Handtyped and proofread by Alison Marshall,
formatted by Jonah Winters.
Online version is exact replica of original,
except underscore used to indicate subdot.
Persian and Arabic text will be
added later; currently indicated by ~~~ or "[Persian/Arabic
text]."
Note: the page numbers embedded in the text (e.g. [p. 1])
refer to an earlier edition — see Browne's Introduction.
A TRAVELLER'S NARRATIVE
WRITTEN TO ILLUSTRATE
THE EPISODE OF THE
BÁB
[p. 1] Touching the
individual known as the Báb and the true nature of this sect diverse tales are
on the tongues and in the mouths of men, and various accounts are contained in
the pages of Persian history and the leaves of European
chronicles
1. But because of the variety of their
assertions and the diversity of their narratives not one is as worthy of
confidence as it should be. Some have loosed their tongues in extreme censure
and condemnation; some foreign chronicles have spoken in a commendatory strain;
while a certain section have recorded what they themselves have heard without
addressing themselves either to censure or approbation.
1 See Note A at end.
[page 2] [p. 2] Now since
these various accounts are recorded in other pages, and since the setting forth
thereof would lead to prolixity, therefore what relates to the history of this
matter (sought out with the utmost diligence during the time of my travels in
all parts of Persia, whether far or near, from those without and those within,
from friends and strangers), and that whereon the disputants are agreed, shall
be briefly set forth in writing, so that a summary of the facts of the case may
be at the disposal of those who are athirst after the fountain of knowledge and
who seek to become acquainted with all events.
The Báb was a young merchant of the Pure
Lineage
1. He was born in the year one thousand two
hundred and thirty-five [A. H.] on the first day of
Mu
harram
2, and when after a few years his
father Seyyid Mu
hammad Rizá died, he was brought up in [p. 3.] Shíráz in
the arms of his maternal uncle Mírzá Seyyid 'Alí
3 the
merchant. On attaining maturity he engaged in trade in Bushire, first in
partnership with his maternal uncle and afterwards independently. On account of
what was observed in him he was noted for godliness, devoutness, virtue, and
piety, and was regarded in the sight of men as so
characterized.
1 i.e. a
Seyyid, or descendant of the family of the Prophet.
2 October 20th, 1819 A.D. Cf. B. ii, p. 993; and B. i, p.
517-511.
3 See Note B at
end.
[page 3] In the year one
thousand two hundred and sixty [A. H.], when he was in his twenty-fifth
year
1, certain signs became apparent in his conduct,
behaviour, manners, and demeanour whereby it became evident in Shíráz that he
had some conflict in his mind and some other flight beneath his wing. He began
to speak and to declare the rank of Báb-hood. Now what he intended by the term
Báb2 [Gate] was this, that he was the channel
of grace from some great [p. 4.] Person still behind the veil of glory, who was
the possessor of countless and boundless perfections, by whose will he moved,
and to the bond of whose love he clung. And in the first book which he wrote in
explanation of the
Súra of Joseph3, he
addressed himself in all passages to that Person unseen from whom he received
help and grace, sought for aid in the arrangement of His preliminaries, and
craved the sacrifice of life in the way of his love.
Amongst others is this sentence: '
O Remnant of
God4,
I am wholly sacrificed to Thee; I am
content 1 Jamádí-ul-Úlá
5th, 1260 A.H. (May 23rd, 1844 A.D.), is the date given by the Báb himself in
the Persian Beyán as that whereon his mission commenced. The texts
referred to will be found quoted in Note C at end. Cf. also B. i, pp.
507-508.
2 See Note D at
end.
3 Kur'an xii. See
Gobineau, pp. 146-147; Rosen MSS. Arabes, pp. 179-191; B. ii, pp.
904-909.
4 See Kazem-Beg ii, p. 486
and note.
[page 4]with curses in Thy way; I crave nought but to
be slain in Thy love; and God the Supreme sufficeth as an Eternal
Protection.'
He likewise composed a
number of works in explanation and elucidation of the verses of the [p. 5.]
Kur'án, of sermons, and of prayers in Arabic; inciting and urging men to
expect the appearance of that Person; and these books he named 'Inspired Pages'
and 'Word of Conscience.' But on investigation it was discovered that he laid no
claim to revelation from an angel.
Now since
he was noted amongst the people for lack of instruction and education, this
circumstance appeared in the sight of men supernatural. Some men inclined to
him, but the greater part manifested strong disapproval; whilst all the learned
doctors and lawyers of repute who occupied chairs, altars, and pulpits were
unanimously agreed on eradication and suppression, save some divines of the
Sheykhí
1 party who were anchorites and recluses, and
who, agreeably to their tenets, were ever seeking for some great, incomparable,
and trustworthy person, [p. 6.] whom they accounted, according to their own
terminology, as the '
Fourth Support'
2 and the
central
1 See
Gobineau, pp. 30-32; Kazem-Beg, pp. 457-464; B. ii, pp. 884-885 and pp. 888-892;
and Note E at end.
2 See Note E at
end.
[page 5]manifestation of the truths of the Perspicuous
Religion
1.
Of this
number Mullá
Huseyn of Bushraweyh, Mírzá A
hmad of Azghand, Mullá
Sádi
k '
Mukaddas' ['the Holy'], Sheykh Abú Turáb of
Ashtahárd, Mullá Yúsuf of Ardabíl, Mullá Jalíl of Urúmiyya, Mullá Mahdí of Kand,
Sheykh Sa'íd the Indian, Mullá 'Alí of Bis
tám, and the like of these came
out unto him and spread themselves through all parts of
Persia
2.
The Báb
himself set out to perform the circumambulation of the House of
God
3. On his return, when the news of his arrival at
Bushire reached Shíráz, there was much discussion, and a strange excitement and
agitation became apparent in that city. [p. 7.] The great majority of the
doctors set themselves to repudiate him, decreeing slaughter and destruction,
and they induced
Huseyn Khán
Ajúdán-báshí, who was the governor of
Fárs, to inflict a beating on the Báb's missionaries, that is on Mullá
Sádi
k '
Mukaddas'; then, having burnt his moustaches
and beard together with those of Mírzá Mu
hammad 'Alí of Bárfurúsh and
Mullá 'Alí Akbar of Ardistán,
1 i.e. the religion of Islám.
2 For a further account of some of these persons see Note F at
end.
3 i.e. the pilgrimage to Mecca.
See Kazem-Beg i, p. 344 and note; and also Note G at end.
[page 6]they put halters on all the three and led them
round the streets and bazaars.
Now since the
doctors of Persia have no administrative capacity, they thought that violence
and interference would cause extinction and silence and lead to suppression and
oblivion; whereas interference in matters of conscience causes stability and
firmness and attracts the attention of men's sight and souls; which fact has
received experimental proof many times and often. So this punishment caused
notoriety, [p. 8.] and most men fell to making enquiry.
The governor of Fárs, acting according to that which the doctors
deemed expedient, sent several horsemen
1, caused the
Báb to be brought before him, censured and blamed him in the presence of the
doctors and scholars, and loosed his tongue in the demand for reparation. And
when the Báb returned his censure and withstood him greatly, at a sign from the
president they struck him a violent blow, insulting and contemning [sic] him, in
such wise that his turban fell from his head and the mark of the blow was
apparent on his face. At the conclusion of the meeting they decided to take
counsel, and, on receiving bail and surety from His maternal uncle Hájí Seyyid
'Alí, sent him to his house forbidding him to hold intercourse with relations or
strangers.
1 See Note G at
end, and Kazem-Beg i, pp. 346-348.
[page 7] One day they summoned
him to the mosque urging and constraining him to recant, but he discoursed from
the pulpit in such wise as to silence and subdue those present and to stablish
and [p. 9.] strengthen his followers. It was then supposed that he claimed to be
the medium of grace from his Highness the Lord of the
Age
1 (upon him be peace); but afterwards it became
known and evident that his meaning was the Gate-hood [
Bábiyyat] of
another city and the mediumship of the graces of another person whose qualities
and attributes were contained in his books and treatises.
At all events, as has been mentioned, by reason of the doctors'
lack of experience and skill in administrative science, and the continual
succession of their decisions, comment was rife; and their interference with the
Báb cast a clamour throughout Persia, causing increased ardour in friends and
the coming forward of the hesitating. For by reason of these occurrences men's
interest increased, and in all parts of Persia some [of God's] servants inclined
[p. 10.] toward him, until the matter acquired such importance that the late
king Mu
hammad Sháh delegated a certain person named Seyyid Ya
hyá
of Dáráb
2, who was one of the best known of doctors
and Seyyids as well as an object of veneration and con-
1 See Kazem-Beg i, p. 345 and note.
2 See Note H at end.
[page 8]fidence, giving him a horse and money for the
journey so that he might proceed to Shíráz and personally investigate this
matter.
When the above-mentioned Seyyid
arrived at Shíráz he interviewed the Báb three times. In the first and second
conferences questioning and answering took place; in the third conference he
requested a commentary on the Súra called
Kawthar1, and when the Báb, without thought or
reflection, wrote an elaborate commentary on the
Kawthar in his presence,
the above-mentioned Seyyid was charmed and enraptured with him, and straightway,
without consideration for the future or anxiety about the results of this
affection, hastened to Burújird to [p. 11.] his father Seyyid Ja'far, known as
Kashfí, and acquainted him with the matter. And, although he was wise and
prudent and was wont to have regard to the requirements of the time, he wrote
without fear or care a detailed account of his observations to Mírzá Lu
tf
'Alí the chamberlain in order that the latter might submit it to the notice of
the late king, while he himself journeyed to all parts of Persia, and in every
town and station summoned the people from the pulpit-tops in such wise that
other learned doctors decided that he must be mad, accounting it a sure case of
bewitchment.
1
Kur'án, cviii.
[page 9] Now when the news of
the decisions of the doctors and the outcry and clamour of the lawyers reached
Zanján, Mullá Mu
hammad 'Alí the divine
1, who
was a man of mark possessed of penetrating speech, sent one of those on whom he
could rely to Shíráz to [p. 12.] investigate this matter. This person, having
acquainted himself with the details of these occurrences in such wise as was
necessary and proper, returned with some [of the Báb's] writings. When the
divine heard how matters were and had made himself acquainted with the writings,
notwithstanding that he was a man expert in knowledge and noted for profound
research, he went mad and became crazed as was predestined: he gathered up his
books in the lecture-room saying, "The season of spring and wine has arrived,"
and uttered this sentence:- "
Search for knowledge after reaching the known is
culpable." Then from the summit of the pulpit he summoned and directed all
his disciples [to embrace the doctrine], and wrote to the Báb his own
declaration and confession.
The Báb in his
reply signified to him the obligation of congregational prayer.
Although the doctors of Zanján arose with heart [p. 13.]
and soul to exhort and admonish the people they could effect nothing. Finally
they were compelled to
1
Full accounts of this remarkable man will be found in Gobineau (pp. 233-252) and
Kazem-Beg ii (pp. 198-224).
[page 10]go to Teherán and made their complaint before
the late king Mu
hammad Sháh, requesting that Mullá Mu
hammad 'Alí
might be summoned to Teherán. So the royal order went forth that he should
appear.
Now when he came to Teherán they
brought him before a conclave of the doctors; but, so they relate, after many
controversies and disputations naught was effected with him in that assembly.
The late king therefore bestowed on him a staff and fifty
túmáns1 for his expenses, and gave him
permission to return.
At all events, this
news being disseminated through all parts and regions of Persia, and several
proselytes [p. 14.] arriving in Fárs, the doctors perceived that the matter had
acquired importance, that the power to deal with it had escaped from their
hands, and that imprisonment, beating, tormenting, and contumely were fruitless.
So they signified to the governor of Fárs,
Huseyn Khán, "If thou desirest
the extinction of this fire, or seekest a firm stopper for this rent and
disruption, an immediate cure and decisive remedy is to kill the Báb. And the
Báb has assembled a great host and meditates a rising."
So
Huseyn Khán ordered 'Abdu'l-
Hamíd Khán the high
constable to attack the house of the Báb's
1 At the present time this would be equivalent to about £15,
but at the time referred to it would be considerably more - probably more than
£20.
[page 11]maternal uncle at midnight on all sides, and to
bring him and all his followers hand-cuffed. But 'Abdu'l-
hamíd Khán and
his hosts found no one in the house save the Báb, his maternal uncle, and Seyyid
Kázim of Zanján; and as it chanced that on that night the [p. 15.] sickness of
the plague and the extreme heat of the weather had compelled
Huseyn Khán
to flee, he released the Báb on condition of his quitting the
city
1.
On the
morning after that night the Báb with Seyyid Ká
zim of Zanján set out from
Shíráz for Isfahán. Before reaching Isfahán he wrote a letter to the
Mu'tamadu 'd-Dawla, the governor of the province, requesting a lodging in
some suitable place with the sanction of the government. The governor appointed
the mansion of the Imám-Jum'a. There he abode forty days; and one day, agreeably
to the request of the Imám, he wrote without reflection a commentary on [the
Súra of]
Wa'l-'Asr2 before the company.
When this news reached the
Mu'tamad he sought an interview with him and
questioned him concerning the 'Special Mission.' At that same interview an
answer proving the 'Special Mission' was written
3.
[p. 16.] The
Mu'tamid then gave
orders that all the doctors should assemble and dispute with him in one
1 See Note I at
end.
2 Kur'án, ciii.
3 See Note I at end.
[page 12]conclave, and that the discussion should be
faithfully recorded without alteration by the instrumentality of his private
secretary, in order that it might be sent to Teherán, and that whatever the
royal edict and decree should ordain might be carried out.
The doctors, however, considering this arrangement as a weakening
of the Law, did not agree, but held a conclave and wrote, "If there be doubt in
the matter there is need of assembly and discussion, but as this person's
disagreement with the most luminous Law is clearer than the sun therefore the
best possible thing is to put in practice the sentence of the Law."
The
Mu'tamad then desired to hold the
assembled conference in his own presence so that the actual truth might be
disclosed and hearts be at peace, but these learned doctors and honourable
scholars, [p. 17.] unwilling to bring the Perspicuous Law into contempt, did not
approve discussion and controversy with a young merchant, with the exception of
that most erudite sage Á
ká Mu
hammad Mahdí, and that eminent
Platonist Mírzá
Hasan of Núr
1. So the
conference terminated in questionings on certain points relating to the science
of fundamental dogma, and the elucidation and analysis of the doctrines of Mullá
Sadrá
2 So, as no conclusion was arrived at
1 Múrché-Khúr is the
second stage out from Isfahán on the north road, and is distant about 35 miles
therefrom.
2 For some account of this
great philosopher see Gobineau, pp. 80-90, and Note K at end.
[page 13]by the governor from this conference, the severe
sentence and harsh decision of the learned doctors was not carried out; but,
anxious to abate the great anxiety quickly and prevent a public tumult
effectually, he gave currency to a report that a decree had been issued ordering
the Báb to be sent to Teherán in order that some decisive settlement might be
arrived at, or that some courageous divine might be able to confute [him].
[p. 18.] He accordingly sent him forth from
Isfahán with a company of his own mounted body-guard; but when they reached
Múrché-Khúr
1 he gave secret orders for his return to
Isfahán, where he afforded him a refuge and asylum in his own roofed private
quarters
2; and not a soul save the confidential and
trusty dependents of the
Mu'tamad knew aught of the Báb.
A period of four months passed in this fashion, and the
Mu'tamad passed away to the mercy of God. Gurgín Khán, the
Mu'tamad's nephew, was aware of the Báb's being in the private
apartments, and represented the matter to the Prime Minister. Hájí Mírzá
Á
kásí, that celebrated minister, issued a decisive
1 See Note J at end.
2 The building to which the Báb was thus transferred is called
in the Táríkh-i-Jadíd 'the Royal Building of the Sun' (~~~). In the
Persian Beyán (Váhid ii, ch. 16) the Báb alludes to his
dwelling-place at Isfahán under the name of ~~~.
[page 14]command and gave instructions that they should
send the Báb secretly in disguise under the escort of
Nu
seyrí
1 horsemen to the capital.
[p. 19.] When he reached
Kinár-i-gird
2 a fresh order came from the Prime
Minister appointing the village of Kalín
3 as an abode
and dwelling-place. There he remained for a period of twenty days. After that,
the Báb forwarded a letter to the Royal Presence craving audience to set forth
the truth of his condition, expecting this to be a means for the attainment of
great advantages. The Prime Minister did not admit this, and made representation
to the Royal Presence:- "The royal cavalcade is on the point of starting, and to
engage in such matters as the present
1 The Nuseyrí religion is prevalent amongst many of the
ílyát or wandering tribes of Persia. An interesting account of the secret
doctrines and practices of this sect by one Suleymán Efendí al-Adhaní, who had
withdrawn himself from it subsequently to his initiation, has been published at
Beyrout under the title of [one line of Persian/Arabic script]. A very
comprehensive account of this work by E. E. Salisbury may be found in the
Journal of the American Oriental Society for 1866 (vol. viii, pp. 227-308). See
also de Sacy's Exposé de la Religion des Druzes, vol. ii, pp.
559-586.
2 A station on the old
Isfahán road (now abandoned for one more towards the west) distant about 28
miles from Teherán.
3 "Nom de la
première station que rencontre le voyageur en allant de Rey ˆ Khowar." Barbier
de Meynard, Dictionaire Géog. Hist. et Litt de la Perse (Paris,
1861).
[page 15]will conduce to the disruption of the kingdom.
Neither is there any doubt that the most notable doctors of the capital also
will behave after the fashion of the doctors of Isfahán, which thing will be the
cause of a popular outbreak, or that, according to [p. 20.] the religion of the
immaculate Imám, they will regard the blood of this Seyyid as of no account,
yea, as more lawful than mother's milk. The imperial train is prepared for
travel, neither is there hindrance or impediment in view. There is no doubt that
the presence of the Báb will be the cause of the gravest trouble and the
greatest mischief. Therefore, on the spur of the moment, the wisest plan is
this:- to place this person in the Castle of Mákú during the period of absence
of the royal train from the seat of the imperial throne, and to defer the
obtaining of an audience to the time of return."
Agreeably to this view a letter was issued addressed to the Báb in his
Majesty's own writing, and, according to the traditional account of the tenour
of this letter, the epitome thereof is this:-
(After the titles). "Since the royal train is on [p. 21.] the verge of departure
from Teherán, to meet in a befitting manner is impossible. Do you go to Mákú and
there abide and rest for a while, engaged in praying for our victorious state;
and we have arranged that under all circumstances they shall shew
[page 16]you attention and respect. When we return from
travel we will summon you specially."
After
this they sent him off with several mounted guards (amongst them Mu
hammad
Beg, the courier) to Tabríz and Mákú
1.
Besides this the followers of the Báb recount certain
messages conveyed [from him] by the instrumentality of Mu
hammad Beg
(amongst which was a promise to heal the foot of the late king, but on condition
of an interview, and the suppression of the tyranny of the majority), and the
Prime Minister's prevention of the conveyance of these letters to the Royal
Presence. For he himself laid claim to be a spiritual guide and was prepared to
perform [p. 22.] the functions of religious directorship. But others deny these
accounts.
At all events in the course of the
journey he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister saying, "You summoned me from
Isfahán to meet the doctors and for the attainment of a decisive settlement.
What has happened now that this excellent intention has been changed for Mákú
and Tabríz?"
Although he remained forty days
in the city of Tabríz the learned doctors did not condescend to approach him and
did not deem it right to meet him. Then they sent him off to the Castle of Mákú,
and for nine months lodged him in the inaccessible castle
1 See Note L at end.
[page 17]which is situated on the summit of that lofty
mountain. And 'Alí Khán of Mákú
1, because of his
excessive love for the family of the Prophet, paid him such attention as was
possible, and gave permission [to some persons] to converse with him.
[p. 23.] Now when the accomplished divines
of Ázarbaiján perceived that in all the parts round about Tabríz it was as
though the last day had come by reason of the excessive clamour, they requested
the government to punish the [Báb's] followers, and to remove the Báb to the
Castle of Chihrí
k. So they sent him to that castle and consigned him to
the keeping of Ya
hyá Khán the Kurd[footnote 1].
Glory be to God! Notwithstanding these decisions of great doctors
and reverend lawyers, and severe punishments and reprimands - beatings,
banishments, and imprisonments - on the part of governors, this sect was daily
on the increase, and the discussion and disputation was such that in meetings
and assemblies in all parts of Persia there was no conversation but on this
topic. Great was the commotion which arose: the doctors of the Perspicuous
Religion [p. 24.] were lamenting, the common folk clamorous and agitated, and
the Friends rejoicing and applauding.
But
the Báb himself attached no importance to this uproar and tumult, and, alike on
the road and in the castles of Mákú and Chihrí
k, evening and
1 See Note L at
end.
[page 18]morning, nay, day and night, in extremest
rapture and amazement, he would restrict himself to repeating and meditating on
the qualities and attributes of that absent-yet-present, regarded-and-regarding
Person of his
1. Thus he makes a mention of him whereof
this is the purport:-
"Though the ocean of
woe rageth on every side, and the bolts of fate follow in quick succession, and
the darkness of griefs and afflictions invade soul and body, yet is my heart
brightened by the remembrance of Thy countenance and my soul is as a rose-garden
from the perfume of Thy nature."
In short,
after he had remained for three months in the Castle of Chihrí
k, the
eminent doctors of [p. 25.] Tabríz and scholars of Ázarbaiján wrote to Teherán
and demanded a severe punishment in regard to the Báb for the intimidation and
frightening of the people. When the Prime Minister Hájí Mírzá Á
kásí
beheld the ferment and clamour of the learned doctors in all districts of
Persia, he perforce became their accomplice and ordered him to be brought from
Chihrí
k to
1 As I
have pointed out in another place (B. ii, pp. 924-927), one of the most striking
features of the Persian Beyán, composed by the Báb during his imprisonment at
Mákú (which he repeatedly alludes to as 'the mountain of M'~~~), is the
continual reference to 'Him whom God shall manifest' (~~~), whose
precursor the Báb considered himself to be. The work translated by Gobineau
(op. cit. p. 461 et seq.) under the title of Livre des
Préceptes also affords ample evidence of this.
[page 19]Tabríz. In the course of his transit by Urúmiyya
the governor of the district
kásim Mírzá treated him with extraordinary
deference, and a strange flocking together of high and low was apparent. These
conducted themselves with the utmost
respectfulness
1.
When the Báb reached Tabríz they brought him after some days before the
government tribunal. Of the learned doctors the Ni
zámu 'l-'Ulamá, Mullá
Mu
hammad Mámá
kání, Mírzá A
hmad the
Imám-
1 Dr Wright of the
American Mission at Urúmiyya wrote a brief account of the Báb and his sect which
was communicated by Mr Perkins to the German Oriental Society and published in
their transactions for the year 1851. This account, dated March 31st, 1851,
fully confirms the statement here made. After describing briefly the rise of the
sect, the arrest of the Báb, his imprisonment at Mákú (... "a remote district
six days' journey from Urúmiyya situated on the Turkish frontier"), his
transference to Chihrík (... "near Salmás, only two days' journey from
Urúmiyya"), and the conflicts between the Bábís and the orthodox party,
especially in Mázandarán, he says:- "Die Sache wurde so ernsthaft, dass die
Regierung den Befehl erliess, den Sectenstifter nach Tabrîz zu bringen und ihm
die Bastonade zu geben, seine Schüler aber überall, wo man sie fände,
aufzugreifen und mit Geld- und Körperstrafen zu belegen. Auf dem Wege nach
Tabrîz wurde Bâb nach Orumia gebracht, wo ihn der Statthalter mit besonderer
Aufmerksamkeit behandelte und viele Personen die Erlaubniss erhielten, ihn zu
besuchen. Bei einer Gelegenheit war eine Menge Leute bei ihm, und wie der
Statthalter nachher bemerkte, waren diese alle geheimnissvoll bewegt und brachen
in Thränen aus." (Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen
Gesellschaft, vol. v, pp. 384-385.)
[page 20][p. 26.] Jum'a, Mírzá 'Alí A
sghar the
Sheykhu 'l-Islám, and several other divines were
present
1. They asked concerning the claims of the Báb.
He advanced the claim of Mahdí-hood; whereon a mighty tumult arose. Eminent
doctors in overwhelming might compassed him on all sides, and such was the onset
of orthodoxy that it had been no great wonder if a mere youth had not withstood
the mountain of Elburz. They demanded proof. Without hesitation he recited
texts, saying, "This is the permanent and most mighty proof." They criticised
his grammar. He adduced arguments from the
Kur'án, setting forth
therefrom instances of similar infractions of the rules of grammar. So the
assembly broke up and the Báb returned to his own dwelling.
The heaven-cradled Crown-Prince
2
was at that [p. 27.] time governor of Ázarbaiján. He pronounced no sentence with
regard to the Báb, nor did he desire to interfere with him. The doctors,
however, considered it advisable at least to inflict a severe chastisement, and
beating was decided on. But none of the corps of
farráshes3 would agree to become the
instruments of the infliction of this punishment. So Mírzá 'Alí A
sghar
the Sheykhu 'l-Islám, who was one of the
1 See Note M at end.
2 Násiru'd-Dín, the present king of Persia.
3 The farrásh (literally carpet-spreader)
is the lictor of the East.
[page 21]noble Seyyids, brought him to his own house and
applied the rods with his own hand. After this they sent the Báb back to
Chihrí
k and subjected him to a strict confinement.
Now when the news of this beating, chastisement, imprisonment, and
rigour reached all parts of Persia, learned divines and esteemed lawyers who
were possessed of power and influence girt up the loins of endeavour for the
eradication and suppression of this sect, exerting their utmost efforts
therefor. And [p. 28.] they wrote notice of their decision, to wit "that this
person and his followers are in absolute error and are hurtful to Church and
State." And since the governors in Persia enjoyed the fullest authority, in some
provinces they followed this decision and united in uprooting and dispersing the
Bábís. But the late King Mu
hammad Sháh
1 acted
with deliberation in this matter, reflecting, "This youth is of the Pure Lineage
and of the family of him addressed with '
were it not for
thee2 .' So long as no offen-
1 For an admirable sketch of the characters of
this monarch and his minister Hájí Mírzá Ákásí, see Gobineau, pp.
160-166. Concerning the latter see also Watson's History of Persia, p.
288.
2 See note 1 at foot of p. 2. In
a very well-known tradition God is said to have addressed the Prophet
Muhammad as follows:- [half a line of Persian/Arabic script]
'Were it not for thee I had not created the heavens.' Hence "the family
of him addressed with 'were it not for thee'" means simply the
[footnote goes onto page 22] descendants of the Prophet, amongst whom the
Báb, in his capacity of Seyyid, must be reckoned.
[page 22]sive actions which are incompatible with the
public peace and well-being proceed from him, the government should not
interfere with him." And whenever the learned doctors appealed to him from the
surrounding districts, he either gave no answer, or else commanded them to act
with deliberation.
Notwithstanding this,
between eminent doctors [p. 29.] and illustrious scholars and those learned
persons who were followers of the Báb opposition, discussion, and strife did so
increase that in some provinces they desired [to resort to] mutual imprecation;
and for the governors of the provinces, too, a means of acquiring gain was
produced, so that great tumult and disturbance arose. And since the malady of
the gout had violently attacked the king's foot and occupied his world-ordering
thought, the good judgment of the Chief Minister, the famous Háji Mírzá
Á
kásí
1, became the pivot of the conduct of
affairs, and his incapacity and lack of resource became apparent as the sun. For
every hour he formed a new opinion and gave a new order: at one moment he would
seek to support the decision of the doctors, accounting the eradication and
suppression of the Bábís as necessary: at another time he would charge the [p.
