N THE early days of the siege of the fort of Tabarsi, Vahid was engaged in spreading the teachings of the Cause in Burujird as well as in the province of Kurdistan. He had resolved to win the majority of the inhabitants of those regions to the Faith of the Bab, and had intended to proceed from thence to Fars and there continue his labours. As soon as he had learned of Mulla Husayn's departure for Mazindaran, he hastened to the capital and undertook the necessary preparations for his journey to the fort of Tabarsi. He was preparing to leave, when Baha'u'llah arrived from Mazindaran and informed him of the impossibility of joining his brethren. He was greatly saddened at this news, and his only consolation in those days was to visit Baha'u'llah frequently, and to obtain the benefit of His wise and priceless counsels.⁽¹⁾
Vahid eventually determined to proceed to Qazvin and to resume the work in which he had been engaged. From thence he left for Qum and Kashan, where he met his fellow-disciples and was able to stimulate their enthusiasm and reinforce their efforts. He continued his journey to Isfahan, to Ardistan and Ardikan, and in each of these cities he proclaimed, with zest and fearlessness, the fundamental teachings of his Master and succeeded in winning over a considerable

number of able supporters to the Cause. He reached Yazd in time to celebrate the festivities of Naw-Ruz with his brethren, who expressed their joy at his arrival and were greatly encouraged by his presence among them. Being a man of renowned influence, he possessed, in addition to his house in Yazd, where his wife and her four sons had settled, a home in Darab, which was the abode of his ancestors, and another one in Nayriz, which was superbly furnished.
He arrived at Yazd on the first day of the month of Jamadiyu'l-Avval, in the year 1266 A.H.,⁽¹⁾ the fifth day of which, the anniversary of the Bab's Declaration, coincided

and wickedness of the Navvab, the appropriateness of his remark. The Navvab, who had never encountered the ridicule of so large and distinguished a company, was stung by that answer. The smouldering fire which he nourished in his mind against his opponent now blazed forth with added intensity, and impelled him to satisfy his thirst for revenge.
Vahid seized the occasion to proclaim, fearlessly and without reserve, in that gathering, the basic principles of his Faith, and to demonstrate their validity. The majority of those who heard him were but partially acquainted with the distinguishing features of the Cause, and were ignorant of its full import. Certain ones among them were irresistibly attracted, and readily embraced it; the rest, unable to challenge its claims publicly, denounced it in their hearts and swore to extirpate it by every means in their power. His eloquence and fearless exposition of the Truth inflamed their hostility and strengthened their determination to seek, without delay, the overthrow of his influence. That very day witnessed the combination of their forces against him, and marked the beginning of an episode that was destined to bring in its wake so much suffering and distress.⁽¹⁾
To destroy the life of Vahid became the paramount object of their activity. They spread the news that, on the day of Naw-Ruz, in the midst of the assembled dignitaries of the city, both civil and ecclesiastical, Siyyid Yahyay-i-Darabi had had the temerity to unveil the challenging features of the Faith of the Bab and had adduced, for the purpose of his argument, proofs and evidences gleaned both from the Qur'an and from the traditions of Islam. "Though his listeners," they urged, "ranked among the most illustrious of the mujtahids of the city, no one could be found in that assemblage to venture a protest against his vehement assertions of the

claims of his creed. The silence kept by those who heard him has been responsible for the wave of enthusiasm which has swept over the city in his favour, and has brought no less than half of its inhabitants to his feet, while the remainder are being fast attracted."
This report spread like wildfire throughout Yazd and the surrounding district. It kindled, on the one hand, the flame of bitter hatred, and, on the other, was instrumental in adding considerable numbers to those who had already identified themselves with that Faith. From Ardikan and Manshad, as well as from the more distant towns and villages, crowds of people, eager to hear of the new Message, flocked to the house of Vahid. "What are we to do?" they asked him. "In what manner do you advise us to show forth the sincerity of our faith and the intensity of our devotion?" From morning till night, Vahid was absorbed in resolving their perplexities and in directing their steps in the path of service.
For forty days, this feverish activity persisted on the part of his zealous supporters, both men and women. His house had become the rallying centre of an innumerable host of devotees who yearned to demonstrate worthily the spirit of the Faith that had fired their souls. The commotion that ensued provided the Navvab-i-Radavi with a fresh pretext for enlisting the support of the governor of the city,⁽¹⁾ who was young and inexperienced in the affairs of State, in his efforts against his adversary. He soon fell a victim to the intrigues and machinations of that evil plotter, who succeeded in inducing him to despatch a force of armed men to besiege the house of Vahid. While a regiment of the army was proceeding to that spot, a mob composed of the degraded elements of the city were, at the instigation of the Navvab, directing their steps towards that same place, determined by their threats and imprecations to intimidate its occupants.
Though hemmed in by hostile forces on every side, Vahid continued, from the window of the upper floor of his house, to animate the zeal of his supporters and to clarify whatever remained obscure in their minds. At the sight of a whole regiment, reinforced by an infuriated mob, preparing to attack

