim, on His return to &Bushihr,
alluded when, dismissing &Quddus from His presence, He announced
to him the double joy of attaining the presence of their Beloved
and of quaffing the cup of martyrdom. He it was Who, in the hey-day
of His life, flinging aside every consideration of earthly fame, wealth
and position, careless of danger, and risking the obloquy of His
caste, arose to identify Himself, first in &Tihran and later in His native
province of &Mazindaran, with the cause of an obscure and proscribed
sect; won to its support a large number of the officials and notables
of &Nur, not excluding His own associates and relatives; fearlessly and
persuasively expounded its truths to the disciples of the illustrious
mujtahid, &Mulla &Muhammad; enlisted under its banner the mujtahid's
appointed representatives; secured, in consequence of this act, the
unreserved loyalty of a considerable number of ecclesiastical dignitaries,
government officers, peasants and traders; and succeeded in
challenging, in the course of a memorable interview, the mujtahid
himself. It was solely due to the potency of the written message
entrusted by Him to &Mulla &Muhammad &Mihdiy-i-Kandi and delivered
to the &Bab while in the neighborhood of the village of Kulayn, that
the soul of the disappointed Captive was able to rid itself, at an
+P68
hour of uncertainty and suspense, of the anguish that had settled
upon it ever since His arrest in &Shiraz. He it was Who, for the sake
of &Tahirih and her imprisoned companions, willingly submitted Himself
to a humiliating confinement, lasting several days--the first He
was made to suffer--in the house of one of the &kad-khudas of &Tihran.
It was to His caution, foresight and ability that must be ascribed her
successful escape from &Qasvin, her deliverance from her opponents,
her safe arrival in His home, and her subsequent removal to a place of
safety in the vicinity of the capital from whence she proceeded to
&Khurasan. It was into His presence that &Mulla &Husayn was secretly
ushered upon his arrival in &Tihran, after which interview he traveled
to &Adhirbayjan on his visit to the &Bab then confined in the fortress
of &Mah-Ku. He it was Who unobtrusively and unerringly directed
the proceedings of the Conference of &Badasht; Who entertained as
His guests &Quddus, &Tahirih and the eighty-one disciples who had
gathered on that occasion; Who revealed every day a Tablet and
bestowed on each of the participants a new name; Who faced unaided
the assault of a mob of more than five hundred villagers in &Niyala;
Who shielded &Quddus from the fury of his assailants; Who succeeded
in restoring a part of the property which the enemy had plundered
and Who insured the protection and safety of the continually harassed
and much abused &Tahirih. Against Him was kindled the anger of
&Muhammad &Shah who, as a result of the persistent representations of
mischief-makers, was at last induced to order His arrest and summon
Him to the capital--a summons that was destined to remain unfulfilled
as a result of the sudden death of the sovereign. It was to His
counsels and exhortations, addressed to the occupants of &Shaykh
&Tabarsi, who had welcomed Him with such reverence and love during
His visit to that Fort, that must be attributed, in no small measure,
the spirit evinced by its heroic defenders, while it was to His explicit
instructions that they owed the miraculous release of &Quddus and
his consequent association with them in the stirring exploits that have
immortalized the &Mazindaran upheaval. It was for the sake of those
same defenders, whom He had intended to join, that He suffered His
second imprisonment, this time in the masjid of &Amul to which He
was led, amidst the tumult raised by no less than four thousand
spectators,--for their sake that He was bastinadoed in the &namaz-khanih
of the mujtahid of that town until His feet bled, and later
confined in the private residence of its governor; for their sake that
He was bitterly denounced by the leading &mulla, and insulted by
the mob who, besieging the governor's residence, pelted Him with
+P69
stones, and hurled in His face the foulest invectives. He alone was
the One alluded to by &Quddus who, upon his arrival at the Fort of
&Shaykh &Tabarsi, uttered, as soon as he had dismounted and leaned
against the shrine, the prophetic verse "The &Baqiyyatu'llah (the
Remnant of God) will be best for you if ye are of those who believe."
He alone was the Object of that prodigious eulogy, that masterly
interpretation of the &Sad of &Samad, penned in part, in that same Fort
by that same youthful hero, under the most distressing circumstances,
and equivalent in dimensions to six times the volume of the &Qur'an.
It was to the date of His impending Revelation that the &Lawh-i-Hurufat,
revealed in &Chihriq by the &Bab, in honor of &Dayyan,
abstrusely alluded, and in which the mystery of the "&Mustaghath"
was unraveled. It was to the attainment of His presence that the
attention of another disciple, &Mulla &Baqir, one of the Letters of the
Living, was expressly directed by none other than the &Bab Himself.
It was exclusively to His care that the documents of the &Bab, His
pen-case, His seals, and agate rings, together with a scroll on which
He had penned, in the form of a pentacle, no less than three hundred
and sixty derivatives of the word &Baha, were delivered, in conformity
with instructions He Himself had issued prior to His departure from
&Chihriq. It was solely due to His initiative, and in strict accordance
with His instructions, that the precious remains of the &Bab were
safely transferred from &Tabriz to the capital, and were concealed and
safeguarded with the utmost secrecy and care throughout the turbulent
years following His martyrdom. And finally, it was He Who,
in the days preceding the attempt on the life of the &Shah, had been
instrumental, while sojourning in &Karbila, in spreading, with that same
enthusiasm and ability that had distinguished His earlier exertions
in &Mazindaran, the teachings of His departed Leader, in safeguarding
the interests of His Faith, in reviving the zeal of its grief-stricken
followers, and in organizing the forces of its scattered and bewildered
adherents.
Such a man, with such a record of achievements to His credit,
could not, indeed did not, escape either the detection or the fury of a
vigilant and fully aroused enemy. Afire from the very beginning
with an uncontrollable enthusiasm for the Cause He had espoused;
conspicuously fearless in His advocacy of the rights of the downtrodden;
in the full bloom of youth; immensely resourceful; matchless
in His eloquence; endowed with inexhaustible energy and penetrating
judgment; possessed of the riches, and enjoying, in full measure,
the esteem, power and prestige associated with an enviably high and
+P70
noble position, and yet contemptuous of all earthly pomp, rewards,
vanities and possessions; closely associated, on the one hand, through
His regular correspondence with the Author of the Faith He had
risen to champion, and intimately acquainted, on the other, with the
hopes and fears, the plans and activities of its leading exponents;
at one time advancing openly and assuming a position of acknowledged
leadership in the forefront of the forces struggling for that Faith's
emancipation, at another deliberately drawing back with consummate
discretion in order to remedy, with greater efficacy, an awkward or
dangerous situation; at all times vigilant, ready and indefatigable in
His exertions to preserve the integrity of that Faith, to resolve its
problems, to plead its cause, to galvanize its followers, and to confound
its antagonists, &Baha'u'llah, at this supremely critical hour in its
fortunes, was at last stepping into the very center of the stage so
tragically vacated by the &Bab--a stage on which He was destined, for
no less a period than forty years, to play a part unapproached in its
majesty, pathos and splendor by any of the great Founders of the
world's historic religions.
Already so conspicuous and towering a figure had, through the
accusations levelled against Him, kindled the wrath of &Muhammad
&Shah, who, after having heard what had transpired in &Badasht, had
ordered His arrest, in a number of &farmans addressed to the &khans of
&Mazindaran, and expressed his determination to put Him to death.
&Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, previously alienated from the &Vazir (&Baha'u'llah's
father), and infuriated by his own failure to appropriate by fraud
an estate that belonged to &Baha'u'llah, had sworn eternal enmity to
the One Who had so brilliantly succeeded in frustrating his evil
designs. The &Amir-Nizam, moreover, fully aware of the pervasive
influence of so energetic an opponent, had, in the presence of a
distinguished gathering, accused Him of having inflicted, as a result
of His activities, a loss of no less than five &kururs upon the government,
and had expressly requested Him, at a critical moment in the
fortunes of the Faith, to temporarily transfer His residence to &Karbila.
&Mirza &Aqa &Khan-i-Nuri, who succeeded the &Amir-Nizam, had endeavored,
at the very outset of his ministry, to effect a reconciliation
between his government and the One Whom he regarded as the most
resourceful of the &Bab's disciples. Little wonder that when, later,
an act of such gravity and temerity was committed, a suspicion as
dire as it was unfounded, should at once have crept into the minds
of the &Shah, his government, his court, and his people against
&Baha'u'llah. Foremost among them was the mother of the youthful
+P71
sovereign, who, inflamed with anger, was openly denouncing Him as
the would-be murderer of her son.
&Baha'u'llah, when that attempt had been made on the life of the
sovereign, was in &Lavasan, the guest of the Grand Vizir, and was
staying in the village of &Afchih when the momentous news reached
Him. Refusing to heed the advice of the Grand Vizir's brother,
&Ja'far-Quli &Khan, who was acting as His host, to remain for a time
concealed in that neighborhood, and dispensing with the good offices
of the messenger specially dispatched to insure His safety, He rode
forth, the following morning, with cool intrepidity, to the headquarters
of the Imperial army which was then stationed in &Niyavaran,
in the &Shimiran district. In the village of Zarkandih He was met
by, and conducted to the home of, His brother-in-law, &Mirza &Majid,
who, at that time, was acting as secretary to the Russian Minister,
Prince Dolgorouki, and whose house adjoined that of his superior.
Apprised of &Baha'u'llah's arrival the attendants of the &Hajibu'd-Dawlih,
&Haji &Ali &Khan, straightway informed their master, who in
turn brought the matter to the attention of his sovereign. The &Shah,
greatly amazed, dispatched his trusted officers to the Legation, demanding
that the Accused be forthwith delivered into his hands.
Refusing to comply with the wishes of the royal envoys, the Russian
Minister requested &Baha'u'llah to proceed to the home of the Grand
Vizir, to whom he formally communicated his wish that the safety
of the Trust the Russian government was delivering into his keeping
should be insured. This purpose, however, was not achieved because
of the Grand Vizir's apprehension that he might forfeit his position
if he extended to the Accused the protection demanded for Him.
Delivered into the hands of His enemies, this much-feared, bitterly
arraigned and illustrious Exponent of a perpetually hounded
Faith was now made to taste of the cup which He Who had been its
recognized Leader had drained to the dregs. From &Niyavaran He
was conducted "on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare
feet," exposed to the fierce rays of the midsummer sun, to the
&Siyah-Chal of &Tihran. On the way He several times was stripped of
His outer garments, was overwhelmed with ridicule, and pelted with
stones. As to the subterranean dungeon into which He was thrown,
and which originally had served as a reservoir of water for one of
the public baths of the capital, let His own words, recorded in His
"Epistle to the Son of the Wolf," bear testimony to the ordeal which
He endured in that pestilential hole. "We were consigned for four
months to a place foul beyond comparison.... Upon Our arrival
+P72
We were first conducted along a pitch-black corridor, from whence
We descended three steep flights of stairs to the place of confinement
assigned to Us. The dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and
Our fellow-prisoners numbered nearly one hundred and fifty souls:
thieves, assassins and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other
outlet than the passage by which We entered. No pen can depict
that place, nor any tongue describe its loathsome smell. Most of
those men had neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone
knoweth what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!"
&Baha'u'llah's feet were placed in stocks, and around His neck were
fastened the &Qara-Guhar chains of such galling weight that their
mark remained imprinted upon His body all the days of His life.
"A heavy chain," &Abdu'l-Baha Himself has testified, "was placed
about His neck by which He was chained to five other &Babis; these
fetters were locked together by strong, very heavy, bolts and screws.
His clothes were torn to pieces, also His headdress. In this terrible
condition He was kept for four months." For three days and three
nights, He was denied all manner of food and drink. Sleep was impossible
to Him. The place was chill and damp, filthy, fever-stricken,
infested with vermin, and filled with a noisome stench. Animated
by a relentless hatred His enemies went even so far as to intercept
and poison His food, in the hope of obtaining the favor of the mother
of their sovereign, His most implacable foe--an attempt which,
though it impaired His health for years to come, failed to achieve
its purpose. "&Abdu'l-Baha," Dr. J. E. Esslemont records in his book,
"tells how, one day, He was allowed to enter the prison yard to see
His beloved Father, where He came out for His daily exercise.
&Baha'u'llah was terribly altered, so ill He could hardly walk, His
hair and beard unkempt, His neck galled and swollen from the
pressure of a heavy steel collar, His body bent by the weight of
His chains."
While &Baha'u'llah was being so odiously and cruelly subjected to
the trials and tribulations inseparable from those tumultuous days,
another luminary of the Faith, the valiant &Tahirih, was swiftly
succumbing to their devastating power. Her meteoric career, inaugurated
in &Karbila, culminating in &Badasht, was now about to attain its
final consummation in a martyrdom that may well rank as one of the
most affecting episodes in the most turbulent period of &Baha'i history.
A scion of the highly reputed family of &Haji &Mulla &Salih-i-Baraqani,
whose members occupied an enviable position in the
Persian ecclesiastical hierarchy; the namesake of the illustrious
+P73
&Fatimih; designated as &Zarrin-Taj (Crown of Gold) and &Zakiyyih
(Virtuous) by her family and kindred; born in the same year as
&Baha'u'llah; regarded from childhood, by her fellow-townsmen, as a
prodigy, alike in her intelligence and beauty; highly esteemed even
by some of the most haughty and learned &ulamas of her country,
prior to her conversion, for the brilliancy and novelty of the views
she propounded; acclaimed as &Qurrat-i-'Ayni (solace of my eyes)
by her admiring teacher, Siyyid &Kazim; entitled &Tahirih (the Pure
One) by the "Tongue of Power and Glory;" and the only woman
enrolled by the &Bab as one of the Letters of the Living; she had,
through a dream, referred to earlier in these pages, established her
first contact with a Faith which she continued to propagate to her
last breath, and in its hour of greatest peril, with all the ardor of
her unsubduable spirit. Undeterred by the vehement protests of her
father; contemptuous of the anathemas of her uncle; unmoved by
the earnest solicitations of her husband and her brothers; undaunted
by the measures which, first in &Karbila and subsequently in &Baghdad,
and later in &Qasvin, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities had taken
to curtail her activities, with eager energy she urged the &Babi Cause.
Through her eloquent pleadings, her fearless denunciations, her dissertations,
poems and translations, her commentaries and correspondence,
she persisted in firing the imagination and in enlisting the allegiance
of Arabs and Persians alike to the new Revelation, in condemning the
perversity of her generation, and in advocating a revolutionary transformation
in the habits and manners of her people.
She it was who while in &Karbila--the foremost stronghold of
&Shi'ah &Islam--had been moved to address lengthy epistles to each of
the &ulamas residing in that city, who relegated women to a rank
little higher than animals and denied them even the possession of a
soul--epistles in which she ably vindicated her high purpose and
exposed their malignant designs. She it was who, in open defiance of
the customs of the fanatical inhabitants of that same city, boldly
disregarded the anniversary of the martyrdom of the &Imam &Husayn,
commemorated with elaborate ceremony in the early days of &Muharram,
and celebrated instead the anniversary of the birthday of the
&Bab, which fell on the first day of that month. It was through her
prodigious eloquence and the astounding force of her argument that
she confounded the representative delegation of &Shi'ah, of &Sunni,
of Christian and Jewish notables of &Baghdad, who had endeavored to
dissuade her from her avowed purpose of spreading the tidings of the
new Message. She it was who, with consummate skill, defended her
+P74
faith and vindicated her conduct in the home and in the presence of
that eminent jurist, &Shaykh &Mahmud-i-Alusi, the &Mufti of &Baghdad,
and who later held her historic interviews with the princes, the
&ulamas and the government officials residing in &Kirmanshah, in
the course of which the &Bab's commentary on the &Surih of &Kawthar
was publicly read and translated, and which culminated in the conversion
of the &Amir (the governor) and his family. It was this
remarkably gifted woman who undertook the translation of the &Bab's
lengthy commentary on the &Surih of Joseph (the &Qayyumu'l-Asma')
for the benefit of her Persian co-religionists, and exerted her utmost
to spread the knowledge and elucidate the contents of that mighty
Book. It was her fearlessness, her skill, her organizing ability and her
unquenchable enthusiasm which consolidated her newly won victories
in no less inimical a center than &Qasvin, which prided itself on the
fact that no fewer than a hundred of the highest ecclesiastical leaders
of &Islam dwelt within its gates. It was she who, in the house of
&Baha'u'llah in &Tihran, in the course of her memorable interview
with the celebrated &Vahid, suddenly interrupted his learned discourse
on the signs of the new Manifestation, and vehemently urged him, as
she held &Abdu'l-Baha, then a child, on her lap, to arise and demonstrate
through deeds of heroism and self-sacrifice the depth and
sincerity of his faith. It was to her doors, during the height of her
fame and popularity in &Tihran, that the flower of feminine society in
the capital flocked to hear her brilliant discourses on the matchless
tenets of her Faith. It was the magic of her words which won the
wedding guests away from the festivities, on the occasion of the marriage
of the son of &Mahmud &Khan-i-Kalantar--in whose house she
was confined--and gathered them about her, eager to drink in her
every word. It was her passionate and unqualified affirmation of the
claims and distinguishing features of the new Revelation, in a series of
seven conferences with the deputies of the Grand Vizir commissioned
to interrogate her, which she held while confined in that same house,
which finally precipitated the sentence of her death. It was from
her pen that odes had flowed attesting, in unmistakable language,
not only her faith in the Revelation of the &Bab, but also her recognition
of the exalted and as yet undisclosed mission of &Baha'u'llah. And
last but not least it was owing to her initiative, while participating
in the Conference of &Badasht, that the most challenging implications
of a revolutionary and as yet but dimly grasped Dispensation were
laid bare before her fellow-disciples and the new Order permanently
divorced from the laws and institutions of &Islam. Such marvelous
+P75
achievements were now to be crowned by, and attain their final
consummation in, her martyrdom in the midst of the storm that was
raging throughout the capital.
One night, aware that the hour of her death was at hand, she
put on the attire of a bride, and annointed herself with perfume, and,
sending for the wife of the Kalantar, she communicated to her the
secret of her impending martyrdom, and confided to her her last
wishes. Then, closeting herself in her chambers, she awaited, in
prayer and meditation, the hour which was to witness her reunion
with her Beloved. She was pacing the floor of her room, chanting a
litany expressive of both grief and triumph, when the &farrashes of
&Aziz &Khan-i-Sardar arrived, in the dead of night, to conduct her to
the &Ilkhani garden, which lay beyond the city gates, and which was
to be the site of her martyrdom. When she arrived the &Sardar was
in the midst of a drunken debauch with his lieutenants, and was
roaring with laughter; he ordered offhand that she be strangled at
once and thrown into a pit. With that same silken kerchief which
she had intuitively reserved for that purpose, and delivered in her
last moments to the son of Kalantar who accompanied her, the death
of this immortal heroine was accomplished. Her body was lowered
into a well, which was then filled with earth and stones, in the
manner she herself had desired.
Thus ended the life of this great &Babi heroine, the first woman
suffrage martyr, who, at her death, turning to the one in whose
custody she had been placed, had boldly declared: "You can kill me
as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women."
Her career was as dazzling as it was brief, as tragic as it was eventful.
Unlike her fellow-disciples, whose exploits remained, for the most
part unknown, and unsung by their contemporaries in foreign lands,
the fame of this immortal woman was noised abroad, and traveling
with remarkable swiftness as far as the capitals of Western Europe,
aroused the enthusiastic admiration and evoked the ardent praise of
men and women of divers nationalities, callings and cultures. Little
wonder that &Abdu'l-Baha should have joined her name to those of
Sarah, of &Asiyih, of the Virgin Mary and of &Fatimih, who, in the
course of successive Dispensations, have towered, by reason of their
intrinsic merits and unique position, above the rank and file of their
sex. "In eloquence," &Abdu'l-Baha Himself has written, "she was the
calamity of the age, and in ratiocination the trouble of the world."
He, moreover, has described her as "a brand afire with the love of
God" and "a lamp aglow with the bounty of God."
+P76
Indeed the wondrous story of her life propagated itself as far and
as fast as that of the &Bab Himself, the direct Source of her inspiration.
"Prodige de science, mais aussi prodige de &beaute" is the tribute paid
her by a noted commentator on the life of the &Bab and His disciples.
"The Persian Joan of Arc, the leader of emancipation for women of
the Orient ... who bore resemblance both to the mediaeval Heloise
and the neo-platonic Hypatia," thus was she acclaimed by a noted
playwright whom Sarah Bernhardt had specifically requested to write
a dramatized version of her life. "The heroism of the lovely but
ill-fated poetess of &Qasvin, &Zarrin-Taj (Crown of Gold) ..."
testifies Lord Curzon of Kedleston, "is one of the most affecting
episodes in modern history." "The appearance of such a woman as
&Qurratu'l-'Ayn," wrote the well-known British Orientalist, Prof.
E. G. Browne, "is, in any country and any age, a rare phenomenon,
but in such a country as Persia it is a prodigy--nay, almost a miracle.
...Had the &Babi religion no other claim to greatness, this were
sufficient ... that it produced a heroine like &Qurratu'l-'Ayn."
"The harvest sown in Islamic lands by &Qurratu'l-'Ayn," significantly
affirms the renowned English divine, Dr. T. K. Cheyne, in one of his
books, "is now beginning to appear ... this noble woman ...
has the credit of opening the catalogue of social reforms in Persia..."
"Assuredly one of the most striking and interesting manifestations
of this religion" is the reference to her by the noted French diplomat
and brilliant writer, Comte de Gobineau. "In &Qasvin," he adds,
"she was held, with every justification, to be a prodigy." "Many
people," he, moreover has written, "who knew her and heard her at
different periods of her life have invariably told me ... that when
she spoke one felt stirred to the depths of one's soul, was filled with
admiration, and was moved to tears." "No memory," writes Sir
Valentine Chirol, "is more deeply venerated or kindles greater enthusiasm
than hers, and the influence which she wielded in her lifetime
still inures to her sex." "O &Tahirih!" exclaims in his book on the
&Babis the great author and poet of Turkey, &Sulayman &Nazim Bey,
"you are worth a thousand &Nasiri'd-Din &Shahs!" "The greatest ideal
of womanhood has been &Tahirih" is the tribute paid her by the mother
of one of the Presidents of Austria, Mrs. Marianna Hainisch, "...
I shall try to do for the women of Austria what &Tahirih gave her
life to do for the women of Persia."
Many and divers are her ardent admirers who, throughout the
five continents, are eager to know more about her. Many are those
whose conduct has been ennobled by her inspiring example, who have
+P77
committed to memory her matchless odes, or set to music her poems,
before whose eyes glows the vision of her indomitable spirit, in whose
hearts is enshrined a love and admiration that time can never dim,
and in whose souls burns the determination to tread as dauntlessly,
and with that same fidelity, the path she chose for herself, and from
which she never swerved from the moment of her conversion to the
hour of her death.
The fierce gale of persecution that had swept &Baha'u'llah into a
subterranean dungeon and snuffed out the light of &Tahirih also sealed
the fate of the &Bab's distinguished amanuensis, Siyyid &Husayn-i-Yazdi,
surnamed &Aziz, who had shared His confinement in both
&Mah-Ku and &Chihriq. A man of rich experience and high merit,
deeply versed in the teachings of his Master, and enjoying His
unqualified confidence, he, refusing every offer of deliverance from
the leading officials of &Tihran, yearned unceasingly for the martyrdom
which had been denied him on the day the &Bab had laid down His
life in the barrack-square of &Tabriz. A fellow-prisoner of &Baha'u'llah
in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran, from Whom he derived inspiration
and solace as he recalled those precious days spent in the company of
his Master in &Adhirbayjan, he was finally struck down, in circumstances
of shameful cruelty, by that same &Aziz &Khan-i-Sardar who
had dealt the fatal blow to &Tahirih.
Another victim of the frightful tortures inflicted by an unyielding
enemy was the high-minded, the influential and courageous &Haji
&Sulayman &Khan. So greatly was he esteemed that the &Amir-Nizam
had felt, on a previous occasion, constrained to ignore his connection
with the Faith he had embraced and to spare his life. The turmoil
that convulsed &Tihran as a result of the attempt on the life of the
sovereign, however, precipitated his arrest and brought about his
martyrdom. The &Shah, having failed to induce him through the
&Hajibu'd-Dawlih to recant, commanded that he be put to death in
any way he himself might choose. Nine holes, at his express wish,
were made in his flesh, in each of which a lighted candle was placed.
As the executioner shrank from performing this gruesome task, he
attempted to snatch the knife from his hand that he might himself
plunge it into his own body. Fearing lest he should attack him the
executioner refused, and bade his men tie the victim's hands behind
his back, whereupon the intrepid sufferer pleaded with them to pierce
two holes in his breast, two in his shoulders, one in the nape of his
neck, and four others in his back--a wish they complied with. Standing
erect as an arrow, his eyes glowing with stoic fortitude, unperturbed
+P78
by the howling multitude or the sight of his own blood
streaming from his wounds, and preceded by minstrels and drummers,
he led the concourse that pressed round him to the final place of his
martyrdom. Every few steps he would interrupt his march to address
the bewildered bystanders in words in which he glorified the &Bab
and magnified the significance of his own death. As his eyes beheld
the candles flickering in their bloody sockets, he would burst forth in
exclamations of unrestrained delight. Whenever one of them fell
from his body he would with his own hand pick it up, light it from
the others, and replace it. "Why dost thou not dance?" asked the
executioner mockingly, "since thou findest death so pleasant?"
"Dance?" cried the sufferer, "In one hand the wine-cup, in one hand
the tresses of the Friend. Such a dance in the midst of the market-place
is my desire!" He was still in the bazaar when the flowing of a
breeze, fanning the flames of the candles now burning deep in his
flesh, caused it to sizzle, whereupon he burst forth addressing the
flames that ate into his wounds: "You have long lost your sting,
O flames, and have been robbed of your power to pain me. Make
haste, for from your very tongues of fire I can hear the voice that
calls me to my Beloved." In a blaze of light he walked as a conqueror
might have marched to the scene of his victory. At the foot of the
gallows he once again raised his voice in a final appeal to the multitude
of onlookers. He then prostrated himself in the direction of the
shrine of the &Imam-Zadih &Hasan, murmuring some words in Arabic.
"My work is now finished," he cried to the executioner, "come and
do yours." Life still lingered in him as his body was sawn into two
halves, with the praise of his Beloved still fluttering from his dying
lips. The scorched and bloody remnants of his corpse were, as he
himself had requested, suspended on either side of the Gate of Naw,
mute witnesses to the unquenchable love which the &Bab had kindled
in the breasts of His disciples.
The violent conflagration kindled as a result of the attempted
assassination of the sovereign could not be confined to the capital. It
overran the adjoining provinces, ravaged &Mazindaran, the native
province of &Baha'u'llah, and brought about in its wake, the confiscation,
the plunder and the destruction of all His possessions. In
the village of &Takur, in the district of &Nur, His sumptuously furnished
home, inherited from His father, was, by order of &Mirza &Abu-Talib
&Khan, nephew of the Grand Vizir, completely despoiled, and whatever
could not be carried away was ordered to be destroyed, while its
rooms, more stately than those of the palaces of &Tihran, were disfigured
+P79
beyond repair. Even the houses of the people were leveled
with the ground, after which the entire village was set on fire.
The commotion that had seized &Tihran and had given rise to the
campaign of outrage and spoliation in &Mazindaran spread even as far
as Yazd, &Nayriz and &Shiraz, rocking the remotest hamlets, and
rekindling the flames of persecution. Once again greedy governors and
perfidious subordinates vied with each other in despoiling the innocent,
in massacring the guiltless, and in dishonoring the noblest of
their race. A carnage ensued which repeated the atrocities already
perpetrated in &Nayriz and &Zanjan. "My pen," writes the chronicler
of the bloody episodes associated with the birth and rise of our Faith,
"shrinks in horror in attempting to describe what befell those valiant
men and women.... What I have attempted to recount of the
horrors of the siege of &Zanjan ... pales before the glaring ferocity
of the atrocities perpetrated a few years later in &Nayriz and &Shiraz."
The heads of no less than two hundred victims of these outbursts of
ferocious fanaticism were impaled on bayonets, and carried triumphantly
from &Shiraz to &Abadih. Forty women and children were
charred to a cinder by being placed in a cave, in which a vast quantity
of firewood had been heaped up, soaked with naphtha and set alight.
Three hundred women were forced to ride two by two on bare-backed
horses all the way to &Shiraz. Stripped almost naked they were led
between rows of heads hewn from the lifeless bodies of their husbands,
sons, fathers and brothers. Untold insults were heaped upon them, and
the hardships they suffered were such that many among them perished.
Thus drew to a close a chapter which records for all time the
bloodiest, the most tragic, the most heroic period of the first &Baha'i
century. The torrents of blood that poured out during those crowded
and calamitous years may be regarded as constituting the fertile seeds
of that World Order which a swiftly succeeding and still greater
Revelation was to proclaim and establish. The tributes paid the noble
army of the heroes, saints and martyrs of that Primitive Age, by
friend and foe alike, from &Baha'u'llah Himself down to the most
disinterested observers in distant lands, and from the moment of its
birth until the present day, bear imperishable witness to the glory of
the deeds that immortalize that Age.
"The whole world," is &Baha'u'llah's matchless testimony in the
&Kitab-i-Iqan, "marveled at the manner of their sacrifice.... The
mind is bewildered at their deeds, and the soul marveleth at their
fortitude and bodily endurance.... Hath any age witnessed such
momentous happenings?" And again: "Hath the world, since the
+P80
days of Adam, witnessed such tumult, such violent commotion?...
Methinks, patience was revealed only by virtue of their fortitude, and
faithfulness itself was begotten only by their deeds." "Through the
blood which they shed," He, in a prayer, referring more specifically
to the martyrs of the Faith, has significantly affirmed, "the earth hath
been impregnated with the wondrous revelations of Thy might and
the gem-like signs of Thy glorious sovereignty. Ere-long shall she
tell out her tidings, when the set time is come."
To whom else could these significant words of &Muhammad, the
Apostle of God, quoted by &Quddus while addressing his companions
in the Fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi, apply if not to those heroes of God
who, with their life-blood, ushered in the Promised Day? "O how I
long to behold the countenance of My brethren, my brethren who
will appear at the end of the world! Blessed are We, blessed are they;
greater is their blessedness than ours." Who else could be meant by
this tradition, called &Hadith-i-Jabir, recorded in the &Kafi, and
authenticated by &Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Iqan, which, in indubitable
language, sets forth the signs of the appearance of the promised
&Qa'im? "His saints shall be abased in His time, and their heads shall
be exchanged as presents, even as the heads of the Turk and the
Daylamite are exchanged as presents; they shall be slain and burned,
and shall be afraid, fearful and dismayed; the earth shall be dyed
with their blood, and lamentation and wailing shall prevail amongst
their women; these are My saints indeed."
"Tales of magnificent heroism," is the written testimony of Lord
Curzon of Kedleston, "illumine the blood-stained pages of &Babi
history.... The fires of Smithfield did not kindle a nobler courage
than has met and defied the more refined torture-mongers of &Tihran.
Of no small account, then, must be the tenets of a creed that can
awaken in its followers so rare and beautiful a spirit of self-sacrifice.
The heroism and martyrdom of His (the &Bab) followers will appeal
to many others who can find no similar phenomena in the contemporaneous
records of &Islam." "&Babism," wrote Prof. J. Darmesteter,
"which diffused itself in less than five years from one end of
Persia to another, which was bathed in 1852 in the blood of its
martyrs, has been silently progressing and propagating itself. If
Persia is to be at all regenerate it will be through this new Faith."
"Des milliers de martyrs," attests Renan in his "Les &Apotres," "sont
accourus pour lui (the &Bab) avec &allegresse au devant de la mort.
Un jour sans pareil &peut-etre dans l'histoire du monde fut celui de la
grande boucherie qui se fit des &Babis &a Teheran." "One of those
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strange outbursts," declares the well-known Orientalist Prof. E. G.
Browne, "of enthusiasm, faith, fervent devotion and indomitable
heroism ... the birth of a Faith which may not impossibly win a
place amidst the great religions of the world." And again: "The
spirit which pervades the &Babis is such that it can hardly fail to
affect most powerfully all subjected to its influence.... Let those
who have not seen disbelieve me if they will, but, should that spirit
once reveal itself to them, they will experience an emotion which
they are not likely to forget." "J'avoue &meme," is the assertion made
by Comte de Gobineau in his book, "que, si je voyais en Europe une
secte d'une nature analogue au Babysme se &presenter avec des avantages
tels que les siens, foi aveugle, enthousiasme &extreme, courage et &devouement
&eprouves, respect &inspire aux &indifferents, terreur profonde
&inspiree aux adversaires, et de plus, comme je l'ai dit, un &proselytisme
qui ne &s'arrete pas, et donc les &succes sont constants dans toutes les
classes de la &societe; si je voyais, dis-je, tout cela exister en Europe, je
&n'hesiterais pas &a &predire que, dans un temps &donne, la puissance et
le sceptre appartiendront de toute &necessite aux possesseurs de ces
grands avantages."
"The truth of the matter," is the answer which &Abbas-Quli
&Khan-i-Larijani, whose bullet was responsible for the death of &Mulla
&Husayn, is reported to have given to a query addressed to him by
Prince &Ahmad &Mirza in the presence of several witnesses, "is that
any one who had not seen &Karbila would, if he had seen &Tabarsi, not
only have comprehended what there took place, but would have
ceased to consider it; and had he seen &Mulla &Husayn of &Bushruyih,
he would have been convinced that the Chief of Martyrs (&Imam
&Husayn) had returned to earth; and had he witnessed my deeds, he
would assuredly have said: `This is &Shimr come back with sword
and lance...' In truth, I know not what had been shown to these
people, or what they had seen, that they came forth to battle with
such alacrity and joy.... The imagination of man cannot conceive
the vehemence of their courage and valor."
What, in conclusion, we may well ask ourselves, has been the
fate of that flagitious crew who, actuated by malice, by greed or
fanaticism, sought to quench the light which the &Bab and His followers
had diffused over their country and its people? The rod of
Divine chastisement, swiftly and with unyielding severity, spared
neither the Chief Magistrate of the realm, nor his ministers and
counselors, nor the ecclesiastical dignitaries of the religion with
which his government was indissolubly connected, nor the governors
+P82
who acted as his representatives, nor the chiefs of his armed forces
who, in varying degrees, deliberately or through fear or neglect,
contributed to the appalling trials to which an infant Faith was so
undeservedly subjected. &Muhammad &Shah himself, a sovereign at
once bigoted and irresolute who, refusing to heed the appeal of the
&Bab to receive Him in the capital and enable Him to demonstrate
the truth of His Cause, yielded to the importunities of a malevolent
minister, succumbed, at the early age of forty, after sustaining a
sudden reverse of fortune, to a complication of maladies, and was
condemned to that "hell-fire" which, "on the Day of Resurrection,"
the Author of the &Qayyumu'l-Asma' had sworn would inevitably
devour him. His evil genius, the omnipotent &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, the
power behind the throne and the chief instigator of the outrages
perpetrated against the &Bab, including His imprisonment in the
mountains of &Adhirbayjan, was, after the lapse of scarcely a year
and six months from the time he interposed himself between the
&Shah and his Captive, hurled from power, deprived of his ill-gotten
riches, was disgraced by his sovereign, was driven to seek shelter from
the rising wrath of his countrymen in the shrine of &Shah &Abdu'l-'Azim,
and was later ignominiously expelled to &Karbila, falling a
prey to disease, poverty and gnawing sorrow--a piteous vindication
of that denunciatory Tablet in which his Prisoner had foreshadowed
his doom and denounced his infamy. As to the low-born and infamous
&Amir-Nizam, &Mirza &Taqi &Khan, the first year of whose short-lived
ministry was stained with the ferocious onslaught against the defenders
of the Fort of &Tabarsi, who authorized and encouraged the
execution of the Seven Martyrs of &Tihran, who unleashed the assault
against &Vahid and his companions, who was directly responsible for
the death-sentence of the &Bab, and who precipitated the great upheaval
of &Zanjan, he forfeited, through the unrelenting jealousy of
his sovereign and the vindictiveness of court intrigue, all the honors
he had enjoyed, and was treacherously put to death by the royal
order, his veins being opened in the bath of the Palace of &Fin, near
&Kashan. "Had the &Amir-Nizam," &Baha'u'llah is reported by &Nabil
to have stated, "been aware of My true position, he would certainly
have laid hold on Me. He exerted the utmost effort to discover the
real situation, but was unsuccessful. God wished him to be ignorant
of it." &Mirza &Aqa &Khan, who had taken such an active part in the
unbridled cruelties perpetrated as a result of the attempt on the life
of the sovereign, was driven from office, and placed under strict
surveillance in Yazd, where he ended his days in shame and despair.
+P83
&Husayn &Khan, the governor of &Shiraz, stigmatized as a "wine-bibber"
and a "tyrant," the first who arose to ill-treat the &Bab, who
publicly rebuked Him and bade his attendant strike Him violently
in the face, was compelled not only to endure the dreadful calamity
that so suddenly befell him, his family, his city and his province,
but afterwards to witness the undoing of all his labors, and to lead
in obscurity the remaining days of his life, till he tottered to his
grave abandoned alike by his friends and his enemies. &Hajibu'd-Dawlih,
that bloodthirsty fiend, who had strenuously hounded down
so many innocent and defenseless &Babis, fell in his turn a victim to
the fury of the turbulent Lurs, who, after despoiling him of his
property, cut off his beard, and forced him to eat it, saddled and
bridled him, and rode him before the eyes of the people, after which
they inflicted under his very eyes shameful atrocities upon his womenfolk
and children. The &Sa'idu'l-'Ulama, the fanatical, the ferocious
and shameless mujtahid of &Barfurush, whose unquenchable hostility
had heaped such insults upon, and caused such sufferings to, the
heroes of &Tabarsi, fell, soon after the abominations he had perpetrated,
a prey to a strange disease, provoking an unquenchable thirst
and producing such icy chills that neither the furs he wrapped himself
in, nor the fire that continually burned in his room could
alleviate his sufferings. The spectacle of his ruined and once luxurious
home, fallen into such ill use after his death as to become the refuse-heap
of the people of his town, impressed so profoundly the inhabitants
of &Mazindaran that in their mutual vituperations they would
often invoke upon each other's home the same fate as that which
had befallen that accursed habitation. The false-hearted and ambitious
&Mahmud &Khan-i-Kalantar, into whose custody &Tahirih had
been delivered before her martyrdom, incurred, nine years later, the
wrath of his royal master, was dragged feet first by ropes through
the bazaars to a place outside the city gates, and there hung on the
gallows. &Mirza &Hasan &Khan, who carried out the execution of the
&Bab under orders from his brother, the &Amir-Nizam, was, within two
years of that unpardonable act, subjected to a dreadful punishment
which ended in his death. The &Shaykhu'l-Islam of &Tabriz, the insolent,
the avaricious and tyrannical &Mirza &Ali &Asghar, who, after
the refusal of the bodyguard of the governor of that city to inflict
the bastinado on the &Bab, proceeded to apply eleven times the rods
to the feet of his Prisoner with his own hand, was, in that same year,
struck with paralysis, and, after enduring the most excruciating
ordeal, died a miserable death--a death that was soon followed by
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the abolition of the function of the &Shaykhu'l-Islam in that city.
The haughty and perfidious &Mirza &Abu-Talib &Khan who, disregarding
the counsels of moderation given him by &Mirza &Aqa &Khan, the
Grand Vizir, ordered the plunder and burning of the village of
&Takur, as well as the destruction of the house of &Baha'u'llah, was, a
year later, stricken with plague and perished wretchedly, shunned
by even his nearest kindred. &Mihr-'Ali &Khan, the &Shuja'u'l-Mulk,
who, after the attempt on the &Shah's life, so savagely persecuted the
remnants of the &Babi community in &Nayriz, fell ill, according to
the testimony of his own grandson, and was stricken with dumbness,
which was never relieved till the day of his death. His accomplice,
&Mirza &Na'im, fell into disgrace, was twice heavily fined, dismissed
from office, and subjected to exquisite tortures. The regiment which,
scorning the miracle that warned &Sam &Khan and his men to dissociate
themselves from any further attempt to destroy the life of the
&Bab, volunteered to take their place and riddled His body with its
bullets, lost, in that same year, no less than two hundred and fifty
of its officers and men, in a terrible earthquake between &Ardibil and
&Tabriz; two years later the remaining five hundred were mercilessly
shot in &Tabriz for mutiny, and the people, gazing on their exposed
and mutilated bodies, recalled their savage act, and indulged in such
expressions of condemnation and wonder as to induce the leading
mujtahids to chastise and silence them. The head of that regiment,
&Aqa &Jan Big, lost his life, six years after the &Bab's martyrdom, during
the bombardment of &Muhammarih by the British naval forces.
The judgment of God, so rigorous and unsparing in its visitations
on those who took a leading or an active part in the crimes committed
against the &Bab and His followers, was not less severe in its
dealings with the mass of the people--a people more fanatical than
the Jews in the days of Jesus--a people notorious for their gross
ignorance, their ferocious bigotry, their willful perversity and savage
cruelty, a people mercenary, avaricious, egotistical and cowardly.
I can do no better than quote what the &Bab Himself has written in
the &Dala'il-i-Sab'ih (Seven Proofs) during the last days of His
ministry: "Call thou to remembrance the early days of the Revelation.
How great the number of those who died of cholera! That was indeed
one of the prodigies of the Revelation, and yet none recognized it!
During four years the scourge raged among &Shi'ah Muslims without
any one grasping its significance!" "As to the great mass of its people
(Persia)," &Nabil has recorded in his immortal narrative, "who
watched with sullen indifference the tragedy that was being enacted
+P85
before their eyes, and who failed to raise a finger in protest against
the hideousness of those cruelties, they fell, in their turn, victims to
a misery which all the resources of the land and the energy of its
statesmen were powerless to alleviate.... From the very day the
hand of the assailant was stretched forth against the &Bab ... visitation
upon visitation crushed the spirit out of that ungrateful people,
and brought them to the very brink of national bankruptcy. Plagues,
the very names of which were almost unknown to them except for
a cursory reference in the dust-covered books which few cared to
read, fell upon them with a fury that none could escape. That
scourge scattered devastation wherever it spread. Prince and peasant
alike felt its sting and bowed to its yoke. It held the populace in
its grip, and refused to relax its hold upon them. As malignant as
the fever which decimated the province of &Gilan, these sudden afflictions
continued to lay waste the land. Grievous as were these calamities,
the avenging wrath of God did not stop at the misfortunes that
befell a perverse and faithless people. It made itself felt in every
living being that breathed on the surface of that stricken land. It
afflicted the life of plants and animals alike, and made the people
feel the magnitude of their distress. Famine added its horrors to the
stupendous weight of afflictions under which the people were groaning.
The gaunt spectre of starvation stalked abroad amidst them,
and the prospect of a slow and painful death haunted their vision....
People and government alike sighed for the relief which they could
nowhere obtain. They drank the cup of woe to its dregs, utterly
unregardful of the Hand which had brought it to their lips, and
of the Person for Whose sake they were made to suffer."
+P86
+P87
SECOND PERIOD
THE MINISTRY OF &BAHA'U'LLAH
1853-1892
+P88
+P89
CHAPTER VI
The Birth of The &Baha'i Revelation
The train of dire events that followed in swift succession the
calamitous attempt on the life of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah mark, as already
observed, the termination of the &Babi Dispensation and the closing
of the initial, the darkest and bloodiest chapter of the history of the
first &Baha'i century. A phase of measureless tribulation had been
ushered in by these events, in the course of which the fortunes of
the Faith proclaimed by the &Bab sank to their lowest ebb. Indeed
ever since its inception trials and vexations, setbacks and disappointments,
denunciations, betrayals and massacres had, in a steadily rising
crescendo, contributed to the decimation of the ranks of its followers,
strained to the utmost the loyalty of its stoutest upholders, and all
but succeeded in disrupting the foundations on which it rested.
From its birth, government, clergy and people had risen as one
man against it and vowed eternal enmity to its cause. &Muhammad
&Shah, weak alike in mind and will, had, under pressure, rejected the
overtures made to him by the &Bab Himself, had declined to meet
Him face to face, and even refused Him admittance to the capital.
The youthful &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, of a cruel and imperious nature,
had, both as crown prince and as reigning sovereign, increasingly
evinced the bitter hostility which, at a later stage in his reign, was
to blaze forth in all its dark and ruthless savagery. The powerful
and sagacious &Mu'tamid, the one solitary figure who could have
extended Him the support and protection He so sorely needed, was
taken from Him by a sudden death. The Sherif of Mecca, who
through the mediation of &Quddus had been made acquainted with
the new Revelation on the occasion of the &Bab's pilgrimage to Mecca,
had turned a deaf ear to the Divine Message, and received His
messenger with curt indifference. The prearranged gathering that
was to have taken place in the holy city of &Karbila, in the course
of the &Bab's return journey from &Hijaz, had, to the disappointment
of His followers who had been eagerly awaiting His arrival, to be
definitely abandoned. The eighteen Letters of the Living, the principal
bastions that buttressed the infant strength of the Faith, had
for the most part fallen. The "Mirrors," the "Guides," the "Witnesses"
+P90
comprising the &Babi hierarchy had either been put to the
sword, or hounded from their native soil, or bludgeoned into silence.
The program, whose essentials had been communicated to the foremost
among them, had, owing to their excessive zeal, remained for
the most part unfulfilled. The attempts which two of those disciples
had made to establish the Faith in Turkey and India had signally
failed at the very outset of their mission. The tempests that had
swept &Mazindaran, &Nayriz and &Zanjan had, in addition to blasting
to their roots the promising careers of the venerated &Quddus, the
lion-hearted &Mulla &Husayn, the erudite &Vahid, and the indomitable
&Hujjat, cut short the lives of an alarmingly large number of the most
resourceful and most valiant of their fellow-disciples. The hideous
outrages associated with the death of the Seven Martyrs of &Tihran
had been responsible for the extinction of yet another living symbol
of the Faith, who, by reason of his close kinship to, and intimate
association with, the &Bab, no less than by virtue of his inherent qualities,
would if spared have decisively contributed to the protection and
furtherance of a struggling Cause.
The storm which subsequently burst, with unexampled violence,
on a community already beaten to its knees, had, moreover, robbed
it of its greatest heroine, the incomparable &Tahirih, still in the full
tide of her victories, had sealed the doom of Siyyid &Husayn, the
&Bab's trusted amanuensis and chosen repository of His last wishes, had
laid low &Mulla &Abdu'l-Karim-i-Qasvini, admittedly one of the very
few who could claim to possess a profound knowledge of the origins
of the Faith, and had plunged into a dungeon &Baha'u'llah, the sole
survivor among the towering figures of the new Dispensation. The
&Bab--the Fountainhead from whence the vitalizing energies of a newborn
Revelation had flowed--had Himself, ere the outburst of that
hurricane, succumbed, in harrowing circumstances, to the volleys of
a firing squad leaving behind, as titular head of a well-nigh disrupted
community, a mere figurehead, timid in the extreme, good-natured
yet susceptible to the slightest influence, devoid of any outstanding
qualities, who now (loosed from the controlling hand of &Baha'u'llah,
the real Leader) was seeking, in the guise of a dervish, the protection
afforded by the hills of his native &Mazindaran against the threatened
assaults of a deadly enemy. The voluminous writings of the Founder
of the Faith--in manuscript, dispersed, unclassified, poorly transcribed
and ill-preserved, were in part, owing to the fever and tumult
of the times, either deliberately destroyed, confiscated, or hurriedly
dispatched to places of safety beyond the confines of the land in
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which they were revealed. Powerful adversaries, among whom towered
the figure of the inordinately ambitious and hypocritical &Haji
&Mirza &Karim &Khan, who at the special request of the &Shah had in a
treatise viciously attacked the new Faith and its doctrines, had now
raised their heads, and, emboldened by the reverses it had sustained,
were heaping abuse and calumnies upon it. Furthermore, under the
stress of intolerable circumstances, a few of the &Babis were constrained
to recant their faith, while others went so far as to apostatize
and join the ranks of the enemy. And now to the sum of these dire
misfortunes a monstrous calumny, arising from the outrage perpetrated
by a handful of irresponsible enthusiasts, was added, branding
a holy and innocent Faith with an infamy that seemed indelible, and
which threatened to loosen it from its foundations.
And yet the Fire which the Hand of Omnipotence had lighted,
though smothered by this torrent of tribulations let loose upon it,
was not quenched. The flame which for nine years had burned with
such brilliant intensity was indeed momentarily extinguished, but
the embers which that great conflagration had left behind still glowed,
destined, at no distant date, to blaze forth once again, through the
reviving breezes of an incomparably greater Revelation, and to shed
an illumination that would not only dissipate the surrounding darkness
but project its radiance as far as the extremities of both the
Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Just as the enforced captivity
and isolation of the &Bab had, on the one hand, afforded Him the
opportunity of formulating His doctrine, of unfolding the full implications
of His Revelation, of formally and publicly declaring His
station and of establishing His Covenant, and, on the other hand, had
been instrumental in the proclamation of the laws of His Dispensation
through the voice of His disciples assembled in &Badasht, so did
the crisis of unprecedented magnitude, culminating in the execution
of the &Bab and the imprisonment of &Baha'u'llah, prove to be the
prelude of a revival which, through the quickening power of a far
mightier Revelation, was to immortalize the fame, and fix on a still
more enduring foundation, far beyond the confines of His native
land, the original Message of the Prophet of &Shiraz.
At a time when the Cause of the &Bab seemed to be hovering on
the brink of extinction, when the hopes and ambitions which animated
it had, to all human seeming, been frustrated, when the
colossal sacrifices of its unnumbered lovers appeared to have been
made in vain, the Divine Promise enshrined within it was about to
be suddenly redeemed, and its final perfection mysteriously manifested.
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The &Babi Dispensation was being brought to its close (not
prematurely but in its own appointed time), and was yielding its
destined fruit and revealing its ultimate purpose--the birth of the
Mission of &Baha'u'llah. In this most dark and dreadful hour a New
Light was about to break in glory on Persia's somber horizon. As a
result of what was in fact an evolving, ripening process, the most
momentous if not the most spectacular stage in the Heroic Age of the
Faith was now about to open.
During nine years, as foretold by the &Bab Himself, swiftly,
mysteriously and irresistibly the embryonic Faith conceived by Him
had been developing until, at the fixed hour, the burden of the
promised Cause of God was cast amidst the gloom and agony of the
&Siyah-Chal of &Tihran. "Behold," &Baha'u'llah Himself, years later,
testified, in refutation of the claims of those who had rejected the
validity of His mission following so closely upon that of the &Bab,
"how immediately upon the completion of the ninth year of this
wondrous, this most holy and merciful Dispensation, the requisite
number of pure, of wholly consecrated and sanctified souls has been
most secretly consummated." "That so brief an interval," He, moreover
has asserted, "should have separated this most mighty and
wondrous Revelation from Mine own previous Manifestation is a
secret that no man can unravel, and a mystery such as no mind can
fathom. Its duration had been foreordained."
St. John the Divine had himself, with reference to these two
successive Revelations, clearly prophesied: "The second woe is past;
and, behold the third woe cometh quickly." "This third woe,"
&Abdu'l-Baha, commenting upon this verse, has explained, "is the day
of the Manifestation of &Baha'u'llah, the Day of God, and it is near
to the day of the appearance of the &Bab." "All the peoples of the
world," He moreover has asserted, "are awaiting two Manifestations,
Who must be contemporaneous; all wait for the fulfillment of this
promise." And again: "The essential fact is that all are promised two
Manifestations, Who will come one following on the other." &Shaykh
&Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i, that luminous star of Divine guidance who had so
clearly perceived, before the year sixty, the approaching glory of
&Baha'u'llah, and laid stress upon "the twin Revelations which are to
follow each other in rapid succession," had, on his part, made this
significant statement regarding the approaching hour of that supreme
Revelation, in an epistle addressed in his own hand to Siyyid &Kazim:
"The mystery of this Cause must needs be made manifest, and the
secret of this Message must needs be divulged. I can say no more.
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I can appoint no time. His Cause will be made known after &Hin
(68)."
The circumstances in which the Vehicle of this newborn Revelation,
following with such swiftness that of the &Bab, received the first
intimations of His sublime mission recall, and indeed surpass in
poignancy the soul-shaking experience of Moses when confronted by
the Burning Bush in the wilderness of Sinai; of Zoroaster when
awakened to His mission by a succession of seven visions; of Jesus
when coming out of the waters of the Jordan He saw the heavens
opened and the Holy Ghost descend like a dove and light upon Him;
of &Muhammad when in the Cave of Hira, outside of the holy city
of Mecca, the voice of Gabriel bade Him "cry in the name of Thy
Lord"; and of the &Bab when in a dream He approached the bleeding
head of the &Imam &Husayn, and, quaffing the blood that dripped from
his lacerated throat, awoke to find Himself the chosen recipient of
the outpouring grace of the Almighty.
What, we may well inquire at this juncture, were the nature and
implications of that Revelation which, manifesting itself so soon after
the Declaration of the &Bab, abolished, at one stroke, the Dispensation
which that Faith had so newly proclaimed, and upheld, with such
vehemence and force, the Divine authority of its Author? What, we
may well pause to consider, were the claims of Him Who, Himself
a disciple of the &Bab, had, at such an early stage, regarded Himself
as empowered to abrogate the Law identified with His beloved
Master? What, we may further reflect, could be the relationship
between the religious Systems established before Him and His own
Revelation--a Revelation which, flowing out, in that extremely perilous
hour, from His travailing soul, pierced the gloom that had settled
upon that pestilential pit, and, bursting through its walls, and propagating
itself as far as the ends of the earth, infused into the entire
body of mankind its boundless potentialities, and is now under our
very eyes, shaping the course of human society?
He Who in such dramatic circumstances was made to sustain the
overpowering weight of so glorious a Mission was none other than
the One Whom posterity will acclaim, and Whom innumerable followers
already recognize, as the Judge, the Lawgiver and Redeemer
of all mankind, as the Organizer of the entire planet, as the Unifier
of the children of men, as the Inaugurator of the long-awaited
millennium, as the Originator of a new "Universal Cycle," as the
Establisher of the Most Great Peace, as the Fountain of the Most
Great Justice, as the Proclaimer of the coming of age of the entire
+P94
human race, as the Creator of a new World Order, and as the Inspirer
and Founder of a world civilization.
To Israel He was neither more nor less than the incarnation of the
"Everlasting Father," the "Lord of Hosts" come down "with ten
thousands of saints"; to Christendom Christ returned "in the glory
of the Father," to &Shi'ah &Islam the return of the &Imam &Husayn; to
&Sunni &Islam the descent of the "Spirit of God" (Jesus Christ); to the
Zoroastrians the promised &Shah-Bahram; to the Hindus the reincarnation
of Krishna; to the Buddhists the fifth Buddha.
In the name He bore He combined those of the &Imam &Husayn,
the most illustrious of the successors of the Apostle of God--the
brightest "star" shining in the "crown" mentioned in the Revelation
of St. John--and of the &Imam &Ali, the Commander of the Faithful,
the second of the two "witnesses" extolled in that same Book. He
was formally designated &Baha'u'llah, an appellation specifically recorded
in the Persian &Bayan, signifying at once the glory, the light
and the splendor of God, and was styled the "Lord of Lords," the
"Most Great Name," the "Ancient Beauty," the "Pen of the Most
High," the "Hidden Name," the "Preserved Treasure," "He Whom
God will make manifest," the "Most Great Light," the "All-Highest
Horizon," the "Most Great Ocean," the "Supreme Heaven," the
"Pre-Existent Root," the "Self-Subsistent," the "Day-Star of the Universe,"
the "Great Announcement," the "Speaker on Sinai," the
"Sifter of Men," the "Wronged One of the World," the "Desire of
the Nations," the "Lord of the Covenant," the "Tree beyond which
there is no passing." He derived His descent, on the one hand, from
Abraham (the Father of the Faithful) through his wife Katurah,
and on the other from Zoroaster, as well as from Yazdigird, the last
king of the &Sasaniyan dynasty. He was moreover a descendant of
Jesse, and belonged, through His father, &Mirza &Abbas, better known
as &Mirza Buzurg--a nobleman closely associated with the ministerial
circles of the Court of &Fath-'Ali &Shah--to one of the most ancient
and renowned families of &Mazindaran.
To Him Isaiah, the greatest of the Jewish prophets, had alluded
as the "Glory of the Lord," the "Everlasting Father," the "Prince of
Peace," the "Wonderful," the "Counsellor," the "Rod come forth out
of the stem of Jesse" and the "Branch grown out of His roots," Who
"shall be established upon the throne of David," Who "will come
with strong hand," Who "shall judge among the nations," Who
"shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the
breath of His lips slay the wicked," and Who "shall assemble the
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outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from
the four corners of the earth." Of Him David had sung in his Psalms,
acclaiming Him as the "Lord of Hosts" and the "King of Glory."
To Him Haggai had referred as the "Desire of all nations," and
Zachariah as the "Branch" Who "shall grow up out of His place,"
and "shall build the Temple of the Lord." Ezekiel had extolled Him
as the "Lord" Who "shall be king over all the earth," while to His
day Joel and Zephaniah had both referred as the "day of Jehovah,"
the latter describing it as "a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress,
a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and
gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet
and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers."
His Day Ezekiel and Daniel had, moreover, both acclaimed as the
"day of the Lord," and Malachi described as "the great and dreadful
day of the Lord" when "the Sun of Righteousness" will "arise, with
healing in His wings," whilst Daniel had pronounced His advent as
signalizing the end of the "abomination that maketh desolate."
To His Dispensation the sacred books of the followers of Zoroaster
had referred as that in which the sun must needs be brought to a
standstill for no less than one whole month. To Him Zoroaster must
have alluded when, according to tradition, He foretold that a period
of three thousand years of conflict and contention must needs precede
the advent of the World-Savior &Shah-Bahram, Who would triumph
over Ahriman and usher in an era of blessedness and peace.
He alone is meant by the prophecy attributed to Gautama Buddha
Himself, that "a Buddha named Maitreye, the Buddha of universal
fellowship" should, in the fullness of time, arise and reveal "His
boundless glory." To Him the Bhagavad-Gita of the Hindus had
referred as the "Most Great Spirit," the "Tenth Avatar," the "Immaculate
Manifestation of Krishna."
To Him Jesus Christ had referred as the "Prince of this world,"
as the "Comforter" Who will "reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment," as the "Spirit of Truth" Who "will
guide you into all truth," Who "shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever
He shall hear, that shall He speak," as the "Lord of the Vineyard,"
and as the "Son of Man" Who "shall come in the glory of His
Father" "in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," with
"all the holy angels" about Him, and "all nations" gathered before
His throne. To Him the Author of the Apocalypse had alluded as
the "Glory of God," as "Alpha and Omega," "the Beginning and the
End," "the First and the Last." Identifying His Revelation with
+P96
the "third woe," he, moreover, had extolled His Law as "a new heaven
and a new earth," as the "Tabernacle of God," as the "Holy City,"
as the "New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband." To His Day Jesus Christ
Himself had referred as "the regeneration when the Son of Man shall
sit in the throne of His glory." To the hour of His advent St. Paul
had alluded as the hour of the "last trump," the "trump of God,"
whilst St. Peter had spoken of it as the "Day of God, wherein the
heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat." His Day he, furthermore, had described as "the
times of refreshing," "the times of restitution of all things, which God
hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world
began."
To Him &Muhammad, the Apostle of God, had alluded in His
Book as the "Great Announcement," and declared His Day to be the
Day whereon "God" will "come down" "overshadowed with clouds,"
the Day whereon "thy Lord shall come and the angels rank on rank,"
and "The Spirit shall arise and the angels shall be ranged in order."
His advent He, in that Book, in a &surih said to have been termed
by Him "the heart of the &Qur'an," had foreshadowed as that of the
"third" Messenger, sent down to "strengthen" the two who preceded
Him. To His Day He, in the pages of that same Book, had paid a
glowing tribute, glorifying it as the "Great Day," the "Last Day,"
the "Day of God," the "Day of Judgment," the "Day of Reckoning,"
the "Day of Mutual Deceit," the "Day of Severing," the "Day of
Sighing," the "Day of Meeting," the Day "when the Decree shall be
accomplished," the Day whereon the second "Trumpet blast" will be
sounded, the "Day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the
world," and "all shall come to Him in humble guise," the Day when
"thou shalt see the mountains, which thou thinkest so firm, pass away
with the passing of a cloud," the Day "wherein account shall be
taken," "the approaching Day, when men's hearts shall rise up,
choking them, into their throats," the Day when "all that are in the
heavens and all that are on the earth shall be terror-stricken, save
him whom God pleaseth to deliver," the Day whereon "every suckling
woman shall forsake her sucking babe, and every woman that hath
a burden in her womb shall cast her burden," the Day "when the
earth shall shine with the light of her Lord, and the Book shall be
set, and the Prophets shall be brought up, and the witnesses; and
judgment shall be given between them with equity; and none shall
be wronged."
+P97
The plenitude of His glory the Apostle of God had, moreover,
as attested by &Baha'u'llah Himself, compared to the "full moon on its
fourteenth night." His station the &Imam &Ali, the Commander of the
Faithful, had, according to the same testimony, identified with
"Him Who conversed with Moses from the Burning Bush on Sinai."
To the transcendent character of His mission the &Imam &Husayn
had, again according to &Baha'u'llah, borne witness as a "Revelation
whose Revealer will be He Who revealed" the Apostle of God Himself.
About Him &Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i, the herald of the &Babi Dispensation,
who had foreshadowed the "strange happenings" that
would transpire "between the years sixty and sixty-seven," and had
categorically affirmed the inevitability of His Revelation had, as
previously mentioned, written the following: "The Mystery of this
Cause must needs be made manifest, and the Secret of this Message
must needs be divulged. I can say no more, I can appoint no time.
His Cause will be made known after &Hin (68)" (i.e., after a while).
Siyyid &Kazim-i-Rashti, &Shaykh &Ahmad's disciple and successor,
had likewise written: "The &Qa'im must needs be put to death. After
He has been slain the world will have attained the age of eighteen."
In his &Sharh-i-Qasidiy-i-Lamiyyih he had even alluded to the name
"&Baha." Furthermore, to his disciples, as his days drew to a close,
he had significantly declared: "Verily, I say, after the &Qa'im the
&Qayyum will be made manifest. For when the star of the former has
set the sun of the beauty of &Husayn will rise and illuminate the whole
world. Then will be unfolded in all its glory the `Mystery' and the
`Secret' spoken of by &Shaykh &Ahmad.... To have attained unto
that Day of Days is to have attained unto the crowning glory of
past generations, and one goodly deed performed in that age is equal
to the pious worship of countless centuries."
The &Bab had no less significantly extolled Him as the "Essence of
Being," as the "Remnant of God," as the "Omnipotent Master," as
the "Crimson, all-encompassing Light," as "Lord of the visible and
invisible," as the "sole Object of all previous Revelations, including
The Revelation of the &Qa'im Himself." He had formally designated
Him as "He Whom God shall make manifest," had alluded to Him as
the "&Abha Horizon" wherein He Himself lived and dwelt, had specifically
recorded His title, and eulogized His "Order" in His best-known
work, the Persian &Bayan, had disclosed His name through
His allusion to the "Son of &Ali, a true and undoubted Leader of
men," had, repeatedly, orally and in writing, fixed, beyond the
shadow of a doubt, the time of His Revelation, and warned His
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followers lest "the &Bayan and all that hath been revealed therein"
should "shut them out as by a veil" from Him. He had, moreover,
declared that He was the "first servant to believe in Him," that He
bore Him allegiance "before all things were created," that "no allusion"
of His "could allude unto Him," that "the year-old germ that
holdeth within itself the potentialities of the Revelation that is to
come is endowed with a potency superior to the combined forces of
the whole of the &Bayan." He had, moreover, clearly asserted that He
had "covenanted with all created things" concerning Him Whom
God shall make manifest ere the covenant concerning His own
mission had been established. He had readily acknowledged that He
was but "a letter" of that "Most Mighty Book," "a dew-drop" from
that "Limitless Ocean," that His Revelation was "only a leaf amongst
the leaves of His Paradise," that "all that hath been exalted in the
&Bayan" was but "a ring" upon His own hand, and He Himself
"a ring upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest," Who,
"turneth it as He pleaseth, for whatsoever He pleaseth, and through
whatsoever He pleaseth." He had unmistakably declared that He had
"sacrificed" Himself "wholly" for Him, that He had "consented to be
cursed" for His sake, and to have "yearned for naught but martyrdom"
in the path of His love. Finally, He had unequivocally
prophesied: "Today the &Bayan is in the stage of seed; at the beginning
of the manifestation of Him Whom God shall make manifest its
ultimate perfection will become apparent." "Ere nine will have elapsed
from the inception of this Cause the realities of the created things will
not be made manifest. All that thou hast as yet seen is but the stage
from the moist-germ until We clothed it with flesh. Be patient until
thou beholdest a new creation. Say: Blessed, therefore, be God, the
Most Excellent of Makers!"
"He around Whom the Point of the &Bayan (&Bab) hath revolved
is come" is &Baha'u'llah's confirmatory testimony to the inconceivable
greatness and preeminent character of His own Revelation. "If all
who are in heaven and on earth," He moreover affirms, "be invested
in this day with the powers and attributes destined for the Letters of
the &Bayan, whose station is ten thousand times more glorious than
that of the Letters of the &Qur'anic Dispensation, and if they one and
all should, swift as the twinkling of an eye, hesitate to recognize My
Revelation, they shall be accounted, in the sight of God, of those that
have gone astray, and regarded as `Letters of Negation.'" "Powerful
is He, the King of Divine might," He, alluding to Himself in the
&Kitab-i-Iqan, asserts, "to extinguish with one letter of His wondrous
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words, the breath of life in the whole of the &Bayan and the people
thereof, and with one letter bestow upon them a new and everlasting
life, and cause them to arise and speed out of the sepulchers of their
vain and selfish desires." "This," He furthermore declares, "is the king
of days," the "Day of God Himself," the "Day which shall never be
followed by night," the "Springtime which autumn will never overtake,"
"the eye to past ages and centuries," for which "the soul of every
Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted," for which
"all the divers kindreds of the earth have yearned," through which
"God hath proved the hearts of the entire company of His Messengers
and Prophets, and beyond them those that stand guard over His sacred
and inviolable Sanctuary, the inmates of the Celestial Pavilion and
dwellers of the Tabernacle of Glory." "In this most mighty Revelation,"
He moreover, states, "all the Dispensations of the past have
attained their highest, their final consummation." And again: "None
among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath
ever completely apprehended the nature of this Revelation." Referring
to His own station He declares: "But for Him no Divine Messenger
would have been invested with the Robe of Prophethood, nor would
any of the sacred Scriptures have been revealed."
And last but not least is &Abdu'l-Baha's own tribute to the transcendent
character of the Revelation identified with His Father:
"Centuries, nay ages, must pass away, ere the Day-Star of Truth
shineth again in its mid-summer splendor, or appeareth once more in
the radiance of its vernal glory." "The mere contemplation of the
Dispensation inaugurated by the Blessed Beauty," He furthermore
affirms, "would have sufficed to overwhelm the saints of bygone ages--
saints who longed to partake for one moment of its great glory."
"Concerning the Manifestations that will come down in the future
`in the shadows of the clouds,' know verily," is His significant statement,
"that in so far as their relation to the source of their inspiration
is concerned they are under the shadow of the Ancient Beauty. In
their relation, however, to the age in which they appear, each and
every one of them `doeth whatsoever He willeth.'" And finally stands
this, His illuminating explanation, setting forth conclusively the
true relationship between the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah and that of
the &Bab: "The Revelation of the &Bab may be likened to the sun, its
station corresponding to the first sign of the Zodiac--the sign Aries--
which the sun enters at the vernal equinox. The station of &Baha'u'llah's
Revelation, on the other hand, is represented by the sign Leo,
the sun's mid-summer and highest station. By this is meant that this
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holy Dispensation is illumined with the light of the Sun of Truth
shining from its most exalted station, and in the plenitude of its
resplendency, its heat and glory."
To attempt an exhaustive survey of the prophetic references to
&Baha'u'llah's Revelation would indeed be an impossible task. To this
the pen of &Baha'u'llah Himself bears witness: "All the Divine Books
and Scriptures have predicted and announced unto men the advent
of the Most Great Revelation. None can adequately recount the
verses recorded in the Books of former ages which forecast this
supreme Bounty, this most mighty Bestowal."
In conclusion of this theme, I feel, it should be stated that the
Revelation identified with &Baha'u'llah abrogates unconditionally all
the Dispensations gone before it, upholds uncompromisingly the
eternal verities they enshrine, recognizes firmly and absolutely the
Divine origin of their Authors, preserves inviolate the sanctity of
their authentic Scriptures, disclaims any intention of lowering the
status of their Founders or of abating the spiritual ideals they inculcate,
clarifies and correlates their functions, reaffirms their common,
their unchangeable and fundamental purpose, reconciles their seemingly
divergent claims and doctrines, readily and gratefully recognizes
their respective contributions to the gradual unfoldment of one
Divine Revelation, unhesitatingly acknowledges itself to be but one
link in the chain of continually progressive Revelations, supplements
their teachings with such laws and ordinances as conform to the
imperative needs, and are dictated by the growing receptivity, of a
fast evolving and constantly changing society, and proclaims its readiness
and ability to fuse and incorporate the contending sects and
factions into which they have fallen into a universal Fellowship,
functioning within the framework, and in accordance with the precepts,
of a divinely conceived, a world-unifying, a world-redeeming
Order.
A Revelation, hailed as the promise and crowning glory of past
ages and centuries, as the consummation of all the Dispensations
within the Adamic Cycle, inaugurating an era of at least a thousand
years' duration, and a cycle destined to last no less than five thousand
centuries, signalizing the end of the Prophetic Era and the beginning
of the Era of Fulfillment, unsurpassed alike in the duration of its
Author's ministry and the fecundity and splendor of His mission--
such a Revelation was, as already noted, born amidst the darkness of a
subterranean dungeon in &Tihran--an abominable pit that had once
served as a reservoir of water for one of the public baths of the city.
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Wrapped in its stygian gloom, breathing its fetid air, numbed by its
humid and icy atmosphere, His feet in stocks, His neck weighed
down by a mighty chain, surrounded by criminals and miscreants of
the worst order, oppressed by the consciousness of the terrible blot
that had stained the fair name of His beloved Faith, painfully aware
of the dire distress that had overtaken its champions, and of the
grave dangers that faced the remnant of its followers--at so critical
an hour and under such appalling circumstances the "Most Great
Spirit," as designated by Himself, and symbolized in the Zoroastrian,
the Mosaic, the Christian, and &Muhammadan Dispensations by the
Sacred Fire, the Burning Bush, the Dove and the Angel Gabriel
respectively, descended upon, and revealed itself, personated by a
"Maiden," to the agonized soul of &Baha'u'llah.
"One night in a dream," He Himself, calling to mind, in the
evening of His life, the first stirrings of God's Revelation within His
soul, has written, "these exalted words were heard on every side:
`Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy pen.
Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou
afraid, for Thou art in safety. Ere long will God raise up the treasures
of the earth--men who will aid Thee through Thyself and through
Thy Name, wherewith God hath revived the hearts of such as have
recognized Him.'" In another passage He describes, briefly and
graphically, the impact of the onrushing force of the Divine Summons
upon His entire being--an experience vividly recalling the
vision of God that caused Moses to fall in a swoon, and the voice of
Gabriel which plunged &Muhammad into such consternation that,
hurrying to the shelter of His home, He bade His wife, &Khadijih,
envelop Him in His mantle. "During the days I lay in the prison of
&Tihran," are His own memorable words, "though the galling weight
of the chains and the stench-filled air allowed Me but little sleep, still
in those infrequent moments of slumber I felt as if something flowed
from the crown of My head over My breast, even as a mighty torrent
that precipitateth itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty
mountain. Every limb of My body would, as a result, be set afire.
At such moments My tongue recited what no man could bear to hear."
In His &Suratu'l-Haykal (the &Surih of the Temple) He thus
describes those breathless moments when the Maiden, symbolizing
the "Most Great Spirit" proclaimed His mission to the entire creation:
"While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet
voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden--
the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord--suspended
+P102
in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that
her countenance shone with the ornament of the good-pleasure of
God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful.
Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the
hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and
outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God's
honored servants. Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed
all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: `By
God! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend
not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His
sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery
of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all
who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of
them that perceive.'"
In His Epistle to &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, His royal adversary, revealed
at the height of the proclamation of His Message, occur these passages
which shed further light on the Divine origin of His mission:
"O King! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when
lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught
Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me,
but from One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing. And he bade Me
lift up My voice between earth and heaven, and for this there befell
Me what hath caused the tears of every man of understanding to
flow.... This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of Thy Lord,
the Almighty, the All-Praised, have stirred.... His all-compelling
summons hath reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst
all people. I was indeed as one dead when His behest was uttered.
The hand of the will of Thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
transformed Me." "By My Life!" He asserts in another Tablet, "Not
of Mine own volition have I revealed Myself, but God, of His own
choosing, hath manifested Me." And again: "Whenever I chose to
hold My peace and be still, lo, the Voice of the Holy Spirit, standing
on My right hand, aroused Me, and the Most Great Spirit appeared
before My face, and Gabriel overshadowed Me, and the Spirit of Glory
stirred within My bosom, bidding Me arise and break My silence."
Such were the circumstances in which the Sun of Truth arose in
the city of &Tihran--a city which, by reason of so rare a privilege
conferred upon it, had been glorified by the &Bab as the "Holy Land,"
and surnamed by &Baha'u'llah "the Mother of the world," the "Day-spring
of Light," the "Dawning-Place of the signs of the Lord," the
"Source of the joy of all mankind." The first dawnings of that Light
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of peerless splendor had, as already described, broken in the city of
&Shiraz. The rim of that Orb had now appeared above the horizon
of the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran. Its rays were to burst forth, a decade
later, in &Baghdad, piercing the clouds which immediately after its
rise in those somber surroundings obscured its splendor. It was destined
to mount to its zenith in the far-away city of Adrianople, and ultimately
to set in the immediate vicinity of the fortress-town of &Akka.
The process whereby the effulgence of so dazzling a Revelation
was unfolded to the eyes of men was of necessity slow and gradual.
The first intimation which its Bearer received did not synchronize
with, nor was it followed immediately by, a disclosure of its character
to either His own companions or His kindred. A period of no less
than ten years had to elapse ere its far-reaching implications could be
directly divulged to even those who had been intimately associated
with Him--a period of great spiritual ferment, during which the
Recipient of so weighty a Message restlessly anticipated the hour at
which He could unburden His heavily laden soul, so replete with
the potent energies released by God's nascent Revelation. All He did,
in the course of this pre-ordained interval, was to hint, in veiled and
allegorical language, in epistles, commentaries, prayers and treatises,
which He was moved to reveal, that the &Bab's promise had already
been fulfilled, and that He Himself was the One Who had been
chosen to redeem it. A few of His fellow-disciples, distinguished by
their sagacity, and their personal attachment and devotion to Him,
perceived the radiance of the as yet unrevealed glory that had flooded
His soul, and would have, but for His restraining influence, divulged
His secret and proclaimed it far and wide.
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CHAPTER VII
&Baha'u'llah's Banishment to &Iraq
The attempt on the life of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, as stated in a
previous chapter, was made on the 28th of the month of &Shavval,
1268 A.H., corresponding to the 15th of August, 1852. Immediately
after, &Baha'u'llah was arrested in &Niyavaran, was conducted
with the greatest ignominy to &Tihran and cast into the &Siyah-Chal.
His imprisonment lasted for a period of no less than four months,
in the middle of which the "year nine" (1269), anticipated in such
glowing terms by the &Bab, and alluded to as the year "after &Hin" by
&Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i, was ushered in, endowing with undreamt-of
potentialities the whole world. Two months after that year was born,
&Baha'u'llah, the purpose of His imprisonment now accomplished, was
released from His confinement, and set out, a month later, for
&Baghdad, on the first stage of a memorable and life-long exile which
was to carry Him, in the course of years, as far as Adrianople in
European Turkey, and which was to end with His twenty-four years'
incarceration in &Akka.
Now that He had been invested, in consequence of that potent
dream, with the power and sovereign authority associated with His
Divine mission, His deliverance from a confinement that had achieved
its purpose, and which if prolonged would have completely fettered
Him in the exercise of His newly-bestowed functions, became not
only inevitable, but imperative and urgent. Nor were the means and
instruments lacking whereby his emancipation from the shackles that
restrained Him could be effected. The persistent and decisive intervention
of the Russian Minister, Prince Dolgorouki, who left no
stone unturned to establish the innocence of &Baha'u'llah; the public
confession of &Mulla &Shaykh &Aliy-i-Turshizi, surnamed &Azim, who,
in the &Siyah-Chal, in the presence of the &Hajibu'd-Dawlih and the
Russian Minister's interpreter and of the government's representative,
emphatically exonerated Him, and acknowledged his own complicity;
the indisputable testimony established by competent tribunals;
the unrelaxing efforts exerted by His own brothers, sisters and
kindred,--all these combined to effect His ultimate deliverance from
the hands of His rapacious enemies. Another potent if less evident
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influence which must be acknowledged as having had a share in His
liberation was the fate suffered by so large a number of His self-sacrificing
fellow-disciples who languished with Him in that same
prison. For, as &Nabil truly remarks, "the blood, shed in the course
of that fateful year in &Tihran by that heroic band with whom
&Baha'u'llah had been imprisoned, was the ransom paid for His deliverance
from the hand of a foe that sought to prevent Him from
achieving the purpose for which God had destined Him."
With such overwhelming testimonies establishing beyond the
shadow of a doubt the non-complicity of &Baha'u'llah, the Grand Vizir,
after having secured the reluctant consent of his sovereign to set free
his Captive, was now in a position to dispatch his trusted representative,
&Haji &Ali, to the &Siyah-Chal, instructing him to deliver
to &Baha'u'llah the order for His release. The sight which that emissary
beheld upon his arrival evoked in him such anger that he cursed his
master for the shameful treatment of a man of such high position
and stainless renown. Removing his mantle from his shoulders he
presented it to &Baha'u'llah, entreating Him to wear it when in the
presence of the Minister and his counsellors, a request which He
emphatically refused, preferring to appear, attired in the garb of a
prisoner, before the members of the Imperial government.
No sooner had He presented Himself before them than the Grand
Vizir addressed Him saying: "Had you chosen to take my advice,
and had you dissociated yourself from the Faith of the &Siyyid-i-Bab,
you would never have suffered the pains and indignities that have
been heaped upon you." "Had you, in your turn," &Baha'u'llah retorted,
"followed My counsels, the affairs of the government would
not have reached so critical a stage." &Mirza &Aqa &Khan was thereupon
reminded of the conversation he had had with Him on the occasion
of the &Bab's martyrdom, when he had been warned that "the flame
that has been kindled will blaze forth more fiercely than ever." "What
is it that you advise me now to do?" he inquired from &Baha'u'llah.
"Command the governors of the realm," was the instant reply, "to
cease shedding the blood of the innocent, to cease plundering their
property, to cease dishonoring their women, and injuring their
children." That same day the Grand Vizir acted on the advice thus
given him; but any effect it had, as the course of subsequent events
amply demonstrated, proved to be momentary and negligible.
The relative peace and tranquillity accorded &Baha'u'llah after His
tragic and cruel imprisonment was destined, by the dictates of an
unerring Wisdom, to be of an extremely short duration. He had
+P106
hardly rejoined His family and kindred when a decree from &Nasiri'd-Din
&Shah was communicated to Him, bidding Him leave the territory
of Persia, fixing a time-limit of one month for His departure
and allowing Him the right to choose the land of His exile.
The Russian Minister, as soon as he was informed of the Imperial
decision, expressed the desire to take &Baha'u'llah under the protection
of his government, and offered to extend every facility for His removal
to Russia. This invitation, so spontaneously extended, &Baha'u'llah declined,
preferring, in pursuance of an unerring instinct, to establish
His abode in Turkish territory, in the city of &Baghdad. "Whilst I
lay chained and fettered in the prison," He Himself, years after,
testified in His Epistle addressed to the Czar of Russia, Nicolaevitch
Alexander II, "one of thy ministers extended Me his aid. Whereupon
God hath ordained for thee a station which the knowledge of none
can comprehend except His knowledge. Beware lest thou barter away
this sublime station." "In the days," is yet another illuminating testimony
revealed by His pen, "when this Wronged One was sore-afflicted
in prison, the minister of the highly esteemed government
(of Russia)--may God, glorified and exalted be He, assist him!--
exerted his utmost endeavor to compass My deliverance. Several times
permission for My release was granted. Some of the &ulamas of the
city, however, would prevent it. Finally, My freedom was gained
through the solicitude and the endeavor of His Excellency the Minister.
...His Imperial Majesty, the Most Great Emperor--may God,
exalted and glorified be He, assist him!--extended to Me for the sake
of God his protection--a protection which has excited the envy and
enmity of the foolish ones of the earth."
The &Shah's edict, equivalent to an order for the immediate expulsion
of &Baha'u'llah from Persian territory, opens a new and glorious
chapter in the history of the first &Baha'i century. Viewed in its
proper perspective it will be even recognized to have ushered in one
of the most eventful and momentous epochs in the world's religious
history. It coincides with the inauguration of a ministry extending over
a period of almost forty years--a ministry which, by virtue of its creative
power, its cleansing force, its healing influences, and the irresistible
operation of the world-directing, world-shaping forces it released,
stands unparalleled in the religious annals of the entire human race.
It marks the opening phase in a series of banishments, ranging over a
period of four decades, and terminating only with the death of Him
Who was the Object of that cruel edict. The process which it set in
motion, gradually progressing and unfolding, began by establishing
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His Cause for a time in the very midst of the jealously-guarded stronghold
of &Shi'ah &Islam, and brought Him in personal contact with its
highest and most illustrious exponents; then, at a later stage, it confronted
Him, at the seat of the Caliphate, with the civil and
ecclesiastical dignitaries of the realm and the representatives of the
&Sultan of Turkey, the most powerful potentate in the Islamic world;
and finally carried Him as far as the shores of the Holy Land, thereby
fulfilling the prophecies recorded in both the Old and the New Testaments,
redeeming the pledge enshrined in various traditions attributed
to the Apostle of God and the &Imams who succeeded Him, and
ushering in the long-awaited restoration of Israel to the ancient cradle
of its Faith. With it, may be said to have begun the last and most
fruitful of the four stages of a life, the first twenty-seven years of
which were characterized by the care-free enjoyment of all the
advantages conferred by high birth and riches, and by an unfailing
solicitude for the interests of the poor, the sick and the down-trodden;
followed by nine years of active and exemplary discipleship in the
service of the &Bab; and finally by an imprisonment of four months'
duration, overshadowed throughout by mortal peril, embittered by
agonizing sorrows, and immortalized, as it drew to a close, by the
sudden eruption of the forces released by an overpowering, soul-revolutionizing
Revelation.
This enforced and hurried departure of &Baha'u'llah from His
native land, accompanied by some of His relatives, recalls in some of
its aspects, the precipitate flight of the Holy Family into Egypt; the
sudden migration of &Muhammad, soon after His assumption of the
prophetic office, from Mecca to Medina; the exodus of Moses, His
brother and His followers from the land of their birth, in response
to the Divine summons, and above all the banishment of Abraham
from Ur of the Chaldees to the Promised Land--a banishment which,
in the multitudinous benefits it conferred upon so many divers
peoples, faiths and nations, constitutes the nearest historical approach
to the incalculable blessings destined to be vouchsafed, in this day,
and in future ages, to the whole human race, in direct consequence
of the exile suffered by Him Whose Cause is the flower and fruit of
all previous Revelations.
&Abdu'l-Baha, after enumerating in His "Some Answered Questions"
the far-reaching consequences of Abraham's banishment,
significantly affirms that "since the exile of Abraham from Ur to
Aleppo in Syria produced this result, we must consider what will be
the effect of the exile of &Baha'u'llah in His several removes from
+P108
&Tihran to &Baghdad, from thence to Constantinople, to Rumelia and
to the Holy Land."
On the first day of the month of &Rabi'u'th-Thani, of the year
1269 A.H., (January 12, 1853), nine months after His return from
&Karbila, &Baha'u'llah, together with some of the members of His
family, and escorted by an officer of the Imperial body-guard and
an official representing the Russian Legation, set out on His three
months' journey to &Baghdad. Among those who shared His exile
was His wife, the saintly &Navvab, entitled by Him the "Most Exalted
Leaf," who, during almost forty years, continued to evince a fortitude,
a piety, a devotion and a nobility of soul which earned her
from the pen of her Lord the posthumous and unrivalled tribute of
having been made His "perpetual consort in all the worlds of God." His
nine-year-old son, later surnamed the "Most Great Branch," destined
to become the Center of His Covenant and authorized Interpreter
of His teachings, together with His seven-year-old sister, known in
later years by the same title as that of her illustrious mother, and
whose services until the ripe old age of four score years and six, no
less than her exalted parentage, entitle her to the distinction of ranking
as the outstanding heroine of the &Baha'i Dispensation, were also
included among the exiles who were now bidding their last farewell
to their native country. Of the two brothers who accompanied Him
on that journey the first was &Mirza &Musa, commonly called &Aqay-i-Kalim,
His staunch and valued supporter, the ablest and most distinguished
among His brothers and sisters, and one of the "only two
persons who," according to &Baha'u'llah's testimony, "were adequately
informed of the origins" of His Faith. The other was &Mirza &Muhammad-Quli,
a half-brother, who, in spite of the defection of some
of his relatives, remained to the end loyal to the Cause he had
espoused.
The journey, undertaken in the depth of an exceptionally severe
winter, carrying the little band of exiles, so inadequately equipped,
across the snow-bound mountains of Western Persia, though long
and perilous, was uneventful except for the warm and enthusiastic
reception accorded the travelers during their brief stay in Karand by
its governor &Hayat-Quli &Khan, of the &Alliyu'llahi sect. He was
shown, in return, such kindness by &Baha'u'llah that the people of the
entire village were affected, and continued, long after, to extend such
hospitality to His followers on their way to &Baghdad that they
gained the reputation of being known as &Babis.
In a prayer revealed by Him at that time, &Baha'u'llah, expatiating
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upon the woes and trials He had endured in the &Siyah-Chal, thus
bears witness to the hardships undergone in the course of that "terrible
journey": "My God, My Master, My Desire!... Thou hast created
this atom of dust through the consummate power of Thy might,
and nurtured Him with Thine hands which none can chain up....
Thou hast destined for Him trials and tribulations which no tongue
can describe, nor any of Thy Tablets adequately recount. The throat
Thou didst accustom to the touch of silk Thou hast, in the end,
clasped with strong chains, and the body Thou didst ease with
brocades and velvets Thou hast at last subjected to the abasement of
a dungeon. Thy decree hath shackled Me with unnumbered fetters,
and cast about My neck chains that none can sunder. A number of
years have passed during which afflictions have, like showers of mercy,
rained upon Me.... How many the nights during which the weight
of chains and fetters allowed Me no rest, and how numerous the days
during which peace and tranquillity were denied Me, by reason of
that wherewith the hands and tongues of men have afflicted Me!
Both bread and water which Thou hast, through Thy all-embracing
mercy, allowed unto the beasts of the field, they have, for a time,
forbidden unto this servant, and the things they refused to inflict
upon such as have seceded from Thy Cause, the same have they
suffered to be inflicted upon Me, until, finally, Thy decree was irrevocably
fixed, and Thy behest summoned this servant to depart out
of Persia, accompanied by a number of frail-bodied men and children
of tender age, at this time when the cold is so intense that one cannot
even speak, and ice and snow so abundant that it is impossible to
move."
Finally, on the 28th of &Jamadiyu'th-Thani 1269 A.H. (April 8,
1853), &Baha'u'llah arrived in &Baghdad, the capital city of what was
then the Turkish province of &Iraq. From there He proceeded, a
few days after, to &Kazimayn, about three miles north of the city, a
town inhabited chiefly by Persians, and where the two &Kazims, the
seventh and the ninth &Imams, are buried. Soon after His arrival
the representative of the &Shah's government, stationed in &Baghdad,
called on Him, and suggested that it would be advisable for Him, in
view of the many visitors crowding that center of pilgrimage, to
establish His residence in Old &Baghdad, a suggestion with which He
readily concurred. A month later, towards the end of Rajab, He
rented the house of &Haji &Ali Madad, in an old quarter of the city,
into which He moved with His family.
In that city, described in Islamic traditions as "&Zahru'l-Kufih,"
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designated for centuries as the "Abode of Peace," and immortalized
by &Baha'u'llah as the "City of God," He, except for His two year
retirement to the mountains of &Kurdistan and His occasional visits
to Najaf, &Karbila and &Kazimayn, continued to reside until His banishment
to Constantinople. To that city the &Qur'an had alluded as
the "Abode of Peace" to which God Himself "calleth." To it, in
that same Book, further allusion had been made in the verse "For
them is a Dwelling of Peace with their Lord ... on the Day whereon
God shall gather them all together." From it radiated, wave after
wave, a power, a radiance and a glory which insensibly reanimated
a languishing Faith, sorely-stricken, sinking into obscurity, threatened
with oblivion. From it were diffused, day and night, and with
ever-increasing energy, the first emanations of a Revelation which,
in its scope, its copiousness, its driving force and the volume and
variety of its literature, was destined to excel that of the &Bab Himself.
Above its horizon burst forth the rays of the Sun of Truth, Whose
rising glory had for ten long years been overshadowed by the inky
clouds of a consuming hatred, an ineradicable jealousy, an unrelenting
malice. In it the Tabernacle of the promised "Lord of Hosts"
was first erected, and the foundations of the long-awaited Kingdom
of the "Father" unassailably established. Out of it went forth the
earliest tidings of the Message of Salvation which, as prophesied by
Daniel, was to mark, after the lapse of "a thousand two hundred
and ninety days" (1290 A.H.), the end of "the abomination that
maketh desolate." Within its walls the "Most Great House of God,"
His "Footstool" and the "Throne of His Glory," "the Cynosure of
an adoring world," the "Lamp of Salvation between earth and
heaven," the "Sign of His remembrance to all who are in heaven and
on earth," enshrining the "Jewel whose glory hath irradiated all creation,"
the "Standard" of His Kingdom, the "Shrine round which will
circle the concourse of the faithful" was irrevocably founded and
permanently consecrated. Upon it, by virtue of its sanctity as
&Baha'u'llah's "Most Holy Habitation" and "Seat of His transcendent
glory," was conferred the honor of being regarded as a center of
pilgrimage second to none except the city of &Akka, His "Most Great
Prison," in whose immediate vicinity His holy Sepulcher, the Qiblih
of the &Baha'i world, is enshrined. Around the heavenly Table, spread
in its very heart, clergy and laity, &Sunnis and &Shi'ahs, Kurds, Arabs,
and Persians, princes and nobles, peasants and dervishes, gathered
in increasing numbers from far and near, all partaking, according to
their needs and capacities, of a measure of that Divine sustenance
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which was to enable them, in the course of time, to noise abroad the
fame of that bountiful Giver, swell the ranks of His admirers, scatter
far and wide His writings, enlarge the limits of His congregation,
and lay a firm foundation for the future erection of the institutions
of His Faith. And finally, before the gaze of the diversified communities
that dwelt within its gates, the first phase in the gradual
unfoldment of a newborn Revelation was ushered in, the first effusions
from the inspired pen of its Author were recorded, the first
principles of His slowly crystallizing doctrine were formulated, the
first implications of His august station were apprehended, the first
attacks aiming at the disruption of His Faith from within were
launched, the first victories over its internal enemies were registered,
and the first pilgrimages to the Door of His Presence were undertaken.
This life-long exile to which the Bearer of so precious a Message
was now providentially condemned did not, and indeed could not,
manifest, either suddenly or rapidly, the potentialities latent within
it. The process whereby its unsuspected benefits were to be manifested
to the eyes of men was slow, painfully slow, and was characterized,
as indeed the history of His Faith from its inception to the
present day demonstrates, by a number of crises which at times
threatened to arrest its unfoldment and blast all the hopes which its
progress had engendered.
One such crisis which, as it deepened, threatened to jeopardize
His newborn Faith and to subvert its earliest foundations, overshadowed
the first years of His sojourn in &Iraq, the initial stage in
His life-long exile, and imparted to them a special significance.