30.] doctors with aggressiveness, regarding undue inter-
1 See note 1 at foot of preceding
page.
[page 23]ference as contrary to justice: at another time
he would become a mystic and say, '
All these voices are from the
King1,' or repeat with his tongue, '
Moses is at
war with Moses2,' or recite, '
This is nought
but Thy 1 The distich
of which this is the first hemistich is a great favourite with the Súfís. It
occurs in the first book of the Masnavi of Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí in the 8th
story (Story of the Harper). Different editions present considerable variants in
the first hemistich, and in no one of the four which I have consulted does it
stand as here quoted. In the Bombay edition of A. H. 1290 (p. 50, l. 20), the
Teherán edition of A. H. 1299 known as 'Alá'ud-Dawla's (p. 51, l. 4), and a
Constantinople edition of the first book published in A. H. 1288 (p. 77, l. 20)
the entire couplet stands as follows:
[one line of Persian/Arabic script]
"Indeed that voice is
really from the King
Although [apparently] it is from the throat of 'Abdu
'lláh."
The English reader may consult Redhouse's versified translation
of Book i of the Masnaví, p. 141, first two lines.
2 This quotation is also from the Masnaví
[Teherán edition of 'Alá'ud-Dawla, p. 65, l. 27; Bombay edition, p. 63, l. 16].
The couplet stands in both as follows:-
[one line of Persian/Arabic
script]
"When Colourlessness became the captive of
colour
A Moses is at war with a Moses."
Redhouse's version will be found on p. 180 of his work above
quoted, first two lines. A complete treatise on the mysticism of the Súfís might
be written on this text, which is pretty fully discussed in Hájí Mullá Hádí's
excellent commentary on the Masnaví (Teherán edition of A.H. 1285, p. 68
and also in a marginal note in 'Alá'ud-Dawla's Teherán edition (loc.
cit.). In brief the meaning is this:- that strife and contest [footnote
goes onto page 24] arise from the imprisonment of the One Absolute
Undifferentiated Being ('Colourlessness') in the phantasmal appearances
('colours') of the World of Plurality. So Jámí says at the close of a
very beautiful passage:- [Two lines of Persian/Arabic script] "All
this tumult and strife in the world are from love of Him; It hath become known
at this time that the source of the strife is One."
[page 24]trial1.' In
short this changeable minister, by reason of his mismanagement of important
matters and failure to control and order the affairs of the community, so acted
that disturbance and clamour arose from all quarters and directions: the most
notable and influential of the doctors ordered the common folk to molest the
followers of the Báb, and a general onslaught took place. More especially when
the claim of Mahdí-hood
2 reached the hearing of
eminent divines and profound doctors they began to make lamentation and to cry
and complain from their [p. 31.] pulpits, saying, "one of the essentials of
religion and of the authentic traditions transmitted from the holy Imáms, nay,
the chief basis of the foundations of the church of His Highness
Ja'far
3, is the Occultation
1 Kur'án vii, 154.
2 See note N at end, and p. 20.
3 The Imám Ja'far-i-Sádik, as he is commonly
called, was, according to the Shi'ite faith, the sixth of the twelve Imáms,
[footnote goes onto page 25] and succeeded his father, the Imám
Muhammad Bákir, who was the fifth Imám. Why the Shi'ites should
speak of him as in some sort the founder of their church is explained thus in a
work called ~~~ ("Tenets of the Shi'ites") published in Teherán:- "Since
His Holiness [the Imám Ja'far] lived at the end of the Omayyad and the beginning
of the 'Abbásid dynasty and these two families were in conflict with one
another, he tranquilly engaged in expounding the ordinances of God; therefore do
men refer the religion to him, since he gave currency to the true
doctrines."
[page 25]of the immaculate twelfth Imám (upon both of
them be peace). What has happened to Jábul
ká
1?
Where has Jábulsá gone? What was the Minor Occultation? What has become of the
Major Occultation? What are the sayings of
Huseyn ibn Rú
h, and
what
1 For the explanation
of this and the subsequent points of Shi'ite belief alluded to in this passage
see Note O at end. The general tenour of the argument here put in the mouths of
the Shi'ite doctors is this:- "That certain prodigies and marvellous signs shall
usher in the advent of the Imám Mahdí is an essential doctrine of our faith
sufficiently confirmed and established by authentic traditions. If we believe
this, then we must reject the Báb's claim to be the promised Mahdí, since these
signs have not been witnessed: in which case it behoves us to inflict on him the
severest punishment. If, on the other hand, we admit the Báb's claim, we thereby
renounce our religion and become neither Sunnís nor Shí'as; unless, indeed, we
take the view of the Bábís that these signs are to be understood metaphorically,
that no literal fulfilment of them is to be looked for, and that to substantiate
a claim to Mahdí-hood only two things are necessary - that the claimant should
belong to the family of the Prophet, and that he should be able to produce
revealed verses similar to those in the Kur'án." Concerning this view of
the Bábís see B. ii, pp. 915-918.
[page 26]the tradition of Ibn Mihriyár? What shall we
make of the flight of the Guardians and the Helpers? How shall we deal with the
conquest of the East and the West? Where is the Ass of Antichrist? When will the
appearance of the Sofyán be? Where are the signs which are in the traditions of
the Holy Family? Where is that whereon the Victorious Church is agreed? The
matter is not outside one of two alternatives:- either we must repudiate the
traditions of [p. 32.] the Holy Imáms, grow wearied of the Church of Ja'far, and
account the clear indications of the Imám as disturbed dreams; or, in accordance
with the primary and subsidiary doctrines of the Faith and the essential and
explicit declarations of the most luminous Law, we must consider the
repudiation, nay, the destruction of this person as our chief duty. If so be
that we shut our eyes to these authentic traditions and obvious doctrines
universally admitted, no remnant will endure of the fundamental basis of the
Church of the immaculate Imám: we shall neither be Sunnites, nor shall we be of
the prevalent sect
1 to continue awaiting the promised
Saint and believing in the begotten Mahdí. Otherwise we must regard as
admissible the opening of the Gate of Saintship, and consider that He Who is to
arise
2 of the family of Mu
hammad possesses two
signs:- the first condition,
1 i.e. of the Shi'ite church dominant in Persia.
2 i.e. the Imám-Mahdí. See Note O at
end.
[page 27]Holy Lineage; the second, [that he is divinely]
fortified with brilliant verses. What can we do with these thousand-year-old
beliefs of the delivered band of [p. 33.] the Shi'ites, or what shall we say
concerning their profound doctors and pre-eminent divines? Were all these in
error? Did they journey in the vale of transgression? What an evidently false
assertion is this!
By God, this is a thing to break the back! O people,
extinguish this fire and forget these words! Alas! woe to our Faith, woe to our
Law!"
Thus did they make complaint in
mosques and chapels, in pulpits and congregations.
But the Bábí chiefs composed treatises against them, and set in order
replies according to their own thought
1. Were these to
be discussed in detail it would conduce to prolixity, and our object is the
statement of history, not of arguments for believing or rejecting; but of some
of the replies the gist is this:- that they held the Proof as supreme, and the
[p. 34.] evidence as outweighing traditions, considering
the
1 Amongst the
controversial works of the Bábís may be mentioned especially the ~~~ (Seven
Proofs) composed by the Báb himself about the year A.H. 1264-5 (A.D. 1848-49)
during his imprisonment at Mákú, and the ~~~ (Assurance) composed by Behá'u'lláh
in Baghdad in the year A.H. 1278 (A.D. 1861-62). For a brief abstract of the
former see B. ii, pp. 912-918: for specimens of the latter carefully and
judiciously selected see Rosen's MSS. Persans, pp. 32-51, and for some
account of the work see B. ii, pp. 944-948.
[page 28]former as the root and the latter as the branch,
and saying, "If the branch agree not with the root it serves not as an argument
and is unworthy of reliance; for the reported consequence has no right to oppose
itself to the established principle, and cannot argue against it." Indeed in
such cases they regarded interpretation as the truth of revelation and the
essence of true exegesis
1: thus, for instance, they
interpreted the sovereignty of the
Ká'im as a mystical
sovereignty, and his conquests as conquests of the cities of hearts, adducing in
support of this the meekness and defeat of the Chief of
Martyrs
2 (may the life of all being be a sacrifice for
him). For he was the true manifestation of the blessed verse '
And verily our
host shall overcome for them3,' yet,
notwithstanding this, he quaffed the cup of martyrdom with perfect [p. 35.]
meekness, and, at the very moment of uttermost defeat, triumphed over his
enemies and became the most mighty of the troops of the Supreme Host. Similarly
they regarded the numerous writings which, in spite of his lack of education,
the Báb had composed, as due to the promptings of the Holy Spirit; extracted
from books contrary sayings handed down by men of mark; adduced traditions
apparently agreeing with their objects; and clung to the
an-
1 See Rosen's MSS.
Persans, p. 36, and B. ii, pp. 915-916.
2 Huseyn, son of 'Alí, the third Imám.
3 Kur'án xxxvii, 173.
[page 29]nouncements of certain notables of yore. They
also considered the conversion of austere and recluse doctors and eminent
votaries of the Perspicuous Religion [of Islám] as a valid
proof
1, deemed the steadfastness and constancy of the
Báb a most mighty sign
2, and related miracles and the
like; which things, being altogether foreign to our purpose, we have [p. 36.]
passed by with brevity, and will now proceed with our original topic.
At the time of these events certain persons
appeared amongst the Bábís who had a strange ascendancy and appearance in the
eyes of this sect. Amongst these was Mírzá Mu
hammad 'Alí of Mázandarán,
who was the disciple of the illustrious Seyyid (may God exalt his station) Hájí
Seyyid Ká
zim of Rasht, and who was the associate and companion of the Báb
in his pilgrimage journey. After a while certain manners and states issued from
him such that all, acting with absolute confidence, considered obedience to him
as an impregnable stronghold, so that even Mullá
Huseyn of Bushraweyh,
who was the leader of all and the arbiter appealed to alike by the noble and the
humble of this sect, used to behave in his presence with great humility and with
the self-abasement of a lowly
servant
3.
1 See Rosen's MSS. Persans, p. 41.
2 Ibid, p. 43.
3
This statement is confirmed by the Táríkh-i-Jadíd.
[page 30] This personage set
himself to exalt the word of [p. 37.] the Báb with the utmost steadfastness, and
the Báb did full justice to speech in praising and glorifying him, accounting
his uprising as an assistance from the Unseen. In delivery and
style
1 he was '
evident magic,' and in firmness
and constancy superior to all. At length in the year [A.H.] 1265 at the sentence
of the chief of lawyers the Sa'ídu 'l-'Ulamá the chief divine of Bárfurúsh, he
yielded his head and surrendered his life amidst extremest clamour and
outcry
2.
And
amongst them was she who was entitled
Kurratu 'l-'Ayn the daughter of
Hájí Mullá
Sálih., the sage of
Kazvín, the erudite doctor. She,
according to what is related, was skilled in diverse arts, amazed the
understandings and thoughts of the most eminent masters by her eloquent
dissertations on the exegesis and tradition of the Perspicuous
Book
3, and was a mighty sign in the doctrines of the
glorious Sheykh of A
hsá
4. At the Supreme
Shrines
5[p. 38.] she borrowed light on matters divine
from the lamp
1 Of the
writings of Mullá Muhammad 'Alí (called ~~~ from the title - ~~~ - borne
by their author amongst his co-religionists) six pieces occupying in all 39
pages are contained in a MS. in my possession.
2 See Note P at end.
3 The
Kur'án.
4 Sheykh Ahmad
Ahsá'í the founder of the Sheykhí school of theology, concerning which
see Note E at end.
5 Kerbelá and
Nejef.
[page 31]of Ká
zim
1, and
freely sacrificed her life in the way of the Báb. She discussed and disputed
with the doctors and sages, loosing her tongue to establish her doctrine. Such
fame did she acquire that most people who were scholars or mystics sought to
hear her speech and were eager to become acquainted with her powers of
speculation and deduction. She had a brain full of tumultuous ideas, and
thoughts vehement and restless. In many places she triumphed over the
contentious, expounding the most subtle questions. When she was imprisoned in
the house of [Ma
hmúd] the
Kalántar of
Teherán
2, and the festivities and rejoicings of a
wedding were going on, the wives of the city magnates who were present as guests
were so charmed [p. 39.] with the beauty of her speech that, forgetting the
festivities, they gathered round her, diverted by listening to her words from
listening to the melodies, and rendered indifferent by witnessing her marvels to
the contemplation of the pleasant and novel sights which are incidental to a
wedding. In short in elocution she was the calamity of the age, and in
ratiocination the trouble of the world. Of fear or timidity there was no trace
in her heart, nor had the admonitions of the kindly-disposed any profit
1 Hájí Seyyid Kázim
of Resht, the pupil and successor of Sheykh Ahmad and the Teacher of the
Báb. See Note E at end.
2 See
Gobineau, pp. 292-295; Kazem-Beg i, p. 522 and note, and ii, p. 249; and
Eastwick's Diplomate's Residence in Persia, vol. i, p.
288-290.
[page 32]or fruit for her. Although she was of [such as
are] damsels [meet] for the bridal bower, yet she wrested pre-eminence from
stalwart men, and continued to strain the feet of steadfastness until she
yielded up her life at the sentence of the mighty doctors in Teherán. But were
we to occupy ourselves with these details the matter would end in
prolixity
1.
Well,
Persia was in this critical state and the learned doctors perplexed and anxious,
when the [p. 40.] late Prince Mu
hammad Sháh
died
2, and the throne of sovereignty was adorned with
the person of the new monarch. Mírzá Ta
kí Khán
Amír-Nizám,
who was Prime Minister and Chief Regent, seized in the grasp of his despotic
power the reins of the affairs of the commonwealth, and urged the steed of his
ambition into the arena of wilfulness and sole possession. This minister was a
person devoid of experience and wanting in consideration for the consequences of
actions; bloodthirsty and shameless; and swift and ready to shed
blood
3. Severity in
1 For some further account of Kurratu'l-'Ayn see
Note Q at end.
2 September 4th, 1848.
See Watson's History, p. 354.
3
This is by no means the light in which Mírzá Takí Khán is regarded by
most historians. See especially the encomiums bestowed on him by Watson
(History of Persia from the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, &ct.
p. 364 and p. 404). Compare also Lady Sheil's Diary, pp. 248-253. Yet his
cruelty towards the Báb and his followers goes far to justify their opinion of
him, and at least fully explains the fact that they [footnote goes onto page
33] regard the cruel fate which befel him at the hands of the king as a
signal instance of Divine vengeance. See Gobineau, p. 253-254.
[page 33]punishing he regarded as wise administration,
and harshly entreating, distressing, intimidating, and frightening the people he
considered as a fulcrum for the advancement of the monarchy. And as His Majesty
the King was in the prime of youthful years [p. 41.] the minister fell into
strange fancies and sounded the drum of absolutism in [the conduct of] affairs:
on his own decisive resolution, without seeking permission from the Royal
Presence or taking counsel with prudent statesmen, he issued orders to persecute
the Bábís, imagining that by overweening force he could eradicate and suppress
matters of this nature, and that harshness would bear good fruit; whereas [in
fact] to interfere with matters of conscience is simply to give them greater
currency and strength; the more you strive to extinguish the more will the flame
be kindled, more especially in matters of faith and religion, which spread and
acquire influence so soon as blood is shed, and strongly affect men's hearts.
These things have been put to the proof, and the greatest proof is this very
transaction. Thus [p. 42.] they relate that the possessions of a certain Bábí in
Káshán were plundered, and his household scattered and dispersed. They stripped
him naked and scourged him, defiled his beard, mounted him face backwards
[page 34]on an ass, and paraded him through the streets
and bazaars with the utmost cruelty, to the sound of drums, trumpets, guitars,
and tambourines. A certain guebre
1 who knew absolutely
nought of the world or its denizens chanced to be seated apart in a corner of a
caravansaray. When the clamour of the people rose high he hastened into the
street, and, becoming cognizant of the offence and the offender, and the cause
of his public disgrace and punishment in full detail, he fell to making search,
and that very day entered the society of the Bábís, saying, "This very ill-usage
and public humiliation is a proof of [p. 43.] truth and the very best of
arguments. Had it not been thus it might have been that a thousand years would
have passed ere one like me became informed."
At all events the minister with the utmost arbitrariness, without
receiving any instructions or asking permission, sent forth commands in all
directions to punish and chastise the Bábís. Governors and magistrates sought a
pretext for amassing wealth, and officials a means of [acquiring] profits;
celebrated doctors from the summits of their pulpits incited men to make a
general onslaught; the powers of the
1 It is almost unnecessary to remark that the word guebre
(more correctly gabr) is always used in a contemptuous if not in an
offensive sense. It is never used by the Zoroastrians in speaking of
themselves.
[page 35]religious and the civil law linked hands and
strove to eradicate and destroy this people.
Now this people had not yet acquired such knowledge as was right and needful of
the fundamental principles and hidden doctrines of the Báb's teachings, and did
not recognise their duties. Their conceptions and ideas were after the former
fashion, and [p. 44.] their conduct and behaviour in correspondence with ancient
usage. The way of approach to the Báb was, moreover, closed, and the flame of
trouble visibly blazing on every side. At the decree of the most celebrated of
the doctors, the government, and indeed the common people, had, with
irresistible power, inaugurated rapine and plunder on all sides, and were
engaged in punishing and torturing, killing and despoiling, in order that they
might quench this fire and wither these [poor] souls. In towns where these were
but a limited number all of them with bound hands became food for the sword,
while in cities where they were numerous they arose in self-defence agreeably to
their former beliefs, since it was impossible for them to make enquiry as to
their duty, and all doors were closed.
[p.
45.] In Mázandarán amongst other places the people of the city of Bárfurúsh at
the command of the chief of lawyers the Sa'ídu'l-'Ulamá made a general attack on
Mullá
Huseyn of Bushraweyh and his followers, and slew six or seven
persons. They were busy compassing
[page 36]the destruction of the rest also when Mullá
Huseyn ordered the
azán1 to be sounded
and stretched forth his hand to the sword, whereupon all sought flight, and the
nobles and lords coming before him with the utmost penitence and deference
agreed that he should be permitted to depart. They further sent with them as a
guard Khusraw of
Kádí-kalá with horsemen and footmen, so that, according
to the terms of the agreement, they might go forth safe and protected from the
territory of Mázandarán. When they, being ignorant of the fords and paths, had
emerged from the city, Khusraw dispersed his horsemen and footmen and set them
in ambush in the [p. 46.] forest of Mázandarán, scattered and separated the
Bábís in that forest on the road and off the road, and began to hunt them down
singly. When the reports of muskets arose on every side the hidden secret became
manifest, and several wanderers and other persons were suddenly slain with
bullets. Mullá
Huseyn ordered the a
zán
1
to be sounded to assemble his scattered followers, while Mírzá
Lu
tf-'Alí
2 the secretary drew his dagger and
ripped open Khusraw's vitals. Of Khusraw's host some were slain and others
wandered distractedly over the field
1 The call to prayer.
2
According to the Táríkh-i-Jadíd it was a Bábí named Mírzá Muhammad
Takí who, exasperated by Khusraw's insolences towards Mullá Huseyn
slew the treacherous guide.
[page 37]of battle. Mullá
Huseyn quartered his
host in a fort near the burial-place of Sheykh
tabarsí
1, and, being aware of the wishes of the
community, relaxed [p. 47.] and interrupted the march. This detachment was
subsequently further reinforced by Mírzá Mu
hammad 'Alí of Mázandarán with
a number of other persons, so that the garrison of the fort numbered three
hundred and thirteen souls. Of these, however, all were not capable of fighting,
only one hundred and ten persons being prepared for war. Most of them were
doctors or students whose companions had been during their whole life books and
treatises; yet, in spite of the fact that they were unaccustomed to war or to
the blows of shot and sword, four times were camps and armies arrayed against
them and they were attacked and hemmed in with cannons, muskets, and
bomb-shells, and on all four occasions they inflicted defeat, while the army was
completely routed and dispersed
2. On the occasion of
the fourth defeat
1 The
tomb of Sheykh tabarsí - ever memorable for the gallant defence of the
Bábís - is situated about fourteen miles SE. of Bárfurúsh and can only be
reached by traversing swampy rice-fields and dense forests which in wet weather
must be almost impassable. I visited the spot on September 26th 1888, and could
perceive no trace of the strong ramparts described by the Musulmán historians
and by Gobineau as having been erected by the Bábís.
2 Kazem-Beg enumerates four sorties made by the Bábís, of
which the first three were successful, although in the second Mullá
Huseyn was killed. Kazem-Beg's second sortie there-[footnote
goes onto page 38]fore corresponds to the fourth Bábí victory
mentioned above. Considerable confusion exists as to the successive incidents of
the siege, but after comparing the different accounts and especially that of the
Táríkh-i-Jadíd I should suppose the four successes here alluded to to be
as follows:- (1) Rout of some of the comrades of the deceased Khusraw who
attacked the Bábís some three weeks after they had taken up their quarters at
Sheykh tabarsí. (2) Repulse of a larger force of local volunteers and
sack of Faráhil (Kazem-Beg i, p. 491-492; Gobineau, p. 197-199). (3) Surprise of
Mahdí-Kulí Mírzá and rout of his troops with great loss (Kazem-Beg i, p.
495-499; Gobineau, p. 201-206). (4) The successful sortie wherein Mullá
Huseyn's gallant career was brought to a close in the very hour of
victory (Kazem-Beg i, p. 499-504; Gobineau, p. 210-215).
[page 38]'Abbás-
Kulí Khán of Láríján was captain
of the forces and Prince Mahdí-
Kulí Mírzá commander in the camp. [p. 48.]
The Khán above mentioned used at nights to conceal and hide himself in disguise
amongst the trees of the forest outside the camp, while during the day he was
present in the encampment. The last battle took place at night and the army was
routed. The Bábís fired the tents and huts, and night became bright as day. The
foot of Mullá
Huseyn's horse caught in a noose, for he was riding, the
others being on foot. 'Abbás-
Kulí Khán recognized him from the top of a
tree afar off, and with his own hand discharged several bullets. At the third
shot he threw him from his feet. He was borne by his followers to the fort, and
there they buried him. Notwithstanding this event [the troops] could not
[page 39]prevail by superior force. At length the Prince
made a treaty and covenant, and sware by the Holy Imáms, confirming his oath by
vows plighted on the [p. 49.]glorious
Kur'án, to this effect: "You shall
not be molested; return to your own places." Since their provisions had for some
time been exhausted, so that even of the skins and bones of horses naught
remained, and they had subsisted for several days on pure water, they agreed.
When they arrived at the army food was prepared for them in a place outside the
camp. They were engaged in eating, having laid aside their weapons and armour,
when the soldiers fell on them on all sides and slew them all. Some have
accounted this valour displayed by these people as a thing miraculous, but when
a band of men are besieged in some place where all avenues and roads are stopped
and all hope of deliverance is cut off they will assuredly defend themselves
desperately [p. 50.] and display bravery and courage.
In Zanján and Níríz likewise at the decree of erudite doctors and
notable lawyers a bloodthirsty military force attacked and besieged. In Zanján
the chief was Mullá Mu
hammad 'Alí the
mujtahid, while in Níríz
Seyyid Ya
hyá of Dáráb was the leader and
arbiter
1. At first they sought to bring about a
1 For full accounts of the
siege of Zanján see Gobineau, p. 233-254; Kazem-Beg ii, p. 196-224; and compare
Watson, p. 387-392; Lady Sheil's Diary, p. 181. Kazem-Beg alone of
[footnote goes onto page 40] these four authorities gives an account of
the events at Níríz (ii, p. 224-239), but, as it appears to me, he deals very
unjustly with the character of Seyyid Yahyá of Dáráb. This much at least
is certain, that the Bábís still regard him as one of their saints, which at any
rate shews that they entertain no doubts either of his sincerity or his loyalty.
See Note H at end.
[page 40]reconciliation, but, meeting with cruel
ferocity, they reached the pitch of desperation; and, the overpowering force of
the victorious troops having cut off every passage of flight, they unclosed
their hands in resistance. But although they were very strong in battle and
amazed the chiefs of the army by their steadfastness and endurance, the
overwhelming military force closed the passage of flight and broke [p. 51.]
their wings and feathers. After numerous battles they too at last yielded to
covenants and compacts, oaths and promises, vows registered on the
Kur'án, and the wonderful stratagems of the officers, and were all put to
the edge of the sword.
Were we to occupy
ourselves in detail with the wars of Níríz and Zanján, or to set forth these
events from beginning to end, this epitome would become a bulky volume. So,
since this would be of no advantage to history, we have passed them over
briefly.
During the course of the events
which took place at Zanján the Prime Minister devised a final and trenchant
remedy. Without the royal command, without consulting with the ministers of the
subject-
[page 41]protecting court, he, acting with arbitrary
disposition, fixed determination, and entirely on his own authority, issued
commands to put the Báb to death. This [p. 52.] befel in brief as follows. The
governor of Ázarbaiján, Prince
hamzé Mírzá, was unwilling that the
execution of this sentence should be at his hands
1,
and said to the brother of the Amír, Mírzá
Hasan Khán, "This is a vile
business and an easy one; anyone is capable and competent. I had imagined that
His Excellency the Regent would commission me to make war on the Afghans or
Uzbegs or appoint me to attack and invade the territory of Russia or Turkey." So
Mírzá
Hasan Khán wrote his excuse in detail to the Amír.
Now the Seyyid Báb had disposed all his affairs before
setting out from Chihrí
k towards Tabríz, had placed his writings and even
his ring and pen-case in a specially prepared box, put the key of the box in an
envelope, and sent it by means of Mullá Bá
kir, who was one of his first
associates, to Mullá 'Abdu'l-[p. 53.]Karím of
Kazvín
2. This trust Mullá Bá
kir
delivered
1 According to
Gobineau (p. 259 et seq.), however, hamzé Mírzá took the leading
part in the examination and condemnation of the Báb.
2 Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím was also known amongst the Bábís by the
name of Mírzá Ahmad-i-Kátib (the Scribe), inasmuch as he acted as
amanuensis to the Báb and later to Mírzá Yahyá,
Subh-i-Ezel. He was one of the twenty-eight victims put to death
in August 1852 in Teherán, and fell by the hands [footnote goes onto page
42] of the artillerymen, apparently without having undergone previous
torture which he had much feared and wherefrom he had prayed frequently to be
delivered.
[page 42]over to Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím at
Kum in
presence of a numerous company. At the solicitations of those present he opened
the lid of the box and said, "I am commanded to convey this trust to
Behá'u'lláh: more than this ask not of me, for I cannot tell you." Importuned by
the company, he produced a long epistle in blue, penned in the most graceful
manner with the utmost delicacy and firmness in a beautiful minute
shikasta hand, written in the shape of a man so closely that it would
have been imagined that it was a single wash of ink on the
paper
1. When they had read this epistle [they
perceived that] he had produced three hundred and sixty derivatives from the
word
Behá. Then Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím con[p. 54.]veyed the trust to its
destination.