them, they turned to Vahid in their distress and begged him to direct their steps. "This very sword that lies before me," was his answer, as he remained seated beside the window, "was given me by the Qa'im Himself. God knows, had I been authorised by Him to wage holy warfare against this people, I would, alone and unaided, have annihilated their forces. I am, however, commanded to refrain from such an act." "This very steed," he added, as his eyes fell upon the horse which his servant Hasan had saddled and brought to the front of his house, "the late Muhammad Shah gave me, that with it I might undertake the mission with which he entrusted me, of conducting an impartial investigation into the nature of the Faith proclaimed by the Siyyid-i-Bab. He asked me to report personally to him the results of my enquiry, inasmuch as I was the only one among the ecclesiastical leaders of Tihran in whom he could repose implicit confidence. I undertook that mission with the firm resolution of confuting the arguments of that siyyid, of inducing Him to abandon His ideas and to acknowledge my leadership, and of conducting Him with me to Tihran as a witness to the triumph I was to achieve. When I came into His presence, however, and heard His words, the opposite of that which I had imagined took place. In the course of my first audience with Him, I was utterly abashed and confounded; by the end of the second, I felt as helpless and ignorant as a child; the third found me as lowly as the dust beneath His feet. He had indeed ceased to be the contemptible siyyid I had previously imagined. To me, He was the manifestation of God Himself, the living embodiment of the Divine Spirit. Ever since that day, I have yearned to lay down my life for His sake. I rejoice that the day I have longed to witness is fast approaching."
Seeing the agitation that had seized his friends, he exhorted them to be calm and patient, and to rest assured that the omnipotent Avenger would ere long inflict, with His own invisible hand, a crushing defeat upon the forces arrayed against His loved ones. No sooner had he uttered these words than the news arrived that a certain Muhammad-Abdu'llah, whom no one suspected of being still alive, had suddenly emerged with a number of his comrades, who had

sought refuge, together with the governor, in the fort of Narin.
That night, Muhammad-'Abdu'llah asked to be introduced into the presence of Vahid. He assured him of his

faith in the Cause, and acquainted him with the plans he had conceived of subjugating the enemy. "Although your intervention," Vahid replied, "has to-day averted from this house the danger of an unforeseen calamity, yet you must recognise that until now our contest with these people was limited to an argument centering round the Revelation of the Sahibu'z-Zaman. The Navvab, however, will henceforth be induced to instigate the people against us, and will contend that I have arisen to establish my undisputed sovereignty over the entire province and intend to extend it over the whole of Persia." Vahid advised him to leave the city immediately, and to commit him to the care and protection of the Almighty. "Not until our appointed time arrives," he assured him, "will the enemy be able to inflict upon us the slightest injury."
Muhammad-'Abdu'llah, however, preferred to ignore the advice of Vahid. "It would be cowardly of me," he was heard to remark as he retired, "to abandon my friends to the mercy of an irate and murderous adversary. What, then, would be the difference between me and those who forsook the Siyyidu'sh-Shuhada⁽¹⁾ on the day of Ashura, ⁽²⁾ and left him companionless on the field of Karbila? A merciful God will, I trust, be indulgent towards me and will forgive my action."
With these words, he directed his steps to the fort of Narin and compelled the forces that had massed in its vicinity to seek an inglorious refuge within the walls of the fort; and succeeded in keeping the governor confined along with those who were besieged. He himself kept watch, ready to intercept whatever reinforcements might seek to reach them.
Meanwhile the Navvab had succeeded in raising a general upheaval in which the mass of the inhabitants took part. They were preparing to attack the house of Vahid when he summoned Siyyid Abdu'l-'Azim-i-Khu'i, surnamed the Siyyid-i-Khal-Dar, who had participated for a few days in the defence of the fort of Tabarsi, and whose dignity of bearing attracted widespread attention, and bade him mount his own steed and address publicly, through the streets and

bazaars, an appeal on his behalf to the entire populace, and urge them to embrace the Cause of the Sahibu'z-Zaman. "Let them know," he added, "that I disclaim any intention of waging holy warfare against them. Let them be warned, however, that if they persist in besieging my house and continue their attacks upon me, in utter defiance of my position and lineage, I shall be constrained, as a measure of self-defence, to resist and disperse their forces. If they choose to reject my counsel and yield to the whisperings of the crafty Navvab, I will order seven of my companions to repulse their forces shamefully and to crush their hopes."
The Siyyid-i-Khal-Dar leaped upon the steed and, escorted by four of his chosen brethren, rode out through the market and pealed out, in accents of compelling majesty, the warning he had been commissioned to proclaim. Not content with the message with which he had been entrusted, he ventured to add, in his own inimitable manner, a few words by which he sought to heighten the effect which the proclamation had produced. "Beware," he thundered, "if you despise our plea. My lifted voice, I warn you, will prove sufficient to cause the very walls of your fort to tremble, and the strength of my arm will be capable of breaking down the resistance of its gates!"
His stentorian voice rang out like a trumpet, and diffused consternation in the hearts of those who heard it. With one voice, the affrighted population declared their intention to lay down their swords and cease to molest Vahid, whose lineage they said they would henceforth recognise and respect.
Constrained by the blank refusal of the people to fight against Vahid, the Navvab induced them to direct their attack against Muhammad-'Abdu'llah and his comrades, who were stationed in the neighbourhood of the fort. The clash of these forces induced the governor to sally from his refuge and to instruct the besieged detachment to join hands with those who had been recruited by the Navvab. Muhammad-'Abdu'llah had begun to disperse the mob that had rushed forth from the city against him, when he was suddenly assailed by the fire which the troops opened upon him by order of the governor. A bullet struck his foot and threw him to the ground. A number of his supporters were also

wounded. His brother hurriedly got him away to a place of safety, and from thence carried him, at his request, to the house of Vahid.
The enemy followed him to that house, fully determined to seize and slay him. The clamour of the people that had massed around his house compelled Vahid to order Mulla Muhammad-Riday-i-Manshadi, one of the most enlightened ulamas of Manshad, who had discarded his turban and offered himself as his doorkeeper, to sally forth and, with the aid of six companions, whom he would choose, to scatter their forces. "Let each one of you raise his voice," he commanded them, "and repeat seven times the words `Allah-u-Akbar,'⁽¹⁾ and on your seventh invocation spring forward at one and the same moment into the midst of your assailants."
Mulla Muhammad-Rida, whom Baha'u'llah had named Rada'r-Ruh, sprang to his feet and, with his companions, straightway proceeded to fulfil the instructions he had received. Those who accompanied him, though frail of form and inexperienced in the art of swordsmanship, were fired with a faith that made them the terror of their adversaries. Seven of the most redoubtable among the enemy perished that day, which was the twenty-seventh of the month of Jamadiyu'th-Thani.⁽²⁾ "No sooner had we routed the enemy," Mulla Muhammad-Rida related, "and returned to the house of Vahid, than we found Muhammad-'Abdu'llah lying wounded before us. He was carried to our leader, and partook of the food with which the latter had been served. Afterwards he was borne to a hiding place, where he remained concealed until he recovered from his wound. Eventually he was seized and slain by the enemy."
That very night, Vahid bade his companions disperse and exercise the utmost vigilance to secure their safety. He advised his wife to remove, with her children and all their belongings, to the home of her father, and to leave behind whatever was his personal property. "This palatial residence," he informed her, "I have built with the sole intention that it should be eventually demolished in the path of the Cause, and the stately furnishings with which I have adorned it have been purchased in the hope that one day I shall be