Unlike those which preceded it, this crisis was purely internal in
character, and was occasioned solely by the acts, the ambitions and
follies of those who were numbered among His recognized fellow-disciples.
The external enemies of the Faith, whether civil or ecclesiastical,
who had thus far been chiefly responsible for the reverses and humiliations
it had suffered, were by now relatively quiescent. The public
appetite for revenge, which had seemed insatiable, had now, to some
extent, in consequence of the torrents of blood that had flowed,
abated. A feeling, bordering on exhaustion and despair, had, moreover,
settled on some of its most inveterate enemies, who were astute
enough to perceive that though the Faith had bent beneath the
grievous blows their hands had dealt it, its structure had remained
essentially unimpaired and its spirit unbroken. The orders issued to
the governors of the provinces by the Grand Vizir had had, furthermore,
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a sobering effect on the local authorities, who were now dissuaded
from venting their fury upon, and from indulging in their
sadistic cruelties against, a hated adversary.
A lull had, in consequence, momentarily ensued, which was destined
to be broken, at a later stage, by a further wave of repressive
measures in which the &Sultan of Turkey and his ministers, as well
as the &Sunni sacerdotal order, were to join hands with the &Shah and
the &Shi'ah clericals of Persia and &Iraq in an endeavor to stamp out,
once and for all, the Faith and all it stood for. While this lull persisted
the initial manifestations of the internal crisis, already mentioned,
were beginning to reveal themselves--a crisis which, though
less spectacular in the public eye, proved itself, as it moved to its
climax, to be one of unprecedented gravity, reducing the numerical
strength of the infant community, imperiling its unity, causing
immense damage to its prestige, and tarnishing for a considerable
period of time its glory.
This crisis had already been brewing in the days immediately
following the execution of the &Bab, was intensified during the months
when the controlling hand of &Baha'u'llah was suddenly withdrawn
as a result of His confinement in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran, was
further aggravated by His precipitate banishment from Persia, and
began to protrude its disturbing features during the first years of
His sojourn in &Baghdad. Its devastating force gathered momentum
during His two year retirement to the mountains of &Kurdistan, and
though it was checked, for a time, after His return from &Sulaymaniyyih,
under the overmastering influences exerted preparatory
to the Declaration of His Mission, it broke out later, with still greater
violence, and reached its climax in Adrianople, only to receive finally
its death-blow under the impact of the irresistible forces released
through the proclamation of that Mission to all mankind.
Its central figure was no less a person than the nominee of the
&Bab Himself, the credulous and cowardly &Mirza &Yahya, to certain
traits of whose character reference has already been made in the foregoing
pages. The black-hearted scoundrel who befooled and manipulated
this vain and flaccid man with consummate skill and unyielding
persistence was a certain Siyyid &Muhammad, a native of &Isfahan,
notorious for his inordinate ambition, his blind obstinacy and uncontrollable
jealousy. To him &Baha'u'llah had later referred in the
&Kitab-i-Aqdas as the one who had "led astray" &Mirza &Yahya, and
stigmatized him, in one of His Tablets, as the "source of envy and
the quintessence of mischief," while &Abdu'l-Baha had described the
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relationship existing between these two as that of "the sucking child"
to the "much-prized breast" of its mother. Forced to abandon his
studies in the &madrisiyi-i-Sadr of &Isfahan, this Siyyid had migrated,
in shame and remorse, to &Karbila, had there joined the ranks of the
&Bab's followers, and shown, after His martyrdom, signs of vacillation
which exposed the shallowness of his faith and the fundamental
weakness of his convictions. &Baha'u'llah's first visit to &Karbila and
the marks of undisguised reverence, love and admiration shown Him
by some of the most distinguished among the former disciples and
companions of Siyyid &Kazim, had aroused in this calculating and
unscrupulous schemer an envy, and bred in his soul an animosity,
which the forbearance and patience shown him by &Baha'u'llah had
served only to inflame. His deluded helpers, willing tools of his
diabolical designs, were the not inconsiderable number of &Babis who,
baffled, disillusioned and leaderless, were already predisposed to be
beguiled by him into pursuing a path diametrically opposed to the
tenets and counsels of a departed Leader.
For, with the &Bab no longer in the midst of His followers; with
His nominee, either seeking a safe hiding place in the mountains of
&Mazindaran, or wearing the disguise of a dervish or of an Arab
wandering from town to town; with &Baha'u'llah imprisoned and
subsequently banished beyond the limits of His native country; with
the flower of the Faith mown down in a seemingly unending series
of slaughters, the remnants of that persecuted community were sunk
in a distress that appalled and paralyzed them, that stifled their spirit,
confused their minds and strained to the utmost their loyalty. Reduced
to this extremity they could no longer rely on any voice that
commanded sufficient authority to still their forebodings, resolve their
problems, or prescribe to them their duties and obligations.
&Nabil, traveling at that time through the province of &Khurasan,
the scene of the tumultuous early victories of a rising Faith, had
himself summed up his impressions of the prevailing condition. "The
fire of the Cause of God," he testifies in his narrative, "had been well-nigh
quenched in every place. I could detect no trace of warmth
anywhere." In &Qasvin, according to the same testimony, the remnant
of the community had split into four factions, bitterly opposed to
one another, and a prey to the most absurd doctrines and fancies.
&Baha'u'llah upon His arrival in &Baghdad, a city which had witnessed
the glowing evidences of the indefatigable zeal of &Tahirih, found
among His countrymen residing in that city no more than a single
&Babi, while in &Kazimayn inhabited chiefly by Persians, a mere handful
+P114
of His compatriots remained who still professed, in fear and obscurity,
their faith in the &Bab.
The morals of the members of this dwindling community, no
less than their numbers, had sharply declined. Such was their "waywardness
and folly," to quote &Baha'u'llah's own words, that upon His
release from prison, His first decision was "to arise ... and undertake,
with the utmost vigor, the task of regenerating this people."
As the character of the professed adherents of the &Bab declined
and as proofs of the deepening confusion that afflicted them multiplied,
the mischief-makers, who were lying in wait, and whose sole
aim was to exploit the progressive deterioration in the situation for
their own benefit, grew ever more and more audacious. The conduct
of &Mirza &Yahya, who claimed to be the successor of the &Bab, and
who prided himself on his high sounding titles of &Mir'atu'l-Azaliyyih
(Everlasting Mirror), of &Subh-i-Azal (Morning of Eternity), and
of Ismu'l-Azal (Name of Eternity), and particularly the machinations
of Siyyid &Muhammad, exalted by him to the rank of the first
among the "Witnesses" of the &Bayan, were by now assuming such a
character that the prestige of the Faith was becoming directly involved,
and its future security seriously imperiled.
The former had, after the execution of the &Bab, sustained such
a violent shock that his faith almost forsook him. Wandering for a
time, in the guise of a dervish, in the mountains of &Mazindaran, he,
by his behavior, had so severely tested the loyalty of his fellow-believers
in &Nur, most of whom had been converted through the
indefatigable zeal of &Baha'u'llah, that they too wavered in their convictions,
some of them going so far as to throw in their lot with the
enemy. He subsequently proceeded to &Rasht, and remained concealed
in the province of &Gilan until his departure for &Kirmanshah, where
in order the better to screen himself he entered the service of a
certain &Abdu'llah-i-Qasvini, a maker of shrouds, and became a
vendor of his goods. He was still there when &Baha'u'llah passed
through that city on His way to &Baghdad, and expressing a desire
to live in close proximity to &Baha'u'llah but in a house by himself
where he could ply some trade incognito, he succeeded in obtaining
from Him a sum of money with which he purchased several bales
of cotton and then proceeded, in the garb of an Arab, by way of
&Mandalij to &Baghdad. He established himself there in the street
of the Charcoal Dealers, situated in a dilapidated quarter of the city,
and placing a turban upon his head, and assuming the name of
&Haji &Aliy-i-Las-Furush, embarked on his newly-chosen occupation.
+P115
Siyyid &Muhammad had meanwhile settled in &Karbila, and was busily
engaged, with &Mirza &Yahya as his lever, in kindling dissensions and
in deranging the life of the exiles and of the community that had
gathered about them.
Little wonder that from the pen of &Baha'u'llah, Who was as yet
unable to divulge the Secret that stirred within His bosom, these
words of warning, of counsel and of assurance should, at a time when
the shadows were beginning to deepen around Him, have proceeded:
"The days of tests are now come. Oceans of dissension and tribulation
are surging, and the Banners of Doubt are, in every nook and
corner, occupied in stirring up mischief and in leading men to perdition.
...Suffer not the voice of some of the soldiers of negation
to cast doubt into your midst, neither allow yourselves to become
heedless of Him Who is the Truth, inasmuch as in every Dispensation
such contentions have been raised. God, however, will establish His
Faith, and manifest His light albeit the stirrers of sedition abhor it.
...Watch ye every day for the Cause of God.... All are held
captive in His grasp. No place is there for any one to flee to. Think
not the Cause of God to be a thing lightly taken, in which any one
can gratify his whims. In various quarters a number of souls have,
at the present time, advanced this same claim. The time is approaching
when ... every one of them will have perished and been lost,
nay will have come to naught and become a thing unremembered,
even as the dust itself."
To &Mirza &Aqa &Jan, "the first to believe" in Him, designated later
as &Khadimu'-llah (Servant of God)--a &Babi youth, aflame with
devotion, who, under the influence of a dream he had of the &Bab, and
as a result of the perusal of certain writings of &Baha'u'llah, had
precipitately forsaken his home in &Kashan and traveled to &Iraq, in
the hope of attaining His presence, and who from then on served
Him assiduously for a period of forty years in his triple function of
amanuensis, companion and attendant--to him &Baha'u'llah, more
than to any one else, was moved to disclose, at this critical juncture,
a glimpse of the as yet unrevealed glory of His station. This same
&Mirza &Aqa &Jan, recounting to &Nabil his experiences, on that first
and never to be forgotten night spent in &Karbila, in the presence of
his newly-found Beloved, Who was then a guest of &Haji &Mirza
&Hasan-i-Hakim-Bashi, had given the following testimony: "As it
was summer-time &Baha'u'llah was in the habit of passing His evenings
and of sleeping on the roof of the House.... That night, when
He had gone to sleep, I, according to His directions, lay down for
+P116
a brief rest, at a distance of a few feet from Him. No sooner had
I risen, and ... started to offer my prayers, in a corner of the roof
which adjoined a wall, than I beheld His blessed Person rise and
walk towards me. When He reached me He said: `You, too, are
awake.' Whereupon He began to chant and pace back and forth.
How shall I ever describe that voice and the verses it intoned, and
His gait, as He strode before me! Methinks, with every step He took
and every word He uttered thousands of oceans of light surged
before my face, and thousands of worlds of incomparable splendor
were unveiled to my eyes, and thousands of suns blazed their light
upon me! In the moonlight that streamed upon Him, He thus continued
to walk and to chant. Every time He approached me He
would pause, and, in a tone so wondrous that no tongue can describe
it, would say: `Hear Me, My son. By God, the True One! This
Cause will assuredly be made manifest. Heed thou not the idle talk
of the people of the &Bayan, who pervert the meaning of every word.'
In this manner He continued to walk and chant, and to address me
these words until the first streaks of dawn appeared.... Afterwards
I removed His bedding to His room, and, having prepared His tea
for Him, was dismissed from His presence."
The confidence instilled in &Mirza &Aqa &Jan by this unexpected
and sudden contact with the spirit and directing genius of a new-born
Revelation stirred his soul to its depths--a soul already afire
with a consuming love born of his recognition of the ascendancy
which his newly-found Master had already achieved over His fellow-disciples
in both &Iraq and Persia. This intense adoration that informed
his whole being, and which could neither be suppressed nor
concealed, was instantly detected by both &Mirza &Yahya and his
fellow-conspirator Siyyid &Muhammad. The circumstances leading
to the revelation of the Tablet of &Kullu't-Ta'am, written during that
period, at the request of &Haji &Mirza &Kamalu'd-Din-i-Naraqi, a
&Babi of honorable rank and high culture, could not but aggravate
a situation that had already become serious and menacing. Impelled
by a desire to receive illumination from &Mirza &Yahya concerning
the meaning of the &Qur'anic verse "All food was allowed to the
children of Israel," &Haji &Mirza &Kamalu'd-Din had requested him to
write a commentary upon it--a request which was granted, but
with reluctance and in a manner which showed such incompetence
and superficiality as to disillusion &Haji &Mirza &Kamalu'd-Din, and
to destroy his confidence in its author. Turning to &Baha'u'llah and
repeating his request, he was honored by a Tablet, in which Israel
+P117
and his children were identified with the &Bab and His followers
respectively--a Tablet which by reason of the allusions it contained,
the beauty of its language and the cogency of its argument, so enraptured
the soul of its recipient that he would have, but for the restraining
hand of &Baha'u'llah, proclaimed forthwith his discovery of God's
hidden Secret in the person of the One Who had revealed it.
To these evidences of an ever deepening veneration for &Baha'u'llah
and of a passionate attachment to His person were now being added
further grounds for the outbreak of the pent-up jealousies which
His mounting prestige evoked in the breasts of His ill-wishers and
enemies. The steady extension of the circle of His acquaintances
and admirers; His friendly intercourse with officials including the
governor of the city; the unfeigned homage offered Him, on so many
occasions and so spontaneously, by men who had once been distinguished
companions of Siyyid &Kazim; the disillusionment which the
persistent concealment of &Mirza &Yahya, and the unflattering reports
circulated regarding his character and abilities, had engendered; the
signs of increasing independence, of innate sagacity and inherent
superiority and capacity for leadership unmistakably exhibited by
&Baha'u'llah Himself--all combined to widen the breach which the
infamous and crafty Siyyid &Muhammad had sedulously contrived
to create.
A clandestine opposition, whose aim was to nullify every effort
exerted, and frustrate every design conceived, by &Baha'u'llah for the
rehabilitation of a distracted community, could now be clearly
discerned. Insinuations, whose purpose was to sow the seeds of doubt
and suspicion and to represent Him as a usurper, as the subverter of
the laws instituted by the &Bab, and the wrecker of His Cause, were
being incessantly circulated. His Epistles, interpretations, invocations
and commentaries were being covertly and indirectly criticized, challenged
and misrepresented. An attempt to injure His person was
even set afoot but failed to materialize.
The cup of &Baha'u'llah's sorrows was now running over. All His
exhortations, all His efforts to remedy a rapidly deteriorating situation,
had remained fruitless. The velocity of His manifold woes was
hourly and visibly increasing. Upon the sadness that filled His soul
and the gravity of the situation confronting Him, His writings,
revealed during that somber period, throw abundant light. In some
of His prayers He poignantly confesses that "tribulation upon tribulation"
had gathered about Him, that "adversaries with one consent"
had fallen upon Him, that "wretchedness" had grievously touched
+P118
Him, and that "woes at their blackest" had befallen Him. God
Himself He calls upon as a Witness to His "sighs and lamentations,"
His "powerlessness, poverty and destitution," to the "injuries" He
sustained, and the "abasement" He suffered. "So grievous hath been
My weeping," He, in one of these prayers, avows, "that I have been
prevented from making mention of Thee and singing Thy praises."
"So loud hath been the voice of My lamentation," He, in another
passage, avers, "that every mother mourning for her child would be
amazed, and would still her weeping and her grief." "The wrongs
which I suffer," He, in His &Lawh-i-Maryam, laments, "have blotted
out the wrongs suffered by My First Name (the &Bab) from the
Tablet of creation." "O Maryam!" He continues, "From the Land
of &Ta (&Tihran), after countless afflictions, We reached &Iraq, at the
bidding of the Tyrant of Persia, where, after the fetters of Our foes,
We were afflicted with the perfidy of Our friends. God knoweth
what befell Me thereafter!" And again: "I have borne what no man,
be he of the past or of the future, hath borne or will bear." "Oceans
of sadness," He testifies in the Tablet of &Qullu't-Ta'am, "have surged
over Me, a drop of which no soul could bear to drink. Such is My
grief that My soul hath well nigh departed from My body." "Give
ear, O &Kamal!" He, in that same Tablet, depicting His plight, exclaims,
"to the voice of this lowly, this forsaken ant, that hath hid
itself in its hole, and whose desire is to depart from your midst, and
vanish from your sight, by reason of that which the hands of men
have wrought. God, verily, hath been witness between Me and His
servants." And again: "Woe is Me, woe is Me!... All that I have
seen from the day on which I first drank the pure milk from the
breast of My mother until this moment hath been effaced from My
memory, in consequence of that which the hands of the people have
committed." Furthermore, in His &Qasidiy-i-Varqa'iyyih, an ode
revealed during the days of His retirement to the mountains of
&Kurdistan, in praise of the Maiden personifying the Spirit of God
recently descended upon Him, He thus gives vent to the agonies of
His sorrow-laden heart: "Noah's flood is but the measure of the tears
I have shed, and Abraham's fire an ebullition of My soul. Jacob's
grief is but a reflection of My sorrows, and Job's afflictions a fraction
of my calamity." "Pour out patience upon Me, O My Lord!"--
such is His supplication in one of His prayers, "and render Me victorious
over the transgressors." "In these days," He, describing in
the &Kitab-i-Iqan the virulence of the jealousy which, at that time,
was beginning to bare its venomous fangs, has written, "such odors
+P119
of jealousy are diffused, that ... from the beginning of the foundation
of the world ... until the present day, such malice, envy and
hate have in no wise appeared, nor will they ever be witnessed in the
future." "For two years or rather less," He, likewise, in another
Tablet, declares, "I shunned all else but God, and closed Mine eyes to
all except Him, that haply the fire of hatred may die down and the
heat of jealousy abate."
&Mirza &Aqa &Jan himself has testified: "That Blessed Beauty evinced
such sadness that the limbs of my body trembled." He has, likewise,
related, as reported by &Nabil in his narrative, that, shortly before
&Baha'u'llah's retirement, he had on one occasion seen Him, between
dawn and sunrise, suddenly come out from His house, His night-cap
still on His head, showing such signs of perturbation that he was
powerless to gaze into His face, and while walking, angrily remark:
"These creatures are the same creatures who for three thousand years
have worshipped idols, and bowed down before the Golden Calf.
Now, too, they are fit for nothing better. What relation can there
be between this people and Him Who is the Countenance of Glory?
What ties can bind them to the One Who is the supreme embodiment
of all that is lovable?" "I stood," declared &Mirza &Aqa &Jan, "rooted
to the spot, lifeless, dried up as a dead tree, ready to fall under the
impact of the stunning power of His words. Finally, He said: `Bid
them recite: "Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say:
Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by
His bidding!" Tell them to repeat it five hundred times, nay, a
thousand times, by day and by night, sleeping and waking, that haply
the Countenance of Glory may be unveiled to their eyes, and tiers
of light descend upon them.' He Himself, I was subsequently informed,
recited this same verse, His face betraying the utmost sadness.
...Several times during those days, He was heard to remark: `We
have, for a while, tarried amongst this people, and failed to discern
the slightest response on their part.' Oftentimes He alluded to His
disappearance from our midst, yet none of us understood His
meaning."
Finally, discerning, as He Himself testifies in the &Kitab-i-Iqan,
"the signs of impending events," He decided that before they happened
He would retire. "The one object of Our retirement," He, in
that same Book affirms, "was to avoid becoming a subject of discord
among the faithful, a source of disturbance unto Our companions,
the means of injury to any soul, or the cause of sorrow to any heart."
"Our withdrawal," He, moreover, in that same passage emphatically
+P120
asserts, "contemplated no return, and Our separation hoped for no
reunion."
Suddenly, and without informing any one even among the members
of His own family, on the 12th of Rajab 1270 A.H. (April 10,
1854), He departed, accompanied by an attendant, a &Muhammadan
named &Abu'l-Qasim-i-Hamadani, to whom He gave a sum of money,
instructing him to act as a merchant and use it for his own purposes.
Shortly after, that servant was attacked by thieves and killed, and
&Baha'u'llah was left entirely alone in His wanderings through the
wastes of &Kurdistan, a region whose sturdy and warlike people were
known for their age-long hostility to the Persians, whom they regarded
as seceders from the Faith of &Islam, and from whom they
differed in their outlook, race and language.
Attired in the garb of a traveler, coarsely clad, taking with Him
nothing but his &kashkul (alms-bowl) and a change of clothes, and
assuming the name of &Darvish &Muhammad, &Baha'u'llah retired to
the wilderness, and lived for a time on a mountain named &Sar-Galu,
so far removed from human habitations that only twice a year, at
seed sowing and harvest time, it was visited by the peasants of that
region. Alone and undisturbed, He passed a considerable part of
His retirement on the top of that mountain in a rude structure, made
of stone, which served those peasants as a shelter against the extremities
of the weather. At times His dwelling-place was a cave to which
He refers in His Tablets addressed to the famous &Shaykh &Abdu'r-Rahman
and to Maryam, a kinswoman of His. "I roamed the wilderness
of resignation" He thus depicts, in the &Lawh-i-Maryam, the
rigors of His austere solitude, "traveling in such wise that in My exile
every eye wept sore over Me, and all created things shed tears of
blood because of My anguish. The birds of the air were My companions
and the beasts of the field My associates." "From My eyes,"
He, referring in the &Kitab-i-Iqan to those days, testifies, "there
rained tears of anguish, and in My bleeding heart surged an ocean
of agonizing pain. Many a night I had no food for sustenance, and
many a day My body found no rest.... Alone I communed with
My spirit, oblivious of the world and all that is therein."
In the odes He revealed, whilst wrapped in His devotions during
those days of utter seclusion, and in the prayers and soliloquies which,
in verse and prose, both in Arabic and Persian, poured from His
sorrow-laden soul, many of which He was wont to chant aloud to
Himself, at dawn and during the watches of the night, He lauded
the names and attributes of His Creator, extolled the glories and
+P121
mysteries of His own Revelation, sang the praises of that Maiden
that personified the Spirit of God within Him, dwelt on His loneliness
and His past and future tribulations, expatiated upon the
blindness of His generation, the perfidy of His friends and the perversity
of His enemies, affirmed His determination to arise and, if
needs be, offer up His life for the vindication of His Cause, stressed
those essential pre-requisites which every seeker after Truth must
possess, and recalled, in anticipation of the lot that was to be His,
the tragedy of the &Imam &Husayn in &Karbila, the plight of &Muhammad
in Mecca, the sufferings of Jesus at the hands of the Jews, the trials
of Moses inflicted by Pharaoh and his people and the ordeal of
Joseph as He languished in a pit by reason of the treachery of His
brothers. These initial and impassioned outpourings of a Soul struggling
to unburden itself, in the solitude of a self-imposed exile (many
of them, alas lost to posterity) are, with the Tablet of &Kullu't-Ta'am
and the poem entitled &Rashh-i-'Ama, revealed in &Tihran, the first
fruits of His Divine Pen. They are the forerunners of those immortal
works--the &Kitab-i-Iqan, the Hidden Words and the Seven Valleys--
which in the years preceding His Declaration in &Baghdad, were to
enrich so vastly the steadily swelling volume of His writings, and
which paved the way for a further flowering of His prophetic genius
in His epoch-making Proclamation to the world, couched in the
form of mighty Epistles to the kings and rulers of mankind, and
finally for the last fruition of His Mission in the Laws and Ordinances
of His Dispensation formulated during His confinement in the Most
Great Prison of &Akka.
&Baha'u'llah was still pursuing His solitary existence on that mountain
when a certain &Shaykh, a resident of &Sulaymaniyyih, who
owned a property in that neighborhood, sought Him out, as directed
in a dream he had of the Prophet &Muhammad. Shortly after this
contact was established, &Shaykh &Isma'il, the leader of the &Khalidiyyih
Order, who lived in &Sulaymaniyyih, visited Him, and succeeded,
after repeated requests, in obtaining His consent to transfer His
residence to that town. Meantime His friends in &Baghdad had discovered
His whereabouts, and had dispatched &Shaykh &Sultan, the
father-in-law of &Aqay-i-Kalim, to beg Him to return; and it was
now while He was living in &Sulaymaniyyih, in a room belonging to
the &Takyiy-i-Mawlana &Khalid (theological seminary) that their
messenger arrived. "I found," this same &Shaykh &Sultan, recounting
his experiences to &Nabil, has stated, "all those who lived with Him
in that place, from their Master down to the humblest neophyte, so
+P122
enamoured of, and carried away by their love for &Baha'u'llah, and
so unprepared to contemplate the possibility of His departure that
I felt certain that were I to inform them of the purpose of my visit,
they would not have hesitated to put an end to my life."
Not long after Baha'u'llah's arrival in &Kurdistan, &Shaykh &Sultan
has related, He was able, through His personal contacts with &Shaykh
&Uthman, &Shaykh &Abdu'r-Rahman, and &Shaykh &Isma'il, the honored
and undisputed leaders of the &Naqshbandiyyih, the &Qadiriyyih
and the &Khalidiyyih Orders respectively, to win their hearts completely
and establish His ascendancy over them. The first of these,
&Shaykh &Uthman, included no less a person than the &Sultan himself
and his entourage among his adherents. The second, in reply to whose
query the "Four Valleys" was later revealed, commanded the unwavering
allegiance of at least a hundred thousand devout followers,
while the third was held in such veneration by his supporters that
they regarded him as co-equal with &Khalid himself, the founder of
the Order.
When &Baha'u'llah arrived in &Sulaymaniyyih none at first, owing to
the strict silence and reserve He maintained, suspected Him of being
possessed of any learning or wisdom. It was only accidentally, through
seeing a specimen of His exquisite penmanship shown to them by one
of the students who waited upon Him, that the curiosity of the
learned instructors and students of that seminary was aroused, and
they were impelled to approach Him and test the degree of His
knowledge and the extent of His familiarity with the arts and
sciences current amongst them. That seat of learning had been renowned
for its vast endowments, its numerous takyihs, and its
association with &Salahi'd-Din-i-Ayyubi and his descendants; from it
some of the most illustrious exponents of &Sunni &Islam had gone forth
to teach its precepts, and now a delegation, headed by &Shaykh &Isma'il
himself, and consisting of its most eminent doctors and most distinguished
students, called upon &Baha'u'llah, and, finding Him willing
to reply to any questions they might wish to address Him, they
requested Him to elucidate for them, in the course of several interviews,
the abstruse passages contained in the &Futuhat-i-Makkiyyih,
the celebrated work of the famous &Shaykh &Muhyi'd-Din-i-'Arabi.
"God is My witness," was &Baha'u'llah's instant reply to the learned
delegation, "that I have never seen the book you refer to. I regard,
however, through the power of God, ... whatever you wish me to
do as easy of accomplishment." Directing one of them to read aloud
to Him, every day, a page of that book, He was able to resolve their
+P123
perplexities in so amazing a fashion that they were lost in admiration.
Not contenting Himself with a mere clarification of the obscure
passages of the text, He would interpret for them the mind of its
author, and expound his doctrine, and unfold his purpose. At times
He would even go so far as to question the soundness of certain
views propounded in that book, and would Himself vouchsafe a
correct presentation of the issues that had been misunderstood, and
would support it with proofs and evidences that were wholly convincing
to His listeners.
Amazed by the profundity of His insight and the compass of His
understanding, they were impelled to seek from Him what they
considered to be a conclusive and final evidence of the unique power
and knowledge which He now appeared in their eyes to possess.
"No one among the mystics, the wise, and the learned," they claimed,
while requesting this further favor from Him, "has hitherto proved
himself capable of writing a poem in a rhyme and meter identical
with that of the longer of the two odes, entitled &Qasidiy-i-Ta'iyyih
composed by &Ibn-i-Farid. We beg you to write for us a poem in that
same meter and rhyme." This request was complied with, and no
less than two thousand verses, in exactly the manner they had
specified, were dictated by Him, out of which He selected one hundred
and twenty-seven, which He permitted them to keep, deeming the
subject matter of the rest premature and unsuitable to the needs of
the times. It is these same one hundred and twenty-seven verses that
constitute the &Qasidiy-i-Varqa'iyyih, so familiar to, and widely circulated
amongst, His Arabic speaking followers.
Such was their reaction to this marvelous demonstration of the
sagacity and genius of &Baha'u'llah that they unanimously acknowledged
every single verse of that poem to be endowed with a force,
beauty and power far surpassing anything contained in either the
major or minor odes composed by that celebrated poet.
This episode, by far the most outstanding among the events that
transpired during the two years of &Baha'u'llah's absence from &Baghdad,
immensely stimulated the interest with which an increasing number
of the &ulamas, the scholars, the &shaykhs, the doctors, the holy men
and princes who had congregated in the seminaries of &Sulaymaniyyih
and &Karkuk, were now following His daily activities. Through His
numerous discourses and epistles He disclosed new vistas to their eyes,
resolved the perplexities that agitated their minds, unfolded the inner
meaning of many hitherto obscure passages in the writings of various
commentators, poets and theologians, of which they had remained
+P124
unaware, and reconciled the seemingly contradictory assertions which
abounded in these dissertations, poems and treatises. Such was the
esteem and respect entertained for Him that some held Him as One
of the "Men of the Unseen," others accounted Him an adept in
alchemy and the science of divination, still others designated Him
"a pivot of the universe," whilst a not inconsiderable number among
His admirers went so far as to believe that His station was no less
than that of a prophet. Kurds, Arabs, and Persians, learned and
illiterate, both high and low, young and old, who had come to know
Him, regarded Him with equal reverence, and not a few among them
with genuine and profound affection, and this despite certain assertions
and allusions to His station He had made in public, which, had
they fallen from the lips of any other member of His race, would
have provoked such fury as to endanger His life. Small wonder that
&Baha'u'llah Himself should have, in the &Lawh-i-Maryam, pronounced
the period of His retirement as "the mightiest testimony" to, and "the
most perfect and conclusive evidence" of, the truth of His Revelation.
"In a short time," is &Abdu'l-Baha's own testimony, "&Kurdistan was
magnetized with His love. During this period &Baha'u'llah lived in
poverty. His garments were those of the poor and needy. His food
was that of the indigent and lowly. An atmosphere of majesty
haloed Him as the sun at midday. Everywhere He was greatly
revered and loved."
While the foundations of &Baha'u'llah's future greatness were being
laid in a strange land and amidst a strange people, the situation of
the &Babi community was rapidly going from bad to worse. Pleased
and emboldened by His unexpected and prolonged withdrawal from
the scene of His labors, the stirrers of mischief with their deluded
associates were busily engaged in extending the range of their
nefarious activities. &Mirza &Yahya, closeted most of the time in his
house, was secretly directing, through his correspondence with those
&Babis whom he completely trusted, a campaign designed to utterly
discredit &Baha'u'llah. In his fear of any potential adversary he had
dispatched &Mirza &Muhammad-i-Mazindarani, one of his supporters,
to &Adhirbayjan for the express purpose of murdering &Dayyan, the
"repository of the knowledge of God," whom he surnamed "Father
of Iniquities" and stigmatized as "&Taghut," and whom the &Bab had
extolled as the "Third Letter to believe in Him Whom God shall
make manifest." In his folly he had, furthermore, induced &Mirza
&Aqa &Jan to proceed to &Nur, and there await a propitious moment
when he could make a successful attempt on the life of the sovereign.
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His shamelessness and effrontery had waxed so great as to lead him
to perpetrate himself, and permit Siyyid &Muhammad to repeat after
him, an act so odious that &Baha'u'llah characterized it as "a most
grievous betrayal," inflicting dishonor upon the &Bab, and which
"overwhelmed all lands with sorrow." He even, as a further evidence
of the enormity of his crimes, ordered that the cousin of the &Bab,
&Mirza &Ali-Akbar, a fervent admirer of &Dayyan, be secretly put to
death--a command which was carried out in all its iniquity. As to
Siyyid &Muhammad, now given free rein by his master, &Mirza &Yahya,
he had surrounded himself, as &Nabil who was at that time with him
in &Karbila categorically asserts, with a band of ruffians, whom he
allowed, and even encouraged, to snatch at night the turbans from
the heads of wealthy pilgrims who had congregated in &Karbila, to
steal their shoes, to rob the shrine of the &Imam &Husayn of its divans
and candles, and seize the drinking cups from the public fountains.
The depths of degradation to which these so-called adherents of the
Faith of the &Bab had sunk could not but evoke in &Nabil the memory
of the sublime renunciation shown by the conduct of the companions
of &Mulla &Husayn, who, at the suggestion of their leader, had scornfully
cast by the wayside the gold, the silver and turquoise in their
possession, or shown by the behavior of &Vahid who refused to allow
even the least valuable amongst the treasures which his sumptuously
furnished house in Yazd contained to be removed ere it was pillaged
by the mob, or shown by the decision of &Hujjat not to permit
his companions, who were on the brink of starvation, to lay
hands on the property of others, even though it were to save their
own lives.
Such was the audacity and effrontery of these demoralized and
misguided &Babis that no less than twenty-five persons, according to
&Abdu'l-Baha's testimony, had the presumption to declare themselves
to be the Promised One foretold by the &Bab! Such was the decline
in their fortunes that they hardly dared show themselves in public.
Kurds and Persians vied with each other, when confronting them in
the streets, in heaping abuse upon them, and in vilifying openly the
Cause which they professed. Little wonder that on His return to
&Baghdad &Baha'u'llah should have described the situation then existing
in these words: "We found no more than a handful of souls, faint
and dispirited, nay utterly lost and dead. The Cause of God had
ceased to be on any one's lips, nor was any heart receptive to its
message." Such was the sadness that overwhelmed Him on His arrival
that He refused for some time to leave His house, except for His
+P126
visits to &Kazimayn and for His occasional meeting with a few of
His friends who resided in that town and in &Baghdad.
The tragic situation that had developed in the course of His two
years' absence now imperatively demanded His return. "From the
Mystic Source," He Himself explains in the &Kitab-i-Iqan, "there came
the summons bidding Us return whence We came. Surrendering Our
will to His, We submitted to His injunction." "By God besides Whom
there is none other God!" is His emphatic assertion to &Shaykh &Sultan,
as reported by &Nabil in his narrative, "But for My recognition of the
fact that the blessed Cause of the Primal Point was on the verge of
being completely obliterated, and all the sacred blood poured out in
the path of God would have been shed in vain, I would in no wise
have consented to return to the people of the &Bayan, and would have
abandoned them to the worship of the idols their imaginations had
fashioned."
&Mirza &Yahya, realizing full well to what a pass his unrestrained
leadership of the Faith had brought him, had, moreover, insistently
and in writing, besought Him to return. No less urgent were the
pleadings of His own kindred and friends, particularly His twelve-year
old Son, &Abdu'l-Baha, Whose grief and loneliness had so consumed
His soul that, in a conversation recorded by &Nabil in his
narrative, He had avowed that subsequent to the departure of
&Baha'u'llah He had in His boyhood grown old.
Deciding to terminate the period of His retirement &Baha'u'llah
bade farewell to the &shaykhs of &Sulaymaniyyih, who now numbered
among His most ardent and, as their future conduct demonstrated,
staunchest admirers. Accompanied by &Shaykh &Sultan, He retraced
His steps to &Baghdad, on "the banks of the River of Tribulations,"
as He Himself termed it, proceeding by slow stages, realizing, as He
declared to His fellow-traveler, that these last days of His retirement
would be "the only days of peace and tranquillity" left to Him,
"days which will never again fall to My lot."
On the 12th of Rajab 1272 A.H. (March 19, 1856) He arrived
in &Baghdad, exactly two lunar years after His departure for &Kurdistan.
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CHAPTER VIII
&Baha'u'llah's Banishment to &Iraq
(Continued)
The return of &Baha'u'llah from &Sulaymaniyyih to &Baghdad marks
a turning point of the utmost significance in the history of the first
&Baha'i century. The tide of the fortunes of the Faith, having reached
its lowest ebb, was now beginning to surge back, and was destined
to roll on, steadily and mightily, to a new high water-mark, associated
this time with the Declaration of His Mission, on the eve of
His banishment to Constantinople. With His return to &Baghdad a
firm anchorage was now being established, an anchorage such as the
Faith had never known in its history. Never before, except during
the first three years of its life, could that Faith claim to have possessed
a fixed and accessible center to which its adherents could turn for
guidance, and from which they could derive continuous and unobstructed
inspiration. No less than half of the &Bab's short-lived
ministry was spent on the remotest border of His native country,
where He was concealed and virtually cut off from the vast majority
of His disciples. The period immediately after His martyrdom was
marked by a confusion that was even more deplorable than the isolation
caused by His enforced captivity. Nor when the Revelation
which He had foretold made its appearance was it succeeded by an
immediate declaration that could enable the members of a distracted
community to rally round the person of their expected Deliverer.
The prolonged self-concealment of &Mirza &Yahya, the center provisionally
appointed pending the manifestation of the Promised One;
the nine months' absence of &Baha'u'llah from His native land, while
on a visit to &Karbila, followed swiftly by His imprisonment in the
&Siyah-Chal, by His banishment to &Iraq, and afterwards by His
retirement to &Kurdistan--all combined to prolong the phase of instability
and suspense through which the &Babi community had to pass.
Now at last, in spite of &Baha'u'llah's reluctance to unravel the
mystery surrounding His own position, the &Babis found themselves
able to center both their hopes and their movements round One Whom
they believed (whatever their views as to His station) capable of
insuring the stability and integrity of their Faith. The orientation
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which the Faith had thus acquired and the fixity of the center towards
which it now gravitated continued, in one form or another, to be its
outstanding features, of which it was never again to be deprived.
The Faith of the &Bab, as already observed, had, in consequence of
the successive and formidable blows it had received, reached the
verge of extinction. Nor was the momentous Revelation vouchsafed
to &Baha'u'llah in the &Siyah-Chal productive at once of any tangible
results of a nature that would exercise a stabilizing influence on a
well-nigh disrupted community. &Baha'u'llah's unexpected banishment
had been a further blow to its members, who had learned to
place their reliance upon Him. &Mirza &Yahya's seclusion and inactivity
further accelerated the process of disintegration that had set in.
&Baha'u'llah's prolonged retirement to &Kurdistan seemed to have set
the seal on its complete dissolution.
Now, however, the tide that had ebbed in so alarming a measure
was turning, bearing with it, as it rose to flood point, those inestimable
benefits that were to herald the announcement of the Revelation
already secretly disclosed to &Baha'u'llah.
During the seven years that elapsed between the resumption of
His labors and the declaration of His prophetic mission--years to
which we now direct our attention--it would be no exaggeration to
say that the &Baha'i community, under the name and in the shape of a
re-arisen &Babi community was born and was slowly taking shape,
though its Creator still appeared in the guise of, and continued to
labor as, one of the foremost disciples of the &Bab. It was a period
during which the prestige of the community's nominal head steadily
faded from the scene, paling before the rising splendor of Him Who
was its actual Leader and Deliverer. It was a period in the course
of which the first fruits of an exile, endowed with incalculable
potentialities, ripened and were garnered. It was a period that will
go down in history as one during which the prestige of a recreated
community was immensely enhanced, its morals entirely reformed,
its recognition of Him who rehabilitated its fortunes enthusiastically
affirmed, its literature enormously enriched, and its victories over its
new adversaries universally acknowledged.
The prestige of the community, and particularly that of &Baha'u'llah,
now began from its first inception in &Kurdistan to mount in a
steadily rising crescendo. &Baha'u'llah had scarcely gathered up again the
reins of the authority he had relinquished when the devout admirers
He had left behind in &Sulaymaniyyih started to flock to &Baghdad,
with the name of "&Darvish &Muhammad" on their lips, and the "house
+P129
of &Mirza &Musa the &Babi" as their goal. Astonished at the sight of
so many &ulamas and &Sufis of Kurdish origin, of both the &Qadiriyyih
and &Khalidiyyih Orders, thronging the house of &Baha'u'llah, and
impelled by racial and sectarian rivalry, the religious leaders of the
city, such as the renowned &Ibn-i-Alusi, the &Mufti of &Baghdad, together
with &Shaykh &Abdu's-Salam, &Shaykh &Abdu'l-Qadir and Siyyid
&Dawudi, began to seek His presence, and, having obtained completely
satisfying answers to their several queries, enrolled themselves among
the band of His earliest admirers. The unqualified recognition by
these outstanding leaders of those traits that distinguished the character
and conduct of &Baha'u'llah stimulated the curiosity, and later
evoked the unstinted praise, of a great many observers of less conspicuous
position, among whom figured poets, mystics and notables,
who either resided in, or visited, the city. Government officials, foremost
among whom were &Abdu'llah &Pasha and his lieutenant &Mahmud
&Aqa, and &Mulla &Ali &Mardan, a Kurd well-known in those circles,
were gradually brought into contact with Him, and lent their share
in noising abroad His fast-spreading fame. Nor could those distinguished
Persians, who either lived in &Baghdad and its environs or
visited as pilgrims the holy places, remain impervious to the spell of
His charm. Princes of the royal blood, amongst whom were such
personages as the &Na'ibu'l-Iyalih, the &Shuja'u'd-Dawlih, the Sayfu'd-Dawlih,
and &Zaynu'l-Abidin &Khan, the &Fakhru'd-Dawlih, were,
likewise, irresistibly drawn into the ever-widening circle of His associates
and acquaintances.
Those who, during &Baha'u'llah's two years' absence from &Baghdad,
had so persistently reviled and loudly derided His companions and
kindred were, by now, for the most part, silenced. Not an inconsiderable
number among them feigned respect and esteem for Him,
a few claimed to be His defenders and supporters, while others professed
to share His beliefs, and actually joined the ranks of the
community to which He belonged. Such was the extent of the
reaction that had set in that one of them was even heard to boast
that, as far back as the year 1250 A.H.--a decade before the &Bab's
Declaration--he had already perceived and embraced the truth of
His Faith!
Within a few years after &Baha'u'llah's return from &Sulaymaniyyih
the situation had been completely reversed. The house of &Sulayman-i-Ghannam,
on which the official designation of the &Bayt-i-Azam
(the Most Great House) was later conferred, known, at that time,
as the house of &Mirza &Musa, the &Babi, an extremely modest residence,
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situated in the &Karkh quarter, in the neighborhood of the western
bank of the river, to which &Baha'u'llah's family had moved prior to
His return from &Kurdistan, had now become the focal center of a
great number of seekers, visitors and pilgrims, including Kurds,
Persians, Arabs and Turks, and derived from the Muslim, the Jewish
and Christian Faiths. It had, moreover, become a veritable sanctuary
to which the victims of the injustice of the official representative of
the Persian government were wont to flee, in the hope of securing
redress for the wrongs they had suffered.
At the same time an influx of Persian &Babis, whose sole object
was to attain the presence of &Baha'u'llah, swelled the stream of
visitors that poured through His hospitable doors. Carrying back, on
their return to their native country, innumerable testimonies, both
oral and written, to His steadily rising power and glory, they could
not fail to contribute, in a vast measure, to the expansion and
progress of a newly-reborn Faith. Four of the &Bab's cousins and
His maternal uncle, &Haji &Mirza Siyyid &Muhammad; a grand-daughter
of &Fath-'Ali &Shah and fervent admirer of &Tahirih, surnamed
&Varaqatu'r-Ridvan; the erudite &Mulla &Muhammad-i-Qa'ini, surnamed
&Nabil-i-Akbar; the already famous &Mulla &Sadiq-i-Khurasani,
surnamed &Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq, who with &Quddus had been ignominiously
persecuted in &Shiraz; &Mulla &Baqir, one of the Letters of the
Living; Siyyid &Asadu'llah, surnamed &Dayyan; the revered Siyyid
&Javad-i-Karbila'i; &Mirza &Muhammad-Hasan and &Mirza &Muhammad-Husayn,
later immortalized by the titles of &Sultanu'sh-Shuhada and
&Mahbubu'sh-Shuhada (King of Martyrs and Beloved of Martyrs)
respectively; &Mirza &Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Nahri, whose daughter, at
a later date, was joined in wedlock to &Abdu'l-Baha; the immortal
Siyyid &Isma'il-i-Zavari'i; &Haji &Shaykh &Muhammad, surnamed &Nabil
by the &Bab; the accomplished &Mirza &Aqay-i-Munir, surnamed
&Ismu'llahu'l-Munib; the long-suffering &Haji &Muhammad-Taqi, surnamed
&Ayyub; &Mulla &Zaynu'l-Abidin, surnamed &Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin, who
had ranked as a highly esteemed mujtahid--all these were numbered
among the visitors and fellow-disciples who crossed His threshold,
caught a glimpse of the splendor of His majesty, and communicated
far and wide the creative influences instilled into them through their
contact with His spirit. &Mulla &Muhammad-i-Zarandi, surnamed
&Nabil-i-Azam, who may well rank as His Poet-Laureate, His chronicler
and His indefatigable disciple, had already joined the exiles,
and had launched out on his long and arduous series of journeys to
Persia in furtherance of the Cause of his Beloved.
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Even those who, in their folly and temerity had, in &Baghdad, in
&Karbila, in Qum, in &Kashan, in &Tabriz and in &Tihran, arrogated to
themselves the rights, and assumed the title of "Him Whom God
shall make manifest" were for the most part instinctively led to seek
His presence, confess their error and supplicate His forgiveness. As
time went on, fugitives, driven by the ever-present fear of persecution,
sought, with their wives and children, the relative security
afforded them by close proximity to One who had already become the
rallying point for the members of a sorely-vexed community.
Persians of high eminence, living in exile, rejecting, in the face of
the mounting prestige of &Baha'u'llah, the dictates of moderation and
prudence, sat, forgetful of their pride, at His feet, and imbibed,
each according to his capacity, a measure of His spirit and wisdom.
Some of the more ambitious among them, such as &Abbas &Mirza,
a son of &Muhammad &Shah, the &Vazir-Nizam, and &Mirza Malkam
&Khan, as well as certain functionaries of foreign governments, attempted,
in their short-sightedness, to secure His support and
assistance for the furtherance of the designs they cherished, designs
which He unhesitatingly and severely condemned. Nor was the then
representative of the British government, Colonel Sir Arnold Burrows
Kemball, consul-general in &Baghdad, insensible of the position which
&Baha'u'llah now occupied. Entering into friendly correspondence
with Him, he, as testified by &Baha'u'llah Himself, offered Him the
protection of British citizenship, called on Him in person, and
undertook to transmit to Queen Victoria any communication He
might wish to forward to her. He even expressed his readiness to
arrange for the transfer of His residence to India, or to any place
agreeable to Him. This suggestion &Baha'u'llah declined, choosing to
abide in the dominions of the &Sultan of Turkey. And finally, during
the last year of His sojourn in &Baghdad the governor &Namiq-Pasha,
impressed by the many signs of esteem and veneration in which He
was held, called upon Him to pay his personal tribute to One Who
had already achieved so conspicuous a victory over the hearts and
souls of those who had met Him. So profound was the respect the
governor entertained for Him, Whom he regarded as one of the
Lights of the Age, that it was not until the end of three months,
during which he had received five successive commands from &Ali
&Pasha, that he could bring himself to inform &Baha'u'llah that it was
the wish of the Turkish government that He should proceed to the
capital. On one occasion, when &Abdu'l-Baha and &Aqay-i-Kalim
had been delegated by &Baha'u'llah to visit him, he entertained them
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with such elaborate ceremonial that the Deputy-Governor stated that
so far as he knew no notable of the city had ever been accorded by
any governor so warm and courteous a reception. So struck, indeed,
had the &Sultan &Abdu'l-Majid been by the favorable reports received
about &Baha'u'llah from successive governors of &Baghdad (this is the
personal testimony given by the Governor's deputy to &Baha'u'llah
himself) that he consistently refused to countenance the requests of
the Persian government either to deliver Him to their representative
or to order His expulsion from Turkish territory.
On no previous occasion, since the inception of the Faith, not
even during the days when the &Bab in &Isfahan, in &Tabriz and in
&Chihriq was acclaimed by the ovations of an enthusiastic populace,
had any of its exponents risen to such high eminence in the public
mind, or exercised over so diversified a circle of admirers an influence
so far reaching and so potent. Yet unprecedented as was the sway
which &Baha'u'llah held while, in that primitive age of the Faith, He
was dwelling in &Baghdad, its range at that time was modest when
compared with the magnitude of the fame which, at the close of that
same age, and through the immediate inspiration of the Center of
His Covenant, the Faith acquired in both the European and American
continents.
The ascendancy achieved by &Baha'u'llah was nowhere better
demonstrated than in His ability to broaden the outlook and transform
the character of the community to which He belonged. Though
Himself nominally a &Babi, though the provisions of the &Bayan were
still regarded as binding and inviolable, He was able to inculcate a
standard which, while not incompatible with its tenets, was ethically
superior to the loftiest principles which the &Babi Dispensation had
established. The salutary and fundamental truths advocated by the
&Bab, that had either been obscured, neglected or misrepresented, were
moreover elucidated by &Baha'u'llah, reaffirmed and instilled afresh
into the corporate life of the community, and into the souls of the
individuals who comprised it. The dissociation of the &Babi Faith
from every form of political activity and from all secret associations
and factions; the emphasis placed on the principle of non-violence;
the necessity of strict obedience to established authority; the ban
imposed on all forms of sedition, on back-biting, retaliation, and
dispute; the stress laid on godliness, kindliness, humility and piety,
on honesty and truthfulness, chastity and fidelity, on justice, toleration,
sociability, amity and concord, on the acquisition of arts and
sciences, on self-sacrifice and detachment, on patience, steadfastness
+P133
and resignation to the will of God--all these constitute the salient
features of a code of ethical conduct to which the books, treatises
and epistles, revealed during those years, by the indefatigable pen of
&Baha'u'llah, unmistakably bear witness.
"By the aid of God and His divine grace and mercy," He Himself
has written with reference to the character and consequences of His
own labors during that period, "We revealed, as a copious rain, Our
verses, and sent them to various parts of the world. We exhorted all
men, and particularly this people, through Our wise counsels and
loving admonitions, and forbade them to engage in sedition, quarrels,
disputes or conflict. As a result of this, and by the grace of God,
waywardness and folly were changed into piety and understanding,
and weapons of war converted into instruments of peace." "&Baha'u'llah,"
&Abdu'l-Baha affirmed, "after His return (from &Sulaymaniyyih)
made such strenuous efforts in educating and training this
community, in reforming its manners, in regulating its affairs and in
rehabilitating its fortunes, that in a short while all these troubles and
mischiefs were quenched, and the utmost peace and tranquillity
reigned in men's hearts." And again: "When these fundamentals were
established in the hearts of this people, they everywhere acted in such
wise that, in the estimation of those in authority, they became famous
for the integrity of their character, the steadfastness of their hearts,
the purity of their motives, the praiseworthiness of their deeds, and
the excellence of their conduct."
The exalted character of the teachings of &Baha'u'llah propounded
during that period is perhaps best illustrated by the following statement
made by Him in those days to an official who had reported to
Him that, because of the devotion to His person which an evildoer
had professed, he had hesitated to inflict upon that criminal the
punishment he deserved: "Tell him, no one in this world can claim
any relationship to Me except those who, in all their deeds and in
their conduct, follow My example, in such wise that all the peoples
of the earth would be powerless to prevent them from doing and
saying that which is meet and seemly." "This brother of Mine," He
further declared to that official, "this &Mirza &Musa, who is from the
same mother and father as Myself, and who from his earliest childhood
has kept Me company, should he perpetrate an act contrary to
the interests of either the state or religion, and his guilt be established
in your sight, I would be pleased and appreciate your action were
you to bind his hands and cast him into the river to drown, and refuse
to consider the intercession of any one on his behalf." In another
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connection He, wishing to stress His strong condemnation of all acts
of violence, had written: "It would be more acceptable in My sight
for a person to harm one of My own sons or relatives rather than
inflict injury upon any soul."
"Most of those who surrounded &Baha'u'llah," wrote &Nabil, describing
the spirit that animated the reformed &Babi community in
&Baghdad, "exercised such care in sanctifying and purifying their souls,
that they would suffer no word to cross their lips that might not conform
to the will of God, nor would they take a single step that might
be contrary to His good-pleasure." "Each one," he relates, "had
entered into a pact with one of his fellow-disciples, in which they
agreed to admonish one another, and, if necessary, chastise one another
with a number of blows on the soles of the feet, proportioning the
number of strokes to the gravity of the offense against the lofty
standards they had sworn to observe." Describing the fervor of their
zeal, he states that "not until the offender had suffered the punishment
he had solicited, would he consent to either eat or drink."
The complete transformation which the written and spoken
word of &Baha'u'llah had effected in the outlook and character of
His companions was equalled by the burning devotion which His
love had kindled in their souls. A passionate zeal and fervor, that
rivalled the enthusiasm that had glowed so fiercely in the breasts of
the &Bab's disciples in their moments of greatest exaltation, had now
seized the hearts of the exiles of &Baghdad and galvanized their entire
beings. "So inebriated," &Nabil, describing the fecundity of this tremendously
dynamic spiritual revival, has written, "so carried away
was every one by the sweet savors of the Morn of Divine Revelation
that, methinks, out of every thorn sprang forth heaps of blossoms,
and every seed yielded innumerable harvests." "The room of the
Most Great House," that same chronicler has recorded, "set apart for
the reception of &Baha'u'llah's visitors, though dilapidated, and having
long since outgrown its usefulness, vied, through having been trodden
by the blessed footsteps of the Well Beloved, with the Most Exalted
Paradise. Low-roofed, it yet seemed to reach to the stars, and though
it boasted but a single couch, fashioned from the branches of palms,
whereon He Who is the King of Names was wont to sit, it drew to
itself, even as a loadstone, the hearts of the princes."
It was this same reception room which, in spite of its rude simplicity,
had so charmed the &Shuja'u'd-Dawlih that he had expressed to
his fellow-princes his intention of building a duplicate of it in his
home in &Kazimayn. "He may well succeed," &Baha'u'llah is reported
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to have smilingly remarked when apprized of this intention, "in
reproducing outwardly the exact counterpart of this low-roofed room
made of mud and straw with its diminutive garden. What of his
ability to open onto it the spiritual doors leading to the hidden worlds
of God?" "I know not how to explain it," another prince, &Zaynu'l-Abidin
&Khan, the &Fakhru'd-Dawlih, describing the atmosphere which
pervaded that reception-room, had affirmed, "were all the sorrows of
the world to be crowded into my heart they would, I feel, all vanish,
when in the presence of &Baha'u'llah. It is as if I had entered Paradise
itself."
The joyous feasts which these companions, despite their extremely
modest earnings, continually offered in honor of their Beloved; the
gatherings, lasting far into the night, in which they loudly celebrated,
with prayers, poetry and song, the praises of the &Bab, of &Quddus
and of &Baha'u'llah; the fasts they observed; the vigils they kept; the
dreams and visions which fired their souls, and which they recounted
to each other with feelings of unbounded enthusiasm; the eagerness
with which those who served &Baha'u'llah performed His errands,
waited upon His needs, and carried heavy skins of water for His
ablutions and other domestic purposes; the acts of imprudence which,
in moments of rapture, they occasionally committed; the expressions
of wonder and admiration which their words and acts evoked in a
populace that had seldom witnessed such demonstrations of religious
transport and personal devotion--these, and many others, will forever
remain associated with the history of that immortal period, intervening
between the birth hour of &Baha'u'llah's Revelation and its
announcement on the eve of His departure from &Iraq.
Numerous and striking are the anecdotes which have been recounted
by those whom duty, accident, or inclination had, in the
course of these poignant years, brought into direct contact with
&Baha'u'llah. Many and moving are the testimonies of bystanders who
were privileged to gaze on His countenance, observe His gait, or
overhear His remarks, as He moved through the lanes and streets of
the city, or paced the banks of the river; of the worshippers who
watched Him pray in their mosques; of the mendicant, the sick, the
aged, and the unfortunate whom He succored, healed, supported and
comforted; of the visitors, from the haughtiest prince to the meanest
beggar, who crossed His threshold and sat at His feet; of the merchant,
the artisan, and the shopkeeper who waited upon Him and
supplied His daily needs; of His devotees who had perceived the
signs of His hidden glory; of His adversaries who were confounded
+P136
or disarmed by the power of His utterance and the warmth of His
love; of the priests and laymen, the noble and learned, who besought
Him with the intention of either challenging His authority, or testing
His knowledge, or investigating His claims, or confessing their
shortcomings, or declaring their conversion to the Cause He had
espoused.
From such a treasury of precious memories it will suffice my
purpose to cite but a single instance, that of one of His ardent lovers,
a native of &Zavarih, Siyyid &Isma'il by name, surnamed &Dhabih
(the Sacrifice), formerly a noted divine, taciturn, meditative and
wholly severed from every earthly tie, whose self-appointed task, on
which he prided himself, was to sweep the approaches of the house
in which &Baha'u'llah was dwelling. Unwinding his green turban, the
ensign of his holy lineage, from his head, he would, at the hour of
dawn, gather up, with infinite patience, the rubble which the footsteps
of his Beloved had trodden, would blow the dust from the
crannies of the wall adjacent to the door of that house, would collect
the sweepings in the folds of his own cloak, and, scorning to cast
his burden for the feet of others to tread upon, would carry it as far
as the banks of the river and throw it into its waters. Unable, at
length, to contain the ocean of love that surged within his soul, he,
after having denied himself for forty days both sleep and sustenance,
and rendering for the last time the service so dear to his heart,
betook himself, one day, to the banks of the river, on the road to
&Kazimayn, performed his ablutions, lay down on his back, with his
face turned towards &Baghdad, severed his throat with a razor, laid
the razor upon his breast, and expired. (1275 A.H.)
Nor was he the only one who had meditated such an act and
was determined to carry it out. Others were ready to follow suit,
had not &Baha'u'llah promptly intervened, and ordered the refugees
living in &Baghdad to return immediately to their native land. Nor
could the authorities, when it was definitely established that &Dhabih
had died by his own hand, remain indifferent to a Cause whose Leader
could inspire so rare a devotion in, and hold such absolute sway
over, the hearts of His lovers. Apprized of the apprehensions that
episode had evoked in certain quarters in &Baghdad, &Baha'u'llah is
reported to have remarked: "Siyyid &Isma'il was possessed of such
power and might that were he to be confronted by all the peoples
of the earth, he would, without doubt, be able to establish his
ascendancy over them." "No blood," He is reported to have said
with reference to this same &Dhabih, whom He extolled as "King and
+P137
Beloved of Martyrs," "has, till now, been poured upon the earth as
pure as the blood he shed."
"So intoxicated were those who had quaffed from the cup of
&Baha'u'llah's presence," is yet another testimony from the pen of
&Nabil, who was himself an eye-witness of most of these stirring
episodes, "that in their eyes the palaces of kings appeared more
ephemeral than a spider's web.... The celebrations and festivities
that were theirs were such as the kings of the earth had never dreamt
of." "I, myself with two others," he relates, "lived in a room which
was devoid of furniture. &Baha'u'llah entered it one day, and, looking
about Him, remarked: `Its emptiness pleases Me. In My estimation
it is preferable to many a spacious palace, inasmuch as the beloved
of God are occupied in it with the remembrance of the Incomparable
Friend, with hearts that are wholly emptied of the dross of this
world.'" His own life was characterized by that same austerity,
and evinced that same simplicity which marked the lives of His
beloved companions. "There was a time in &Iraq," He Himself affirms,
in one of His Tablets, "when the Ancient Beauty ... had no change
of linen. The one shirt He possessed would be washed, dried and
worn again."
"Many a night," continues &Nabil, depicting the lives of those
self-oblivious companions, "no less than ten persons subsisted on no
more than a pennyworth of dates. No one knew to whom actually
belonged the shoes, the cloaks, or the robes that were to be found in
their houses. Whoever went to the bazaar could claim that the shoes
upon his feet were his own, and each one who entered the presence
of &Baha'u'llah could affirm that the cloak and robe he then wore
belonged to him. Their own names they had forgotten, their hearts
were emptied of aught else except adoration for their Beloved....
O, for the joy of those days, and the gladness and wonder of those
hours!"
The enormous expansion in the scope and volume of &Baha'u'llah's
writings, after His return from &Sulaymaniyyih, is yet another distinguishing
feature of the period under review. The verses that
streamed during those years from His pen, described as "a copious
rain" by Himself, whether in the form of epistles, exhortations, commentaries,
apologies, dissertations, prophecies, prayers, odes or specific
Tablets, contributed, to a marked degree, to the reformation and
progressive unfoldment of the &Babi community, to the broadening
of its outlook, to the expansion of its activities and to the enlightenment
of the minds of its members. So prolific was this period, that
+P138
during the first two years after His return from His retirement,
according to the testimony of &Nabil, who was at that time living in
&Baghdad, the unrecorded verses that streamed from His lips averaged,
in a single day and night, the equivalent of the &Qur'an! As to those
verses which He either dictated or wrote Himself, their number was
no less remarkable than either the wealth of material they contained,
or the diversity of subjects to which they referred. A vast, and
indeed the greater, proportion of these writings were, alas, lost irretrievably
to posterity. No less an authority than &Mirza &Aqa &Jan,
&Baha'u'llah's amanuensis, affirms, as reported by &Nabil, that by the
express order of &Baha'u'llah, hundreds of thousands of verses, mostly
written by His own hand, were obliterated and cast into the river.
"Finding me reluctant to execute His orders," &Mirza &Aqa &Jan has
related to &Nabil, "&Baha'u'llah would reassure me saying: `None is
to be found at this time worthy to hear these melodies.' ...Not
once, or twice, but innumerable times, was I commanded to repeat
this act." A certain &Muhammad &Karim, a native of &Shiraz, who
had been a witness to the rapidity and the manner in which the
&Bab had penned the verses with which He was inspired, has left the
following testimony to posterity, after attaining, during those days,
the presence of &Baha'u'llah, and beholding with his own eyes what
he himself had considered to be the only proof of the mission of the
Promised One: "I bear witness that the verses revealed by &Baha'u'llah
were superior, in the rapidity with which they were penned, in the
ease with which they flowed, in their lucidity, their profundity and
sweetness to those which I, myself saw pour from the pen of the
&Bab when in His presence. Had &Baha'u'llah no other claim to greatness,
this were sufficient, in the eyes of the world and its people, that
He produced such verses as have streamed this day from His pen."
Foremost among the priceless treasures cast forth from the billowing
ocean of &Baha'u'llah's Revelation ranks the &Kitab-i-Iqan
(Book of Certitude), revealed within the space of two days and two
nights, in the closing years of that period (1278 A.H.--1862 A.D.).
It was written in fulfillment of the prophecy of the &Bab, Who had
specifically stated that the Promised One would complete the text
of the unfinished Persian &Bayan, and in reply to the questions addressed
to &Baha'u'llah by the as yet unconverted maternal uncle of
the &Bab, &Haji &Mirza Siyyid &Muhammad, while on a visit, with his
brother, &Haji &Mirza &Hasan-'Ali, to &Karbila. A model of Persian
prose, of a style at once original, chaste and vigorous, and remarkably
lucid, both cogent in argument and matchless in its irresistible eloquence,
+P139
this Book, setting forth in outline the Grand Redemptive
Scheme of God, occupies a position unequalled by any work in the entire
range of &Baha'i literature, except the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, &Baha'u'llah's
Most Holy Book. Revealed on the eve of the declaration of His
Mission, it proffered to mankind the "Choice Sealed Wine," whose
seal is of "musk," and broke the "seals" of the "Book" referred to by
Daniel, and disclosed the meaning of the "words" destined to remain
"closed up" till the "time of the end."
Within a compass of two hundred pages it proclaims unequivocally
the existence and oneness of a personal God, unknowable,
inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent
and almighty; asserts the relativity of religious truth and the
continuity of Divine Revelation; affirms the unity of the Prophets,
the universality of their Message, the identity of their fundamental
teachings, the sanctity of their scriptures, and the twofold character
of their stations; denounces the blindness and perversity of the divines
and doctors of every age; cites and elucidates the allegorical passages
of the New Testament, the abstruse verses of the &Qur'an, and the
cryptic &Muhammadan traditions which have bred those age-long
misunderstandings, doubts and animosities that have sundered and
kept apart the followers of the world's leading religious systems;
enumerates the essential prerequisites for the attainment by every
true seeker of the object of his quest; demonstrates the validity, the
sublimity and significance of the &Bab's Revelation; acclaims the
heroism and detachment of His disciples; foreshadows, and prophesies
the world-wide triumph of the Revelation promised to the people
of the &Bayan; upholds the purity and innocence of the Virgin Mary;
glorifies the &Imams of the Faith of &Muhammad; celebrates the
martyrdom, and lauds the spiritual sovereignty, of the &Imam &Husayn;
unfolds the meaning of such symbolic terms as "Return," "Resurrection,"
"Seal of the Prophets" and "Day of Judgment"; adumbrates
and distinguishes between the three stages of Divine Revelation; and
expatiates, in glowing terms, upon the glories and wonders of the
"City of God," renewed, at fixed intervals, by the dispensation of
Providence, for the guidance, the benefit and salvation of all mankind.
Well may it be claimed that of all the books revealed by the
Author of the &Baha'i Revelation, this Book alone, by sweeping away
the age-long barriers that have so insurmountably separated the great
religions of the world, has laid down a broad and unassailable foundation
for the complete and permanent reconciliation of their followers.
Next to this unique repository of inestimable treasures must rank
+P140
that marvelous collection of gem-like utterances, the "Hidden
Words" with which &Baha'u'llah was inspired, as He paced, wrapped in
His meditations, the banks of the Tigris. Revealed in the year
1274 A.H., partly in Persian, partly in Arabic, it was originally
designated the "Hidden Book of &Fatimih," and was identified by its
Author with the Book of that same name, believed by &Shi'ah &Islam
to be in the possession of the promised &Qa'im, and to consist of words
of consolation addressed by the angel Gabriel, at God's command,
to &Fatimih, and dictated to the &Imam &Ali, for the sole purpose of
comforting her in her hour of bitter anguish after the death of her
illustrious Father. The significance of this dynamic spiritual leaven
cast into the life of the world for the reorientation of the minds of
men, the edification of their souls and the rectification of their conduct
can best be judged by the description of its character given in
the opening passage by its Author: "This is that which hath descended
from the Realm of Glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might,
and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner
essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token
of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the
Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm
of spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue."
To these two outstanding contributions to the world's religious
literature, occupying respectively, positions of unsurpassed preeminence
among the doctrinal and ethical writings of the Author of the
&Baha'i Dispensation, was added, during that same period, a treatise
that may well be regarded as His greatest mystical composition, designated
as the "Seven Valleys," which He wrote in answer to the questions
of &Shaykh &Muhyi'd-Din, the &Qadi of &Khaniqayn, in which He
describes the seven stages which the soul of the seeker must needs
traverse ere it can attain the object of its existence.
The "Four Valleys," an epistle addressed to the learned &Shaykh
&Abdu'r-Rahman-i-Karkuti; the "Tablet of the Holy Mariner," in
which &Baha'u'llah prophesies the severe afflictions that are to befall
Him; the "&Lawh-i-Huriyyih" (Tablet of the Maiden), in which
events of a far remoter future are foreshadowed; the "&Suriy-i-Sabr"
(&Surih of Patience), revealed on the first day of &Ridvan which
extols &Vahid and his fellow-sufferers in &Nayriz; the commentary on
the Letters prefixed to the &Surihs of the &Qur'an; His interpretation
of the letter &Vav, mentioned in the writings of &Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i,
and of other abstruse passages in the works of Siyyid
&Kazim-i-Rashti; the "&Lawh-i-Madinatu't-Tawhid" (Tablet of the
+P141
City of Unity); the "&Sahifiy-i-Shattiyyih"; the
"&Musibat-i-Hurufat-i-'Aliyat"; the "&Tafsir-i-Hu"; the "&Javahiru'l-Asrar" and
a host of other writings, in the form of epistles, odes, homilies, specific
Tablets, commentaries and prayers, contributed, each in its own way, to swell
the "rivers of everlasting life" which poured forth from the "Abode
of Peace" and lent a mighty impetus to the expansion of the &Bab's
Faith in both Persia and &Iraq, quickening the souls and transforming
the character of its adherents.
The undeniable evidences of the range and magnificence of
&Baha'u'llah's rising power; His rapidly waxing prestige; the miraculous
transformation which, by precept and example, He had effected
in the outlook and character of His companions from &Baghdad to
the remotest towns and hamlets in Persia; the consuming love for
Him that glowed in their bosoms; the prodigious volume of writings
that streamed day and night from His pen, could not fail to fan
into flame the animosity which smouldered in the breasts of His
&Shi'ah and &Sunni enemies. Now that His residence was transferred
to the vicinity of the strongholds of &Shi'ah &Islam, and He Himself
brought into direct and almost daily contact with the fanatical
pilgrims who thronged the holy places of Najaf, &Karbila and &Kazimayn,
a trial of strength between the growing brilliance of His glory
and the dark and embattled forces of religious fanaticism could no
longer be delayed. A spark was all that was required to ignite this
combustible material of all the accumulated hatreds, fears and jealousies
which the revived activities of the &Babis had inspired. This
was provided by a certain &Shaykh &Abdu'l-Husayn, a crafty and
obstinate priest, whose consuming jealousy of &Baha'u'llah was surpassed
only by his capacity to stir up mischief both among those of
high degree and also amongst the lowest of the low, Arab or Persian,
who thronged the streets and markets of &Kazimayn, &Karbila and
&Baghdad. He it was whom &Baha'u'llah had stigmatized in His Tablets
by such epithets as the "scoundrel," the "schemer," the "wicked one,"
who "drew the sword of his self against the face of God," "in whose
soul Satan hath whispered," and "from whose impiety Satan flies,"
the "depraved one," "from whom originated and to whom will return
all infidelity, cruelty and crime." Largely through the efforts of the
Grand Vizir, who wished to get rid of him, this troublesome mujtahid
had been commissioned by the &Shah to proceed to &Karbila to repair
the holy sites in that city. Watching for his opportunity, he allied
himself with &Mirza Buzurg &Khan, a newly-appointed Persian consul-general,
who being of the same iniquitous turn of mind as himself,
+P142
a man of mean intelligence, insincere, without foresight or honor,
and a confirmed drunkard, soon fell a prey to the influence of that
vicious plotter, and became the willing instrument of his designs.
Their first concerted endeavor was to obtain from the governor
of &Baghdad, &Mustafa &Pasha, through a gross distortion of the truth,
an order for the extradition of &Baha'u'llah and His companions, an
effort which miserably failed. Recognizing the futility of any
attempt to achieve his purpose through the intervention of the local
authorities, &Shaykh &Abdu'l-Husayn began, through the sedulous circulation
of dreams which he first invented and then interpreted, to
excite the passions of a superstitious and highly inflammable population.
The resentment engendered by the lack of response he met with
was aggravated by his ignominious failure to meet the challenge of
an interview pre-arranged between himself and &Baha'u'llah. &Mirza
Buzurg &Khan, on his part, used his influence in order to arouse the
animosity of the lower elements of the population against the common
Adversary, by inciting them to affront Him in public, in the
hope of provoking some rash retaliatory act that could be used as
a ground for false charges through which the desired order for
&Baha'u'llah's extradition might be procured. This attempt too proved
abortive, as the presence of &Baha'u'llah, Who, despite the warnings
and pleadings of His friends, continued to walk unescorted, both by
day and by night, through the streets of the city, was enough to
plunge His would-be molesters into consternation and shame. Well
aware of their motives, He would approach them, rally them on their
intentions, joke with them, and leave them covered with confusion
and firmly resolved to abandon whatever schemes they had in mind.
The consul-general had even gone so far as to hire a ruffian, a Turk,
named &Rida, for the sum of one hundred &tumans, provide him with
a horse and with two pistols, and order him to seek out and kill
&Baha'u'llah, promising him that his own protection would be fully
assured. &Rida, learning one day that his would-be-victim was attending
the public bath, eluded the vigilance of the &Babis in attendance,
entered the bath with a pistol concealed in his cloak, and confronted
&Baha'u'llah in the inner chamber, only to discover that he lacked
the courage to accomplish his task. He himself, years later, related
that on another occasion he was lying in wait for &Baha'u'llah, pistol
in hand, when, on &Baha'u'llah's approach, he was so overcome with
fear that the pistol dropped from his hand; whereupon &Baha'u'llah
bade &Aqay-i-Kalim, who accompanied Him, to hand it back to him,
and show him the way to his home.
+P143
Balked in his repeated attempts to achieve his malevolent purpose,
&Shaykh &Abdu'l-Husayn now diverted his energies into a new
channel. He promised his accomplice he would raise him to the rank
of a minister of the crown, if he succeeded in inducing the government
to recall &Baha'u'llah to &Tihran, and cast Him again into prison.
He despatched lengthy and almost daily reports to the immediate
entourage of the &Shah. He painted extravagant pictures of the
ascendancy enjoyed by &Baha'u'llah by representing Him as having
won the allegiance of the nomadic tribes of &Iraq. He claimed that
He was in a position to muster, in a day, fully one hundred thousand
men ready to take up arms at His bidding. He accused Him of
meditating, in conjunction with various leaders in Persia, an insurrection
against the sovereign. By such means as these he succeeded in
bringing sufficient pressure on the authorities in &Tihran to induce
the &Shah to grant him a mandate, bestowing on him full powers,
and enjoining the Persian &ulamas and functionaries to render him
every assistance. This mandate the &Shaykh instantly forwarded to
the ecclesiastics of Najaf and &Karbila, asking them to convene a
gathering in &Kazimayn, the place of his residence. A concourse of
&shaykhs, &mullas and mujtahids, eager to curry favor with the sovereign,
promptly responded. Upon being informed of the purpose
for which they had been summoned, they determined to declare a
holy war against the colony of exiles, and by launching a sudden
and general assault on it to destroy the Faith at its heart. To their
amazement and disappointment, however, they found that the leading
mujtahid amongst them, the celebrated &Shaykh &Murtaday-i-Ansari,
a man renowned for his tolerance, his wisdom, his undeviating
justice, his piety and nobility of character, refused, when apprized
of their designs, to pronounce the necessary sentence against the
&Babis. He it was whom &Baha'u'llah later extolled in the "&Lawh-i-Sultan,"
and numbered among "those doctors who have indeed drunk
of the cup of renunciation," and "never interfered with Him," and
to whom &Abdu'l-Baha referred as "the illustrious and erudite doctor,
the noble and celebrated scholar, the seal of seekers after truth."
Pleading insufficient knowledge of the tenets of this community, and
claiming to have witnessed no act on the part of its members at
variance with the &Qur'an, he, disregarding the remonstrances of his
colleagues, abruptly left the gathering, and returned to Najaf, after
having expressed, through a messenger, his regret to &Baha'u'llah for
what had happened, and his devout wish for His protection.
Frustrated in their designs, but unrelenting in their hostility, the
+P144
assembled divines delegated the learned and devout &Haji &Mulla
&Hasan-i-'Ammu, recognized for his integrity and wisdom, to submit
various questions to &Baha'u'llah for elucidation. When these were
submitted, and answers completely satisfactory to the messenger were
given, &Haji &Mulla &Hasan, affirming the recognition by the &ulamas
of the vastness of the knowledge of &Baha'u'llah, asked, as an evidence
of the truth of His mission, for a miracle that would satisfy completely
all concerned. "Although you have no right to ask this,"
&Baha'u'llah replied, "for God should test His creatures, and they
should not test God, still I allow and accept this request.... The
&ulamas must assemble, and, with one accord, choose one miracle, and
write that, after the performance of this miracle they will no longer
entertain doubts about Me, and that all will acknowledge and confess
the truth of My Cause. Let them seal this paper, and bring it
to Me. This must be the accepted criterion: if the miracle is performed,
no doubt will remain for them; and if not, We shall be
convicted of imposture." This clear, challenging and courageous
reply, unexampled in the annals of any religion, and addressed to
the most illustrious &Shi'ah divines, assembled in their time-honored
stronghold, was so satisfactory to their envoy that he instantly arose,
kissed the knee of &Baha'u'llah, and departed to deliver His message.
Three days later he sent word that that august assemblage had failed
to arrive at a decision, and had chosen to drop the matter, a decision
to which he himself later gave wide publicity, in the course of his visit
to Persia, and even communicated it in person to the then Minister
of Foreign Affairs, &Mirza &Sa'id &Khan. "We have," &Baha'u'llah is
reported to have commented, when informed of their reaction to
this challenge, "through this all-satisfying, all-embracing message
which We sent, revealed and vindicated the miracles of all the
Prophets, inasmuch as We left the choice to the &ulamas themselves,
undertaking to reveal whatever they would decide upon." "If we
carefully examine the text of the Bible," &Abdu'l-Baha has written
concerning a similar challenge made later by &Baha'u'llah in the
"&Lawh-i-Sultan," "we see that the Divine Manifestation never said
to those who denied Him, `whatever miracle you desire, I am ready
to perform, and I will submit to whatever test you propose.' But
in the Epistle to the &Shah &Baha'u'llah said clearly, `Gather the &ulamas
and summon Me, that the evidences and proofs may be established.'"
Seven years of uninterrupted, of patient and eminently successful
consolidation were now drawing to a close. A shepherdless community,
subjected to a prolonged and tremendous strain, from both
+P145
within and without, and threatened with obliteration, had been
resuscitated, and risen to an ascendancy without example in the
course of its twenty years' history. Its foundations reinforced, its
spirit exalted, its outlook transformed, its leadership safeguarded, its
fundamentals restated, its prestige enhanced, its enemies discomfited,
the Hand of Destiny was gradually preparing to launch it on a new
phase in its checkered career, in which weal and woe alike were to
carry it through yet another stage in its evolution. The Deliverer,
the sole hope, and the virtually recognized leader of this community,
Who had consistently overawed the authors of so many plots to
assassinate Him, Who had scornfully rejected all the timid advice
that He should flee from the scene of danger, Who had firmly declined
repeated and generous offers made by friends and supporters
to insure His personal safety, Who had won so conspicuous a victory
over His antagonists--He was, at this auspicious hour, being impelled
by the resistless processes of His unfolding Mission, to transfer His
residence to the center of still greater preeminence, the capital city
of the Ottoman Empire, the seat of the Caliphate, the administrative
center of &Sunni &Islam, the abode of the most powerful potentate in
the Islamic world.
He had already flung a daring challenge to the sacerdotal order
represented by the eminent ecclesiastics residing in Najaf, &Karbila
and &Kazimayn. He was now, while in the vicinity of the court of
His royal adversary, to offer a similar challenge to the recognized
head of &Sunni &Islam, as well as to the sovereign of Persia, the trustee
of the hidden &Imam. The entire company of the kings of the earth,
and in particular the &Sultan and his ministers, were, moreover, to
be addressed by Him, appealed to and warned, while the kings of
Christendom and the &Sunni hierarchy were to be severely admonished.
Little wonder that the exiled Bearer of a newly-announced
Revelation should have, in anticipation of the future splendor of
the Lamp of His Faith, after its removal from &Iraq, uttered these
prophetic words: "It will shine resplendently within another globe,
as predestined by Him who is the Omnipotent, the Ancient of Days.
...That the Spirit should depart out of the body of &Iraq is indeed
a wondrous sign unto all who are in heaven and all who are on earth.
Erelong will ye behold this Divine Youth riding upon the steed of
victory. Then will the hearts of the envious be seized with
trembling."
The predestined hour of &Baha'u'llah's departure from &Iraq having
now struck, the process whereby it could be accomplished was set
+P146
in motion. The nine months of unremitting endeavor exerted by
His enemies, and particularly by &Shaykh &Abdu'l-Husayn and his
confederate &Mirza Buzurg &Khan, were about to yield their fruit.
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah and his ministers, on the one hand, and the Persian
Ambassador in Constantinople, on the other, were incessantly urged
to take immediate action to insure &Baha'u'llah's removal from
&Baghdad. Through gross misrepresentation of the true situation and
the dissemination of alarming reports a malignant and energetic
enemy finally succeeded in persuading the &Shah to instruct his foreign
minister, &Mirza &Sa'id &Khan, to direct the Persian Ambassador at the
Sublime Porte, &Mirza &Husayn &Khan, a close friend of &Ali &Pasha,
the Grand Vizir of the &Sultan, and of &Fu'ad &Pasha, the Minister of
foreign affairs, to induce &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz to order the immediate
transfer of &Baha'u'llah to a place remote from &Baghdad, on the
ground that His continued residence in that city, adjacent to Persian
territory and close to so important a center of &Shi'ah pilgrimage, constituted
a direct menace to the security of Persia and its government.
&Mirza &Sa'id &Khan, in his communication to the Ambassador,
stigmatized the Faith as a "misguided and detestable sect," deplored
&Baha'u'llah's release from the &Siyah-Chal, and denounced Him as
one who did not cease from "secretly corrupting and misleading
foolish persons and ignorant weaklings." "In accordance with the
royal command," he wrote, "I, your faithful friend, have been ordered
... to instruct you to seek, without delay, an appointment
with their Excellencies, the &Sadr-i-A'zam and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs ... to request ... the removal of this source of mischief from
a center like &Baghdad, which is the meeting-place of many different
peoples, and is situated near the frontiers of the provinces of Persia."
In that same letter, quoting a celebrated verse, he writes: "`I see
beneath the ashes the glow of fire, and it wants but little to burst
into a blaze,'" thus betraying his fears and seeking to instill them
into his correspondent.
Encouraged by the presence on the throne of a monarch who
had delegated much of his powers to his ministers, and aided by certain
foreign ambassadors and ministers in Constantinople, &Mirza
&Husayn &Khan, by dint of much persuasion and the friendly pressure
he brought to bear on these ministers, succeeded in securing the sanction
of the &Sultan for the transfer of &Baha'u'llah and His companions
(who had in the meantime been forced by circumstances to change
their citizenship) to Constantinople. It is even reported that the
first request the Persian authorities made of a friendly Power, after
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the accession of the new &Sultan to the throne, was for its active and
prompt intervention in this matter.
It was on the fifth of &Naw-Ruz (1863), while &Baha'u'llah was
celebrating that festival in the &Mazra'iy-i-Vashshash, in the outskirts
of &Baghdad, and had just revealed the "Tablet of the Holy Mariner,"
whose gloomy prognostications had aroused the grave apprehensions
of His Companions, that an emissary of &Namiq &Pasha arrived and
delivered into His hands a communication requesting an interview
between Him and the governor.
Already, as &Nabil has pointed out in his narrative, &Baha'u'llah
had, in the course of His discourses, during the last years of His
sojourn in &Baghdad, alluded to the period of trial and turmoil that
was inexorably approaching, exhibiting a sadness and heaviness of
heart which greatly perturbed those around Him. A dream which
He had at that time, the ominous character of which could not be
mistaken, served to confirm the fears and misgivings that had assailed
His companions. "I saw," He wrote in a Tablet, "the Prophets and
the Messengers gather and seat themselves around Me, moaning, weeping
and loudly lamenting. Amazed, I inquired of them the reason,
whereupon their lamentation and weeping waxed greater, and they
said unto me: `We weep for Thee, O Most Great Mystery, O Tabernacle
of Immortality!' They wept with such a weeping that I too
wept with them. Thereupon the Concourse on high addressed Me
saying: `...Erelong shalt Thou behold with Thine own eyes what
no Prophet hath beheld.... Be patient, be patient.'... They continued
addressing Me the whole night until the approach of dawn."
"Oceans of sorrow," &Nabil affirms, "surged in the hearts of the listeners
when the Tablet of the Holy Mariner was read aloud to them....
It was evident to every one that the chapter of &Baghdad was about
to be closed, and a new one opened, in its stead. No sooner had that
Tablet been chanted than &Baha'u'llah ordered that the tents which
had been pitched should be folded up, and that all His companions
should return to the city. While the tents were being removed He
observed: `These tents may be likened to the trappings of this world,
which no sooner are they spread out than the time cometh for them
to be rolled up.' From these words of His they who heard them
perceived that these tents would never again be pitched on that spot.
They had not yet been taken away when the messenger arrived
from &Baghdad to deliver the afore-mentioned communication from
the governor."
By the following day the Deputy-Governor had delivered to
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&Baha'u'llah in a mosque, in the neighborhood of the governor's house,
&Ali &Pasha's letter, addressed to &Namiq &Pasha, couched in courteous
language, inviting &Baha'u'llah to proceed, as a guest of the Ottoman
government, to Constantinople, placing a sum of money at His
disposal, and ordering a mounted escort to accompany Him for His
protection. To this request &Baha'u'llah gave His ready assent, but
declined to accept the sum offered Him. On the urgent representations
of the Deputy that such a refusal would offend the authorities,
He reluctantly consented to receive the generous allowance set aside
for His use, and distributed it, that same day, among the poor.
The effect upon the colony of exiles of this sudden intelligence
was instantaneous and overwhelming. "That day," wrote an eyewitness,
describing the reaction of the community to the news of
&Baha'u'llah's approaching departure, "witnessed a commotion associated
with the turmoil of the Day of Resurrection. Methinks, the
very gates and walls of the city wept aloud at their imminent separation
from the &Abha Beloved. The first night mention was made of
His intended departure His loved ones, one and all, renounced both
sleep and food.... Not a soul amongst them could be tranquillized.
Many had resolved that in the event of their being deprived of the
bounty of accompanying Him, they would, without hesitation, kill
themselves.... Gradually, however, through the words which He addressed
them, and through His exhortations and His loving-kindness,
they were calmed and resigned themselves to His good-pleasure."
For every one of them, whether Arab or Persian, man or woman,
child or adult, who lived in &Baghdad, He revealed during those days,
in His own hand, a separate Tablet. In most of these Tablets He
predicted the appearance of the "Calf" and of the "Birds of the
Night," allusions to those who, as anticipated in the Tablet of the
Holy Mariner, and foreshadowed in the dream quoted above, were
to raise the standard of rebellion and precipitate the gravest crisis in
the history of the Faith.
Twenty-seven days after that mournful Tablet had been so unexpectedly
revealed by &Baha'u'llah, and the fateful communication,
presaging His departure to Constantinople had been delivered into
His hands, on a Wednesday afternoon (April 22, 1863), thirty-one
days after &Naw-Ruz, on the third of &Dhi'l-Qa'dih, 1279 A.H., He
set forth on the first stage of His four months' journey to the capital
of the Ottoman Empire. That historic day, forever after designated
as the first day of the &Ridvan Festival, the culmination of innumerable
farewell visits which friends and acquaintances of every class
+P149
and denomination, had been paying him, was one the like of which
the inhabitants of &Baghdad had rarely beheld. A concourse of people
of both sexes and of every age, comprising friends and strangers
Arabs, Kurds and Persians, notables and clerics, officials and merchants,
as well as many of the lower classes, the poor, the orphaned,
the outcast, some surprised, others heartbroken, many tearful and
apprehensive, a few impelled by curiosity or secret satisfaction,
thronged the approaches of His house, eager to catch a final glimpse
of One Who, for a decade, had, through precept and example, exercised
so potent an influence on so large a number of the heterogeneous
inhabitants of their city.
Leaving for the last time, amidst weeping and lamentation, His
"Most Holy Habitation," out of which had "gone forth the breath
of the All-Glorious," and from which had poured forth, in "ceaseless
strains," the "melody of the All-Merciful," and dispensing on His
way with a lavish hand a last alms to the poor He had so faithfully
befriended, and uttering words of comfort to the disconsolate who
besought Him on every side, He, at length, reached the banks of the
river, and was ferried across, accompanied by His sons and amanuensis,
to the &Najibiyyih Garden, situated on the opposite shore.
"O My companions," He thus addressed the faithful band that surrounded
Him before He embarked, "I entrust to your keeping this
city of &Baghdad, in the state ye now behold it, when from the eyes
of friends and strangers alike, crowding its housetops, its streets and
markets, tears like the rain of spring are flowing down, and I depart.
With you it now rests to watch lest your deeds and conduct dim the
flame of love that gloweth within the breasts of its inhabitants."
The muezzin had just raised the afternoon call to prayer when
&Baha'u'llah entered the &Najibiyyih Garden, where He tarried twelve
days before His final departure from the city. There His friends
and companions, arriving in successive waves, attained His presence
and bade Him, with feelings of profound sorrow, their last farewell.
Outstanding among them was the renowned &Alusi, the &Mufti of
&Baghdad, who, with eyes dimmed with tears, execrated the name of
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, whom he deemed to be primarily responsible for
so unmerited a banishment. "I have ceased to regard him," he openly
asserted, "as &Nasiri'd-Din (the helper of the Faith), but consider
him rather to be its wrecker." Another distinguished visitor was the
governor himself, &Namiq &Pasha, who, after expressing in the most
respectful terms his regret at the developments which had precipitated
&Baha'u'llah's departure, and assuring Him of his readiness to
+P150
aid Him in any way he could, handed to the officer appointed to
accompany Him a written order, commanding the governors of the
provinces through which the exiles would be passing to extend to
them the utmost consideration. "Whatever you require," he, after
profuse apologies, informed &Baha'u'llah, "you have but to command.
We are ready to carry it out." "Extend thy consideration to Our
loved ones," was the reply to his insistent and reiterated offers, "and
deal with them with kindness"--a request to which he gave his
warm and unhesitating assent.
Small wonder that, in the face of so many evidences of deep-seated
devotion, sympathy and esteem, so strikingly manifested by
high and low alike, from the time &Baha'u'llah announced His contemplated
journey to the day of His departure from the &Najibiyyih
Garden--small wonder that those who had so tirelessly sought to
secure the order for His banishment, and had rejoiced at the success
of their efforts, should now have bitterly regretted their act. "Such
hath been the interposition of God," &Abdu'l-Baha, in a letter written
by Him from that garden, with reference to these enemies, affirms,
"that the joy evinced by them hath been turned to chagrin and sorrow,
so much so that the Persian consul-general in &Baghdad regrets
exceedingly the plans and plots the schemers had devised. &Namiq
&Pasha himself, on the day he called on Him (&Baha'u'llah) stated:
`Formerly they insisted upon your departure. Now, however, they
are even more insistent that you should remain.'"
+P151
CHAPTER IX
The Declaration of &Baha'u'llah's Mission and His
Journey to Constantinople
The arrival of &Baha'u'llah in the &Najibiyyih Garden, subsequently
designated by His followers the Garden of &Ridvan, signalizes
the commencement of what has come to be recognized as the holiest
and most significant of all &Baha'i festivals, the festival commemorating
the Declaration of His Mission to His companions. So momentous
a Declaration may well be regarded both as the logical consummation
of that revolutionizing process which was initiated by Himself upon
His return from &Sulaymaniyyih, and as a prelude to the final proclamation
of that same Mission to the world and its rulers from Adrianople.
Through that solemn act the "delay," of no less than a decade,
divinely interposed between the birth of &Baha'u'llah's Revelation in
the &Siyah-Chal and its announcement to the &Bab's disciples, was at
long last terminated. The "set time of concealment," during which
as He Himself has borne witness, the "signs and tokens of a divinely-appointed
Revelation" were being showered upon Him, was fulfilled.
The "myriad veils of light," within which His glory had been wrapped,
were, at that historic hour, partially lifted, vouchsafing to mankind
"an infinitesimal glimmer" of the effulgence of His "peerless, His
most sacred and exalted Countenance." The "thousand two hundred
and ninety days," fixed by Daniel in the last chapter of His Book, as
the duration of the "abomination that maketh desolate" had now
elapsed. The "hundred lunar years," destined to immediately precede
that blissful consummation (1335 days), announced by Daniel in
that same chapter, had commenced. The nineteen years, constituting
the first "&Vahid," preordained in the Persian &Bayan by the pen of
the &Bab, had been completed. The Lord of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ
returned in the glory of the Father, was about to ascend His throne,
and assume the sceptre of a world-embracing, indestructible sovereignty.
The community of the Most Great Name, the "companions
of the Crimson Colored Ark," lauded in glowing terms in the
&Qayyumu'l-Asma', had visibly emerged. The &Bab's own prophecy
regarding the "&Ridvan," the scene of the unveiling of &Baha'u'llah's
transcendent glory, had been literally fulfilled.
+P152
Undaunted by the prospect of the appalling adversities which, as
predicted by Himself, were soon to overtake Him; on the eve of a
second banishment which would be fraught with many hazards and
perils, and would bring Him still farther from His native land, the
cradle of His Faith, to a country alien in race, in language and in
culture; acutely conscious of the extension of the circle of His
adversaries, among whom were soon to be numbered a monarch more
despotic than &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, and ministers no less unyielding in
their hostility than either &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi or the &Amir-Nizam;
undeterred by the perpetual interruptions occasioned by the influx
of a host of visitors who thronged His tent, &Baha'u'llah chose in that
critical and seemingly unpropitious hour to advance so challenging a
claim, to lay bare the mystery surrounding His person, and to
assume, in their plenitude, the power and the authority which were
the exclusive privileges of the One Whose advent the &Bab had
prophesied.