Well, we must return to our
original narrative. The Prime Minister issued a second order to his brother
Mírzá
Hasan Khán, the gist of which order was this:- "Obtain a formal and
explicit sentence from the learned doctors of Tabríz who are the firm support of
the Church of Ja'far (upon him be peace)
1 An epistle of this sort written by the Báb I have seen. It
was in the form of a pentacle, and most beautifully executed as above described.
Cf. Kazem-Beg ii, p. 498. For a specimen of the 'derivatives' produced by the
Báb from the word Behá see Note R at end.
[page 43]and the impregnable stronghold of the Shi'ite
faith; summon the Christian regiment of Urúmiyya; suspend the Báb before all the
people; and give orders for the regiment to fire a volley."
Mírzá
Hasan Khán summoned his chief of the
farráshes, and gave him his instructions. They removed the Báb's turban
and sash which were the signs of his Seyyid-hood, brought him with four of his
followers
1 to the barrack square of Tabríz, confined
him in a cell, and appointed forty of the [p. 55.] Christian soldiers of Tabríz
to guard him.
Next day the chief of the
farráshes delivered over the Báb and a young man named Á
ká
Mu
hammad 'Alí who was of a noble family of Tabríz to Sám Khán, colonel of
the Christian regiment of Urúmiyya, at the sentences of the learned divine Mullá
Mu
hammad of Mámá
kán, of the second ecclesiastical authority Mírzá
Bá
kir, and of the third ecclesiastical authority Mullá
Murta
zá-
Kulí and others. An iron nail was hammered into the middle
of the staircase of the very cell wherein they were imprisoned, and two ropes
were hung down. By one rope the Báb was suspended and by the other rope
Á
ká Mu
hammad 'Alí, both being firmly bound in such wise that the
1 These four would seem to
have been - (1) Áká Muhammad 'Alí of Tabríz; (2) Áká Seyyid
Huseyn of Yezd, the Báb's amanuensis; (3) Áká Seyyid Hasan
of Yezd, his brother; (4) Áká Seyyid Ahmad of Tabríz. See Note S
at end.
[page 44]head of that young man was on the Báb's breast.
The surrounding house-tops billowed with teeming crowds. A regiment of soldiers
ranged itself in three files. The first file fired; then the second file, and
[p. 56.] then the third file discharged volleys. From the fire of these volleys
a mighty smoke was produced. When the smoke cleared away they saw that young man
standing and the Báb seated by the side of his amanuensis Á
ká Seyyid
Huseyn in the very cell from the staircase of which they had suspended
them. To neither one of them had the slightest injury resulted.
Sám Khán the Christian asked to be excused; the turn of
service came to another regiment, and the chief of the
farráshes withheld
his hand. Á
ká Ján Beg of Khamsa, colonel of the body-guard, advanced; and
they again bound the Báb together with that young man to the same nail. The Báb
uttered certain words which those few who knew Persian
understood
1, while the rest heard but the sound of his
voice.
[p. 57.] The colonel of the regiment
appeared in person: and it was before noon on the twenty-eighth of Sha'bán in
the year [A.H.] one thousand two hundred
1 The Ázarbaiján dialect of Turkish is the language generally
spoken in Tabríz, and only persons who have either received some education or
travelled in other parts of Persia understand Persian. Indeed Turkish prevails
as far east as Kazvín, is widely spoken in Teherán, and is understood by
many even as far south as Kum.
[page 45]and sixty-six
1.
Suddenly he gave orders to fire. At this volley the bullets produced such an
effect that the breasts [of the victims] were riddled, and their limbs were
completely dissected, except their faces, which were but little marred.
Then they removed those two bodies from the
square to the edge of the moat outside the city, and that night they remained by
the edge of the moat. Next day the Russian consul came with an artist and took a
picture of those two bodies in the posture wherein they had fallen at the edge
of the moat.
On the second night at midnight
the Bábís carried away the two bodies.
On
the third day the people did not find the [p. 58.] bodies, and some supposed
that the wild beasts had devoured them, so that the doctors proclaimed from the
summits of their pulpits saying, "The holy body of the immaculate Imám and that
of the true Shi'ite are preserved from the encroachments of beasts of prey and
creeping things and wounds, but the body of this person have the wild beasts
torn in pieces." But after the fullest investigation and enquiry it hath
1 July 9th 1850. I have
already pointed out (B. i, p. 512) that Kazem-Beg is in error in placing the
Báb's death in 1849. As to the events contemporary with the Founder's martyrdom,
the siege of Zanján was in progress, while the Níríz insurrection had just been
quelled. Indeed Áká Seyyid Yahyá of Dáráb according to reliable
tradition suffered martyrdom on the same day as the Báb.
[page 46]been proved that when the Báb had dispersed all
his writings and personal properties and it had become clear and evident from
various signs that these events would shortly take
place
1, therefore, on the second day of these events,
Suleymán Khán
2 the son of Ya
hyá Khán, one of
the nobles of Ázarbaiján devoted to the Báb, arrived, and proceeded straightway
to the house of the mayor of Tabríz. And since the mayor was an old friend,
associate, and confidant of [p. 59.] his; since, moreover, he was of the mystic
temperament and did not entertain aversion or dislike for any sect, Suleymán
Khán divulged this secret to
1 There is no doubt that, as Gobineau states (p. 258), the Báb fully
expected to suffer martyrdom. He even issued instructions as to the disposal of
his remains, which he desired should be placed near the shrine of Sháh
'Abdu'l-'Azím some five miles to the south of Teherán. "The place of
Sháh 'Abdu'l-'Azím," he wrote, "is a good land, by reason of the
proximity of Wahíd" (i.e. Subh-i-Ezel, whose name,
Yahyá, is equivalent numerically to Wahíd, cf. B. ii, 997)
"for keeping; and God is the Best of Keepers." The body, as here stated,
was presently sent along with that of Áká Muhammad 'Alí, the Báb's
fellow-sufferer, from Tabríz to Teherán. It was committed to the care of
Áká Mahdí of Káshán, who deposited it in a little shrine called
Imám-zádé-i-Ma'súm situated near the
Imám-zádé-i-Hasan on the road from Teherán to Ribát.-Karím. Here
it remained in charge of the custodian of the shrine (who was paid to keep watch
over it) till about the year 1867, when it was removed elsewhere by command of
Behá'u'lláh.
2 Concerning Suleymán
Khán's martyrdom in August 1852 at Teherán see Note T at end.
[page 47]him saying, "Tonight I, with several others,
will endeavour by every means and artifice to rescue the body. Even though it be
not possible, come what may we will make an attack, and either attain our object
or pour out our lives freely in this way." "Such troubles," answered the mayor,
"are in no wise necessary." He then sent one of his private servants named Hájí
Alláh-yár, who, by whatever means and proceedings it was, obtained the body
without trouble or difficulty and handed it over to Hájí Suleymán Khán. And when
it was morning the sentinels, to excuse themselves, said that the wild beasts
had devoured it. That night they sheltered [p. 60.] the body in the workshop of
a Bábí of Mílán: next day they manufactured a box, placed it in the box, and
left it as a trust. Afterwards, in accordance with instructions which arrived
from Teherán, they sent it away from Ázarbaiján. And this transaction remained
absolutely secret.
Now in these years [A.H.
one thousand two hundred and] sixty-six and sixty-seven throughout all Persia
fire fell on the households of the Bábís, and each one of them, in whatever
hamlet he might be, was, on the slightest suspicion arising, put to the sword.
More than four thousand souls were slain
1, and a great
multitude of women and children,
1 The most notable massacres during this period were at Zanján and
Níríz. Concerning the martyrdom of the "Seven [footnote goes onto page
48] Martyrs" at Teherán (amongst whom was the Báb's maternal uncle Mírzá
Seyyid 'Alí) which likewise took place at this time some information will be
found in Note B at end.
[page 48]left without protector or helper, distracted and
confounded, were trodden down and destroyed. And all these occurrences were
brought about solely by the arbitrary decision and command of Mírzá Ta
kí
Khán, [p. 61.] who imagined that by the enactment of a crushing punishment this
sect would be dispersed and disappear in such wise that all sign and knowledge
of them would be cut off. Ere long had passed the contrary of his imagination
appeared, and it became certain that [the Bábís] were increasing. The flame rose
higher and the contagion became swifter: the affair waxed grave and the report
thereof reached other climes. At first it was confined to Persia: later it
spread to the rest of the world. Quaking and affliction resulted in constancy
and stability, and grievous pains and punishment caused acceptance and
attraction. The very events produced an impression; impression led to
investigation; and investigation resulted in increase. Through the
ill-considered policy of the Minister this edifice became fortified and
strengthened, and these foundations firm and solid. Previously the matter used
to be [p. 62.] regarded as commonplace: subsequently it acquired a grave
importance in men's eyes. Many persons from all parts of the world set out for
Persia, and
[page 49]began to seek with their whole hearts. For it
hath been proved by experience in the world that in the case of such matters of
conscience laceration causeth healing; censure produceth increased diligence;
prohibition induceth eagerness; and intimidation createth avidity. The root is
hidden in the very heart, while the branch is apparent and evident. When one
branch is cut off other branches grow. Thus it is observed that when such
matters occur in other countries they become extinct spontaneously through lack
of attention and exiguity of interest. For up to the present moment of movements
pertaining to religion many have appeared in the countries of [p. 63.] Europe,
but, non-interference and absence of bigotry having deprived them of importance,
in a little while they became effaced and dispelled.
After this event there was wrought by a certain Bábí a great error
and a grave presumption and crime, which has blackened the page of the history
of this sect and given it an ill name throughout the civilized world. Of this
event the marrow is this, that during the time when the Báb was residing in
Ázarbaiján a youth,
Sádi
k by name, became affected with the utmost
devotion to the Báb, night and day was busy in serving him, and became bereft of
thought and reason. Now when that which befel the Báb in Tabríz took place, this
servant, actuated by his own fond fancies, fell into thoughts of seeking
blood-
[page 50]revenge. And since he knew naught of the details
of the events, the absolute autocracy of the
Amír-Nizám, his
unbridled power, and sole authority; nor [p. 64.] [was aware] that this sentence
had been promulgated absolutely without the cognizance of the Royal Court, and
that the Prime Minister had presumptuously issued the order on his own sole
responsibility; since, on the contrary, he supposed that agreeably to ordinary
custom and usage the attendants of the court had had a share in, and a knowledge
of this sentence, therefore, [impelled] by folly, frenzy, and his evil star,
nay, by sheer madness, he rose up from Tabríz and came straight to Teherán, one
other person being his accomplice. Then, since the Royal Train had its abode in
Shimrán, he thither directed his steps. God is our refuge! By him was wrought a
deed so presumptuous that the tongue is unable to declare and the pen loath to
describe it. Yet to God be praise and thankfulness that this madman had charged
his pistol with shot, imagining this to be preferable and superior to all
projectiles
1.
[p.
65.] Then all at once commotion arose, and this sect became of such ill repute
that still, strive and struggle as they may to escape from the curse and
disgrace
1 Of the attempt
on the Sháh's life a very graphic account is given by Gobineau (chapter xi). See
also Watson's History of Persia, &c. pp. 407-410, Lady Sheil's
Diary, pp. 273-282, and Note T at end.
[page 51]and dishonour of this deed, they are unable to
do so. They will recount from the first manifestation of the Báb until the
present time; but when the thread of the discourse reaches this event they are
abashed and hang their heads in shame, repudiating the presumptuous actor and
accounting him the destroyer of the edifice and the cause of shame to mankind.
Now after the occurrence of this grave
matter all of this sect were suspected. At first there was neither investigation
nor enquiry
1, but afterwards in mere justice it was
decided that there should be investigation, enquiry, and examination. All who
were known to be of this sect fell under suspicion. [p. 66.] Behá'u'lláh was
passing the summer in the village of Afcha situated one stage from Teherán. When
this news was spread abroad and punishment began, everyone who was able hid
himself in some retreat or fled the country. Amongst these Mírzá
Ya
hyá
2, the brother of Behá'u'lláh, concealed
himself, and, a bewildered fugitive, in the guise of a dervish, with
kashkúl3 in hand, wandered in mountains and
plains
1 i.e. at first
everyone who was suspected of belonging to the Bábí community was put to death
without enquiring as to whether he had any share in the conspiracy against the
king.
2 See Gobineau, pp. 277-279, and
Note W at end.
3 A hollow receptacle
of about the size and shape of a cocoa-nut, round the orifice of which two
chains are attached at four points to serve as a handle. It is used by dervishes
as an alms-basket.
[page 52]on the road to Resht. But Behá'u'lláh rode forth
with perfect composure and calmness from Afcha, and came to Niyávarán, which was
the abode of the Royal Train and the station of the imperial camp. Immediately
on his arrival he was placed under arrest, and a whole regiment guarded him
closely. [p. 67.] After several days of interrogation they sent him in chains
and fetters from Shimrán to the gaol of Teherán. And this harshness and
punishment was due to the immoderate importunity of Hájí 'Alí Khán, the
hájibu'd-Dawla
1, nor did there seem any hope of
deliverance, until His Majesty the King, moved by his own kindly spirit,
commanded circumspection, and ordered this occurrence to be investigated and
examined particularly and generally by means of the ministers of the imperial
court.
Now when Behá'u'lláh was interrogated
on this matter he answered in reply, "The event itself indicates the truth of
the affair and testifies that this is the action of a thoughtless, unreasoning,
and igno-
1 Concerning this
infamous monster who, amongst innumerable other wickednesses and cruelties,
volunteered to carry out the sentence of death on his fallen benefactor,
Mírzá Takí Khán, see Watson's History of Persia, &c. pp.
403-404. Dr Polak (Persien; das Land und seine Bewohner, Leipsic, 1865,
vol. 1, p. 352) describes him as "ein Mann ohne Herz und auf Commando zu
jeder Grausamkeit bereit," and then proceeds to enumerate the ghastly
tortures which he devised for the Bábís.
[page 53]rant man. For no reasonable person would charge
his pistol with shot when embarking on so grave an enterprise. At least he would
so arrange and plan it that the deed should be orderly and systematic. [p. 68.]
From the very nature of the event it is clear and evident as the sun that it is
not the act of such as myself."
So it was
established and proven that the assassin had on his own responsibility engaged
in this grievous action and monstrous deed with the idea and design of taking
blood revenge for his Master, and that it concerned no one
else
1. And when the truth of the matter became evident
the innocence of Behá'u'lláh from this suspicion was established in such wise
that no doubt remained for anyone; the decision of the court declared his purity
and freedom from this charge; and it became apparent and clear that what had
been done with regard to him was due to the
1 According to Gobineau (p. 280) three Bábís actually took
part in the attempt on the Sháh's life and others were concerned in the plot.
According to the Násikhu't-Tawáríkh, which gives the most circumstantial
account of the occurrence, Mullá Sheykh 'Alí (called by the Bábís
Jenáb-i-'Azím) first proposed the attempt, for the carrying out of
which twelve persons volunteered. Of these twelve, however, there were but three
- Sádikof Zanján (or Mílán), Mullá Fathu'lláh of
Kum, and Mírzá Muhammad of Níríz - whose hearts did not fail them
at the last. Of these three the first was killed on the spot, the other two put
to death afterwards. See Note T at end.
[page 54]efforts of his foes and the hasty folly of the
hájibu'd-Dawla. Therefore did the government of eternal [p. 69.] duration
desire to restore certain properties and estates which had been confiscated,
that thereby it might pacify him. But since the chief part of these was lost and
only an inconsiderable portion was forthcoming, none came forward to claim them.
Indeed Behá'u'lláh requested permission to withdraw to the Supreme Shrines [of
Kerbelá and Nejef] and, after some months
1, by the
royal permission and with the leave of the Prime Minister, set out accompanied
by one of the King's messengers for the Shrines.
Let us return, however, to our original subject. Of the Báb's writings
many remained in men's hands. Some of these were commentaries on, and
interpretations of the verses of the
Kur'án; some were prayers, homilies,
and hints of [the true significance of certain] passages; others were
exhortations, admonitions, dissertations on the different branches of the
doctrine of the Divine Unity, demonstrations of the special prophetic mission of
the Lord of existing things [Mu
hammad], and (as hath been understood)
encouragements to amendment of character, severance from worldly states, [p.
70.] and dependence on the inspirations of God
2. But
1 According to Nabíl's
chronological poem (B. ii, p. 983, 987) Behá'u'lláh was imprisoned in Teherán
for four months.
2 For an enumeration
of the Báb's writings see Note U at end.
[page 55]the essence and purport of his compositions were
the praises and descriptions of that Reality soon to appear which was his only
object and aim, his darling, and his desire. For he regarded his own appearance
as that of a harbinger of good tidings, and considered his own real nature
merely as a means for the manifestation of the greater perfections of that One.
And indeed he ceased not from celebrating him by night or day for a single
instant, but used to signify to all his followers that they should expect his
arising: in such wise that he declares in his writings, "I am a letter out of
that most mighty book and a dew-drop from that limitless ocean, and, when he
shall appear, my true nature, my mysteries, riddles, and intimations will become
evident, and the embryo of this religion shall develop through the grades of its
being and ascent, attain to the station of '
the [p. 71.]
most comely
of forms1,' and become adorned with the robe of
'
blessed be God, the Best of Creators2.' And
this event will disclose itself in the year [A.H. one thousand two hundred and]
sixty-nine, which corresponds to the number of the year of '
after a
while3,'
1 Kur'án, xcv. 4.
2
Kur'án, xxiii. 14. For texts from Beyán illustrating this passage, see
Note V at end. 3 The year of
'
a while' ~~~ is 68 (~~~ = 8, ~~~ = 10, ~~~ = 50), and the year of
'
after a while' therefore corresponds to 69, which is the number
after 68. It was not, however, till A.H. 1283 (A.D. 1866-67) that,
according to Nabíl (B. ii. pp. 984, [
footnote goes onto page 56] 988),
Behá openly declared himself as 'He whom God shall manifest.']
[page 56]and '
thou shalt see the mountains which thou
thinkest so solid passing away like the passing of the
clouds1' shall be fulfilled." In short he so
described Him that, in his own expression, He regarded approach to the divine
bounty and attainment of the highest degrees of perfection in the worlds of
humanity as dependent on love for him, and so inflamed was he with his flame
that commemoration of him was the bright candle of his dark nights in the
fortress of Mákú, and remembrance of him was the best of companions in the
straits of the prison of Chihrí
k. Thereby he obtained spiritual
enlargements; with his wine was he inebriated; and at remembrance of Him did He
rejoice. All of his followers too were in [p. 72.] expectation of the appearance
of these signs, and each one of his intimates was seeking after the fulfilment
of these forecasts.
Now from the beginning
of the manifestation of the Báb there was in Teherán (which the Báb called the
Holy Land) a youth of the family of one of the ministers and of noble
lineage
2, gifted in every way,
1 Kur'án, xxvii. 90.
2 Behá'u'lláh (Mírzá Huseyn 'Alí) and
Subh-i-Ezel (Mírzá Yahyá) were both sons of Mírzá 'Abbás
(better known as Mírzá Buzurg) but by different mothers. This is confirmed
beyond all doubt by Subh-i-Ezel and others who have the best means
of knowing, though Gobineau (p. 277) gives a different [footnote goes onto
page 57] account. There was another brother called Músá, now deceased, one
of whose sons is at present residing in Acre.
[page 57]and adorned with purity and nobility. Although
he combined lofty lineage with high connection, and although his ancestors were
men of note in Persia and universally sought after
1,
yet he was not of a race of doctors or a family of scholars. Now this youth was
from his earliest adolescence celebrated amongst those of the ministerial class,
both relatives and strangers, for single-mindedness, and was from childhood
pointed out as remarkable for sagacity, and held in regard in the eyes of the
wise. He did not, however, after the fashion of his ancestors, desire elevation
to lofty ranks nor seek advancement to splendid but transient posi[p. 73.]tions.
His extreme aptitude was nevertheless admitted by all, and his excessive
acuteness and intelligence were universally avowed. In the eyes of the common
folk he enjoyed a wonderful esteem, and in all gatherings and assemblies he had
a marvellous speech and delivery. Notwithstanding lack of instruction and
education
2 such was the keenness of his penetration
1 Lit. "the place where
the camels' saddles are put down," i.e. people whose houses are frequented by
guests and visitors. See Lane's Lexicon, Book I. Part III. p.
1053.
2 Behá himself says in the
earlier portion of his Epistle to the King of Persia not included in the
extract therefrom given further on:- [two lines of Persian/Arabic script]
"I have not studied the sciences which men have, neither have I entered
[footnote goes onto page 58] the colleges: ask the city wherein I was that
thou mayest be sure that I am not of those who lie."
[page 58]and the readiness of his apprehension that when
during his youthful prime he appeared in assemblies where questions of divinity
and points of metaphysic were being discussed, and, in presence of a great
concourse of doctors and scholars loosed his tongue, all those present were
amazed, accounting this as a sort of prodigy beyond the discernment natural to
the human race. From his early years he was the hope of his kindred and the
unique one of his family and race, nay, their refuge and shelter.
However, in spite of these conditions and circum[p.
74.]stances, as he wore a
kuláh1 on his head
and locks flowing over his shoulder, no one imagined that he would become the
source of such matters, or that the waves of his flood would reach the zenith of
this firmament.
When the question of the Báb
was noised abroad signs of partiality appeared in him. At the first he apprized
his relatives and connections, and the children and dependents of his own
circle; subsequently he occupied his energies by day and night in
1 The Persian lamb-skin
hat worn by Government employés and civilians. The words ~~~ (hatted) and ~~~
(turbaned) are commonly used to distinguish the laity or civilian class from the
clergy or learned class. The latter usually shave the head, while the former
wear their hair in zulf descending below the level of the ears.
[page 59]inviting friends and strangers [to embrace the
new faith]. He arose with mighty resolution, engaged with the utmost constancy
in systematizing the principles and consolidating the ethical canons of that
society in every way, and strove by all means to protect and guard these people.
When he had [thus] established the
foundations in Teherán he hastened to Mázandarán, where he [p. 75.] displayed in
assemblies, meetings, conferences, inns, mosques, and colleges a mighty power of
utterance and exposition. Whoever beheld his open brow or heard his vivid
eulogies perceived him with the eye of actual vision to be a patent
demonstration, a latent magnetic force, and a pervading influence. A great
number both of rich and poor and of erudite doctors were attracted by his
preaching and washed their hands of heart and life, being so enkindled that they
laid down their lives under the sword dancing [with joy].
Thus, amongst many instances, one day four learned and
accomplished scholars of the divines of Núr were present in his company, and in
such wise did he expound that all four were involuntarily constrained to entreat
him to accept them for his service. For by dint of his eloquence, which was like
'evi[p. 76.]dent sorcery,' he satisfied these eminent doctors that they were in
reality children engaged in the rudiments of study and the merest tyros, and
that
[page 60]therefore they must read the alphabet from the
beginning. Several protracted conferences were passed in expounding and
elucidating the
Point1 and the
Alif of
the Absolute, wherein the doctors present were astounded, and filled with
amazement and astonishment at the seething and roaring of the ocean of his
utterance. The report of this occurrence reached the hearing of far and near,
and deep despondency fell on the adversaries. The regions of Núr were filled
with excitement and commotion at these events, and the noise of this mischief
and trouble smote the ears of the citizens of Bárfurúsh. The chief divine of
Núr, Mullá Mu
hammad, was in
Kishlá
k2. When
1 The 'Point' [~~~], 'Point of
Revelation' [~~~], and 'First Point' [~~~] were the titles assumed by
the Báb during the latter part of his mission, and it is by one of these titles,
or by the phrases ~~~ ('His Highness the Supreme'), ~~~ ('His Highness
my Lord the Supreme'), that he is mentioned amongst the Bábís. (See
Gobineau, p. 156.) The Alif, in the phraseology of the mystics, indicates
the unmanifested Essence of God.
2
Kishlák is a word of Turkish origin (from ~~~ winter) applied
generally to the warmer low-lying districts where the winter is passed, the
highlands where the summer is spent being called Yílák or
Yílágh. It is also applied as a proper name to several places in the
north of Persia. Kishlák of Núr is, as appears from the
Sháh's Diary of his journey through Mázandarán, a district bordering on the
coast, of which the chief town is Khurramábád. Núr itself is situated in the
mountains.
[page 61]he heard of these occurrences he sent two of the
most distinguished and profound of the doctors, who were [p. 77.] possessed of
wondrous eloquence, effective oratorical talent, conclusiveness of argument, and
brilliant powers of demonstration, to quench this fire, and to subdue and
overcome this young man by force of argument, either reducing him to penitence,
or causing him to despair of the successful issue of his projects. Glory be to
God for His wondrous decrees! When those two doctors entered the presence of
that young man, saw the waves of his utterance, and heard the force of his
arguments, they unfolded like the rose and were stirred like the multitude, and,
abandoning altar and chair, pulpit and preferment, wealth and luxury, and
evening and morning congregations, they applied themselves to the furtherance of
the objects of this person, even inviting the chief divine to tender his [p.
78.] allegiance. So when this young man with a faculty of speech like a rushing
torrent set out for Ámul and Sárí he met with that experienced doctor and that
illustrious divine in
Kishlá
k of Núr. And the people assembled
from all quarters awaiting the result. His accomplished reverence the divine,
although he was of universally acknowledged excellence, and in science the most
learned of his contemporaries, nevertheless decided to have recourse to augury
as to [whether he should engage in] discussion and disputation. This did not
prove favourable and he therefore excused
[page 62]himself, deferring [the discussion] until some
other time. His incompetency and shortcoming thereby became known and suspected,
and this caused the adherence, confirmation, and edification of many.
In brief outline the narrative is this. For
some while he wandered about in those districts. After the death of the late
prince Mu
hammad Sháh he returned to Teherán, having in his mind [the
intention of] corresponding and entering into relations [p. 79.] with the Báb.
The medium of this correspondence was the celebrated Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím of
Kazvín
1, who was the Báb's mainstay and trusted
intimate. Now since a great celebrity had been attained for Behá'u'lláh in
Teherán, and the hearts of men were disposed towards him, he, together with
Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím, considered it as expedient that, in face of the agitation
amongst the doctors, the aggressiveness of the greater part of [the people of]
Persia, and the irresistible power of the
Amír-Nizám, whereby both
the Báb and Behá'u'lláh were in great danger and liable to incur severe
punishment, some measure should be adopted to direct the thoughts of men towards
some absent person, by which means Behá'u'lláh would remain protected from the
interference of all men. And since further, having regard to sundry
considerations, they did not consider an outsider as suitable, they cast the lot
of this
1 See above, p. 41
and note.
[page 63]augury to the name of Behá'u'lláh's brother
Mírzá Ya
hyá
1.
[p. 80.] By the assistance and instruction of Behá'u'lláh, therefore,
they made him notorious and famous on the tongues of friends and foes, and wrote
letters, ostensibly at his dictation, to the Báb. And since secret
correspondences were in process the Báb highly approved of this scheme. So Mírzá
Ya
hyá was concealed and hidden while mention of him was on the tongues
and in the mouths of men. And this mighty plan was of wondrous efficacy, for
Behá'u'lláh, though he was known and seen, remained safe and secure, and this
veil was the cause that no one outside [the sect] fathomed the matter or fell
into the idea of molestation, until Behá'u'lláh quitted Teherán at the
permission of the King and was permitted to withdraw to the Supreme Shrines.