able to sacrifice them for the sake of my Beloved. Then will friend and foe alike realise that he who owned this house was endowed with so great and priceless a heritage that an earthly mansion, however sumptuously adorned and magnificently equipped, had no worth in his eyes; that it had sunk, in his estimation, to the state of a heap of bones to which only the dogs of the earth could feel attracted. Would that such compelling evidence of the spirit of renunciation were able to open the eyes of this perverse people, and to stir in them the desire to follow in the steps of him who showed that spirit!"
In the mid-watches of that same night, Vahid arose and, collecting the writings of the Bab that were in his possession, as well as the copies of all the treatises that he himself had composed, entrusted them to his servant Hasan, and ordered him to convey them to a place outside the gate of the city where the road branches off to Mihriz. He bade him await his arrival, and warned him that, were he to disregard his instructions, he would never again be able to meet him.
No sooner had Hasan mounted his horse and prepared to leave than the cries of the sentinels, who kept watch at the entrance of the fort, reached his ears. Fearing lest they should capture him and seize the precious manuscripts in his possession, he decided to follow a different route from the one which his master had instructed him to take. As he was passing behind the fort, the sentinels recognised him, shot his horse, and captured him.
Meanwhile Vahid was preparing to depart from Yazd. Leaving his two sons, Siyyid Isma'il and Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, in the care of their mother, he left, accompanied by his two other sons, Siyyid Ahmad and Siyyid Mihdi, together with two of his companions who were both residents of Yazd and had asked permission to accompany him on his journey. The first, who was named Ghulam-Rida, was a man of exceptional courage, while the latter, Ghulam-Riday-i-Kuchik, had distinguished himself in the art of marksmanship. He chose the same route that he had advised his servant to take, and, arriving safely at that spot, was surprised to find that Hasan was missing. Vahid knew immediately that he had disregarded his directions and had been captured by the

enemy. He deplored his fate, and was reminded of the action of Muhammad-'Abdu'llah, who had similarly acted against his will and had in consequence suffered injury. They were subsequently informed that on the morning of that same day Hasan was blown from the mouth of a cannon⁽¹⁾ and that a certain Mirza Hasan, who had been the imam of one of the quarters of Yazd, and who was a man of renowned piety, had an hour later also been captured and subjected to the same fate as his comrade.
The departure of Vahid from Yazd roused the enemy to fresh exertions. They rushed to his house, plundered his possessions, and demolished it completely.⁽²⁾ He himself was meanwhile directing his steps towards Nayriz. Though unaccustomed to walking, he covered, that night, seven farsangs⁽³⁾ on foot, while his sons were carried part of the way by his two companions. In the course of the ensuing day, he concealed himself within the recesses of a neighbouring mountain. As soon as his brother, who resided in that vicinity and entertained a deep affection for him, was informed of his arrival, he secretly despatched to him whatever provisions he required. That same day a body of the governor's mounted attendants, who had set out in pursuit of Vahid, arrived at that village, searched the house of his brother, where they suspected that he was concealed, and appropriated a large amount of his property. Unable to find him, they retraced their steps to Yazd.
Vahid, in the meantime, made his way through the mountains until he reached the district of Bavanat-i-Fars. Most of its inhabitants, who were numbered among his fervent admirers, readily embraced the Cause, among whom was the

well-known Haji Siyyid Isma'il, the Shaykhu'l-Islam of Bavanat. A considerable number of these people accompanied him as far as the village of Fasa, where the inhabitants refused to respond to the Message which he invited them to follow.
All along his route, wherever he tarried, Vahid's first thought, as soon as he had dismounted, was to seek the neighbouring masjid, wherein he would summon the people to hear him announce the tidings of the New Day. Utterly oblivious of the fatigues of his journey, he would promptly ascend the pulpit and fearlessly proclaim to his congregation the character of the Faith he had risen to champion he would spend only one night in that place if he had succeeded in winning to the Cause souls upon whom he could rely to propagate it after his departure. Otherwise he would straightway resume his march and refuse further to associate with them. "Through whichever village I pass," he often remarked, "and fail to inhale from its inhabitants the fragrance of belief, its food and its drink are both distasteful to me."
Arriving at the village of Runiz, in the district of Fasa, Vahid decided to tarry for a few days. Those hearts which he found receptive to his call he strove to attract and to inflame with the fire of God's love. As soon as the news of his arrival reached Nayriz, the entire population of the Chinar-Sukhtih quarter hastened out to meet him. People from other quarters likewise, impelled by their love and admiration for him, decided to join them. Fearing lest Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, the governor of Nayriz, should object to their visit, the majority of them set out at night. From the quarter of Chinar-Sukhtih alone more than a hundred students, preceded by their leader, Haji Shaykh Abdu'l-Ali, the father-in-law of Vahid, and a judge of recognised standing throughout that district, were moved to join a number of the most distinguished among the notables of Nayriz in greeting the expected visitor ere his arrival at their town. Among these figured Mulla Abdu'l-Husayn, a venerable man of eighty who was highly esteemed for his piety and learning; Mulla Baqir, who was the Imam of the Chinar-Sukhtih quarter; Mirza Husayn-i-Qutb, the kad-khuda'⁽¹⁾ of the Bazar quarter,