Already the shadow of that great oncoming event had fallen
upon the colony of exiles, who awaited expectantly its consummation.
As the year "eighty" steadily and inexorably approached, He
Who had become the real leader of that community increasingly
experienced, and progressively communicated to His future followers,
the onrushing influences of its informing force. The festive, the
soul-entrancing odes which He revealed almost every day; the Tablets,
replete with hints, which streamed from His pen; the allusions which,
in private converse and public discourse, He made to the approaching
hour; the exaltation which in moments of joy and sadness alike flooded
His soul; the ecstasy which filled His lovers, already enraptured by
the multiplying evidences of His rising greatness and glory; the
perceptible change noted in His demeanor; and finally, His adoption
of the &taj (tall felt head-dress), on the day of His departure from
His Most Holy House--all proclaimed unmistakably His imminent
assumption of the prophetic office and of His open leadership of the
community of the &Bab's followers.
"Many a night," writes &Nabil, depicting the tumult that had
seized the hearts of &Baha'u'llah's companions, in the days prior to the
declaration of His mission, "would &Mirza &Aqa &Jan gather them
together in his room, close the door, light numerous camphorated
candles, and chant aloud to them the newly revealed odes and Tablets
in his possession. Wholly oblivious of this contingent world,
completely immersed in the realms of the spirit, forgetful of the
necessity for food, sleep or drink, they would suddenly discover
+P153
that night had become day, and that the sun was approaching its
zenith."
Of the exact circumstances attending that epoch-making Declaration
we, alas, are but scantily informed. The words &Baha'u'llah actually
uttered on that occasion, the manner of His Declaration, the
reaction it produced, its impact on &Mirza &Yahya, the identity of those
who were privileged to hear Him, are shrouded in an obscurity which
future historians will find it difficult to penetrate. The fragmentary
description left to posterity by His chronicler &Nabil is one of the
very few authentic records we possess of the memorable days He
spent in that garden. "Every day," &Nabil has related, "ere the hour
of dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four
avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the floor
of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when His companions
gathered to drink their morning tea in His presence, they
would be unable to see each other across it. All these roses &Baha'u'llah
would, with His own hands, entrust to those whom He dismissed
from His presence every morning to be delivered, on His behalf, to
His Arab and Persian friends in the city." "One night," he continues,
"the ninth night of the waxing moon, I happened to be one of
those who watched beside His blessed tent. As the hour of midnight
approached, I saw Him issue from His tent, pass by the places where
some of His companions were sleeping, and begin to pace up and
down the moonlit, flower-bordered avenues of the garden. So loud
was the singing of the nightingales on every side that only those who
were near Him could hear distinctly His voice. He continued to
walk until, pausing in the midst of one of these avenues, He observed:
`Consider these nightingales. So great is their love for these roses, that
sleepless from dusk till dawn, they warble their melodies and commune
with burning passion with the object of their adoration. How
then can those who claim to be afire with the rose-like beauty of the
Beloved choose to sleep?' For three successive nights I watched and
circled round His blessed tent. Every time I passed by the couch
whereon He lay, I would find Him wakeful, and every day, from
morn till eventide, I would see Him ceaselessly engaged in conversing
with the stream of visitors who kept flowing in from &Baghdad. Not
once could I discover in the words He spoke any trace of dissimulation."
As to the significance of that Declaration let &Baha'u'llah Himself
reveal to us its import. Acclaiming that historic occasion as the
"Most Great Festival," the "King of Festivals," the "Festival of God,"
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He has, in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas, characterized it as the Day whereon
"all created things were immersed in the sea of purification," whilst
in one of His specific Tablets, He has referred to it as the Day whereon
"the breezes of forgiveness were wafted over the entire creation."
"Rejoice, with exceeding gladness, O people of &Baha!", He, in another
Tablet, has written, "as ye call to remembrance the Day of supreme
felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of the Ancient of Days hath
spoken, as He departed from His House proceeding to the Spot from
which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of His Name,
the All-Merciful... Were We to reveal the hidden secrets of that
Day, all that dwell on earth and in the heavens would swoon away
and die, except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty, the
All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Such is the inebriating effect of the
words of God upon the Revealer of His undoubted proofs that His
pen can move no longer." And again: "The Divine Springtime is
come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is
fast approaching.... The Day-Star of Blissfulness shineth above the
horizon of Our Name, the Blissful, inasmuch as the Kingdom of the
Name of God hath been adorned with the ornament of the Name of
Thy Lord, the Creator of the heavens.... Take heed lest anything
deter Thee from extolling the greatness of this Day--the Day whereon
the Finger of Majesty and Power hath opened the seal of the Wine of
Reunion, and called all who are in the heavens and all who are on
earth.... This is the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out:
`Great is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been made the footstool
of thy God, and been chosen as the seat of His mighty throne'
...Say ... He it is Who hath laid bare before you the hidden and
treasured Gem, were ye to seek it. He it is who is the One Beloved of
all things, whether of the past or of the future." And yet again:
"Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation the tidings that He who
is the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the &Ridvan and
entered it. Guide, then, the people unto the Garden of Delight which
God hath made the Throne of His Paradise... Within this Paradise,
and from the heights of its loftiest chambers, the Maids of Heaven
have cried out and shouted: `Rejoice, ye dwellers of the realms above,
for the fingers of Him Who is the Ancient of Days are ringing, in the
name of the All-Glorious, the Most Great Bell, in the midmost heart
of the heavens. The hands of bounty have borne round the cups of
everlasting life. Approach, and quaff your fill.'" And finally:
"Forget the world of creation, O Pen, and turn Thou towards the
face of Thy Lord, the Lord of all names. Adorn, then, the world
+P155
with the ornament of the favors of Thy Lord, the King of everlasting
days. For We perceive the fragrance of the Day whereon He Who is
the Desire of all nations hath shed upon the kingdoms of the unseen
and of the seen the splendors of the light of His most excellent names,
and enveloped them with the radiance of the luminaries of His most
gracious favors, favors which none can reckon except Him Who is
the Omnipotent Protector of the entire creation."
The departure of &Baha'u'llah from the Garden of &Ridvan, at
noon, on the 14th of &Dhi'l-Qa'dih 1279 A.H. (May 3, 1863), witnessed
scenes of tumultuous enthusiasm no less spectacular, and even
more touching, than those which greeted Him when leaving His
Most Great House in &Baghdad. "The great tumult," wrote an eyewitness,
"associated in our minds with the Day of Gathering, the Day
of Judgment, we beheld on that occasion. Believers and unbelievers
alike sobbed and lamented. The chiefs and notables who had congregated
were struck with wonder. Emotions were stirred to such
depths as no tongue can describe, nor could any observer escape
their contagion."
Mounted on His steed, a red roan stallion of the finest breed,
the best His lovers could purchase for Him, and leaving behind Him a
bowing multitude of fervent admirers, He rode forth on the first
stage of a journey that was to carry Him to the city of Constantinople.
"Numerous were the heads," &Nabil himself a witness of that memorable
scene, recounts, "which, on every side, bowed to the dust at
the feet of His horse, and kissed its hoofs, and countless were those
who pressed forward to embrace His stirrups." "How great the
number of those embodiments of fidelity," testifies a fellow-traveler,
"who, casting themselves before that charger, preferred death to
separation from their Beloved! Methinks, that blessed steed trod upon
the bodies of those pure-hearted souls." "He (God) it was," &Baha'u'llah
Himself declares, "Who enabled Me to depart out of the city
(&Baghdad), clothed with such majesty as none, except the denier and
the malicious, can fail to acknowledge." These marks of homage and
devotion continued to surround Him until He was installed in
Constantinople. &Mirza &Yahya, while hurrying on foot, by his own
choice, behind &Baha'u'llah's carriage, on the day of His arrival in
that city, was overheard by &Nabil to remark to Siyyid &Muhammad:
"Had I not chosen to hide myself, had I revealed my identity, the
honor accorded Him (&Baha'u'llah) on this day would have been
mine too."
The same tokens of devotion shown &Baha'u'llah at the time of
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His departure from His House, and later from the Garden of &Ridvan,
were repeated when, on the 20th of &Dhi'l-Qa'dih (May 9, 1863),
accompanied by members of His family and twenty-six of His
disciples, He left &Firayjat, His first stopping-place in the course of
that journey. A caravan, consisting of fifty mules, a mounted guard
of ten soldiers with their officer, and seven pairs of howdahs, each
pair surmounted by four parasols, was formed, and wended its way,
by easy stages, and in the space of no less than a hundred and ten
days, across the uplands, and through the defiles, the woods, valleys
and pastures, comprising the picturesque scenery of eastern Anatolia,
to the port of &Samsun, on the Black Sea. At times on horseback, at
times resting in the howdah reserved for His use, and which was
oftentimes surrounded by His companions, most of whom were on
foot, He, by virtue of the written order of &Namiq &Pasha, was accorded,
as He traveled northward, in the path of spring, an enthusiastic
reception by the &valis, the &mutisarrifs, the &qa'im-maqams, the &mudirs,
the &shaykhs, the &muftis and &qadis, the government officials and
notables belonging to the districts through which He passed. In
&Karkuk, in &Irbil, in Mosul, where He tarried three days, in &Nisibin,
in &Mardin, in &Diyar-Bakr, where a halt of a couple of days was
made, in &Kharput, in &Sivas, as well as in other villages and hamlets,
He would be met by a delegation immediately before His arrival,
and would be accompanied, for some distance, by a similar delegation
upon His departure. The festivities which, at some stations,
were held in His honor, the food the villagers prepared and brought
for His acceptance, the eagerness which time and again they exhibited
in providing the means for His comfort, recalled the reverence which
the people of &Baghdad had shown Him on so many occasions.
"As we passed that morning through the town of &Mardin," that
same fellow-traveler relates, "we were preceded by a mounted escort
of government soldiers, carrying their banners, and beating their
drums in welcome. The &mutisarrif, together with officials and notables,
accompanied us, while men, women and children, crowding the housetops
and filling the streets, awaited our arrival. With dignity and
pomp we traversed that town, and resumed our journey, the &mutisarrif
and those with him escorting us for a considerable distance."
"According to the unanimous testimony of those we met in the course
of that journey," &Nabil has recorded in his narrative, "never before
had they witnessed along this route, over which governors and
&mushirs continually passed back and forth between Constantinople
and &Baghdad, any one travel in such state, dispense such hospitality
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to all, and accord to each so great a share of his bounty." Sighting
from His howdah the Black Sea, as He approached the port of &Samsun,
&Baha'u'llah, at the request of &Mirza &Aqa &Jan, revealed a Tablet,
designated &Lawh-i-Hawdaj (Tablet of the Howdah), which by such
allusions as the "Divine Touchstone," "the grievous and tormenting
Mischief," reaffirmed and supplemented the dire predictions recorded
in the recently revealed Tablet of the Holy Mariner.
In &Samsun the Chief Inspector of the entire province, extending
from &Baghdad to Constantinople, accompanied by several &pashas,
called on Him, showed Him the utmost respect, and was entertained
by Him at luncheon. But seven days after His arrival, He, as foreshadowed
in the Tablet of the Holy Mariner, was put on board a
Turkish steamer and three days later was disembarked, at noon,
together with His fellow-exiles, at the port of Constantinople, on
the first of &Rabi'u'l-Avval 1280 A.H. (August 16, 1863). In two
special carriages, which awaited Him at the landing-stage He and
His family drove to the house of &Shamsi Big, the official who had
been appointed by the government to entertain its guests, and who
lived in the vicinity of the &Khirqiy-i-Sharif mosque. Later they
were transferred to the more commodious house of &Visi &Pasha, in
the neighborhood of the mosque of &Sultan &Muhammad.
With the arrival of &Baha'u'llah at Constantinople, the capital of
the Ottoman Empire and seat of the Caliphate (acclaimed by the
&Muhammadans as "the Dome of Islam," but stigmatized by Him as
the spot whereon the "throne of tyranny" had been established) the
grimmest and most calamitous and yet the most glorious chapter in
the history of the first &Baha'i century may be said to have opened.
A period in which untold privations and unprecedented trials were
mingled with the noblest spiritual triumphs was now commencing.
The day-star of &Baha'u'llah's ministry was about to reach its zenith.
The most momentous years of the Heroic Age of His Dispensation
were at hand. The catastrophic process, foreshadowed as far back
as the year sixty by His Forerunner in the &Qayyumu'l-Asma', was
beginning to be set in motion.
Exactly two decades earlier the &Babi Revelation had been born in
darkest Persia, in the city of &Shiraz. Despite the cruel captivity to
which its Author had been subjected, the stupendous claims He had
voiced had been proclaimed by Him before a distinguished assemblage
in &Tabriz, the capital of &Adhirbayjan. In the hamlet of
&Badasht the Dispensation which His Faith had ushered in had been
fearlessly inaugurated by the champions of His Cause. In the midst
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of the hopelessness and agony of the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran, nine
years later, that Revelation had, swiftly and mysteriously been
brought to sudden fruition. The process of rapid deterioration in
the fortunes of that Faith, which had gradually set in, and was
alarmingly accelerated during the years of &Baha'u'llah's withdrawal
to &Kurdistan, had, in a masterly fashion after His return from
&Sulaymaniyyih, been arrested and reversed. The ethical, the moral
and doctrinal foundations of a nascent community had been subsequently,
in the course of His sojourn in &Baghdad, unassailably
established. And finally, in the Garden of &Ridvan, on the eve of
His banishment to Constantinople, the ten-year delay, ordained by
an inscrutable Providence, had been terminated through the Declaration
of His Mission and the visible emergence of what was to become
the nucleus of a world-embracing Fellowship. What now remained
to be achieved was the proclamation, in the city of Adrianople, of
that same Mission to the world's secular and ecclesiastical leaders, to
be followed, in successive decades, by a further unfoldment, in the
prison-fortress of &Akka, of the principles and precepts constituting
the bedrock of that Faith, by the formulation of the laws and
ordinances designed to safeguard its integrity, by the establishment,
immediately after His ascension, of the Covenant designed to preserve
its unity and perpetuate its influence, by the prodigious and
world-wide extension of its activities, under the guidance of &Abdu'l-Baha,
the Center of that Covenant, and lastly, by the rise, in the
Formative Age of that Faith, of its Administrative Order, the
harbinger of its Golden Age and future glory.
This historic Proclamation was made at a time when the Faith
was in the throes of a crisis of extreme violence, and it was in the
main addressed to the kings of the earth, and to the Christian and
Muslim ecclesiastical leaders who, by virtue of their immense prestige,
ascendancy and authority, assumed an appalling and inescapable responsibility
for the immediate destinies of their subjects and followers.
The initial phase of that Proclamation may be said to have opened
in Constantinople with the communication (the text of which we,
alas, do not possess) addressed by &Baha'u'llah to &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz
himself, the self-styled vicar of the Prophet of &Islam and the absolute
ruler of a mighty empire. So potent, so august a personage was the
first among the sovereigns of the world to receive the Divine Summons,
and the first among Oriental monarchs to sustain the impact of
God's retributive justice. The occasion for this communication was
provided by the infamous edict the &Sultan had promulgated, less than
+P159
four months after the arrival of the exiles in his capital, banishing
them, suddenly and without any justification whatsoever, in the
depth of winter, and in the most humiliating circumstances, to
Adrianople, situated on the extremities of his empire.
That fateful and ignominious decision, arrived at by the &Sultan
and his chief ministers, &Ali &Pasha and &Fu'ad &Pasha, was in no small
degree attributable to the persistent intrigues of the &Mushiru'd-Dawlih,
&Mirza &Husayn &Khan, the Persian Ambassador to the Sublime
Porte, denounced by &Baha'u'llah as His "calumniator," who awaited
the first opportunity to strike at Him and the Cause of which He
was now the avowed and recognized leader. This Ambassador was
pressed continually by his government to persist in the policy of
arousing against &Baha'u'llah the hostility of the Turkish authorities.
He was encouraged by the refusal of &Baha'u'llah to follow the invariable
practice of government guests, however highly placed, of calling
in person, upon their arrival at the capital, on the &Shaykhu'l-Islam,
on the &Sadr-i-Azam, and on the Foreign Minister--&Baha'u'llah did
not even return the calls paid Him by several ministers, by &Kamal
&Pasha and by a former Turkish envoy to the court of Persia. He
was not deterred by &Baha'u'llah's upright and independent attitude
which contrasted so sharply with the mercenariness of the Persian
princes who were wont, on their arrival, to "solicit at every door such
allowances and gifts as they might obtain." He resented &Baha'u'llah's
unwillingness to present Himself at the Persian Embassy, and to
repay the visit of its representative; and, being seconded, in his efforts,
by his accomplice, &Haji &Mirza &Hasan-i-Safa, whom he instructed to
circulate unfounded reports about Him, he succeeded through his
official influence, as well as through his private intercourse with
ecclesiastics, notables and government officials, in representing &Baha'u'llah
as a proud and arrogant person, Who regarded Himself as
subject to no law, Who entertained designs inimical to all established
authority, and Whose forwardness had precipitated the grave differences
that had arisen between Himself and the Persian Government.
Nor was he the only one who indulged in these nefarious schemes.
Others, according to &Abdu'l-Baha, "condemned and vilified" the
exiles, as "a mischief to all the world," as "destructive of treaties and
covenants," as "baleful to all lands" and as "deserving of every
chastisement and punishment."
No less a personage than the highly-respected brother-in-law of
the &Sadr-i-A'zam was commissioned to apprize the Captive of the
edict pronounced against Him--an edict which evinced a virtual
+P160
coalition of the Turkish and Persian imperial governments against a
common adversary, and which in the end brought such tragic consequences
upon the Sultanate, the Caliphate and the &Qajar dynasty.
Refused an audience by &Baha'u'llah that envoy had to content himself
with a presentation of his puerile observations and trivial arguments
to &Abdu'l-Baha and &Aqay-i-Kalim, who were delegated to see him,
and whom he informed that, after three days, he would return to
receive the answer to the order he had been bidden to transmit.
That same day a Tablet, severely condemnatory in tone, was
revealed by &Baha'u'llah, was entrusted by Him, in a sealed envelope,
on the following morning, to &Shamsi Big, who was instructed to
deliver it into the hands of &Ali &Pasha, and to say that it was sent
down from God. "I know not what that letter contained," &Shamsi
Big subsequently informed &Aqay-i-Kalim, "for no sooner had the
Grand Vizir perused it than he turned the color of a corpse, and
remarked: `It is as if the King of Kings were issuing his behest to
his humblest vassal king and regulating his conduct.' So grievous was
his condition that I backed out of his presence." "Whatever action,"
&Baha'u'llah, commenting on the effect that Tablet had produced, is
reported to have stated, "the ministers of the &Sultan took against Us,
after having become acquainted with its contents, cannot be regarded
as unjustifiable. The acts they committed before its perusal, however,
can have no justification."
That Tablet, according to &Nabil, was of considerable length,
opened with words directed to the sovereign himself, severely censured
his ministers, exposed their immaturity and incompetence, and
included passages in which the ministers themselves were addressed, in
which they were boldly challenged, and sternly admonished not to
pride themselves on their worldly possessions, nor foolishly seek the
riches of which time would inexorably rob them.
&Baha'u'llah was on the eve of His departure, which followed
almost immediately upon the promulgation of the edict of His banishment,
when, in a last and memorable interview with the aforementioned
&Haji &Mirza &Hasan-i-Safa, He sent the following message
to the Persian Ambassador: "What did it profit thee, and such as
are like thee, to slay, year after year, so many of the oppressed, and
to inflict upon them manifold afflictions, when they have increased
a hundredfold, and ye find yourselves in complete bewilderment,
knowing not how to relieve your minds of this oppressive thought.
...His Cause transcends any and every plan ye devise. Know this
much: Were all the governments on earth to unite and take My life
+P161
and the lives of all who bear this Name, this Divine Fire would never
be quenched. His Cause will rather encompass all the kings of the
earth, nay all that hath been created from water and clay.... Whatever
may yet befall Us, great shall be our gain, and manifest the loss
wherewith they shall be afflicted."
Pursuant to the peremptory orders issued for the immediate departure
of the already twice banished exiles, &Baha'u'llah, His family,
and His companions, some riding in wagons, others mounted on pack
animals, with their belongings piled in carts drawn by oxen, set out,
accompanied by Turkish officers, on a cold December morning,
amidst the weeping of the friends they were leaving behind, on their
twelve-day journey, across a bleak and windswept country, to a city
characterized by &Baha'u'llah as "the place which none entereth
except such as have rebelled against the authority of the sovereign."
"They expelled Us," is His own testimony in the &Suriy-i-Muluk,
"from thy city (Constantinople) with an abasement with which no
abasement on earth can compare." "Neither My family, nor those who
accompanied Me," He further states, "had the necessary raiment to
protect them from the cold in that freezing weather." And again:
"The eyes of Our enemies wept over Us, and beyond them those of
every discerning person." "A banishment," laments &Nabil, "endured
with such meekness that the pen sheddeth tears when recounting it,
and the page is ashamed to bear its description." "A cold of such
intensity," that same chronicler records, "prevailed that year, that
nonagenarians could not recall its like. In some regions, in both
Turkey and Persia, animals succumbed to its severity and perished
in the snows. The upper reaches of the Euphrates, in Ma'dan-Nuqrih,
were covered with ice for several days--an unprecedented phenomenon--
while in &Diyar-Bakr the river froze over for no less than forty
days." "To obtain water from the springs," one of the exiles of
Adrianople recounts, "a great fire had to be lighted in their immediate
neighborhood, and kept burning for a couple of hours before
they thawed out."
Traveling through rain and storm, at times even making night
marches, the weary travelers, after brief halts at &Kuchik-Chakmachih,
&Buyuk-Chakmachih, &Salvari, &Birkas, and &Baba-Iski, arrived at their
destination, on the first of Rajab 1280 A.H. (December 12, 1863),
and were lodged in the &Khan-i-'Arab, a two-story caravanserai, near
the house of &Izzat-Aqa. Three days later, &Baha'u'llah and His family
were consigned to a house suitable only for summer habitation, in
the &Muradiyyih quarter, near the &Takyiy-i-Mawlavi, and were moved
+P162
again, after a week, to another house, in the vicinity of a mosque
in that same neighborhood. About six months later they transferred
to more commodious quarters, known as the house of &Amru'llah
(House of God's command) situated on the northern side of the
mosque of &Sultan &Salim.
Thus closes the opening scene of one of the most dramatic episodes
in the ministry of &Baha'u'llah. The curtain now rises on what is
admittedly the most turbulent and critical period of the first &Baha'i
century--a period that was destined to precede the most glorious
phase of that ministry, the proclamation of His Message to the world
and its rulers.
+P163
CHAPTER X
The Rebellion of &Mirza &Yahya and the Proclamation
of &Baha'u'llah's Mission in Adrianople
A twenty-year-old Faith had just begun to recover from a series
of successive blows when a crisis of the first magnitude overtook it
and shook it to its roots. Neither the tragic martyrdom of the &Bab
nor the ignominious attempt on the life of the sovereign, nor its
bloody aftermath, nor &Baha'u'llah's humiliating banishment from
His native land, nor even His two-year withdrawal to &Kurdistan,
devastating though they were in their consequences, could compare
in gravity with this first major internal convulsion which seized a
newly rearisen community, and which threatened to cause an irreparable
breach in the ranks of its members. More odious than the
unrelenting hostility which &Abu-Jahl, the uncle of &Muhammad, had
exhibited, more shameful than the betrayal of Jesus Christ by His
disciple, Judas Iscariot, more perfidious than the conduct of the sons
of Jacob towards Joseph their brother, more abhorrent than the deed
committed by one of the sons of Noah, more infamous than even
the criminal act perpetrated by Cain against Abel, the monstrous
behavior of &Mirza &Yahya, one of the half-brothers of &Baha'u'llah, the
nominee of the &Bab, and recognized chief of the &Babi community,
brought in its wake a period of travail which left its mark on the
fortunes of the Faith for no less than half a century. This
supreme crisis &Baha'u'llah Himself designated as the &Ayyam-i-Shidad
(Days of Stress), during which "the most grievous veil" was torn
asunder, and the "most great separation" was irrevocably effected. It
immensely gratified and emboldened its external enemies, both civil
and ecclesiastical, played into their hands, and evoked their unconcealed
derision. It perplexed and confused the friends and supporters
of &Baha'u'llah, and seriously damaged the prestige of the Faith in the
eyes of its western admirers. It had been brewing ever since the
early days of &Baha'u'llah's sojourn in &Baghdad, was temporarily suppressed
by the creative forces which, under His as yet unproclaimed
leadership, reanimated a disintegrating community, and finally broke
out, in all its violence, in the years immediately preceding the proclamation
of His Message. It brought incalculable sorrow to &Baha'u'llah,
+P164
visibly aged Him, and inflicted, through its repercussions, the heaviest
blow ever sustained by Him in His lifetime. It was engineered
throughout by the tortuous intrigues and incessant machinations of
that same diabolical Siyyid &Muhammad, that vile whisperer who, disregarding
&Baha'u'llah's advice, had insisted on accompanying Him
to Constantinople and Adrianople, and was now redoubling his
efforts, with unrelaxing vigilance, to bring it to a head.
&Mirza &Yahya had, ever since the return of &Baha'u'llah from
&Sulaymaniyyih, either chosen to maintain himself in an inglorious
seclusion in his own house, or had withdrawn, whenever danger
threatened, to such places of safety as &Hillih and Basra. To the
latter town he had fled, disguised as a &Baghdad Jew, and become a
shoe merchant. So great was his terror that he is reported to have
said on one occasion: "Whoever claims to have seen me, or to have
heard my voice, I pronounce an infidel." On being informed of
&Baha'u'llah's impending departure for Constantinople, he at first hid
himself in the garden of Huvaydar, in the vicinity of &Baghdad,
meditating meanwhile on the advisability of fleeing either to Abyssinia,
India or some other country. Refusing to heed &Baha'u'llah's
advice to proceed to Persia, and there disseminate the writings of
the &Bab, he sent a certain &Haji &Muhammad &Kazim, who resembled
him, to the government-house to procure for him a passport in the
name of &Mirza &Aliy-i-Kirmanshahi, and left &Baghdad, abandoning
the writings there, and proceeded in disguise, accompanied by an
Arab &Babi, named &Zahir, to Mosul, where he joined the exiles who
were on their way to Constantinople.
A constant witness of the ever deepening attachment of the exiles
to &Baha'u'llah and of their amazing veneration for Him; fully aware
of the heights to which his Brother's popularity had risen in &Baghdad,
in the course of His journey to Constantinople, and later through
His association with the notables and governors of Adrianople; incensed
by the manifold evidences of the courage, the dignity, and
independence which that Brother had demonstrated in His dealings
with the authorities in the capital; provoked by the numerous Tablets
which the Author of a newly-established Dispensation had been
ceaselessly revealing; allowing himself to be duped by the enticing
prospects of unfettered leadership held out to him by Siyyid &Muhammad,
the Antichrist of the &Baha'i Revelation, even as &Muhammad
&Shah had been misled by the Antichrist of the &Babi Revelation, &Haji
&Mirza &Aqasi; refusing to be admonished by prominent members of
the community who advised him, in writing, to exercise wisdom and
+P165
restraint; forgetful of the kindness and counsels of &Baha'u'llah, who,
thirteen years his senior, had watched over his early youth and manhood;
emboldened by the sin-covering eye of his Brother, Who, on
so many occasions, had drawn a veil over his many crimes and follies,
this arch-breaker of the Covenant of the &Bab, spurred on by his
mounting jealousy and impelled by his passionate love of leadership,
was driven to perpetrate such acts as defied either concealment or
toleration.
Irremediably corrupted through his constant association with Siyyid
&Muhammad, that living embodiment of wickedness, cupidity
and deceit, he had already in the absence of &Baha'u'llah from &Baghdad,
and even after His return from &Sulaymaniyyih, stained the annals
of the Faith with acts of indelible infamy. His corruption, in scores
of instances, of the text of the &Bab's writings; the blasphemous addition
he made to the formula of the &adhan by the introduction of a
passage in which he identified himself with the Godhead; his insertion
of references in those writings to a succession in which he nominated
himself and his descendants as heirs of the &Bab; the vacillation and
apathy he had betrayed when informed of the tragic death which his
Master had suffered; his condemnation to death of all the Mirrors
of the &Babi Dispensation, though he himself was one of those Mirrors;
his dastardly act in causing the murder of &Dayyan, whom he feared
and envied; his foul deed in bringing about, during the absence of
&Baha'u'llah from &Baghdad, the assassination of &Mirza &Ali-Akbar,
the &Bab's cousin; and, most heinous of all, his unspeakably repugnant
violation, during that same period, of the honor of the &Bab Himself--
all these, as attested by &Aqay-i-Kalim, and reported by &Nabil in his
Narrative, were to be thrown into a yet more lurid light by further
acts the perpetration of which were to seal irretrievably his doom.
Desperate designs to poison &Baha'u'llah and His companions, and
thereby reanimate his own defunct leadership, began, approximately
a year after their arrival in Adrianople, to agitate his mind. Well
aware of the erudition of his half-brother, &Aqay-i-Kalim, in matters
pertaining to medicine, he, under various pretexts, sought enlightenment
from him regarding the effects of certain herbs and poisons,
and then began, contrary to his wont, to invite &Baha'u'llah to his
home, where, one day, having smeared His tea-cup with a substance
he had concocted, he succeeded in poisoning Him sufficiently to
produce a serious illness which lasted no less than a month, and which
was accompanied by severe pains and high fever, the aftermath of
which left &Baha'u'llah with a shaking hand till the end of His life.
+P166
So grave was His condition that a foreign doctor, named &Shishman,
was called in to attend Him. The doctor was so appalled by His livid
hue that he deemed His case hopeless, and, after having fallen at
His feet, retired from His presence without prescribing a remedy.
A few days later that doctor fell ill and died. Prior to his death
&Baha'u'llah had intimated that doctor &Shishman had sacrificed his
life for Him. To &Mirza &Aqa &Jan, sent by &Baha'u'llah to visit him,
the doctor had stated that God had answered his prayers, and that
after his death a certain Dr. &Chupan, whom he knew to be reliable,
should, whenever necessary, be called in his stead.
On another occasion this same &Mirza &Yahya had, according to
the testimony of one of his wives, who had temporarily deserted him
and revealed the details of the above-mentioned act, poisoned the well
which provided water for the family and companions of &Baha'u'llah,
in consequence of which the exiles manifested strange symptoms of
illness. He even had, gradually and with great circumspection, disclosed
to one of the companions, &Ustad &Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Salmani,
the barber, on whom he had lavished great marks of favor, his wish
that he, on some propitious occasion, when attending &Baha'u'llah in
His bath, should assassinate Him. "So enraged was &Ustad &Muhammad-'Ali,"
&Aqay-i-Kalim, recounting this episode to &Nabil in Adrianople,
has stated, "when apprized of this proposition, that he felt a strong
desire to kill &Mirza &Yahya on the spot, and would have done so but
for his fear of &Baha'u'llah's displeasure. I happened to be the first
person he encountered as he came out of the bath weeping.... I
eventually succeeded, after much persuasion, in inducing him to
return to the bath and complete his unfinished task." Though ordered
subsequently by &Baha'u'llah not to divulge this occurrence to
any one, the barber was unable to hold his peace and betrayed the
secret, plunging thereby the community into great consternation.
"When the secret nursed in his (&Mirza &Yahya) bosom was revealed
by God," &Baha'u'llah Himself affirms, "he disclaimed such an intention,
and imputed it to that same servant (&Ustad &Muhammad-'Ali)."
The moment had now arrived for Him Who had so recently,
both verbally and in numerous Tablets, revealed the implications of
the claims He had advanced, to acquaint formally the one who was
the nominee of the &Bab with the character of His Mission. &Mirza
&Aqa &Jan was accordingly commissioned to bear to &Mirza &Yahya the
newly revealed &Suriy-i-Amr, which unmistakably affirmed those
claims, to read aloud to him its contents, and demand an unequivocal
and conclusive reply. &Mirza &Yahya's request for a one day respite,
+P167
during which he could meditate his answer, was granted. The only
reply, however, that was forthcoming was a counter-declaration,
specifying the hour and the minute in which he had been made the
recipient of an independent Revelation, necessitating the unqualified
submission to him of the peoples of the earth in both the East and
the West.
So presumptuous an assertion, made by so perfidious an adversary
to the envoy of the Bearer of so momentous a Revelation was the
signal for the open and final rupture between &Baha'u'llah and &Mirza
&Yahya--a rupture that marks one of the darkest dates in &Baha'i
history. Wishing to allay the fierce animosity that blazed in the
bosom of His enemies, and to assure to each one of the exiles a complete
freedom to choose between Him and them, &Baha'u'llah withdrew
with His family to the house of &Rida Big (&Shavval 22, 1282
A.H.), which was rented by His order, and refused, for two months,
to associate with either friend or stranger, including His own companions.
He instructed &Aqay-i-Kalim to divide all the furniture,
bedding, clothing and utensils that were to be found in His home,
and send half to the house of &Mirza &Yahya; to deliver to him certain
relics he had long coveted, such as the seals, rings, and manuscripts
in the handwriting of the &Bab; and to insure that he received his
full share of the allowance fixed by the government for the maintenance
of the exiles and their families. He, moreover, directed &Aqay-i-Kalim
to order to attend to &Mirza &Yahya's shopping, for several hours
a day, any one of the companions whom he himself might select, and
to assure him that whatever would henceforth be received in his name
from Persia would be delivered into his own hands.
"That day," &Aqay-i-Kalim is reported to have informed &Nabil,
"witnessed a most great commotion. All the companions lamented
in their separation from the Blessed Beauty." "Those days," is the
written testimony of one of those companions, "were marked by
tumult and confusion. We were sore-perplexed, and greatly feared
lest we be permanently deprived of the bounty of His presence."
This grief and perplexity were, however, destined to be of short
duration. The calumnies with which both &Mirza &Yahya and Siyyid
&Muhammad now loaded their letters, which they disseminated in
Persia and &Iraq, as well as the petitions, couched in obsequious language,
which the former had addressed to &Khurshid &Pasha, the
governor of Adrianople, and to his assistant &Aziz &Pasha, impelled
&Baha'u'llah to emerge from His retirement. He was soon after informed
that this same brother had despatched one of his wives to the
+P168
government house to complain that her husband had been cheated
of his rights, and that her children were on the verge of starvation--
an accusation that spread far and wide and, reaching Constantinople,
became, to &Baha'u'llah's profound distress, the subject of excited discussion
and injurious comment in circles that had previously been
greatly impressed by the high standard which His noble and dignified
behavior had set in that city. Siyyid &Muhammad journeyed to the
capital, begged the Persian Ambassador, the &Mushiru'd-Dawlih, to
allot &Mirza &Yahya and himself a stipend, accused &Baha'u'llah of sending
an agent to assassinate &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, and spared no effort
to heap abuse and calumny on One Who had, for so long and so
patiently, forborne with him, and endured in silence the enormities
of which he had been guilty.
After a stay of about one year in the house of &Rida Big &Baha'u'llah
returned to the house He had occupied before His withdrawal
from His companions, and thence, after three months, He transferred
His residence to the house of &Izzat &Aqa, in which He continued
to live until His departure from Adrianople. It was in this
house, in the month of &Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1284 A.H. (Sept. 1867)
that an event of the utmost significance occurred, which completely
discomfited &Mirza &Yahya and his supporters, and proclaimed to friend
and foe alike &Baha'u'llah's triumph over them. A certain &Mir &Muhammad,
a &Babi of &Shiraz, greatly resenting alike the claims and
the cowardly seclusion of &Mirza &Yahya, succeeded in forcing Siyyid
&Muhammad to induce him to meet &Baha'u'llah face to face, so that
a discrimination might be publicly effected between the true and the
false. Foolishly assuming that his illustrious Brother would never
countenance such a proposition, &Mirza &Yahya appointed the mosque
of &Sultan &Salim as the place for their encounter. No sooner had
&Baha'u'llah been informed of this arrangement than He set forth, on
foot, in the heat of midday, and accompanied by this same &Mir
&Muhammad, for the afore-mentioned mosque, which was situated in
a distant part of the city, reciting, as He walked, through the streets
and markets, verses, in a voice and in a manner that greatly astonished
those who saw and heard Him.
"O &Muhammad!", are some of the words He uttered on that
memorable occasion, as testified by Himself in a Tablet, "He Who
is the Spirit hath, verily, issued from His habitation, and with Him
have come forth the souls of God's chosen ones and the realities of
His Messengers. Behold, then, the dwellers of the realms on high
above Mine head, and all the testimonies of the Prophets in My grasp.
+P169
Say: Were all the divines, all the wise men, all the kings and rulers
on earth to gather together, I, in very truth, would confront them,
and would proclaim the verses of God, the Sovereign, the Almighty,
the All-Wise. I am He Who feareth no one, though all who are in
heaven and all who are on earth rise up against me.... This is Mine
hand which God hath turned white for all the worlds to behold.
This is My staff; were We to cast it down, it would, of a truth,
swallow up all created things." &Mir &Muhammad, who had been sent
ahead to announce &Baha'u'llah's arrival, soon returned, and informed
Him that he who had challenged His authority wished, owing to unforeseen
circumstances, to postpone for a day or two the interview.
Upon His return to His house &Baha'u'llah revealed a Tablet, wherein
He recounted what had happened, fixed the time for the postponed
interview, sealed the Tablet with His seal, entrusted it to &Nabil, and
instructed him to deliver it to one of the new believers, &Mulla
&Muhammad-i-Tabrizi, for the information of Siyyid &Muhammad,
who was in the habit of frequenting that believer's shop. It was
arranged to demand from Siyyid &Muhammad, ere the delivery of that
Tablet, a sealed note pledging &Mirza &Yahya, in the event of failing
to appear at the trysting-place, to affirm in writing that his claims
were false. Siyyid &Muhammad promised that he would produce the
next day the document required, and though &Nabil, for three successive
days, waited in that shop for the reply, neither did the Siyyid
appear, nor was such a note sent by him. That undelivered Tablet,
&Nabil, recording twenty-three years later this historic episode in
his chronicle, affirms was still in his possession, "as fresh as the day
on which the Most Great Branch had penned it, and the seal of the
Ancient Beauty had sealed and adorned it," a tangible and irrefutable
testimony to &Baha'u'llah's established ascendancy over a routed
opponent.
&Baha'u'llah's reaction to this most distressful episode in His ministry
was, as already observed, characterized by acute anguish. "He
who for months and years," He laments, "I reared with the hand of
loving-kindness hath risen to take My life." "The cruelties inflicted
by My oppressors," He wrote, in allusion to these perfidious enemies,
"have bowed Me down, and turned My hair white. Shouldst thou
present thyself before My throne, thou wouldst fail to recognize the
Ancient Beauty, for the freshness of His countenance is altered, and
its brightness hath faded, by reason of the oppression of the infidels."
"By God!" He cries out, "No spot is left on My body that hath not
been touched by the spears of thy machinations." And again: "Thou
+P170
hast perpetrated against thy Brother what no man hath perpetrated
against another." "What hath proceeded from thy pen," He, furthermore,
has affirmed, "hath caused the Countenances of Glory to be
prostrated upon the dust, hath rent in twain the Veil of Grandeur
in the Sublime Paradise, and lacerated the hearts of the favored ones
established upon the loftiest seats." And yet, in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
a forgiving Lord assures this same brother, this "source of perversion,"
"from whose own soul the winds of passion had risen and
blown upon him," to "fear not because of thy deeds," bids him "return
unto God, humble, submissive and lowly," and affirms that "He will
put away from thee thy sins," and that "thy Lord is the Forgiving,
the Mighty, the All-Merciful."
The "Most Great Idol" had at the bidding and through the power
of Him Who is the Fountain-head of the Most Great Justice been cast
out of the community of the Most Great Name, confounded,
abhorred and broken. Cleansed from this pollution, delivered from
this horrible possession, God's infant Faith could now forge ahead,
and, despite the turmoil that had convulsed it, demonstrate its
capacity to fight further battles, capture loftier heights, and win
mightier victories.
A temporary breach had admittedly been made in the ranks of
its supporters. Its glory had been eclipsed, and its annals stained forever.
Its name, however, could not be obliterated, its spirit was far
from broken, nor could this so-called schism tear its fabric asunder.
The Covenant of the &Bab, to which reference has already been made,
with its immutable truths, incontrovertible prophecies, and repeated
warnings, stood guard over that Faith, insuring its integrity, demonstrating
its incorruptibility, and perpetuating its influence.
Though He Himself was bent with sorrow, and still suffered from
the effects of the attempt on His life, and though He was well aware
a further banishment was probably impending, yet, undaunted by
the blow which His Cause had sustained, and the perils with which
it was encompassed, &Baha'u'llah arose with matchless power, even
before the ordeal was overpast, to proclaim the Mission with which
He had been entrusted to those who, in East and West, had the reins
of supreme temporal authority in their grasp. The day-star of His
Revelation was, through this very Proclamation, destined to shine in
its meridian glory, and His Faith manifest the plenitude of its divine
power.
A period of prodigious activity ensued which, in its repercussions,
outshone the vernal years of &Baha'u'llah's ministry. "Day and night,"
+P171
an eye-witness has written, "the Divine verses were raining down in
such number that it was impossible to record them. &Mirza &Aqa &Jan
wrote them as they were dictated, while the Most Great Branch was
continually occupied in transcribing them. There was not a moment
to spare." "A number of secretaries," &Nabil has testified, "were busy
day and night and yet they were unable to cope with the task.
Among them was &Mirza &Baqir-i-Shirazi.... He alone transcribed
no less than two thousand verses every day. He labored during six
or seven months. Every month the equivalent of several volumes
would be transcribed by him and sent to Persia. About twenty
volumes, in his fine penmanship, he left behind as a remembrance
for &Mirza &Aqa &Jan." &Baha'u'llah, Himself, referring to the verses
revealed by Him, has written: "Such are the outpourings ... from
the clouds of Divine Bounty that within the space of an hour the
equivalent of a thousand verses hath been revealed." "So great is
the grace vouchsafed in this day that in a single day and night, were
an amanuensis capable of accomplishing it to be found, the equivalent
of the Persian &Bayan would be sent down from the heaven of
Divine holiness." "I swear by God!" He, in another connection has
affirmed, "In those days the equivalent of all that hath been sent down
aforetime unto the Prophets hath been revealed." "That which hath
already been revealed in this land (Adrianople)," He, furthermore,
referring to the copiousness of His writings, has declared, "secretaries
are incapable of transcribing. It has, therefore, remained for the most
part untranscribed."
Already in the very midst of that grievous crisis, and even before
it came to a head, Tablets unnumbered were streaming from the pen
of &Baha'u'llah, in which the implications of His newly-asserted claims
were fully expounded. The &Suriy-i-Amr, the &Lawh-i-Nuqtih, the
&Lawh-i-Ahmad, the &Suriy-i-Ashab, the &Lawh-i-Sayyah, the &Suriy-i-Damm,
the &Suriy-i-Hajj, the &Lawhu'r-Ruh, the &Lawhu'r-Ridvan,
the &Lawhu't-Tuqa were among the Tablets which His pen had already
set down when He transferred His residence to the house of &Izzat
&Aqa. Almost immediately after the "Most Great Separation" had
been effected, the weightiest Tablets associated with His sojourn in
Adrianople were revealed. The &Suriy-i-Muluk, the most momentous
Tablet revealed by &Baha'u'llah (&Surih of Kings) in which He, for
the first time, directs His words collectively to the entire company
of the monarchs of East and West, and in which the &Sultan of
Turkey, and his ministers, the kings of Christendom, the French and
Persian Ambassadors accredited to the Sublime Porte, the Muslim
+P172
ecclesiastical leaders in Constantinople, its wise men and inhabitants,
the people of Persia and the philosophers of the world are separately
addressed; the &Kitab-i-Badi', His apologia, written to refute the
accusations levelled against Him by &Mirza &Mihdiy-i-Rashti, corresponding
to the &Kitab-i-Iqan, revealed in defense of the &Babi Revelation;
the &Munajathay-i-Siyam (Prayers for Fasting), written in
anticipation of the Book of His Laws; the first Tablet to Napoleon
III, in which the Emperor of the French is addressed and the sincerity
of his professions put to the test; the &Lawh-i-Sultan, His detailed
epistle to &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, in which the aims, purposes and principles
of His Faith are expounded and the validity of His Mission
demonstrated; the &Suriy-i-Ra'is, begun in the village of &Kashanih
on His way to Gallipoli, and completed shortly after at &Gyawur-Kyuy
--these may be regarded not only as the most outstanding
among the innumerable Tablets revealed in Adrianople, but as
occupying a foremost position among all the writings of the Author
of the &Baha'i Revelation.
In His message to the kings of the earth, &Baha'u'llah, in the
&Suriy-i-Muluk, discloses the character of His Mission; exhorts them to
embrace His Message; affirms the validity of the &Bab's Revelation;
reproves them for their indifference to His Cause; enjoins them to
be just and vigilant, to compose their differences and reduce their
armaments; expatiates on His afflictions; commends the poor to their
care; warns them that "Divine chastisement" will "assail" them "from
every direction," if they refuse to heed His counsels, and prophesies
His "triumph upon earth" though no king be found who would turn
his face towards Him.
The kings of Christendom, more specifically, &Baha'u'llah, in that
same Tablet, censures for having failed to "welcome" and "draw
nigh" unto Him Who is the "Spirit of Truth," and for having persisted
in "disporting" themselves with their "pastimes and fancies,"
and declares to them that they "shall be called to account" for their
doings, "in the presence of Him Who shall gather together the entire
creation."
He bids &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz "hearken to the speech ... of Him
Who unerringly treadeth the Straight Path"; exhorts him to direct
in person the affairs of his people, and not to repose confidence in
unworthy ministers; admonishes him not to rely on his treasures, nor
to "overstep the bounds of moderation" but to deal with his subjects
with "undeviating justice"; and acquaints him with the overwhelming
burden of His own tribulations. In that same Tablet He asserts
+P173
His innocence and His loyalty to the &Sultan and his ministers;
describes the circumstances of His banishment from the capital; and
assures him of His prayers to God on his behalf.
To this same &Sultan He, moreover, as attested by the &Suriy-i-Ra'is,
transmitted, while in Gallipoli, a verbal message through a Turkish
officer named &Umar, requesting the sovereign to grant Him a ten
minute interview, "so that he may demand whatsoever he would
deem to be a sufficient testimony and would regard as proof of the
veracity of Him Who is the Truth," adding that "should God enable
Him to produce it, let him, then, release these wronged ones and
leave them to themselves."
To Napoleon III &Baha'u'llah addressed a specific Tablet, which was
forwarded through one of the French ministers to the Emperor, in
which He dwelt on the sufferings endured by Himself and His followers;
avowed their innocence; reminded him of his two pronouncements
on behalf of the oppressed and the helpless; and, desiring to
test the sincerity of his motives, called upon him to "inquire into
the condition of such as have been wronged," and "extend his care
to the weak," and look upon Him and His fellow-exiles "with the eye
of loving-kindness."
To &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah He revealed a Tablet, the lengthiest epistle
to any single sovereign, in which He testified to the unparalleled
severity of the troubles that had touched Him; recalled the sovereign's
recognition of His innocence on the eve of His departure for
&Iraq; adjured him to rule with justice; described God's summons to
Himself to arise and proclaim His Message; affirmed the disinterestedness
of His counsels; proclaimed His belief in the unity of God and
in His Prophets; uttered several prayers on the &Shah's behalf; justified
His own conduct in &Iraq; stressed the beneficent influence of His
teachings; and laid special emphasis on His condemnation of all forms
of violence and mischief. He, moreover, in that same Tablet, demonstrated
the validity of His Mission; expressed the wish to be "brought
face to face with the divines of the age, and produce proofs and
testimonies in the presence of His Majesty," which would establish the
truth of His Cause; exposed the perversity of the ecclesiastical leaders
in His own days, as well as in the days of Jesus Christ and of
&Muhammad; prophesied that His sufferings will be followed by the
"outpourings of a supreme mercy" and by an "overflowing prosperity";
drew a parallel between the afflictions that had befallen His
kindred and those endured by the relatives of the Prophet &Muhammad;
expatiated on the instability of human affairs; depicted the
+P174
city to which He was about to be banished; foreshadowed the future
abasement of the &ulamas; and concluded with yet another expression
of hope that the sovereign might be assisted by God to "aid His
Faith and turn towards His justice."
To &Ali &Pasha, the Grand Vizir, &Baha'u'llah addressed the
&Suriy-i-Ra'is. In this He bids him "hearken to the voice of God"; declares
that neither his "grunting," nor the "barking" of those around him,
nor "the hosts of the world" can withhold the Almighty from achieving
His purpose; accuses him of having perpetrated that which has
caused "the Apostle of God to lament in the most sublime Paradise,"
and of having conspired with the Persian Ambassador to harm Him;
forecasts "the manifest loss" in which he would soon find himself;
glorifies the Day of His own Revelation; prophesies that this Revelation
will "erelong encompass the earth and all that dwell therein,"
and that the "Land of Mystery (Adrianople) and what is beside
it ... shall pass out of the hands of the King, and commotions shall
appear, and the voice of lamentation shall be raised, and the evidences
of mischief shall be revealed on all sides"; identifies that same Revelation
with the Revelations of Moses and of Jesus; recalls the "arrogance"
of the Persian Emperor in the days of &Muhammad, the
"transgression" of Pharaoh in the days of Moses, and of the "impiety"
of Nimrod in the days of Abraham; and proclaims His purpose to
"quicken the world and unite all its peoples."
The ministers of the &Sultan, He, in the &Suriy-i-Muluk, reprimands
for their conduct, in passages in which He challenges the
soundness of their principles, predicts that they will be punished for
their acts, denounces their pride and injustice, asserts His integrity
and detachment from the vanities of the world, and proclaims His
innocence.
The French Ambassador accredited to the Sublime Porte, He, in
that same &Surih, rebukes for having combined with the Persian Ambassador
against Him; reminds him of the counsels of Jesus Christ,
as recorded in the Gospel of St. John; warns him that he will be held
answerable for the things his hands have wrought; and counsels him,
together with those like him, not to deal with any one as he has
dealt with Him.
To the Persian Ambassador in Constantinople, He, in that same
Tablet, addresses lengthy passages in which He exposes his delusions
and calumnies, denounces his injustice and the injustice of his
countrymen, assures him that He harbors no ill-will against him,
declares that, should he realize the enormity of his deed, he would
+P175
mourn all the days of his life, affirms that he will persist till his death
in his heedlessness, justifies His own conduct in &Tihran and in &Iraq,
and bears witness to the corruption of the Persian minister in
&Baghdad and to his collusion with this minister.
To the entire company of the ecclesiastical leaders of &Sunni &Islam
in Constantinople He addresses a specific message in the same &Suriy-i-Muluk
in which He denounces them as heedless and spiritually dead;
reproaches them for their pride and for failing to seek His presence;
unveils to them the full glory and significance of His Mission;
affirms that their leaders, had they been alive, would have "circled
around Him"; condemns them as "worshippers of names" and lovers
of leadership; and avows that God will find naught acceptable from
them unless they "be made new" in His estimation.
To the wise men of the City of Constantinople and the philosophers
of the world He devotes the concluding passages of the &Suriy-i-Muluk,
in which He cautions them not to wax proud before God;
reveals to them the essence of true wisdom; stresses the importance
of faith and upright conduct; rebukes them for having failed to
seek enlightenment from Him; and counsels them not to "overstep
the bounds of God," nor turn their gaze towards the "ways of men
and their habits."
To the inhabitants of Constantinople He, in that same Tablet,
declares that He "feareth no one except God," that He speaks
"naught except at His (God) bidding," that He follows naught save
God's truth, that He found the governors and elders of the city as
"children gathered about and disporting themselves with clay," and
that He perceived no one sufficiently mature to acquire the truths
which God had taught Him. He bids them take firm hold on the
precepts of God; warns them not to wax proud before God and His
loved ones; recalls the tribulations, and extols the virtues, of the
&Imam &Husayn; prays that He Himself may suffer similar afflictions;
prophesies that erelong God will raise up a people who will recount
His troubles and demand the restitution of His rights from His
oppressors; and calls upon them to give ear to His words, and return
unto God and repent.
And finally, addressing the people of Persia, He, in that same
Tablet, affirms that were they to put Him to death God will assuredly
raise up One in His stead, and asserts that the Almighty will "perfect
His light" though they, in their secret hearts, abhor it.
So weighty a proclamation, at so critical a period, by the Bearer
of so sublime a Message, to the kings of the earth, Muslim and Christian
+P176
alike, to ministers and ambassadors, to the ecclesiastical heads
of &Sunni &Islam, to the wise men and inhabitants of Constantinople--
the seat of both the Sultanate and the Caliphate--to the philosophers
of the world and the people of Persia, is not to be regarded as the
only outstanding event associated with &Baha'u'llah's sojourn in
Adrianople. Other developments and happenings of great, though
lesser, significance must be noted in these pages, if we would justly
esteem the importance of this agitated and most momentous phase of
&Baha'u'llah's ministry.
It was at this period, and as a direct consequence of the rebellion
and appalling downfall of &Mirza &Yahya, that certain disciples of
&Baha'u'llah (who may well rank among the "treasures" promised Him
by God when bowed down with chains in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran),
including among them one of the Letters of the Living, some survivors
of the struggle of &Tabarsi, and the erudite &Mirza &Ahmad-i-Azghandi,
arose to defend the newborn Faith, to refute, in numerous
and detailed apologies, as their Master had done in the &Kitab-i-Badi',
the arguments of His opponents, and to expose their odious deeds.
It was at this period that the limits of the Faith were enlarged, when
its banner was permanently planted in the Caucasus by the hand of
&Mulla &Abu-Talib and others whom &Nabil had converted, when its
first Egyptian center was established at the time when Siyyid
&Husayn-i-Kashani and &Haji &Baqir-i-Kashani took up their residence
in that country, and when to the lands already warmed and illuminated
by the early rays of God's Revelation--&Iraq, Turkey and
Persia--Syria was added. It was in this period that the greeting of
"&Allah-u-Abha" superseded the old salutation of "&Allah-u-Akbar,"
and was simultaneously adopted in Persia and Adrianople, the first
to use it in the former country, at the suggestion of &Nabil, being
&Mulla &Muhammad-i-Furughi, one of the defenders of the Fort of
&Shaykh &Tabarsi. It was in this period that the phrase "the people of
the &Bayan," now denoting the followers of &Mirza &Yahya, was discarded,
and was supplanted by the term "the people of &Baha." It
was during those days that &Nabil, recently honored with the title
of &Nabil-i-A'zam, in a Tablet specifically addressed to him, in which
he was bidden to "deliver the Message" of his Lord "to East and
West," arose, despite intermittent persecutions, to tear asunder the
"most grievous veil," to implant the love of an adored Master in the
hearts of His countrymen, and to champion the Cause which his
Beloved had, under such tragic conditions, proclaimed. It was during
those same days that &Baha'u'llah instructed this same &Nabil to recite
+P177
on His behalf the two newly revealed Tablets of the Pilgrimage,
and to perform, in His stead, the rites prescribed in them, when
visiting the &Bab's House in &Shiraz and the Most Great House in
&Baghdad--an act that marks the inception of one of the holiest
observances, which, in a later period, the &Kitab-i-Aqdas was to
formally establish. It was during this period that the "Prayers of
Fasting" were revealed by &Baha'u'llah, in anticipation of the Law
which that same Book was soon to promulgate. It was, too, during
the days of &Baha'u'llah's banishment to Adrianople that a Tablet was
addressed by Him to &Mulla &Ali-Akbar-i-Shahmirzadi and &Jamal-i-Burujirdi,
two of His well-known followers in &Tihran, instructing
them to transfer, with the utmost secrecy, the remains of the &Bab
from the &Imam-Zadih &Ma'sum, where they were concealed, to some
other place of safety--an act which was subsequently proved to have
been providential, and which may be regarded as marking another
stage in the long and laborious transfer of those remains to the heart
of Mt. Carmel, and to the spot which He, in His instructions to
&Abdu'l-Baha, was later to designate. It was during that period that
the &Suriy-i-Ghusn (&Surih of the Branch) was revealed, in which
&Abdu'l-Baha's future station is foreshadowed, and in which He is
eulogized as the "Branch of Holiness," the "Limb of the Law of God,"
the "Trust of God," "sent down in the form of a human temple"--
a Tablet which may well be regarded as the harbinger of the rank
which was to be bestowed upon Him, in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, and
which was to be later elucidated and confirmed in the Book of His
Covenant. And finally, it was during that period that the first
pilgrimages were made to the residence of One Who was now the
visible Center of a newly-established Faith--pilgrimages which by
reason of their number and nature, an alarmed government in Persia
was first impelled to restrict, and later to prohibit, but which were
the precursors of the converging streams of Pilgrims who, from East
and West, at first under perilous and arduous circumstances, were
to direct their steps towards the prison-fortress of &Akka--pilgrimages
which were to culminate in the historic arrival of a royal convert
at the foot of Mt. Carmel, who, at the very threshold of a longed-for
and much advertised pilgrimage, was so cruelly thwarted from
achieving her purpose.
These notable developments, some synchronizing with, and others
flowing from, the proclamation of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, and
from the internal convulsion which the Cause had undergone, could
not escape the attention of the external enemies of the Movement,
+P178
who were bent on exploiting to the utmost every crisis which the
folly of its friends or the perfidy of renegades might at any time
precipitate. The thick clouds had hardly been dissipated by the
sudden outburst of the rays of a Sun, now shining from its meridian,
when the darkness of another catastrophe--the last the Author of
that Faith was destined to suffer--fell upon it, blackening its firmament
and subjecting it to one of the severest trials it had as yet
experienced.
Emboldened by the recent ordeals with which &Baha'u'llah had
been so cruelly afflicted, these enemies, who had been momentarily
quiescent, began to demonstrate afresh, and in a number of ways,
the latent animosity they nursed in their hearts. A persecution,
varying in the degree of its severity, began once more to break out in
various countries. In &Adhirbayjan and &Zanjan, in &Nishapur and
&Tihran, the adherents of the Faith were either imprisoned, vilified,
penalized, tortured or put to death. Among the sufferers may be
singled out the intrepid &Najaf-'Aliy-i-Zanjani, a survivor of the
struggle of &Zanjan, and immortalized in the "Epistle to the Son of
the Wolf," who, bequeathing the gold in his possession to his executioner,
was heard to shout aloud "&Ya &Rabbiya'l-Abha" before he was
beheaded. In Egypt, a greedy and vicious consul-general extorted no
less than a hundred thousand &tumans from a wealthy Persian convert,
named &Haji &Abu'l-Qasim-i-Shirazi; arrested &Haji &Mirza &Haydar-'Ali
and six of his fellow-believers, and instigated their condemnation
to a nine year exile in &Khartum, confiscating all the writings in their
possession, and then threw into prison &Nabil, whom &Baha'u'llah had
sent to appeal to the Khedive on their behalf. In &Baghdad and
&Kazimayn indefatigable enemies, watching their opportunity, subjected
&Baha'u'llah's faithful supporters to harsh and ignominious
treatment; savagely disemboweled &Abdu'r-Rasul-i-Qumi, as he was
carrying water in a skin, at the hour of dawn, from the river to the
Most Great House, and banished, amidst scenes of public derision,
about seventy companions to Mosul, including women and children.
No less active were &Mirza &Husayn-Khan, the &Mushiru'd-Dawlih,
and his associates, who, determined to take full advantage of the
troubles that had recently visited &Baha'u'llah, arose to encompass His
destruction. The authorities in the capital were incensed by the
esteem shown Him by the governor &Muhammad &Pashay-i-Qibrisi, a
former Grand Vizir, and his successors &Sulayman &Pasha, of the
&Qadiriyyih Order, and particularly &Khurshid &Pasha, who, openly and
on many occasions, frequented the house of &Baha'u'llah, entertained
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Him in the days of &Ramadan, and evinced a fervent admiration for
&Abdu'l-Baha. They were well aware of the challenging tone &Baha'u'llah
had assumed in some of His newly revealed Tablets, and
conscious of the instability prevailing in their own country. They
were disturbed by the constant comings and goings of pilgrims in
Adrianople, and by the exaggerated reports of &Fu'ad &Pasha, who had
recently passed through on a tour of inspection. The petitions of
&Mirza &Yahya which reached them through Siyyid &Muhammad, his
agent, had provoked them. Anonymous letters (written by this same
Siyyid and by an accomplice, &Aqa &Jan, serving in the Turkish artillery)
which perverted the writings of &Baha'u'llah, and which accused
Him of having conspired with Bulgarian leaders and certain ministers
of European powers to achieve, with the help of some thousands
of His followers, the conquest of Constantinople, had filled their
breasts with alarm. And now, encouraged by the internal dissensions
which had shaken the Faith, and irritated by the evident esteem in
which &Baha'u'llah was held by the consuls of foreign powers stationed
in Adrianople, they determined to take drastic and immediate action
which would extirpate that Faith, isolate its Author and reduce Him
to powerlessness. The indiscretions committed by some of its over-zealous
followers, who had arrived in Constantinople, no doubt,
aggravated an already acute situation.
The fateful decision was eventually arrived at to banish &Baha'u'llah
to the penal colony of &Akka, and &Mirza &Yahya to Famagusta
in Cyprus. This decision was embodied in a strongly worded &Farman,
issued by &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz. The companions of &Baha'u'llah, who
had arrived in the capital, together with a few who later joined them,
as well as &Aqa &Jan, the notorious mischief-maker, were arrested,
interrogated, deprived of their papers and flung into prison. The
members of the community in Adrianople were, several times, summoned
to the governorate to ascertain their number, while rumors
were set afloat that they were to be dispersed and banished to different
places or secretly put to death.
Suddenly, one morning, the house of &Baha'u'llah was surrounded
by soldiers, sentinels were posted at its gates, His followers were again
summoned by the authorities, interrogated, and ordered to make
ready for their departure. "The loved ones of God and His kindred,"
is &Baha'u'llah's testimony in the &Suriy-i-Ra'is, "were left on the first
night without food... The people surrounded the house, and Muslims
and Christians wept over Us... We perceived that the weeping of
the people of the Son (Christians) exceeded the weeping of others--
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a sign for such as ponder." "A great tumult seized the people," writes
&Aqa &Rida, one of the stoutest supporters of &Baha'u'llah, exiled with
him all the way from &Baghdad to &Akka, "All were perplexed and
full of regret... Some expressed their sympathy, others consoled us,
and wept over us... Most of our possessions were auctioned at half
their value." Some of the consuls of foreign powers called on
&Baha'u'llah, and expressed their readiness to intervene with their
respective governments on His behalf--suggestions for which He
expressed appreciation, but which He firmly declined. "The consuls
of that city (Adrianople) gathered in the presence of this Youth at
the hour of His departure," He Himself has written, "and expressed
their desire to aid Him. They, verily, evinced towards Us manifest
affection."
The Persian Ambassador promptly informed the Persian consuls
in &Iraq and Egypt that the Turkish government had withdrawn its
protection from the &Babis, and that they were free to treat them as
they pleased. Several pilgrims, among whom was &Haji &Muhammad
&Isma'il-i-Kashani, surnamed &Anis in the &Lawh-i-Ra'is, had, in the
meantime, arrived in Adrianople, and had to depart to Gallipoli,
without even beholding the face of their Master. Two of the companions
were forced to divorce their wives, as their relatives refused
to allow them to go into exile. &Khurshid &Pasha, who had already
several times categorically denied the written accusations sent him
by the authorities in Constantinople, and had interceded vigorously
on behalf of &Baha'u'llah, was so embarrassed by the action of his
government that he decided to absent himself when informed of His
immediate departure from the city, and instructed the Registrar to
convey to Him the purport of the &Sultan's edict. &Haji &Ja'far-i-Tabrizi,
one of the believers, finding that his name had been omitted
from the list of the exiles who might accompany &Baha'u'llah, cut his
throat with a razor, but was prevented in time from ending his life--
an act which &Baha'u'llah, in the &Suriy-i-Ra'is, characterizes as
"unheard of in bygone centuries," and which "God hath set apart for
this Revelation, as an evidence of the power of His might."
On the twenty-second of the month of &Rabi'u'th-Thani 1285
A.H. (August 12, 1868) &Baha'u'llah and His family, escorted by a
Turkish captain, &Hasan Effendi by name, and other soldiers appointed
by the local government, set out on their four-day journey to
Gallipoli, riding in carriages and stopping on their way at &Uzun-Kupru
and &Kashanih, at which latter place the &Suriy-i-Ra'is was
revealed. "The inhabitants of the quarter in which &Baha'u'llah had
+P181
been living, and the neighbors who had gathered to bid Him farewell,
came one after the other," writes an eye-witness, "with the utmost
sadness and regret to kiss His hands and the hem of His robe, expressing
meanwhile their sorrow at His departure. That day, too,
was a strange day. Methinks the city, its walls and its gates bemoaned
their imminent separation from Him." "On that day," writes another
eye-witness, "there was a wonderful concourse of Muslims and
Christians at the door of our Master's house. The hour of departure
was a memorable one. Most of those present were weeping and wailing,
especially the Christians." "Say," &Baha'u'llah Himself declares in
the &Suriy-i-Ra'is, "this Youth hath departed out of this country and
deposited beneath every tree and every stone a trust, which God will
erelong bring forth through the power of truth."
Several of the companions who had been brought from Constantinople
were awaiting them in Gallipoli. On his arrival &Baha'u'llah
made the following pronouncement to &Hasan Effendi, who, his duty
discharged, was taking his leave: "Tell the king that this territory
will pass out of his hands, and his affairs will be thrown into confusion."
"To this," &Aqa &Rida, the recorder of that scene has written,
"&Baha'u'llah furthermore added: `Not I speak these words, but God
speaketh them.' In those moments He was uttering verses which we,
who were downstairs, could overhear. They were spoken with such
vehemence and power that, methinks, the foundations of the house
itself trembled."
Even in Gallipoli, where three nights were spent, no one knew
what &Baha'u'llah's destination would be. Some believed that He and
His brothers would be banished to one place, and the remainder dispersed,
and sent into exile. Others thought that His companions
would be sent back to Persia, while still others expected their immediate
extermination. The government's original order was to banish
&Baha'u'llah, &Aqay-i-Kalim and &Mirza &Muhammad-Quli, with a
servant to &Akka, while the rest were to proceed to Constantinople.
This order, which provoked scenes of indescribable distress, was,
however, at the insistence of &Baha'u'llah, and by the instrumentality
of &Umar Effendi, a major appointed to accompany the exiles, revoked.
It was eventually decided that all the exiles, numbering about
seventy, should be banished to &Akka. Instructions were, moreover,
issued that a certain number of the adherents of &Mirza &Yahya,
among whom were Siyyid &Muhammad and &Aqa &Jan, should accompany
these exiles, whilst four of the companions of &Baha'u'llah were
ordered to depart with the &Azalis for Cyprus.
+P182
So grievous were the dangers and trials confronting &Baha'u'llah
at the hour of His departure from Gallipoli that He warned His
companions that "this journey will be unlike any of the previous
journeys," and that whoever did not feel himself "man enough to
face the future" had best "depart to whatever place he pleaseth, and
be preserved from tests, for hereafter he will find himself unable to
leave"--a warning which His companions unanimously chose to
disregard.
On the morning of the 2nd of &Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1285 A.H.
(August 21, 1868) they all embarked in an Austrian-Lloyd steamer
for Alexandria, touching at &Madelli, and stopping for two days at
Smyrna, where &Jinab-i-Munir, surnamed &Ismu'llahu'l-Munib, became
gravely ill, and had, to his great distress, to be left behind in a hospital
where he soon after died. In Alexandria they transhipped into a
steamer of the same company, bound for Haifa, where, after brief
stops at Port Said and Jaffa, they landed, setting out, a few hours
later, in a sailing vessel, for &Akka, where they disembarked, in the
course of the afternoon of the 12th of &Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1285 A.H.
(August 31, 1868). It was at the moment when &Baha'u'llah had
stepped into the boat which was to carry Him to the landing-stage in
Haifa that &Abdu'l-Ghaffar, one of the four companions condemned
to share the exile of &Mirza &Yahya, and whose "detachment, love and
trust in God" &Baha'u'llah had greatly praised, cast himself, in his
despair, into the sea, shouting "&Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha," and was subsequently
rescued and resuscitated with the greatest difficulty, only to
be forced by adamant officials to continue his voyage, with &Mirza
&Yahya's party, to the destination originally appointed for him.
+P183
CHAPTER XI
&Baha'u'llah's Incarceration in &Akka
The arrival of &Baha'u'llah in &Akka marks the opening of the
last phase of His forty-year long ministry, the final stage, and indeed
the climax, of the banishment in which the whole of that ministry
was spent. A banishment that had, at first, brought Him to the
immediate vicinity of the strongholds of &Shi'ah orthodoxy and into
contact with its outstanding exponents, and which, at a later period,
had carried Him to the capital of the Ottoman empire, and led Him
to address His epoch-making pronouncements to the &Sultan, to his
ministers and to the ecclesiastical leaders of &Sunni &Islam, had now
been instrumental in landing Him upon the shores of the Holy Land
--the Land promised by God to Abraham, sanctified by the Revelation
of Moses, honored by the lives and labors of the Hebrew
patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets, revered as the cradle of
Christianity, and as the place where Zoroaster, according to &Abdu'l-Baha's
testimony, had "held converse with some of the Prophets of
Israel," and associated by &Islam with the Apostle's night-journey,
through the seven heavens, to the throne of the Almighty. Within
the confines of this holy and enviable country, "the nest of all the
Prophets of God," "the Vale of God's unsearchable Decree, the snow-white
Spot, the Land of unfading splendor" was the Exile of &Baghdad,
of Constantinople and Adrianople condemned to spend no less than a
third of the allotted span of His life, and over half of the total
period of His Mission. "It is difficult," declares &Abdu'l-Baha, "to
understand how &Baha'u'llah could have been obliged to leave Persia,
and to pitch His tent in this Holy Land, but for the persecution of
His enemies, His banishment and exile."
Indeed such a consummation, He assures us, had been actually
prophesied "through the tongue of the Prophets two or three thousand
years before." God, "faithful to His promise," had, "to some of the
Prophets" "revealed and given the good news that the `Lord of Hosts
should be manifested in the Holy Land.'" Isaiah had, in this connection,
announced in his Book: "Get thee up into the high mountain,
O Zion that bringest good tidings; lift up thy voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. Lift it up, be not afraid;
+P184
say unto the cities of Judah: `Behold your God! Behold the Lord
God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him.'"
David, in his Psalms, had predicted: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall
come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the
King of Glory." "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath
shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence." Amos had,
likewise, foretold His coming: "The Lord will roar from Zion, and
utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds
shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither."
&Akka, itself, flanked by the "glory of Lebanon," and lying in
full view of the "splendor of Carmel," at the foot of the hills which
enclose the home of Jesus Christ Himself, had been described by
David as "the Strong City," designated by Hosea as "a door of hope,"
and alluded to by Ezekiel as "the gate that looketh towards the East,"
whereunto "the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of
the East," His voice "like a noise of many waters." To it the Arabian
Prophet had referred as "a city in Syria to which God hath shown His
special mercy," situated "betwixt two mountains ... in the middle
of a meadow," "by the shore of the sea ... suspended beneath the
Throne," "white, whose whiteness is pleasing unto God." "Blessed
the man," He, moreover, as confirmed by &Baha'u'llah, had declared,
"that hath visited &Akka, and blessed he that hath visited the visitor
of &Akka." Furthermore, "He that raiseth therein the call to prayer,
his voice will be lifted up unto Paradise." And again: "The poor of
&Akka are the kings of Paradise and the princes thereof. A month in
&Akka is better than a thousand years elsewhere." Moreover, in a
remarkable tradition, which is contained in &Shaykh &Ibnu'l-'Arabi's
work, entitled "&Futuhat-i-Makkiyyih," and which is recognized as an
authentic utterance of &Muhammad, and is quoted by &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl
in his "&Fara'id," this significant prediction has been made:
"All of them (the companions of the &Qa'im) shall be slain except One
Who shall reach the plain of &Akka, the Banquet-Hall of God."
&Baha'u'llah Himself, as attested by &Nabil in his narrative, had,
as far back as the first years of His banishment to Adrianople, alluded
to that same city in His &Lawh-i-Sayyah, designating it as the "Vale of
&Nabil," the word &Nabil being equal in numerical value to that of
&Akka. "Upon Our arrival," that Tablet had predicted, "We were
welcomed with banners of light, whereupon the Voice of the Spirit
cried out saying: `Soon will all that dwell on earth be enlisted under
these banners.'"
+P185
The banishment, lasting no less than twenty-four years, to which
two Oriental despots had, in their implacable enmity and shortsightedness,
combined to condemn &Baha'u'llah, will go down in history
as a period which witnessed a miraculous and truly revolutionizing
change in the circumstances attending the life and activities of the
Exile Himself, will be chiefly remembered for the widespread recrudescence
of persecution, intermittent but singularly cruel, throughout
His native country and the simultaneous increase in the number of
His followers, and, lastly, for an enormous extension in the range
and volume of His writings.
His arrival at the penal colony of &Akka, far from proving the
end of His afflictions, was but the beginning of a major crisis, characterized
by bitter suffering, severe restrictions, and intense turmoil,
which, in its gravity, surpassed even the agonies of the &Siyah-Chal of
&Tihran, and to which no other event, in the history of the entire
century can compare, except the internal convulsion that rocked the
Faith in Adrianople. "Know thou," &Baha'u'llah, wishing to emphasize
the criticalness of the first nine years of His banishment to that
prison-city, has written, "that upon Our arrival at this Spot, We
chose to designate it as the `Most Great Prison.' Though previously
subjected in another land (&Tihran) to chains and fetters, We yet
refused to call it by that name. Say: Ponder thereon, O ye endued
with understanding!"
The ordeal He endured, as a direct consequence of the attempt
on the life of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, was one which had been inflicted
upon Him solely by the external enemies of the Faith. The travail in
Adrianople, the effects of which all but sundered the community of
the &Bab's followers, was, on the other hand, purely internal in character.
This fresh crisis which, during almost a decade, agitated Him
and His companions, was, however, marked throughout not only by
the assaults of His adversaries from without, but by the machinations
of enemies from within, as well as by the grievous misdeeds of those
who, though bearing His name, perpetrated what made His heart
and His pen alike to lament.
&Akka, the ancient Ptolemais, the St. Jean d'Acre of the Crusaders,
that had successfully defied the siege of Napoleon, had sunk, under
the Turks, to the level of a penal colony to which murderers, highway
robbers and political agitators were consigned from all parts of the
Turkish empire. It was girt about by a double system of ramparts;
was inhabited by a people whom &Baha'u'llah stigmatized as "the generation
of vipers"; was devoid of any source of water within its gates;
+P186
was flea-infested, damp and honey-combed with gloomy, filthy and
tortuous lanes. "According to what they say," the Supreme Pen has
recorded in the &Lawh-i-Sultan, "it is the most desolate of the cities
of the world, the most unsightly of them in appearance, the most
detestable in climate, and the foulest in water. It is as though it were
the metropolis of the owl." So putrid was its air that, according to a
proverb, a bird when flying over it would drop dead.
Explicit orders had been issued by the &Sultan and his ministers to
subject the exiles, who were accused of having grievously erred and
led others far astray, to the strictest confinement. Hopes were confidently
expressed that the sentence of life-long imprisonment pronounced
against them would lead to their eventual extermination.
The &farman of &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz, dated the fifth of &Rabi'u'th-Thani
1285 A.H. (July 26, 1868), not only condemned them to
perpetual banishment, but stipulated their strict incarceration, and
forbade them to associate either with each other or with the local inhabitants.
The text of the &farman itself was read publicly, soon after
the arrival of the exiles, in the principal mosque of the city as a
warning to the population. The Persian Ambassador, accredited to
the Sublime Porte, had thus assured his government, in a letter,
written a little over a year after their banishment to &Akka: "I have
issued telegraphic and written instructions, forbidding that He
(&Baha'u'llah) associate with any one except His wives and children,
or leave under any circumstances, the house wherein He is imprisoned.
&Abbas-Quli &Khan, the Consul-General in Damascus ... I have, three
days ago, sent back, instructing him to proceed direct to &Akka ...
confer with its governor regarding all necessary measures for the
strict maintenance of their imprisonment ... and appoint, before
his return to Damascus, a representative on the spot to insure that the
orders issued by the Sublime Porte will, in no wise, be disobeyed. I
have, likewise, instructed him that once every three months he should
proceed from Damascus to &Akka, and personally watch over them,
and submit his report to the Legation." Such was the isolation imposed
upon them that the &Baha'is of Persia, perturbed by the rumors
set afloat by the &Azalis of &Isfahan that &Baha'u'llah had been drowned,
induced the British Telegraph office in &Julfa to ascertain on their
behalf the truth of the matter.
Having, after a miserable voyage, disembarked at &Akka, all the
exiles, men, women and children, were, under the eyes of a curious
and callous population that had assembled at the port to behold the
"God of the Persians," conducted to the army barracks, where they
+P187
were locked in, and sentinels detailed to guard them. "The first night,"
&Baha'u'llah testifies in the &Lawh-i-Ra'is, "all were deprived of either
food or drink... They even begged for water, and were refused."
So filthy and brackish was the water in the pool of the courtyard that
no one could drink it. Three loaves of black and salty bread were
assigned to each, which they were later permitted to exchange, when
escorted by guards to the market, for two of better quality. Subsequently
they were allowed a mere pittance as substitute for the
allotted dole of bread. All fell sick, except two, shortly after their
arrival. Malaria, dysentery, combined with the sultry heat, added to
their miseries. Three succumbed, among them two brothers, who died
the same night, "locked," as testified by &Baha'u'llah, "in each other's
arms." The carpet used by Him He gave to be sold in order to
provide for their winding-sheets and burial. The paltry sum obtained
after it had been auctioned was delivered to the guards, who had
refused to bury them without first being paid the necessary expenses.
Later, it was learned that, unwashed and unshrouded, they had buried
them, without coffins, in the clothes they wore, though, as affirmed by
&Baha'u'llah, they were given twice the amount required for their
burial. "None," He Himself has written, "knoweth what befell Us,
except God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing... From the foundation
of the world until the present day a cruelty such as this hath
neither been seen nor heard of." "He hath, during the greater part
of His life," He, referring to Himself, has, moreover, recorded, "been
sore-tried in the clutches of His enemies. His sufferings have now
reached their culmination in this afflictive Prison, into which His
oppressors have so unjustly thrown Him."
The few pilgrims who, despite the ban that had been so rigidly
imposed, managed to reach the gates of the Prison--some of whom
had journeyed the entire distance from Persia on foot--had to content
themselves with a fleeting glimpse of the face of the Prisoner, as they
stood, beyond the second moat, facing the window of His Prison.
The very few who succeeded in penetrating into the city had, to their
great distress, to retrace their steps without even beholding His
countenance. The first among them, the self-denying &Haji
&Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikani, surnamed &Amin-i-Ilahi (Trusted of God), to
enter His presence was only able to do so in a public bath, where it
had been arranged that he should see &Baha'u'llah without approaching
Him or giving any sign of recognition. Another pilgrim, &Ustad
&Isma'il-i-Kashi, arriving from Mosul, posted himself on the far side
of the moat, and, gazing for hours, in rapt adoration, at the window
+P188
of his Beloved, failed in the end, owing to the feebleness of his sight,
to discern His face, and had to turn back to the cave which served as
his dwelling-place on Mt. Carmel--an episode that moved to tears
the Holy Family who had been anxiously watching from afar the
frustration of his hopes. &Nabil himself had to precipitately flee the
city, where he had been recognized, had to satisfy himself with a
brief glimpse of &Baha'u'llah from across that same moat, and continued
to roam the countryside around Nazareth, Haifa, Jerusalem
and Hebron, until the gradual relaxation of restrictions enabled him
to join the exiles.
To the galling weight of these tribulations was now added the
bitter grief of a sudden tragedy--the premature loss of the noble, the
pious &Mirza &Mihdi, the Purest Branch, &Abdu'l-Baha's twenty-two
year old brother, an amanuensis of &Baha'u'llah and a companion of
His exile from the days when, as a child, he was brought from &Tihran
to &Baghdad to join his Father after His return from &Sulaymaniyyih.
He was pacing the roof of the barracks in the twilight, one evening,
wrapped in his customary devotions, when he fell through the unguarded
skylight onto a wooden crate, standing on the floor beneath,
which pierced his ribs, and caused, twenty-two hours later, his death,
on the 23rd of &Rabi'u'l-Avval 1287 A.H. (June 23, 1870). His
dying supplication to a grieving Father was that his life might be
accepted as a ransom for those who were prevented from attaining the
presence of their Beloved.
In a highly significant prayer, revealed by &Baha'u'llah in memory
of His son--a prayer that exalts his death to the rank of those great
acts of atonement associated with Abraham's intended sacrifice of
His son, with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the martyrdom of
the &Imam &Husayn--we read the following: "I have, O my Lord,
offered up that which Thou hast given Me, that Thy servants may be
quickened, and all that dwell on earth be united." And, likewise,
these prophetic words, addressed to His martyred son: "Thou art the
Trust of God and His Treasure in this Land. Erelong will God reveal
through thee that which He hath desired."
After he had been washed in the presence of &Baha'u'llah, he "that
was created of the light of &Baha," to whose "meekness" the Supreme
Pen had testified, and of the "mysteries" of whose ascension that same
Pen had made mention, was borne forth, escorted by the fortress
guards, and laid to rest, beyond the city walls, in a spot adjacent to
the shrine of &Nabi &Salih, from whence, seventy years later, his remains,
simultaneously with those of his illustrious mother, were to be
+P189
translated to the slopes of Mt. Carmel, in the precincts of the grave
of his sister, and under the shadow of the &Bab's holy sepulcher.
Nor was this the full measure of the afflictions endured by the
Prisoner of &Akka and His fellow-exiles. Four months after this tragic
event a mobilization of Turkish troops necessitated the removal of
&Baha'u'llah and all who bore Him company from the barracks. He
and His family were accordingly assigned the house of Malik, in the
western quarter of the city, whence, after a brief stay of three
months, they were moved by the authorities to the house of &Khavvam
which faced it, and from which, after a few months, they were again
obliged to take up new quarters in the house of &Rabi'ih, being finally
transferred, four months later, to the house of &Udi &Khammar, which
was so insufficient to their needs that in one of its rooms no less than
thirteen persons of both sexes had to accommodate themselves. Some
of the companions had to take up their residence in other houses,
while the remainder were consigned to a caravanserai named the
&Khan-i-'Avamid.
Their strict confinement had hardly been mitigated, and the
guards who had kept watch over them been dismissed, when an
internal crisis, which had been brewing in the midst of the community,
was brought to a sudden and catastrophic climax. Such had
been the conduct of two of the exiles, who had been included in the
party that accompanied &Baha'u'llah to &Akka, that He was eventually
forced to expel them, an act of which Siyyid &Muhammad did not
hesitate to take the fullest advantage. Reinforced by these recruits,
he, together with his old associates, acting as spies, embarked on a
campaign of abuse, calumny and intrigue, even more pernicious than
that which had been launched by him in Constantinople, calculated
to arouse an already prejudiced and suspicious populace to a new pitch
of animosity and excitement. A fresh danger now clearly threatened
the life of &Baha'u'llah. Though He Himself had stringently forbidden
His followers, on several occasions, both verbally and in writing, any
retaliatory acts against their tormentors, and had even sent back to
Beirut an irresponsible Arab convert, who had meditated avenging
the wrongs suffered by his beloved Leader, seven of the companions
clandestinely sought out and slew three of their persecutors, among
whom were Siyyid &Muhammad and &Aqa &Jan.
The consternation that seized an already oppressed community
was indescribable. &Baha'u'llah's indignation knew no bounds. "Were
We," He thus voices His emotions, in a Tablet revealed shortly after
this act had been committed, "to make mention of what befell Us,
+P190
the heavens would be rent asunder and the mountains would
crumble." "My captivity," He wrote on another occasion, "cannot
harm Me. That which can harm Me is the conduct of those who
love Me, who claim to be related to Me, and yet perpetrate what
causeth My heart and My pen to groan." And again: "My captivity
can bring on Me no shame. Nay, by My life, it conferreth on Me glory.
That which can make Me ashamed is the conduct of such of My
followers as profess to love Me, yet in fact follow the Evil One."
He was dictating His Tablets to His amanuensis when the governor,
at the head of his troops, with drawn swords, surrounded His
house. The entire populace, as well as the military authorities, were
in a state of great agitation. The shouts and clamor of the people
could be heard on all sides. &Baha'u'llah was peremptorily summoned
to the Governorate, interrogated, kept in custody the first night,
with one of His sons, in a chamber in the &Khan-i-Shavirdi, transferred
for the following two nights to better quarters in that neighborhood,
and allowed only after the lapse of seventy hours to regain
His home. &Abdu'l-Baha was thrown into prison and chained during
the first night, after which He was permitted to join His Father.
Twenty-five of the companions were cast into another prison and
shackled, all of whom, except those responsible for that odious deed,
whose imprisonment lasted several years, were, after six days, moved
to the &Khan-i-Shavirdi, and there placed, for six months, under
confinement.
"Is it proper," the Commandant of the city, turning to &Baha'u'llah,
after He had arrived at the Governorate, boldly inquired,
"that some of your followers should act in such a manner?" "If one
of your soldiers," was the swift rejoinder, "were to commit a reprehensible
act, would you be held responsible, and be punished in his
place?" When interrogated, He was asked to state His name and
that of the country from which He came. "It is more manifest than
the sun," He answered. The same question was put to Him again, to
which He gave the following reply: "I deem it not proper to mention
it. Refer to the &farman of the government which is in your possession."
Once again they, with marked deference, reiterated their
request, whereupon &Baha'u'llah spoke with majesty and power these
words: "My name is &Baha'u'llah (Light of God), and My country is
&Nur (Light). Be ye apprized of it." Turning then, to the &Mufti,
He addressed him words of veiled rebuke, after which He spoke to the
entire gathering, in such vehement and exalted language that none
made bold to answer Him. Having quoted verses from the &Suriy-i-Muluk,
+P191
He, afterwards, arose and left the gathering. The Governor,
soon after, sent word that He was at liberty to return to His home,
and apologized for what had occurred.
A population, already ill-disposed towards the exiles, was, after
such an incident, fired with uncontrollable animosity for all those
who bore the name of the Faith which those exiles professed. The
charges of impiety, atheism, terrorism and heresy were openly and
without restraint flung into their faces. &Abbud, who lived next door
to &Baha'u'llah, reinforced the partition that separated his house from
the dwelling of his now much-feared and suspected Neighbor. Even
the children of the imprisoned exiles, whenever they ventured to
show themselves in the streets during those days, would be pursued,
vilified and pelted with stones.
The cup of &Baha'u'llah's tribulations was now filled to overflowing.
A situation, greatly humiliating, full of anxieties and even
perilous, continued to face the exiles, until the time, set by an inscrutable
Will, at which the tide of misery and abasement began to
ebb, signalizing a transformation in the fortunes of the Faith even
more conspicuous than the revolutionary change effected during the
latter years of &Baha'u'llah's sojourn in &Baghdad.
The gradual recognition by all elements of the population of
&Baha'u'llah's complete innocence; the slow penetration of the true
spirit of His teachings through the hard crust of their indifference
and bigotry; the substitution of the sagacious and humane governor,
&Ahmad Big &Tawfiq, for one whose mind had been hopelessly poisoned
against the Faith and its followers; the unremitting labors of &Abdu'l-Baha,
now in the full flower of His manhood, Who, through His
contacts with the rank and file of the population, was increasingly
demonstrating His capacity to act as the shield of His Father; the
providential dismissal of the officials who had been instrumental in
prolonging the confinement of the innocent companions--all paved
the way for the reaction that was now setting in, a reaction with
which the period of &Baha'u'llah's banishment to &Akka will ever
remain indissolubly associated.
Such was the devotion gradually kindled in the heart of that
governor, through his association with &Abdu'l-Baha, and later
through his perusal of the literature of the Faith, which mischief-makers,
in the hope of angering him, had submitted for his consideration,
that he invariably refused to enter His presence without
first removing his shoes, as a token of his respect for Him. It was
even bruited about that his favored counselors were those very exiles
+P192
who were the followers of the Prisoner in his custody. His own son
he was wont to send to &Abdu'l-Baha for instruction and enlightenment.
It was on the occasion of a long-sought audience with
&Baha'u'llah that, in response to a request for permission to render Him
some service, the suggestion was made to him to restore the aqueduct
which for thirty years had been allowed to fall into disuse--a suggestion
which he immediately arose to carry out. To the inflow of
pilgrims, among whom were numbered the devout and venerable
&Mulla &Sadiq-i-Khurasani and the father of &Badi, both survivors of
the struggle of &Tabarsi, he offered scarcely any opposition, though
the text of the imperial &farman forbade their admission into the
city. &Mustafa &Diya &Pasha, who became governor a few years later,
had even gone so far as to intimate that his Prisoner was free to pass
through its gates whenever He pleased, a suggestion which &Baha'u'llah
declined. Even the &Mufti of &Akka, &Shaykh &Mahmud, a man
notorious for his bigotry, had been converted to the Faith, and, fired
by his newborn enthusiasm, made a compilation of the &Muhammadan
traditions related to &Akka. Nor were the occasionally unsympathetic
governors, despatched to that city, able, despite the arbitrary
power they wielded, to check the forces which were carrying the
Author of the Faith towards His virtual emancipation and the ultimate
accomplishment of His purpose. Men of letters, and even
&ulamas residing in Syria, were moved, as the years rolled by, to
voice their recognition of &Baha'u'llah's rising greatness and power.
&Aziz &Pasha, who, in Adrianople, had evinced a profound attachment
to &Abdu'l-Baha, and had in the meantime been promoted to
the rank of &Vali, twice visited &Akka for the express purpose of
paying his respects to &Baha'u'llah, and to renew his friendship with
One Whom he had learned to admire and revere.
Though &Baha'u'llah Himself practically never granted personal
interviews, as He had been used to do in &Baghdad, yet such was the
influence He now wielded that the inhabitants openly asserted that
the noticeable improvement in the climate and water of their city
was directly attributable to His continued presence in their midst.
The very designations by which they chose to refer to him, such as
the "august leader," and "his highness" bespoke the reverence with
which He inspired them. On one occasion, a European general who,
together with the governor, was granted an audience by Him, was
so impressed that he "remained kneeling on the ground near the
door." &Shaykh &Aliy-i-Miri, the &Mufti of &Akka, had even, at the
suggestion of &Abdu'l-Baha, to plead insistently that He might permit
+P193
the termination of His nine-year confinement within the walls
of the prison-city, before He would consent to leave its gates. The
garden of &Na'mayn, a small island, situated in the middle of a river
to the east of the city, honored with the appellation of &Ridvan, and
designated by Him the "New Jerusalem" and "Our Verdant Isle,"
had, together with the residence of &Abdu'llah &Pasha,--rented and
prepared for Him by &Abdu'l-Baha, and situated a few miles north
of &Akka--become by now the favorite retreats of One Who, for
almost a decade, had not set foot beyond the city walls, and Whose
sole exercise had been to pace, in monotonous repetition, the floor of
His bed-chamber.
Two years later the palace of &Udi &Khammar, on the construction
of which so much wealth had been lavished, while &Baha'u'llah lay
imprisoned in the barracks, and which its owner had precipitately
abandoned with his family owing to the outbreak of an epidemic
disease, was rented and later purchased for Him--a dwelling-place
which He characterized as the "lofty mansion," the spot which "God
hath ordained as the most sublime vision of mankind." &Abdu'l-Baha's
visit to Beirut, at the invitation of &Midhat &Pasha, a former Grand
Vizir of Turkey, occurring about this time; His association with the
civil and ecclesiastical leaders of that city; His several interviews
with the well-known &Shaykh &Muhammad &Abdu served to enhance
immensely the growing prestige of the community and spread abroad
the fame of its most distinguished member. The splendid welcome
accorded him by the learned and highly esteemed &Shaykh &Yusuf, the
&Mufti of Nazareth, who acted as host to the &valis of Beirut, and who
had despatched all the notables of the community several miles on the
road to meet Him as He approached the town, accompanied by His
brother and the &Mufti of &Akka, as well as the magnificent reception
given by &Abdu'l-Baha to that same &Shaykh &Yusuf when the latter
visited Him in &Akka, were such as to arouse the envy of those who,
only a few years before, had treated Him and His fellow-exiles with
feelings compounded of condescension and scorn.