When he reached Baghdad and the crescent
moon of the month of Mu
harram of the year [A.H. one [p. 81.] thousand two
hundred and] sixty-nine (which was termed in the books of the Báb "the year of
'
after a while2'" and wherein he had promised
the disclosure of the true nature of his religion and its mysteries) shone forth
from the horizon of the world, this covert secret, as is related, became
apparent amongst all within and without [the society]. Behá'u'lláh with mighty
steadfastness became a target for the arrows
1 See Note W at end.
2 See note 3 at foot of p. 55.
[page 64]of all amongst mankind, while Mírzá Ya
hyá
in disguise passed his time, now in the environs and vicinity of Baghdad engaged
for better concealment in various trades, now in Baghdad itself in the garb of
the Arabs.
Now Behá'u'lláh so acted that the
hearts of this sect were drawn towards him, while most of the inhabitants of
'Irá
k1 were reduced to silence and
speechlessness, some being amazed and others an[p. 82.]gered. After remaining
there for one year he withdrew his hand from all things, abandoned relatives and
connections, and, without the knowledge of his followers, quitted
'Irá
k[footnote 1] alone and solitary, without companion, supporter,
associate, or comrade. For nigh upon two years he dwelt in Turkish Kurdistán,
generally in a place named Sarkalú, situated in the mountains, and far removed
from human habitations. Sometimes on rare occasions he used to frequent
Suleymániyyé. Ere long had elapsed the most eminent doctors of those regions got
some inkling of his circumstances and conditions, and conversed with him on the
solution of certain difficult questions connected with the most abstruse points
of theology. Having witnessed on his part ample signs and satisfactory
explanations they observed towards him the
1 Here and in subsequent passages where 'Irák is
mentioned 'Irák-i-'Arab (especially Baghdad) is intended, not
Irák-i-'Ajam.
[page 65]utmost respectfulness and deference. In
consequence [p. 83.] of this he acquired a great fame and wonderful reputation
in those regions, and fragmentary accounts of him were circulated in all
quarters and directions, to wit that a stranger, a Persian, had appeared in the
district of Suleymániyyé (which hath been, from of old, the place whence the
most expert doctors of the Sunnites have arisen), and that the people of that
country had loosed their tongues in praise of him. From the rumour thus heard it
was known that that person was none other than Behá'u'lláh. Several persons,
therefore, hastened thither, and began to entreat and implore, and the urgent
entreaty of all brought about his return.
Now although this sect had not been affected with quaking or consternation at
these grievous events, such as the slaughter of their chief and the rest, but
did rather increase and multiply; still, since the Báb was but beginning to lay
the founda[p. 84.]tions when he was slain, therefore was this community ignorant
concerning its proper conduct, action, behaviour, and duty, their sole guiding
principle being love for the Báb. This ignorance was the reason that in some
parts disturbances occurred; for, experiencing violent molestation, they
unclosed their hands in self-defence. But after his return Behá'u'lláh made such
strenuous efforts in educating, teaching, training, regulating, and
reconstructing this com-
[page 66]munity that in a short while all these troubles
and mischiefs were quenched, and the utmost tranquillity and repose reigned in
men's hearts; so that, according to what hath been heard, it became clear [p.
85.] and obvious even to statesmen that the fundamental intentions and ideas of
this sect were things spiritual, and such as are connected with pure hearts;
that their true and essential principles were to reform the morals and beautify
the conduct of the human race, and that with things material they had absolutely
no concern.
When these principles, then,
were established in the hearts of this sect they so acted in all lands that they
became celebrated amongst statesmen for gentleness of spirit, steadfastness of
heart, right intent, good deeds, and excellence of conduct. For this people are
most well-disposed towards obedience and submissiveness, and, on receiving such
instruction, they conformed their conduct and behaviour thereto. Formerly
exception was taken to the words, deeds, de[p. 86.]meanour, morals, and conduct
of this sect: now objection is made in Persia to their tenets and spiritual
state. Now this is beyond the power of man, that he should be able by
interference or objection to change the heart and conscience, or meddle with the
convictions of any one. For in the realm of conscience nought but the ray of
God's light can command, and on the throne of the heart none
[page 67]but the pervading power of the King of Kings
should rule. Thus it is that one can arrest and suspend [the action of] every
faculty except thought and reflection; for a man cannot even by his own volition
withhold himself from reflection or thought, nor keep back his musings and
imaginings.
At all events the undeniable
truth is this, that for nigh upon thirty-five years
1
no action opposed [p. 87.] to the government or prejudicial to the nation has
emanated from this sect or been witnessed [on their part], and that during this
long period, notwithstanding the fact that their numbers and strength are double
what they were formerly, no sound has arisen from any place, except that every
now and then learned doctors and eminent scholars (really for the extension of
this report through the world and the awakening of men) sentence some few to
death. For such interference is not destruction but edification when thou
regardest the truth, which will not thereby become quenched and forgotten, but
rather stimulated and advertised.
I will at
least relate one short anecdote of what
1 This passage clearly shews that our history was composed not
more than four or five years ago, probably during the year 1886. For since the
attempt on the Sháh's life in the month of Shawwál, A.H. 1268 (August 1852), the
Bábís have taken no action hostile to the Persian government, and the month of
Shawwál, A.H. 1303 (35 years from this date) began in July, 1886.
[page 68]actually took place. A certain person violently
molested and grievously injured a certain Bábí. [p. 88.] The victim unclosed his
hand in retaliation and arose to take vengeance, unsheathing his weapon against
the aggressor. Becoming the object of the censure and reprimand of this sect,
however, he took refuge in flight. When he reached Hamadán his character became
known, and, as he was of the clerical class, the doctors vehemently pursued him,
handed him over to the government, and ordered chastisement to be inflicted. By
chance there fell out from the fold of his collar a document written by
Behá'u'lláh, the subject of which was reproof of attempts at retaliation,
censure and reprobation of the search after vengeance, and prohibition from
following after lusts. Amongst other matters they found these expressions
contained in it:- "
Verily God is quit of the sedi[p. 89.]
tious,"
and likewise:- "
If ye be slain it is better for you than that ye should slay.
And when ye are tormented have recourse to the controllers of affairs and the
refuge of the people1; and if ye be neglected
then entrust your affairs to the Jealous Lord. This is the mark of the sincere,
and the characteristic of the
1 i.e. "If you be wronged or persecuted, appeal for protection and
redress to the legally constituted authorities; and if they will not help you,
then be patient and put your trust in God, but do not attempt by force to obtain
redress for yourselves."[page 69]
assured." When
the governor became cognizant of this writing he addressed that person saying,
"By the decree of that chief whom you yourself obey correction is necessary and
punishment and chastisement obligatory." "If," replied that person, "you will
carry out all his precepts I shall have the utmost pleasure in [submitting to]
punishment and death." The governor smiled and let the man go.
So Behá'u'lláh made the utmost efforts to educate [his
people] and incite [them] to morality, the acquisition of the sciences and arts
of all countries, kindly dealing with all the nations of the earth, desire for
the welfare of all peoples, sociability, con[p. 90.]cord, obedience,
submissiveness, instruction of [their] children, production of what is needful
for the human race, and inauguration of true happiness for mankind; and he
continually kept sending tracts of admonition to all parts, whereby a wonderful
effect was produced. Some of these epistles have, after extreme search and
enquiry, been examined, and some portions of them shall now be set down in
writing
1
1 For some account of Behá's various writings see B. ii. pp. 942-981.
A specimen of the ~~~ in the original may be found in Rosen's MSS.
Persans, pp. 32-51, and a part of the ~~~ in his MSS. Arabes, pp.
191-212. Baron Rosen intends shortly to publish the whole of the ~~~ including
the Epistles to the Kings (~~~), and he has been kind enough to send me
the proof-sheets of this [footnote goes onto page 70] important work as
they are printed off. Further information will be found in a subsequent
foot-note.
[page 70] All these epistles
consisted of [exhortations to] purity of morals, encouragement to good conduct,
reprobation of certain individuals, and complaints of the seditious. Amongst
others this sentence was recorded:-
"
My captivity is not my abasement: by
my life, it is indeed a glory unto me! But the abasement is the ac[p.
91.]
tion of my friends who connect themselves with us and follow the devil in
their actions. Amongst them is he who taketh lust and turneth aside from what is
commanded; and amongst them is he who followeth the truth in right guidance. As
for those who commit sin and cling to the world they are assuredly not of the
people of Behá."
So
again:-
"
Well is it with him who is
adorned with the decoration of manners and morals: verily he is of those who
help their Lord with clear perspicuous action."
"
He is God, exalted is His state, wisdom and utterance. The True
One (glorious is His glory) for the shewing forth of the gems of ideals from the
mine of man, hath, in every age, sent a trusted one. The primary foundation of
the faith of God and the religion of God is this, that they should not make
diverse sects and various paths the cause and reason of hatred. These principles
and laws and firm sure roads
[page 71]appear from one dawning-place and shine from one
dayspring, and these diversities were out of regard for [p. 92.] the
requirements of the time, season, ages, and epochs. O unitarians, make firm the
girdle of endeavour, that perchance religious strife and conflict may be removed
from amongst the people of the world and be annulled. For love of God and His
servants engage in this great and mighty matter. Religious hatred and rancour is
a world-consuming fire, and the quenching thereof most arduous, unless the hand
of Divine Might give men deliverance from this unfruitful calamity. Consider a
war which happeneth between two states: both sides have foregone wealth and
life: how many villages were beheld as though they were not! This precept is in
the position of the light in the lamp of utterance."
"O people of the world, ye are all the fruit of one tree and the
leaves of one branch. Walk with perfect [p. 93.] charity, concord, affection,
and agreement. I swear by the Sun of Truth, the light of agreement shall
brighten and illumine the horizons. The all-knowing Truth hath been and is the
witness to this saying. Endeavour to attain to this high supreme station which
is the station of protection and preservation of mankind. This is the intent of
the King of intentions, and this the hope of the Lord of hopes."
"We trust that God will assist the kings of the earth to
illuminate and adorn the earth with the
[page 72]refulgent light of the Sun of Justice. At one
time we spoke in the language of the Law, at another time in the language of the
Truth and the Way; and the ultimate object and remote aim was the shewing forth
of this high supreme station.
And God sufficeth for witness."
[p. 94.]"O friends, consort with all the
people of the world with joy and fragrance. If there be to you a word or essence
whereof others than you are devoid, communicate it and shew it forth in the
language of affection and kindness: if it be received and be effective the
object is attained, and if not leave it to him, and with regard to him deal not
harshly but pray
1. The language of kindness is the
lodestone of hearts and the food of the soul; it stands in the relation of ideas
to words, and is as an horizon for the shining of the Sun of Wisdom and
Knowledge."
"If the unitarians had in the
latter times acted according to the glorious Law [which came] after His Highness
the Seal [of the Prophets
2] (may the life of all
beside him be his sacrifice!), and had clung to its skirt, the foundation of the
fortress of religion
1
i.e. "If you have a message or gospel wherein others are not partakers, then
convey it to those about you in kind and gentle words. If they accept it you
have gained your object; if not, leave it to ripen and bear fruit, and pray that
it may do so, but on no account strive to force its acceptance on any
one."
2
Muhammad.
[page 73]would not have been shaken, and populous cities
[p. 95.] would not have been ruined, but rather cities and villages would have
acquired and been adorned with the decoration of peace and serenity."
"Through the heedlessness and discordance of
the favoured people and the smoke of wicked souls the Fair Nation is seen to be
darkened and enfeebled. Had they acted [according to what they knew] they would
not have been heedless of the light of the Sun of Justice."
"This victim hath from earliest days until now been
afflicted at the hands of the heedless. They exiled us without cause at one time
to 'Irá
k1, at another time to Adrianople, and
thence to Acre, which was a place of exile for murderers and robbers; neither is
it known where and in what spot we shall take up our abode after this greatest
prison-house.
Knowledge is with God, the Lord of the Throne and of the dust
and the Lord of the lofty seat. In whatever place we may be, and whatever
befal us, the saints must gaze with perfect steadfastness and confi[p. 96.]dence
towards the Supreme Horizon and occupy themselves in the reformation of the
world and the education of the nations. What hath befallen and shall befal hath
been and is an instrument and means for the furtherance of the Word of Unity.
Take 1 See note on
p. 64.
[page 74]hold of the command of God and cling thereto:
verily it hath been sent down from beside a wise Ordainer."
"With perfect compassion and mercy have we guided and
directed the people of the world to that whereby their souls shall be profited.
I swear by the Sun of Truth which hath shone forth from the highest horizons of
the world that the people of Behá had not and have not any aim save the
prosperity and reformation of the world and the purifying of the nations. With
all men they have been in sincerity and charity. Their outward [appearance] is
one with their inward [heart], and their inward [heart] identical with their
outward [appearance]. The truth [p. 97.] of the matter is not hidden or
concealed, but plain and evident before [men's] faces. Their very deeds are the
witness of this assertion. To-day let every one endowed with vision win his way
from deeds and signs to the object of the people of Behá and from their speech
and conduct gain knowledge of their intent. The waves of the ocean of divine
mercy appear at the utmost height, and the showers of the clouds of His grace
and favour descend every moment. During the days of sojourn in
'Irák
1. this oppressed one sat down and consorted with
all classes without veil or disguise. How many of the denizens of the
1 See note on p.
64.
[page 75]horizons
1 entered in
enmity and went forth in sympathy! The door of grace was open before the faces
of all. With rebellious and obedient did we outwardly converse after one
fashion, that perchance the evil-doers might win their way to the ocean of
boundless forgiveness. The splendours of the Name of the
Concealer
2 were in such wise manifested that [p. 98.]
the evil-doer imagined that he was accounted of the good. No messenger was
disappointed and no enquirer was turned back. The causes of the aversion and
avoidance of men were certain of the doctors of Persia and the unseemly deeds of
the ignorant. By [the term] 'doctors' in these passages are signified those
persons who have withheld mankind from the shore of the Ocean of Unity; but as
for the learned who practise [their knowledge] and the wise who act justly, they
are as the spirit unto the body of the world. Well is it with that learned man
whose head is adorned with the crown of justice, and whose body glorieth in the
ornament of honesty. The Pen of Admonition
1 i.e. The people of all lands.
2 'The Concealer' (~~~)is one of the Names of God (see Redhouse's
Most Comely Names, p. 38, No. 236), of which Names the Prophets are the
mirrors or places of manifestation (~~~). In their actions the Divine Attributes
whether 'beautiful' (~~~) or 'terrible' (~~~) are displayed. So
Behá's concealment of his feelings is here described as a manifestation of the
'Name of the Concealer.'
[page 76]exhorteth the friends and enjoineth on them
charity, pity, wisdom, and gentleness. The oppressed
one
1 is this day a prisoner; his allies are the hosts
of good deeds and virtues; not ranks, and hosts, and guns, [p. 99.] and cannons.
One holy action maketh the world of earth highest paradise.
"O friends, help the oppressed one with well-pleasing
virtues and good deeds! To-day let every soul desire to attain the highest
station. He must not regard what is in him, but what is in God.
It is not for
him to regard what shall advantage himself, but that whereby the Word of God
which must be obeyed shall be upraised. The heart must be sanctified from
every form of selfishness and lust, for the weapons of the unitarians and the
saints were and are the fear of God. That is the buckler which guardeth man from
the arrows of hatred and abomination. Unceasingly hath the standard of piety
been victorious, and accounted amongst the most puissant hosts of the world.
Thereby do the saints subdue the [p. 100.]
cities of [men's]
hearts by the permission of God, the Lord of hosts. Darkness hath
encompassed the earth: the lamp which giveth light was and is wisdom. The
dictates thereof must be observed under all circumstances. And of wisdom is the
regard of place and the utterance of discourse according to measure and
1 Throughout his writings
by the terms 'the oppressed one,' 'this oppressed one,' 'this
servant,' &c., Behá intends himself.
[page 77]state. And of wisdom is decision; for man should
not accept whatsoever anyone sayeth
1.
"Under all circumstances desire of the True One (glorious
is His glory) that He will not deprive His servants of the sealed
wine
2 and the lights of the Name of the
Self-subsistent.
"
O friends of God,
verily the Pen of Sincerity enjoineth on you the greatest faithfulness. By the
Life of God, its light is more evident than the light of the sun! In its light
and its brightness and its radiance [p. 101.]
every light is eclipsed.
We desire of God that He will not withhold from His cities and lands the
radiant effulgence of the Sun of Faithfulness. We have directed all in the
nights and in the days to faithfulness, chastity, purity, and constancy; and
have enjoined good deeds and well-pleasing qualities. In
1 i.e. Of the dictates of wisdom one is this,
that the believer should in speaking have regard to fitness of time and place
and not with undiscriminating zeal lay bare his convictions to all persons or in
all companies; and another is this, that he should be firmly established in his
belief and not be 'tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of
doctrine.'
2 By the 'sealed
wine' are meant the ordinances of God. Thus in the 'Most Holy Book'
(~~~ rather than ~~~ by which name I formerly described it, B. ii. 972-981) it
is written:- [two lines of Persian/Arabic script] "Do not consider
that we have revealed unto you ordinances, but rather that we have opened the
seal of the sealed wine with the fingers of might and
power."
[page 78]the nights and in the days the shriek of the pen
ariseth and the tongue speaketh, that against the sword the word may arise, and
against fierceness patience, and in place of oppression submission, and at the
time of martyrdom resignation. For thirty years and more, in all that hath
befallen this oppressed community they have been patient, referring it to God.
Every one endowed with justice and fairness hath testified and doth testify to
that which hath been said. During this period this oppressed one was engaged in
good exhortations and efficacious and sufficient admonitions, till it became [p.
102.] established and obvious before all that this victim had made himself a
target for the arrows of calamity unto the shewing forth of the treasures
deposited in [men's] souls. Strife and contest were and are seemly in the beasts
of prey of the earth, [but] laudable actions are seemly in man.
"
Blessed is the Merciful One: Who created man: and
taught him utterance. After all these troubles, neither are the ministers of
state content, nor the doctors of the church. Not one soul was found to utter a
word for God before the court of His Majesty the King (
may God perpetuate his
kingdom). There shall not befal us aught save that which God hath decreed unto
us. They acted not kindly, nor was there any shortcoming in the display of
evil. Justice became like the
[page 79]phoenix
1, and
faithfulness like the philosopher's stone: none spake for the right. It would
seem [p. 103.] that justice had become hateful to men and cast forth from all
lands like the people of God. Glory be to God! In the episode of the land of
tá
2 not one spoke for that which God had
commanded. Having regard to the display of power and parade of service in the
presence of the King (
may God perpetuate his kingdom) they have called
good evil and the reformer a sedition-monger. The like of these persons would
depict the drop as an ocean, and the mote as a sun. They call the house at
Kalín
3 'the strong fortress,' and close their eyes to
the perspicuous truth. They have attacked a number of reformers of the world
with the charge
1 The
'Anká (in Persian Símurgh), a mythical bird dwelling in the
mountains of Káf, which bound the world according to the old
Arabian cosmography. Hence anything very rare or hard to find or of which the
name is heard but the form is not seen (~~~) is compared to it.
2 'The land of tá' (~~~) means Teherán.
So in the Kitáb-i-Akdas Khurásán is called ~~~ and Kirmán ~~~;
while in the Persian Beyán we find mention of the land of Alif
(Ázarbaiján), the land of 'Ayn ('Irák), the land of
Fá (Fárs), and the land of Mím (Mázandarán). This use of the letters
of the alphabet to designate places and people is very common amongst the Bábís.
See the note on the colophon at the end of the book.
3 Concerning Kalín (less correctly Kuleyn) see p. 14
supra and note 3 thereon.
[page 80]of seditiousness. As God liveth, these persons
had and have no intent nor hope save the glory of the state and service to their
nation! For God they spoke and for God they speak, and in the way of God do they
journey.
[p. 104.] "O friends, ask of Him
who is the Desire of the denizens of earth that He will succour His Majesty the
King (
may God perpetuate his kingdom) so that all the dominions of Persia
may by the light of the Sun of Justice become adorned with the decoration of
tranquillity and security. According to statements made, he, at the promptings
of his blessed nature, loosed those who were in bonds, and bestowed freedom on
the captives. The representation of certain matters before the faces of [God's]
servants is obligatory, and natural to the pious, so that the good may be aware
and become cognizant [thereof].
Verily He inspireth whom He pleaseth with
what He desireth, and He is the Powerful, the Ordainer, the Knowing, the
Wise. "A word from that land hath
reached the oppressed one which in truth was the cause of wonder. His Highness
the Mu'tamadu 'd-Dawla, Farhád Mírzá
1, said concerning
the imprisoned one that whereof the [p. 105.] repetition is not pleasing. This
victim consorted very little with him or the like of him. So far as is
1 Farhád Mírzá was the
uncle of the Sháh. He died in 1888.
[page 81]recollected on [only] two occasions did he visit
Murgh-Ma
halla in Shimírán
1 where was the abode
of the oppressed one. On the first occasion he came one day in the afternoon,
and on the second one Friday morning, returning nigh unto sundown. He knows and
is conscious that he should not speak contrary to the truth. If one enter his
presence let him repeat these words before him on behalf of the oppressed one:-
'
O Prince! I ask justice and fairness from your Highness concerning that
which hath befallen this poor victim.' Well is it for that soul whom the
doubts of the perverse withhold not from the display of justice, and deprive not
of the [p. 106.] lights of the luminary of equity.
O saints of God! at the
end of our discourse we enjoin on you once again chastity, faithfulness,
godliness, sincerity, and purity. Lay aside the evil and adopt the good. This is
that whereunto ye are commanded in the Book of God, the Knowing, the Wise.
Well is it with those who practise [this injunction]. At this moment the
pen crieth out, saying, 'O saints of God, regard the horizon of uprightness, and
be quit, severed, and free from what is beside this.
There is no strength and
no power save in God.'"
1 Shimírán or Shimrán (sometimes used in the plural, Shimránát) is
the name applied generally to the villages and mansions situated on the lower
slopes descending from Elburz which serve as summer residences to the wealthier
inhabitants of Teherán.
[page 82] In short, formerly
in all provinces in Persia accounts and stories concerning this sect diverse and
discordant, yea, incompatible with the character of the human race and opposed
to the divine endowment, passed on the tongues and in the mouths of men and
obtained notoriety. But when their prin[p. 107.]ciples acquired fixity and
stability and their conduct and behaviour were known and appreciated, the veil
of doubt and suspicion fell, the true character of this sect became clear and
evident, and it reached the degree of certainty that their principles were
unlike men's fancies, and that their foundation differed from [the popular]
opinion and estimate. In their conduct, action, morality, and demeanour was no
place for objection; the objection in Persia is to certain of the ideas and
tenets of this sect. And from the indications of various circumstances it hath
been observed that the people have acquired belief and confidence in the
trustworthiness, faithfulness, and godliness of this sect in all transactions.
Let us return to our original topic. During
the period of their sojourn in 'Irá
k these persons became notorious
throughout the world. For exile resulted [p. 108.] in fame, in such wise that a
great number of other parties sought alliance and union, and devised means of
[acquiring] intimacy [with them]. But the chief of this sect, discovering the
aims of each faction, acted with the utmost consistency, circumspection, and
[page 83]firmness. Reposing confidence in none, he
applied himself as far as possible to the admonition of each, inciting and
urging them to good resolutions and aims beneficial to the state and the nation.
And this conduct and behaviour of the chief acquired notoriety in 'Irá
k.
So likewise during the period of their
sojourn in 'Irá
k certain functionaries of foreign governments were
desirous of intimacy, and sought friendly relations [with them]; but the chief
would not agree. [p. 109.] Amongst other strange haps was this, that in
'Irá
k certain of the Royal Family came to an understanding with these
[foreign] governments, and, [induced] by promises and threats, conspired with
them. But this sect unloosed their tongues in reproach and began to admonish
them, saying, "What meanness is this, and what evident treason; that man should,
for worldly advantages, personal profit, easy circumstances, or protection of
life and property, cast himself into this great detriment and evident loss, and
embark in a course of action which will conduce to the greatest abasement and
involve the utmost infamy and disgrace both here and hereafter! One can support
any baseness save treason to one's country, and every sin admits of pardon and
forgiveness save [that of] dishonouring one's government and injuring one's
nation." And they imagined that they were acting [p. 110.] patriotically,
displaying sincerity and loyalty, and
[page 84]accounting sacred the duties of fidelity; which
noble aim they regarded as a moral obligation. So rumours of this were spread
abroad through 'Irá
k-i-'Arab, and such as wished well to their country
loosed their tongues in uttering thanks, expressing approval and respect. And it
was supposed that these events would be represented in the Royal Presence; but
after a while it became known that certain of the Sheykhs at the Supreme
Shrines
1 who were in correspondence with the court,
yea, even with the King, were in secret continually attributing to this sect
strange affinities and relations, imagining that such attempts would conduce to
favour at the Court and cause [p. 111.] advancement of [their] condition and
rank. And since no one could speak freely on this matter at that court which is
the pivot of justice, whilst just ministers aware [of the true state of the
case] also regarded silence as their best policy, the 'Irá
k question,
through these misrepresentations and rumours, assumed gravity in Teherán, and
was enormously exaggerated. But the consuls-general, being cognizant of the
truth, continued to act with moderation, until Mírzá Buzurg Khán of
Kazvín
2 became consul-
1 Kerbelá and Nejef.
2 According to Subh-i-Ezel's statement, Mírzá
Buzurg Khán became incensed against the Bábís, partly because they would not
consent to secure his goodwill by a bribe, partly because Behá'u'lláh took to
wife the daughter of a merchant whom he wished to marry. At all events his
enmity was such [footnote goes onto page 85] that he stove to incite the
'Ulamá of Baghdad to declare a jihád or religious war against the
Bábís, and this, according to Subh-i-Ezel, they would have done,
had not Námik Páshá, then governor of Baghdad, prevented them, saying,
'These are not rebels, and you shall not kill them'.
[page 85]general in Baghdad. Now since this person was
wont to pass the greater portion of his time in a state of intoxication and was
devoid of foresight, he became the accomplice and confederate of those Sheykhs
in 'Irá
k, and girded up his loins stoutly to destroy and demolish. Such
power of description and [p. 112.] [strength] of fingers as he possessed he
employed in making representations and statements. Each day he secretly wrote a
dispatch to Teherán, made vows and compacts with the Sheykhs, and sent
diplomatic notes to His Excellency the Ambassador-in-chief
1 [at Constantinople]. But since these statements and
depositions had no basis or foundation, they were all postponed and adjourned;
until at length these Sheykhs convened a meeting to consult with the [Consul-]
General, assembled a number of learned doctors and great divines in the [mosque
of the] 'two Ká
zims'
2 (upon them be peace),
and, having come to
1
Mírzá Huseyn Khán was at this time Persian ambassador at
Constantinople.
2 'The tombs of the
'two Kázims' (i.e. the seventh Imám, Músá Kázim, and the
ninth Imám, Muhammad Takí) are situated about 3 miles N. of Baghdad, and
constitute one of the principal places of pilgrimage of the Shi'ites. Around
them has grown up a considerable town, chiefly inhabited by Persians, known as
Kázimeyn.'