with all his relatives; Mirza Abu'l-Qasim, a relative of the governor; Haji Muhammad-Taqi, who has been mentioned by Baha'u'llah in the "Suriy-i-Ayyub," together with his son-in-law; Mirza Nawra and Mirza Ali-Rida, both of the Sadat quarter.⁽¹⁾
All of these, some by day and others by night, went as far as the village of Runiz in order to extend their welcome to the visitor, and to assure him of their unalterable devotion. Although the Bab had revealed a general Tablet addressed specially to those who had newly embraced His Cause in Nayriz, yet its recipients remained ignorant of its significance and fundamental principles. It was given to Vahid to enlighten them regarding its true purpose and set forth its distinguishing features.
No sooner had Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan been made aware of the considerable exodus that had taken place for the purpose of welcoming the arrival of Vahid, than he despatched a special messenger to overtake and inform those who had already departed of his determination to take the life, capture the wives, and confiscate the property of everyone who persisted in giving allegiance to him. Not one of those who departed heeded the warning, but rather did they cling still more passionately to their leader. Their unyielding determination and disdainful neglect of his messenger filled the governor with dismay. Fearful lest these should arise against him, he decided to transfer his residence to the village of Qutrih, where his original home had been, and which lay at a distance of eight farsangs⁽²⁾ from Nayriz. He chose that

village because in its vicinity there stood a massive fortress which he could utilise as a place of refuge in case of danger. He was, moreover, assured that its inhabitants were trained in the art of marksmanship and could be relied upon whenever summoned to defend him.
Vahid had meanwhile left Runiz for the shrine of Pir-Murad, which was situated outside the village of Istahbanat. Despite the interdiction pronounced by the ulamas of that village against his admittance, no less than twenty of its inhabitants went out to welcome him, and accompanied him as far as Nayriz. When they arrived, in the forenoon of

from Shiraz and destroy your homes and subject you to untold indignities." "We are ready and resigned to the will of God," answered, with one voice, the congregation. "God grant us His grace to withstand the calamities that may yet befall us. We cannot, however, reconcile ourselves to so abrupt and hasty a separation from you." No sooner had these words escaped their lips than men and women joined hands in conducting Vahid triumphantly to his home. Wild with excitement and exultant with joy, they pressed round him and, with cheers and acclamations, escorted him to the very entrance of his house. The few days Vahid consented to tarry in Nayriz were spent mostly in the masjid, where he continued with his customary

eloquence and without the least reservation to propound the fundamental teachings which he had received from his Master. Every day witnessed an increase in the number of his audience, and from every side evidences of his marvellous influence became more and more manifest.
The fascination which he exerted over the people could not fail to fan to fury the dormant hostility of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan. He was roused to new exertions, and gave orders that an army be raised for the avowed purpose of eradicating a Cause which he felt was fast undermining his own position. He soon succeeded in recruiting about a thousand men, consisting of both cavalry and infantry, all of whom were well trained in the art of warfare and were equipped with an ample store of munitions. His plan was, by a sudden onset, to make him a prisoner.
Vahid, as soon as he was informed of the designs of the governor, ordered those twenty companions who had left Istahbanat to welcome him, and who had accompanied him as far as Nayriz, to occupy the fort of Khajih, which was situated in the vicinity of the Chinar-Sukhtih quarter. He appointed Shaykh Hadi, son of Shaykh Muhsin, as the leader of the band, and urged his followers who resided in that quarter to fortify the gates, the turrets, and the walls of that stronghold.
The governor had meanwhile transferred his seat to his own house in the Bazar quarter. The force he had raised accompanied him and occupied the fort situated in its vicinity. Its towers and walls, which he began to reinforce, overlooked the whole town. Having compelled Siyyid Abu-Talib, the kad-khuda⁽¹⁾ of that quarter and one of the companions of Vahid, to evacuate his house, he fortified its roof and, stationing upon it a number of his men, under the command of Muhammad-'Ali Khan, he gave orders to open fire upon his adversary. The first to suffer was that same Mulla Abdu'l-Husayn who, despite his advanced age, had walked out to welcome Vahid. He was offering his prayer on the roof of his house when a bullet struck his right foot, causing him to bleed profusely. That cruel blow evoked the sympathy of Vahid, who hastened, in a written message to the sufferer,

to express his grief at the injury he had sustained, and to cheer him with the thought that he, at this advanced stage of his life, was the first to be chosen to fall a victim in the path of the Cause.
The suddenness of the attack dismayed a number of the companions who had hastily embraced the Message and had failed to appreciate its full meaning. Their faith was so severely shaken that a few were induced, in the dead of night, to separate themselves from their companions and join forces with the enemy. Vahid had no sooner been informed of their action than he arose at the hour of dawn and, mounting his steed and accompanied by a number of his supporters, rode out to the fort of Khajih, where he fixed his residence.
His arrival was the signal for a fresh attack upon him. Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan immediately despatched his elder brother, Ali-Asghar Khan, together with a thousand men, all armed and well trained, to lay siege to that fort, in which seventy-two companions had already taken shelter. At the hour of sunrise, a certain number of them, acting in accordance with the instructions or Vahid, sallied forth, and with extraordinary rapidity forced the besiegers to disperse.
No more than three of the companions met their death in the course of that encounter. The first was Taju'd-Din, a man renowned for his fearlessness, whose business was the manufacture of the woollen kulah;⁽¹⁾ the second was Zaynil, son of Iskandar, who was an agriculturist by profession; the third was Mirza Abu'l-Qasim, who was a man of distinguished merit.
This complete and sudden rout aroused the apprehensions of Prince Firuz Mirza, the Nusratu'd-Dawlih, governor of Shiraz, who gave orders for the prompt extermination of the occupants of the fort. Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan despatched one of the prince's attendants to Vahid, urging him, in view of the strained relations between them, to depart from Nayriz, in the hope that the mischief that had been kindled might soon be extinguished. "Tell him," replied Vahid, "that my two children, together with their two attendants, are all the company I have with me. If my presence in this town will cause mischief, I am willing to depart why is it that, instead