The drastic &farman of &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz, though officially
unrepealed, had by now become a dead letter. Though "&Baha'u'llah
was still nominally a prisoner, "the doors of majesty and true sovereignty
were," in the words of &Abdu'l-Baha, "flung wide open." "The
rulers of Palestine," He moreover has written, "envied His influence
and power. Governors and &mutisarrifs, generals and local officials,
would humbly request the honor of attaining His presence--a request
to which He seldom acceded."
+P194
It was in that same mansion that the distinguished Orientalist,
Prof. E. G. Browne of Cambridge, was granted his four successive
interviews with &Baha'u'llah, during the five days he was His guest
at &Bahji (April 15-20, 1890), interviews immortalized by the Exile's
historic declaration that "these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars
shall pass away and the `Most Great Peace' shall come." "The face of
Him on Whom I gazed," is the interviewer's memorable testimony
for posterity, "I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those
piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority
sat on that ample brow.... No need to ask in whose presence I
stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion
and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain."
"Here," the visitor himself has testified, "did I spend five most
memorable days, during which I enjoyed unparalleled and unhoped-for
opportunities of holding intercourse with those who are the
fountain-heads of that mighty and wondrous spirit, which works
with invisible but ever-increasing force for the transformation and
quickening of a people who slumber in a sleep like unto death. It
was, in truth, a strange and moving experience, but one whereof
I despair of conveying any save the feeblest impression."
In that same year &Baha'u'llah's tent, the "Tabernacle of Glory,"
was raised on Mt. Carmel, "the Hill of God and His Vineyard," the
home of Elijah, extolled by Isaiah as the "mountain of the Lord," to
which "all nations shall flow." Four times He visited Haifa, His last
visit being no less than three months long. In the course of one of
these visits, when His tent was pitched in the vicinity of the Carmelite
Monastery, He, the "Lord of the Vineyard," revealed the Tablet of
Carmel, remarkable for its allusions and prophecies. On another occasion
He pointed out Himself to &Abdu'l-Baha, as He stood on the
slopes of that mountain, the site which was to serve as the permanent
resting-place of the &Bab, and on which a befitting mausoleum was
later to be erected.
Properties, bordering on the Lake associated with the ministry
of Jesus Christ, were, moreover, purchased at &Baha'u'llah's bidding,
designed to be consecrated to the glory of His Faith, and to be the
forerunners of those "noble and imposing structures" which He, in
His Tablets, had anticipated would be raised "throughout the length
and breadth" of the Holy Land, as well as of the "rich and sacred territories
adjoining the Jordan and its vicinity," which, in those Tablets,
He had permitted to be dedicated "to the worship and service of the
one true God."
+P195
The enormous expansion in the volume of &Baha'u'llah's correspondence;
the establishment of a &Baha'i agency in Alexandria for
its despatch and distribution; the facilities provided by His staunch
follower, &Muhammad &Mustafa, now established in Beirut to safeguard
the interests of the pilgrims who passed through that city; the
comparative ease with which a titular Prisoner communicated with
the multiplying centers in Persia, &Iraq, Caucasus, &Turkistan, and
Egypt; the mission entrusted by Him to &Sulayman &Khan-i-Tanakabuni,
known as &Jamal Effendi, to initiate a systematic campaign of
teaching in India and Burma; the appointment of a few of His followers
as "Hands of the Cause of God"; the restoration of the Holy
House in &Shiraz, whose custodianship was now formally entrusted
by Him to the &Bab's wife and her sister; the conversion of a considerable
number of the adherents of the Jewish, Zoroastrian and
Buddhist Faiths, the first fruits of the zeal and the perseverance which
itinerant teachers in Persia, India and Burma were so strikingly displaying
--conversions that automatically resulted in a firm recognition
by them of the Divine origin of both Christianity and &Islam--
all these attested the vitality of a leadership that neither kings nor
ecclesiastics, however powerful or antagonistic, could either destroy
or undermine.
Nor should reference be omitted to the emergence of a prosperous
community in the newly laid out city of &Ishqabad, in Russian &Turkistan,
assured of the good will of a sympathetic government, enabling
it to establish a &Baha'i cemetery and to purchase property and erect
thereon structures that were to prove the precursors of the first
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world; or to the establishment of
new outposts of the Faith in far-off Samarqand and &Bukhara, in the
heart of the Asiatic continent, in consequence of the discourses and
writings of the erudite &Fadil-i-Qa'ini and the learned apologist
&Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl; or to the publication in India of five volumes of
the writings of the Author of the Faith, including His "Most Holy
Book"--publications which were to herald the vast multiplication of
its literature, in various scripts and languages, and its dissemination,
in later decades, throughout both the East and the West.
"&Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz," &Baha'u'llah is reported by one of His
fellow-exiles to have stated, "banished Us to this country in the greatest
abasement, and since his object was to destroy Us and humble
Us, whenever the means of glory and ease presented themselves, We
did not reject them." "Now, praise be to God," He, moreover, as
reported by &Nabil in his narrative, once remarked, "it has reached
+P196
the point when all the people of these regions are manifesting their
submissiveness unto Us." And again, as recorded in that same narrative:
"The Ottoman &Sultan, without any justification, or reason,
arose to oppress Us, and sent Us to the fortress of &Akka. His imperial
&farman decreed that none should associate with Us, and that We
should become the object of the hatred of every one. The Hand of
Divine power, therefore, swiftly avenged Us. It first loosed the winds
of destruction upon his two irreplaceable ministers and confidants,
&Ali and &Fu'ad, after which that Hand was stretched out to roll up
the panoply of &Aziz himself, and to seize him, as He only can seize,
Who is the Mighty, the Strong."
"His enemies," &Abdu'l-Baha, referring to this same theme, has
written, "intended that His imprisonment should completely destroy
and annihilate the blessed Cause, but this prison was, in reality, of
the greatest assistance, and became the means of its development."
"...This illustrious Being," He, moreover has affirmed, "uplifted His
Cause in the Most Great Prison. From this Prison His light was shed
abroad; His fame conquered the world, and the proclamation of His
glory reached the East and the West." "His light at first had been
a star; now it became a mighty sun." "Until our time," He, moreover
has affirmed, "no such thing has ever occurred."
Little wonder that, in view of so remarkable a reversal in the
circumstances attending the twenty-four years of His banishment to
&Akka, &Baha'u'llah Himself should have penned these weighty words:
"The Almighty ... hath transformed this Prison-House into the Most
Exalted Paradise, the Heaven of Heavens."
+P197
CHAPTER XII
&Baha'u'llah's Incarceration in &Akka
(Continued)
While &Baha'u'llah and the little band that bore Him company
were being subjected to the severe hardships of a banishment intended
to blot them from the face of the earth, the steadily expanding community
of His followers in the land of His birth were undergoing a
persecution more violent and of longer duration than the trials with
which He and His companions were being afflicted. Though on a far
smaller scale than the blood baths which had baptized the birth of
the Faith, when in the course of a single year, as attested by &Abdu'l-Baha,
"more than four thousand souls were slain, and a great multitude
of women and children left without protector and helper," the murderous
and horrible acts subsequently perpetrated by an insatiable
and unyielding enemy covered as wide a range and were marked by an
even greater degree of ferocity.
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, stigmatized by &Baha'u'llah as the "Prince of
Oppressors," as one who had "perpetrated what hath caused the
denizens of the cities of justice and equity to lament," was, during
the period under review, in the full tide of his manhood and had
reached the plenitude of his despotic power. The sole arbiter of the
fortunes of a country "firmly stereotyped in the immemorial traditions
of the East"; surrounded by "venal, artful and false" ministers
whom he could elevate or abase at his pleasure; the head of an administration
in which "every actor was, in different aspects, both the
briber and the bribed"; allied, in his opposition to the Faith, with a
sacerdotal order which constituted a veritable "church-state"; supported
by a people preeminent in atrocity, notorious for its fanaticism,
its servility, cupidity and corrupt practices, this capricious
monarch, no longer able to lay hands upon the person of &Baha'u'llah,
had to content himself with the task of attempting to stamp out in
his own dominions the remnants of a much-feared and newly resuscitated
community. Next to him in rank and power were his three
eldest sons, to whom, for purposes of internal administration, he had
practically delegated his authority, and in whom he had invested the
governorship of all the provinces of his kingdom. The province of
+P198
&Adhirbayjan he had entrusted to the weak and timid &Muzaffari'd-Din
&Mirza, the heir to his throne, who had fallen under the influence of
the &Shaykhi sect, and was showing a marked respect to the &mullas.
To the stern and savage rule of the astute &Mas'ud &Mirza, commonly
known as &Zillu's-Sultan, his eldest surviving son, whose mother had
been of plebeian origin, he had committed over two-fifths of his
kingdom, including the provinces of Yazd and &Isfahan, whilst upon
&Kamran &Mirza, his favorite son, commonly called by his title the
&Nayibu's-Saltanih, he had bestowed the rulership of &Gilan and
&Mazindaran, and made him governor of &Tihran, his minister of war
and the commander-in-chief of his army. Such was the rivalry
between the last two princes, who vied with each other in courting
the favor of their father, that each endeavored, with the support of
the leading mujtahids within his jurisdiction, to outshine the other
in the meritorious task of hunting, plundering and exterminating
the members of a defenseless community, who, at the bidding of
&Baha'u'llah, had ceased to offer armed resistance even in self-defense,
and were carrying out His injunction that "it is better to be killed
than kill." Nor were the clerical firebrands, &Haji &Mulla &Aliy-i-Kani
and Siyyid &Sadiq-i-Tabataba'i, the two leading mujtahids of &Tihran,
together with &Shaykh &Muhammad-Baqir, their colleague in &Isfahan,
and &Mir &Muhammad-Husayn, the &Imam-Jum'ih of that city, willing
to allow the slightest opportunity to pass without striking, with all
the force and authority they wielded, at an adversary whose liberalizing
influences they had even more reason to fear than the sovereign
himself.
Little wonder that, confronted by a situation so full of peril, the
Faith should have been driven underground, and that arrests, interrogations,
imprisonment, vituperation, spoliation, tortures and executions
should constitute the outstanding features of this convulsive
period in its development. The pilgrimages that had been initiated
in Adrianople, and which later assumed in &Akka impressive proportions,
together with the dissemination of the Tablets of &Baha'u'llah
and the circulation of enthusiastic reports through the medium of
those who had attained His presence served, moreover, to inflame the
animosity of clergy and laity alike, who had foolishly imagined that
the breach which had occurred in the ranks of the followers of the
Faith in Adrianople and the sentence of life banishment pronounced
subsequently against its Leader, would seal irretrievably its fate.
In &Abadih a certain &Ustad &Ali-Akbar was, at the instigation of
a local Siyyid, apprehended and so ruthlessly thrashed that he was
+P199
covered from head to foot with his own blood. In the village of
&Takur, at the bidding of the &Shah, the property of the inhabitants
was pillaged, &Haji &Mirza &Rida-Quli, a half-brother of &Baha'u'llah,
was arrested, conducted to the capital and thrown into the &Siyah-Chal,
where he remained for a month, whilst the brother-in-law of &Mirza
&Hasan, another half-brother of &Baha'u'llah, was seized and branded
with red-hot irons, after which the neighboring village of &Dar-Kala
was delivered to the flames.
&Aqa Buzurg of &Khurasan, the illustrious "&Badi'" (Wonderful);
converted to the Faith by &Nabil; surnamed the "Pride of Martyrs";
the seventeen-year old bearer of the Tablet addressed to &Nasiri'd-Din
&Shah; in whom, as affirmed by &Baha'u'llah, "the spirit of might
and power was breathed," was arrested, branded for three successive
days, his head beaten to a pulp with the butt of a rifle, after which
his body was thrown into a pit and earth and stones heaped upon it.
After visiting &Baha'u'llah in the barracks, during the second year of
His confinement, he had arisen with amazing alacrity to carry that
Tablet, alone and on foot, to &Tihran and deliver it into the hands of
the sovereign. A four months' journey had taken him to that city,
and, after passing three days in fasting and vigilance, he had met the
&Shah proceeding on a hunting expedition to &Shimiran. He had calmly
and respectfully approached His Majesty, calling out, "O King! I
have come to thee from Sheba with a weighty message"; whereupon
at the Sovereign's order, the Tablet was taken from him and delivered
to the mujtahids of &Tihran who were commanded to reply to that
Epistle--a command which they evaded, recommending instead that
the messenger should be put to death. That Tablet was subsequently
forwarded by the &Shah to the Persian Ambassador in Constantinople,
in the hope that its perusal by the &Sultan's ministers might serve to
further inflame their animosity. For a space of three years &Baha'u'llah
continued to extol in His writings the heroism of that youth, characterizing
the references made by Him to that sublime sacrifice as
the "salt of My Tablets."
&Aba-Basir and Siyyid &Ashraf, whose fathers had been slain in the
struggle of &Zanjan, were decapitated on the same day in that city,
the former going so far as to instruct, while kneeling in prayer, his
executioner as to how best to deal his blow, while the latter, after
having been so brutally beaten that blood flowed from under his
nails, was beheaded, as he held in his arms the body of his martyred
companion. It was the mother of this same &Ashraf who, when sent
to the prison in the hope that she would persuade her only son to
+P200
recant, had warned him that she would disown him were he to denounce
his faith, had bidden him follow the example of &Aba-Basir, and had
even watched him expire with eyes undimmed with tears. The wealthy
and prominent &Muhammad-Hasan &Khan-i-Kashi was so mercilessly
bastinadoed in &Burujird that he succumbed to his ordeal. In &Shiraz
&Mirza &Aqay-i-Rikab-Saz, together with &Mirza &Rafi'-i-Khayyat and
&Mashhadi &Nabi, were by order of the local mujtahid simultaneously
strangled in the dead of night, their graves being later desecrated
by a mob who heaped refuse upon them. &Shaykh &Abu'l-Qasim-i-Mazkani
in &Kashan, who had declined a drink of water that was
offered him before his death, affirming that he thirsted for the cup
of martyrdom, was dealt a fatal blow on the nape of his neck, whilst
he was prostrating himself in prayer.
&Mirza &Baqir-i-Shirazi, who had transcribed the Tablets of &Baha'u'llah
in Adrianople with such unsparing devotion, was slain in
&Kirman, while in &Ardikan the aged and infirm &Gul-Muhammad was
set upon by a furious mob, thrown to the ground, and so trampled
upon by the hob-nailed boots of two siyyids that his ribs were
crushed in and his teeth broken, after which his body was taken to
the outskirts of the town and buried in a pit, only to be dug up the
next day, dragged through the streets, and finally abandoned in the
wilderness. In the city of &Mashhad, notorious for its unbridled
fanaticism, &Haji &Abdu'l-Majid, who was the eighty-five year old
father of the afore-mentioned &Badi' and a survivor of the struggle of
&Tabarsi, and who, after the martyrdom of his son, had visited &Baha'u'llah
and returned afire with zeal to &Khurasan, was ripped open
from waist to throat, and his head exposed on a marble slab to the
gaze of a multitude of insulting onlookers, who, after dragging his
body ignominiously through the bazaars, left it at the morgue to be
claimed by his relatives.
In &Isfahan &Mulla &Kazim was beheaded by order of &Shaykh
&Muhammad-Baqir, and a horse made to gallop over his corpse, which
was then delivered to the flames, while Siyyid &Aqa &Jan had his ears
cut off, and was led by a halter through the streets and bazaars. A
month later occurred in that same city the tragedy of the two famous
brothers &Mirza &Muhammad-Hasan and &Mirza &Muhammad-Husayn,
the "twin shining lights," respectively surnamed "&Sultanu'sh-Shuhada"
(King of Martyrs) and "&Mahbubu'sh-Shuhada" (Beloved of Martyrs),
who were celebrated for their generosity, trustworthiness, kindliness
and piety. Their martyrdom was instigated by the wicked and dishonest
&Mir &Muhammad-Husayn, the &Imam-Jum'ih, stigmatized by
+P201
&Baha'u'llah as the "she-serpent," who, in view of a large debt he had
incurred in his transactions with them, schemed to nullify his obligations
by denouncing them as &Babis, and thereby encompassing their
death. Their richly-furnished houses were plundered, even to the
trees and flowers in their gardens, all their remaining possessions were
confiscated; &Shaykh &Muhammad-Baqir, denounced by &Baha'u'llah as
the "wolf," pronounced their death-sentence; the &Zillu's-Sultan ratified
the decision, after which they were put in chains, decapitated,
dragged to the &Maydan-i-Shah, and there exposed to the indignities
heaped upon them by a degraded and rapacious populace. "In such
wise," &Abdu'l-Baha has written, "was the blood of these two brothers
shed that the Christian priest of &Julfa cried out, lamented and wept
on that day." For several years &Baha'u'llah in His Tablets continued
to make mention of them, to voice His grief over their passing and to
extol their virtues.
&Mulla &Ali &Jan was conducted on foot from &Mazindaran to &Tihran,
the hardships of that journey being so severe that his neck was
wounded and his body swollen from the waist to the feet. On the
day of his martyrdom he asked for water, performed his ablutions,
recited his prayers, bestowed a considerable gift of money on his
executioner, and was still in the act of prayer when his throat was
slit by a dagger, after which his corpse was spat upon, covered with
mud, left exposed for three days, and finally hewn to pieces. In
&Namiq &Mulla &Ali, converted to the Faith in the days of the &Bab,
was so severely attacked and his ribs so badly broken with a pick-axe
that he died immediately. &Mirza &Ashraf was slain in &Isfahan, his
corpse trampled under foot by &Shaykh &Muhammad &Taqiy-i-Najafi,
the "son of the wolf," and his pupils, savagely mutilated, and
delivered to the mob to be burnt, after which his charred bones were
buried beneath the ruins of a wall that was pulled down to cover
them.
In Yazd, at the instigation of the mujtahid of that city, and by
order of the callous &Mahmud &Mirza, the &Jalulu'l-Dawlih, the governor,
a son of &Zillu's-Sultan, seven were done to death in a single day in
horrible circumstances. The first of these, a twenty-seven year old
youth, &Ali-Asghar, was strangled, his body delivered into the hands
of some Jews who, forcing the dead man's six companions to come
with them, dragged the corpse through the streets, surrounded by a
mob of people and soldiers beating drums and blowing trumpets,
after which, arriving near the Telegraph Office, they beheaded the
eighty-five year old &Mulla &Mihdi and dragged him in the same manner
+P202
to another quarter of the city, where, in view of a great throng of
onlookers, frenzied by the throbbing strains of the music, they
executed &Aqa &Ali in like manner. Proceeding thence to the house
of the local mujtahid, and carrying with them the four remaining
companions, they cut the throat of &Mulla &Aliy-i-Sabzivari, who had
been addressing the crowd and glorying in his imminent martyrdom,
hacked his body to pieces with a spade, while he was still alive, and
pounded his skull to a pulp with stones. In another quarter, near
the &Mihriz gate, they slew &Muhammad-Baqir, and afterwards, in the
&Maydan-i-Khan, as the music grew wilder and drowned the yells of
the people, they beheaded the survivors who remained, two brothers
in their early twenties, &Ali-Asghar and &Muhammad-Hasan. The
stomach of the latter was ripped open and his heart and liver plucked
out, after which his head was impaled on a spear, carried aloft, to the
accompaniment of music, through the streets of the city, and suspended
on a mulberry tree, and stoned by a great concourse of people.
His body was cast before the door of his mother's house, into which
women deliberately entered to dance and make merry. Even pieces
of their flesh were carried away to be used as a medicament. Finally,
the head of &Muhammad-Hasan was attached to the lower part of his
body and, together with those of the other martyrs, was borne to the
outskirts of the city and so viciously pelted with stones that the
skulls were broken, whereupon they compelled the Jews to carry
the remains and throw them into a pit in the plain of &Salsabil. A
holiday was declared by the governor for the people, all the shops
were closed by his order, the city was illuminated at night, and festivities
proclaimed the consummation of one of the most barbarous acts
perpetrated in modern times.
Nor were the Jews and the Parsis who had been newly converted
to the Faith, and were living, the former in &Hamadan, and the latter
in Yazd, immune to the assaults of enemies whose fury was exasperated
by the evidences of the penetration of the light of the Faith
in quarters they had fondly imagined to be beyond its reach. Even
in the city of &Ishqabad the newly established &Shi'ah community,
envious of the rising prestige of the followers of &Baha'u'llah who
were living in their midst, instigated two ruffians to assault the
seventy-year old &Haji &Muhammad-Riday-i-Isfahani, whom, in broad
day and in the midst of the bazaar, they stabbed in no less than
thirty-two places, exposing his liver, lacerating his stomach and tearing
open his breast. A military court dispatched by the Czar to
&Ishqabad established, after prolonged investigation, the guilt of the
+P203
&Shi'ahs, sentencing two to death and banishing six others--a sentence
which neither &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, nor the &ulamas of &Tihran, of
&Mashhad and of &Tabriz, who were appealed to, could mitigate, but
which the representatives of the aggrieved community, through their
magnanimous intercession which greatly surprised the Russian authorities,
succeeded in having commuted to a lighter punishment.
Such are some typical examples of the treatment meted out by
the adversaries of the Faith to the newly resurgent community of its
followers during the period of &Baha'u'llah's banishment to &Akka--a
treatment which it may be truly said testified alternately to "the
callousness of the brute and the ingenuity of the fiend."
The "inquisition and appalling tortures," following the attempt
on the life of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, had already, in the words of no less
eminent an observer than Lord Curzon of Kedleston, imparted to the
Faith "a vitality which no other impulse could have secured." This
recrudescence of persecution, this fresh outpouring of the blood of
martyrs, served to further enliven the roots which that holy Sapling
had already struck in its native soil. Careless of the policy of fire and
blood which aimed at their annihilation, undismayed by the tragic
blows rained upon a Leader so far removed from their midst, uncorrupted
by the foul and seditious acts perpetrated by the Arch-Breaker
of the &Bab's Covenant, the followers of &Baha'u'llah were multiplying
in number and silently gathering the necessary strength that was to
enable them, at a later stage, to lift their heads in freedom, and rear
the fabric of their institutions.
Soon after his visit to Persia in the autumn of 1889 Lord Curzon
of Kedleston wrote, in the course of references designed to dispel
the "great confusion" and "error" prevailing "among European and
specially English writers" regarding the Faith, that "the &Baha'is are
now believed to comprise nineteen-twentieths of the &Babi persuasion."
Count Gobineau, writing as far back as the year 1865, testified
as follows: "L'opinion &generale est que les &Babis sont &repandus dans
toutes les classes de la population et parmi tous les religionnaires de la
Perse, sauf les &Nusayris et les &Chretiens; mais ce sont surtout les
classes &eclairees, les hommes pratiquant les sciences du pays, qui sont
&donnes comme &tres suspects. On pense, et avec raison, ce semble,
que beaucoup de &mullas, et parmi eux des mujtahids &considerables,
des magistrats d'un rang &eleve, des hommes qui occupent &a la cour
des fonctions importantes et qui approchent de &pres la personne du
Roi, sont des &Babis. &D'apres un calcul fait &recemment, il y aurait a
&Tihran cinq milles de ces religionnaires sur une population de quatre-vingt
+P204
milles &ames a peu &pres." Furthermore: "...Le &Babisme a
pris une action &considerable sur l'intelligence de la nation persane, et,
se rependant &meme au &dela des limites du territoire, il a &deborde dans
le pachalik de &Baghdad, et &passe aussi dans l'Inde." And again:
"...Un mouvement religieux tout particulier dont l'Asie Centrale,
&c'est-a-dire la Perse, quelques points de l'Inde et une partie de la
Turquie d'Asie, aux environs de &Baghdad, est aujourd'hui vivement
&preoccupee, mouvement remarquable et digne &d'etre &etudie &a tous
les titres. Il permet d'assister &a des &developpements de faits, &a des
manifestations, &a des catastrophes telles que l'on n'est pas &habitue &a les
imaginer ailleurs que dans les temps &recules &ou se sont produites les
grandes religions."
"These changes, however," Lord Curzon, alluding to the Declaration
of the Mission of &Baha'u'llah and the rebellion of &Mirza &Yahya,
has, moreover written, "have in no wise impaired, but appear on the
contrary, to have stimulated its propaganda, which has advanced
with a rapidity inexplicable to those who can only see therein a crude
form of political or even of metaphysical fermentation. The lowest
estimate places the present number of &Babis in Persia at half a
million. I am disposed to think, from conversations with persons
well qualified to judge, that the total is nearer one million." "They
are to be found," he adds, "in every walk of life, from the ministers
and nobles of the Court to the scavenger or the groom, not the least
arena of their activity being the &Musulman priesthood itself." "From
the facts," is another testimony of his, "that &Babism in its earliest
years found itself in conflict with the civil powers, and that an
attempt was made by &Babis upon the life of the &Shah, it has been
wrongly inferred that the movement was political in origin and
Nihilist in character... At the present time the &Babis are equally
loyal with any other subjects of the Crown. Nor does there appear
to be any greater justice in the charges of socialism, communism and
immorality that have so freely been levelled at the youthful persuasion
...The only communism known to and recommended by Him
(the &Bab) was that of the New Testament and the early Christian
Church, viz., the sharing of goods in common by members of the
Faith, and the exercise of alms-giving, and an ample charity. The
charge of immorality seems to have arisen partly from the malignant
inventions of opponents, partly from the much greater freedom
claimed for women by the &Bab, which in the oriental mind is scarcely
dissociable from profligacy of conduct." And, finally, the following
prognostication from his pen: "If &Babism continues to grow at its
+P205
present rate of progression, a time may conceivably come when it will
oust &Muhammadanism from the field in Persia. This, I think, it
would be unlikely to do, did it appear upon the ground under the
flag of a hostile faith. But since its recruits are won from the best
soldiers of the garrison whom it is attacking, there is greater reason
to believe that it may ultimately prevail."
&Baha'u'llah's incarceration in the prison-fortress of &Akka, the
manifold tribulations He endured, the prolonged ordeal to which
the community of His followers in Persia was being subjected, did not
arrest, nor could they even impede, to the slightest degree, the mighty
stream of Divine Revelation, which, without interruption, had been
flowing from His pen, and on which the future orientation, the
integrity, the expansion and the consolidation of His Faith directly
depended. Indeed, in their scope and volume, His writings, during the
years of His confinement in the Most Great Prison, surpassed the outpourings
of His pen in either Adrianople or &Baghdad. More remarkable
than the radical transformation in the circumstances of His own life
in &Akka, more far-reaching in its spiritual consequences than the
campaign of repression pursued so relentlessly by the enemies of His
Faith in the land of His birth, this unprecedented extension in the
range of His writings, during His exile in that Prison, must rank
as one of the most vitalizing and fruitful stages in the evolution of
His Faith.
The tempestuous winds that swept the Faith at the inception of
His ministry and the wintry desolation that marked the beginnings
of His prophetic career, soon after His banishment from &Tihran,
were followed during the latter part of His sojourn in &Baghdad, by
what may be described as the vernal years of His Mission--years
which witnessed the bursting into visible activity of the forces inherent
in that Divine Seed that had lain dormant since the tragic
removal of His Forerunner. With His arrival in Adrianople and the
proclamation of His Mission the Orb of His Revelation climbed as it
were to its zenith, and shone, as witnessed by the style and tone of
His writings, in the plenitude of its summer glory. The period of
His incarceration in &Akka brought with it the ripening of a slowly
maturing process, and was a period during which the choicest fruits
of that mission were ultimately garnered.
The writings of &Baha'u'llah during this period, as we survey the
vast field which they embrace, seem to fall into three distinct categories.
The first comprises those writings which constitute the sequel
to the proclamation of His Mission in Adrianople. The second
+P206
includes the laws and ordinances of His Dispensation, which, for the
most part, have been recorded in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, His Most Holy
Book. To the third must be assigned those Tablets which partly
enunciate and partly reaffirm the fundamental tenets and principles
underlying that Dispensation.
The Proclamation of His Mission had been, as already observed,
directed particularly to the kings of the earth, who, by virtue of the
power and authority they wielded, were invested with a peculiar and
inescapable responsibility for the destinies of their subjects. It was to
these kings, as well as to the world's religious leaders, who exercised a
no less pervasive influence on the mass of their followers, that the
Prisoner of &Akka directed His appeals, warnings, and exhortations
during the first years of His incarceration in that city. "Upon Our
arrival at this Prison," He Himself affirms, "We purposed to transmit
to the kings the messages of their Lord, the Mighty, the All-Praised.
Though We have transmitted to them, in several Tablets, that which
We were commanded, yet We do it once again, as a token of God's
grace."
To the kings of the earth, both in the East and in the West, both
Christian and Muslim, who had already been collectively admonished
and warned in the &Suriy-i-Muluk revealed in Adrianople, and
had been so vehemently summoned by the &Bab, in the opening chapter
of the &Qayyumu'l-Asma', on the very night of the Declaration of His
Mission, &Baha'u'llah, during the darkest days of His confinement in
&Akka, addressed some of the noblest passages of His Most Holy Book.
In these passages He called upon them to take fast hold of the "Most
Great Law"; proclaimed Himself to be "the King of Kings" and "the
Desire of all Nations"; declared them to be His "vassals" and "emblems
of His sovereignty"; disclaimed any intention of laying hands on
their kingdoms; bade them forsake their palaces, and hasten to gain
admittance into His Kingdom; extolled the king who would arise
to aid His Cause as "the very eye of mankind"; and finally arraigned
them for the things which had befallen Him at their hands.
In His Tablet to Queen Victoria He, moreover, invites these kings
to hold fast to "the Lesser Peace," since they had refused "the Most
Great Peace"; exhorts them to be reconciled among themselves, to
unite and to reduce their armaments; bids them refrain from laying
excessive burdens on their subjects, who, He informs them, are their
"wards" and "treasures"; enunciates the principle that should any one
among them take up arms against another, all should rise against him;
+P207
and warns them not to deal with Him as the "King of &Islam" and
his ministers had dealt.
To the Emperor of the French, Napoleon III, the most prominent
and influential monarch of his day in the West, designated by Him
as the "Chief of Sovereigns," and who, to quote His words, had "cast
behind his back" the Tablet revealed for him in Adrianople, He,
while a prisoner in the army barracks, addressed a second Tablet and
transmitted it through the French agent in &Akka. In this He announces
the coming of "Him Who is the Unconstrained," whose
purpose is to "quicken the world" and unite its peoples; unequivocally
asserts that Jesus Christ was the Herald of His Mission; proclaims
the fall of "the stars of the firmament of knowledge," who have
turned aside from Him; exposes that monarch's insincerity; and
clearly prophesies that his kingdom shall be "thrown into confusion,"
that his "empire shall pass" from his hands, and that "commotions
shall seize all the people in that land," unless he arises to help the
Cause of God and follow Him Who is His Spirit.
In memorable passages addressed to "the Rulers of America and
the Presidents of the Republics therein" He, in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
calls upon them to "adorn the temple of dominion with the ornament
of justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of
remembrance" of their Lord; declares that "the Promised One" has
been made manifest; counsels them to avail themselves of the "Day of
God"; and bids them "bind with the hands of justice the broken" and
"crush" the "oppressor" with "the rod of the commandments of their
Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise."
To Nicolaevitch Alexander II, the all-powerful Czar of Russia,
He addressed, as He lay a prisoner in the barracks, an Epistle wherein
He announces the advent of the promised Father, Whom "the tongue
of Isaiah hath extolled," and "with Whose name both the Torah and
the Evangel were adorned"; commands him to "arise ... and summon
the nations unto God"; warns him to beware lest his sovereignty
withhold him from "Him Who is the Supreme Sovereign"; acknowledges
the aid extended by his Ambassador in &Tihran; and cautions him
not to forfeit the station ordained for him by God.
To Queen Victoria He, during that same period, addressed an
Epistle in which He calls upon her to incline her ear to the voice of
her Lord, the Lord of all mankind; bids her "cast away all that is on
earth," and set her heart towards her Lord, the Ancient of Days;
asserts that "all that hath been mentioned in the Gospel hath been
fulfilled"; assures her that God would reward her for having "forbidden
+P208
the trading in slaves," were she to follow what has been sent
unto her by Him; commends her for having "entrusted the reins of
counsel into the hands of the representatives of the people"; and
exhorts them to "regard themselves as the representatives of all that
dwell on earth," and to judge between men with "pure justice."
In a celebrated passage addressed to William I, King of Prussia
and newly-acclaimed emperor of a unified Germany, He, in His
&Kitab-i-Aqdas, bids the sovereign hearken to His Voice, the Voice
of God Himself; warns him to take heed lest his pride debar him from
recognizing "the Day-Spring of Divine Revelation," and admonishes
him to "remember the one (Napoleon III) whose power transcended"
his power, and who "went down to dust in great loss." Furthermore,
in that same Book, apostrophizing the "banks of the Rhine," He predicts
that "the swords of retribution" would be drawn against them,
and that "the lamentations of Berlin" would be raised, though at that
time she was "in conspicuous glory."
In another notable passage of that same Book, addressed to Francis-Joseph,
the Austrian Emperor and heir of the Holy Roman Empire,
&Baha'u'llah reproves the sovereign for having neglected to inquire
about Him in the course of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; takes God to
witness that He had found him "clinging unto the Branch and heedless
of the Root"; grieves to observe his waywardness; and bids him
open his eyes and gaze on "the Light that shineth above this luminous
Horizon."
To &Ali &Pasha, the Grand Vizir of the &Sultan of Turkey He
addressed, shortly after His arrival in &Akka, a second Tablet, in
which He reprimands him for his cruelty "that hath made hell to
blaze and the Spirit to lament"; recounts his acts of oppression; condemns
him as one of those who, from time immemorial, have denounced
the Prophets as stirrers of mischief; prophesies his downfall;
expatiates on His own sufferings and those of His fellow-exiles;
extolls their fortitude and detachment; predicts that God's "wrathful
anger" will seize him and his government, that "sedition will be
stirred up" in their midst, and that their "dominions will be disrupted";
and affirms that were he to awake, he would abandon all his
possessions, and would "choose to abide in one of the dilapidated
rooms of this Most Great Prison." In the &Lawh-i-Fu'ad, in the course
of His reference to the premature death of the &Sultan's Foreign Minister,
&Fu'ad &Pasha, He thus confirms His above-mentioned prediction:
"Soon will We dismiss the one (&Ali &Pasha) who was like unto him
+P209
and will lay hold on their Chief (&Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz) who ruleth
the land, and I, verily, am the Almighty, the All-Compelling."
No less outspoken and emphatic are the messages, some embodied
in specific Tablets, others interspersed through His writings, which
&Baha'u'llah addressed to the world's ecclesiastical leaders of all
denominations--messages in which He discloses, clearly and unreservedly,
the claims of His Revelation, summons them to heed His call, and
denounces, in certain specific cases, their perversity, their extreme
arrogance and tyranny.
In immortal passages of His &Kitab-i-Aqdas and other Tablets He
bids the entire company of these ecclesiastical leaders to "fear God,"
to "rein in" their pens, "fling away idle fancies and imaginings, and
turn then towards the Horizon of Certitude"; warns them to "weigh
not the Book of God (&Kitab-i-Aqdas) with such standards and sciences
as are current" amongst them; designates that same Book as the
"Unerring Balance established amongst men"; laments over their
blindness and waywardness; asserts His superiority in vision, insight,
utterance and wisdom; proclaims His innate and God-given knowledge;
cautions them not to "shut out the people by yet another veil,"
after He Himself had "rent the veils asunder"; accuses them of having
been "the cause of the repudiation of the Faith in its early days"; and
adjures them to "peruse with fairness and justice that which hath been
sent down" by Him, and to "nullify not the Truth" with the things
they possess.
To Pope Pius IX, the undisputed head of the most powerful
Church in Christendom, possessor of both temporal and spiritual
authority, He, a Prisoner in the army barracks of the penal-colony of
&Akka, addressed a most weighty Epistle, in which He announces that
"He Who is the Lord of Lords is come overshadowed with clouds,"
and that "the Word which the Son concealed is made manifest." He,
moreover, warns him not to dispute with Him even as the Pharisees
of old disputed with Jesus Christ; bids him leave his palaces unto such
as desire them, "sell all the embellished ornaments" in his possession,
"expend them in the path of God," abandon his kingdom unto the
kings, "arise ... amidst the peoples of the earth," and summon them
to His Faith. Regarding him as one of the suns of the heaven of God's
names, He cautions him to guard himself lest "darkness spread its veils"
over him; calls upon him to "exhort the kings" to "deal equitably with
men"; and counsels him to walk in the footsteps of his Lord, and
follow His example.
To the patriarchs of the Christian Church He issued a specific
+P210
summons in which He proclaims the coming of the Promised One;
exhorts them to "fear God" and not to follow "the vain imaginings of
the superstitious"; and directs them to lay aside the things they possess
and "take fast hold of the Tablet of God by His sovereign power." To
the archbishops of that Church He similarly declares that "He Who
is the Lord of all men hath appeared," that they are "numbered with
the dead," and that great is the blessedness of him who is "stirred by
the breeze of God, and hath arisen from amongst the dead in this
perspicuous Name." In passages addressed to its bishops He proclaims
that "the Everlasting Father calleth aloud between earth and heaven,"
pronounces them to be the fallen stars of the heaven of His knowledge,
and affirms that His body "yearneth for the cross" and His head is
"eager for the spear in the path of the All-Merciful." The concourse
of Christian priests He bids "leave the bells," and come forth from
their churches; exhorts them to "proclaim aloud the Most Great Name
among the nations"; assures them that whoever will summon men in
His Name will "show forth that which is beyond the power of all that
are on earth"; warns them that the "Day of Reckoning hath appeared";
and counsels them to turn with their hearts to their "Lord,
the Forgiving, the Generous." In numerous passages addressed to the
"concourse of monks" He bids them not to seclude themselves in
churches and cloisters, but to occupy themselves with that which will
profit their souls and the souls of men; enjoins them to enter into
wedlock; and affirms that if they choose to follow Him He will make
them heirs of His Kingdom, and that if they transgress against Him,
He will, in His long-suffering, endure it patiently.
And finally, in several passages addressed to the entire body of
the followers of Jesus Christ He identifies Himself with the "Father"
spoken of by Isaiah, with the "Comforter" Whose Covenant He Who
is the Spirit (Jesus) had Himself established, and with the "Spirit of
Truth" Who will guide them "into all truth"; proclaims His Day to be
the Day of God; announces the conjunction of the river Jordan with
the "Most Great Ocean"; asserts their heedlessness as well as His own
claim to have opened unto them "the gates of the kingdom"; affirms
that the promised "Temple" has been built "with the hands of the
will" of their Lord, the Mighty, the Bounteous; bids them "rend the
veils asunder," and enter in His name His Kingdom; recalls the saying
of Jesus to Peter; and assures them that, if they choose to follow Him,
He will make them to become "quickeners of mankind."
To the entire body of Muslim ecclesiastics &Baha'u'llah specifically
devoted innumerable passages in His Books and Tablets, wherein He,
+P211
in vehement language, denounces their cruelty; condemns their pride
and arrogance; calls upon them to lay aside the things they possess,
to hold their peace, and give ear to the words He has spoken; and
asserts that, by reason of their deeds, "the exalted station of the people
hath been abased, the standard of &Islam hath been reversed, and its
mighty throne hath fallen." To the "concourse of Persian divines"
He more particularly addressed His condemnatory words in which
He stigmatizes their deeds, and prophesies that their "glory will be
turned into the most wretched abasement," and that they shall behold
the punishment which will be inflicted upon them, "as decreed by
God, the Ordainer, the All-Wise."
To the Jewish people, He, moreover, announced that the Most
Great Law has come, that "the Ancient Beauty ruleth upon the throne
of David," Who cries aloud and invokes His Name, that "from Zion
hath appeared that which was hidden," and that "from Jerusalem is
heard the Voice of God, the One, the Incomparable, the Omniscient."
To the "high priests" of the Zoroastrian Faith He, furthermore,
proclaimed that "the Incomparable Friend" is manifest, that He "speaketh
that wherein lieth salvation," that "the Hand of Omnipotence is
stretched forth from behind the clouds," that the tokens of His
majesty and greatness are unveiled; and declared that "no man's acts
shall be acceptable in this day unless he forsaketh mankind and all
that men possess, and setteth his face towards the Omnipotent One."
Some of the weightiest passages of His Epistle to Queen Victoria
are addressed to the members of the British Legislature, the Mother of
Parliaments, as well as to the elected representatives of the peoples in
other lands. In these He asserts that His purpose is to quicken the
world and unite its peoples; refers to the treatment meted out to Him
by His enemies; exhorts the legislators to "take counsel together," and
to concern themselves only "with that which profiteth mankind"; and
affirms that the "sovereign remedy" for the "healing of all the world"
is the "union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common
Faith," which can "in no wise be achieved except through the power
of a skilled and all-powerful and inspired Physician." He, moreover,
in His Most Holy Book, has enjoined the selection of a single language
and the adoption of a common script for all on earth to use, an injunction
which, when carried out, would, as He Himself affirms in that
Book, be one of the signs of the "coming of age of the human race."
No less significant are the words addressed separately by Him to
the "people of the &Bayan," to the wise men of the world, to its poets,
to its men of letters, to its mystics and even to its tradesmen, in which
+P212
He exhorts them to be attentive to His voice, to recognize His Day,
and to follow His bidding.
Such in sum are the salient features of the concluding utterances
of that historic Proclamation, the opening notes of which were sounded
during the latter part of &Baha'u'llah's banishment to Adrianople, and
which closed during the early years of His incarceration in the prison-fortress
of &Akka. Kings and emperors, severally and collectively; the
chief magistrates of the Republics of the American continent; ministers
and ambassadors; the Sovereign Pontiff himself; the Vicar of the
Prophet of &Islam; the royal Trustee of the Kingdom of the Hidden
&Imam; the monarchs of Christendom, its patriarchs, archbishops,
bishops, priests and monks; the recognized leaders of both the &Sunni
and &Shi'ah sacerdotal orders; the high priests of the Zoroastrian religion;
the philosophers, the ecclesiastical leaders, the wise men and the inhabitants
of Constantinople--that proud seat of both the Sultanate
and the Caliphate; the entire company of the professed adherents of
the Zoroastrian, the Jewish, the Christian and Muslim Faiths; the
people of the &Bayan; the wise men of the world, its men of letters,
its poets, its mystics, its tradesmen, the elected representatives of its
peoples; His own countrymen--all have, at one time or another, in
books, Epistles, and Tablets, been brought directly within the purview
of the exhortations, the warnings, the appeals, the declarations and
the prophecies which constitute the theme of His momentous summons
to the leaders of mankind--a summons which stands unparalleled
in the annals of any previous religion, and to which the messages
directed by the Prophet of &Islam to some of the rulers among His
contemporaries alone offer a faint resemblance.
"Never since the beginning of the world," &Baha'u'llah Himself
affirms, "hath the Message been so openly proclaimed." "Each one of
them," He, specifically referring to the Tablets addressed by Him to
the sovereigns of the earth--Tablets acclaimed by &Abdu'l-Baha as a
"miracle"--has written, "hath been designated by a special name. The
first hath been named `The Rumbling,' the second `The Blow,' the
third `The Inevitable,' the fourth `The Plain,' the fifth `The Catastrophe,'
and the others `The Stunning Trumpet-Blast,' `The Near
Event,' `The Great Terror,' `The Trumpet,' `The Bugle,' and the like,
so that all the peoples of the earth may know, of a certainty, and may
witness, with outward and inner eyes, that He Who is the Lord of
Names hath prevailed, and will continue to prevail, under all conditions,
over all men." The most important of these Tablets, together
with the celebrated &Suriy-i-Haykal (the &Surih of the Temple), He,
+P213
moreover, ordered to be written in the shape of a pentacle, symbolizing
the temple of man, and which He identified, when addressing the
followers of the Gospel in one of His Tablets, with the "Temple" mentioned
by the Prophet Zechariah, and designated as "the resplendent
dawning-place of the All-Merciful," and which "the hands of the
power of Him Who is the Causer of Causes" had built.
Unique and stupendous as was this Proclamation, it proved to
be but a prelude to a still mightier revelation of the creative power
of its Author, and to what may well rank as the most signal act of
His ministry--the promulgation of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas. Alluded to in
the &Kitab-i-Iqan; the principal repository of that Law which the
Prophet Isaiah had anticipated, and which the writer of the Apocalypse
had described as the "new heaven" and the "new earth," as
"the Tabernacle of God," as the "Holy City," as the "Bride," the
"New Jerusalem coming down from God," this "Most Holy Book,"
whose provisions must remain inviolate for no less than a thousand
years, and whose system will embrace the entire planet, may well be
regarded as the brightest emanation of the mind of &Baha'u'llah, as the
Mother Book of His Dispensation, and the Charter of His New
World Order.
Revealed soon after &Baha'u'llah had been transferred to the house
of &Udi &Khammar (circa 1873), at a time when He was still encompassed
by the tribulations that had afflicted Him, through the acts
committed by His enemies and the professed adherents of His Faith,
this Book, this treasury enshrining the priceless gems of His Revelation,
stands out, by virtue of the principles it inculcates, the administrative
institutions it ordains and the function with which it
invests the appointed Successor of its Author, unique and incomparable
among the world's sacred Scriptures. For, unlike the Old
Testament and the Holy Books which preceded it, in which the
actual precepts uttered by the Prophet Himself are non-existent;
unlike the Gospels, in which the few sayings attributed to Jesus
Christ afford no clear guidance regarding the future administration
of the affairs of His Faith; unlike even the &Qur'an which, though
explicit in the laws and ordinances formulated by the Apostle of
God, is silent on the all-important subject of the succession, the
&Kitab-i-Aqdas, revealed from first to last by the Author of the
Dispensation Himself, not only preserves for posterity the basic laws
and ordinances on which the fabric of His future World Order must
rest, but ordains, in addition to the function of interpretation which
it confers upon His Successor, the necessary institutions through
+P214
which the integrity and unity of His Faith can alone be safeguarded.
In this Charter of the future world civilization its Author--at
once the Judge, the Lawgiver, the Unifier and Redeemer of mankind
--announces to the kings of the earth the promulgation of the "Most
Great Law"; pronounces them to be His vassals; proclaims Himself
the "King of Kings"; disclaims any intention of laying hands on their
kingdoms; reserves for Himself the right to "seize and possess the
hearts of men"; warns the world's ecclesiastical leaders not to weigh
the "Book of God" with such standards as are current amongst them;
and affirms that the Book itself is the "Unerring Balance" established
amongst men. In it He formally ordains the institution of the "House
of Justice," defines its functions, fixes its revenues, and designates its
members as the "Men of Justice," the "Deputies of God," the "Trustees
of the All-Merciful," alludes to the future Center of His Covenant,
and invests Him with the right of interpreting His holy Writ;
anticipates by implication the institution of Guardianship; bears witness
to the revolutionizing effect of His World Order; enunciates the
doctrine of the "Most Great Infallibility" of the Manifestation of
God; asserts this infallibility to be the inherent and exclusive right of
the Prophet; and rules out the possibility of the appearance of another
Manifestation ere the lapse of at least one thousand years.
In this Book He, moreover, prescribes the obligatory prayers;
designates the time and period of fasting; prohibits congregational
prayer except for the dead; fixes the Qiblih; institutes the &Huququ'llah
(Right of God); formulates the law of inheritance; ordains the
institution of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar; establishes the Nineteen Day
Feasts, the &Baha'i festivals and the Intercalary Days; abolishes the
institution of priesthood; prohibits slavery, asceticism, mendicancy,
monasticism, penance, the use of pulpits and the kissing of hands;
prescribes monogamy; condemns cruelty to animals, idleness and
sloth, backbiting and calumny; censures divorce; interdicts gambling,
the use of opium, wine and other intoxicating drinks; specifies the
punishments for murder, arson, adultery and theft; stresses the importance
of marriage and lays down its essential conditions; imposes
the obligation of engaging in some trade or profession, exalting such
occupation to the rank of worship; emphasizes the necessity of providing
the means for the education of children; and lays upon every
person the duty of writing a testament and of strict obedience to
one's government.
Apart from these provisions &Baha'u'llah exhorts His followers to
consort, with amity and concord and without discrimination, with
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the adherents of all religions; warns them to guard against fanaticism,
sedition, pride, dispute and contention; inculcates upon them immaculate
cleanliness, strict truthfulness, spotless chastity, trustworthiness;
hospitality, fidelity, courtesy, forbearance, justice and fairness; counsels
them to be "even as the fingers of one hand and the limbs of one
body"; calls upon them to arise and serve His Cause; and assures
them of His undoubted aid. He, furthermore, dwells upon the instability
of human affairs; declares that true liberty consists in man's
submission to His commandments; cautions them not to be indulgent
in carrying out His statutes; prescribes the twin inseparable duties of
recognizing the "Dayspring of God's Revelation" and of observing
all the ordinances revealed by Him, neither of which, He affirms, is
acceptable without the other.
The significant summons issued to the Presidents of the Republics
of the American continent to seize their opportunity in the Day of
God and to champion the cause of justice; the injunction to the
members of parliaments throughout the world, urging the adoption of
a universal script and language; His warnings to William I, the conqueror
of Napoleon III; the reproof He administers to Francis Joseph,
the Emperor of Austria; His reference to "the lamentations of Berlin"
in His apostrophe to "the banks of the Rhine"; His condemnation of
"the throne of tyranny" established in Constantinople, and His prediction
of the extinction of its "outward splendor" and of the tribulations
destined to overtake its inhabitants; the words of cheer and
comfort He addresses to His native city, assuring her that God had
chosen her to be "the source of the joy of all mankind"; His prophecy
that "the voice of the heroes of &Khurasan" will be raised in glorification
of their Lord; His assertion that men "endued with mighty
valor" will be raised up in &Kirman who will make mention of Him;
and finally, His magnanimous assurance to a perfidious brother who
had afflicted Him with such anguish, that an "ever-forgiving, all-bounteous"
God would forgive him his iniquities were he only to
repent--all these further enrich the contents of a Book designated by
its Author as "the source of true felicity," as the "Unerring Balance,"
as the "Straight Path" and as the "quickener of mankind."
The laws and ordinances that constitute the major theme of this
Book, &Baha'u'llah, moreover, has specifically characterized as "the
breath of life unto all created things," as "the mightiest stronghold,"
as the "fruits" of His "Tree," as "the highest means for the maintenance
of order in the world and the security of its peoples," as "the lamps of
His wisdom and loving-providence," as "the sweet smelling savor of
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His garment," as the "keys" of His "mercy" to His creatures. "This
Book," He Himself testifies, "is a heaven which We have adorned
with the stars of Our commandments and prohibitions." "Blessed
the man," He, moreover, has stated, "who will read it, and ponder the
verses sent down in it by God, the Lord of Power, the Almighty.
Say, O men! Take hold of it with the hand of resignation... By
My life! It hath been sent down in a manner that amazeth the minds
of men. Verily, it is My weightiest testimony unto all people, and
the proof of the All-Merciful unto all who are in heaven and all who
are on earth." And again: "Blessed the palate that savoreth its sweetness,
and the perceiving eye that recognizeth that which is treasured
therein, and the understanding heart that comprehendeth its allusions
and mysteries. By God! Such is the majesty of what hath been revealed
therein, and so tremendous the revelation of its veiled allusions
that the loins of utterance shake when attempting their description."
And finally: "In such a manner hath the &Kitab-i-Aqdas been revealed
that it attracteth and embraceth all the divinely appointed Dispensations.
Blessed those who peruse it! Blessed those who apprehend it!
Blessed those who meditate upon it! Blessed those who ponder its
meaning! So vast is its range that it hath encompassed all men ere
their recognition of it. Erelong will its sovereign power, its pervasive
influence and the greatness of its might be manifested on earth."
The formulation by &Baha'u'llah, in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas, of the
fundamental laws of His Dispensation was followed, as His Mission
drew to a close, by the enunciation of certain precepts and principles
which lie at the very core of His Faith, by the reaffirmation of truths
He had previously proclaimed, by the elaboration and elucidation of
some of the laws He had already laid down, by the revelation of
further prophecies and warnings, and by the establishment of subsidiary
ordinances designed to supplement the provisions of His Most
Holy Book. These were recorded in unnumbered Tablets, which He
continued to reveal until the last days of His earthly life, among
which the "&Ishraqat" (Splendors), the "&Bisharat" (Glad Tidings),
the "&Tarazat" (Ornaments), the "&Tajalliyat" (Effulgences), the
"&Kalimat-i-Firdawsiyyih" (Words of Paradise), the "&Lawh-i-Aqdas"
(Most Holy Tablet), the "&Lawh-i-Dunya" (Tablet of the World),
the "&Lawh-i-Maqsud" (Tablet of &Maqsud), are the most noteworthy.
These Tablets--mighty and final effusions of His indefatigable pen--
must rank among the choicest fruits which His mind has yielded,
and mark the consummation of His forty-year-long ministry.
Of the principles enshrined in these Tablets the most vital of
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them all is the principle of the oneness and wholeness of the human
race, which may well be regarded as the hall-mark of &Baha'u'llah's
Revelation and the pivot of His teachings. Of such cardinal importance
is this principle of unity that it is expressly referred to in
the Book of His Covenant, and He unreservedly proclaims it as the
central purpose of His Faith. "We, verily," He declares, "have come
to unite and weld together all that dwell on earth." "So potent is the
light of unity," He further states, "that it can illuminate the whole
earth." "At one time," He has written with reference to this central
theme of His Revelation, "We spoke in the language of the lawgiver;
at another in that of the truth seeker and the mystic, and yet Our
supreme purpose and highest wish hath always been to disclose the
glory and sublimity of this station." Unity, He states, is the goal
that "excelleth every goal" and an aspiration which is "the monarch
of all aspirations." "The world," He proclaims, "is but one country,
and mankind its citizens." He further affirms that the unification of
mankind, the last stage in the evolution of humanity towards maturity
is inevitable, that "soon will the present day order be rolled up, and a
new one spread out in its stead," that "the whole earth is now in a
state of pregnancy," that "the day is approaching when it will have
yielded its noblest fruits, when from it will have sprung forth the
loftiest trees, the most enchanting blossoms, the most heavenly blessings."
He deplores the defectiveness of the prevailing order, exposes
the inadequacy of patriotism as a directing and controlling force in
human society, and regards the "love of mankind" and service to its
interests as the worthiest and most laudable objects of human endeavor.
He, moreover, laments that "the vitality of men's belief in
God is dying out in every land," that the "face of the world" is
turned towards "waywardness and unbelief"; proclaims religion to be
"a radiant light and an impregnable stronghold for the protection
and welfare of the peoples of the world" and "the chief instrument
for the establishment of order in the world"; affirms its fundamental
purpose to be the promotion of union and concord amongst men;
warns lest it be made "a source of dissension, of discord and hatred";
commands that its principles be taught to children in the schools of
the world, in a manner that would not be productive of either
prejudice or fanaticism; attributes "the waywardness of the ungodly"
to the "decline of religion"; and predicts "convulsions" of such severity
as to "cause the limbs of mankind to quake."
The principle of collective security He unreservedly urges; recommends
the reduction in national armaments; and proclaims as necessary
+P218
and inevitable the convening of a world gathering at which the
kings and rulers of the world will deliberate for the establishment of
peace among the nations.
Justice He extols as "the light of men" and their "guardian," as
"the revealer of the secrets of the world of being, and the standard-bearer
of love and bounty"; declares its radiance to be incomparable;
affirms that upon it must depend "the organization of the world and
the tranquillity of mankind." He characterizes its "two pillars"--
"reward and punishment"--as "the sources of life" to the human race;
warns the peoples of the world to bestir themselves in anticipation of
its advent; and prophesies that, after an interval of great turmoil and
grievous injustice, its day-star will shine in its full splendor and glory.
He, furthermore, inculcates the principle of "moderation in all
things"; declares that whatsoever, be it "Liberty, civilization and the
like," "passeth beyond the limits of moderation" must "exercise a
pernicious influence upon men"; observes that western civilization has
gravely perturbed and alarmed the peoples of the world; and predicts
that the day is approaching when the "flame" of a civilization "carried
to excess" "will devour the cities."
Consultation He establishes as one of the fundamental principles
of His Faith; describes it as "the lamp of guidance," as "the bestower
of understanding," and as one of the two "luminaries" of the "heaven
of Divine wisdom." Knowledge, He states, is "as wings to man's life
and a ladder for his ascent"; its acquisition He regards as "incumbent
upon every one"; considers "arts, crafts and sciences" to be conducive
to the exaltation of the world of being; commends the wealth acquired
through crafts and professions; acknowledges the indebtedness of the
peoples of the world to scientists and craftsmen; and discourages the
study of such sciences as are unprofitable to men, and "begin with
words and end with words."
The injunction to "consort with all men in a spirit of friendliness
and fellowship" He further emphasizes, and recognizes such association
to be conducive to "union and concord," which, He affirms, are
the establishers of order in the world and the quickeners of nations.
The necessity of adopting a universal tongue and script He repeatedly
stresses; deplores the waste of time involved in the study of divers
languages; affirms that with the adoption of such a language and
script the whole earth will be considered as "one city and one land";
and claims to be possessed of the knowledge of both, and ready to
impart it to any one who might seek it from Him.
To the trustees of the House of Justice He assigns the duty of
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legislating on matters not expressly provided in His writings, and
promises that God will "inspire them with whatsoever He willeth."
The establishment of a constitutional form of government, in which
the ideals of republicanism and the majesty of kingship, characterized
by Him as "one of the signs of God," are combined, He recommends
as a meritorious achievement; urges that special regard be paid to the
interests of agriculture; and makes specific reference to "the swiftly
appearing newspapers," describes them as "the mirror of the world"
and as "an amazing and potent phenomenon," and prescribes to all
who are responsible for their production the duty to be sanctified from
malice, passion and prejudice, to be just and fair-minded, to be painstaking
in their inquiries, and ascertain all the facts in every situation.
The doctrine of the Most Great Infallibility He further elaborates;
the obligation laid on His followers to "behave towards the government
of the country in which they reside with loyalty, honesty and
truthfulness," He reaffirms; the ban imposed upon the waging of holy
war and the destruction of books He reemphasizes; and He singles
out for special praise men of learning and wisdom, whom He extols
as "eyes" to the body of mankind, and as the "greatest gifts" conferred
upon the world.
Nor should a review of the outstanding features of &Baha'u'llah's
writings during the latter part of His banishment to &Akka fail to
include a reference to the &Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom), in
which He sets forth the fundamentals of true philosophy, or to the
Tablet of Visitation revealed in honor of the &Imam &Husayn, whose
praises He celebrates in glowing language; or to the "Questions and
Answers" which elucidates the laws and ordinances of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas;
or to the "&Lawh-i-Burhan" (Tablet of the Proof) in which
the acts perpetrated by &Shaykh &Muhammad-Baqir, surnamed "&Dhi'b"
(Wolf), and &Mir &Muhammad-Husayn, the &Imam-Jum'ih of &Isfahan,
surnamed "&Raqsha" (She-Serpent), are severely condemned; or to the
&Lawh-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel) in which the Author significantly
makes mention of "the City of God that hath descended from heaven,"
and prophesies that "erelong will God sail His Ark" upon that mountain,
and "will manifest the people of &Baha." Finally, mention must
be made of His Epistle to &Shaykh &Muhammad-Taqi, surnamed "&Ibn-i-Dhi'b"
(Son of the Wolf), the last outstanding Tablet revealed by
the pen of &Baha'u'llah, in which He calls upon that rapacious priest
to repent of his acts, quotes some of the most characteristic and
celebrated passages of His own writings, and adduces proofs establishing
the validity of His Cause.
+P220
With this book, revealed about one year prior to His ascension,
the prodigious achievement as author of a hundred volumes, repositories
of the priceless pearls of His Revelation, may be said to have
practically terminated--volumes replete with unnumbered exhortations,
revolutionizing principles, world-shaping laws and ordinances,
dire warnings and portentous prophecies, with soul-uplifting prayers
and meditations, illuminating commentaries and interpretations, impassioned
discourses and homilies, all interspersed with either addresses
or references to kings, to emperors and to ministers, of both the East
and the West, to ecclesiastics of divers denominations, and to leaders
in the intellectual, political, literary, mystical, commercial and humanitarian
spheres of human activity.
"We, verily," wrote &Baha'u'llah, surveying, in the evening of His
life, from His Most Great Prison, the entire range of this vast and
weighty Revelation, "have not fallen short of Our duty to exhort
men, and to deliver that whereunto I was bidden by God, the Almighty,
the All-Praised." "Is there any excuse," He further has
stated, "left for any one in this Revelation? No, by God, the Lord
of the Mighty Throne! My signs have encompassed the earth, and
my power enveloped all mankind."
+P221
CHAPTER XIII
Ascension of &Baha'u'llah
Well nigh half a century had passed since the inception of the
Faith. Cradled in adversity, deprived in its infancy of its Herald
and Leader, it had been raised from the dust, in which a hostile
despot had thrown it, by its second and greatest Luminary Who,
despite successive banishments, had, in less than half a century, succeeded
in rehabilitating its fortunes, in proclaiming its Message, in
enacting its laws and ordinances, in formulating its principles and
in ordaining its institutions, and it had just begun to enjoy the
sunshine of a prosperity never previously experienced, when suddenly
it was robbed of its Author by the Hand of Destiny, its followers
were plunged into sorrow and consternation, its repudiators
found their declining hopes revive, and its adversaries, political as
well as ecclesiastical, began to take heart again.
Already nine months before His ascension &Baha'u'llah, as attested
by &Abdu'l-Baha, had voiced His desire to depart from this world.
From that time onward it became increasingly evident, from the
tone of His remarks to those who attained His presence, that the
close of His earthly life was approaching, though He refrained from
mentioning it openly to any one. On the night preceding the eleventh
of &Shavval 1309 A.H. (May 8, 1892) He contracted a slight fever
which, though it mounted the following day, soon after subsided.
He continued to grant interviews to certain of the friends and pilgrims,
but it soon became evident that He was not well. His fever
returned in a more acute form than before, His general condition
grew steadily worse, complications ensued which at last culminated
in His ascension, at the hour of dawn, on the 2nd of &Dhi'l-Qa'dih
1309 A.H. (May 29, 1892), eight hours after sunset, in the 75th
year of His age. His spirit, at long last released from the toils of a
life crowded with tribulations, had winged its flight to His "other
dominions," dominions "whereon the eyes of the people of names have
never fallen," and to which the "Luminous Maid," "clad in white," had
bidden Him hasten, as described by Himself in the &Lawh-i-Ru'ya
(Tablet of the Vision), revealed nineteen years previously, on the
anniversary of the birth of His Forerunner.
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Six days before He passed away He summoned to His presence,
as He lay in bed leaning against one of His sons, the entire company
of believers, including several pilgrims, who had assembled in the
Mansion, for what proved to be their last audience with Him. "I am
well pleased with you all," He gently and affectionately addressed
the weeping crowd that gathered about Him. "Ye have rendered
many services, and been very assiduous in your labors. Ye have come
here every morning and every evening. May God assist you to remain
united. May He aid you to exalt the Cause of the Lord of being."
To the women, including members of His own family, gathered at
His bedside, He addressed similar words of encouragement, definitely
assuring them that in a document entrusted by Him to the Most
Great Branch He had commended them all to His care.
The news of His ascension was instantly communicated to &Sultan
&Abdu'l-Hamid in a telegram which began with the words "the Sun
of &Baha has set" and in which the monarch was advised of the intention
of interring the sacred remains within the precincts of the
Mansion, an arrangement to which he readily assented. &Baha'u'llah
was accordingly laid to rest in the northernmost room of the house
which served as a dwelling-place for His son-in-law, the most
northerly of the three houses lying to the west of, and adjacent to,
the Mansion. His interment took place shortly after sunset, on the
very day of His ascension.
The inconsolable &Nabil, who had had the privilege of a private
audience with &Baha'u'llah during the days of His illness; whom
&Abdu'l-Baha had chosen to select those passages which constitute the
text of the Tablet of Visitation now recited in the Most Holy Tomb;
and who, in his uncontrollable grief, drowned himself in the sea
shortly after the passing of his Beloved, thus describes the agony of
those days: "Methinks, the spiritual commotion set up in the world
of dust had caused all the worlds of God to tremble.... My inner
and outer tongue are powerless to portray the condition we were
in.... In the midst of the prevailing confusion a multitude of the
inhabitants of &Akka and of the neighboring villages, that had
thronged the fields surrounding the Mansion, could be seen weeping,
beating upon their heads, and crying aloud their grief."
For a full week a vast number of mourners, rich and poor alike,
tarried to grieve with the bereaved family, partaking day and night
of the food that was lavishly dispensed by its members. Notables,
among whom were numbered &Shi'ahs, &Sunnis, Christians, Jews and
Druzes, as well as poets, &ulamas and government officials, all joined
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in lamenting the loss, and in magnifying the virtues and greatness of
&Baha'u'llah, many of them paying to Him their written tributes, in
verse and in prose, in both Arabic and Turkish. From cities as far
afield as Damascus, Aleppo, Beirut and Cairo similar tributes were
received. These glowing testimonials were, without exception, submitted
to &Abdu'l-Baha, Who now represented the Cause of the
departed Leader, and Whose praises were often mingled in these
eulogies with the homage paid to His Father.
And yet these effusive manifestations of sorrow and expressions
of praise and of admiration, which the ascension of &Baha'u'llah had
spontaneously evoked among the unbelievers in the Holy Land and
the adjoining countries, were but a drop when compared with the
ocean of grief and the innumerable evidences of unbounded devotion
which, at the hour of the setting of the Sun of Truth, poured forth
from the hearts of the countless thousands who had espoused His
Cause, and were determined to carry aloft its banner in Persia, India,
Russia, &Iraq, Turkey, Palestine, Egypt and Syria.
With the ascension of &Baha'u'llah draws to a close a period which,
in many ways, is unparalleled in the world's religious history. The
first century of the &Baha'i Era had by now run half its course. An
epoch, unsurpassed in its sublimity, its fecundity and duration by
any previous Dispensation, and characterized, except for a short
interval of three years, by half a century of continuous and progressive
Revelation, had terminated. The Message proclaimed by the &Bab
had yielded its golden fruit. The most momentous, though not the
most spectacular phase of the Heroic Age had ended. The Sun of
Truth, the world's greatest Luminary, had risen in the &Siyah-Chal
of &Tihran, had broken through the clouds which enveloped it in
&Baghdad, had suffered a momentary eclipse whilst mounting to its
zenith in Adrianople and had set finally in &Akka, never to reappear
ere the lapse of a full millenium. God's newborn Faith, the cynosure
of all past Dispensations, had been fully and unreservedly proclaimed.
The prophecies announcing its advent had been remarkably fulfilled.
Its fundamental laws and cardinal principles, the warp and woof of
the fabric of its future World Order, had been clearly enunciated.
Its organic relation to, and its attitude towards, the religious systems
which preceded it had been unmistakably defined. The primary institutions,
within which an embryonic World Order was destined to
mature, had been unassailably established. The Covenant designed
to safeguard the unity and integrity of its world-embracing system
had been irrevocably bequeathed to posterity. The promise of the
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unification of the whole human race, of the inauguration of the Most
Great Peace, of the unfoldment of a world civilization, had been
incontestably given. The dire warnings, foreshadowing catastrophes
destined to befall kings, ecclesiastics, governments and peoples, as a
prelude to so glorious a consummation, had been repeatedly uttered.
The significant summons to the Chief Magistrates of the New World,
forerunner of the Mission with which the North American continent
was to be later invested, had been issued. The initial contact with
a nation, a descendant of whose royal house was to espouse its Cause
ere the expiry of the first &Baha'i century, had been established. The
original impulse which, in the course of successive decades, has conferred,
and will continue to confer, in the years to come, inestimable
benefits of both spiritual and institutional significance upon God's
holy mountain, overlooking the Most Great Prison, had been imparted.
And finally, the first banners of a spiritual conquest which,
ere the termination of that century, was to embrace no less than sixty
countries in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres had been
triumphantly planted.
In the vastness and diversity of its Holy Writ; in the number of
its martyrs; in the valor of its champions; in the example set by its
followers; in the condign punishment suffered by its adversaries; in
the pervasiveness of its influence; in the incomparable heroism of
its Herald; in the dazzling greatness of its Author; in the mysterious
operation of its irresistible spirit; the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, now standing
at the threshold of the sixth decade of its existence, had amply
demonstrated its capacity to forge ahead, indivisible and incorruptible,
along the course traced for it by its Founder, and to display,
before the gaze of successive generations, the signs and tokens of that
celestial potency with which He Himself had so richly endowed it.
To the fate that has overtaken those kings, ministers and ecclesiastics,
in the East as well as in the West, who have, at various stages
of &Baha'u'llah's ministry, either deliberately persecuted His Cause,
or have neglected to heed the warnings He had uttered, or have failed
in their manifest duty to respond to His summons or to accord Him
and His message the treatment they deserved, particular attention,
I feel, should at this juncture be directed. &Baha'u'llah Himself, referring
to those who had actively arisen to destroy or harm His
Faith, had declared that "God hath not blinked, nor will He ever
blink His eyes at the tyranny of the oppressor. More particularly
in this Revelation hath He visited each and every tyrant with His
vengeance." Vast and awful is, indeed, the spectacle which meets our
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eyes, as we survey the field over which the retributory winds of God
have, since the inception of the ministry of &Baha'u'llah, furiously
swept, dethroning monarchs, extinguishing dynasties, uprooting
ecclesiastical hierarchies, precipitating wars and revolutions, driving
from office princes and ministers, dispossessing the usurper, casting
down the tyrant, and chastising the wicked and the rebellious.
&Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz, who with &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah was the
author of the calamities heaped upon &Baha'u'llah, and was himself
responsible for three decrees of banishment against the Prophet; who
had been stigmatized, in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, as occupying the "throne
of tyranny," and whose fall had been prophesied in the &Lawh-i-Fu'ad,
was deposed in consequence of a palace revolution, was condemned
by a &fatva (sentence) of the &Mufti in his own capital, was four days
later assassinated (1876), and was succeeded by a nephew who was
declared to be an imbecile. The war of 1877-78 emancipated eleven million
people from the Turkish yoke; Adrianople was occupied by the
Russian forces; the empire itself was dissolved as a result of the war
of 1914-18; the Sultanate was abolished; a republic was proclaimed;
and a rulership that had endured above six centuries was ended.
The vain and despotic &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, denounced by &Baha'u'llah
as the "Prince of Oppressors"; of whom He had written that
he would soon be made "an object-lesson for the world"; whose reign
was stained by the execution of the &Bab and the imprisonment of
&Baha'u'llah; who had persistently instigated his subsequent banishments
to Constantinople, Adrianople and &Akka; who, in collusion
with a vicious sacerdotal order, had vowed to strangle the Faith in
its cradle, was dramatically assassinated, in the shrine of &Shah
&Abdu'l-'Azim, on the very eve of his jubilee, which, as ushering in a new
era, was to have been celebrated with the most elaborate magnificence,
and was to go down in history as the greatest day in the annals of
the Persian nation. The fortunes of his house thereafter steadily
declined, and finally through the scandalous misconduct of the dissipated
and irresponsible &Ahmad &Shah, led to the eclipse and disappearance
of the &Qajar dynasty.
Napoleon III, the foremost monarch of his day in the West, excessively
ambitious, inordinately proud, tricky and superficial, who is
reported to have contemptuously flung down the Tablet sent to him
by &Baha'u'llah, who was tested by Him and found wanting, and
whose downfall was explicitly predicted in a subsequent Tablet, was
ignominiously defeated in the Battle of Sedan (1870), marking the
greatest military capitulation recorded in modern history; lost his
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kingdom and spent the remaining years of his life in exile. His hopes
were utterly blasted, his only son, the Prince Imperial, was killed in
the Zulu War, his much vaunted empire collapsed, a civil war ensued
more ferocious than the Franco-German war itself, and William I,
the Prussian king, was hailed emperor of a unified Germany in the
Palace of Versailles.
William I, the pride-intoxicated newly-acclaimed conqueror of
Napoleon III, admonished in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas and bidden to ponder
the fate that had overtaken "one whose power transcended" his own,
warned in that same Book, that the "lamentations of Berlin" would
be raised and that the banks of the Rhine would be "covered with
gore," sustained two attempts on his life, and was succeeded by a
son who died of a mortal disease, three months after his accession to
the throne, bequeathing the throne to the arrogant, the headstrong
and short-sighted William II. The pride of the new monarch precipitated
his downfall. Revolution, swiftly and suddenly, broke out in
his capital, communism reared its head in a number of cities; the
princes of the German states abdicated, and he himself, fleeing ignominiously
to Holland, was compelled to relinquish his right to the
throne. The constitution of Weimar sealed the fate of the empire,
whose birth had been so loudly proclaimed by his grandfather, and
the terms of an oppressively severe treaty provoked "the lamentations"
which, half a century before, had been ominously prophesied.
The arbitrary and unyielding Francis Joseph, emperor of Austria
and king of Hungary, who had been reproved in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
for having neglected his manifest duty to inquire about &Baha'u'llah
during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, was so engulfed by misfortunes
and tragedies that his reign came to be regarded as one unsurpassed
by any other reign in the calamities it inflicted upon the nation.
His brother, Maximilian, was put to death in Mexico; the Crown
Prince Rudolph perished in ignominious circumstances; the Empress
was assassinated; Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were
murdered in Serajevo; the "ramshackle empire" itself disintegrated,
was carved up, and a shrunken republic was set up on the ruins of
a vanished Holy Roman Empire--a republic which, after a brief and
precarious existence, was blotted out from the political map of
Europe.
Nicolaevitch Alexander II, the all-powerful Czar of Russia, who,
in a Tablet addressed to him by name had been thrice warned by
&Baha'u'llah, had been bidden to "summon the nations unto God,"
and had been cautioned not to allow his sovereignty to prevent him
+P227
from recognizing "the Supreme Sovereign," suffered several attempts
on his life, and at last died at the hand of an assassin. A harsh policy
of repression, initiated by himself and followed by his successor, Alexander
III, paved the way for a revolution which, in the reign of
Nicholas II, swept away on a bloody tide the empire of the Czars,
brought in its wake war, disease and famine, and established a militant
proletariat which massacred the nobility, persecuted the clergy, drove
away the intellectuals, disendowed the state religion, executed the
Czar with his consort and his family, and extinguished the dynasty
of the Romanoffs.
Pope Pius IX, the undisputed head of the most powerful Church
in Christendom, who had been commanded, in an Epistle addressed
to him by &Baha'u'llah, to leave his "palaces unto such as desire them,"
to "sell all the embellished ornaments" in his possession, to "expend
them in the path of God," and hasten towards "the Kingdom,"
was compelled to surrender, in distressing circumstances, to the besieging
forces of King Victor Emmanuel, and to submit himself to be
depossessed of the Papal States and of Rome itself. The loss of "the
Eternal City," over which the Papal flag had flown for one thousand
years, and the humiliation of the religious orders under his jurisdiction,
added mental anguish to his physical infirmities and embittered
the last years of his life. The formal recognition of the Kingdom of
Italy subsequently exacted from one of his successors in the Vatican,
confirmed the virtual extinction of the Pope's temporal sovereignty.
But the rapid dissolution of the Ottoman, the Napoleonic, the
German, the Austrian and the Russian empires, the demise of the
&Qajar dynasty and the virtual extinction of the temporal sovereignty
of the Roman Pontiff do not exhaust the story of the catastrophes
that befell the monarchies of the world through the neglect of
&Baha'u'llah's warnings conveyed in the opening passages of His &Suriy-i-Muluk.
The conversion of the Portuguese and Spanish monarchies,
as well as the Chinese empire, into republics; the strange fate that
has, more recently, been pursuing the sovereigns of Holland, of
Norway, of Greece, of Yugoslavia and of Albania now living in exile;
the virtual abdication of the authority exercised by the kings of
Denmark, of Belgium, of Bulgaria, of Rumania and of Italy; the
apprehension with which their fellow sovereigns must be viewing the
convulsions that have seized so many thrones; the shame and acts of
violence which, in some instances, have darkened the annals of the
reigns of certain monarchs in both the East and the West, and still
more recently the sudden downfall of the Founder of the newly
+P228
established dynasty in Persia--these are yet further instances of the
infliction of the "Divine Chastisement" foreshadowed by &Baha'u'llah
in that immortal &Surih, and show forth the divine reality of the
arraignment pronounced by Him against the rulers of the earth in
His Most Holy Book.
No less arresting has been the extinction of the all-pervasive
influence exerted by the Muslim ecclesiastical leaders, both &Sunni and
&Shi'ah, in the two countries in which the mightiest institutions of
&Islam had been reared, and which have been directly associated with
the tribulations heaped upon the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah.
The Caliph, the self-styled vicar of the Prophet of &Islam, known
also as the "Commander of the Faithful," the protector of the holy
cities of Mecca and Medina, whose spiritual jurisdiction extended over
more than two hundred million &Muhammadans, was by the abolition
of the Sultanate in Turkey, divested of his temporal authority,
hitherto regarded as inseparable from his high office. The Caliph
himself, after having occupied for a brief period, an anomalous and
precarious position, fled to Europe; the Caliphate, the most august and
powerful institution of &Islam, was, without consultation with any
community in the &Sunni world, summarily abolished; the unity of
the most powerful branch of the Islamic Faith was thereby shattered;
a formal, a complete and permanent separation of the Turkish state
from the &Sunni faith was proclaimed; the &Shari'ah canonical Law was
annulled; ecclesiastical institutions were disendowed; a civil code was
promulgated; religious orders were suppressed; the &Sunni hierarchy
was dissolved; the Arabic tongue, the language of the Prophet of
&Islam, fell into disuse, and its script was superseded by the Latin
alphabet; the &Qur'an itself was translated into Turkish; Constantinople,
the "Dome of &Islam," sank to the level of a provincial city,
and its peerless jewel, the Mosque of St. Sophia, was converted into a
museum--a series of degradations recalling the fate which, in the
first century of the Christian Era, befell the Jewish people, the city of
Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon, the Holy of Holies, and an
ecclesiastical hierarchy, whose members were the avowed persecutors
of the religion of Jesus Christ.
A similar convulsion shook the foundations of the entire sacerdotal
order in Persia, though its formal divorce from the Persian
state is as yet unproclaimed. A "church-state," that had been firmly
rooted in the life of the nation and had extended its ramifications to
every sphere of life in that country, was virtually disrupted. A
sacerdotal order, the rock wall of &Shi'ah &Islam in that land, was
+P229
paralyzed and discredited; its mujtahids, the favorite ministers of the
hidden &Imam, were reduced to an insignificant number; all its beturbaned
officers, except for a handful, were ruthlessly forced to
exchange their traditional head-dress and robes for the European
clothes they themselves anathematized; the pomp and pageantry that
marked their ceremonials vanished; their &fatvas (sentences) were
nullified; their endowments were handed over to a civil administration;
their mosques and seminaries were deserted; the right of sanctuary
accorded to their shrines ceased to be recognized; their religious
plays were banned; their takyihs were closed and even their pilgrimages
to Najaf and &Karbila were discouraged and curtailed. The
disuse of the veil; the recognition of the equality of sexes; the establishment
of civil tribunals; the abolition of concubinage; the disparagement
of the use of the Arabic tongue, the language of &Islam
and of the &Qur'an, and the efforts exerted to divorce it from Persian
--all these further proclaim the degradation, and foreshadow the
final extinction, of that infamous crew, whose leaders had dared style
themselves "servants of the Lord of Saintship" (&Imam &Ali), who
had so often received the homage of the pious kings of the &Safavi
dynasty, and whose anathemas, ever since the birth of the Faith of the
&Bab, had been chiefly responsible for the torrents of blood which had
been shed, and whose acts have blackened the annals of both their
religion and nation.
A crisis, not indeed as severe as that which shook the Islamic
sacerdotal orders--the inveterate adversaries of the Faith--has, moreover,
afflicted the ecclesiastical institutions of Christendom, whose
influence, ever since &Baha'u'llah's summons was issued and His warning
was sounded, has visibly deteriorated, whose prestige has been
gravely damaged, whose authority has steadily declined, and whose
power, rights and prerogatives have been increasingly circumscribed.
The virtual extinction of the temporal sovereignty of the Roman
Pontiff, to which reference has already been made; the wave of anti-clericalism
that brought in its wake the separation of the Catholic
Church from the French Republic; the organized assault launched
by a triumphant Communist state upon the Greek Orthodox Church
in Russia, and the consequent disestablishment, disendowment and
persecution of the state religion; the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian
monarchy which owed its allegiance to the Church of
Rome and powerfully supported its institutions; the ordeal to which
that same Church has been subjected in Spain and in Mexico; the
wave of secularization which, at present, is engulfing the Catholic, the
+P230
Anglican and the Presbyterian Missions in non-Christian lands; the
forces of an aggressive paganism which are assailing the ancient
citadels of the Catholic, the Greek Orthodox and the Lutheran
Churches in Western, in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Balkans
and in the Baltic and Scandinavian states--these stand out as the
most conspicuous manifestations of the decline in the fortunes of the
ecclesiastical leaders of Christendom, leaders who, heedless of the
voice of &Baha'u'llah, have interposed themselves between the
Christ returned in the glory of the Father and their respective
congregations.
Nor can we fail to note the progressive deterioration in the
authority, wielded by the ecclesiastical leaders of the Jewish and
Zoroastrian Faiths, ever since the voice of &Baha'u'llah was raised,
announcing, in no uncertain terms, that the "Most Great Law is
come," that the Ancient Beauty "ruleth upon the throne of David,"
and that "whatsoever hath been announced in the Books (Zoroastrian
Holy Writ) hath been revealed and made clear." The evidences of
increasing revolt against clerical authority; the disrespect and indifference
shown to time-honored observances, rituals and ceremonials;
the repeated inroads made by the forces of an aggressive and often
hostile nationalism into the spheres of clerical jurisdiction; and the
general apathy with which, particularly in the case of the professed
adherents of the Zoroastrian Faith, these encroachments are regarded
--all provide, beyond the shadow of a doubt, further justification of
the warnings and predictions uttered by &Baha'u'llah in His historic
addresses to the world's ecclesiastical leaders.
Such in sum are the awful evidences of God's retributive justice
that have afflicted kings as well as ecclesiastics, in both the East and
the West, as a direct consequence of either their active opposition to
the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, or of their lamentable failure to respond to
His call, to inquire into His Message, to avert the sufferings He
endured, or to heed the marvelous signs and prodigies which, during a
hundred years, have accompanied the birth and rise of His Revelation.
"From two ranks amongst men," is His terse and prophetic utterance,
"power hath been seized: kings and ecclesiastics." "If ye pay no
heed," He thus warned the kings of the earth, "unto the counsels
which ... We have revealed in this Tablet, Divine chastisement will
assail you from every direction... On that day ye shall ... recognize
your own impotence." And again: "Though aware of most of
Our afflictions, ye, nevertheless, have failed to stay the hand of the
aggressor." And, furthermore, this arraignment: "...We ... will
+P231
be patient, as We have been patient in that which hath befallen Us at
your hands, O concourse of kings!"
Condemning specifically the world's ecclesiastical leaders, He has
written: "The source and origin of tyranny have been the divines...
God, verily, is clear of them, and We, too, are clear of them."
"When We observed carefully," He openly affirms, "We discovered
that Our enemies are, for the most part, the divines." "O concourse
of divines!" He thus addresses them, "Ye shall not henceforth behold
yourselves possessed of any power, inasmuch as We have seized it
from you..." "Had ye believed in God when He revealed Himself,"
He explains, "the people would not have turned aside from Him,
nor would the things ye witness today have befallen Us." "They,"
referring more specifically to Muslim ecclesiastics, He asserts, "rose up
against Us with such cruelty as hath sapped the strength of &Islam..."
"The divines of Persia," He affirms, "committed that which no people
amongst the peoples of the world hath committed." And again:
"...The divines of Persia ... have perpetrated what the Jews have
not perpetrated during the Revelation of Him Who is the Spirit
(Jesus)." And finally, these portentous prophecies: "Because of you
the people were abased, and the banner of &Islam was hauled down,
and its mighty throne subverted." "Erelong will all that ye possess
perish, and your glory be turned into the most wretched abasement,
and ye shall behold the punishment for what ye have wrought..."
"Erelong," the &Bab Himself, even more openly prophesies, "We will,
in very truth, torment such as waged war against &Husayn (&Imam
&Husayn) ... with the most afflictive torment..." "Erelong will
God wreak His vengeance upon them, at the time of Our return, and
He hath, in very truth, prepared for them, in the world to come, a
severe torment."
Nor should, in a review of this nature, reference be omitted to
those princes, ministers and ecclesiastics who have individually been
responsible for the afflictive trials which &Baha'u'llah and His followers
have suffered. &Fu'ad &Pasha, the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs,
denounced by Him as the "instigator" of His banishment to the Most
Great Prison, who had so assiduously striven with his colleague &Ali
&Pasha, to excite the fears and suspicions of a despot already predisposed
against the Faith and its Leader, was, about a year after he
had succeeded in executing his design, struck down, while on a trip
to Paris, by the avenging rod of God, and died at Nice (1869).
&Ali &Pasha, the &Sadr-i-A'zam (Prime Minister), denounced in such
forceful language in the &Lawh-i-Ra'is, whose downfall the &Lawh-i-Fu'ad
+P232
had unmistakably predicted, was, a few years after &Baha'u'llah's
banishment to &Akka, dismissed from office, was shorn of all power,
and sank into complete oblivion. The tyrannical Prince &Mas'ud &Mirza,
the &Zillu's-Sultan, &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah's eldest son and ruler over more
than two-fifths of his kingdom, stigmatized by &Baha'u'llah as "the
Infernal Tree," fell into disgrace, was deprived of all his governorships,
except that of &Isfahan, and lost all chances of future eminence
or promotion. The rapacious Prince &Jalalu'd-Dawlih, branded by
the Supreme Pen as "the tyrant of Yazd," was, about a year after the
iniquities he had perpetrated, deprived of his post, recalled to &Tihran,
and forced to return a part of the property he had stolen from
his victims.
The scheming, the ambitious and profligate &Mirza Buzurg &Khan,
the Persian Consul General in &Baghdad, was eventually dismissed from
office, "overwhelmed with disaster, filled with remorse and plunged
into confusion." The notorious Mujtahid Siyyid &Sadiq-i-Tabataba'i,
denounced by &Baha'u'llah as "the Liar of &Tihran," the author of the
monstrous decree condemning every male member of the &Baha'i community
in Persia, young or old, high or low, to be put to death, and
all its women to be deported, was suddenly taken ill, fell a prey to a
disease that ravaged his heart, his brain and his limbs, and precipitated
eventually his death. The high-handed &Subhi &Pasha, who had peremptorily
summoned &Baha'u'llah to the government house in &Akka, lost
the position he occupied, and was recalled under circumstances highly
detrimental to his reputation. Nor were the other governors of the
city, who had dealt unjustly with the exalted Prisoner in their charge
and His fellow-exiles, spared a like fate. "Every &pasha," testifies
&Nabil in his narrative, "whose conduct in &Akka was commendable
enjoyed a long term of office, and was bountifully favored by God,
whereas every hostile &Mutisarrif (governor) was speedily deposed by
the Hand of Divine power, even as &Abdu'r-Rahman &Pasha and
&Muhammad-Yusuf &Pasha who, on the morrow of the very night
they had resolved to lay hands on the loved ones of &Baha'u'llah, were
telegraphically advised of their dismissal. Such was their fate that
they were never again given a position."
&Shaykh &Muhammad-Baqir, surnamed the "Wolf," who, in the
strongly condemnatory &Lawh-i-Burhan addressed to him by &Baha'u'llah,
had been compared to "the last trace of sunlight upon the
mountain-top," witnessed the steady decline of his prestige, and died
in a miserable state of acute remorse. His accomplice, &Mir &Muhammad-Husayn,
surnamed the "She-Serpent," whom &Baha'u'llah described
+P233
as one "infinitely more wicked than the oppressor of &Karbila,"
was, about that same time, expelled from &Isfahan, wandered from
village to village, contracted a disease that engendered so foul an odor
that even his wife and daughter could not bear to approach him, and
died in such ill-favor with the local authorities that no one dared to
attend his funeral, his corpse being ignominiously interred by a
few porters.
Mention should, moreover, be made of the devastating famine
which, about a year after the illustrious &Badi' had been tortured to
death, ravaged Persia and reduced the population to such extremities
that even the rich went hungry, and hundreds of mothers ghoulishly
devoured their own children.
Nor can this subject be dismissed without special reference being
made to the Arch-Breaker of the Covenant of the &Bab, &Mirza &Yahya,
who lived long enough to witness, while eking out a miserable existence
in Cyprus, termed by the Turks "the Island of Satan," every
hope he had so maliciously conceived reduced to naught. A pensioner
first of the Turkish and later of the British Government, he was
subjected to the further humiliation of having his application for
British citizenship refused. Eleven of the eighteen "Witnesses" he
had appointed forsook him and turned in repentance to &Baha'u'llah.
He himself became involved in a scandal which besmirched his reputation
and that of his eldest son, deprived that son and his descendants
of the successorship with which he had previously invested him,
and appointed, in his stead, the perfidious &Mirza &Hadiy-i-Dawlat-Abadi,
a notorious &Azali, who, on the occasion of the martyrdom of
the aforementioned &Mirza &Ashraf, was seized with such fear that
during four consecutive days he proclaimed from the pulpit-top, and
in a most vituperative language, his complete repudiation of the
&Babi Faith, as well as of &Mirza &Yahya, his benefactor, who had
reposed in him such implicit confidence. It was this same eldest son
who, through the workings of a strange destiny, sought years after,
together with his nephew and niece, the presence of &Abdu'l-Baha,
the appointed Successor of &Baha'u'llah and Center of His Covenant,
expressed repentance, prayed for forgiveness, was graciously accepted
by Him, and remained, till the hour of his death, a loyal follower
of the Faith which his father had so foolishly, so shamelessly and
so pitifully striven to extinguish.
+P234
+P235
THIRD PERIOD
THE MINISTRY OF &ABDU'L-BAHA
1892-1921
+P236
+P237
CHAPTER XIV
The Covenant of &Baha'u'llah
I have in the preceding chapters endeavored to trace the rise and
progress of the Faith associated with the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah during
the first fifty years of its existence. If I have dwelt too long on the
events connected with the life and mission of these twin Luminaries
of the &Baha'i Revelation, if I have at times indulged in too circumstantial
a narrative of certain episodes related to their ministries, it
is solely because these happenings proclaim the birth, and signalize
the establishment, of an epoch which future historians will acclaim
as the most heroic, the most tragic and the most momentous period
in the Apostolic Age of the &Baha'i Dispensation. Indeed the tale
which the subsequent decades of the century under review unfold
to our eyes is but the record of the manifold evidences of the resistless
operation of those creative forces which the revolution of fifty years
of almost uninterrupted Revelation had released.
A dynamic process, divinely propelled, possessed of undreamt-of
potentialities, world-embracing in scope, world-transforming in its
ultimate consequences, had been set in motion on that memorable
night when the &Bab communicated the purpose of His mission to
&Mulla &Husayn in an obscure corner of &Shiraz. It acquired a tremendous
momentum with the first intimations of &Baha'u'llah's dawning
Revelation amidst the darkness of the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran. It was
further accelerated by the Declaration of His mission on the eve of
His banishment from &Baghdad. It moved to a climax with the proclamation
of that same mission during the tempestuous years of His
exile in Adrianople. Its full significance was disclosed when the
Author of that Mission issued His historic summonses, appeals and
warnings to the kings of the earth and the world's ecclesiastical
leaders. It was finally consummated by the laws and ordinances which
He formulated, by the principles which He enunciated and by the
institutions which He ordained during the concluding years of His
ministry in the prison-city of &Akka.
To direct and canalize these forces let loose by this Heaven-sent
process, and to insure their harmonious and continuous operation
after His ascension, an instrument divinely ordained, invested with
+P238
indisputable authority, organically linked with the Author of the
Revelation Himself, was clearly indispensable. That instrument
&Baha'u'llah had expressly provided through the institution of the
Covenant, an institution which He had firmly established prior to
His ascension. This same Covenant He had anticipated in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
had alluded to it as He bade His last farewell to the members
of His family, who had been summoned to His bed-side, in the
days immediately preceding His ascension, and had incorporated it
in a special document which He designated as "the Book of My
Covenant," and which He entrusted, during His last illness, to His
eldest son &Abdu'l-Baha.