[page 86]an unanimous agreement, wrote to the divines of
Kerbelá the exalted and Nejef the most noble, convoking them all. They came,
some knowing, others not knowing. Amongst the latter the illustrious and expert
doctor, the noble and celebrated scholar, the [p. 113.] seal of seekers after
truth, Sheykh Murta
zá
1, now departed and
assoiled, who was the admitted chief of all, arrived without knowledge [of the
matter in hand]. But, so soon as he was informed of their actual designs, he
said, "I am not properly acquainted with the essential character of this sect,
nor with the
1 In the
Epistle to the King of Persia (~~~) Sheykh Murtazá is especially
exempted from the condemnation pronounced against the majority of the Shi'ite
doctors, and held up as an example of a truly pious and God-fearing divine (see
p. 129 infra). I was informed by Subh-i-Ezel that he not
only refused to pronounce sentence against the Bábís or sanction a jihád
against them, but that he also withheld the Sháh from persecuting the Sheykhís
(concerning whom see Note E at end) saying, "May it not become like the affair
of the Bábís!" The book called ~~~ (Stories of Divines), published at
Teherán A.H. 1304, gives a brief account of Sheykh Murtazá, whose
lectures, as it appears, the author of the work in question attended for a
while. According to this account Sheykh Murtazá was a native of Shushtar,
but spent the greater part of his life at Nejef, where, at the age of 80, he
died and was buried. Neither the date of his birth nor that of his death is
given. His works - not very numerous - are mentioned, and his remarkable piety
and learning highly praised. Indeed it is stated that after Sheykh
Muhammad Hasan he was the most eminent of all the Shi'ite
doctors.
[page 87]secret tenets and hidden theological doctrines
of this community; neither have I hitherto witnessed or perceived in their
demeanour or conduct anything at variance with the Perspicuous Book which would
lead me to pronounce them infidels. Therefore hold me excused in this matter,
and let him who regards it as his duty take action." Now the design of the
Sheykhs and the Consul was a sudden and general attack, but, by reason of the
non-compliance of the departed Sheykh, this scheme proved abortive, resulting,
indeed, only in shame and disappointment. So that concourse of Sheykhs, doctors,
and common [p. 114.] folk which had come from Kerbelá dispersed.
Just at this time mischievous persons - [including] even
certain dismissed ministers - endeavoured on all sides so to influence this sect
that they might perchance alter their course and conduct. From every quarter
lying messages and disquieting reports continually followed one another in
uninterrupted and constant succession to the effect that the deliberate
intention of the court of Persia was the eradication, suppression, annihilation,
and destruction of this sect; that correspondence was continually being carried
on with the local authorities; and that all [the Bábís] in 'Irá
k would
shortly be delivered over with bound hands to Persia. But the Bábís passed the
time in calmness and silence, without in any way altering their behaviour and
conduct.
[page 88] So when Mírzá Buzurg
Khán failed to effect and accomplish the designs of his heart by such actions
also, he ill-advisedly fell to reflecting how he might [p. 115.] grieve and
humiliate [the Bábís]. Every day he sought some pretext for offering insult,
aroused some disturbance and tumult, and raised up the banner of mischief, until
the matter came nigh to culminating in the sudden outbreak of a riot, the lapse
of the reins of control from the hand, and the precipitation of [men's] hearts
into disquietude and perturbation and [their] minds into anguish and agony.
Now when [the Bábís] found themselves unable
to treat this humour by any means (for, strive as they would, they were foiled
and frustrated), and when they failed to find any remedy for this disorder or
any fairness in this flower, they deliberated and hesitated for nine months, and
at length a certain number of them, to stop further mischief, enrolled
themselves as subjects of the Sublime Ottoman Government, that [thereby] they
might assuage this tumult. By means [p. 116.] of this device the mischief was
allayed, and the consul withdrew his hand from molesting them; but he notified
this occurrence to the Royal Court in a manner at variance with the facts and
contrary to the truth, and, together with the confederate Sheykhs, applied
himself in every way to devices for distracting the senses [of the Bábís].
Finally, however, being
[page 89]dismissed, and overwhelmed with disaster, he
became penitent and sorry.
Let us proceed
with our original topic. For eleven years and somewhat over, Behá'u'lláh abode
in 'Irá
k-i-'Arab. The behaviour and conduct of the sect were such that
[his] fame and renown increased. For he was manifest and apparent amongst men,
consorted and associated with all parties, and would converse familiarly with
doctors and scholars concerning the solution of difficult theological questions
and the verification of the true sense of abstruse [p. 117.] points of divinity.
As is currently reported by persons of every class, he used to please all,
whether inhabitants or visitors, by his kindly intercourse and courteous
address; and this sort of demeanour and conduct on his part led them to suspect
sorcery and account him an adept in the occult sciences.
During this period Mírzá Ya
hyá remained concealed and
hidden, continuing and abiding in his former conduct and behaviour, until, when
the edict for the removal of Behá'u'lláh from Baghdad
1
was issued by his Majesty the Ottoman monarch, Mírzá Ya
hyá would neither
quit nor accompany [him]: at one time he meditated setting out for India, at
another, settling in Turkistán
2; but, being unable to
1 It would seem that the
departure of the Bábís from Baghdad took place during the summer of
1864.
2 Perhaps Turkistán is
here intended to signify, not the [footnote goes onto page 90] country
properly so called, but merely the country of the Turks, in which case we should
rather translate 'remaining in Turkey.'
[page 90]decide on either of these two plans, he finally,
at his [p. 118.] own wish, set out before all in the garb of a dervish, in
disguise and change of raiment, for Karkúk and Arbíl. Thence, by continuous
advance, he reached Mosul, where, on the arrival of the main body, he took up
his abode and station alongside their caravan
1. And
although throughout this journey the governors and officials observed the utmost
consideration and respectfulness, while march and halt were alike dignified and
honourable, nevertheless was he always concealed in change of raiment, and acted
cautiously, on the idea that some act of aggression was likely to occur.
In this fashion did they reach
Constantinople, where they were appointed quarters in a guest-house on the part
of the glorious Ottoman monarchy. And at first the utmost attention was paid to
them in [p. 119.] every way. On the third day, because of the straitness of
their quarters and the greatness of their
1 Mírzá Yahyá, according to his own account, went from
Baghdad to Karkúk in 8 days; thence to Mosul in 4 days; thence to Diyár Bekr in
20 days; thence to Kharpút in 7 or 8 days. From Kharpút he went to Sívás, thence
to Samsún, and thence by sea to Constantinople. The whole journey from Baghdad
to Constantinople, including halts, occupied between three and four months. By
Nabíl also the duration of this exodus is stated as four months (B. ii. pp. 984,
987, v. 8).
[page 91]numbers, they migrated and moved to another
house. Certain of the nobles came to see and converse with them, and these, as
is related, behaved with moderation. Notwithstanding that many in their
assemblies and gatherings continued to condemn and vilify them, saying, "This
sect are a mischief to all the world and destructive of treaties and covenants;
they are a source of trouble and baleful to all lands; they have kindled a fire
and consumed the earth; and though they be outwardly fair-seeming yet are they
deserving of every chastisement and punishment," yet still the Bábís continued
to conduct themselves with patience, calmness, deliberation, and constancy, so
that they did not, even in self-defence, importune [the occupants of] high
places or frequent the houses of any of the magnates of that kingdom. Whomso[p.
120.]ever amongst the great he [Behá] interviewed on his own account, they met,
and no word save of sciences and arts passed between them; until certain
noblemen sought to guide him, and loosed their tongues in friendly counsel,
saying, "To appeal, to state your case, and to demand justice is a measure
demanded by custom." He replied in answer, "Pursuing the path of obedience to
the King's command we have come to this country. Beyond this we neither had nor
have any aim or desire that we should appeal and cause trouble. What is [now]
hidden behind the veil of destiny will in the future become manifest.
[page 92]There neither has been nor is any necessity for
supplication and importunity. If the enlightened-minded leaders [of your nation]
be wise and diligent, they will certainly make enquiry, and acquaint themselves
with the true state of the case; if not, then [p. 121.] [their] attainment of
the truth is impracticable and impossible. Under these circumstances what need
is there for importuning statesmen and supplicating ministers of the Court? We
are free from every anxiety, and ready and prepared for the things predestined
to us. '
Say, all is from God1' is a sound and
sufficient argument, and '
If God toucheth thee with a hurt there is no
dispeller thereof save Him2' is a healing
medicine."
After some months a royal edict
was promulgated appointing Adrianople in the district of Roumelia as their place
of abode and residence. To that city the Bábís, accompanied by [Turkish]
officers, proceeded all together, and there they made their home and habitation.
According to statements heard from sundry travellers and from certain great and
learned men of that city, they behaved and conducted themselves there also in
such wise that the inhabitants of the district and the government officials used
to [p. 122.] eulogize them, and all used to show them respect and deference. In
short, since Behá'u'lláh was wont
1 Kur'án, iv, 80.
2
Kur'án, vi, 17; x, 107.
[page 93]to hold intercourse with the doctors, scholars,
magnates, and nobles, [thereby] obtaining fame and celebrity throughout
Roumelia, the materials of comfort were gathered together, neither fear nor
dread remained, they reposed on the couch of ease, and passed their time in
quietude, when one Seyyid Mu
hammad
1 by name, of
Isfahán, one of the followers
1 Hájí Seyyid Muhammad Isfahání was, together with his nephew
Mírzá Rizá-Kulí, amongst the Ezelís (followers of Mírzá
Yahyá, Subh-i-Ezel) killed at Acre by some of Behá's
followers. (See B. i. p. 517). His death is evidently alluded to in a passage of
the ~~~ addressed to Mírzá Yahyá which runs as follows:- [eleven
lines of Persian/Arabic script] "Say, 'O Source of Perversion, cease
closing thy eyes; then [footnote goes onto page 94] confess to the truth
amongst mankind. By God, my tears have flowed over my cheeks for that I behold
thee advancing toward thy lust and turning aside from him who created thee and
fashioned thee. Remember the favour of thy master when we brought thee up during
the nights and days for the service of the Religion. Fear God, and be of those
who repent. Grant that thine affair is dubious unto men: is it dubious unto
thyself? Fear God, then remember when thou didst stand before the Throne and
write what we did propose to thee of the verses of God, the Protecting, the
Powerful, the Mighty. Beware lest jealousy withhold thee from the shore of [the
Divine] Unity: turn unto Him, and fear not because of thy deeds: verily He
pardoneth whom He pleaseth by a favour on His part: there is no God but Him, the
Forgiving, the Kind. Verily we do but advise thee for the sake of God; if thou
advancest, it is for thyself; and if thou turnest aside, verily thy Lord needeth
not thee, nor such as follow thee in evident error. God hath taken away him
who led thee astray: return then unto Him humble, contrite, abased: verily
He will put away from thee thy sins: verily thy Lord He is the Repenter, the
Mighty, the Merciful.'"
[page 94][of the Báb], laid the foundations of intimacy
and familiarity with Mirza Ya
hyá, and [thereby] became the cause of
vexation and trouble. In other words, he commenced a secret intrigue and fell to
tempting Mirza Ya
hyá, saying, "The fame of this sect hath risen high in
the world, and their name hath become noble: neither dread nor danger remaineth,
nor is there any fear or [need for] caution [p. 123.] before you. Cease, then,
to follow, that thou mayest be followed by the world; and come out from amongst
adherents, that thou mayest become celebrated
[page 95]throughout the horizons." Mirza Ya
hyá,
too, through lack of reflection and thought as to consequences, and want of
experience, became enamoured of his words and befooled by his conduct. This one
was [like] the sucking child, and that one became as the much-prized breast. At
all events, how much soever some of the chiefs of the sect wrote admonitions and
pointed out to him the path of discretion saying, "For many a year hast thou
been nurtured in thy brother's arms and hast reposed on the pillow of ease and
gladness; what thoughts are these which are the results of madness? Be not
beguiled by this empty name,
1 which, out of regard for
certain con-
1 The name
alluded to is of course that of Ezel (the Eternal) bestowed on Mírzá
Yahyá by the Báb. Gobineau (p. 277) calls him
hazrat-i-Ezel ('l'Altesse Éternelle'), but his correct
designation, that which he himself adopts, and that whereby he is everywhere
known, , is Subh-i-Ezel ('the Morning of Eternity'). The
epistles addressed to him by the Báb (of some of which copies are in my
possession) invoke him either as 'Ismu'l-Ezel' ('Name of the Eternal') or
'Ismu'l-Wahíd' ('Name of the One') - for the latter and the reason
of its employment, see B. ii. 996-997. According to his own statement he was the
fourth in the Bábí hierarchy (~~~) of 19. The first was of course the Báb
himself; next in rank was Mullá Muhammad 'Alí Bárfurúshí
(Jenáb-i-Kuddús); then Mullá Huseyn of Bushraweyh
(Jenáb-i-Bábu'l-Báb); then Mírzá Yahyá
(Subh-i-Ezel). After the fall of Sheykh tabarsí and
the death of the two 'Letters' who intervened between him and the Báb, he
attained the second place in the hierarchy, and, on the Báb's death, became the
recognized chief of the sect. The 'considerations' [footnote goes onto page
96] which, according to the somewhat different account of our historian,
rendered the recognition 'expedient' will be seen on pp. 62-63
above.
[page 96]siderations and as a matter of expediency, was
bestowed [upon thee]; neither seek to be censured by the community. Thy rank and
worth depend on a [p. 124.] word
1, and thine
exaltation and elevation were for a
1 A passage in the ~~~ illustrates this expression. It runs as
follows:- [eight lines of Persian/Arabic script] "Had they reflected,
they would not on my second manifestation have been veiled from my Beauty by a
Name amongst my Names. This is the state of these men and their rank and
station! Cease to mention them and what flows from their pens and comes forth
from their mouths. Although I commanded all my servants in all the tablets
of the Beyán not to continue heedless of my subsequent manifestation or be
veiled by the veils of Names and signs from the Lord of Attributes, consider
now, not satisfied with being veiled, how many stones of doubt they cast without
cessation or interruption at the tree of my hidden Glory! And even this did
not suffice, till a [footnote goes onto page 97] Name amongst my Names,
whom I created by a word, and on whom I bestowed life with a breath, arose in
war against my Beauty." I have already pointed out in another place (B. ii.
949-953) the important position occupied by the epistle above cited, since it
appears to be one of the earliest of Behá's writings wherein he distinctly
claims to be a new 'manifestation' of the divinity, and it, more than any other
writing which I have seen, throws light on that period of conflict and travail
in the Bábí church which made so memorable the latter days of the Adrianople
period and marked a new development in the short but eventful history of the new
faith. When I wrote the passage above referred to, I believed that the only copy
of this epistle in Europe was in my possession, but I have since learned from
Baron Rosen that another copy is included in his own library at St
Petersburg.
[page 97]protection and a consideration," yet still, the
more they admonished him, the less did it affect him; and how much soever they
would direct him, he continued to account opposition as identical with
advantage. Afterwards, too, the fire of greed and avarice was kindled, and
although there was no sort of need, their circumstances being easy in the
extreme, they fell to thinking of salary and stipend, and certain of the women
dependent on Mirza Ya
hyá went to the [governor's] palace and craved
assistance and charity. So when Behá'u'lláh beheld such conduct and behaviour on
his part he dismissed and drove away both [him and Seyyid Mu
hammad] from
himself.
Then Seyyid Mu
hammad set out
for Constantinople to get his stipend, and opened the door of suffering.
According to the account given, this matter caused
[page 98][p. 125.] the greatest sorrow and brought about
cessation of intercourse. In Constantinople, moreover, he presumptuously set
afloat certain reports, asserting, amongst other things, that the notable
personage who had come from 'Irá
k was Mírzá Ya
hyá. Sundry
individuals, perceiving that herein was excellent material for mischief-making
and a means for the promotion of mutiny, ostensibly supported and applauded him,
and stimulated and incited him, saying, "You are really the chief support and
acknowledged successor: act with authority, in order that grace and blessing may
become apparent. The waveless sea hath no sound, and the cloud without thunder
raineth no rain." By such speech, then, was that unfortunate man entrapped into
his course of action, and led to utter vain words which caused the disturbance
of [men's] thoughts. Little by little those who were [p. 126.] wont to incite
and encourage began without exception to utter violent denunciations in every
nook and corner, nay in the court itself, saying, "The Bábís say thus, and
expound in this wise: [their] behaviour is such, and [their] speech so-and-so."
Such mischief-making and plots caused matters to become misapprehended, and
furthermore certain schemes got afloat which were regarded as necessary measures
of self-protection; the expediency of banishing the Bábís came under
consideration; and all of a sudden an order came, and Behá'u'lláh was removed
from
[page 99]Roumelia; nor was it known for what purpose or
whither they would bear him away
1. Diverse
ac-
1 It is difficult
amidst the conflicting statements of the two parties and the silence of
disinterested historians to discover precisely what were the causes which led to
the removal of the Bábís from Adrianople. Further investigation inclines me to
abandon the view (B. i. p. 515) that overt acts of hostility between the two
factions made it necessary to separate them, for Mírzá Yahyá appears to
have been almost without supporters at Adrianople, so that, according to his own
account, he and his little boy were compelled to go themselves to the market to
buy their daily food. His version of the events which led the Turkish government
to change their place of exile is this:- that two of the followers of Behá set
out from Adrianople for Constantinople, ostensibly to sell horses, but really to
carry controversial books. The Páshá of Adrianople, being apprized of their
object, telegraphed to the first halting-place on the road which they had to
traverse and caused them to be arrested. The followers of Behá, believing that
Mírzá Yahyá had given information to the Páshá, retaliated by lodging
information against Áká Ján Beg, one of Mírzá Yahyá's followers
then in Constantinople - the same who was afterwards killed in Acre (B. i. 517)
- who was at this time, though a Persian, serving in the Turkish artillery.
Áká Ján Beg had in his possession certain Bábí books destined for
Baghdad. Unable to find means for transporting them thither and apparently
warned in some way of impending danger, he was contemplating the advisability of
destroying them by burying them or throwing them into the sea when he was
arrested. He appears to have been examined both by the Turkish authorities and
the representatives of the Persian government in Constantinople, particularly by
a certain Mírzá Ahmad then attached to the Persian legation. Áká
Ján Beg - an honest straightforward man incapable of concealing the truth by
falsehood - frankly admitted his connection with "the people at Adrianople," his
belief in [footnote goes onto page 100] the Bábí doctrines, and the
existence of certain of their books in his possession. These books were
thereupon seized and laid before the Sheykhu 'l-Islám, who, it would seem,
hesitated to pronounce sentence of heresy against their author, but desired to
see him himself. However in this wish he was not gratified, for he was soon
after dismissed, and the books passed into the hands of another Sheykhu
'l-Islám, who, after carefully examining them, declared that they did not
contain actual heresy, although they had a very heretical look. Áká Ján
Beg, however, was, in spite of his former good services to the Turkish
government (he had, I believe, distinguished himself at the recapture of
Damascus), dismissed the army and imprisoned for four and a half months. From
this imprisonment he went forth with hair and beard whitened by premature old
age an exile to Acre, there shortly to meet with a violent death. Whatever may
be the respective values of these two accounts, they both point to this, that
the detection of some fresh attempt at propagandism on the part of the Bábís
impelled the Turkish government to change their place of exile once
more.
[page 100]counts were current in [men's] mouths, and many
exaggerations were heard [to the effect] that there was no hope of deliverance.
Now all those persons who were with him with
one accord entreated and insisted that they should [be permitted to] accompany
him, and, how much soever the [p. 127.] government admonished and forbade them,
it was fruitless. Finally one Hájí Ja'far
1 by name was
moved
1 Hájí
Muhammad Ja'far of Tabríz is twice referred to, though not by name, in my
first paper on the Babís; first at p. 493, where he is simply mentioned as 'a
Persian merchant belonging to the sect' to whom two Bábí missionaries were
forbidden to speak during their voyage to Alexandria; and [footnote goes onto
page 101] again at p. 516, where the episode here related is briefly
mentioned. Space does not allow me to do more than refer to the first incident
here. As regards the second it is, as I have already pointed out (B. ii. p.
962), alluded to in the Epistle from Behá known as ~~~. I here quote the passage
in the original:- [three lines of Persian/Arabic script] "And one from
amongst the Friends sacrificed himself for myself, and cut his throat with his
own hand for the love of God. This is that [the like of] which we have not heard
from former ages. This is that which God hath set apart for this dispensation as
a shewing forth of His Power: verily He is the Powerful, the Mighty." It
appears that the Turkish government at first intended to send only Behá and his
family to Acre, and to give his followers passports and money to return to their
homes, but the unforeseen determination of the Behá'ís not to be separated from
their chief compelled it to change its plans.
[page 101]to lamentation, and with his own hand cut his
throat. When the government beheld it thus, it gave permission to all of them to
accompany him, conveyed them from Adrianople to the
sea-shore
1, and thence transported them to
Acre
2. Mirzá Ya
hyá they sent in like manner to
Famagusta
3.
1 Gallipoli was the port whence they embarked. It seems that they
were first taken direct to Alexandria, and there, without being permitted to
land, transhipped into vessels bound for their respective places of
exile.
2 They arrived at Acre on
August 31st, 1868 (see B. i. p. 526, and B. ii. pp. 984 and 988, v.
12).
3 See Note W at end. An official
document, dated De-[footnote goes onto page 102]cember 9th, 1884, from
the Muhásebejí's (Accountant's) office in Cyprus, and embodying
information relative to the Bábí exiles required by the Receiver General, states
that the original fermán of banishment cannot be found, but that "from an
unofficial copy of the fermán received at the time of banishment of these
exiles it appears that the date of their banishment is 5th Rabí'ul- Ákhir, 1285
A.H. (26th July, 1868 A.D.)." According to other documents, the date of the
arrival in the island of Subh-i-Ezel and those with him was August
20th.
[page 102] During the latter
days [passed] in Adrianople Behá'u'lláh composed a detailed epistle setting
forth all matters clearly and minutely. He unfolded and expounded the main
principles of the sect, and made clear and plain its ethics, manners, course,
and mode of conduct: he treated certain political questions in detail, and
adduced sundry proofs of his truthfulness: he declared the good intent, loyalty,
and [p. 128.] sincerity of the sect, and wrote some fragments of prayers, some
in Persian, but the greater part in Arabic. He then placed it in a packet and
adorned its address with the royal name of His Majesty the King of Persia, and
wrote [on it] that some person pure of heart and pure of life, dedicated to God,
and prepared for martyr-sacrifice, must, with perfect resignation and
willingness, convey this epistle into the presence of the King. A youth named
Mírzá Badí'
1, a native of Khurásán, took the epistle,
and
1 Cf. B. ii. pp.
956-957. I have not been able to learn the proper name of Mírzá Badi'. His
father was named Hájí 'Abdu 'l-Majíd. After the martyrdom of his son he visited
[footnote goes onto page 103] Acre, and on one occasion during his visit
Behá addressed him in these strange words - [one line of Persian/Arabic
script] "Make this lamp-split oil an offering for the Imámzádé,"
which, as I understand, are applied proverbially to one who offers up that which
has become of little value to him, as the oil which has been upset from the
lamp. Some time afterwards he suffered martyrdom in Khurásán, and it was this
which Behá's words were believed to have shadowed forth. For by the death of his
son in whom his hopes centred had Hájí 'Abdu 'l-Majíd's life lost its sweetness
for him and become a thing of little worth, and this life thus marred did he
offer up. Mírzá Badí' was not more than 20 or 21 years of age. He had left Acre
after accomplishing his pilgrimage thither when news reached him of the letter
to be carried to Teherán and of the conditions under which it must be taken.
These were, that the bearer must refrain from speaking to or visiting any of his
co-religionists during the whole journey, proceed directly and alone to Teherán,
and give the letter himself into the hands of the king. The letter was written
on one side of a large sheet of paper with the conditions incumbent on the
bearer inscribed on the back. The text of these conditions, published by Rosen,
will appear in vol. vi. of the Collections Scientifiques, &c., p.
192-193.
[page 103]hastened toward the presence of His Majesty the
King. The Royal Train had its abode and station outside Teherán, so he took his
stand alone on a rock in a place far off but opposite to the Royal Pavilion, [p.
129.] and awaited day and night the passing of the Royal escort or the
attainment of admission into the Imperial Presence. Three days did he pass thus
in a state of fasting and vigilance: an emaciated body and enfeebled spirit
remained. On the fourth day the
[page 104]Royal Personage was examining all quarters and
directions with a telescope when suddenly his glance fell on this man who was
seated in the most respectful attitude on a rock. It was inferred from the
indications [perceived] that he must certainly have thanks [to offer], or some
complaint or demand for redress and justice [to prefer]. [The King] commanded
one of those in attendance at the court to enquire into the circumstances of
this youth. On interrogation [it was found that] he carried a letter which he
desired to convey with his own hand into the Royal Presence. On receiving
permission to [p. 130.] approach, he cried out before the pavilion with a
dignity, composure, and respectfulness surpassing description, and in a loud
voice, "
O King, I have come unto thee from Sheba with a weighty
message1!" [The King] commanded to take the letter
and arrest the bearer. His Majesty the King wished to act with deliberation and
desired to discover the truth, but those who were present before him loosed
their tongues in violent reprehension, saying, "This person has shewn great
presumption and amazing audacity, for he hath without fear or dread brought the
letter of him against whom all peoples are angered, of him who is banished to
Bulgaria and Sclavonia, into the
1 Cf. Kur'án, xxvii, 22, where, however, the words addressed
to Solomon by the hoopoe differ slightly from those uttered by Mírzá
Badí'.
[page 105]presence of the King. If so be that he do not
instantly suffer a grievous punishment there will be an increase of this great
presumption." So the ministers of the court signified [that he should suffer]
punish[p. 131.]ment and ordered the torture. As the first torment they applied
the chain and rack, saying, "Make known thy other friends that thou mayest be
delivered from excruciating punishment, and make thy comrades captive that thou
mayest escape from the torment of the chain and the keenness of the sword." But,
torture, brand, and torment him as they might, they saw nought but steadfastness
and silence, and found nought but dumb endurance [on his part]. So, when the
torture gave no result, they [first] photographed him (the executioners on his
left and on his right, and he sitting bound in fetters and chains beneath the
sword with perfect meekness and composure), and then slew and destroyed him.
This photograph I sent for, and found worthy of contemplation, for he was seated
with wonderful humility and strange submissiveness, in utmost resignation.
[p. 132.] Now when His Majesty the King had
perused certain passages and become cognizant of the contents of the epistle, he
was much affected at what had taken place and manifested regret, because his
courtiers had acted hastily and put into execution a severe punishment. It is
even related that he said thrice, "Doth any one punish [one who is but] the
[page 106]channel of correspondence?" Then the Royal
Command was issued that their Reverences the learned doctors and honourable and
accomplished divines should write a reply to that epistle. But when the most
expert doctors of the capital became aware of the contents of the letter they
ordained:- "That this person, without regarding [the fact] that he is at
variance with the Perspicuous Religion, is a meddler with custom and creed, and
a troubler of kings and [p. 133.] emperors. Therefore to eradicate, subdue,
repress, and repel [this sect] is one of the requirements of the
Well-established Path
1, and indeed the chief of
obligations."