of according us the welcome which befits a descendant of the Prophet, he has deprived us of water and has incited his men to besiege and attack us? If he persists in denying us the necessities of life, I warn him that seven of my companions, whom he regards as the most contemptible among men, will inflict upon his combined forces a humiliating defeat."
Finding that Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan ignored his warning, Vahid ordered his companions to emerge from the fort and punish their assailants. With admirable courage and confidence, they succeeded, though extremely young in years, and utterly inexperienced in the use of arms, in demoralising a trained and organised army. Ali-Asghar Khan himself perished, and two of his sons were captured. Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan disgracefully retreated, with what still remained of his scattered forces, to the village of Qutrih, acquainted the prince with the gravity of the situation, and begged him to send immediate reinforcements, stressing in particular the need for heavy artillery and a large detachment of both infantry and cavalry.
Vahid, on his part, finding that the enemy was bent on their extermination, gave orders that the defences of the fort be strengthened, that a water-cistern be constructed within its enclosure, and that the tents they had carried away be pitched outside its gates. That day certain of his companions had assigned to them special functions and duties. Karbila'i Mirza Muhammad was made the gatekeeper of the fort; Shaykh Yusuf, the custodian of the funds; Karbila'i Muhammad, son of Shamsu'd-Din, the superintendent of the gardens adjoining the fort and its barricades; Mirza Ahmad, the uncle of Aliy-i-Sardar, was appointed the officer in charge of the tower of the mill known by the name of Chinar, situated in the vicinity of the fort; Shaykhi-i-Shivih-Kash to be the executioner; Mirza Muhammad-Ja'far, cousin of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, the chronicler; Mirza Fadlu'llah as the reader of these records; Mashhadi Taqi-Baqqal to be the gaoler; Muhammad Taqi, the registrar; and Ghulam-Riday-i-Yazdi to be the captain of the forces. In addition to the seventy-two companions who were with him within the fort and had accompanied him

from Istahbanat to Nayriz, Vahid was induced, at the instance of Siyyid Ja'far-i-Yazdi, a well-known divine, and Shaykh Abdu'l-'Ali, Vahid's father-in-law, to admit to the fort a number of the residents of the Bazar quarter, together with several of his own kindred.
Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan again renewed his appeal to the prince, and enclosed this time with his petition, which pleaded for urgent and adequate reinforcements, the sum of five thousand tumans⁽¹⁾ as his personal gift to him. He entrusted his letter to one of his intimate friends, Mulla Baqir, allowed him to mount his own steed, and instructed him to deliver it in person to the prince. He chose him for his intrepidity, his fluency of speech, and tactfulness. Mulla Baqir took an unfrequented route, and after a day's journey reached a place called Hudashtak, in the neighbourhood of which was a fort around which tribes who roved the country sometimes pitched their tents.
Mulla Baqir dismounted near one of these tents, and whilst he was talking with its occupants, Haji Siyyid Isma'il, the Shaykhu'l-Islam of Bavanat, arrived. He had obtained leave from Vahid to proceed to his native village on some urgent affair, and to return immediately to Nayriz. After his lunch, he saw that a richly caparisoned horse was tethered to the ropes of one of the neighbouring tents. Being informed that it belonged to one of the friends of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, who had arrived from Nayriz and was on his way to Shiraz, Haji Siyyid Isma'il, who was a man of exceptional courage, immediately went to that tent, mounted the horse, and, unsheathing his sword, sternly spoke these words to the owner of the tent with whom Mulla Baqir was still conversing: "Arrest this scoundrel, who has fled from before the face of the Sahibu'z-Zaman.⁽²⁾ Tie his hands and deliver him to me." Affrighted by the words and manner of Haji Mulla Isma'il, the occupants of the tent immediately obeyed. They bound his hands and delivered the rope with which they had tied him to Haji Siyyid Isma'il, who spurred on his charger in the direction of Nayriz and compelled his captive to follow him. At a distance of two farsangs from that town, he reached the village of Rastaq and delivered his

captive into the hands of its kad-khuda, whose name was Haji Akbar, urging that he be conducted into the presence of Vahid. When brought before him, the latter enquired as to the purpose of his journey to Shiraz, to which he gave a frank and detailed reply. Though Vahid was willing to forgive him, yet Mulla Baqir, by reason of his attitude towards him, was eventually put to death at the hands of the companions.
Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, far from relaxing in his determination to solicit the aid he needed from Shiraz, appealed this time with increased vehemence to the prince, begging him to redouble his efforts for the extermination of what he regarded as the gravest menace to the security of his province. Not content with his earnest entreaty, he despatched to Shiraz a number of his trusted men, whom he loaded with presents for the prince, hoping thereby to induce him to act with promptness. In a further effort to ensure the success of his endeavours, he addressed several appeals to the leading ulamas and siyyids of Shiraz, wherein he glaringly misrepresented the aims of Vahid, expatiated upon his subversive activities, and urged them to intercede with the prince and entreat him to expedite the despatch of reinforcements.
The prince readily granted their request. He instructed Abdu'llah Khan, the Shuja'u'l-Mulk, to set out at once for Nayriz, accompanied by the Hamadani and Silakhuri regiments, headed by several officers, and provided with an adequate force of artillery. He, moreover, instructed his representative in Nayriz to recruit all the able-bodied men from the surrounding district, including the villages of Istahbanat, Iraj, Panj-Ma'adin, Qutrih, Bashnih, Dih-Chah, Mushkan, and Rastaq. To these he added the members of the tribe known by the name of Visbaklariyyih, whom he commanded to join the army of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan.
An innumerable host suddenly surrounded the fort in which Vahid and his companions were besieged, and began to dig trenches around it and to set up barricades along those trenches.⁽¹⁾ No sooner was the work accomplished than they