Written entirely in His own hand; unsealed, on the ninth day
after His ascension in the presence of nine witnesses chosen from
amongst His companions and members of His Family; read subsequently,
on the afternoon of that same day, before a large company
assembled in His Most Holy Tomb, including His sons, some of the
&Bab's kinsmen, pilgrims and resident believers, this unique and epoch-making
Document, designated by &Baha'u'llah as His "Most Great
Tablet," and alluded to by Him as the "Crimson Book" in His
"Epistle to the Son of the Wolf," can find no parallel in the Scriptures
of any previous Dispensation, not excluding that of the &Bab Himself.
For nowhere in the books pertaining to any of the world's religious
systems, not even among the writings of the Author of the &Babi
Revelation, do we find any single document establishing a Covenant
endowed with an authority comparable to the Covenant which
&Baha'u'llah had Himself instituted.
"So firm and mighty is this Covenant," He Who is its appointed
Center has affirmed, "that from the beginning of time until the present
day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like." "It is indubitably
clear," He, furthermore, has stated, "that the pivot of the
oneness of mankind is nothing else but the power of the Covenant."
"Know thou," He has written, "that the `Sure Handle' mentioned
from the foundation of the world in the Books, the Tablets and the
Scriptures of old is naught else but the Covenant and the Testament."
And again: "The lamp of the Covenant is the light of the world, and
the words traced by the Pen of the Most High a limitless ocean."
"The Lord, the All-Glorified," He has moreover declared, "hath, beneath
the shade of the Tree of &Anisa (Tree of Life), made a new
Covenant and established a great Testament... Hath such a Covenant
been established in any previous Dispensation, age, period or
century? Hath such a Testament, set down by the Pen of the Most
+P239
High, ever been witnessed? No, by God!" And finally: "The power
of the Covenant is as the heat of the sun which quickeneth and promoteth
the development of all created things on earth. The light of
the Covenant, in like manner, is the educator of the minds, the
spirits, the hearts and souls of men." To this same Covenant He has
in His writings referred as the "Conclusive Testimony," the "Universal
Balance," the "Magnet of God's grace," the "Upraised Standard," the
"Irrefutable Testament," "the all-mighty Covenant, the like of which
the sacred Dispensations of the past have never witnessed" and "one
of the distinctive features of this most mighty cycle."
Extolled by the writer of the Apocalypse as "the Ark of His
(God) Testament"; associated with the gathering beneath the "Tree
of &Anisa" (Tree of Life) mentioned by &Baha'u'llah in the Hidden
Words; glorified by Him, in other passages of His writings, as the
"Ark of Salvation" and as "the Cord stretched betwixt the earth and
the &Abha Kingdom," this Covenant has been bequeathed to posterity
in a Will and Testament which, together with the &Kitab-i-Aqdas
and several Tablets, in which the rank and station of &Abdu'l-Baha
are unequivocally disclosed, constitute the chief buttresses designed
by the Lord of the Covenant Himself to shield and support, after
His ascension, the appointed Center of His Faith and the Delineator
of its future institutions.
In this weighty and incomparable Document its Author discloses
the character of that "excellent and priceless heritage" bequeathed by
Him to His "heirs"; proclaims afresh the fundamental purpose of His
Revelation; enjoins the "peoples of the world" to hold fast to that
which will "elevate" their "station"; announces to them that "God
hath forgiven what is past"; stresses the sublimity of man's station;
discloses the primary aim of the Faith of God; directs the faithful to
pray for the welfare of the kings of the earth, "the manifestations of
the power, and the daysprings of the might and riches, of God";
invests them with the rulership of the earth; singles out as His special
domain the hearts of men; forbids categorically strife and contention;
commands His followers to aid those rulers who are "adorned with
the ornament of equity and justice"; and directs, in particular, the
&Aghsan (His sons) to ponder the "mighty force and the consummate
power that lieth concealed in the world of being." He bids them,
moreover, together with the &Afnan (the &Bab's kindred) and His own
relatives, to "turn, one and all, unto the Most Great Branch (&Abdu'l-Baha)";
identifies Him with "the One Whom God hath purposed,"
"Who hath branched from this pre-existent Root," referred to in the
+P240
&Kitab-i-Aqdas; ordains the station of the "Greater Branch" (&Mirza
&Muhammad-'Ali) to be beneath that of the "Most Great Branch"
(&Abdu'l-Baha); exhorts the believers to treat the &Aghsan with consideration
and affection; counsels them to respect His family and
relatives, as well as the kindred of the &Bab; denies His sons "any
right to the property of others"; enjoins on them, on His kindred
and on that of the &Bab to "fear God, to do that which is meet and
seemly" and to follow the things that will "exalt" their station; warns
all men not to allow "the means of order to be made the cause of
confusion, and the instrument of union an occasion for discord";
and concludes with an exhortation calling upon the faithful to "serve
all nations," and to strive for the "betterment of the world."
That such a unique and sublime station should have been conferred
upon &Abdu'l-Baha did not, and indeed could not, surprise
those exiled companions who had for so long been privileged to
observe His life and conduct, nor the pilgrims who had been brought,
however fleetingly, into personal contact with Him, nor indeed the
vast concourse of the faithful who, in distant lands, had grown to
revere His name and to appreciate His labors, nor even the wide
circle of His friends and acquaintances who, in the Holy Land and
the adjoining countries, were already well familiar with the position
He had occupied during the lifetime of His Father.
He it was Whose auspicious birth occurred on that never-to-be-forgotten
night when the &Bab laid bare the transcendental character
of His Mission to His first disciple &Mulla &Husayn. He it was Who,
as a mere child, seated on the lap of &Tahirih, had registered the
thrilling significance of the stirring challenge which that indomitable
heroine had addressed to her fellow-disciple, the erudite and far-famed
&Vahid. He it was Whose tender soul had been seared with the
ineffaceable vision of a Father, haggard, dishevelled, freighted with
chains, on the occasion of a visit, as a boy of nine, to the &Siyah-Chal
of &Tihran. Against Him, in His early childhood, whilst His Father
lay a prisoner in that dungeon, had been directed the malice of a
mob of street urchins who pelted Him with stones, vilified Him and
overwhelmed Him with ridicule. His had been the lot to share with
His Father, soon after His release from imprisonment, the rigors and
miseries of a cruel banishment from His native land, and the trials
which culminated in His enforced withdrawal to the mountains of
&Kurdistan. He it was Who, in His inconsolable grief at His separation
from an adored Father, had confided to &Nabil, as attested by him in
his narrative, that He felt Himself to have grown old though still
+P241
but a child of tender years. His had been the unique distinction of
recognizing, while still in His childhood, the full glory of His Father's
as yet unrevealed station, a recognition which had impelled Him to
throw Himself at His feet and to spontaneously implore the privilege
of laying down His life for His sake. From His pen, while still in
His adolescence in &Baghdad, had issued that superb commentary on a
well-known &Muhammadan tradition, written at the suggestion of
&Baha'u'llah, in answer to a request made by &Ali-Shawkat &Pasha,
which was so illuminating as to excite the unbounded admiration of
its recipient. It was His discussions and discourses with the learned
doctors with whom He came in contact in &Baghdad that first aroused
that general admiration for Him and for His knowledge which was
steadily to increase as the circle of His acquaintances was widened,
at a later date, first in Adrianople and then in &Akka. It was to Him
that the highly accomplished &Khurshid &Pasha, the governor of Adrianople,
had been moved to pay a public and glowing tribute when,
in the presence of a number of distinguished divines of that city, his
youthful Guest had, briefly and amazingly, resolved the intricacies
of a problem that had baffled the minds of the assembled company--
an achievement that affected so deeply the &Pasha that from that time
onwards he could hardly reconcile himself to that Youth's absence
from such gatherings.
On Him &Baha'u'llah, as the scope and influence of His Mission
extended, had been led to place an ever greater degree of reliance, by
appointing Him, on numerous occasions, as His deputy, by enabling
Him to plead His Cause before the public, by assigning Him the task
of transcribing His Tablets, by allowing Him to assume the responsibility
of shielding Him from His enemies, and by investing Him with
the function of watching over and promoting the interests of His
fellow-exiles and companions. He it was Who had been commissioned
to undertake, as soon as circumstances might permit, the delicate and
all-important task of purchasing the site that was to serve as the
permanent resting-place of the &Bab, of insuring the safe transfer of
His remains to the Holy Land, and of erecting for Him a befitting
sepulcher on Mt. Carmel. He it was Who had been chiefly instrumental
in providing the necessary means for &Baha'u'llah's release from
His nine-year confinement within the city walls of &Akka, and in
enabling Him to enjoy, in the evening of His life, a measure of that
peace and security from which He had so long been debarred. It was
through His unremitting efforts that the illustrious &Badi' had been
granted his memorable interviews with &Baha'u'llah, that the hostility
+P242
evinced by several governors of &Akka towards the exiled community
had been transmuted into esteem and admiration, that the purchase of
properties adjoining the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan had been
effected, and that the ablest and most valuable presentation of the
early history of the Faith and of its tenets had been transmitted to
posterity. It was through the extraordinarily warm reception accorded
Him during His visit to Beirut, through His contact with &Midhat
&Pasha, a former Grand Vizir of Turkey, through His friendship with
&Aziz &Pasha, whom He had previously known in Adrianople, and
who had subsequently been promoted to the rank of &Vali, and
through His constant association with officials, notables and leading
ecclesiastics who, in increasing number had besought His presence,
during the final years of His Father's ministry, that He had succeeded
in raising the prestige of the Cause He had championed to a level it
had never previously attained.
He alone had been accorded the privilege of being called "the
Master," an honor from which His Father had strictly excluded all
His other sons. Upon Him that loving and unerring Father had
chosen to confer the unique title of "&Sirru'llah" (the Mystery of God),
a designation so appropriate to One Who, though essentially human
and holding a station radically and fundamentally different from
that occupied by &Baha'u'llah and His Forerunner, could still claim
to be the perfect Exemplar of His Faith, to be endowed with super-human
knowledge, and to be regarded as the stainless mirror reflecting
His light. To Him, whilst in Adrianople, that same Father had,
in the &Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch), referred as "this sacred
and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness," as "the Limb of the
Law of God," as His "most great favor" unto men, as His "most
perfect bounty" conferred upon them, as One through Whom "every
mouldering bone is quickened," declaring that "whoso turneth towards
Him hath turned towards God," and that "they who deprive themselves
of the shadow of the Branch are lost in the wilderness of error."
To Him He, whilst still in that city, had alluded (in a Tablet addressed
to &Haji &Muhammad &Ibrahim-i-Khalil) as the one amongst His sons
"from Whose tongue God will cause the signs of His power to stream
forth," and as the one Whom "God hath specially chosen for His
Cause." On Him, at a later period, the Author of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
in a celebrated passage, subsequently elucidated in the "Book of My
Covenant," had bestowed the function of interpreting His Holy
Writ, proclaiming Him, at the same time, to be the One "Whom
God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root."
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To Him in a Tablet, revealed during that same period and addressed
to &Mirza &Muhammad &Quliy-i-Sabzivari, He had referred as "the
Gulf that hath branched out of this Ocean that hath encompassed
all created things," and bidden His followers to turn their faces
towards it. To Him, on the occasion of His visit to Beirut, His
Father had, furthermore, in a communication which He dictated to
His amanuensis, paid a glowing tribute, glorifying Him as the One
"round Whom all names revolve," as "the Most Mighty Branch of
God," and as "His ancient and immutable Mystery." He it was Who,
in several Tablets which &Baha'u'llah Himself had penned, had been
personally addressed as "the Apple of Mine eye," and been referred to
as "a shield unto all who are in heaven and on earth," as "a shelter for
all mankind" and "a stronghold for whosoever hath believed in God."
It was on His behalf that His Father, in a prayer revealed in His
honor, had supplicated God to "render Him victorious," and to "ordain
... for Him, as well as for them that love Him," the things destined
by the Almighty for His "Messengers" and the "Trustees" of His
Revelation. And finally in yet another Tablet these weighty words
had been recorded: "The glory of God rest upon Thee, and upon
whosoever serveth Thee and circleth around Thee. Woe, great woe,
betide him that opposeth and injureth Thee. Well is it with him that
sweareth fealty to Thee; the fire of hell torment him who is Thy
enemy."
And now to crown the inestimable honors, privileges and benefits
showered upon Him, in ever increasing abundance, throughout the
forty years of His Father's ministry in &Baghdad, in Adrianople and in
&Akka, He had been elevated to the high office of Center of &Baha'u'llah's
Covenant, and been made the successor of the Manifestation
of God Himself--a position that was to empower Him to impart an
extraordinary impetus to the international expansion of His Father's
Faith, to amplify its doctrine, to beat down every barrier that would
obstruct its march, and to call into being, and delineate the features
of, its Administrative Order, the Child of the Covenant, and the
Harbinger of that World Order whose establishment must needs
signalize the advent of the Golden Age of the &Baha'i Dispensation.
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CHAPTER XV
The Rebellion of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali
The immediate effect of the ascension of &Baha'u'llah had been, as
already observed, to spread grief and bewilderment among his followers
and companions, and to inspire its vigilant and redoubtable
adversaries with fresh hope and renewed determination. At a time
when a grievously traduced Faith had triumphantly emerged from
the two severest crises it had ever known, one the work of enemies
without, the other the work of enemies within, when its prestige had
risen to a height unequalled in any period during its fifty-year
existence, the unerring Hand which had shaped its destiny ever since
its inception was suddenly removed, leaving a gap which friend and
foe alike believed could never again be filled.
Yet, as the appointed Center of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant and the
authorized Interpreter of His teaching had Himself later explained,
the dissolution of the tabernacle wherein the soul of the Manifestation
of God had chosen temporarily to abide signalized its release from
the restrictions which an earthly life had, of necessity, imposed upon
it. Its influence no longer circumscribed by any physical limitations,
its radiance no longer beclouded by its human temple, that soul could
henceforth energize the whole world to a degree unapproached at
any stage in the course of its existence on this planet.
&Baha'u'llah's stupendous task on this earthly plane had, moreover,
at the time of His passing, been brought to its final consummation.
His mission, far from being in any way inconclusive, had, in every
respect, been carried through to a full end. The Message with which
He had been entrusted had been disclosed to the gaze of all mankind.
The summons He had been commissioned to issue to its leaders and
rulers had been fearlessly voiced. The fundamentals of the doctrine
destined to recreate its life, heal its sicknesses and redeem it from
bondage and degradation had been impregnably established. The
tide of calamity that was to purge and fortify the sinews of His
Faith had swept on with unstemmed fury. The blood which was to
fertilize the soil out of which the institutions of His World Order
were destined to spring had been profusely shed. Above all the
Covenant that was to perpetuate the influence of that Faith, insure
+P245
its integrity, safeguard it from schism, and stimulate its world-wide
expansion, had been fixed on an inviolable basis.
His Cause, precious beyond the dreams and hopes of men; enshrining
within its shell that pearl of great price to which the world,
since its foundation, had been looking forward; confronted with
colossal tasks of unimaginable complexity and urgency, was beyond
a peradventure in safe keeping. His own beloved Son, the apple of
His eye, His vicegerent on earth, the Executive of His authority, the
Pivot of His Covenant, the Shepherd of His flock, the Exemplar of
His faith, the Image of His perfections, the Mystery of His Revelation,
the Interpreter of His mind, the Architect of His World Order,
the Ensign of His Most Great Peace, the Focal Point of His unerring
guidance--in a word, the occupant of an office without peer or equal
in the entire field of religious history--stood guard over it, alert,
fearless and determined to enlarge its limits, blazon abroad its fame,
champion its interests and consummate its purpose.
The stirring proclamation &Abdu'l-Baha had penned, addressed to
the rank and file of the followers of His Father, on the morrow of
His ascension, as well as the prophecies He Himself had uttered in
His Tablets, breathed a resolve and a confidence which the fruits
garnered and the triumphs achieved in the course of a thirty-year
ministry have abundantly justified.
The cloud of despondency that had momentarily settled on the
disconsolate lovers of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah was lifted. The continuity
of that unerring guidance vouchsafed to it since its birth was
now assured. The significance of the solemn affirmation that this is
"the Day which shall not be followed by night" was now clearly
apprehended. An orphan community had recognized in &Abdu'l-Baha,
in its hour of desperate need, its Solace, its Guide, its Mainstay and
Champion. The Light that had glowed with such dazzling brightness
in the heart of Asia, and had, in the lifetime of &Baha'u'llah, spread to
the Near East, and illuminated the fringes of both the European and
African continents, was to travel, through the impelling influence
of the newly proclaimed Covenant, and almost immediately after the
death of its Author, as far West as the North American continent,
and from thence diffuse itself to the countries of Europe, and subsequently
shed its radiance over both the Far East and Australasia.
Before the Faith, however, could plant its banner in the midmost
heart of the North American continent, and from thence establish
its outposts over so vast a portion of the Western world, the newly
born Covenant of &Baha'u'llah had, as had been the case with the
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Faith that had given it birth, to be baptized with a fire which was to
demonstrate its solidity and proclaim its indestructibility to an unbelieving
world. A crisis, almost as severe as that which had assailed
the Faith in its earliest infancy in &Baghdad, was to shake that Covenant
to its foundations at the very moment of its inception, and subject
afresh the Cause of which it was the noblest fruit to one of the most
grievous ordeals experienced in the course of an entire century.
This crisis, misconceived as a schism, which political as well as
ecclesiastical adversaries, no less than the fast dwindling remnant of
the followers of &Mirza &Yahya hailed as a signal for the immediate
disruption and final dissolution of the system established by &Baha'u'llah,
was precipitated at the very heart and center of His Faith,
and was provoked by no one less than a member of His own family,
a half-brother of &Abdu'l-Baha, specifically named in the book of
the Covenant, and holding a rank second to none except Him Who
had been appointed as the Center of that Covenant. For no less than
four years that emergency fiercely agitated the minds and hearts of a
vast proportion of the faithful throughout the East, eclipsed, for a
time, the Orb of the Covenant, created an irreparable breach within
the ranks of &Baha'u'llah's own kindred, sealed ultimately the fate of
the great majority of the members of His family, and gravely damaged
the prestige, though it never succeeded in causing a permanent
cleavage in the structure, of the Faith itself. The true ground of this
crisis was the burning, the uncontrollable, the soul-festering jealousy
which the admitted preeminence of &Abdu'l-Baha in rank, power,
ability, knowledge and virtue, above all the other members of His
Father's family, had aroused not only in &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, the
archbreaker of the Covenant, but in some of his closest relatives as
well. An envy as blind as that which had possessed the soul of &Mirza
&Yahya, as deadly as that which the superior excellence of Joseph had
kindled in the hearts of his brothers, as deep-seated as that which had
blazed in the bosom of Cain and prompted him to slay his brother
Abel, had, for several years, prior to &Baha'u'llah's ascension, been
smouldering in the recesses of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali's heart and
had been secretly inflamed by those unnumbered marks of distinction,
of admiration and favor accorded to &Abdu'l-Baha not only by
&Baha'u'llah Himself, His companions and His followers, but by the
vast number of unbelievers who had come to recognize that innate
greatness which &Abdu'l-Baha had manifested from childhood.
Far from being allayed by the provisions of a Will which had
elevated him to the second-highest position within the ranks of the
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faithful, the fire of unquenchable animosity that glowed in the breast
of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali burned even more fiercely as soon as he
came to realize the full implications of that Document. All that
&Abdu'l-Baha could do, during a period of four distressful years, His
incessant exhortations, His earnest pleadings, the favors and kindnesses
He showered upon him, the admonitions and warnings He
uttered, even His voluntary withdrawal in the hope of averting the
threatening storm, proved to be of no avail. Gradually and with
unyielding persistence, through lies, half-truths, calumnies and gross
exaggerations, this "Prime Mover of sedition" succeeded in ranging
on his side almost the entire family of &Baha'u'llah, as well as a considerable
number of those who had formed his immediate entourage.
&Baha'u'llah's two surviving wives, His two sons, the vacillating &Mirza
&Diya'u'llah and the treacherous &Mirza &Badi'u'llah, with their sister
and half-sister and their husbands, one of them the infamous Siyyid
&Ali, a kinsman of the &Bab, the other the crafty &Mirza &Majdi'd-Din,
together with his sister and half-brothers--the children of the
noble, the faithful and now deceased &Aqay-i-Kalim--all united in a
determined effort to subvert the foundations of the Covenant which
the newly proclaimed Will had laid. Even &Mirza &Aqa &Jan, who for
forty years had labored as &Baha'u'llah's amanuensis, as well as
&Muhammad-Javad-i-Qasvini, who ever since the days of Adrianople, had
been engaged in transcribing the innumerable Tablets revealed by
the Supreme Pen, together with his entire family, threw in their lot
with the Covenant-breakers, and allowed themselves to be ensnared
by their machinations.
Forsaken, betrayed, assaulted by almost the entire body of His
relatives, now congregated in the Mansion and the neighboring houses
clustering around the most Holy Tomb, &Abdu'l-Baha, already bereft
of both His mother and His sons, and without any support at all
save that of an unmarried sister, His four unmarried daughters, His
wife and His uncle (a half-brother of &Baha'u'llah), was left alone to
bear, in the face of a multitude of enemies arrayed against Him from
within and from without, the full brunt of the terrific responsibilities
which His exalted office had laid upon Him.
Closely-knit by one common wish and purpose; indefatigable in
their efforts; assured of the backing of the powerful and perfidious
&Jamal-i-Burujirdi and his henchmen, &Haji &Husayn-i-Kashi, &Khalil-i-Khu'i
and &Jalil-i-Tabrizi who had espoused their cause; linked
by a vast system of correspondence with every center and individual
they could reach; seconded in their labors by emissaries whom they
+P248
dispatched to Persia, &Iraq, India and Egypt; emboldened in their
designs by the attitude of officials whom they bribed or seduced, these
repudiators of a divinely-established Covenant arose, as one man, to
launch a campaign of abuse and vilification which compared in
virulence with the infamous accusations which &Mirza &Yahya and
Siyyid &Muhammad had jointly levelled at &Baha'u'llah. To friend
and stranger, believer and unbeliever alike, to officials both high and
low, openly and by insinuation, verbally as well as in writing, they
represented &Abdu'l-Baha as an ambitious, a self-willed, an unprincipled
and pitiless usurper, Who had deliberately disregarded the
testamentary instructions of His Father; Who had, in language intentionally
veiled and ambiguous, assumed a rank co-equal with the
Manifestation Himself; Who in His communications with the West
was beginning to claim to be the return of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, who had come "in the glory of the Father"; Who, in His letters
to the Indian believers, was proclaiming Himself as the promised
&Shah &Bahram, and arrogating to Himself the right to interpret the
writing of His Father, to inaugurate a new Dispensation, and to
share with Him the Most Great Infallibility, the exclusive prerogative
of the holders of the prophetic office. They, furthermore, affirmed
that He had, for His private ends, fomented discord, fostered enmity
and brandished the weapon of excommunication; that He had
perverted the purpose of a Testament which they alleged to be primarily
concerned with the private interests of &Baha'u'llah's family
by acclaiming it as a Covenant of world importance, &pre-existent,
peerless and unique in the history of all religions; that He had
deprived His brothers and sisters of their lawful allowance, and
expended it on officials for His personal advancement; that He had
declined all the repeated invitations made to Him to discuss the issues
that had arisen and to compose the differences which prevailed; that
He had actually corrupted the Holy Text, interpolated passages
written by Himself, and perverted the purpose and meaning of some
of the weightiest Tablets revealed by the pen of His Father; and
finally, that the standard of rebellion had, as a result of such conduct,
been raised by the Oriental believers, that the community of the
faithful had been rent asunder, was rapidly declining and was doomed
to extinction.
And yet it was this same &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali who, regarding
himself as the exponent of fidelity, the standard-bearer of the
"Unitarians," the "Finger who points to his Master," the champion of
the Holy Family, the spokesman of the &Aghsan, the upholder of the
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Holy Writ, had, in the lifetime of &Baha'u'llah, so openly and shamelessly
advanced in a written statement, signed and sealed by him, the
very claim now falsely imputed by him to &Abdu'l-Baha, that his
Father had, with His own hand, chastised him. He it was who, when
sent on a mission to India, had tampered with the text of the holy
writings entrusted to his care for publication. He it was who had the
impudence and temerity to tell &Abdu'l-Baha to His face that just as
&Umar had succeeded in usurping the successorship of the Prophet
&Muhammad, he, too, felt himself able to do the same. He it was who,
obsessed by the fear that he might not survive &Abdu'l-Baha, had,
the moment he had been assured by Him that all the honor he coveted
would, in the course of time, be his, swiftly rejoined that he had no
guarantee that he would outlive Him. He it was who, as testified by
&Mirza &Badi'u'llah in his confession, written and published on the occasion
of his repentance and his short-lived reconciliation with &Abdu'l-Baha,
had, while &Baha'u'llah's body was still awaiting interment, carried
off, by a ruse, the two satchels containing his Father's most precious
documents, entrusted by Him, prior to His ascension, to &Abdu'l-Baha.
He it was who, by an exceedingly adroit and simple forgery of a
word recurring in some of the denunciatory passages addressed by the
Supreme Pen to &Mirza &Yahya, and by other devices such as mutilation
and interpolation, had succeeded in making them directly applicable
to a Brother Whom he hated with such consuming passion. And
lastly, it was this same &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali who, as attested by
&Abdu'l-Baha in His Will, had, with circumspection and guile, conspired
to take His life, an intention indicated by the allusions made
in a letter written by &Shu'a'u'llah (Son of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali),
the original of which was enclosed in that same Document by &Abdu'l-Baha.
The Covenant of &Baha'u'llah had, by acts such as these, and others
too numerous to recount, been manifestly violated. Another blow,
stunning in its first effects, had been administered to the Faith and had
caused its structure momentarily to tremble. The storm foreshadowed
by the writer of the Apocalypse had broken. The "lightnings," the
"thunders," the "earthquake" which must needs accompany the revelation
of the "Ark of His Testament," had all come to pass.
&Abdu'l-Baha's grief over so tragic a development, following so
swiftly upon His Father's ascension, was such that, despite the
triumphs witnessed in the course of His ministry, it left its traces
upon Him till the end of His days. The intensity of the emotions
which this somber episode aroused within Him were reminiscent of
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the effect produced upon &Baha'u'llah by the dire happenings precipitated
by the rebellion of &Mirza &Yahya. "I swear by the Ancient
Beauty!," He wrote in one of His Tablets, "So great is My sorrow and
regret that My pen is paralyzed between My fingers." "Thou seest
Me," He, in a prayer recorded in His Will, thus laments, "submerged
in an ocean of calamities that overwhelm the soul, of afflictions that
oppress the heart... Sore trials have compassed Me round, and perils
have from all sides beset Me. Thou seest Me immersed in a sea of
unsurpassed tribulation, sunk into a fathomless abyss, afflicted by
Mine enemies and consumed with the flame of hatred kindled by My
kinsmen with whom Thou didst make Thy strong Covenant and
Thy firm Testament..." And again in that same Will: "Lord!
Thou seest all things weeping over Me, and My kindred rejoicing in
My woes. By Thy glory, O my God! Even amongst Mine enemies
some have lamented My troubles and My distress, and of the envious
ones a number have shed tears because of My cares, My exile and My
afflictions." "O Thou the Glory of Glories!," He, in one of His last
Tablets, had cried out, "I have renounced the world and its people, and
am heart-broken and sorely afflicted because of the unfaithful. In the
cage of this world I flutter even as a frightened bird, and yearn every
day to take My flight unto Thy Kingdom."
&Baha'u'llah Himself had significantly revealed in one of His
Tablets--a Tablet that sheds an illuminating light on the entire
episode: "By God, O people! Mine eye weepeth, and the eye of &Ali
(the &Bab) weepeth amongst the Concourse on high, and Mine heart
crieth out, and the heart of &Muhammad crieth out within the Most
Glorious Tabernacle, and My soul shouteth and the souls of the
Prophets shout before them that are endued with understanding...
My sorrow is not for Myself, but for Him Who shall come after Me,
in the shadow of My Cause, with manifest and undoubted sovereignty,
inasmuch as they will not welcome His appearance, will repudiate
His signs, will dispute His sovereignty, will contend with Him, and
will betray His Cause..." "Can it be possible," He, in a no less
significant Tablet, had observed, "that after the dawning of the day-star
of Thy Testament above the horizon of Thy Most Great Tablet,
the feet of any one shall slip in Thy Straight Path? Unto this We
answered: `O My most exalted Pen! It behoveth Thee to occupy
Thyself with that whereunto Thou hast been bidden by God, the
Exalted, the Great. Ask not of that which will consume Thine heart
and the hearts of the denizens of Paradise, who have circled round My
wondrous Cause. It behoveth Thee not to be acquainted with that
+P251
which We have veiled from Thee. Thy Lord is, verily, the Concealer,
the All-Knowing!'" More specifically &Baha'u'llah had, referring to
&Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali in clear and unequivocal language, affirmed:
"He, verily, is but one of My servants... Should he for a moment pass
out from under the shadow of the Cause, he surely shall be brought
to naught." Furthermore, in a no less emphatic language, He, again
in connection with &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali had stated: "By God, the
True One! Were We, for a single instant, to withhold from him
the outpourings of Our Cause, he would wither, and would fall upon
the dust." &Abdu'l-Baha Himself had, moreover, testified: "There is
no doubt that in a thousand passages in the sacred writings of
&Baha'u'llah the breakers of the Covenant have been execrated." Some
of these passages He Himself compiled, ere His departure from this
world, and incorporated them in one of His last Tablets, as a warning
and safeguard against those who, throughout His ministry, had
manifested so implacable a hatred against Him, and had come so near
to subverting the foundations of a Covenant on which not only His
own authority but the integrity of the Faith itself depended.
+P252
CHAPTER XVI
The Rise and Establishment of the Faith in the West
Though the rebellion of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali precipitated many
sombre and distressing events, and though its dire consequences continued
for several years to obscure the light of the Covenant, to
endanger the life of its appointed Center, and to distract the thoughts
and retard the progress of the activities of its supporters in both the
East and the West, yet the entire episode, viewed in its proper perspective,
proved to be neither more nor less than one of those periodic
crises which, since the inception of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, and
throughout a whole century, have been instrumental in weeding out
its harmful elements, in fortifying its foundations, in demonstrating
its resilience, and in releasing a further measure of its latent powers.
Now that the provisions of a divinely appointed Covenant had been
indubitably proclaimed; now that the purpose of the Covenant was
clearly apprehended and its fundamentals had become immovably
established in the hearts of the overwhelming majority of the adherents
of the Faith; and now that the first assaults launched by its would-be
subverters had been successfully repulsed, the Cause for which that
Covenant had been designed could forge ahead along the course traced
for it by the finger of its Author. Shining exploits and unforgettable
victories had already signalized the birth of that Cause and accompanied
its rise in several countries of the Asiatic continent, and
particularly in the homeland of its Founder. The mission of its
newly-appointed Leader, the steward of its glory and the diffuser of
its light, was, as conceived by Himself, to enrich and extend the
bounds of the incorruptible patrimony entrusted to His hands by
shedding the illumination of His Father's Faith upon the West, by
expounding the fundamental precepts of that Faith and its cardinal
principles, by consolidating the activities which had already been
initiated for the promotion of its interests, and, finally, by ushering
in, through the provisions of His own Will, the Formative Age in
its evolution.
A year after the ascension of &Baha'u'llah, &Abdu'l-Baha had, in a
verse which He had revealed, and which had evoked the derision of the
Covenant-breakers, already foreshadowed an auspicious event which
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posterity would recognize as one of the greatest triumphs of His
ministry, which in the end would confer an inestimable blessing upon
the western world, and which erelong was to dispel the grief and the
apprehensions that had surrounded the community of His fellow-exiles
in &Akka. The Great Republic of the West, above all the other
countries of the Occident, was singled out to be the first recipient
of God's inestimable blessing, and to become the chief agent in its
transmission to so many of her sister nations throughout the five
continents of the earth.
The importance of so momentous a development in the evolution
of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah--the establishment of His Cause in the
North American continent--at a time when &Abdu'l-Baha had just
inaugurated His Mission, and was still in the throes of the most
grievous crisis with which He was ever confronted, can in no wise
be overestimated. As far back as the year which witnessed the birth
of the Faith in &Shiraz the &Bab had, in the &Qayyumu'l-Asma', after
having warned in a memorable passage the peoples of both the Orient
and the Occident, directly addressed the "peoples of the West," and
significantly bidden them "issue forth" from their "cities" to aid God,
and "become as brethren" in His "one and indivisible religion."
"In the East," &Baha'u'llah Himself had, in anticipation of this development,
written, "the light of His Revelation hath broken; in the West
the signs of His dominion have appeared." "Should they attempt,"
He, moreover, had predicted, "to conceal its light on the continent,
it will assuredly rear its head in the midmost heart of the ocean,
and, raising its voice, proclaim: `I am the lifegiver of the world!'"
"Had this Cause been revealed in the West," He, shortly before His
ascension, is reported by &Nabil in his narrative to have stated, "had
Our verses been sent from the West to Persia and other countries
of the East, it would have become evident how the people of the
Occident would have embraced Our Cause. The people of Persia,
however, have failed to appreciate it." "From the beginning of time
until the present day," is &Abdu'l-Baha's own testimony, "the light of
Divine Revelation hath risen in the East and shed its radiance upon
the West. The illumination thus shed hath, however, acquired in the
West an extraordinary brilliancy. Consider the Faith proclaimed by
Jesus. Though it first appeared in the East, yet not until its light had
been shed upon the West did the full measure of its potentialities
become manifest." "The day is approaching," He has affirmed, "when
ye shall witness how, through the splendor of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah,
the West will have replaced the East, radiating the light of Divine
+P254
guidance." And again: "The West hath acquired illumination from
the East, but, in some respects, the reflection of the light hath been
greater in the Occident." Furthermore, "The East hath, verily, been
illumined with the light of the Kingdom. Erelong will this same light
shed a still greater illumination upon the West."
More specifically has the Author of the &Baha'i Revelation Himself
chosen to confer upon the rulers of the American continent the unique
honor of addressing them collectively in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, His most
Holy Book, significantly exhorting them to "adorn the temple of
dominion with the ornament of justice and of the fear of God, and
its head with the crown of the remembrance" of their Lord, and
bidding them "bind with the hands of justice the broken," and "crush
the oppressor" with the "rod of the commandments" of their "Lord,
the Ordainer, the All-Wise." "The continent of America," wrote
&Abdu'l-Baha, "is, in the eyes of the one true God, the land wherein
the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of
His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the
free assemble." "The American continent," He has furthermore predicted,
"giveth signs and evidences of very great advancement. Its
future is even more promising, for its influence and illumination are
far reaching. It will lead all nations spiritually."
"The American people," &Abdu'l-Baha, even more distinctly, singling
out for His special favor the Great Republic of the West, the
leading nation of the American continent, has revealed, "are indeed
worthy of being the first to build the Tabernacle of the Most Great
Peace, and proclaim the oneness of mankind." And again: "This
American nation is equipped and empowered to accomplish that which
will adorn the pages of history, to become the envy of the world, and
be blest in both the East and the West for the triumph of its people."
Furthermore: "May this American democracy be the first nation to
establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be the
first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first
to unfurl the standard of the Most Great Peace." "May the inhabitants
of this country," He, moreover has written, "...rise from their
present material attainment to such heights that heavenly illumination
may stream from this center to all the peoples of the world."
"O ye apostles of &Baha'u'llah!," &Abdu'l-Baha has thus addressed
the believers of the North American continent, "...consider how
exalted and lofty is the station you are destined to attain... The full
measure of your success is as yet unrevealed, its significance still
unapprehended." And again: "Your mission is unspeakably glorious.
+P255
Should success crown your enterprise, America will assuredly evolve
into a center from which waves of spiritual power will emanate, and
the throne of the Kingdom of God, will in the plenitude of its
majesty and glory, be firmly established." And finally, this stirring
affirmation: "The moment this Divine Message is carried forward by
the American believers from the shores of America, and is propagated
through the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa and of Australasia,
and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself
securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion...
Then will the whole earth resound with the praises of its majesty and
greatness."
Little wonder that a community belonging to a nation so abundantly
blessed, a nation occupying so eminent a position in a continent so
richly endowed, should have been able to add, during the fifty years
of its existence, many a page rich with victories to the annals of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah. This is the community, it should be remembered,
which, ever since it was called into being through the creative
energies released by the proclamation of the Covenant of &Baha'u'llah,
was nursed in the lap of &Abdu'l-Baha's unfailing solicitude, and was
trained by Him to discharge its unique mission through the revelation
of innumerable Tablets, through the instructions issued to returning
pilgrims, through the despatch of special messengers, through His own
travels at a later date, across the North American continent, through
the emphasis laid by Him on the institution of the Covenant in the
course of those travels, and finally through His mandate embodied in
the Tablets of the Divine Plan. This is the community which, from
its earliest infancy until the present day, has unremittingly labored
and succeeded, through its own unaided efforts, in implanting the
banner of &Baha'u'llah in the vast majority of the sixty countries which,
in both the East and the West, can now claim the honor of being
included within the pale of His Faith. To this community belongs the
distinction of having evolved the pattern, and of having been the first
to erect the framework, of the administrative institutions that herald
the advent of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah. Through the efforts of
its members the Mother Temple of the West, the Harbinger of that
Order, one of the noblest institutions ordained in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
and the most stately edifice reared in the entire &Baha'i world, has been
erected in the very heart of the North American continent. Through
the assiduous labors of its pioneers, its teachers and its administrators,
the literature of the Faith has been enormously expanded, its aims
and purposes fearlessly defended, and its nascent institutions solidly
+P256
established. In direct consequence of the unsupported and indefatigable
endeavors of the most distinguished of its itinerant teachers the
spontaneous allegiance of Royalty to the Faith of &Baha'u'llah has been
secured and unmistakably proclaimed in several testimonies transmitted
to posterity by the pen of the royal convert herself. And
finally, to the members of this community, the spiritual descendants
of the dawn-breakers of the Heroic Age of the &Baha'i Dispensation,
must be ascribed the eternal honor of having arisen, on numerous
occasions, with marvelous alacrity, zeal and determination, to champion
the cause of the oppressed, to relieve the needy, and to defend
the interests of the edifices and institutions reared by their brethren in
countries such as Persia, Russia, Egypt, &Iraq and Germany, countries
where the adherents of the Faith have had to sustain, in varying
measure, the rigors of racial and religious persecution.
Strange, indeed, that in a country, invested with such a unique
function among its sister-nations throughout the West, the first public
reference to the Author of so glorious a Faith should have been made
through the mouth of one of the members of that ecclesiastical order
with which that Faith has had so long to contend, and from which it
has frequently suffered. Stranger still that he who first established it in
the city of Chicago, fifty years after the &Bab had declared His
Mission in &Shiraz, should himself have forsaken, a few years later,
the standard which he, single-handed, had implanted in that city.
It was on September 23, 1893, a little over a year after &Baha'u'llah's
ascension, that, in a paper written by Rev. Henry H. Jessup, D.D.,
Director of Presbyterian Missionary Operations in North Syria, and
read by Rev. George A. Ford of Syria, at the World Parliament of
Religions, held in Chicago, in connection with the Columbian Exposition,
commemorating the four-hundredth anniversary of the discovery
of America, it was announced that "a famous Persian Sage," "the &Babi
Saint," had died recently in &Akka, and that two years previous to His
ascension "a Cambridge scholar" had visited Him, to whom He had
expressed "sentiments so noble, so Christ-like" that the author of the
paper, in his "closing words," wished to share them with his audience.
Less than a year later, in February 1894, a Syrian doctor, named
&Ibrahim &Khayru'llah, who, while residing in Cairo, had been converted
by &Haji &Abdu'l-Karim-i-Tihrani to the Faith, had received a Tablet
from &Baha'u'llah, had communicated with &Abdu'l-Baha, and
reached New York in December 1892, established his residence in
Chicago, and began to teach actively and systematically the Cause
he had espoused. Within the space of two years he had communicated
+P257
his impressions to &Abdu'l-Baha, and reported on the remarkable
success that had attended his efforts. In 1895 an opening was
vouchsafed to him in Kenosha, which he continued to visit once a
week, in the course of his teaching activities. By the following year the
believers in these two cities, it was reported, were counted by hundreds.
In 1897 he published his book, entitled the &Babu'd-Din, and visited
Kansas City, New York City, Ithaca and Philadelphia, where he was
able to win for the Faith a considerable number of supporters. The
stout-hearted Thornton Chase, surnamed &Thabit (Steadfast) by
&Abdu'l-Baha and designated by Him "the first American believer,"
who became a convert to the Faith in 1894, the immortal Louisa A.
Moore, the mother teacher of the West, surnamed &Liva (Banner) by
&Abdu'l-Baha, Dr. Edward Getsinger, to whom she was later married,
Howard MacNutt, Arthur P. Dodge, Isabella D. Brittingham, Lillian
F. Kappes, Paul K. Dealy, Chester I. Thacher and Helen S. Goodall,
whose names will ever remain associated with the first stirrings of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah in the North American continent, stand out as
the most prominent among those who, in those early years, awakened
to the call of the New Day, and consecrated their lives to the service
of the newly proclaimed Covenant.
By 1898 Mrs. Phoebe Hearst, the well-known philanthropist (wife
of Senator George F. Hearst), whom Mrs. Getsinger had, while on a
visit to California, attracted to the Faith, had expressed her intention
of visiting &Abdu'l-Baha in the Holy Land, had invited several
believers, among them Dr. and Mrs. Getsinger, Dr. &Khayru'llah and
his wife, to join her, and had completed the necessary arrangements
for their historic pilgrimage to &Akka. In Paris several resident
Americans, among whom were May Ellis Bolles, whom Mrs. Getsinger
had won over to the Faith, Miss Pearson, and Ann Apperson, both
nieces of Mrs. Hearst, with Mrs. Thornburgh and her daughter, were
added to the party, the number of which was later swelled in Egypt
by the addition of Dr. &Khayru'llah's daughters and their grand-mother
whom he had recently converted.
The arrival of fifteen pilgrims, in three successive parties, the first
of which, including Dr. and Mrs. Getsinger, reached the prison-city of
&Akka on December 10, 1898; the intimate personal contact established
between the Center of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant and the newly
arisen heralds of His Revelation in the West; the moving circumstances
attending their visit to His Tomb and the great honor bestowed upon
them of being conducted by &Abdu'l-Baha Himself into its innermost
chamber; the spirit which, through precept and example, despite the
+P258
briefness of their stay, a loving and bountiful Host so powerfully
infused into them; and the passionate zeal and unyielding resolve
which His inspiring exhortations, His illuminating instructions and
the multiple evidences of His divine love kindled in their hearts--all
these marked the opening of a new epoch in the development of the
Faith in the West, an epoch whose significance the acts subsequently
performed by some of these same pilgrims and their fellow-disciples
have amply demonstrated.
"Of that first meeting," one of these pilgrims, recording her
impressions, has written, "I can remember neither joy nor pain, nor
anything that I can name. I had been carried suddenly to too great a
height, my soul had come in contact with the Divine Spirit, and
this force, so pure, so holy, so mighty, had overwhelmed me... We
could not remove our eyes from His glorious face; we heard all that
He said; we drank tea with Him at His bidding; but existence
seemed suspended; and when He arose and suddenly left us, we came
back with a start to life; but never again, oh! never again, thank God,
the same life on this earth." "In the might and majesty of His
presence," that same pilgrim, recalling the last interview accorded the
party of which she was a member, has testified, "our fear was turned
to perfect faith, our weakness into strength, our sorrow into hope,
and ourselves forgotten in our love for Him. As we all sat before
Him, waiting to hear His words, some of the believers wept bitterly.
He bade them dry their tears, but they could not for a moment. So
again He asked them for His sake not to weep, nor would He talk to
us and teach us until all tears were banished..."
..."Those three days," Mrs. Hearst herself has, in one of her
letters, testified, "were the most memorable days of my life... The
Master I will not attempt to describe: I will only state that I believe
with all my heart that He is the Master, and my greatest blessing in
this world is that I have been privileged to be in His presence, and
look upon His sanctified face... Without a doubt &Abbas Effendi is
the Messiah of this day and generation, and we need not look for
another." "I must say," she, moreover, has in another letter written,
"He is the most wonderful Being I have ever met or ever expect to
meet in this world... The spiritual atmosphere which surrounds Him
and most powerfully affects all those who are blest by being near
Him, is indescribable... I believe in Him with all my heart and soul,
and I hope all who call themselves believers will concede to Him all
the greatness, all the glory, and all the praise, for surely He is the Son
of God--and `the spirit of the Father abideth in Him.'"
+P259
Even Mrs. Hearst's butler, a negro named Robert Turner, the
first member of his race to embrace the Cause of &Baha'u'llah in the
West, had been transported by the influence exerted by &Abdu'l-Baha
in the course of that epoch-making pilgrimage. Such was the tenacity
of his faith that even the subsequent estrangement of his beloved
mistress from the Cause she had spontaneously embraced failed to
becloud its radiance, or to lessen the intensity of the emotions which the
loving-kindness showered by &Abdu'l-Baha upon him had excited
in his breast.
The return of these God-intoxicated pilgrims, some to France,
others to the United States, was the signal for an outburst of
systematic and sustained activity, which, as it gathered momentum,
and spread its ramifications over Western Europe and the states and
provinces of the North American continent, grew to so great a scale
that &Abdu'l-Baha Himself resolved that, as soon as He should be
released from His prolonged confinement in &Akka, He would undertake
a personal mission to the West. Undeflected in its course by the
devastating crisis which the ambition of Dr. &Khayru'llah had, upon his
return from the Holy Land (December, 1899) precipitated; undismayed
by the agitation which he, working in collaboration with the
arch-breaker of the Covenant and his messengers, had provoked;
disdainful of the attacks launched by him and his fellow-seceders, as
well as by Christian ecclesiastics increasingly jealous of the rising
power and extending influence of the Faith; nourished by a continual
flow of pilgrims who transmitted the verbal messages and
special instructions of a vigilant Master; invigorated by the effusions
of His pen recorded in innumerable Tablets; instructed by the successive
messengers and teachers dispatched at His behest for its guidance,
edification and consolidation, the community of the American
believers arose to initiate a series of enterprises which, blessed and
stimulated a decade later by &Abdu'l-Baha Himself, were to be but
a prelude to the unparalleled services destined to be rendered by its
members during the Formative Age of His Father's Dispensation.
No sooner had one of these pilgrims, the afore-mentioned May
Bolles, returned to Paris than she succeeded, in compliance with
&Abdu'l-Baha's emphatic instructions, in establishing in that city the
first &Baha'i center to be formed on the European continent. This
center was, shortly after her arrival, reinforced by the conversion of
the illumined Thomas Breakwell, the first English believer, immortalized
by &Abdu'l-Baha's fervent eulogy revealed in his memory; of
Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first Frenchman to embrace the Faith, who,
+P260
through his writings, translations, travels and other pioneer services,
was able to consolidate, as the years went by, the work which had
been initiated in his country; and of Laura Barney, whose imperishable
service was to collect and transmit to posterity in the form of a book,
entitled "Some Answered Questions," &Abdu'l-Baha's priceless explanations,
covering a wide variety of subjects, given to her in the course
of an extended pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Three years later, in
1902, May Bolles, now married to a Canadian, transferred her residence
to Montreal, and succeeded in laying the foundations of the Cause
in that Dominion.
In London Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper, as a consequence of the
creative influences released by that never-to-be-forgotten pilgrimage,
was able to initiate activities which, stimulated and expanded through
the efforts of the first English believers, and particularly of Ethel J.
Rosenberg, converted in 1899, enabled them to erect, in later years, the
structure of their administrative institutions in the British Isles. In
the North American continent, the defection and the denunciatory
publications of Dr. &Khayru'llah (encouraged as he was by &Mirza
&Muhammad-'Ali and his son &Shu'a'u'llah, whom he had despatched
to America) tested to the utmost the loyalty of the newly fledged community;
but successive messengers despatched by &Abdu'l-Baha
(such as &Haji &Abdu'l-Karim-i-Tihrani, &Haji &Mirza &Hasan-i-Khurasani,
&Mirza &Asadu'llah and &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl) succeeded
in rapidly dispelling the doubts, and in deepening the understanding,
of the believers, in holding the community together, and in forming
the nucleus of those administrative institutions which, two decades
later, were to be formally inaugurated through the explicit provisions
of &Abdu'l-Baha's Will and Testament. As far back as the
year 1899 a council board of seven officers, the forerunner of a
series of Assemblies which, ere the close of the first &Baha'i Century,
were to cover the North American Continent from coast to
coast, was established in the city of Kenosha. In 1902 a &Baha'i
Publishing Society, designed to propagate the literature of a gradually
expanding community, was formed in Chicago. A &Baha'i
Bulletin, for the purpose of disseminating the teachings of the Faith
was inaugurated in New York. The "&Baha'i News," another
periodical, subsequently appeared in Chicago, and soon developed
into a magazine entitled "Star of the West." The translation of some
of the most important writings of &Baha'u'llah, such as the "Hidden
Words," the "&Kitab-i-Iqan," the "Tablets to the Kings," and the
"Seven Valleys," together with the Tablets of &Abdu'l-Baha, as well
+P261
as several treatises and pamphlets written by &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl and
others, was energetically undertaken. A considerable correspondence
with various centers throughout the Orient was initiated, and grew
steadily in scope and importance. Brief histories of the Faith, books
and pamphlets written in its defence, articles for the press, accounts
of travels and pilgrimages, eulogies and poems, were likewise published
and widely disseminated.
Simultaneously, travellers and teachers, emerging triumphantly
from the storms of tests and trials which had threatened to engulf
their beloved Cause, arose, of their own accord, to reinforce and
multiply the strongholds of the Faith already established. Centers
were opened in the cities of Washington, Boston, San Francisco,
Los Angeles, Cleveland, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Rochester,
Pittsburgh, Seattle, St. Paul and in other places. Audacious pioneers,
whether as visitors or settlers, eager to spread the new born Evangel
beyond the confines of their native country, undertook journeys,
and embarked on enterprises which carried its light to the heart of
Europe, to the Far East, and as far as the islands of the Pacific.
Mason Remey voyaged to Russia and Persia, and later, with Howard
Struven, circled, for the first time in &Baha'i history, the globe, visiting
on his way the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China, India and Burma.
Hooper Harris and Harlan Ober traveled, during no less than seven
months, in India and Burma, visiting Bombay, Poona, Lahore, Calcutta,
Rangoon and Mandalay. Alma Knobloch, following on the
heels of Dr. K. E. Fisher, hoisted the standard of the Faith in
Germany, and carried its light to Austria. Dr. Susan I. Moody,
Sydney Sprague, Lillian F. Kappes, Dr. Sarah Clock, and Elizabeth
Stewart transferred their residence to &Tihran for the purpose of
furthering the manifold interests of the Faith, in collaboration with
the &Baha'is of that city. Sarah Farmer, who had already initiated
in 1894, at Green Acre, in the State of Maine, summer conferences
and established a center for the promotion of unity and fellowship
between races and religions, placed, after her pilgrimage to &Akka in
1900, the facilities these conferences provided at the disposal of the
followers of the Faith which she had herself recently embraced.
And last but not least, inspired by the example set by their
fellow-disciples in &Ishqabad, who had already commenced the construction
of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world, and afire with
the desire to demonstrate, in a tangible and befitting manner, the
quality of their faith and devotion, the &Baha'is of Chicago, having
petitioned &Abdu'l-Baha for permission to erect a House of Worship,
+P262
and secured, in a Tablet revealed in June 1903, His ready and
enthusiastic approval, arose, despite the smallness of their numbers
and their limited resources, to initiate an enterprise which must rank
as the greatest single contribution which the &Baha'is of America,
and indeed of the West, have as yet made to the Cause of &Baha'u'llah.
The subsequent encouragement given them by &Abdu'l-Baha,
and the contributions raised by various Assemblies decided the
members of this Assembly to invite representatives of their fellow-believers
in various parts of the country to meet in Chicago for the
initiation of the stupendous undertaking they had conceived. On
November 26, 1907, the assembled representatives, convened for that
purpose, appointed a committee of nine to locate a suitable site for
the proposed Temple. By April 9, 1908, the sum of two thousand
dollars had been paid for the purchase of two building lots, situated
near the shore of Lake Michigan. In March 1909, a convention representative
of various &Baha'i centers was called, in pursuance of
instructions received from &Abdu'l-Baha. The thirty-nine delegates,
representing thirty-six cities, who had assembled in Chicago, on the
very day the remains of the &Bab were laid to rest by &Abdu'l-Baha in
the specially erected mausoleum on Mt. Carmel, established a permanent
national organization, known as the &Baha'i Temple Unity, which
was incorporated as a religious corporation, functioning under the
laws of the State of Illinois, and invested with full authority to hold
title to the property of the Temple and to provide ways and means
for its construction. At this same convention a constitution was
framed, the Executive Board of the &Baha'i Temple Unity was elected,
and was authorized by the delegates to complete the purchase of the
land recommended by the previous Convention. Contributions for
this historic enterprise, from India, Persia, Turkey, Syria, Palestine,
Russia, Egypt, Germany, France, England, Canada, Mexico, the
Hawaiian Islands, and even Mauritius, and from no less than sixty
American cities, amounted by 1910, two years previous to &Abdu'l-Baha's
arrival in America, to no less than twenty thousand dollars, a
remarkable testimony alike to the solidarity of the followers of
&Baha'u'llah in both the East and the West, and to the self-sacrificing
efforts exerted by the American believers who, as the work progressed,
assumed a preponderating share in providing the sum of over a
million dollars required for the erection of the structure of the Temple
and its external ornamentation.
+P263
CHAPTER XVII
Renewal of &Abdu'l-Baha's Incarceration
The outstanding accomplishments of a valiant and sorely-tested
community, the first fruits of &Baha'u'llah's newly established Covenant
in the Western world, had laid a foundation sufficiently imposing
to invite the presence of the appointed Center of that Covenant,
Who had called that Community into being and watched, with such
infinite care and foresight, over its budding destinies. Not until,
however, &Abdu'l-Baha had emerged from the severe crisis which
had already for several years been holding Him in its toils could He
undertake His memorable voyage to the shores of a continent where
the rise and establishment of His Father's Faith had been signalized
by such magnificent and enduring achievements.
This second major crisis of His ministry, external in nature and
hardly less severe than the one precipitated by the rebellion of &Mirza
&Muhammad-'Ali, gravely imperiled His life, deprived Him, for a
number of years, of the relative freedom He had enjoyed, plunged
into anguish His family and the followers of the Faith in East and
West, and exposed as never before, the degradation and infamy of
His relentless adversaries. It originated two years after the departure
of the first American pilgrims from the Holy Land. It persisted, with
varying degrees of intensity, during more than seven years, and was
directly attributable to the incessant intrigues and monstrous
misrepresentations of the Arch-Breaker of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant and
his supporters.
Embittered by his abject failure to create a schism on which he
had fondly pinned his hopes; stung by the conspicuous success which
the standard-bearers of the Covenant had, despite his machinations,
achieved in the North American continent; encouraged by the existence
of a ®ime that throve in an atmosphere of intrigue and suspicion,
and which was presided over by a cunning and cruel potentate;
determined to exploit to the full the opportunities for mischief
afforded him by the arrival of Western pilgrims at the prison-fortress
of &Akka, as well as by the commencement of the construction of
the &Bab's sepulcher on Mt. Carmel, &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, seconded
by his brother, &Mirza &Badi'u'llah, and aided by his brother-in-law,
+P264
&Mirza &Majdi'd-Din, succeeded through strenuous and persistent
endeavors in exciting the suspicion of the Turkish government and
its officials, and in inducing them to reimpose on &Abdu'l-Baha the
confinement from which, in the days of &Baha'u'llah, He had so
grievously suffered.
This very brother, &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali's chief accomplice, in
a written confession signed, sealed and published by him, on the
occasion of his reconciliation with &Abdu'l-Baha, has borne testimony
to the wicked plots that had been devised. "What I have heard from
others," wrote &Mirza &Badi'u'llah, "I will ignore. I will only recount
what I have seen with my own eyes, and heard from his (&Mirza
&Muhammad-'Ali) lips." "It was arranged by him (&Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali),"
he, then, proceeds to relate, "to dispatch &Mirza &Majdi'd-Din
with a gift and a letter written in Persian to &Nazim &Pasha, the &Vali
(governor) of Damascus, and to seek his assistance.... As he
(&Mirza &Majdi'd-Din) himself informed me in Haifa he did all he
could to acquaint him (governor) fully with the construction work
on Mt. Carmel, with the comings and goings of the American believers,
and with the gatherings held in &Akka. The &Pasha, in his
desire to know all the facts, was extremely kind to him, and assured
him of his aid. A few days after &Mirza &Majdi'd-Din's return a cipher
telegram was received from the Sublime Porte, transmitting the
&Sultan's orders to incarcerate &Abdu'l-Baha, myself and the others."
"In those days," he, furthermore, in that same document, testifies,
"a man who came to &Akka from Damascus stated to outsiders that
&Nazim &Pasha had been the cause of the incarceration of &Abbas
Effendi. The strangest thing of all is this that &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali,
after he had been incarcerated, wrote a letter to &Nazim &Pasha
for the purpose of achieving his own deliverance.... The &Pasha,
however, did not write even a word in answer to either the first or
the second letter."
It was in 1901, on the fifth day of the month of &Jamadiyu'l-Avval
1319 A.H. (August 20) that &Abdu'l-Baha, upon His return
from &Bahji where He had participated in the celebration of the anniversary
of the &Bab's Declaration, was informed, in the course of an
interview with the governor of &Akka, of &Sultan &Abdu'l-Hamid's
instructions ordering that the restrictions which had been gradually
relaxed should be reimposed, and that He and His brothers should
be strictly confined within the walls of that city. The &Sultan's edict
was at first rigidly enforced, the freedom of the exiled community
was severely curtailed, while &Abdu'l-Baha had to submit, alone and
+P265
unaided, to the prolonged interrogation of judges and officials, who
required His presence for several consecutive days at government
headquarters for the purpose of their investigations. One of His
first acts was to intercede on behalf of His brothers, who had been
peremptorily summoned and informed by the governor of the orders
of the sovereign, an act which failed to soften their hostility or lessen
their malevolent activities. Subsequently, through His intervention
with the civil and military authorities, He succeeded in obtaining the
freedom of His followers who resided in &Akka, and in enabling them
to continue to earn, without interference, the means of livelihood.
The Covenant-breakers were unappeased by the measures taken
by the authorities against One Who had so magnanimously intervened
on their behalf. Aided by the notorious &Yahya Bey, the chief
of police, and other officials, civil as well as military, who, in consequence
of their representations, had replaced those who had been
friendly to &Abdu'l-Baha, and by secret agents who traveled back and
forth between &Akka and Constantinople, and who even kept a vigilant
watch over everything that went on in His household, they arose
to encompass His ruin. They lavished on officials gifts which included
possessions sacred to the memory of &Baha'u'llah, and shamelessly
proffered to high and low alike bribes drawn, in some instances, from
the sale of properties associated with Him or bestowed upon some of
them by &Abdu'l-Baha. Relaxing nothing of their efforts they pursued
relentlessly the course of their nefarious activities, determined
to leave no stone unturned until they had either brought about His
execution or ensured His deportation to a place remote enough to
enable them to wrest the Cause from His grasp. The &Vali of Damascus,
the &Mufti of Beirut, members of the Protestant missions established
in Syria and &Akka, even the influential &Shaykh &Abu'l-Huda,
in Constantinople, whom the &Sultan held in as profound an esteem
as that in which &Muhammad &Shah had held his Grand Vizir, &Haji
&Mirza &Aqasi, were, on various occasions, approached, appealed to,
and urged to lend their assistance for the prosecution of their odious
designs.
Through verbal messages, formal communications and by personal
interviews the Covenant-breakers impressed upon these notables
the necessity of immediate action, shrewdly adapting their arguments
to the particular interests and prejudices of those whose aid they
solicited. To some they represented &Abdu'l-Baha as a callous usurper
Who had trampled upon their rights, robbed them of their heritage,
reduced them to poverty, made their friends in Persia their enemies,
+P266
accumulated for Himself a vast fortune, and acquired no less than
two-thirds of the land in Haifa. To others they declared that &Abdu'l-Baha
contemplated making of &Akka and Haifa a new Mecca and
Medina. To still others they affirmed that &Baha'u'llah was no more
than a retired dervish, who professed and promoted the Faith of
&Islam, Whom &Abbas Effendi, His son, had, for the purpose of
self-glorification, exalted to the rank of God-head, whilst claiming Himself
to be the Son of God and the return of Jesus Christ. They further
accused Him of harboring designs inimical to the interests of the
state, of meditating a rebellion against the &Sultan, of having already
hoisted the banner of &Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha, the ensign of revolt, in
distant villages in Palestine and Syria, of having raised surreptitiously
an army of thirty thousand men, of being engaged in the construction
of a fortress and a vast ammunition depot on Mt. Carmel, of
having secured the moral and material support of a host of English
and American friends, amongst whom were officers of foreign powers,
who were arriving, in large numbers and in disguise, to pay Him
their homage, and of having already, in conjunction with them,
drawn up His plans for the subjugation of the neighboring provinces,
for the expulsion of the ruling authorities, and for the ultimate
seizure of the power wielded by the &Sultan himself. Through misrepresentation
and bribery they succeeded in inducing certain people
to affix their signatures as witnesses to the documents which they had
drawn up, and which they despatched, through their agents, to the
Sublime Porte.
Such grave accusations, embodied in numerous reports, could
not fail to perturb profoundly the mind of a despot already obsessed
by the fear of impending rebellion among his subjects. A commission
was accordingly appointed to inquire into the matter, and report
the result of its investigations. Each of the charges brought against
&Abdu'l-Baha, when summoned to the court, on several occasions,
He carefully and fearlessly refuted. He exposed the absurdity of
these accusations, acquainted the members of the Commission, in
support of His argument, with the provisions of &Baha'u'llah's Testament,
expressed His readiness to submit to any sentence the court
might decide to pass upon Him, and eloquently affirmed that if they
should chain Him, drag Him through the streets, execrate and ridicule
Him, stone and spit upon Him, suspend Him in the public
square, and riddle Him with bullets, He would regard it as a signal
honor, inasmuch as He would thereby be following in the footsteps,
and sharing the sufferings, of His beloved Leader, the &Bab.
+P267
The gravity of the situation confronting &Abdu'l-Baha; the rumors
that were being set afloat by a population that anticipated
the gravest developments; the hints and allusions to the dangers threatening
Him contained in newspapers published in Egypt and Syria;
the aggressive attitude which His enemies increasingly assumed; the
provocative behavior of some of the inhabitants of &Akka and Haifa
who had been emboldened by the predictions and fabrications of these
enemies regarding the fate awaiting a suspected community and its
Leader, led Him to reduce the number of pilgrims, and even to suspend,
for a time, their visits, and to issue special instructions that His
mail be handled through an agent in Egypt rather than in Haifa;
for a time He ordered that it should be held there pending further
advice from Him. He, moreover, directed the believers, as well as
His own secretaries, to collect and remove to a place of safety all the
&Baha'i writings in their possession, and, urging them to transfer
their residence to Egypt, went so far as to forbid their gathering, as
was their wont, in His house. Even His numerous friends and admirers
refrained, during the most turbulent days of this period, from
calling upon Him, for fear of being implicated and of incurring the
suspicion of the authorities. On certain days and nights, when the
outlook was at its darkest, the house in which He was living, and
which had for many years been a focus of activity, was completely
deserted. Spies, secretly and openly, kept watch around it, observing
His every movement and restricting the freedom of His family.
The construction of the &Bab's sepulcher, whose foundation-stone
had been laid by Him on the site blessed and selected by &Baha'u'llah,
He, however, refused to suspend, or even interrupt, for however brief
a period. Nor would He allow any obstacle, however formidable, to
interfere with the daily flow of Tablets which poured forth, with
prodigious rapidity and ever increasing volume, from His indefatigable
pen, in answer to the vast number of letters, reports, inquiries,
prayers, confessions of faith, apologies and eulogies received from
countless followers and admirers in both the East and the West.
Eye-witnesses have testified that, during that agitated and perilous
period of His life, they had known Him to pen, with His own Hand,
no less than ninety Tablets in a single day, and to pass many a night,
from dusk to dawn, alone in His bed-chamber engaged in a correspondence
which the pressure of His manifold responsibilities had
prevented Him from attending to in the day-time.
It was during these troublous times, the most dramatic period of
His ministry, when, in the hey-day of His life and in the full tide of
+P268
His power, He, with inexhaustible energy, marvelous serenity and
unshakable confidence, initiated and resistlessly prosecuted the varied
enterprises associated with that ministry. It was during these times
that the plan of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world was
conceived by Him, and its construction undertaken by His followers
in the city of &Ishqabad in &Turkistan. It was during these times,
despite the disturbances that agitated His native country, that instructions
were issued by Him for the restoration of the holy and
historic House of the &Bab in &Shiraz. It was during these times that
the initial measures, chiefly through His constant encouragement,
were taken which paved the way for the laying of the dedication
stone, which He, in later years, placed with His own hands when
visiting the site of the Mother Temple of the West on the shore of
Lake Michigan. It was at this juncture that that celebrated compilation
of His table talks, published under the title "Some Answered Questions,"
was made, talks given during the brief time He was able to
spare, in the course of which certain fundamental aspects of His
Father's Faith were elucidated, traditional and rational proofs of its
validity adduced, and a great variety of subjects regarding the Christian
Dispensation, the Prophets of God, Biblical prophecies, the origin
and condition of man and other kindred themes authoritatively
explained.
It was during the darkest hours of this period that, in a communication
addressed to the &Bab's cousin, the venerable &Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqi,
the chief builder of the Temple of &Ishqabad, &Abdu'l-Baha,
in stirring terms, proclaimed the immeasurable greatness of the
Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, sounded the warnings foreshadowing the
turmoil which its enemies, both far and near, would let loose upon
the world, and prophesied, in moving language, the ascendancy
which the torchbearers of the Covenant would ultimately achieve
over them. It was at an hour of grave suspense, during that same period,
that He penned His Will and Testament, that immortal Document
wherein He delineated the features of the Administrative Order
which would arise after His passing, and would herald the establishment
of that World Order, the advent of which the &Bab had announced,
and the laws and principles of which &Baha'u'llah had already
formulated. It was in the course of these tumultuous years that,
through the instrumentality of the heralds and champions of a firmly
instituted Covenant, He reared the embryonic institutions, administrative,
spiritual, and educational, of a steadily expanding Faith in
Persia, the cradle of that Faith, in the Great Republic of the West,
+P269
the cradle of its Administrative Order, in the Dominion of Canada,
in France, in England, in Germany, in Egypt, in &Iraq, in Russia, in
India, in Burma, in Japan, and even in the remote Pacific Islands.
It was during these stirring times that a tremendous impetus was lent
by Him to the translation, the publication and dissemination of
&Baha'i literature, whose scope now included a variety of books and
treatises, written in the Persian, the Arabic, the English, the Turkish,
the French, the German, the Russian and Burmese languages. At His
table, in those days, whenever there was a lull in the storm raging
about Him, there would gather pilgrims, friends and inquirers from
most of the afore-mentioned countries, representative of the Christian,
the Muslim, the Jewish, the Zoroastrian, the Hindu and Buddhist
Faiths. To the needy thronging His doors and filling the courtyard
of His house every Friday morning, in spite of the perils that
environed Him, He would distribute alms with His own hands, with
a regularity and generosity that won Him the title of "Father of the
Poor." Nothing in those tempestuous days could shake His confidence,
nothing would be allowed to interfere with His ministrations to the
destitute, the orphan, the sick, and the down-trodden, nothing could
prevent Him from calling in person upon those who were either incapacitated
or ashamed to solicit His aid. Adamant in His determination
to follow the example of both the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah, nothing
would induce Him to flee from His enemies, or escape from imprisonment,
neither the advice tendered Him by the leading members of the
exiled community in &Akka, nor the insistent pleas of the Spanish
Consul--a kinsman of the agent of an Italian steamship company--
who, in his love for &Abdu'l-Baha and his anxiety to avert the threatening
danger, had gone so far as to place at His disposal an Italian
freighter, ready to provide Him a safe passage to any foreign port He
might name.
So imperturbable was &Abdu'l-Baha's equanimity that, while rumors
were being bruited about that He might be cast into the sea,
or exiled to &Fizan in Tripolitania, or hanged on the gallows, He, to
the amazement of His friends and the amusement of His enemies, was
to be seen planting trees and vines in the garden of His house, whose
fruits when the storm had blown over, He would bid His faithful
gardener, &Isma'il &Aqa, pluck and present to those same friends and
enemies on the occasion of their visits to Him.
In the early part of the winter of 1907 another Commission of
four officers, headed by &Arif Bey, and invested with plenary powers,
was suddenly dispatched to &Akka by order of the &Sultan. A few days
+P270
before its arrival &Abdu'l-Baha had a dream, which He recounted to
the believers, in which He saw a ship cast anchor off &Akka, from
which flew a few birds, resembling sticks of dynamite, and which,
circling about His head, as He stood in the midst of a multitude of the
frightened inhabitants of the city, returned without exploding to the
ship.
No sooner had the members of the Commission landed than they
placed under their direct and exclusive control both the Telegraph
and Postal services in &Akka; arbitrarily dismissed officials suspected
of being friendly to &Abdu'l-Baha, including the governor of the city;
established direct and secret contact with the government in Constantinople;
took up their residence in the home of the neighbors and
intimate associates of the Covenant-breakers; set guards over the
house of &Abdu'l-Baha to prevent any one from seeing Him; and
started the strange procedure of calling up as witnesses the very
people, among whom were Christians and Moslems, orientals and
westerners, who had previously signed the documents forwarded to
Constantinople, and which they had brought with them for the purpose
of their investigations.
The activities of the Covenant-breakers, and particularly of
&Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, now jubilant and full of hope, rose in this
hour of extreme crisis, to the highest pitch. Visits, interviews and
entertainments multiplied, in an atmosphere of fervid expectation,
now that the victory was seen to be at hand. Not a few among the
lower elements of the population were led to believe that their acquisition
of the property which would be left behind by the deported
exiles was imminent. Insults and calumnies markedly increased.
Even some of the poor, so long and so bountifully succored by
&Abdu'l-Baha, forsook Him for fear of reprisals.
&Abdu'l-Baha, while the members of the Commission were carrying
on their so-called investigations, and throughout their stay of about
one month in &Akka, consistently refused to meet or have any dealings
with any of them, in spite of the veiled threats and warnings
conveyed by them to Him through a messenger, an attitude which
greatly surprised them and served to inflame their animosity and
reinforce their determination to execute their evil designs. Though
the perils and tribulations which had encompassed Him were now at
their thickest, though the ship on which He was supposed to embark
with the members of the Commission was waiting in readiness, at
times in &Akka, at times in Haifa, and the wildest rumors were being
spread about Him, the serenity He had invariably maintained, ever
+P271
since His incarceration had been reimposed, remained unclouded, and
His confidence unshaken. "The meaning of the dream I dreamt,"
He, at that time, told the believers who still remained in &Akka, "is
now clear and evident. Please God this dynamite will not explode."
Meanwhile the members of the Commission had, on a certain
Friday, gone to Haifa and inspected the &Bab's sepulcher, the construction
of which had been proceeding without any interruption on Mt.
Carmel. Impressed by its solidity and dimensions, they had inquired
of one of the attendants as to the number of vaults that had been
built beneath that massive structure.
Shortly after the inspection had been made it was suddenly observed,
one day at about sunset, that the ship, which had been lying
off Haifa, had weighed anchor, and was heading towards &Akka. The
news spread rapidly among an excited population that the members
of the Commission had embarked upon it. It was anticipated that it
would stop long enough at &Akka to take &Abdu'l-Baha on board, and
then proceed to its destination. Consternation and anguish seized the
members of His family when informed of the approach of the ship.
The few believers who were left wept with grief at their impending
separation from their Master. &Abdu'l-Baha could be seen, at that
tragic hour, pacing, alone and silent, the courtyard of His house.
As dusk fell, however, it was suddenly noticed that the lights of
the ship had swung round, and the vessel had changed her course. It
now became evident that she was sailing direct for Constantinople.
The intelligence was instantly communicated to &Abdu'l-Baha, Who,
in the gathering darkness, was still pacing His courtyard. Some of the
believers who had posted themselves at different points to watch the
progress of the ship hurried to confirm the joyful tidings. One of the
direst perils that had ever threatened &Abdu'l-Baha's precious life was,
on that historic day, suddenly, providentially and definitely averted.
Soon after the precipitate and wholly unexpected sailing of that
ship news was received that a bomb had exploded in the path of the
&Sultan while he was returning to his palace from the mosque where he
had been offering his Friday prayers.
A few days after this attempt on his life the Commission submitted
its report to him; but he and his government were too preoccupied
to consider the matter. The case was laid aside, and when,
some months later, it was again brought forward it was abruptly
closed forever by an event which, once and for all, placed the Prisoner
of &Akka beyond the power of His royal enemy. The "Young
Turk" Revolution, breaking out swiftly and decisively in 1908, forced
+P272
a reluctant despot to promulgate the constitution which he had suspended,
and to release all religious and political prisoners held under
the old ®ime. Even then a telegram had to be sent to Constantinople
to inquire specifically whether &Abdu'l-Baha was included in the
category of these prisoners, to which an affirmative reply was promptly
received.
Within a few months, in 1909, the Young Turks obtained from
the &Shaykhu'l-Islam the condemnation of the &Sultan himself who, as a
result of further attempts to overthrow the constitution, was finally
and ignominiously deposed, deported and made a prisoner of state.
On one single day of that same year there were executed no less than
thirty-one leading ministers, &pashas and officials, among whom were
numbered notorious enemies of the Faith. Tripolitania itself, the
scene of &Abdu'l-Baha's intended exile was subsequently wrested from
the Turks by Italy. Thus ended the reign of the "Great Assassin,"
"the most mean, cunning, untrustworthy and cruel intriguer of the
long dynasty of &Uthman," a reign "more disastrous in its immediate
losses of territory and in the certainty of others to follow, and more
conspicuous for the deterioration of the condition of his subjects,
than that of any other of his twenty-three degenerate predecessors
since the death of &Sulayman the Magnificent."
+P273
CHAPTER XVIII
Entombment of the &Bab's Remains on Mt. Carmel
&Abdu'l-Baha's unexpected and dramatic release from His forty-year
confinement dealt a blow to the ambitions cherished by the
Covenant-breakers as devastating as that which, a decade before, had
shattered their hopes of undermining His authority and of ousting
Him from His God-given position. Now, on the very morrow of His
triumphant liberation a third blow befell them as stunning as those
which preceded it and hardly less spectacular than they. Within a
few months of the historic decree which set Him free, in the very
year that witnessed the downfall of &Sultan &Abdu'l-Hamid, that
same power from on high which had enabled &Abdu'l-Baha to preserve
inviolate the rights divinely conferred on Him, to establish His
Father's Faith in the North American continent, and to triumph over
His royal oppressor, enabled Him to achieve one of the most signal
acts of His ministry: the removal of the &Bab's remains from their
place of concealment in &Tihran to Mt. Carmel. He Himself testified,
on more than one occasion, that the safe transfer of these remains,
the construction of a befitting mausoleum to receive them, and their
final interment with His own hands in their permanent resting-place
constituted one of the three principal objectives which, ever since the
inception of His mission, He had conceived it His paramount duty
to achieve. This act indeed deserves to rank as one of the outstanding
events in the first &Baha'i century.
As observed in a previous chapter the mangled bodies of the
&Bab and His fellow-martyr, &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, were removed,
in the middle of the second night following their execution, through
the pious intervention of &Haji &Sulayman &Khan, from the edge of the
moat where they had been cast to a silk factory owned by one of the
believers of &Milan, and were laid the next day in a wooden casket,
and thence carried to a place of safety. Subsequently, according to
&Baha'u'llah's instructions, they were transported to &Tihran and placed
in the shrine of &Imam-Zadih &Hasan. They were later removed to the
residence of &Haji &Sulayman &Khan himself in the &Sar-Chashmih
quarter of the city, and from his house were taken to the shrine of
&Imam-Zadih &Ma'sum, where they remained concealed until the year
+P274
1284 A.H. (1867-1868), when a Tablet, revealed by &Baha'u'llah in
Adrianople, directed &Mulla &Ali-Akbar-i-Shahmirzadi and &Jamal-i-Burujirdi
to transfer them without delay to some other spot, an
instruction which, in view of the subsequent reconstruction of that
shrine, proved to have been providential.
Unable to find a suitable place in the suburb of &Shah &Abdu'l-'Azim,
&Mulla &Ali-Akbar and his companion continued their search
until, on the road leading to &Chashmih-'Ali, they came upon the
abandoned and dilapidated &Masjid-i-Masha'u'llah, where they deposited,
within one of its walls, after dark, their precious burden,
having first re-wrapt the remains in a silken shroud brought by them
for that purpose. Finding the next day to their consternation that
the hiding-place had been discovered, they clandestinely carried the
casket through the gate of the capital direct to the house of &Mirza
&Hasan-i-Vazir, a believer and son-in-law of &Haji &Mirza Siyyid
&Aliy-i-Tafrishi, the &Majdu'l-Ashraf, where it remained for no less than
fourteen months. The long-guarded secret of its whereabouts becoming
known to the believers, they began to visit the house in such
numbers that a communication had to be addressed by &Mulla &Ali-Akbar
to &Baha'u'llah, begging for guidance in the matter. &Haji &Shah
&Muhammad-i-Manshadi, surnamed &Aminu'l-Bayan, was accordingly
commissioned to receive the Trust from him, and bidden to exercise
the utmost secrecy as to its disposal.
Assisted by another believer, &Haji &Shah &Muhammad buried the
casket beneath the floor of the inner sanctuary of the shrine of &Imam-Zadih
Zayd, where it lay undetected until &Mirza &Asadu'llah-i-Isfahani
was informed of its exact location through a chart forwarded
to him by &Baha'u'llah. Instructed by &Baha'u'llah to conceal it elsewhere,
he first removed the remains to his own house in &Tihran, after
which they were deposited in several other localities such as the house
of &Husayn-'Aliy-i-Isfahani and that of &Muhammad-Karim-i-'Attar,
where they remained hidden until the year 1316 (1899) A.H., when,
in pursuance of directions issued by &Abdu'l-Baha, this same &Mirza
&Asadu'llah, together with a number of other believers, transported
them by way of &Isfahan, &Kirmanshah, &Baghdad and Damascus, to
Beirut and thence by sea to &Akka, arriving at their destination on
the 19th of the month of &Ramadan 1316 A.H. (January 31, 1899),
fifty lunar years after the &Bab's execution in &Tabriz.
In the same year that this precious Trust reached the shores of
the Holy Land and was delivered into the hands of &Abdu'l-Baha, He,
accompanied by Dr. &Ibrahim &Khayru'llah, whom He had already
+P275
honored with the titles of "&Baha's Peter," "The Second Columbus"
and "Conqueror of America," drove to the recently purchased site
which had been blessed and selected by &Baha'u'llah on Mt. Carmel,
and there laid, with His own hands, the foundation-stone of the
edifice, the construction of which He, a few months later, was to
commence. About that same time, the marble sarcophagus, designed
to receive the body of the &Bab, an offering of love from the &Baha'is of
Rangoon, had, at &Abdu'l-Baha's suggestion, been completed and
shipped to Haifa.
No need to dwell on the manifold problems and preoccupations
which, for almost a decade, continued to beset &Abdu'l-Baha until the
victorious hour when He was able to bring to a final consummation
the historic task entrusted to Him by His Father. The risks and
perils with which &Baha'u'llah and later His Son had been confronted
in their efforts to insure, during half a century, the protection of those
remains were but a prelude to the grave dangers which, at a later
period, the Center of the Covenant Himself had to face in the course
of the construction of the edifice designed to receive them, and indeed
until the hour of His final release from His incarceration.
The long-drawn out negotiations with the shrewd and calculating
owner of the building-site of the holy Edifice, who, under the influence
of the Covenant-breakers, refused for a long time to sell; the exorbitant
price at first demanded for the opening of a road leading to that
site and indispensable to the work of construction; the interminable
objections raised by officials, high and low, whose easily aroused suspicions
had to be allayed by repeated explanations and assurances
given by &Abdu'l-Baha Himself; the dangerous situation created by
the monstrous accusations brought by &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali and his
associates regarding the character and purpose of that building; the
delays and complications caused by &Abdu'l-Baha's prolonged and
enforced absence from Haifa, and His consequent inability to supervise
in person the vast undertaking He had initiated--all these were
among the principal obstacles which He, at so critical a period in His
ministry, had to face and surmount ere He could execute in its entirety
the Plan, the outline of which &Baha'u'llah had communicated to Him
on the occasion of one of His visits to Mt. Carmel.
"Every stone of that building, every stone of the road leading to
it," He, many a time was heard to remark, "I have with infinite tears
and at tremendous cost, raised and placed in position." "One night,"
He, according to an eye-witness, once observed, "I was so hemmed
in by My anxieties that I had no other recourse than to recite and
+P276
repeat over and over again a prayer of the &Bab which I had in My
possession, the recital of which greatly calmed Me. The next morning
the owner of the plot himself came to Me, apologized and begged Me
to purchase his property."
Finally, in the very year His royal adversary lost his throne, and
at the time of the opening of the first American &Baha'i Convention,
convened in Chicago for the purpose of creating a permanent national
organization for the construction of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, &Abdu'l-Baha
brought His undertaking to a successful conclusion, in spite of
the incessant machinations of enemies both within and without. On
the 28th of the month of &Safar 1327 A.H., the day of the first &Naw-Ruz
(1909), which He celebrated after His release from His confinement,
&Abdu'l-Baha had the marble sarcophagus transported with
great labor to the vault prepared for it, and in the evening, by the
light of a single lamp, He laid within it, with His own hands--in the
presence of believers from the East and from the West and in circumstances
at once solemn and moving--the wooden casket containing
the sacred remains of the &Bab and His companion.
When all was finished, and the earthly remains of the Martyr-Prophet
of &Shiraz were, at long last, safely deposited for their everlasting
rest in the bosom of God's holy mountain, &Abdu'l-Baha, Who
had cast aside His turban, removed His shoes and thrown off His
cloak, bent low over the still open sarcophagus, His silver hair waving
about His head and His face transfigured and luminous, rested His
forehead on the border of the wooden casket, and, sobbing aloud, wept
with such a weeping that all those who were present wept with Him.
That night He could not sleep, so overwhelmed was He with emotion.
"The most joyful tidings is this," He wrote later in a Tablet
announcing to His followers the news of this glorious victory, "that
the holy, the luminous body of the &Bab ... after having for sixty years
been transferred from place to place, by reason of the ascendancy of
the enemy, and from fear of the malevolent, and having known neither
rest nor tranquillity has, through the mercy of the &Abha Beauty, been
ceremoniously deposited, on the day of &Naw-Ruz, within the sacred
casket, in the exalted Shrine on Mt. Carmel... By a strange coincidence,
on that same day of &Naw-Ruz, a cablegram was received from
Chicago, announcing that the believers in each of the American centers
had elected a delegate and sent to that city ... and definitely decided
on the site and construction of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar."
With the transference of the remains of the &Bab--Whose advent
marks the return of the Prophet Elijah--to Mt. Carmel, and their
+P277
interment in that holy mountain, not far from the cave of that
Prophet Himself, the Plan so gloriously envisaged by &Baha'u'llah, in
the evening of His life, had been at last executed, and the arduous
labors associated with the early and tumultuous years of the ministry
of the appointed Center of His Covenant crowned with immortal
success. A focal center of Divine illumination and power, the very
dust of which &Abdu'l-Baha averred had inspired Him, yielding in
sacredness to no other shrine throughout the &Baha'i world except the
Sepulcher of the Author of the &Baha'i Revelation Himself, had been
permanently established on that mountain, regarded from time immemorial
as sacred. A structure, at once massive, simple and imposing;
nestling in the heart of Carmel, the "Vineyard of God"; flanked by
the Cave of Elijah on the west, and by the hills of Galilee on the east;
backed by the plain of Sharon, and facing the silver-city of &Akka,
and beyond it the Most Holy Tomb, the Heart and Qiblih of the
&Baha'i world; overshadowing the colony of German Templars who,
in anticipation of the "coming of the Lord," had forsaken their homes
and foregathered at the foot of that mountain, in the very year of
&Baha'u'llah's Declaration in &Baghdad (1863), the mausoleum of the
&Bab had now, with heroic effort and in impregnable strength been
established as "the Spot round which the Concourse on high circle in
adoration." Events have already demonstrated through the extension
of the Edifice itself, through the embellishment of its surroundings,
through the acquisition of extensive endowments in its neighborhood,
and through its proximity to the resting-places of the wife, the son
and daughter of &Baha'u'llah Himself, that it was destined to acquire
with the passing of the years a measure of fame and glory commensurate
with the high purpose that had prompted its founding.
Nor will it, as the years go by, and the institutions revolving around
the World Administrative Center of the future &Baha'i Commonwealth
are gradually established, cease to manifest the latent potentialities
with which that same immutable purpose has endowed it.
Resistlessly will this Divine institution flourish and expand, however
fierce the animosity which its future enemies may evince, until the
full measure of its splendor will have been disclosed before the eyes
of all mankind.
"Haste thee, O Carmel!" &Baha'u'llah, significantly addressing that
holy mountain, has written, "for lo, the light of the Countenance of
God ... hath been lifted upon thee... Rejoice, for God hath, in
this Day, established upon thee His throne, hath made thee the
dawning-place of His signs and the dayspring of the evidences of His
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Revelation. Well is it with him that circleth around thee, that proclaimeth
the revelation of thy glory, and recounteth that which the
bounty of the Lord thy God hath showered upon thee." "Call out to
Zion, O Carmel!" He, furthermore, has revealed in that same Tablet,
"and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal
eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing
splendor is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt.
Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that hath descended
from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled in
adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart, and the company of
the most exalted angels."
+P279
CHAPTER XIX
&Abdu'l-Baha's Travels in Europe and America
The establishment of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah in the Western
Hemisphere--the most outstanding achievement that will forever
be associated with &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry--had, as observed in the
preceding pages, set in motion such tremendous forces, and been
productive of such far-reaching results, as to warrant the active and
personal participation of the Center of the Covenant Himself in those
epoch-making activities which His Western disciples had, through
the propelling power of that Covenant, boldly initiated and were
vigorously prosecuting.
The crisis which the blindness and perversity of the Covenant-breakers
had precipitated, and which, for several years, had so
tragically interfered with the execution of &Abdu'l-Baha's purpose,
was now providentially resolved. An unsurmountable barrier had
been suddenly lifted from His path, His fetters were unlocked, and
God's avenging wrath had taken the chains from His neck and
placed them upon that of &Abdu'l-Hamid, His royal adversary and
the dupe of His most implacable enemy. The sacred remains of the
&Bab, entrusted to His hands by His departed Father, had, moreover,
with immense difficulty been transferred from their hiding-place in
far-off &Tihran to the Holy Land, and deposited ceremoniously and
reverently by Him in the bosom of Mt. Carmel.
&Abdu'l-Baha was at this time broken in health. He suffered from
several maladies brought on by the strains and stresses of a tragic
life spent almost wholly in exile and imprisonment. He was on the
threshold of three-score years and ten. Yet as soon as He was released
from His forty-year long captivity, as soon as He had laid the &Bab's
body in a safe and permanent resting-place, and His mind was free
of grievous anxieties connected with the execution of that priceless
Trust, He arose with sublime courage, confidence and resolution to
consecrate what little strength remained to Him, in the evening of
His life, to a service of such heroic proportions that no parallel to it
is to be found in the annals of the first &Baha'i century.
Indeed His three years of travel, first to Egypt, then to Europe
and later to America, mark, if we would correctly appraise their
historic importance, a turning point of the utmost significance in
+P280
the history of the century. For the first time since the inception of
the Faith, sixty-six years previously, its Head and supreme Representative
burst asunder the shackles which had throughout the ministries
of both the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah so grievously fettered its
freedom. Though repressive measures still continued to circumscribe
the activities of the vast majority of its adherents in the land of its
birth, its recognized Leader was now vouchsafed a freedom of action
which, with the exception of a brief interval in the course of the War
of 1914-18, He was to continue to enjoy to the end of His life,
and which has never since been withdrawn from its institutions at
its world center.
So momentous a change in the fortunes of the Faith was the
signal for such an outburst of activity on His part as to dumbfound
His followers in East and West with admiration and wonder, and
exercise an imperishable influence on the course of its future history.
He Who, in His own words, had entered prison as a youth and left it
an old man, Who never in His life had faced a public audience, had
attended no school, had never moved in Western circles, and was
unfamiliar with Western customs and language, had arisen not only
to proclaim from pulpit and platform, in some of the chief capitals
of Europe and in the leading cities of the North American continent,
the distinctive verities enshrined in His Father's Faith, but to demonstrate
as well the Divine origin of the Prophets gone before Him, and
to disclose the nature of the tie binding them to that Faith.
Inflexibly resolved to undertake this arduous voyage, at whatever
cost to His strength, at whatever risk to His life, He, quietly and
without any previous warning, on a September afternoon, of the
year 1910, the year following that which witnessed the downfall of
&Sultan &Abdu'l-Hamid and the formal entombment of the &Bab's
remains on Mt. Carmel, sailed for Egypt, sojourned for about a
month in Port Said, and from thence embarked with the intention
of proceeding to Europe, only to discover that the condition of His
health necessitated His landing again at Alexandria and postponing
His voyage. Fixing His residence in Ramleh, a suburb of Alexandria,
and later visiting &Zaytun and Cairo, He, on August 11 of the ensuing
year, sailed with a party of four, on the S.S. Corsica, for Marseilles,
and proceeded, after a brief stop at Thonon-les-Bains, to London,
where He arrived on September 4, 1911. After a visit of about a
month, He went to Paris, where He stayed for a period of nine weeks,
returning to Egypt in December, 1911. Again taking up His residence
in Ramleh, where He passed the winter, He embarked, on
+P281
His second journey to the West, on the steamship Cedric, on
March 25, 1912, sailing via Naples direct to New York where He
arrived on April 11. After a prolonged tour of eight months' duration,
which carried Him from coast to coast, and in the course of
which He visited Washington, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh,
Montclair, Boston, Worcester, Brooklyn, Fanwood, Milford, Philadelphia,
West Englewood, Jersey City, Cambridge, Medford, Morristown,
Dublin, Green Acre, Montreal, Malden, Buffalo, Kenosha,
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Omaha, Lincoln, Denver, Glenwood Springs,
Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Oakland, Palo Alto, Berkeley, Pasadena,
Los Angeles, Sacramento, Cincinnati, and Baltimore, He sailed,
on the S.S. Celtic, on December 5, from New York for Liverpool;
and landing there He proceeded by train to London. Later He
visited Oxford, Edinburgh and Bristol, and thence returning to
London, left for Paris on January 21, 1913. On March 30 He
traveled to Stuttgart, and from there proceeded, on April 9, to Budapest,
visited Vienna nine days later, returned to Stuttgart on April 25,
and to Paris on May first, where He remained until June 12, sailing
the following day, on the S.S. Himalaya from Marseilles bound for
Egypt, arriving in Port Said four days later, where after short visits
to &Isma'iliyyih and &Abuqir, and a prolonged stay in Ramleh, He
returned to Haifa, concluding His historic journeys on December
5, 1913.
It was in the course of these epoch-making journeys and before
large and representative audiences, at times exceeding a thousand
people, that &Abdu'l-Baha expounded, with brilliant simplicity, with
persuasiveness and force, and for the first time in His ministry, those
basic and distinguishing principles of His Father's Faith, which together
with the laws and ordinances revealed in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas
constitute the bed-rock of God's latest Revelation to mankind. The
independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition;
the oneness of the entire human race, the pivotal principle and
fundamental doctrine of the Faith; the basic unity of all religions;
the condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial,
class or national; the harmony which must exist between religion and
science; the equality of men and women, the two wings on which
the bird of human kind is able to soar; the introduction of compulsory
education; the adoption of a universal auxiliary language;
the abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution
of a world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations;
the exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank
+P282
of worship; the glorification of justice as the ruling principle in
human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the protection of all
peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and universal
peace as the supreme goal of all mankind--these stand out as
the essential elements of that Divine polity which He proclaimed to
leaders of public thought as well as to the masses at large in the course
of these missionary journeys. The exposition of these vitalizing truths
of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, which He characterized as the "spirit of
the age," He supplemented with grave and reiterated warnings of an
impending conflagration which, if the statesmen of the world should
fail to avert, would set ablaze the entire continent of Europe. He,
moreover, predicted, in the course of these travels, the radical changes
which would take place in that continent, foreshadowed the movement
of the decentralization of political power which would inevitably
be set in motion, alluded to the troubles that would overtake
Turkey, anticipated the persecution of the Jews on the European
continent, and categorically asserted that the "banner of the unity of
mankind would be hoisted, that the tabernacle of universal peace
would be raised and the world become another world."