This answer was not approved
before the [Royal] Presence, for the contents of this epistle had no obvious
discordance with the Law or with reason, and did not meddle with political or
administrative matters, nor interfere with or attack the Throne of Sovereignty.
They ought, therefore, to have discussed the real points at issue, and to have
written clearly and explicitly such an answer as would have caused the
disappearance of doubts and the solution of difficulties, and would have become
a fulcrum for discussion to all.
Now of this
epistle sundry passages shall be set forth in writing to conduce to a better
understanding [of the matter] by all people. At the beginning of
1 The religion of Islám.
Cf. Kur'án, v, 52.
[page 107]the epistle was a striking passage in the
Arabic [p. 134.] language [treating] of questions of faith and assurance; the
sacrifice of life in the way of the Beloved; the state of resignation and
contentment; the multiplicity of misfortunes, calamities, hardships, and
afflictions; and falling under suspicion of seditiousness through the
machinations of foes; the establishment of his innocence in the presence of his
Majesty the King; the repudiation of seditious persons and disavowal of the
rebellious party; the conditions of sincere belief in the verses of the
Kur'án; the needfulness of godly virtues, distinction from all other
creatures in this transitory abode, obedience to the commandments, and avoidance
of things prohibited; the evidence of divine support in the affair of the Báb;
the inability of whosoever is upon the earth to withstand a heavenly thing; his
own awakening at the divine afflux, and his falling thereby into unbounded [p.
135.] calamities; his acquisition of the divine gift, his participation in
spiritual God-given grace, and his illumination with immediate knowledge without
study; the excusableness of his [efforts for the] admonition of mankind, their
direction toward the attainment of human perfections, and their enkindlement
with the fire of divine love; encouragements to the directing of energy towards
the attainment of a state greater than the degree of earthly sovereignty;
eloquent prayers [written] in the utmost self-abasement, devo-
[page 108]tion, and humility; and the like of this.
Afterwards he discussed [other] matters in the Persian language. And the form of
it is this
1:
"
O
God, this is a letter which I wish to send to the King; and Thou knowest that I
have not desired 1
This letter to the Sháh of Persia I discussed briefly in my second paper on the
Bábís (pp. 954-960). Therein I expressed a doubt as to whether another letter,
addressed in part to the King of Persia, which had been minutely described by
Baron Rosen (MSS. Arabes, p. 191 et seq.), was to be attributed to
Behá. I am now convinced, however, both by Baron Rosen's reasonings and my own
further enquiries, that I was wrong. However we may account for the undoubted
difference of tone between the two letters - a difference marked and striking -
there is no doubt that both of them emanated from the pen of Behá. Baron Rosen
is about to publish not only the letter to the King of Persia and the other
'Epistles to the Kings' but the whole of the ~~~ of which (though, as it
would seem, originally written separately) they now form a part. To the
publication of Baron Rosen's edition of these Epistles (which will appear in the
sixth volume of the Collections Scientifiques de l'Institut des Langues
Orientales of St. Petersburg) all interested in the elucidation of Bábí
doctrine and history must look forward anxiously. Baron Rosen has kindly
continued to forward to me the proof-sheets of his work as they are printed off,
and, therefore, knowing as I do that in a short while a reliable text of this
epistle will be available to students, I have not thought it necessary, as I
might otherwise have done, to mention in my notes all the variants from the
present text presented by another MS. which I obtained in Kirmán. The variants
presented by the Kirmán MS. (henceforth denoted by K.) are numerous; in one page
of 25 lines there are no less than 32. As a rule the readings of [footnote
goes onto page 109] the present text are preferable, but not always;
e.g. in several cases what is in K. a rhyming clause is altered here to
one not rhyming. But it is the omissions of the present text that are
most significant, inasmuch as they often consist of clauses which either give a
greater force and precision to the passages wherein they occur, or else imply in
a more unequivocal manner the position claimed by the writer. Such divergences
between the two texts - whether it be a question of omission or alteration -
will be noted at the foot of each page as they occur, but only in English. As
regards the Arabic exordium (which in K. occupies 5 pages of the 17 filled by
the whole epistle) a translation of it (based on the text of K.) will be found
in Note X at end.
[page 109]aught of him save the display of his justice
to Thy people, and the shewing forth of his favours to the dwellers in Thy
Kingdom. And verily, by my soul, I have not desired aught save what Thou hast
desired, neither, by Thy Might, do I desire aught save what [p. 136.]
Thou desirest. Perish that being which desireth of Thee aught save Thyself!
And, by Thy Glory, Thy good pleasure is the limit of my hope, and Thy Will the
extremity of my desire! Be merciful then, O God, to this poor [soul] who hath
caught hold of the skirt of Thy richness, and to this humble [suppliant] who
calleth on Thee, for Thou art indeed the Mighty, the Great. Help, O God, His
Majesty the King to execute Thy laws amongst Thy servants and to shew forth Thy
justice amidst Thy creatures, that he may rule over this sect as he ruleth over
those who are beside them. Verily Thou art the Potent, the Mighty, the Wise.
[page 110] "Agreeably to the
permission and consent of the King of the age, this servant turned from the
place of the Royal Throne
1 toward
'Irá
k-i-'Arab, and in that land abode twelve years. During the period of
[his] sojourn [there] no description of his condition was [p. 137.] laid before
the Royal Presence, neither did any representation go to foreign states. Relying
upon God did he abide in that land, until a certain
functionary
2 came to 'Irá
k, who, on his
arrival, fell to designing the affliction of a company of poor unfortunates.
Every day, beguiled by certain of the doctors of Persia, he persecuted these
servants; although nothing prejudicial to Church or State, or at variance with
the principles and customs of their country-men had been observed in them. So
this servant [was moved] by this reflection:- 'May it not be that by reason of
the deeds of the transgressors some action at variance with the world-ordering
counsel of the King should be engendered!' Therefore was an epitome [of the
matter] addressed to Mírzá Sa'íd Khán
3, the Minister
for Foreign Affairs, that he might
1 Teherán. Cf. p. 54 supra.
2 Evidently Mírzá Buzurg Khán of Kazvín. See above, p. 84
et seq.
3 It was at the hands
of this minister and his myrmidons that Mullá Huseyn of Khurásán (who,
with Áká Muhammad of Isfahán, had been entrusted with the
conveyance of the Báb's remains from Tabríz to Teherán) met his death in August
1852. See Note T at end.
[page 111]submit it to the [Royal] Presence, and that it
might [p. 138.] be done according to that which the Royal command might
promulgate. A long while elapsed, and no command was issued; until matters
reached such a state that it was to be feared that sedition might suddenly break
out and the blood of many be shed. Of necessity, for the protection of the
servants of God, a certain number [of the Bábís] appealed to the governor of
'Irá
k1. If [the King] will consider what has
happened with just regard, it will become clear in the mirror of his luminous
heart that what occurred was [done] from considerations of expediency, and that
there was apparently no resource save this. The Royal Personage can bear witness
and testify to this, that in whatever land there were some few of this sect the
fire of war and conflict was wont to be kindled by reason of the aggression of
certain governors. But this transient one after his arrival [p. 139.] in
'Irá
k withheld all from sedition and strife; and the witness of this
servant is his action, for all are aware and will testify that the multitude of
this faction in
1 i.e. the
Turkish governor of Baghdad and 'Irák-i-'Arab, probably the same
Námik Páshá mentioned in the third line of the foot-notes on p. 84. In
this passage it is explained to the King that the Bábís were compelled to enrol
themselves as subjects of the Ottoman Empire in order to escape the malice of
the Persians, especially that of Mírzá Buzurg-Khán the Persian Consul at
Baghdad.
[page 112]Persia at that time
1
was more than [it had been] before, yet, notwithstanding this, none transgressed
his proper bounds nor assailed any one. It is nigh on fifteen
years
2 that all continue tranquil, looking unto God
and relying on Him, and bear patiently what hath come upon them, casting it on
God. And after the arrival of this servant in this city which is called
Adrianople certain of this community enquired concerning the meaning of
'
victory3.' Diverse answers were sent in reply,
one of which answers will be submitted on this page, so that it may become clear
[p. 140.] before the [Royal] Presence that this servant hath in view naught save
peace and reform. And if some of the divine favours, which, without merit [on my
part], have been graciously bestowed [on me], do not become evident and
apparent, this much [at least] will be known, that [God], in [His] abounding
grace and
1 i.e. at the
time Behá was in Baghdad (A.D. 1853-1864). K. reads here "that the multitude of
this faction was more in 'Irák than in all [other] countries."
2 Taking the attempt on the Sháh's life in
August 1852 as the last act hostile to the Persian government for which the
Bábís can be held in any way responsible, full 16 solar years must have elapsed
between that date and the composition - or at any rate the completion - of this
epistle, since allusion is made in it to the impending banishment to Acre, which
did not occur till August 1868.
3 K.
reads "certain of the people of 'Irák and elsewhere asked concerning the
meaning of the 'victory' which hath been revealed in the Books of
God."
[page 113]undeserved
1 mercy,
hath not deprived this oppressed one
2 of the ornament
of reason. The form of words which was set forth on the meaning of
'
victory' is this:-
"'He is God, exalted is He.
"'It hath been known that God (glorious is His mention) is sanctified
from the world and what is therein, and that the meaning of "victory" is not
this, that any one should fight or strive with any one. The Lord of
He doeth
what He will3 hath committed the kingdom of
creation, both land and sea, into the [p. 141.] hand of kings, and they are the
manifestations of the Divine Power according to the degrees of their rank:
verily He is the Potent, the Sovereign4. But
that which God (glorious is His mention) hath desired for Himself is the hearts
of His servants, which are treasures of praise and love of the Lord and stores
of divine knowledge and wisdom. The will of the Eternal King hath ever been to
purify the hearts of [His] servants from the promptings of the world and what is
therein, so that they may be prepared for illumination by the effulgences of the
Lord of the Names and
1
Lit. 'preceding mercy,' i.e. mercy not earned or deserved by previous good
actions at the time it is bestowed.
2
K. reads "the heart" instead of "this oppressed one."
3 Kur'án, iii, 35; xxii, 19.
4 K. substitutes here, "if they happen [to be] in the shadow
of God, they are accounted of God; and if not, then verily thy Lord is
knowing and informed."
[page 114]Attributes. Therefore must no stranger find his
way into the city of the heart, so that the Incomparable Friend may come unto
His own place - that is, the effulgence of His Names and Attributes, not His
Essence (exalted is He), for that Peerless King hath been and will be holy for
everlasting above ascent or [p. 142.] descent
1.
Therefore to-day
2 "victory" neither hath been nor will
be opposition to any one, nor strife with any person; but rather what is
well-pleasing is that the cities of [men's] hearts, which are under the dominion
of the hosts of selfishness and lust, should be subdued by the sword of the
Word, of Wisdom, and of Exhortation. Every one, then, who desireth "victory"
must first subdue the city of his own heart with the sword of spiritual truth
and of the Word,
1 Behá
here guards himself from the doctrines of ~~~, ~~~ and the like, held by certain
heretical sects, viz. the belief that God can pass into man, or man become
essentially one with God. Jámí very beautifully distinguishes the doctrine of
annihilation in God from that of identification with God in the
following verse:- [two lines of Persian/Arabic script]
"So tread this path that duality may
disappear,
For if
there be duality in the path, falsity will arise:
Thou wilt not become He; but, if thou
strivest,
Thou wilt
reach a place where thou-ness shall depart from thee."
2 K. inserts "the meaning of."
[page 115]and must protect it from remembering aught
beside God: afterwards let him turn his regards towards the cities of [others']
hearts. This is what is intended by "victory:" sedition hath never been nor is
pleasing to God, and that which certain ignorant persons formerly wrought was
never approved.
If ye be slain for His good pleasure verily it is better for
you than [p. 143.]
that ye should slay. To-day the friends of God
must appear in such fashion amidst [God's] servants that by their actions they
may lead all unto the pleasure of the Lord of Glory. I swear by the Sun of the
Horizon of Holiness that the friends of God never have regarded nor will regard
the earth or its transitory riches. God hath ever regarded the hearts of [His]
servants, and this too is by reason of [His] most great favour, that perchance
mortal souls may be cleansed and sanctified from earthly states and may attain
unto everlasting places. But that Real King is in Himself sufficient unto
Himself [and independent] of all: neither doth any advantage accrue to Him from
the love of contingent
1 beings, nor doth any hurt
befal Him from their hatred. All earthly places appear through Him and unto Him
return, and
1 By
'continent' or 'possible' being is meant the material or phenomenal world, of
which the being or not-being are alike possible and conceivable, as contrasted
with 'Necessary Being' (God) of which the not-being is inconceivable and
impossible.
[page 116][p. 144.] God singly and alone abideth in His
own place which is holy above space and time, mention and utterance, sign,
description, and definition, height and depth.
And none knoweth this save Him
and whosoever hath knowledge of the Book. There is no God but Him, the Mighty,
the Bountiful.' Finis. "But good deeds
depend on this
1, that the Royal Person should himself
look into that [matter] with just and gracious regard, and not be satisfied with
the representations of certain persons unsupported by proof or evidence.
We
ask God to strengthen the King unto that which He willeth: and what He willeth
should be the wish of the worlds.
"Afterwards they summoned this servant to Constantinople. We reached that city
along with a number of poor unfortunates, and after our arrival did [p. 145.]
not hold intercourse with a single soul, for we had nought to say [unto them],
and there was no wish save that it should be clearly demonstrated by proof to
all that this servant had no thought of sedition and had never associated with
the seditious.
And, by Him in praise of whose spirit the tongues of all
things speak,
1 This
sentence is rather ambiguous, and would at first sight appear to signify that
the continuance of the Bábís' good conduct depends on their being treated with
more justice and fairness than they have hitherto met with on the part of the
Persian government. But I think the real meaning is rather that the attribution
of good actions to the Sháh depends on his now acting justly.
[page 117]to turn in any direction was difficult in
consideration of certain circumstances; but these things were done for the
protection of lives
1.
Verily my Lord knoweth what
is in my soul, and verily He is witness unto what I say. The just king is
the shadow of God in the earth; all should take refuge under the shadow of his
justice and rest in the shade of his favour. This is not the place for
personalities, or censures [directed] specially against some apart from others;
for the shadow tells of him who casteth the shadow
2.
God (
glorious is His mention) hath called Himself the [p. 146.]
Lord
of the worlds3 for that He hath nurtured and doth
nurture all;
exalted is His favour which hath
preceded4 contingent beings and His mercy which
hath preceded the worlds. "This is
sufficiently clear, that, [whether] right or wrong according to the imagination
of the people, this community have accepted as true and adopted the religion for
which they are notorious, and that on this account they have foregone
what
they had, seeking after what is with God. And this same renunciation of life
in the way of love for the Merciful
1 Allusion is made to the action of the Bábís in enrolling themselves
as Turkish subjects. See p. 88, supra.
2 i.e. the action of subordinates reveals the temper of their
masters.
3 As, for example, in the
first verse of the opening chapter of the Kur'án.
4 See note 1 on p. 113, supra.
[page 118][God] is a faithful witness and an eloquent
attest
unto that whereunto they lay claim. Hath it [ever] been beheld
that a reasonable man renounced his life without proof or evidence [of the truth
of that for which he died]? And if it be said, 'This people are mad,' this [too]
is very improbable, for it is not [a thing] confined to one or two persons, but
rather [p. 147.] have a great multitude of every class, inebriated with the
Kawthar1 of divine wisdom, hastened with heart
and soul to the place of martyrdom in the way of the Friend. If these persons,
who for God have foregone all save Him, and who have poured forth life and
wealth in His way, can be belied, then by what proof and evidence shall the
truth of that which others assert concerning that wherein they
are
2 be established in the presence of the King?
"The late Hájí Seyyid
Mu
hammad
3 (
may God
1 Kawthar primarily signifies
abundance, but it is also the name of a river in Paradise.
2 That is, the religion which they
profess.
3 The event here alluded to
occurred in the year A. H. 1241 (A.D. 1825). The Persians, exasperated by
rumours of oppression and insult on the part of the Russians towards their
Musulmán subjects, especially in the then recently ceded provinces of the
Caucasus, were incited by the clergy headed by Áká (here called Hájí)
Seyyid Muhammad of Isfahán to declare a jihád or holy war against
their northern enemies, in which, though at first encouraged by some measures of
success, they were eventually totally vanquished, the campaign ending in the
capture of Tabríz by the Russians and the treaty of [footnote goes onto page
119] Turkmáncháy. See Watson's History of Persia, pp. 207-238.
Watson, however, credits Áká Seyyid Muhammad with some degree of
moderation, observing (p. 209) that "he seems to have retained some slight
remnant of prudence, after that quality was no longer discernible in the conduct
and language of his professional brethren."
[page 119]exalt his station and overwhelm him in the
depth of the ocean of His mercy and forgiveness), although he was of the
most learned of the doctors of the age and the most pious and austere of his
contemporaries, and although the splendour of his worth was of such a degree
that the tongues of all creatures spoke in praise and eulogy of him and
confidently asserted his asceticism and godliness, did nevertheless in the war
[p. 148.] against the Russians forego much good and turn back after a little
contest, although he himself had decreed a holy war, and had set out from his
native country with conspicuous ensign in support of the Faith.
O would that
the covering might be withdrawn, and that what is hidden from [men's]
eyes might appear! "But as to this sect,
it is twenty years
1 and more that they have been
tormented by day and by night with the fierceness of the Royal anger, and that
they have been cast each one into a [different] land by the blasts of the
tempests of the King's wrath. How
1 The first interference with the Báb and his followers took place in
August 1845, so that if we suppose this letter to have been written near the end
of the Adrianople period (which came to a close in August 1868) nearly 23 years
of persecution had then been endured by the Bábís.
[page 120]many children have been left fatherless! How
many fathers have become childless! How many mothers have not dared, through
fear and dread, to mourn over their slaughtered
children
1! Many [were] the servants [of God] who at
eve were in the utmost [p. 149.] wealth and opulence, and at dawn were beheld in
the extreme of poverty and abasement!
There is no land but hath been dyed
with their blood and no air whereunto their groanings have not arisen. And
during these few years the arrows of affliction have rained down without
intermission from the clouds of fate. Yet, notwithstanding all these visitations
and afflictions, the fire of divine love is in such fashion kindled in their
hearts that, were they all to be hewn in pieces, they would not forswear the
love of the Beloved of
1
This is no mere figure of speech. Ussher writes in his Journey from London to
Persepolis (London 1865), p. 629, "It was enough to be suspected of Babeeism
to be at once put to death, and many old feuds and injuries were avenged by
denouncements and accusation of being tainted by the fatal doctrines. No time
was lost between apprehension and execution. Death was the only punishment
known; the headless bodies lay in the streets for days, the terrified relatives
fearing to give them burial, and the dogs fought and growled over the corpses in
the deserted thoroughfares. At last the European missions remonstrated, the
reign of terror ceased, and although still proscribed and put to death without
mercy whenever discovered, the Babees are supposed yet to reckon many seeming
orthodox Moslems among their numbers, the southern parts of the country being
thought to be the most tainted with the detested heresy."
[page 121]all the dwellers upon earth; nay rather with
their whole souls do they yearn and hope for what may befal [them] in the way of
God.
"O King! The gales of the mercy of the
Merciful One have converted these servants and drawn them to the region of the
[Divine] Unity - 'The witness of the faithful lover is in his
sleeve'
1 - but some of the doctors of
Persia
2 have troubled the [p. 150.] most luminous
heart of the King of the age with regard to those who are admitted into the
Sanctuary of the Merciful One and those who make for the Ka'ba of Wisdom. O
would that the world-ordering judgement of the King might decide that this
servant should meet those doctors
3, and, in the
presence of His Majesty the King, adduce arguments and proofs! This servant is
ready, and hopeth of God that such a conference may be brought about, so that
the truth of the matter may become evident and apparent before His Majesty the
King.
And afterwards the decision is in thy hand, and I am ready to confront
the throne of thy sovereignty; then give judgment for me or against me. The
Merciful Lord saith in the Fur
kán
4, which is
the enduring proof amidst the host
1 i.e. the faithful lover carries his life in his hand, or, as the
Persians say, in his sleeve.
2 K.
reads 'outward [or formal] doctors.'
3
K. reads 'the doctors of the age.'
4
i.e. the Kur'án, the supernatural eloquence of which is [footnote goes
onto page 122] the 'permanent miracle' and 'enduring proof' of its divine
origin.
[page 122]of existences, '
Desire death, then, if ye be
sincere1' He hath declared the desiring of death
to be the [p. 151.] proof of sincerity; and it will be apparent in the mirror of
the [King's] luminous mind which party it is that hath this day foregone life in
the way of Him [who is] adored by the dwellers upon earth. Had the doctrinal
books of this people, [composed] in proof of that wherein they
are
2, been written with the blood which has been shed
in His way (exalted is He), books innumerable would assuredly have been apparent
and visible amongst mankind.
"How, then, can
one repudiate this people, whose words and deeds are consistent, and accept
those persons who neither have foregone nor will forego one atom of the
consideration [which they enjoy] in the way of [God] the Sovereign?
"Some of the doctors of Persia who have
denounced this servant have never either met or seen him, nor [even] become
cognizant of [his] intent: [p. 152.]
nevertheless they said what they desired
and do what they will. Every statement requires proof, and is not
[established] merely by assertion or by outward gear of asceticism.
"A translation of some passages from the
con-
1 Kur'án, ii,
88; lxii, 6.
2[footnote 2; i.e. 'that
which they believe.'
[page 123]tents of the
Hidden Book of
Fátima1 (upon her be
1 I was at first doubtful as to whether the
passages here cited were really translated by Behá from some Arabic work bearing
his name, or whether they were in truth extracts from a work of his own called
'Hidden Words' (~~~) whereof I had heard frequent mention amongst the
Bábís. The following passage on p. 379 of Mr Merrick's translation of a work on
Shi'ite theology called ~~~ seemed to bear on the question:- "After the
Prophet's death Fátima was affected in spirit to a degree which none but
God knew. Jebrá'íl was sent down daily to comfort her, and 'Alí wrote what the
angel said, and this is the Book of Fátima which is now with the Imám
Mahdí." On consulting Rieu's Catalogue of the Persian MSS. in the British
Museum, I found mention (vol. ii, p. 829 b.) of a work entitled ~~~ composed
by Mullá Muhsin-i-Feyz of Káshán, and described as consisting of "one
hundred sayings of Imáms and Súfís in Arabic, with Persian commentary." I
seized the first opportunity of examining this work, but a search of about two
hours through its pages revealed nothing resembling the passages in the text
before us. Finally I wrote to Acre, asking, amongst other questions, what might
be the true nature of the work here alluded to. The following answer (which is
authoritative) was returned:- [Translation] "Fifth Question. Concerning
the mention of the matters in the Hidden Book of Fátima (upon her
be the peace of God). The answer is this, that the sect of Persia, that is the
Shi'ites, who regard themselves as pure, and the [rest of the] world (we take
refuge with God!] as unclean, believe that after His Highness the Seal of the
Prophets [Muhammad] Her Highness Fátima (upon her be the blessings
of God) was occupied night and day in weeping, wailing, and lamenting over the
fate of her illustrious father. Therefore was Jebrá'íl commanded by the Lord
Most Glorious to commune, converse, and associate with Her Highness
Fátima; and [footnote goes onto page 124] he used to speak words
causing consolation and quietude of heart. These words were collected and named
'The Book of Fátima' (~~~). And they [i.e. the Shi'ites] believe
that this Book is with His Highness the Ká'im [i.e. the Imám
Mahdí] and shall appear in the days of his appearance. But of this Book
nought is known save the name, and indeed it is a name without form and a title
without reality. And His Highness the Existent [i.e. Behá'u'lláh] willed to make
known the appearance of the Ká'im by intimation and implication;
therefore was it mentioned in this manner for a wise reason which he had. And
that which is mentioned under the name of the Book in the Epistle to His
Majesty the King [of Persia] (may God assist him) is from the 'Hidden
Words' ~~~ which was revealed before the Epistle to His Majesty the King.
The 'Hidden Words' was revealed in the languages of eloquence (Arabic)
and of light (Persian). It hath been commanded that some portion of it shall be
written and sent specially for you, that you may become cognizant of the truth
of the matter. At all events both the Persian and the Arabic thereof were
revealed in this manifestation. As to the pronoun" [I had asked whether
the pronoun in ~~~ referred to God, or to Gabriel, or to Fátima, i.e.
whether its subject was masculine or feminine] "he says, 'It refers to the
Hidden Unseen, from the heaven of whose Grace all verses are
revealed.'"
[page 124]the blessings of God) which are apposite to
this place will [now] be submitted in the Persian language, in order that some
things [now] concealed may be revealed before the [Royal] Presence. Those
addressed in these utterances in the above-mentioned book (which is to-day known
as '
Hidden Words') are those people who are outwardly notable for
[page 125]science and piety, but who are inwardly
subservient to their passions and lust. He says:-
"O faithless ones! Why do ye outwardly claim to be shepherds, while
inwardly ye have become the [p. 153.] wolves of my sheep? Your likeness is like
unto the star before the morning
1, which is apparently
bright and luminous, but really causeth the misguidance and destruction of the
caravans of my city and country.'
"So
likewise he saith -
"O outwardly fair and
inwardly faulty! Thy likeness is like unto clear bitter water, wherein outwardly
the utmost sweetness and purity is beheld, but when it falleth into the assaying
hands of the taste of the [Divine] Unity He doth not accept a single drop
thereof. The radiance of the sun is on the earth and on the mirror alike; but
regard the difference as from the guard-stars
2 to the
earth; nay, between them is a limitless distance.'
1 There is a star which appears before the morning star
and resembles it, and this the Persians call káraván-kush (the
caravan-killer) or charvadár-kush (the muleteer-killer), because it
entices the caravan to start from its halting-place in the belief that the dawn
is at hand, and so causes it to lose its way and perish.
2 Farkadán, the two Farkads, are
two bright stars near the pole-star (( and ( of Ursa Minor). See Lane's
Arabic-English Lexicon s.v. ~~~. In English they are properly called the
"Guards" or "Guardians" - "'of the Spanish word guardare,' saith Hood,
'which is to beholde, because they are diligently [footnote goes onto page
126] to be looked unto, in regard of the singular use which they have in
navigation.'" (Smyth and Chambers' Cycle of Celestial Objects, Oxford,
1881.
[page 126] "So likewise he
saith:-
"O child of the world! Many a morning
hath the effulgence of my grace come unto thy place from the day-spring of the
place-less, found thee on the [p. 154.] couch of ease busied with other things,
and returned like the lightning of the spirit to the bright abode of glory. And
I, desiring not thy shame, declared it not in the retreats of nearness to the
hosts of holiness.'
"So likewise he
saith:-
"O pretender to my friendship! In the
morning the breeze of my grace passed by thee, and found thee sleeping on the
bed of heedlessness, and wept over thy condition, and turned back.'
Finis. "In the
presence of the King's justice, therefore, the statement of an adversary ought
not to be accepted as sufficient. And in the Fur
kán, which distinguisheth
between truth and falsehood, He says, '
O ye who believe, if there come unto
you a sinner with a message, then discriminate, lest you fall upon a people in
ignorance and on the morrow repent of [p. 155.]
what ye have
done1.' And it hath come down in
holy
1 Kur'án, XLIX,
6. Concerning the occasion of the revelation of this passage see the notes on it
in Sale's and Palmer's translations of the Kur'án.