opened fire on them. A bullet struck the house on which one of Vahid's attendants was riding as he was keeping watch at the gate. Another bullet followed immediately upon the first, and penetrated the turret above that gate. In the course of that bombardment, one of the companions, aiming with his rifle at the officer in charge of the artillery, shot him dead instantly, as a result of which the roar of the guns was immediately silenced. The assailants meanwhile retreated and hid themselves within their trenches. That night neither the besieged nor those who attacked them ventured to sally forth from their places of shelter.
The second night, however, Vahid summoned Ghulam-Riday-i-Yazdi and instructed him, together with fourteen of his companions, to sally forth from the fort and drive off the enemy. Those who were called upon to perform that task were for the most part men of advanced age, whom no one would have thought capable of bearing the brunt of so fierce a struggle. Among them was a shoemaker who, though more than ninety years of age, showed such enthusiasm and vigour as no youth could hope to exceed. The rest of the fourteen were mere lads, as yet wholly unprepared to face the perils and endure the strain which such a sally entailed. Age, however, to those heroes, whom a dauntless will and an immovable confidence in the high destiny of their Cause had wholly transformed, mattered but little. They were instructed by their leader to divide immediately after they left the cover of the fort and, raising simultaneously the cry of "Allah-u-Akbar!"⁽¹⁾ to spring into the midst of the enemy.
No sooner had the signal been given than they arose and, hurrying to their steeds and rifles, marched out of the gate of the fort. Undaunted by the fire which spouted from the mouths of the cannons and by the bullets which rained upon their heads, they plunged headlong into the midst of their adversaries. This sudden encounter lasted for no less than eight hours, during which that fearless band was able to demonstrate such skill and bravery as amazed the veterans in the ranks of the enemy. From the town of Nayriz, as well as from its surrounding fortifications reinforcements rushed to the aid of the small company that had withstood so valiantly

      1.  Ghulam-Riday-i-Yazdi (not to be confounded with the 
captain of the forces who bore the same name), 
      2.  Brother of Ghulam-Riday-i-Yazdi, 
      3.  Ali, son of Khayru'llah, 
      4.  Khajih Husayn-i-Qannad, son of Khajih Ghani, 
      5.  Asghar, son of Mulla Mihdi, 
      6.  Karbila'i Abdu'l-Karim, 
      7.  Husayn, son of Mashhadi Muhammad, 
      8.  Zaynu'l-'Abidin, son of Mashhadi Baqir-i-Sabbagh, 
      9.  Mulla Ja'far-i-Mudhahhib, 
     10.  Abdu'llah, son of Mulla Musa, 
     11.  Muhammad, son of Mashhadi Rajab-i-Haddad, 
     12.  Karbila'i Hasan, son of Karbila'i Shamsu'd-Din-i-Maliki-Duz, 
     13.  Karbila'i Mirza Muhammad-i-Zari', 
     14.  Karbila'i Baqir-i-Kafsh-Duz, 
     15.  Mirza Ahmad, son of Mirza Husayn-i-Kashi-Saz, 
     16.  Mulla Hasan, son of Mulla Abdu'llah, 
     17.  Mashhadi Haji Muhammad, 
     18.  Abu-Talib, son of Mir Ahmad-i-Nukhud-Biriz, 
     19.  Akbar, son of Muhammad-i-'Ashur, 
     20.  Taqiy-i-Yazdi, 
     21.  Mulla Ali, son of Mulla Ja'far, 
     22.  Karbila'i Mirza Husayn, 
     23.  Husayn Khan, son of Sharif, 
 
488
 
     24.  Karbila'i Qurban, 
     25.  Khajih Kazim, son of Khajih Ali, 
     26.  Aqa, son of Haji Ali, 
     27.  Mirza Nawra, son of Mirza Mu'ina.

So complete a failure convinced Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan and his staff of the futility of their efforts to compel, in an open contest, the submission of their adversaries.⁽¹⁾ As was the case with the army of Prince Mihdi-Quli Mirza, who had miserably failed to subdue his opponents fairly in the field, treachery and fraud proved eventually the sole weapons with which a cowardly people could conquer an invincible enemy. By the devices to which Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan and his staff eventually resorted, they betrayed their powerlessness, despite the vast resources at their disposal and the moral support which the governor of Fars and the inhabitants of the whole province had extended to them, to vanquish what to outward appearance seemed but a handful of untrained and contemptible people. In their hearts, they were convinced that behind the walls of that fort were clustered a band of volunteers which no force at their command could face and defeat.
By raising the cry of peace, they sought, through such base cunning, to beguile those pure and noble hearts. For a few days they suspended all manner of hostility, after which they addressed a solemn and written appeal to the besieged, which in substance ran as follows: "Hitherto, as we were ignorant of the true character of your Faith, we have allowed the mischief-makers to induce us to believe that every one of you has violated the sacred precepts of Islam. Therefore did we arise against you, and have endeavoured to extirpate your Faith. During the last few days, we have been made aware of the fact that your activities are untinged by any political motive, that none of you cherish any inclination to subvert the foundations of the State. We also have been convinced of the fact that your teachings do not involve any grave departure from the fundamental teachings of Islam. All that you seem to uphold is the claim that a man has