During these travels &Abdu'l-Baha displayed a vitality, a courage,
a single-mindedness, a consecration to the task He had set Himself to
achieve that excited the wonder and admiration of those who had the
privilege of observing at close hand His daily acts. Indifferent to the
sights and curiosities which habitually invite the attention of travelers
and which the members of His entourage often wished Him to visit;
careless alike of His comfort and His health; expending every ounce
of His energy day after day from dawn till late at night; consistently
refusing any gifts or contributions towards the expenses of His
travels; unfailing in His solicitude for the sick, the sorrowful and
the down-trodden; uncompromising in His championship of the
underprivileged races and classes; bountiful as the rain in His generosity
to the poor; contemptuous of the attacks launched against
Him by vigilant and fanatical exponents of orthodoxy and sectarianism;
marvelous in His frankness while demonstrating, from
platform and pulpit, the prophetic Mission of Jesus Christ to the
Jews, of the Divine origin of &Islam in churches and synagogues, or
the truth of Divine Revelation and the necessity of religion to
materialists, atheists or agnostics; unequivocal in His glorification of
&Baha'u'llah at all times and within the sanctuaries of divers sects and
denominations; adamant in His refusal, on several occasions, to curry
the favor of people of title and wealth both in England and in the
+P283
United States; and last but not least incomparable in the spontaneity,
the genuineness and warmth of His sympathy and loving-kindness
shown to friend and stranger alike, believer and unbeliever, rich
and poor, high and low, whom He met, either intimately or casually,
whether on board ship, or whilst pacing the streets, in parks or public
squares, at receptions or banquets, in slums or mansions, in the
gatherings of His followers or the assemblage of the learned, He,
the incarnation of every &Baha'i virtue and the embodiment of every
&Baha'i ideal, continued for three crowded years to trumpet to a world
sunk in materialism and already in the shadow of war, the healing, the
God-given truths enshrined in His Father's Revelation.
In the course of His several visits to Egypt He had more than
one interview with the Khedive, &Abbas &Hilmi &Pasha II, was introduced
to Lord Kitchener, met the &Mufti, &Shaykh &Muhammad &Bakhit,
as well as the Khedive's &Imam, &Shaykh &Muhammad &Rashid, and associated
with several &ulamas, &pashas, Persian notables, members of the
Turkish Parliament, editors of leading newspapers in Cairo and
Alexandria, and other leaders and representatives of well-known
institutions, both religious and secular.
Whilst He sojourned in England the house placed at His disposal
in Cadogan Gardens became a veritable mecca to all sorts and conditions
of men, thronging to visit the Prisoner of &Akka Who had
chosen their great city as the first scene of His labors in the West.
"O, these pilgrims, these guests, these visitors!" thus bears witness
His devoted hostess during the time He spent in London, "Remembering
those days, our ears are filled with the sound of their footsteps
--as they came from every country in the world. Every day, all day
long, a constant stream, an interminable procession! Ministers and
missionaries, oriental scholars and occult students, practical men of
affairs and mystics, Anglicans, Catholics, and Non-conformists,
Theosophists and Hindus, Christian Scientists and doctors of medicine,
Muslims, Buddhists and Zoroastrians. There also called: politicians,
Salvation Army soldiers, and other workers for human good,
women suffragists, journalists, writers, poets and healers, dressmakers
and great ladies, artists and artisans, poor workless people and
prosperous merchants, members of the dramatic and musical world,
these all came; and none were too lowly, nor too great, to receive the
sympathetic consideration of this holy Messenger, Who was ever
giving His life for others' good."
&Abdu'l-Baha's first public appearance before a western audience
significantly enough took place in a Christian house of worship, when,
+P284
on September 10, 1911, He addressed an overflowing congregation
from the pulpit of the City Temple. Introduced by the Pastor, the
Reverend R. J. Campbell, He, in simple and moving language, and
with vibrant voice, proclaimed the unity of God, affirmed the fundamental
oneness of religion, and announced that the hour of the unity
of the sons of men, of all races, religions and classes had struck. On
another occasion, on September 17, at the request of the Venerable
Archdeacon Wilberforce, He addressed the congregation of St. John
the Divine, at Westminster, after evening service, choosing as His
theme the transcendental greatness of the Godhead, as affirmed and
elucidated by &Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Iqan. "The Archdeacon,"
wrote a contemporary of that event, "had the Bishop's chair placed
for his Guest on the chancel steps, and, standing beside Him, read
the translation of &Abdu'l-Baha's address himself. The congregation
was profoundly moved, and, following the Archdeacon's example,
knelt to receive the blessing of the Servant of God--Who stood with
extended arms--His wonderful voice rising and falling in the silence
with the power of His invocation."
At the invitation of the Lord Mayor of London He breakfasted
with him at the Mansion House; addressed the Theosophical Society
at their headquarters, at the express request of their President, and
also a Meeting of the Higher Thought center in London; was invited
by a deputation from the Bramo-Somaj Society to deliver a lecture
under their auspices; visited and delivered an address on world unity
at the Mosque at Woking, at the invitation of the Muslim Community
of Great Britain, and was entertained by Persian princes,
noblemen, ex-ministers and members of the Persian Legation in London.
He stayed as a guest in Dr. T. K. Cheyne's home in Oxford, and
He delivered an address to "a large and deeply interested audience,"
highly academic in character, gathered at Manchester College in that
city, and presided over by Dr. Estlin Carpenter. He also spoke from
the pulpit of a Congregational Church in the East End of London,
in response to the request of its Pastor; addressed gatherings in Caxton
Hall and Westminster Hall, the latter under the chairmanship of Sir
Thomas Berkeley, and witnessed a performance of "Eager Heart,"
a Christmas mystery play at the Church House, Westminster, the first
dramatic performance He had ever beheld, and which in its graphic
depiction of the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ moved Him to
tears. In the Hall of the Passmore Edwards' Settlement, in Tavistock
Place, he spoke to an audience of about four hundred and sixty
representative people, presided over by Prof. Michael Sadler, called on
+P285
a number of working women of that Settlement, who were on holiday
at Vanners', in Byfleet, some twenty miles out of London, and paid
a second visit there, meeting on that occasion people of every condition
who had specially gathered to see Him, among whom were "the
clergy of several denominations, a headmaster of a boys' public school,
a member of Parliament, a doctor, a famous political writer, the
vice-chancellor of a university, several journalists, a well-known poet,
and a magistrate from London." "He will long be remembered,"
wrote a chronicler of His visit to England, describing that occasion,
"as He sat in the bow window in the afternoon sunshine, His arm
round a very ragged but very happy little boy who had come to ask
&Abdu'l-Baha for sixpence for his money box and for his invalid
mother, whilst round Him in the room were gathered men and
women discussing Education, Socialism, the first Reform Bill, and the
relation of submarines and wireless telegraphy to the new era on
which man is entering."
Among those who called on Him during the memorable days He
spent in England and Scotland were the Reverend Archdeacon Wilberforce,
the Reverend R. J. Campbell, the Reverend Rhonddha
Williams, the Reverend Roland Corbet, Lord Lamington, Sir Richard
and Lady Stapley, Sir Michael Sadler, the &Jalalu'd-Dawlih, son of the
&Zillu's-Sultan, Sir Ameer Ali, the late Maharaja of Jalawar, who paid
Him many visits and gave an elaborate dinner and reception in His
honor, the Maharaja of Rajputana, the Ranee of Sarawak, Princess
Karadja, Baroness Barnekov, Lady Wemyss and her sister, Lady Glencomer,
Lady Agnew, Miss Constance Maud, Prof. E. G. Browne,
Prof. Patrick Geddes, Mr. Albert Dawson, editor of the Christian
Commonwealth, Mr. David Graham Pole, Mrs. Annie Besant, Mrs.
Pankhurst, and Mr. Stead, who had long and earnest conversations
with Him. "Very numerous," His hostess, describing the impression
produced on those who were accorded by Him the privilege of a
private audience, has written, "were these applicants for so unique an
experience, how unique only those knew when in the presence of the
Master, and we could partly divine, as we saw the look on their faces
as they emerged--a look as though blended of awe, of marveling,
and of a certain calm joy. Sometimes we were conscious of reluctance
in them to come forth into the outer world, as though they would
hold fast to their beatitude, lest the return of things of earth should
wrest it from them." "A profound impression," the aforementioned
chronicler has recorded, summing up the results produced by that
memorable visit, "remained in the minds and memories of all sorts
+P286
and conditions of men and women.... Very greatly was &Abdu'l-Baha's
sojourn in London appreciated; very greatly His departure
regretted. He left behind Him many, many friends. His love had
kindled love. His heart had opened to the West, and the Western
heart had closed around this patriarchal presence from the East. His
words had in them something that appealed not only to their immediate
hearers, but to men and women generally."
His visits to Paris, where for a time He occupied an apartment
in the Avenue de Camoens, were marked by a warmth of welcome
no less remarkable than the reception accorded Him by His friends
and followers in London. "During the Paris visit," that same devoted
English hostess, Lady Blomfield, who had followed Him to that city,
has testified, "as it had been in London, daily happenings took on
the atmosphere of spiritual events.... Every morning, according to
His custom, the Master expounded the principles of the teaching of
&Baha'u'llah to those who gathered round Him, the learned and the
unlearned, eager and respectful. They were of all nationalities and
creeds, from the East and from the West, including Theosophists,
agnostics, materialists, spiritualists, Christian Scientists, social reformers,
Hindus, Sufis, Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and many
others." And again: "Interview followed interview. Church dignitaries
of various branches of the Christian Tree came, some earnestly
desirous of finding new aspects of the Truth.... Others there were
who stopped their ears, lest they should hear and understand."
Persian princes, noblemen and ex-ministers, among them the
&Zillu's-Sultan, the Persian Minister, the Turkish Ambassador in Paris,
&Rashid &Pasha, an &ex-vali of Beirut, Turkish &pashas and ex-ministers,
and Viscount Arawaka, Japanese Ambassador to the Court of Spain,
were among those who had the privilege of attaining His presence.
Gatherings of Esperantists and Theosophists, students of the Faculty
of Theology and large audiences at l'Alliance Spiritualiste were addressed
by Him; at a Mission Hall, in a very poor quarter of the city,
He addressed a congregation at the invitation of the Pastor, whilst
in numerous meetings of His followers those already familiar with
His teachings were privileged to hear from His lips detailed and
frequent expositions of certain aspects of His Father's Faith.
In Stuttgart, where He made a brief but never-to-be-forgotten
stay, and to which He traveled in spite of ill-health in order to establish
personal contact with the members of the community of His
enthusiastic and dearly beloved German friends, He, apart from
attending the gatherings of His devoted followers, bestowed His
+P287
abundant blessings on the members of the Youth group, gathered at
Esslingen, and addressed, at the invitation of Professor Christale,
President of the Esperantists of Europe, a large meeting of Esperantists
at their club. He, moreover, visited Bad Mergentheim, in
&Wurttemberg, where a few years later (1915) a monument was
erected in memory of His visit by one of His grateful disciples. "The
humility, love and devotion of the German believers," wrote an eyewitness,
"rejoiced the heart of &Abdu'l-Baha, and they received His
blessings and His words of encouraging counsel in complete submissiveness.
...Friends came from far and near to see the Master. There
was a constant flow of visitors at the Hotel Marquart. There &Abdu'l-Baha
received them with such love and graciousness that they became
radiant with joy and happiness."
In Vienna, where He stayed a few days, &Abdu'l-Baha addressed
a gathering of Theosophists in that city, whilst in Budapest He
granted an interview to the President of the University, met on a
number of occasions the famous Orientalist Prof. Arminius Vambery,
addressed the Theosophical Society, and was visited by the
President of the Turanian, and representatives of the Turkish Societies,
army officers, several members of Parliament, and a deputation
of Young Turks, led by Prof. Julius Germanus, who accorded Him
a hearty welcome to the city. "During this time," is the written
testimony of Dr. Rusztem Vambery, "His (&Abdu'l-Baha) room in
the Dunapalota Hotel became a veritable mecca for all those whom
the mysticism of the East and the wisdom of its Master attracted into
its magic circle. Among His visitors were Count Albert Apponyi,
Prelate Alexander Giesswein, Professor Ignatius Goldziher, the Orientalist
of world-wide renown, Professor Robert A. Nadler, the famous
Budapest painter, and leader of the Hungarian Theosophical Society."
It was reserved, however, for the North American continent to
witness the most astonishing manifestation of the boundless vitality
&Abdu'l-Baha exhibited in the course of these journeys. The remarkable
progress achieved by the organized community of His followers
in the United States and Canada, the marked receptivity of the American
public to His Message, as well as His consciousness of the high
destiny awaiting the people of that continent, fully warranted the
expenditure of time and energy which he devoted to this most important
phase of His travels. A visit which entailed a journey of
over five thousand miles, which lasted from April to December, which
carried Him from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast and back, which
elicited discourses of such number as to fill no less than three volumes,
+P288
was to mark the climax of those journeys, and was fully justified
by the far-reaching results which He well knew such labors on His
part would produce. "This long voyage," He told His assembled followers
on the occasion of His first meeting with them in New York,
"will prove how great is My love for you. There were many troubles
and vicissitudes, but in the thought of meeting you, all these things
vanished and were forgotten."
The character of the acts He performed fully demonstrated the
importance He attached to that visit. The laying, with His own
hands, of the dedication stone of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, by the
shore of Lake Michigan, in the vicinity of Chicago, on the recently
purchased property, and in the presence of a representative gathering
of &Baha'is from East and West; the dynamic affirmation by Him
of the implications of the Covenant instituted by &Baha'u'llah, following
the reading of the newly translated Tablet of the Branch, in
a general assembly of His followers in New York, designated henceforth
as the "City of the Covenant"; the moving ceremony in Inglewood,
California, marking His special pilgrimage to the grave of
Thornton Chase, the "first American believer," and indeed the first
to embrace the Cause of &Baha'u'llah in the Western world; the
symbolic Feast He Himself offered to a large gathering of His disciples
assembled in the open air, and in the green setting of a June day at
West Englewood, in New Jersey; the blessing He bestowed on the
Open Forum at Green Acre, in Maine, on the banks of the Piscataqua
River, where many of His followers had gathered, and which was to
evolve into one of the first &Baha'i summer schools of the Western
Hemisphere and be recognized as one of the earliest endowments
established in the American continent; His address to an audience
of several hundred attending the last session of the newly-founded
&Baha'i Temple Unity held in Chicago; and, last but not least, the
exemplary act He performed by uniting in wedlock two of His followers
of different nationalities, one of the white, the other of the
Negro race--these must rank among the outstanding functions associated
with His visit to the community of the American believers,
functions designed to pave the way for the erection of their central
House of Worship, to fortify them against the tests they were soon
to endure, to cement their unity, and to bless the beginnings of that
Administrative Order which they were soon to initiate and champion.
No less remarkable were &Abdu'l-Baha's public activities in the
course of His association with the multitude of people with whom
He came in contact during His tour across a continent. A full account
+P289
of these diversified activities which crowded His days during
no less than eight months, would be beyond the scope of this survey.
Suffice it to say that in the city of New York alone He delivered
public addresses in, and made formal visits to, no less than fifty-five
different places. Peace societies, Christian and Jewish congregations,
colleges and universities, welfare and charitable organizations, members
of ethical cults, New Thought centers, metaphysical groups,
Women's clubs, scientific associations, gatherings of Esperantists,
Theosophists, Mormons, and agnostics, institutions for the advancement
of the colored people, representatives of the Syrian, the Armenian,
the Greek, the Chinese, and Japanese communities--all were
brought into contact with His dynamic presence, and were privileged
to hear from His lips His Father's Message. Nor was the press either
in its editorial comment or in the publication of reports of His lectures,
slow to appreciate the breadth of His vision or the character
of His summons.
His discourse at the Peace Conferences at Lake Mohonk; His addresses
to large gatherings at Columbia, Howard and New York
Universities; His participation in the fourth annual conference of
the National Association for the Advancement of the Colored
People; His fearless assertion of the truth of the prophetic Missions
of both Jesus Christ and &Muhammad in Temple Emmanu-El, a
Jewish synagogue in San Francisco, where no less than two thousand
people were gathered; His illuminating discourse before an audience
of eighteen hundred students and one hundred and eighty teachers
and professors at Leland Stanford University; His memorable visit
to the Bowery Mission in the slums of New York; the brilliant reception
given in His honor in Washington, at which many outstanding
figures in the social life of the capital were presented to Him--these
stand out as the highlights of the unforgettable Mission He undertook
in the service of His Father's Cause. Secretaries of State, Ambassadors,
Congressmen, distinguished rabbis and churchmen, and
other people of eminence attained His presence, among whom were
such figures as Dr. D. S. Jordan, President of Leland Stanford University,
Prof. Jackson of Columbia University, Prof. Jack of Oxford
University, Rabbi Stephen Wise of New York, Dr. Martin A. Meyer,
Rabbi Joseph L. Levy, Rabbi Abram Simon, Alexander Graham Bell,
Rabindranath Tagore, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, Mrs. William Jennings
Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, Hon. Franklin MacVeagh, Secretary
of the United States Treasury, Lee McClung, Mr. Roosevelt, Admiral
Wain Wright, Admiral Peary, the British, Dutch and Swiss Ministers
+P290
in Washington, &Yusuf &Diya &Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador in that
city, Thomas Seaton, Hon. William Sulzer and Prince &Muhammad-'Ali
of Egypt, the Khedive's brother.
"When &Abdu'l-Baha visited this country for the first time in
1912," a commentator on His American travels has written, "He
found a large and sympathetic audience waiting to greet Him personally
and to receive from His own lips His loving and spiritual message.
...Beyond the words spoken there was something indescribable
in His personality that impressed profoundly all who came into His
presence. The dome-like head, the patriarchal beard, the eyes that
seemed to have looked beyond the reach of time and sense, the soft
yet clearly penetrating voice, the translucent humility, the never
failing love,--but above all, the sense of power mingled with gentleness
that invested His whole being with a rare majesty of spiritual
exaltation that both set Him apart, and yet that brought Him near
to the lowliest soul,--it was all this, and much more that can never
be defined, that have left with His many ... friends, memories that
are ineffaceable and unspeakably precious."
A survey, however inadequate of the varied and immense activities
of &Abdu'l-Baha in His tour of Europe and America cannot leave
without mention some of the strange incidents that would often
accompany personal contact with Him. The bold determination of
a certain indomitable youth who, fearing &Abdu'l-Baha would not be
able to visit the Western states, and unable himself to pay for a train
journey to New England, had traveled all the way from Minneapolis
to Maine lying on the rods between the wheels of a train; the transformation
effected in the life of the son of a country rector in England,
who, in his misery and poverty, had resolved, whilst walking
along the banks of the Thames, to put an end to his existence, and
who, at the sight of &Abdu'l-Baha's photograph displayed in a shop
window, had inquired about Him, hurried to His residence, and been
so revived by His words of cheer and comfort as to abandon all
thought of self-destruction; the extraordinary experience of a woman
whose little girl, as the result of a dream she had had, insisted that
Jesus Christ was in the world, and who, at the sight of &Abdu'l-Baha's
picture exposed in the window of a magazine store, had instantly
identified it as that of the Jesus Christ of her dream--an act which
impelled her mother, after reading that &Abdu'l-Baha was in Paris,
to take the next boat for Europe and hasten to attain His presence;
the decision of the editor of a journal printed in Japan to break his
journey to Tokyo at Constantinople, and travel to London for "the
+P291
joy of spending one evening in His presence"; the touching scene
when &Abdu'l-Baha, receiving from the hands of a Persian friend,
recently arrived in London from &Ishqabad, a cotton handkerchief
containing a piece of dry black bread and a shrivelled apple--the
offering of a poor &Baha'i workman in that city--opened it before His
assembled guests, and, leaving His luncheon untouched, broke pieces
off that bread, and partaking Himself of it shared it with those who
were present--these are but a few of a host of incidents that shed
a revealing light on some personal aspects of His memorable journeys.
Nor can certain scenes revolving around that majestic and patriarchal
Figure, as He moved through the cities of Europe and America,
be ever effaced from memory. The remarkable interview at which
&Abdu'l-Baha, while placing lovingly His hand on the head of Archdeacon
Wilberforce, answered his many questions, whilst that distinguished
churchman sat on a low chair by His side; the still more
remarkable scene when that same Archdeacon, after having knelt
with his entire congregation to receive His benediction at St. John's
the Divine, passed down the aisle to the vestry hand in hand with
his Guest, whilst a hymn was being sung by the entire assembly
standing; the sight of &Jalalu'd-Dawlih, fallen prostrate at His feet,
profuse in his apologies and imploring His forgiveness for his past
iniquities; the enthusiastic reception accorded Him at Leland Stanford
University when, before the gaze of well nigh two thousand
professors and students, He discoursed on some of the noblest truths
underlying His message to the West; the touching spectacle at Bowery
Mission when four hundred of the poor of New York filed past Him,
each receiving a piece of silver from His blessed hands; the acclamation
of a Syrian woman in Boston who, pushing aside the crowd that
had gathered around Him, flung herself at His feet, exclaiming,
"I confess that in Thee I have recognized the Spirit of God and Jesus
Christ Himself"; the no less fervent tribute paid Him by two admiring
Arabs who, as He was leaving that city for Dublin, N. H., cast
themselves before Him, and, sobbing aloud, avowed that He was
God's own Messenger to mankind; the vast congregation of two
thousand Jews assembled in a synagogue in San Francisco, intently
listening to His discourse as He demonstrated the validity of the
claims advanced by both Jesus Christ and &Muhammad; the gathering
He addressed one night in Montreal, at which, in the course of His
speech, His turban fell from His head, so carried away was He by
the theme He was expounding; the boisterous crowd in a very poor
quarter of Paris, who, awed by His presence, reverently and silently
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made way for Him as He passed through their midst, while returning
from a Mission Hall whose congregation He had been addressing;
the characteristic gesture of a Zoroastrian physician who, arriving in
breathless haste on the morning of &Abdu'l-Baha's departure from
London to bid Him farewell, anointed with fragrant oil first His
head and His breast, and then, touching the hands of all present,
placed round His neck and shoulders a garland of rosebuds and lilies;
the crowd of visitors arriving soon after dawn, patiently waiting on
the doorsteps of His house in Cadogan Gardens until the door would
be opened for their admittance; His majestic figure as He paced with
a vigorous step the platform, or stood with hands upraised to pronounce
the benediction, in church and synagogue alike, and before
vast audiences of reverent listeners; the unsolicited mark of respect
shown Him by distinguished society women in London, who would
spontaneously curtsy when ushered into His presence; the poignant
sight when He stooped low to the grave of His beloved disciple,
Thornton Chase, in Inglewood Cemetery, and kissed his tombstone,
an example which all those present hastened to follow; the distinguished
gathering of Christians, Jews and Muslims, men and women
and representative of both the East and the West, assembled to hear
His discourse on world unity in the mosque at Woking--such scenes
as these, even in the cold record of the printed page, must still have
much of their original impressiveness and power.
Who knows what thoughts flooded the heart of &Abdu'l-Baha as
He found Himself the central figure of such memorable scenes as
these? Who knows what thoughts were uppermost in His mind as
He sat at breakfast beside the Lord Mayor of London, or was received
with extraordinary deference by the Khedive himself in his palace,
or as He listened to the cries of "&Allah-u-Abha" and to the hymns of
thanksgiving and praise that would herald His approach to the
numerous and brilliant assemblages of His enthusiastic followers and
friends organized in so many cities of the American continent? Who
knows what memories stirred within Him as He stood before the
thundering waters of Niagara, breathing the free air of a far distant
land, or gazed, in the course of a brief and much-needed rest, upon
the green woods and countryside in Glenwood Springs, or moved
with a retinue of Oriental believers along the paths of the Trocadero
gardens in Paris, or walked alone in the evening beside the majestic
Hudson on Riverside Drive in New York, or as He paced the terrace
of the Hotel du Parc at Thonon-les-Bains, overlooking the Lake of
Geneva, or as He watched from Serpentine Bridge in London the
+P293
pearly chain of lights beneath the trees stretching as far as the eye
could see? Memories of the sorrows, the poverty, the overhanging
doom of His earlier years; memories of His mother who sold her gold
buttons to provide Him, His brother and His sister with sustenance,
and who was forced, in her darkest hours, to place a handful of dry
flour in the palm of His hand to appease His hunger; of His own
childhood when pursued and derided by a mob of ruffians in the
streets of &Tihran; of the damp and gloomy room, formerly a morgue,
which He occupied in the barracks of &Akka and of His imprisonment
in the dungeon of that city--memories such as these must surely
have thronged His mind. Thoughts, too, must have visited Him of
the &Bab's captivity in the mountain fastnesses of &Adhirbayjan, when
at night time He was refused even a lamp, and of His cruel and
tragic execution when hundreds of bullets riddled His youthful
breast. Above all His thoughts must have centered on &Baha'u'llah,
Whom He loved so passionately and Whose trials He had witnessed
and had shared from His boyhood. The vermin-infested &Siyah-Chal
of &Tihran; the bastinado inflicted upon Him in &Amul; the humble
fare which filled His &kashkul while He lived for two years the life
of a dervish in the mountains of &Kurdistan; the days in &Baghdad
when He did not even possess a change of linen, and when His followers
subsisted on a handful of dates; His confinement behind the
prison-walls of &Akka, when for nine years even the sight of verdure
was denied Him; and the public humiliation to which He was subjected
at government headquarters in that city--pictures from the
tragic past such as these must have many a time overpowered Him
with feelings of mingled gratitude and sorrow, as He witnessed the
many marks of respect, of esteem, and honor now shown Him and
the Faith which He represented. "O &Baha'u'llah! What hast Thou
done?" He, as reported by the chronicler of His travels, was heard
to exclaim one evening as He was being swiftly driven to fulfil His
third engagement of the day in Washington, "O &Baha'u'llah! May
my life be sacrificed for Thee! O &Baha'u'llah! May my soul be
offered up for Thy sake! How full were Thy days with trials and
tribulations! How severe the ordeals Thou didst endure! How solid
the foundation Thou hast finally laid, and how glorious the banner
Thou didst hoist!" "One day, as He was strolling," that same chronicler
has testified, "He called to remembrance the days of the Blessed
Beauty, referring with sadness to His sojourn in &Sulaymaniyyih, to
His loneliness and to the wrongs inflicted upon Him. Though He
had often recounted that episode, that day He was so overcome with
+P294
emotion that He sobbed aloud in His grief.... All His attendants
wept with Him, and were plunged into sorrow as they heard the tale
of the woeful trials endured by the Ancient Beauty, and witnessed
the tenderness of heart manifested by His Son."
A most significant scene in a century-old drama had been enacted.
A glorious chapter in the history of the first &Baha'i century had been
written. Seeds of undreamt-of potentialities had, with the hand of
the Center of the Covenant Himself, been sown in some of the
fertile fields of the Western world. Never in the entire range of
religious history had any Figure of comparable stature arisen to perform
a labor of such magnitude and imperishable worth. Forces were
unleashed through those fateful journeys which even now, at a distance
of well nigh thirty-five years, we are unable to measure or
comprehend. Already a Queen, inspired by the powerful arguments
adduced by &Abdu'l-Baha in the course of His addresses in support
of the Divinity of &Muhammad, has proclaimed her faith, and borne
public testimony to the Divine origin of the Prophet of &Islam.
Already a President of the United States, imbibing some of the principles
so clearly enunciated by Him in His discourses, has incorporated
them in a Peace Program which stands out as the boldest and noblest
proposal yet made for the well-being and security of mankind. And
already, alas! a world which proved deaf to His warnings and refused
to heed His summons has plunged itself into two global wars of
unprecedented severity, the repercussions of which none as yet can
even dimly visualize.
+P295
CHAPTER XX
Growth and Expansion of the Faith in East and West
&Abdu'l-Baha's historic journeys to the West, and in particular
His eight-month tour of the United States of America, may be said
to have marked the culmination of His ministry, a ministry whose
untold blessings and stupendous achievements only future generations
can adequately estimate. As the day-star of &Baha'u'llah's Revelation
had shone forth in its meridian splendor at the hour of the proclamation
of His Message to the rulers of the earth in the city of Adrianople,
so did the Orb of His Covenant mount its zenith and shed its brightest
rays when He Who was its appointed Center arose to blazon
the glory and greatness of His Father's Faith among the peoples of
the West.
That divinely instituted Covenant had, shortly after its inception,
demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt its invincible
strength through its decisive triumph over the dark forces which its
Arch-Breaker had with such determination arrayed against it. Its
energizing power had soon after been proclaimed through the signal
victories which its torch-bearers had so rapidly and courageously won
in the far-off cities of Western Europe and the United States of
America. Its high claims had, moreover, been fully vindicated
through its ability to safeguard the unity and integrity of the Faith
in both the East and the West. It had subsequently given further
proof of its indomitable strength by the memorable victory it registered
through the downfall of &Sultan &Abdu'l-Hamid, and the consequent
release of its appointed Center from a forty-year captivity.
It had provided for those still inclined to doubt its Divine origin
yet another indisputable testimony to its solidity by enabling &Abdu'l-Baha,
in the face of formidable obstacles, to effect the transfer and
the final entombment of the &Bab's remains in a mausoleum on Mt.
Carmel. It had manifested also before all mankind, with a force and
in a measure hitherto unapproached, its vast potentialities when it
empowered Him in Whom its spirit and its purpose were enshrined
to embark on a three-year-long mission to the Western world--a
mission so momentous that it deserves to rank as the greatest exploit
ever to be associated with His ministry.
+P296
Nor were these, preeminent though they were, the sole fruits
garnered through the indefatigable efforts exerted so heroically by the
Center of that Covenant. The progress and extension of His Father's
Faith in the East; the initiation of activities and enterprises which
may be said to signalize the beginnings of a future Administrative
Order; the erection of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i
world in the city of &Ishqabad in Russian &Turkistan; the expansion
of &Baha'i literature; the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan;
and the introduction of the Faith in the Australian continent--these
may be regarded as the outstanding achievements that have embellished
the brilliant record of &Abdu'l-Baha's unique ministry.
In Persia, the cradle of the Faith, despite the persecutions which,
throughout the years of that ministry, persisted with unabated violence,
a noticeable change, marking the gradual emergence of a proscribed
community from its hitherto underground existence, could
be clearly discerned. &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, four years after &Baha'u'llah's
ascension, had, on the eve of his jubilee, designed to mark a turning-point
in the history of his country, met his death at the hands of an
assassin, named &Mirza &Rida, a follower of the notorious Siyyid
&Jamalu'd-Din-i-Afghani, an enemy of the Faith and one of the originators
of the constitutional movement which, as it gathered momentum,
during the reign of the &Shah's son and successor, &Muzaffari'd-Din,
was destined to involve in further difficulties an already hounded
and persecuted community. Even the &Shah's assassination had at first
been laid at the door of that community, as evidenced by the cruel
death suffered, immediately after the murder of the sovereign, by
the renowned teacher and poet, &Mirza &Ali-Muhammad, surnamed
"&Varqa" (Dove) by &Baha'u'llah, who, together with his twelve-year-old
son, &Ruhu'llah, was inhumanly put to death in the prison of
&Tihran, by the brutal &Hajibu'd-Dawlih, who, after thrusting his
dagger into the belly of the father and cutting him into pieces, before
the eyes of his son, adjured the boy to recant, and, meeting with a
blunt refusal, strangled him with a rope.
Three years previously a youth, named &Muhammad-Riday-i-Yazdi,
was shot in Yazd, on the night of his wedding while proceeding
from the public bath to his home, the first to suffer martyrdom
during &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry. In &Turbat-i-Haydariyyih, in consequence
of the &Shah's assassination, five persons, known as the &Shuhaday-i-Khamsih
(Five Martyrs), were put to death. In &Mashhad a
well-known merchant, &Haji &Muhammad-i-Tabrizi, was murdered
and his corpse set on fire. An interview was granted by the new
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sovereign and his Grand Vizir, the unprincipled and reactionary
&Mirza &Ali-Asghar &Khan, the &Atabik-i-A'zam, to two representative
followers of the Faith in Paris (1902), but it produced no real results
whatever. On the contrary, a fresh storm of persecutions broke out
a few years later, persecutions which, as the constitutional movement
developed in that country, grew ever fiercer as reactionaries brought
groundless accusations against the &Baha'is, and publicly denounced
them as supporters and inspirers of the nationalist cause.
A certain &Muhammad-Javad was stripped naked in &Isfahan, and
was severely beaten with a whip of braided wires, while in &Kashan
the adherents of the Faith of Jewish extraction were fined, beaten
and chained at the instigation of both the &Muhammadan clergy and
the Jewish doctors. It was, however, in Yazd and its environs that
the most bloody outrages committed during &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry
occurred. In that city &Haji &Mirzay-i-Halabi-Saz was so mercilessly
flogged that his wife flung herself upon his body, and was in her turn
severely beaten, after which his skull was lacerated by the cleaver
of a butcher. His eleven-year-old son was pitilessly thrashed, stabbed
with penknives and tortured to death. Within the space of half a
day nine people met their death. A crowd of about six thousand
people, of both sexes, vented their fury upon the helpless victims, a
few going so far as to drink their blood. In some instances, as was
the case with a man named &Mirza &Asadu'llah-i-Sabbagh, they plundered
their property and fought over its possession. They evinced
such cruelty that some of the government officials were moved to
tears at the sight of the harrowing scenes in which the women of that
city played a conspicuously shameful part.
In Taft several people were put to death, some of whom were
shot and their bodies dragged through the streets. A newly converted
eighteen-year-old youth, named &Husayn, was denounced by
his own father, and torn to pieces before the eyes of his mother,
whilst &Muhammad-Kamal was hacked into bits with knife, spade
and pickaxe. In &Manshad, where the persecutions lasted nineteen
days, similar atrocities were perpetrated. An eighty-year-old man,
named Siyyid &Mirza, was instantly killed in his sleep by two huge
stones which were thrown on him; a &Mirza &Sadiq, who asked for
water, had a knife plunged into his breast, his executioner afterwards
licking the blood from the blade, while &Shatir-Hasan, one of the
victims, was seen before his death distributing some candy in his
possession among the executioners and dividing among them his
clothing. A sixty-five year old woman, &Khadijih-Sultan, was hurled
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from the roof of a house; a believer named &Mirza &Muhammad was
tied to a tree, made a target for hundreds of bullets and his body set
on fire, whilst another, named &Ustad &Riday-i-Saffar, was seen to kiss
the hand of his murderer, after which he was shot and his corpse
heaped with insults.
In &Banaduk, in &Dih-Bala, in &Farashah, in &Abbas-Abad, in
&Hanza, in &Ardikan, in &Dawlat-Abad and in &Hamadan crimes of similar
nature were committed, an outstanding case being that of a
highly respected and courageous woman, named &Fatimih-Bagum,
who was ignominiously dragged from her house, her veil was torn
from her head, her throat cut across, her belly ripped open; and
having been beaten by the savage crowd with every weapon they
could lay hands on, she was finally suspended from a tree and delivered
to the flames.
In &Sari, in the days when the agitation for the constitution was
moving towards a climax, five believers of recognized standing,
known later as the &Shuhaday-i-Khamsih (Five Martyrs), were done
to death, whilst in &Nayriz a ferocious assault, recalling that of Yazd,
was launched by the enemy, in which nineteen lost their lives, among
them the sixty-five year old &Mulla &Abdu'l-Hamid, a blind man who
was shot and his body foully abused, and in the course of which a
considerable amount of property was plundered, and numerous
women and children had to flee for their lives, or seek refuge in
mosques, or live in the ruins of their houses, or remain shelterless by
the wayside.
In &Sirjan, in &Dugh-Abad, in &Tabriz, in &Avih, in Qum, in &Najaf-Abad,
in Sangsar, in &Shahmirzad, in &Isfahan, and in Jahrum redoubtable
and remorseless enemies, both religious and political, continued,
under various pretexts, and even after the signing of the Constitution
by the &Shah in 1906, and during the reign of his successors,
&Muhammad-'Ali &Shah and &Ahmad &Shah, to slay, torture, plunder
and abuse the members of a community who resolutely refused to
either recant or deviate a hair's breadth from the path laid down for
them by their Leaders. Even during &Abdu'l-Baha's journeys to the
West, and after His return to the Holy Land, and indeed till the
end of His life, He continued to receive distressing news of the
martyrdom of His followers, and of the outrages perpetrated against
them by an insatiable enemy. In &Dawlat-Abad, a prince of the
royal blood, &Habibu'llah &Mirza by name, a convert to the Faith who
had consecrated his life to its service, was slain with a hatchet and
his corpse set on fire. In &Mashhad the learned and pious &Shaykh
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&Ali-Akbar-i-Quchani was shot to death. In &Sultan-Abad, &Mirza
&Ali-Akbar and seven members of his family including a forty day
old infant were barbarously massacred. Persecutions of varying
degrees of severity broke out in &Na'in, in &Shahmirzad, in Bandar-i-Jaz
and in Qamsar. In &Kirmanshah, the martyr &Mirza &Ya'qub-i-Muttahidih,
the ardent twenty-five year old Jewish convert to the
Faith, was the last to lay down his life during &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry;
and his mother, according to his own instructions, celebrated
his martyrdom in &Hamadan with exemplary fortitude. In every
instance the conduct of the believers testified to the indomitable
spirit and unyielding tenacity that continued to distinguish the lives
and services of the Persian followers of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
Despite these intermittent severe persecutions the Faith that had
evoked in its heroes so rare a spirit of self-sacrifice was steadily and
silently growing. Engulfed for a time and almost extinguished in
the sombre days following the martyrdom of the &Bab, driven underground
throughout the period of &Baha'u'llah's ministry, it began,
after His ascension, under the unerring guidance, and as a result of
the unfailing solicitude, of a wise, a vigilant and loving Master, to
gather its forces, and gradually to erect the embryonic institutions
which were to pave the way for the establishment, at a later period,
of its Administrative Order. It was during this period that the number
of its adherents rapidly multiplied, that its range, now embracing
every province of that kingdom, steadily widened, and the rudimentary
forms of its future Assemblies were inaugurated. It was
during this period, at a time when state schools and colleges were
practically non-existent in that country, and when the education
given in existing religious institutions was lamentably defective, that
its earliest schools were established, beginning with the &Tarbiyat,
schools in &Tihran for both boys and girls, and followed by the &Ta'yid
and Mawhibat schools in &Hamadan, the &Vahdat-i-Bashar school in
&Kashan and other similar educational institutions in &Barfurush and
&Qazvin. It was during these years that concrete and effectual assistance,
both spiritual and material, in the form of visiting teachers
from both Europe and America, of nurses, instructors, and physicians,
was first extended to the &Baha'i community in that land, these
workers constituting the vanguard of that host of helpers which
&Abdu'l-Baha promised would arise in time to further the interests of
the Faith as well as those of the country in which it was born. It
was in the course of these years that the term &Babi, as an appellation,
designating the followers of &Baha'u'llah in that country, was universally
+P300
discarded by the masses in favor of the word &Baha'i, the
former henceforth being exclusively applied to the fast dwindling
number of the followers of &Mirza &Yahya. During this period, moreover,
the first systematic attempts were made to organize and stimulate
the teaching work undertaken by the Persian believers, attempts
which, apart from reinforcing the foundations of the community,
were instrumental in attracting to its cause several outstanding figures
in the public life of that country, not excluding certain prominent
members of the &Shi'ah sacerdotal order, and even descendants of some
of the worst persecutors of the Faith. It was during the years of that
ministry that the House of the &Bab in &Shiraz, ordained by &Baha'u'llah
as a center of pilgrimage for His followers, and now so recognized,
was by order of &Abdu'l-Baha and through His assistance, restored,
and that it became increasingly a focus of &Baha'i life and activity for
those who were deprived by circumstances of visiting either the Most
Great House in &Baghdad or the Most Holy Tomb in &Akka.
More conspicuous than any of these undertakings, however, was
the erection of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world in the
city of &Ishqabad, a center founded in the days of &Baha'u'llah, where
the initial steps preparatory to its construction, had been already
undertaken during His lifetime. Initiated at about the close of the
first decade of &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry (1902); fostered by Him at
every stage in its development; personally supervised by the venerable
&Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqi, the &Vakilu'd-Dawlih, a cousin of the
&Bab, who dedicated his entire resources to its establishment, and
whose dust now reposes at the foot of Mt. Carmel under the shadow
of the Tomb of his beloved Kinsman; carried out according to the
directions laid down by the Center of the Covenant Himself; a lasting
witness to the fervor and the self-sacrifice of the Oriental believers
who were resolved to execute the bidding of &Baha'u'llah as revealed
in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, this enterprise must rank not only as the first
major undertaking launched through the concerted efforts of His
followers in the Heroic Age of His Faith, but as one of the most
brilliant and enduring achievements in the history of the first
&Baha'i century.
The edifice itself, the foundation stone of which was laid in the
presence of General Krupatkin, the governor-general of &Turkistan,
who had been delegated by the Czar to represent him at the ceremony,
has thus been minutely described by a &Baha'i visitor from the West:
"The &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar stands in the heart of the city; its high
dome standing out above the trees and house tops being visible for
+P301
miles to the travelers as they approach the town. It is in the center
of a garden bounded by four streets. In the four corners of this
enclosure are four buildings: one is the &Baha'i school; one is the
traveler's house, where pilgrims and wayfarers are lodged; one is for
the keepers, while the fourth one is to be used as a hospital. Nine
radial avenues approach the Temple from the several parts of the
grounds, one of which, the principal approach to the building, leads
from the main gateway of the grounds to the principal portal of the
Temple." "In plan," he further adds, "the building is composed of
three sections; namely, the central rotunda, the aisle or ambulatory
which surrounds it, and the loggia which surrounds the entire building.
It is built on the plan of a regular polygon of nine sides. One
side is occupied by the monumental main entrance, flanked by
minarets--a high arched portico extending two stories in height
recalling in arrangement the architecture of the world famous Taj
Mahal at Agra in India, the delight of the world to travelers, many
of whom pronounce it to be the most beautiful temple in the world.
Thus the principal doorway opens toward the direction of the Holy
land. The entire building is surrounded by two series of loggias--
one upper and one lower--which opens out upon the garden giving a
very beautiful architectural effect in harmony with the luxuriant
semi-tropical vegetation which fills the garden... The interior
walls of the rotunda are treated in five distinct stories. First, a series
of nine arches and piers which separate the rotunda from the ambulatory.
Second, a similar treatment with balustrades which separate
the triforium gallery (which is above the ambulatory and is reached
by two staircases in the loggias placed one on either side of the main
entrance) from the well of the rotunda. Third, a series of nine blank
arches filled with fretwork, between which are escutcheons bearing
the Greatest Name. Fourth, a series of nine large arched windows.
Fifth, a series of eighteen bull's eye windows. Above and resting on a
cornice surmounting this last story rises the inner hemispherical shell
of the dome. The interior is elaborately decorated in plaster relief
work... The whole structure impresses one by its mass and strength."
Nor should mention be omitted of the two schools for boys and
girls which were established in that city, of the pilgrim house instituted
in the close vicinity of the Temple, of the Spiritual Assembly
and its auxiliary bodies formed to administer the affairs of a growing
community, and of the new centers of activity inaugurated in various
towns and cities in the province of &Turkistan--all testifying to the
+P302
vitality which the Faith had displayed ever since its inception in
that land.
A parallel if less spectacular development could be observed in
the Caucasus. After the establishment of the first center and the
formation of an Assembly in &Baku, a city which &Baha'i pilgrims,
traveling in increasing numbers from Persia to the Holy Land via
Turkey, invariably visited, new groups began to be organized, and,
evolving later into well-established communities, cooperated in increasing
measure with their brethren both in &Turkistan and Persia.
In Egypt a steady increase in the number of the adherents of the
Faith was accompanied by a general expansion in its activities. The
establishments of new centers; the consolidation of the chief center
established in Cairo; the conversion, largely through the indefatigable
efforts of the learned &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl, of several prominent students
and teachers of the Azhar University--premonitory symptoms foreshadowing
the advent of the promised day on which, according to
&Abdu'l-Baha, the standard and emblem of the Faith would be implanted
in the heart of that time-honored Islamic seat of learning; the
translation into Arabic and the dissemination of some of the most
important writings of &Baha'u'llah revealed in Persian, together with
other &Baha'i literature; the printing of books, treatises and pamphlets
by &Baha'i authors and scholars; the publication of articles in the Press
written in defense of the Faith and for the purpose of broadcasting
its message; the formation of rudimentary administrative institutions
in the capital as well as in nearby centers; the enrichment of the life
of the community through the addition of converts of Kurdish,
Coptic, and Armenian origin--these may be regarded as the first
fruits garnered in a country which, blessed by the footsteps of &Abdu'l-Baha,
was, in later years, to play a historic part in the emancipation of
the Faith, and which, by virtue of its unique position as the intellectual
center of both the Arab and Islamic worlds, must inevitably
assume a notable and decisive share of responsibility in the final
establishment of that Faith throughout the East.
Even more remarkable was the expansion of &Baha'i activity in
India and Burma, where a steadily growing community, now including
among its members representatives of the Zoroastrian, the Islamic,
the Hindu and the Buddhist Faiths, as well as members of the Sikh
community, succeeded in establishing its outposts, as far as Mandalay
and the village of Daidanaw Kalazoo, in the Hanthawaddy district of
Burma, at which latter place no less than eight hundred &Baha'is
resided, possessing a school, a court, and a hospital of their own, as
+P303
well as land for community cultivation, the proceeds of which they
devoted to the furtherance of the interests of their Faith.
In &Iraq, where the House occupied by &Baha'u'llah was entirely
restored and renovated, and where a small yet intrepid community
struggled in the face of constant opposition to regulate and administer
its affairs; in Constantinople, where a &Baha'i center was established;
in Tunis where the foundations of a local community were
firmly laid; in Japan, in China, and in Honolulu to which &Baha'i
teachers traveled, and where they settled and taught--in all of these
places the manifold evidences of the guiding hand of &Abdu'l-Baha
and the tangible effects of His sleepless vigilance and unfailing care
could be clearly perceived.
Nor did the nascent communities established in France, England,
Germany and the United States cease to receive, after His memorable
visits to those countries, further tokens of His special interest in, and
solicitude for, their welfare and spiritual advancement. It was in
consequence of His directions and the unceasing flow of His Tablets,
addressed to the members of these communities, as well as His constant
encouragement of the efforts they were exerting, that &Baha'i
centers steadily multiplied, that public meetings were organized, that
new periodicals were published, that translations of some of the best
known works of &Baha'u'llah and of the Tablets of &Abdu'l-Baha were
printed and circulated in the English, the French, and German languages,
and that the initial attempts to organize the affairs, and consolidate
the foundations, of these newly established communities
were undertaken.
In the North American continent, more particularly, the members
of a flourishing community, inspired by the blessings bestowed by
&Abdu'l-Baha, as well as by His example and the acts He performed in
the course of His prolonged visit to their country, gave an earnest
of the magnificent enterprise they were to carry through in later
years. They purchased the twelve remaining lots forming part of the
site of their projected Temple, selected, during the sessions of their
1920 Convention, the design of the French Canadian &Baha'i architect,
Louis Bourgeois, placed the contract for the excavation and the laying
of its foundations, and succeeded soon after in completing the necessary
arrangements for the construction of its basement: measures
which heralded the stupendous efforts which, after &Abdu'l-Baha's
ascension, culminated in the erection of its superstructure and the
completion of its exterior ornamentation.
The war of 1914-18, repeatedly foreshadowed by &Abdu'l-Baha in
+P304
the dark warnings He uttered in the course of His western travels,
and which broke out eight months after His return to the Holy Land,
once more cast a shadow of danger over His life, the last that was to
darken the years of His agitated yet glorious ministry.
The late entry of the United States of America in that world-convulsing
conflict, the neutrality of Persia, the remoteness of India
and of the Far East from the theater of operations, insured the protection
of the overwhelming majority of His followers, who, though
for the most part entirely cut off for a number of years from the
spiritual center of their Faith, were still able to conduct their affairs
and safeguard the fruits of their recent achievements in comparative
safety and freedom.
In the Holy Land, however, though the outcome of that tremendous
struggle was to liberate once and for all the Heart and
Center of the Faith from the Turkish yoke, a yoke which had imposed
for so long upon its Founder and His Successor such oppressive and
humiliating restrictions, yet severe privations and grave dangers continued
to surround its inhabitants during the major part of that
conflict, and renewed, for a time, the perils which had confronted
&Abdu'l-Baha during the years of His incarceration in &Akka. The
privations inflicted on the inhabitants by the gross incompetence, the
shameful neglect, the cruelty and callous indifference of both the
civil and military authorities, though greatly alleviated through the
bountiful generosity, the foresight and the tender care of &Abdu'l-Baha,
were aggravated by the rigors of a strict blockade. A bombardment
of Haifa by the Allies was a constant threat, at one time so real
that it necessitated the temporary removal of &Abdu'l-Baha, His
family and members of the local community to the village of &Abu-Sinan
at the foot of the hills east of &Akka. The Turkish Commander-in-Chief,
the brutal, the all-powerful and unscrupulous &Jamal &Pasha,
an inveterate enemy of the Faith, through his own ill-founded suspicions
and the instigation of its enemies, had already grievously
afflicted &Abdu'l-Baha, and even expressed his intention of crucifying
Him and of razing to the ground the Tomb of &Baha'u'llah. &Abdu'l-Baha
Himself still suffered from the ill-health and exhaustion brought
on by the fatigues of His three-year journeys. He felt acutely the
virtual stoppage of all communication with most of the &Baha'i
centers throughout the world. Agony filled His soul at the spectacle
of human slaughter precipitated through humanity's failure to respond
to the summons He had issued, or to heed the warnings He had given.
Surely sorrow upon sorrow was added to the burden of trials and
+P305
vicissitudes which He, since His boyhood, had borne so heroically for
the sake, and in the service, of His Father's Cause.
And yet during these somber days, the darkness of which was
reminiscent of the tribulations endured during the most dangerous
period of His incarceration in the prison-fortress of &Akka, &Abdu'l-Baha,
whilst in the precincts of His Father's Shrine, or when dwelling
in the House He occupied in &Akka, or under the shadow of the
&Bab's sepulcher on Mt. Carmel, was moved to confer once again, and
for the last time in His life, on the community of His American
followers a signal mark of His special favor by investing them, on
the eve of the termination of His earthly ministry, through the
revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, with a world mission,
whose full implications even now, after the lapse of a quarter
of a century, still remain undisclosed, and whose unfoldment thus
far, though as yet in its initial stages, has so greatly enriched the
spiritual as well as the administrative annals of the first &Baha'i
century.
The conclusion of this terrible conflict, the first stage in a titanic
convulsion long predicted by &Baha'u'llah, not only marked the
extinction of Turkish rule in the Holy Land and sealed the doom of
that military despot who had vowed to destroy &Abdu'l-Baha, but
also shattered once and for all the last hopes still entertained by the
remnant of Covenant-breakers who, untaught by the severe retribution
that had already overtaken them, still aspired to witness the
extinction of the light of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant. Furthermore, it
produced those revolutionary changes which, on the one hand,
fulfilled the ominous predictions made by &Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
and enabled, according to Scriptural prophecy, so large an
element of the "outcasts of Israel," the "remnant" of the "flock," to
"assemble" in the Holy Land, and to be brought back to "their folds"
and "their own border," beneath the shadow of the "Incomparable
Branch," referred to by &Abdu'l-Baha in His "Some Answered
Questions," and which, on the other hand, gave birth to the institution
of the League of Nations, the precursor of that World Tribunal
which, as prophesied by that same "Incomparable Branch," the
peoples and nations of the earth must needs unitedly establish.
No need to dwell on the energetic steps which the English
believers as soon as they had been apprized of the dire peril threatening
the life of &Abdu'l-Baha undertook to insure His security; on the
measures independently taken whereby Lord Curzon and others in
the British Cabinet were advised as to the critical situation at Haifa;
+P306
on the prompt intervention of Lord Lamington, who immediately
wrote to the Foreign Office to "explain the importance of &Abdu'l-Baha's
position;" on the despatch which the Foreign Secretary, Lord
Balfour, on the day of the receipt of this letter, sent to General
Allenby, instructing him to "extend every protection and consideration
to &Abdu'l-Baha, His family and His friends;" on the cablegram
subsequently sent by the General, after the capture of Haifa, to
London, requesting the authorities to "notify the world that &Abdu'l-Baha
is safe;" on the orders which that same General issued to the
General Commanding Officer in command of the Haifa operations to
insure &Abdu'l-Baha's safety, thus frustrating the express intention of
the Turkish Commander-in-Chief (according to information which
had reached the British Intelligence Service) to "crucify &Abdu'l-Baha
and His family on Mt. Carmel" in the event of the Turkish
army being compelled to evacuate Haifa and retreat northwards.
The three years which elapsed between the liberation of Palestine
by the British forces and the passing of &Abdu'l-Baha were marked by
a further enhancement of the prestige which the Faith, despite the
persecutions to which it had been subjected, had acquired at its world
center, and by a still greater extension in the range of its teaching
activities in various parts of the world. The danger which, for no
less than three score years and five, had threatened the lives of the
Founders of the Faith and of the Center of His Covenant, was
now at long last through the instrumentality of that war completely
and definitely lifted. The Head of the Faith, and its twin holy
Shrines, in the plain of &Akka and on the slopes of Mt. Carmel, were
henceforth to enjoy for the first time, through the substitution of a
new and liberal ®ime for the corrupt administration of the past, a
freedom from restrictions which was later expanded into a clearer
recognition of the institutions of the Cause. Nor were the British
authorities slow to express their appreciation of the &role which
&Abdu'l-Baha had played in allaying the burden of suffering that had
oppressed the inhabitants of the Holy Land during the dark days of
that distressing conflict. The conferment of a knighthood upon Him
at a ceremony specially held for His sake in Haifa, at the residence
of the British Governor, at which notables of various communities
had assembled; the visit paid Him by General and Lady Allenby,
who were His guests at luncheon in &Bahji, and whom He conducted
to the Tomb of &Baha'u'llah; the interview at His Haifa residence
between Him and King Feisal who shortly after became the ruler of
&Iraq; the several calls paid Him by Sir Herbert Samuel (later
+P307
Viscount Samuel of Carmel) both before and after his appointment
as High Commissioner for Palestine; His meeting with Lord Lamington
who, likewise, called upon Him in Haifa, as well as with the then
Governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald Storrs; the multiplying evidences
of the recognition of His high and unique position by all religious
communities, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish; the influx of
pilgrims who, from East and West, flocked to the Holy Land in
comparative ease and safety to visit the Holy Tombs in &Akka
and Haifa, to pay their share of homage to Him, to celebrate the
signal protection vouchsafed by Providence to the Faith and its
followers, and to give thanks for the final emancipation of its Head
and world Center from Turkish yoke--these contributed, each in its
own way, to heighten the prestige which the Faith of &Baha'u'llah had
been steadily and gradually acquiring through the inspired leadership
of &Abdu'l-Baha.
As the ministry of &Abdu'l-Baha drew to a close signs multiplied
of the resistless and manifold unfoldment of the Faith both in the
East and in the West, both in the shaping and consolidation of its
institutions and in the widening range of its activities and its
influence. In the city of &Ishqabad the construction of the
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, which He Himself had initiated, was successfully
consummated. In Wilmette the excavations for the Mother Temple of the
West were carried out and the contract placed for the construction
of the basement of the building. In &Baghdad the initial steps were
taken, according to His special instructions, to reinforce the foundations
and restore the Most Great House associated with the memory
of His Father. In the Holy Land an extensive property east of the
&Bab's Sepulcher was purchased through the initiative of the Holy
Mother with the support of contributions from &Baha'is in both the
East and the West to serve as a site for the future erection of the first
&Baha'i school at the world Administrative Center of the Faith. The
site for a Western Pilgrim House was acquired in the neighborhood
of &Abdu'l-Baha's residence, and the building was erected soon after
His passing by American believers. The Oriental Pilgrim House,
erected on Mt. Carmel by a believer from &Ishqabad, soon after the
entombment of the &Bab's remains, for the convenience of visiting
pilgrims, was granted tax exemption by the civil authorities (the
first time such a privilege had been conceded since the establishment
of the Faith in the Holy Land). The famous scientist and entomologist,
Dr. Auguste Forel, was converted to the Faith through the
influence of a Tablet sent him by &Abdu'l-Baha--one of the most
+P308
weighty the Master ever wrote. Another Tablet of far-reaching
importance was His reply to a communication addressed to Him by
the Executive Committee of the "Central Organization for a Durable
Peace," which He dispatched to them at The Hague by the hands of
a special delegation. A new continent was opened to the Cause when,
in response to the Tablets of the Divine Plan unveiled at the first
Convention after the war, the great-hearted and heroic Hyde Dunn,
at the advanced age of sixty-two, promptly forsook his home in
California, and, seconded and accompanied by his wife, settled as a
pioneer in Australia, where he was able to carry the Message to no
less than seven hundred towns throughout that Commonwealth. A
new episode began when, in quick response to those same Tablets and
their summons, that star-servant of &Baha'u'llah, the indomitable
and immortal Martha Root, designated by her Master "herald of the
Kingdom" and "harbinger of the Covenant," embarked on the first
of her historic journeys which were to extend over a period of twenty
years, and to carry her several times around the globe, and which
ended only with her death far from home and in the active service
of the Cause she loved so greatly. These events mark the closing stage
of a ministry which sealed the triumph of the Heroic Age of the
&Baha'i Dispensation, and which will go down in history as one of the
most glorious and fruitful periods of the first &Baha'i century.
+P309
CHAPTER XXI
The Passing of &Abdu'l-Baha
&Abdu'l-Baha's great work was now ended. The historic Mission
with which His Father had, twenty-nine years previously, invested
Him had been gloriously consummated. A memorable chapter in the
history of the first &Baha'i century had been written. The Heroic Age
of the &Baha'i Dispensation, in which He had participated since its
inception, and played so unique a &role, had drawn to a close. He had
suffered as no disciple of the Faith, who had drained the cup of
martyrdom, had suffered, He had labored as none of its greatest
heroes had labored. He had witnessed triumphs such as neither the
Herald of the Faith nor its Author had ever witnessed.
At the close of His strenuous Western tours, which had called
forth the last ounce of His ebbing strength, He had written: "Friends,
the time is coming when I shall be no longer with you. I have done
all that could be done. I have served the Cause of &Baha'u'llah to the
utmost of My ability. I have labored night and day all the years of
My life. O how I long to see the believers shouldering the responsibilities
of the Cause!... My days are numbered, and save this
there remains none other joy for me." Several years before He had thus
alluded to His passing: "O ye My faithful loved ones! Should at any
time afflicting events come to pass in the Holy Land, never feel disturbed
or agitated. Fear not, neither grieve. For whatsoever thing happeneth
will cause the Word of God to be exalted, and His Divine fragrances
to be diffused." And again: "Remember, whether or not I be on earth,
My presence will be with you always." "Regard not the person of
&Abdu'l-Baha," He thus counselled His friends in one of His last
Tablets, "for He will eventually take His leave of you all; nay, fix
your gaze upon the Word of God... The loved ones of God must
arise with such steadfastness that should, in one moment, hundreds
of souls even as &Abdu'l-Baha Himself be made a target for the darts
of woe, nothing whatsoever shall affect or lessen their ... service to
the Cause of God."
In a Tablet addressed to the American believers, a few days before
He passed away, He thus vented His pent-up longing to depart from
this world: "I have renounced the world and the people thereof...
In the cage of this world I flutter even as a frightened bird, and
+P310
yearn every day to take My flight unto Thy Kingdom. &Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha!
Make Me drink of the cup of sacrifice, and set Me free."
He revealed a prayer less than six months before His ascension in
honor of a kinsman of the &Bab, and in it wrote: "`O Lord! My bones
are weakened, and the hoar hairs glisten on My head ... and I have
now reached old age, failing in My powers.'... No strength is there
left in Me wherewith to arise and serve Thy loved ones... O Lord,
My Lord! Hasten My ascension unto Thy sublime Threshold ...
and My arrival at the Door of Thy grace beneath the shadow of Thy
most great mercy..."
Through the dreams He dreamed, through the conversations He
held, through the Tablets He revealed, it became increasingly evident
that His end was fast approaching. Two months before His passing
He told His family of a dream He had had. "I seemed," He said,
"to be standing within a great mosque, in the inmost shrine, facing
the Qiblih, in the place of the &Imam himself. I became aware that a
large number of people were flocking into the mosque. More and
yet more crowded in, taking their places in rows behind Me, until
there was a vast multitude. As I stood I raised loudly the call to
prayer. Suddenly the thought came to Me to go forth from the
mosque. When I found Myself outside I said within Myself: `For
what reason came I forth, not having led the prayer? But it matters
not; now that I have uttered the Call to prayer, the vast multitude will
of themselves chant the prayer.'" A few weeks later, whilst occupying
a solitary room in the garden of His house, He recounted another
dream to those around Him. "I dreamed a dream," He said, "and
behold, the Blessed Beauty (&Baha'u'llah) came and said to Me:
`Destroy this room.'" None of those present comprehended the significance
of this dream until He Himself had soon after passed away,
when it became clear to them all that by the "room" was meant the
temple of His body.
A month before His death (which occurred in the 78th year of
His age, in the early hours of the 28th of November, 1921) He had
referred expressly to it in some words of cheer and comfort that He
addressed to a believer who was mourning the loss of his brother.
And about two weeks before His passing He had spoken to His
faithful gardener in a manner that clearly indicated He knew His
end to be nigh. "I am so fatigued," He observed to him, "the hour is
come when I must leave everything and take My flight. I am too
weary to walk." He added: "It was during the closing days of the
Blessed Beauty, when I was engaged in gathering together His papers
+P311
which were strewn over the sofa in His writing chamber in &Bahji,
that He turned to Me and said: `It is of no use to gather them, I
must leave them and flee away.' I also have finished My work. I can
do nothing more. Therefore must I leave it, and take My departure."
Till the very last day of His earthly life &Abdu'l-Baha continued
to shower that same love upon high and low alike, to extend that same
assistance to the poor and the down-trodden, and to carry out those
same duties in the service of His Father's Faith, as had been His wont
from the days of His boyhood. On the Friday before His passing,
despite great fatigue, He attended the noonday prayer at the mosque,
and distributed afterwards alms, as was His custom, among the poor;
dictated some Tablets--the last ones He revealed--; blessed the marriage
of a trusted servant, which He had insisted should take place
that day; attended the usual meeting of the friends in His home; felt
feverish the next day, and being unable to leave the house on the
following Sunday, sent all the believers to the Tomb of the &Bab to
attend a feast which a &Parsi pilgrim was offering on the occasion of
the anniversary of the Declaration of the Covenant; received with
His unfailing courtesy and kindness that same afternoon, and despite
growing weariness, the &Mufti of Haifa, the Mayor and the Head of
the Police; and inquired that night--the last of His life--before He
retired after the health of every member of His household, of the
pilgrims and of the friends in Haifa.
At 1:15 A.M. He arose, and, walking to a table in His room,
drank some water, and returned to bed. Later on, He asked one of
His two daughters who had remained awake to care for Him, to
lift up the net curtains, complaining that He had difficulty in
breathing. Some rose-water was brought to Him, of which He drank,
after which He again lay down, and when offered food, distinctly
remarked: "You wish Me to take some food, and I am going?" A
minute later His spirit had winged its flight to its eternal abode, to
be gathered, at long last, to the glory of His beloved Father, and
taste the joy of everlasting reunion with Him.
The news of His passing, so sudden, so unexpected, spread like
wildfire throughout the town, and was flashed instantly over the
wires to distant parts of the globe, stunning with grief the community
of the followers of &Baha'u'llah in East and West. Messages from far
and near, from high and low alike, through cablegrams and letters,
poured in conveying to the members of a sorrow-stricken and disconsolate
family expressions of praise, of devotion, of anguish and of
sympathy.
+P312
The British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Winston
Churchill, telegraphed immediately to the High Commissioner for
Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel, instructing him to "convey to the
&Baha'i Community, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, their
sympathy and condolence." Viscount Allenby, the High Commissioner
for Egypt, wired the High Commissioner for Palestine asking
him to "convey to the relatives of the late Sir &Abdu'l-Baha &Abbas
Effendi and to the &Baha'i Community" his "sincere sympathy in the
loss of their revered leader." The Council of Ministers in &Baghdad
instructed the Prime Minister Siyyid &Abdu'r-Rahman to extend their
"sympathy to the family of His Holiness &Abdu'l-Baha in their bereavement."
The Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary
Force, General Congreve, addressed to the High Commissioner
for Palestine a message requesting him to "convey his deepest sympathy
to the family of the late Sir &Abbas &Baha'i." General Sir Arthur
Money, former Chief Administrator of Palestine, wrote expressing
his sadness, his profound respect and his admiration for Him as well
as his sympathy in the loss which His family had sustained. One of the
distinguished figures in the academic life of the University of Oxford,
a famous professor and scholar, wrote on behalf of himself and his
wife: "The passing beyond the veil into fuller life must be specially
wonderful and blessed for One Who has always fixed His thoughts
on high, and striven to lead an exalted life here below."
Many and divers newspapers, such as the London "Times," the
"Morning Post," the "Daily Mail," the "New York World," "Le
Temps," the "Times of India" and others, in different languages and
countries, paid their tribute to One Who had rendered the Cause of
human brotherhood and peace such signal and imperishable services.
The High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, sent immediately a
message conveying his desire to attend the funeral in person, in order
as he himself later wrote, to "express my respect for His creed and
my regard for His person." As to the funeral itself, which took place
on Tuesday morning--a funeral the like of which Palestine had never
seen--no less than ten thousand people participated representing every
class, religion and race in that country. "A great throng," bore witness
at a later date, the High Commissioner himself, "had gathered
together, sorrowing for His death, but rejoicing also for His life."
Sir Ronald Storrs, Governor of Jerusalem at the time, also wrote in
describing the funeral: "I have never known a more united expression
of regret and respect than was called forth by the utter simplicity
of the ceremony."
+P313
The coffin containing the remains of &Abdu'l-Baha was borne to
its last resting-place on the shoulders of His loved ones. The &cortege
which preceded it was led by the City Constabulary Force, acting as a
Guard of Honor, behind which followed in order the Boy Scouts of
the Muslim and Christian communities holding aloft their banners, a
company of Muslim choristers chanting their verses from the &Qur'an,
the chiefs of the Muslim community headed by the &Mufti, and a
number of Christian priests, Latin, Greek and Anglican. Behind the
coffin walked the members of His family, the British High Commissioner,
Sir Herbert Samuel, the Governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald
Storrs, the Governor of Phoenicia, Sir Stewart Symes, officials of the
government, consuls of various countries resident in Haifa, notables
of Palestine, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Druze, Egyptians, Greeks,
Turks, Arabs, Kurds, Europeans and Americans, men, women and
children. The long train of mourners, amid the sobs and moans of
many a grief-stricken heart, wended its slow way up the slopes of
Mt. Carmel to the Mausoleum of the &Bab.
Close to the eastern entrance of the Shrine, the sacred casket was
placed upon a plain table, and, in the presence of that vast concourse,
nine speakers, who represented the Muslim, the Jewish and Christian
Faiths, and who included the &Mufti of Haifa, delivered their several
funeral orations. These concluded, the High Commissioner drew
close to the casket, and, with bowed head fronting the Shrine, paid
his last homage of farewell to &Abdu'l-Baha: the other officials of the
Government followed his example. The coffin was then removed to
one of the chambers of the Shrine, and there lowered, sadly and
reverently, to its last resting-place in a vault adjoining that in which
were laid the remains of the &Bab.
During the week following His passing, from fifty to a hundred
of the poor of Haifa were daily fed at His house, whilst on the
seventh day corn was distributed in His memory to about a thousand
of them irrespective of creed or race. On the fortieth day an impressive
memorial feast was held in His memory, to which over six
hundred of the people of Haifa, &Akka and the surrounding parts of
Palestine and Syria, including officials and notables of various religions
and races, were invited. More than one hundred of the poor were
also fed on that day.
One of the assembled guests, the Governor of Phoenicia, paid a
last tribute to the memory of &Abdu'l-Baha in the following words:
"Most of us here have, I think, a clear picture of Sir &Abdu'l-Baha
&Abbas, of His dignified figure walking thoughtfully in our streets,
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of His courteous and gracious manner, of His kindness, of His love
for little children and flowers, of His generosity and care for the poor
and suffering. So gentle was He, and so simple, that in His presence
one almost forgot that He was also a great teacher, and that His
writings and His conversations have been a solace and an inspiration
to hundreds and thousands of people in the East and in the West."
Thus was brought to a close the ministry of One Who was the
incarnation, by virtue of the rank bestowed upon Him by His Father,
of an institution that has no parallel in the entire field of religious
history, a ministry that marks the final stage in the Apostolic, the
Heroic and most glorious Age of the Dispensation of &Baha'u'llah.
Through Him the Covenant, that "excellent and priceless Heritage"
bequeathed by the Author of the &Baha'i Revelation, had been
proclaimed, championed and vindicated. Through the power which
that Divine Instrument had conferred upon Him the light of God's
infant Faith had penetrated the West, had diffused itself as far as the
Islands of the Pacific, and illumined the fringes of the Australian continent.
Through His personal intervention the Message, Whose Bearer
had tasted the bitterness of a life-long captivity, had been noised
abroad, and its character and purpose disclosed, for the first time in
its history, before enthusiastic and representative audiences in the
chief cities of Europe and of the North American continent. Through
His unrelaxing vigilance the holy remains of the &Bab, brought forth
at long last from their fifty-year concealment, had been safely transported
to the Holy Land and permanently and befittingly enshrined
in the very spot which &Baha'u'llah Himself had designated for them
and had blessed with His presence. Through His bold initiative the
first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world had been reared in
Central Asia, in Russian &Turkistan, whilst through His unfailing
encouragement a similar enterprise, of still vaster proportions, had
been undertaken, and its land dedicated by Himself in the heart of
the North American continent. Through the sustaining grace overshadowing
Him since the inception of His ministry His royal adversary
had been humbled to the dust, the arch-breaker of His Father's
Covenant had been utterly routed, and the danger which, ever since
&Baha'u'llah had been banished to Turkish soil, had been threatening
the heart of the Faith, definitely removed. In pursuance of His instructions,
and in conformity with the principles enunciated and the
laws ordained by His Father, the rudimentary institutions, heralding
the formal inauguration of the Administrative Order to be founded
after His passing, had taken shape and been established. Through His
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unremitting labors, as reflected in the treatises He composed, the
thousands of Tablets He revealed, the discourses He delivered, the
prayers, poems and commentaries He left to posterity, mostly in
Persian, some in Arabic and a few in Turkish, the laws and principles,
constituting the warp and woof of His Father's Revelation, had been
elucidated, its fundamentals restated and interpreted, its tenets given
detailed application and the validity and indispensability of its verities
fully and publicly demonstrated. Through the warnings He sounded,
an unheeding humanity, steeped in materialism and forgetful of its
God, had been apprized of the perils threatening to disrupt its ordered
life, and made, in consequence of its persistent perversity, to sustain
the initial shocks of that world upheaval which continues, until the
present day, to rock the foundations of human society. And lastly,
through the mandate He had issued to a valiant community, the concerted
achievements of whose members had shed so great a lustre on
the annals of His own ministry, He had set in motion a Plan which,
soon after its formal inauguration, achieved the opening of the
Australian continent, which, in a later period, was to be instrumental
in winning over the heart of a royal convert to His Father's Cause,
and which, today, through the irresistible unfoldment of its potentialities,
is so marvellously quickening the spiritual life of all the
Republics of Latin America as to constitute a befitting conclusion to
the records of an entire century.
Nor should a survey of the outstanding features of so blessed and
fruitful a ministry omit mention of the prophecies which the unerring
pen of the appointed Center of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant has recorded.
These foreshadow the fierceness of the onslaught that the resistless
march of the Faith must provoke in the West, in India and in the Far
East when it meets the time-honored sacerdotal orders of the Christian,
the Buddhist and Hindu religions. They foreshadow the turmoil
which its emancipation from the fetters of religious orthodoxy will
cast in the American, the European, the Asiatic and African continents.
They foreshadow the gathering of the children of Israel in their
ancient homeland; the erection of the banner of &Baha'u'llah in the
Egyptian citadel of &Sunni &Islam; the extinction of the powerful influence
wielded by the &Shi'ah ecclesiastics in Persia; the load of misery
which must needs oppress the pitiful remnants of the breakers of
&Baha'u'llah's Covenant at the world center of His Faith; the splendor
of the institutions which that triumphant Faith must erect on the
slopes of a mountain, destined to be so linked with the city of &Akka
that a single grand metropolis will be formed to enshrine the spiritual
+P316
as well as the administrative seats of the future &Baha'i Commonwealth;
the conspicuous honor which the inhabitants of &Baha'u'llah's
native land in general, and its government in particular, must enjoy
in a distant future; the unique and enviable position which the community
of the Most Great Name in the North American continent
must occupy, as a direct consequence of the execution of the world
mission which He entrusted to them: finally they foreshadow, as the
sum and summit of all, the "hoisting of the standard of God among all
nations" and the unification of the entire human race, when "all men
will adhere to one religion ... will be blended into one race, and
become a single people."
Nor can the revolutionary changes in the great world which that
ministry has witnessed be allowed to pass unnoticed--most of them
flowing directly from the warnings which were uttered by the &Bab, in
the first chapter of His &Qayyumu'l-Asma', on the very night of the
Declaration of His Mission in &Shiraz, and which were later reinforced
by the pregnant passages addressed by &Baha'u'llah to the kings of
the earth and the world's religious leaders, in both the &Suriy-i-Muluk
and the &Kitab-i-Aqdas. The conversion of the Portuguese
monarchy and the Chinese empire into republics; the collapse of the
Russian, the German and Austrian empires, and the ignominious fate
which befell their rulers; the assassination of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, the
fall of &Sultan &Abdu'l-Hamid--these may be said to have marked
further stages in the operation of that catastrophic process the inception
of which was signalized in the lifetime of &Baha'u'llah by the
murder of &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz, by the dramatic downfall of Napoleon
III, and the extinction of the Third Empire, and by the self-imposed
imprisonment and virtual termination of the temporal
sovereignty of the Pope himself. Later, after &Abdu'l-Baha's passing,
the same process was to be accelerated by the demise of the &Qajar
dynasty in Persia, by the overthrow of the Spanish monarchy, by the
collapse of both the Sultanate and the Caliphate in Turkey, by a swift
decline in the fortunes of &Shi'ah &Islam and of the Christian Missions
in the East, and by the cruel fate that is now overtaking so many of
the crowned heads of Europe.
Nor can this subject be dismissed without special reference to the
names of those men of eminence and learning who were moved, at
various stages of &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry, to pay tribute not only to
&Abdu'l-Baha Himself but also to the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. Such names
as Count Leo Tolstoy, Prof. Arminius Vambery, Prof. Auguste Forel,
Dr. David Starr Jordan, the Venerable Archdeacon Wilberforce, Prof.
+P317
Jowett of Balliol, Dr. T. K. Cheyne, Dr. Estlin Carpenter of Oxford
University, Viscount Samuel of Carmel, Lord Lamington, Sir Valentine
Chirol, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Prince &Muhammad-'Ali of Egypt,
&Shaykh &Muhammad &Abdu, &Midhat &Pasha, and &Khurshid &Pasha attest,
by virtue of the tributes associated with them, the great progress
made by the Faith of &Baha'u'llah under the brilliant leadership of
His exalted Son--tributes whose impressiveness was, in later years,
to be heightened by the historic, the repeated and written testimonies
which a famous Queen, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, was
impelled to bequeath to posterity as a witness of her recognition of
the prophetic mission of &Baha'u'llah.
As for those enemies who have sedulously sought to extinguish
the light of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant, the condign punishment they have
been made to suffer is no less conspicuous than the doom which overtook
those who, in an earlier period, had so basely endeavored to crush
the hopes of a rising Faith and destroy its foundations.
To the assassination of the tyrannical &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah and the
subsequent extinction of the &Qajar dynasty reference has already
been made. &Sultan &Abdu'l-Hamid, after his deposition, was made a
prisoner of state and condemned to a life of complete obscurity and
humiliation, scorned by his fellow-rulers and vilified by his subjects.
The bloodthirsty &Jamal &Pasha, who had resolved to crucify &Abdu'l-Baha
and raze to the ground &Baha'u'llah's holy Tomb, had to flee for
his life and was slain, while a refugee in the Caucasus, by the hand of
an Armenian whose fellow-compatriots he had so pitilessly persecuted.
The scheming &Jamalu'd-Din &Afghani, whose relentless hostility and
powerful influence had been so gravely detrimental to the progress
of the Faith in Near Eastern countries, was, after a checkered career
filled with vicissitudes, stricken with cancer, and having had a major
part of his tongue cut away in an unsuccessful operation perished in
misery. The four members of the ill-fated Commission of Inquiry,
despatched from Constantinople to seal the fate of &Abdu'l-Baha,
suffered, each in his turn, a humiliation hardly less drastic than that
which they had planned for Him. &Arif Bey, the head of the Commission,
seeking stealthily at midnight to flee from the wrath of the
Young Turks, was shot dead by a sentry. Adham Bey succeeded in
escaping to Egypt, but was robbed of his possessions by his servant on
the way, and was in the end compelled to seek financial assistance
from the &Baha'is of Cairo, a request which was not refused. Later he
sought help from &Abdu'l-Baha, Who immediately directed the
believers to present him with a sum on His behalf, an instruction
+P318
which they were unable to carry out owing to his sudden disappearance.
Of the other two members, one was exiled to a remote place,
and the other died soon after in abject poverty. The notorious &Yahya
Bey, the Chief of the Police in &Akka, a willing and powerful tool in
the hand of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, the arch-breaker of &Baha'u'llah's
Covenant, witnessed the frustration of all the hopes he had cherished,
lost his position, and had eventually to beg for pecuniary assistance
from &Abdu'l-Baha. In Constantinople, in the year which witnessed
the downfall of &Abdu'l-Hamid, no less than thirty-one dignitaries
of the state, including ministers and other high officers of the government,
among whom numbered redoubtable enemies of the Faith,
were, in a single day, arrested and condemned to the gallows, a spectacular
retribution for the part they had played in upholding a
tyrannical ®ime and in endeavoring to extirpate the Faith and its
institutions.
In Persia, apart from the sovereign who had, in the full tide of
his hopes and the plenitude of his power, been removed from the scene
in so startling a manner, a number of princes, ministers and mujtahids,
who had actively participated in the suppression of a persecuted community,
including &Kamran &Mirza, the &Na'ibu's-Saltanih, the &Jalalu'd-Dawlih
and &Mirza &Ali-Asghar &Khan, the &Atabik-i-A'zam, and
&Shaykh &Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Najafi, the "Son of the Wolf," lost,
one by one, their prestige and authority, sank into obscurity, abandoned
all hope of achieving their malevolent purpose, and lived, some
of them, long enough to behold the initial evidences of the ascendancy
of a Cause they had so greatly feared and so vehemently hated.
When we note that in the Holy Land, in Persia, and in the United
States of America certain exponents of Christian ecclesiasticism such as
Vatralsky, Wilson, Richardson or Easton, observing, and in some
cases fearing, the vigorous advances made by the Faith of &Baha'u'llah
in Christian lands, arose to stem its progress; and when we watch the
recent and steady deterioration of their influence, the decline of their
power, the confusion in their ranks and the dissolution of some
of their old standing missions and institutions, in Europe, in the
Middle East and in Eastern Asia--may we not attribute this weakening
to the opposition which members of various Christian sacerdotal
orders began, in the course of &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry, to evince
towards the followers and institutions of a Faith which claims to
be no less than the fulfilment of the Promise given by Jesus Christ,
and the establisher of the Kingdom He Himself had prayed for
and foretold?
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And finally, he who, from the moment the Divine Covenant was
born until the end of his life, showed a hatred more unrelenting than
that which animated the afore-mentioned adversaries of &Abdu'l-Baha,
who plotted more energetically than any one of them against Him,
and afflicted his Father's Faith with a shame more grievous than any
which its external enemies had inflicted upon it--such a man, together
with the infamous crew of Covenant-breakers whom he had misled
and instigated, was condemned to witness, in a growing measure, as
had been the case with &Mirza &Yahya and his henchmen, the frustration
of his evil designs, the evaporation of all his hopes, the exposition
of his true motives and the complete extinction of his erstwhile honor
and glory. His brother, &Mirza &Diya'u'llah, died prematurely;
&Mirza &Aqa &Jan, his dupe, followed that same brother, three years
later, to the grave; and &Mirza &Badi'u'llah, his chief accomplice, betrayed
his cause, published a signed denunciation of his evil acts, but
rejoined him again, only to be alienated from him in consequence of
the scandalous behavior of his own daughter. &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali's
half-sister, &Furughiyyih, died of cancer, whilst her husband, Siyyid
&Ali, passed away from a heart attack before his sons could reach him,
the eldest being subsequently stricken in the prime of life, by the same
malady. &Muhammad-Javad-i-Qazvini, a notorious Covenant-breaker,
perished miserably. &Shu'a'u'llah who, as witnessed by &Abdu'l-Baha
in His Will, had counted on the murder of the Center of the Covenant,
and who had been despatched to the United States by his
father to join forces with &Ibrahim &Khayru'llah, returned crestfallen
and empty-handed from his inglorious mission. &Jamal-i-Burujirdi,
&Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali's ablest lieutenant in Persia, fell a prey to a
fatal and loathsome disease; Siyyid &Mihdiy-i-Dahaji, who, betraying
&Abdu'l-Baha, joined the Covenant-breakers, died in obscurity and
poverty, followed by his wife and his two sons; &Mirza &Husayn-'Aliy-i-Jahrumi,
&Mirza &Husayn-i-Shiraziy-i-Khurtumi and &Haji &Muhammad-Husayn-i-Kashani,
who represented the arch-breaker of the
Covenant in Persia, India and Egypt, failed utterly in their missions;
whilst the greedy and conceited &Ibrahim-i-Khayru'llah, who had
chosen to uphold the banner of his rebellion in America for no less
than twenty years, and who had the temerity to denounce, in writing,
&Abdu'l-Baha, His "false teachings, His misrepresentations of Bahaism,
His dissimulation," and to stigmatize His visit to America as "a death-blow"
to the "Cause of God," met his death soon after he had uttered
these denunciations, utterly abandoned and despised by the entire
body of the members of a community, whose founders he himself
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had converted to the Faith, and in the very land that bore witness to
the multiplying evidences of the established ascendancy of &Abdu'l-Baha,
Whose authority he had, in his later years, vowed to uproot.
As to those who had openly espoused the cause of this arch-breaker
of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant, or who had secretly sympathized with him,
whilst outwardly supporting &Abdu'l-Baha, some eventually repented
and were forgiven; others became disillusioned and lost their faith
entirely; a few apostatized, whilst the rest dwindled away, leaving him
in the end, except for a handful of his relatives, alone and unsupported.
Surviving &Abdu'l-Baha by almost twenty years, he who had
so audaciously affirmed to His face that he had no assurance he might
outlive Him, lived long enough to witness the utter bankruptcy of
his cause, leading meanwhile a wretched existence within the walls
of a Mansion that had once housed a crowd of his supporters; was
denied by the civil authorities, as a result of the crisis he had after
&Abdu'l-Baha's passing foolishly precipitated, the official custody of
his Father's Tomb; was compelled, a few years later, to vacate that
same Mansion, which, through his flagrant neglect, had fallen into a
dilapidated condition; was stricken with paralysis which crippled half
his body; lay bedridden in pain for months before he died; and was
buried according to Muslim rites, in the immediate vicinity of a local
Muslim shrine, his grave remaining until the present day devoid of
even a tombstone--a pitiful reminder of the hollowness of the claims
he had advanced, of the depths of infamy to which he had sunk, and
of the severity of the retribution his acts had so richly merited.
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FOURTH PERIOD
THE INCEPTION OF
THE FORMATIVE AGE OF THE
&BAHA'I FAITH
1921-1944
+P322
+P323
CHAPTER XXII
The Rise and Establishment of the
Administrative Order
With the passing of &Abdu'l-Baha the first century of the &Baha'i
era, whose inception had synchronized with His birth, had run more
than three quarters of its course. Seventy-seven years previously the
light of the Faith proclaimed by the &Bab had risen above the horizon
of &Shiraz and flashed across the firmament of Persia, dispelling the age-long
gloom which had enveloped its people. A blood bath of unusual
ferocity, in which government, clergy and people, heedless of the significance
of that light and blind to its splendor, had jointly participated,
had all but extinguished the radiance of its glory in the land of
its birth. &Baha'u'llah had at the darkest hour in the fortunes of that
Faith been summoned, while Himself a prisoner in &Tihran, to reinvigorate
its life, and been commissioned to fulfil its ultimate purpose.
In &Baghdad, upon the termination of the ten-year delay interposed
between the first intimation of that Mission and its Declaration, He
had revealed the Mystery enshrined in the &Bab's embryonic Faith, and
disclosed the fruit which it had yielded. In Adrianople &Baha'u'llah's
Message, the promise of the &Babi as well as of all previous Dispensations,
had been proclaimed to mankind, and its challenge voiced to
the rulers of the earth in both the East and the West. Behind the walls
of the prison-fortress of &Akka the Bearer of God's newborn Revelation
had ordained the laws and formulated the principles that were to
constitute the warp and woof of His World Order. He had, moreover,
prior to His ascension, instituted the Covenant that was to guide and
assist in the laying of its foundations and to safeguard the unity of
its builders. Armed with that peerless and potent Instrument, &Abdu'l-Baha,
His eldest Son and Center of His Covenant, had erected the
standard of His Father's Faith in the North American continent, and
established an impregnable basis for its institutions in Western Europe,
in the Far East and in Australia. He had, in His works, Tablets and
addresses, elucidated its principles, interpreted its laws, amplified its
doctrine, and erected the rudimentary institutions of its future Administrative
Order. In Russia He had raised its first House of Worship,
whilst on the slopes of Mt. Carmel He had reared a befitting mausoleum
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for its Herald, and deposited His remains therein with His Own hands.
Through His visits to several cities in Europe and the North American
continent He had broadcast &Baha'u'llah's Message to the peoples
of the West, and heightened the prestige of the Cause of God to a
degree it had never previously experienced. And lastly, in the evening
of His life, He had through the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine
Plan issued His mandate to the community which He Himself had
raised up, trained and nurtured, a Plan that must in the years to come
enable its members to diffuse the light, and erect the administrative
fabric, of the Faith throughout the five continents of the globe.
The moment had now arrived for that undying, that world-vitalizing
Spirit that was born in &Shiraz, that had been rekindled in
&Tihran, that had been fanned into flame in &Baghdad and Adrianople,
that had been carried to the West, and was now illuminating the
fringes of five continents, to incarnate itself in institutions designed to
canalize its outspreading energies and stimulate its growth. The Age
that had witnessed the birth and rise of the Faith had now closed. The
Heroic, the Apostolic Age of the Dispensation of &Baha'u'llah, that
primitive period in which its Founders had lived, in which its life had
been generated, in which its greatest heroes had struggled and quaffed
the cup of martyrdom, and its pristine foundations been established--
a period whose splendors no victories in this or any future age, however
brilliant, can rival--had now terminated with the passing of One
Whose mission may be regarded as the link binding the Age in which
the seed of the newborn Message had been incubating and those which
are destined to witness its efflorescence and ultimate fruition.
The Formative Period, the Iron Age, of that Dispensation was now
beginning, the Age in which the institutions, local, national and
international, of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah were to take shape, develop
and become fully consolidated, in anticipation of the third, the last,
the Golden Age destined to witness the emergence of a world-embracing
Order enshrining the ultimate fruit of God's latest Revelation to
mankind, a fruit whose maturity must signalize the establishment of a
world civilization and the formal inauguration of the Kingdom of the
Father upon earth as promised by Jesus Christ Himself.
To this World Order the &Bab Himself had, whilst a prisoner in the
mountain fastnesses of &Adhirbayjan, explicitly referred in His Persian
&Bayan, the Mother-Book of the &Babi Dispensation, had announced its
advent, and associated it with the name of &Baha'u'llah, Whose Mission
He Himself had heralded. "Well is it with Him," is His remarkable
statement in the sixteenth chapter of the third &Vahid, "who fixeth his
+P325
gaze upon the Order of &Baha'u'llah, and rendereth thanks unto his
Lord! For He will assuredly be made manifest..." To this same
Order &Baha'u'llah Who, in a later period, revealed the laws and principles
that must govern the operation of that Order, had thus referred
in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, the Mother-Book of His Dispensation: "The
world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of
this Most Great Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized
through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System, the
like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed." Its features &Abdu'l-Baha,
its great Architect, delineated in His Will and Testament, whilst
the foundations of its rudimentary institutions are now being laid after
Him by His followers in the East and in the West in this, the Formative
Age of the &Baha'i Dispensation.
The last twenty-three years of the first &Baha'i century may thus
be regarded as the initial stage of the Formative Period of the Faith, an
Age of Transition to be identified with the rise and establishment of
the Administrative Order, upon which the institutions of the future
&Baha'i World Commonwealth must needs be ultimately erected in the
Golden Age that must witness the consummation of the &Baha'i Dispensation.
The Charter which called into being, outlined the features
and set in motion the processes of, this Administrative Order is none
other than the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha, His greatest
legacy to posterity, the brightest emanation of His mind and the mightiest
instrument forged to insure the continuity of the three ages which
constitute the component parts of His Father's Dispensation.
The Covenant of &Baha'u'llah had been instituted solely through the
direct operation of His Will and purpose. The Will and Testament of
&Abdu'l-Baha, on the other hand, may be regarded as the offspring
resulting from that mystic intercourse between Him Who had generated
the forces of a God-given Faith and the One Who had been
made its sole Interpreter and was recognized as its perfect Exemplar.
The creative energies unleashed by the Originator of the Law of God
in this age gave birth, through their impact upon the mind of Him
Who had been chosen as its unerring Expounder, to that Instrument,
the vast implications of which the present generation, even after the
lapse of twenty-three years, is still incapable of fully apprehending.
This Instrument can, if we would correctly appraise it, no more be divorced
from the One Who provided the motivating impulse for its
creation than from Him Who directly conceived it. The purpose of
the Author of the &Baha'i Revelation had, as already observed, been so
thoroughly infused into the mind of &Abdu'l-Baha, and His Spirit had
+P326
so profoundly impregnated His being, and their aims and motives been
so completely blended, that to dissociate the doctrine laid down by
the former from the supreme act associated with the mission of the
latter would be tantamount to a repudiation of one of the most fundamental
verities of the Faith.
The Administrative Order which this historic Document has established,
it should be noted, is, by virtue of its origin and character, unique
in the annals of the world's religious systems. No Prophet before
&Baha'u'llah, it can be confidently asserted, not even &Muhammad Whose
Book clearly lays down the laws and ordinances of the Islamic Dispensation,
has established, authoritatively and in writing, anything comparable
to the Administrative Order which the authorized Interpreter
of &Baha'u'llah's teachings has instituted, an Order which, by virtue of
the administrative principles which its Author has formulated, the
institutions He has established, and the right of interpretation with
which He has invested its Guardian, must and will, in a manner unparalleled
in any previous religion, safeguard from schism the Faith from
which it has sprung. Nor is the principle governing its operation
similar to that which underlies any system, whether theocratic or
otherwise, which the minds of men have devised for the government
of human institutions. Neither in theory nor in practice can the
Administrative Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah be said to conform
to any type of democratic government, to any system of autocracy, to
any purely aristocratic order, or to any of the various theocracies,
whether Jewish, Christian or Islamic which mankind has witnessed in
the past. It incorporates within its structure certain elements which are
to be found in each of the three recognized forms of secular government,
is devoid of the defects which each of them inherently possesses,
and blends the salutary truths which each undoubtedly contains without
vitiating in any way the integrity of the Divine verities on which
it is essentially founded. The hereditary authority which the Guardian
of the Administrative Order is called upon to exercise, and the right
of the interpretation of the Holy Writ solely conferred upon him;
the powers and prerogatives of the Universal House of Justice, possessing
the exclusive right to legislate on matters not explicitly revealed
in the Most Holy Book; the ordinance exempting its members from
any responsibility to those whom they represent, and from the obligation
to conform to their views, convictions or sentiments; the specific
provisions requiring the free and democratic election by the mass of the
faithful of the Body that constitutes the sole legislative organ in the
world-wide &Baha'i community--these are among the features which
+P327
combine to set apart the Order identified with the Revelation of
&Baha'u'llah from any of the existing systems of human government.