[page 127]tradition, '
Credit not the calumniator.'
The matter hath been misapprehended by certain doctors, neither have they seen
this servant. But those persons who have met [him] testify that this servant
hath not spoken
contrary to that which God hath ordained in the Book, and
recite this blessed verse:- He saith (exalted is He) '
Do ye disavow us for
aught save that we believe in God, and what hath been sent down unto us, and
what was sent down before1?'
"O King of the age! The eyes of these wanderers turn and
gaze in the direction of the mercy of the Merciful One, and assuredly to these
afflictions shall the greatest mercy succeed, and after these most grievous
hardships shall follow great ease. But [our] hope is this, that His Majesty the
King will himself turn his attention to [these] matters, which [p. 156.] thing
will be the cause of hope in [our] hearts
2]. And this
is unmixed good which hath been submitted,
and God sufficeth for a
witness.
"
Glory be to Thee, O God! O
God, I bear witness that the heart of the King is between the fingers of Thy
power: if Thou pleasest, turn it, O God, in the direction of mercy and
kindliness: verily Thou art the Exalted, the Potent, the Beneficent: there is no
God but Thee, the Mighty from whom help is sought.
1 Kur'án, v, 64.
2 K. reads ~~~ ("the cause of the good pleasure of the
Belovéd") in place of ~~~.
[page 128] "Concerning the
qualifications of the doctors, he saith
1:- '
But
amongst the lawyers he who guardeth himself, observeth his religion, opposeth
his lust, and obeyeth the command of his Lord - it is incumbent on the people to
follow him...' unto the end. And if the King of the age will regard this
utterance, which proceeded from the tongue of the recipient of divine
inspiration, he will observe that those characterized [p. 157.] by the qualities
transmitted in the afore-mentioned tradition are rarer than the philosopher's
stone. Therefore the claim of every person pretending to science neither hath
been nor is heard.
"So likewise in
describing the lawyers of the latter time he says:- '
The lawyers of that time
are the most evil of lawyers under the shadow of heaven: from them cometh forth
mischief, and unto them it returneth2.'
"And if any person deny these traditions,
the establishing thereof is [incumbent] on this servant; but since [our] object
is brevity therefore the detail of the authorities
3
hath not been submitted.
"Those doctors who
have indeed drunk of the
1
The preposition appears to refer to the Prophet Muhammad.
2 K. here adds, "So likewise he saith, 'when
the standard of the Truth appeareth the people of the East and of the West curse
it.'"
3 i.e. the ~~~, or chain of
narrators whereby a reliable tradition is substantiated, is omitted for lack of
space.
[page 129]cup of renunciation never interfered with this
servant, even as the late Sheykh Murta
zá
1
(
may God exalt his station and cause him to dwell under the shadow of the
domes of His grace) used to shew [us] affection during the days of [our]
sojourn in 'Irá
k, [p. 158.] and used not to speak concerning this matter
otherwise than God hath permitted. We ask God to help all [men]
unto
that which He loveth and approveth.
"Now
all people have shut their eyes to all [these] matters, and are bent on the
persecution of this sect; so that should it be demanded of certain persons, who
(after God's grace) rest in the shadow of the King's clemency and enjoy
unbounded blessings, 'In return for the King's favour what service have ye
wrought? Have ye by wise policy added any country to [his] countries? Or have ye
applied yourselves to aught which would cause the comfort of the people, the
prosperity of the kingdom, and the continuance of fair fame for the state?',
they have no reply save this, that, falsely or truly, they designate a number of
persons in the presence of the King by the name of [p. 159.] Bábís, and
forthwith engage in slaughter and plunder; even as in Tabríz and
elsewhere
2 they sold certain
1 See note 1 on p. 86 supra.
2 K. reads "and Mansúriyya of Egypt." The
only record I can find of any of the Bábís being sold into slavery is in the
Táríkh-i-Jadíd, which, after describing the massacre of most of those who
surrendered at Sheykh tabarsí, continues - "The remainder of the
companions who were left alive they carried [footnote goes onto page 130]
in fetters and chains to Bárfurúsh. Several they sold, such as
Akhúnd-i-Mullá Muhammad Sádik of Khurásán, Áká
Seyyid 'Azím the Turk, Hájí Nasír of Kazvín, and Mírzá
Huseyn of Kum. And some they sent to Sárí, and there martyred
them." But it is clear that these were sold into slavery: they may have
been ransomed by their friends, as certainly happened in some cases. More recent
instances are evidently alluded to here. Probably the Bábís sent to Khart.úm in
the Soudan about the period when this letter was written, and afterwards
released by General Gordon, were sold as slaves. (See B. i, pp.
493-495.)
[page 130]ones, and received much wealth; and this was
never represented before the presence of the King. All these things have
occurred because of this, that they have found these poor people without a
helper. They have foregone matters of moment, and have fallen upon these poor
unfortunates.
"Many sects and diverse tribes
rest tranquil in the shadow of the King, and of these sects one is this people.
Were it not best that the lofty endeavour and magnanimity of those who surround
the King should so be witnessed: that they should be scheming for all factions
to come under the King's shadow, and that they should govern amidst all with
justice? To put in force the ordinances of God is unmixed justice, [p. 160.] and
with this all are satisfied; nay, the ordinances of God [ever] have been and
will be the instrument and means for the protection of [His] creatures,
as He
saith (exalted is He) 'And in retaliation ye have
[page 131]life, O people of
understanding1.' [But] it is far from the justice
of His Majesty the King that, for the fault of one person, a number of persons
should become the objects of the scourges of wrath. God (glorious is His
mention) saith:- '
None shall bear the burden of
another2.' And this is sufficiently evident, that
in every community there have been and will be learned and ignorant, wise and
foolish, sinful and pious. And to commit abominable actions is far from the wise
man. For the wise man either seeketh the world or abandoneth it. If he
abandoneth it, assuredly he will not regard aught save God, and, apart from
this, the fear of God will withhold him from committing forbidden and culpable
[p. 161.] actions. And if he seeketh the world, he will assuredly not commit
deeds which will cause and induce the aversion of [God's] servants and produce
horror in those who are in all lands; but rather will he practise such deeds as
will cause the adhesion of mankind. So it hath been demonstrated that detestable
actions have been and will be [wrought only] by ignorant
persons
3.
We ask God to keep His servants from
regarding aught but Him, and to
1 Kur'án, ii. 175.
2
Kur'án, vi. 164; xvii. 16; xxxv. 19; xxxix. 9; liii. 39.
3 Compare the argument on pp. 52-53 wherewith Behá
meets the charge brought against him of complicity in the attempted
assassination of the Sháh.
[page 132]bring them near to Him: verily He is potent
over all things.
"Glory be to Thee, O God! O My
God, Thou hearest my groaning, and seest my state and my distress and my
affliction, and knowest what is in my soul. If my cry be sincerely for Thy sake,
then draw thereby the hearts of Thy creatures unto the horizon of the heaven of
Thy recognition, and turn the King unto the right hand of the throne of Thy Name
the Merciful; [p. 162.]
then bestow on him, O my God, the blessing which
hath descended from the heaven of Thy favour and the clouds of Thy mercy, that
he may sever himself from that which he hath and turn toward the region of Thy
bounties. O Lord, help him to support the oppressed amongst [Thy]
servants1,
and to raise up Thy Word amidst
Thy people; then aid him with the hosts of the unseen and the seen, that he may
subdue cities in Thy Name and rule over all who are upon the earth by Thy power
and authority, O Thou in whose hand is the Kingdom of creation: and verily Thou
art He who ruleth at the beginning and in the end: there is no God save Thee,
the Potent, the Mighty, the Wise. "They
have misrepresented matters before the presence of the King in such a way that
if any ill deed proceed from any one of this sect they account it as [a part] of
the religion of these servants.
But,
1 K. reads "to support Thy religion."
[page 133]by God, beside whom there is none other
God, this [p. 163.] servant hath not sanctioned the committing of sins, much
less that whereof the prohibition hath been explicitly revealed in the Book of
God! God hath prohibited unto men the drinking of
wine
1, and the unlawfulness thereof hath been revealed
and recorded in the Book of God
2, and the doctors of
the age (
may God multiply the like of them) have unanimously
1 The Muhammadans are in
the habit of alleging against the Bábís (of whose tenets they are, with very
rare exceptions, perfectly ignorant) sundry false and malicious charges
calculated to discredit them in the eyes of the world, as, for instance, that
they are communists; that they allow nine husbands to one woman; that they drink
wine and are guilty of other unlawful practices. These statements have been
repeated by many European writers deriving their information either directly or
indirectly from Muhammadan sources, and especially from the Persian state
chronicles called Násikhu't-Tawáríkh and
Rawzatu's-Safá. Of these somewhat partial and
one-sided records the former has the following passage:- "In every house where
they [i.e. the Bábís] assembled they used to drink wine and commit other actions
forbidden by the Law; and they used to order their women to come unveiled into
the company of strangers, engage in quaffing goblets of wine, and give to drink
to the men in the company." Anyone knowing what reliance can be placed on the
statements of the work in question, when any motive for misrepresentation
exists, will learn without astonishment that the Báb absolutely forbade the use
of wine, opium, and even tobacco, and that the Bábís observe the obligations
laid upon them at least as well as the Muhammadans. The prohibition of tobacco
has, however, been withdrawn by Behá.
2 Kur'án, v. 92.
[page 134]prohibited unto men this abominable action; yet
withal do some commit it. Now the punishment of this action falls on these
heedless persons, while those manifestations of the glory of sanctity [continue]
holy and undefiled:
unto their sanctity all Being, whether of the unseen or
the seen, testifieth.
"Yea, these
servants [of God] regard God as '
doing what He pleaseth and ordering what He
willeth1.'
There is no retreat nor way of
flight for any one save unto God, and no refuge nor asylum but in Him. And
at no time hath the cavilling of men, whether learned or unlearned, been a thing
to rely on, nor [p. 164.] will it be so
2. The [very]
prophets, who are the pearls of the Ocean of Unity and the recipients of Divine
Revelation, have [ever] been the objects of men's aversion and cavilling; much
more these
1
Kur'án, ii. 254; iii. 35; xxii. 14, 19. K. inserts here:- "But they have
considered the [further] appearances of the Manifestations of Unity in the World
of dominion [i.e. the phenomenal world] as impossible; whereas if anyone regards
this as impossible wherein does he differ from those people who regard the Hand
of God as passive? If they regard God (glorious is His mention) as Sovereign,
then all must accept a matter which appeareth from the Source of command of that
King of Pre-existence."
2 K. has this
sentence differently as follows:- "That thing which is necessary is the
production on the claimant's part of proof and demonstration of that which he
says and that whereunto he lays claim: else at no time hath the cavilling of
men" &c.
[page 135]servants. Even as He saith:- '
Every nation
schemed against their apostle to catch him. And they contended with falsehood
therewith to refute the truth1.' So likewise He
saith, '
There came not unto them any apostle but they mocked at
him2.' Consider the appearance of the Seal of the
Prophets
3, the King of the Elect (the soul of the
worlds be his sacrifice); after the dawning of the Sun of Truth from the horizon
of the
hijáz what wrongs befel that Manifestation of the Might of the
Lord of Glory at the hands of the people of error! So heedless were men that
they were wont to consider the vexation of that holy one as one of the greatest
of good works and as the means [p. 165.] of approaching God Most High. For in
the first years the doctors of that age, whether Jews or Christians, turned
aside from that Sun of the Highest Horizon; and, at the turning aside of those
persons, all, whether humble or noble, girt up their loins to quench the
radiance of that Light of the Horizon of Ideals. The names of all are recorded
in books: amongst them were Wahb ibn Ráhib, Ka'b ibn Ashraf, Abdu'lláh [ibn]
Ubayy
4, and the like of these persons; till at
1 Kur'án, xl.
5.
2 Kur'án, xv. ll, xxxvi.
29.
3 Muhammad.
4 I can find no mention of Wahb ibn Ráhib.
Perhaps Wahb ibn Yahudhá, one of the Jewish tribe of the Baní
Kuraydha who strenuously opposed Muhammad and denied the
Kur'án, is intended; or perhaps Wahb ibn Zayd of the [footnote goes
onto page 136] same tribe, who said that he would believe if Muhammad
would bring down a book from heaven, and whose name is mentioned as one of the
"enemies amongst the Jews." Ka'b ibn Ashraf of the tribe of tayy went
with forty Jews from Medína to Mecca and conspired with the arch-enemy of the
Prophet, Abú Sofyán, to compass the death of Muhammad. He was
subsequently slain by Muhammad ibn Maslama at the command of the Prophet.
'Abdu'lláh ibn Ubayy ibn Salúl of the tribe of 'Awf was called "the chief of
hypocrites." [See Ibn Hishám's Life of Muhammad, ed.
Wüstenfeld.
[page 136]length the matter reached such a point that
they convened a meeting to take counsel as to the shedding of the most pure
blood of that holy one, as God (glorious is His mention) hath declared:- '
And
when those who misbelieved plotted against thee to confine thee, or slay thee,
or drive thee out; and they plotted, and God plotted; and God is the best of
plotters1.' So likewise He saith:- '
And if
their aversion be grievous unto thee, then, if thou art able to seek out [p.
166.]
a hole down into the earth, or a ladder up into the sky, that thou
mayest shew them a sign - [do so]:
but if God pleased He would assuredly
bring them all to the true guidance: be not therefore one of the
ignorant2.' By God, the hearts of those near [unto
God] are scorched at the purport of these two blessed verses; but the like of
these matters certainly transmitted [to us] are blotted out of sight, and [men]
have not reflected, neither do reflect, what was the
1 Kur'án, viii. 30.
2 Kur'án, vi. 35.
[page 137]reason of the turning aside of [God's] servants
at the appearance of the day-springs of divine lights.
"So, too, before the Seal of the Prophets, consider Jesus the Son
of Mary. After the appearance of that Manifestation of the Merciful One all the
doctors charged that Quintessence of Faith with misbelief and rebelliousness;
until at length, with the consent of Annas, who was the chief of the doctors of
that age, and likewise Caiaphas
1, who was the most
learned of the judges, they wrought upon that Holy One that which the pen is
ashamed and [p. 167.]unable to repeat.
The earth with its amplitude was too
strait for Him, until God took Him up into the heaven. But were a detailed
account of the prophets to be submitted it is feared that weariness might
result
2.
1 John xi. 49, 50; xviii. 13-28; Acts iv. 6-10.
2 K. inserts a long passage here as follows:- "And the
Jewish doctors especially hold that after Moses no plenipotentiary prophet
possessed of a [new] Law shall come, [but that] one from amongst the children of
David shall appear, who shall give currency to the Law of the Pentateuch, until,
by his help, the ordinances of the Pentateuch shall become current and effective
between the East and the West. So too the people of the Gospel regard it as
impossible that after Jesus the Son of Mary any Founder of a new religion should
shine forth from the day-spring of the Divine Will; and they seek a proof in
this verse which is in the Gospel:- 'Verily it may be that the heaven and the
earth should pass away, but the word of the Son of Man shall never pass
away.' And they hold that what Jesus the Son of Mary hath said and commanded
shall not [footnote goes onto page 138] suffer change, whereas He saith
in one place in the Gospel, 'Verily I go and come [again]'; and in the
Gospel of John likewise He giveth tidings of 'the Comforting Spirit which shall
come after me'; while in the Gospel of Luke also certain signs are mentioned.
But, because some of the doctors of that faith have propounded for each
utterance an explanation after their own lusts, therefore have they remained
veiled from the meaning intended."
[page 138] "
O would that
thou mightest permit, O King, that we should send unto Thy Majesty that whereby
eyes would be refreshed, souls tranquillized, and every just person assured that
with him [i.e., Behá'u'lláh]
is knowledge of the Book. Were it not for
the turning aside of the ignorant and the wilful blindness of the doctors,
verily I would utter a discourse whereat hearts would be glad and would fly unto
the air from the murmur of whose winds is heard, 'There is no God but He.' But
now, because the time admitteth it not, the tongue is withheld from utterance,
and the vessel of declaration is sealed until God shall unclose it by His power:
verily He is the Potent, the Powerful.
[p. 168.] "
Glory be to Thee, O God! O My God, I ask of Thee in Thy Name,
whereby Thou hast subdued whomsoever is in the heavens and the earth, that Thou
wilt keep the lamp of Thy religion with the glass of Thy power and Thy favours,
so that the winds of denial pass not by it from the region of those who are
heedless of the mysteries of Thy Sovereign Name: then increase
[page 139]its light by the oil of Thy wisdom: verily
Thou art Potent over whomsoever is in Thy earth and Thy heaven.
"O Lord, I ask of Thee by the Supreme Word, whereat
whosoever is in the earth and the heaven feareth save him who taketh hold of the
'Most Firm Handle1,' that Thou wilt not abandon
me amongst Thy creatures: lift me up unto Thee, and make me to enter in under
the shadow of Thy mercy, and give me to drink of the pure wine of Thy grace,
that I may dwell under the canopy of Thy glory and the domes of Thy favours:
verily Thou art powerful unto that Thou wishest, and verily Thou art the
Protecting, the Self-Sufficing. [p.
169.] "
O King! The lamps of justice are extinguished, and the fire of
persecution is kindled on all sides, until that they have made my people
captives2 unto Mosul 'the prominent'"
(
el-hadbá).]
. This is not the first honour which hath been
violated in the way of God. It behoveth every one to regard and recall what
befell the kindred of the Prophet until that the people made them captives and
brought them in unto Damascus the spacious; and amongst them was the Prince of
Worshippers3, the Stay of the elect, the
Sanctuary of the eager (the soul of all beside
1 Kur'án, ii. 257; xxxi. 21.
2 K. inserts here:- "from Zawrá [Baghdad
3 i.e. Zeynu'l-'Ábidín, the fourth Imám, son of
Imám Huseyn and Shahrbánú the daughter of Yezdigird. Being ill in his bed
at the time of the massacre of Kerbelá his life was, [footnote goes onto page
140] after some deliberation, spared, and he was sent with the women taken
captive to the court of Yezíd at Damascus, where the discussion here recorded is
supposed to have taken place. (Cf. At.-tabarí's Annales, ed. de
Goeje, secunda series, v. i. pp. 367, et seq.)
[page 140]him be his sacrifice). It was said unto
them, 'Are ye seceders?' He said, 'No, by God, we are servants who have believed
in God and in His signs, and through us the teeth of faith are disclosed in a
smile, and the sign of the Merciful One shineth forth; through our mention
spreadeth Al-Bathá1, and the
darkness which intervened between earth and heaven is dispelled.' It was said,
'Have ye forbidden what [p. 170.]
God hath sanctioned, or sanctioned what
God hath forbidden?' He said, 'We were the first who followed the commandments
of God: we are the source of command and its origin, and the first-fruits of all
good and its consummation: we are the sign of the Eternal, and His commemoration
amongst the nations.' It was said, 'Have ye abandoned the Kur'án?' He
said, 'Through us did the Merciful One reveal it; and we are gales of the
All-glorious amidst [His]
creatures; we are streams which have arisen
from the most mighty Ocean whereby God revived the earth after its death; from
us His signs are diffused, His evidences are manifested, and His tokens appear;
and with us are His mysteries and His secrets.' It was said, 'For what fault
[then]
were ye afflicted?'
1 Mecca.
[page 141]He said, 'For the love of God and our
severance from all beside Him.'
"Verily we
have not repeated his expressions (upon him be peace), but rather we have made
manifest a spray from the Ocean of Life which was deposited in his words, that
by it those who advance [p. 171.]
may live and be aware of what hath
befallen the trusted ones of God on the part of an evil and most reprobate
people. And to-day we see the people censuring those who acted unjustly of yore,
while they oppress more vehemently than those oppressed, and know it not. By
God, I do not desire sedition, but the purification of [God's]
servants
from all that withholdeth them from approach to God, the King of the Day of
Invocation1.
"I was asleep on my couch: the breaths of my Lord the Merciful passed over me
and awakened me from sleep2: to this bear
witness the denizens [of the realms]
of His Power and His Kingdom, and
the dwellers in the cities of His Glory, and Himself, the True. I am not
impatient of calamities in His
1 i.e. the Day of Judgement, "so called," says the Arabic-Turkish
dictionary called Akhtarí Kabír, "because thereon the people of paradise
and the people of hell shall call to one another." The expression occurs once in
the Kur'án, ch. xl. v. 34.
2 K.
inserts:- "and commanded me to proclaim betwixt earth and heaven: this was not
on my part but on His part, and to this..." &c.
[page 142]way, nor of afflictions for His love and at
His good pleasure. God hath made affliction as a morning shower to this green
pasture, and as a match for [p. 172.]
His lamp whereby earth and heaven
are illumined.
"Shall that which any one
hath of wealth endure unto him, or avail him to-morrow with him who holdeth his
forelock1? If any should look on those who
sleep under slabs2 and keep company with the
dust, can he distinguish the bones of the king's skull from the knuckles of the
slave? No, by the King of Kings! Or doth he know governors from herdsmen, or
discern the wealthy and the rich from him who was without shoes or carpet? By
God, distinction is removed, save for him who fulfilled righteousness and judged
uprightly. Where are the doctors, the scholars, the nobles? Where is the
keenness of their glances, the sharpness of their sight, the subtlety of their
thoughts, the soundness of their understandings? Where are their hidden
treasures and their apparent gauds, their bejewelled thrones and their ample
[p. 173.]
couches? Alas! All have been laid waste, and the decree of God hath
rendered them as scattered dust! Emptied is what they treasured up, and
dissipated is what they collected, and dispersed is what they concealed: they
have become [such that]
thou
1 See Kur'án, xcvi. 15, 16, and cxi. 2
passim.
2 K. reads ~~~
"under marble."
[page 143]seest nought but their empty places, their
gaping roofs, their uprooted beams, their new things waxed old. As for the
discerning man, verily wealth will not divert him from regarding the end; and
for the prudent man, riches will not withhold him from turning toward [God]
the Rich, the Exalted. Where is he who held dominion over all whereon the sun
arose, and who spent lavishly and sought after curious things in the world and
what is therein created? Where is the lord of the swarthy squadron and the
yellow standard? Where is he who ruled Zawrá1,
and where he who wrought injustice in [Damascus]
the
spacious2? [p. 174.]
Where are they at
whose bounty treasures were afraid, at whose open-handedness and generosity the
ocean was dismayed? Where is he whose arm was stretched forth in rebelliousness,
whose heart turned away from the Merciful One? Where is he who used to make
choice of pleasures and cull the fruits of desires? Where are the dames of the
bridal chambers, and the possessors of beauty? Where are their waving branches
and their spreading boughs, their lofty
1 Baghdad. The name (or rather epithet) of Zawrá ("the
crooked") is applied to no less than ten different places. (See Yákút's
Mushtarik, ed. Wüstenfeld, p. 235.) But in this and similar places
Baghdad, the capital of the perfidious 'Abbásids so detestable to every true
Shi'ité[sic], is intended.
2
Al-Feyhá ("the spacious") is an epithet designating Damascus.
Mu'áwiya, Yezíd, and the Omeyyad caliphs generally are here alluded
to.
[page 144]palaces and trellised gardens? Where is the
smoothness of the expanses thereof and the softness of their breezes, the
rippling of their waters and the murmur of their winds, the cooing of their
doves and the rustling of their trees? Where are their laughing hearts and their
smiling teeth? 1 Woe unto them! They have
descended to the abyss and become companions to the pebbles; to-day no mention
is heard of them nor any sound; nothing is known of them [p. 175.]
nor
any hint. Will the people dispute it while they behold it? Will they deny it
when they know it? I know not in what valley they wander erringly: do they not
see that they depart and return not? How long will they be famous in the low
countries and in the high2, descend and ascend?
'Is not the time yet come to those who believe for their hearts to become humble
for the remembrance of God3?' Well is it with
that one who hath said or shall say, 'Yea, O Lord, the time is ripe and hath
come,' and who severeth himself from all that
is4. Alas! nought is reaped but what is sown,
and nought is taken but what is laid up, save by the grace of God and His
favour. Hath the earth conceived him whom the veils
1 Or perhaps "their heaving bosoms [lit.
"dilated lungs"] and their smiling mouths."
2 Concerning the expression ~~~ see Lane's Arabic-English
Lexicon, Bk. i. Pt. vi. p. 2306, column 3.
3 Kur'án, lvii. 15.
4 K. inserts "unto the King of beings."
[page 145]of glory prevent not from ascending into the
Kingdom of His Lord, the Mighty, the Supreme? Have we any good works whereby
defects shall be removed or which shall bring us near unto the Lord of causes?
We ask God to deal with us according to His grace, not [p. 176.]
His
justice, and to make us of those who turn toward Him and sever themselves from
all beside Him.
"O King, I have seen in the
way of God what no eye hath seen and no ear hath heard. Friends have disclaimed
me; ways are straitened unto me; the pool of safety is dried up; the plain of
ease is [scorched]
yellow1. How many
calamities have descended, and how many will descend! I walk advancing toward
the Mighty, the Bounteous, while
1 I am uncertain as to this line, and incline to think (though both
MSS. agree in the pointing of the first and the spelling of the second doubtful
word) that we should read ~~~ in the first clause (which signifies shallow
water or a pool, and agrees in sense with the verb ~~~ to dry
up or sink into the ground), and ~~~ ('a flat, even plain,
destitute of herbage and containing small pebbles') in the second. At any
rate I can find no other meaning of ~~~ which would seem appropriate to the verb
~~~. However, Baron Rosen's text (Collections Scientifiques, etc., vol.
vi. p. 213) agrees with the two MSS. in my possession, and a gloss therein
appended to the passage before us explains ~~~ as meaning 'a pool of water'
(~~~), and ~~~ as meaning 'garden' ~~~.
[page 146]behind me glides the serpent. My eyes rain
down tears until my bed is drenched; but my sorrow is not for myself. By God, my
head longeth for the spears for the love of its Lord, and I never pass by a tree
but my heart addresseth it [saying],
'O would that thou wert cut down in
my name and my body were crucified upon thee in the way of my Lord;' yea,
because I see mankind going astray in their intoxication, and [p. 177.]
they know it not: they have exalted their lusts, and put aside their God, as
though they took the command of God for a mockery, a sport, and a plaything; and
they think that they do well, and that they are harboured in the citadel of
security. The matter is not as they suppose: to-morrow they shall see what
they [now]
deny.
"
We are about
to shift from this most remote place of
banishment1 unto the prison of Acre. And,
according to what they say, it is assuredly 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; there is not heard from its regions aught save the sound of its hooting.
And in it they intend to imprison the servant, and to
1 Adrianople. In K. this sentence runs as
follows:- "The lords of command and wealth are about to send us forth from
this land, which is named Edirné [Adrianople], unto the city of
Acre," etc.