appeared whose words are inspired and whose testimony is certain, and whom all the followers of Islam must recognise and support. We can in no wise be convinced of the validity of this claim unless you consent to repose the utmost confidence in our sincerity, and accept our request to allow certain of your representatives to emerge from the fort and meet us in this camp, where we can, within the space of a few days, ascertain the character of your belief. If you prove yourselves able to demonstrate the true claims of your Faith, we too will readily embrace it, for we are not the enemies Truth, and none of us wish to deny it. Your leader we have always recognised as one of the ablest champions of Islam, and we regard him as our example and guide. This Qur'an, to which we affix our seals, is the witness to the integrity of our purpose. Let that holy Book decide whether the claim you advance is true or false. The malediction of God and His Prophet rest upon us if we should attempt to deceive you. Your acceptance of our invitation will save a whole army from destruction, whilst your refusal will leave them in suspense and doubt. We pledge our word that as soon as we are convinced of the truth of your Message, we shall strive to display the same zeal and devotion you already have so strikingly manifested. Your friends will be our friends, and your enemies our enemies. Whatever your leader may choose to command, the same we pledge ourselves to obey. On the other hand, if we fail to be convinced of the truth of your claim, we solemnly promise that we shall in no wise interfere with your safe return to the fort, and shall be willing to resume our contest against you. We entreat you to refuse to shed more blood before attempting to establish the truth of your Cause."
Vahid received the Qur'an with great reverence and kissed it devoutly. "Our appointed hour has struck," he remarked. "Our acceptance of their invitation will surely make them feel the baseness of their treachery." "Though I am well aware of their designs," he added, as he turned to his companions, "I feel it my duty to accept their call and take the opportunity to attempt once again to unfold the verities of my beloved Faith." He bade them continue to discharge their duties, and place no reliance whatever on

what their adversaries might profess to believe. He, moreover, ordered them to suspend all manner of hostilities until further notice from him.
With these words he bade farewell to his companions and, accompanied by five attendants, among whom were Mulla Aliy-i-Mudhahhib and the treacherous Haji Siyyid Abid, set out for the camp of the enemy. Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, accompanied by Shuja'u'l-Mulk and all the members of his staff, came out to welcome him. They ceremoniously received him, conducted him to a tent that had been specially pitched for his reception, and introduced him to the rest of the officers. He seated himself upon a chair, while the rest of the company, with the exception of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, Shuja'u'l-Mulk, and another officer, whom he motioned to be seated, all stood before him. The words in which he addressed them were such that even a stone-hearted man could not fail to feel their power. Baha'u'llah, in the "Suriy-Sabr," has immortalised that noble appeal and revealed the full measure of its significance. "I am come to you," Vahid declared, "armed with the testimony with which my Lord has entrusted me. Am I not a descendant of the Prophet of God? Wherefore should you have risen to slay me? For what reason have you pronounced my death-sentence, and refused to recognise the undoubted rights with which my lineage has invested me?"
The majesty of his bearing, combined with his penetrating eloquence, confounded his hearers. For three days and three nights, they lavishly entertained him and treated him with marked respect. In their congregational prayer, they invariably followed his lead, and attentively listened to his discourse. Though outwardly they seemed to be bowing to his will, yet they were secretly plotting against his life and were conspiring to exterminate the remnant of his companions. They knew full well that, were they to inflict upon him the least injury while his companions remained entrenched behind the walls of their fort, they would be exposing themselves to a peril still greater than the one they had already been compelled to face. They trembled at the fury and vengeance of their women no less than at the bravery and skill of their men. They realised that all the resources of

the army had been powerless to subdue a handful of immature lads and decrepit old men. Nothing short of a bold and well-conceived stratagem could ensure their ultimate victory. The fear that filled their hearts was to a great extent inspired by the words of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, who, with unrelaxing determination, sought to maintain undiminished the hatred with which he had inflamed their souls. Vahid's repeated exhortations had aroused his apprehensions lest he should succeed, by the magic of his words, in inducing them to transfer their allegiance to so eloquent an opponent.
Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan and his friends at last decided to request Vahid to address in his own handwriting a message to his companions who were still within the fort, to inform them that an amicable settlement of their differences had been effected, and to urge them either to join him at the headquarters of the army or to return to their homes. Though reluctant to give his assent to such a request, Vahid was eventually forced to submit. In addition to this message, he confidentially informed his companions, in a second letter, of the evil designs of the enemy, and warned them not to allow themselves to be deceived. He entrusted both letters to Haji Siyyid Abid, instructing him to destroy the former and deliver the latter to his companions. He charged him, moreover, to urge them to choose the ablest among their number, and to sally forth in the dead of night and scatter the forces of the enemy.
No sooner had Haji Siyyid Abid received these directions than he treacherously communicated them to Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan. The latter immediately sought to induce him to urge the occupants of the fort, in the name of their leader, to disperse, promising that he would in return abundantly reward him. The disloyal messenger delivered the first letter to Vahid's companions, and informed them that their leader had succeeded in winning over to his Faith the entire army, and that in view of this conversion he had advised them to leave for their homes.
Though extremely bewildered by such a message, the companions felt unable to disregard the wishes Vahid had so clearly expressed. They reluctantly dispersed, leaving all the fortifications unguarded. Obedient to the commands