Nor have the enemies who, at the hour of the inception of this
Administrative Order, and in the course of its twenty-three year
existence, both in the East and in the West, from within and from
without, misrepresented its character, or derided and vilified it, or
striven to arrest its march, or contrived to create a breach in the ranks
of its supporters, succeeded in achieving their malevolent purpose.
The strenuous exertions of an ambitious Armenian, who, in the course
of the first years of its establishment in Egypt, endeavored to supplant
it by the "Scientific Society" which in his short-sightedness he had conceived
and was sponsoring, failed utterly in its purpose. The agitation
provoked by a deluded woman who strove diligently both in the
United States and in England to demonstrate the unauthenticity of
the Charter responsible for its creation, and even to induce the civil
authorities of Palestine to take legal action in the matter--a request
which to her great chagrin was curtly refused--as well as the defection
of one of the earliest pioneers and founders of the Faith in Germany,
whom that same woman had so tragically misled, produced no effect
whatsoever. The volumes which a shameless apostate composed and
disseminated, during that same period in Persia, in his brazen efforts
not only to disrupt that Order but to undermine the very Faith which
had conceived it, proved similarly abortive. The schemes devised by
the remnants of the Covenant-breakers, who immediately the aims
and purposes of &Abdu'l-Baha's Will became known arose, headed by
&Mirza &Badi'u'llah, to wrest the custodianship of the holiest shrine in
the &Baha'i world from its appointed Guardian, likewise came to naught
and brought further discredit upon them. The subsequent attacks
launched by certain exponents of Christian orthodoxy, in both
Christian and non-Christian lands, with the object of subverting the
foundations, and distorting the features, of this same Order were
powerless to sap the loyalty of its upholders or to deflect them from
their high purpose. Not even the infamous and insidious machinations
of a former secretary of &Abdu'l-Baha, who, untaught by the
retribution that befell &Baha'u'llah's amanuensis, as well as by the fate
that overtook several other secretaries and interpreters of His Master,
in both the East and the West, has arisen, and is still exerting himself,
to pervert the purpose and nullify the essential provisions of the immortal
Document from which that Order derives its authority, have
been able to stay even momentarily the march of its institutions along
the course set for it by its Author, or to create anything that might,
+P328
however remotely, resemble a breach in the ranks of its assured, its
wide-awake and stalwart supporters.
The Document establishing that Order, the Charter of a future
world civilization, which may be regarded in some of its features as
supplementary to no less weighty a Book than the &Kitab-i-Aqdas;
signed and sealed by &Abdu'l-Baha; entirely written with His own
hand; its first section composed during one of the darkest periods of
His incarceration in the prison-fortress of &Akka, proclaims, categorically
and unequivocally, the fundamental beliefs of the followers
of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah; reveals, in unmistakable language, the twofold
character of the Mission of the &Bab; discloses the full station of the
Author of the &Baha'i Revelation; asserts that "all others are servants
unto Him and do His bidding"; stresses the importance of the
&Kitab-i-Aqdas; establishes the institution of the Guardianship as a
hereditary office and outlines its essential functions; provides the
measures for the election of the International House of Justice, defines
its scope and sets forth its relationship to that Institution; prescribes
the obligations, and emphasizes the responsibilities, of the Hands of the
Cause of God; and extolls the virtues of the indestructible Covenant
established by &Baha'u'llah. That Document, furthermore, lauds the
courage and constancy of the supporters of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant;
expatiates on the sufferings endured by its appointed Center; recalls
the infamous conduct of &Mirza &Yahya and his failure to heed the
warnings of the &Bab; exposes, in a series of indictments, the perfidy
and rebellion of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, and the complicity of his
son &Shu'a'u'llah and of his brother &Mirza &Badi'u'llah; reaffirms their
excommunication, and predicts the frustration of all their hopes;
summons the &Afnan (the &Bab's kindred), the Hands of the Cause
and the entire company of the followers of &Baha'u'llah to arise
unitedly to propagate His Faith, to disperse far and wide, to labor
tirelessly and to follow the heroic example of the Apostles of Jesus
Christ; warns them against the dangers of association with the
Covenant-breakers, and bids them shield the Cause from the assaults
of the insincere and the hypocrite; and counsels them to demonstrate
by their conduct the universality of the Faith they have espoused, and
vindicate its high principles. In that same Document its Author
reveals the significance and purpose of the &Huququ'llah (Right of
God), already instituted in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas; enjoins submission and
fidelity towards all monarchs who are just; expresses His longing for
martyrdom, and voices His prayers for the repentance as well as the
forgiveness of His enemies.
+P329
Obedient to the summons issued by the Author of so momentous
a Document; conscious of their high calling; galvanized into action by
the shock sustained through the unexpected and sudden removal of
&Abdu'l-Baha; guided by the Plan which He, the Architect of the
Administrative Order, had entrusted to their hands; undeterred by the
attacks directed against it by betrayers and enemies, jealous of its
gathering strength and blind to its unique significance, the members
of the widely-scattered &Baha'i communities, in both the East and the
West, arose with clear vision and inflexible determination to inaugurate
the Formative Period of their Faith by laying the foundations
of that world-embracing Administrative system designed to evolve
into a World Order which posterity must acclaim as the promise and
crowning glory of all the Dispensations of the past. Not content with
the erection and consolidation of the administrative machinery provided
for the preservation of the unity and the efficient conduct of the
affairs of a steadily expanding community, the followers of the Faith
of &Baha'u'llah resolved, in the course of the two decades following
&Abdu'l-Baha's passing, to assert and demonstrate by their acts the
independent character of that Faith, to enlarge still further its limits
and swell the number of its avowed supporters.
In this triple world-wide effort, it should be noted, the &role played
by the American &Baha'i community, since the passing of &Abdu'l-Baha
until the termination of the first &Baha'i century, has been
such as to lend a tremendous impetus to the development of the Faith
throughout the world, to vindicate the confidence placed in its members
by &Abdu'l-Baha Himself, and to justify the high praise He
bestowed upon them and the fond hopes He entertained for their
future. Indeed so preponderating has been the influence of its members
in both the initiation and the consolidation of &Baha'i administrative
institutions that their country may well deserve to be recognized
as the cradle of the Administrative Order which &Baha'u'llah
Himself had envisaged and which the Will of the Center of His
Covenant had called into being.
It should be borne in mind in this connection that the preliminary
steps aiming at the disclosure of the scope and working of this Administrative
Order, which was now to be formally established after
&Abdu'l-Baha's passing, had already been taken by Him, and even by
&Baha'u'llah in the years preceding His ascension. The appointment by
Him of certain outstanding believers in Persia as "Hands of the Cause";
the initiation of local Assemblies and boards of consultation by
&Abdu'l-Baha in leading &Baha'i centers in both the East and the West;
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the formation of the &Baha'i Temple Unity in the United States of
America; the establishment of local funds for the promotion of &Baha'i
activities; the purchase of property dedicated to the Faith and its
future institutions; the founding of publishing societies for the dissemination
of &Baha'i literature; the erection of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar
of the &Baha'i world; the construction of the &Bab's mausoleum
on Mt. Carmel; the institution of hostels for the accommodation of
itinerant teachers and pilgrims--these may be regarded as the precursors
of the institutions which, immediately after the closing of the
Heroic Age of the Faith, were to be permanently and systematically
established throughout the &Baha'i world.
No sooner had the provisions of that Divine Charter, delineating
the features of the Administrative Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah
been disclosed to His followers than they set about erecting, upon the
foundations which the lives of the heroes, the saints and martyrs of
that Faith had laid, the first stage of the framework of its administrative
institutions. Conscious of the necessity of constructing, as a
first step, a broad and solid base upon which the pillars of that mighty
structure could subsequently be raised; fully aware that upon these
pillars, when firmly established, the dome, the final unit crowning the
entire edifice, must eventually rest; undeflected in their course by the
crisis which the Covenant-breakers had precipitated in the Holy Land,
or the agitation which the stirrers of mischief had provoked in Egypt,
or the disturbances resulting from the seizure by the &Shi'ah community
of the House of &Baha'u'llah in &Baghdad, or the growing dangers
confronting the Faith in Russia, or the scorn and ridicule which
had greeted the initial activities of the American &Baha'i community
from certain quarters that had completely misapprehended their purpose,
the pioneer builders of a divinely-conceived Order undertook, in
complete unison, and despite the great diversity in their outlook, customs
and languages, the double task of establishing and of consolidating
their local councils, elected by the rank and file of the believers,
and designed to direct, coordinate and extend the activities of the followers
of a far-flung Faith. In Persia, in the United States of America,
in the Dominion of Canada, in the British Isles, in France, in Germany,
in Austria, in India, in Burma, in Egypt, in &Iraq, in Russian &Turkistan,
in the Caucasus, in Australia, in New Zealand, in South Africa, in
Turkey, in Syria, in Palestine, in Bulgaria, in Mexico, in the Philippine
Islands, in Jamaica, in Costa Rica, in Guatemala, in Honduras, in San
Salvador, in Argentina, in Uruguay, in Chile, in Brazil, in Ecuador, in
Colombia, in Paraguay, in Peru, in Alaska, in Cuba, in Haiti, in
+P331
Japan, in the Hawaiian Islands, in Tunisia, in Puerto Rico, in
&Baluchistan, in Russia, in Transjordan, in Lebanon, and in
Abyssinia such councils, constituting the basis of the rising
Order of a long-persecuted Faith, were gradually established. Designated
as "Spiritual Assemblies"--an appellation that must in the
course of time be replaced by their permanent and more descriptive title
of "Houses of Justice," bestowed upon them by the Author of the &Baha'i
Revelation; instituted, without any exception, in every city, town and
village where nine or more adult believers are resident; annually and
directly elected, on the first day of the greatest &Baha'i Festival by all
adult believers, men and women alike; invested with an authority
rendering them unanswerable for their acts and decisions to those
who elect them; solemnly pledged to follow, under all conditions, the
dictates of the "Most Great Justice" that can alone usher in the reign
of the "Most Great Peace" which &Baha'u'llah has proclaimed and must
ultimately establish; charged with the responsibility of promoting at all
times the best interests of the communities within their jurisdiction, of
familiarizing them with their plans and activities and of inviting them
to offer any recommendations they might wish to make; cognizant of
their no less vital task of demonstrating, through association with all
liberal and humanitarian movements, the universality and comprehensiveness
of their Faith; dissociated entirely from all sectarian organizations,
whether religious or secular; assisted by committees annually
appointed by, and directly responsible to, them, to each of which a
particular branch of &Baha'i activity is assigned for study and action;
supported by local funds to which all believers voluntarily contribute;
these Assemblies, the representatives and custodians of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah, numbering, at the present time, several hundred, and
whose membership is drawn from the diversified races, creeds and
classes constituting the world-wide &Baha'i community, have, in the
course of the last two decades, abundantly demonstrated, by virtue
of their achievements, their right to be regarded as the chief sinews of
&Baha'i society, as well as the ultimate foundation of its administrative
structure.
"The Lord hath ordained," is &Baha'u'llah's injunction in His
&Kitab-i-Aqdas, "that in every city a House of Justice be established,
wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of &Baha (9), and
should it exceed this number, it doth not matter. It behoveth them
to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men, and to regard themselves
as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It
is incumbent upon them to take counsel together, and to have regard
+P332
for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they
regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and
seemly." "These Spiritual Assemblies," is &Abdu'l-Baha's testimony, in
a Tablet addressed to an American believer, "are aided by the Spirit of
God. Their defender is &Abdu'l-Baha. Over them He spreadeth His
Wings. What bounty is there greater than this?" "These Spiritual
Assemblies," He, in that same Tablet has declared, "are shining lamps
and heavenly gardens, from which the fragrances of holiness are diffused
over all regions, and the lights of knowledge are shed abroad
over all created things. From them the spirit of life streameth in every
direction. They, indeed, are the potent sources of the progress of man,
at all times and under all conditions." Establishing beyond any doubt
their God-given authority, He has written: "It is incumbent upon
every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly,
and all must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding, and
be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well
arranged." "If after discussion," He, furthermore has written, "a decision
be carried unanimously, well and good; but if, the Lord forbid,
differences of opinion should arise, a majority of voices must prevail."
Having established the structure of their local Assemblies--the base
of the edifice which the Architect of the Administrative Order of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah had directed them to erect--His disciples, in both
the East and the West, unhesitatingly embarked on the next and more
difficult stage, of their high enterprise. In countries where the local
&Baha'i communities had sufficiently advanced in number and in
influence measures were taken for the initiation of National Assemblies,
the pivots round which all national undertakings must revolve.
Designated by &Abdu'l-Baha in His Will as the "Secondary Houses of
Justice," they constitute the electoral bodies in the formation of the
International House of Justice, and are empowered to direct, unify,
coordinate and stimulate the activities of individuals as well as local
Assemblies within their jurisdiction. Resting on the broad base of
organized local communities, themselves pillars sustaining the institution
which must be regarded as the apex of the &Baha'i Administrative
Order, these Assemblies are elected, according to the principle of proportional
representation, by delegates representative of &Baha'i local
communities assembled at Convention during the period of the &Ridvan
Festival; are possessed of the necessary authority to enable them to
insure the harmonious and efficient development of &Baha'i activity
within their respective spheres; are freed from all direct responsibility
for their policies and decisions to their electorates; are charged with the
+P333
sacred duty of consulting the views, of inviting the recommendations
and of securing the confidence and cooperation of the delegates and of
acquainting them with their plans, problems and actions; and are supported
by the resources of national funds to which all ranks of the
faithful are urged to contribute. Instituted in the United States of
America (1925) (the National Assembly superseding in that country
the institution of &Baha'i Temple Unity formed during &Abdu'l-Baha's
ministry), in the British Isles (1923), in Germany (1923), in Egypt
(1924), in &Iraq (1931), in India (1923), in Persia (1934) and in
Australia (1934); their election renewed annually by delegates whose
number has been fixed, according to national requirements, at 9, 19,
95, or 171 (9 times 19), these national bodies have through their
emergence signalized the birth of a new epoch in the Formative Age
of the Faith, and marked a further stage in the evolution, the unification
and consolidation of a continually expanding community. Aided
by national committees responsible to and chosen by them, without
discrimination, from among the entire body of the believers within their
jurisdiction, and to each of which a particular sphere of &Baha'i service
is allocated, these &Baha'i National Assemblies have, as the scope of their
activities steadily enlarged, proved themselves, through the spirit of
discipline which they have inculcated and through their uncompromising
adherence to principles which have enabled them to rise above
all prejudices of race, nation, class and color, capable of administering,
in a remarkable fashion, the multiplying activities of a newly-consolidated
Faith.
Nor have the national committees themselves been less energetic
and devoted in the discharge of their respective functions. In the
defense of the Faith's vital interests, in the exposition of its doctrine;
in the dissemination of its literature; in the consolidation of its
finances; in the organization of its teaching force; in the furtherance
of the solidarity of its component parts; in the purchase of its historic
sites; in the preservation of its sacred records, treasures and relics; in
its contacts with the various institutions of the society of which it
forms a part; in the education of its youth; in the training of its
children; in the improvement of the status of its women adherents
in the East; the members of these diversified agencies, operating under
the aegis of the elected national representatives of the &Baha'i community,
have amply demonstrated their capacity to promote effectively
its vital and manifold interests. The mere enumeration of the
national committees which, originating mostly in the West and functioning
with exemplary efficiency in the United States and Canada,
+P334
now carry on their activities with a vigor and a unity of purpose
which sharply contrast with the effete institutions of a moribund
civilization, would suffice to reveal the scope of these auxiliary institutions
which an evolving Administrative Order, still in the secondary
stage of its development, has set in motion: The Teaching Committee,
the Regional Teaching Committees; the Inter-America Committee;
the Publishing Committee; the Race Unity Committee; the
Youth Committee; the Reviewing Committee; The Temple Maintenance
Committee; the Temple Program Committee; the Temple
Guides Committee; the Temple Librarian and Sales Committee; the
Boys' and Girls' Service Committees; the Child Education Committee;
the Women's Progress, Teaching, and Program Committees; the
Legal Committee; the Archives and History Committee; the Census
Committee; the &Baha'i Exhibits Committee; the &Baha'i News Committee;
the &Baha'i News Service Committee; the Braille Transcriptions
Committee; the Contacts Committee; the Service Committee; the Editorial
Committee; the Index Committee; the Library Committee; the
Radio Committee; the Accountant Committee; the Annual Souvenir
Committee; the &Baha'i World Editorial Committee; the Study Outline
Committee; the International Auxiliary Language Committee;
the Institute of &Baha'i Education Committee; the World Order Magazine
Committee; the &Baha'i Public Relations Committee; the &Baha'i
Schools Committee; the Summer Schools Committee; the International
School Committee; the Pamphlet Literature Committee; the
&Baha'i Cemetery Committee; the &Haziratu'l-Quds Committee; the
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar Committee; the Assembly Development Committee;
the National History Committee; the Miscellaneous Materials
Committee; the Free Literature Committee; the Translation Committee;
the Cataloguing Tablets Committee; the Editing Tablets
Committee; the Properties Committee; the Adjustments Committee;
the Publicity Committee; the East and West Committee; the Welfare
Committee; the Transcription of Tablets Committee; the Traveling
Teachers Committee; the &Baha'i Education Committee; the Holy
Sites Committee; the Children's Savings Bank Committee.
The establishment of local and national Assemblies and the subsequent
formation of local and national committees, acting as necessary
adjuncts to the elected representatives of &Baha'i communities in both
the East and the West, however remarkable in themselves, were but a
prelude to a series of undertakings on the part of the newly formed
National Assemblies, which have contributed in no small measure to
the unification of the &Baha'i world community and the consolidation
+P335
of its Administrative Order. The initial step taken in that direction
was the drafting and adoption of a &Baha'i National constitution, first
framed and promulgated by the elected representatives of the American
&Baha'i Community in 1927, the text of which has since, with
slight variations suited to national requirements, been translated into
Arabic, German and Persian, and constitutes, at the present time, the
charter of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the &Baha'is of the
United States and Canada, of the British Isles, of Germany, of Persia,
of &Iraq, of India and Burma, of Egypt and the Sudan and of Australia
and New Zealand. Heralding the formulation of the constitution of
the future &Baha'i World Community; submitted for the consideration
of all local Assemblies and ratified by the entire body of the recognized
believers in countries possessing national Assemblies, this national
constitution has been supplemented by a similar document, containing the
by-laws of &Baha'i local assemblies, first drafted by the New York
&Baha'i community in November, 1931, and accepted as a pattern for
all local &Baha'i constitutions. The text of this national constitution
comprises a Declaration of Trust, whose articles set forth the character
and objects of the national &Baha'i community, establish the functions,
designate the central office, and describe the official seal, of the body of
its elected representatives, as well as a set of by-laws which define the
status, the mode of election, the powers and duties of both local and
national Assemblies, describe the relation of the National Assembly
to the International House of Justice as well as to local Assemblies and
individual believers, outline the rights and obligations of the National
Convention and its relation to the National Assembly, disclose the
character of &Baha'i elections, and lay down the requirements of voting
membership in all &Baha'i communities.
The framing of these constitutions, both local and national, identical
to all intents and purposes in their provisions, provided the necessary
foundation for the legal incorporation of these administrative
institutions in accordance with civil statutes controlling religious or
commercial bodies. Giving these Assemblies a legal standing, this
incorporation greatly consolidated their power and enlarged their capacity,
and in this regard the achievement of the National Spiritual Assembly
of the &Baha'is of the United States and Canada and the Spiritual
Assembly of the &Baha'is of New York again set an example worthy
of emulation by their sister Assemblies in both the East and the
West. The incorporation of the American National Spiritual Assembly
as a voluntary Trust, a species of corporation recognized under
the common law, enabling it to enter into contract, hold property and
+P336
receive bequests by virtue of a certificate issued in May, 1929, under
the seal of the Department of State in Washington and bearing the
signature of the Secretary of State, Henry L. Stimson, was followed
by the adoption of similar legal measures resulting in the successive
incorporation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of
India and Burma, in January, 1933, in Lahore, in the state of Punjab,
according to the provisions of the Societies Registration Act of 1860;
of the National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of Egypt and the
Sudan, in December, 1934, as certified by the Mixed Court in Cairo;
of the National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of Australia and
New Zealand, in January, 1938, as witnessed by the Deputy Registrar
at the General Registry Office for the state of South Australia; and
more recently of the National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of the
British Isles, in August, 1939, as an unlimited non-profit company,
under the Companies Act, 1929, and certified by the Assistant Registrar
of Companies in the City of London.
Parallel with the legal incorporation of these National Assemblies
a far larger number of &Baha'i local Assemblies were similarly incorporated,
following the example set by the Chicago &Baha'i Assembly in
February, 1932, in countries as far apart as the United States of
America, India, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
Burma, Costa Rica, &Baluchistan and the Hawaiian Islands. The
Spiritual Assemblies of the &Baha'is of Esslingen in Germany, of
Mexico City in Mexico, of San &Jose in Costa Rica, of Sydney and
Adelaide in Australia, of Auckland in New Zealand, of Delhi,
Bombay, Karachi, Poona, Calcutta, Secunderabad, Bangalore, Vellore,
Ahmedabad, Serampore, Andheri and Baroda in India, of Tuetta
in &Baluchistan, of Rangoon, Mandalay and Daidanow-Kalazoo in
Burma, of Montreal and Vancouver in Canada, of Honolulu in the
Hawaiian Islands, and of Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C.,
Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Kenosha, Teaneck, Racine,
Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Cincinnati,
Winnetka, Phoenix, Columbus, Lima, Portland, Jersey City,
Wilmette, Peoria, Seattle, Binghamton, Helena, Richmond Highlands,
Miami, Pasadena, Oakland, Indianapolis, St. Paul, Berkeley,
Urbana, Springfield and Flint in the United States of America--
all these succeeded, gradually and after submitting the text of almost
identical &Baha'i local constitutions to the civil authorities in their
respective states or provinces, in constituting themselves into societies
and corporations recognized by law, and protected by the civil
statutes operating in their respective countries.
+P337
Just as the formulation of &Baha'i constitutions had provided the
foundation for the incorporation of &Baha'i Spiritual Assemblies, so
did the recognition accorded by local and national authorities to the
elected representatives of &Baha'i communities pave the way for the
establishment of national and local &Baha'i endowments--a historic
undertaking which, as had been the case with previous achievements
of far-reaching importance, the American &Baha'i Community was
the first to initiate. In most cases these endowments, owing to their
religious character, have been exempted from both government and
municipal taxes, as a result of representations made by the incorporated
&Baha'i bodies to the civil authorities, though the value of the
properties thus exempted has, in more than one country, amounted
to a considerable sum.
In the United States of America the national endowments of the
Faith, already representing one and three-quarter million dollars of
assets, and established through a series of Indentures of Trust, created
in 1928, 1929, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941 and 1942 by the National
Spiritual Assembly in that country, acting as Trustees of the American
&Baha'i Community, now include the land and structure of the
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, and the caretaker's cottage in Wilmette, Ill.; the
adjoining &Haziratu'l-Quds (&Baha'i National Headquarters) and its
supplementary administrative office; the Inn, the Fellowship House,
the &Baha'i Hall, the Arts and Crafts Studio, a farm, a number of
cottages, several parcels of land, including the holding on Monsalvat,
blessed by the footsteps of &Abdu'l-Baha, in Green Acre, in the state
of Maine; Bosch House, the &Baha'i Hall, a fruit orchard, the Redwood
Grove, a dormitory and Ranch Buildings in Geyserville, Calif.; Wilhelm
House, Evergreen Cabin, a pine grove and seven lots with buildings
at West Englewood, N.J., the scene of the memorable Unity
Feast given by &Abdu'l-Baha, in June, 1912, to the &Baha'is of the
New York Metropolitan district; Wilson House, blessed by His presence,
and land in Malden, Mass.; Mathews House and Ranch Buildings
in Pine Valley, Colo.; land in Muskegon, Mich., and a cemetery lot
in Portsmouth, N.H.
Of even greater importance, and in their aggregate far surpassing
in value the national endowments of the American &Baha'i community,
though their title-deeds are, owing to the inability of the Persian &Baha'i
community to incorporate its national and local assemblies, held in
trust by individuals, are the assets which the Faith now possesses in
the land of its origin. To the House of the &Bab in &Shiraz and the
ancestral Home of &Baha'u'llah in &Takur, &Mazindaran, already in the
+P338
possession of the community in the days of &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry,
have, since His ascension, been added extensive properties, in the outskirts
of the capital, situated on the slopes of Mt. Alburz, overlooking
the native city of &Baha'u'llah, including a farm, a garden and vineyard,
comprising an area of over three million and a half square
meters, preserved as the future site of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in
Persia. Other acquisitions that have greatly extended the range of
&Baha'i endowments in that country include the House in which
&Baha'u'llah was born in &Tihran; several buildings adjoining the House
of the &Bab in &Shiraz, including the house owned by His maternal
uncle; the &Haziratu'l-Quds in &Tihran; the shop occupied by the &Bab
during the years He was a merchant in &Bushihr; a quarter of the village
of &Chihriq, where He was confined; the house of &Haji &Mirza
&Jani, where He tarried on His way to &Tabriz; the public bath used by
Him in &Shiraz and some adjacent houses; half of the house owned by
&Vahid in &Nayriz and part of the house owned by &Hujjat in &Zanjan;
the three gardens rented by &Baha'u'llah in the hamlet of &Badasht;
the burial-place of &Quddus in &Barfurush; the house of Kalantar in
&Tihran, the scene of &Tahirih's confinement; the public bath visited by
the &Bab when in &Urumiyyih, &Adhirbayjan; the house owned by
&Mirza &Husayn-'Aliy-i-Nur, where the &Bab's remains had been concealed;
the &Babiyyih and the house owned by &Mulla &Husayn in &Mashhad;
the residence of the &Sultanu'sh-Shuhada (King of Martyrs) and
of the &Mahbubu'sh-Shuhada (Beloved of Martyrs) in &Isfahan, as well
as a considerable number of sites and houses, including burial-places,
associated with the heroes and martyrs of the Faith. These holdings
which, with very few exceptions, have been recently acquired in
Persia, are now being preserved and yearly augmented, and, whenever
necessary, carefully restored, through the assiduous efforts of a specially
appointed national committee, acting under the constant and
general supervision of the elected representatives of the Persian
believers.
Nor should mention be omitted of the varied and multiplying
national assets which, ever since the inception of the Administrative
Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, have been steadily acquired in other
countries such as India, Burma, the British Isles, Germany, &Iraq,
Egypt, Australia, Transjordan and Syria. Among these may be specially
mentioned the &Haziratu'l-Quds of the &Baha'is of &Iraq, the
&Haziratu'l-Quds of the &Baha'is of Egypt, the &Haziratu'l-Quds of the
&Baha'is of India, the &Haziratu'l-Quds of the &Baha'is of Australia, the
&Baha'i Home in Esslingen, the Publishing Trust of the &Baha'is of the
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British Isles, the &Baha'i Pilgrim House in &Baghdad, and the &Baha'i
Cemeteries established in the capitals of Persia, Egypt and &Turkistan.
Whether in the form of land, schools, administrative headquarters,
secretariats, libraries, cemeteries, hostels or publishing companies, these
widely scattered assets, partly registered in the name of incorporated
National Assemblies, and partly held in trust by individual recognized
believers, have contributed their share to the uninterrupted expansion
of national &Baha'i endowments in recent years as well as to the consolidation
of their foundations. Of vital importance, though less
notable in significance, have been, moreover, the local endowments
which have supplemented the national assets of the Faith and which,
in consequence of the incorporation of &Baha'i local Assemblies, have
been legally established and safeguarded in various countries in both
the East and the West. Particularly in Persia these holdings, whether
in the form of land, administrative buildings, schools or other institutions,
have greatly enriched and widened the scope of the local
endowments of the world-wide &Baha'i community.
Simultaneous with the establishment and incorporation of local
and national &Baha'i Assemblies, with the formation of their respective
committees, the formulation of national and local &Baha'i constitutions
and the founding of &Baha'i endowments, undertakings of great institutional
significance were initiated by these newly founded Assemblies,
among which the institution of the &Haziratu'l-Quds--the seat of the
&Baha'i National Assembly and pivot of all &Baha'i administrative
activity in future--must rank as one of the most important. Originating
first in Persia, now universally known by its official and distinctive
title signifying "the Sacred Fold," marking a notable advance
in the evolution of a process whose beginnings may be traced to the
clandestine gatherings held at times underground and in the dead of
night, by the persecuted followers of the Faith in that country, this
institution, still in the early stages of its development, has already lent
its share to the consolidation of the internal functions of the organic
&Baha'i community, and provided a further visible evidence of its
steady growth and rising power. Complementary in its functions to
those of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar--an edifice exclusively reserved for
&Baha'i worship--this institution, whether local or national, will, as its
component parts, such as the Secretariat, the Treasury, the Archives,
the Library, the Publishing Office, the Assembly Hall, the Council
Chamber, the Pilgrims' Hostel, are brought together and made jointly
to operate in one spot, be increasingly regarded as the focus of all
&Baha'i administrative activity, and symbolize, in a befitting manner,
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the ideal of service animating the &Baha'i community in its relation alike
to the Faith and to mankind in general.
From the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, ordained as a house of worship by
&Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, the representatives of &Baha'i communities,
both local and national, together with the members of their
respective committees, will, as they gather daily within its walls at the
hour of dawn, derive the necessary inspiration that will enable them
to discharge, in the course of their day-to-day exertions in the
&Haziratu'l-Quds--the scene of their administrative activities--their
duties and responsibilities as befits the chosen stewards of His Faith.
Already on the shores of Lake Michigan, in the outskirts of the
first &Baha'i center established in the American continent and under
the shadow of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the West; in the capital
city of Persia, the cradle of the Faith; in the vicinity of the Most Great
House in &Baghdad; in the city of &Ishqabad, adjoining the first
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world; in the capital of Egypt, the foremost
center of both the Arab and Islamic worlds; in Delhi, the capital city
of India and even in Sydney in far-off Australia, initial steps have been
taken which must eventually culminate in the establishment, in all
their splendor and power, of the national administrative seats of the
&Baha'i communities established in these countries.
Locally, moreover, in the above-mentioned countries, as well as in
several others, the preliminary measures for the establishment of this
institution, in the form of a house, either owned or rented by the
local &Baha'i community, have been taken, foremost among them
being the numerous administrative buildings which, in various provinces
of Persia, the believers have, despite the disabilities from which
they suffer, succeeded in either purchasing or constructing.
Equally important as a factor in the evolution of the Administrative
Order has been the remarkable progress achieved, particularly in
the United States of America, by the institution of the summer schools
designed to foster the spirit of fellowship in a distinctly &Baha'i atmosphere,
to afford the necessary training for &Baha'i teachers, and to provide
facilities for the study of the history and teachings of the Faith,
and for a better understanding of its relation to other religions and to
human society in general.
Established in three regional centers, for the three major divisions
of the North American continent, in Geyserville, in the Californian
hills (1927), at Green Acre, situated on the banks of the Piscataqua in
the state of Maine (1929), and at Louhelen Ranch near Davison,
Michigan (1931), and recently supplemented by the International
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School founded at Pine Valley, Colorado Springs, dedicated to the
training of &Baha'i teachers wishing to serve in other lands and especially
in Latin America, these three embryonic &Baha'i educational
institutions have, through a steady expansion of their programs, set an
example worthy of emulation by other &Baha'i communities in both
the East and the West. Through the intensive study of &Baha'i Scriptures
and of the early history of the Faith; through the organization of
courses on the teachings and history of &Islam; through conferences for
the promotion of inter-racial amity; through laboratory courses designed
to familiarize the participants with the processes of the &Baha'i
Administrative Order; through special sessions devoted to Youth and
child training; through classes in public speaking; through lectures on
Comparative Religion; through group discussion on the manifold
aspects of the Faith; through the establishment of libraries; through
teaching classes; through courses on &Baha'i ethics and on Latin
America; through the introduction of winter school sessions; through
forums and devotional gatherings; through plays and pageants;
through picnics and other recreational activities, these schools, open
to &Baha'is and &non-Baha'is alike, have set so noble an example as to
inspire other &Baha'i communities in Persia, in the British Isles, in Germany,
in Australia, in New Zealand, in India, in &Iraq and in Egypt
to undertake the initial measures designed to enable them to build
along the same lines institutions that bid fair to evolve into the &Baha'i
universities of the future.
Among other factors contributing to the expansion and establishment
of the Administrative Order may be mentioned the organized
activities of the &Baha'i Youth, already much advanced in Persia and in
the United States of America, and launched more recently in India,
in the British Isles, in Germany, in &Iraq, in Egypt, in Australia, in
Bulgaria, in the Hawaiian Islands, in Hungary and in Havana. These
activities comprise annual world-wide &Baha'i Youth Symposiums,
Youth sessions at &Baha'i summer schools, youth bulletins and magazines,
an international correspondence Bureau, facilities for the registration
of young people desiring to join the Faith, the publication of
outlines and references for the study of the teachings and the organization
of a &Baha'i study group as an official university activity in a
leading American university. They include, moreover, "study days"
held in &Baha'i homes and centers, classes for the study of Esperanto and
other languages, the organization of &Baha'i libraries, the opening of
reading rooms, the production of &Baha'i plays and pageants, the holding
of oratorical contests, the education of orphans, the organization of
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classes in public speaking, the holding of gatherings to perpetuate the
memory of historical &Baha'i personalities, inter-group regional conferences
and youth sessions held in connection with &Baha'i annual conventions.
Still other factors promoting the development of that Order and
contributing to its consolidation have been the systematic institution
of the Nineteen Day Feast, functioning in most &Baha'i communities
in East and West, with its threefold emphasis on the devotional, the
administrative and the social aspects of &Baha'i community life; the
initiation of activities designed to prepare a census of &Baha'i children,
and provide for them laboratory courses, prayer books and elementary
literature, and the formulation and publication of a body of authoritative
statements on the non-political character of the Faith, on membership
in &non-Baha'i religious organizations, on methods of teaching,
on the &Baha'i attitude towards war, on the institutions of the Annual
Convention, of the &Baha'i Spiritual Assembly, of the Nineteen Day
Feast and of the National Fund. Reference should, moreover, be made
to the establishment of National Archives for the authentication, the
collection, the translation, the cataloguing and the preservation of the
Tablets of &Baha'u'llah and of &Abdu'l-Baha and for the preservation
of sacred relics and historical documents; to the verification and
transcription of the original Tablets of the &Bab, of &Baha'u'llah and of
&Abdu'l-Baha in the possession of Oriental believers; to the compilation
of a detailed history of the Faith since its inception until the
present day; to the opening of a &Baha'i International Bureau in
Geneva; to the holding of &Baha'i district conventions; to the purchase
of historic sites; to the establishment of &Baha'i memorial libraries, and
to the initiation of a flourishing children's Savings Bank in Persia.
Nor should mention be omitted of the participation, whether
official or non-official, of representatives of these newly founded
national &Baha'i communities in the activities and proceedings of a
great variety of congresses, associations, conventions and conferences,
held in various countries of Europe, Asia and America for the promotion
of religious unity, peace, education, international cooperation,
inter-racial amity and other humanitarian purposes. With organizations
such as the Conference of some Living Religions within the
British Empire, held in London in 1924 and the World Fellowship of
Faiths held in that same city in 1936; with the Universal Esperanto
Congresses held annually in various capitals of Europe; with the Institute
of Intellectual Cooperation; with the Century of Progress Exhibition
held in Chicago in 1933; with the World's Fair held in New
+P343
York in 1938 and 1939; with the Golden Gate International Exposition
held in San Francisco in 1939; with the First Convention of the
Religious Congress held in Calcutta; with the Second All-India Cultural
Conference convened in that same city; with the All-Faiths'
League Convention in Indore; with the Arya Samaj and the Brahmo
Samaj Conferences as well as those of the Theosophical Society and the
All-Asian Women's Conference, held in various cities of India; with
the World Council of Youth; with the Eastern Women's Congress in
&Tihran; with the Pan-Pacific Women's Conference in Honolulu; with
the Women's International League for Peace and with the Peoples Conference
at Buenos Aires in Argentina--with these and others, relationships
have, in one form or another, been cultivated which have
served the twofold purpose of demonstrating the universality and
comprehensiveness of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah and of forging vital and
enduring links between them and the far-flung agencies of its
Administrative Order.
Nor should we ignore or underestimate the contacts established
between these same agencies and some of the highest governmental
authorities, in both the East and the West, as well as with the heads
of &Islam in Persia, and with the League of Nations, and with even
royalty itself for the purpose of defending the rights, or of presenting
the literature, or of setting forth the aims and purposes of the followers
of the Faith in their unremitting efforts to champion the cause
of an infant Administrative Order. The communications addressed
by the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of
the United States and Canada--the champion builders of that Order--
to the Palestine High Commissioner for the restitution of the keys of
the Tomb of &Baha'u'llah to its custodian; to the &Shah of Persia, on four
occasions, pleading for justice on behalf of their persecuted brethren
within his domains; to the Persian Prime Minister on that same subject;
to Queen Marie of Rumania, expressing gratitude for her historic
tributes to the &Baha'i Faith; to the Heads of &Islam in Persia, appealing
for harmony and peace among religions; to King Feisal of &Iraq for the
purpose of insuring the security of the Most Great House in &Baghdad;
to the Soviet Authorities on behalf of the &Baha'i communities in
Russia; to the German authorities regarding the disabilities suffered by
their German brethren; to the Egyptian Government concerning the
emancipation of their co-religionists from the yoke of Islamic orthodoxy;
to the Persian Cabinet in connection with the closing of Persian
&Baha'i educational institutions; to the State Department of the United
States Government and the Turkish Ambassador in Washington and
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the Turkish Cabinet in Ankara, in defense of the interests of the
Faith in Turkey; to that same State Department in order to facilitate
the transfer of the remains of Lua Getsinger from the Protestant
Cemetery in Cairo to the first &Baha'i burial-ground established in
Egypt; to the Persian Minister in Washington regarding the mission
of Keith Ransom-Kehler; to the King of Egypt with accompanying
&Baha'i literature; to the Government of the United States and the
Canadian Government, setting forth the &Baha'i teachings on Universal
Peace; to the Rumanian Minister in Washington on behalf of the
American &Baha'is, on the occasion of the death of Queen Marie of
Rumania; and to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, acquainting him
with &Baha'u'llah's summons issued in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas to the Presidents
of the American Republics and with certain prayers revealed by
&Abdu'l-Baha--such communications constitute in themselves a notable
and illuminating chapter in the history of the unfoldment of the
&Baha'i Administrative Order.
To these must be added the communications addressed from the
world center of the Faith as well as by &Baha'i national and local assemblies,
whether telegraphically or in writing, to the Palestine High Commissioner,
pleading for the delivery of the keys of the Tomb of
&Baha'u'llah to its original keeper; the appeals made by &Baha'i centers
in East and West to the &Iraqi authorities for the restoration of the
House of &Baha'u'llah in &Baghdad; the subsequent appeal made to the
British Secretary of State for the Colonies, following the verdict of the
&Baghdad Court of Appeals in that connection; the messages despatched
to the League of Nations on behalf of &Baha'i communities in the East
and in the West, in appreciation of the official pronouncement of the
Council of the League in favor of the claims presented by the &Baha'i
petitioners, as well as several letters exchanged between the International
Center of the Faith, on the one hand, and that archetype of
&Baha'i teachers, Martha Root, on the other, with Queen Marie of Rumania,
following the publication of her historic appreciations of the
Faith, and the messages of sympathy addressed to Queen Marie of
Yugoslavia, on behalf of the world-wide &Baha'i Community, on the
occasion of the passing of her mother, and to the Duchess of Kent following
the tragic death of her husband.
Nor should we fail to make special mention of the petition forwarded
by the National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of &Iraq to
the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations, as a result of the
seizure of &Baha'u'llah's house in &Baghdad, or of the written messages
sent to King &Ghazi I of &Iraq by that same Assembly, after the death
+P345
of his father and on the occasion of his marriage, or of its condolences
conveyed in writing to the present Regent of &Iraq at the time of the
sudden death of that King, or of the communications of the National
Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of Egypt submitted to the Egyptian
Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of
Justice, following the verdict of the Muslim ecclesiastical court in
Egypt, or of the letters addressed by the National Spiritual Assembly
of the &Baha'is of Persia to the &Shah and to the Persian Cabinet in connection
with the closing of &Baha'i schools and the ban imposed on
&Baha'i literature in that country. Mention should, moreover, be made
of the written messages despatched by the National Spiritual Assembly
of the &Baha'is of Persia to the King of Rumania and the Royal Family
on the occasion of the death of his mother, Queen Marie, as well as to
the Turkish Ambassador in &Tihran enclosing the contribution of the
Persian believers for the sufferers of the earthquake in Turkey; of
Martha Root's letters to the late President Von Hindenburg and to
Dr. Streseman, the German Foreign Minister, accompanying the presentation
to them of &Baha'i literature; of Keith Ransom-Kehler's seven
successive petitions addressed to the &Shah of Persia, and of her numerous
communications to various ministers and high dignitaries of the
realm, during her memorable visit to that land.
Collateral with these first stirrings of the &Baha'i Administrative
Order, and synchronizing with the emergence of National &Baha'i
communities and with the institution of their administrative, educational,
and teaching agencies, the mighty process set in motion in the
Holy Land, the heart and nerve-center of that Administrative Order,
on the memorable occasions when &Baha'u'llah revealed the Tablet of
Carmel and visited the future site of the &Bab's sepulcher, was irresistibly
unfolding. That process had received a tremendous impetus
through the purchase of that site, shortly after &Baha'u'llah's ascension,
through the subsequent transfer of the &Bab's remains from &Tihran to
&Akka, through the construction of that sepulcher during the most
distressful years of &Abdu'l-Baha's incarceration, and lastly through
the permanent interment of those remains in the heart of Mt. Carmel,
through the establishment of a pilgrim house in the immediate vicinity
of that sepulcher, and the selection of the future site of the first &Baha'i
educational institution on that mountain.
Profiting from the freedom accorded the world center of the Faith
of &Baha'u'llah, ever since the ignominious defeat of the decrepit Ottoman
empire during the war of 1914-18, the forces released through
the inception of the stupendous Plan conceived by Him could now flow
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unchecked, under the beneficent influence of a sympathetic ®ime,
into channels designed to disclose to the world at large the potencies
with which that Plan had been endowed. The interment of &Abdu'l-Baha
Himself within a vault of the &Bab's mausoleum, enhancing still
further the sacredness of that mountain; the installment of an electric
plant, the first of its kind established in the city of Haifa, flooding
with illumination the Grave of One Who, in His own words, had
been denied even "a lighted lamp" in His fortress-prison in &Adhirbayjan;
the construction of three additional chambers adjoining His sepulcher,
thereby completing &Abdu'l-Baha's plan for the first unit of that
Edifice; the vast extension, despite the machinations of the Covenant-breakers,
of the properties surrounding that resting-place, sweeping
from the ridge of Carmel down to the Templar colony nestling at its
foot, and representing assets estimated at no less than four hundred
thousand pounds, together with the acquisition of four tracts of land,
dedicated to the &Baha'i Shrines, and situated in the plain of &Akka to
the north, in the district of Beersheba to the south, and in the valley of
the Jordan to the east, amounting to approximately six hundred
acres; the opening of a series of terraces which, as designed by
&Abdu'l-Baha, are to provide a direct approach to the &Bab's Tomb
from the city lying under its shadow; the beautification of its precincts
through the laying out of parks and gardens, open daily to the public,
and attracting tourists and residents alike to its gates--these may be
regarded as the initial evidences of the marvelous expansion of the
international institutions and endowments of the Faith at its world
center. Of particular significance, moreover, has been the exemption
granted by the Palestine High Commissioner to the entire area of
land surrounding and dedicated to the Shrine of the &Bab, to the school
property and the archives in its vicinity, to the Western pilgrim-house
situated in its neighborhood, and to such historic sites as the Mansion
in &Bahji, the House of &Baha'u'llah in &Akka, and the garden of &Ridvan
to the east of that city; the establishment, as a result of two formal
applications submitted to the civil authorities, of the Palestine Branches
of the American and Indian National Spiritual Assemblies, as recognized
religious societies in Palestine (to be followed, for purposes of
internal consolidation, by a similar incorporation of the branches of
other National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the &Baha'i world);
and the transfer to the Branch of the American National Spiritual
Assembly, through a series of no less than thirty transactions, of properties
dedicated to the Tomb of the &Bab, and approximating in their
aggregate fifty thousand square meters, the majority of the title-deeds
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of which bear the signature of the son of the Arch-breaker of
&Baha'u'llah's Covenant in his capacity as Registrar of lands in Haifa.
Equally significant has been the founding on Mt. Carmel of two
international Archives, the one adjoining the shrine of the &Bab, the
other in the immediate vicinity of the resting-place of the Greatest
Holy Leaf, where, for the first time in &Baha'i history, priceless
treasures, hitherto scattered and often hidden for safekeeping, have
been collected and are now displayed to visiting pilgrims. These
treasures include portraits of both the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah; personal
relics such as the hair, the dust and garments of the &Bab; the locks and
blood of &Baha'u'llah and such articles as His pen-case, His garments,
His brocaded &tajes (head dresses), the &kashkul of His &Sulaymaniyyih
days, His watch and His &Qur'an; manuscripts and Tablets of
inestimable value, some of them illuminated, such as part of the Hidden
Words written in &Baha'u'llah's own hand, the Persian &Bayan, in the
handwriting of Siyyid &Husayn, the &Bab's amanuensis, the original
Tablets to the Letters of the Living penned by the &Bab, and the manuscript
of "Some Answered Questions." This precious collection, moreover,
includes objects and effects associated with &Abdu'l-Baha; the
blood-stained garment of the Purest Branch, the ring of &Quddus, the
sword of &Mulla &Husayn, the seals of the &Vazir, the father of &Baha'u'llah,
the brooch presented by the Queen of Rumania to Martha Root,
the originals of the Queen's letters to her and to others, and of her
tributes to the Faith, as well as no less than twenty volumes of prayers
and Tablets revealed by the Founders of the Faith, authenticated and
transcribed by &Baha'i Assemblies throughout the Orient, and supplementing
the vast collection of their published writings.
Moreover, as a further testimony to the majestic unfoldment and
progressive consolidation of the stupendous undertaking launched by
&Baha'u'llah on that holy mountain, may be mentioned the selection of
a portion of the school property situated in the precincts of the Shrine
of the &Bab as a permanent resting-place for the Greatest Holy Leaf,
the "well-beloved" sister of &Abdu'l-Baha, the "Leaf that hath sprung"
from the "Pre-existent Root," the "fragrance" of &Baha'u'llah's "shining
robe," elevated by Him to a "station such as none other woman hath
surpassed," and comparable in rank to those immortal heroines such as
Sarah, &Asiyih, the Virgin Mary, &Fatimih and &Tahirih, each of whom
has outshone every member of her sex in previous Dispensations. And
lastly, there should be mentioned, as a further evidence of the blessings
flowing from the Divine Plan, the transfer, a few years later, to
that same hallowed spot, after a separation in death of above half a
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century, and notwithstanding the protests voiced by the brother and
lieutenant of the arch-breaker of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant, of the remains
of the Purest Branch, the martyred son of &Baha'u'llah, "created
of the light of &Baha," the "Trust of God" and His "Treasure" in the
Holy Land, and offered up by his Father as a "ransom" for the regeneration
of the world and the unification of its peoples. To this same
burial-ground, and on the same day the remains of the Purest Branch
were interred, was transferred the body of his mother, the saintly
&Navvab, she to whose dire afflictions, as attested by &Abdu'l-Baha in a
Tablet, the 54th chapter of the Book of Isaiah has, in its entirety, borne
witness, whose "Husband," in the words of that Prophet, is "the Lord
of Hosts," whose "seed shall inherit the Gentiles," and whom &Baha'u'llah
in His Tablet, has destined to be "His consort in every one of
His worlds."
The conjunction of these three resting-places, under the shadow
of the &Bab's own Tomb, embosomed in the heart of Carmel, facing
the snow-white city across the bay of &Akka, the Qiblih of the &Baha'i
world, set in a garden of exquisite beauty, reinforces, if we would correctly
estimate its significance, the spiritual potencies of a spot, designated
by &Baha'u'llah Himself the seat of God's throne. It marks, too,
a further milestone in the road leading eventually to the establishment
of that permanent world Administrative Center of the future &Baha'i
Commonwealth, destined never to be separated from, and to function
in the proximity of, the Spiritual Center of that Faith, in a land already
revered and held sacred alike by the adherents of three of the world's
outstanding religious systems.
Scarcely less significant has been the erection of the superstructure
and the completion of the exterior ornamentation of the first
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the West, the noblest of the exploits which have
immortalized the services of the American &Baha'i community to the
Cause of &Baha'u'llah. Consummated through the agency of an efficiently
functioning and newly established Administrative Order, this
enterprise has itself immensely enhanced the prestige, consolidated the
strength and expanded the subsidiary institutions of the community
that made its building possible.
Conceived forty-one years ago; originating with the petition spontaneously
addressed, in March 1903 to &Abdu'l-Baha by the "House
of Spirituality" of the &Baha'is of Chicago--the first &Baha'i center
established in the Western world--the members of which, inspired by
the example set by the builders of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of &Ishqabad,
had appealed for permission to construct a similar Temple in
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America; blessed by His approval and high commendation in a Tablet
revealed by Him in June of that same year; launched by the delegates
of various American Assemblies, assembled in Chicago in November,
1907, for the purpose of choosing the site of the Temple; established
on a national basis through a religious corporation known as the "&Baha'i
Temple Unity," which was incorporated shortly after the first American
&Baha'i Convention held in that same city in March, 1909; honored
through the dedication ceremony presided over by &Abdu'l-Baha Himself
when visiting that site in May, 1912, this enterprise--the crowning
achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah
in the first &Baha'i century--had, ever since that memorable
occasion, been progressing intermittently until the time when the
foundations of that Order having been firmly laid in the North American
continent the American &Baha'i community was in a position to
utilize the instruments which it had forged for the efficient prosecution
of its task.
At the 1914 American &Baha'i Convention the purchase of the
Temple property was completed. The 1920 Convention, held in New
York, having been previously directed by &Abdu'l-Baha to select the
design of that Temple, chose from among a number of designs competitively
submitted to it that of Louis J. Bourgeois, a French-Canadian
architect, a selection that was later confirmed by &Abdu'l-Baha Himself.
The contracts for the sinking of the nine great caissons supporting
the central portion of the building, extending to rock at a depth
of 120 feet below the ground level, and for the construction of the
basement structure, were successively awarded in December, 1920 and
August, 1921. In August, 1930, in spite of the prevailing economic
crisis, and during a period of unemployment unparalleled in American
history, another contract, with twenty-four additional sub-contracts,
for the erection of the superstructure was placed, and the work completed
by May 1, 1931, on which day the first devotional service in the
new structure was celebrated, coinciding with the 19th anniversary of
the dedication of the grounds by &Abdu'l-Baha. The ornamentation of
the dome was started in June, 1932 and finished in January, 1934. The
ornamentation of the clerestory was completed in July, 1935, and that
of the gallery unit below it in November, 1938. The mainstory ornamentation
was, despite the outbreak of the present war, undertaken in
April, 1940, and completed in July, 1942; whilst the eighteen circular
steps were placed in position by December, 1942, seventeen months in
advance of the centenary celebration of the Faith, by which time the
exterior of the Temple was scheduled to be finished, and forty years
+P350
after the petition of the Chicago believers had been submitted to and
granted by &Abdu'l-Baha.
This unique edifice, the first fruit of a slowly maturing Administrative
Order, the noblest structure reared in the first &Baha'i century,
and the symbol and precursor of a future world civilization, is situated
in the heart of the North American continent, on the western shore
of Lake Michigan, and is surrounded by its own grounds comprising
a little less than seven acres. It has been financed, at cost of over a
million dollars, by the American &Baha'i community, assisted at times
by voluntary contributions of recognized believers in East and West, of
Christian, of Muslim, of Jewish, of Zoroastrian, of Hindu and Buddhist
extraction. It has been associated, in its initial phase, with &Abdu'l-Baha,
and in the concluding stages of its construction with the memory of
the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Purest Branch, and their mother. The structure
itself is a pure white nonagonal building, of original and unique
design, rising from a flight of white stairs encircling its base; and
surmounted by a majestic and beautifully proportioned dome, bearing
nine tapering symmetrically placed ribs of decorative as well as structural
significance, which soar to its apex and finally merge into a common
unit pointing skyward. Its framework is constructed of structural
steel enclosed in concrete, the material of its ornamentation consisting
of a combination of crystalline quartz, opaque quartz and white
Portland cement, producing a composition clear in texture, hard and
enduring as stone, impervious to the elements, and cast into a design
as delicate as lace. It soars 191 feet from the floor of its basement to
the culmination of the ribs, clasping the hemispherical dome which is
forty-nine feet high, with an external diameter of ninety feet, and one-third
of the surface of which is perforated to admit light during the
day and emit light at night. It is buttressed by pylons forty-five feet
in height, and bears above its nine entrances, one of which faces
&Akka, nine selected quotations from the writings of &Baha'u'llah, as
well as the Greatest Name in the center of each of the arches over its
doors. It is consecrated exclusively to worship, devoid of all ceremony
and ritual, is provided with an auditorium which can seat 1600 people,
and is to be supplemented by accessory institutions of social service
to be established in its vicinity, such as an orphanage, a hospital, a
dispensary for the poor, a home for the incapacitated, a hostel for
travelers and a college for the study of arts and sciences. It had already,
long before its construction, evoked, and is now increasingly evoking,
though its interior ornamentation is as yet unbegun, such interest and
comment, in the public press, in technical journals and in magazines,
+P351
of both the United States and other countries, as to justify the hopes
and expectations entertained for it by &Abdu'l-Baha. Its model exhibited
at Art centers, galleries, state fairs and national expositions--
among which may be mentioned the Century of Progress Exhibition,
held in Chicago in 1933, where no less than ten thousand people, passing
through the Hall of Religions, must have viewed it every day--its
replica forming a part of the permanent exhibit of the Museum of
Science and Industry in Chicago; its doors now thronged by visitors
from far and near, whose number, during the period from June, 1932
to October, 1941 has exceeded 130,000 people, representing almost
every country in the world, this great "Silent Teacher" of the Faith
of &Baha'u'llah, it may be confidently asserted, has contributed to the
diffusion of the knowledge of His Faith and teachings in a measure
which no other single agency, operating within the framework of its
Administrative Order, has ever remotely approached.
"When the foundation of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is laid in America,"
&Abdu'l-Baha Himself has predicted, "and that Divine Edifice is completed,
a most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world
of existence... From that point of light the spirit of teaching,
spreading the Cause of God and promoting the teachings of God, will
permeate to all parts of the world." "Out of this &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar,"
He has affirmed in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, "without doubt,
thousands of &Mashriqu'l-Adhkars will be born." "It marks," He, furthermore,
has written, "the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth."
And again: "It is the manifest Standard waving in the center of that
great continent." "Thousands of &Mashriqu'l-Adhkars," He, when
dedicating the grounds of the Temple, declared, "...will be built
in the East and in the West, but this, being the first erected in the
Occident, has great importance." "This organization of the
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar," He, referring to that edifice, has moreover stated, "will
be a model for the coming centuries, and will hold the station of the
mother."
"Its inception," the architect of the Temple has himself testified,
"was not from man, for, as musicians, artists, poets receive their inspiration
from another realm, so the Temple's architect, through all
his years of labor, was ever conscious that &Baha'u'llah was the creator
of this building to be erected to His glory." "Into this new design,"
he, furthermore, has written, "...is woven, in symbolic form, the
great &Baha'i teaching of unity--the unity of all religions and of all
mankind. There are combinations of mathematical lines, symbolizing
those of the universe, and in their intricate merging of circle into circle,
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and circle within circle, we visualize the merging of all the religions
into one." And again: "A circle of steps, eighteen in all, will surround
the structure on the outside, and lead to the auditorium floor.
These eighteen steps represent the eighteen first disciples of the &Bab,
and the door to which they lead stands for the &Bab Himself." "As the
essence of the pure original teachings of the historic religions was the
same ... in the &Baha'i Temple is used a composite architecture, expressing
the essence in the line of each of the great architectural styles,
harmonizing them into one whole."
"It is the first new idea in architecture since the 13th century,"
declared a distinguished architect, H. Van Buren Magonigle, President
of the Architectural League, after gazing upon a plaster model of the
Temple on exhibition in the Engineering Societies Building in New
York, in June 1920. "The Architect," he, moreover, has stated, "has
conceived a Temple of Light in which structure, as usually understood,
is to be concealed, visible support eliminated as far as possible, and the
whole fabric to take on the airy substance of a dream. It is a lacy
envelope enshrining an idea, the idea of light, a shelter of cobweb
interposed between earth and sky, struck through and through with
light--light which shall partly consume the forms and make of it
a thing of faery."
"In the geometric forms of the ornamentation," a writer in the
well-known publication "Architectural Record" has written, "covering
the columns and surrounding windows and doors of the Temple,
one deciphers all the religious symbols of the world. Here are the
swastika, the circle, the cross, the triangle, the double triangle or six
pointed star (Solomon's seal)--but more than this--the noble symbol
of the spiritual orb ... the five pointed star; the Greek Cross, the
Roman cross, and supreme above all, the wonderful nine pointed star,
figured in the structure of the Temple itself, and appearing again
and again in its ornamentation as significant of the spiritual glory
in the world today."
"The greatest creation since the Gothic period," is the testimony of
George Grey Barnard, one of the most widely-known sculptors in the
United States of America, "and the most beautiful I have ever seen."
"This is a new creation," Prof. Luigi Quaglino, ex-professor of
Architecture from Turin declared, after viewing the model, "which will
revolutionize architecture in the world, and it is the most beautiful I
have ever seen. Without doubt it will have a lasting page in history.
It is a revelation from another world."
"Americans," wrote Sherwin Cody, in the magazine section of the
+P353
New York Times, of the model of the Temple, when exhibited in the
Kevorkian Gallery in New York, "will have to pause long enough to
find that an artist has wrought into this building the conception of a
Religious League of Nations." And lastly, this tribute paid to the
features of, and the ideals embodied in, this Temple--the most sacred
House of Worship in the &Baha'i world, whether of the present or of
the future--by Dr. Rexford Newcomb, Dean of the College of Fine
and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois: "This 'Temple of
Light' opens upon the terrain of human experience nine great doorways
which beckon men and women of every race and clime, of every
faith and conviction, of every condition of freedom or servitude to
enter here into a recognition of that kinship and brotherhood without
which the modern world will be able to make little further progress
...The dome, pointed in form, aiming as assuredly as did the aspiring
lines of the medieval cathedrals toward higher and better things,
achieves not only through its symbolism but also through its structural
propriety and sheer loveliness of form, a beauty not matched by any
domical structure since the construction of Michelangelo's dome on
the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome."
+P354
CHAPTER XXIII
Attacks on &Baha'i Institutions
The institutions signalizing the rise and establishment of the
Administrative Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah did not (as the
history of their unfoldment abundantly demonstrates) remain immune
against the assaults and persecutions to which the Faith itself,
the progenitor of that Order, had, for over seventy years, been subjected,
and from which it is still suffering. The emergence of a firmly
knit community, advancing the claims of a world religion, with
ramifications spread over five continents representing a great variety
of races, languages, classes and religious traditions; provided with a
literature scattered over the surface of the earth, and expounding in
several languages its doctrine; clear-visioned, unafraid, alert and
determined to achieve at whatever sacrifice its goal; organically united
through the machinery of a divinely appointed Administrative Order;
non-sectarian, non-political, faithful to its civil obligations yet
supranational in character; tenacious in its adherence to the laws and
ordinances regulating its community life--the emergence of such a
community, in a world steeped in prejudice, worshipping false gods,
torn by intestine divisions, and blindly clinging to obsolescent
doctrines and defective standards, could not but precipitate, sooner
or later, crises no less grave, though less spectacular, than the persecutions
which, in an earlier age, had raged around the Founders of that
community and their early disciples. Assailed by enemies within, who
have either rebelled against its God-given authority or wholly renounced
their faith, or by adversaries from without, whether political
or ecclesiastical, the infant Order identified with this community has,
since its inception, and throughout every stage in its evolution, felt
severely the impact of the forces which have sought in vain to strangle
its budding life or to obscure its purpose.
To these attacks, destined to grow in scope and severity, and to
arouse a tumult that will reverberate throughout the world, &Abdu'l-Baha
Himself had already, at the time the outlines of that Divine
order were being delineated by Him in His Will, significantly alluded:
"Erelong shall the clamor of the multitude throughout Africa,
throughout America, the cry of the European and of the Turk, the
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groaning of India and China, be heard from far and near. One and
all, they shall arise with all their power to resist His Cause. Then
shall the knights of the Lord ... reinforced by the legions of the
Covenant, arise and manifest the truth of the verse: `Behold the
confusion that hath befallen the tribes of the defeated!'"
Already in more than one country the trustees and elected representatives
of this indestructible world-embracing Order have been
summoned by civil authorities or ecclesiastical courts, ignorant of its
claims, or hostile to its principles or fearful of its rising strength, to
defend its cause, or to renounce their allegiance to it, or to curtail
the range of its operation. Already an aggressive hand, unmindful of
God's avenging wrath, has been stretched out against its sanctuaries
and edifices. Already its defenders and champions have, in some
countries, been declared heretics, or stigmatized as subverters of law
and order, or branded as visionaries, unpatriotic and careless of their
civic duties and responsibilities, or peremptorily ordered to suspend
their activities and dissolve their institutions.
In the Holy Land, the world seat of this System, where its heart
pulsates, where the dust of its Founders reposes, where the processes
disclosing its purposes, energizing its life and shaping its destiny all
originate, there fell, at the very hour of its inception, the first blow
which served to proclaim to high and low alike the solidity of the
foundations on which it has been established. The Covenant-breakers,
now dwindled to a mere handful, instigated by &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali,
the Arch-rebel, whose dormant hopes had been awakened by
&Abdu'l-Baha's sudden ascension, and headed by the arrogant &Mirza
&Badi'u'llah, seized forcibly the keys of the Tomb of &Baha'u'llah,
expelled its keeper, the brave-souled &Abu'l-Qasim-i-Khurasani, and
demanded that their chief be recognized by the authorities as the
legal custodian of that Shrine. Unadmonished by their abject failure,
as witnessed by the firm action of the Palestine authorities, who, after
prolonged investigations, instructed the British officer in &Akka to
deliver the keys into the hands of that same keeper, they resorted to
other methods in the hope of creating a cleavage in the ranks of the
bereaved yet resolute disciples of &Abdu'l-Baha and of ultimately
undermining the foundations of the institutions His followers were
laboring to erect. Through their mischievous misrepresentations of
the ideals animating the builders of the &Baha'i Administrative Order;
through the maintenance, though not on its original scale, of a
subversive correspondence with individuals whose loyalty they hoped
they could sap; through deliberate distortions of the truth in their
+P356
contact with officials and notables whom they could approach;
through attempts, made through bribery and intimidation, to purchase
a part of the Mansion of &Baha'u'llah; through efforts directed
at preventing the acquisition by the &Baha'i community of certain
properties situated in the vicinity of the Tomb of the &Bab, and at
frustrating the design to consolidate the foundation of some of these
properties by transferring their title-deeds to incorporated &Baha'i
assemblies, they continued to labor intermittently for several years
until the extinction of the life of the Arch-breaker of the Covenant
himself virtually sealed their doom.
The evacuation of the Mansion of &Baha'u'llah by these Covenant-breakers,
after their unchallenged occupancy of it since His ascension,
a Mansion which, through their gross neglect, had fallen into a
sad state of disrepair; its subsequent complete restoration, fulfilling a
long cherished desire of &Abdu'l-Baha; its illumination through an
electric plant installed by an American believer for that purpose;
the refurnishing of all its rooms after it had been completely denuded
by its former occupants of all the precious relics it contained, with
the exception of a single candlestick in the room where &Baha'u'llah
had ascended; the collection within its walls of &Baha'i historic documents,
of relics and of over five thousand volumes of &Baha'i literature,
in no less than forty languages; the extension to it of the exemption
from government taxes, already granted to other &Baha'i institutions
and properties in &Akka and on Mt. Carmel; and finally, its conversion
from a private residence to a center of pilgrimage visited by
&Baha'is and &non-Baha'is alike--these served to further dash the hopes
of those who were still desperately striving to extinguish the light of
the Covenant of &Baha'u'llah. Furthermore, the success later achieved
in purchasing and safeguarding the area forming the precincts of
the resting-place of the &Bab on Mt. Carmel, and the transfer of the
title-deeds of some of these properties to the legally constituted
Palestine Branch of the American &Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly,
no less than the circumstances attending the death of the one who
had been the prime mover of mischief throughout &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry,
demonstrated to these enemies the futility of their efforts and
the hopelessness of their cause.
Of a more serious nature, and productive of still greater repercussions,
was the unlawful seizure by the &Shi'ahs of &Iraq, at about the
same time that the keys of the Tomb of &Baha'u'llah were wrested by
the Covenant-breakers from its keeper, of yet another &Baha'i Shrine,
the House occupied by &Baha'u'llah for well nigh the whole period of
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His exile in &Iraq, which had been acquired by Him, and later had been
ordained as a center of pilgrimage, and had continued in the unbroken
and undisputed possession of His followers ever since His departure
from &Baghdad. This crisis, originating about a year prior to &Abdu'l-Baha's
ascension, and precipitated by the measures which, after the
change of ®ime in &Iraq, had, according to His instructions, been
taken for the reconstruction of that House, acquired as it developed
a steadily widening measure of publicity. It became the object of the
consideration of successive tribunals, first of the local &Shi'ah &Ja'fariyyih
court in &Baghdad, second of the Peace court, then the court of
First Instance, then of the court of Appeal in &Iraq, and finally of
the League of Nations, the greatest international body yet come into
existence, and empowered to exercise supervision and control over all
Mandated Territories. Though as yet unresolved through a combination
of causes, religious as well as political, it has already remarkably
fulfilled &Baha'u'llah's own prediction, and will, in its own appointed
time, as the means for its solution are providentially created, fulfill the
high destiny ordained for it by Him in His Tablets. Long before its
seizure by fanatical enemies, who had no conceivable claim to it
whatever, He had prophesied that "it shall be so abased in the days
to come as to cause tears to flow from every discerning eye."
The Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of &Baghdad, deprived of the
use of that sacred property through an adverse decision by a majority
of the court of Appeal, which had reversed the verdict of the lower
court and awarded the property to the &Shi'ahs, and aroused by subsequent
action of the &Shi'ahs, soon after the execution of the judgment
of that court, in converting the building into waqf property
(pious foundation), designating it "&Husayniyyih," with the purpose
of consolidating their gain, realized the futility of the three
years of negotiations they had been conducting with the civil authorities
in &Baghdad for the righting of the wrong inflicted upon them.
In their capacity as the national representatives of the &Baha'is of
&Iraq, they, therefore, on September 11, 1928, through the High
Commissioner for &Iraq and in conformity with the provisions of
Art. 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, approached the
League's Permanent Mandates Commission, charged with the supervision
of the administration of all Mandated Territories, and presented
a petition that was accepted and approved by that body in
November, 1928. A memorandum submitted, in connection with
that petition, to that same Commission, by the Mandatory Power
unequivocally stated that the &Shi'ahs had "no conceivable claim
+P358
whatever" to the House, that the decision of the judge of the &Ja'fariyyih
court was "obviously wrong," "unjust" and "undoubtedly actuated
by religious prejudice," that the subsequent ejectment of the &Baha'is
was "illegal," that the action of the authorities had been "highly
irregular," and that the verdict of the Court of Appeal was suspected
of not being "uninfluenced by political consideration."
"The Commission," states the Report submitted by it to the Council
of the League, and published in the Minutes of the 14th session of
the Permanent Mandates Commission, held in Geneva in the fall of
1928, and subsequently translated into Arabic and published in &Iraq,
"draws the Council's attention to the considerations and conclusions
suggested to it by an examination of the petition... It recommends
that the Council should ask the British Government to make representations
to the &Iraq Government with a view to the immediate
redress of the denial of justice from which the petitioners have
suffered."
The British accredited representative present at the sessions of the
Commission, furthermore, stated that "the Mandatory Power had
recognized that the &Baha'is had suffered an injustice," whilst allusion
was made, in the course of that session, to the fact that the action of
the &Shi'ahs constituted a breach of the constitution and the Organic
Law of &Iraq. The Finnish representative, moreover, in his report to
the Council, declared that this "injustice must be attributed solely to
religious passion," and asked that "the petitioner's wrongs should
be redressed."
The Council of the League, on its part, having considered this
report as well as the joint observations and conclusions of the Commission,
unanimously adopted, on March 4, 1929, a resolution, subsequently
translated and published in the newspapers of &Baghdad,
directing the Mandatory Power "to make representations to the
Government of &Iraq with a view to the immediate redress of the
injustice suffered by the Petitioners." It instructed, accordingly, the
Secretary General to bring to the notice of the Mandatory Power, as
well as to the petitioners concerned, the conclusions arrived at by the
Commission, an instruction which was duly transmitted by the British
Government through its High Commissioner to the &Iraq Government.
A letter dated January 12, 1931, written on behalf of the British
Foreign Minister, Mr. Arthur Henderson, addressed to the League
Secretariat, stated that the conclusions reached by the Council had
"received the most careful consideration by the Government of &Iraq,"
who had "finally decided to set up a special committee ... to consider
+P359
the views expressed by the &Baha'i community in respect of
certain houses in &Baghdad, and to formulate recommendations for an
equitable settlement of this question." That letter, moreover, pointed
out that the committee had submitted its report in August, 1930,
that it had been accepted by the government, that the &Baha'i community
had "accepted in principle" its recommendations, and that
the authorities in &Baghdad had directed that "detailed plans and estimates
shall be prepared with a view to carrying these recommendations
into effect during the coming financial year."
No need to dwell on the subsequent history of this momentous
case, on the long-drawn out negotiations, the delays and complications
that ensued; on the consultations, "over a hundred" in number, in
which the king, his ministers and advisers took part; on the expressions
of "regret," of "surprise" and of "anxiety" placed on record at
successive sessions of the Mandates Commission held in Geneva in
1929, 1930, 1931, 1932 and 1933; on the condemnation by its
members of the "spirit of intolerance" animating the &Shi'ah community,
of the "partiality" of the &Iraqi courts, of the "weakness" of
the civil authorities and of the "religious passion at the bottom of this
injustice"; on their testimony to the "extremely conciliatory disposition"
of the petitioners, on their "doubt" regarding the adequacy
of the proposals, and on their recognition of the "serious" character
of the situation that had been created, of the "flagrant denial of
justice" which the &Baha'is had suffered, and of the "moral debt"
which the &Iraq Government had contracted, a debt which, whatever
the changes in her status as a nation, it was her bounden duty to
discharge.
Nor does it seem necessary to expatiate on the unfortunate consequences
of the untimely death of both the British High Commissioner
and the &Iraqi Prime Minister; on the admission of &Iraq as a member
of the League, and the consequent termination of the mandate held
by Great Britain; on the tragic and unexpected death of the King
himself; on the difficulties raised owing to the existence of a town
planning scheme; on the written assurance conveyed to the High
Commissioner by the acting Premier in his letter of January, 1932;
on the pledge given by the King, prior to his death, in the presence of
the foreign minister, in February, 1933, that the House would be
expropriated, and the necessary sum would be appropriated in the
spring of the ensuing year; on the categorical statement made by
that same foreign minister that the Prime Minister had given the
necessary assurances that the promise already made by the acting
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Premier would be redeemed; or on the positive statements made by
that same Foreign Minister and his colleague, the Minister of Finance,
when representing their country during the sessions of the League
Assembly held in Geneva, that the promise given by their late King
would be fully honored.
Suffice it to say that, despite these interminable delays, protests
and evasions, and the manifest failure of the Authorities concerned
to implement the recommendations made by both the Council of the
League and the Permanent Mandates Commission, the publicity
achieved for the Faith by this memorable litigation, and the defense
of its cause--the cause of truth and justice--by the world's highest
tribunal, have been such as to excite the wonder of its friends and to
fill with consternation its enemies. Few episodes, if any, since the
birth of the Formative Age of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, have given
rise to repercussions in high places comparable to the effect produced
on governments and chancelleries by this violent and unprovoked
assault directed by its inveterate enemies against one of its holiest
sanctuaries.
"Grieve not, O House of God," &Baha'u'llah Himself has significantly
written, "if the veil of thy sanctity be rent asunder by the
infidels. God hath, in the world of creation, adorned thee with the
jewel of His remembrance. Such an ornament no man can, at any
time, profane. Towards thee the eyes of thy Lord shall, under all
conditions, remain directed." "In the fullness of time," He, in another
passage, referring to that same House, has prophesied, "the Lord shall,
by the power of truth, exalt it in the eyes of all men. He shall cause
it to become the Standard of His Kingdom, the Shrine round which
will circle the concourse of the faithful."
To the bold onslaught made by the breakers of the Covenant of
&Baha'u'llah in their concerted efforts to secure the custodianship of
His holy Tomb, to the arbitrary seizure of His holy House in &Baghdad
by the &Shi'ah community of &Iraq, was to be added, a few years later,
yet another grievous assault launched by a still more powerful
adversary, directed against the very fabric of the Administrative
Order as established by two long-flourishing &Baha'i communities of
the East, culminating in the virtual disruption of these communities
and the seizure of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world
and of the few accessory institutions already reared about it.
The courage, the fervor and the spiritual vitality evinced by these
communities; the highly organized state of their administrative institutions;
the facilities provided for the religious education and training
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of their youth; the conversion of a number of broad-minded
Russian citizens, imbued with ideas closely related to the tenets of the
Faith; the growing realization of the implications of its principles,
with their emphasis on religion, on the sanctity of family life, on the
institution of private property, and their repudiation of all discrimination
between classes and of the doctrine of the absolute equality of
men--these combined to excite the suspicion, and later to arouse the
fierce antagonism, of the ruling authorities, and to precipitate one of
the gravest crises in the history of the first &Baha'i century.
As the crisis developed and spread to even the outlying centers of
both &Turkistan and the Caucasus it resulted gradually in the imposition
of restrictions limiting the freedom of these communities, in the
interrogation and arrest of their elected representatives, in the dissolution
of their local Assemblies and their respective committees in
Moscow, in &Ishqabad, in &Baku and in other localities in the above-mentioned
provinces and in the suspension of all &Baha'i youth activities.
It even led to the closing of &Baha'i schools, kindergartens,
libraries and public reading-rooms, to the interception of all communication
with foreign &Baha'i centers, to the confiscation of
&Baha'i printing presses, books and documents, to the prohibition of
all teaching activities, to the abrogation of the &Baha'i constitution, to
the abolition of all national and local funds and to the ban placed
on the attendance of non-believers at &Baha'i meetings.
In the middle of 1928 the law expropriating religious edifices was
applied to the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of &Ishqabad. The use of this edifice
as a house of worship, however, was continued, under a five-year
lease, which was renewed by the local authorities in 1933, for a
similar period. In 1938 the situation in both &Turkistan and the
Caucasus rapidly deteriorated, leading to the imprisonment of over
five hundred believers--many of whom died--as well as a number of
women, and the confiscation of their property, followed by the exile
of several prominent members of these communities to Siberia, the
polar forests and other places in the vicinity of the Arctic Ocean, the
subsequent deportation of most of the remnants of these communities
to Persia, on account of their Persian nationality, and lastly, the
complete expropriation of the Temple itself and its conversion into
an art gallery.
In Germany, likewise, the rise and establishment of the Administrative
Order of the Faith, to whose expansion and consolidation the
German believers were distinctively and increasingly contributing,
was soon followed by repressive measures, which, though less grievous
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than the afflictions suffered by the &Baha'is of &Turkistan and the
Caucasus, amounted to the virtual cessation, in the years immediately
preceding the present conflict, of all organized &Baha'i activity throughout
the length and breadth of that land. The public teaching of the
Faith, with its unconcealed emphasis on peace and universality, and
its repudiation of racialism, was officially forbidden; &Baha'i Assemblies
and their committees were dissolved; the holding of &Baha'i
conventions was interdicted; the Archives of the National Spiritual
Assembly were seized; the summer school was abolished and the
publication of all &Baha'i literature was suspended.
In Persia, moreover, apart from sporadic outbreaks of persecution
in such places as &Shiraz, &Abadih, &Ardibil, &Isfahan, and in certain
districts of &Adhirbayjan and &Khurasan--outbreaks greatly reduced
in number and violence, owing to the marked decline in the fortunes
of the erstwhile powerful &Shi'ah ecclesiastics--the institutions of a
newly-established and as yet unconsolidated Administrative Order
were subjected by the civil authorities, in both the capital and the
provinces, to restrictions designed to circumscribe their scope, to
fetter their freedom and undermine their foundations.
The gradual and wholly unexpected emergence from obscurity of
a firmly-welded national community, schooled in adversity and unbroken
in spirit, with centers established in every province of that
country, in spite of the successive waves of inhuman persecution
which had, for three quarters of a century, swept over and had all
but engulfed it; the determination of its members to diffuse the spirit
and principles of their Faith, broadcast its literature, enforce its laws
and ordinances, penalize those who would transgress them, maintain
a steady intercourse with their fellow-believers in foreign lands, and
erect the edifices and institutions of its Administrative Order, could
not but arouse the apprehensions and the hostility of those placed in
authority, who either misunderstood the aims of that community,
or were bent upon stifling its life. The insistence of its members,
while obedient in all matters of a purely administrative character to
the civil statutes of their country, on adhering to the fundamental
spiritual principles, precepts and laws revealed by &Baha'u'llah, requiring
them, among other things, to hold fast to truthfulness, not to
dissimulate their faith, observe the ordinances prescribed for marriage
and divorce, and suspend all manner of work on the Holy Days
ordained by Him, brought them, sooner or later, into conflict with a
®ime which, owing to its formal recognition of &Islam as the state
religion of Persia, refused to extend any recognition to those whom
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the official exponents of that religion had already condemned as
heretics.
The closing of all schools belonging to the &Baha'i community in
that country, as a direct consequence of the refusal of the representatives
of that community to permit official &Baha'i institutions, owned
and entirely controlled by them, to transgress the clearly revealed law
requiring the suspension of work on &Baha'i Holy Days; the rejection
of all &Baha'i marriage certificates and the refusal to register them at
government License Bureaus; the ban placed on the printing and
circulation of all &Baha'i literature, as well as on its entry into the
country; the seizure in various centers of &Baha'i documents, books
and relics; the closing, in some of the provinces of the &Haziratu'l-Quds,
and the confiscation in some localities of their furniture; the
prohibition of all &Baha'i demonstrations, conferences and conventions;
the strict censorship imposed on, and often the non-delivery of, communications
between &Baha'i centers in Persia and between these
centers and &Baha'i communities in foreign lands; the withholding of
good-record certificates from loyal and law-abiding citizens on the
ground of their avowed adherence to the &Baha'i Faith; the dismissal
of Government employees, the demotion or discharge of army officers,
the arrest, the interrogation, the imprisonment of, and the imposition
of fines and other punishments upon, a number of believers who
refused either to cast aside the moral obligation of adhering to the
spiritual principles of their Faith, or to act in any manner that would
conflict with its universal and non-political character--all these may
be regarded as the initial attempts made in the country whose soil
had already been imbued with the blood of countless &Baha'i martyrs,
to resist the rise, and frustrate the struggle for the emancipation, of a
nascent Administrative Order, whose very roots have sucked their
strength from such heroic sacrifice.
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CHAPTER XXIV
Emancipation and Recognition of the Faith
and Its Institutions
While the initial steps aiming at the erection of the framework of
the Administrative Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah were being simultaneously
undertaken by His followers in the East and in the West, a
fierce attack was launched in an obscure village in Egypt on a handful
of believers, who were trying to establish there one of the primary
institutions of that Order--an attack which, viewed in the perspective
of history, will be acclaimed by future generations as a landmark not
only in the Formative Period of the Faith but in the history of the
first &Baha'i century. Indeed, the sequel to this assault may be said to
have opened a new chapter in the evolution of the Faith itself, an
evolution which, carrying it through the successive stages of repression,
of emancipation, of recognition as an independent Revelation, and as a
state religion, must lead to the establishment of the &Baha'i state and
culminate in the emergence of the &Baha'i World Commonwealth.
Originating in a country which can rightly boast of being the
acknowledged center of both the Arab and Muslim worlds; precipitated
by the action, taken on their own initiative, by the ecclesiastical
representatives of the largest communion in &Islam; the direct outcome
of a series of disturbances instigated by some of the members of that
communion designed to suppress the activities of certain followers of
the Faith who had held a clerical rank among them, this momentous
development in the fortunes of a struggling community has directly
contributed, to a considerable degree, to the consolidation and the
enhancement of the prestige of the Administrative Order which that
community had begun to erect. It will, moreover, as its repercussions
are more widely spread to other Islamic countries, and its vast significance
is more clearly apprehended by the adherents of both Christianity
and &Islam, hasten the termination of the period of transition
through which the Faith, now in the formative stage of its growth,
is passing.
It was in the village of &Kawmu's-Sa'ayidih, in the district of Beba,
of the province of Beni Suef in Upper Egypt, that, as a result of the
religious fanaticism which the formation of a &Baha'i assembly had
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kindled in the breast of the headman of that village, and of the grave
accusations made by him to both the District Police Officer and the
Governor of the province--accusations which aroused the &Muhammadans
to such a pitch of excitement as to cause them to perpetrate
shameful acts against their victims--that action was initiated by the
notary of the village, in his capacity as a religious plaintiff authorized
by the Ministry of Justice, against three &Baha'i residents of that village,
demanding that their Muslim wives be divorced from them on the
grounds that their husbands had abandoned &Islam after their legal
marriage as Muslims.
The Opinion and Judgment of the Appellate religious court of
Beba, delivered on May 10, 1925, subsequently sanctioned by the
highest ecclesiastical authorities in Cairo and upheld by them as final,
printed and circulated by the Muslim authorities themselves, annulled
the marriages contracted by the three &Baha'i defendants and condemned
the mass heretics for having violated the laws and ordinances
of &Islam. It even went so far as to make the positive, the startling and
indeed the historic assertion that the Faith embraced by these heretics
is to be regarded as a distinct religion, wholly independent of the religious
systems that have preceded it--an assertion which hitherto the
enemies of the Faith, whether in the East or in the West, had either
disputed or deliberately ignored.
Having expounded the fundamental tenets and ordinances of
&Islam, and given a detailed exposition of the &Baha'i teachings, supported
by various quotations from the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, from the writings
of &Abdu'l-Baha and of &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl, with special reference
to certain &Baha'i laws, and demonstrated that the defendants had, in
the light of these statements, actually abjured the Faith of &Muhammad,
his formal verdict declares in the most unequivocal terms: "The &Baha'i
Faith is a new religion, entirely independent, with beliefs, principles
and laws of its own, which differ from, and are utterly in conflict with,
the beliefs, principles and laws of &Islam. No &Baha'i, therefore, can be
regarded a Muslim or vice-versa, even as no Buddhist, Brahmin, or
Christian can be regarded a Muslim or vice-versa." Ordering the dissolution
of the contracts of marriage of the parties on trial, and the
"separation" of the husbands from their wives, this official and memorable
pronouncement concludes with the following words: "If any
one of them (husbands) repents, believes in, and acknowledges whatsoever
... &Muhammad, the Apostle of God ... has brought from
God ... and returns to the august Faith of &Islam ... and testifies
that ... &Muhammad ... is the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
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that no religion will succeed His religion, that no law will
abrogate His law, that the &Qur'an is the last of the Books of God and
His last Revelation to His Prophets and His Messengers ... he shall
be accepted and shall be entitled to renew his marriage contract..."
This declaration of portentous significance, which was supported
by incontrovertible proofs adduced by the avowed enemies of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah themselves, which was made in a country that
aspires to the headship of &Islam through the restoration of the
Caliphate, and which has received the sanction of the highest ecclesiastical
authorities in that country, this official testimony which the
leaders of &Shi'ah &Islam, in both Persia and &Iraq, have, through a
century, sedulously avoided voicing, and which, once and for all,
silences those detractors, including Christian ecclesiastics in the West,
who have in the past stigmatized that Faith as a cult, as a &Babi sect and
as an offshoot of &Islam or represented it as a synthesis of religions--
such a declaration was acclaimed by all &Baha'i communities in the East
and in the West as the first Charter of the emancipation of the Cause
of &Baha'u'llah from the fetters of Islamic orthodoxy, the first historic
step taken, not by its adherents as might have been expected, but by its
adversaries on the road leading to its ultimate and world-wide
recognition.
Such a verdict, fraught with incalculable possibilities, was immediately
recognized as a powerful challenge which the builders of the
Administrative Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah were not slow to
face and accept. It imposed upon them a sacred obligation which
they felt ready to discharge. Designed by its authors to deprive their
adversaries of access to Muslim courts, and thereby place them in a
perplexing and embarrassing situation, it became a lever which the
Egyptian &Baha'i community, followed later by its sister-communities,
readily utilized for the purpose of asserting the independence of its
Faith and of seeking for it the recognition of its government. Translated
into several languages, circulated among &Baha'i communities in
East and West, it gradually paved the way for the initiation of negotiations
between the elected representatives of these communities and the
civil authorities in Egypt, in the Holy Land, in Persia and even in the
United States of America, for the purpose of securing the official recognition
by these authorities of the Faith as an independent religion.
In Egypt it was the signal for the adoption of a series of measures
which have in their cumulative effect greatly facilitated the extension
of such a recognition by a government which is still formally associated
with the religion of &Islam, and which suffers its laws and regulations
+P367
to be shaped in a great measure by the views and pronouncements
of its ecclesiastical leaders. The inflexible determination of the
Egyptian believers not to deviate a hair's breadth from the tenets of
their Faith, by avoiding all dealings with any Muslim ecclesiastical
court in that country and by refusing any ecclesiastical post which
might be offered them; the codification and publication of the fundamental
laws of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas regarding matters of personal status,
such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and burial, and the presentation
of these laws to the Egyptian Cabinet; the issuance of marriage
and divorce certificates by the Egyptian National Spiritual Assembly;
the assumption by that Assembly of all the duties and responsibilities
connected with the conduct of &Baha'i marriages and divorces, as well
as with the burial of the dead; the observance by all members of that
community of the nine Holy Days on which work, as prescribed in the
&Baha'i teachings, must be completely suspended; the presentation of
a petition addressed by the national elected representatives of that community
to the Egyptian Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior
and the Minister of Justice (supported by a similar communication
addressed by the American National Spiritual Assembly to the
Egyptian Government), enclosing a copy of the judgment of the
Court, and of their national &Baha'i constitution and by-laws, requesting
them to recognize their Assembly as a body qualified to exercise
the functions of an independent court and empowered to apply, in all
matters affecting their personal status, the laws and ordinances revealed
by the Author of their Faith--these stand out as the initial consequences
of a historic pronouncement that must eventually lead to the
establishment of that Faith on a basis of absolute equality with its sister
religions in that land.
A corollary to this epoch-making declaration, and a direct consequence
of the intermittent disturbances instigated in Port Said and
&Isma'iliyyih by a fanatical populace in connection with the burial of
some of the members of the &Baha'i community, was the official and no
less remarkable &fatva (judgment) issued, at the request of the Ministry
of Justice, by the Grand &Mufti of Egypt. This, soon after its
pronouncement, was published in the Egyptian press and contributed to
fortify further the independent status of the Faith. It followed upon the
riots which broke out with exceptional fury in &Isma'iliyyih, when
angry crowds surrounded the funeral &cortege of &Muhammad &Sulayman,
a prominent &Baha'i resident of that town, creating such an
uproar that the police had to intervene, and having rescued the body
and brought it back to the home of the deceased, they were forced to
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carry it without escort, at night, to the edge of the desert and inter
it in the wilderness.
This judgment was passed as a result of the inquiry addressed in
writing, on January 24, 1939, by the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior
to the Ministry of Justice, enclosing a copy of the compilation of
&Baha'i laws related to matters of personal status published by the
Egyptian &Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly, and asking for a pronouncement
by the &Mufti regarding the petition addressed by that
Assembly to the Egyptian Government for the allocation of four plots
to serve as cemeteries for the &Baha'i communities of Cairo, Alexandria,
Port Said and &Isma'iliyyih. "We are," wrote the &Mufti in his reply of
March 11, 1939, to the communication addressed to him by the Ministry
of Justice, "in receipt of your letter ... dated February 21,
1939, with its enclosures ... inquiring whether or not it would be
lawful to bury the &Baha'i dead in Muslim cemeteries. We hereby declare
that this Community is not to be regarded as Muslim, as shown
by the beliefs which it professes. The perusal of what they term `The
&Baha'i Laws affecting Matters of Personal Status,' accompanying the
papers, is deemed sufficient evidence. Whoever among its members had
formerly been a Muslim has, by virtue of his belief in the pretensions
of this community, renounced &Islam, and is regarded as beyond its
pale, and is subject to the laws governing apostasy as established in the
right Faith of &Islam. This community not being Muslim, it would be
unlawful to bury its dead in Muslim cemeteries, be they originally
Muslims or otherwise..."
It was in consequence of this final, this clearly-worded and authoritative
sentence by the highest exponent of Islamic Law in Egypt, and
after prolonged negotiations, resulting at first in the allocation to the
Cairo &Baha'i community of a cemetery plot forming a part of that set
aside for free thinkers, residing in that city, that the Egyptian government
consented to grant to that community, as well as to the &Baha'is of
&Isma'iliyyih, two tracts of land to serve as burial grounds for their
dead--an act of historic significance which was greatly welcomed by
the members of sore-pressed and long-suffering communities, and
which has served to demonstrate still further the independent character
of their Faith and enlarge the sphere of the jurisdiction of its
representative institutions.
It was to the first of these two officially designated &Baha'i cemeteries,
following the decision of the Egyptian &Baha'i National
Assembly aided by its sister-Assembly in Persia, that the remains
of the illustrious &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl were transferred and accorded
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a sepulture worthy of his high position, thereby inaugurating,
in a befitting manner, the first official &Baha'i institution of its kind
established in the East. This achievement was, soon after, enhanced by
the exhumation from a Christian cemetery in Cairo of the body of
that far-famed mother teacher of the West, Mrs. E. Getsinger, and its
interment, through the assistance extended by the American &Baha'i
National Assembly and the Department of State in Washington, in a
spot in the heart of that cemetery and adjoining the resting-place of
that distinguished author and champion of the Faith.
In the Holy Land, where a &Baha'i cemetery had, before these
pronouncements, been established during &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry, the historic
decision to bury the &Baha'i dead facing the Qiblih in &Akka was
taken--a measure whose significance was heightened by the resolution
to cease having recourse, as had been previously the case, to any
&Muhammadan court in all matters affecting marriage and divorce, and
to carry out, in their entirety and without any concealment whatever,
the rites prescribed by &Baha'u'llah for the preparation and burial of
the dead. This was soon after followed by the presentation of a formal
petition addressed by the representatives of the local &Baha'i community
of Haifa, dated May 4, 1929, to the Palestine Authorities, requesting
them that, pending the adoption of a uniform civil law of personal
status applicable to all residents of the country irrespective of their
religious beliefs, the community be officially recognized by them and
be granted "full powers to administer its own affairs now enjoyed by
other religious communities in Palestine."