[page 147]shut in our faces the doors of leniency and
take away from us the good things of the life of the world during what remaineth
of our days. By God, though weariness should weaken me, and hunger should
destroy me, though my couch should be made of the hard rock and [p. 178.]
my associates of the beasts of the desert, I will not blench, but will be
patient, as the resolute and determined are patient, in the strength of God, the
King of Pre-existence, the Creator of the nations; and under all circumstances I
give thanks unto God. And we hope of His graciousness (exalted is He) the
freedom of our necks from chains and shackles in this imprisonment: and that He
will render [all men's]
faces sincere toward Him, the Mighty, the
Bounteous. Verily He answereth him who prayeth unto Him, and is near unto him
who calleth on Him. And we ask Him to make this dark calamity a buckler for the
body of His saints, and to protect them thereby from sharp swords and piercing
blades. Through affliction hath His light shone and His praise been bright
unceasingly: this hath been His method through past ages and bygone times.
"The people shall know what to-day they
under-[p. 179.]
stand not when their steeds shall stumble, their beds be
rolled up, their swords be blunted, and their footsteps slip. I know not how
long they shall ride the steed of desire and wander erringly in the desert of
heedlessness and error. Of glory shall any glory endure, or of
[page 148]abasement any abasement? Or shall he endure
who used to stay himself on high cushions, and who attained in splendour the
utmost limit? No, by my Lord the Merciful! 'All that is
thereon1 is transient, and there remaineth
[only]
the face of my Lord' the Mighty, the Beneficent. What buckler hath not
the arrow of destruction smitten, or what pinion hath not the hand of fate
plucked? From what fortress hath the messenger of death been kept back when he
came? What throne hath not been broken, or what palace hath not been left
desolate? Did men but know what pure wine2of
the mercy of their Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing, was beneath the seal, they
would certainly cast [p. 180.]
aside reproach and seek to be satisfied by
this servant; but now have they veiled me with the veil of darkness which they
have woven with the hands of doubts and fancies. The White
Hand3 shall cleave an opening to this sombre
night4.
On that day the servants [of
God]
shall say what those cavilling women said of
yore5,
that there may appear in the
1 i.e. on the earth. See
Kur'án, lv. 26, and cf. 27.
2
See above, p. 77, note 2.
3 Alluding
to the miracle of Moses. See Kur'án, vii. 105; xxvi. 32; xx. 23; xxvii.
12; and xxviii. 32, especially the two last passages.
4 K. inserts, "and God will open into His city a gate
[hitherto] shut [or, a great gate]. On that day men shall enter
in in crowds, and shall say what the cavilling women said," etc.
5 Alluding to what was said by the women who had
censured Potiphar's wife Zuleykhá for her love of Joseph when [footnote goes
onto page 149] they afterwards beheld the latter:- "This one is none
other than a gracious angel!" See Kur'án xii. especially v.
31-32.
[page 149]end what began in the beginning. Do they
desire to tarry when their foot is in the stirrup? Or do they see any return in
their going? No, by the Lord of Lords, save in the Resurrection! On that day men
shall arise from the tombs and shall be questioned concerning their riches.
Happy that one whom burdens shall not oppress on that day whereon the mountains
shall pass away and all shall appear for the questioning in the presence of God
the Exalted! Verily He is severe in punishing.
[p. 181.] "
We ask God to sanctify the hearts of certain of the doctors
from rancour and hatred that they may regard things with eyes which closure
overcometh not; and to raise them unto a station where the world and the
lordship thereof shall not turn them aside from looking toward the Supreme
Horizon, and where [anxiety for]
gaining a livelihood and [providing]
household goods shall not divert them from [the thought of]
that day
whereon the mountains shall be made like carpets. Though they rejoice at that
which hath befallen us of calamity, there shall come a day whereon they shall
wail and weep. By my Lord, were I given the choice between the glory and
opulence, the wealth and dignity, the ease and luxury wherein they are, and the
distress and affliction wherein I am, I would certainly choose that wherein I am
to-
[page 150]day, and I would not now exchange one atom
of these afflictions for all that hath been created in the kingdom of
production! Were it not for afflictions in the way [p. 182.]
of God my
continuance would have no sweetness for me, nor would my life profit me. Let it
not be hidden from the discerning and such as look towards the chiefest outlook
that I, during the greater part of my days, was as a servant sitting beneath a
sword suspended by a single hair who knoweth not when it shall descend upon Him,
whether it shall descend instantly or after a while. And in all this we give
thanks to God the Lord of the worlds, and we praise Him under all circumstances:
verily He is a witness unto all things.
"We
ask God to extend His shadow1,
that the
unitarians may haste thereto, and that the sincere may take shelter therein; and
to bestow on [these]
servants flowers from the garden of his grace and
stars from the horizon of his favours; and to assist him in that which he liketh
and approveth; and to help him unto that which shall bring him near to the
Day-spring of His Most Comely Names, that he may not shut his eyes to the wrong
which he seeth, but [p. 183.]
may regard his subjects with the eye of
favour and preserve them from violence2.
And we
ask Him 1 By "the
Shadow of God" is meant the King of Persia.
2 K. inserts here:- "And we ask Him (exalted is He) to gather all
together by the gulf of the Most Mighty Ocean where-[footnote goes onto page
151] of each drop crieth, 'Verily He is the giver of good tidings to the
Worlds and the quickener of the worlds; and praise be to God the King of the Day
of Judgement.'"
[page 151](exalted is He) to make thee a
helper1 unto His religion and a regarder of His
justice, that thou mayest rule over [His]
servants as thou rulest over
those of thy kindred, and mayest choose for them what thou wouldest choose for
thyself. Verily He is the Potent, the Exalted, the Protecting, the
Self-subsistent."
Now since suitable
occasion hath arisen it hath been considered appropriate that some of the
precepts of Behá'u'lláh which are contained in tracts and epistles should also
be inserted briefly in this treatise, so that the main principles and practice
and [their] foundations and basis may become clear and apparent. And these texts
have been copied from numerous tracts.
Amongst them [is this]:- "
Consort with [people of all]
religions with
spirituality and
fragrance2...
1 Perhaps there is an allusion here to the name of the Sháh of
Persia - Násiru'd-Dín - 'the helper of religion' or 'defender of
the faith,' and a prayer is uttered that he may indeed become that which his
name implies.
2 The words "that
they may perceive in you the scent of the Merciful One" (~~~) proper to this
passage are, whether intentionally or accidentally, omitted in the text, but
they occur in all MSS. of the Kitáb-i-Akdas, from which this
quotation is taken.
[page 152][p. 184.]
Beware lest the zeal of ignorance
possess you amongst mankind. All originated from God and returneth unto Him:
verily He is the Source of creation and the Goal of the worlds."
And amongst them [is this]:- "
Ye are
forbidden sedition and strife in the books and epistles; and herein I desire
nought save your exaltation and elevation, whereunto beareth witness the heaven
and its stars, the sun and its radiance, the trees and their leaves, the seas
and their waves, and the earth and its treasures. We ask God to continue His
saints and strengthen them unto that which befitteth them in this blessed,
precious, and wondrous station, and we ask Him to assist those who surround me
to act according to that whereunto they have been commanded on the part of the
Supreme Pen."
And amongst them [is
this]:- "The fairest tree of knowledge is this sublime word:- 'Ye are all the
fruit of one tree and the leaves of one branch.'
Pride is not for him who
loves his country, but for him who loves the [whole]
world."
[p. 185.] And amongst them [is this]:
"
Verily he who educateth his son, or one of the sons [of another]
, it
is as though he educated one of my sons. Upon him be the splendour of God, and
His grace, and His mercy which preceded the
worlds1."
1 This quotation is also from the
Kitáb-i-Akdas.
[page 153] Amongst them [is
this]:- "O people of Behá! Ye have been and are the dawnings of affection and
the day-springs of divine grace: defile not the tongue with cursing or
execration of any-one, and guard the eye from that which is not seemly. Shew
forth that which ye have: if it be accepted, the object is attained; if not,
interference is vain
1:
leave him to himself,
[while]
advancing toward God, the Protecting, the Self-subsistent. Be not
a cause of grief, much less of strife and sedition. It is hoped that ye will be
nurtured in the shade of the lote-tree of Divine Grace, and practise that which
God desireth. [p. 186.] Ye are all leaves of one tree and drops of one sea."
Amongst them [is this]:- "The faith of God
and religion of God hath been revealed and manifested from the heaven of the
Will of the King of Pre-existence only for the union and concord of the dwellers
upon earth: make it not a cause of discord and dissension. The principal means
and chief instrument for [bringing about] the appearance and irradiance of the
luminary of concord is the religion of God and the Law of the Lord; while the
growth of the world, the education of the nations, and the peace and comfort of
those in all lands are through the divine ordinances and decrees. This is the
principal means for this most great gift; it giveth
1 Cf. p. 72 supra.
[page 154]the cup of life, bestoweth everlasting life,
and conferreth eternal blessedness. The chiefs of the earth, especially the
exemplars of divine justice, must make strenuous efforts to guard this state and
to upraise [p. 187.] and preserve it. So likewise that which is necessary is
enquiry into the condition of the people, and cognizance of the deeds and
circumstances of each one of the different classes. We desire of the exemplars
of God's power, namely of kings and chiefs, that they will make endeavour:
perchance discord may depart out of [their] midst, and the horizons may be
illumined with the light of concord. All must hold to that which floweth from
the Pen of Reminder, and practise it. God witnesseth and [all] the atoms of
existences testify that we have mentioned that which will be the cause of the
exaltation, elevation, education, preservation, and reformation of the dwellers
upon earth. We desire of God that He will strengthen [His] servants. That which
this oppressed one seeketh of all is justice and fairness: let them not be
satisfied with listening; let them ponder on what hath become manifest from this
oppressed one. I swear by the Sun of Revelation, which hath shone forth from the
[p. 188.] horizon of the heaven of the Kingdom of the Merciful One, that, if any
[other] expositor or speaker had been beheld, I would not have made myself an
object for the malevolence and the calumnies of mankind." Finis.
[page 155] By these sentences
a clue to the principles, ideas, line of conduct, behaviour, and intentions of
this sect is placed in the hand; whereas if we seek to become acquainted with
the truth of this matter through the accounts and stories which are in the
mouths of men, the truth will be entirely concealed and hidden by reason of
their manifold differences and contrariety. It is therefore best to discover the
principles and objects of this sect from the contents of their teachings,
tracts, and epistles. There is no authority nor are there any proofs or texts
superior to these, for this is the foundation of foundations and the ultimate
criterion. One cannot judge of the generality by the [p. 189.] speech or action
of individuals, for diversity of states is one of the peculiarities and
concomitants of the human race.
At all
events, in the beginning of the year one thousand two hundred and eighty-five
[A.H.] they transferred Behá'u'lláh and all those persons who were with him from
Adrianople to the prison of Acre, and Mírzá Ya
hyá to the fortress of
Famagusta, and there they remained
1. But in Persia
after a while sundry persons who were discerning in matters, notable for wise
policy, and aware and cognizant of the
1 According to Nabíl's chronological poem, Behá'u'lláh and his
companions left Adrianople on the 20th of Rabí' II. A.H. 1285 (August
10th, A.D. 1868) and reached Acre on the 12th of Jemádí I. (August 31st).
See notes 2 and 3 on p. 101, and note W at end.
[page 156]truth of the earlier and later events, made
representation before the presence of His Majesty the King saying, "What has
hitherto been reported, related, asserted, and alleged concerning this sect in
the Royal Presence was either an exaggeration, or else [the speakers] fabricated
statements with a view to [their [p. 190.] own] individual designs and the
attainment of personal advantages. If so be that His Majesty the King will
investigate matters in his own noble person, it is believed that it will become
clear before his presence that this sect have no worldly object nor any concern
with political matters. The fulcrum of their motion and rest and the pivot of
their cast and conduct is restricted to spiritual things and confined to matters
of conscience; it has nothing to do with the affairs of government nor any
concern with the powers of the throne; its principles are the withdrawal of
veils, the verification of signs, the education of souls, the reformation of
characters, the purification of hearts, and illumination with the gleams of
enlightenment. That which befits the kingly dignity [p. 191.] and beseems the
world-ordering diadem is this, that all subjects of every class and creed should
be the objects of bounty, and [should abide] in the utmost tranquillity and
prosperity under the wide shadow of the King's justice. For the divine
shadow
1
1 i.e. "the royal protection"; for a King is called "the shadow of
God on the earth."] is the refuge
[page 157]of all the dwellers upon earth and the asylum
of all mankind; it is not limited to one party. In particular, the true nature
and real doctrine of this sect have [now] become evident and well known: all
their writings and tracts have repeatedly and frequently fallen into [our]
hands, and are to be found preserved in the possession of the government. If
they be perused, the actual truth and inward verity will become clear and
apparent. These pages are entirely taken up with prohibitions of sedition,
[recommendations of] upright conduct amongst mankind, obedience, submission,
loyalty, conformity
1, and [p. 192.] acquisition of
laudable qualities, and encouragements to become endowed with praiseworthy
accomplishments and characteristics. They have absolutely no reference to
political questions, nor do they treat of that which could cause disturbance or
sedition. Under these circumstances a just government can [find] no excuse, and
possesses no pretext [for further persecuting this sect] except [a claim to the
right of] interference in thought and conscience, which are the private
possessions of the heart and soul. And, as regards this matter, there has
[already] been much interference, and countless efforts have been made. What
blood has been shed! What heads have been hung up! Thousands of persons have
been slain;
1 i.e.
conformity to the royal commands, civil laws, and all such observances and
customs as are harmless, even if useless.
[page 158]thousands of women and children have become
wanderers or captives; many are the buildings which have been ruined; and how
many noble races and families have become headless and homeless! Yet nought has
been effected and no advantage has been [p. 193.] gained; no remedy has been
discovered for this ill, nor any easy salve for this wound. [To ensure] freedom
of conscience and tranquillity of heart and soul is one of the duties and
functions of government, and is in all ages the cause of progress in development
and ascendency over other lands. Other civilized countries acquired not this
pre-eminence, nor attained unto these high degrees of influence and power, till
such time as they put away the strife of sects out of their midst, and dealt
with all classes according to one standard. All are one people, one nation, one
species, one kind. The common interest is complete equality; justice and
equality amongst mankind are amongst the chief promoters of empire and the
principal means to the extension of the skirt [p. 194.] of conquest. From
whatever section of earth's denizens signs of contentiousness appear, prompt
punishment is required by a just government; while any person who girds up the
loins of endeavour and carries off the ball of priority is deserving of royal
favours and worthy of splendid and princely gifts. Times are changed, and the
need and fashion of the world are changed. Interference with creed and faith in
every
[page 159]country causes manifest detriment, while
justice and equal dealing towards all peoples on the face of the earth are the
means whereby progress is effected. It is right to exercise caution and care
with regard to political factions, and to be fearful and apprehensive of
materialist sects; for the subjects occupying the thoughts of the former are
[designs of] interference in political matters and [desire of] ostentation,
while [p. 195.] the actions and conduct of the latter are subversive of safety
and tranquillity. But this sect are steadfast in their own path and firmly
established in conduct and faith; they are pious, devoted, tenacious, and
consistent in such sort that they freely lay down their lives, and, after their
own way, seek to please God; they are strenuous in effort and earnest in
endeavour; they are the essence of obedience and most patient in hardship and
trouble; they sacrifice their existence and raise no complaint or cry; what they
utter is in truth the secret longing of the heart, and what they seek and pursue
is by the direction of a leader. It is therefore necessary to regard their
principles and their chief, and not to make a trivial thing a pretext. Now since
the conduct of the chief, the teachings of his epistles, and the purport of his
writings are [p. 196.] apparent and well known, the line of action of this sect
is plain and obvious as the sun. Of whatever was possible and practicable by way
of discouragement, determent, eradication, intimidation, repre-
[page 160]hension, slaughter, banishment, and stripes
there was no lack, yet nothing was thereby effected. In other countries when
they perceived severity and persecution in such instances to be identical with
stimulation and incitement, and saw that paying no attention was more effectual,
they abated the fire of revolution. Therefore did they universally proclaim the
equal rights of all denominations, and sounded the liberty of all classes from
east to west. This clamour and outcry, this uproar and conflagration, are the
consequences of instigation, temptation, incitement, and provocation. For thirty
years there has been no [p. 197.] rumour of disturbance or rebellion, nor any
sign of sedition. Notwithstanding the duplication of adherents and the increase
and multiplication of this body, through many admonitions and encouragements to
virtue this sect are all in the utmost repose and stability: they have made
obedience their distinctive trait, and in extreme submissiveness and
subordination are the loyal subjects of the King. On what lawful grounds can the
government further molest them, or permit them to be slighted? Besides this,
interference with the consciences and beliefs of peoples, and persecution of
diverse denominations of men is an obstacle to the expansion of the kingdom, an
impediment to the conquest of other countries, an obstruction to multiplication
of subjects, and contrary to the established principles of monarchy. In the time
when
[page 161]the mighty government of Persia did not
interfere with [men's] consciences, diverse sects entered in and [p. 198.] abode
beneath the banner of the great king, and [many] different peoples reposed and
served under the shadow of that mighty government's protection. The extent of
the empire increased from day to day; the greater portion of the continent of
Asia was under the just rule of its administration; and the majority of the
different religions and races were [represented] amongst the subjects of him who
wore its crown. But when the custom of interference with the creeds of all sects
arose, and the principle of enquiring into men's thoughts became the fashion and
practice, the extensive dominions of the empire of Persia diminished, and many
provinces and vast territories passed out of her hands, until it reached such a
point that the great provinces of Túrán, Assyria, and Chaldaea were lost; until
- what need of prolixity? - the greater part of the regions of Khurásán likewise
passed out of the control of the government of Persia by reason of [p. 199.] the
interference with matters of conscience and the fanaticism of its governors. For
the cause of the Afghan independency and the revolt of the Turcoman tribes was
in truth this thing, else were they at no time or period separate from Persia.
In face of its evident harmfulness what necessity is there for persecuting the
harmless? But if we desire to put in force the sentence [of the doctors of
religion] no one will escape
[page 162]fetters and chains and the keenness of the
sword, for in Persia, apart from this sect, there exist diverse sects, such as
the Mutasharri's, the Sheykhís, the
Súfís, the
Nu
seyrís
1, and others, each one of whom regards
the other as infidels and accuses them of crime. Under these circumstances what
need that the government should persecute this one or that one, [p. 200.] or
disturb itself about the ideas and consciences of its subjects and people? All
are the subjects of the king, and are under the shadow of the royal protection.
Every one who hears and obeys should be undisturbed and unmolested, while every
one who is rebellious and disobedient deserves punishment at the hands of his
Majesty the King. Above all, the times are completely changed, while principles
and institutions have undergone alteration. In all countries such actions hinder
development and progress, and cause decline and deterioration. Of the violent
agitation which has befallen the supports of Oriental government the chief cause
and principal factor are in truth these laws and habits of interference; while
that state the seat of whose dominion over the Atlantic and the Baltic is in the
furthest regions of
1
Concerning the Sheykhís see Note E at end. Concerning the Nuseyrís see
note 1 on p.14. The Mutasharri's are those who conform to the Sharí'at or
Sacred Law founded on the Kur'án and traditions, or, in other words, the
orthodox party. The Súfís - those mystical pantheists of Persia - are too
well known to need description.
[page 163]the North has, by reason of equal dealing with
its different subjects and the establishment of the uni-[p. 201.]form political
rights of diverse nationalities, acquired extensive colonies in each of the five
continents of the world. Where is this little island in the North Atlantic, and
where the vast territory of the East Indies? Can such extension be obtained save
by equal justice to all peoples and classes? At all events, by means of just
laws, freedom of conscience, and uniform dealing and equity towards all
nationalities and peoples, they have actually brought under their dominion
nearly all of the inhabited quarter of the world, and by reason of these
principles of freedom they have added day by day to the strength, power, and
extent of their empire, while most of the peoples on the face of the earth
celebrate the name of this state for its justice. As regards religious zeal and
true piety, their touchstone and proof are firmness and steadfastness in noble
qualities, [p. 202.] virtues, and perfections, which are the greatest blessings
of the human race; but not interference with the belief of this one or that one,
demolition of edifices, and cutting off of the human race. In the middle ages,
whereof the beginning was the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, and the end
the capture of Constantinople at the hands of [the followers of] Islám, fierce
intolerance and molestation of far and near arose in [all] the countries of
Europe
[page 164]by reason of the paramount influence of
religious leaders. The matter came to such a pass that the edifice of humanity
seemed tottering to its fall, and the peace and comfort of chief and vassal,
king and subject, became hidden behind the veil of annihilation. Night and day
all parties were slaves to apprehension and disquietude: civilization was
utterly destroyed: [p. 203.] the control and order of countries was neglected:
the principles and essentials of the happiness of the human race were in
abeyance: the supports of kingly authority were shaken: but the influence and
power of the heads of religion and of the monks were in all parts complete. But
when they removed these differences, persecution, and bigotries out of their
midst, and proclaimed the equal rights of all subjects and the liberty of men's
consciences, the lights of glory and power arose and shone from the horizons of
that kingdom in such wise that those countries made progress in every direction;
and whereas the mightiest monarchy of Europe had been servile to and abased
before the smallest government of Asia, now the great states of Asia are unable
to oppose the small states of Europe. These are effectual and sufficient proofs
[p. 204.] that the conscience of man is sacred and to be respected; and that
liberty thereof produces widening of ideas, amendment of morals, improvement of
conduct, disclosure of the secrets of creation, and manifestation of the hidden
verities of the contin-
[page 165]gent
1 world.
Moreover, if interrogation of conscience, which is one of the private
possessions of the heart and the soul, take place in this world, what further
recompense remains for man in the court of divine justice at the day of general
resurrection? Convictions and ideas are within the scope of the comprehension of
the King of kings, not of kings; and soul and conscience are between the fingers
of control of the Lord of hearts, not of [His] servants. So in the world of
existence two persons unanimous in all grades [of thought] and all beliefs
cannot be found. '
The ways unto God are as the number of the breaths of
[His]
creatures2' is a mysterious truth, and
'
To every [people]
We have appointed a [separate]
rite3 is one of the subtleties of the
Kur'án. If this vast [p. 205.] energy and precious time which have been
expended in persecuting other religions, and whereby no sort of result or effect
has been obtained, had been spent in strengthening the basis of the monarchy,
fortifying the imperial throne, making prosperous the realms of the sovereign,
and quickening the subjects of the king, ere now the royal dominions would have
become prosperous, the seed-plot of the people would have
1 On the meaning of 'contingent' being, see note
1 on p. 115.
2 This is a very
well-known and often quoted tradition.
3 Kur'án xxii. 35. The verse is inaccurately quoted here. It
should be ~~~ 'to every people,' etc.
[page 166]been watered by the bounty of princely justice,
and the splendour of the kingdom of Persia would be evident and apparent as the
true dawn throughout the horizons of the world."
These questions and considerations, at all events, certain persons have
reported. But let us return to our original subject. The Royal Personage was
pleased to investigate the hidden secret in his own noble person. According to
the account transmitted, it became clear and obvious before the [Royal] [p.
206.] Presence that most of these suspicions arose from the intrigues of persons
of influence who were continually engaged in fabricating matters behind the veil
of fancy and casting suspicion upon the community, and who, to attain advantages
for themselves and preserve their own positions, were wont to make motes appear
as globes, and straws as mountains in the mirror of their imagination. For these
suspicions there was absolutely no foundation or basis, nor had these assertions
any proof or verisimilitude. What power and ability have the helpless people, or
what boldness and strength have poor subjects that they should inflict injury or
hurt on the sovereign might, or be able to oppose the military forces of the
crown?
From that time till now disturbance
and sedition have been on the wane in Persia, and clamour and [p. 207.] strife
have ceased; although [still] on rare occasions
[page 167]certain of the official doctors do, for their
own personal and private advantage, stir up the common folk, raise a hue and
cry, and, by their importunity and pertinacity, molest one or two individuals of
this sect, as happened ten or twelve years ago in Isfahán. For there were
amongst the inhabitants of Isfahán two brothers, Seyyids of
tabá
tabá, Seyyid
Hasan and Seyyid
Huseyn, celebrated
in those parts for piety, trustworthiness, and nobility; men of wealth, engaged
in commerce, behaving towards all men with perfect kindliness and courtesy. And
to all outward appearance no one had observed in either of these two brothers
any swerving from what was best, much less any conduct or behaviour which could
deserve [p. 208.] torment or punishment; for, as is related, they were admitted
by all [pre-eminent] in all praiseworthy and laudable qualities, while their
deeds and actions were like exhortations and admonitions. These had transacted
business with Mír Mu
hammad
Huseyn the Imám-Jum'a of Isfahán; and
when they came to make up their accounts it appeared that the sum of eighteen
thousand
tumáns1 was due to them. They
[therefore] broke off [further] transactions, prepared a bond for this sum, and
desired it to be sealed. This thing was grievous to the Imám-Jum'a, so that he
came to the stage of anger and enmity. Finding
1 About £5400.
[page 168]himself in debt, and having no recourse but to
pay, he raised clamour and outcry saying "These two brothers are Bábís and
deserve severe punishment from the king." A crowd at once attacked their house,
[p. 209.] plundered and pillaged all their goods, distressed and terrified their
wives and children, and seized and despoiled all their possessions. Then,
fearing that they might refer the punishment to the step of the king's throne
and loose their tongues in demand of redress, he [i.e., the Imám-Jum'a] fell to
thinking how to compass their death and destroy them. He therefore persuaded
certain of the doctors to co-operate with him, and they pronounced sentence of
death. Afterwards they arrested those two brothers, put them in chains, and
brought them before the public assembly. Yet seek as they might to fix on them
some accusation, find some fault, or discover some pretext, they were unable to
do so. At length they said, "You must either renounce this faith, or else lay
down your heads beneath the sword of [p. 210.] punishment." Although some of
those present urged them saying, "Say merely 'We are not of this sect,' and it
is sufficient, and will be the means of your deliverance and protection," they
would by no means consent, but rather confirmed and declared it with eloquent
speech and affecting utterance, so that the rage and violence of the Imám-Jum'a
boiled over, and, not satisfied with killing and destroying them,
[page 169]they inflicted sundry indignities on their
bodies after death to mention which is not fitting, and of which the details are
beyond the power of speech. Indeed in such wise was the blood of these two
brothers shed that even the Christian priest of Julfá cried out, lamented, and
wept on that day; and this event befel after such sort that every one wept over
the [p. 211.] fate of those two brothers, for during the whole period of their
life they had never distressed the feelings even of an ant, while by general
report they had in the time of famine in Persia spent all their wealth in
relieving the poor and distressed. Yet, notwithstanding this reputation, were
they slain with such cruelty in the midst of the people!
But now for a long while the justice of the King has prevented and
withheld, and none dares attempt such grievous
molestations
1.
1 Unfortunately in face of the martyrdom of Áká Mírzá
Ashraf of Ábádé at Isfahán in or about October 1888, and the still more recent
persecutions at Si-dih near Isfahán, this statement can no longer be taken as
true. For some remarks on these persecutions, and some further account of the
martyrdom of Seyyid Hasan and Seyyid Huseyn, with which our
history concludes, see B. i. pp. 489-491, B. ii. pp. 998-999, and Note Y at
end.
[page 170]
There ceased from the writing of this its poor writer
the Letter
Zá
on the night of Friday the 18th of
Jamádí-ul-Úlá
A.H.
13071.
1 January 10th, A.D. 1890. Concerning "the letter Zá"
(Zeynu'l-Mukarrabín), and the colophons wherewith MSS. written by his
hand conclude, see Note Z at end.
Back to Index