written by their leader, several of them discarded their arms, and directed their steps towards Nayriz.
Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, anticipating the immediate evacuation of the fort, despatched a detachment of his forces to intercept their entry into the town. They were soon encompassed by a multitude of armed men, who were being continually reinforced from the army's headquarters. Finding themselves thus unexpectedly hemmed in, they determined by every means in their power to repulse the attack and gain the Masjid-i-Jami' as swiftly as possible. By the aid of swords and rifles which some of them were carrying, others with sticks and stones only, they sought to force their way to the town. The cry of "Allah-u-Akbar!"⁽¹⁾ rose again, fiercer and more compelling than ever. A few among them suffered martyrdom, as they forced their way through the ranks of their treacherous assailants. The rest, though wounded and harassed by fresh reinforcements which had beset them from every side, eventually succeeded in attaining the shelter of the masjid.
Meanwhile the notorious Mulla Hasan, the son of Mulla Muhammad-'Ali, an officer in the army of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, succeeded, together with his men, in outdistancing his opponents and, concealing himself in one of the minarets of that masjid, lay in wait for the fugitives. No sooner had the scattered band approached the masjid than he opened fire upon them. A certain Mulla Husayn recognised him and, raising the cry of "Allah-u-Akbar!" scaled the minaret, aimed his rifle at that cowardly officer, and hurled him to the ground. His friends carried him away to a place where he was enabled to recover from his wound.
The companions, unable any longer to obtain shelter in the masjid, were compelled to hide in whatever place of safety they could find, until such time as they might ascertain the fate of their leader. Their first thought after their betrayal was to seek his presence and follow whatever instructions he might wish to give them. They were, however, unable to discover what had befallen him, and trembled at the thought that he might have been put to death.
Meanwhile Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan and his staff, emboldened

by the dispersal of the companions, were strenuously exerting themselves to discover means whereby they could evade the obligations of their solemn oath and proceed unhindered to slay their chief opponent. They endeavoured by some specious device to set aside their sacred promises and to hasten the fulfilment of a long-cherished desire. In the midst of their deliberations, Abbas-Quli Khan, a man notorious for his ruthlessness and cruelty, assured his comrades that if the thought of having taken that oath perplexed them, he himself had in no wise participated in that declaration, and was ready to execute what they felt unable to perform. "I can arrest at any time," he burst forth in a fit of indignation, "and put to death whomever I deem guilty of having violated the laws of the land." He immediately afterwards called upon all those whose kinsmen had perished to execute the sentence of death pronounced against Vahid. The first to present himself was Mulla Rida, whose brother Mulla Baqir had been captured by the Shaykhu'l-Islam of Bavanat; the next was a man named Safar, whose brother Sha'ban had perished; the third was Aqa Khan, whose father, Ali-Asghar Khan, elder brother of Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, had suffered the same fate.
In their eagerness to carry out the suggestion of Abbas-Quli Khan, these men snatched the turban from the head of Vahid, wound it around his neck, and, binding him to a horse, dragged him ignominiously through the streets.⁽¹⁾ The indignities that were heaped upon him reminded those who witnessed that awful spectacle of the tragic end of the Imam Husayn, whose body was abandoned to the mercy of an infuriated enemy, and upon which a multitude of horsemen pitilessly trampled. The women or Nayriz, stirred to the highest pitch of excitement by the shouts of triumph which a murderous enemy was raising, pressed from every side around the corpse, and, to the accompaniment of drums and cymbals, gave free vent to their feelings of unrestrained fanaticism.

They danced merrily around it, scornful of the words which Vahid, in the midst of his agony, had spoken, words which the Imam Husayn, in a former age and in similar circumstances, had uttered: "Thou knowest, O my Beloved, that I have abandoned the world for Thy sake, and have placed my trust in Thee alone. I am impatient to hasten to Thee, for the beauty of Thy countenance has been unveiled to my eyes. Thou dost witness the evil designs which my wicked persecutor has cherished against me. Nay, never will I submit to his wishes or pledge my allegiance to him."
Thus was brought to an end a noble and heroic life. Such an eventful and brilliant career, distinguished by such vast learning,⁽¹⁾ such dauntless courage, and so rare a spirit of self-sacrifice, surely required for crown a death as glorious as that which completed his martyrdom.⁽²⁾ The extinction of that life was the signal for a fierce onslaught on the lives and property of those who had identified themselves with his Faith. No less than five thousand men were commissioned for that villainous task. The men were seized, chained, ill-treated, and eventually slaughtered. The women and children were captured and subjected to brutalities which no pen dare describe. Their property was confiscated, and their houses were destroyed. The fort of Khajih was burned to the ground. The majority of the men were first conducted in chains to Shiraz, and there, for the most part, suffered a cruel death.⁽³⁾ Those whom Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan, for purposes

of personal benefit, had plunged into dark and subterranean dungeons were, as soon as his object had been achieved, delivered into the hands of his myrmidons, who perpetrated upon them acts of unspeakable cruelty.⁽¹⁾ They were paraded at first through the streets of Nayriz, after which they were subjected to atrocious treatment in the hope of extracting from them whatever material advantage their persecutors had hitherto been unable to obtain. These having satisfied their greed, each victim was made to suffer an agonising death. Every instrument of torture their executioners could devise was utilised to quench their thirst for revenge. They were branded, their nails were pulled out, their bodies were lashed, an incision was made in the nose through which a string was driven, nails were hammered into their hands and feet, and in that piteous state each of them was dragged through the streets, an object of contempt and derision to all the people.
Among them was a certain Siyyid Ja'far-i-Yazdi, who in former days had exercised immense influence and had been

Another victim of their tyranny was Haji Muhammad-Taqi, who had enjoyed, in days past, such a reputation for honesty and justice that his opinion was invariably regarded by the judges of the court as the determining word in their judgment. So great and esteemed a man was, in the depth of winter, stripped of his clothes, thrown into a pond, and lashed severely. Siyyid Ja'far and Shaykh Abdu'l-'Ali, who

was Vahid's father-in-law and the leading divine of Nayriz, as well as a judge of great reputation, together with Siyyid Husayn, one of the notables of the town, were doomed to suffer the same fate. While they were exposed to the cold, the scum of the people was hired to heap upon their shivering bodies abominable cruelties. Many a poor man, who hastened to obtain the reward promised for this vile deed, revolted when informed of the nature of the task he was called upon to perform, and, rejecting the money, turned away with loathing and contempt.⁽¹⁾
The day of Vahid's martyrdom was the eighteenth of the month of Sha'ban, in the year 1266 A.H.⁽²⁾ Ten days later, the Bab was shot in Tabriz.