The acceptance of this petition--an act of tremendous significance
and wholly unprecedented in the history of the Faith in any country--
according official recognition by the civil authorities to marriage
certificates issued by the representatives of the local community, the
validity of which the official representative of the Persian Government
in Palestine has tacitly recognized, was followed by a series of decisions
exempting from government tax all properties and institutions regarded
by the &Baha'i community as holy sites, or dedicated to the
Tombs of its Founders at its world center. Moreover, through these
decisions, all articles serving as ornaments or furniture for the &Baha'i
shrines were exempted from customs duties, and the branches of both
the American and Indian &Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies were
enabled to function as "religious societies," in accordance with the laws
of the country, and to hold and administer property as agents of these
Assemblies.
In Persia, where a far larger community, already numerically
+P370
superior to the Christian, the Jewish and the Zoroastrian minorities
living in that country, had, notwithstanding the traditionally hostile
attitude of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, succeeded in rearing
the structure of its administrative institutions, the reaction to so momentous
a declaration was such as to inspire its members and induce
them to exploit, in the fullest measure possible, the enormous advantages
which this wholly unexpected testimonial had conferred upon
them. Having survived the fiery ordeals to which the cruel, the arrogant
and implacable leaders of an all-powerful priesthood, now grievously
humiliated, had subjected it, a triumphant community, just
emerging from obscurity, was determined, more than ever before, to
press, within the limits prescribed for it by its Founders, its claim to
be regarded as an independent religious entity, and to safeguard, by all
available means, its integrity, the solidarity of its members and the
solidity of its elective institutions. It could no longer, now that its
declared adversaries had, in such a country, in such a language, and on
so important an issue, made so emphatic and sweeping a pronouncement,
and torn asunder the veil that had for so long been drawn over
some of the distinguishing verities lying at the core of its doctrine,
keep silent or tolerate without any protest the imposition of restrictions
calculated to circumscribe its powers, stifle its community life and
deny it its right to be placed on a footing of unqualified equality with
other religious communities in that land.
Inflexibly resolved to be classified no longer as Muslim, Jew,
Christian or Zoroastrian, the members of this community determined,
as a first step, to adopt such measures as would vindicate
beyond challenge the distinctive position claimed for their religion
by its avowed enemies. Mindful of their clear, their sacred and
inescapable duty to obey unreservedly, in all matters of a purely
administrative character, the laws of their country, but firmly determined
to assert and demonstrate, through every legitimate means at
their disposal, the independent character of their Faith, they formulated
a policy and embarked in undertakings designed to carry them a
stage further towards the goal they had set themselves to attain.
The steadfast resolution not to dissemble their faith, whatever the
sacrifices it might entail; the uncompromising position that they would
not refer any matters affecting their personal status to any Muslim,
Christian, Rabbinical or Zoroastrian court; the refusal to affiliate with
any organization, or accept any ecclesiastical post associated with any
of the recognized religions in their country; the universal observance
of the laws prescribed in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas relating to obligatory
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prayers, fasting, marriage, divorce, inheritance, burial of the dead, and
the use of opium and alcoholic beverages; the issue and circulation of
certificates of birth, death, marriage and divorce, at the direction and
under the seal of recognized &Baha'i Assemblies; the translation into
Persian of "The &Baha'i Laws affecting Matters of Personal Status,"
first published by the Egyptian &Baha'i National Assembly; the cessation
of work on all &Baha'i Holy Days; the establishment of &Baha'i
cemeteries in the capital as well as in the provinces, designed to provide
a common burial ground for all ranks of the faithful, whatever their
religious extraction; the insistence that they no longer be registered as
Muslim, Christian, Jew or Zoroastrian on identity cards, marriage certificates,
passports and other official documents; the emphasis placed
on the institution of the Nineteen Day Feast, as established by &Baha'u'llah
in His Most Holy Book; the imposition of sanctions by &Baha'i
elective Assemblies, now assuming the duties and functions of religious
courts, on recalcitrant members of the community by denying them
the right to vote and of membership in these Assemblies and their
committees--all these are to be associated with the first stirrings of a
community that had erected the fabric of its Administrative Order,
and was now, under the propelling influence of the historic judicial
sentence passed in Egypt, intent upon obtaining, not by force but
through persuasion, the recognition by the civil authorities of the
status to which its ecclesiastical adversaries had so emphatically borne
witness.
That its initial attempt should have met with partial success, that
it should have aroused at times the suspicion of the ruling authorities,
that it should have been grossly misrepresented by its vigilant enemies,
is not a matter for surprise. It was successful in certain respects in its
negotiations with the civil authorities, as in obtaining the government
decree removing all references to religious affiliation in passports issued
to Persian subjects, and in the tacit permission granted in certain localities
that its members should not fill in the religious columns in certain
state documents, but should register with their own Assemblies their
marriage, their divorce, their birth and their death certificates, and
should conduct their funerals according to their religious rites. In
other respects, however, it has been subjected to grave disabilities: its
schools, founded, owned and controlled exclusively by itself, were
forcibly closed because they refused to remain open on &Baha'i holy
days; its members, both men and women, were prosecuted; those who
held army or civil service appointments were in some cases dismissed; a
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ban was placed on the import, on the printing and circulation of its
literature; and all &Baha'i public gatherings were proscribed.
To all administrative regulations which the civil authorities have
issued from time to time, or will issue in the future in that land, as in
all other countries, the &Baha'i community, faithful to its sacred obligations
towards its government, and conscious of its civic duties, has
yielded, and will continue to yield implicit obedience. Its immediate
closing of its schools in Persia is a proof of this. To such orders, however,
as are tantamount to a recantation of their faith by its members,
or constitute an act of disloyalty to its spiritual, its basic and God-given
principles and precepts, it will stubbornly refuse to bow, preferring
imprisonment, deportation and all manner of persecution, including
death--as already suffered by the twenty thousand martyrs
that have laid down their lives in the path of its Founders--rather than
follow the dictates of a temporal authority requiring it to renounce its
allegiance to its cause.
"If you cut us in pieces, men, women and children alike, in the
entire district of &Abadih," was the memorable message sent by the fearless
descendants of some of those martyrs in that turbulent center to
the Governor of &Fars, who had intended to coerce them into declaring
themselves as Muslims, "we will never submit to your wishes"--a message
which, as soon as it was delivered to that defiant governor, induced
him to desist from pressing the matter any further.
In the United States of America, the &Baha'i community, having
already set an inspiring example, by erecting and perfecting the machinery
of its Administrative Order, was alive to the far-reaching
implications of the sentence passed by the Muslim court in Egypt, and
to the significance of the reaction it had produced in the Holy Land,
and was stimulated by the courageous persistence demonstrated by its
sister-community in Persia. It determined to supplement its notable
achievements with further acts designed to throw into sharper relief
the status achieved by the Faith of &Baha'u'llah in the North American
continent. It was numerically smaller than the community of the
Persian believers. Owing to the multiplicity of laws governing the
states within the Union, it was faced, in matters affecting the personal
status of its members, with a situation radically different from that
confronting the believers in the East, and much more complex. But
conscious of its responsibility to lend, once again, a powerful impetus
to the unfoldment of a divinely appointed Order, it boldly undertook
to initiate such measures as would accentuate the independent character
of a Revelation it had already so nobly championed.
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The recognition of its National Spiritual Assembly by the Federal
authorities as a religious body entitled to hold as trustees properties
dedicated to the interests of the Faith; the establishment of &Baha'i
endowments and the exemption obtained for them from the civil
authorities as properties owned by, and administered solely for the
benefit of, a purely religious community, were now to be supplemented
by decisions and measures designed to give further prominence to the
nature of the ties uniting its members. The special stress laid on some
of the fundamental laws contained in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas regarding
daily obligatory prayers; the observance of the fast, the consent of the
parents as a prerequisite of marriage; the one-year separation between
husband and wife as an indispensable condition of divorce; abstinence
from all alcoholic drinks; the emphasis placed on the institution of the
Nineteen Day Feast as ordained by &Baha'u'llah in that same Book; the
discontinuation of membership in, and affiliation with, all ecclesiastical
organizations, and the refusal to accept any ecclesiastical post--these
have served to forcibly underline the distinctive character of the
&Baha'i Fellowship, and to dissociate it, in the eyes of the public, from
the rituals, the ceremonials and man-made institutions identified with
the religious systems of the past.
Of particular and historic importance has been the application
made by the Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of Chicago--the first
center established in the North American continent, the first to be
incorporated among its sister-Assemblies and the first to take the initiative
in paving the way for the erection of a &Baha'i Temple in the
West--to the civil authorities in the state of Illinois for civil recognition
of the right to conduct legal marriages in accordance with the
ordinances of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, and to file marriage certificates that
have previously received the official sanction of that Assembly. The
acceptance of this petition by the authorities, necessitating an amendment
of the by-laws of all local Assemblies to enable them to conduct
&Baha'i legal marriages, and empowering the Chairman or secretary of
the Chicago Assembly to represent that body in the conduct of all
&Baha'i marriages; the issuance, on September 22, 1939, of the first
&Baha'i Marriage License by the State of Illinois, authorizing the
aforementioned Assembly to solemnize &Baha'i marriages and issue &Baha'i
marriage certificates; the successful measures taken subsequently by
Assemblies in other states of the Union, such as New York, New
Jersey, Wisconsin and Ohio, to procure for themselves similar privileges,
have, moreover, contributed their share in giving added prominence
to the independent religious status of the Faith. To these must
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be added a similar and no less significant recognition extended, since
the outbreak of the present conflict, by the United States War Department
--as evidenced by the communication addressed to the American
&Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly by the Quartermaster General of
that Department, on August 14, 1942--approving the use of the
symbol of the Greatest Name on stones marking the graves of &Baha'is
killed in the war and buried in military or private cemeteries, distinguishing
thereby these graves from those bearing the Latin Cross or
the Star of David assigned to those belonging to the Christian and
Jewish Faiths respectively.
Nor should mention be omitted of the equally successful application
made by the American &Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly to
the Office of Price Administration in Washington, D.C., asking that
the chairmen and secretaries of &Baha'i local Assemblies should, in their
capacity as officers conducting religious meetings, and authorized, in
certain states, to perform marriage services, be eligible for preferred
mileage under the provisions of the Preferred Mileage Section of the
Gasoline Regulations, for the purpose of meeting the religious needs of
the localities they serve.
Nor have the &Baha'i communities in other countries such as India,
&Iraq, Great Britain and Australia, been slow to either appreciate the
advantages derived from the publication of this historic verdict, or to
exploit, each according to its capacity and within the limits imposed
upon it by prevailing circumstances, the opportunities afforded by such
public testimonial for a further demonstration on their part of the
independent character of the Faith whose administrative structure they
had already erected. Through the enforcement, to whatever extent
deemed practicable, of the laws ordained in their Most Holy Book;
through the severance of all ties of affiliation with, and membership in,
ecclesiastical institutions of whatever denomination; through the
formulation of a policy initiated for the sole purpose of giving further
publicity to this mighty issue, marking a great turning-point in the
evolution of the Faith, and of facilitating its ultimate settlement, these
communities, and indeed all organized &Baha'i bodies, whether in the
East or in the West, however isolated their position or immature their
state of development, have, conscious of their solidarity and well aware
of the glorious prospects opening before them, arisen to proclaim with
one voice the independent character of the religion of &Baha'u'llah and
to pave the way for its emancipation from whatever fetters, be they
ecclesiastical or otherwise, might hinder or delay its ultimate and
world-wide recognition.
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To the status already achieved by their Faith, largely through
their own unaided efforts and accomplishments, tributes have been
paid by observers in various walks of life, whose testimony they welcome
and regard as added incentive to action in their steep and laborious
ascent towards the heights which they must eventually capture.
"Palestine," is the testimony of Prof. Norman Bentwitch, a
former Attorney-General of the Palestine Government, "may indeed
be now regarded as the land not of three but of four Faiths, because
the &Baha'i creed, which has its center of faith and pilgrimage in
&Akka and Haifa, is attaining to the character of a world religion. So
far as its influence goes in the land, it is a factor making for international
and inter-religious understanding." "In 1920," is the declaration
made in his testament by the distinguished Swiss scientist and
psychiatrist, Dr. Auguste Forel, "I learned at Karlsruhe of the
supraconfessional world religion of the &Baha'is, founded in the Orient seventy
years ago by a Persian, &Baha'u'llah. This is the real religion of
`Social Welfare' without dogmas or priests, binding together all men of
this small terrestrial globe of ours. I have become a &Baha'i. May this
religion live and prosper for the good of humanity! This is my most
ardent desire." "There is bound to be a world state, a universal language,
and a universal religion," he, moreover has stated, "The &Baha'i
Movement for the oneness of mankind is, in my estimation, the greatest
movement today working for universal peace and brotherhood." "A
religion," is yet another testimony, from the pen of the late Queen
Marie of Rumania, "which links all creeds ... a religion based upon
the inner spirit of God... It teaches that all hatreds, intrigues, suspicions,
evil words, all aggressive patriotism even, are outside the one
essential law of God, and that special beliefs are but surface things
whereas the heart that beats with Divine love knows no tribe nor race."
+P376
CHAPTER XXV
International Expansion of Teaching Activities
While the fabric of the Administrative Order of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah gradually arose, and while through the influence of unforeseen
forces the independence of the Faith was more and more definitely
acknowledged by its enemies and demonstrated by its friends, another
development, no less pregnant with consequences, was at the same time
being set in motion. The purpose of this was to extend the borders of
the Faith, increasing the number of its declared supporters and of its
administrative centers, and to give a new and ever growing impetus to
the enriching, the expanding, the diversifying of its literature, and to
the task of disseminating it farther and farther afield. Experience
indeed proved that the very pattern of the Administrative Order, apart
from other distinctive features, definitely encouraged efficiency and
expedition in this work of teaching, and its builders found their zeal
continually quickened and their missionary ardor heightened as the
Faith moved forward to an ever fuller emancipation.
Nor were they unmindful of the exhortations, the appeals and the
promises of the Founders of their Faith, Who, for three quarters of a
century, had, each in His own way and within the limits circumscribing
His activities, labored so heroically to noise abroad the fame
of the Cause Whose destiny an almighty Providence had commissioned
them to shape.
The Herald of their Faith had commanded the sovereigns of the
earth themselves to arise and teach His Cause, writing in the
&Qayyumu'l-Asma': "O concourse of kings! Deliver with truth and in
all haste the verses sent down by Us to the peoples of Turkey and of
India, and beyond them ... to lands in both the East and the West."
"Issue forth from your cities, O peoples of the West," He, in that same
Book, had moreover written, "to aid God." "We behold you from Our
Most Glorious Horizon," &Baha'u'llah had thus addressed His followers
in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas, "and will assist whosoever will arise to aid My
Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high, and a cohort of the
angels, who are nigh unto Me." "...Teach ye the Cause of God, O
people of &Baha!" He, furthermore, had written, "for God hath prescribed
unto every one the duty of proclaiming His message, and
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regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds." "Should a man all
alone," He had clearly affirmed, "arise in the name of &Baha and put on the
armor of His love, him will the Almighty cause to be victorious,
though the forces of earth and heaven be arrayed against him."
"Should any one arise for the triumph of Our Cause," He moreover
had declared, "him will God render victorious though tens of thousands
of enemies be leagued against him." And again: "Center your energies
in the propagation of the Faith of God. Whoso is worthy of so high a
calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is unable, it is his duty to
appoint him who will, in his stead, proclaim this Revelation..."
"They that have forsaken their country," is His own promise, "for the
purpose of teaching Our Cause--these shall the Faithful Spirit
strengthen through its power... Such a service is indeed the prince
of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every goodly act." "In these
days," &Abdu'l-Baha had written in His Will, "the most important of
all things is the guidance of the nations and peoples of the world.
Teaching the Cause is of the utmost importance, for it is the head
corner-stone of the foundation itself." "The disciples of Christ," He
had declared in that same Document, "forgot themselves and all earthly
things, forsook all their cares and belongings, purged themselves of self
and passion, and, with absolute detachment, scattered far and wide, and
engaged in guiding aright the peoples of the world, till at last they
made the world another world, illumined the earth, and to their last
hour proved self-sacrificing in the path of that Beloved One of God.
Finally, in various lands they suffered martyrdom. Let men of action
follow in their footsteps." "When the hour cometh," He had solemnly
stated in that same Will, "that this wronged and broken-winged bird
will have taken its flight unto the celestial concourse ... it is incumbent
upon ... the friends and loved ones, one and all, to bestir themselves
and arise, with heart and soul, and in one accord ... to teach
His Cause and promote His Faith. It behoveth them not to rest for a
moment... They must disperse themselves in every land ... and
travel throughout all regions. Bestirred, without rest, and steadfast to
the end, they must raise in every land the cry of &Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha
(O Thou the Glory of Glories) ... that throughout the East and the
West a vast concourse may gather under the shadow of the Word of
God, that the sweet savors of holiness may be wafted, that men's faces
may be illumined, that their hearts may be filled with the Divine Spirit
and their souls become heavenly."
Obedient to these repeated injunctions, mindful of these glowing
promises, conscious of the sublimity of their calling, spurred on by the
+P378
example which &Abdu'l-Baha Himself had set, undismayed by His sudden
removal from their midst, undaunted by the attacks launched by
their adversaries from within and from without, His followers in both
the East and in the West arose, in the full strength of their solidarity,
to promote, more vigorously than ever before, the international expansion
of their Faith, an expansion which was now to assume such proportions
as to deserve to be recognized as one of the most significant
developments in the history of the first &Baha'i century.
Launched in every continent of the globe, at first intermittent,
haphazard, and unorganized, and later, as a result of the emergence of
a slowly developing Administrative Order, systematically conducted,
centrally directed and efficiently prosecuted, the teaching enterprises
which were undertaken by the followers of &Baha'u'llah in many lands,
but conspicuously in America, and which were pursued by members
of all ages and of both sexes, by neophytes and by veterans, by itinerant
teachers and by settlers, constitute, by virtue of their range and the
blessings which have flowed from them, a shining episode that yields
place to none except those associated with the exploits which have immortalized
the early years of the primitive age of the &Baha'i Dispensation.
The light of the Faith which during the nine years of the &Babi
Dispensation had irradiated Persia, and been reflected on the adjoining
territory of &Iraq; which in the course of &Baha'u'llah's thirty-nine-year
ministry had shed its splendor upon India, Egypt, Turkey, the
Caucasus, &Turkistan, the &Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Burma,
and which had subsequently, through the impulse of a divinely-instituted
Covenant, traveled to the United States of America, Canada,
France, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Russia, Italy, Holland,
Hungary, Switzerland, Arabia, Tunisia, China, Japan, the Hawaiian
Islands, South Africa, Brazil and Australia, was now to be carried to,
and illuminate, ere the termination of the first &Baha'i century, no less
than thirty-four independent nations, as well as several dependencies
situated in the American, the Asiatic and African continents, in the
Persian Gulf, and in the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. In Norway,
in Sweden, in Denmark, in Belgium, in Finland, in Ireland, in Poland,
in Czechoslovakia, in Rumania, in Yugoslavia, in Bulgaria, in Albania,
in Afghanistan, in Abyssinia, in New Zealand and in nineteen Latin
American Republics ensigns of the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah have been
raised since &Abdu'l-Baha's passing, and the structural basis of the
Administrative Order of His Faith, in many of them, already established.
In several dependencies, moreover, in both the East and the
+P379
West, including Alaska, Iceland, Jamaica, Porto Rico, the island of
Solano in the Philippines, Java, Tasmania, the islands of &Bahrayn and
of Tahiti, Baluchistan, South Rhodesia and the Belgian Congo,
the bearers of the new born Gospel have established their residence,
and are bending every effort to lay an impregnable basis for its
institutions.
Through lectures and conferences, through the press and radio,
through the organization of study classes and fire-side gatherings,
through participation in the activities of societies, institutes and clubs
animated by ideals akin to the principles of the Faith, through the
dissemination of &Baha'i literature, through various exhibits, through
the establishment of teacher training classes, through contact with
statesmen, scholars, publicists, philanthropists and other leaders of public
thought--most of which have been carried out through the resourcefulness
of the members of the American &Baha'i community,
who have assumed direct responsibility for the spiritual conquest of
the vast majority of these countries and dependencies--above all
through the inflexible resolution and unswerving fidelity of pioneers
who, whether as visiting teachers or as residents, have participated in
these crusades, have these signal victories been achieved during the
closing decades of the first &Baha'i century.
Nor should reference be omitted to the international teaching
activities of the western followers of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, and
particularly the members of the stalwart American &Baha'i community,
who, seizing every opportunity that presented itself to them, have
either through example, precept or the circulation of literature carried
the Faith to virgin fields, scattering the seeds which must eventually
germinate and yield a harvest as notable as those already garnered in
the aforementioned countries. Through such efforts as these the
breezes of God's vitalizing Revelation have been blown upon the uttermost
corners of the earth, bearing the germ of a new spiritual life to
such distant climes and inhospitable regions as Lapland; the Island of
Spitzbergen, the northernmost settlement in the world; Hammerfest,
in Norway, and Magellanes, in the extremity of Chile--the most
northerly and southerly cities of the globe respectively; Pago Pago
and Fiji, in the Pacific Ocean; Chichen Itza, in the province of Yucatan;
the Bahama Islands, Trinidad and Barbados in the West Indies;
the Island of Bali and British North Borneo in the East Indies; Patagonia;
British Guiana; Seychelles Islands; New Guinea and Ceylon.
Nor can we fail to notice the special endeavors that have been
exerted by individuals as well as Assemblies for the purpose of establishing
+P380
contact with minority groups and races in various parts of the
world, such as the Jews and Negroes in the United States of America,
the Eskimos in Alaska, the Patagonian Indians in Argentina, the Mexican
Indians in Mexico, the Inca Indians in Peru, the Cherokee Indians
in North Carolina, the Oneida Indians in Wisconsin, the Mayans in
Yucatan, the Lapps in Northern Scandinavia, and the Maoris in Rotorua,
New Zealand.
Of special and valuable assistance has been the institution of an
international &Baha'i Bureau in Geneva, a center designed primarily to
facilitate the expansion of the teaching activities of the Faith in the
European continent, which, as an auxiliary to the world administrative
center in the Holy Land, has maintained contact with &Baha'i communities
in the East and in the West. Serving as a bureau of information
on the Faith, as well as a distributing center for its literature, it
has, through its free reading room and lending library, through the
hospitality extended to itinerant teachers and visiting believers, and
through its contact with various societies, contributed, in no small
measure, to the consolidation of the teaching enterprises undertaken by
individuals as well as &Baha'i National Assemblies.
Through these teaching activities, some initiated by individual
believers, others conducted through plans launched by organized
Assemblies, the Faith of &Baha'u'llah which, in His lifetime, had included
within its ranks Persians, Arabs, Turks, Russians, Kurds,
Indians, Burmese and Negroes, and was later, in the days of &Abdu'l-Baha,
reinforced by the inclusion of American, British, German,
French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, and Armenian converts, could now
boast of having enrolled amongst its avowed supporters representatives
of such widely dispersed ethnic groups and nationalities as Hungarians,
Netherlanders, Irishmen, Scandinavians, Sudanese, Czechs, Bulgarians,
Finns, Ethiopians, Albanians, Poles, Eskimos, American Indians, Yugoslavians,
Latin Americans and Maoris.
So notable an enlargement of the limits of the Faith, so striking
an increase in the diversity of the elements included within its pale,
was accompanied by an enormous extension in the volume and the
circulation of its literature, an extension that sharply contrasted with
those initial measures undertaken for the publication of the few editions
of &Baha'u'llah's writing issued during the concluding years of His
ministry. The range of &Baha'i literature, confined during half a
century, in the days of the &Bab and of &Baha'u'llah, to the two languages
in which their teachings were originally revealed, and subsequently
extended, in the lifetime of &Abdu'l-Baha, to include editions
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published in the English, the French, the German, the Turkish, the
Russian and Burmese languages, was steadily enlarged after His passing,
through a vast multiplication in the number of books, treatises,
pamphlets and leaflets, printed and circulated in no less than twenty-nine
additional languages. In Spanish and in Portuguese; in the three
Scandinavian languages, in Finnish and in Icelandic; in Dutch, Italian,
Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Rumanian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek and
Albanian; in Hebrew and in Esperanto, in Armenian, in Kurdish and
in Amharic; in Chinese and in Japanese; as well as in five Indian languages,
namely Urdu, Gujrati, Bengali, Hindi, and Sindhi, books,
mostly through the initiative of individual &Baha'is, and partly through
the intermediary of &Baha'i assemblies, were published, widely distributed,
and placed in private as well as public libraries in both the East
and the West. The literature of the Faith, moreover, is being translated
at present into Latvian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Tamil, Mahratti,
Pushtoo, Telegu, Kinarese, Singhalese, Malyalan, Oriya, Punjabi and
Rajasthani.
No less remarkable has been the range of the literature produced
and placed at the disposal of the general public in every continent of
the globe, and carried by resolute and indefatigable pioneers to the
furthermost ends of the earth, an enterprise in which the members of
the American &Baha'i community have again distinguished themselves.
The publication of an English edition comprising selected passages
from the more important and hitherto untranslated writings of
&Baha'u'llah, as well as of an English version of His "Epistle to the Son
of the Wolf," and of a compilation, in the same language, of Prayers
and Meditations revealed by His pen; the translation and publication
of His "Hidden Words" in eight, of His "&Kitab-i-Iqan" in seven, and
of &Abdu'l-Baha's "Some Answered Questions" in six, languages; the
compilation of the third volume of &Abdu'l-Baha's Tablets translated
into English; the publication of books and treatises related to the principles
of &Baha'i belief and to the origin and development of the Administrative
Order of the Faith; of an English translation of the
Narrative of the early days of the &Baha'i Revelation, written by the
chronicler and poet, &Nabil-i-Zarandi, subsequently published in Arabic
and translated into German and Esperanto; of commentaries and of
expositions of the &Baha'i teachings, of administrative institutions and
of kindred subjects, such as world federation, race unity and comparative
religion by western authors and by former ministers of the Church
--all these attest the diversified character of &Baha'i publications, so
closely paralleled by their extensive dissemination over the surface of
+P382
the globe. Moreover, the printing of documents related to the laws of
the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, of books and pamphlets dealing with Biblical
prophecies, of revised editions of some of the writings of &Baha'u'llah, of
&Abdu'l-Baha and of several &Baha'i authors, of guides and study outlines
for a wide variety of &Baha'i books and subjects, of lessons in
&Baha'i Administration, of indexes to &Baha'i books and periodicals, of
anniversary cards and of calendars, of poems, songs, plays and pageants,
of study outlines and a prayer-book for the training of &Baha'i children,
and of news letters, bulletins and periodicals issued in English, Persian,
German, Esperanto, Arabic, French, Urdu, Burmese and Portuguese
has contributed to swell the output and increase the diversity of &Baha'i
publications.
Of particular value and significance has been the production, over
a period of many years, of successive volumes of biennial international
record of &Baha'i activity, profusely illustrated, fully documented, and
comprising among other things a statement on the aims and purposes
of the Faith and its Administrative Order, selections from its scriptures,
a survey of its activities, a list of its centers in five continents, a
bibliography of its literature, tributes paid to its ideals and achievements
by prominent men and women in East and West, and articles
dealing with its relation to present-day problems.
Nor would any survey of the &Baha'i literature produced during the
concluding decades of the first &Baha'i century be complete without
special reference being made to the publication of, and the far-reaching
influence exerted by, that splendid, authoritative and comprehensive
introduction to &Baha'i history and teachings, penned by that pure-hearted
and immortal promoter of the Faith, J. E. Esslemont, which
has already been printed in no less than thirty-seven languages, and is
being translated into thirteen additional languages, whose English
version has already run into tens of thousands, which has been reprinted
no less than nine times in the United States of America, whose
Esperanto, Japanese and English versions have been transcribed into
Braille, and to which royalty has paid its tribute, characterizing it as
"a glorious book of love and goodness, strength and beauty," commending
it to all, and affirming that "no man could fail to be better
because of this Book."
Deserving special mention, moreover, is the establishment by the
British National Spiritual Assembly of a Publishing Trust, registered
as "The &Baha'i Publishing Co." and acting as a publisher and wholesale
distributor of &Baha'i literature throughout the British Isles; the compilation
by various &Baha'i Assemblies throughout the East of no less
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than forty volumes in manuscript of the authenticated and unpublished
writings of the &Bab, of &Baha'u'llah and of &Abdu'l-Baha; the
translation into English of the Appendix to the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, entitled
"Questions and Answers," as well as the publication in Arabic and
Persian by the Egyptian and Indian &Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies
respectively of the Outline of &Baha'i Laws on Matters of Personal
Status, and of a brief outline by the latter Assembly of the laws
relating to the burial of the dead; and the translation of a pamphlet
into Maori undertaken by a Maori &Baha'i in New Zealand. Reference
should also be made to the collection and publication by the Spiritual
Assembly of the &Baha'is of &Tihran of a considerable number of the
addresses delivered by &Abdu'l-Baha in the course of His Western tours;
to the preparation of a detailed history of the Faith in Persian; to the
printing of &Baha'i certificates of marriage and divorce, in both Persian
and Arabic, by a number of National Spiritual Assemblies in the East;
to the issuance of birth and death certificates by the Persian &Baha'i
National Spiritual Assembly; to the preparation of forms of bequest
available to believers wishing to make a legacy to the Faith; to the
compilation of a considerable number of the unpublished Tablets of
&Abdu'l-Baha by the American &Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly; to
the translation into Esperanto, undertaken by the daughter of the
famous Zamenhof, herself a convert to the Faith, of several &Baha'i
books, including some of the more important writings of &Baha'u'llah
and of &Abdu'l-Baha; to the translation of a &Baha'i booklet into Serbian
by Prof. Bogdan Popovitch, one of the most eminent scholars attached
to the University of Belgrade, and to the offer spontaneously made by
Princess Ileana of Rumania (now Arch-Duchess Anton of Austria) to
render into her own native language a &Baha'i pamphlet written in English,
and subsequently distributed in her native country.
The progress made in connection with the transcription of the
&Baha'i writings into Braille, should also be noted--a transcription
which already includes such works as the English versions of the
"&Kitab-i-Iqan," of the "Hidden Words," of the "Seven Valleys," of the
"&Ishraqat," of the "&Suriy-i-Haykal," of the "Words of Wisdom," of the
"Prayers and Meditations of &Baha'u'llah," of &Abdu'l-Baha's "Some
Answered Questions," of the "Promulgation of Universal Peace," of
the "Wisdom of &Abdu'l-Baha," of "The Goal of a New World Order,"
as well as of the English (two editions), the Esperanto and the Japanese
versions of "&Baha'u'llah and the New Era" and of pamphlets
written in English, in French and in Esperanto.
Nor have those who have been primarily responsible for the enrichment
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of the literature of the Faith and its translation into so many
languages, been slow to disseminate it, by every means in their power,
in their daily intercourse with individuals as well as in their official
contacts with organizations whom they have been seeking to acquaint
with the aims and principles of their Faith. The energy, the vigilance,
the steadfastness displayed by these heralds of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah and their elected representatives, under whose auspices the
circulation of &Baha'i literature has, of late years, assumed tremendous
dimensions, merit the highest praise. From the reports prepared and
circulated by the chief agencies entrusted with the task of the publication
and distribution of this literature in the United States and Canada
the remarkable facts emerge that, within the space of the eleven
months ending February 28, 1943, over 19,000 books, 100,000 pamphlets,
3,000 study outlines, 4,000 sets of selected writings, and 1800
anniversary and Temple cards and folders had been either sold or distributed;
that, in the course of two years, 376,000 pamphlets, outlining
the character and purpose of the House of Worship, erected in the
United States of America, had been printed; that over 300,000 pieces
of literature had been distributed at the two World Fairs held in San
Francisco and New York; that, in a period of twelve months, 1089
books had been donated to various libraries, and that, through the
National Contacts Committee, during one year, more than 2,300 letters,
with over 4,500 pamphlets, had reached authors, radio speakers,
and representatives of the Jewish and Negro minorities, as well as various
organizations interested in international affairs.
In the presentation of this vast literature to men of eminence and
rank the elected representatives, as well as the traveling teachers, of the
American &Baha'i community, aided by Assemblies in other lands, have,
likewise, exhibited an energy and determination as laudable as the
efforts exerted for its production. To the King of England, to Queen
Marie of Rumania, to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to the Emperor
of Japan, to the late President von Hindenburg, to the King of Denmark,
to the Queen of Sweden, to King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, to the
Emperor of Abyssinia, to the King of Egypt, to the late King Feisal of
&Iraq, to King Zog of Albania, to the late President Masaryk of Czechoslovakia,
to the Presidents of Mexico, of Honduras, of Panama, of El-Salvador,
of Guatemala, and of Porto Rico, to General Chiang Kaishek,
to the Ex-Khedive of Egypt, to the Crown Prince of Sweden, to
the Duke of Windsor, to the Duchess of Kent, to the Arch-Duchess
Anton of Austria, to Princess Olga of Yugoslavia, to Princess Kadria of
Egypt, to Princess Estelle Bernadotte of Wisborg, to Mahatma Gandhi,
+P385
to several ruling princes of India and to the Prime Ministers of all
the states of the Australian Commonwealth--to these, as well as to
other personages of lesser rank, &Baha'i literature, touching various
aspects of the Faith, has been presented, to some personally, to others
through suitable intermediaries, either by individual believers or by the
elected representatives of &Baha'i communities.
Nor have these individual teachers and Assemblies been neglectful
of their duty to place this literature at the disposal of the public in
state, university and public libraries, thereby extending the opportunity
to the great mass of the reading public of familiarizing itself
with the history and precepts of the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah. A mere
enumeration of a number of the more important of these libraries
would suffice to reveal the scope of these activities extending over five
continents: the British Museum in London, the Bodleian Library at
Oxford, the Library of Congress in Washington, the Peace Palace
Library at the Hague, the Nobel Peace Foundation and Nansen Foundation
Libraries at Oslo, the Royal Library in Copenhagen, the League
of Nations Library in Geneva, the Hoover Peace Library, the Amsterdam
University Library, the Library of Parliament in Ottawa, the
Allahabad University Library, the Aligarh University Library, the
University of Madras Library, the Shantineketan International University
Library in Bolepur, the &Uthmaniyyih University Library in
Hyderabad, the Imperial Library in Calcutta, the Jamia Milli Library
in Delhi, the Mysore University Library, the Bernard Library in Rangoon,
the Jerabia Wadia Library in Poona, the Lahore Public Library,
the Lucknow and Delhi University Libraries, the Johannesburg Public
Library, the Rio de Janeiro Circulating libraries, the Manila National
Library, the Hong Kong University Library, the Reykjavik public
libraries, the Carnegie Library in the Seychelles Islands, the Cuban National
Library, the San Juan Public Library, the Ciudad Trujillo University
Library, the University and Carnegie Public libraries in Porto
Rico, the Library of Parliament in Canberra, the Wellington Parliamentary
Library. In all these, as well as in all the chief libraries of
Australia and New Zealand, nine libraries in Mexico, several libraries
in Mukden, Manchukuo, and more than a thousand public libraries, a
hundred service libraries and two hundred university and college
libraries, including Indian colleges, in the United States and Canada,
authoritative books on the Faith of &Baha'u'llah have been placed.
State prisons and, since the outbreak of the war, army libraries have
been included in the comprehensive scheme which the American
&Baha'i community has, through a special committee, devised for the
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diffusion of the literature of the Faith. The interests of the blind, too,
have not been neglected by that alert and enterprising community,
as is shown by the placing of &Baha'i books, transcribed by its members
in Braille, in thirty libraries and institutes, in eighteen states of
the United States of America, in Honolulu (Hawaii), in Regina
(Saskatchewan), and in the Tokyo and Geneva Libraries for the Blind,
as well as in a large number of circulating libraries connected with
public libraries in various large cities of the North American
continent.
Nor can I dismiss this subject without singling out for special
reference her who, not only through her preponderating share in
initiating measures for the translation and dissemination of &Baha'i
literature, but above all through her prodigious and indeed unique exertions
in the international teaching field, has covered herself with a
glory that has not only eclipsed the achievements of the teachers of
the Faith among her contemporaries the globe around, but has outshone
the feats accomplished by any of its propagators in the course of
an entire century. To Martha Root, that archetype of &Baha'i itinerant
teachers and the foremost Hand raised by &Baha'u'llah since &Abdu'l-Baha's
passing, must be awarded, if her manifold services and the
supreme act of her life are to be correctly appraised, the title of Leading
Ambassadress of His Faith and Pride of &Baha'i teachers, whether
men or women, in both the East and the West.
The first to arise, in the very year the Tablets of the Divine Plan
were unveiled in the United States of America, in response to the epoch-making
summons voiced in them by &Abdu'l-Baha; embarking, with
unswerving resolve and a spirit of sublime detachment, on her world
journeys, covering an almost uninterrupted period of twenty years
and carrying her four times round the globe, in the course of which
she traveled four times to China and Japan and three times to India,
visited every important city in South America, transmitted the message
of the New Day to kings, queens, princes and princesses, presidents
of republics, ministers and statesmen, publicists, professors,
clergymen and poets, as well as a vast number of people in various
walks of life, and contacted, both officially and informally, religious
congresses, peace societies, Esperanto associations, socialist congresses,
Theosophical societies, women's clubs and other kindred organizations,
this indomitable soul has, by virtue of the character of her exertions
and the quality of the victories she has won, established a record that
constitutes the nearest approach to the example set by &Abdu'l-Baha
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Himself to His disciples in the course of His journeys throughout the
West.
Her eight successive audiences with Queen Marie of Rumania, the
first of which took place in January, 1926 in Controceni Palace in
Bucharest, the second in 1927 in Pelisor Palace in Sinaia, followed by
a visit in January of the ensuing year to her Majesty and her daughter
Princess Ileana, at the royal palace in Belgrade, where they were staying
as guests of the King and Queen of Yugoslavia, and later, in
October, 1929, at the Queen's summer palace "Tehna Yuva," at Balcic,
on the Black Sea, and again, in August, 1932 and February, 1933, at
the home of Princess Ileana (now Arch-Duchess Anton of Austria) at
&Modling, near Vienna, followed a year later, in February, by another
audience at Controceni Palace, and lastly, in February, 1936, in that
same palace--these audiences stand out, by reason of the profound
influence exerted by the visitor on her royal hostess, as witnessed by
the successive encomiums from the Queen's own pen, as the most outstanding
feature of those memorable journeys. The three invitations
which that indefatigable champion of the Faith received to call on
Prince Paul and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia at the Royal Palace in
Belgrade; the lectures which she delivered in over four hundred universities
and colleges in both the East and the West; her twice repeated
visits to all German universities with the exception of two, as well as
to nearly a hundred universities, colleges and schools in China; the
innumerable articles which she published in newspapers and magazines
in practically every country she visited; the numerous broadcasts
which she delivered and the unnumbered books she placed in private
and state libraries; her personal meetings with the statesmen of more
than fifty countries, during her three-months stay in Geneva, in 1932,
at the time of the Disarmament Conference; the painstaking efforts she
exerted, while on her arduous journeys, in supervising the translation
and production of a large number of versions of Dr. Esslemont's
"&Baha'u'llah and the New Era"; the correspondence exchanged with,
and the presentation of &Baha'i books to, men of eminence and learning;
her pilgrimage to Persia, and the touching homage paid by her to
the memory of the heroes of the Faith when visiting the &Baha'i historic
sites in that country; her visit to Adrianople, where, in her overflowing
love for &Baha'u'llah, she searched out the houses where He had
dwelt and the people whom He had met during His exile to that city,
and where she was entertained by its governor and mayor; the ready
and unfailing assistance extended by her to the administrators of the
Faith in all countries where its institutions had been erected or were being
+P388
established--these may be regarded as the highlights of a service
which, in many of its aspects, is without parallel in the entire history of
the first &Baha'i century.
No less impressive is the list of the names of those whom she interviewed
in the course of the execution of her mission, including, in
addition to those already mentioned, such royal personages and distinguished
figures as King Haakon of Norway; King Feisal of &Iraq;
King Zog of Albania and members of his family; Princess Marina of
Greece (now the Duchess of Kent); Princess Elizabeth of Greece;
President Thomas G. Masaryk and President Eduard Benes of Czechoslovakia;
the President of Austria; Dr. Sun Yat Sen; Dr. Nicholas Murray
Butler, President of Columbia University; Prof. Bogdan Popovitch
of Belgrade University; the Foreign Minister of Turkey, &Tawfiq
&Rushdi Bey; the Chinese Foreign Minister and Minister of Education;
the Lithuanian Foreign Minister; Prince &Muhammad-'Ali of Egypt;
Stephen Raditch; the Maharajas of Patiala, of Benares, and of Travancore;
the Governor and the Grand &Mufti of Jerusalem; Dr. Erling
Eidem, Archbishop of Sweden; Sarojini Naidu; Sir Rabindranath
Tagore; Madame Huda &Sha'ravi, the Egyptian feminist leader; Dr. K.
Ichiki, minister of the Japanese Imperial Household; Prof. Tetrujiro
Inouye, Prof. Emeritus of the Imperial University of Tokyo; Baron
Yoshiro Sakatani, member of the House of Peers of Japan and Mehmed
Fuad, Doyen of the Faculty of Letters and President of the Institute
of Turkish history.
Neither age nor ill-health, neither the paucity of literature which
hampered her early efforts, nor the meager resources which imposed
an added burden on her labors, neither the extremities of the climates
to which she was exposed, nor the political disturbances which she
encountered in the course of her journeys, could damp the zeal or
deflect the purpose of this spiritually dynamic and saintly woman.
Single-handed and, on more than one occasion, in extremely perilous
circumstances, she continued to call, in clarion tones, men of diverse
creeds, color and classes to the Message of &Baha'u'llah, until, while in
spite of a deadly and painful disease, the onslaught of which she endured
with heroic fortitude, she hastened homeward to help in the
recently launched Seven Year Plan, she was stricken down on her way,
in far off Honolulu. There in that symbolic spot between the Eastern
and Western Hemispheres, in both of which she had labored so mightily,
she died, on September 28, 1939, and brought to its close a life which
may well be regarded as the fairest fruit as yet yielded by the Formative
Age of the Dispensation of &Baha'u'llah.
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To the injunction of &Abdu'l-Baha bequeathed in His Will to follow
in the footsteps of the disciples of Jesus Christ, "not to rest for a
moment," to "travel throughout all regions" and to raise, "without rest
and steadfast to the end," "in every land, the cry of `&Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha,'"
this immortal heroine yielded an obedience of which the present
as well as future generations may well be proud, and which they
may emulate.
"Unrestrained as the wind," putting her "whole trust" in God, as
"the best provision" for her journey, she fulfilled almost to the letter
the wish so poignantly expressed by &Abdu'l-Baha in the Tablets, whose
summons she had instantly arisen to carry out: "O that I could travel,
even though on foot and in the utmost poverty, to these regions, and,
raising the call of `&Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha' in cities, villages, mountains,
deserts and oceans, promote the Divine teachings! This, alas, I cannot
do. How intensely I deplore it! Please God, ye may achieve it."
"I am deeply distressed to hear of the death of good Miss Martha
Root," is the royal tribute paid to her memory by Princess Olga of
Yugoslavia, on being informed of her death, "as I had no idea of it. We
always enjoyed her visits in the past. She was so kind and gentle, and
a real worker for peace. I am sure she will be sadly missed in her work."
"Thou art, in truth, a herald of the Kingdom and a harbinger of
the Covenant," is the testimony from the unerring pen of the Center
of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant Himself, "Thou art truly self-sacrificing.
Thou showest kindness unto all nations. Thou art sowing a seed that
shall, in due time, give rise to thousands of harvests. Thou art planting
a tree that shall eternally put forth leaves and blossoms and yield fruits,
and whose shadow shall day by day grow in magnitude."
Of all the services rendered the Cause of &Baha'u'llah by this star
servant of His Faith, the most superb and by far the most momentous
has been the almost instantaneous response evoked in Queen Marie of
Rumania to the Message which that ardent and audacious pioneer had
carried to her during one of the darkest moments of her life, an hour
of bitter need, perplexity and sorrow. "It came," she herself in a letter
had testified, "as all great messages come, at an hour of dire grief and
inner conflict and distress, so the seed sank deeply."
Eldest daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh, who was the second
son of that Queen to whom &Baha'u'llah had, in a significant Tablet,
addressed words of commendation; granddaughter of Czar Alexander
II to whom an Epistle had been revealed by that same Pen; related by
both birth and marriage to Europe's most prominent families; born in
the Anglican Faith; closely associated through her marriage with the
+P390
Greek Orthodox Church, the state religion of her adopted country;
herself an accomplished authoress; possessed of a charming and radiant
personality; highly talented, clear-visioned, daring and ardent by
nature; keenly devoted to all enterprises of a humanitarian character,
she, alone among her sister-queens, alone among all those of royal birth
or station, was moved to spontaneously acclaim the greatness of the
Message of &Baha'u'llah, to proclaim His Fatherhood, as well as the
Prophethood of &Muhammad, to commend the &Baha'i teachings to all
men and women, and to extol their potency, sublimity and beauty.
Through the fearless acknowledgment of her belief to her own kith
and kin, and particularly to her youngest daughter; through three
successive encomiums that constitute her greatest and abiding legacy
to posterity; through three additional appreciations penned by her as
her contribution to &Baha'i publications; through several letters written
to friends and associates, as well as those addressed to her guide and
spiritual mother; through various tokens expressive of faith and gratitude
for the glad-tidings that had been brought to her through the
orders for &Baha'i books placed by her and her youngest daughter; and
lastly through her frustrated pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the express
purpose of paying homage at the graves of the Founders of the
Faith--through such acts as these this illustrious queen may well deserve
to rank as the first of those royal supporters of the Cause of God
who are to arise in the future, and each of whom, in the words of
&Baha'u'llah Himself, is to be acclaimed as "the very eye of mankind,
the luminous ornament on the brow of creation, the fountainhead
of blessings unto the whole world."
"Some of those of my caste," she, in a personal letter, has significantly
testified, "wonder at and disapprove my courage to step forward
pronouncing words not habitual for crowned heads to pronounce, but
I advance by an inner urge I cannot resist. With bowed head I recognize
that I too am but an instrument in greater Hands, and I rejoice
in the knowledge."
A note which Martha Root, upon her arrival in Bucharest, sent to
her Majesty and a copy of "&Baha'u'llah and the New Era," which
accompanied the note, and which so absorbed the Queen's attention
that she continued reading it into the small hours of the morning, led,
two days later, to the Queen's granting Martha Root an audience, on
January 30, 1926, in Controceni Palace in Bucharest, in the course of
which her Majesty avowed her belief that "these teachings are the solution
for the world's problems"; and from these followed her publication,
that same year on her own initiative, of those three epoch-making
+P391
testimonies which appeared in nearly two hundred newspapers of the
United States and Canada, and which were subsequently translated
and published in Europe, China, Japan, Australia, the Near East and
the Islands of the seas.
In the first of these testimonies she affirmed that the writings of
&Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha are "a great cry toward peace, reaching
beyond all limits of frontiers, above all dissensions about rites and
dogmas... It is a wondrous message that &Baha'u'llah and His Son
&Abdu'l-Baha have given us! They have not set it up aggressively,
knowing that the germ of eternal truth which lies at its core cannot
but take root and spread... It is Christ's message taken up anew,
in the same words almost, but adapted to the thousand years and more
difference that lies between the year one and today." She added a remarkable
admonition, reminiscent of the telling words of Dr. Benjamin
Jowett, who had hailed the Faith, in his conversation with his
pupil, Prof. Lewis Campbell, as "the greatest light that has come into
the world since the time of Jesus Christ," and cautioned him to
"watch it" and never let it out of his sight. "If ever," wrote the Queen,
"the name of &Baha'u'llah or &Abdu'l-Baha comes to your attention, do
not put their writings from you. Search out their books, and let their
glorious, peace-bringing, love-creating words and lessons sink into your
hearts as they have into mine... Seek them and be the happier."
In another of these testimonies, wherein she makes a significant
comment on the station of the Arabian Prophet, she declared: "God is
all. Everything. He is the power behind all beings... His is the
voice within us that shows us good and evil. But mostly we ignore or
misunderstand this voice. Therefore, did He choose His Elect to come
down amongst us upon earth to make clear His Word, His real meaning.
Therefore the Prophets; therefore Christ, &Muhammad, &Baha'u'llah,
for man needs from time to time a voice upon earth to bring God
to him, to sharpen the realization of the existence of the true God.
Those voices sent to us had to become flesh, so that with our earthly
ears we should be able to hear and understand."
In appreciation of these testimonies a communication was addressed
to her, in the name of the followers of &Baha'u'llah in East and
West, and in the course of the deeply touching letter which she sent
in reply she wrote: "Indeed a great light came to me with the Message of
&Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha... My youngest daughter finds also
great strength and comfort in the teachings of the beloved Masters.
We pass on the Message from mouth to mouth, and all those we give
it to see a light suddenly lighting before them, and much that was
+P392
obscure and perplexing becomes simple, luminous and full of hope as
never before. That my open letter was a balm to those suffering for
the Cause, is indeed a great happiness to me, and I take it as a sign
that God accepted my humble tribute. The occasion given me to be
able to express myself publicly was also His work, for indeed it was a
chain of circumstances of which each link led me unwittingly one step
further, till suddenly all was clear before my eyes and I understood
why it had been. Thus does He lead us finally to our ultimate destiny
...Little by little the veil is lifting, grief tore it in two. And grief
was also a step leading me ever nearer truth; therefore do I not cry
out against grief!"
In a significant and moving letter to an intimate American friend
of hers, residing in Paris, she wrote: "Lately a great hope has come to
me from one &Abdu'l-Baha. I have found in His and His Father,
&Baha'u'llah's Message of faith, all my yearning for real religion satisfied
...What I mean: these Books have strengthened me beyond
belief, and I am now ready to die any day full of hope. But I pray
God not to take me away yet, for I still have a lot of work to do."
And again in one of her later appreciations of the Faith: "The &Baha'i
teaching brings peace and understanding. It is like a wide embrace
gathering all those who have long searched for words of hope...
Saddened by the continual strife amongst believers of many confessions
and wearied of their intolerance towards each other, I discovered in
the &Baha'i teaching the real spirit of Christ so often denied and
misunderstood." And again, this wonderful confession: "The &Baha'i
teaching brings peace to the soul and hope to the heart. To those in
search of assurance the words of the Father are as a fountain in the
desert after long wandering."
"The beautiful truth of &Baha'u'llah," she wrote to Martha Root,
"is with me always, a help and an inspiration. What I wrote was because
my heart overflowed with gratitude for the reflection you
brought me. I am happy if you think I helped. I thought it might
bring truth nearer because my words are read by so many."
In the course of a visit to the Near East she expressed her intention
of visiting the &Baha'i Shrines, and, accompanied by her youngest
daughter, actually passed through Haifa, and was within sight of her
goal, when she was denied the right to make the pilgrimage she had
planned--to the keen disappointment of the aged Greatest Holy Leaf
who had eagerly expected her arrival. A few months later, in June,
1931, she wrote in the course of a letter to Martha Root: "Both Ileana
and I were cruelly disappointed at having been prevented going to the
+P393
holy Shrines ... but at that time we were going through a cruel
crisis, and every movement I made was being turned against me and
being politically exploited in an unkind way. It caused me a good
deal of suffering and curtailed my liberty most unkindly... But
the beauty of truth remains, and I cling to it through all the vicissitudes
of a life become rather sad... I am glad to hear that your
traveling has been so fruitful, and I wish you continual success
knowing what a beautiful Message you are carrying from land
to land."
After this sad disappointment she wrote to a friend of her childhood
who dwelt near &Akka, in a house formerly occupied by &Baha'u'llah:
"It was indeed nice to hear from you, and to think that you are
of all things living near Haifa and are, as I am, a follower of the &Baha'i
teachings. It interests me that you are living in that special house...
I was so intensely interested and studied each photo intently. It must
be a lovely place ... and the house you live in, so incredibly attractive
and made precious by its associations with the Man we all
venerate..."
Her last public tribute to the Faith she had dearly loved was made
two years before her death. "More than ever today," she wrote, "when
the world is facing such a crisis of bewilderment and unrest, must we
stand firm in Faith seeking that which binds together instead of tearing
asunder. To those searching for light, the &Baha'i teachings offer a
star which will lead them to deeper understanding, to assurance, peace
and goodwill with all men."
Martha Root's own illuminating record is given in one of her
articles as follows: "For ten years Her Majesty and her daughter,
H.R.H. Princess Ileana (now Arch-Duchess Anton) have read with
interest each new book about the &Baha'i Movement, as soon as it came
from the press... Received in audience by Her Majesty in Pelisor
Palace, Sinaia, in 1927, after the passing of His Majesty King Ferdinand,
her husband, she graciously gave me an interview, speaking of
the &Baha'i teachings about immortality. She had on her table and on
the divan a number of &Baha'i books, for she had just been reading in
each of them the Teachings about life after death. She asked the writer
to give her greeting to ... the friends in &Iran and to the many
American &Baha'is, who she said had been so remarkably kind to her
during her trip through the United States the year before... Meeting
the Queen again on January 19, 1928, in the Royal Palace in Belgrade,
where she and H.R.H. Princess Ileana were guests of the Queen
of Yugoslavia--and they had brought some of their &Baha'i books with
+P394
them--the words that I shall remember longest of all that her dear
Majesty said were these: `The ultimate dream which we shall realize is
that the &Baha'i channel of thought has such strength, it will serve
little by little to become a light to all those searching for the real
expression of Truth'... Then in the audience in Controceni Palace, on
February 16, 1934, when her Majesty was told that the Rumanian
translation of `&Baha'u'llah and the New Era' had just been published
in Bucharest, she said she was so happy that her people were to have
the blessing of reading this precious teaching... And now today,
February 4, 1936, I have just had another audience with Her Majesty
in Controceni Palace, in Bucharest... Again Queen Marie of Rumania
received me cordially in her softly lighted library, for the hour
was six o'clock... What a memorable visit it was!... She also
told me that when she was in London she had met a &Baha'i, Lady
Blomfield, who had shown her the original Message that &Baha'u'llah
had sent to her grand-mother, Queen Victoria, in London. She asked
the writer about the progress of the &Baha'i Movement, especially in the
Balkan countries... She spoke too of several &Baha'i books, the
depths of "&Iqan," and especially of "Gleanings from the Writings of
&Baha'u'llah," which she said was a wonderful book! To quote her own
words: `Even doubters would find a powerful strength in it, if they
would read it alone, and would give their souls time to expand.'
...I asked her if I could perhaps speak of the brooch which historically
is precious to &Baha'is, and she replied, `Yes, you may.' Once,
and it was in 1928, Her dear Majesty had given the writer a gift, a
lovely and rare brooch which had been a gift to the Queen from her
royal relatives in Russia some years ago. It was two little wings of
wrought gold and silver, set with tiny diamond chips, and joined
together with one large pearl. `Always you are giving gifts to others,
and I am going to give you a gift from me,' said the Queen smiling, and
she herself clasped it onto my dress. The wings and the pearl made it
seem `Light-bearing' &Baha'i! It was sent the same week to Chicago as
a gift to the &Baha'i Temple ... and at the National &Baha'i Convention
which was in session that spring, a demur was made--should a
gift from the Queen be sold? Should it not be kept as a souvenir of the
first Queen who arose to promote the Faith of &Baha'u'llah? However,
it was sold immediately and the money given to the Temple, for all
&Baha'is were giving to the utmost to forward this mighty structure,
the first of its kind in the United States of America. Mr. Willard
Hatch, a &Baha'i of Los Angeles, Calif., who bought the exquisite
brooch, took it to Haifa, Palestine, in 1931, and placed it in the
+P395
Archives on Mt. Carmel, where down the ages it will rest with the
&Baha'i treasures..."
In July, 1938, Queen Marie of Rumania passed away. A message
of condolence was communicated, in the name of all &Baha'i communities
in East and West, to her daughter, the Queen of Yugoslavia, to
which she replied expressing "sincere thanks to all of &Baha'u'llah's
followers." The National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of Persia
addressed, on behalf of the followers of the Faith in &Baha'u'llah's native
land, a letter expressive of grief and sympathy to her son, the King of
Rumania and the Rumanian Royal Family, the text of which was in
both Persian and English. An expression of profound and loving
sympathy was sent by Martha Root to Princess Ileana, and was gratefully
acknowledged by her. Memorial gatherings were held in the
Queen's memory, at which a meed of honor was paid to her bold and
epochal confession of faith in the Fatherhood of &Baha'u'llah, to her
recognition of the station of the Prophet of &Islam and to the several
encomiums from her pen. On the first anniversary of her death the
National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is of the United States and
Canada demonstrated its grateful admiration and affection for the
deceased Queen by associating itself, through an imposing floral offering,
with the impressive memorial service, held in her honor, and
arranged by the Rumanian Minister, in Bethlehem Chapel, at the
Cathedral of Washington, D.C., at which the American delegation,
headed by the Secretary of State and including government officials
and representatives of the Army and Navy, the British, French and
Italian Ambassadors, and representatives of other European embassies
and legations joined in a common tribute to one who, apart from the
imperishable renown achieved by her in the Kingdom of &Baha'u'llah,
had earned, in this earthly life, the esteem and love of many a soul
living beyond the confines of her own country.
Queen Marie's acknowledgment of the Divine Message stands as
the first fruits of the vision which &Baha'u'llah had seen long before in
His captivity, and had announced in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas. "How great,"
He wrote, "the blessedness that awaits the King who will arise to aid
My Cause in My Kingdom, who will detach himself from all else but
Me!... All must glorify his name, must reverence his station, and
aid him to unlock the cities with the keys of My Name, the Omnipotent
Protector of all that inhabit the visible and invisible kingdoms.
Such a king is the very eye of mankind, the luminous ornament on the
brow of creation, the fountain-head of blessings unto the whole world.
+P396
Offer up, O people of &Baha, your substance, nay your very lives for
his assistance."
The American &Baha'i community, crowned with imperishable
glory by these signal international services of Martha Root, was destined,
as the first &Baha'i century drew to a close, to distinguish itself,
through the concerted efforts of its members, both at home and abroad,
by further achievements of such scope and quality that no survey of
the teaching activities of the Faith in the course of that century can
afford to ignore them. It would be no exaggeration to say that these
colossal achievements, with the amazing results which flowed from
them, could only have been effected through the harnessing of all the
agencies of a newly established Administrative Order, operating in
conformity with a carefully conceived Plan, and that they constitute
a befitting conclusion to the record of a hundred years of sublime
endeavor in the service of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah.
That the community of His followers in the United States and
Canada should have carried off the palm of victory in the concluding
years of such a glorious century is not a matter for surprise. Its
accomplishments during the last two decades of the Heroic, and throughout
the first fifteen years of the Formative Age of the &Baha'i Dispensation,
had already augured well for its future, and had paved the way for
its final victory ere the expiration of the first century of the &Baha'i
Era.
The &Bab had in His &Qayyumu'l-Asma', almost a hundred years
previously, sounded His specific summons to the "peoples of the West"
to "issue forth" from their "cities" and aid His Cause. &Baha'u'llah, in
His &Kitab-i-Aqdas, had collectively addressed the Presidents of the
Republics of the entire Americas, bidding them arise and "bind with
the hands of justice the broken," and "crush the oppressor" with the
"rod of the commandments" of their Lord, and had, moreover, anticipated
in His writings the appearance "in the West" of the "signs of His
Dominion." &Abdu'l-Baha had, on His part, declared that the "illumination"
shed by His Father's Revelation upon the West would acquire
an "extraordinary brilliancy," and that the "light of the Kingdom"
would "shed a still greater illumination upon the West" than upon the
East. He had extolled the American continent in particular as "the
land wherein the splendors of His Light shall be revealed, where the
mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled," and affirmed that "it will lead
all nations spiritually." More specifically still, He had singled out the
Great Republic of the West, the leading nation of that continent,
declaring that its people were "indeed worthy of being the first to
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build the Tabernacle of the Most Great Peace and proclaim the oneness
of mankind," that it was "equipped and empowered to accomplish
that which will adorn the pages of history, to become the envy of the
world, and be blest in both the East and the West."
The first act of His ministry had been to unfurl the standard of
&Baha'u'llah in the very heart of that Republic. This was followed by
His own prolonged visit to its shores, by His dedication of the first
House of Worship to be built by the community of His disciples in
that land, and finally by the revelation, in the evening of His life,
of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, investing His disciples with a mandate
to plant the banner of His Father's Faith, as He had planted it in
their own land, in all the continents, the countries and islands of the
globe. He had, furthermore, acclaimed one of their most celebrated
presidents as one who, through the ideals he had expounded and the
institutions he had inaugurated, had caused the "dawn" of the Peace
anticipated by &Baha'u'llah to break; had voiced the hope that from
their country "heavenly illumination" may "stream to all the peoples
of the world"; had designated them in those Tablets as "Apostles of
&Baha'u'llah"; had assured them that, "should success crown" their
"enterprise," "the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in the plenitude
of its majesty and glory, be firmly established"; and had made the
stirring announcement that "the moment this Divine Message is propagated"
by them "through the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa
and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community
will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting
dominion," and that "the whole earth" would "resound with the
praises of its majesty and greatness."
That Community had already, in the lifetime of Him Who had
created it, tenderly nursed and repeatedly blessed it, and had at last
conferred upon it so distinctive a mission, arisen to launch the enterprise
of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar through the purchase of its land and
the laying of its foundations. It had despatched its teachers to the
East and to the West to propagate the Cause it had espoused, had established
the basis of its community life, and had, since His passing,
erected the superstructure and commenced the external ornamentation
of its Temple. It had, moreover, assumed a preponderating share
in the task of erecting the framework of the Administrative Order of
the Faith, of championing its cause, of demonstrating its independent
character, of enriching and disseminating its literature, of lending
moral and material assistance to its persecuted followers, of repelling
the assaults of its adversaries and of winning the allegiance of royalty
+P398
to its Founder. Such a splendid record was to culminate, as the century
approached its end, in the initiation of a Plan--the first stage in the
execution of the Mission entrusted to it by &Abdu'l-Baha--which,
within the space of seven brief years, was to bring to a successful completion
the exterior ornamentation of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, to
almost double the number of Spiritual Assemblies functioning in the
North American continent, to bring the total number of localities in
which &Baha'is reside to no less than thirteen hundred and twenty-two
in that same continent, to establish the structural basis of the Administrative
Order in every state of the United States and every province
of Canada, and by laying a firm anchorage in each of the twenty
Republics of Central and South America, to swell to sixty the number
of the sovereign states included within its orbit.
Many and diverse forces combined now to urge the American
&Baha'i community to strong action: the glowing exhortations and
promises of &Baha'u'llah and His behest to erect in His name Houses of
Worship; the directions issued by &Abdu'l-Baha in fourteen Tablets
addressed to the believers residing in the Western, the Central, the
North Eastern and Southern States of the North American Republic
and in the Dominion of Canada; His prophetic utterances regarding
the future of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in America; the influence of the
new Administrative Order in fostering and rendering effective an eager
spirit of cooperation; the example of Martha Root who, though
equipped with no more than a handful of inadequately translated
leaflets, had traveled to South America and visited every important city
in that continent; the tenacity and self-sacrifice of the fearless and
brilliant Keith Ransom-Kehler, the first American martyr, who, journeying
to Persia had pleaded in numerous interviews with ministers,
ecclesiastics and government officials the cause of her down-trodden
brethren in that land, had addressed no less than seven petitions to the
&Shah, and, heedless of the warnings of age and ill-health, had at last
succumbed in &Isfahan. Other factors which spurred the members of
that community to fresh sacrifices and adventure were their eagerness
to reinforce the work intermittently undertaken through the settlement
and travels of a number of pioneers, who had established the
first center of the Faith in Brazil, circumnavigated the South American
continent and visited the West Indies and distributed literature
in various countries of Central and South America; the consciousness
of their pressing responsibilities in the face of a rapidly deteriorating
international situation; the realization that the first &Baha'i century was
fast speeding to a close and their anxiety to bring to a befitting conclusion
+P399
an enterprise that had been launched thirty years previously.
Undeterred by the immensity of the field, the power wielded by firmly
entrenched ecclesiastical organizations, the political instability of some
of the countries in which they were to settle, the climatic conditions
they were to encounter, and the difference in language and custom of
the people amongst whom they were to reside, and keenly aware of the
crying needs of the Faith in the North American continent, the members
of the American &Baha'i community arose, as one man, to inaugurate
a threefold campaign, carefully planned and systematically conducted,
designed to establish a Spiritual Assembly in every virgin state
and province in North America, to form a nucleus of resident believers
in each of the Republics of Central and South America, and to consummate
the exterior ornamentation of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.
A hundred activities, administrative and educational, were devised
and pursued for the prosecution of this noble Plan. Through the
liberal contribution of funds; through the establishment of an Inter-America
Committee and the formation of auxiliary Regional Teaching
Committees; through the founding of an International School to
provide training for &Baha'i teachers; through the settlement of
pioneers in virgin areas and the visits of itinerant teachers; through
the dissemination of literature in Spanish and Portuguese; through the
initiation of teacher training courses and extension work by groups and
local Assemblies; through newspaper and radio publicity; through the
exhibition of Temple slides and models; through inter-community
conferences and lectures delivered in universities and colleges; through
the intensification of teaching courses and Latin American studies at
summer schools--through these and other activities the prosecutors of
this Seven-Year Plan have succeeded in sealing the triumph of what
must be regarded as the greatest collective enterprise ever launched by
the followers of &Baha'u'llah in the entire history of the first &Baha'i
century.
Indeed, ere the expiry of that century not only had the work on
the Temple been completed sixteen months before the appointed time,
but instead of one tiny nucleus in every Latin Republic, Spiritual Assemblies
had already been established in Mexico City and Puebla
(Mexico), in Buenos Aires (Argentina), in Guatemala City (Guatemala),
in Santiago (Chile), in Montevideo (Uruguay), in Quito
(Ecuador), in &Bogota (Colombia), in Lima (Peru), in Asuncion
(Paraguay), in Tegucigalpa (Honduras), in San Salvador (El-Salvador),
in San &Jose and Puntarenas (Costa Rica), in Havana (Cuba)
and in Port-au-Prince (Haiti). Extension work, in which newly
+P400
fledged Latin American believers were participating, had, moreover,
been initiated, and was being vigorously carried out, in the Republics
of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Panama and Costa Rica;
believers had established their residence not only in the capital
cities of all the Latin American Republics, but also in such centers as
Veracruz, Cananea and Tacubaya (Mexico), in Balboa and Christobal
(Panama), in Recife (Brazil), in Guayaquil and Ambato (Ecuador),
and in Temuco and Magellanes (Chile); the Spiritual Assemblies of the
&Baha'is of Mexico City and of San &Jose had been incorporated; in the
former city a &Baha'i center, comprising a library, a reading room and a
lecture room, had been founded; &Baha'i Youth Symposiums had been
observed in Havana, Buenos Aires and Santiago, whilst a distributing
center of &Baha'i literature for Latin America had been established in
Buenos Aires.
Nor was this gigantic enterprise destined to be deprived, in its
initial stage, of a blessing that was to cement the spiritual union of the
Americas--a blessing flowing from the sacrifice of one who, at the
very dawn of the Day of the Covenant, had been responsible for the
establishment of the first &Baha'i centers in both Europe and the
Dominion of Canada, and who, though seventy years of age and suffering
from ill-health, undertook a six thousand mile voyage to the
capital of Argentina, where, while still on the threshold of her pioneer
service, she suddenly passed away, imparting through such a death to
the work initiated in that Republic an impetus which has already
enabled it, through the establishment of a distributing center of
&Baha'i literature for Latin America and through other activities, to
assume the foremost position among its sister Republics.
To May Maxwell, laid to rest in the soil of Argentina; to Hyde
Dunn, whose dust reposes in the Antipodes, in the city of Sydney; to
Keith Ransom-Kehler, entombed in distant &Isfahan; to Susan Moody
and Lillian Kappes and their valiant associates who lie buried in &Tihran;
to Lua Getsinger, reposing forever in the capital of Egypt, and last
but not least to Martha Root, interred in an island in the bosom of the
Pacific, belong the matchless honor of having conferred, through their
services and sacrifice, a lustre upon the American &Baha'i community
for which its representatives, while celebrating at their historic, their
first All-American Convention, their hard-won victories, may well feel
eternally grateful.
Gathered within the walls of its national Shrine--the most sacred
Temple ever to be reared to the glory of &Baha'u'llah; commemorating
at once the centenary of the birth of the &Babi Dispensation, of the
+P401
inauguration of the &Baha'i era, of the inception of the &Baha'i Cycle
and of the birth of &Abdu'l-Baha, as well as the fiftieth anniversary of
the establishment of the Faith in the Western Hemisphere; associated
in its celebration with the representatives of American Republics, foregathered
in the close vicinity of a city that may well pride itself on
being the first &Baha'i center established in the Western world, this
community may indeed feel, on this solemn occasion, that it has, in its
turn, through the triumphal conclusion of the first stage of the Plan
traced for it by &Abdu'l-Baha, shed a lasting glory upon its sister communities
in East and West, and written, in golden letters, the concluding
pages in the annals of the first &Baha'i century.
+P402
Retrospect and Prospect
Thus drew to a close the first century of the &Baha'i era--an
epoch which, in its sublimity and fecundity, is without parallel in the
entire field of religious history, and indeed in the annals of mankind.
A process, God-impelled, endowed with measureless potentialities,
mysterious in its workings, awful in the retribution meted out to
every one seeking to resist its operation, infinitely rich in its promise
for the regeneration and redemption of human kind, had been set in
motion in &Shiraz, had gained momentum successively in &Tihran,
&Baghdad, Adrianople and &Akka, had projected itself across the seas,
poured its generative influences into the West, and manifested the
initial evidences of its marvelous, world-energizing force in the midst
of the North American continent.
It had sprung from the heart of Asia, and pressing westward had
gathered speed in its resistless course, until it had encircled the earth
with a girdle of glory. It had been generated by the son of a mercer
in the province of &Fars, had been reshaped by a nobleman of &Nur,
had been reinforced through the exertions of One Who had spent the
fairest years of His youth and manhood in exile and imprisonment,
and had achieved its most conspicuous triumphs in a country and
amidst a people living half the circumference of the globe distant from
the land of its origin. It had repulsed every onslaught directed against
it, torn down every barrier opposing its advance, abased every proud
antagonist who had sought to sap its strength, and had exalted to
heights of incredible courage the weakest and humblest among those
who had arisen and become willing instruments of its revolutionizing
power. Heroic struggles and matchless victories, interwoven with
appalling tragedies and condign punishments, have formed the pattern
of its hundred year old history.
A handful of students, belonging to the &Shaykhi school, sprung
from the &Ithna-'Ashariyyih sect of &Shi'ah &Islam, had, in consequence
of the operation of this process, been expanded and transformed into
a world community, closely knit, clear of vision, alive, consecrated
by the sacrifice of no less than twenty thousand martyrs; supranational;
non-sectarian; non-political; claiming the status, and assuming
the functions, of a world religion; spread over five continents and
the islands of the seas; with ramifications extending over sixty sovereign
+P403
states and seventeen dependencies; equipped with a literature
translated and broadcast in forty languages; exercising control over
endowments representing several million dollars; recognized by a
number of governments in both the East and the West; integral in
aim and outlook; possessing no professional clergy; professing a
single belief; following a single law; animated by a single purpose;
organically united through an Administrative Order, divinely ordained
and unique in its features; including within its orbit representatives
of all the leading religions of the world, of various classes and
races; faithful to its civil obligations; conscious of its civic
responsibilities, as well as of the perils confronting the society of which it
forms a part; sharing the sufferings of that society and confident of
its own high destiny.
The nucleus of this community had been formed by the &Bab, soon
after the night of the Declaration of His Mission to &Mulla &Husayn in
&Shiraz. A clamor in which the &Shah, his government, his people and
the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy of his country unanimously joined
had greeted its birth. Captivity, swift and cruel, in the mountains
of &Adhirbayjan, had been the lot of its youthful Founder, almost immediately
after His return from His pilgrimage to Mecca. Amidst the
solitude of &Mah-Ku and &Chihriq, He had instituted His Covenant,
formulated His laws, and transmitted to posterity the overwhelming
majority of His writings. A conference of His disciples, headed by
&Baha'u'llah, had, in the hamlet of &Badasht, abrogated in dramatic
circumstances the laws of the Islamic, and ushered in the new, Dispensation.
In &Tabriz He had, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne
and the leading ecclesiastical dignitaries of &Adhirbayjan, publicly and
unreservedly voiced His claim to be none other than the promised,
the long-awaited &Qa'im. Tempests of devastating violence in &Mazindaran,
&Nayriz, &Zanjan and &Tihran had decimated the ranks of His
followers and robbed Him of the noblest and most valuable of His
supporters. He Himself had to witness the virtual annihilation of
His Faith and the loss of most of the Letters of the Living, and, after
experiencing, in His own person, a series of bitter humiliations, He
had been executed by a firing squad in the barrack-square of &Tabriz.
A blood bath of unusual ferocity had engulfed the greatest heroine
of His Faith, had further denuded it of its adherents, had extinguished
the life of His trusted amanuensis and repository of His last wishes, and
swept &Baha'u'llah into the depths of the foulest dungeon of &Tihran.
In the pestilential atmosphere of the &Siyah-Chal, nine years after
that historic Declaration, the Message proclaimed by the &Bab had
+P404
yielded its fruit, His promise had been redeemed, and the most glorious,
the most momentous period of the Heroic Age of the &Baha'i era had
dawned. A momentary eclipse of the newly risen Sun of Truth, the
world's greatest Luminary, had ensued, as a result of &Baha'u'llah's
precipitate banishment to &Iraq by order of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, of His
sudden withdrawal to the mountains of &Kurdistan, and of the degradation
and confusion that afflicted the remnant of the persecuted
community of His fellow-disciples in &Baghdad. A reversal in the
fortunes of a fast declining community, following His return from
His two-year retirement, had set in, bringing in its wake the recreation
of that community, the reformation of its morals, the enhancement
of its prestige, the enrichment of its doctrine, and culminating
in the Declaration of His Mission in the garden of &Najibiyyih to His
immediate companions on the eve of His banishment to Constantinople.
Another crisis--the severest a struggling Faith was destined
to experience in the course of its history--precipitated by the rebellion
of the &Bab's nominee and the iniquities perpetrated by him and by
the evil genius that had seduced him, had, in Adrianople, well nigh
disrupted the newly consolidated forces of the Faith and all but
destroyed in a baptism of fire the community of the Most Great Name
which &Baha'u'llah had called into being. Cleansed of the pollution of
this "Most Great Idol," undeterred by the convulsion that had seized
it, an indestructible Faith had, in the strength of the Covenant instituted
by the &Bab, now surmounted the most formidable obstacles it
was ever to meet; and in this very hour it reached its meridian glory
through the proclamation of the Mission of &Baha'u'llah to the kings,
the rulers and ecclesiastical leaders of the world in both the East and
the West. Close on the heels of this unprecedented victory had followed
the climax of His sufferings, a banishment to the penal colony
of &Akka, decreed by &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz. This had been hailed by
vigilant enemies as the signal for the final extermination of a much
feared and hated adversary, and it had heaped upon that Faith in this
fortress-town, designated by &Baha'u'llah as His "Most Great Prison,"
calamities from both within and without, such as it had never before
experienced. The formulation of the laws and ordinances of a new-born
Dispensation and the enunciation and reaffirmation of its fundamental
principles--the warp and woof of a future Administrative
Order--had, however, enabled a slowly maturing Revelation, in spite
of this tide of tribulations, to advance a stage further and yield its
fairest fruit.
The ascension of &Baha'u'llah had plunged into grief and bewilderment
+P405
His loyal supporters, quickened the hopes of the betrayers of
His Cause, who had rebelled against His God-given authority, and
rejoiced and encouraged His political as well as ecclesiastical adversaries.
The Instrument He had forged, the Covenant He had
Himself instituted, had canalized, after His passing, the forces released
by Him in the course of a forty-year ministry, had preserved the unity
of His Faith and provided the impulse required to propel it forward
to achieve its destiny. The proclamation of this new Covenant had
been followed by yet another crisis, precipitated by one of His own
sons on whom, according to the provisions of that Instrument, had
been conferred a rank second to none except the Center of that
Covenant Himself. Impelled by the forces engendered by the revelation
of that immortal and unique Document, an unbreachable Faith
(having registered its initial victory over the Covenant-breakers),
had, under the leadership of &Abdu'l-Baha, irradiated the West, illuminated
the Western fringes of Europe, hoisted its banner in the
heart of the North American continent, and set in motion the processes
that were to culminate in the transfer of the mortal remains of its
Herald to the Holy Land and their entombment in a mausoleum on
Mt. Carmel, as well as in the erection of its first House of Worship in
Russian &Turkistan. A major crisis, following swiftly upon the signal
victories achieved in East and West, attributable to the monstrous
intrigues of the Arch-breaker of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant and to the
orders issued by the tyrannical &Abdu'l-Hamid, had exposed, during
more than seven years, the Heart and Center of the Faith to imminent
peril, filled with anxiety and anguish its followers and postponed the
execution of the enterprises conceived for its spread and consolidation.
&Abdu'l-Baha's historic journeys in Europe and America, soon after
the fall of that tyrant and the collapse of his ®ime, had dealt a staggering
blow to the Covenant-breakers, had consolidated the colossal
enterprise He had undertaken in the opening years of His ministry,
had raised the prestige of His Father's Faith to heights it had never
before attained, had been instrumental in proclaiming its verities far
and wide, and had paved the way for the diffusion of its light over
the Far East and as far as the Antipodes. Another major crisis--the
last the Faith was to undergo at its world center--provoked by the
cruel &Jamal &Pasha, and accentuated by the anxieties of a devastating
world war, by the privations it entailed and the rupture of communications
it brought about, had threatened with still graver peril the
Head of the Faith Himself, as well as the holiest sanctuaries enshrining
the remains of its twin Founders. The revelation of the Tablets of the
+P406
Divine Plan, during the somber days of that tragic conflict, had, in
the concluding years of &Abdu'l-Baha's ministry, invested the members
of the leading &Baha'i community in the West--the champions of
a future Administrative Order--with a world mission which, in the
concluding years of the first &Baha'i century, was to shed deathless
glory upon the Faith and its administrative institutions. The conclusion
of that long and distressing conflict had frustrated the hopes
of that military despot and inflicted an ignominious defeat on him,
had removed, once and for all, the danger that had overshadowed for
sixty-five years the Founder of the Faith and the Center of His Covenant,
fulfilled the prophecies recorded by Him in His writings, enhanced
still further the prestige of His Faith and its Leader, and been
signalized by the spread of His Message to the continent of Australia.
The sudden passing of &Abdu'l-Baha, marking the close of the
Primitive Age of the Faith, had, as had been the case with the ascension
of His Father, submerged in sorrow and consternation His faithful
disciples, imparted fresh hopes to the dwindling followers of both
&Mirza &Yahya and &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali, and stirred to feverish
activity political as well as ecclesiastical adversaries, all of whom
anticipated the impending dismemberment of the communities which
the Center of the Covenant had so greatly inspired and ably led. The
promulgation of His Will and Testament, inaugurating the Formative
Age of the &Baha'i era, the Charter delineating the features of an
Order which the &Bab had announced, which &Baha'u'llah had envisioned,
and whose laws and principles He had enunciated, had
galvanized these communities in Europe, Asia, Africa and America
into concerted action, enabling them to erect and consolidate the
framework of this Order, by establishing its local and national Assemblies,
by framing the constitutions of these Assemblies, by securing
the recognition on the part of the civil authorities in various countries
of these institutions, by founding administrative headquarters,
by raising the superstructure of the first House of Worship in the
West, by establishing and extending the scope of the endowments of
the Faith and by obtaining the full recognition by the civil authorities
of the religious character of these endowments at its world center as
well as in the North American continent.
A severe, a historic censure pronounced by a Muslim ecclesiastical
court in Egypt had, whilst this mighty process--the laying of the
structural basis of the &Baha'i world Administrative Order--was being
initiated, officially expelled all adherents of the Faith of Muslim extraction
from &Islam, had condemned them as heretics and brought
+P407
the members of a proscribed community face to face with tests and
perils of a character they had never known before. The unjust decision
of a civil court in &Baghdad, instigated by &Shi'ah enemies, in &Iraq,
and the decree issued by a still more redoubtable adversary in Russia
had, moreover, robbed the Faith, on the one hand, of one of its holiest
centers of pilgrimage, and denied it, on the other, the use of its first
House of Worship, initiated by &Abdu'l-Baha and erected in the
course of His ministry. And finally, inspired by this unexpected
declaration made by an age-long enemy--marking the first step in
the march of their Faith towards total emancipation--and undaunted
by this double blow struck at its institutions, the followers of &Baha'u'llah,
already united and fully equipped through the agencies of a
firmly established Administrative Order, had arisen to crown the
immortal records of the first &Baha'i century by vindicating the independent
character of their Faith, by enforcing the fundamental laws
ordained in their Most Holy Book, by demanding and in some cases
obtaining, the recognition by the ruling authorities of their right to be
classified as followers of an independent religion, by securing from
the world's highest Tribunal its condemnation of the injustice they
had suffered at the hands of their persecutors, by establishing their
residence in no less than thirty-four additional countries, as well as in
thirteen dependencies, by disseminating their literature in twenty-nine
additional languages, by enrolling a Queen in the ranks of the supporters
of their Cause, and lastly by launching an enterprise which,
as that century approached its end, enabled them to complete the
exterior ornamentation of their second House of Worship, and to
bring to a successful conclusion the first stage of the Plan which
&Abdu'l-Baha had conceived for the world-wide and systematic
propagation of their Faith.
Kings, emperors, princes, whether of the East or of the West,
had, as we look back upon the tumultuous record of an entire century,
either ignored the summons of its Founders, or derided their Message,
or decreed their exile and banishment, or barbarously persecuted their
followers, or sedulously striven to discredit their teachings. They
were visited by the wrath of the Almighty, many losing their thrones,
some witnessing the extinction of their dynasties, a few being assassinated
or covered with shame, others finding themselves powerless to
avert the cataclysmic dissolution of their kingdoms, still others being
degraded to positions of subservience in their own realms. The
Caliphate, its arch-enemy, had unsheathed the sword against its
Author and thrice pronounced His banishment. It was humbled to
+P408
dust, and, in its ignominious collapse, suffered the same fate as the
Jewish hierarchy, the chief persecutor of Jesus Christ, had suffered at
the hands of its Roman masters, in the first century of the Christian
Era, almost two thousand years before. Members of various sacerdotal
orders, &Shi'ah, &Sunni, Zoroastrian and Christian, had fiercely assailed
the Faith, branded as heretic its supporters, and labored unremittingly
to disrupt its fabric and subvert its foundations. The most redoubtable
and hostile amongst these orders were either overthrown or virtually
dismembered, others rapidly declined in prestige and influence, all
were made to sustain the impact of a secular power, aggressive and
determined to curtail their privileges and assert its own authority.
Apostates, rebels, betrayers, heretics, had exerted their utmost endeavors,
privily or openly, to sap the loyalty of the followers of
that Faith, to split their ranks or assault their institutions. These
enemies were, one by one, some gradually, others with dramatic swiftness,
confounded, dispersed, swept away and forgotten. Not a few
among its leading figures, its earliest disciples, its foremost champions,
the companions and fellow-exiles of its Founders, trusted amanuenses
and secretaries of its Author and of the Center of His Covenant, even
some of those who were numbered among the kindred of the Manifestation
Himself, not excluding the nominee of the &Bab and the
son of &Baha'u'llah, named by Him in the Book of His Covenant, had
allowed themselves to pass out from under its shadow, to bring shame
upon it, through acts of indelible infamy, and to provoke crises of
such dimensions as have never been experienced by any previous religion.
All were precipitated, without exception, from the enviable
positions they occupied, many of them lived to behold the frustration
of their designs, others were plunged into degradation and misery,
utterly impotent to impair the unity, or stay the march, of the Faith
they had so shamelessly forsaken. Ministers, ambassadors and other
state dignitaries had plotted assiduously to pervert its purpose, had
instigated the successive banishments of its Founders, and maliciously
striven to undermine its foundations. They had, through such plottings,
unwittingly brought about their own downfall, forfeited the
confidence of their sovereigns, drunk the cup of disgrace to its dregs,
and irrevocably sealed their own doom. Humanity itself, perverse
and utterly heedless, had refused to lend a hearing ear to the insistent
appeals and warnings sounded by the twin Founders of the
Faith, and later voiced by the Center of the Covenant in His public
discourses in the West. It had plunged into two desolating wars of
unprecedented magnitude, which have deranged its equilibrium, mown
+P409
down its youth, and shaken it to its roots. The weak, the obscure, the
down-trodden had, on the other hand, through their allegiance to so
mighty a Cause and their response to its summons, been enabled to
accomplish such feats of valor and heroism as to equal, and in some
cases to dwarf, the exploits of those men and women of undying fame
whose names and deeds adorn the spiritual annals of mankind.
Despite the blows leveled at its nascent strength, whether by the
wielders of temporal and spiritual authority from without, or by
black-hearted foes from within, the Faith of &Baha'u'llah had, far from
breaking or bending, gone from strength to strength, from victory
to victory. Indeed its history, if read aright, may be said to resolve
itself into a series of pulsations, of alternating crises and triumphs,
leading it ever nearer to its divinely appointed destiny. The outburst
of savage fanaticism that greeted the birth of the Revelation proclaimed
by the &Bab, His subsequent arrest and captivity, had been followed
by the formulation of the laws of His Dispensation, by the
institution of His Covenant, by the inauguration of that Dispensation
in &Badasht, and by the public assertion of His station in &Tabriz.
Widespread and still more violent uprisings in the provinces, His own
execution, the blood bath which followed it and &Baha'u'llah's imprisonment
in the &Siyah-Chal had been succeeded by the breaking of the
dawn of the &Baha'i Revelation in that dungeon. &Baha'u'llah's banishment
to &Iraq, His withdrawal to &Kurdistan and the confusion and
distress that afflicted His fellow-disciples in &Baghdad had, in turn,
been followed by the resurgence of the &Babi community, culminating
in the Declaration of His Mission in the &Najibiyyih Garden. &Sultan
&Abdu'l-'Aziz's decree summoning Him to Constantinople and the
crisis precipitated by &Mirza &Yahya had been succeeded by the
proclamation of that Mission to the crowned heads of the world and
its ecclesiastical leaders. &Baha'u'llah's banishment to the penal colony
of &Akka, with all its attendant troubles and miseries, had, in its turn,
led to the promulgation of the laws and ordinances of His Revelation
and to the institution of His Covenant, the last act of His life. The
fiery tests engendered by the rebellion of &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali and
his associates had been succeeded by the introduction of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah in the West and the transfer of the &Bab's remains to the
Holy Land. The renewal of &Abdu'l-Baha's incarceration and the
perils and anxieties consequent upon it had resulted in the downfall
of &Abdu'l-Hamid, in &Abdu'l-Baha's release from His confinement, in
the entombment of the &Bab's remains on Mt. Carmel, and in the
triumphal journeys undertaken by the Center of the Covenant Himself
+P410
in Europe and America. The outbreak of a devastating world war
and the deepening of the dangers to which &Jamal &Pasha and the
Covenant-breakers had exposed Him had led to the revelation of the
Tablets of the Divine Plan, to the flight of that overbearing Commander,
to the liberation of the Holy Land, to the enhancement of
the prestige of the Faith at its world center, and to a marked expansion
of its activities in East and West. &Abdu'l-Baha's passing and the
agitation which His removal had provoked had been followed by the
promulgation of His Will and Testament, by the inauguration of the
Formative Age of the &Baha'i era and by the laying of the foundations
of a world-embracing Administrative Order. And finally, the seizure
of the keys of the Tomb of &Baha'u'llah by the Covenant-breakers,
the forcible occupation of His House in &Baghdad by the &Shi'ah community,
the outbreak of persecution in Russia and the expulsion of the
&Baha'i community from &Islam in Egypt had been succeeded by the
public assertion of the independent religious status of the Faith by its
followers in East and West, by the recognition of that status at its
world center, by the pronouncement of the Council of the League of
Nations testifying to the justice of its claims, by a remarkable expansion
of its international teaching activities and its literature, by the
testimonials of royalty to its Divine origin, and by the completion of
the exterior ornamentation of its first House of Worship in the
western world.
The tribulations attending the progressive unfoldment of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah have indeed been such as to exceed in gravity
those from which the religions of the past have suffered. Unlike
those religions, however, these tribulations have failed utterly to
impair its unity, or to create, even temporarily, a breach in the ranks
of its adherents. It has not only survived these ordeals, but has
emerged, purified and inviolate, endowed with greater capacity to face
and surmount any crisis which its resistless march may engender in
the future.
Mighty indeed have been the tasks accomplished and the victories
achieved by this sorely-tried yet undefeatable Faith within the space
of a century! Its unfinished tasks, its future victories, as it stands on
the threshold of the second &Baha'i century, are greater still. In the
brief space of the first hundred years of its existence it has succeeded
in diffusing its light over five continents, in erecting its outposts in
the furthermost corners of the earth, in establishing, on an impregnable
basis its Covenant with all mankind, in rearing the fabric of its
world-encompassing Administrative Order, in casting off many of the
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shackles hindering its total emancipation and world-wide recognition,
in registering its initial victories over royal, political and ecclesiastical
adversaries, and in launching the first of its systematic crusades for
the spiritual conquest of the whole planet.
The institution, however, which is to constitute the last stage in
the erection of the framework of its world Administrative Order,
functioning in close proximity to its world spiritual center, is as yet
unestablished. The full emancipation of the Faith itself from the
fetters of religious orthodoxy, the essential prerequisite of its universal
recognition and of the emergence of its World Order, is still unachieved.
The successive campaigns, designed to extend the beneficent
influence of its System, according to &Abdu'l-Baha's Plan, to every
country and island where the structural basis of its Administrative
Order has not been erected, still remain to be launched. The banner
of &Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha which, as foretold by Him, must float from
the pinnacles of the foremost seat of learning in the Islamic world is
still unhoisted. The Most Great House, ordained as a center of pilgrimage
by &Baha'u'llah in His &Kitab-i-Aqdas, is as yet unliberated.
The third &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to be raised to His glory, the site of
which has recently been acquired, as well as the Dependencies of the
two Houses of Worship already erected in East and West, are as yet
unbuilt. The dome, the final unit which, as anticipated by &Abdu'l-Baha,
is to crown the Sepulcher of the &Bab is as yet unreared. The
codification of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, the Mother-Book of the &Baha'i
Revelation, and the systematic promulgation of its laws and ordinances,
are as yet unbegun. The preliminary measures for the institution
of &Baha'i courts, invested with the legal right to apply and
execute those laws and ordinances, still remain to be undertaken.
The restitution of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world
and the recreation of the community that so devotedly reared it, have
yet to be accomplished. The sovereign who, as foreshadowed in
&Baha'u'llah's Most Holy Book, must adorn the throne of His native
land, and cast the shadow of royal protection over His long-persecuted
followers, is as yet undiscovered. The contest that must ensue as a
result of the concerted onslaughts which, as prophesied by &Abdu'l-Baha,
are to be delivered by the leaders of religions as yet indifferent
to the advance of the Faith, is as yet unfought. The Golden Age of the
Faith itself that must witness the unification of all the peoples and
nations of the world, the establishment of the Most Great Peace, the
inauguration of the Kingdom of the Father upon earth, the coming
of age of the entire human race and the birth of a world civilization,
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inspired and directed by the creative energies released by &Baha'u'llah's
World Order, shining in its meridian splendor, is still unborn and
its glories unsuspected.
Whatever may befall this infant Faith of God in future decades
or in succeeding centuries, whatever the sorrows, dangers and tribulations
which the next stage in its world-wide development may engender,
from whatever quarter the assaults to be launched by its
present or future adversaries may be unleashed against it, however
great the reverses and setbacks it may suffer, we, who have been
privileged to apprehend, to the degree our finite minds can fathom,
the significance of these marvelous phenomena associated with its rise
and establishment, can harbor no doubt that what it has already
achieved in the first hundred years of its life provides sufficient guarantee
that it will continue to forge ahead, capturing loftier heights,
tearing down every obstacle, opening up new horizons and winning
still mightier victories until its glorious mission, stretching into the
dim ranges of time that lie ahead, is totally fulfilled.
[END]